CMF Question
Comments
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Hello to my CMF sisters! May you all enjoy the many blessings of the Season!
Congrats to all of those who reached their anniversaries -- it's a wonderful feeling to reach that goal.
I haven't been on much lately and actually lost the site from my favorites so it's good to be back!
Sara - I lost much of my hair after tx 4 and beyond, and needed a wig for awhile, but now my hair is back thick and oh so curly! I finish CMF last July and have been wearing my "real" hair for a couple of months. You might want to consult with your onc though. Good luck!
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Wishing everyone a wonderful 2012.
And hoping the newcomers are doing well.
Mandy
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Hope everyone's holidays were BLESSED!! Hope that 2012 is a wonderful year for all of us
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Hi gals! Wow! I got so busy over the holidays that I didn't check in here very much. I do read the posts on my Smartphone but I'm not very good at responding from it. My texting skills leave much to be desired.
To those of you in treatment..........let us know how you are doing!
To those of you who are finished and have been trying to move back into your life...........YEAH!!!!
I wish each and every one of you a happy and HEALTHY 2012! Stop in every so often and let us know how it's going for you.
Rita
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Checking in to say hello and see how everyone is doing.
I had my last chemo infusion 1/5. I had Neulasta with my last three infusions. It did the job in raising my white count but the pain is no fun. I hope to start radiation later this month. I'm curious how fatigued I'll be and how my skin will handle it. Time will tell. I'm also looking forward to getting my port removed!
Hugs to all,
Denise0 -
Hey everyone.....I have a question. My onc is wanting to change my med from Tamoxifen to something else, I think it was called Armidex or something like that. Does anyone know anything about this drug compared to Tamoxifen? This makes me a little nervous since she had just tested a year ago to be sure that the Tamoxifen was working.
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Cabmom - I took arimidex for 5 years and was diagnosed with BC December '10 while I was still on it. Right now I'm on aromasin since I could not tolerate tamox. I don't know about any comparisons between the two drugs. Good luck.
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Cabman, I took Tamoxifen for one year and Arimidex for four years. I finished up in 2006 and am still NED..(No Evidence of Disease). I switched because I was post menopausal and the FDA finally approved arimidex for early breast cancer in 2002 and I had some atypical hyperplasia in my remaining breast on tamoxifen. Since I was postmenopausal I switched. The two medications are for estrogen positive breast cancer and work very differently. Tamoxifen is for both non and post menopausel women and blocks estrogen from entering cells and arimidex blocks any estrogen from being produced in the postmenopausal women...even though our ovaries stop producing estrogen, our adrenal glands and fat cells, etc. still do put out estrogen. They both probably will have side effects for most women.
Does that sorta answer your question? I am not a medical person, just a patient...
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SoCalLisa - great explanation!
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SoCalLisa, are you glad that you made the switch? I just want to do what has the most protection for me but hoping that this is it!! Thanks for the information....
golfergrandma, I imagine you didn't feel that it worked since you were rediagnoised. Any other feelings about it? Would you suggest staying away from it? or would you promote it at all?
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cabman, the arimidex seemed to have worked better for me, but I had more side effects...it was a trade off for me...but everyone has different experiences with the medications..
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Cabmom - I did tolerate the arimidex very well with few SE's. Am sure I was an exception with the last diagnosis. Since you were on tamox for awhile, I think it's the standard of care to switch to a different hormone therapy afterward. Does that help? Hope so.0 -
Thanks ladies.....all these med's and side effects are so CONFUSING but I guess we have to do what we have to do
! Thanks again.....time for me to do a little research for my piece of mind. 0 -
Cab mom I sent you an article via email comparing results with tamoxifen and an aromitase inhibitor. It was done at the Prince Margaret, which is a major cancer center in Canada. You might want to discuss it with your oncologist.
Hugs
Mandy
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Hi ladies, started arimedix in Sept. about 3 weeks before finishing rads. At first I had terrible hand and joint pain it since has tapered off. Started weight watchers o
nlinevtwo weeks ago lost 5 lbs. I gained 15 lbs from the chemo and my pigging out gain qas not from arimedix. I go for my mamo and ultrasound in a month. Am i scared OH YES. have a goodvweek Patty0 -
Patty.....will be sending prayers your way!!! I get so nervous everytime my appts roll around. I've just chalked it up to being part of my NEW life....UNFORTUNATELY!! Try not to worry...
Mandy, thanks so much!! I have lots to talk to the onc about. You're the best!!
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Thanks cabmom. Started the no sleep for me club lol, my dog and i stay up to the wee hours and if she dares to fall asleep i wake her up! No wonder why she has been acting like the breakstone dog
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Cabmom....I am about done with the Arimidex. I think I will probably hit the 5 year mark with it in August or September. I have had several side effects from it but have dealt with them all. I think I was just too afraid to quit taking it. I have quite a bit of joint pain but magnesium and Vitamin D 3 supplements seem to help me, as well as keeping mobile.
Hey Patty, I still have sleepless nights when it gets close to my check-up appointments and blood tests. Although I try to stay positive, my mind goes crazy at these times. Unfortunately, I think that we "worriers" might always have a few anxious times while awaiting routine check-ups and test results.
Cabmom...let us know what your onc tells you! The decision making process is always a hard part of this journey. Hugs.
Rita
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Just bumping up our thread so it's easier for "newbies" to find.
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
Rita
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We need more input in this thread. I am thinking about cmf.
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BelaT: If you have any questions, just let us know. The gals here got me through CMF and this is a vvery helpful, supportive thread.
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BelaT: There is a great group of ladies on this thread and like Mandy1313, it helped get me through my treatments. Let us know what your questions are and I'm sure someone will be able to help. Good luck with your decision and sorry that you're having to join this club that noone ever wants to join.
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I am starting CMF- all intravenously. would really appreciate any tips....perhaps what to do to ward off side effects before they take hold, any medications I should have on hand. My husband and I have read a good bit, but there is nothing like info from someone who has been thru itl
we understand I will be given anti nausea with the chemo and I have 2 prescriptions to take- one for "light" nausea and one for "heavy".also understand I should drink lots of water....wouldn't gatorade also be good.
thanks for your help in advance.
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Hi Packy!
First I want you to know that this is doable. Before I started, I thought I would not make it at all. And I had 8 tx which came about 3 weeks apart. Mine were all intravenous and I did not need a port. You will be able to do this and the ladies on this thread will be there for you 100 per cent.
When do you start? I have my own tips but I am certain that others will come in with their tips. In the end, you will figure out what works for you. I had so many good tips that it is hard to think of what is most important:
Here are the things you should have at home since no one can predict what your side effects will be:
Gaterade or something you like to drink; ginger ale which helped me with nausea
Pepcid AC for possible heart burn
Colace or some stool softener
Some anti diarrhea medicine
Some soothing bland foods that you can microwave such as mac and cheese which I seemed to crave .
Lemon candies, ginger candies.
Refresh or some kind of eye lubricant in case you get dry eye
Some mouth wash: many suggest biotene, I preferred just old fashioned salt water
Biotene tooth paste or a soothing tooth paste
The shampoo that Rita Jean will suggest (I never remember the name of it).
Fluids: I never did drink that much water--I preferred sparking water and some italian natural orange soda (aranciata). I also drank really strong ginger ale that I bought at whole foods..my taste did change a bit during chemo. I would think that gaterade would be fine.
Nausea: I always thought it was best to just keep the nausea away and not to wait until you were really nauseous so I would say just take your anti nausea meds and find out why your onc wants you to wait until you are "really nauseous " to take one of them. My first nausea medicine did not work and I had to change to others. But once they were adjusted, I was not nauseaous from the chemo.
Constipation: is a common side effect from the anti nausea meds. A good tip that someone gave me was to take a stool softener such as colace the night before chemo and to keep up with it for the week you are on chemo. I also ate stewed prunes with lemons which tasted good and helped with the problem.On the other hand, my last two doses, I had the opposite of constipation and was glad that I had medication for it.
Heartburn: I had alot of that and took pepcid AC on a regular basis.
Hair: I did not lose my hair and did not need a wig or head cover. My hair thinned a bit but even my hair dresser did not notice and was surprised that I was on chemo. I did use alot of care for my hair...I only washed it every 3 days instead of every day as I usually do; I did not use a hair dryer or anything harsh on my hair.
ICE POPS: I brought cups of Italian Ice into my chemo and ate them during the infusion. My oncologist had suggested that I have ice and said it would reduce mouth sores. If nothing else, it tasted good. I did not have mouth sores but I also had acupuncture which is supposed to help with them---so I can't tell you which helped more, the ice during chemo or the acupuncture. :-)
I had virtually all of the side effects that chemo offers,,,I like to say I tried them all. None of them were great but they were not as awful as I expected. And most people do not have as many side effects as I did. In fact many seem to have few side effects. So don't worry about them...you may be one of the lucky people who has no side effects.
Let me know if you have any questions that I did not answer. And be sure to check in and let us know how you do after your first tx.
Sending hugs.
Mandy
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Hi, Packy!
Mandy gave a ton of great info! I will add that my NP told me to define nausea as even just feeling a little off and taking the meds then. It helps to keep on top of it. I got I bunch of different drinks to have around to make it easier to stay hydrated. I lost about 25% of my hair according to my stylist. It looked like more to me judging by the piles in the shower and the sink. It drove me crazy to the point of almost shaving it all off a few times but I'm glad I didn't. My side effects seemed to be a little different with each infusion, some things better, some things worse. But it's doable. I had my treatments on Thursdays and took Fridays off and was back at work on Monday each time. Call your doctor's office if anything seems wrong. They have so many tools to manage side effects and will help you through it.
This thread was a life line to me. As wonderful as my family and friends were I needed to talk to women who had gone through it. I know several women who had breast cancer but none of them had done CMF.
You can do this! Let us know when you are starting.
Denise0 -
Hi, Going for my mammo and ultrasound on Friday . It's so weird ...the more people I run into and talk to say why didn't have a mastectomy. They also say CMF why not ACT. The CMF was one of the choices given to me along with ACT TC...looking back now i'm rely wondering for my stage and grade if I made the right choice. My nerves are going to get the best of me yhis week i can feel it. Sorry for ranting.
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Hi Patty:
You really can't start second guessing yourself now. The experts presented CMF to you as a viable option and you did what they said.
I think this is your one-year-out mammo and u/s since surgery? I'm scheduled for mammo and MRI this week also. For me it's two and a half years since my lumpectomy. Although each time I too get a serious attack of the nerves, I'm grateful that they are keeping such a close eye on me and have a lot of trust in the location where I go for imaging. I feel that even if I had a recurrence, I now know a lot more about breast cancer and I have a good relationship with a number of experts that I can turn to. I've had two scares since my lumpectomy and had two biopsies. The first one turned out to be scar tissue from a previous MRI-guided biopsy in my "good" breast. Last time mammo and u/s showed something near original lumpectomy site. That was biopsied too and also turned out to be just scar tissue. While both biopsies were nerve-wracking at the time, I was grateful afterward, as it was further proof that they were really attentive.
Do you have something you can take for anxiety? If not, get something from your GP. It might also help if you bring a friend or family member with you. I usually take an MP3 player and listen to classical music to zone out. Remember that worrying about it is not going to affect the outcome. It is what it is.
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Hi Patty!
MaryNY is right---don't second guess yourself. You made a reasonable decision based on what your doctors said. These anniversary mammos are nerve wracking. My first one post treatment I was nearly teary eyed when I got the good news---so figure it is natural to worry and stress out.
Let us know how the mammo and ultrasound go.
MaryNY, just having those biopsies must have added a layer of stress. So glad that you got good news.
Hugs to all
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Mary & Mandy, Thanks for sharing, going to try and keep myself busy this week. I do take a low dose anti anxiety pill. I really like my doctors and can talk freely with them. I think I want to go by myself for the mammo & ultrasound. Thanks again , I will let you know how I make out on Friday.
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Thanks to both of you for your helpful posts. I had my first treatment 5 days ago and have been surprised that side effects have been minimal. Taking miralax has helped with constipation. A couple of issues I have concern about as I move forward:
I've been told weight gain is a side effect with CMF. How have you managed that?
My oncologist has told me to stay out of the sun as much as possible especially when the sun is more direct later in the season. She said permanent red splotches can appear on the skin. Has this been an issue with you?
Should I expect side effects to be more evident as I have more treatments. I'm scheduled to have 6, one every 3 weeks.
My doctor has not wanted me to be in crowds especially during flu season. I guess my white blood cell count will determine that activity.
Thanks again, Mandy and UPSTATE 68.
Packy
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