New to this.....
Hi,
I'm new to all of this but thought it looked like a great support network of people all in the same boat! I am 32, have 2 young sons and was diagnosed on Jan 16th (my son's 7th birthday - great timing!). It's been a massive shock as there's no family history, I'm pretty young and have been feeling really healthy and energetic!
I had an enlarged axillary lymph node in mid Sept, had it scanned - results were that it was a reactive node and should go down. Didn't go down so I went back in Dec and my GP felt it, said it hadn't grown so go back in Jan if it was still there. Went back in Jan, had another ultrasound (said it was fine) plus an FNA which showed cancer cells. It's been a whirlwind ever since with all sorts of tests and learning about things and making decisions about things that I never thought I'd have to consider.
Breast ultrasound, mammograms, blood tests, CT, bone scan and MRI all clear - just the axillary lymph node. Had all lymph nodes removed 3 weeks ago and 3 out of the 16 were cancerous. Pathology results were that the cells are strongly oestrogen positive, progesterone negative, HER2 positive, grade 3 cells. Had another surgery yesterday to put in an infusion port to save my veins over the coming year! Looking at having double mastectomy and reconstruction after the radio too....
Treatment plan is 12 weeks of AC, once every 3 weeks then 12 weeks of Paclitaxel, once a week as well as starting Herceptin at the same time. Then 5 weeks of radiotherapy everyday (except weekends, yay!). Plus Tamoxifen for 5 ish years. It's a lot to take in and the countdown is on as I start the chemo next week!
I've been wary about reading horror stories about chemo etc as I want to go into it with a clear head and deal with it my way because everyone's different but if there are any hints/tips for the first session I'd love to hear them! I'm in the process of getting a bag sorted with stuff for chemo so any ideas would be gratefully received! I know the probably side effects so want to be as prepared as possible...sick bags in my car for the journey home springs to mind! My oncologist recommended taking Vit D and Calcium but not much else in case it interferes with the chemo....
I'm hoping to be ok with the physical side effects but I'm terrified of the mental ones. I don't want this to change who I am and make me moody, depressed etc. I'm normally a positive happy person and love messing about with my kids - I'm just incredibly worried I'll become someone else and this is my last week to feel like me. It's obviously going to have an impact and I'm realistic in knowing it's not going to be a bed of roses but I just hope it's reversible at the other side of this treatment....
Sorry for the long post....bit of a brain splurge to others who might be feeling the same way!
Laura
Comments
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Firstly, it has been my experience (finished chemo 5 months ago, radio 3 months ago) that I actually feel less moody and more calm than before! I am on tamoxifen and have not had many side effects. I don't know if this is luck or what I have done to help myself. I have challenged negative thoughts and also found that exercise has helped to minimize the side effects of treatment.
I am so sorry that you are facing this and it is certainly not an easy time ahead of you but it is not all bad. I had 2 different lots of chemo (FEC and Docetaxel) and found one not too bad but struggled more with Docetaxel. But the time went really fast and I found I recovered pretty quickly afterwards. Radio was much easier and as I mentioned tamoxifen has not been bad at all.
I have found this network an absolute lifeline as despite having terrific support from family and friends they do not always understand what I am going through.
As far as chemo is concerned they have excellent drugs to help with the nausea and I was quite surprised at how normal I felt after each session. If you take your medication, keep a diary of the side effects so that you can let your oncologist know about them and get advice from the ladies on here you will be fine. I found I had a yuck few days, then came good about day 6, then you have to be careful because of low immune system for a week, and the third week I felt good.
Please let us know how you go and we will do our best to help you through. You will be surprised at the strength you will find within yourself and how fast the treatment goes. Let others help, they will really want to. Take care. Deanne xxx0 -
I have a similar story to yours. I'm 36 with four kids under 8. I had a grade 3, ER+,HER2+, lymph neg cancer. I did six rounds of FEC-D plus continuing Herceptin until November this year, followed by 7 weeks of radiation. I flew to perth every three weeks for chemo and would fly home the day after. It was a busy time and with running a household, helping run a business and doing all the normal after school stuff with kids - life was flat out as ever. I coped reasonably well with chemo and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had imagined it to be, although I did get some of the unwanted side affects but it was all manageable and more importantly make sure you tell your oncologist so they can adjust meds, it can make all the difference. For me the physical treatment is all common sense, getting my head wrapped around it has been more difficult but I'm finding it easier as time goes by and I find my kids the greatest distraction that I need. They know I have BC but we have kept the details very basic for them, they know I go to the hospital for medicine and I answer all there questions as they arise. I'm happy to chat if you ever need an ear to bend and I wish you all the best with your treatment, good luck. Tash xx0
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Hi,
Just a quick reply because I am at work.
I didnt get any nausea at all. I definitely had chemo brain so therefore found it easier to play games and read magazines more so than concentrating on a book. I didnt get that tired and worked right through (although cut back hours as advised to). One bit of advice I can defnitely offer is taking prune juice if you feel constipation come on because OMG can it get bad lol I had no idea. I only let it happen once though and made sure I knew when to take the prune juice on the days following treatment. I stayed positive and as somebody above said I was calmer (although sometimes the steroids would kick in and I was a bit different but in someways better. I think if you are a positive person like you say this wont change you. I had my bad days but not that many. Sorry if I have been brief and some of it doesnt make sense.
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Hi,
Just a quick reply because I am at work.
I didnt get any nausea at all. I definitely had chemo brain so therefore found it easier to play games and read magazines more so than concentrating on a book. I didnt get that tired and worked right through (although cut back hours as advised to). One bit of advice I can defnitely offer is taking prune juice if you feel constipation come on because OMG can it get bad lol I had no idea. I only let it happen once though and made sure I knew when to take the prune juice on the days following treatment. I stayed positive and as somebody above said I was calmer (although sometimes the steroids would kick in and I was a bit different but in someways better. I think if you are a positive person like you say this wont change you. I had my bad days but not that many. Sorry if I have been brief and some of it doesnt make sense.
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Thanks everyone for your messages - it's really good to hear from others who have been through it and not had too bad a time of it! I'm pretty upbeat about everything at the mo - still in the 'safe zone' as I haven't started the chemo yet! My kids will be the perfect tonic to a bad day - they're little angels. I have told them that I'm going to need some strong medicine that will make my hair fall out....they're already planning to face paint my entire head when I'm bald!
I do have great friends, a brilliant family and really like all the doctors and nurses I'm involved with so I'm very lucky but I don't always feel I can tell my friends everything - I hate crying in front of people so I have a good 'game face'. I can talk properly to my family but I don't want to burden them too much so I am really glad I came across this site....plus everyone understands the medical terms!
Laura
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Thanks everyone for your messages - it's really good to hear from others who have been through it and not had too bad a time of it! I'm pretty upbeat about everything at the mo - still in the 'safe zone' as I haven't started the chemo yet! My kids will be the perfect tonic to a bad day - they're little angels. I have told them that I'm going to need some strong medicine that will make my hair fall out....they're already planning to face paint my entire head when I'm bald!
I do have great friends, a brilliant family and really like all the doctors and nurses I'm involved with so I'm very lucky but I don't always feel I can tell my friends everything - I hate crying in front of people so I have a good 'game face'. I can talk properly to my family but I don't want to burden them too much so I am really glad I came across this site....plus everyone understands the medical terms!
Laura
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Hi
Which hospital did you go to in Perth? I'm having all my treatment at The Mount Hospital. Richard Martin is my surgeon and Arlene Chan is my oncologist....
Great to know that you managed chemo so well with kids!
Laura
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I was diagnosed with grade 3 ER+, PR+ breast carcinoma in July last year and have just finsihed chemo. I had 4 AC over 12 weeks and then weekly taxol. My chemo bag consisted of my kindle, smart phone and later in my treatment my tablet and noise cancelling headphones. There were a couple of weeks when the noise in the day oncology ward drove my spare and I couldn't read my book. I also brought my partner to all but 2 chemo appointments. He just sat there patiently doing his crossword and waiting for me to finish.
I found that I had no problems with feeling sick on the trip home but the AC did make me feel lousy for a few days so I planned for that. Taxol was much easier except the dexmethasone made my hyper (and probably annoying to everyone around me.
I know that 6 months of chemo seems like a long time from where you are standing but it will be over before you know it.
I think that plenty of rest and plenty of water are key and its ok not to be superwoman.
Goodluck with your journey
Linda
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I was diagnosed with grade 3 ER+, PR+ breast carcinoma in July last year and have just finsihed chemo. I had 4 AC over 12 weeks and then weekly taxol. My chemo bag consisted of my kindle, smart phone and later in my treatment my tablet and noise cancelling headphones. There were a couple of weeks when the noise in the day oncology ward drove my spare and I couldn't read my book. I also brought my partner to all but 2 chemo appointments. He just sat there patiently doing his crossword and waiting for me to finish.
I found that I had no problems with feeling sick on the trip home but the AC did make me feel lousy for a few days so I planned for that. Taxol was much easier except the dexmethasone made my hyper (and probably annoying to everyone around me.
I know that 6 months of chemo seems like a long time from where you are standing but it will be over before you know it.
I think that plenty of rest and plenty of water are key and its ok not to be superwoman.
Goodluck with your journey
Linda
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My initial surgery at Hollywood, then my chemo treatment at SJOG Subi and now I'm having Radiation at Charlie's. I continue my herceptin at SJOG Subi and my oncologist is there Andrew Dean. Chemo affects everyone different but I think in the scale of things I got through pretty well, I was never sick but I had other things like diareaha(for months), tiredness(still functioned but went to bed earlier), sore red angry eyes(sensitive), bone aches, couple of mouth ulcers and a bit of heartburn. It was all manageable I would rather have all those than be sick because I'm useless when I'm actually nauseas! Hope some of this helps. Tash xx0
