After EC chemo - side effects

Daughter found EC tough. She was pretty much exactly as you describe. Began to feel better during week 2 and fairly 'normal' during week 3, before next cycle.  

It's definitely not easy but you will get through this. I hope you have friends or family to help you through the miserable days. Sending love and strength. xxx

I was the same on EC. EC is tough but you will get thru it. It completely floored me and I needed a dose reduction. Around day 10 I started to feel a bit stronger. This feeling won’t last but I know it’s hard x

Ive just had round 2 of EC and its been a lot worse than than the first. The sickness has hit me more this time. I would say if you are struggling with any symptoms just give the rapid response a call. They have been brilliant trying to get me coping better. 

You aren't alone, I've had 4x docetaxel at 3 week intervals and just started on EC.

I was shocked by how swiftly the breathlessness and fatique set in. No amount of rest or sleep seems to help, this is normal for these drugs apparently 

I know it's a cliche but don't push yourself, rest whenever you can, aim to do a little each day, and it may be a little, it took me a while to adjust to how little I could do.

Are you on the filgestram injections too?

I found after day 4 or 5 of having those I improved, not fully, it tests your patience that's for sure if you are used to being active.

I guess this is why treatment is every 3 weeks.

Sending strength and comfort x

I went through this last year and the fatigue really got to me. Unfortunately when you see articles on the news of people who are undergoing treatment and are running marathons etc it makes you feel like a failure for succumbing to these side effects. But remember your body is being flooded with poison and it is going to make you feel unwell, but it’s for a good reason. So be kind to yourself and remember it is only for a short time to enable you to live for many years to come.

Hi Fairy24 how are you doing now? I do hope that you've got some energy back and are feeling a bit more normal. I found the steroids kept the side effects away for the first few days after treatment, days 4&5 were the worst and then it slowly got better and for the last week (I was on 3 week cycles of TCHP chemo) I was relatively normal.  I also found the side effects followed the same pattern each time.

Walking really helped me, even though some days I could literally only manage 10 mins, but I made a real effort to get out every day and this was good.   Best wishes 

You are right. I feel like a total failure at t the moment. I am day 6 of my first EC (have had 4 Paclitaxel ) and yesterday I was so unwell. Could hardly think or do anything. Literally just watched tv , saved out, felt sick, mouth vile , slimy feeling and a splitting headache. Better today but still not done anything and feel like I’m just rubbish. 

Hi Golightly

Sorry to hear that you are feeling awful at the moment.  You are anything but a failure, treatment can leaving you feeling rubbish and you just need to take time out to recover. So as MarieG said be kind to yourself.

Hope you feel less rubbish soon.

Daisy53

Please don't feel like that, Golightly. Daughter really struggled with EC. The nausea was dreadful, there were days when she only moved from bed to the sofa. Do talk to your CNS team and to the oncologist at your next appointment. There are a number of anti nausea drugs, different ones suit different people. Daughter never lost the nausea but did get a cocktail of meds which made it slightly more bearable. She also experimented with taking them at different times in the day which helped.

I hope you feel a bit better tomorrow. This too will pass.

Sending love and a hug. xxx

Thank you so much. I have picked up a bit. Well quite a lot but still woozy and not trusting myself to drive. Still nauseous but in the back ground so I’ll take it as a win! 3 more to go. Head down x hope your daughter is well x