Get a chemo buddy!

Chemo is hard work and no matter how wonderful your friends and family are, they're not going to understand how you're feeling. Before chemo I used to use the word 'exhausted' and think I knew what it meant! Now I truly understand what it means! There were times during the Docetaxel regime that I would have to spend several hours working up to standing up and getting a glass of water. It can be really tough. But I've met a couple of great people (including Deb) at chemo. We swapped numbers and Facebook details and I can't tell you how great it is to be able to share how you're feeling with someone who truly knows what you're going through. You can share the *delights* of eyelash loss, bone pains and fatigue and they get it. You can also share some of the dark times with a chemo buddy that you might not want to share with your friends and family (more on the 'be positive' phenomena later). You'll see the same folk every time anyway, so get chatting and make a cancer friend! Amanda.

I second Amanda's experience! It does make a difference talking to others who know exactly how you feel. Who else can you laugh with about your half an eyebrow or your 3 eyelashes!!! Or the fact that my leg hair has never fallen out which is totally unfair!! One thing chemo will never take is our sense of humour and yes, you do have days where you don't feel yourself but what I find helps, is thinking about something that Amanda and I have laughed about and it always cheers me up.