Hi Vanityfair, 

I am so sorry to hear you have been suffering all these side effects following your second round of chemotherapy. We have in-depth information on our website on side effects of chemotherapy which you might be interested in reading. The page mentions that when you start chemotherapy you should be given a number for a 24 hour advice line so make sure you contact them if you have side effects that are troubling you. See if you can talk to your medical team about these and mention how much you are struggling and if there is any medication they could prescribe to help you cope with some of the side effects like the sore throat and mouth. I hope that they can offer some good suggestions and advice to help you get through treatment with minimal discomfort. 

As it happens, I just came across dejavu22 's recent active thread with the title Impact of chemo where other members like ProfBaw and Geeker  are discussing chemotherapy side effects - don't hesitate to post your own experience on that thread and hopefully you will get talking to others who have been in a similar place with chemotherapy side effects.

I hope that things improve for you quickly and you can talk to your medical team about this and find some solutions to help you feel a little better. Our nurse helpline is also open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm so don't hesitate to ring them on this free number 0808 800 4040 if there is anything you would like to talk through with them. 

Best wishes and best of luck for the rest of your treatment,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hiya. About the mouth, there are several things you can try.

Buying a bona fide baby tooth brush can help a lot because it's gentle on your gums. Failing that, a soft bristled tooth brush is fine too. But you want to keep away from the firmer toothbrushes if you can. If you're finding mint tooth paste painful to use, you have two options. You can use kids toothpaste. Such is the UK's relationship with cavities etc, kids toothpaste is completely fine to use. It contains the same amount of fluoride. The second option is, "oranurse" toothpaste from Amazon. It has no mint, and doesn't aggravate sores etc. It's made for people with altered taste, going through chemo or taking meds that affect the mouth.

Away from the teeth, salt water is good for bringing inflammation down a little, and helps with bacteria. You want to avoid spices, fruit juices, tomatoes (including tomato soup) and anything crunchy or hard. Most dairy things are fine like soft cheeses etc.

Have you been checked for oral thrush? That is common when on chemo. You want to nip that in the bud straight away because it can get bad quickly. A pharmacist should be able to check for it, and prescribe you something on the minor ailment scheme if you can't get seen by anyone else with it being the weekend. They can also give you difflam spray which can help with sore throats. But the number one rule is, stay away from spicy and acidic foods and drinks.

If nothing improves or gets worse, you might have to call the cancer helpline because a sore mouth and throat can stop you eating and drinking, and that's the last thing you want.

hi have they given you any mouth washes. I had such bad problems with my mouth that I had to have a feeding tube as ulcers were in my mouth and the top of my oesophagus. I was given not only salt sachets to use as well as 3 other types of mouth wash

Hi, sorry to hear you are going through this. I had mouth ulcers and lumps on my tongue all the way through chemotherapy. I bought sensodyne toothpaste, used difflam spray and had a  Difflam oral  green mouth wash. Keep as hydrated as possible, little sips of water to keep your mouth from drying out as well. It will be fine once the chemotherapy finishes. Take care.

Hi H. J. I too have had my second infusion of chemo last Thursday and had terrible sickness and lost a stone in weight. I'm OK now as I've 4 types of sickness meds. Yet today I felt so well and happy, I spontaneously had a wee dance to myself!! I'm Scottish but not a dour Scot (hopefully). I had a sore mouth too but Bonjela came to my rescue. 

My hopes for you and me is I believe I'll be healed even tho this is my 3rd breast cancer. 

You are the first person I plucked up the courage to speak to. 

I'd love to keep in touch without being a nuisance. 

Big shock losing my hair after 1st infusion, but I bought nice headgear.......... my two nieces are coming round on Sunday, 4 & 2 and it's days like this that I have to look forward to. I fill my house with relations and friends and you know H. J I feel blessed. 

Hope I haven't bored the pants of you. It would be nice to hear from you 

Love Sheila (a chatterbox Gemini) 

Hi Sheila, I loved reading your positive and hopeful reply. You’re a ray of light, and we all need that. I wish you all the courage and joy you can muster going forward. You’re a lovely Lady