CMF Question
Comments
-
Hi Lee, you can do this!!
The oncologist told me not to eat from a salad bar due to possible germs
also alfalfa sprouts due to possible fungii...and things like that because
your immune system will be compromised .
Rita told you about water, water, water...so do that!!
0 -
RitaJean and SoCalLisa,
Thanks for the pep talk, I need it! WATER and ICE. I will be chanting that for the next couple of days for sure.
I think its having my immune system down that is the scariest part of chemo. I am going to miss salads but I sure don't want to risk getting sicker. As it is I'm worried I'm about to come down with a cold or the flu because so many people are sick at work. I feel like I'm ducking and running from all of them! Just hope I haven't already caught something.
Did chemo bother your sinuses? One of the chemo nurses said some people get all stuffed up and can have a headache from it.
0 -
Lee- Remember to bump up your fiber a lot the week before chemo. Constipation was my worst side effect. I ate stewed prunes over plain yogurt almost every night (thanks Mandy),Once you get constipated, it's hard to get things moving. Better to be proactive going in to chemo sessions. Every Onc is different. Mine placed no restrictions on eating salads or anything. I ate lots of fresh fruit. I did take extra precautions and washed everything well. I especially liked cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Juicy fruits are a great way to get nutrients and hydrate too. Best of luck!0
-
Designer Mom,
I'm smiling right now..but only because since my dx I've been soooo nervous I have had NO problem going (and going). But I do eat a lot of fiber and I haven't cut back on it because I'm happy to be flushing a lot of the drugs from the surgeries out of my system. I thought I read somewhere that fiber helps keep estrogen from being absorbed or re absorbed into your system. I could be wrong.
The prunes over yogurt actually sounds good. I could do that. I am planning on a chemo shopping trip this weekend to get all the stuff I might need.
0 -
I had the opposite problem and immodium AD became my best friend.
I should have invested in the company
0 -
Lee, good luck with your 1st treatment and I really can't add anything that the ladies haven't already told you. Water, water, water, no one can really express how important this is! Also, taking your anti-nausea meds should be taken before you get sick.....harder once you do to feel better. We'll all be with you in thought and prayer......
0 -
Hi Lee - CMF is not a common chemo regime anymore so it isn't a surprise there are few on it - most oncs will advocate for ACT. In 1999, I was going to do CMF and I had to fight for it. Statiscally, it comes with a very small increase in the chance of recurrence but a 30% chance that you won't lose all your hair. I didn't. It thinned and I did have to cut it from down to my butt to a little below mid back. My regime was in 4 week cycles - 1st week, all 3 drugs spiked with steroids, 2nd week, 2 drugs spiked with steriods, 3rd week, 1 drug, less steroids and 4th week, blood counts only.
It was for 8 months and the last treatment was the 1st week cocktail. Only when my white counts would drop was I advised to watch myself around anyone with colds, especially children and fresh vegatables to be washed even more thoroughly. There was a time that I was told to not even touch anything raw as my white counts were so low. Mutil vitamins, exercise and basic healthly eating - get food down - cream of wheat is a great staple as it has lots of good stuff and is easy to eat when you don't feel like eating.
The first months are really doable - it does get a bit harder as time goes on - I changed treatment days for the last 3 months as I was tired of being sick every weekend and it actually helped me be less sick doing it late on Mondays and coming home and sleeping. I was full of pep on treatment day due to the steroids so I planned my shopping and errands and stuff for that day - the second day after treatment is kinda a 'flop on the sofa'. I arranged to do mine on Friday mornings, kept working through it all and Sundays were my flop days. I forget what they gave me for the nausea but be sure to keep it around - don't try and 'tough it through' - there is stuff to help - use it.
Now, this was over 11 years ago - things may have changed as I saw someone mention pills - mine was all in infusion form and at the clinic. I always took all the saline at the end to keep me 'flushed' - water is a help.
That's how it went for me. It took about 6 months after completion to recover my 'chemo brain' but the weight came off pretty easy and I was back to my old self pretty quick.
Good luck with it - the down time is minimal when you do feel icky. I think I only took 1 day off from work during the entire 8 months. I slept more and did miss some things but all in all, you get through it.
Hugs...LowRider
0 -
Hi LowRider, what was your stage at your original diagnosis? Did you do Tamoxifen after the CMF? Did the fact that you'd done chemo before limit your option regarding drugs once you were diagnosed with mets? Or maybe they are just entirely different drugs anyway.
0 -
Lee, I want to respectfully disagree about CMF - I know many people who have done or are doing CMF, including myself. I think one issue is that use of CMF is much more regional than previously but it is used at Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber, Swedish and Cancer Care of America, and many other facilities. My onc and I had a conversation about this and he explained that I would encounter many approaches that are very regional.....
0 -
My understanding is that a decision to use CMF is more likely to be based on your pathology than where you live. It is more likely to be used if you are older, post-menopausal and are early stage with a not so agressive tumor than if you are younger, pre-menopausal and have an agressive tumor. There can be other factors at play too such as previous medical history. I was not a typical candidate for CMF being Stage II and with lymph node involvement, but my medical history suggested that Taxol would not have been a good choice for me. I was treated at Sloan where most breast cancer patients are typically treated with a drug regime involving either Taxol or Adriamycin. I had four rounds of AC, followed up with four rounds of CMF.
0 -
Mary - that is true - I am post-menopausal, 57, and and early stage.
0 -
Hello Ladies - well i survived my 2nd CMF treatment - the last time was terrible, but this time i had no headache and so far no stomach issues - i had the treatment at 5pm yesterday - i dozed off at 11pm and woke up at 1am and been WIDE AWAKE ever since (is that because of the steroids)?
0 -
ninap: Yes, the wakefullness would be from the steroids. Maybe they increased your dose from the last time if you were having stomach issues then?
0 -
no, i checked (because i write everything down before it goes in my mouth - i took the same dosage - but the last time i had the infusion at 1pm and then at 6pm developed a headache and took the ZOFRAN again because that is what the nurse told me to do - then at 9pm i fell asleep woke up at 11pm and threw up twice and did not take ANY meds thereafter - this time i took zofran and steroids (same dosage as last time) but the infusion was at 5pm - i DID NOT take the Zofran again and i feel fine right now but i am still "up as a pup" lol -
0 -
ninap- You are probably sensitive to the steroid. My Onc said that with CMF we could eliminate the steroid in the premeds. My meds were a little different. I got Kytril and steroids as premeds then Zofran for 2 days following. I would see how you do this time and then discuss the need for steroids with your Onc. Sleep is important.
0 -
I think it is doing the CMF ONLY that is unusual - It may be regional and/or based on pathology but I was not a candidate for it - I insisted - I was a stage II - stage III in between - I had 4 fully involved nodes with it just beginning to spread into the 5th out of 25 removed. I was 44-45 and put into chemo-induced menopause (sweet - hot flashes and night sweats from chemo and menopause - FUN) I was on the east coast outside of Philly too. ACT was what they wanted to give me and I was having no parts of it - with hair down to my ass - no, not going to lose my hair - already lost a breast (my choice rather than lumpectomy - turned out to be a good one - NED 10 1/2 years and it got the nodes out too). Oh, and all my meds were via infusion - other than the Tamoxifin. My 'pole' was quite a menagerie.
Having had the CMF only (no other chemo at all) and no rads (again my choice) and 2 1/2 years on Tamoxifin - I have pretty much any option open to me now with the mets that fits with my ER+/PR + and HER2-. We have even discussed since it has been so long, I could do Tamoxifin again and the CMF again although I am soooo hoping to keep chemo in my distant future - antihormonals and Aredia are doing ok after 16 months - weird scans though - healing, resolution and mild progression but the progression lights up in new spots and the old spots go away or shrink - we are beginning to wonder about the PET - MRI on the 14th and onc on the 21st to see what the heck is really going on. Still only in the bones so that part is most excellent!
I did, however, seek some mental health assistance in the form of xanax to relieve the anxiety over having bc. Now with the mets, I am on them again with the addition of a low dose anti depressant - it really helps keep me functional - 3 straight months of constant crying was a bit much - from the dx of mets in Sept 09 until just after the 1st of January - I had no control over myself at all - I even made a sign for my desk that had a smile on one side and tears on the other - coworkers would see the tears and turn around and send me an email...I tried to be funny about it but geez - I have never had that little control - finally - thanks to some very smart ladies here, I paid a visit to the mental health part of my treatment center - in a week, I was myself again - well, at least as much of myself as I could be in this new normal...
I am babbling...Happy Friday and good luck to all the CMFer's!
Hugs...LowRider
0 -
I didn't get anything except for the M and F in a IV push and cytoxan orally..
I took a campozine pill before the push .
I had to have Neupogen later on but not withing 24 hours of the push
0 -
Hey everyone, and hello lowrider! Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. I hope your visit and the MRI PET scan will give you some better info and good news. It sounds like you have many tx options you could pick from, even CMF again. It's encouraging to me that you had a good response the first time you had it and so maybe a second time would knock the cancer back down again if you have to do a chemo at some later point. The anti-nausea meds have to work better now than in '99. I think antidepressants have come a long way too and its good they help. I know its important to stay positive and not let bc take over everything. I'm still working on trying to keep my emotions in balance. Some days are better than others.........can I borrow that sign you made for my desk?
ninap7..So sorry you had another yucky treatment. I also think it could be the steroid keeping you up. I had a really bad night and next day after my last surgery and the only thing I can account for that was different is the amt of steroid I got. I actually didn't even know they gave you steroids during surgery until I checked into it, so I had no idea why I couldn't sleep for all that time. I discussed it with my onc and I know he is cutting my steroid dose in half for my first tx. 4mg Decadron, instead of 8mg. I hope that is going to be ok. He also wrote a script for Zofran and for Compazine to take at home if I need it. Did you drink any less water this time?
SoCalLisa, how long did you have to do CMF with the pills? Does it still count as 6 cycles? Did you not have to take anything for nausea when you took the pills?
BTW- I've had a couple interesting days dealing with the different folks where I'm being treated. Highlight of it is that once the orders went in, billing dept called, and called..... I have to prepay my 20% portion before I can start chemo. I called to make the arrangements so now they're letting me start the 17th. I now have another week to get ready. (yipee, I think)
0 -
lee, I took the pills for 14 days of the cycle..day 1 thru 14
with M&F on day one and day 7 of the cycle
then two weeks off...
this went for 6 months basically
and no I didn't have to take the compazine with the cytoxan pills
be sure to ask for crushed ice to suck on during the injections
0 -
lowrider- My Onc wanted to do TC even though my Oncotype score showed that chemo wouldn't give me added benefit. After researching, I chose CMF. One of the reasons was exactly what you have just confirmed. She sort of dismissed CMF as only a first generation chemo. I then asked "doesn't that mean I have more options, 2nd generation, 3rd generation if I should ever have a recurrence"? She said that was true. I also liked that CMF had been in use for many years. I am glad you have more options to use because you chose CMF.
0 -
DesignerMom - you posted a pic - it is lovely!
0 -
raincity- Thanks! It was time to hang up my ruby slippers for a while!
0 -
Designer Mom, you look so happy. All of you ladies do in your pics
The more I read about the T's neuropathy issues, I didn't want that one either. No one knows what its long term side effects will be yet. Atleast with CMF there is the long term data to go by.
SoCalLisa ....Not to worry, I probably won't be able to talk my mouth will be so full of ice. I've managed to bite the side of my mouth chewing from time to time and OUCH, it takes forever to heal. I definately want to avoid the mouth sores.
0 -
DesignerMom......love your pic
but I also liked your ruby slippers......we're living in KS right now ! 0 -
Yes, Designer Mom, I agree with the others! Your picture is lovely! It's always fun to put a screen name with a face!
Low Rider....I am so sorry that you are dealing with the mets issue and the depression that accompanies this disease. Hugs to you! I was also interested in the fact that another round of CMF might be a treatment plan for mets. I wasn't aware of that, but I guess I just thought that you couldn't repeat a chemo plan and would thus have to switch to another type. At least this way, it looks like you will have some treatment choices. Hang in there and try to be as positive as possible. We are all here if you need to vent or share.
Rita
0 -
ritajean...thanks! I look at it like I got 10 1/2 years NED - that is a nice chunk of life. And I sure packed a whole bunch of living into it. Honestly, I thought I had beat it after all that time that dummy me went for my 10 years followup (delayed since my military son was home on leave) on my frickin birthday!
I have to say that is sure was different this time around - treatments are kinder, there is no messing around - my center is a one stop shop for everything so from my mamo on the 12 of Aug 2009 until the final dx and start of treatment on the 16th of Sept 2009 - no one was dragging their feet - I went through every test known to man (slight exageration) and after the biopsy on 09/11/09 - I knew it was mets to the bone. If or when I should end up going to chemo - the CMF knocked it back and with the extended time in between...it could be an option again. It was a good choice even though I had to fight for it. Pretty much, its whatever works for me and right now, after 16 months of antihormonals, it is still only in my bones and although not NED or totally stable, keeping it in the bones and not allowing it to spread to organs is the priority and so far, success!
OMG - don't ever read the med sites if any of you have a recurrence (here's to hoping you never do) - come right back here - if you look at the statistics - I had myself written off until I landed here on bc.org - real live people living with mets.
0 -
Hi everyone,
Looks like this Monday is definately my chemo start date now. I've been trying to get myself together to do this. I still have to go shopping for chemo supplies. I've had to work with so many people who are sick right now (colds or the flu), and I know I'm fighting off something because I am stuffed up, have little appetite and feel like crap. I'm really worried about starting chemo and having it wipe out my defenses.
Do any of you have any advice about food before/right after chemo? I know I need to drink lots of fluids. I'm sure its an individual thing but did you find it helped to have something on your stomach or better not to have anything that morning? I won't be taking any drugs at home before. They said I'll get the first dose of anti nausea meds in the IV (aloxi and the steroid).
0 -
Lee: Just eat as you normally do. Along with the water, do try to get lots of fiber in your diet to avoid constipation. I perused shopping lists on here before starting and assembled lots of stuff. Thinking back, I really don't think there is anything special that you need.
0 -
Lee- Best of luck as you start this part of your journey. Like MaryNY, I found I really didn't need too much. Perhaps have some Milk of Mag on hand in case the constipation gets bad. I would try to stock up on drinks you might find tasty, I liked the "healthy" less sugary sodas from Whole Foods.The carbonated fresh gingerale was my favorite. I also cut up fresh melon and other fruits to have in the fridge. Some ladies like some healthy microwave meals on hand. I know I didn't want to cook anything, just wanted to crash for a while. Everybody's taste buds are different. You will figure out what tastes best to you. Let us know how it goes.
0 -
Agree with DesignerMom. Also there's no point on really stocking up on some food or beverage as your taste will likely change. So foods that you normally crave may not taste good anymore. And you are at risk of turning yourself completely off your favorite foods if you have them on a day that you're feeling nauseous. You will read a lot of suggestions on this and other threads for foods/drinks that others swear by while going through chemo but as DesignerMom said everbody's taste buds are different.
Shortly after starting chemo, someone brought me a beautifully packaged chemo kit. It had everything form a little cotton night cap, relaxation CD to snacks and herbal teas. I remember there were ginger chews and ginger tea in there. I've always been fond of ginger so figured on the second day after my first AC treatment that I would have a cup of ginger tea to help with the nausea. I could only manage two sips before I felt like throwing up. Now ginger tea will forever be associated in my mind with chemo. In general, I only wanted to eat very bland foods -- nothing with a strong smell or taste.
0
