Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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can't work out why 2 pics and couldn't make it smaller - still working on this
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she changes colour in the winter and goes darker again when she moults in the spring
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Hello Everyone
I hope you have all been well enough to get out in the fine summer weather that we have had today. I was checking the posts and saw that, so far, no one has posted to answer any of my questions. I have just found the answer to one of them in an oncology book that I have been looking at. In that book it is stated that radiotherapy is the treatment of choice for metastases causing local symptons.Are any of you with mets receiving or have received radiotherapy?
In the same book I found it stated that chemotherapy works better against soft tissue metastases, but does not work as well as radiotherapy for palliating bone metastases. Apparently six cycles of chemotherapy drugs are administered unless it is discovered that there is chemo resistance. The choice of chemo drugs will obviously depend on what a patient had with the primary breast tumour. The chemo can continue if progress is being made, so long as the amount of toxicity does not compromise quality of life. Apparently there are many drug options, including the taxanes, vinorelbine, capecitabine, carboplatin etc.
Please keep us informed about your treatment.
Many thanks
Sylvia
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Hello Everyone
I see the thread has gone very quiet for postings, although there seems to be a lot of viewings. I do hope that this means you are all doing alright and that there are not a lot of new diagnoses. Those of you going through chemo are particularly in my thoughts, as it is a difficult part of the treatment.I was thinking back to when I lost my hair. I did not shave it all off when it began to fall out and I always had a little bit of hair left. I do wonder about shaving it, as I think just leaving it as it ends up may help it to grow back more quickly. I also remember that the scalp got very dry and started to form hard dry crusts. I dealt with these in my own way by rubbing in pure avocado oil and then rinsing off with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. I kept all my skin well moisturised with un-perfumed cream and Simple soap or Dove soap.
I have been reading about how it is decided whether or not to include chemotherapy in a patient's treatment. It is quite a complicated process. Decisions are made on the risk of the cancer returning, the likely benefits of the treatment, the risks and side effects, what kind of health the patient is in before treatment, and, of course, what the patient thinks.
I remember that before I started chemotherapy, the oncologist asked for my height and weight and told me that this was used to decide on the amount of chemotherapy drug that would be used.
Decisions about chemotherapy will depend on the size of the tumour, the status of the lymph nodes, grade of the tumour, the hormone receptor status (whether positive or negative), HER2 status (whether positive or negative), and, of course, your age and how fit you are.
Apparently you are more likely to be advised to have chemotherapy if you have a large tumour (over 2 cms), some lymph nodes are involved, a grade three tumour, HER+, ER-, and under fifty years of age.
No doubt there will be exceptions to this.
You do not have to have all of the above to be considered a good candidate for chemotherapy. According to what I have been reading, chemotherapy is slightly more effective for negative status tumours. That has to be good news for us, since, for the moment, that is the treatment of choice.
I have been trying to cover all aspects of chemotherapy treatment, so I hope I have helped some of you out there. Please post if there is anything else you would like me or others to research or if you can help in gathering information, tips, or advice.
Wishing you all a good week.
Sylvia.
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Dear Silvia, and everyone else on this thread,
Firstly thanks for your untiring research and constant posts... for a week after my 1st session of Taxotere I was pretty washed out and couldn't face describing how I felt at least 100 years old.. but I certainly was reading the threads and I really appreciate all the work you do!
Another, and a much nicer reason for not posting was that I went away for 5 days with my husband to Switzerland, Lugano to be precise, where we'd lived for 8 years and where my 2 youngest children were born (they are now 19 and 17). The weather was ideal, and the environment just idyllic..I don't know if any of you have been, but there are mountains, and greenery, and lakes and all kinds of vegetation, both alpine and mediterranean..pretty perfect actually. We went on walks, visited favourite places and met old neighbours, and it was great. It was particualrly great as a few days before we left, I thought I'd be too tired to go, and the disgusting taste in my mouth would prevent me from enjoying good food...but by the time we left (12 days after chemo), things were pretty much back to normal and I could enjoy delicious risottos, lake fish and yummy cheeses.
Back to chemo lounge on Friday, with my 2nd of 4 Taxotere, after having started with FEC X 4. I'm hoping SEs won't be any worse, and am prepared for the tiredness and achiness, I just don't want it to be worse, or to drag on for longer.
Both my BS and ONC said I would have to have Radiotherapy as well as chemo, I think I will be having a month of it.. Since I haven't had surgery yet we don't know about the nodes, and although on the ultra sound they looked clear, the op will give a truer picture.. I don't know whether the decision to have radiotherapy will depend on that, but I get the impression my doctors are going to want me to have it anyway regardless of node involvement.
Good luck to all of you!
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Hi Sylvia, don't always get on to post. My Onc said she would give me aggressive chemo because the cancer was aggressive and can carry a high reoccurence rate. I can deal with that. This was a huge shock to me with no family history. I have found that it's also helpful to read the forums where people have done extremely well. We all need support and encouragement and what you write is so helpful and with all the research work you do, what about yourself?
It would be nice to hear you are enjoying life and doing well yourself.
Take care
Bernie
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Bernie Ellen I love your pony, she's beautiful
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Bernie Ellen,
Your sweet pony is gorgeous! I can imagine her standing in a field with clouds of misty fog around her! Someday I would love to visit Ireland and also Scotland. My father's family of origin came from Scotland to Maryland in 1689 or so.
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Hi everyone - it's been a while since I posted so I thought I would say hello. I have been very busy with my job and marking exam scripts for the exam board on an evening. I am keeping well but have some pain in my ribs / back. I went to see the Oncologist for a routine appointment and he noted that I was in some pain during my regular check up. I also have a lump on my rib just under my right boob (cancer was in right breast) so Oncologist has ordered a bone scan. I have postponed it until after my holidays though so it's scheduled for 2nd Aug with results on 8th Aug. I am sure all will be well, but I must admit to being a bit concerned about it all. Of course I will keep you posted on how I get on.
Karen X
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Hello Maria_Malta and everyone else on this thread.
Thank you for your news about your experiences so far with Taxotere (docetaxel). I was sorry to hear that you felt pretty washed out. All you can do is rest as much as you can, drink plenty of water and focus on something nice. I used to think about scenes that I loved when I was teaching in Morocco. Music is a good tonic. I do not know what your tastes are, but I love the Three Tenors, especially Pavarotti. I also love anything by Roy Orbison or Elvis Presley.Thank you for expressing your appreciation of the thread. If I decide to do something I always completely dedicate myself to it. I think a thread like this is so important for all of us, but, especially for the newly-diagnosed, because I feel almost everyone must go into shock with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Knowledge is empowerment.
Thank you for your news about your trip to Switzerland. It is very important to get away from time to time, to try to switch off breast cancer and treatment. I am sure it does the immune system a lot of good. Switzerland sounds lovely and it must have been really enjoyable to go back to a place where you lived for quite a time.
I was so glad to know that you managed to enjoy the food. I know from personal experience that Taxotere does cause you to have an awful metallic taste in your mouth and that it does make food unappetising. I found that while I was on EC (epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) I had no problem with metallic taste and food not tasting right, but it hit me on Taxotere. In fact, it was on Taxotere that my eyebrows and eyelashes disappeared, and my toenails turned brown.
I hope things will not be too bad for your second round of Taxotere and that even if the first week is not pleasant you will feel more normal after that.
Although Taxotere and Taxol (docetaxel and paclitaxel) seem to be quite hard to take, I think we should all be grateful that they are now readily available, because they are apparently among the most successful drugs in fighting breast cancer. They are used for metastatic breast cancer, as well as early breast cancer. Apparently they are of great benefit to high risk women.
By the way, I would be most interested to know why, if you can find out, some women get just EC and others get FEC (F=5-fluorouracil).
I think you will probably have more peace of mind if you have radiotherapy. Usually you will have a recovery period after chemotherapy, before surgery, and then a rest period after surgery, before radiotherapy.
Good luck and best wishes.
Sylvia.
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Hello BernieEllen
I was so glad to hear from you. It looks as though you have a good oncologist. It looks as though you also have a positive attitude, and I feel that is very important. What kind of combination of chemotherapy drugs are you going to have? The usual combinations now seem to be FEC for three months and then Taxotere or Taxol for three months. Please have a look at my post to Maria_Malta. Other drugs, such as doxorubicin and methotrexate are used. There seems to be about seven different drugs in common use for breast cancer and in various combinations. It gets a bit confusing because sometimes the brand name is used and sometimes the generic name is used. For example, FEC = 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide. CAF = cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin (doxorubicin) and 5-fluorouracil. My theory is that the brand name is used here because it makes the abbreviation easier to pronounce, but it is only my theory. Sometimes there does not appear to be a brand name.I can understand how shocked you must have been, when there is no family history. My medical team told me that this is often the case and they referred to these cases as rogue cases. We have to remember that genetic breast cancers account for only about 1% of cases.
I agree with you that it is useful to read the threads where people are telling you how well they have done despite a poor prognosis. I certainly do not think it is helpful to discourage people with TN by announcing doom and gloom. As a friend of mine said, there are negative things about being diagnosed with positive breast cancer and positive things about being diagnosed with negative breast cancer! Women with hormonal breast cancer, those with triple positive breast cancer, and those with genetic breast cancer all face challenges.
Thank you for saying that you find what I write encouraging and supportive, as that is why I started the thread.
You ask about me. I do carry on with a normal life. I am a volunteer director of the apartment complex in which I live and that has a lot of responsibilities. My husband did it for a long time and I helped and now we have switched roles. We have lovely grounds and I instruct our gardener on what to do. I also love gardening and often do a lot of work in the garden. I like walking and enjoy the countryside in Devon. I think Devon is one of the nicest places in which to live. I like reading, am interested in politics and current affairs and have a very enquiring mind. I am a former high school teacher and have taught French and English as a second language.
I do enjoy life, but I do love helping people. I am now six years past diagnosis, so I feel very lucky. However, I take nothing for granted and know that with breast cancer things can change. I feel that primary breast cancer is now something that can be managed and treated, but I feel that it is a greater challenge when there is recurrence or spread. Reading other threads, especially the ones for stage 4 (metastatic breast cancer), I realise there is a lot that can be done there. I recently read posts from two women with metastatic breast cancer, one was still surviving after seventeen years and one after twelve years. I cannot remember what kind of breast cancer they had, but it must give hope to all of us.
Thank you for your photographs of the ponies. I am sure they have given great pleasure to everyone. You are lucky to live in such a beautiful country.
Keep smiling.
Sylvia.
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Hello Karen3
I was just about to read your post and say hello, when you deleted it. I was so glad to hear from you and disappointed that your post disappeared.
I would love you to get back in touch. I know that with the end of term approaching, you must be very busy. I suppose that term will finish in about three weeks. Please let us know how you are doing. We all wish you the best and hope to hear from you soon.
Sylvia
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Hi Sylvia
I am fine - marking for the exam board at the moment. We have another week left of school
. Sorry to delete my post. You probabIy think I am a bit mad but I am trying not to think too much about my scan and decided that it is probably nothing anyway. So I decided that (for me) it was probably a mistake drawing attention to it. Strange I know. Anyway, my scan is 2nd Aug and my results are 8th Aug (all delayed because I do not want any tests before my holiday) so I will let you know the results. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to a lovely holiday in Turkey with my son 
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Hello Karen
I was so glad to hear from you and to know that all is well. I hope all is going well with the marking. What subjects are you marking and what is the standard like? You must be looking forward to the end of term. With one week to go I suppose the pupils are getting anxious for the holidays as well.I can understand that you are trying not to think about the scan. August is some weeks off and you need to enjoy July. I can understand that you want to focus on your holiday with your son and switch off from everything to do with cancer.
I hope you will have a good holiday in Turkey and that you will come back feeling revived from all the good weather and be fighting fit for the scan.
You can always post to chat about other things. We all have a life outside of breast cancer and it is good to focus on that and enjoy each day. I think we all know that worrying does not do us any good.
I love your happy faces.
Best wishes from Sylvia and all of us on this thread.
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hi to everyone. i adore my pony, she is calm and peaceful and she senses when i need to be quiet and justs rests her head on my shoulder.
had a line put in the arm yesterday. very sore. still have 3 more rounds of a/c to go and then rads after that. hoping i can keep working.
have a good weeend. bernie
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Hello Silvia thanks so much for your post, and hello all for being there and making me feel that this is a road we are all travelling together.
I had my 3rd Taxotere today, and like last time I'm feeling fine right now, but I know that on Sunday night the aches and pains will probably start, but I'm 3/4s of the way through my treatment (2 left...can't wait!!!) and since I now know what to expect I feel more prepared...yes, Silvia, absolutely right knowledge does empower. There's a thread on this site which discusses fasting for several days before chemo and one day after, and thi should apparently reduce SEs... I haven't actually tried it, but thoguht that I could try to see whether drastically cutting down on food the day before chemo, the day of chemo and the day after, would help. So yesterday I ate very lightly, fruit, a bit of yogurt and some salad, mainly tomatoes, but drank large quantities of fluids, am doing the same today, and will repeat tomorro, and will see whehter it will amke any diference. I know that last time, because I was feeling so well on days 1 and 2, I ate normally and probably overdid, and I think that might have caused the heavy lump in the stomach feeling of the following days. Any of you have any experience of this?
As to taste, in my experience, it was the FEC which caused the unbearable metallic taste, while Taxotere is a bit more bearable and the taste is closer to cardboard, as someone else wrote somewhere.
Silvia, regarding 5-Fluoracil, I will ask the consultant ONC who I will be seeing at the end of my sessions in August.. I could ask the doctors I see at the clinic, but I think consultant will give me a more detailed answer as he is the person who makes the decision regarding what each individual should be given. I think 5-F is given to patients who have the more aggressive tumours (I'm Grade 3), as well as Stage 4. You mentioned soemwhere that you were not given Neulasta injections at the time you were being treated..well here I was not given any injections to start with, but after my 1st cycle my white blood cells were on the low sde 3 weeks later, and I had to wait a few days before having cycle no 2.. after that onc prescribed a course of 5 injections over 5 days, starting 24 hours after chemo. The brand name is Nivestim (Filgrastim), and have only just thought of mentioning it so haven't googled it to see whether it is just another brand name for Neulasta, but I suspect it is. Several people say that it causes bad SEs, but I didn't really find this on the whole, although admittedly it is difficult to distinguish between SEs from the chemo and this course of injections. The point is that they work, and you are less likely to pick up an infection in the second week.
BernieEllen, your pony is lovely, and I'm sure she helps you to feel calm and peaceful, as patting my cats does for me...or looking after my very small garden, weeding and plantng lots of flowers and watching them grow.
Karen good luck with your marking..I know what it's like as I'm a teacher, luckily had taken a break from full-time teaching this year and was only teaching part-time, had 2 Form 5 groups who had sat for their MOCK examinations which I'd just finished marking and reporting on when I was diagnosed..so I din't after to carry on teaching when I satrted treatment, and do much of my admin work from home, only going in to school about once a week. So in this way I was fortunate. Silvia, am very interested in your time in Morocco. I taught for 5 years in Tunisia in the late 70s/early 80s..and I aslo spent a year in Devon 1978/79, living in a tiny village called Sampford Courtena, just north of Okehampton, while I was a student at Exeter University. So it appears we have quite a few things in common.
Anyway, my hyperactivity as a result of Dexa seems to have affected my writing as well!
Very very best vibes to all of you, especially those going through chemo or awaiting results. Enjoy things to the full when you are up to it... meet people who are good for you and who make you laugh ...
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I apologise for typos above ..didn't bother proof-reading...put down to chemo brain!
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Hi Maria - don't worry about the typos. I am typo queen!! Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. Unfortnately I came home early from school today as a result of abdominal discomfort - I look as if I'm 7 months pregnant!! My tummy is rock hard and I have pains in my lower back. I have also been having pains on the RHS of my back under my shoulder blade for about 5 weeks. I have had the swelling in my tummy for about 5 weeks too but it has become especially bad over the last two weeks. I have just come back from a two day conference in London and found sitting in one place for long periods of time pretty awful. Plus I am finding eating difficult now (just feels like there is no room in my tummy for anything else). Anyway, one of my colleagues told me to see my GP which I did. My GP just happens to be a parent at my school too!! My doc examined me and could see my tummy is huge and solid even when laid down. I also pointed out the pain in my back. He said it is fluid either caused by ovarian cysts or ascites (obviously the latter is serious!!). I have now been referred for an urgent abdominal scan and I should know something by next week. Meanwhile I am driving down to Warwick to my nephews wedding at 6am tomorrow morning. I know that I am going to find that pretty uncomfortable and it's doubtful I will be able to eat anything at the reception. it's my son's sixth form prom this evening too (he is 18 and just finished at sixth form) so lots going on. He is very concerned about me at the moment. once again, it's all probably nothing - but (God forbid) if is it ascites I hope they can drain it so that I can still go on holiday with my son in two weeks. At the moment I feel as if I am about to explode! I am hoping that next week I have nothing to report except a bad case of wind!!
Maria - I teach full time at a local private school and teach A level Business and A level Economics mostly. I am also an A level examiner and marking for the exam board. I love teaching and of course this time of year is good because many of the classes have gone! I just have a few GCSE sets to teach.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Karen XX
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Hello BernieEllen
I just wanted to say that I hope the line will make the treatment easier for you and that the soreness in your arm will wear off. You will find that the chemotherapy treatment will seem to go faster now and that it will soon be over. I hope you will find the radiotherapy a lot easier. The treatment is very quick but what is tiring is having to get to the hospital everyday, five days a week.Keep looking ahead.
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Hello Maria_Malta
Thank you for all your news. Keep looking ahead with your chemotherapy treatment as it will soon be over. As you say, it is easier to deal with everything when you have an idea about what to expect.I would be interested to know what the thread is that is discussing fasting before and after chemotherapy treatment and my own advice is not to do anything without discussing it with your oncologist. Remember that with all this treatment you need to keep your body fit and healthy, so that your immune system can fight as best it can, while being suppressed by the drugs. You need to keep your strength up.
During my treatment I tried to eat as normally as possible. I remember that the Hospicecare nurses who came to visit me told me to make sure I got plenty of protein. Since I do not eat meat I had white and oily fish and a few organic eggs. I also remember that I was advised to make sure I had some breakfast before setting off for chemotherapy. In fact, I have vivid memories of the chemotherapy ward in which I had treatment. Towards lunchtime staff with food trolleys came round and sandwiches and cooked meals were available. I always took my own lunch, because I do not eat much of the food that was on offer, which was mainly meat and dairy products, which I do not eat. I remember patients tucking into meals such as roasts and stews, followed by desserts. I found that the chemotherapy drugs made me very sensitive to smell, and I found it hard to deal with the smell of meat.
I do not think you can go wrong if you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, especially those rich in antioxidants and which are supposed to help fight cancer, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and all the vegetables of the cabbage family. Although I am a great believer in eating as much raw food as possible, and I know this is a recommendation in a lot of books on food and nutrition, I do remember being advised to cook all food during chemotherapy treatment and to avoid raw food such as salads, because of the risk of infection. For the same reason, patients were advised to stay away from anyone who was unwell, from crowded places, public transport etc., because of the fear of picking up an infection. Have you received any of this kind of advice?
It seems obvious that the chemotherapy drugs can affect both taste and smell. I think I had stronger side effects from the Taxotere (docetaxel) than from the EC.
I am sure it would be interesting to all of us to know why some of us only got EC and others got FEC. I am sure there must be others out there who had different combinations. Why is it that some patients get epirubicin and others Adriamycin (doxorubicin), when they belong to the same group of chemotherapy drugs? Have any of you had the chemotherapy drug methotrexate? I understand that another combination commonly used is CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil).
I think you will find that most of us with TNBC have a grade 3 tumour. I have studied a lot of the posts on TNBC and found that the tumour is invariably grade 3. If any of you with TNBC are not grade 3 it would be interesting to know.
I do understand now why I did not have Neulasta injections. It was because my white blood cells were obviously never so low that I needed them. As I have said before, blood tests were taken at my home the day before my chemotherapy treatment and the results were at the hospital on the day. Everything was normal, so my treatment never had to be delayed. Neulasta and Neupogen (given every two weeks) help keep the white cell count high enough to help prevent infection. The red blood cells also have to be checked and drugs such as Procrit and Aranesp help to stimulate red blood cells to decrease the risk of anaemia.
I was interested to know that you are a teacher and I am glad that you have not had to carry on teaching while undergoing chemotherapy. I think it so important to get plenty of rest and avoid stress. On the other hand it is good to have something to do to take your mind off the breast cancer.
I was interested to know that you had also taught in North Africa. I spent three years in Morocco, in the south, teaching English as a second language. It was a very rewarding time as the students were very keen and very good at learning languages. I was also interested to know that you spent a year in Devon near Okehampton and that you were a student at Exeter University. What subjects did you study? My brother was a senior lecturer in French at Exeter University from 1971 to 2005, when he retired. I taught French in Bideford, North Devon, for a year.
Together with Karen3 we have a group of three teachers. Gillyone, a Brit living in the US, who also posts here from time to time, is also a teacher.
Best wishes
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Hello Karen
I was sorry to hear that you had had to come home from school early because of abdominal discomfort and I hope that you are feeling better today. You must be feeling very anxious as you wait for an abdominal scan to find out whether you have ovarian cysts or ascites. Please let us know what happens.I hope everything went well with your nephew's wedding and that the driving was not too uncomfortable. I hope everything went well with your son's prom. He must be awfully worried about you. Will he be going off to university?
I know how much you are looking forward to your holiday in Turkey in two weeks time, so I do hope that whatever is wrong will be able to be treated and that you will be back to normal before your holiday.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello Everyone
It is a fine summer day here in Exmouth and I understand it is the same for the whole of the UK. I do hope you will all take advantage of this as summer is always short in this country. We have to remember that, more and more, the media keep telling us that we need to take advantage of sunny days in order to get our vitamin D, which they say is important in trying to help keep breast cancer at bay and how vitamin D deficiency is being linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. Of course, this does not mean we need hours in the sun, which is not good for us. I have read that ten to fifteen minutes in the sun without sunscreen is all we need to get a huge amount of vitamin D.There is more and more news about poor diet and cancers of all kind, especially breast cancer. I was wondering whether you all keep to a healthy diet, as I have read that about 35% of breast cancers are connected to a poor diet. Perhaps we could have a discussion about this and about the so called superfoods, or the anticancer foods, such as fruit and vegetables rich in antioxidants.
It would be nice to hear from those of you who have not posted in quite a while. I do hope all of you are doing well.
How are you doing Josephine? Do you now have a date for your July MRI scan? How are you FreddieDLH, PenelopeP, TEK2009. Hello to all of you from the US and other countries that have posted. Please let us know how you are all doing.
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Hello again
I have just been looking up Neupogen and Neulasta.Neupogen is the brand name for the generic drug filgrastim.
Neulasta is the brand name for the generic drug pegfilgrastim.
They are both used to boost the production of white blood cells when they are too low during chemotherapy treatment. They reduce the duration of neutropenia (low levels of neutrophils) in patients receiving chemotherapy.
Nivestim is a solution for injection or infusion (drip into vein) that contains the active ingredient filgrastim. Nivestim is a bio-similar medicine. This means it is similar to a biological medicine, in this case Neupogen.
One of the main side effects of this medicine is pain in the muscles and in the bones.
There appears to be no meaningful clinical difference between filgrastim and pegfilgrastim. It looks as though you are given one daily dose of pegfilgrastim and multiple doses of filgrastim.
Are many of you having to have these treatments during your chemotherapy treatment? Do you find that your chemotherapy is often causing you low levels of white and red blood cells?
Sylvia
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Hello Silvia,
I was started on Nivestim when my 2nd cycle had to be postponed as a result of a low white cell blood count..admittedly only by 3 days, when cells regenerated alone, but my onc decided that it was worth starting on the Nivestim to ensure my 3 weekly cycles kept regular. Apparently, like Neulasta, there are a number of unpleasant side effects, including aching bones and muscles, but although I have now had 5 sessions of Nivestim, I only started getting muscle and nerve pain once I switched from FEC to Taxotere, so I think my present SEs are a result of the chemo rather than Nivestim. I read that Nivestim has only recently been accepted in the EU, and appears to have received mixed reviews, but it seems to do the trick for me. I suspect it was chosen by our NHS here as it is a cheaper alternative... It is administered by sub-cutaneous injection every day for five days starting 24 hours after having had chemo.
The 'Fasting' thread is on this forum... I think it is called 'Anyone fasting through Chemo?' or words to that effect. Yes I know we should be eating well, but I find that for the first few days after chemo there is very little which appeals to me, apart from fruit. I also feel that if I eat too much in the first days I get 'concrete stomach syndrome' so this time I've been eating very lightly to try and avoid that.
I followed a B.Phil course in Sociology of Education at the School of Education...forgotten the name of the road, the School of Educ wasn't on the main campus..if I remember rightly I think it might have been St. Luke's Road in Exeter. That would have been academic year 1978/1979
Bye for now, thanks for all your feedback, and enjoy the weather!
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Hello Maria_Malta
Thank you for your post and all your interesting information. I hope all continues to go well for you.
As for what to eat, it is probably best to eat what you feel that you can. I find I cannot eat large meals at any time and this was especially the case during chemotherapy. The main thing is to keep your strength up. I found I used to enjoy some mashed potatoes if I felt hungry and yet I do not eat potatoes at all in my normal everyday life!
I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Hello everyone yet again
I have been having a look back at the nine pages of our thread and was amazed at how much we have all covered. I would really love to know what has happened to FreddieDLH, Jinglebell (Mary), Spamy61, and Micheyd. You were among the first few people to post to the thread after I started it on Sept 12 2010. It was your posts that motivated me to continue. If you are still reading the posts we would all love to hear from you. There are many others that we have not heard from in a while and I just hope you are all well.
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Sylvia, I love your thread. I a from the US but enjoy learning from you! I have ac every 2 weeks and my white counts get low, so I have neulasta the day after chemo. When I go in for my weekly follow up, my wbc are usually low so they then do neupogen on me for the next three days.
I do feel diet is so important, but right now I am struggling to eat well. Would love to hear healthy food suggestions, especially low fat. I need to lose weight, but onc said not to focus too much on that while on treatment, as it is important to keep protein intake up, but I can still make wise choices!
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Just had a bowl of mashed potatoes...good tip Silvia!
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Hi to everyone, thanks Sylvia about for all the info. At the moment i eat what my body is telling me it needs and if that's a bit of chocolate cake then i eat that. Mashed potatoes in a bowl of soup helps.
Did anyone work with a line fitted? I work in a garden centre/petshop and eventhough i do the office work very concerned about infection being out in the shop and with customers.
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