Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi Everyone All fine here. I have my final round tomorrow. I then have my CT scan in prep for the radio on the 19th Oct. radiologist said treatment would prob be around 2 weeks after that. Im having two weeks worth. One week whole boob. One week target area. I didn’t realise you need a scan first. It’s so they can see exactly how your organs sit inside you so they know where to position the machine apparently!  Sending love to you all. Hope everyone is doing ok.  Sarah xx  ... View more

Morning All I have one more to go. My last is on 8th Oct 👏🏻👏🏻 Went well yesterday. There are a few of us that are there together every week. The nurses sit us all together so we can chat. It’s actually a very positive experience which is amazing really considering why we’re there and what we’re having done. Those of you that are capping … I have worn a headband in the past but it kept slipping down - annoying! So yesterday I stole an idea from the American ladies. I used a panty liner 😂😂😂 Oh my goodness! Total game changer! Stayed put, was super comfy and caused a laugh! I have attached a photo of me sporting a panty liner stuck to my forehead!  @amy46 I’m so glad you enjoyed the workshop. You will love your goody bag 💗 The nail one was great too ✅ Brilliant that you’re doing well after 4th session. I reduced my steroids too after the last one and will do the same this time. It definitely helped the sleep issue. What CBD oil do you use. Friends have suggested it but I’m not sure where to start xx I hope everyone has a good weekend. Sending love to all those with treatments next week. Sarah xx          ... View more

Hi @amy46 and everyone  What did you think of the workshop? My goody bag arrived yesterday - it’s amazing. So much lovely stuff 💗 Was gonna post a picture but then thought it would spoil a nice surprise! I have my 3rd chemo of 4 tomorrow. Can’t quite believe I’m here already. It really seems to be going super fast which is great 👏🏻 I’ve cleaned the house today as I can’t bear it being grotty when I don’t feel up to doing anything about it.  If anyone is considering it - the nail workshop is good, my nails have started to dry out and flake. Not sure if it’s the chemo or because I’m keeping them painted all the time and it’s drying them out. Could be both I guess. Anyway … I got some really useful tips to help keep them in better shape ✅ Sending love to all. Sarah xx   ... View more

Morning @amy46  I hope you enjoy the Look Good workshop this morning. I thought it was fab. I’m doing the nail one tomorrow morning. I’ll let you know what it’s like 💗 I know EXACTLY what your mean re the fear of reoccurrence hitting hard at times. I was washing up after a Sunday roast yesterday and got really emotional and teary. It was totally out of the blue as normally I do well not overthinking it. A friend of mine who went through this last year has just finished a course of counselling through Macmillan. Mainly for this very same reason. She said it was excellent and she is a counsellor herself! I am going to have some too I think. Once I complete my treatment. Def don’t shut your worries away and try to deal with them on your own.  We are so lucky with all the treatments that are available to us. We will all be just fine and be annoying our family and friends for many years to come 😂💗    I hope the ‘double whammy’ doesn’t floor you 🙏🏻 Sending love and hugs. Sarah xxx  ... View more

Hi @Sephie  Def keep going with cold cap if you can. I’m going to. Even with considerable hair loss it will protect your follicles and also is meant to support faster regrowth. Good luck with everything.  Sarah xxx ... View more

Hi @MargoB  I’m using the cold cap. I’ve had two rounds of TC so far. I started to shed on Day 20. I shed a fair amount for about 5/6 days and then it slowed right down.  Apparently it normally starts from around week 2/3 of first treatment.  I’m brushing mine through twice a day and I keep it tied back. I do lose some every time I brush but not as much as in those 5/6 days. Is your scalp tingly and sore? This is a sign that shedding will start or continue apparently. If your scalp feels like it’s calming down the shedding may lessen over coming days. Mine was mostly in my crown area.  I am on the FB group Paxman Scalp Cooling Group. If you’re on Facebook I highly recommend it. It’s the cap we use here in the UK. Loads of advice and tips from women taking a variety of diff chemo drugs. Paxman say losing some hair is unavoidable and totally normal whilst using the cap. Even if we lose considerable amounts they say to persevere as it will support faster regrowth after treatment ends.  I hope your next treatment goes ok on Monday. Another one in the bag and a huge step closer to getting it over with!   Love Sarah xxx  ... View more

Hi @purpleworld  So glad to hear you are doing a little better this round 😊 Constipation is not ideal though. I had it quite badly first time round. Not so bad this time. I did take Senicot though. They do two strengths. I took the lower dose. One every night the whole way through. And this time for the first two weeks. I ate raspberries and figs with green yogurt and honey. Plus I  drank an expresso each morning! Not sure if that all helped though.  Myself and @HighlandGirl have done the Look Good workshop. And @amy46 @is booked in! I started with bare face. But they go through cleansers/toners so you can always clean your face during that bit. It was good, hope you enjoy it 😊 I hope you have a successful wig appointment too 🤞🏻 My school all started back this week, I feel totally out the loop with it all. Luckily I have a super TA and she messages and calls me with updates and school gossip 😂   Sending love. Sarah. xxx  ... View more

Oooh Fab! And like @HighlandGirl said, you get a super goody bag too. Loads of lovely products to pamper yourself with. Not had mine yet but friends have sent me photos of theirs and they really are great. Such a lovely thing to be offered xx  ... View more

@justine1970  It sure is! This workshop was a definite mood lifter for sure. It was about 2.5hrs! We ran over slightly as people had lots of good questions and were sharing product advice and good tips! No one wants to be in this club but things like this make it a little more bearable xxx  ... View more

Hi @HighlandGirl  I did the Look Good Feel Better make-up workshop on Friday. I thought it was brilliant. Lovely lady running it and 9 other really lovely ladies. We had a laugh and I picked up some really good tips. I have signed up for the nail one on 14th September. So lucky that things like this are available xx ... View more

Hi @bananasatsuma  I’m so sorry you’re feeling so rubbish. Last this you need is a cold to fight off. I am super pleased to hear that you managed a mammoth sleep though. That’s got to go some way towards helping you fight this cold off. Bet you could’ve hugged the GP! Sarah xxxx ... View more

@bananasatsuma Instead of taking 4 tablets for 3 days. I took 3 on day one after treatment. Then 2 for the following 2 days. I decided myself how many to take. My nurse seemed a bit blasé to be honest 😳 I kind of got the impression I could forgo the whole lot if I’d wanted to. Was far too scared to do that though 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’m pretty sure they go quite a way to getting you through some potentially horrid side effects. Def worth asking though for sure. They may say no but you never know xxxx ... View more

Hi @bananasatsuma  Re the sleeping. I was exactly the same after my first round. When I went in for my second I asked the nurse what could be done. She asked about sickness/nausea and I hadn’t had much/if any so she said I could lessen my steroids this time. I did and it made a huge difference to being able to sleep. Not perfect by any means but much better. Was able to actually get to sleep at a reasonable hour and then stay asleep for 5/6 hours. That didn’t happen when I was on max steroids. Sarah xx  ... View more

Morning @amy46 of course you can join us ☺️  I’m having different treatment to you. X4 of TC. Grade 3 Hormone + HER2 - Lumpectomy. No lymph node involvement.  I had my second round last Friday and I think side effects have been slightly less this time. Although I think someone has already mentioned … Going into the second one being more aware of what’s likely to occur definitely helps. I didn’t feel too nauseous after round one so I lowered my steroid intake this time. That helped me to sleep better. I don’t feel so good when I wake up but once I’m up and about I’m fine. Energy levels are def on up again now from Friday.  Sending love. Super impressed you’ve managed a run or two 👏🏻👊🏻👏🏻 Sarah xx  ... View more

Hi @purpleworld  Sending you love for tomorrow. I hope that your oncologist can make things a little easier for you this coming cycle. It’s a long old time to feel rough if not.  I am a teacher too and will likely be signed off for the duration. I had been hoping to go back in some capacity maybe during weeks 2/3 of the cycle when I’m feeling ok. But I too am worried about germs! Coughs, colds AND tummy bugs are always rife in school during Sept/October 😳 so I think probably best to stay away. Work have also been very good 🙏🏻 Thinking of you, Sarah xxx  ... View more

Hi @justine1970  I had chemo on Friday (TC) and I drove to my parents in Essex afterwards from Brighton. I was fine. I wouldn’t have contemplated it if I’d felt even slightly off kilter but felt fine. xx  ... View more

I had second blast yesterday. All fine so far.  Nurse said that because I didn’t suffer any sickness last time it sounds like I’m not reacting badly to the drugs so I can reduce my steroids this time. I had the 8mgs at hospital yesterday as normal. But have only taken 3 tablets this morning instead of 4 (3mgs). I’ll see how I go over next 24hrs and if ok I’m gonna reduce to 2 tomorrow 🤞🏻 I’ll def take the strong anti-sickness drugs for the 4 days though. Slept so much better last night too, compared to the first night of first cycle. I drove to my parents after treatment though and spent 2hrs on M25 so that probably aided sleep 😬 Have woken up this morning feeling like I’m pretty normal - long may it last 🙏🏻 My hair started to moult quite considerable on my crown on Wednesday and yesterday. I’ve not touched it today yet! Wondering if cap wasn’t close enough in that part?!?! It felt much colder yesterday too but maybe my head was more sensitive this time 🤔 And when I took it off I had ice on top of my head 🥶 For any using the Paxman cap there is a good FB group started by the cap manufacturer Paxman Scalp Cooling Group. Lots of handy info plus loads of ladies going through very similar to us. We’re a real mixed bunch it seems re success rates.  Sending love to you all. Sarah xx  ... View more

Hi @DAB72  Thank you too for your reply xx I too wish you all the best. I’m due my second round on Friday. Bloods today. Feeling slightly anxious but that’s normal I think. Just hoping that it pans out similar to the first round 🤞🏻 Take lots of care of yourself, you’re totally worth it 💓 Love Sarah xxxx ... View more

Hi @delly  I can only speak from my experience in all this so far .. My cancer, after biopsy was graded 2. After surgery it was re-graded to a 3. It was 3cms and I had calcifications that took total area of removal to 7cms.  When I saw my oncologist initially he thought that due to grading it would be likely that chemo would be recommended. However, he suggested that my tumour was sent to the US to be Oncotype tested. The scoring of this would give a clearer picture. It tests for % likelihood of reoccurrence and also whether or not your particular cancer is likely to respond to chemo. My score came back at 18 which is in the intermediate range (16 - 25). The oncologist was happy with my score and said no chemo required in his opinion. I did some reading up and found the Tailor study. This reported that patients under the age of 50 with an intermediate score may still benefit from having chemo.  This put my head into a bit of a spin! Hence I sought a second opinion. Oncologist No2 said that although my risk of reoccurrence was already low, chemo would potentially lower it some more. My lymph nodes were clear but I was still left feeling very anxious. The ‘what if’ played very heavily on my mind. No-one is able to guarantee that any rouge cells haven’t pinged of around your body unfortunately. Possibly in your blood. Chemo was still being offered to me and on this basis, I made the personal decision to have it. It is a very personal choice and I know many others would have been able to close the box as it were and move on. I didn’t feel mentally able to do that. I had said, from diagnosis that I would take whatever was offered to me in order to minimise my future risk as much as possible. When it comes to cancer, nothing unfortunately is guaranteed but I want to come out the other side knowing I’ve thrown everything at it.  I hope this helps in answering your questions. Sending my love to you.  Sarah xxx  ... View more