Round 1 of chemo and scalp cooling!!

1 minute read time.

Hiya well yesterday i had my first round of chemo (epirubicin) and experianced scalp cooling.

Well just for once the hospital was running on time :-) there was a few tears because the nurse said my hickman line wasnt in the right place and was to far down.... then she didnt know if they could even use it as it had only been 48 hours since having it put in!!!

Anyway, i got set up on a drip the nurse then sprayed my hair with water and rubbed the conditioner in, we counted down to 3 and put the cap on my my head..... I laughed and said omg is this it?? lol it wasnt until she tightened the cap that i felt how cold it was. It was excruciating those first 15 mins thought my head would explode... at -5.9 0c!!! But i kept thinking of my daughter who is so scared of mommy having no hair and told myself not to be a wimp lol :-)

So side effects of round 1 havent been to bad, so far!! felt a bit sick last night and pretty bad cramps in my stomach legs and feet but it didnt last long and keep getting a dodgy taste in my mouth.

I always remind myself just how lucky i am to of caught this in time and it seems to help me through each hurdle, i stick my fingers up to the disease it to get through each day :-)

Hope your all well,

Emma xx :-)

Anonymous
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hiya chris, although i found the scalp cooling excruciatingly cold i will continue with it :-) only because ive only got another 3 rounds of epirbicin to get through and i soooooo desperatly want to keep what little bit i have left lol

    All that money i spent when i joined weight watchers is now going to go down the pan then.... although had i not of lost almost 2 stone with ww then i would never of found the lump in my breast so i guess it all happens for a reason :-) Are you still having treatment or have you finished now??

    Emma xx :-)

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hiya mother,

    My daughter is also 8 and me loosing my hair has been such an issue for her that i told her i would do all i could to try and keep it.... i have made sure though that she understands it isnt 100% guaranteed to work!!! And if it doesnt work then she along with my son will decide when i loose my hair as they can shave it!!! :-)

    She wasnt to keen on me wearing bandanas and hats at first, she was quick enough to go out for a meal tonight though wearing my beret lmao Have you considered the scalp cooling??? or is it not available for you???

    I really hope all your treatment goes well for you also, this is the most hardest time of our lives..... staring death in the face!!! nobody knows whats round the corner though, and as i keep saying to people " If your times up then theres nothing you can do about it!! " Obviously now isnt my time as i was given the opportunity to fight this disease and prove just how strong i am!!! Just as im sure, and i hope, we all will :-)

    Emma xxx :-)

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi Emma,

    Hope you are still feeling well. I've been good this week apart from the PICC line thing and I've started getting a sore mouth.

    My wig arrived and I really like it, so I'm ready.

    What date is your next chemo? Mine is 24th.

    love

    Maxine

    x

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi Maxine,

    My mouth is starting to get sore today :-( wasnt pleasant when i brushed my teeth so went out and got a new toothbrush that wont be as hard on my gums!!

    My next round is the 1st dec and as crap as im feeling i cant wait for it to hurry up and get here, just want this over with now!!

    Im so glad you like your wig, think it helps if you have something nice to wear :-)

    Take care

    Emma xx :-)

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi Emma,

    I am still having treatment but just Herceptin as I have secondaries now.  I initially had Chemo for 6 months and 3 weeks rads in 2007.  I went on Herceptin half way through chemo and continued that for a further year until October 2008.  I was then diagnosed with secondaries in July 2009 and have been on Herceptin ever since..are you Her2, Hormone positive or triple negative? Luckily there are no horrid side effects on Herceptin so I can tolerate it really well which is good as is long term treatment now.  At the time my kids were worried about my hair loss, especially my eldest as he thought his friends might make fun of me...in reality when it happened my children werent too bothered, they used to sit and pull bits of my hair out as it came out so easily and no one at the school said anything.  Make sure you speak to your onc about the sore mouth as they can give you stuff for that which is really good, this is something that can get worse during treatment so best to keep on top of it. I had awful mouth ulcers at the end of chemo and they took ages to go away. All the best for the 1st, let us know how you go xx