Anyone starting chemo August 2015?

[carolec]

I think I was a bit panicky at the planning when I tried out the mouth piece and the pipe attached was very heavy (it wasn't on the actual treatment) plus my mouth was so dry cos of the after effects of chemo. The machine is for left boob cancer only. On the day the rads girls were so good and made me feel at ease and I sailed through. i had to take everything off the top halve but was covered up for most of the time with a piece of cloth xxx

[Bibi44]

Carole Glad the actual thing was ok.  One down.  What was bad about the planning? Can you keep your top on during the treatment? x

[carolec]

Debs sorry to hear you have been having lots of SEs - I know I was on the weeklies but I also had my last few reduced because of peripheral neuropathy so I would definitely mention how bad you've been feeling. Bibi hope your chemo went ok today - I was also up the hospital having my first radiotherapy. The practice run last week was horrible - I'm using the DIBH machine which is fairly new - but today was fine. I think a few of us are starting rads this month so good luck to fellow new starters and hope everyone else is ok and finishing chemo soon xxxx

[Bibi44]

Poor you, Debs. Sounds as if you've really been through it. So pleased you're out of the other side of T1, but T2 Friday doesn't give you much respite. Do you see your onc the day before? If not, might be worth e-mailing ahead, or they will have made up your next dose by the time you tell her/him how dreadful it's been. However awful you are feeling, remember we are all thinking about you & willing you to get through it. Off for dose 5 at this end this morning, hence the early post. Enjoy your week. xx

[Tania786]

Thanks Bibi. With regards to the cuticle, i just massaged my nails and cuticle with the cuticle oil, that helped. Well done Lisalowu. I have been wondering re. Immune system etc for myself. My nurse didn't say anything about it but I'm on gcsf injection for 5 days.

Hi Debs, sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I had all the SEs with the 1st docetaxal so the onco reduced it to 80%. I must say with 80% it's manageable. I wish you all the best for your treatments...

[Lisalouw]

Hi debs glad you posted have been thinking of you , I get exactly the very same side effects , we must be the unlucky ones , maybe they might reduce the dose next time , I've had 6 of them now and onto 80% reduction due to the SEs , so I do sympathise with you , the mood does lift , it does make it very difficult with little ones , I've gone through an array of emotions re my little boy , make a list and go through everything with your onc so they can do there best to make it manageable xxx

[Debs30]

Hi Ladies

I hope you are all ok. I have been very quiet of late sorry ladies, I have really struggled with the se of my first T . I've had oral thrush, stomach cramps, diarrhoea , nausea, extreme tiredness and have felt very low emotionally. I have just come out of it the other side apart from the tiredness and have another dose on Friday hey ho. Keep telling myself I've only got 3 more to go , no consolation at the moment.

Really happy for you ladies that have finished your chemo and now onto the next step. Seems a long way off for me but I know it isn't really . I hate feeling this low , not really like me but I'm sure I will bounce back soon.

Love and hugs to you all xxxxxx

Debs

[Bibi44]

Tania sorry forgot to say happy birthday for last week & good luck tomorrow. Hope you have been a bit brighter today. I did the Christmas trees today & they are so beautiful that it has cheered me up xx

[Bibi44]

Well done Lisalou, so pleased you have got that final one out of the way 🍾🍾🍾. Like you say, just focus on the fact that, however bad the SE are, it's for the last time & soon you will be able to look forward & start to feel better & have more energy for your little boy. You have done so well to put up with this again.

LisaJane I found a whole new 1cm fringe growing under the rest of what's left of my old fringe today. Weird, but reassuring.

Sarah you are right, I can hardly believe it, but I have been fine so far, bar the old niggle. Seems a bit too good to be true & I keep expecting it to get harder.  Just enjoying it whilst I can, but also feeling bad for you all when I read about the 3 weekly SE.  Still you'll all be finished months before me, so the 3 weeklies have their upside too.

Does anyone know if we are supposed to stop pushing our cuticles back on tax? I did the other day & now have a red line/bit of swelling in the skin just below my thumb nail.  Doesn't look great to be honest.  Anyone else had that?

Hope you are all having as good a weekend as possible.  Carole all the best for tomorrow.

xx

[Lisalouw]

Hello ladies , just a quick post to let you know I had my 6 th chemo , was a long day waiting for bloods , but they came ok and to go ahead , so I'm in bed , usually am for a good week , sore tongue and mouth already , no appetite and feel sick , plus I get worse as the steroids leave my system and when my bloods drop , they have given me 10 days gcsf injections and 10 days antibiotics from day 5 , but I have to keep telling my self it's the last chemo , chemo nurse says I have to watch out for 5 wks after chemo re immunity stakes with my bloods going neutropenic every time , hope everyone ok , I'll try and nip back , love to everyone xxx

[Tania786]

Hi all, hope you're all doing ok.

Yes, I had my final chemo on Weds 2 Dec. Feeling a bit down with the side effects/emotions. I have a scan and tatoo booked for Monday before the rads start on 23 Dec. Richelle, how was the scan/tatoos? Am a bit anxious!!
On a happier note I celebrated my birthday on 1st Dec, hubby treated me to the Afternoon tea. it was lovely! Then had a nice dinner with the boys/family. 😊

[Richelle]

Lovely to hear you are coming to the end of chemo Tanya and Lisalou I hope they go ok, Bibi and  lisajane I know you still have more to go so will be thinking of you, I went for my CT and tattoos yesterday ahead of my rads which start on the 16th December so yet another new experience, Carol good luck with your first rad on Monday.

Wishing you all a good weekend x

[Sarahd-1]

HI Ladies Lisa the Zoledex stops your periods and makes you think you are going trough the menopause I think as they think it might be my ovaries that caused this is the first place. I must admit im not 100% sure. I said can I have my ovaries out instead but they wont do it yet. Bibi how are you doing you seem to flying through this it must be such a relief after the start you had. Thanks Carol I just want it over with but dont want to feel ill again just as I am feeling better but at least its the last one. Lisalouw how did you get on with final chemo? Hope you are ok? Brave are you feeling better? Debs and Tania hope you are both ok too? big hugs ladies and hope you have a good weekend xxxxx

[Bibi44]

Lisalou Fingers crossed for today & Sarah you aren't far behind. Even though we know there are still the after effects of the final chemo to get through, at least you will know it will be for the final time.

Debs haven't heard from you for a while.  Are you any better?

Have a lovely weekend Brave/Carole. I'm off for bloods this morning & then a dog walk in the woods & lunch xx

[lisajane7878]

Sarah can I just ask what is the zoledax just my oncologist mention using something with the tamoxifen also what's the bone hardening drug? Xx

[carolec]

Lisa good luck for your last chemo tomorrow and hopefully it will go ahead.  Bravescholar sorry to hear you've been down and hope that you can plan some nice things to look forward to next week.  I'm trying to keep myself busy but can't help thinking about my rads which start on Monday and carry on until the 30th December!  Tania have you had your last chemo and Sarah good luck for your last one next week xxx

[Sarahd-1]

Brave Im so sorry you have had a tough week. I know what you mean about low emotionally. Will we all have to have the bone hardening drug? I have found out today that I will be having Zoladex and Tamoxifen when I start my rads. I dont know if thats a good or a bad thing. Lisa good luck for tomorrow I hope it goes ahead and you feel better just to get it over and done with. let us know how you get on. big hugs ladies xxxxxxxxxxx

[Lisalouw]

Hi ladies hope all is well , I have my last chemo tomorrow , well I'm saying that , my bloods are borderline , so I have to have my bloods done before my chemo to see whether I'm ok to go ahead , I'm not holding out much hope as I feel shattered and have thrush in my mouth so run down , but my onc said it was ok to go ahead even if bloods borderline , it's pharmacy who want repeat bloods done , so fingers crossed everyone that my bloods have all come up xxxx

[bravescholar]

Good luck, Sarah, and well done. I've had a tough past week; emotionally have been quite low. Think it's as a result of finally relaxing after trying to be brave though all the chemo.  Plus I was given a bone hardening drug in my final chemo session and I've had bone ache from that. Feeling much better now. How's everyone? x

[Sarahd-1]

Hi ladies 

Hope you are all ok? I am off to see the oncologist for the last time and my last picc line clean 🙂 One week to go until last chemo 🙂 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Bibi44]

Tania glad your shin is better. Good job these pains come & go otherwise we would be like a load of geriatrics!  x

[Tania786]

Hi Bibi, my shin is a bit better today but if i get the pain again I'll definitely mention it to my onco. (i'm seeing her on Monday).

I'm happy that it's the last chemo but not looking forward to the side effects... Bit mixed feeling 😒

[Bibi44]

Tania Glad you're nearly there. Is your shin hot or bigger than the other leg? If so, you might need to see docs.  If not, I guess painkiller, although I haven't had anything like that.  Hope it's better soon. x

[Bibi44]

Hi Lisa It's such a long road isn't it? I feel as if we've been doing this for absolutely ages.  My 5th cycle starts Mon, but I'm doing 7, so won't finish until Jan 25th. Just got my start dates for radioT & only getting 2 weeks off (& one of those has radiotherapy planning/CT in).  Feel a bit ripped off, as was looking forward to 'the break'.  I had thought I would be off for Feb half term & made some plans (in my head anyway). So much for those.  HB says 'just get on with it'.  I had my 2nd Herceptin yesterday & didn't have SE I had with the first round, so maybe your body gets used to it.

Sarah re the food thing.  I totally agree there is a lot of conflicting advice, so I asked my friend, who's an NHS dietician, & she said they don't recommend any changes in diet for BC at all, unless patient is overweight or obviously eating too much fat or sugar.  Yet I find the stuff I've read about dairy/non-organic meat quite compelling. I suppose we all have to make up our minds.

Have a good weekend. xx

[lisajane7878]

I'm up to my 5th chemo next Wednesday and will be my first herceptin injection too!! I still have to have surgery so that's looking like end of jan xxx

[Tania786]

Hi ladies, sorry to hear that some of you haven't been feeling too well. I have my last Docetaxol on Weds and then will be starting Radiotherapy from 23 Dec.

Hi Carolec - i had lumpectomy on the left side and mine is on the side.

Since this afternoon i've been feeling some paon in my right shin... Am not sure if it's do with me being a bit active. Does anyone have that? I'm panicking a bit... Shall i take some paracetamol?

I've also managed to go The Haven for my intial appt... The atmosphere was really relaxing! The nurse i saw was really nice and understanding. She mentioned that they hold a younger women support group once a month so i went to that on Weds and met some lovely ladies there. I would definately recommend it to everyone. I'll be trying their massage therapy, meeting with a nutritionist etc. They give 10 sessions for free and they also hold some exercise classes too.

[Sarahd-1]

I have read the article now and Im not sure its accurate. There is so much conflicting information out there! I have been told its ok to have avocado and I do have one most days. The things that the nutritionist said to avoid was Beef unless Aberdeen Angus. Dairy unless organic, Soya and Sugar and certain fruit and veg if not organic. because of pesticides. And to eat food with as much herbs and spices as you can.  Colour on a plate. Also not to beat yourself up for a having a little of what you fancy because if you eating healthily most of the time your body can deal with a bit of what you fancy. oh yeh and cook from scratch when you can rather than processed food. It has really helped me as I think I was going to far over the top and worrying about every little thing I had until I spoke to this lady. If you have a centre like Penny Brohn or I think it might be Haven in some areas I would book into to see the nutritionist this was all free at Penny Brohn so I would imagine it would be the same for all of us in these specialist centres xxxxxxx

[Bibi44]

It's interesting isn't it? The thing I'm going to miss is avocado. Hope you're feeling ok today. Where are you treatment wise? Have you nearly finished? BBx

[lisajane7878]

Bibi thanks for all the info regarding diet as its something that really interests me. I eat loads of calves liver and it says to avoid so won't be eating it again! Walnuts too bizarrely and I also eat those lots xxx

[Bibi44]

Thanks all for heart info. Richelle so pleased you are feeling good again.  I liked the 'boom & she's back in the room'! Debs hope your boom comes soon. Brave my last op was 3rd Aug & onc said ok to start tennis, but obvs a bit premature.  If Rafa can do the ambidextrous tennis thing maybe we can give it a try. One our 4 has had a slipped disc & been out for months too, so we had an invalids tennis rehab sesh, which was more chat &  coffee than tennis to be fair, but it was the first small step on the road back. Have a good night all. Second Herceptin loading dose in the morning for me & 3 hours of waiting around in case of allergic reaction. xx

[Sarahd-1]

Richelle that's great to hear 🙂 I love a bit of dancing whilst doing housework 🙂 I will read that article bibi. I'm still confused about what my diagnosis means her2- but pr+ is that right? Or is it er+ big hugs ladies xxxxxx

[carolec]

Richelle glad you're feeling a lot better and Debs hope you're ok as we haven't heard from you.
Bibi as Jenjen said the breathing technique is to protect the heart for left sided bc xxx

[bravescholar]

Good to hear that, Richelle!

[Richelle]

Sarah hope you are feeling better today, Carol great news on the BRCA result, it must be a huge relief for you all especially for your daughters! Brave and Bibi pleased you are doing feeling ok, Debs hope you start to feel better soon.

It's funny how the chemo works as I felt grotty and down until Tuesday this week (nine days post final chemo) then boom woke up and felt like someone had plugged me in and turned on a light. It's bizarre my mood just shifted and my energy levels rose, I even found myself dancing whilst dusting yesterday!

I know there's still a way to go but to have a few hours of resembling the person I was before this journey began was very lovely and something which I often worried wouldn't happen over the last 17 weeks of chemo. Sending you all a big hug xxx

[JenJen]

Bibi I think from what I learned a long time ago its to do with lifting rib cage away from heart to prevent irradiating heart when doing radio on left side ..i havebt studied it for a long time but I seem to remember that

[bravescholar]

Bibi, bad news re the tennis. When was your op? I'm playing tomorrow, one of my last matches before my op. Do you think it's too late to become left-handed?! xx

[Bibi44]

Why do you have to hold your breath? Sorry if I'm being thick x

[carolec]

Thanks ladies now I can tell my girls about the test - I didn't tell them before as didn't want to scare them.  Been to rads appointment etc - did anyone else have a lumpectomy on the left side?  I had to try out the deep breath machine - didn't think holding my breath for 30 seconds would be so nerve racking but I got there in the end.  I start chemo on the 7the December so onwards and upwards.  Hope everyone is feeling a bit better this evening xxxx

[Bibi44]

Thanks Sarah, I feel guilty for feeling so good when you are all suffering . . No doubt my time will come as I have more treatments. Brave, I tried 20 mins knocking up with kids balls this afternoon & I think it may have been a large mistake.  Can feel the numb area getting a bit stiff/painful already. Oh well, I will leave it another month & try again.  I found one more website which might be of general interest, it says which things you should & shouldn't eat according to your individual sub type of BC.  If you are HER+ve & like a drink I wouldn't take a look though. http://foodforbreastcancer.com/articles/how-to-optimize-your-breast-cancer-diet xx

[Sarahd-1]

Carol that is fantastic news. Such a relief I bet you were worried sick for your daughters. I have appointment next week for Rads. How is everyone today? Debs are you feeling better. Brave how are you feeling and lisas. Bibi you seem to be doing so well thats great especially after the rough start you had xxxxxxx

[bravescholar]

So far so good after chemo, thanks. Feel guilty as others having such a tough time of it. Thanks for that link, Bibi. I'm looking forward to getting my own hair back but I can't imagine it ever being as nice as my wig. I get some many compliments on it! Hugs to all. xx

[Bibi44]

Oh Carole you must be SOoooo relieved. Just what we all needed, some good news. I liked that website because, apart from hair growing tips, it also showed what her hair looked like as it grew. Good on her for doing it. I am planning to keep a hat on it whilst I look like a skinhead I think xx

[carolec]

Debs sarah and Lisalou hope you're feeling better today.  Debs have they given you Emend? If they haven't, insist on it - it's the most expensive anti sickness so they don't give it away lightly!  Bibi thanks for that link for Brave - I've ordered some of the shampoo.

ive just had some brilliant news and sorry to sound so happy when some of you are probably feeling so bad but my oncologist has just called me with the results of my BRCA test and it was negative - I was in tears when I put the phone down - silly I know but it wasn't so much for the impact on me and future ops etc but for my two daughters so I'm over the moon!  I was waiting for that result as have mark up today at 11.15, planning at 12 and CT scan at 2.30 so off now to the hospital.

brave hope your last chemo was ok - big hugs to all xxx

[Bibi44]

Brave hope u r ok after your final chemo.  Found this website for you  now your hair can actually grow again http://www.fairyhairs.com/10-tips-to-stimulate-hair-growth-after-chemo/ BBx

[Bibi44]

HUGE virtual hug to all 3 of you.  It just sounds vile.  Debs you def need to talk to your doc, surely it shouldn't be this bad for you. I think because you have 3 more, they need to help you. I don't know if you can convert to weeklies after one mega dose, but they are a walk in the park compared to what you're describing.  Feeling low is a normal reaction to feeling so rotten with no end in sight, plus all the steroids with their mood swings.  Have you got someone there to get stuff for you & to moan to? I feel like we should all pop round to help you out! Hope today is better for you. xxxxx

[Lisalouw]

Hi debs
I would phone your Emerg number up and ask advice , it sounds like you need better antisickness , what day are you on now ? I must admit I'm not picking up too , I've been out for an hr and felt like my legs were going to give way in tesco , thank god for the trolley , do you have fluconazole for the thrush in your mouth ? Xxx

[Sarahd-1]

Hi ladies how are you? Debs I'm so sorry you are feeling so rotten. I have not felt my best on this one. I've been in bed more and food tastes vile! But I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. I have to go and get picc line clean. Hopefully a bit of fresh air will help . Big hugs to everyone xxxxxxxxx

[Debs30]

Hi Bibi

I have been in bed all day , I feel absolutely rotten . Still feel so sick and stomach ache is getting me down. In fact when I have not been sleeping today I have been crying . Not coping very well with the T so far . I have oral thrush to top it all .

Hope you and all other ladies are ok xxxxxx

Debs

[Bibi44]

Debs How r u feeling today? Any better? Hope you are ok too Sarah. xx

[Lisalouw]

I like the sound of gold club ha ha can I join , I wonder how some of us have it weekly and done every 3 wk , even my onc says TAC is really hard going and she keeps having to reduce people's doses or even stop on one occasion due to neuropathy , bibi , well done for putting that lady in her place , why some have to be so rude is beyond me , I think your doing fantastic to get on the golf course , well done you xxx