Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thank you ladies, I will try to stay positive. Half way there now!!  I did actually manage to get more sleep than I thought thanks to headspace lol so not so tired and miserable this morning! 😄 🙈   Hope you all have a good day 😊 ... View more

Hey everyone @PaulineS27 sorry to hear you are going through similar. I held on to my whispy bits as long as possible, I don't even know why 🙈 just couldn't bring myself to be totally bald but it's not so bad now I've had a few days to adjust.   I doubt I will sleep tonight with my next cycle tomorrow. Really dreading it now! It also appears I was mislead by the surgeon who said I would be assessed after my 3rd treatment to see if the lump had shrunk enough for surgery 🙄 according to my oncologist I will continue with the full 6 regardless as it gives more chance of it disappearing altogether. I suppose it's best to continue and throw everything at it but it's  my 4th treatment that scares me. I will be there for 8 hours when I change on to the T cycle which I'm really not looking forward to 🥺 I suppose I need to be positive that I won't need the extra hour and a half for the cold cap too! Another positive today, the Macmillan nurse rang me and told me about a grant she can claim for me up to £300 that helps towards travel costs, new clothes if you lose or gain weight and heating bills for being at home more at the moment. Never even knew that was a thing but definitely handy. Hope you are all ok and keeping safe!  ... View more

Hey everyone, hope you are all good. Haven't been on in a while as I think I was just burying myself in my Christmas bubble but back to the harsh reality of the next treatment coming up on Wednesday.  It's great to read all your updates and see that most of us are coping ok so far. Sorry to those of you who haven't been so lucky.  I myself suffered the worst on Christmas day! Had a lovely bout of diahorrea 🙄 ended up on the phone to the treatment line as I couldn't stop. They were quite concerned I had picked up a stomach bug and wanted me to go in. Thankfully after my mum bringing me some imodium bless her, it stopped enough to be able to enjoy some of the afternoon.  The fatigue again has been quite hard to deal with and I am trying to get out for a walk every day to combat that but end up feeling shattered when I get home. I also feel quite breathless even just going up the stairs but that's also probably down to being so much less active especially now it's so cold!  Hair update: I had the cold cap for my second treatment but unfortunately it just didn't work for me. It continued to fall out in handfuls even though I wore a scarf so I didn't touch it too much or have to wash very often. I ended up with a very few whispy strands all over my head which made me look very sickly. I took the plunge this morning and shaved the rest off. I really don't like it but it's better than it was. On the positive side though my lump has drastically reduced in size so there is a slight possibility after the next MRI that they may decide I don't need the next 3 sessions and move to surgery 🤞 Hope everyone is coping ok in these strange times. ... View more

@dipitdee hi, thank you 😊 I did have very long thick hair, it's now extremely short and very thin and straggly. I will go with the cold cap tomorrow and just see how it goes. Think I'm coming round to the idea of cutting it all off if it comes to it now but fingers crossed I'm through the worst if it for now.  I'm glad yours came out evenly, I think that is a worry even after shaving it that it's still patchy. Fingers crossed it won't be too bad tomorrow. I know what expect now so don't feel as anxious as last time just really don't want to be too poorly Christmas day for the sake of the kids. Luckily they are both adults so they've taken over sorting dinner so that's one less worry. Hope you enjoy the next few days as best as possible xx ... View more

  Thank you 💟 I look forward to the tips 😊   I spoke to my nurse today in preparation for my second treatment on Wednesday, she advised me to keep going with the cold cap too as she said it could settle down in a few days so it would just be thinner rather than all gone so fingers crossed for that possibility 🤞 I actually didn't find the cold cap too bad, it was just the headache I had afterwards but I've been advised to take paracetamol before chemo this time which should ease it a bit. The loss does seem to have slowed down a bit today and it's primarily at the back, underneath that I have lost which is coverable. I've also ordered a wig today so hopefully that will help a bit. Hope everyone is ok. It's not the best Christmas for any of us but I intend to try and make the most of it although I will probably sleep through most of the day 😄 ... View more

Thank you guys, it has been really difficult to deal with. It is nice to be able to talk to people who understand. I tried to prepare myself for it but as I used the cold cap I think I convinced myself I would be one of the lucky ones it would work for. I've had quite a bit of soreness on my scalp which probably means it's all coming out 😔 I thought I could deal with it thinning as I have such thick hair but I'll see how it goes today. You are right @grannyp  I know they are trying to be kind but I find myself getting cross with them because they are not in my position and I don't want to be that person. I'm sure after a few days I'll feel better about it all.  I've pretty much worn a scarf or beanie since it started so hopefully I will get used to that.  Not even sure if it's worth trying the cold cap again this week. Thank you for your support though ladies and I hope you all manage to enjoy your Sunday 💕 ... View more

I really don't know how to measure it properly and think I'm driving myself insane feeling it all the time. I was convinced the other day that it was smaller and that I could get away with just having the 3 FEC treatments then going for surgery as they did say in the beginning that was an option. After speaking to my nurse yesterday though she seemed to think I would need to complete all 6 before surgery ☹️ Mine is HER 2 positive aswell so it did grow pretty big and quick between first feeling it and when treatment started. I don't think it is as hard as it was though. I've definitely been feeling down since yesterday as my hair is coming out thick and fast now, especially tonight. I just don't feel ready to lose it completely yet and and hate seeing these massive clumps come out 😔 I've always had really long hair so to have it cut short before my first treatment was a massive shock in itself, now to just see it all coming out has really hit me. I know people keep telling me it's only hair it will grow back and I know I should just be thinking positive that it's the treatment working but I can't! I'm just really struggling with it right now and the thought of having my next chemo in a few days fills me with dread again after recovering from the last one. Just not having a good day today. ... View more

It is horrible physically feeling my lump and reminds you how real this all is! I've convinced myself it feels smaller than it was but I really have no idea!  I will definitely have a look at the book, thank you. Hope you enjoy your walk 😊 ... View more

Hi, I'm day 18 now so although officially I'm a November starter, I think I'm closer to the same stage as you lovely December ladies. Here's a little bit about my experience so far. I was diagnosed with grade 3 tumour in my left breast at the beginning of November. @higgi  I am having chemo before surgery too followed by radiotherapy. I had my first FEC treatment on 30th November and had about 10 days where I felt really rubbish afterwards. I had the cold cap, so although it wasn't too bad at the time, I had the worst headache ever for hours afterwards. I then went on to have a bout of constipation following by 3 days of diahorrea 😩   Another one of the side effects that wasn't very pleasant was feeling like my skin was bruised all over for 2 days and after my injection my bones really did ache and were quite painful.  I also struggled with the fatigue which made me quite depressed at times as I just felt I was wasting whole days sleeping! After speaking to another lady who has been through this treatment she told me to stop being so hard on myself and rest when I needed, so next time I will try and take that advice. Thankfully I recovered quickly after that and have been able to get on with things fairly normally. My hair did start to moult a bit yesterday so I've worn a scarf today to stop me putting my Fingers through my hair so much and wore a sleep cap last night to try and stop the friction on my pillowcase. No idea if it's going to help or not but worth a go.      ... View more

Thank you ladies, hearing this has reassured me. I am feeling a bit better today after taking the sleeping tablets the Dr prescribed for me yesterday. I think it's just my brain thinking worst case scenario.  I'm hoping to hear about my plan at the beginning of next week so that should help.  I will also take a look at the chemo threads too. Thank you so much everyone xx   ... View more