January 2023 Chemo Starters

Good luck if you do the walk. Its about 8000 steps a day and on the chat group they say you can count all your steps during the day too. I'm hoping to walk 3 Miles a day to start and build up. Probably 1.5 am and again pm. Go for it! The more raised for cancer research, the better too.

I would love to join you all tomorrow but I won't be up to it after chemo today. Next time for sure. Take care everyone x

Hi All, how is everyone doing? It’s gone very quiet on our thread.

I’ve now finished radiotherapy - met with Ali for coffee at the Marsden as we were having treatment at the same time. Boob still red and uncomfortable but hopefully it will ease.
On my 3 weekly Phesgo and hormone treatment. Both seem to be going ok at the moment. I get a bit restless at night and hot but so far nothing too bad.

Love to hear back from you guys.

Hugs from cuffcake

Hi Cuffcake2000

Not been here for a while. I just had my first Bisphosphonate infusion after my final round of chemo which has really knocked me back. I was just getting going again and now.... Well.

I've got my surgery date 7th July so I'm a way behind you. 

Can I ask. Did they stop your Phesgo injection prior to surgery. With my surgeon holidays I'm not having surgery for another 6 weeks, but they have stopped my injections. 

I've had restless night and being hot for year thanks to the menopause, so if this is the near future for me.... Nothing unusual.

Hope you continue on your road to recovery. Keep smiling.

Hi Klee65, I had my surgery first so I didn’t have any treatments to stop beforehand. I know they can stop some treatments before surgery to help. It’s worth checking with your surgeon as to what needs to be stopped prior as somethings I think can be quite a way ahead of surgery. 
I hope things settle well with your Bisphosphonate and the next treatment is easier.

Wishing you all the best for your surgery. 
Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x

Hi there, 

I'm doing well thanks and so nice to hear from you. I finished chemo nearly 6 weeks ago and start 2 weeks of radiotherapy on 7th June. I had a biophospate infusion with my last chemo and I was grotty for 2 weeks or more, tough, but then picked up OK. I'm feeling stronger each week now and even have some fluffy hair appearing.

It's been a strange and difficult time but each day of feeling well and like my old self is such a joy!! The warmer weather helps too doesn't it? I felt the cold so much!! Has anyone looked into anti cancer diets and supplements going forward? I'm doing some reading and research about this to hopefully reduce odds of recurrance even more. Just wondering how much to do. At the moment I'm avoiding sugar, dairy and red meat only occasionally. May do turmeric tablets too and a few other things. Interested to hear views and what others may be thinking of or have heard about. After triple neg, I don't want the bugger back now it's gone!!!

Good luck to everyone, every day. Xx

HI all, yes been a little quiet i also had my last chemo session 12 May along with my first Zomera infusion...i start my radiotherapy 12 June for 3 weeks and been given Tamoxifen to start today..  has anyone else started Tamoxifen if so happy to take any tips when to take etc.  I am also having Zoladex injection every 4 weeks to bring on my menopause xx how is everyone doing xx 

Hi onthebay I picked up a macmillan booklet regarding diets and cancer. Which i have been looking at apart from the avoiding alcohol, red meats and processed foods its pretty much the norm a balanced diet plenty of fruit and veg etc. I think you have to be careful with supplements etc (thats me reading between the lines) so maybe if poss you can get hold of some info regarding this or speak to a dietician xx 

I’m going to ask my breast care nurse if I can see a dietitian for advice. I think calcium and vitamin D might be important for when I start Letrozole to suppress estrogen but going to ask some more questions when I next see my medical staff. 

Hope everyone is doing well. Xx

Hello lovely ladies, sorry I have been very quiet on here. So good to hear from you :-)  

I have finally finished active treatment, with my last radio yesterday. In the meanwhile I continued to have my monthly Zoladex injections for ovarian suppression and I will soon be starting Exemestane (another AI). I have to say I found radiotherapy to be a walk in the park compared to chemo. The treated area is quite red, but not painful. I am hydrating a lot and using Biafine cream religiously twice a day. My eyebrows and eyelashes have grown back and hair is re-growing too, although I continued to lose a lot after I finished chemo, so now it is all quite messy with so many different lenghts/colours. I still have a bit of a moon face, but it is getting better each day. I wish I could lose the other 8kgs I gained quickly so that I can recognise myself, as I am terrified I will gain even more weight when on full hormone blockers. How is everyone else doing? 

cuffcake2000 addabitofsparkle how nice you ended up at the hospital on the same day. I had a dream last week, where some of us ended up on a lovely holiday in Spain a year from now. It was all a bit surreal, but quite nice. Hope you are doing ok. 

Big Hugs xx

Hi Onthebay, good luck with your radiotherapy. Some tips to help, keep the area well moisturised, I avoided wearing a bra especially as it left a mark that could aggravate where having treatment, I used a crop top or vest tops and keep well hydrated. I used Aveeno moisturiser and shower gel as they are nice and moisturising and fragrance free. 
With my diet to be honest I’ve not really been avoiding anything. I’ve tried to stick with a good varied diet. I’ve googled things but have stuck to sites like Macmillan, Cancer Research or NHS. Cancer research says Dairy is shown to reduce the risk of bowel cancel but there’s no proof it increases or decreases the risk of any other cancer. There are lots of websites that tell you not to eat various types of food but not sure I would trust them, but everyone needs to do what makes them feel comfortable. Studies are good to go by but I don’t think there have been enough to really prove what foods are good or bad or cancer. If someone does find a site I’d be interested too
Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x