October 2017 Chemo Starters

[Jelly tot]

Good luck Sue and everyone else starting today. Am also en route and kind of keen to just get going. Hope I don't get an Argos trainee though !! Love to all xx

[Ali49]

Good luck Sue xxx

[SueW]

Morning lovely people just en route to chemo 1 wearing a woolly hat knitted by my mom to keep my shaved head warm
Wore a wig last night when I went out for hubby birthday but my head was really hot lol xx

[Reboot]

Claire, that was my feeling x I wasn’t fussed about a wig at all, but having bought a pretty hat, it now all looks too ‘cancer patient’! I didn’t realise I wasn’t ready for that 😂

Cassie, I definitely need to try the screaming 😆😱

Ali, I absolutely love that analogy! I think I’ll use that with my son to help explain it all 🙂

Karana, I didn’t actually realise that I could drink during chemo! I was on antibiotics for a couple of weeks before it started and then just assumed, I think! I’m so conscious of my water intake, I haven’t even dared waste that space with a glass of red 🍷😂If you have a good non-alcoholic margarita recipe, I’d love that!!!

Love to everyone xx

(I haven’t seen Patchwork Girl’s name appear for a while? Is she OK?)

[Claire-bell]

Hi all,
I'm awake early again! So good to hear that your second cold cap was less awful than the first Cherry! I didn't like it at all and have been thinking of not having it the second time!
All new starters today- be confident, take a book, some cards, some snacks and a smile. It's going to be alright- we all did it and are still laughing, living and carrying on! It's a long day, good if you can have someone with you, but there's always someone in the chair next to you to share experiences with and the nurses have good advice. If cold capping take paracetamol half an hour before and concentrate on your deep breathing for the first twenty minutes then you will be back to chatting, texting and calling your friends and family and whether it's in for three or four hours you won't be bothered after that! Take a wide sweat band for your forehead too. Love to you all! Hugs xx

[CherryBakewell]

Oh, my pube discussion was on the September thread so maybe I do have one side effect: chemo brain!! 

😬

[CherryBakewell]

Evening Karana

Yes, what a strangely bonding experience going through cancer treatment is. As you say, discussing my pube status with complete strangers who, in the space of a few short weeks, have become close confidantes. 

Re. teetotal I've had no booze since September 16th (not that I'm counting!!) I love my cocktails but have decided I'm going to try and stack every card in my favour. No booze during treatment. (Maybe a glass at Christmas and my birthday.) But I'm going to research the very best mocktail recipes. I think I've always liked classic cocktails due to the interesting flavour combinations so I'm sure with a little effort I can create that aspect sans l'alcool. 

[karana23]

Oh and I'm having a Think Pink party in the pub next Friday, have started selling raffles tickets today, better make sure I get some raffle prizes!!   Also gonna wear a pink wig!!  If anyone's in the Norwich area feel free to pop in 💖🦄 🎂 

[karana23]

Only just managed to catch up on this afternoons/this eves posts and would like to say thank you for putting a smile on my face...it's so refreshing being able to converse with people that are going through, feeling & thinking the same!!!  When else in life will we be able to discuss pubes falling out with people we've never met (by the way I also haven't shaved mine coz want to see when they start falling out, bizarre I know!!)

Ive had a good day again today, went out for coffee with a couple of good friends and actually felt like I was a normal person!!  Only strange thing is my speech, I keep having to really concentrate on what I'm saying, it's a bit like when you've had 1 too many wines but your trying to act sober!!  Talking of wine i still haven't had any and don't even fancy it, that's 8 days without an alcoholic drink which is very unlike me, has anyone else become tea total? 

Good of luck again for starters tomorrow xxx

[CherryBakewell]

Good luck Sue. I'm sure you'll take it totally in your stride as you did shaving your hair. And my very best wishes to anyone else starting their chemo. I promise you it won't be anywhere near as bad as you've built it up to be in your head. 

🍒 Bakewell xx

[Meesh73]

Ali, I'm cold capping so in denial and trying to hang on to it! I keep hoping it'll be ok, but expecting it won't as I wasn't that confident that the fit of the cap was right or that they left it on for long enough (I had trouble as the first machine wasn't working and I only realised after 10-15 mins of having it on). Then there was a lot of faffing about switching machines, so not really sure what time I ended up getting it on. Anyway, I'm picking up my wig tomorrow and I have some hats, although not really sure about the hats (they seem too close fitting and make me look like I have a pea head and that's with all my hair still). I like your positive thoughts though so I'm going to pinch them and if my hair goes then I'll think of it as the leaves!

[SueW]

Ali what a brilliant way of thinking 👍
Thank you all for your good wishes will update tomorrow x

[Ali49]

I am trying to make it doable Meesh. My path is fill of leaves - eventhough i dont have a garden or a tree! So as i was brushing them up the thought just came to me! How are you feeling about the hairloss?

[Meesh73]

Ali, I like that thought about the hair going with leaves and coming back with the flowers. Very timely how lucky for us to be able to make that positive and lovely analogy! 

[Ali49]

Dont know why thats posted twice with a change in!

[Ali49]

Good luck tomorrow SueW and anyone else starting tomorrow. Remember to drink and have your sweets around. I have been ok today, day 16, and went for a lovely walk in the sunshine and a nice lunch with my friend. I even remembered to put sun lotion on!! I am also feeling tired Cassie and Claire. My 2nd treatment is the day before you.

I noticed this morning that my hairy legs are no longer hairy, my pubes are going and my hair has definitely started shedding. I had a little cry with my mum this afternoon!!

Anyway i have pulled myself together and said to my kids that we are going to think it can go now, in the Autumn, with the leaves and come back in Spring with the flowers!! As long as it doesnt come back like grass!

I just notices in a magazine that the up and coming trend this Autumn is the silk headscarf. Just like my mum used to wear, tied under the chin. What more could we ask for to keep our wigs on!
Hope everyone gets a good nights sleep xxx

[Ali49]

Good luck tomorrow SueW and anyone else starting tomorrow. Remember to drink and have your sweets around. I have been ok today, day 16 and went for a lovely walk in the sunshine and a nice lunch with my friend. I even remembered to put sun lotion on!! I am also feeling tired Cassie and Claire. My 2nd trestment is the day before you.

I noticed this morning that my hairy legs are no longer hairy, my pubes are going and my hair has definitely started shedding. I had a little cry with my mum this afternoon!!

Anyway i have pulled myself together and said to my kids that we are going to think it can go now, in the Autumn, with the leaves and come back in Spring with the flowers!! As long as it doesnt come back like grass!

I just notices in the Marie Claire magazine that the up and coming trend this Autumn is the silk headscarf. Just like my mum used to wear, tied under the chin. What more could we ask for to keep our wigs on!@
Hope everyone gets a good nights sleep xxx

[SueW]

Evening all cherry as usual you have my laughing and make this path seem so normal 😂
Clairebell if you press on the persons name as long as you are logged in you get the option to private message them
Well I just been for a meal for the hubby birthday and going to try and have an early night ready for tomorrow however the 2 hour nap this afternoon might put a stop to dropping off to sleep easily x

[CherryBakewell]

Hi Meesh

Good to hear that you didn't have too many side effects after your first sesh. Bodes very well as the nurse told me yesterday that your reaction to the first round tends to set a pattern for the following one but the side effects are usually fewer and milder the second time. Fingers crossed for you xx

[Meesh73]

Hi Cherry Bakewell sorry but that really made me laugh, I'm sure it can't have been a very nice experience but I can just imagine an Argos trainee digging for potatoes in your veins! It's encouraging to hear you feel equally well after your second session. I too didn't really suffer too much after my first one so hoping for the same when I have my second in a couple of weeks. They also had trouble with the cannula in my hand (no trouble finding the vein or putting it in, just decided they wasn't happy with it) and opted to put it direct into my arm. The guy who put the one in my arm was brilliant there was no bruise at all and I didn't feel a thing! I hope it continues to go well for you.

[CherryBakewell]

Evening Ladies

Not sure whether I should be posting here or in September starters but I know quite a few of you on here so I thought I'd just post a quick update on my 2nd chemo sesh. Couldn't post yesterday as I went out for dinner after my treatment (yeah, getting a bit cocky now!! 🤗)

As with last time the actual treatment day was somewhat eventful. I had a trainee chemo nurse putting my cannula in, unfortunately she made a bit of a bodge of her first attempt and I nearly passed out!! And cos she'd hurt the first vein she then had to inject the epirubicin (the scary, potentially flesh burning red drug) manually with a big plastic syringe which was pretty uncomfortable too. Not convinced she totally knew what she was doing. When I almost fainted she tried to take my blood pressure on my leg but that didn't seem to work either. I suspect she's actually a trainee at Argos but somehow ended up at Clatterbridge...

The magnificent news for all of you in the Cold Cap Club is that this time the cap was a much less harrowing ordeal. I think my electric throw really helped and I'd upped my painkillers from paracetamol to cocodamol.

Unbelievable really that it wasn't as bad because due to all the faffing about with my newby nurse I must've had it on for 4 and three quarter hours!!! 🙄 I better not lose one single strand this cycle!!!

Today, very little to report. Feel totally normal - not even my rosy cheeks this time. The only low point was having to attend a meeting with a new client and explain that I don't usually pitch up at meetings looking like I'm sleeping in the woods. I'm just glad that during my last oncologist appointment she announced that my lump had shrunk by half a centimetre or I'd honestly question whether the chemo was working!! 

Anyway, glad to see you're all perky as usual. Really sorry to hear about your picc line Runnerbean. I decided against one of those and despite my nurse apparently digging for potatoes in my veins yesterday, I'm still going to persevere with the cannulas now.

Cherry Bakewell xx

[Claire-bell]

Hi Reboot
I've had an itchy scalp all day today too. I realised today I don't want to loose my hair either and feel like you but I think I'm going to get a nice hat and not worry to much about a wig maybe? We will see! Hugs for you for Monday xx

[WhyteFawn]

Reboot of course you can join. Everyone is welcome. Don't worry we'll all hold hands. The chemocoaster is like life. Every now and again you just have to throw your hands in the air and scream lol.

Cassie x

[Reboot]

Claire and Cassie, can I join your carriage please? My 2nd cycle is on Monday. Though I’ve always hated rollercoasters!!

Lots of love to everyone starting tomorrow xx

Sue, your FB announcement is beautifully worded, I wish I didn’t have to keep messaging everyone but at the same time I’m not ready for that yet.

My hair’s kind of aching today, I’m not sure I’m ready to start wearing the scarves yet. I really wasn’t worried about it in the build up to all this, but now it seems to be affecting me more than I thought.

Lots of love ladies xx

[Claire-bell]

Thanks for sharing your fb post Sue! It was really nicely written and covered everything! How do you dm people in the forum here? X

[Jill1998]

Good luck tomorrow Sue !!!!

[SueW]

Thanks Debbie x

[Debbie1964]

Very best wishes tomorrow sue w on the start of your new journey,  and also to other ladies xx

[SueW]

Chaffinch .... re ck I private messsged her and had reply yesterdsy she has been working and said she is on most right after chemo when she has to rest but has less time in her working days x

[mrsrims]

Thanks for the best wishes for tomorrow, my chemo is at 11.30am. It is reassuring we all together on this 'chemocoaster' now the time is nearing I am terrified but your support means everything.

I will be drinking gallons of tap water tomorrow & over the weekend! 

I also had a problem with my picc line overnight like Runnerbean, hope you are ok now by the way.

After having it put in yesterday I had a 4 hour wait in my local a&e, my arm & fingers swelled I couldnt remove my wedding rings from my finger, after an examination I was sent home, the swelling has reduced today & seen a district nurse today & had numerous calls from the oncolgy nurses, I will be exmained tomorrow before the chemo too. 

Love to all xxx

[Meesh73]

Cassie, I have only been shaving one armpit since my surgery as the guff I read said I shouldn't shave it anymore due to risk of infection in case you get a cut. Not that I've ever cut my armpits shaving but you know there's always a first time and it was bound to happen! Then I stopped shaving my legs and the other armpit because was told shouldn't when on chemo for same reason. I haven't bothered with my eyebrows for ages either as I figured they'd probably fall out.  So I look a right hairy state at the moment! I also popped on one of the monthly threads the other day and someone was talking about tamoxifen giving you facial hair, so I'm guessing I could end up looking like a bald hairy monkey with a beard too if my facial hair grows quicker than that on my head!

[Meesh73]

Hi Runnerbean, sorry to hear you've had a rough time of it. I agree it is important to get things checked out if you're worried or not sure. That's what they get paid for, that's what my bcn nurse said they get paid to take care of our worries. My OH got a bit annoyed with me because I've phoned the oncology nurse about 4 times in the last week all about minor things but you just never know and I'd rather get things sorted quickly than let them escalate. Since I told him that some of you have ended up in hospital he has been a bit more understanding and asked me to phone them today to see if I could catch the flu from him when he has his flu jab Monday!

chaffinch, have you tried the September forum re: CK? When was her 2nd chemo?

[Chaffinch17]

Anyone heard from CK since her latest chemo btw?
Not like her to be quiet, I’m a bit worried

[Chaffinch17]

Sorry to hear that Runnerbean, it’s a lesson to us all to get ourselves checked out if unsure about anything.
I told my Facebook peeps because I had found out by self examination following a documentary where a lady had been nagged by her friend to check herself. I decided to be the nagging friend and put the word out there and I made the post public too so that it could be shared too.
The bald hairy monkey comment made me chuckle.
SueW I’ve been thinking pink food too to up the donation level. Thought maybe bacon sarnies in the morning. Bacon is pink and we buy kilo packs of cooking bacon from Lidl which is usually really tasty bacon you just have to avoid the packets with big chunks instead of slices. We then cook it on trays in the oven and keep it in the fridge ready to microwave for breakfast. We thought that we could just take a load of bread rolls and the cooked bacon and people can help themselves, after donating obviously!
Might make some pink cakes for lunchtime too

[Runnerbean]

Afternoon ladies, hope you are all doing OK and good luck to all those starting tomorrow. I’ve had a bad night last night, after being woken multiple times with pain in my arm which was getting worse as the night went on I phoned the helpline number early this morning. The sent me straight to the local A&E department, the best part of 7 hours later I now know that I have multiple DVT,s in my PICC line arm. The line is staying in but I now have to inject warfarin everyday for the next 3 months. If you are unsure of anything I would say give the nurses a call as you never know when it is something which needs looking at urgently xx

[WhyteFawn]

Meesh that made me laugh. I stopped shaving to see when it started to fall out but began to look like a reject from Gorillas In the Mist so I relented and shaved.

[SueW]

Thanks meesh it took a lot of composing but I felt so much better once it was out there as I was getting up to 40 texts or emails a day and just could not keep up with everyone emotionally and it took an awful amount of time too x

[Meesh73]

SueW, wow that was really brave and also a really good post too!

[SueW]

Meesh that made me laugh xx

[SueW]

Just to add I am happy to add any of you to my fb it is set to private so you won’t be able to add me but that is because of my job in a School x just message me
I would also be very discreet and never put anything csncer related on your walls as I know some people are still keeping their journey private xx

[Meesh73]

Cassie, Claire, I'm a few days behind you and still have all my hair at the moment. Knowing my luck I'll lose it from my head (even though I'm cold capping) and keep it from the neck down, I'll look like a bald hairy monkey!

[SueW]

Claire I did tell Facebook if you want to see what I have put send me a pm with your user name and I will add you I put it out there as I found it emotionally draining to keep telling individuals
This was my original post and every day I have made sure I found a positive

I have thought long and hard before posting this and have decided that I will post as I am finding it emotionally draining to tell people individually and update people with each step on this journey I am about to take. On 21st June I was diagnosed with breast cancer, on the 8th August I had a lumpectomy and some lymph nodes removed. Unfortunately when I went to see the consultant for my results yesterday I received the news I did not want to get that there is lymph node involvement. I now will be having a 2nd operation on the 7th September for further lymph node removal and a I await a date for a CT scan to ensure there is no further spread. This will be followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy and I will be absent from work for approx 8 months (which for me will be awful as I love my job) I knew I was facing a journey however it seems that I will now encounter several bumps along the way. Please do not think because I have not told you personally that you are not important it is just a lot to get my head around and obviously my children, my family and very close friends are my priority in all of this and I will continue to speak to them on a personal level. I thank you in advance for your support and good wishes which I know will come, if I do not answer you individually please do not take offence. xx

[WhyteFawn]

Claire I haven't told everyone on Facebook. But I did set up a private secret group for friends and family that do know.

[WhyteFawn]

Not sure SueW but I am happy for hair loss to be permanent from the neck down. It'll save me a fortune on razors.

[Claire-bell]

I've got a Big Pink Pack too and want to organise a party but not got round to it...! Had hoped to do it next week before Chemo 2! Might have to be end of October instead? Has anyone decided to tell their Facebook community? I'm thinking about it but have held back so far. Cx

[Meesh73]

Yes definitely best wishes to all of you starting tomorrow, hope the chemo treats you as kindly as possible. Just remember that the rest of us will all be thinking of you. 

I hope many of us are finding this forum a little safe haven in the storm of chaos and uncertainty that goes with being diagnosed and treated for cancer. I know it has helped me so much by providing hope, some laughs and helps me feel a little less lonely. The success of all that is down to people sharing their experiences, tips and thoughts so thank you girls, you are all fabulous!

[SueW]

Well done to your work Cassie x

[SueW]

That’s good precautionary only 👍
Will be thinking of you xx

[SueW]

Yay there is a positive no waxing or shaving my bits can’t wait for that ..... does it grow back like head hair ? Sorry I may be requesting tmi 🤣🤣🤣

[Jelly tot]

Hope not Sue! They recommend having one with you just in.case and I like being organised. Am.going to have it on standby throughout treatment xx