I am very sorry you find yourself here, I have my first chemo next Friday.
We have a January Gemstones 2015 thread set up for January chemo starters, there is also a Post Xmas Starters thread where women can join a private facebook page.
I wish you luck for your first session, hope it all goes well and look forward to hearing how you get on with side effects.
Hi Jules You don't mention which regime you are on. The most common one, which I finished almost 5 weeks ago, is FEC-T.
Most ladies have the FEC part first but it's not unusual to do it the other way round.
My experience was that the SEs from FEC kicked in almost immediately and lasted around a week. With the docetaxol, they didn't start to kick in till about day 4 and again lasted about a week. You will probably find that the tiredness will increase as time goes on in an accumulative effect. HaIr went around day 14 after first FEC. Eyelashes and eyebrows hung on in there till mid way through the docetaxol.
As suggested, the monthly thread is an invaluable place to share the journey. I can't emphasise enough how much it really does help sharing your experiences with other ladies at the same stage of treatment as yourself.
Chemo isn't easy.... but it's doable... and before you know it you'll be at the other side of it. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was at the same place as you... now here I am, with a light fuzzy covering of hair growing back, with it all behind me. Be kind to yourself. Rest when you need to. Crawl under the duvet when you need to... and remember that everything is just temporary. x
If you would like to talk to someone in confidence you could phone our helpline where you can talk to a member of staff who are there to support you. The free phone number is 0808 800 6000 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9.00 to 5.00 and Saturday 10.00 to 2.00.
