Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi Ladies,  Day 5 of last chemo and struggling with food, aching legs, tiredness, constipation (it was the opposite for the previous 5 rounds so I wasn't expecting that) and a uti. I'm told I look better than yesterday but I don't feel it.     Previous rounds I have loads of tango and fanta but now they give me indigestion so have swapped to lemonade, but I can't drink much of it certainly not 2-3 litres.    I hope everyone starts to feel better soon.....hopefully we will be able to look back on this in the not too distant future and see it for what it is - a necessary evil. Xxx  ... View more

Hi Ladies   Had my finat T today at 80% of previous doses. Also had my picc line out which was uncomfortable but not really painful and such a relief, once I get the dressing off I will be able to have a bath and be able to moisturise the area that has not seen the light of day for 4 months! Really looking forward to that.   Thanks for the tip on Pink Insure - I too have insurance through my bank account but they will only cover me after treatment is all finished and I have a niece getting married in the USA in March and the lowest one-off trip cover I have been quoted is £407.00 hopefully Pink Insure will come up trumps.   3 weeks and then chemo is all over - I can't wait.   Good luck to everyone on treatment this week hope all the se's are minimal   xxx ... View more

Wide awake at 2am no sign of sleep at all. I only wish the steroids gave me the energy boost it does others. Still planning my finished treatment party, to which you are all obviously invited xx ... View more

Hi Enzobenzo, I am so sorry you are feeling down and unhappy and I wish I could say something to make it better. I haven't had a mastectomy but my cousin has and she wept buckets but actually came to terms with it more quickly than expected. She is not having reconstruction and has decided like Jingo-x to remain flat and fabulous and a year on she has no problem at all.   I picked up a UTI at the weekend and ended up calling 111. A doctor called me back and then after explaining to me why dealing with these infections was so important (why did he think I was calling?) asked me to come to the hospital to see a doctor before being prescribed antibiotics. I did go and after checking my temperature  and my blood pressure were normal which they were (odd as I have usually have high blood pressure and haven't started taking my meds again after my hospital stay and now it's normal!) she did prescribe me some nitrofurantoin. I was really concerned about whether or not this would delay my chemo on Weds but equally I didn't want this infection to turn into something worse.   I had my blood checked this morning and they were fine. I then saw the oncologist later and he said that he was happy to go ahead this wednesday but only at a reduced dose. This is because when I was in hospital with pneumonia my white blood count dropped through the floor despite having the stomach injections and that told him that the dose was too high. He's reducing it to 80% and says that there is no evidence that this reduction will effect the outcome of my treatment. I told him that I wanted to keep it at 100% and he refused saying that the risks to me were too high and I could catch an infection that they may not be able to control. I have to say that I am now worried that not having the full dose will be detrimental in the long run and I don't think I will be able to forget it - I think I will worry forever.   A few of us have had reduced dosages - how have you all coped or rationalised it to yourself? I'm finding it really hard......   Zelda good luck for tomorrow.........   xxx ... View more

Sorry to hear you are still suffering Bettypoppit and hope that the se's clear up soon.   Good luck Enzobenzo, I haven't had my op yet so can't offer any advice but I hope it goes as well as it can.   Seem to have turned a bit of a corner today, a bit more energy and less coughing - I'll just get better in time for next week's dose! Actually I hope that I do as I don't want a delay if possible.   Hope everyone else is faring ok xx ... View more

Hi LainieG   I've been in A&E 3 times now and each time they will not use the PICC line as they view it as a potential source of infection but once they discovered what the infection was they were happy to use it for both putting in antibiotics and taking blood. Having said that last week they did want to take blood from a different location and used a needle in my hand to do that.   On the hair front - how bizarre - my hair is growing back on my head but at the same time my eyebrows and eyelashes are deciding to fall out. I really thought that after 5 cycles I would keep them. It's strange to have some falling out and some growing at the same time.   I went for an ultrasound today and the good news is that my lump is now less and 0.5cm so the chemo has worked and shrunk it. I am still terrified of my operation though as I don't yet know where the incision will be and there is still a possiblity of waking up having had a mastectomy without being prepared for it. No date for a discussion with my surgeon yet.....waiting for that to arrive.   Hope everyone is doing ok xx   ... View more

Me too. I don't know what I would have done without you ladies over the last few months. x   ... View more

Hi Ladies   at long last I am home! and how good does it feel....   still on antibiotics for the next four days but it's so much better to be here and be able to sleep in my own bed.   still have a cough and runny nose - but it's just like a normal cold and no longer on my chest, so hoping to be fit for my last session of T on 21st.   Does that mean we have no-one in hospital? That would make a change!   I hope you all have a good weekend with minimal se's xxx ... View more

sone good news - if I remain temperature free untill lunchime tomorrow I can go home! Bad news is no Chinook blasting out Wagner at full pelt and the posse all dressed up - kind of wish I could see that:)   When I do get home I am going to wrap my picc line securely and take a long hot bath - I think I deserve it. thank you for all your love and support - it's what gets us through these bad days. xx ... View more

Hello Ladies,   Nicnac - great news that you can go home, I am really pleased for you. I meant to say that I  take esomeprazole everyday as a matter of course and i have had to double the dose on Docetaxel to makre sure it's effective, hopefully that will go  back to normal once the next bout is over.   Some good news - my temperature is now under control and my inflammatory markers are now in the 150's and not the 300's. Oxygen levels are creeping up too.   Some not so good news - blood pressure still way too low, and heart rate way too fast , infection is still there. Steps in the the right direction but not huge ones. They still think Monday will be the earliest I could be released, personally I think I will be going stir-cra\y by then and will need the rescue Posse. I think the quickest route in to save me is via helicopter - air ambulance landed pretty close to me when it brought someone in last night and who is going to bat an eyelid at a dozen tutu and DM clad bald posse members descending from the roof?   I hope everyone else is doing ok and that ses are behaving themselves. xxx ... View more

Hello Ladies,  Day 5 in hospital. Still neutropenic although my count has gone up from 0.1 to 0.5. The doctors are concerned that they have been unable to sort out my temperature, blood pressure or oxygen levels, so they are going to a much stronger antibiotic.  I am still very breathless and can't get my pulse below 100 or my oxygen intake above 95 percent, despite having the awful nostril device pumping oxygen into me day and night for 3 days. I also have a disgusting potassium drink to take twice a day - tastes like pure salt! My picc line stopped working yesterday and as I have a cannula in my elbow for input only, now have a  bruised right hand as so many blood tests have been ordered. Fortunately, they unblocked the line today so I shouldn't have the same problem tomorrow.    Nicnac looks like we are the same kind of path at the moment.....it's grim but we are made of stern stuff and we will prevail!   Thank you to all the other ladies for the love and support - we all know how much it means. I hope everyone is feeling better today and any sense are rapidly diminishing.     ... View more

Day 4 in hospital today.....my chest infection is pneumonia and is described as "significant" though what that actually means I don't know. My neutrophil count is still not back despite being taken at 5.30am this morning. It was a long old night with arterial blood samples taken at midnight, temperature spikes at 3 in the morning up to 38.3 - cue more paracetamol and more fluids. Blood pressure taken at 4am as well.   So when the nurse marched in to my room, rudely waking by announcing I need to take some bloods I was not best pleased. She turned on the spotlight which just happened to be shining right in my face - not her fault I know - but no apology or anything. As she left leaving my door open (I could have sworn I said it under my breath) I said "I FECing knew you were not going to close my door". But clearly she heard me because she asked what I had said - I politely asked to shut the door......which she did. Use of the word FECing cheered me though as it means I am getting better!    Feeling a bit better but still seriously under the weather. They expect me to be here till next week.....any more than that and I will be calling the posse to rescue me! Seriously though, I don't know how you mums with young children have coped through these situations - all power to you! E  ... View more

Day 3 in hospital for me. 20 hours in a and e on Saturday as there were no beds. In fact took 14 hours to get a pillow. I am neutropenic with a chest infection, low blood pressure, dehydration, breathlessness spiking temperature (5 minutes ago it was 39), and the inevitable diahorrea. I'm on an isolation ward having truck loads of antibiotics and fluids. Feel really poorly although a bit better as I could not have typed this yesterday. Good luck to everyone this week...I wish I could remember where everyone is in their cycle but just do not have the bandwidth - sorry xx ... View more

Happy New Year to everyone - had my second Docetaxel yesterday and as on steroids had no problem staying up to see the new year in. My date cooked me dinner and we had a lovely quiet night in with some champagne at midnight (that he brought round) - looking good so far!   I have a pretty heavy cold at the moment and am worried that I won't get rid of it before I finish the injections and I will be at ris, but I have to wait and see.   I hope everyone is faring ok with their treatment and having minimal se's - mine kicked in on day 4 last cycle but hoping to do better this time round.   xx ... View more

Hi ladies,   nice to hear no dramatic se's from Zelda and nicnac. Slept really badly last night due to cramp in my feet and am now wide awake on steroids that don't give me an energy bounce in the day!   However, my date is coming over to see the New Year in with me tomorrow. How good is that!? Feeling lucky and hopeful xx; ... View more

Hi Junash, did you have your cold before the treatment? I've woken up with one today and have treatment due tomorrow, and much as I hate it I would hate a delay even more!    enzobenzo - how horrible for you. The uncertainty just adds even more stress at an already difficult time. I'm thinking of you and hope your appointment goes well tomorrow.    Good luck to all of you having treatment today. Xxx  ... View more

Hi Bettypoppit, no there were no percentages involved, just that they could reduce the dose but didn't want to because I would have less chance of recurrence if the dose stayed the same. Part of the decision was that I was only completely wiped out for 5 days which they seemed to think was pretty normal. Felt like a lifetime to me at the time but I know I will get through it. And I'll take the drugs earlier which might help me to cope better this time.  When is your next session?  Xxx  ... View more

Oh Murphy, how tragic - such a young age. Sending you loads of hugs and to her family too.   Had my bloods taken today for Wednedays second dose of T. There was some talk of reducing the dosage but in the end they decided not too as the SE's lasted for a few days only and it's apparentlybetter if they keep it the same. I was given some advice to start taking the painkillers earlier than last cycle and the loperamide (for loose bowe problems) so I will definitely be doing that   Good luck to everyone having treatment this week, I hope it all goes well for you all. xx ... View more

Happy CHristmas to the October Posse. I have been very fortunate and had a great day. I have been treated to dinner by my son and his wife and it's been great.   Wishing you all had the same happy experience today but if not tomorrow. Xx ... View more

Such a relief to hear from you Murphy - we were all really worried! Glad you are back home for Christmas. xx ... View more