Stage 3c1 and chemo and christmas

Hi Lou

I hope that your chemo goes well next week. I remember my first one and how worried I felt. I was scared stiff. The nurse phoned me from the chemo unit the day before and went through what would happen and that really helped me. 

My chemo cycles would start with bloods being taken a few days before and then they were repeated on the day of chemo. It can be different in different hospitals though. 

Having someone to take you and collect you is a good plan and also to sit with you in the waiting room can help. 

I was told not to work during chemo as the infection risk was too high- however this can be individual and depends on what work you normally do and how many hours etc. I would have felt unable to do any sort of work during my chemo. 

Mine was a 21 day cycle. So for me day 1 was at the hospital. I had carboplatin and paclitaxel. I also did scalp cooling. I would arrive at the hospital around 8 in the morning. I had bloods done and then would have a cuppa in the hospital cafe. I would then go to the unit where I would be collected by a nurse who would take me to the unit. The ward was arranged into bays of around 6 reclining chairs. it was light, airy and very calm. There were more nurses/HCA's than I expected. First step was height and weight and then obs like blood pressure. They would then set up the scalp cooling. Then it would be onto the pre meds. Mine was in 2022 so from memory it was anti nausea, steroid and antihistamine tablets. Then the canula would be inserted into the back of my hand. I would then have from memory piriton? through the line. Once that had gone through I would feel quite sleepy. They would then do saline flush through. Paclitaxel was always first and would take 3 hours to infuse. After that it would be another saline flush. Once that was done the carboplatin would be infused over 1 hour. There would then be a final saline flush. 

I would normally leave the hospital around 5/6. 

During the day I would be regularly monitored by the nurses. There was also a volunteer who came round with regular hot / cold drinks and biscuits. At lunchtime she would bring sandwiches and a pudding. I felt well looked after. 

I found it best to wear lose, comfy clothing and layers as sometimes I felt hot and sometimes cold. I also wore comfy slip on shoes. My nurse suggested bringing a blanket from home and I did find it nice to have. 

I understand how you feel about the medication and it can seem a lot but it all has a role to play. They will give you a book/diary where they write all your medications in and give you numbers to call for advice. It can be helpful to fill in how you are doing each day. With each cycle I had a consultant review by telephone. 

It can be hard to know how chemo will affect you and which side effects you may get however you will have a 24 hour helpline to call. Mine was great and they were often able to give reassurance and medication when needed. 

One thing to be aware of is that there is a higher risk of infection when undergoing treatment. They will give you a SEPSIS card with details of what to do. I was told to buy an accurate thermometer and to take my temperature regularly and to call if it went higher or lower than normal range for me. if it does then they will normally take you in and check you over. 

For me the first week post chemo was the worst and I would feel rough and not up to doing much. I would feel a bit better by the second week and by the third I felt up to doing more. However I felt that I did have more fatigue as the cycles went on and did find that the effects accumulated with each cycle. Best advice I can give is to listen to your body and if it is telling you to rest- that's what it needs. 

Chemo is not easy at times but it was nowhere as bad as I had feared and nothing like it is portrayed in the media/films etc. Doses can be adjusted and medication can often be used to help. It was doable. Focussing on one cycle at a time helped me. If I thought about all the treatments ahead then it could feel overwhelming. The first treatment is the worst as you don't know how you will be affected but once that one is done- I did find it a bit easier and less scary.

Good Luck

Jane

Hi Lou, hope you have managed to enjoy Christmas, I was in a similar position last Christmas so appreciate how apprehensive you will be feeling. My chemotherapy lasted a similar time but be prepared to be there longer than 5 hours. You sometimes have to wait a while for the chemo drugs to be changed when the staff are busy it can vary each visit. I didn’t have the cold cap but if you do choose this, it will increase the time you spend on the ward.

 I found my attention span wasn’t great, so struggled with a book but found magazines ok. I got a cheap sign up to Readily the online version of magazines. I treated myself to an I pad before my chemo began. I used to take a few snacks & drink of coconut water, you should be provided with a sandwich as you will be on the chemo ward over lunchtime. The volunteers at my local hospital used to serve tea & coffee and were happy to chat when they weren’t busy. All I can say is that my experience of chemo was nowhere as bad as I expected. I was signed off work for 6 months due to working in a school. I was ok the two days after chemo but started to feel unwell days after that, usually a week after chemo I started to pick up again. I was never physically sick but ask for advice on constipation & laxatives as I suffered badly. As my treatments went on I learnt to manage this. Speak to the chemo nurses for advice. The Macmillan nurses were also amazing and always rang me back if I couldn’t get hold of them with any worries or questions regarding my operation or chemotherapy. I used to get my bloods done the day before my treatment and the results would be with the chemo nurses when I arrived on the ward.  Hope all goes well. Tracey x

Hi Jane, thank you for this it will really help me next week. Hoping it won’t be as bad as I imagine it to be. Lou x

Hi Tracey, thank you so much for this, I am dreading next week but having this info has really helped me be more prepared , appreciated Lou x

Hi Lou, 

I didn’t work whilst I was having chemo, but I had had radio with chemo before. 
At my first lot with Paclitaxel I had a reaction almost straight away, the nurses were on alert with this, but it was good I had someone with me for that one, as they were also able to wave at nurses. As soon as it happened I had two nurses coming over to me with further meds, prepping them as they walked over, turned off the chemo, gave me the meds through the cannula and I was fine. They then continued with the chemo but at a much slower rate, so it was a much longer day, around 7 hours. For the next sessions, they also started at a much slower rate, and kept very close eye on me. I was fine for all other sessions.

i felt fine for next 3 days whilst I was on steroids, but found day 5 hardest. One piece of advise, if you are struggling, contact the 24 hour line. I waited until day 10 and they then said they thought stomach issues I was having were due to anti sickness meds, so I stopped taking them and I was fine. For further rounds I only took anti sickness meds for first 2.5 days. I was also given some mouthwash which I used for about the first two weeks each time. Also Jane suggested lemon sweets, what a godsend, tended to suck these for first 10 days, and then realised I hadn’t had any one day, as yucky taste had gone! Same pattern each time.

good luck x

Thank you Waidh, 

Hoping  everything goes well tomorrow , appreciate your feedback !

Lou x

Look forward to the end of your treatment. I. have had  surgery and 6 cycles of chemotherapy plus 25 radiotherapy and 2 bracheotherapy after a stage 3c diagnosis. That was final treatment in Feb. I am recovering slowly and had good news after a scan there is no spread. I starting swimming again this week but the best tip is keep busy thinking about getting better and I found work helped me forget about it all. I was working 4 days after my op and during chemo. I work from home so I was lucky  I was driving 10 days after surgery and I drove myself to chemo  I did not feel much pain during any of the treatments but I got rather tired by the end of it all and I did get side effects but you will get through it all before you know it.

I am still tired but feeling OK 

I read this forum every day and it's a great help especially Jane's comments.

Hope everyone will have a good 2025

Hello Missy B,

thank you for your message , I really appreciate this. I’m now at home after my first chemo and it’s day 3 so far in pain very tired and resting , moving when I can. Jane the lemon sweets have been a brilliant idea. My next chemo is in a few weeks. My first session went well and I now know what to expect. Got 2 more session then scan and hope to have op after the scan fingers crossed. Not how I expected my year to be but got to get this done. I know I will be back for more help and thank you all for being so marvelous and generous in sharing your journey and help , wishing you all a positive 2026 x

So glad the lemon sweets are helping! Jane also mentioned about drinking flat lemonade if I recall correctly, but it was the sweets that helped me.

yes, flat lemonade helped. Also just squeezed fresh lemon into water. 

Lemon sweets, also barley sugars.