I started the first infusion of a new treatment to ensure I don’t get a reoccurrence of HER-2 Receptive Positive Carcinoma again on Thursday 6th May 2021 at Guy’s Cancer Lounge.

Today is Thursday 13th May 2021: It’s exactly one week post starting the preventative cancer treatment with the first infusion of a combined targeted therapy and chemotherapy treatment used to treat HER2 positive breast cancer.

Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that works by targeting specific proteins (receptors) on the surface of cells and Emtansine, a chemotherapy drug that damages cancer cells. The drug is also known as Kadcyla.

I’m still recovering from the side effects caused by Paclitaxel chemotherapy and my body is healing slowly and very well. I’m happy that there have been no new developments as far as side effects go with this new combination. To be completely honest, I was extremely worried and anxious for the first forty-eight hours and thankfully all is going well a week on.

Today is Thursday 20th May: It’s exactly two weeks post the first infusion of Kadcyla. I feel fine with nothing new to report in terms of side effects. I’m feeling stronger and went for my first early morning run today. I had been walking this route for the past few weeks and it felt great to be able to run it even though it was done quite slowly, I managed to complete the entire route.

Today is Wednesday 26th May: It’s three weeks since the last Kadcyla and the second infusion was earlier this morning followed by the first of the Leuprorelin injection.

Nerve Damage (Numbness of the Toes & Fingers): Some of the most prominent symptoms in the aftermath of Paclitaxel chemotherapy, is a numbness to my hands and feet. Sadly those have gotten much worse with the tips of my fingers sometimes pulsating and sometimes turning purple. 

Two weeks post the first Leuprorelin injection and second Kadcyla and the nerve damage to my hands and feet are worse, especially on my hands. Performing delicate tasks is a bit of a chore. I have to be extra careful when cooking and more so when cutting things.

Injection Sight: The area of the injection to the belly remained swollen and sore for a few days and a week post the first injection, the sight is better but still noticeably painful.

Today is Wednesday 9th June: It’s exactly two weeks post the first Leuprorelin injection. The area of my stomach injected has stayed quite sore, there is a little lump and I cannot yet determine if it’s getting smaller in size or not.

Joint Pain & Stiffness: The joint pain and stiffness obtained during Paclitaxel have gotten slightly worse. Yoga has now become rather painful, and I am only doing beginner’s stretching as every pose and hold comes with pain and discomfort, but I keep at it with the hope the pain will subside.

I was informed that most people only develop a mild rash while receiving Kadcyla chemotherapy and mine started a week after the second infusion at the end of May. The rash is more pronounced on the side of my neck previously treated with radiotherapy with a mild burning sensation. I have been using organic Aloe Vera gel that has been kept in the fridge, just as I did when I was having radiotherapy.

My Appetite & Taste: My tastebuds started to improve post Paclitaxel but has become bland again. It’s just over three weeks post the first Leuprorelin injection and third Kadcyla chemotherapy and my taste buds have remained slightly bland with no toxicity to any food in particular and no nausea or throwing up. The bitter, acidic, metallic taste has also slowly faded away. Thank God!

My appetite has improved greatly but I don’t think it will ever be like it used to. I do eat but I’m not as big a fan of food as I used to be so I try to eat whatever I fancy while keeping everything healthy. I was always conscious of my food but now I’ve become overly protective of what goes into my temple and attempt to make almost everything myself.

As I’m currently still having cancer preventative chemotherapy, I ensure my body gets the fluids, fruits, fibre, nuts, carbs and all the other nutrients it needs daily. I even do a range of selected organic home-roasted nuts and create my own mix of roasted nuts with dried fruits and try to do a different mix every week.

My home-roasted nuts and dried fruits are perfect for snacking on. The strong variation of the bitter, sweet and nutty mix really helps with my tastebuds.

Lunchtimes are still the hardest times for food so I keep it light and ensure to have a small portion of my homemade roasted nuts and dried fruit mix incorporated.

As it’s summertime, I make a fruit and veg smoothie most mornings. I ensure there are five fruits that change every week and there is always some spinach in the mix. If having a high in acidic combo, I add a spoon of organic Greek yoghurt or soy milk into the mix.

There are still a few once much-loved foods and drinks that Paclitaxel chemotherapy made my body reject, like coconut water. I still haven’t tried drinking it again as the thought or smell of it a few months back caused nausea and vomiting. Green tea was something I had a few times a day which also caused nausea and vomiting during Paclitaxel chemo. It’s going to take some time I guess for certain foods to be reintroduced to my body.

Today is Thursday 8th July: I had my fourth Kadcyla chemotherapy and antibodies yesterday. Rolled out of bed at 6.30 AM after a rather restless night for my early morning run and it felt great as always, but I noticed feeling more tired during the day than normal.

The main side effect that hasn’t subsided and is on the increase is the numbness to my hands and feet. During the days and nights, I get involuntary throbs on both hands and feet. I have also become even more clumsy however I still manage to perform daily tasks and try to remind myself to take the extra time and pay attention to what I’m doing.

The other problem is the stiff joints and painful muscles. I have practised yoga for many years and at the moment my entire body feels like it has just been introduced to yoga. Holding every pose has become quite cumbersome but I keep at it with the hope that it becomes easy again. Swimming has been very helpful but I really miss hot yoga as that was my go-to for relieving aching joints. For me, the heat literally melts the pain and stiffness away.

A few days after the fourth Kadcyla infusion in early July, I noticed the return of the purple, black, or hairy tongue – as it’s known. Again, it hasn’t affected my eating – nor has it affected my taste buds, which have just stayed bland with no bitter or acidic taste. My tongue only feels slightly tender.

I had the fifth Kadcyla chemotherapy on the 28th of July. The most prominent side-effects are the tingling of the hands and feet. I’m still having to be very careful when performing delicate tasks.

Today is Monday 9th August: It’s almost two weeks since Kadcyla number five and I have noticed a re-emerge in the breakout of white sports which very quickly turns black on my face. I’m keeping an eye on the frequency in appearance and taking notes.

The skin all over my body and face has become even more sensitive. During my last consultation with the Onco consultant, he advised staying away from sun exposure so as not to develop any rashes or skin blisters. The breast care nurse in attendance during my consultation enquired if I was using a high factor sunscreen and again cautioned me on avoiding the sun.

The tingling and numbing to both hands and feet have also intensified. The damage that can be seen through the nails growing out has also progressed and with that is immense sensitivity to the nails and the tips of my fingers and toes. To avoid any accidents, I have been training myself to perform daily tasks slower than normal.

Today is Thursday 19th August: I had my sixth Kadcyla chemo infusion yesterday, Wednesday the 18th. I’m now halfway through with my treatment and the main side effects are still the numbing to both hands and feet. While it hasn’t gotten worse, it hasn’t improved either and I’m still able to function with my daily activities. The stiffness to the joints and body pain persists but I have not let it prevent me from my routine activities.

I had my second ovarian suppression injection, Leuprorelin Acetate on Friday 20th of August. While the actual injection wasn’t a painful affair, the next few days were very uncomfortable.

The injection area swelled, became red and was very sensitive to every touch. Moving around the apartment was a little difficult as every step made the area ache. The sensitivity of the injection area sometimes got very heightened in the first few days and when this happened I would very lightly massage some Kiehl’s essential oil and then leave the area uncovered.

It was left uncovered for a few days before calming down and becoming less sensitive. The lump has reduced in size from the outside and so has the redness a week on.

Today is Thursday 9th September: I had my seventh Kadcyla chemo infusion yesterday at Guy’s Hospital. In general, I feel well. I still get the occasional general feeling of unwellness in the evenings, but it’s nothing like when I was on Paclitaxel chemotherapy.

The most obvious of my side effects is the numbing to both my hands and feet. I also found that sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night from aches in my left arm. The aches tend to move around – if not an arm, it could be an entire leg or any other part of my body.

I’m becoming more tired during the days and more so on the days of my early morning runs.

My appetite has improved a great deal. My temple is retaining what I eat and feel hungry when it’s time to eat. My taste bud is still slightly dull but without the acidic, bitter, metallic witches’ brew I’d endured for months during Paclitaxel chemo.

My skin has stayed sensitive so I’m still carefully and cautiously avoiding being in direct sunlight. While my hair isn’t fulling out in chunks, I have noticed more hair in the sink after oiling or massaging my scalp when washing my hands.

Today is Thursday 30th September: I had my eight Kadcyla chemo session and the first Zoledronic Acid infusion yesterday at Guy’s. All went smoothly with both infusions and I felt well while at the chemo lounge.

I went to bed yesterday evening, Wednesday 29th at 10 PM and woke up at 3 AM feeling really ill. My entire body felt like a baton had been used on it. I ached from my head to my toes. My eyes became teary and I had one of the biggest migraines to date.

I managed to roll out of bed and made my way into the bathroom. The soles of my feet ached with every step, and sitting on the toilet seat was very uncomfortable. Once done and washing my hands I noticed my palms ached too. I walked out of the bathroom holding myself up by grabbing onto the walls, then chairs until I got back to bed, managing to open the window nearest to my bed for some fresh air, as the pounding on my head continued and the tears just rolled down freely.

I grabbed one of my pillows and placed it at the foot of my bed which was nearest to the opened window, put my head on it and crawled under the duvet facing up. I couldn’t think of what to do so I just stayed in that one position while aching all over till I somehow fell back asleep or passed out from the pain as I really don’t know which it was.

I woke up again at 6.30 AM with my body still aching, my head still pounding and the involuntary tears starting up again. I rolled out of bed in slow motion and headed for the kitchen. Every morning when I wake up I drink a litre of hot water with lemon and lime juice. I put the kettle on to boil some hot water and grabbed the already squeezed lemon and lime juice container out of the fridge.

I mixed the hot and cold water like I normally do with the lemon and lime juice and took very slow sips till the first glass was empty. I repeated this three times till the litre of water was fully consumed then made my way onto the sofar and covered up until I slept off again.

I woke up again at 8 AM and feeling a little better, got up slowly and headed into the kitchen. I grabbed a plate and placed a banana, pear and one small pain au chocolat on it, then walked back to my dining area and placed the plate down and slow-walked into the bathroom. Brushing my teeth had never been so tedious or done so slowly but I made it then walked back to my plate of food that I didn’t want. I sat down and forced down the banana, the pear and lastly the pain au chocolat. Felt a little nauseous after eating, but somehow managed to keep the food down. Walked back to the sofa and tried sleeping again as I could feel the body ache coming on again.

Throughout the day on Thursday 30th September my entire body ached and I drifted in and out of sleep and when awake I distracted myself by trying to watch some movies on Netflix, but I just couldn’t concentrate on anything. I didn’t have lunch as I wasn’t hungry at all but at 6 PM I reheated the leftover gnocchi and added extra Parmigiano cheese to the sauce for a stronger flavour. I managed to eat half of my serving. Took my meds at 7 PM then went back to Netflix and finally crawled into bed at 9 AM after throwing up most of my dinner while brushing my teeth.

The transition from Thursday night to Friday morning wasn’t the best, but I woke up and the body ache had considerably reduced. The migraine had stopped but my temples and the lower back of my head felt quite sore, so I moved around very slowly. I went through my morning hot water, lemon and lime juice routine then forced down a little breakfast.

The weather was good after taking a shower, so I went for a long walk and took my travel pass just in case I needed it. Came back home feeling revived but I couldn’t eat lunch, so just kept drinking lots of fluid. I made hot drinks with ginger, sliced lemon, sliced lime and honey. I also picked up some freshly pressed apple and pineapple juice and sometimes added that to the mixture till dinner time. Glad to report that my dinner on Friday night of mixed vegetables and grilled black peppered mackerel was retained.

Today is Sunday 3rd October: I am doing and feeling so much better and very much more like my old self. I plan on resuming my early morning runs starting on Tuesday. I’m so looking forward to it.

Today is Saturday 13th November: I’m now on my tenth Kadcyla chemo infusion, and a step closer to finishing my treatment. The main side effects are still the numbing to both hands and feet, coupled with bodyache. The hair that was growing back well (after shaving it twice) has now started thinning out because of the ovarian suppression injections.

I had my third ovarian suppression injection, Leuprorelin Acetate on Friday 12th of November. The process itself was quick and not too painful. The area remains sensitive, red and swollen. It feels like my body is adjusting better this time around with much less pain on and around the injected area.

Today is Tuesday 30th November: It has been just over two weeks since my third ovarian, suppression injection. I’m feeling well, the area is still very slightly swollen and much less painful and sensitive. My symptoms stay the same on the hands and feet and every now and then I get a bleed on my gum although the area isn’t sore or bruised. The same section would bleed for a few seconds then stop. It never hurts nor is the area ever bruised.

Today is Monday 6th December: I had the second infusion of Zoledronic Acid and the eleventh Kadcyla infusion on Wednesday 1st December. I was quite poorly for the first three days with restless nights, mild but constant migraine during the days, watery eyes, mild feelings of nausea with no throwing up and mild diarrhoea. By the third day, I was much more myself. Dr Kristeleit was right in saying that I would not feel as bad as I did after the first infusion.

Today is Friday 31st December: My treatments are now almost over. To date, I have had twelve rounds of fourteen Kadcyla chemotherapy, three prostap injections and two rounds of the Zoledronic Acid infusions. While the Zoledronic Acid and Prostap injection will continue for some years, the Kadcyla chemotherapy will end at the beginning of February 2022.

My side-effects, the constant facial breakouts, numbness to the hands and feet, skin sensitivity, pain to the joints and the body ache have all stayed the same. The newest side-effect of hair loss to the front and middle of my head hasn’t yet subsided, but I stay hopeful that it will as my body adjusts.

Today is Wednesday 2nd March 2022. I had the last Kadcyla chemotherapy and third Zoledronic Acid infusion exactly a month ago today. 

I had the fourth Prostap (ovarian suppression injection) on the 7th of February. I’m feeling very thankful that another chapter to this rather trying journey has come to an end.

The constant facial breakout has continued; my skin is very thirsty, rough, extremely uneven and still quite bloated. I was warned again to be extra vigilant with sun exposure, and to keep using a very high factor sunscreen on the face and body.

The numbness and throbbing to the hands and feet has really intensified at night times which makes getting a good night’s rest very difficult. 

The pain to the joints and the body aches have also intensified. So again, sleeping well has not been happening at all, as every part of my body aches more so at night.

The hair loss to the front and middle of my head has slowed down a little, while hair on all other parts of the body continues to grow back normally.  

Something is currently happening with my nails. They have become very brittle and soft.

I also noticed the veins on my legs have started creating their own art and I’m just observing to see exactly where this art creation is heading.

All in all, the general feeling of unwellness that used to happen a lot has definitely subsided, and while I sometimes get extremely tired, I haven’t let it stop me from my yoga and early morning runs. I deal with the consequences afterwards. 

Today is Thursday 21st April. It’s been exactly one week since my port was removed. I have changed the dressing three times now due to some bleeding, but there’s been nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve been moving around very slowly as I had been warned against raising my left arm for yoga, running or any other form of exercise, so I have been homebound with the occasional slow walks outside to buy groceries.

The area remains very sore and everytime a muscle on the left arm, the face or chest moves, I feel it around the surgical area. I believe all is well though. I should be seeing a nurse next week to check the area and remove the stitches.

Today is Wednesday 4th May. I had the last Kadcyla chemotherapy, and the third Zoledronic Acid infusion, just over three months ago. The fifth ovarian suppression injection was yesterday, Tuesday the 2nd May.

The first few days after having the ovarian suppression injection always weighs my body down. The area as always swells up and becomes very sensitive. So sensitive that I leave the area uncovered and untouched.

My other side effects have stayed the same. The numbing to both hands and feet, the joint aches and stiffness have all remained at the same level since finishing chemotherapy. Night times are still the worst in terms of when I get the most pain and discomfort.

The hair loss has subsided greatly but has not completely stopped. The sensitivity to the skin has also remained the same, but the facial breakouts have definitely improved with far less eruptions – and the dark marks seem to be slowly fading and smoothing out.

My appetite is slowly returning and I’m trying my best to reboot and cleanse my system. I have help from an incredible childhood friend who is a Chemist and Herbalist, Alexandra Munn (@AlexandraConsultantC or www.AlexandraConsultantC.com) who works specifically with your situation to help your body reboot itself after undergoing chemotherapy. Recommending specific green juices, minerals and nutrients that need to be restored to the body, which were lost during your treatment. 

My consultation with Alexandra was incredible. She went through my entire journey to date, current medication and how I was feeling, paying particular attention to my side effects. Nothing was off the table. I discovered that one’s diet is key to a full recovery after chemo, and happy that I was already doing most of what was required to help my body, Alexandra helped take me to the next level in my aim to achieve super, super health.

Everyday is a battle, and everyday I deal with whatever it brings, taking it in my stride. One Day at a time.