Hi Kurup
Just in case I've been misinterpreted I love your posts and was grateful for the thorough account. I posted about people handling things differently in response to MrsBojangles worries. Not sure if I've I've offended somehow - always difficult to tell online - but certainly didn't mean to. x
hi Kurup, I start the same day as you so also hope you keep posting.....best of luck
Evening ladies, just browsing your thread I am a November starter so had my last T on 18th, chemo is not nice and I won't pretend otherwise but we all react differently and some suffer more than others, some ladies have continued to work through most of it while others (me) struggle to go out for first 10 days. Listen to your bodies rest when you can and eat well while you can. For most the side effects are the first week to10 days the last week especially with FEC bit you will mostly feel okay so plan to do nice things giving you something to look forward to. Most of all try to stay strong and positive and take support from this site we all know what you feeeling ......you CAN and Will beat the Big C. Sue xx
poor you Sarah and hi MK
I'm not going to paint on nails as I read a while ago about OnicoLife drops for nails which according to those who have used them stop most of the bad side affects. Similarly RaLife cream for skin (particularly during radiotherapy). Easily found on google and I'll report back when using them.
Hi Sarah - thanks for setting this up and i would love to join you all. I saw the oncologist today and will probalby start my chemo next Wednesday 4 March. Like many of us I just want to get this started now and zap those little bu**ers as soon as I can.
afraid I have no tropical disease stories either, but found my lump becuase I broke my leg last year, slipped on my crutches, pulled the muscle all the way up my arm and while rubbing it better found what felt like torn muscle. so I didnt rush to the Dr as naively thought the muscle pull had extended to my boob. felt a bit of a twit telling the story when the Dr asked how I had found the lump..
good to be part of this network.. MK
Hi MrsB
I guess I see chemo as a positive step forwards after a pretty bleak few months so I'm actually looking forward to it. I have a rather agressive type of breast cancer and it had spread to my lymph nodes. At every step we were getting worse than expected news. With two rounds of surgery now behind me and chemo to come I really feel I'm beginning to get the upper hand. But that's just me, everyone is different.
I have a friend who doesn't have BC but her mother died of it in Eastern Europe. Medical records have been lost so my friend has been offered a mastectomy and hysterectomy as a precaution. She is a single mother in her forties and is absolutely terrified. She jokes that I'm the best friend in the world as I'm doing the trial run for her and that she can't possibly complain about it as I'm not! I know if she actually had BC she'd be in pieces though no matter how much support we gave her.
Have you thought about what aspect of chemo worries you most? perhaps it might help to share it with us... sending hugs x
Hi Guys
I've had no clashes with birthdays, tropical diseases or 100 mile hikes to the hospital - I need to buck my ideas up!
Actually though, I too have been occasionally banging a drum about the need to check for lumps as I never have before (no family history) so it was complete chance I found mine. It turns out a friend listened to me and checked and she too found a lump (albeit benign).
and back to more amusing stuff - are you aware there is a charity called Knitted Knockers? very amused when I found out about that and I am now the proud owner of one. x
Hi Kurup
Thanks for the thorough recap and glad you're feeling positive. I imagine we'll all feel a bit more in control once we know what we're in for!
I'll plan on my appointment being a bit more lengthy that I was expecting based on your experience - although, mind you, I don't have a complicated medical history for them to unearth! x
Hi Ladies,
I had the meeting with the Oncologists yesterday, the Consultant and her registrar. It was a lengthy some 2 hour one ! Glad I took the husband as felt quite exhausted coming out, so helpfulto have a second pair of ears.
I am to start chemotherapy on 4th March, the day before my 46th Birthday...yesterday incidentally was my son's 21st Birthday......the day I was back a week after surgery for some results and dressing removal was my Daughter's 18th Birthday, the day of my surgery was my s mother's 83rd birthday. I have told myself that when I am out and the to the other side of this and consider myself wel again I shall have the biggest party known to man to celebrate the battle, thank and support al family and friend s that have been with me on this journey of Cancer & Crohns, and to make up gor the loss of celebration on such important land mark dates as my childrens 18th, 21st.....may even combine it with my youngest daughter who is 17 at the end of July....which is when I am set to have finished chemo and wil have just started and hopefully stabilised on the immunosuppressant drugs Gastro will give me for my Crohns disease ..... they predict a riot of 'flare up' as I finish Chemotherapy.
My chemotherapy is to consist of EC regime for 6 cycles - Epirubicin & cyclophosphamide....we went through the whole history of finding my cancer from scratch, whole medical history otherwise and dwelled upon crohn for ages. I then had the registrar examine me, check my chest, heart, wound etc etc. This was about an hour into the consultation. Classic line of the day and 'ice breaker' came at the point of checking my chest in the little corner cubicle of the room, curtains drawn giving me privacy from my husband of 22 years, which always makes me chuckle. She asked me to lean forward and take deep breaths in and out ......'gosh you have quite a significant scar on your back here, what was that from?????????' .....me replying........'oh yes, oh that, errrrrrrr that was Melanoma Cancer 13 years ago, when I was 32, I have since that had another 14 operations for it!!!! Oh I forgot about that, I guess I should have mentioned that in the any other medical history bit'.......'Correct' she said 'is there anything else you would liketo tell me about?????if so can you please do it now' helping me off the examination bed in uncontrollable fits of laughter, pulling back the curtains to expose my husband who was siting there with a chuckling grin on his face....who then looked up and volunteered 'is the fact that she also had a tropical disease 2 years ago of any relevance at this point, she didn't mention that either'.......oh did we all laugh ....... it was such a tonic .... it had all been quite stuffy and serious beforehand.
We went through the drugs in detail all, mehod of giving, reasons why chosen in my case, side effects, cold cap I decided against as although ok and recommended with cyclophoshamide, all the good of cold cap is then undone by epirubicin. So I decided against. There was some talk of a wig on the NHs ....... so if I am offered I wl probably take one just because I can, but have already in true 'brownie' style got prepared....I last night ordered loads of caps from wigs for hairloss/ hair world & wigs, human eyebros, human eyelashes and a few hats for hair grow back time next autumn from Simply Wigs.
I am to go to pre assessment this friday, then chemo starts 4th March. Thereafter I go back every 3 weeks for chemo but bloods and pre assessment/Consultant appointment is always the day before.
Husband will be with me for the first, fourth, fifth, & sixth cycle flying back from abroad taking his holidays to do it. The second and third cycle my eldest son is going to step up to the plate taking my two other children aged 16 & 18 to college......and possibly me to chemo sessions if I amto ill, sick, tired and not able to drive myself there (100 mile round trip). We've yet to discuss the possibility of hospital transport, which was suggested by someone on here, I guess the opportunity will arise for that at pre assessment this friday.
Came away feeling quite upbeat about it all and positive, which is good.
Good luck to all you other ladies starting in March.
I will keep you all posted on how I am finding things x
Keep fighting ! X
Hi Kurup
Good luck today and do lets us know how you got on...I'm endlessly speculating about what my first meeting with the oncologist will cover/say so it would be very interesting to hear. Like you I'm in the 'blast it with everything' camp. I've just turned 41 and I have two young boys (9 and 6) so I don't want to take any risks.
Jets - I'm booked onto the 'look good feel better' workshop in April and very much looking forward to it. What sort of freebies did you get? Marie x
Hi,
I see my oncologist 23rd feb (my sons 21st Birthday!!!), had surgery left mx 27th jan, had first check of wound week after 4th February (my Daughter's 18th Birthday!!!), 2 weeks later got results, dcis grade 3 x2 tumours both positioned next to eachother but not connected, over all with clearance >6cm so had to be mastectomy, snb x3 clear, auxiliary nodes x11 clear. Think stage 2b mentioned.
Believe chemo advised due to size, grade, stage and consultant said particularly because of my age which is 45 years.
I get a bit confused with all the medical jargon and statistics alike.
I just want to increasevmy chances of survival.....I feel its good news no lymph node involvement.....but then again I am in the 'blast me with anything and as much as you like' camp.
Im sure many may think.thatvi shouldn't have chemo, when I lok to the side effects I wish I wasn't to go through it as I am already compromised and a 'complex' case so they tell me due to an auto immune disorder which causes inflammation of the gut/ intestines which is Crohns.
Anyone else undergoing chemo with other diseases?
I gues I will start chemo march early on...don't know if I wil get a choice, really dont know what chemo will mean for me or what experience I will have....daunted and frightened by it for sure...however I have everything to live for . A hubby. And 3 wonderful kids aged 20, 18 & 16..and as I keep saying ...no one could bring up my kids like I do and no one could annoy my hubby like I do .. tongue in cheek....but its how I cope...so I say blast me with all you can...I want kill the blighter now I feel the mastectomy contained it 😉
Hi Everyone
I'm seeing my oncologist for the first time a week today and have been told Chemo will start 10 days or so later so I'd love to be part of this March group. Thanks for starting it Sarah. I don't know what I'll be having (other than chemo, herceptin and radiotherapy), I've already had a right side mastectomy and then a axillary clearance as my sentinel nodes had cancer cells in them. Thankfully the axillary clearance was negative. I'm HER2+ non-hormone responsive and stage-wise 2B - that's all I know so far. How about you guys?
Is anyone else obsessively researching make up to fake eyebrows and lashes or is that just me?...It's strange really as I hardly ever wear make-up - maybe be it's my lack of skill that I'm worried about!
I'm also gasping for a strong GnT but trying to get my liver in shape before it takes a beating. xxxx
Hi Sarah, I have a provisional date of 3rd March to start my chemo, not sure why it is provisional at the moment but I am having ct and heart scan next week so maybe it depends on the results of those. Will you be trying the cold cap, I was told about it but not sure whether to try it or not. Janey xxxx
Hi Sarah, I am Sue and on the November thread sorry you are having to join us on this journey but the forum is a great support. You are the first March starter but I am sure you will soon have some company, browsing the other threads will give you lots of tips and advice from those who have been there. Good luck Sue xx