Hi,

i was diagnosed with triple negative stage 3 breast cancer in April and I also have the BRCA gene.

I have now finished my 4 cycles of EC chemotherapy which I had every 3 weeks and I have finished 5 out of my 12 weekly cycles of TC.

i can honestly say I have coped, some days have been hard but you just get through it best you can.

i use the cold cap so I have managed to keep some hair, not used the wig yet!

i have also been infection free so far, which I hope continues and the main side effects have been, exhaustion, upset stomach, nose bleeds and loss of taste at times. It sounds a lot but with the medication they give you it really helps to keep things manageable.

the biggest thing I can say is my tumour has shrunk from 27mm to 3mm so trust me it is worth it all so stay positive.

Hope all goes well, a positive mind wins and my advice is so not google anything just listen to your consultants!

take care

Hi,

i was diagnosed with triple negative stage 3 breast cancer in April and I also have the BRCA gene.

I have now finished my 4 cycles of EC chemotherapy which I had every 3 weeks and I have finished 5 out of my 12 weekly cycles of TC.

i can honestly say I have coped, some days have been hard but you just get through it best you can.

i use the cold cap so I have managed to keep some hair, not used the wig yet!

i have also been infection free so far, which I hope continues and the main side effects have been, exhaustion, upset stomach, nose bleeds and loss of taste at times. It sounds a lot but with the medication they give you it really helps to keep things manageable.

the biggest thing I can say is my tumour has shrunk from 27mm to 3mm so trust me it is worth it all so stay positive.

Hope all goes well, a positive mind wins and my advice is so not google anything just listen to your consultants!

take care

Thank you so much for your reply. It really does help when other people are going through the same thing to get advice and just to share in experiences. You sound like you are fighting the good fight and handling it all well although I'm sure there has been moments. I take your advice and I don't want to Google things. Thanks again and keep in touch and Let me know how your doing. Sending love n hugs and best wishes xxx

Hi,

i was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer HER2 positive. I had 3 rounds of FEC and was in hospital with infection after every round but admittedly I probably wasn’t being as healthy as I should have been. Had first round of dotaxcel and herceptin a couple of weeks ago and have 2 more rounds to go. Coped much better since they changed from FEC. I find the worst things are the injections they give to boost your immune system. They make you feel like you been run over by a bus so if you can cope with them I’m sure you will sail through. Although I’ve suffered it must be working as my scan last week showed my tumor has shrank by 50%. Yay!

I did find my hair fell out ridiculously quick. Started coming out on day 11 of first FEC and was completely bald 4 days later. Have actually lost every hair on my body. But you just have to remember in the grand scheme of things, hair loss is trivial and will grow back. I thought I’d really struggle with a bald head but suprised myself and even braved doing the weekly shop with egg head :-) I have a lovely wig but in this weather it’s like wearing a woolly hat lol.

im sure you’ll be fine and I wish you all the luck in the world. Try the forum “the good and the bad”....lovely breast ladies who will offer all the support you need. 

Take care

Candice x

 Have read your post and it helped me cope going for my mri and ultrasound soon hope mine is starting to srink grade 2 TNBC.lisa 

Hi again, well just thought I’d touch base to see how things are going with you!?

i have finished all the 6 months of chemo, I had my double mastectomy with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction which went well, I have the second stage of the reconstruction to have May/June.

I still feel rather worn out as I haven’t really got off this ‘treadmill’ it seems for almost a year but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

the good news is I have had a pathological complete result from the chemo and mastectomy so I have no sign of cancer at the moment which is great! 

I hope you are doing ok also!

just wanted to say keep going and let’s all hope for some normality soon!

lisa xx

Hi glad your doing ok and all went well xx I have had my first 8 lots of chemo every 2 weeks , started new lot every week 6 lots of this new chemo every month for 12 weeks had first six . Had lots nasty side effects my nerves all tingling in my face and feet started in feet in my face now and sence of smell gone xx i keep getting nasty chest infections day after chemo. Just feeling realy tired worn out steroids dont help eather. Having all the chemo then my boob coming off not looking forward to it I'm glad all went well for you xx hope you still doing ok xx

Hi LisaScaz,

I am delighted to hear that, after all you've been through, there is no sign of cancer any more. Long may you remain like that.

Kind regards,

jolamine xx