CMF Question
Comments
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Hi Sheri,
So sorry you are having such a hard time.
I was concerned
about neuropathy with the other chemos as I have a pre-existing condition so MO recommended CMF, the least toxic.
I had only 4 CMF infusions, 3 weeks apart. I was fortunate as i tolerated the CMF very well. I was prepared with all kinds of prescriptions for nausea, had some, not too much. Drank gallons of water as recommended. Then switched to gatorade which seemed to keep me energized.
As recommended by " sisters " on this board i did take Atavan night before infusions, and made sure they included some in the "push-in" pre-infusion meds ( steroids etc) they give to help minimize or eliminate the nausea during the infusion.
I did Cold Caps as I did not want to call Attention to myself professionally by changing my hair style, which is long hair, usually worn in a bun, currently clipped at nape of neck.
I think I lost 15-18% of hair, had to make some adjustments to my bangs area. Others who did not cold cap seem to have lost more. I was determined to do everything I could to minimize hair shedding. I have to believe Cold Caps helped and were useful with CMF, the least toxic of the chemos. I had neulasta pods for 3 of my 4 infusions. The first two were fine, I think i had some Side Effects from the third, I would have to check my log which I don't have handy.
As RitaJean has assured you, from the time you post on this board throughout your journey you will never be alone. We will always be with you to offer advice, listen to your complaints, worries, side effects, no matter how trivial, we have all more or less been where you are, and the cumulative knowledge and experiences of all on this Board is awesome., especially how to deal with Side Effects.
a hug to you,
Windward0 -
Hi Wenrisa,
Doing the count down with you. Only two more rad sessions left.
It may feel strange not to have your day organized around getting to and from the hospital. Reclaiming your life will be an adjustment of sorts.Getting back in the groove can take time, and there is still the fatigue. I am 1 month over rads and I can still fall asleep some nights at 9:00. Of course with an 8 year old you don't have the luxury of doing that. You may have to build in naps for a while until your system gets used to working etc.. But that is nice problem to have!
Will be cheering for you at the finish line on Tuesday!!
Windward0 -
I met with my MO this morning. I had an allergic reaction to TC (throat swelled shut). He is giving me the option of 4 cycles of CMF or skipping chemo all together. He said the standard is to offer the chemo because I had a lymph node that was positive, but the chemo will only increase my survival rate by 4% given the size of my tumor. Is 4 months of CMF worth 4%? So torn. Ugh!
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Libby....How did your meeting with the doctor go and do you have an official plan of action now? I've been thinking about you and remembering how hard the "decision-making" time really was. I felt so much better when I'd finally decided what I was doing. I guess I felt like I had a little more control of the situation. Hugs to you! I hope you are at peace with your decision.
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Hi Rita!
I have a port placement scheduled tomorrow. I start chemo in June. I scheduled my treatments for Fridays so I can get back to work on Tuesday. Cyclophosphamide pills daily and MF weekly. My nurse navigator works directly with the Oncologist Dr. and she said I have a customized regimen (ie weekly). I asked the nurse about the MF and she said it was more of a "push". I still don't know exactly what that means. She was also unsure so she had to clarify with the Dr. The way she described it is they will inject through the port and that's it. No iv line? Will see what it all entails on June 3.
Had my chemo class a couple of weeks ago with a nurse practioner. I'm armed with 3 different nausea meds. Perchlorperazine, Lorazepam, and Ondansetron. one of them is generic for Zofran. All of them is take as needed. I guess it depends on how you feel. I plan to premedicate prior to infusion (push?) day.
I read someone took nause pills daily regardless if they were nauseated or not. Any advice? I know it's different for everyone but I want to be prepared. The nurse said it will be fast so I don't have time to read or preoccupy myself. I was all set to chew on ice and have my ice pops. lol. Will see!
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l_in_ca - I did my chemo via IV through my port but the only one of the meds that was in drip form was the C. The M and F were injections through the IV line. One took about 2 seconds the other they pushed a little slower. Like maybe 5 minutes. So it sounds like you might be there for just a short time weekly. I did my treatments every other week..
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Hi Sheri!
I didn't have the 28 day cycle either, I had 8 treatments every 3 weeks and seemed to tolerate it ok. I did have neulasta shots after 6 of my treatments but it wasn't a huge deal. I didn't lose all of my hair. Only me, my husband, and my hair dresser really could tell. I battled nausea and fatigue, but I think no matter what chemo regimen, we would battle those. There are good medications that can be given to help with the nausea. As for the fatigue, well, that accumulates over time and you will overcome it as we did.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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I've made it through rads pretty much unscathed. I have 1 treatment left, just one! They call tonight and say the machine went down this evening and not to cone tomorrow... Why now? I just wanted it over and done with!
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HI Libby,
I was advised by a wise sister on this Board to take anti- nausea pill at the very first tiny sign of nausea. I did ( Zofran) and it headed off any attack of nausea. Atavan in the push IV, is also a help.
Shout out to Wenrisa on her last day ( Tuesday) of radiation!! and Treatments.
You did it! " You didn't think you'd do it, do it, do it, You didn't think you do it , but indeed you did." ( the tune from from My Fair Lady). Yay for you!!
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Thanks Windward! It was a long hard road but I did make it! Thank to you all! I have one day of rads left and it sounds like it might not happen tomorrow (see my previous ranting post) but so close! I have a surgery appt scheduled to have my port out and then it's back to work after 7 months out of the office...
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Wenrisa!
Whether your last day of rads is today or tomorrow, the fact is YOU DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations.
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Wenrisa! It won't be long and you will be a "rad grad!" I am so happy for you that it's over and you can now work on finding your new normal in life. Life is good after the treatments! Hugs to you!
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thanks ritajean! I was able to get my final treatment in this afternoon after the machine was back up so I'm all done! Yea!
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Wenrisa, please stay in touch! Yay!!!! You are done!
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Winward-Thank you for the nausea meds advice!
Wenrisa-Congratulations on your final rad treatment.
Sheri-CT-My surgeon told me that i should not skip the chemo. He said this is your chance to do it otherwise the next time it is needed may be for something more serious. If this is whats needed to prevent recurrence, I'll do it. (probably because my margins were close and the size and shape of my tumor)
Im so envious of you all who have finished. I return to work next Tuesday and start Treatment that Friday. Hope I feel ok afterwards. So nervous of the unknown.
So funny that one of my nausea pills ( prochorperazine) also treats schizophrenia. I have 3 prescriptions for nausea. Still a little confused as what is the protocol for taking them. (lorazepam- 1 tab every 6 hours for anxiety, restlessness or for nausea, prochorperazine-1 tablet every 6 hours for nausea, ondansetron/zofran-2 tablets every 8 hrs as need for nausea-take on day 2 and 3 in each cycle). I have to confirm with the nurse as whats the one i should really take the day of treatment.
So far my port implant is doing ok. Still a little tender. Feels like something is tugging on my neck. I had to return to the Dr yesterday to get some superglue on the smaller incision as it opened up a little. The superglue actually feels like crazy glue. It will not wash off. Dr. says you can shower that same day of the surgery.
I didnt know this, but lab techs and phlebotomists are not allowed to access your port. If you want to have blood drawn from the port, you will need to make an appt with a nurse or Dr. Now I will have to see how convenient to arrange for that. I cant see myself getting weekly blood draws on my one arm. If at all maybe alternate between the port and the arm.
Have a great week everyone!
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Wenrisa, the worst is over, and you are still standing, and looking forward to returning to life as it was. Good going!
Libby, The lorazepam is Ativan and it helps relax your busy mind. Take it at night before infusions and ask for it in the meds they "push" in before whatever they will give you in the infusion drip. As for anti- nausea I guess you could ask your MO or PA which med they suggest you try first. I started with Zofran, and would have gone to compazine if needed. Why that order? Have no idea. If one does not give relief try another soon after.
I found taking ginger candy during infusion was helpful as was ginger tea. And they will tell you to drink lots of water and you should.
You will get lots of good advice here about whatever side effects you may get. Just let us know.
Good luck!0 -
I met with my new oncologist today and I will continue with chemo. I need 6 rounds of CMF (every 2 weeks). I will start on 6/7 and take Neulasta on 6/8 (my birthday.......ugh!).
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Sheri-CT - best of luck to you and happy early birthday!
Libby - ask the dr or nurse to confirm the order for the anti nausea meds. I started with the meds that windward mentioned but they didn't work for me at all. I actually ended up getting the sancuso patch which really helped me. It's a patch you keep on for 1week. I used that and I had the Compazine for any breakthrough nausea. And while the Ativan is usually given for anxiety it actually used to be the drug they gave for nausea before they had all these newer anti nausea meds so you can give it a try for that if needed. It really helped me after my first treatment when the Zofran/Compazine didn't work. Keep trying stuff till you find what works for you
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Thank you Wenrisa & Windward! I wrote some notes down when I spoke to the nurse the other day. I'll try the lesser of the three. if it doesn't help I will surely move on to the next one. The nurse said take one at least 30 minutes before appointment. How many days after infusion did everyone continued to use it. Is 2 days afterwards the norm?
My port implant surgery has healed nicely. Most have used Emla cream. I don't have a prescription for it but read that most of the ladies here used it. Is it painful if not applied prior to infusions?
sorry so many questions. I'm still on page 60 of this discussion topic.
Again I dont know this infusion process because the nurse keeps saying it's just 2 medications that are pushes. (injections into the port is my understanding) and no iv drip. Sounds like a quick weekly visit.
I'm hoping that having Friday treatments will be enough time to recover by Tuesdays. I return to work this Tuesday.
Happy Memorial Day Ladies! Libby
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Libby, I usually got any side effects from my infusions three days after the infusion. I learned to take Compazine the day of the infusion and continued to take it as prescribed until after the fourth day from the infusion. Everyone is affected differently from the chemo. Maybe you won't even have any nausea. I also discovered that Brach's Lemon Drops helped me with nausea. I went through several bags of them during the chemo days!
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Sheri, I think you will find the CMF chemo to be a little easier to tolerate. Are your counts down considerably right now? Is that why you have to have the neulasta shot after your firsts MF chemo? Some gals make it all the way through without neulasta. I had to have just one. I worried and worried about it because I had heard such gruesome tales about it and then I didn't have any side effects or problems at all with it. Good luck to you. Please come back often and keep us updated on how you are doing. We will be your cheerleaders!
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Sheri, I think you will find the CMF chemo to be a little easier to tolerate. Are your counts down considerably right now? Is that why you have to have the neulasta shot after your first CMF chemo? Some gals make it all the way through without neulasta. I had to have just one. I worried and worried about it because I had heard such gruesome tales about it and then I didn't have any side effects or problems at all with it. Good luck to you. Please come back often and keep us updated on how you are doing. We will be your cheerleaders!
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Libby - I used to get my infusions on Thursdays. Saturday and Sunday were my bad days where Ifelt tired and nauseous. As for the port access, I know some women used numbing cream but I never did and I never had any pain. It was just a little pinch when it went in and then nothing. It was very easy.
Sheri - I also had neulasta for each infusion. I didn't end up having any side effects from it. I was told to take Claritin the day of the infusion to a few days after. I took it for about 4 days... I think my dr gave it to me to prevent any low counts (and because my insurance would pay for it!)
Samantha
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Sheri, I had Neulasta for 3 of my 4 infusions. Tool Claritan before and during and after. I think total of 4 days each time. I got some swelling and muscle ache for a few days after, and one time after neulasta kicked in I got a little nausea, whoch responded to meds. As you have heard find the meds that work for you. Each of us got relief from different ones. And the MO's have a large number of drugs to offer. Just keep asking, insisting(?.)
In the weeks between my first and second infusion I drank so much water, I peed away too much sodium, and when I came for next infusion my sodium levels were so low, I had to have sodium infusion. MO thought I needed to see kidney doctor, until she figured out it was over doing the "drink water" orders. Moral of story, drink gatorade and Smart Water! Buy do drink a lot of fluid.
I too was okay on the first two days after infusion, well maybe spacey on day 2, and then tired for a couple of days after.
All who are just starting, keep in touch, rant, complain, question... we are here at , and on your side.
Hugs to you.0 -
Tomorrow is my first CMF day. I feel like it's initiation day. I'm on the other side of the fence looking at all you wonderful ladies who endured/conquered and those who are almost done the treatment and saying it's going to be ok. I'm just dreading that "first" visit not knowing what side effects will pop up. After weeks of reading a lot of posts I feel overwhelmed and thinking what can I do to overcome this fear. Thanks again for your advice everyone. I can DO this!
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Libby - good luck tomorrow! Take an Ativan before you go if you have some... Drink lots of fluids during and in the days after. Take the antinausea meds at the first sign you need them. And take it easy... You CAN do it!
Samantha
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Thank you Samantha!
Libby
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L in CA - hopefully you are finished with your first infusion and headed home. See...you CAN do this!
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Hello Ladies,
1 week done, 23 more to go. Happy to report that it was a 30 minute treatment from the saline drip and 2 separate med pushes. That was it! (Thanks Mandy & Samantha for the well wishes) Took zofran and asked the nurse if that was ok. she said usually zofran is taken the 2nd and 3rd day. well I'm glad I took it because it's been 5 hrs and still feeling normal. I just took the cytoxan pill just an hour ago because nurse said to take it a couple hrs after lunch. I'm drinking a lot of water and juice.
I was anticipating the pain from the port injection but only felt a small pinch. If that was it then I will not need the numbing cream.
ok just waiting for side effects to materialize. Happy Friday!
Libby
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Libby - glad the infusion went well! The nausea for me would hit on days 2 and 3 after I guess (Thursday infusion - Saturday/Sunday side effects). So I reccomend starting to take the anti nausea in that timeframe. If you don't feel well even after the course of meds call your dr and they can give you something else. They can experiment to find the right one..
Samanth
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