hi

I have just finished cycle 4 of 6.  I found the first 3 ok with very few side effects to be honest.  The main ones were lack of taste but I’ve found things that help, sucking on mints, drinking fentimans fizzy elderflower or lemon drinks, strong flavoured crisps and fizzy haribos.  Heart burn, I had some tablets prescribed which sorted it out straight away, and I had to self inject something that boosts my wbc back up again, for five days after the treatment which makes me feel tired and skin a bit tender. I decided to shave my hair off but the stubble started to come out before my 2nd cycle.  The fourth cycle was a different mix of drugs, I was a lot more tired and my joints were a lot more achy and sore.  I’ve had some painkillers prescribed to help with the next round. Overall it’s not been as bad as I’d convinced myself it was going to be so far.

My advice would be to use the helpline if you suffer any side effects and they can either put your mind at ease or get you something to help with them. 

happy to answer any questions and hope your first session goes ok, let me know how you get on. 

WL

Hi

Had my first treatment out of 6 fect on Friday. I had a couple of unexpected delays, had to see consultant unexpectedly, had to have an echo cardiographer before I could start and while waiting in a corridor for the results the guy who did it forgot about me (reducing me yo tears) and the prescription wasn't ready. I was scheduled to start treatment at 11am and finally started about 3pm. I had my picc line fitted at 10am. It was quite a day.

Despite a few hitches I can honestly say that the nurses fitting the picc line were amazing and went above send beyond to make me feel at ease.

The chemo  treatment itself was fine I had few minor reactions. The one that makes you pee red ,made me pee red and a hot flush had me whipping my scarf off my head, the 'f' in fect did not affect me and the 'c' made me have a bit of a pain at the top of my nose and feel a bit weird in the head. 

I was driven home which I was glad about.

Something I was not expecting was the amount of drugs I came home with but all for good reason. Steroids, anti sickness meds,  injections for white blood cell count etc. Again my partner came to the rescue and wrote everything down. I added clear times on the boxes in bold just to help as I am not that used to taking things and get confused. 

I did my first sub cutaneous injecton today and it was fine. There were no illustrations of suitable sites for injection on the instructions in the box but are on line for that specific drug.

That night I felt rough, headachey nauseous  (but not actually sick) stomach pain like I was about to get diarrhea but was very constipated, lots of wind both up and down. I ended up calling the ward help line as was not sure what was 'normal' in these conditions. They advised paracetamol and to call back if my condition changed. Things settled but still very constipated. Had sennakot and suppository (in final attempt to get some thing moving) but still not great in that department! Am calling the ward back tomorrow as advised to see if they have anything for constipation and indigestion. I think they can help with this.

It's still early days for me as far as treatment goes but in my very limited time experiencing chemo I would suggest drink plenty of water around your treatment I feel so much better for flushing what's left out of my system and don't be afraid to call the help line numbers. I would rather call in for something that turns out to be nothing/ trivial than ignore something that in hind sight could be prevented.

Today 2 days post chemo I feel a bit more tired, am experiencing the 'chemo fog' being forgetful yet still feel a bit wired from the Steroids.  Indigestion & constipation definitely needs sorting but frankly I am OK relatively speaking. Food now little and often is working best for me.

I keep reminding myself that the cancer will now be feeling worse than I do and it can jolly well jog on.......

I want to wish you all the best in your journey ahead and give you a big hug.

I agree about being driven home, they gave me an anti sickness tablet that made me feel really tired so I would come home and go straight to sleep, I’ve not been given it for rounds 4-6. 

I drink a lot of water prior to, during and after and I find that smoothies help when I don’t fancy eating anything.

Take something to do while you are there, my hubby and I download a film onto the iPad and watch that as it passes then time. 

Also ask if they do any alternative therapies, my hospital does them for free if you are going through treatment so I go in for reiki the day before my treatment. 

X

Hi

So sorry for the delay in responding. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and thankfully this is making time pass really quick. 
 

I've had my 4th treatment now and finding the side effects are interesting especially the lack of taste! 
 

I hope you're treatment went well... have you finished now? I hope things are going well for you xx 

Hi

yes I finished in September, I'm now at home recovering from my mastectomy and reconstruction. All going ok so far. 
 

my taste still isn't fully back, and I've discovered i can eat chilliest and not taste the heat!!!!!

Well done for getting this far, closer to the end than the beginning. 
x