Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi Pips88 i also worry of breast shrinkage later on from the awful pictures online !!  Oncology also says there’s a risk of lung fibrosis and lung cancer later on from radiotherapy. this all worries me. on the other hand , i am scared that  if i don’t have it done , i will keep worrying about fear of reoccurrence. especially as i only had a lumpectomy  not mastectomy and i suffer from breast cyst anyway . I wish i could be more positive but it hard sometimes ,  it did not help that in the last 2 months i lost 3 friends to cancer , 2 of them breast cancer that came back and 1 terminal bowel cancer , so i have been quite tearful 😢  i pray God will give me clarity on what to do plus info from doctors  thanks dear and Best wishes      ... View more

Hi Pipsv Thanks so much for sharing . Very useful info. will go back to radiology for more discussion. Please i hope you don’t mind me asking why you are also having immunotherapy after the chemo ? Best wishes  Divinehealing      ... View more

welldone and good luck for the next stage xxxx u ve got this 💪🏾 ... View more

Hi Ash    Luckily you are allowed massages. my breast care nurse told me to avoid massages that involves waist up , torso , chest area . she said i cannot have them whilst chemo. Although i had surgery and ANC already in July before my chemo. i had to cancel the spa treatment that was gifted to me as a treat 😩 It baffles me how different breast nurse give varied information    beat wishes  Divine  ... View more

thanks so much Ash  that’s really helpful to know i can suggest option to them best wishes  Divine x ... View more

Good morning Nicola    Thank you so much for all ur advice .  my chemo dose was definitely decreased by 25% after 1st chemo  i will check the injection options , it will be great if i can have it the once ? But i am wondering if the one shot will be enough to increase my neutrophils . Gp has prescribed fortisip and ensure . feeling a bit better after day 10 have a lovely weekend xx @divinehealing ... View more

Dear LMitchell RE: significant Nausea and vomiting    Bless u .sorry to hear we are battling this nausea and committing significant. nothing seem to work . i researched and read that the NHS has approved medicinal cannabis for patient with severe nausea and vomiting whilst on chemo. A friend of mine told me she used it whilst she was on chemo and her nausea was almost non -existent plus she slept like a baby!!! i shared this with my oncologist but she declined saying it is not prescribed in my trust, i am thinking of involving PALS to complain , because if it has been approved why is oncology refusing to try it in patients who really need it to go through this gruesome treatments.  Anyone on this forum know anything or has any info about medicinal cannabis for  nausea.  ??? THankfully i am okish now after day 10 , my 3rd cycle of EC is on 22nd Nov . still not had a PICC line , bit reluctant after reading some PICC line issues . The nurses are insisting i have it .will drag it out as long as my 1 good vein withstands . Good luck all    Take care dear and enjoy ur weekend  ... View more

Hi All    how is everyone doing and how was your weekend.  Not been feeling well with nausea , stomach cramps and loss of appetite. 😩Day 7 of 2nd cycle of EC . it hit me badly this time , it seems it’s only me having bad luck with side effects . Just been laying in bed on my phone , too fatigued to do anything . i have gone off most foods even chocolate , which used to be my favourite .  The issue for me is the injections too , once i start them , i feel awful .  I hope things improved if i am to complete my 6 cycles !!! Any advice on an vitamins i can take to boast energy ? or meals  Good luck 🤞😊     ... View more

  hi ladies    update on my 1st chemo started monday  I was admitted in the infusion unit , with a wrist band and 30mins later was ushered into the ward. There was a delay i getting my chemo drugs from the main hospital . My mind was wondering if it will go ahead today . Secondly i did not have a PICC line so the nurse was not happy to use the only good vein above my arm due to extravasation . Luckily i convince another nurse to try again as i was confident the vein was big enough for the infusion and luckily he agreed but encouraged me to have a PICC LINE before my next chemo .   I had the cold cap on (a method that claims to reduce hair loss) 30mins before the EC, during and 1hr after.   I had  all my anti-sickness medication before ondansetron, dexamethasone , domperidine and apprepstant before the chemo commenced. The EC was the quickest part. I was given 160mg of Epirubicin and 800mg of Cyclophosphamide. This was pushed in my vein manually by the nurse with an infusion drip attached for flushing as the chemo drugs was being infused. She was very attentive and chatted to me throughout . I was also sipping on iced water mixed with elder flower cordial , that was refreshing? The advice about sipping the iced water was to protect the mucus membranes whilst having the chemo, I was advised about this  from one of our nice ladies on the Breast cancer now forum . Will review this later if my mouth escapes mouth sores lol I was in the infusion unit for about 3hrs and was sent home with a three day supply of anti-sickness meds and steroids. The nurse could not find my Filgrastim injections. Filgrastim is a medication used to treat low neutrophil count. Low neutrophil counts may occur following chemotherapy. That was later found in bag with my other take home medications. The injection is a fridge item so take note of that. The nurse then arranged for a quick courier who delivered it to me from Barnet hospital pharmacy . That was a good service i must say .   Sorry i will be getting spiritual here because My God has been my encourager in this process and i believe God has given the health care professionals the knowledge to help people like us get healed and recover from various diseases. Without the Almighty God i will not be able to go through this Chemo . For me i felt like if it’s not broken why fix it . i had my surgery , and the surgeon took out the tumour and 19 lymph nodes (only 3 positive) , i never felt so so good after the surgery, then why go and do Chemotherapy to destroy my body system.???   Much love Good luck everyone . i will write about my experience so far as i am on day 5 now post chemo now , it’s been rough especially with the nausea and vomiting but i am coping . ... View more

Hi Fi   Thanks so much for the link, advice and tips . You are a life saver !!!! MAy God bless and protect you throughout your treatment , we will go through this and come out strong 💪🏾 Amen 🙏🏿    cheers  D   ... View more

hi fifo  sending u lots of hugs with ur treatment  i have not started not feeling really petrified at the thot especially reading all the ladies side effects !!! Sorry if i ask a lot of  questions but i am a new chemo starter  please wats the iced water for? and why do we have to drink so much water lot flush out our system ? will they not make the drug less effective if we are flushing it out? looking forward to your reply  take care  divine healing xx   ... View more

good luck dear  please where can i have my brow microbladding. i was supposed to start chemo friday but now been moved to monday .  i am terrified of PICC so decided to just use an IV line for starters . i hope 🤞 the vein survives the chemo    best of luck always  ... View more

hi  so glad ur CT is clear xxx i am like you was terrified of chemo for obvious reasons  decided to go for the trials where a test is done to decide if you need Chemo or not ? it will take 2 weeks to get results after your histology is sent to the trials people .  i had surgery last month to remove lump and had 19 nodes taken out. trying to stay positive 😊 Good luck with oncology or MDT  DH ... View more