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Hi Trish - and you other lovely ladies.

I just wanted to wish you all the very best for your chemo, Trish. I am having 3 sessions of FEC and 3 of the dreaded D for Docetaxel -  I only have the last one of those to go, thankfully - my hands and feet are currently peeling like a snake shedding its skin..freaky!!! :)

I also wanted to encourage you to really give as much feedback as you can to your Dr re the side-effects of the chemo. I had bad nausea that knocked me out for 4 days after my first dose of FEC - I explained this to the Dr at the next consultation and she was able to tweak the medication so the nausea was much less, and then again for my third treatment so the nausea was basically negligeable.

I tend to be a stoic "grin and bear it" type but really I would say that any side effect you may have can probably be relieved or even eliminated by relatively small tweaks to the follow-up side-effect medication, so don't hesitate to discuss with your Dr. 'No pain no gain' definitely has NO place in the chemotherapy equation!!! :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - we have a beautiful Aussie summer to enjoy!!! :)         

This really isn't a club any of us wanted to be in but if there is anywhere you will get such loving support it's here. It took me a few months before I got up the nerve to blog and I wonder now that I didn't do it earlier. You can tell your story, vent your emotions or just jump on for a chat. All the ladies are amazing and give wonderful advice and support.

It's great news that your nodes were all clear and I well understand your decision to have a bilatera mastecomy. My two lumps were in my left breast but for my peace of mind, I decided to have my right breast removed. I had chemo before my mastectomies and I didn't want to go through that again having endured it the once. I know you are just about to start chemo Trish and on the whole it was doable. The AC for me was better than the Docetaxel (which is similar to Taxel) and my treatment was for six months every three weeks. You have probably already read about the experiences of others and I hope they have eased your mind a bit about what to expect. It's no picnic but you do get into a kind of routine after the first one.

I don't know whether you will want to do this but there are some great blogs in the private group called "Breast Reconstruction" where you could connect up with other women who have experience with implants and expanders. You could 'compare notes' and see photos and post your own experience too. The link to the group is http://www.bcna.org.au/group/61026 and it's totally private and the blogs cannot be seen in the general All Post section unless you are a member. Just a thought :)

Monday is another big day for you but it really isn't anything on the day. You will wonder why you were so nervous. The 'fun' stuff starts later but I hope you don't experience too many side effects and if you do, that they are not too bad. Take it one day at a time and accept help from family and friends. Now is the time to do it.

You've come this far Trish, I'm sure you will be fine. Of course you will ride the rollercoaster like most of us here but before you know it, you'll be out of the tunnel.

Lots of love and hugs

Janey xxx