My oncologist suggested a type of chemotherapy aimed at breast cancer (FEC).  He told me that the primary site of my cancer could have regressed back into my system where my immune system had dealt with it and with that it was probable that my cancer had been breast cancer even though no cancer had been found in my breast.  The chemotherapy would last for six months; I would lose all of my hair and would be sterile by the end of it.  After this, I would have 15 cycles of radiotherapy. 

Chemotherapy

From the end of July to December 2005 I received 8 cycles of chemotherapy (FEC), each 3 weeks apart.  As it was agreed that I could have the ‘cold cap treatment’ to prevent all of my hair falling out, I travelled to Christies Hospital in Manchester to have my treatment, as my local hospital couldn’t provide this service.   

The Cold Cap

The cold cap treatment is a very cold cap (-30 degrees Centigrade) which stays on the head whilst chemotherapy is given.  The aim is to freeze the hair follicles in order to prevent the chemotherapy from reaching them and destroying them.  It looks a bit like a riding cap and mine had to stay on for 1 ½ hours.  It’s painfully cold at first but after a while, it makes the head too numb to feel any pain. I was told not to brush, wash or colour my hair but to be very gentle with it.  I decided not to wash it at all for the 6 months of the chemo.  After an initial grungy period, it seemed to clean itself and I put vitamin E oil on the ends to prevent it from drying out.  I did get quite a bit of hair loss, about 50% but the nurses told me that it was one of the best results which they’d had.  So not washing it really helped.   

Help With Feeling Sick

I was very afraid of feeling/being sick, as I have a phobia about this. So after my first chemotherapy injections, when I’d felt panicky and sick, I asked the chemotherapy unit for support and was given reflexology by a wonderful complementary practitioner during subsequent chemo treatments.  It helped so much and is a wonderful service provided by this hospital.  This sort of service may not be available at all hospitals but if it is, I would wholeheartedly recommend it, as I’m not sure whether I would have been able to complete the whole course of chemotherapy without it. Another wonderful service that I was offered was the loan of a tense machine from my local hospice.  This appears to help control post-chemo sickness by stimulating acupressure points on the wrists.  It didn’t stop the sickness completely but did relieve it somewhat. 

Radiotherapy

During January 2006, I received 15 radiotherapy treatments.  I used aloe vera gel after each session and between treatments.  As I experienced no serious skin problems and suffered only minor discomfort, this appeared to help.  

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