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Ah, the lovely nurse said she'd pop in to see me. Also I have a friend coming with me and all shall be good. :-)
Will try and report back! xx
Shall be thinking of you Hopeful. So glad your friend is going with you. My sister always had my brother with her, and it certainly does take your mind away from it for a while. Keep smiling, you're doing brilliantly. xxx
Hi people, here's the promised update - mind it's just today and I haven't got a clue how I'll be tomorrow:
Firstly I was right about the 80 minutes, ha ha ha. They were running half an hour late and then moved the chairs closer together to make space for me, bless them. Then my veins didn't like having a cannula in - the veins are good, but as soon as something wants to stay in they seem to go 'no thanks' and close up. So they put a heat pad around my arm to promote them coming up better. All in all it took them four attempts to get this in. (And a lot of time).
Then I got the antisickness stuff (Ondansetron) first, then some saline and then they pushed the chemo through one by one - the first one (Epirubicin) makes your wee red, just for entertainment value. After that you have a bit more saline, they give you tablets (antisickness and steroids) to take home and off you go.
I ended up having two friends there, which was nice, all of us student nurses asking the 'real' nurses questions they couldn't answer and always had to double check with the sister in charge (that was fun, too).
There were no adverse reactions to anything, so fingers crossed the side effects will limit themselves to the dooming hair loss.
We went for a drink (no alcohol for me, sigh) and on the way home I picked up the Colonel's stuff for dinner as a treat.
Next time I'll be on my own because they booked it during lecture time - not happy about that one!
Good morning Hopeful! Thank you for the update! I have heard that waiting in waiting rooms is a massive part of the process, so I hope that they had some good magazines, or that you have a good book to immerse yourself in.
I hate it when they can't find the vein, I hope you arm isn't too bruised this morning!
It sounds sas though you managed to have a bit of a giggle with your friends there, it is a shame that they won't be able to come next time, who else could you invite??
I am glad to see that your spirits were up last night, how are you feeling today?
Hi, I am sure I'll find someone for next time, if not I'll take a book... :-)
Feeling ok, felt quite sick in the night, but if I just didn't move I was able to go back to sleep without any trouble.
So far I can cope, but it is early days. :-)
xxx
Glad that you were able to go straight back to sleep, how are the children?
Where they ok when you came home? I imagine that they were anxious to see that you were ok?
Am absolutely shattered and my head is a fuzz. Not sick though. I suppose that's a small mercy.
Children seem ok as long as I am only tired...
Hi Hopeful,
Glad to hear that you aren't being sick, though sorry to hear you're feeling so fatigued.
Keep posting when you can - we're all here for you.
Mary x
Loads of hugs Hopeful.
I ope you're able to rest. xx
Resting very difficult because of steroids. So the brain is fuzzy. Seem to have picked up a bit for the moment, yesterday was lots worse! Plus I didn't sleep at all well, kept waking up. Hoetpefully, this will be it for feeling blugh now.
Still can't concentrate on stuff properly, but am a bit better. Friend came with lunch which was nice. Am supposed to go to London Sunday for BILs birthday, but will see how I feel about driving.
Sorry to hear that yesterday was bleugh and glad that today you have picked up a bit.
Yes gently gently Hopeful, any chance you could catch the train to London?
Hi Hopeful, glad the treatment is going okay for you. Thinking of you. Keep smiling, you're doing great 
Ha ha, I didn't feel like it's going ok for me! But probably compared to other people it is. I've not felt sick (yippeeh!!) just totally zombied out - I just did the washing up and now I need a good rest. But I feel I am coming out of the fog a bit now. Probably just have to give up those 5 - 6 days every cycle. God knows how I'll study with this going on!
I need all the prayers and good wishes I can get.
But you can see by what I write I am a bit better! :-)
Anyone who has any ideas about how to get a better taste in one's mouth, please put them here. (Mind, as long as that's the worst problem, I'll cope!)
Glad to hear the fog is lifting, Hopeful. Do you think you'll make it to London? Any thoughts on catching the train rather than driving, as Anna suggested?
Hope you have a good day today too x
London is only on Sunday, so if I keep improving like now, I will! :-)
Will miss today's friends picknick though, because I daren't drive and if I take the train there's a lot of walking the other side and that might knock me out again. will see how I go.
But feeling better even from the last post! How good is that!
Thats great hopeful, have been thinking off you whilst i was away and i am glad that you have not had the sickness, Wippeee that your starting to feel more lively, hope you make it to London as planned on Sunday.
Hi Hopeful, glad you are feeling slightly better, please be careful driving.
As for the 'getting a better taste in your mouth' my instant reaction was eat a lemon!! But I guess that is to awaken your taste buds - not have a better taste!
If you go tomorrow, have a super day
Hi Hopeful I have been thinking about you while I have been away and hoping you were coping ok. Remember what I said about noting down how you feel each day so you can "predict" your pattern for each cycle.
As for the nasty taste, this is a problem for many people. Sone women find that mouthwash helps, whereas the only thing that helped my friend was ice pops and fruit ice lollies, not just for the taste but also to numb it for a bit.
How are you today?
Feeling tons better, almost normal - though I get tired relatively quickly still, but that's not so bad. I could have been loads worse, I wasn't sick at all, so I am not complaining.
The trick with the taste is pineapple (people have been saying that and it really does help), will try lemon when I get fed up with that. The mouthwash helps, but isn't so nice itself, and I have a mouthspray from the gp.
Hopefully that's it for this round. Only five to go and by Christmas it will be all done! People are already talking about Christmas so it can't be that far away ;-)
Glad you're feeling better
I have been getting annoyed by all the mince pies and christmas cards in the shops hopeful! But I think for your sake I shall welcome it gladly this year Bring it on!
Well we don't have to get tied in with the mince pies, but what we can do is look forward to the end of Hopeful's chemo. Well done Hopeful, and trust you will continue to gain strength each day now. Just a word of warning.....my friend found that many ladies had more of a struggle with either chemo 3 or chemo 4, and if this happens to you then do not despair as it is usually just a one-off and the following one goes back to what you were expecting.
How are you doing today?
I am fine, procrastinating about uni work, but I have to be a bit disciplined if I want to succeed now, don't I.
Thanks for the warning, I'll ask on the macmillan site about this, see what the general thing is. I think the worst is that I am not in control of myself when I have a fog head, let alone my household!
But Christmas is not far away, so hey! x
Oh yes discipline, what's that again? 
Know what you mean about the fog, do you remember the lady with her own thread who was recovering from cancer treatment and she called herself headful of fog? it seems it is a common reaction. Hopefully this will be lifting now for you
No fog at the moment. Yay! :-)
That poor lady, I hope she's alright!
Hi Hopeful, yes I wonder how headfulloffog is, maybe I will post on her thread and see if she comes back online
Right Hopeful back to your Uni work
I hope the Uni work is going well Hopeful.
I hope you're keeping well and doing ok. Think of you often.
Uni was fun today. Also talked to the 'student support tutor' and he agreed to everything I wanted, yeay! So I'll postpone placement till after Christmas and concentrate on the academic stuff. Plus there is an exam which I'll be in Zombieland for and I get to choose when I want to do it. How cool is all that.
Fantastic! Your positive attitude certainly seems to rub off on other people who can't help themselves enough to help you!
Great stuff hopeful
It really is good that you're being able to sort things out. I'm relieved for you.
So... Hope you got some academic stuff out the way this evening 
(says she who isn't doing anything vaguely academic this year...!!)
That really is super cool, Hopeful and brilliant that you can continue with what you are doing!
I have started loosing my hair! If I give it a tuck, it comes out in big strands (I've only done this a couple of times for testing purposes - am not doing it anymore!). I washed it today and am feeling very brave that I did! Not too much came out, but I was very very careful.
Going to see the 'wig lady' on Thursday. Have asked a friend to lend me some scarves. I think my biggest worry is the 'transition period'.
You'll know when it's all gone, because I'll change my avatar thingy! :-)
Hey Hopeful. Sorry about your hair, (now stop tugging at it, leave it be) I am in no doubt that you'll cope with the hair loss like you've coped with everything that has been thrown at you. Brilliantly. Let us know how you get on with the 'wig lady'. I'm sure you'll be looking grand in whatever you choose Thinking of you xx
Hi Hopeful, hazeleyes is right, you seem to be taking everything in your stride. I have a friend who got a wig, but she never wore it, she preferred the scarves route in the end. Her hair did fall out, not all of it, but it has all grown back now.
I am glad that you are taking a friend with you, then you can have a giggle too at some of the more bizarre ones!
My friend wore a scarf. In the hospital they have a weekly session on how to tie the head scarfs and the had loads of scarfs to chose from.
I'm so glad you have your friend with you.
I know why you are tugging it, it can relieve tenderness on your scalp. In one sense it is a relief when it has all gone, that is what my friend said, it is the in between bit that is hard
Have a think about headgear, wigs can be quite warm!
The tugging thing is very tempting, but I'm not doing it. I expected lots of hair on my pillow this morning, but there wasn't any although it's been falling out bit by bit today. It looks quite horrible today because I daren't brush it! I should probably just shave it all off!
Went out last night and a friend was making fun (yeah, I know I have some weird friends) when I said I didn't have to pull hard for it to come out and she pulled it and had a handfull of hair! She was very embarassed! :-P
The wig will be more for my daughter - I'll go with scarves I think. Or a mix. I will have fun with it though! :-)
Ooh you said about shaving it off, would you actually do that? I don't know how I would react, but I like the idea of getting rid of it, so you don't have to watch it happen day by day.
Your poor friend, I guess she will become more empathetic as time goes by. We all deal with these kind of things differently, she may be embarrassed and not really sure what to say, so was trying to make light of it, I guess that was a lesson learnt on her part!
Of course you will have fun with the whole wig and scarf thing - that is who you are Hopeful!!
Just what I needed to hear Anna! Thank you!
We hacked all the hair off today as it was all matted at the back and just a lump. I was at a friend's house and another friend was there, too, and the 'hacking off' friend gave me a lovely scarf thing to cover it all up - it looks quite horrid with bald patches, yikes.
I wasn't too bothered (although I think it's ugly), but then we went to the wig place. The girl who deals with that didn't seem very caring and almost the first thing she said was I would have to pay £ 63 on top of the prescription. I am now looking into that, because I am on tax credit and don't pay for prescriptions or dentists or eye tests, so I think they would cover that, too. Any ideas anyone?
Anyway the trying on wigs was very weird, I am so not cut out to be a blonde! But I had to look in the mirror all the time at how ugly I felt without hair and I did get upset. So when I got home I just had a good cry and feel a bit better now.
I'll be ok, I know, and the scarf is lovely, and the wig will be good, too. And I'll get used to it all. I am a bit cross at myself for feeling upset - after all, it's just a bit of hair! I shall shake this off now, and it will be all good. Can't wait for it to grow back though!
Of course you were upset Hopeful, even though you knew it was coming, it's still a big shock, but you've dealt with it so well. Good to have a cry too, and not bottle up every emotion. It will grow back too of course xxx
Glad you're pleased with the scarf. Do you only get one? Sending you lots of hugs, and a better day tomorrow. xx
xxx
Hello Hopeful. my friend shaved hers off when it started to fall out and once she was actually bald, she got used to it within a couple of days. She wore buffs for most of the time and had different designs for different outfits but of course you have to buy them.
Not sure about the wig costs....have a chat with the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 0000. And Breast Cancer Care have a Headstrong service, click to see.
Don't worry about having a good cry, let it out is what I say!
Oh, good cry helped enormously, I am much better today (although I feel a bit tired from having the good cry yesterday. Couldn't find the clippers yesterday - daughter knew where they were, so in a minute I'll cut it as short as possible - the hair dresser said not to shave it shave it because that will make the little leftover bits really itchy. It's been itching like mad today anyway, and some of the hair came through the scarf thing (it's not really a scarf, it's more like a tube? And it wasn't the wig person giving me that, it was a friend, the wig person doesn't care). Again I think I got upset because I can't be in control of this hair thing.
Will have to check the Avatar, but I doubt there's one with bald patches! :-p
Had a look at the Headstrong thing, Louise. Sadly the closest place to go would be London (so that's at least £ 26 for the train ticket) which would take a couple of hours to get to. I might give the helpline a ring though. :-)
Yes give them a ring. The tube scarf you are talking about, that is a buff and they are often a more relaxed weave so bits of hair can poke through although cutting it as short as possible will really help.
Glad you're feeling a bit better, chemo is very tiring so look after yourself. As for the control thing, it is good that you know this about your personality. There will be things about this treatment which will feel out of your control, easier to go with the flow and look forward to normal service being resumed soon. Is it your next treatment this coming week?
Next treatment, provided bloods on Monday are ok, is on Wednesday. Sooo not looking forward to it, but still then it will be two down. Also having portacath put in on Monday and seeing oncologist on Tuesday.
So the good thing is I won't have to do any cooking next week. I have such lovely friends! :-)
Yes you do, and very much deserved by you!
Once you get this one done then you are already a third of the way through. Woo-hoo! and the next one will see HALF of it behind you. Just tick off the days, and every one is a day nearer to finishing. Thinking of you.
I'm so glad you have such lovely friends hopeful
Hopeful, I'll be thinking of you tomorrow as well.
Hope all goes as well as it possibly can. I hope you have time to pop in and see the lovely nurse too.