Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hello. Mine all went fine - chemo was manageable - I was on docetaxel and carboplatin but my consultant took me off the carbo after three rounds as my body wasn’t  recovering quickly enough. I felt so much better after I was on just docetaxel! The three week cycle worked for me from a family life perspective, as after the first few days I felt fine to do school runs and so on (which I wanted to do). I was quite relieved when it was over, though! It was quite a mental exercise in convincing myself each round to me one closer to the end. Then mastectomy, which was fine and no pain after. And radiotherapy next week for five days. Then done! Oh and importantly, I should let you know mine was a large and aggressive tumour, but the chemo worked and got rid of the invasive tumour in breast and lymph nodes. Sorry - important fact! So I hope your treatment goes well. The chemo (if you’re having that) is a bit of a slog but it does pass- and it’s worth it. 🙂 ... View more

Hi Codyboy5 - that sounds quite similar to me too - 6 x chemo, mastectomy, radiotherapy, more chemo.  I have Herceptin injections for a year every 3 weeks (in the thigh - they're not too bad) and also Zoladex every 4 weeks for 5 years (I think - I can't really remember that bit - but I certainly remember the injections!).  I remember the CT and bone scan and echo all feeling quite surreal - almost as if it were happening to someone else.  It is a lot of information they give you at the beginning, and there is a lot going on, which makes it all quite overwhelming (and alarming), but once you start treatment (if that's what you decide) you will hopefully find you get into the swing of things.  I'm doing what they suggest, as that is best for me, but I understand that you really want to think about this.  Do you have any breast cancer nurses you can talk things through with?  Or maybe it might be worth chatting to Macmillan?  I think talking through your anxieties and thoughts about it all may at least help you clarify your thinking so you can work out what you think is best for you.   I know that I feel better when I feel like I'm in control, inasmuch as I can be, so I feel a bit thrown any time any new information/treatment process is added into the mix, until I manage to assimilate it into my understanding of it all.  I feel better if I know exactly what is going on and roughly what the medical reasoning is behind it.  That's what works for me - some people prefer to know more, some less.  But hopefully once you've been able to process/clarify your thoughts a bit and worked out how best to proceed in a way that works for you, you might feel more in control of what is going on. Sending you lots of good wishes Sophie ... View more

I hope your appointment goes okay, and I hope you feel easier once you have a clearer idea of the plan.  And I hope you got some sleep in the end! Sophie ... View more

Hi Jane I'm triple positive too, and have just had my third cycle of treatment (of 6).  Everyone will be slightly different, but yes, I've started with chemo first, then I'll have a mastectomy, then radiotherapy and then, I believe, a little bit more chemo!  Plus herceptin injections (I think for a year) and some other delightful injections (I think for 5 years, but this seems like rather a lot to me) to bring on the menopause!  But I don't know that this is standard - my tumour is quite large and aggressive, by all accounts...and my chemo regime is docetaxel and carboplatin throughout, as I've had leukaemia before, so the drugs were adjusted as a result. Re. the hair loss, I found having nice scarves helps - I'm so used to them now that it will be weird to start showing my hair again (when it grows back).  I started to wear them partially covering my hair before it all fell out, so by the time I was forced to accept defeat and shave what remained off, I was completely used to wearing scarves.   I wish you loads of luck.  I hope you don't get too many treatment side-effects.   Sophie 🙂   ... View more