Forum Discussion
chemo question please?
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 possibility
Is 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 :)
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 possibility
Is 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 :)
22 Replies
- @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. - 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
- @Maree72 Hows things ?
💟T. - @Brenda5 that is a great idea, thanks for the tip :)
- 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.
- 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💌 - 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 ..... - 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. - Ok just tested the link l didn't work 😝
But copy paste to Google did 😁 - 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 😃
