Starting chemo in March 2023

Soo pleased for you! 
It’s so nice to hear when being pumped with all these awful things that they are in fact doing something beneficial! 

Similarly I had ultrasound yesterday, as I was having a marker placed in the tumour, and after 2 rounds it’s shrunk from 23mm down to 17mm which feels very positive and at least makes all these worries and tiredness and hair anxiety feel a little worthwhile :)

Grats! That’s so nice to hear! We need a bit of good stuff to keep going as you say 

Just wanted to leave this for anyone that might find it helpful. Seems to me that fatigue doesn’t necessarily get worse in a predictable pattern. During Cycle 1 I was quite tired. Cycle 2 I was exhausted and spend a lot of time sleeping like a brick.  I thought I would be even worse after round 3. Cycle 3 though seems even better than Cycle 1, I have more energy than I had during any time in chemo. Just a thing.

Great tip about the look good feel beter workshop, I’ve booked myself on one at Maggies in Nottingham thanks x

With doxetaxel are you still having to cold cap? I’m really looking forward to that not being part of the process, but wondering if growth only returns when still using the ice hat? 

So pleased to hear this. Thanks for posting. Have found round 2 super tiring, and it’s got me down. It’s really nice to hear that this isn’t necessarily a sign of things getting worse and hasn’t been cumulative for all cycles :) 

Just to add to this - also found round 2 very tiring. Felt sleepy and down and thought. - ‘here we go’. Prepared for round 3 to be even worse - told everyone it would be and got anxious myself about it , then waited around for the fatigue side effects that didn’t really come! Have been fine overall with round three - so, no rhyme nor reason and a lesson yet again not to over worry etc etc - how many lessons do we have to learn on this journey??? 

Jan

I used cold cap for 3 x EC and 3 x Docetaxel. Hair stopped shedding after EC finished and started to grow but I chose to continue with cap right to the end of my 6 treatments hoping it will aid regrowth. I found it ok. Good luck whatever you decide 

Had my 2nd round of chemo yesterday, same procedure as the first, was in there for less than 90 minutes. The nurse mentioned something that I had never heard before, which is to flush the toilet twice with the lid closed to make sure the chemo drugs are flushed away and also to prevent any splashing of particles into the atmosphere. This was never mentioned in the chemo workshop and I hadn't read about it in any of the information, did anyone else know about this?

My hair is now very thin and I'm wearing a woolly hat indoors as it is a bit cold, would like to pop out to the shops but that would mean either having to wear my wig or a scarf and I'm not sure I'm ready for either yet.

I’m due to start on the EC / Docetaxel journey at the beginning of May and just watched a you tube video from the hospital I will be receiving my chemotherapy at and it mentioned closing toilet lid before flushing for up to 1 week after each treatment. 
Hope you’re doing well so far x