TCH

I had TCH treatment starting Jan 27th last year so I am just through it all. First thing is to make sure you take the medication they give you to prevent the nausea. My first treatment wasn't too bad but took about 7 hours all up and I had a port in my arm. The first time they run things through pretty slowly and it will be a long day. Unfortunately with all the treatment and pain medications I was on I went from having the runs for a few days about 3 days after the treatment to constipation in the third week. You will need to drink lots of water, I found the Lime or fruit flavoured ones the best. I lost my taste buds and my appetite during treatment and ended up losing about 10kg. I was ok the day after the treatment and then was hit by a truck on about day 3. It would take about 7 days to feel better and then 1 week to feel not too bad before the next hit. The side effects got progressively worse after each treatment and I shaved my head after the first. I lost feeling in my toes after number four , started sweating after number 2 and have suffered chronic joint pain the whole way through. The positives are though that my taste buds did come back after the TC part was done, My hair started to grow back then as well and after 6 months is quite thick and a bit curly and I felt a lot better in myself. The Herceptin continued for the 12 months and unfortunately so has all the joint pain. I started taking tamoxofin straight after the TC part was finished and I have been plagued with not just night sweats but all day sweats.

I don't think any of us could say that Chemo is a fantastic experience but there are some positives. You will meet some wonderful caring people who administer your drugs and help you through the experience and you will see others who are also going through this ordeal and most will probably be at different stages so you can see for yourself what you might have to cope with. But the most important thing is that you will make it through and one day it will become a distant memory. The side effects are different for everyone and I hope you are one that can sail through without any problems. Remember you will come out the other side.

Kay