Hi everyone

[choconut56]

Having first appointment with oncologist on Friday regarding my treatment .im terrified of chemo .i had debulking surgery three weeks ago all went well .biopsy show stage 1c grade 3 nothing in any other organs only in ovary . It's crazy I'm more afraid of the chemo than of the disease .i also had surgery for breast cancer in June .finding it hard to be positive 😭

[HogwartsDK]

Hey Choconut.....

Welcome to this forum it's a great place for help and advice! You have had a rough time with a double diagnosis you poor thing!

I had the same OC diagnosis as you 1C3 and I finished my chemo in March 2016. I am coming up to my 2nd Cancerversary on the 22nd Sept! Chemo is not easy but it is very doable! I didn't have too many side effects thankfully each person is different in how they react to it. I had Carbo/Taxol which I presume you are having too? A couple of tips but I know you are going to get plenty of advice here..........

Drink lots of water before during and after chemo, it helps your digestive system which can find chemo very difficult. That was my main issue with chemo my digestive system. Eat kiwis, pears and prunes to try and avoid constipation they will give you Meds too. The other thing is fatigue it's not like any fatigue you will have felt before and basically more often than not you should just listen to body and just give in. Do try and do little walks when you can and keep as physically active as you can.

These are just a few things but as I said it's hard but not impossible! You will get lots of other tips too it's great place as everyone has been through it!

The very best of luck and try not to worry too much, easier said than done and I can truly emphathise! You will get through it and out the other side so just visualise that!

Take Care!

Dx

[choconut56 in reply to HogwartsDK]

hi thanks for your support and your tips .i dont know what they have in store for me regarding which chemo yet .im still quite sore from surgery so i hope they give me another week or so as the surgery pretty much wiped me out .im glad i can come here im sure it will help to talk with you all .

[Kryssy in reply to HogwartsDK]

Hi Choconut56. Great advice from HogwartsDK and the girls. I've only had one session so far so am not a veteran but I was so excited to start that I nearly burst a blood vessel. Took knitting, Kindle, MP3 full of Tchaikovsky and paper and pen to write letters. Although it took 8 hours, what with pre checks etc., I thoroughly enjoyed the day. Didn't speak to anyone much as all in French and I couldn't be bothered frankly as everyone else looked so miserable. Had a nice ride home in a free taxi so what was to complain about? Free food and drink all day too.

It did go a little tits up a couple of days later but that was mainly due to my precondition - M.S. - and I got peripheral neuropathy very badly. Ended up in A & E and six days in hospital but it's slowly mending but will take time. My bowel blocked as I was in bed 24/7 but that was cleared with medication.

I've never felt sick or had a loss of appetite or metallic taste. My hair is still intact but due to come out very soon. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I shall embrace my baldness as per instructions from my eldest son. He's shaves his head because of Alopecia.

I came out of hospital last night and feel tired but generally totally happy and content as my lymph glands under my arm have changed in such a short space of time. One lump shrunk drastically and another completely disappeared. Can't tell with the other stuff as it's the only thing on the surface. So, all in all I'm looking forward to my next session in a week's time. The recipe will change slightly because of my first reaction but it's not scary at all. Look on it as the death of all those million of cancer cells and with a bit of luck you will feel them dying. It does happen to some of us.

Let us know how you feel after. I bet you'll feel better.

Kryssy xx

[Maxjor]

Hi Choconut. I too had read so much and heard so much and I too was petrified of chemo. It wasn't what I had feared. We are all different but I actually felt no different after the 2 weeks of taxol only --and the one week of taxol and carbo, I was kind to myself and took a couple of days off work right after. But I exercised almost daily and kept my routine as much as I could (working, socializing, etc.) It was surprising to me that I was able and I was lucky not to feel exhausted as many do. The pre-meds are very helpful and then there are other meds if needed for nausea after treatment (had very little and only after carbo) (steroids for a day or two as well) all which helped make it a very tolerable experience. Wishing you luck and hoping for the best for you!

[Lyndy]

Hello...you have good advice here. I also found chemo much better than I thought. I just wanted to ask if you have been offered genetic testing..if you have had both OC and BC I would ask about this as a precaution (sorry! One more thing to worry about!) xx

[choconut56 in reply to Lyndy]

hi i have been given a form about my familys medical history is that what you mean .i have to give to my oncologist .it was mentioned to me .i was told both my cancers were different and one did not cause the other .the oc was only discovered after i had a scan for gall stones .i had been examined many times before as i had a very large swollen stomach but no one picked up on it .my mass was 29cms x23cms (some gall stone ).

[Cropcrop]

Hi choconut56, welcome to our lovely friendly gang. D has covered this really well, I would just add that I didn't find the chemo as bad as I thought it would be, the movies and TV make it out to be something it possibly isn't, there are side effects but it certainly is doable. I too was 1c3 and have just passed 3 years since diagnosis.

They will give you meds to take, take them don't be brave. Drink lots, eat as well as you can (your taste may change but don't worry it usually gets back to normal) don't try to do too much as fatigue can be a side effect. You probably will be nauseous but the drugs do work and if it persists ask for better drugs 😊. Constipation/digestive issues can be a possible side effect but again there are drugs and a really good diet does help. There is a cumulative effect from chemo but things slowly return to a new normal once it's finished. Speak to your oncology team about your fears, they've heard it all before and will have excellent advice and be able to help.

Good luck, big hugs and love ❤️ xx Jane

[choconut56]

thanks jane . your right you always see the negative on tv .im so glad i came here im learning so much from everyone x

[Chezp]

I have just finished 6 rounds of carb/taxol and yes it can be brutal at times, but I'm through it like so, so many other ladies. It is doable, as always it's the unknown that's the hardest bit of this wonky road.

Good luck my lovely and hope you feel happier once your plan is in place.

🌻🌻🌻

[harpist_UK]

Well, I had 3 fears in my life - hospitals, cancer and chemotherapy ... and surprise, surprise, I got all three! And I handled them. The amazing thing is that all these people are there to help us, and the nurses in particular are great at keeping your spirits up, as are the patients you meet. There can be laughter in the chemo room! Nothing was as bad as I expected. My first line chemo made me feel better as I was very ill before I had it, and once I started watching the CA125 numbers coming down dramatically I felt like I was getting gold stars. I did really well on chemo and subsequently Avastin, got my life back. Now I've had a small recurrence and am on chemo again - feel very tired, but kind of have the experience to handle it. Most days I get out and about, and I have my eye on decreasing numbers again!

[Caroles1]

Hi love,

Don't be scared,I was 1c too,3 years ago and had 6 months of chemo,I am still here and still ok.

Think of the future,not what is happening now, I have a lovely,normal,active life, look forward to that and you won't be afraid,

Carole xx

[Caleda4]

hi there I think that most people are frightened of chemo & maybe that is fear of the unknown. Everyone reacts differently of course but I managed to get through this with thinking that this is the only answer & the best chance of giving me more time,which sofar it has done. Once a plan is in place I found things easier & I did meet some really lovely people while having treatment which I found helped me to get through it. I would advise that you drink a lot of water whilst having chemo,which is what I did approx. 11/2- 2litres a day. Take things with you to occupy yourself & you should be ok.

I wish you well with your appointment & good luck with your treatment.

Love Caledaxxx

[Hidden]

Welcome!

You'll find a number of us on here have had/got both breast and ovarian, including me.

That certainly was some gall stone! But great that the OC was found earlier rather than later.

Chemo gets a bad press and I think a lot of that is down to how it used to be when it was first used. We are all different and do react differently but I always advise: assume it will be okay and, only if it's not, think differently. Most regimes have a few off days but the rest of the time might be fine. I've had 5 different ones now and the only one which really was not nice most of the time was the one I had for BC...

There are lots of tips in the replies and if you do a search on the site...we all have different ones.. and I find that what works for one chemo doesn't always work with the others! Trial and error... stay strong xxx

[choconut56]

Hi thanks for support .it worries me so much .ive had no treatment yet for the bc which I had surgery back in june due to them finding the oc .im on letrozol no probs there .i was suppose to have radiotherapy for the bc .counting down the days to my appointment .x

[ZenaJ]

Try to think of it as you would anything else. If you had a headache you'd take a pill and you wouldn't worry about it. It's the same really. I think the frightening bit is what you might feel like after you've had it. The sickness etc. but they give you pills to help with that and lots of advice on other things as well. It's the unknown so find out as much as you can.

You may find you sail through it.

Best wishes, Zena J. x

[Yoshbosh]

Hi Choconut

I lived in abject terror between being told I had cancer and chemo starting. I was so, so frightened by the whole thing. Then I had my first round of chemo, and it was actually fine. Nothing at all like films and tv (like Cropcrop said). The chemo ward was quite buzzing and people were chatting to their visitors, nurses etc. It wasn't a somber place.

I didn't have much nausea, but I wore those travel sickness wrist bands - I don't know if they helped, but I think they did. Constipation was a problem though, but once I had figured that out it was easy to stay on top of it.

Good luck! We are all here for you.

Vicki x

[Mumtazbegum]

I am in the same situation.Oc stage1 c.Had my surgery on 19 May 2017 and started chemo on 10 August. I am only having carboplatin and have had 2 cycles now. I was feeling like you but have been reading all the chats on this forum . It has helped me a lot. So far I have not had problems with my chemo.I take meds for nausea for about 5 days.I take prune juice to avoid constipation.I have experienced a bit of fatigue in the first week but then I am back to normal.I understand that the effect will be cumulative but so far it is manageable. I have been told that my hair will just become thinner and i may not loose it .Let your body heal from the surgery. Waiting for appointments can be frustrating. We are fortunate to have found this at an early stage. Stay positive.

[choconut56]

Hi thanks for your support x

[Rachael47]

Are you scared of the actual process of having needles stuck in you? I used to be, but I seem to have got used to it. The first time I had a drip - 40 years ago - I was amazed to find that it was nothing like as awful as I feared. You can do it!