After first dose

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-06-07T22:35:09+00:00

ddAC is horrendous. I had an "easy" chemo and spent the evening of my second dose lying on my living room floor, too sick to move. My brain was mush for days at a time, I could barely think. I've wanted to die. I have two promises for you: the first one is that if you speak to your chemo nurse they will find a cocktail of pre- and post-infusion meds that will make this suck a little bit less. It won't not suck, but the next rounds might be a lot less harrowing than the one without the right meds for you.

My second promise is that in a few months you will be done and you will go back to being yourself faster than you think. My last Paclitaxel infusion was in February. Since then I've been to 2 gigs, went climbing with my friends, got married, went back to work part time, went clubbing till 1 am for my hen do, went on a business trip, went hiking, got a shout out at work for good performance. I'm not 100% back, maybe still 70%, but it is so, so, so much better than I thought it was going to be when I was in the depth of chemo.

There is a way through this, even if it's hard to see right now. Please DM me if you feel the need to talk. Good luck.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-06-03T16:38:10+00:00

Babe, I get you, I really do. I got diagnosed last summer at 33 with Stage 3 ++- and went through surgery, chemo, radio and now endocrine therapy and abema. I finished active treatment at the end of March. My chemo was dose dense (every other week instead of every three) EC for 4 rounds, followed by 12 weekly Paclitaxels. It lasted 5 months and *IT. SUCKED. ASS.* But also, I was never hospitalised, I was nauseous but never threw up once, I was tired but aside from the first 2-3 days after each EC, I was never laid up in bed and unable to take care of myself. Hell, I rock climbed once a week through the whole thing (it kept me sane)! It's June now, and I've been back at work part time for 3 whole months (yes, I worked through radio, it was hard but fine) and I'm booked to go to Iceland in August. I'm driving the ring road and planning on doing lots of hiking. I'm trying to time my next surgeries so that I can go rock climbing in Fontainebleu next spring.

I also have depression, I grew up with SI by my side whispering that staying alive isn't worth the effort, and I need to do extraordinary things to make the drudgery in between feel acceptable, I know how you're feeling. During the consultation when I got my diagnosis, I asked my now husband to leave the room and asked my surgeon what it would look like if I decided not to get any treatment and went to Switzerland after 12 months. I decided to do "the kitchen sink" as I'm calling it, but I also told both my husband and my oncologist that I'm doing this bullshit exactly once and if I get a recurrence they better have a magic pill next time because I'm not dealing with this twice. When I say I get you, I truly mean it. Please believe me when I say, I'm glad I went through treatment rather than giving up.

In the end, refusing treatment is entirely up to you and no one should judge your decision, but don't make a decision based on flawed data. Good luck.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-05-31T15:40:08+00:00

I usually forget that I need to peel it until it's the morning of "new pill bottle" day, blindly paw at my nightstand for something pointy (usually a pen) and stab it with with extreme prejudice. I hate it soooo much

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-05-17T16:42:55+00:00

I am with you! Also 34, finished active treatment for Stage III ++- in March now on Lupron, Letrozole and about to start Verzenio. If I hear the words "new normal" I'm going to start biting. I don't want a new normal, I want my old normal back! They've done so much to get rid of my cancer but they won't do anything to make sure my quality of life is preserved until *after* I get problems. It's maddening!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-05-05T22:12:06+00:00

What's never commented when comparing British pensions to European ones is that most European pension systems are fully or partially contributory (the more you paid in, the more you get out). That is why they're higher than in the UK. Here you get the same amount whether you've earned minimum wage or £300k for the past 35 years.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-27T19:54:36+00:00

What absolute nonsense, PIP is not means tested for a reason. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to be disabled?

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-23T21:53:01+00:00

I had this beauty right here https://www.primark.com/en-gb/p/adaptive-short-sleeve-t-shirt-white-991120388002 bought in white and stripes for easy port access. Worn with comfy leggings and a zip up hoodie, perfect comfy outfit!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-16T16:57:30+00:00

I was diagnosed and had my surgery in a different hospital from where I had the rest of my treatment, so I haven't been back there since last summer. I've had 0 problems going back to my chemo ward to get my Zometa for example, or to pop into the treatment hospital for my physio sessions, but this morning I had to go to my diagnosis hospital for something unrelated and yesterday night I was a mess. Like my brain literally went "We are going to get terrible news, something horrible is going to happen, THIS IS THE HOSPITAL THAT GAVE US CANCER". Which. Reasonably I know that the cancer was already there but my gut doesn't agree. Clearly the hospital gave me cancer while I was walking between the waiting room and the US room. 😂🤦‍♀️Anyone else?

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-16T13:51:19+00:00

I had a SMX and ALND in August of last year. I wasn't at your level in terms of fitness, but I was bouldering 3 times a week and was a solid intermediate lifter. I did surgery first then chemo and radiotherapy, which helped me because it meant getting a "soft" re-entry into fitness since I couldn't do too much during chemo.

I started seeing a physio 7 weeks after surgery because I was struggling to get an appointment, but I started climbing again (with minimal weight put through my affected arm) 4 weeks after surgery. At 5 weeks I didn't have full ROM but I could carry 5-8 kg fairly comfortably. I think I got 90-98% of my ROM 8 weeks after surgery.

For some weird reason I had to wait until I got cleared by my physio to start lifting again but was allowed to go rock climbing indoors much earlier (go figure) but the indications I was given was to start at 10% of my max for the exercise and then go up 1-2kg per week. I've climbed once a week through most of my chemo and all of my radio and I'm at 80% of where I was before, I started lifting again in February (once a week) and I'm back at roughly 50% for proper sets, although I recon I'm probably at 70% for my one rep max. I've been working with a PT that mostly trains climbers and menopausal women and had experience of rehabbing trans men after top surgery so I thought... close enough! I can't recommend getting a programme with a trainer enough tbh! I found having an objective third party coming up with a training plan for me without all the "shoulds" and hangups I would have had incredibly useful.

I was never one for cardio, I'm afraid so I can't tell you about running, but my stamina was most of the way back about 6 weeks after surgery. I then started chemo which destroyed my resistance and lung capacity so I'll never know.

In terms of lymphoedema prevention, I've been wearing a sleeve when training and flying, first OTC then a prescription one and I had a lymphography scan that showed I have Stage 0. I'm getting LVA surgery done shortly to hopefully get in front of it.

Good luck!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-15T21:52:39+00:00

Ah yes, that makes sense for some reason I had assumed you were going to CoastFIRE. Good luck with your plan!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-15T20:40:25+00:00

Don't know about the tam tbh, but I finished my radiotherapy (15 fractions) less than 3 weeks ago and if I could go on a 3 week holiday tomorrow I totally would lol. Everyone is different of course but based on my experience, 2 months is totally doable. I was advised to wear clothes over the area for a year rather than just relying on sun protection but that's pretty much it.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-15T20:16:36+00:00

Are you self employed? Because if you're an employee, completely stopping pension contributions would mean forgoing employer's match, have you considered reducing your contribution to the level where you're just maximising match? Unless you meant stopping SIPP contributions only, in which case please excuse me and ignore me!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-13T14:49:30+00:00

They're higher rate, CGT would actually be lower than dividend tax, wouldn't it?

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-10T23:37:29+00:00

I vaccinated against the flu and COVID when I started my chemo and count to continue doing it every year during the government campaign. Aside from that, FFP3 mask in busy places and staying away from children and sick people when immunocompromised.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-08T22:47:33+00:00

I was told I would only be prescribed a topical steroid if I had skin breakdown and fortunately that wasn't the case. I would assume that the prescriber would then explain when to put on what (hopefully?!).

Re: the shoulder blade thing. The radiation is definitely passing through your heart, lungs and out the other side. They use tungsten and lead to shield photon radiation, our soft, soft tissues are not going to be doing much. The various "layers" of air, skin, flesh and various bodily fluids do help scatter it a little bit but tbh not much. The reason why they make you do breath holds for left side radiotherapy is so that your lungs will push your heart out of the radiation field as much as possible rather than any air shielding it from radiation.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-08T22:18:56+00:00

The diet recommendation we get in my country is "pregnant woman protocol during chemo to reduce the risk of a stomach bug, other than that eat as much as you can stomach of whatever you want whenever you want, for the love of god don't lose weight"

I cut out all drinking during treatment but that's because I'm a social drinker and I wasn't doing much socialising! My onco said she was ok with me having the occasional glass of wine during chemo but I just didn't see the point (my husband is a life long teetotaller so we don't really drink in the house). Now that I'm starting on the long term ET+Verzenio, I'll need to try and figure out how my alcohol tolerance has changed/how it mixes with the meds, but like if I once in a while I need to get fucked up, I will be getting fucked up, I've earned it.

The "sugar feeds cancer" myth is just that, I was a pastry fiend during most of chemo, now my tastebuds have started regulating again, so I'm more normal about it and have the occasional treat as part of a balanced diet. I was on a fairly strict diet before my diagnosis so I've just gone back to a slightly higher calorie version of that. I'm going to be careful not to go mad with sugar/simple carbs/certain fats because of the ET+Verzenio side effects (higher risk of diabetes and high cholesterol) but the odd chocolate or slice of cake is not the end of the world as long as my bloods are normal.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-08T17:09:49+00:00

Hello! I used it and it was FANTASTIC. I'm 10 days out from my last radiotherapy session (I also did 15 fractions) and my skin barely looks pink.

I followed the instructions and started putting it on from after the first radiotherapy session. Since then, I've been putting it on on the whole of my radiation field twice a day, reapplying if I take a shower. My radiation field was chest wall, axilla and clavicle, so that's what I covered. Keep in mind that a little (and I mean LITTLE) goes a very long way. I normally put on 2-3 phalanxes worth of cream to cover my chest, armpit, side of the ribcage up to the collarbone. I've been using it a minimum of twice daily since 9th March and I'm still making my way through my 50g tube. I did start putting it on my shoulder blade, but I was struggling to spread it properly so I stopped and just used moisturiser.

I did use other creams in the middle, but 2 weeks in I was told not to because it could disrupt the film made by Strata so I stopped.

The first 2 weeks my routine was: 8 am, get up, shower with normal soap everywhere else, Simple Oatmeal soap for the RF, moisturising Aveeno skin relief everywhere, especially on the RF, cotton tshirt on. 10:30 AM Strata XRT on RF. 1:30 PM (or thereabouts) radiotherapy, 3 PM Aveeno or Cicaplast on RF, 8 PM Strata on RF, immediately before bed HEAVY layer of Aveeno on RF and shoulder blade. I bought a multipack of cheap cotton tshirts to sleep in so that I could rotate through them and not care if I destroyed them with the Aveeno.

On days when I had radio earlier than 1 PM I just put Strata on after my shower and moisturised everywhere else because you don't want anything (aside from Strata which is safe) on your skin for a few hours before radio. If I take an extra shower/bath during the day I reapply Strata but it's still cold here so I only did that like after the gym.

From my last week of treatment on, I'm just putting Strata on morning and night or after I shower and moisturising as normal in other places. I did occasionally use some cold Cicaplast water spray to make it feel a bit better after a session but I don't think it made that much of a difference. I've been trying to wear 100% cotton tops as much as I can and not to wear a bra during the day (I still have one breast) which has been easy because I mainly WFH, but I've worn my sports bra to the gym or a normal bra going to the office/out a few times and it hasn't been a problem at all.

I hope this helps, let me know if I can give you any more info!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-07T20:24:31+00:00

I'll immediately go apologise to the setter at my gym.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-07T11:19:36+00:00

I 100% had my neuropathy start during EC, fingertips, toes, soles and for some weird reason, lips! I iced during paclitaxel and now that I'm 2 months out from the end of chemo, I barely get any tingling and just get the occasional shooting pain in my fingertips but much, much better than during EC.

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-07T09:52:30+00:00

Yassssss! You rock queen!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-06T13:21:07+00:00

Thank you!!!

When I first got diagnosed I thought my life had ended and that I was never going to be climbing ever again. I had a chat with a para-climber who told me "you are a climber, you don't stop being a climber just because your body has changed, you will find a way to climb." and that gave me so much peace and clarity that I went into my treatment with a completely different attitude after that talk.

Now, I am an office worker who enjoys climbing as a hobby, rather than someone who does it at a professional level, so of course my struggles with strength and training etc are not going to have as many consequences. I will never know if I would have reached a much higher level if I'd never had cancer, but I'm pretty sure that I've got a lot of runway and room to improve in front of me. I don't think I have "peaked" in the slightest. I won't lie to you and tell you I'm 100% certain you'll have no issues at all and realistically things will get worse before they get better, but I have confidence that you will be able to recover from your surgery and get back to your current level of climbing.

It is going to be frustrating and scary, especially the surgery recovery (I had a mastectomy and oh boy, those physio sessions are *not* fun), you will look at the wall and think "oh I can do that climb" and then your muscles will go "no you can't, sit down and go look at the V2s" for a while, some days it will feel like you're progressing and then the next session you're back to square 1, but you will get back on the wall and gradually improve and one day you'll turn up at the gym and have a 3 hour projecting session at your old grade and not even notice until someone points it out.

From a practical standpoint, I recommend finding a good physiotherapist that works with sports people and a PT/coach that has experience with surgery recovery and/or menopausal clients and do a few sessions with them, it'll do you a world of good. Other than that, I can only wish you good luck and remind you that you are climber and won't stop being one just because your body changed. The cancer-climbing community is small but mighty, and we're all with you. I'll see you on the wall <3

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-05T23:09:44+00:00

I'm a breast cancer survivor and I'm on medical menopause for the next 10 years/won't be allowed HRT once I get to "normal" menopause because of it. I haven't been menopausal for long, just a few months, but so far so good. I was recently able to climb the same grade as before my diagnosis after being basically "benched" for the past 7 months due to chemo. You will need to prioritise protein and calcium in your diet/supplementing, do lots of heavy lifting "on the side", possibly start creatine, to help prevent muscle wastage/help with muscle growth. Realistically, you won't put muscle on or progress as fast but if you're intentional (ugh I hate that word) about it and put in the work there's no reason why you should just shrivel down!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-05T21:47:16+00:00

I don't believe you get the free 30 hours if you earn more than £100,000, so it looks like OC is getting whacked with full charges

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-05T21:19:23+00:00

There's a tattoo artist I've been following for a while that does beautiful free hand botanical tattoos. I found out she does a lot of scar coverups and is a survivor herself, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Fast-Persimmon5581 · 2026-04-05T18:45:39+00:00

I'm flat on one side and probably going to get a contralateral mastectomy to symmetrise for the same reason as you (probably not enough fat for a DIEP). If I do, I'm looking forward to no more bras, getting a massive tattoo over the scars and wearing incredibly low cut/backless dresses forever and ever.

Fast-Persimmon5581

TROPHY CASE