One of the scariest things about starting chemotherapy is knowing what to expect and how your body will react. Will I lose my hair? Will I feel really ill? How will my body change and will this all happen straight away as soon as I start my treatment? Questions, questions, questions...
The fear of the unknown is a really tricky and complex emotion and one of the hardest things to deal with when you're about to start your treatment. Whilst everyone reacts differently to chemo, in my experience many people have the same worries and fears as each other. For me it wasn't as bad as I had feared. A bit like a bad hangover that lasted for a week or so after each chemo session. I was initially most worried about the hair loss and the sickness, but I managed to keep lots of hair thanks to the cold cap, and the anti-sickness medication nowadays is fantastic, so I never felt more than just a little queasy. OK, so it was no picnic in the park, but had I been armed with a bit more information, I would have felt slightly more at ease.
Sometimes knowing we are not alone and that others have shared the same worries and concerns can provide some comfort at this difficult and challenging time. Here at Not Another Bunch Of Flowers we wish to provide as much support as we can to our customers and their loved ones.
Therefore we have asked our wonderful customers and friends who have undergone chemotherapy or are currently receiving treatment to fill in a very quick and anonymous questionnaire so that we can gather information on the most important and common fears, concerns and worries of those who have already experienced chemotherapy treatment.
Information will be used in our Chemo for Beginners booklet which will be included free of charge with some of our chemo gift sets to help those starting treatment.
If you have been through chemotherapy and wish to contribute, we would love to hear from you. To access the survey please click here. All answers given will be anonymous however information provided will be used in information leaflets, blog posts, on our website and in social media posts.
Thank you for your support.
Anikka
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Anikka Burton is the founder of Not Another Bunch Of Flowers and was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33.