Just started chemo yesterday

Hi Nell, hoping your treatment is going well. Wondered how your symptoms were as I'm fretting about proposed Carboplatin treatment and seek reassurance (having read an 8 page list of side effects from the nurse) How are you now?

Best wishes.

Carol D x

Hi Carol,

Yes, my treatment is going very well at the moment, thanks. I’ve just had surgery after 4 rounds of carboplatin and Avastin - two rounds to go. I think I have been quite lucky regarding side effects from the chemo, really just aches and pains in my abdomen, legs and feet for the first week and feeling a bit shivery. The leg pain was enough to keep me from sleeping for a few nights but it did ease off. My taste buds are also affected for a similar period each time but that also improves. The slight numbness and tingling in the hands and feet is quite weird but also eases off. I haven’t had any nausea thanks to the steroids which you take the day before chemo, day of and two following days. My hair started to come out about two weeks after the first chemo and took about 10 ten days to become so sparse that I asked my husband to shave it for me.

I know that other ladies are not so fortunate with the side effects so I don’t want to give you a false sense of security. I did have a slightly rougher time with the first round. When the side effects all started I assumed that I was going to feel like that for the whole 6 cycles and felt very sorry for myself. I also didn’t quite appreciate the importance of drinking as much water as humanly possible and I ended up in A&E overnight with a high temperature and bladder infection. Since that first round, however, I’ve taken control of my self-pity and my hydration and that seems to work for me! Apart from the few achey days each time I really feel quite well. Obviously it’s way too early to know about any long term side effects but I’m not going to think about that, I’m just happy to have the possibility of having a long term!

Very Best wishes to you, Nell xxx

Thanks very much for your detailed reply - food for thought. Sending you hugs and best wishes for continued progress xx