Topic: Anybody starting Chemo in July 08

Hi

I'm canadian too and starting chemo on July 31st.  I'm having the port-a-cath inserted the morning of my first chemo.  No sure yet the course of treatment as I meet with the med onc on Thursday.  I already got the chemo teaching and heart echo booked too.  I had a left partial mast on June 16th with auxillary nodes.  I'm 42 and from the Montreal area. 

I have found this board amazing since my diagnosis with so many compasionate and caring women.  I wish you all the best in your treatment and wanted you to know that I'll try and share my experience with you and hope you can with me too.  I'm praying for us... regards Lisa

My wife starts her chemo next Thursday, 23rd at PMH, Toronto. Three times FEC and then three times Taxotere. And then, somewhen in November - the surgery, then, if needed, radiation.

 Good luck to all of you.

- Yan

Hey Jo in Preston UK !!

I'm Jo in Birmingham UK!!  I'm starting my chemo on Monday!!

Glad it went ok for you  - and thanks for posting i'm a bit worried about the sickness as i hate vomiting.

I got a wig last week and every time i put it on i think it looks like a wig!! but everyone tells me it looks ok - not sure they have convinced me yet!!

Jo

I'm having my portacath put in this Monday and should be starting chemo the week of the 28th.  I'm a little unsure of what to expect.  I have been told of all the side effects, but not sure which ones will be mine.  I have heard of people continuing to work through chemo and some too ill to do anything.  I guess I will find out soon which group I will fall into. 

Hi Jacobsmom,

I'm a westerner in canada, and just did my 4th tx, more than half way there. I did 3 rounds of FEC 3 weeks apart now onto Taxotere.  I had a portacath put in,,,,surgery was real easy in and out in one day and wasn't under anistetic for very long. I can't say that it was even that sore that night just a bit uncomfortable and it is on the side i usually sleep on . So took a couple nights and slept on my back now i don't even know it's there. so you should do fine with that!

Do you know what drugs you will be doing?  I found the FEC quite doable.  Mind you this is only my experience and everyone is so different. The tx itself is very uneventfull, I didn't feel a thing going in, got home and felt quite fatigued wether it was physical or mental i don't know. One major thing to remember before , during and the day after chemo drink lots of water and pee, pee, pee. You will feel better faster if you can flush the chemo out!  You might find after a couple tx's water is the last thing you want but it is very important.

Didn't have any nausea,mind you there were days in the beginning when food would make my stomach turn but nothing major....eat small meals at first and the first couple of days stay away from your favourites as they might not taste the same. I found it was like i was pregnant again and was craving icecream and peanut butter and salty stuff like chips. (make sure you take your nausea meds as directed wether you feel sick or not)..

no mouth sores, mouth had  a yukky taste in it for a couple days and food lost a bit of its flavour for about a week...(make sure you be diligent with the baking soda rinses , i also added a bit of salt ) 

Luckily had no problem with constipation it seems to hit alot of people ( took one senokot the night of and that was all i needed)  

Oh and the dreaded hair loss    ... I started getting a sore scalp at around day 14 , it hurt to lay me head on the pillow at night so the next day I tugged on my hair and sure enough a big handfull came out. so after a couple days of that I said  "Off with the Hair!"  Had my girlfriend give me a buzz cut and it felt soooo good ! Actually I really appreciate it right now with the hot weather, it is so much cooler. I bought a wig , but it is really itchy and hot so have only worn it twice.  I got some really nice hats from online at Headcovers.com. Again everyones hairloss will be different depending on what drugs your on.

The major problem i had was my counts would drop every cycle so they had to put me on the Neupogen shots to bring it back up, usually ended up being about 8 days of shots as my lowest day was around day 12. First round went up to the hospital to get them as I was to chicken, but sucked it up after that and did it myself. My hand was shaking so much the first time it was quite funny, ya now i can laugh at it. Now it's alot easier!

There is also fatigue, when it hits you give into it don't try and fight it.   Rely on friends and family to help you out and rest, rest rest,.     It's really helpful on the first round to make a list of when the side effects hit you so you can be better prepared for the next round. You don't have to be a hermit either, just be carefull when you kow your counts are low to avoid situations that might put you in contact with sick people....and purell is a great thing to get rid of the germs.

Sorry if this is too much info, but i remember all the unknowns going into the first tx. ,...

Good luck to all of you with upcoming tx's

Thanks Angelsaboveus,

I start my first FEC treatment tomorrow!!

Great tip about the side effect diary - fell a little more confident now.

Jo

Hi everyone

Good luck tomorrow Jo be sure to check in to tell us how you're doing we'll be thinking of you. I have my countdown on now 5 more days!!! 

I know what you mean emilyjuanita...the being too tired thing is starting to stress me out too...not so much about my job but I have have a 15 month old son who is on the run from the minute he opens his eyes in the morning....We are so used to going going going all the time that I wonder how he is gonna be with mommy not being up to par?? I guess I can only go one day at a time...I am however lucky he has playbuddies on my street which the moms all know I will be starting treatment soon and are already lining up days for him to come play....

Terri 

Hi Terri,

Thanks so much for starting this thread... I'm learning a lot about whats to come as I start on July 31st and having the port-a-cath done that morning.  It was a difficult weekend as my oldest son, Michael 18 really broke down on Saturday night after going out with his cousin and having a few too many... He came home and just sobbed for the first time telling me how much he loved me and how helpless he feels.  That really hit me really hard, because up until now he has not really shown any emotion.  It made me feel really sad and for the first time questioned my mortality, what will my husband and especially my two sons 12 and 18 do if something happens to me...I couldn't sleep Saturday night and felt really deeply dreadful.., But Sunday came around and we sat down and had a really good heart to heart with Michael 18 providing him with reassurance that I'm going to get through this and be okay, although it will be tough for some months, I'm going to get through this!  Med onc appointment on July 24th, chemo teaching July 28, heart echo July 29, 1st tx chemo July 31st... and I guess no hair by August 14th???  I'm wishing everyone a good week and hoping all your tx plans go well.  Sorry for the venting, but maybe somebody else has had a similar experience with their children too...  xo Hugs and take care Lisa

Sorry that you are joining everyone on this board. Hope all goes well for you. There is a July TCH group where a bunch of HER2+ girls hang out. 

I am a June chemo gal myself and just had #3. My port is very handy and I'm glad I have it because my veins are hard to find. They even get blood from my port. I am working but found that I need a few days off around treatment time. I am on Taxotere, Cytoxan, and Herceptin....then radiation....then more Herceptin for a total of one year. I did lose my hair in gobs starting around day 14 and lasted about 1 month. Then is slowed down and I still have some left. I'm not sure if #3 will get rid of the rest or not. I still have eyebrows and lashes.

Good luck to all you July chemo gals!

Yan, texasmom and emilyjuanita,

Thx for sharing your comments and it is true, managing the kids is going to be tough...

Yan your assistance to your wife will be so enormous when it comes to your young ones, she will be very greatful to have you.  I praise you on your efforts to get involved and more understand her feelings at this time.

Emilyjuanita, I understand your mind set at this time...oh boy do I understand, but we must take one step at a time and things will fall into place accordingly.  Look how far we have come already with pre-screening, then diagnosis, then surgery, then post-op results, then tx plan and now were on to the actual insurance therapy...  I've tried to prepare my boys by letting them know that yes, during chemo I will probably not look so great, but I will come back to normal and I'm continuely reassuring them that this phase will pass by in no time...  I was given a great book called "Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor" and there is one wonderful story that I could really relate to regarding a high school graduate who has just discovered his mother is diagnosed...the story follows her through her treatment and the story is called She's My Hero.  The student sees a picture of his mother before her treatment and notices in the picture her lovely eyes and how bright and envigorating they are...One day during treatment when he turned to see his mother coming down the hall so aweful looking he stared into her eyes and could see the strength and willingness and again the brightness she will always have...this made him a stronger human being throughout his life to know his mother could do this fight and survive and return to normal and is more than 10 years out of tx...and living a wonderful life he is stronger for her and she is his hero...as a younger boy he always thought superman and other superheros were his hero, but he ended up finding out it was his mother...  I let my 18 year old read the story and it is a great story for young adults to read, it has so much meaning and understanding.  Hope this little story helps because it sure helped me!  keep well and talk to you soon.  Lisaxo

Thank you so much for that story Lisa.  It reminds me of the person I WANT to be through this whole experience.

jacobsmom- good luck with your little guy!  15 months is a precious (but busy!) age.

Emily 

BTW - you guys with kids are so lucky - I had been trying for a few years and had discussed IVF with my doctor. Then i found my lumps - they have told me that it is unlikley that i will be able to have children as i am er+/pr+ so iwould be unable to have the IVF i needed now.

Every time you look at your kids think how lucky you are to have them at all.

Hi ,, I just finished my 8 rounds of chemo last wed.4ac and 4 taxol. Reading your posts brings so many of those new feelings back. The beginning is the hardest mentally. But I am here to tell you that you will all get through this. The meds they have now to help with the side effects are great. Any swelling usually happens because of the steroids they give you during the treatment and should go away in a day or two. I had a port put in and am so glad I did. The procedure to put it in was quick and they did it the morning of my first chemo. Make sure to ask for the cream to numb it. You put it on one hour before treatment and don't feel a thing when they access it. I also made sure to suck on ice during treatment, It hasn't been proven ,,but the cold helps fend off any mouth sores from the chemo. I didn't have any mouth problems during the treatment. I found bringing a cd player and books helped during chemo. Towards the last treatments I ended up napping through and hour or two. The hair loss thing ,, well, it does tend to be a shock at first, but I ended up buzzing mine when it started to fall out. My hairdresser told me to leave the front area around the bangs and in the back, and oddly that stayed when the rest didn't and when I wore the turban it looked like I had a head full of hair under it because of those in the front sticking out. One of the things that I kept on hand was yogurt to make smoothies. When I just didn't feel like eating I would mix a yogurt, ice, fresh strawberries and a little milk in a blender, it was filling and cold. I think one of the most difficult things is the chemopause. I was premenopause and the chemo changed that. I stopped my periods by the second month and now am trying to deal with the hotflashes. I am er and pr pos, so no supplements to help me through this. But all of this is worth it because we will put this experience behind us and move on. Lisa, I am an hour south of Montreal. A good smoked meat sandwich sounds wonderful right now!!!  Ladies,,, stay strong, nuture yourselves and know that you are all in my prayers .

Hey Jo

So glad things went good for you. Well as good as they can be anyways hey. I don't know about others but by all means give us the details 3 more days for me....starting to get a little anxious now but have made sure my days are full until then to keep busy...going for the MRI of left breast tomorrow morning onc. is just making sure nothing there...wish now that it had of been brought up to me in the beginning as a suggestion to just remove both as I probably would have. It all happened so fast that I didn't even think of that as an option at the time....perhaps later I don't know...too many other things to focus on right now. I am so sorry to see you cannot have the IVF you want like you said I count my blessings everyday when I see Jacob. He is my little miracle. I too tried which seemed like forever to get pregnant and after 14 years..voila. Who would of thought at 38 I would have my first....Please keep us updated on how you're making out!!!

Terri

Dear bcs75,

Thx so much for your great post...lots of information to keep in mind.  Great tips too!

Hope everyone who has started is feeling good today... take care, Lisa