Hello all. I was diagnosed in August. I have had a wide local excision and then full axillary clearance as my cancer had spread to the lymph nodes.
I am starting chemo on Thursday 2nd Dec, 4 rounds of fortnightly EC and then 12 rounds of weekly Paclitaxcel, then 4 weeks of radiotherapy and 5 years on herceptin.
Is anyone else in a similar situation…? Or starting chemo in December? It would be great to share tips.
xx
Scarlet Ensure you drink 2-3l of fluids a day helps flush chemo through. If your antisickness meds don’t work ring your unit they will tweak them, don’t try and battle through thinking this is chemo. If your wee burns ring your unit it will be a uti and need antibiotics on chemo not just a bit of cranberry juice. I kept graphs each week on chemo and put record of temperature on there and when I’d taken tablets and done the injections to boost wbc. Found that helped because you can get chemo brain a bit. Golden rule during chemo if you’ve temperature or you don’t feel right ring your rapid response number, don’t think oh I’ll leave it a bit, always ring and check so you are helping your team get you safely through chemo 
Shi xx
I have just found out I am to have chemotherapy possibly starting in next three weeks. Have had mastectomy after a long wait for surgery due to blood clots. Feeling worried about the side effects people keep telling me I will have.
Hi all. I’m starting on Tuesday 7th. Beyond nervous. I braved the shave last weekend when I had family support, I hate it, but will get used to it.
good luck all and thanks for the tips.
sue
Well my first infusion went well. I was dead sacred but the nurses were so kind.
I had some reflexology to relax me and then was given a really thoughtful goodie bag from a local charity, called BooBs, containing all sorts of wonderful things like a hot water bottle, a blanket, a hat, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lip balm, creams, puzzle game books, ginger sweets, ginger tea and other things too numerous to mention, it was such a generous act of kindness and it made me feel cared for.
I haven’t had many after effects, I felt very nauseous that night And the following day but as yet no major side-effects.
Hope everyone else has had a easier time of it as well, love and hugs
sue
Well I’ve been feeling really rough over the last week. Had my chemo on the 7th and by Friday I was very poorly. Nauseous, hot and cold flush’s, my head is so incredibly itchy & today I have a mouth full of ulcers and a cold sore and I still feel rubbish. Not looking forward to doing it another 5 times!!
how are you all getting along?
Well today I noticed my hair falling out! I knew it would happen but it’s still a devastating day. I haven’t stopped crying
Good afternoon
Hope everyone is well and safe…
i was diagnosed with a 3 cm lump in my left breast in august, stage one grade 3
I was advised that i should have chemotherapy before surgery but unfortunately i have a blood clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden and after meeting with the oncologist it was decided that due to the risk of blood clots i should have the surgery first.
I had a left wide local excision plus sentinel lymph node biopsy and a bilateral mammoplasty (breast reduction of both breasts) in October. The results came back that the breast was clear but there was cancer in one of the lymph nodes (six had been removed)
I started ECT chemotherapy on the 14th December. 6 cycles over 18 weeks to be followed by radiotherapy and then hormone tablets.
I nodded off during the treatment and woke with a burning sensation in my nose and my head was throbbing, i was informed this was due to it flushing through to quickly. It all seemed pretty uneventful but i felt tired and had a nap when i got home.
The first 3 days following chemo seemed to be great energy levels wise and i could have quite easily forgotten there was anything wrong apart from the heartburn which was swiftly followed by constipation…
Day 5 i began to feel very whoozy headed and felt like i had a hangover but i still managed to walk the dog and do things around the house.
Day 7 and i had the most excruciating pain in my lower right arm in the vein where the chemo had gone through and the vein had a hard part of about an inch. The next evening the pain began to get worse and it felt like i had been hit with a burning hammer and the pain was terrible. I ended up being admitted to hospital and following an ultrasound it was confirmed i had a blood clot in my arm.
Following blood tests in hospital i was told i was neutropenic and my neutrofil count was 0.13 which accounted for the whoozy head etc The whoozy head and hangover feeling continued and by day 10 it was all i could do to walk from one room to another and doing that required a lay down on the sofa, tbh that was the worst day and by day 13 i felt back to normal (if you can ever call me that!) and this has continued. I am now on day 16 and feeling great
I have now been put on apixaban twice a day for the remainder of my treatment which is an anticoagulant and the oncologist is now deciding how to administer my next treatment which is on the 4 Jan. The logical plan would be to put a PIC line in but as i am prone to clots and the risk is already high having chemo they are now deciding how this can be done with minimal risk
So that is my story so far, sorry its so war and peace!! Hopefully things will be less eventful next week, fingers crossed xx
Hello Scarlet,
I am Winda. I am Anastrozole for 1st line treatment for BC I am Er+ PR+ Her 2 -
that has spread badly to my lymph nodes.
I am waiting to feel up for what you went through as I have issues such as white coat syndrome and HIGH anxiety.
I was wondering how has it been going for you?
In order to save myself, I have to find courage.
Thank you for your time:)