Hi After just finishing 21 weeks of chemo, Ec then Paclitaxel I just wanted to share my experience. Positive mindset - it really isn’t as frightening as you imagine and the nurses definitely help with that. Keep active as much as you can - I managed to keep doing daily walks & weekly runs throughout. I was fairly fit before but whatever your level of fitness just getting outside into the fresh air & moving can help so much mentally & physically. I fasted for 40 hours before my chemo as I had read that this can be beneficial. It may not be for everyone but I can only tell you my experience which was very few & very mild side effects. I didn’t have to use any of the medication I was given & had very little fatigue and in fact really carried on pretty much as normal.
Yes I lost my hair but a sense of humour helped with that & we as a family & with friends too tried to not take things too seriously & laugh as much as you can!
I know some people’s chemo journey is very different but mine was nothing like as bad as I expected.
May I ask why fasting will help? I need to know the logic behind it I guess. When I don’t eat my energy levels drop really badly as I have low blood pressure (could faint!) …did you just drink water then? I heard plenty of water intake.
That’s excellent news that you have come through relatively unscathed. I can understand fasting may help some people. (I’m currently on oral chemo and must take the tablets with food so no good to me). How does it affect weight? I went down to 6 st 4 lb without fasting and the result was irreparable damage to my tendons. Frustrating.
I totally agree with your comments about humour. My whole blog is based on trying to find the funny side, I even won a flash fiction competition with my account of the unexpected aspects of treatment, peeing in every direction etc. What I wanted to say is that I know some people attribute their success to a positive mindset, something we would all aspire to, but, as with the ‘fight the cancer battle’ analogy, if some people have a rough time, this language can make them feel they are failing in some way when it’s nothing to do with that. We are emotionally very vulnerable at all stages and looking for the positive is important but not always achievable. The alternative is not negative. Acceptance? It may just be gritting one’s teeth and getting through as best we can.
I hope your treatment has been successful. Stay vigilant not just with your breasts but with your whole body. It’s common sense rather that gloom-mongering.
Just wanted to thank you for posting your positive message. I have just received my dates for my chemo treatments and thought I’d better find out about it but the more I read about it the more I get scared. It’s like having a baby, sometimes you wonder if it’s not better not to know in advance as it could make you anxious. Anyway I will try the fasting, my cousin did it as well and so far it worked well for her too. I will also try to keep the exercise going, maybe the running if I can with a PICC not sure it’s practical/feasible? I don’t really mind about hair loss, eyebrow loss might be more depressing so intend to draw them, while trying not to look like a clown
