newby

Hello REAL REDHEAD 

I can read that you have had a really rough time with your treatment and must feel devastated it's got to continue.

I can sympathise with you though as I too had very severe side effects from the chemo. I was sick throughout the EC but I have been left with permanent nerve damage from the taxotere. I have to visit the neurologist every six months who monitors this with blood tests and electrical nerve tests. 

I expect like you it began with burning feet and hands and skin that peeled in sheets rather than flakes. Now with medication,( gabapentine1000mg, vit B12, 1, 6 vit D and a multivitamin) to control the condition I just have numbness, pins and needles, some leg pain and drop things frequently because fingers get numb too.

I understand how you feel on your own with your reaction to the treatment. So many people do not react in the same way and therefore can't imagine what it's like. They make helpful suggestions about taking new sickness pills or trying exercises for your feet. Things which sadly make no difference. How can you change a sickness pill when you can't take the one you've got as moving your head makes you sick? How can you roll your feet on a pole when you can't put your feet on the floor? Sheets in bed hurt too.

I was given a bed cage to lift sheets off my feet and that does help. Even after several years, I still use the cage if the sheets feel heavy.

I hope it helps to know you're not alone. I can't offer a magic cure but controlled treatment has made it possible to enjoy life. We still travel and walk regularly, exploring new places.

I hope your next treatment goes better than the first. The only positive was that it reduced your lump and probably reduced your treatment. I imagine your next plan is to prevent recurrence.  Perhaps the tumour anslysis showed TNBC? Chemo/ radiotherapy are the only preventative treatment for those and for me it worked. I have been clear of cancer for almost ten years. 

Take care of yourself now.

Love Karen