I had a lovely holiday in the South West and felt so well I had recovered from mastectomy had a bra fitting at Nicola Jane, got some great bras no one would guess I only have one boob. I was okay with my new body image.
The night before my first FEC didn't sleep that well. It's a strange concept to know you are going to have side effects of the chemo that are going to make one ill. I received my chemo at East Surrey chemo suite, the staff are lovely however they had trouble putting a cannula in my hand and somehow managed to nick the vein. We went home I only felt a little sick that evening took the anti sickness and woke up feeling okay. Day 2 after chemo fine went shopping. Day 3 woke up with a sticky white mouth started rinsing with salted water and mouth wash. Day 4 the same, I thought to myself this isn't to bad. Day 5 woke up at 5am with pain in my chest which was so painful I couldn't breath. Called the chemo help line and the consultant rang for an ambulance. I was taken straight to A&E who ruled out an heart attack, ( Oh good ) I thought however they thought it was blood clots in the lungs ( Oh bloody hell ) they started me on iv antibolotics and sent me for a ct scan. Anyway after 14hrs in A&E I was transferred to a ward with a chest infection and I stayed there for 5 days. By the time I came out the ulcers in mouth had healed and I felt fine.
2nd FEC I felt fine, mouth became ulcerated, lips swelled and bleed. I could only eat soup for 4 days which is brilliant for weight loss. After a week I felt fine then just before my 3rd was due I started coughing so chemo was delayed by a week, another chest infection, back on the augmentin which gives me thrush. Such joy. My hair has completely fallen out and I am far more upset than I thought I would be. I feel like I have the words CANCER printed on my forehead when I go out. I try not to make eye contact with anyone when I am out shopping.
3rd FEC They are still having problems putting a cannula in my hand 5 attempts this time. Mouth started on day 4 and was more painful this time. I have spent 7 days in the bathroom with 2 types of mouth washes and salted water, seem to be rinsing mouth out every 2 hours driving me mad. LOL My feet have started a swell in the evening now.
When one reads some peoples experiences with FEC I realised I have had it easy. It's doable as many say. In the middle of the 3rd fec now when my mouth was sore and a bar of chocolate was calling me from the fridge. I did have a mad 5 minutes when I shouted I am never going to do this again I've had enough. LOL Next morning I was fine. I am coping now with the hair loss, still hate it however not such an issue.
I am still on this roller coaster and it's starting to speed up now As I am heading towards the dreaded Docetaxel on the 2.8. Let's see what this brings.
