**JANUARY BREAST CANCER CHEMO**

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Setting this up a bit early....and I will ask Admin to ‘sticky’ it 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Daydreamer6

    I’ve had a few hot flushes at night but only in the week following the Herceptin and Pertuzumab so probably not the Paclitaxel causing it.  I’m trying to drink more water, although when it’s so cold I don’t always manage it.  Not really sure it’s helping.

    Please don’t feel you can’t post because your chemo is going well. It’s encouraging to hear how everyone is doing.  

    I wasn’t given the option of cold capping as the hospital were not offering it due to extra time taken on the unit and trying to get more patients through their chemo sooner. I lost all my hair in week 2 to 3 of the first cycle, but apart from feeling rather cold a lot of the time I haven’t minded wearing bamboo caps at home, plus an extra woolly hat when I go out.  And I’ve learnt to draw eyebrows!!  I think I’m more upset about my toenails because that’s uncomfortable, especially as I like to walk each day.

    I wonder what you mean about EC having low chance of success?  I would like to think I wasn’t going through it for nothing.

    I’m wondering if I can tag anyone else?  I only learnt to do that yesterday, even though I have been on this site for months! How sad is that?

    Good luck to those with treatments and appointments this week,

    Judith

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Northerner

    . I had very thick hair too, naturally wavy, always let it dry naturally. I had mine cut short, and then razor cut once it started coming out in handfuls.  I’m doing all the recommended stuff and hoping it will come back in its own good time.

    I’m going to ask about toe nails when I go for my treatment tomorrow, and asking for referral to podiatrist sounds like a good idea, though I doubt I will get an appointment at the moment.  I’ve been using various different hand creams and a Neutrogena hand and nail cream which so far has kept hands ok.  I’ve been using nail oil but it doesn’t seem to have helped on the toes. 

    I’ll mention the nose bleeds again but nobody seemed very bothered last time. I’m hoping it will improve when I stop the Paclitaxel.

     Thanks for all the encouragement!

    Judith

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi ladies,

    I hope you are all doing well + don't mind me jumping on the bandwagon.....I was diagnosed with TNBC in Nov which is in the lymph nodes but I am still waiting for the results of a CT to determine the extent + started my first round of chemo last Wed,  I will be having 3 cycles of EC every 3 weeks followed by 12 weekly cycles of Taxol, followed by surgery, a full lymph node removal + likely radiotherapy!  Whoop whoop!

    I wanted to ask advice about a couple of things - firstly, the cooling cap - I used this last week but am under no illusions that it is going to work (from what I have read, EC causes hair loss for most) but wondered about fit for those who had tried it? I wore the small which was very tight but I couldn't feel the cold at the top of my head, it was like there was a little gap between the cold cap + the outer shell (although the nurses kept telling me my head was cold) so am wondering if I should try the medium next time which may fit slightly better?  Less tight but closer to my head?  Does anyone have any advice with this for me please?  Words of wisdom?  Tried + tested? Any recommendations for scalp care?  I am booked into one of the LGFG sessions so hopefully, I can get some tips from that as well :)

    Secondly, I have also suffered the WORST headaches!!  No one mentioned this as a SE so was totally expecting the sickness (I vomited for 7 hours straight after my first session) but have been ok since, a little tired + emotional but generally well I would say.  Anyone else had headaches?  Is it the chemo or the cooling cap?  Nurofen is not cutting the mustard!

    Lastly (for now), my tumour seems to be much more painful 5 days after chemo than it has been - could this be my imagination?  A symptom of the treatment?  Hormones?  I am taking monthly Zoladex injections to try + protect my ovaries - maybe it is this?

    Any guidance is greatly welcomed + so appreciated!

    Thanks so much

    Pipxxxx

    P.S Sorry for all the questions!!

  • Hi  

    My comment about low chance of success referred to the chances of the cold cap working with EC. So sorry if I wasn’t clear. I also bloomin’ well hope that I am not going through all this for nothingJoy 

    I will try to re-read future posts to make sure I am saying what I meant to! 
    Patsy

  • Hi  I was at diabetic clinic yesterday for eye and feet check ( don't we lead exciting lives ) when she was checking pulse in foot noticed my nails . They are on their 3rd try of growing and are managing but one looks as if fungal infection there . She suggested using nail file across nail and a couple of tea tree oil drops on it would be a good healing agent ......I will let you know .

    One step at a time and ...Breathe !
    xoxox
    Margaret
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Northerner

    Thanks .

    oncologist has given me antibiotic lotion for now as concern about bleeding at the edge of the nails, and some toes looking rather red.  Nail file is a good suggestion as I’ve been struggling to cut them.

    Judith

  • Ok I can suggest something for the nosebleed situation, which is probably not the worst of your side effects but troubling nonetheless and you need your sleep! 

    I get nosebleeds as a side effect from my ongoing chemo (some pretty dramatic ones too) and my oncologist prescribed an antibiotic cream as a suggestion to try. I’m not mad on antibiotics and it didn’t seem make much difference (although I was a bit half-hearted as you can tell). 

    Then I remembered that after radiotherapy (targeted close to the skin surface because of the cancer location) I had raw weeping skin and an experienced district nurse suggested Medihoney - medical grade manuka honey  in a tube ordered from my health food store. It helped a lot - naturally anti-bac and forms a kind of gel on the skin. 

    So once I’d remembered it, I tried applying a tiny amount of Medihoney, wiping inside each nostril with a clean cotton bud. I do this at bedtime and if it seems to be worsening in my chemo cycle, in the morning too. In the last two months I’ve had one mild nighttime nosebleed that stopped almost immediately and occasional very small daytime bleeds that I can stop by applying the Medihoney. My oncologist is fine with it and glad it’s one less thing to worry about. 

    Definitely worth a try. Good luck Judith and I hope all goes well for you.   

    With hope and love, D 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Dosydo

    Thanks Dosydo.  I appreciate the suggestions.

    Judith x

  • Just popped in to say I had my results after surgery today and the chemotherapy has worked 100 percent. I am cancer free! 
    I had an HER2 positive BC with one lymph node affected. I started with FEC- THP and despite being a fit sixty year old I found it harsh. Before Christmas I had my lumpectomy and lymph node clearance.

    Today the junior doctor had the lovely job of ringing me to tell me my results. No sign of any cancer cells and only one node out of 29 affected. I was so happy I cried! 
    This can happen for 40 per cent of HER2 positive patients. Take heart and keep going! 
    im going to have a rest before radiotherapy as I’m a bit broken but it’s all working out Lifter️‍♀️ 

  • WoohooTada fantastic news  no wonder you wept with joy! Onwards and upwards Smiley

    Wishing you all peace and calm in the storm...with a helping of laughter and joy to bring healing Heart️