Hi Stiltoniite 7. Firs of al how did your first session of Chen go. Now I would imagine your on one of the group of platins. As in costapline, cisterolating. Are you actually sure it chemotherapy your having and not immunotherapy. Because it sounds like to me more immunotherapy than chemotherapy. Yes there's a big difference. I have not known anyone to have chemotherapy once a week because with the chemotherapy drugs being poison it also kills the good as well as the bad. You would only go for IV drip toughley every 3/4 weeks. Mid cycle you would take medication hold to say after a blood tests. Now immunotherapy is something you have once a week. And it doesn't have quite the negate impact on your body your first one would be a hour long provided there are no problems then each after that. Now being someone who as had both. If you are actually having chemotherapy, being a poison it will start working imidiatky. Because once it's in your bloods the poison will start to kill bad and good cells. It can also make you feel horrendous. After your first session this is due to the poison. If it's immunotherapy if you had no bad  reactions  you will not feel like you have not had anything done. However some symptoms may start a couple of monthss. After nothing major a few aches and pains with myself the more treatment I had the more I wanted to sleep, it was messing with my thyroid. Agai. Your first one it will start to,.doing its job straight the way. It's just unfortunate we can't feel it working. Immunotherapy although its working does have to build up as well. Did you girls any paperwork on side affects. Or did they say we don't have any, and what do you want to read about side affects for. It can only put you off that you could scare yourself out of treatment. Which depending on the type of person you are. It's true younxoukd read so much of the negative yes you could talk about paranoid. Yes it can read scary.but then ask yourself would I prefer the side affect.or to die. I know I went with. Thr side affects. Although my second lot of chemotherapy almost ended up killing me it was at that point I would prefer anything rather than chemotherapy. I pulled out after second dose.

I do not wish that on  my worst enemy. It made me. If you can find out the drugs you are on I will be able to advise better whichever it is they do start straight away. On my love. Get back to me as soon as you can and I will be able to tell you..... plesse thers me need to be there at 11.30 if ok. Now one other thing I will say I was given 6/8 months left in September 2013 there definitely was no mistake the one I told you about which almost made me die. Was the one against all the odds was the one that came as a massive shock because that's the one I had 2 years of age it hurst and for his sake his parents had said no more. It's time to let him go rather than put him through the gruelling  side affect only to be told it may not work we all do things  and cope with things so differently. I know my oncologist still shakes his head in disbelief. Every time hd sees me. I can honestly say when I was given 6/8 moths not happening it's inconvenient, if cancer had the audacity to come into my body. You watch I Intend to give it a fight like  it's never had before the one thing I didn't get the milk that day was the old saying do not shoot the messenger. So  what I am saying to you and every other osrsins out there. Tanya you too send me a tight question a requested and a friend rested  Marj  x

Hi,

Just to clarify when you say how long does it take to kick in I assumed you are asking how long it takes to work? I have chemotherapy and immunotherapy every 3 weeks for breast cancer. My lump was also just over 30mm. Mine is E+ and HER2+ and i was told that because of the HER2+ status this can take longer to respond to treatment. It may be worth asking about your specific type of cancer and how it tends to respond to the threatment. 

I had an examination just before my 3rd cycle and my lump has shrunk in one direction by approximately 10mm. My consultant actually described it as a susage not a circle shape anymore. I asked how long it usually takes to shrink and they couldn't really give me a specific answer but i was told that it can shrink so that you aren't able to feel it anymore by the time chemo is over. I'm just about to start my 4th cycle and to me it feels the same size as it did last time but i can't be sure. I'm not sure if it is the changes my body is going through but I find sometimes I think it feels bigger and sometimes smaller. 

With any concerns it could be useful to call your breast care nurse even if it is just to clarify things to clear anything up / speak about the worries you have. 

Hey I'm on EC for mine and after 2 treatments my consultant could feel the difference it's still there but feels completely different so much so that I am back to being able to sleep on my front which was far too uncomfortable before. I am now approaching my 4th treatment and I can't say it feels much different to what it did after the second but if your anything like me and you run your hand over it throughout the day you get used to how it feels anyway, don't stress I'm sure it's changing for the better. Stay positive these doctors know what they are doing xxx

also after this 4th treatment which I have had every 3 weeks I change on to taxol which is weekly. 

Hey

hope your feeling ok with the chemo 

I had my chemotherapy weekly too. I started with Taxol weekly for 12 weeks and then Carboplaitin added in every 3rd week then when the 12 weeks were done I had EC every 2 weeks for a total of 8 weeks. Mine was also Triple negative, Grade 3. 
I had 2 lumps and the smaller one seemed to get bigger to me at the start before it gradually started to disappear. When I had my Mastectomy they said I still had some risidual cancer in there but the smaller lump had pretty much gone. 
 

I got totally obsessed with measuring my lumps even tried to draw a line so i could measure them which I think is why I kept thinking they were bigger at first. Thinking about It, it probably wasn't until I stopped doing that and left tnem Alone that I started to notice they were getting smaller.

Try not to worry too much.. that chemo is good stuff! But mention it when you next go so they can put your mind at rest  properly :) 

hope your ok. If you need any more info I'm here 

Sarah xx