FEC off Cancer

Chemo cringe face



 So the chemotherapy begins. I was pretty nervous going up for the first treatment as I didn’t know what to expect really. I had a little melt down just before it started, luckily Bex was there to hold my hand and I was OK after that. The lovely nurse got my cannula in first time so that is the main hurdle. You have a drip put in and the drugs are syringed gradually into the drip, just in case there is any reaction then the process can be slowed down. There’s anti-sickness first then steroids, the steroids make you feel like you actually have ants in your pants, it’s a very weird feeling! The chemotherapy drugs are then gradually injected over about 2 hours. You can’t touch them as they would blister your skin if you did, it is powerful stuff. This is the clever thing about chemo, it is so powerful that it can target and hopefully kill the cancer cells. This obviously can make you very sick in the process but it is amazing how the treatment works. No amount of broccoli is going to have the same effect!

FEC-T is the name of the treatment plan I am on, hence the blog title! There are three rounds of FEC then three rounds of T, the treatments take place every three weeks if I am well enough and my blood count has stabilised. The E part of the treatment is the bright red liquid in the picture on the right; this is the drug that can make your hair fall out. Everyone is different but it could come out in a few days or a couple of weeks, but definitely before the next treatment. I keep checking my pillow in the morning to see if any has fallen out yet! I’m hoping to have a little head shaving gathering with the girls in a couple of weeks once I feel well enough. I wanted to try out a couple of styles as well, like a mullet and a mow hawk! But I might not get a chance if it all falls out before that. Fingers crossed it lasts!

At the moment I feel pretty rough and I’m sleeping a lot, I also feel sick. I’m on a course of steroids and anti-sickness drugs for the first few days so I will potentially feel worse towards the end of the week when they wear off. It’s hard to know really. It will be good to get through the first cycle to get to know how I will feel as this will be an indication of how I will feel through the rest of the treatment; although it will get worse as the drugs build up in my system. It will be a bit like Groundhog Day for the next few months. But I am glad to be on the road to the end.

Thanks to Bex for coming up with me for my first treatment!! You are a very good PA making all those notes for me and a list of what not to forget with tick boxes!! I loved that. Thanks to Chloe and Charlie for my valentine’s card, flowers and cup cakes in a zebra print box!! How cool is that. Thanks to all the girls for all your messages! And of course to Mum (love the zebra blanket!), Dad, Mat, Em and Pres for all your help, support and love every day.

(Please note that I am not a medical professional so don’t rely on any of the above as fact; these are details as I have understood them and could be inaccurate or just relevant to me! And if any of the details above are not correct please let me know!)