Topic: Chemo starting Feb 2008?

My chemo is starting on January 30, 2008. I will have 4x TC every 13 weeks. I'm very nervous and scared but will get through this somehow. I refuse to have cancer rule my life and want to have this over with. After the chemo I will have rads for 33 tx, then onto to either Arimidex or Femara.

Here's to all of us in this same boat!

Joan

Dear Nowwhat, my heart goes out to you and your little ones. About your upcoming mastectomy, I never had any pain when I had mine and I'm hoping your experience will be the same so please don't fear that.

About the chemo bag, I never heard of it but would love to learn about it. Maybe a search online?

I'm also a single Mom facing chemo and Herceptin starting sometime this February. I have a 9 year old and my little one has Autism. He has gone through a lot every time I vanish and live him to endure my absence with coworkers. I don't have any family in NY and I can't explain to him why Mommy vanishes once in a while (8 surgeries since 2004).  He is also incredibly attached to my long hair (he likes to roll it between his fingers to calm his senses) and I am terribly distressed about how to best help him deal with this change alone. I still haven't started to discuss with my oncologist just how sick does chemo actually make you.

So strength, wisdom and endurance to all of us so that we may get passed this experience.

Hi everyone:

I will have my first visit with oncologist on Feb 05.  Then chemo will start.  Still feel a little afraid.  Had single left mastectomy with expander on 01/04/08.  My wonderful present for the new year.  Thank you all for being here so we can support each other.

Monica

Dear Bridget, my respect and admiration to The Rock of Gibraltar. What an awesome and gutsy lady you sound like. You have already covered all the bases so let's just hang together and share this 'little curve' the universe sent our way. I just wish we all lived closer so we could help look after each other's kids when the drugs put us out of commission for a bit. Geesh, wouldn't that make life a lot easier? As a single Mom, it would be priceless to me! This is my greatest source of anxiety.

I am seeing my oncologist today so I still don't know when my adventure starts and, at best, I'm no where near ready so this is the plan: I'm just going to jump in when somebody with a clue says: Go!

Sharing a giggle: I was talking on the phone to a dear friend last night and telling her how I have been pondering about all the difficult situations life has handed me and what it all means. At this point she told me she couldn't wait to hear of my revelations. My answer was: I got nothing. We both burst out laughing and decided there is no rhyme or reason for anyhting in this very chaotic Universe so we decided we just need to put our big girl panties on and s*ck it up?

Dear Monica & Carol please hang in there. We are in the exact same boat. Calm on the outside and completely freaked out on the inside? Let us know what happens, ok. I have no idea what to really expect so I'm anxious to hear from all of you and to tell you how it goes for me.

PS. Did you ladies hear about a documentary by Kris Carr called 'Crazy Sexy Cancer'? This very young woman was diagnosed with 24 inoperable malignant tumors all over her organs with a terrible pragnosis and she somehow turned it around. I just order a book called 'The PH Miracle', which is mentioned in the documentary (I believe Kris wrote a book about the whole experience too) and am planning on looking into it. Let me know your thoughts on this if any.

Hugs to all and till soon.

Patti

Greetings from San Francisco:

I just posted here last evening but wanted to say that I am glad I did.  Bridget, I was laughing about the "haircut".  I start chemo next Friday, February 1 so will keep on posting.  Going to get my wig tomorrow since I do work in the hospitality business and need to try and look normal with a wig.  I don't know how long I will continue to work but hopefully I can push through this.  I admire all of the mothers out there with little children who have to go through this.  We will get through this together...Hugs....Carol

Hi folks ...

I'm popping in from the Feb 2007 thread ... one year before you. We were wonderful support for each other and we've stayed together as a group. I wanted to offer some advice from our combined chemo experience:

(1) drink lots and lots of fluids ... water, flavored water, tea, fruit juice
(2) take your meds ... don't wait until you start to feel sick
(3) if your meds don't work, talk to your team about changing them ... you don't have to suffer
(4) eat small meals to keep your energy up and to avoid nausea

For those taking a taxane (taxol or taxotere), take care of your hands and feet. Moisturize. Wear supportive shoes if you're going to be on your feet a lot.

I noticed that a lot of you have small children. My ds was five when I was diagnosed. He had two requests: he didn't want to see me bald (I always had to wear my wig or a cap around him) and he didn't want his friends to know that I was sick (in other words, always wear a wig around them). I did tell his friends' parents, as well as his teachers and pediatrician. My son quickly learned about the chemo cycle .. there'd be days when I was feeling poorly and days that I was better! The running joke was that he knew when I was feeling poorly because he could beat me at board games! Even if I was feeling poorly, I tried to spend some time each day just cuddling with him or reading him a book, if I was up to it. My dh and I counted on friends to help out if needed, and they were glad to do so. But, we tried to keep our son's life as normal as possible. I can tell you one year later that he did fine ... we had no major crises or behavioral issues.

Please feel free to post on the Feb 2007 thread if you have general questions. You can also pm me for specific questions.

Hugs,
Hillary

Looks like I will be starting in mid Feb sometime. I have to go back in for surgery on the 29th to remove more breast tissue, the margins were to close for the Onc. I will also be getting a IV Port at the same time. I am grateful I only have to do 6 treatments every 21 days.

I am in the process of getting together a nice little goodie bag for those trips. I have gotten a lot of input from others about good things to have on hand. There is so much to keep up with, and I'm glad I've heard from others who have been through all this.

I'm there with you,

Krista

I am so excited NO dr. appointments this week!!! yey!!!! The next is going to be a bummer 3 oh well. I am having my port put in on Feb. 5th have any of you had one put in yet? How do you feel the next day? due to a dentist appointment I am wondering if I should cancel it or if I will fill like sittting in a dentist chair getting a tooth fixed!!!!  I went to work for the first time last night wow was I tired when I got home, I work as a manager in a restraunt so I do alittle of everything basically running!!!! I am only going to go back to that type of physical work on needed basis the other stuff is listening to problems and ordering which I can do sitting down. Sometimes when the staff is whinning about this one and that one I feel like screaming and say look so what if that one didn't do some of the sidework that can be done the next day its so trivia what they whine about sometimes it drives me nuts!!! I wanna say so what I am fighting for my life and whats your prrroobbbllleeemmms!!!!!!!! Its crazy I guess I should set up a staff meeting and say that to them but knowing me I will just put up with it and listen and say I understand and put on my happy face!!!! Yes what is in that goodie bag??????? We all want to know Im sure. I hope everyone is feeling well and spirits are good.

                                           Bridget

Has anyone undergone the Oncotype Dx test?

I just found out about this. This is a little excerpt from what I read about it in the breastcancer.org website:

Study design: In this small study of 67 women and 1 man with node-negative, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, participants were classified as having low, intermediate, or high risk for recurrence based on their Oncotype DX recurrence score:

* 32 participants (47%) were low risk, with a recurrence score of 17 or lower.
* 22 participants (32%) were intermediate risk, with a recurrence score of 18 to 30.
* 14 (21%) participants were high risk, with a recurrence score of 31 or higher.

Good Morning Ladies:  I'm popping over from the T/C thread - I started chemo on Jan 7th and just had my 2nd tx.  Just a few ideas for you gals:

1.  Please pay attention and stay HYDRATED.  I drink 1/2 gallon of water pre tx (I'm doing IV and it helps plump your veins).  I drink another 1/2 gallon during tx to flush.  Then more that night and continue on.  Of course, you should not drink TOO much water each day, knocks out your electrolytes.

2.  Eat whether you feel nauseated or not.  Get calories.....this is NOT the time to lose weight or even think about it.  Hydration and food will regulate your nausea and fatigue.

3.  Ask your nurse about taking Advil post Neulasta shot.  I did for my 2nd shot and what a difference over the first one when I didn't take anything.

4.  Brush your teeth with a very soft brush everytime you eat and swish with a Biotene (or another mouthwash designed for dry mouth) at least 5-6x a day.  You want to prevent mouth sores.

5.  Don't freak about losing your hair....it's just hair, keep it in perspective....it WILL grow back.

PAA I am in the TAILORx study - my Oncotype test result was 15 and I had the choice of backing out IF I was randomized for chemo (I was) and I didn't want to do it but you know what.....I figured I wanted to throw everything at this including the kitchen sink and that way if it recurs or mets, I can say, hey, I did everything I could.  I'm halfway thru and not regretting for one minute that I went for it.

My chemo bag contains a bottle of Aleve, my Compazine (for nausea), my toothbrush, paste and mouthwash......always a bottle of water, a book (for those times you are either getting chemo or waiting to see the doc)....on chemo days I bring snacks - protein or iron based. 

Cookie - and all of you.....go and KICK ASS.  You are all fabulous feb debs.........we are all here for you!!!!

(((((((((hugs))))))))))))) Trina

Hi!

PAA sent me a pm asking for more advice ... so here it is!

Your hair will start to fall out about two to three weeks after your first chemo. You'll know it's starting to happen because your scalp will start to hurt. Most of us got our head shaved at that point ... easier to deal with short hairs coming out rather than longer ones! As Trina says, it's only hair and it will grow back. I was able to color my hair and look presentable about three months after my last chemo. It may seem like a lifetime away, but it's not. Also, be prepared for the fact that eventually you will likely lose all the hair on your body by the end of chemo. Probably worse than losing head hair is losing eyebrows and eyelashes. But, they do grow back quickly.

Unless you have a job that depends on your looks, you are probably best off buying a synthetic wig. Wigs made from real human hair do look a bit more realistic, but they require a lot of work to maintain.
You can get inexpensive synthetic wigs from the American Cancer Society's catalog (http://www.tlcdirect.org/). Don't bother buying their wig shampoo and conditioner. It's less expensive to use Woolite. Most local ACS offices also provide you with one free wig, as well as invaluable personal help with how best to wear a wig. They also sponsor Look Good, Feel Better programs. These three hour sessions offer tips on how to everything, but the best part is all the free makeup!!

Definitely get your teeth cleaned before you start chemo ... you won't be able to do it while you're on chemo. Trina mentioned Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash ... it really worked for me! Some women still got mouth sores, but your onc can prescribe something called "magic mouthwash", which helped clear it up.

You need to take good care of your skin, as it will get quite dry. Some folks really liked products from Lindi Skin, which are made specifically for chemo patients. I had luck with just my regular moisturizers.

One rule of thumb that we found in terms of who had trouble coping with nausea during chemo: if you got bad morning sickness while pregnant, got carsick easily, or couldn't hold your liquor, you were more likely to suffer from chemo!

OK ... I think that's enough for you all to digest. Again, as always, ask specific questions by pm and I'll try to answer them in a timely fashion. It's hard for me to believe that a whole year has past since I was in the same place as you ladies!

Hugs,
Hillary

Hi I had my first chemo January 10.  I have felt great.  Today my hair is coming out in big clumps.  This is by far my worst day.  Surgery and chemo was a breze, this is tough.  I also am a singl mom with a ten year old son.

Hi Briget,

I had a port put in Jan 8.  No problems at all.  Mine is an arm port.  I was very bruised and it is very ugly but no pain.  I had my expanders expanded the day before my port surgery.  Huge mistake.  I was in so much pain from the expanders.  I was very emotional the day of my port surgery.  Losing my hair today.  My first  chemo treatment was Jan 10 and they said my hair would fall out in 2 weeks.  Yep, it is starting today, this is hard for me. 

Karen 

Hello all!

I had lumpectomy/SNB on 12/19/07 - axillary lymphnode dissection on 1/3/08. My first appt with onc is 2/25/08. I too am planning to have the port put in before chemo starts. I am assuming we will start in March but some of you said you started right away after seeing the onc. Maybe I will start in Feb. Everything is so unknown right now. I did receive a "goodie" bag from a friend and was told to use it to carry whatever I needed during chemo treatments. For example, a book to read, water, puzzle books, Ipod, etc. ...whatever will make me comfortable during treatment. I also heard that treatment can take 6-8 hours! Is this true? I didn't realize it would take a whole day for treatment. I thought a couple of hours at most. Can you have someone there with you? I guess these are all questions the onc will answer once I meet with him.

Good luck to all you ladies starting chemo this month. I'll keep you all in my prayers.

Hello Feburary 2008 ladies ...

I remembered additional pieces of advice ... A lot of the anti-nausea meds can make you constipated. Most us resorted to laxatives or stool softners to avoid problems. Check with your onc about them and see what is suggested.

Sometimes you get a metallic taste from the chemo and it makes everything taste blech, especially water! I found that a small piece of chocolate helped to coat my mouth with a nicer taste. I used the chocolate as a reward to myself for having drunk another 8 oz of water! Also, sliced lemons in the water help with the metallic taste. Make sure to wash the rinds really carefully. In fact, any raw fruit or veg should be washed carefully or peeled.

Hugs,
Hillary