Hi all, As some of you may have seen from my past post regarding the return of the cancer, or should I correctly say, it was never all taken at that time even though they said they had got it all with clear margins, still so angry .I'm now staring down the barrel of chemo afterwards, as part of my treatment from this round of surgeries,I wasn't required to under go chemo 1st time, so I dodged that, this time its not looking like I will have that same luxury,My questions are for all of you who have had to face this, how long dose it take for you to loose your hair, I'm just trying to do the best to mentally prepare myself,I fully understand each one of us are completely different, and each chemo session plan will be different form the next,its more of a general idea, like dose it start to come away after your 1st session, or do you get through all your sessions and then you see the hair starting to come away,I do have a great breast care nurse, who is lovely, we are just back at the early stages now biopsy's done, MRI done, PET CT scan booked in for this week, they have now seen another lump in the breast that could need another biopsy prior to theater, the list keeps going on this.But I have been advised by both the surgeon and y breast care nurse, chemo is a high possibilityIs there any advice you can share on how to prepare both physically and mentally for this treatment.I have the worlds worse veins, so I've ben told about a pick line, that sounds fun, not! anything you wish to share would be very helpful, so I can try my best to mentally prepare for this stage Thank you all :)

Bad luck but take heart, some of us found chemo not as bad as feared. But yes, the hair did go. Most people report about a fortnight after the first infusion - mine went bang on schedule. Just a lot of hairs, no lumps or hanks, but I had my hairdresser at the ready and she cut my hair very short that morning (number 3 clippers) which saved a lot of mess. Some people shave their head but I felt that was a bit sudden! The rest followed inexorably - I wore a cotton night cap (your scalp may feel quite sensitive a week or so before hair starts to fall) and could just shake it all out in the bathroom sink each morning! I only had one useable arm for needles ( lymphoedema after surgery, a whole other story) and I managed through 6 months of chemo without a line or port, but many find a vein saver preferable.You might like to think about how you treat being bald - the Sinead approach (my skull just wasn’t such a good shape!), scarves and hats, or a wig. Many of us end up with a combination of all. I worked through chemo (as I said, not as bad as I feared) and a synthetic wig was great. No-one knew unless I told them. Everyone has their own preferences. Very best wishes.

My hair started coming out on day 19 but my scalp was quite sore prior to that. As Afraser says, a cap worn at night eases that. I cut my hair short prior to it falling out (both times) and this also reduces the pain. I have a port for my infusions. My first port was in my chest which they removed. This time around it is in my arm. Not sure what the choices are with pic lines. My cancer returned in my lymph nodes which I found strange as the surgeon told me he did a clearance but the doctor doing my biopsy the second time around insisted most of my nodes were intact and that I must be mistaken (even though my paperwork states anxillery clearance) I was pretty annoyed too as the worst area is one that I have been complaining about pain in since the first diagnosis. I have moved on from this annoyance as it isn’t worth spending my energy on. It sounds as though they caught yours before it spread so whilst chemo is yuck, it is also doable. Just take one day at a time and don’t worry about what might happen as many breeze through it. Also, don’t be shy about asking for help.Any questions just whack them up here and someone will be able to help.Sending big hugs

I am sorry to hear about your experience with treatment and that you are now looking at chemo. I went through two months of A/C and 'The Red Devil' (doxorubicin) fortnightly treatment. It was rough but I had been warned about the side effects and ultimately the treatment shrunk my tumour. I am now doing three months of weekly Taxol, with far less nausea than A/C. As everyone here says, chemo is a personal experience. I am not a veiny person but the nurses have had no trouble finding veins, using the ultrasound machine in the clinic. I did not use a cold cap because I thought it might be pointless with The Red Devil and because I was often quite cold. I had lovely mahogany hair. My hair started falling out between my second and third sessions. The third chemo just fried my hair and it just looked awful. I got my husband to do a buzz cut which looked stupid because it was patchy. I went the full Sinead and have been for a few weeks so it grows back evenly. Preparation was partly practical and partly emotional. I made the mistake of not ordering caps or headwear beforehand and the postage took two weeks! I had to borrow an uncomfortable pink cap from the clinic before mine turned up. I ordered a pretty tie-dyed comfort cap from Elly-K which I cover with scarves. I have a bamboo purple cap from the Hat Show that I wear at night. I found it important to be comfortable, so I wanted bamboo or cotton fabrics, with no big seams. I felt pretty fabrics or colours I love would cheer me up. My cap fits under my sun hat, which makes me happy. Before I shaved my head, I tried to psych myself by watching the documentary on SBS about Sinead O'Connor about a month ago :'( The week she passed away I had a good cry for her and for my hair. I rang my hairdresser to explain why I had not been back and they were so lovely. My hair was my identity and it took a few weeks to acknowledge the loss. As it gets towards the warmer months and once I get a bit of fuzz on top I might not wear the caps so much, in honour of Sinead <3

During chemo I kept a log as with chemo brain fog, often I would forget half of what side effects I had. My oncologist was very appreciative of it and we tailored the chemo and adjunctive medicines according to how my body was doing with it all.

My hair fell out within 2 weeks of first chemo...i wish i had a port put in as 6 years later and my veins are shite!! Drink lots of water before and after each chemo...i would take a walk after each session and when i still could...i found the red devil kicked in on day 3 and felt nauseous for about 10 days...docitaxel kicked in around the day 3 mark too and I felt like road kill for about 5-7 days...i couldn't taste anything...I guess its better than the alternative...let your oncology team know of any side affects or pain...take care of you x

chemo question please? | BCNA Online Network

22 Replies

Tarma
Member
2 years ago
@Maree72 😊
Hey
I'm so happy that you're happy with your new care team, it makes all the difference..

Thanks for taking the time to update me, I genuinely appreciate it. I enjoy following what you gorgeous girls are up too😊

Take good care of yourself

T.
Maree72
Member
2 years ago
Hi @Tarma - sorry for the late reply, I've bene off line for a bit, I've had my triple biopsy done the other week and that was a bit of a rough trip etc as they biopsied at 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock and then again at the 3 o'clock site if the original scare, there is now a new cancer in the original boob that the 1st cancer tumour was removed by a lumpectomy back in Jan, I have my MRI Guided biopsy next week in the right breast, as the found something there, but its playing games by not showing on the ultrasound or mammogram but showed up in the original MRI - then once that's done, it back to the surgery team and my breast care nurse to plan what happens next, they are looking at surgery at the start of October, so chemo will look to be starting by Nov sometime, so ill be bald by Dec for my birthday and Christmas, the ball has started rolling for genetic testing due to family history, this new medical team are so more switch on that the original team I had where I was just another number in a crowed system, with very little care and thought given, so I'm very grateful to be seen and heard by my new team here in Ipswich QLD - so I'm just preparing as much as I can, I have all my hair coverings now so when I loose my hair, and other things etc, I'm trying to be as prepared as one can be in this weird time of cancer 2.0 / thank you for reaching out to ask how I'm doing , that's super kind of you
Tarma
Member
2 years ago
@Maree72 Hows things ?
💟T.
Maree72
Member
2 years ago
@Brenda5 that is a great idea, thanks for the tip :)
Brenda5
Member
2 years ago
During chemo I kept a log as with chemo brain fog, often I would forget half of what side effects I had. My oncologist was very appreciative of it and we tailored the chemo and adjunctive medicines according to how my body was doing with it all.
Tarma
Member
2 years ago
Hey girl @Maree72
Absolutely no trouble at all..
I'm sorry to hear your results weren't what you hoped for..
It's starting to become clear to me that this cancer trip is going to be much harder than I could have ever imagined..
Maree, Youre lost but not alone, and i reckon youre stronger than you realise!!
Hang in there

T💌
arpie
Member
2 years ago
All the best with your ongoing tests @Maree72. xx. I hope the dermatitis clears soon - check with your Drs, as I think it would need to be under control before your surgery xx. Chat with our helpline 1800 500 258 (Mon-Fri) if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed xx

@Tarma .... clicking on 'external links' here (like the genome testing one above) will always go to an 'intermediate page' first, warning you that you are 'leaving the site' ....

Just click on the Continue to External Site to continue to the actual link .....
Maree72
Member
2 years ago
Thank you @Tarma the link worked well, I'm on the now cat 1 for genetic testing, after more appointments with my team yesterday , they are again getting in touch with the genetic testing team here in Brisbane to get me moved from a cat 3 to a cat 1, my results didn't come back to what anyone wanted to hear, including the medical team. I've been looking into the hair coverings, so thanks for sharing, I'm now off for another biopsy on the original offending boob that had the surgery done 1st time round, another 3 lesions found by MRI and mammogram & ultra sound, but now I'm off for a MRI guided biopsy on the right breast too, they are chasing whatever they have found there, that the MRI showed but the mammogram and ultrasound didn't pick up, now facing the very real fact I could be loosing the breast , sleeping isn't going well, and all my dermatitis is breaking out on my hands and arms due to all of this stress and I guess extra tests of what's been going into my body, feeling incredibility lost at the present.
Thank you @everyone for you advice and help so far.
Tarma
Member
2 years ago
Ok just tested the link l didn't work 😝

But copy paste to Google did 😁
Tarma
Member
2 years ago
Oo @Maree72 I found something that might be of Interest,, I haven't read it yet but lol but hope you might have time...

https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/treatment/issues/genetic-testing-after-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/

Hope the link works 😃