Hi everyone
I have now seen my onc again and have decided to go the chemotherapy route. I will be having 6 x FEC and was hoping any of you who have also had/are having this treatment can help with your experiences/advice. I have read some of the threads on the chemotherapy forum and can see that each of us are a bit different but it would be useful to know if there’s anything that helped you or made you worse during treatment. I am going to try the cold cap and see what happens. I’ve also made plans to have my hair cut shorter and will be visiting a wig place to get something ready in case it doesn’t work.
I am due to have a ‘chemo chat’ (wonder what that will be about then?) next week and start treatment the following week, so I have a few days to prepare myself before the inevitable. Are there any questions you think I should ask the nurse in my ‘chat’? As I’ll be there (for treatment) for quite a while (at least the first time) is it a good idea to have some snacks during treatment or is it so rough you don’t bother or does all the nausea start later?
Thanks for any advice I get and hope you are all doing and feeling well.
Nicky x
Hi Nicky
good luck with your treatment I had 6xfec 2004 dueto liver secs it can be pretty rough but also bearable I made sure I drank lots of water and when I needed to stay in bed I did. Anti sickness pills Ondansetron really worked but if hubby moved in bed I was less than nice. Funny what they remember. My hair fell out just before 2nd treatment. Chemo chat will help but just in case your head gets in a spin make notes I did and found it invaluable. I know you will get lots of help from the forum.
Good Luck
Debsxxx
The codl cap may work for you better if your hair is short, I don’t know. I tried it but my hair about the length of a short bob and it didn’t work with me. I had really thick hair and this may have had something to do with it, like you I thought it was worth a shot and tried it.
What happens is they have to keep changing the cold cap every so often, I think during my first chemo it was changed at least 3 if not 4 times. Afterwards I did notice that some caps fitted better than others so my advice is to give you the best chance of it working make sure that it is tight and cold all over your head, on reflection I don’t think some of the caps fitted me properly as my head was only cold at the front and strangely enough that’s the only place I still have hair after3 taxotoere 3 week apart. I only tired it the once and my hair started falling out anyway.
Once my hair started falling out I went and got a number 1 (shaved) all over. I found this the easiest way to deal with, as I said I have really thick hair and when I had BC 2 years ago I couldn’t get out the shower because I was covered in hair. I felt a lot better in control getting it shaved and putting the wig on.
Best of luck with your treatment
Diane
By the way what is FEC short for. The first time round I had epirubicen and CMF.
Started FEC yesterday - started feeling sick after about an hour of getting out of hospital and have not stopped feeling sick yet!!! Was last sick at 5am but can feel another bout coming on now, so over and out from me.
Hi
have just found out that my mets have spread to the liver and so the Onc wants to start me on FEC so I will be following this thread with interest. At the moment my Hb is only 9.5 and I have recently been discharged from hospital after having a very bad reaction to rads to the pelvis. So the onc won’t start the chemo until I have put on some of the weight that I lost as he says it is now a balancing act because to start before I am well enough could have dire consequences !!! But in preparation I am going on Monday to see about having a wig, like you DIane I have very thick hair and I am not sure if I want to try the cold cap to avoid total hair loss. Good luck to you all who have started and I hope that we are all able to complete the course
Best wishes Barbara
Hi to all of you and thanks for the feedback.
Sounds like Shelleyb, Barbara and I will be all going the rounds with FEC at the same time. I hope you are feeling better than when you last posted Shelley. Can’t say I’m looking forward to any of this but I also think of the chemo drugs as a life enhancing treatment rather than a nasty liquid I’ll be given just for the hell of it! Hopefully positive thinking will rule the day!
Just to let you know, Diane, that FEC stands for the 3 drugs used:fluorouracil, epicubicin and cyclophosphamide and nope it doesn’t mean anything to me either!
Will keep you posted as to what’s happening but I’ve got a few days respite before treatment starts so I shall make the most of them! Good luck to all having treatment or getting over treatment at the moment.
Nicky x