Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi all, has anyone been offered Abemaciclib who started chemo in August 2020, who presumably finished chemo in 2020/early 2021? I’m just curious if it’s being offered to patients who were diagnosed not quite so recently. Hope everyone is still doing OK! ... View more

There is numbing cream you can get as well, if your hospital don’t do the numbing spray. It’s called Emla and you might be able to get your GP to prescribe it. If not, there are lots of “tattoo creams” on Amazon that help with the pain, like this one: https://amzn.to/3OjWcXf  ... View more

I only lost a couple of toe nails because I bashed them just after I finished chemo. That was almost 18 months ago now and still neither has fully grown back yet. I think it’ll take another six months to a year for my big toe to grow back. (Had EC before Paclitaxel.) ... View more

Worth trying. It would have worked for me if the nurses had let me cap long enough. (Long story.) Make sure it’s on for 90 minutes after every EC! Paclitaxel doesn’t need that long when it’s weekly. ... View more

I’ve been told I’ll be on it for 10 years. Only been on it about six months so far! ... View more

I was just wondering how many of us, if any, have been invited for a third primary dose of the Covid-19 vaccine? (Not the booster, it’s separate.) Anyone? ... View more

I finished in January this year. If your hair is like mine it’ll:- 1. be like peach fuzz by a month after chemo finishing. Fine, light and not much of it. You can’t really tell it’s patchy at this point.   2. be like puppy fur. Still light but getting darker, dead straight and flat against your head. Very patchy for me. Front of head was slower than the back to get growing. This lasted for a good couple months.  3. start going wild 4-5 months after finishing. It’ll be straight but now sticking straight up. Mine was my previous colour by this time. Patches had filled in but were obviously different lengths.   4. chemo curls start… it’s long enough to start curling or going wavy. Fully filled in now and the length now makes it hard to see there were patches.  5. 8 months after finishing and it’s the long wait for length to grow in and the chemo curls to grow out/fall out or be cut out… ... View more

Logically you know it’s only hair and it’s 99% likely it’ll grow back again. But it doesn’t make it any easier when losing your hair does bother you. Mine is now growing back. It’s the same colour as before and quite thick, just growing in a million different directions aka chemo curls. I guess it’s about 5cm long now. It grew in very patchy though, which I didn’t expect. Part of my head had 1” hair whilst other areas had about a mm. it reminded me of spotty cows. I really hope you’re OK.  ... View more

No; I didn’t find out about the bands in time. I lost too much because I wasn’t allowed to cap the full length of time, plus I think at that same session the cap also wasn’t fitted correctly.  @bee1234  ... View more

There is no guarantee cold capping will work for you. My experience is that the nurses refuse to let you cap for the recommended time, and getting the cap to fit correctly can also be tricky. You have to get solid contact all over your head — use exercise bands to help with that.  ... View more

I’ve just seen on another support group that Waterman’s elixir to help hair grow faster is on offer on Amazon at the moment. It’s currently £25 in Boots but only £19 on Amazon. I’m giving it a try! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Hair-Growth-Serum-Thickening/dp/B071G3J8BM?crid=2EVF9MY3KJ1AS&dchild=1&keywords=watermans+elixir+serum&qid=1622885075&rdc=1&sprefix=Watermans+el,aps,161&sr=8-3&linkCode=sl1&tag=destin8-21&linkId=148875a49e479b1e88075ed850d0aa7f&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&fbclid=IwAR3F9yTrQ5VOqU2I1jVa5s4gHBgrO_4OoBA6DL4KhZLw0uvC_c2-mc5oSQ8   ... View more

It varies by consultant. I didn’t start mine until a few weeks after finishing radiotherapy. So a couple of months after chemotherapy. It seems to be more common to start during radiotherapy though. ... View more

I haven’t been told to take calcium at all. I drink a glass of milk and eat cheese pretty much every day though.  ... View more

Please post back with what you find out. I’d like mine gone too! ... View more

Carmen are you sure you weren’t given steroids in your IV before Paclitaxel? I had oral steroids (dexamethasone) before EC but IV steroids before Paclitaxel.  ... View more

You’ll still get steroids with Paclitaxel and for me they gave me that “high” feeling you describe for 24 hours. I think I only react to IV steroids though as I was fine with oral steroids for EC. I did eventually get them to drop the steroid dose when on Paclitaxel which helped massively.  ... View more

@nickik I had the Pfizer jab last week, about three weeks after finishing chemotherapy. I had a tender/sore arm around the injection site with slight redness for 4 or 5 days. No other side effects. I’d wait as long as you can to have it but get it before your surgery. Good luck! ... View more

I hope going back to work wasn’t too hard Maire! I always found it took a while to get back into a routine after any extended time off.   I am starting radio next week. All tattooed up ready for it. My fingers still aren’t back to normal yet but they are gradually improving still. It feels like some of the hair that had started to grow back has fallen out again since my last chemotherapy too. I really hope that’s the last and now it can just start growing again.  I hope everyone else is doing OK! ... View more

I’m so happy I’ve finished chemo. It hasn’t been without issues but at least they’re all in the past now.  I am hoping that the slight peripheral neuropathy isn’t permanent but I just need to give it a bit longer I think. It’s not painful just annoying. My nails and hair will take longer to recover I think! Everyone is saying radiotherapy is easier, you just get tired.   Radiotherapy will start next month I think, I’m still waiting for a start date.  ... View more