Hi Gaynor, I‘ve been through chemo so I can understand the worries that you have and that of your Mum. I can only say that being near to the family is so important. Putting on a brave face helps a lot.

Reassuring her and giving her hope is also a good medicine.

Don’t give up and keep the faith. Hug to you and your Mum.

I'm on a 2nd programme of chemo having had EC for the first half of last year. There is quite a bit of reading you can do if you haven't already - different drugs have different side effects and it is managing these that can help enormously in keeping that "I'm well" feeling going. For example scalp cooling ie the "coldcap" can prevent hair loss as it has with me, though it does take some determination to see it through. It may be worth using nail varnish to prevent fingernails from getting badly affected as they can become brittle.  Keep an eye also on temperature, and phone into the hospital if it gets high. Apart from that your mum should drink plenty of water on a regular basis and keep up the activity levels as this helps in circulation of the body fluids. Remember her immunity levels will take a hit so fend off anyone with sniffles. Hope this helps.

Hi Gaynor .... sorry to hear your Mum hasnt been too well but I hope she is on the mend now.  I have had the chemo Mum will be having and didnt find it too bad.  The trick of coping seems to be to listen well to your body - she will need more sleep than usual and should just doze on the setee whenever the need arises.  It was practical things that helped - a friend cooking a pie, changing the bed or doing the ironing/shopping because these incidentals are just something you dont need to worry about or even want to have to think about.  It is a worrying time but I have honestly found that it is also a surprise because chemo isnt nearly as bad as expected for most people.  Take good care of yourself too and I will be thinking about you both next week and wishing you well x

Well said Boatgirl = yea watch the germies - we were megga careful in supermarkets with shopping trollies etc. Anne had to keep out of the cold.

You got to take one day at a time and just keep going - the chemo is life saving and worth pushing on with =

Steven xx