How much should I read up on chemotherapy?
I have had a whirlwind of a month.Was diagnosed with grade 3,invasive and Her 2 .Had a partial mastectomy and after pathology have been asked to do chemotherapy. Waiting to see oncologist this coming ...
Forum Discussion
That's correct @Caibo! Some people barely break stride, keep on working and pretty much breeze through. Some get a ton of side effects and are really incapacitated. The bulk of us (including me) fall somewhere in between.
I had a type of chemo called TC. It really affected me in my hands. However two others here who had the same chemo round the same time had no problems with their hands.
You will get fatigued, and you will lose your hair (though maybe not if you use a cold cap). After that, it's a 'lucky dip'. Some people get the runs, some get constipated. Very few people vomit. There are good meds for that now.
For most people, the steroids prop you up for a few days and then you have several days feeling pretty rubbish. After that you feel better day by day. It's important to drink a lot of water and to exercise daily, whatever you can manage. It's been proven to help with the side effects.
The side effects tend to be cumulative so by the time you get to your last infusion most people are pretty tired.
Whichever chemo cocktail you go on, your oncologist should give you some written information. Be guided by that. Some people like the control and knowledge that in depth research can give them. If that's you, be a little wary of Dr Google though. There's a lot of old and misleading info out there. You can always run a fact check through here. It's a fantastic hive mind!
Welcome to the forum. It's a place none of us wanted to be, but now that you are, I hope you find it as warm and helpful as I have. K xox
I had a type of chemo called TC. It really affected me in my hands. However two others here who had the same chemo round the same time had no problems with their hands.
You will get fatigued, and you will lose your hair (though maybe not if you use a cold cap). After that, it's a 'lucky dip'. Some people get the runs, some get constipated. Very few people vomit. There are good meds for that now.
For most people, the steroids prop you up for a few days and then you have several days feeling pretty rubbish. After that you feel better day by day. It's important to drink a lot of water and to exercise daily, whatever you can manage. It's been proven to help with the side effects.
The side effects tend to be cumulative so by the time you get to your last infusion most people are pretty tired.
Whichever chemo cocktail you go on, your oncologist should give you some written information. Be guided by that. Some people like the control and knowledge that in depth research can give them. If that's you, be a little wary of Dr Google though. There's a lot of old and misleading info out there. You can always run a fact check through here. It's a fantastic hive mind!
Welcome to the forum. It's a place none of us wanted to be, but now that you are, I hope you find it as warm and helpful as I have. K xox