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Hi Chris. My daughter and I left the hospital and headed for a choccie fix at our local max brenners. Not long after I started to get some hot flushes and needed to buy a battery hand held fan on the spot. I had looked forward to cooking pork spare ribs all day but then the nausea set in so my 19yr old son took over. I didn't sleep at all the first night as I had an extremely fast heart beat that was difficult to deal with as well as dreadful heartburn, continuos hot flushes and the shivers. I read, watched DVDs and got through the night on Ginger beer and arrowroots. Was unable to sleep yesterday but felt good considering and had friends visit. As you can see from the time of this post I'm wide awake again but have managed to sleep about 5 hours. Hope you are well and thanks for your reply Mel xxx

Hi Mel, I have just read all your blogs, and am wondering how the chemo is going? Hope you are not feeling too crook. Love Chris xx

Hi Mel, I have just read all your blogs, and am wondering how the chemo is going? Hope you are not feeling too crook. Love Chris xx

Hi Mel, I have just read all your blogs, and am wondering how the chemo is going? Hope you are not feeling too crook. Love Chris xx

Hi again Mel. I too had my hair cut short and funky before chemo. It was fun. I also didn't like the feeling of my hair coming out so having it short was more manageable. To me it felt like when I was little and my head hurt at the end of the day after wearing a tight ponytail. As the wind blew my hair it would get that achy feeling. Manageable of course...but I think it's a good idea to have a cut prior to treatment. Go crazy!

Thinking of you. X

Hi again Mel. I too had my hair cut short and funky before chemo. It was fun. I also didn't like the feeling of my hair coming out so having it short was more manageable. To me it felt like when I was little and my head hurt at the end of the day after wearing a tight ponytail. As the wind blew my hair it would get that achy feeling. Manageable of course...but I think it's a good idea to have a cut prior to treatment. Go crazy!

Thinking of you. X

Hope everyone is well and enjoying 2012. I have had a crazy few days after my first visit to mychemo oncologist on Wednesday. She is lovely and made me feel a bit more comfortable about beginning chemo. She arranged for lots more tests etc as well as a tour of the chemo ward. I really didn't want to walk into either the oncology department or the cancer care unit as that makes me a cancer patient and that's not how I see myself. Spoke to my gorgeous breastcare nurse about how I felt and she reassured me it's a good thing and a positive way of thinking. My first chemo has been put back to next Friday with my Portacath being put in the day before under what I hope is great sedation. Because of my MS she has decided to start me off on 5 months of fortnightly AC then 6 weeks of weekly TAC. One of the drugs in the TAC has the potential to cause nerve damage and she is worried I could become paralysed so will see how my MS tolerates AC first. I am still feeling worried about the chemo, the side effects and how it will affect my 3 children watching me go through this. My youngest who is nearly 16 has finally told his friends I have bc and that he won't be able to socialist once I start chemo. We discussed that the kids need to live their lives like normal. My 19 year old son and his best friend who lives with us returned safely from their holiday to Bali yesterday and it feels great to have them home safely. Any ideas or tips about chemo would be appreciated. I'm armed with about 6 different drugs for nausea and a huge set of instructions on when to take them. I've tried to be organized buying thermometer, carb soda, Ginger beer etc. Thinking about getting my girlfriend who's a hairdresser to shave my hair a week after first chemo... I like the idea of having that tiny bit of control over the bc and chemo rather than waiting for it to start falling out. Let me know what you think. Thanks for your continued support Mel xxx

It's all relative...when BC comes to visit I think you deserve to indulge yourself! Seriously, I know that some ladies go on to better their lives and selves etc etc but I decided to chill a bit more and put less pressure on myself and just enjoy life's little joys a bit more. So, as my friends went off to training after school drop-off I'd drive by in my lttle Peugeot with the roof off, waving madly saying, "Anyone want to join me for cake and coffee?"!!! And instead of racing around cleaning the house I'd put my feet up a bit more with a good, no-brain-necessary magazine!

So, I have indulged myself and can't believe nearly 5 years has passed. The cellulite has now well and truly set in and I feel I WANT to do something about it now. I used to be an aerobics and squash junky...gone are those days for sure...these days I'll just make sure I walk each day...and work up a sweat. And hopefully I can get a game of squash in each week.

As for weight...I dropped 12 kg with chemo, leaving me at 40.5 kg. I have found it a bit scary putting weight on as I didn't want to get to used to fattening myself up!

I lost a good 5 kg in the first week of diagnosis, I guess due to shock. And I was very nauseous through chemo. I remember my oncologist said to me that just because I was small, didn't mean she would lighten up the dosage of chemo since it was so aggressive. I nearly didn't make it through!...but am so glad I did.

Lol. Ohhh well... Walking to the fridge for chocolate counts as exercise. I have been training on and off with my trainer and now good friend Shaun for nearly a year but was being really good going twice a week when bc spoilt my fun. I found boxing to be a great stress relief and felt great after each session. My tuck shop lady arms were just getting smaller. Now my arms are numb sometimes and burning hot at other times. Boxing is a little while off yet. Did you guys loose weight or put it on with chemo ?Someone told me they sometimes give you steroids with chemo that makes you put on or is it comfort eating.. I've been like... " oh there are more important issues to worry about now so I'll eat choccy for brekky" Mel

Oh gosh, I haven't had time to think about new year resolutions. Um, after nearly 5 years since diagnosis and as many years since I have exercised, it's time to get fit and toned again!... But that's between us!!- I case I don't stick to it.xxxxxxx