Struggling through Chemo
Comments
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Good morning everyone, I hope you are all travelling ok.
I'm 1 week over radiation treatment and I have a little bit of a pink blush on my skin and a little patch of itchiness on my chest, but the sorbolene seems to sooth that well. All very minor.
I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said everything looks good, and I'm booked in for my first anniversary mammogram on 4 November. I booked it now as apparently it's hard to get a booking that time of year as everyone wants to get it done before Christmas.
My hair is growing well, I have completely stopped wearing the caps, just hats for sun protection now. I've had some lovely comments about my new hair style, having had long hair for years, which has given me lots of confidence 😃 it's still very short, but if it keeps growing at this rate I'll have a pixie cut in no time.
What shampoo are you using on your new hair? I'm currently using Johnsons baby shampoo but will switch to something else soon, something mild and natural. Maybe Aveno oat shampoo, I don't want to dry out my scalp.
I have baby eyebrows and eyelashes, I'm very excited to see them again 😆
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Hi @Katie46
Great to hear you are going well post radiation! I've got 3 fractions left and am eyeing off the bell 🔔 I'll be ringing it on Wednesday! I'm also singing for my team on Wednesday and have a little surprise for them!
My hair is also growing back quite well and started to thicken up.....I'm loving the low maintenance of ultra short hair (I had a shoulder length bob before chemo).... seriously considering keeping the pixie do!
In terms of shampoo I use billie goat shampoo and conditioner, it's mild, fragrance free and has no harsh chemicals. I also like the seaweed co argan oil unscented shampoo and conditioner but it's a bit hard to get hold of,.
I've also got little baby soft eyebrows emerging which is exciting, I can feel them more than see them! AND my eyelash stubs are growing too!
Good idea to book that mammogram in early, I've already got my referral and have to book in for early November which will be my 12 months since the last one and surgery!
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!!1 -
Good morning Katie and Coastiejas…… what a beautiful morning here in sunny Perth 😊.
Congratulations Katie and look out bell for you Coastiejas!
I had a great experience with radiation and the team with loads of laughs.
Coastiejas, I chose for my last song “Hair” by the Cowslips which they played and obviously wasn’t long enough for the duration of radiation so guess what they played??? 😂😂, yep, Maneater! You can picture it right….. lying there as still as can be, hands above my head 😂, there was so much laughter after that last treatment. Hugs all round and pics ringing the bell.
My energy levels are dropping again now I’ve started the Tamoxifen. I am also experiencing extreme cramps/bloating making it hard to sit down. I saw the Oncologist yesterday so he said it’s all normal. I’m also back on the anti nausea meds as I’m nauseous after eating. My 8 kilo weight loss isn’t coming back anytime soon at this rate.
Im having a bone density scan this month then back to the Oncologist to decide whether to keep on with Tamoxifen (along with another medication 😩) or swap to another drug (starts with an L).
Im booked to see the surgeon and have a mammogram in October.
It really hit me yesterday that this is now life long checks, docs and meds. The Oncologist told me there is a 10 percent chance of the cancer returning with medication, hope I’m not fighting a losing battle.I’m going to discuss having my other breast removed when I see the surgeon. The Oncologist said it couldn’t be an option at the time of my mastectomy as the recovery time would have been too long and chemo had to begin. I haven’t given up yet but I sure can see how easily it would be.I’ve taken the weekend off of work just to recoup and enjoy being “well…..ish”.
Like I said, beautiful sunny day and I’m off to see my veggie garden 😊.1 -
Hi @Rona, my chances of it coming back are about 15% I think, although it was early stage it was on the aggressive side of aggressive 🙄, although that % might improve as there is a new drug on PBS now they are considering giving me, I catch up with my oncologist next Friday about that. I think 85% is pretty good odds, and if it comes back at least I've done everything I can. Hoping the hormone therapy doesn't knock me around too much.1
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Hey Katie, thanks for that positive thought, I will switch those percentages around in my head right now 😊.
My nurse advised me to take the medication at night, which I didn’t do as I wanted to know the side effects. Well I now take it late afternoon and it definitely helped and I’m really at ease with that.
As for the bloating/ cramping, my Oncologist told me this would settle down in time. For me this is the worst side effect so far. Still waiting for a hot flash 😂, I’m always cold so was looking forward to them.1 -
Haha @Rona, chemo gave me hot flushes, which are still happening now, so I wonder has it pushed me into real menopause. With the heat up here sometimes it's hard to tell if I'm just hot or having a hot flush. A friend of mine bought me a fan (like a spanish hand held fan) and I love it 🪭 having said that the weather up here is perfect at the moment.1
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I try not to think about it coming back.... mine was also on the aggressive side ( grade 3 ) but I am determined that it won't, they are pretty good odds @Katie46! I figure the other women in my family that had it didn't have a recurrence and hopefully I won't be either! I recall my oncologist showing me a graph from the NHS in the UK which compared the lifespan of someone my age without BC and then it showed each of the treatments we have had, in the end there was very little difference in life expectancy, each treatment we have had (surgery, chemo, radio, hormone therapy) made the graphs closer and.closer...
I just treat it like any other health condition someone might have for life, diabetes, heart disease, etc etc..... just going to keep an eye on it and do what the professionals tell me!
I see both oncologists on Tuesday for the plan moving forward but it involves hormone therapy and ribociclib.
@Rona enjoy that sun and your veggie patch!2 -
Glad to hear the tamoxifen is settling down 🙂0
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I am hot all the time too! I think the chemo has definitely pushed me into menopause...I had blood tests this week to check! Pretty sure I know what they will say! When the radio nurse asked me if my skin was hot on the treatment area I laughed and said my whole body is hot just about all the time so difficult to tell! Everything heats me up....hot drinks, hot food, the sun, heaters etc......1
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I’m that “one friend “ who is cold all of the time ha ha. Just like a snake, looking for the warmest area always. One of my colleagues (younger than me) has hot flashes all of the time, I find myself giggling away whilst she is fanning away 😊.0
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You need to hug each other.or sit close...
2 problems solved....2 -
Hi Ladies
I rang the bell today 🔔
Radiotherapy done and dusted ✔️ 👍
I sang "I'm on my way " The Proclaimers for the team and the waiting room then almost rang the bell off the wall!
The team were wearing party hats 🥳 and we all had a good laugh and sing and dance.
I had my first goserelin depot injection yesterday and start exemestane in about 5 weeks (after my second depot).
Hope everyone is going well and stay warm for those in the Southern States.4 -
Hooray @Coastiejas, congratulations 🔔🔔🔔🥳🥳 it's a great feeling!
How was the injection? I think I'll be getting something similar.
We had a cool morning here in Darwin 16°, and 13° overnight tonight, 🥶 for us. I went to yoga this morning and I'm feeling more and more like my old self.1 -
Thanks @Katie46, it's a great feeling alright!
The injection was not too bad in the scheme of all the awful stuff we have had done to us recently...🤪😝
I don't know if you had the injection the day after the AC chemo but it was a bit like that....perhaps slightly more painful but over in about 2 seconds. It is slightly tender on the injection site on my belly today but nothing I can't live with!
That sure is cold for Darwin and glad to hear you are feeling like your old self again....I hope to feel a bit better over the next few weeks. I'm told that the symptoms should peak in the next week from the radiation, and they have sent me home with a bag of tricks to deal with it hopefully!
Onwards and upwards again!!
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Hi all. I dont know about now but when i finished active treatment exactly 7 years ago. There was no ringing bells or anything after 6 weeks of rads my last one my daughter and granddaughter were there for pictures as i walked out the last time and they played acdc TNT. Then went for celebration lunch
hardly a nod from the staff. They are so busy in there that it’s like a conveyor belt. For such a big public teaching hospital there is only 3 treatment rooms for radiation in the cancer clinic
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