Confirmed papillary serous carcinoma Stage 4B

[Janscancer]

Chemo will not cure only prolong life but all that can be done!! or so they say!

Start chemo seven cycles of 21days, Day 1 Carboplatin and Paclitaxel( Taxol) then 20 days and the next cycle starts.

Side effects explained think I might get a wig as hair loss is almost certain. Otherwise onward and upwards and lets get this show started!

[January-2016-UK]

Good idea to get a wig now rather than wait until you really need it. Synthetic wigs are very realistic these days and much cheaper, with the advantage you can have more than one. Your hospital may provide vouchers which enables you to shop around. You will probably eventually lose your eye lashes and eyebrows so practise now at drawing in eyebrows if you've never done it before.

Excluding waiting time, you will be on the chemo ward for at least six hours. They can be noisy as the machine which drips the drug into your veins beeps when it's nearly finished, beeps louder when it has finished, and beeps loudly if the drip stops for some reason. Not only your machine but all the other ones too! So take some noise cancelling ear phones or at least head phones to deaden the noise. Take your iPad, Kindle or plenty of light reading matter; it's doubtful you'll be wanting to tackle any heavy reading. Some chemo wards can be chilly so take plenty of layers. They also drip a lot of saline solution through you to protect your kidneys which means you will want to go to the loo, frequently, so shoes which are easy to put on and off best. Fiddling around tying laces when you know you've got to make it to the loo quickly is unhelpful for peace of mind. You could always keep your shoes on but I found that lying in bed or the reclining chairs, I preferred to take my shoes off.

You might want to take snacks or even your lunch. Depending upon your hospital lunch or sandwiches are usually provided but the sandwiches are often of the white processed bread variety. Coffee and tea is usually available but I sometimes took a flask.

I'm sure others will give you other tips too!

All the best!

[Purple-iris]

Hi

Yes I am the same not curable despite treatment all going to plan and surgery NED . Takes time to get your head around but everyday a bonus . Have had some counselling which is also helping .

I had same chemo 4 before surgery and 2 after and am now on Avastin . Wore cold cap and kept my hair . First 15 mins the worst then body adjusts . I was at Guys who have heated seats which helps ! Thinned by 4 th cycle but kept most of it although had a wig on standby and they do have some great wigs now on NHS .

Chemo very doable . My surgery was worst but everyone different . First one was a bit spaced out for a couple of days and achy for a couple of nights while on the meds but by end of the week used to be feeling ok and by week 3 was able to go to Bristol to see my daughter .

Try and keep walking even if achy in the night I used to do circuits of the house which helped . Drink plenty of water and take meds to stop getting constipated . I had laxido sachets which were great .

Also make sure you let your CNS know if any problems eg sickness so they can sort your meds .

Wishing you all the best for your treatment . Stay strong and don't be afraid to ask questions. Love Kimx

[Caleda4]

I hope everything will go well for you regarding chemo. I had carbo /taxol, & although I felt tired for the first few days after that, I was not to bad. I did walk as much as possible & I think that this helped. The other thing I found was that as soon as I got to the chemo unit I started drinking water & continued throughout the treatment & when I got home,so I drank probably in the region of 11/2 to 2litres,this was aswell as the coffee or tea they served. If you do decide to get a wig,it would probably be best to buy a light weight one as they can get quite warm as the weather warms up. I had a national health one first which was fine in the winter,but went back to the wig lady & she showed me one that was hand tied & very light which was so much better. Good luck I will be thinking of you. By the way I have papillary serous stage 2 grade 3,& I finished my treatment a year ago now,& so far so good. Love Caledaxx

[Janscancer in reply to Caleda4]

Thank you for this your suggestions are very helpful!!! SO the journey begins.