I was diagnosed with Cancer in March and although we knew it was Cancer its still a shock to be told it. I have had 2 chemo cycles now and have my 3rd at the end of the month. I would love to chat about the chemo side affects to anyone..
It seems we're all having some issues or anxieties at the moment, it's good to be able to share stuff on the forum and compare experiences. Although we may all be affected slightly differently, there are some common issues. I love the way that everyone is supportive to each other here, it helps being able to get things off of your chest knowing that everyone is listening and are sympathetic. Sometimes, a little bit of info from someone can make a big difference to someone else, so I hope you all keep posting.
@Sarah - Thank you for your comments, Mary has her Hickman line procedure tomorrow, and will commence her 3rd cycle immediatly afterwards using the line, if all goes well, I'm sure it will. Regarding hair loss, Mary's hair is getting to the stage now where people are starting to stare when we are out. I don't really know what to say to her. I kind of feel she should start covering her head now, but it could sound harsh and unsympathetic if I said that. It's a very difficult issue and I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing and upsetting her. Maybe your partner is struggling in this way, and you're possibly interpretating it all wrong. I'm sure he is not going off you.
@Sharon - Good luck with the cold cap, I hope it does the trick, do keep us up to date with that.
@Dot & Eileen - Hope you are feeling brighter soon, we were told that the tiredness is acumalative with each treatment, I guess other side effects can be too.
I hope the hickman line went ok.I dont know if mary already has this information but i went on one of the look good feel better afternoons www.lgfb.co.uk.It is free and you leave with a big bag of makeup.It is subsidised by the make up companies.You get a lesson in a small groupe about make up and false eyelashes and fake eyebrows ect.For me it was good not so much because of the make up ,althrough that was nice,it was seeing women with cancer out of the hospital context that was invauable.It made me at least a bit self consious about how i look as i realised that if i had not seen them in that context i would not have known that they were sick.
The other thing i throught i would say is i deal with the looks by just blanking them out.I am not brave enough to go bauld ,i go for the head scarves and the hats for various reasons i have never got on with wigs.It was not untill my sister commented on getting looks that i gave it much throught but i realised that the people who noticed i looked different were probably the ones who had been affected themslves by cancer directly or indirectly.It is not unkindly ment.I find myself noticing people who i reckon are in the cancer gang in a way that would have passed me by before.
We spent a very frustrating day at the hospital today, we were told to be there by 8am so had to negotiate the rush hour traffic, and felt bad about being 5 minutes late. Mary eventually had her procedure at 12.30!! I felt so frustrated and angry about the hospital being so disorganised, but how can you complain when all of the nurses are so lovely? It's not their fault, just the procedures that they have to work to. I'm sure this sounds familiar to many of you.
The good news is, the Hickman line went really well and not at all the ordeal that we imagined it would be. Mary is absolutely exhausted from the procedure pre-meds, followed by the chemo pre-meds, and of course the chemo itself. She is in a deep sleep on the sofa as I write. It's not ideal having a line hanging out of your chest, but it is going to make the remaining 11 weeks of treatment so much easier. We had a few tears tonight, but I think a lot of that was due to the amount of drugs she's had today.
@Grumpy - They have a "look good feel better" workshop at the drop in centre in the hospital grounds, and Mary put her name down for it a few weeks ago. There is a long waiting list as it is so popular, but she will eventually enjoy that. Worth mentioning though as some of the other ladies here may not know about it. Thanks for your take on dealing with hair loss, the next few days are going to be tough for her, so any advice may be helpful. By the way, did that lady (tenbob) give you any advice on my thread She had her own wigs business, but I haven't seen her for a while.
I just found out that it's the Marie Curie Daffodil day today, Mary would like one of the pin badges, now you'd think they'd have them at a specialist cancer hospital wouldn't you? I looked all over the site while she was snoozing, and nothing. I found out that our local florist is doing them, so will get one tomorrow. For now, I have changed my avatar!
Hope Mary is feeling better today ? Yes I am afraid you do have a lot of waiting around at the hospital. Sometimes it's for pharmacy to send medications up to the ward or waiting for bloods to come back it is sp draining as well for both of you as it makes you tired just sitting about.
I like your new picture, are you in to photography ? My partner is and has just bought another new one yesterday ...
Don't forget about drinking plenty of water, you can have the red wine. Actually I had a drink as the Dr said it won't do you any harm...
Yes, Mary is much much better today, we have been out shopping and she wore her new wig for the first time! She looks really good in it, it's like having a new wife! Great news, the town centre was full of Marie Curie volunteers selling daffodil pins, so we finally got one for her!
No I'm not really into photography, I stole the daffodil image from the Marie Curie website, it's about the best one I could find.
You never did explain about having to drink lots of water, we both enjoy a glass or two of wine! Is that bad for her, I don't know.
Just started on her third bottle of liquid iron, I'm convinced it helps her but it's all subjective I guess, certainly can't do any harm.
How are you feeling now? Hopefully a little less tired.
Glad to hear that the cold cap treatment wasn't too bad. Did they give you any idea as to the chances of it beeing successful? From our experience, the hair loss started towards the end of cycle 2, (after about 5 weeks). So maybe if you get to cycle 3 without any hair loss, you may be ok.
Mary wore her wig all day yesterday and today, she doesn't find it at all hot or uncomfortable. So maybe she'll be ok with it. Her tummy was affected by the carbo in cycle 1 & 2, but this time she was fine.
Best wishes, hope you're feeling a bit better soon,
John
PS - Does your username tell me that you were born in the same month as Mary, and the same year as me?
I forgot to say about the water, they tell you to drink at least 2 litres per day so as not to dehydrate also I think it must flush the toxins out of you ( not sure on that one though ) Also drinking red wine is ok ( in moderation as they say ) My oncologist asked me what I was doing as he was amazed how quick my tumour shrunk, when I said I have a glass of red and laugh a lot he actually was walking out of the room and came back in and said well carry on doing it.
