Chemo

Hi Debbie,

My daughters hair fell out after round 2 of Chemo when she had breast cancer. It grew back lovely and curly (normally straight) for a while.

I think you have a good question and I think I would wait and treat yourself afterwards. xxxx

Deborino Hi Deb, you did make me smile! You're faced with going to the Christie but worrying about your hair and unnecessary expense if it falls out! But I do see where you're coming from. When I was first diagnosed with cancer one of first things I thought about was the prospect of having several different wigs with different hairstyles in different colours - I was disappointed I didn't have chemo!

Perhaps if you Ask a Nurse, here on the forum they might have an idea if a particular chemo used to treat the sarcoma may result in hair loss. Hopefully someone here might come back with an answer for you.

Sending hugs, Barb xx

BTW you're not a Debbie Downer, you're a Debbie Upper!

Not all hospitals give chemo, but they should.  The chemo does make you lose your hair at 10 - 14 days.  In my case it was thicker when it grew back, which was a positive.  They will give you leaflets on the chemo that they will give you.  I had carboplatinn and paclotaxel. If you ae having these, let me know and \I will tell you how it affected me. Good luck! 

Hi all, I'm new to the group. I have had  a radical hysterectomy for stage 1a serous womb cancer. I have just started chemo last month and experienced peripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet along with nauseous, fatigue and insomnia. I'm also having the carboplatinn and paclitaxel. Did they alter the doses for you and if they did, did help alleviate the side effects especially with the neuropathy. Good luck Deborino x

Welcome Bridgepond89!  Please talk to your consultant about your side effects as they may be able to increase the anti-nausea drugs.  Fatigue and insomnia are common, so don't put yourself under any pressure.  During chemo, all you need to do is get by to the next session.  Is someone helping you at home?  Do you have a spare bedroom so that you can banish our partner and then read or watch TV in the middle of the night if you can't get back to sleep?  Don't feel that you have to keep to a 'normal' pattern.  There are freezer type gloves and socks that you can wear during the chemo to reduce peripheral neuropathy.  I didn't try those, but there may be other people on here who did.  I had neuropathy in my feet and slightly in my hands.  My hands are now fine and I just have mild neuropathy in the end of my feet (that's likely to be permanent now) which isn't a problem. Your oncologist can adjust the doses, but you need to have a certain amount for it to be fully effective, so it's worth standing as much as you can.  I had severe leg pain as my worst side effect but was able to have all my cycles.  Hopefully your consultant will work with you on this. The first cycle is such a shock and at least next time you will know what to expect.  Good luck x

Hi Bridgepond89 and welcome to our spot in the Online Community. I didn't have chemo so I can't help I'm sorry to say. I just noticed your post about Peripheral Neuropathy so thought this Reading Material might be useful.

Big hugs, barb x

Hi Endo3 

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. It's been some weeks since I have been back to the forum. I must admit I was quite frightened by the peripheral neuropathy and had considered not continuing with the chemo. I did speak to my consultant who agreed to reduce the Paclitaxel by 20% for the next round. I brought freezer socks as well but they do not keep frozen for long but I got round that by using old fashioned hunks of ice from some frozen packaging a friend gave me, that fit into the socks and used frozen peas to rest my hands on. I know the reduced chemo has helped. I have still experienced the neuropathy but not as extreme as the first time. My hair fell out after the first round, so a lot to grapple with. I also have had bone pain too, on differing scale and the usual side effects of nausea, fatigue, loss of taste, insomnia and feeling a bit hopeless at times. I live alone, so I can switch up my routine, when I want. I have a friend who will collect shopping but she is shielding as well, am I so I very rarely see people. I don't belong to a bubble, so I can feel very isolated at times. Xx

Thank you Barbs for the welcome and the article. I did read it and I'm really glad that my consultant could change the dosage of the paclitaxel, that has really helped, although, I still have neuropathy in my hands and feet (along with bone pain), It's not as severe as the first time. I'm just coming out of the third round, this week, with a further three more rounds to go, before radiotherapy and brachytherapy and radiotherapy some time after the New Year, all being well. Hugs xxx