Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thanks Gygi re. how long it takes for the effects of last chemo to fade.  It’s not quite 2 weeks since my last one and I’m already trying to do the things I did in what used to be normal life.  A gentle session at the gym meant I had to go to bed afterwards.  Infuriates me when I feel so feeble.  But my hair is growing again!  It’s a faint white fuzz about 3mm long and when I’m on my own I keep stroking it in disbelief.     ... View more

Thinking of you tomorrow, Christine, and hoping they take good care of you. xx ... View more

It’s not laziness at all, mustardandgrey, but your body demanding the rest it needs (and thanks for the congrats!).  You’re absolutely right, Michelle: exercise really helps but it’s not always possible.  Walking from bed to loo and back again (over and over) has been all I’ve managed in the last few days but I’m optimistic that the worst is past now.   Good luck with the next treatment, surgery or last chemo.  xx ... View more

Hello Mustardandgrey    Don’t know if this helps.  I’ve just  had my last docetaxel (3rd of 3, 6 chemos in all) and the side effects have intensified.  For two days it wasn’t so bad, then I turned into a shuffling wreck.  The fatigue is unbelievable. I’ve worked out that, even after the week and a half it takes to get back to some sort of normality, I can do one thing in a day and then I have to go to bed, just as you describe.  It’s not the same for everyone and I hope you have a better experience.  I’m buoyed up by knowing that the hated chemo is finished.   Waiting for surgery on the 16th must be very hard, Michelle.  It doesn’t help when appointments don’t go to plan (I was being given the runaround last time at the hospital and told them Alzheimer’s descends on me the moment I step through the door).  It’s a shame there was no acknowledgement that you were having your last chemo.  It’s a huge landmark after what we have been through, even if it’s just the daily grind in the ward.   I’m surprised they didn’t take blood from your port, Christine.  You made it clear that you had had surgery and staff at a cancer hospital are supposed to know what they are doing.  I always had to ask for blood to be taken from my picc but that did happen.   I’ll be thinking of you on the 14th & Michelle on the 16th.     ... View more

It’s great that we’re all through chemo now.  There was a little cheer for me yesterday when I went out of the ward punching the air.  There’s still radiotherapy & hormone therapy to come but this horrible chemical poisoning is done.  (Just sore hands & feet, food tasting like it’s been cooked in battery acid, fatigue for a week or two.)   Good news about your pre-op examination, Christine.  I hope the nightmares fade & you get more restful nights.  It’s a lovely feeling to get rid of the paraphernalia of chemo delivery, even when having it has been helpful.  You must be glad your port is going.  I was extremely grateful for all the pain I didn’t have to endure because I had a picc line but I like having my arm back.   I hope the UCAS information helps, Michelle.  You have enough to be going on with as it is.  Good luck to your daughter; I hope all her hard work (and your support) have the best outcome.  Most of all, I hope your surgery goes brilliantly on the 16th. ... View more

Thanks for this kind message, Michelle.  I still feel euphoric, even though the expected side effects have started.     What a shame your next appointment is on the 16th.  I hope your daughter’s results are good so that she is happy when you get back from the hospital.  This treatment makes few concessions to ordinary things, like living.   I’m impressed by the park run.  My knees aren’t up to running any more but I do enjoy walking.  My hands and feet have started hurting and I’m wondering if I’ll still be wearing sandals in the snow since closed shoes are too painful.  Don’t care any more.  Picc line gone, gym soon, swimming even.   Hope all goes well on the 16th. ... View more

Yaay!!  Last chemo today.  Even though I know what’s coming, I still feel euphoric.  Picc line gone (I’m grateful for having it but glad it’s out).  Am already wondering when my hair will start growing back.  It’d be nice to look in the mirror and recognise myself rather than the hairless hobgoblin I see at the moment. ... View more

That’s great news, Michelle.  Horrible chemo worth it! ... View more

Hope you’ve felt less nauseous today, Gygi.  Don’t suppose the hot weather helps.  There must be treatments for this sickness.  I was told it is unacceptable for sickness & nausea to be allowed to continue but, like everything else about cancer treatment, it’s not that simple.   Wishing you well with surgery, Michelle.  Hope the appointment went ok today, with questions answered.   I really sympathise with your foot problems, Fiona.  I have nothing so extreme - just sore feet & fingernails.  When I took off the dark nail varnish to do it again, I noticed a crescent mark about a third of the way up each nail.  I guess that marks when I started docetaxel.  Weirdly fascinating.  Feels like I’m holding nettles.  Like you, I love walking and would find it unbearable if walking were permanently painful.  I’m very much hoping that your foot problems, Christine, are on the way out now that the chemicals have stopped.   I’ve got an appointment to discuss treatment with radiology on Monday, before last chemo.  Well, at least radiotherapy will be different from chemo! ... View more

So sorry this happening, Gygi.  Hope you are feeling a bit better today. ... View more

Hope it’s all going well for you, Gygi. ... View more

Thanks Michelle.  That switch got flicked today & it’s the first day I haven’t woken up in the morning feeling exhausted.  I’m very glad you didn’t have the same side effects as I have had with this.  It’s not just extreme fatigue; there’s also the foul taste in my mouth that kills all appetite.  This morning I enjoyed breakfast for the first time since side effects started.  Just knowing that there is an end to the misery, even if it’s delayed, makes me less afraid of the last dose next Monday.   Many thanks for your support on this forum.  It makes all the difference. ... View more

Thanks Gygi.  This is very helpful as it seems what’s happening to me is to be expected.  I don’t like spending so much time in bed but I guess it’s the norm for now.  Pre-chemo tests on Friday should show if anything is wrong.  Such a relief to get your reassurance.  What a shame that filgrastim had a bad effect on your blood pressure.  These are powerful chemicals they are pouring into us! ... View more

I was wondering if anyone could give me a reality check about docetaxel side effects.  The crushing fatigue is actually getting worse.  It will be 2 weeks since chemo on Monday & I can barely crawl out of bed.  I did the ironing this morning and slept for hours afterwards.   Is this what others have experienced? ... View more

So sorry you are having these problems, Christine.  They must wear you down.  I hope it all went well this afternoon & the port is ok now.  The skin problems - rashes & numbness - are painful, so I hope this gets addressed.  Must be devastating when all you get on the phone is a recorded message.   I’m with you, Michelle, on exercise, especially walking.  I went to the gym today but I only managed a spell on the treadmill.  The walk there and back probably did more good.  Had to go to bed all afternoon.  Getting out and seeing my friends is the best bit.   Glad your chemo went ahead, Linda.  Another one behind you.   Things sound as if they are really going well for you, Gygi.  I’m really impressed by what you do even when your energy levels are low.   Hope everyone has a good weekend.  There have been thunderstorms here & the air is lovely and cool. ... View more

Do hope you are ok, Michelle, after that mishap with the drain.  End of chemo has to be good & I’m sending good wishes re. surgery.   Thanks for the kind thoughts, everyone.  Chemo last Monday & only today beginning to feel any better.  Docetaxel is an evil poison.  For two days after the infusion I feel ok & think I’ve got away with it this time.  Then on the Thursday I can barely crawl out of bed.  That stage lasted longer this time round.  Thank goodness it’s only one more to endure.   I sympathise with you over the aches, Christine.  “Aches” sounds quite mild but joint pain is anything but.  Hope you are managing to sleep despite the pain.   Hope your nausea is under control, Gygi.  It’s the most deadly feeling.  As you have finished chemo now, I’m hoping you are beginning to leave the horrible side effects behind.   Someone told me today that this time next year, all this (cancer, chemo) would be a distant memory.  I’ll believe that when it happens. ... View more

This is such good news, Gygi!  Sounds like your team is really onto it.  Like Michelle, I’m a little jealous that you have finished with chemo but only in the nicest way possible - longing to have finished too.   Thanks for all the input on bc nurses.  When I had my rant last night it seemed an important issue.  I didn’t sleep well (full of steroids) and kept running over things again and again.  This was actually quite helpful, amazingly.  It meant that then, after distracting myself with a cup of tea & a crossword, I was able to go back to bed and sleep.  What had made a stressful day even more horrible was behind me this morning and not important at all.   The most important thing is how well treatment is working.  The rest is details.  This forum is brilliant for making me feel better after the hated chemo.  It’s great when I see good news on it to celebrate. ... View more

Oh Gygi, this is awful.  The people treating you are supposed to know what they are doing.  For you & Christine it’s been one long struggle just to get a clear response from these professionals.  Keep buzzing!   I get so fed up with the fairytales I’m told every time - nothing as serious as what you are enduring but disconcerting all the same.  Like that one about having an assigned breast cancer nurse.  I saw mine for the first and last time before surgery in February.  She has not been contactable since then and I’ve discovered she is leaving.  Guess I fell through the cracks. I’ve spoken to other nurses on the line and they have been kind and helpful.  The last time I rang, I got the bum’s rush, very politely.  I was told to ring the oncology hotline instead of bothering them.  Still don’t have this assigned nurse myth.  Today was told the docetaxel would be infused slowly.  It was rushed through in under an hour with a little bit still left in the bag.  Half a bag of saline, quick flush of the picc & I was booted out to get my meds downstairs in the pharmacy.  Another fairytale.  They had been sent up to the ward.  Dragged myself up the stairs again.  Felt I was being a nuisance.  I hate the place.   Sorry for another rant.     ... View more

Thinking of you, Christine, at this very difficult time.  A second oncologist’s opinion would seem to be needed.  You should not be facing problems like this.  I hope that when memories of the rain & discomfort recede, you will have good memories of the concerts.   Chemo is an absolute brute.  Had my last but one today.  Was I happy?  As grumpy as I’ve ever been.  Hospital sucks my brains out as I walk through the door.  I know what’s coming.  Thanks for your good luck wishes, Michelle.  I do hope it’s all going ok for you.  Had a conversation today with another patient & we agreed that one day people would marvel that, back in the bad old days, they poisoned cancer patients as an accepted treatment, like lobotomies used to be.   Thanks Gygi.  Tired & nauseous is so hard to bear.  I’m trying to go for the salads but, like you, I prefer ice cream.   The moment my OH went out today, I cleaned the kitchen & then went for a walk.  It worked off some of the grumpiness. I must be horrible to live with.   ... View more

Thank you, Michelle & Christine, for your kindness.  It’s such a relief that I am not alone in this.   Things look good for your reconstruction, Christine.  That you have to get the information from the leukaemia consultant seems odd but I guess each hospital has its own methods.  I hope you don’t have to wait around for long.   Hope the weekend goes well for all of us.     ... View more