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?
I thought I would join in here because I was diagnosed on 8th January with breast cancer. First op was on Jan 26th and cancer was found in one of the lymph nodes. I then had a second op on Feb 6th to remove the rest of the lymph nodes. Thankfully no cancer was found in the rest of them.
Had my first chemo nearly 3 weeks ago and apart from indigestion I have been ok. Yesterday my hair started to come out and today a little more. I am having it shaved off on Tuesday after my second dose of chemo.
I have bought some scarves and I'm having the wig fitted on Tuesday after the head shave.
It would be nice to share how we feel with each other at this awful time.
I was terrible to begin with, the hardest thing was telling the family. I've shed a few tears and been down a few times. However my husband and family have been brilliant!
At the moment i am trying to feel positive and hope that you are all doing ok.
I am sorry that you find yourself here, but it is good that you have joined this site, as there seems to be so much support here.
I am so glad for you that no cancer was found in the rest of your lymph nodes, but I do sympathise with the chemotherapy, as I know what my sister went through and how tiring it can be. Glad you've only had indigestion as a side effect, but sorry to hear about your hair, as it must be such a shock when it first starts coming out. It sound like the head shave is a good idea and I hope the wig fitting goes well for you on Tuesday.
I hope you continue to feel positive and it is great that you have the support of a brilliant family.
Thanks for your reply. It's great to talk to others who understand what it is all about.
Can I ask.........Does anyone still drive/feel like driving?
Does anyone do excercises? I do excercises every day. The hospital gave me a series of these to do. The first one was "with the drain" The second lot were "intermediate" and the third lot, I am on now, are "Advanced." I feel they really help and wondered what others thought.
Questions, questions!! Do the after effects of the chemo stay the same or do they differ with each session?
I have to have 4 lots of EPI followed by 4 lots of CMF. Then radiotherapy and then tablets for 5 years. Can't remember the name of them but the lump I had was both Oestrogen and progesterone fed. Trust me to have both!!!
Hi Jean i drive and after my mastectomy with reconstuction I had 2 weeks off from driving wile I recovered. I kept fit while having my chemo they say the more active you are the better you feel during all the treatment. By the end of my chemo (I had 6 Fec one every 3 weeks) I did feel weak but afer a few months I recovered. Everyone is different and you just have to go with the flow. I take things at a slower pace these days and am not so OCD about the house which has pleased my family lol. I was on Tamoxifen because I was ER + they have told me to stop taking them I dont think they worked for me.
There are plenty people here to offer you any advice just ask away!
Take care and hope all goes well with the wig fitting and shaving your head.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have read your profile and you seem to be going through the mill and you take the time to reply to me! You are such a brave lady.
Thanks very much.
Losing my hair does not worry me in the least. I can easily cope with that.
I am just so impatient. I don't "do" being ill. Never have, never will.
I just can't believe that 6 weeks after the second op, I still feel sore and my arm still doesn't feel strong enough to drive or pick up my grandchildren. Also my back aches most of the time. Is this usual????????????
I have spoken to the breast care nurse at the hospital for reassurance and have been told that this is normal but I fear that I am being fobbed off. Am I being irrational?
I would love to hear from anyone who has had the same 2 ops as I have. The first op was fine..............2 incisions in the breast. The second op, i think,is the one that is giving me worry/problems. It is under the arm and seems to really restrict the movement of the arm.
I don't have any personal experience of this, but do know what my sister experienced. She had her chemo every three weeks..FEC, the first time round & Taxotere the second. The actual symptoms were the same for each session, she would have her chemo on the Wed and would have two bad days on the Friday and the Saturday and then feel gradually better. She would have a week off work each time & would feel ok to go back when the week was up. The only difference between the two drugs was that she didn't feel quite as nauseous on the Taxotere. The only cumulative affect was her taste, which was affected more with each session and also the tiredness. She also was given exercises by the hospital, which she always made sure she did, as this was to help with the movement in her arm. Like you, she had restriction in her arm, she felt it was very tight and felt like it pulled at her armpit but strangely this actually improved when she had her next op 3yrs later (see my profile). She also got a bit of feeling back in it too. One year after her last op, she still has to be careful with it and is not supposed to carry anything heavy with that arm. So no, you are not being a wimp! I'm not sure bout the back pain though, sorry.
Thanks for the reasurance about the arm. I'll keep at the excercises and hope that they help.
No one said anything about the mess when your hair starts to fall out!!!
Cleaned the wash hand basin this morning as quite a bit of hair fell out when I was drying it. As fast as I cleaned it more appeared as it was falling out as i was doing the cleaning!!!!
Roll on Tuesday.
My 2 wee granddaughers were having great fun this morning trying on my wig. They are coming back on Tuesday as they want to see Granny with no hair.......just like Grandad and Daddy!!!!
Hi jean i had my surgery in oct 08 they done mine together i have the scare on the side of my breast and the armpit,It is early days for you so please dont worry it does take time for the arm to feel right again, the scares will also feel quite hard ( my breast nurse said they do this before they get better) you get all strange feelings numbness and pulling sensation down the arm,but keep up the exercise it does help, mine was all been back to nomal by 4-6 weeks.As for the hair you have to laugh or you would just cry i didn't think i had so much.wish you well with the chemo. Take care Margaret
Hi Jean, Sorry that you are going through this awful time. Im not surprised that you've shed a few tears and have had some down days (I had one of those days yesterday)!! You've been through two ops and I believe its best to take things at your pace, listen to your body and if you dont feel ready to drive yet then wait till you do feel like you can. I agree with everyone else, it takes time for your arm to get back to normal. Mine felt restricted for a few weeks to. I have my second chemo tues, Im glad your feeling well on it. Like you my hair fell out the other day-it nearly all came out in one evening!!! Hope you make it till tues to have it shaved coz it may all be gone by then if its like mine!! lol.
Lorraine how are you today?? My thoughts have been with you. Look after yourself, like jean said you are a brave lady.
Hope everyone else is ok. I had a boo-hoo day yesterday worrying about my future with cancer!! Sorry folks im not being brave this weekend, well, im ok now...well not too bad! Take care and bigs hugs all round Chelle x x
So sorry to hear you had a bad day yesterday, but glad you're feeling a little better today. You don't have to be brave missus, that's what this place is all about. With what you're going through, you are brave, but you will have your down days and you know there are always people around you to get you through it. I always feel a little bit odd sometimes when I post on here, as all of you are going through this experience yourselves & I'm not, but I do understand as much as I can, having been through it with my sis and also I understand about the worry for the future as I worry about that for us both.
Try to stay positive about what's ahead..I know it's easy for me to say, but you sound like such a strong lady and that's half the battle won sometimes. And don't feel bad about having boo-hoo days! They are allowed!!
A big hug to you, you have lots of support on here!
