Just been diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer. Will be starting chemo in a couple of weeks. Scared of what the next five months are going to be like.
Hi Tilly12, you are not alone in this. I was diagnosed after a routine screening in July and I sometimes still have bad days coming to terms with it but you will cope with it and get through it.
It will get a little easier once you start your treatment and you can see an end date in sight. Chemo, while not ideal, isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Are you having it before or after surgery? I had a mastectomy with reconstruction first and am going to have my 3rd chemo session next week.
I’m having 8 chemo sessions in total (4 ec followed by 4 paclitaxil every 2 weeks) I am getting through it by counting off the sessions one by one & imagining it sweeping around my body like drain cleaner getting rid of any nasties that could potentially be lurking there! It is hard when you get a diagnosis like this but it does get easier as time goes on. Good luck over the next 5 months
Thanks for reaching out. I'm having chemo before surgery. 3 ec and then paclitaxil and something else after that for another 3 sessions which will be weekly.
I sure it will beceasier when I know what it involves, the unknown makes it harder and I'm just imagining the worst.
I'm lucky to have a good support network but don't think they really understand how I'm feeling. As I think only people who have been here understand.
Sorry you are joining this lovely club. I have TNBC, diagnosed following routine mammogram in January. At that stage it was thought to be early stage so I had surgery first, then 4 rounds of EC and 12 weeks of Paclitaxel. A lesion was found on my liver a few weeks ago following a CT scan for something else, so I am now awaiting the results of further tests I had this week. I found both types of chemo bearable. With EC, the worst bit was usually around days 5-7, which coincided with the first part of the Filgrastim injections. On a 3-weekly cycle, I found I was pretty well normal for the last 10 days or so. Paclitaxel’s hardest day was also day 5, but it wasn’t as bad as the worst days of EC. Unfortunately weekly Paclitaxel is a relentless roundabout you can’t get off with very little normal time. Watch out for peripheral neuropathy on Paclitaxel, if it starts to occur, shout out, as you need them to reduce dosage before it builds into permanent damage. Polybalm has been my ‘hero’ product that has saved my nails, The pharmaceutical prize goes to Omeprazole for managing acid reflux.
