Hello! Triple Neg BC and about to start chemo

Firstly, welcome to the club no one wants to join, but where everyone is loving and supportive. I am 35 year old and a mum to a 2 year old was diagnosed a few months ago with triple negative ductal carcinoma and just had my 3rd round of EC chemo so I'm a little further ahead in the journey to you. I also had a port fitted prior to my first chemo session. Happy to chat about my journey if you want to reach out, but please remember that everyone's treatment is different and everyone reacts differently. I wish you all the best for you journey. Don't fall into the Google rabbit hole, it's not a great place to be and remind yourself to just take one step at a time, one foot in front of the other and you will get to the other side x

65 year old retired senior manager still trying to hold down assorted board roles. TNBC diagnosed in February, surgery followed by chemo. I had 4 rounds of EC and am just over half way through 12 weeks of Paclitaxel. Everyone reacts differently to chemo and with the exception of one hospitalisation, I have had a relatively easy ride. Desk work hasn’t been a problem for me at any point, so if you can work from home and limit your hours you might find it ok. I really don’t think I would have been able to work full time or commute though. I have a port and that’s been a godsend in enabling me to stay active. All the best. 

Hi Coddfish thanks for responding. Your blog encouraged me to sign up as we have the same thing. And actually your recounting helped me make the decision to fully hand over my day to day activities to my deputy. I still think I can do some of the strategic stuff but I was meant to present a whole company update on Teams in a couple of weeks but I’ve just told my MD that I need to postpone until I know what the cycle is and how I’m likely to feel. So thank you, really helpful!

Thanks Sam2312 any tips of what to take to the first session? How long will I be? Does it hurt?

Hi Magenta73, borderline TNBC here, just had 3rd cycle of EC, one more to go then 12 weekly cycles of PAC. I thought I’d be able to do ‘a bit of work’ too, 6 months into a new job it really wasn’t a good time to be stepping back! However, it just hasn’t been possible to do anything; the side effects take a while to get to grips with, and the fatigue after the second cycle was extreme. Plus there are all the additional appts they don’t tell you about like line care, bloods and oncology appts; you’ll spend more time at the hospital than you think! Everyone is different though. Maybe don’t plan to do much until you’ve had your first couple of cycles and then see how you are fairing. Good luck! Xx

Thanks. I had meant to attach a link to my blog but you are ahead of me!  When it comes to the Paclitaxel part, the timing of your chemo will make a difference to how much you can work. My chemo is Wednesday afternoons and my worst day of the week is always Sunday….  Apart from needing to be at the hospital every Wednesday afternoon I could probably work quite well Mon-Fri right now. 
On the topic of extra appointments, if you have a PICC line it has to be flushed weekly, whereas a port can be left between 3 weekly chemo appointments. You get a review with the oncology team once every 3 weeks, but mine are happy to do that by telephone. Getting bloods done is a pain though as it’s another trip the day before each chemo. 

Rocky Horror fan by any chance?

Ha ha “Dammit Janet” you guessed! 

Hi Magenta, so sorry I didn't reply sooner. I had my last EC on Thursday last week before I moved to my weekly treatments and have had a few issues (my 2 year old was ill last week - which I managed to avoid - but then I've picked up a couple of infections and feel ghastly at the minute). I'm not sure when your first treatment was / is but I had my port fitted just before my first chemo. They gave me a mild sedative for the procedure so I was a bit out of it for the day. But...everyone reacts differently, it depends on your treatment and how your body copes. I know not much help sorry. Personally,  I felt horrid after my first EC and spent the majority of the time laid in bed or on the sofa for the first week. About halfway through week 2 I started to feel better (especially after shaving my head as my scalp was hurting - I didn't use cold cap) and by week 3 I felt pretty fine again. My second treatment was a lot easier. I was tired but nowhere near as bad as round 1 and a lot of the side effects I had in round 1 were controlled. I would recommend making a short diary of your symptoms from day 1 (the day you have chemo) to the day before your next round as this will help you see trends and remember side effects.  Make sure you speak to your breast care or chemo nurses...they can and want to help if you have any side effects. Take whatever you can get to help you get through this is my advice.  The port was uncomfortable for a couple weeks but has settled loads and honestly makes things so much easier. I have really bad veins so it is the only option for me but its a godsend. Make sure you wear something comfortable and drink plenty. I had really bad nausea and my chemo nurse recommended having a good meal before chemo which seems to help a little. Hope I have answered a few of your queries and apologies for waffling so much...my heads a little all over the place today lol! Feel free to reach out if you want to talk more and I will do my best to reply quick. Good luck with your journey xx