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?
Hi everyone Well me and my hair have parted company! I got so fed up of big clumps of hair every where I went, I got my hubby to shave it off. Hate the look, but the feel and the simplisity of taking care of it is great. Im definatly not going to wear Elvis to work because I have to wear a baseball cap and a hair net anyway so you can't really see much, but im going to wear him when I go out shopping and things. My husband says he's going to buy me some Doc Martin boots cos he thinks I look like a skin head!!! (just wait till his hair needs triming again!!!!!!)
Last day at work tomorow thank goodness!
Good luck to everyone who is having their chemo this week, I'll be thinking of you all.
Welcome to the skin head club Heather! Husbands aren't they charming!!lol. Its a brave move shaving it off but the right move. Glad you're looking at it positively...easy to maintain etc!! :-D Good luck Thursday.
Hey Jean my chemo is at 11am. I'm really not looking forward to the chemo coma!! Sadly Marmalade its not the half way point yet but it will be next time..woo hoo! Its my daughters 6th birthday this Thursday and i really hope i don't sleep through it...i just want to be there enjoying it with her, especially as my husbands working nights this week, so he will be asleep most of the day. She had a party last week incase i am to unwell this week. Im sure she will love it whatever! Jean i will be thinking of you tomorrow. My bloods are tomorrow as well.
Hi Stef, Its great you had a lovely day at the beach, just what you and your family needed. Isn't it hard telling the children. I know exactly what you mean about telling your 16 year (hormones etc) I have a 16 year old too and he doesnt want to talk about it (too upsetting for him) :-( It must be extremely difficult for you when your mum is upset because i don't know about you but i need my mum to be strong for me when i'm feeling low or anxious. Shes the one who reassures me it'll all be ok. Like Margaret and jean, i was told what treatment i might need before my op (radiotherapy, tamoxifen, my ovaries blocked and possible chemo). They removed 5 lymph nodes which were all clear, however they discovered that i was Her2+ ( aggressive, fast growing etc) as well as hormone +. This meant i would need all the treatments above and 12 months of Herceptin too!! So i'm having everything...boo-hoo :-(( Having said that, i'm ok and all is going well, think positive!!
Hey Marmalade is there any rabbit left?? :-) Fingers crossed that letter arrives for your sis this week.
Sian, good luck with your survival booklet. Hope you get lots of feed back.
Lorraine i'm sooo pleased i'm not the only one to leave my house without my wig. You are very brave holding you head high and hairless!!! lol. I want to be that brave...gosh i'm sooo vain. lol :-) I'll never have a bad hair day again!! (when it grows back that is)!!!! Hope you've recovered from your hangover! Enjoy your couple of days with your neice.
Went to Formby beach yesterday (nr southport) with hubby, daughter, and dog had great fun watchin my old dog act like a puppy running in sea fetching sticks. Had easter tea at mum and dads after and got dressed up had a few wines :-)
Going in work tomorrow for first time since appt also find out tomorrow results but 99% sure on first appt so not expecting much and then anything else a bonus.
Thanks Jeanie Jean :-)
Heard from son (16) today he away in scotland with air cadets doing gold duke of edinburgh expedition - 50 miles over 4 days - but he forgot his walking boots and now i owe the corporal £50 as he had to buy him some to do the 12.5mile per day walk. He rang tonight to say moved on to Tulloch for the activity wk which is white water rafting ab seiling and other action man stuff, He said his feet are wrotten but he managed to walk off a verucca we have been trying get rid of for months - always a positive side to every problem :-)
I work for NHS continuing care ward for brain injuries and people that live there and come for respite have multiple sclerosis, huntingtons, over dose patients who have been left with no quality of life whatsoever they all cant eat due to swallowing mechanism gone and are quadriplegic all have catheters and enemas to help them go. As you can imagine finding out you have cancer is scary but believe you me its a drop in the oceon compared the patients i see 5 days a week. working where i do makes you feel very lucky just to walk the dog in a field and hear birds and have that ability and sense of freedom. Bit deep all that but i feel lucky to feel this way and not take life for granted on a daily basis.
Good Luck Heather for Thursday/Chelle thinking of you for tomorrow.
hello all. is the night before chemo 5. ive got to phone hospital in the morning to find out if bloods are ok, as i had them done at local docs surgery. so here we go no sleep for a week. but i seem to bouncing back from each chemo faster. i hope to speak to someone about 6 chemos or 8. but im swaying towards 6. Main reason is i dont know if anyone has had 8 tac chemos, and it is fairly new, it do me more damage. has anyone here had tac chemo, i think it is supposed to be fairly new.
Just wanted to let those of you with children know there is a web site specifically for them:
www.riprap.org.uk
Welcome to riprap, a web site that can help you cope when a parent has cancer. You'll find stories from other young people going through the same situations as you are. You’ll also find information and tips to help you understand and deal with what is going on in your family.
Heatherann, hope this chemo goes as well as the last, you sound very positive about it all. Glad you took the plunge with the hair, I imagine it's one less worry out of the way.
Steph, glad your daughter was ok when you told her, I hope she doesn't worry too much. Hopefully with time your mum will come to terms with everything and you won't have to worry about her so much.
Jean, hope everything goes ok for you today, guess we may not hear from you for a day or two. Will be thinking of you though.
Lorraine, glad you had a good time with your niece, hope the hangover wasn't too bad! Really hope your son is getting over the attack!
Marigold, hope you are feeling ok & that you had a great Easter! Will be thinking of you on the 20th.. At least it gets another step underway.
Chelle, hope today goes ok for you..hope the chemo coma isn't too bad. Glad you're nearly half way through! Will be willing you awake for your daughter's birthday..hope she enjoys it!
Blossom, hope today goes ok for you too..glad to hear you're bouncing back quicker. I hope you sort out your 6 or 8 dilemma.. Hopefully it will put your mind at ease when the decsion has been made.
Sian, I will have a think for you regarding the "survival booklet", as I was 7 & my sis was 11 when my mum was first diagnosed.
Hi to eveyone else, hope you are all ok!!
No news re letter from the genetics clinic for sis, so reconstruction stalled at the mo. Very frustrating for her, but she is chasing them yet again today..
Best wishes to eveyone..hope the time flies by for those suffering their chemo after effects!
Had my third chemo today which went well. Now i'm just waiting for the coma to kick in!! Jean and blossom, i hope your chemo's went well for you too. Lets hope we all have fewer side effects than we have so far. Today Blossom maybe they helped you at the hospital make that 6 or 8 chemo decision? (i'm having epi-cmf so can't help).
Hey Marmalade, what a boo that your sister has to chase them up....Grrr!!!
Sian thanks very much for that website. I'm telling my sons as i type.
Good luck Margaret for the 20th and Heather for Thursday ( Hope you enjoy your time of work around the chemo).
Hi Lorraine, im sure you're enjoying your time with your neice :-)
Anyway, i may not post for the next few days depending on the chemo coma!!!
HELLO EVERYONE IM DEBBIE IM 46 YRS OLD IVE JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER HOW DO I FEEL A LITTLE NUMB SCARED BUT NOT BEATEN LOL I FEEL GUILTY FOR MY NEW HUSBAND AS HE IS VERY SCARED IM TRING MY BEST TO MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER BECAUSE I DONT LIKE THE atmosphere I JUST WANT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL ITS BEEN A RUSH OF HOSPITALS AND DIFF DOCS SINCE 24 OF MARCH BUT START ME CHEMO FOR 8 MONTHS ON MONDAY BRING IT ON SO WATCH THIS SPACE FOR WEEKLY UPDATES LOL SMILE AND THE WORLD WILL SMILE WITH YOU
Welcome to the site.. Sorry you have to be here, but you have come to a great place with lots of lovely people who can give you help & advice. I do not have breast cancer myself, as it is my sis who has been through this..she had a mastectomy last year & is now in remission waiting to have her reconstruction done.
I'm not surprised at how you are feeling, it can be such a shock at the beginning & like you say, a whirlwind of appointments..it's only natural to feel how you are. I am sure your hubby will come to terms with everything, it just takes time. I think whenever anyone hears the word cancer, it's scary, but given time and probably more so when you start your actual treatment, things will feel a little better. It is often fear of the unknown that causes so much worry.
Don't be afraid to talk to him about things..sometimes we need to know how you are feeling to understand & help if we can. Mind you, from the other side, sometimes it can be hard for the person without cancer to voice their feelings for fear of appearing negative or not wanting to appear scared for them. Me & my sis can talk about most things, but I know sometimes I found it hard to talk about my feelings with her. Just try & be as open as you can with each other.
Anyway, it's great you sound so positive, that's often half the battle won!
I hope Monday goes ok for you, let us know how you get on..
Best wishes to you..
xx
P.S. I've just read your post on the welcome thread about your sis and your insistence that something was wrong. It was the same for my sis last year..she was told there was nothing to worry about, but we definitely know our own bodies!
THANKYOU I CANT UNDERSTAND WHY SOME WOMEN HAVE THERE BREAST REMOVED THEN CHEMO AND THEN LIKE ME CHEMO FIRST THEN REMOVAL THEY SAID BECAUSE IT 6BY7 INCHES
