Hello my name is Heather I have just been diagnosed with brest cancer last week for the first time (and last I hope) Both my sisters have had cancer,one died seven month ago Im a bit scared of what to expect with the chemo. Can anyone tell me how soon after the treatment do you start to feel ill? How soon do you lose your hair?
Im so very sorry to hear that your going through this awful situation. Especially as you have had so much sadness before your diagnosis.
Like you i have breast cancer and was diagnosed in December. I have just began chemo this week and so far apart from feeling queezy at times and very tired it hasn't been too bad (early days i know)!! So far i haven't lost any hair, although iv'e been told it usually happens after a couple of weeks. The way im trying to tackle it is by having fun with wigs, headscarfs and hats. I also realise that i cannot have any makeup free days!! Its makeup, headwear and earrings all round from now on!!! I wish you all the best, try not to be scarred just concentrate on winning this war on cancer. Lots of love and hugs Chelle x x x
Hi Sorry you are both going through this I was diagnosed sep 06 did the chemo mastectomy with re con then radio. The treatment finished June 07. The chemo was ok at least I didnt have too many side effects The worst one was my mouth! I used a mouth wash called diflam which helped. I had long curly hair which I shaved off after my second chemo which was every 3 weeks for 6 sessions (FEC) I bought 3 wigs which were fun! Short Long Blonde and dark lol. I also continued towork while on chemo Iit was only when I had my op and went on to the Radio therepy (every day for 6 weeks apart from weekends) that I had to stop work. Found the radio very exhausting traveling to hospital every day for a 5 min blast. Went back to work August 07 and fingers crossed I am ok. My advise is just take 1 thing at a time try not to think about what treatment is coming next just deal with one thing at a time. You will have your bad days but on the whole my life continued as normal. It was a bit strange in a way I felt that I was being strong for everyone else about me (my 3 boys and Hubby)
Hope this helps and if you want to chat you are both welcome to pm me.
Hi Heatheranne, I think you'll find we have all had very different experiences of chemo, some people like Lorraine getting by quiet well while others struggle. So my advice to you is to be honest with your chemo nurses, they are at the other end of the phone if you are struggling with side effects and they can always prescribe different anti sickness meds (for example) if the ones you have been given aren't working for you. I shaved what remained of my hair following my second round of chemo, as what I had made me feel like an old women! I did have a very nice wig (on prescription so it was free) but chose to go wig and scarf free - it worked for me - I only put on a hood to keep out the cold. You should be able to find a free one day workshop called Look Good, Feel Good - they give you loads of free make up, all very good quality and then some professional make up beauticians show you how to make the most of what little eyebrows, eyelashes you have left. It will also give you the opportunity to meet other people, who will know exactly what you are going through. I hope you have someone who can support you in your journey. Keep posting. Safe journey
Alhough I have not been through this myself, my sister has had chemotherapy on two separate occasions for breast cancer, the last drug she received was Taxotere. Both experiences were very similar. She would feel fine for the first couple of days after & then the nausea would hit her on the third day and she would feel like this for another two days. Each session was always the same with her, but I know different people react in different ways. She carried on working & used to take a week off for each treatment. Over all six treatments, her sense of taste was affected and certain things just tasted really horrible to her. For example, she couldn't drink normal tea, as this tasted foul to her, so she drank fruit teas, plus other foods affected her aswell. She also felt very tired over this time. During her chemotherapy, she wore a cold cap & both times, although she thinned on top slightly, she kept her hair, although I know this option isn't always available & doesn't work for everone. She did buy a wig just in case and wore it to the office once to get people used to it in case she needed to wear it & it also took the fear out of it for her. She also bought lots of different hats. Again, it took that fear out of it for her because she felt she was prepared if she did lose her hair.
I hope this is of some help to you & I wish you all the best with your treatment.
Thankyou all so much for you words of support, its nice to know that there are people like all of you that i can talk to, even though i have my husband, bless him, i really don't think he knows how to handle it all, its come more of a shock to him than it has to me. Marmalade (great name) in a way i hope some foods do start to taste horrible especialy chocolate it might be a blessing in dissguise!!!! I think probably i will get my hair cut first, it might not look so bad when it does fall out. Im going to take one a day at a time. Talking to you all has helped a great deal
I think as partners, family members & friends, it is sometimes a strange situation to be in. My sister has always "just got on with it", as she says. Off course I know how worried she really is, but I think we find it harder to know how to approach it & don't want to burden them with our worries & fears, so I understand completely what you are saying about your hubby & I guess that's how you felt with your sisters.
I hope the haircut goes well & maybe you should keep eating the choc..we all need a treat!! :-)
Hi Just wanted to wish you luck with your first treatment. As far a chocolate is concerned I can only eat white chocolate I think it is the tamoxifen affecting my mouth and taste buds.
Make sure and take your anti sickness drugs they do help a lot. Once I forgot to take mine and was realy sick. It is also difficult when you start being sick to control it so the advice from me is take them on time and you should be ok.
Good morning everyone its me again, how are you all doing, im not doing too bad up to now. Had my MRI scan on thursday to see how big the tumour is, WOW what an experience that was. Very chlostraphobic (my spelling is rubbish sorry!) just closed my eyes and pretended to be on a sun bed, if it wasn't for all the noise i'd have fallen asleep! get the results on Monday, dreading that, can't help but think the worst of every thing, just the kind of person I am im afraid, glass half empty type of girl! Ive just been getting on with life in the same way. Im hoping I can when the treatment starts but im probably hoping for too much. We'll see!
Morning all, Good luck for Monday. All we seem to do is wait either for appointments, results, the end of all the treatments- i wish (long way off)!!! lol.
Since i last wrote i have had my first lot of chemo. I was fine for the first couple of days, then i was knocked out with tiredness. I became a zombie!! Also i felt sick however the anti sickness tablets seem to keep everything at bay. This lasted 2-3 days then i gradually got better and now (nearly 2 weeks on) I feel back to normal. I haven't lost any hair yet! The worse side effect seems to be that i can't stop eating, what a nightmare. Luckily im only small (at the moment) Don't know that i want to put any weight on though!
I've been busy shopping!! I now own about 5 hats, 3 headscarfs and one dodgy wig!!! Everytime i put it on my husband laughs (dont worry so do i)!! I look so strange. Anyway im now prepared for the baldy experience. Bring it on!!!
Let us know how you get on Monday, love Chelle x x
I just wanted to wish you good luck for Monday. Thinking the worst isn't always a bad thing, sometimes it can prepare us for what we're going to hear and it can make the better news seem even better. I'm not being flippant, as I know from everything my sister has been through how worrying it is waiting for results & the possible outcome.. Keeping everything crossed for you! x
Chelle, glad you got through your first chemo.. I know I haven't got any personal experience, but again, having been with my sis through it, I know how draining it is. Hope you manage to keep your hair, but if not, sounds like you are well prepared, even if the wig is a bit dodgy. :-)
