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

Blossom1961
Member
2 years ago
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
Afraser
Member
2 years ago
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.

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