Anyone starting Chemo in Feb?

leahrc

Have to say, ZOFRAN rocks! It has been 24 hours, and there has been no queasiness to speak of. I have eaten 2 full meals, (had 1.5 bananas for lunch) and will have regular dinner. I will probably gain weight if this keeps up!
BTW, no decadron for me by my choice, and it looks like I won't need it. I react badly to that kind of steriod, so glad I asked to skip it.
Had the neulasta shot one hour ago.. They told me I might start feeling some flu-like symptoms in about 12 hours, so start taking Tylenol now. So I did. Will let all know tomorrow what this feels like.
So far, so good. I feel blessed. But in the way of all pessimists, everything will probably kick in for me on day 4 or something!

Primel

Thank you Leah for those infos, we are all wondering how you took this first round. If it is not asking too much, please let us know more every day... I am taking notes (I did not know the effects of Neulasta, for instance...).
Pamper yourself with the treats that appeal to you, and rest. Do you feel like walking? They say walking helps...??
Till next "report",
Hugs to all,
Catherine

linnieva

Catherine, thanks so much for the info on Avastin. I'm also pre-menapausal and my ER/PR both came back 100% positive so I'm thankful for that. I'll be on Tamoxifen after all is said and done.

Leah, I was very sorry to hear about your liver bx. Let us know how it goes on Tuesday with your onc. And thanks for the updates. I'm next for chemo. Start on Tuesday. I'm going to have to give myself shots of Neupogen which I'm dreading. I think it's cheaper than Neulasta. Someone on the Jan chemo board said that the Neulasta shots were $4K each. Unbelievable. Hope things continue to go well for you this weekend.

Marsha - I've beening thinking about you today in Florida and hope everything is ok and you're out having fun.

Love to all,
Linnie

horsegal

Linnie - I will be joining you on Tuesday! Will be my 1st as well. My onc is NOT recommending the neulasta - which I found at first like, why not?? but hey, if she feels like I don't need it after finding out all the side effects, ok by me!

I'm hoping that I can be as lucky as some others - not much of the queaziness. My onc said if I vomit once, maybe OK, but if twice, call her ASAP and they will get me other meds - no reason for it now. That made me feel better going in!

Thanks to all for sharing - this seems to make it easier - to have "friends" going thru it with you!

Jen

Pepper1073

I saw my oncologist yesterday. Had the incision reclosed today. Start chemo on February 22. Will see the surgeon who willl be putting the port in On Feb 12. Port will be in a few days later. I had asked my oncologist about the difference between port and power port. He had never heard of it. Can someone please tell me difference? Oncologist also said the put the port in the upper chest area. But I remember seeing on here that they were having theirs put in their arm because they had a bilateral mastectomy. So I am confused about this.

I am also a Linda Some people call me LuLu. So I will go by this on this site since we already have some Lindas

SammieKB

Ola to the Feb. chemo cruisers. I am glad to join you. If I have to do this and I do, it is good to have support on the journey. Let's do some serious cancer butt kicking!! I start chemo on Feb.13. My name is Kay and I live in Texas. I am a nurse, but seem to know less than some not in the medical profession. I will have Taxol for 12 weeks and then FAC once every 3 weeks for 4 doses. I will be getting a port put in on Monday,Feb. 5 and then start chemo the next week. My email address is SKBee2@aol.com. Anyone who wishes feel free to email me. I am somewhat techno-challenged when it comes to message boards and chat rooms. But thanks Marsha for directing me here. I will write down the names of all my fellow travelers. Hugs to all and just email me if I can do anything for anyone. I will keep checking this board.

SammieKB

Hi Karen,
My name is Kay and I will be having my first chemo on Tues. Feb. 13 (my granddaughter's birthday ). Let's keep in touch and compare notes. Are you having Taxol weekly or the Adriamycin every 3 weeks?

SammieKB

Piper,
The only ports I have seen were just below the collarbone on the chest. They tunnel it into a large central vein. This is better than trying to use a peripheral vein as they are small and more reactive to chemo. I am gettingmine Monday. Good luckand God bless, Kay.

SammieKB

Jen and Linnie,
I too am having my first chemo on Tues. My daughter's best friend is a lob girl too and she is finished her chemo, started last summer. She was given Nuelesta or whatever it is called and then she transferred to MDAnderson and the docs there do not use that unless the blood work done after chemo shows you need it. Because of the side effects, especially affecting the heart. Her first doc gave it with first chemo, but the doc at MD said he didn't like that. Don't want to cause any problems with second guessing your doc, but that is what I was told. Is anyone besides me starting on Taxol first and then when finished with that starting on AC. I had 4 cm tumor lobular with ER/PR+ HERnegative. I was stage 2 because of the size of the tumor. One speck of dye showed up in one SN. Had lymph node dissection(12nodes negaative).

linnieva

Welcome Kay! Looks like by your posting times that you were up quite late last night. So it's you, me, and Jen kickin' butt on Tuesday. I'm glad that we can support each other and make it thru this together. I haven't heard anyone mention that they were doing Taxol first. I'm still trying to learn the lingo. For example, what is the 'F' in FAC?

LuLu - I'm confused about the Port/Power Port also. I think I have a Power Port. The nurse at the hospital said they can do blood draws thru it but then at the oncs office I was told they don't do that unless they absolutely have to. Mine was inserted right below my collarbone. I only had pain the first night and since then I've been fine. Just a little tender where the incision is.

I'm off today to go to a new wig shop. I have one that I bought early on and another I picked up from ACS but neither look like me. Feel like it's Halloween. This new place has hairstylists so I'm hoping that I can get something that I'll feel comfortable wearing to work. This hair loss thing is a real pain in the butt. I ordered a couple of scarf-style hats for home and attachable bangs and I actually like them. The bangs really help the look.

Wishing all my fellow cruisers a Happy Saturday

Linnie

leahrc

Here is the web page for the Bard Access System's Power port. the advantage of this one over the older ones is that this one will take other things like CT scan imaging stuff and you can reverse it to take blood out. These are two major advantages since we will need blood taken each round and there will be CT scans in my case due to the spread of my disease. They will be doing them frequently, so I wil not have to have additional IV's.
Here is thewebsite..
http://www.bardaccess.com/port-powerport.php.
I have more information if you need it...

Love.

linnieva

Hi Leah,

How are you feeling on your 3rd day after your first treatment?

talbrig13

Hi, my name is Terry and I start my chemo on Feb 8th. I am 47, hve 4 kids ages 15 to 22. Diagnosed 12/8, lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy 12/28. ER/PR+, her2+, 1.2 cm, no node involvement, but oncotype was 47...Go for muga scan on Monday 2/5, 1st chemo is 2/8. They will assess my veins and then I will see a surgeon the following week for a port, if needed. We are doing carboplatin, taxotere and herceptin every other week for 4 1/2 months....Any one else doing carboplatin. It is not mentioned in the books I have read. Glad to have the support of this group and together we can do anything!

Primel

Terry, welcome to the chemo Feb Cruisers... We all hate to be here, but without this big mishap in our lives we would not be aware of all the wonderful women we discover on this site and are on the same boat (way too many, unfortunately).
Good luck with everything,
Catherine in Denver

linnieva

Terry,
Welcome to our group. It makes me so sad that everyday we have a new member. We're all here for you and will get through this together. I could be wrong but I think I've seen that combination of drugs on the Jan chemo site. I'm 48 yo and start chemo on 2/6 along with Jen and Kay. I'm ER+/PR+ but the jury is still out on the HER2 (it's borderline positive) so my complete plan is still a question. People speak of their oncotype# but I don't know what that is. If you could explain, I'd appreciate it.

Take care,
Linnie

leahrc

Ok, new combinaton of feelings. The Zofran is still working marvelously, but I do feel sleepy. I keep dozing off while reading or watching TV.
I took some Tylenols 625 mg (arthritis strenght) to potentially head off anything from the Neulasta shot, but those seem to be not sitting well, Have some heartburn from them and an upset tummy, which is different from nausea feelings.
The neulasta pain is not what I would call pain, It feels more like little jolts of electricity along a bone that lasts ofr a few seconds. SO far, totally bearable.
Write with questions- not sure what anyone wants to know?
Thanks for being out there, you all...

talbrig13

Linnie,
Oncotype testing is a way to test er+ tumors for its risk of recurrence. It is a test done by Genomic Health in California. They have a website: www.oncotypedx.com if you want to check into it.
I will check out the Jan group to see what it there...thank you.

marshakb

Hey Catherine, just a quick note to let you know the storms here were about 30 miles from where I am in Florida. My husband and I slept through the whole stormy night, didn't even know we'd had rain till we woke up the next morning and saw the news. I appreciate you being concerned about me! I have actually had a fairly normal weekend, spent the day with friends, had dinner and drinks and just cut up like in "my old life" LOL. I'll post more tommorrow and catch up with everyone, welcome to all the new Feb Chemo Cruisers, I am looking forward to getting to know you all. Leah, glad to hear you are hanging in there. Hugs, Marsha

swimmingmom

Leah, Your posts have been a great help and education. I have a question. Are you getting the Neulasta every time or just when you need it? I have heard two theories on this. When you doze off is it for just 20 min or so and you wake up refreshed or do you feel tired all the time?

I do hope Kim is OK.

Welcome to everyone new to the group. I will make out a new list with all the new people, maybe tomorrow. Believe it or not I am remodeling a bathroom this weekend.

Seems like a lot of us are about the same age, I am 47.

swimmingmom

Marsha,
How do you do the picture?? How do you get it to 80X80? Karen

SammieKB

Linnie-The FAC is 5fu(a chemo drug), adriamycin and cycrophosphomide(excuse spelling, having trouble reading doctor's writing. Are there any websites for ordering scarves or hats with bangs etc.? We don't seem to have anything like that here in the town where I live.

Leah, hope you are feeling better. Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest. Thanks for the information re: ports.

Terry- Welcome, sorry to meet under these circumstances, but thankful for the support of this group.

Katherine - I visited the website of your precious pups. They are precious. Sorry for your loss. I have cats, but know that dogs are much more interactive. I wish I had a dog, but right now don't have time to invest in a new one. You are blessed. We have the same chemo date I believe, which is Feb. 13. I wish you blessings and comfort. Kay

linnieva

Karen - I can't imagine going thru what we're going thru and not feeling the way you do. Everyday things do seem trivial when you're faced with something as serious as we are. It's hard listening to the "normal" stuff, especially at work where everything is a "crisis" and I'm thinking, "who cares... I have bc and don't give a rat's a.." It's like I've become bc, it's my identity, and I hate that. It's on my mind pretty much every minute of the day. I try to keep a "whole world perspective" but I'm sorry to say that I fail most of the time. Maybe it'll get better once we're further along. I hope so.

On the other hand, I've met many extraordinary caring people along this new journey and that makes up for some of the bad stuff.

When I start to get upset with someone, I remind myself of this meditation quote "Everyone is doing their best from their own state of consciousness".
And, remember, we all have each other and we understand.

Have a good night,

Linnie

linnieva

Kay,
I ordered some things from headcovers.com and was pretty pleased. They carry it all (wigs, hats, hats/with hair, bangs, sleep caps, eyebrows). I saw a wig today at a shop that was $725; headcovers had the same one for $399.

Linnie

Primel

Karen, it took me a few trials: first you open the picture you want to use in Microsoft Photo Editor (if this is what you use), with the Crop tool, select the part of the picture you want, so it's not too minuscule. Once you are happy with the "dotted frame" aroung the picture, select Image -> Crop -> OK, save that new picture as whatever you want, then go to Image --> Resize, choose pixels as the unit of measurement and enter 80 in the largest dimension of your picture (if not square exactly, can be the width or the height). Save again, that should do it... Hope to see you soon, then...

Marsha, so relieved to hear you were sleeping like babies...

Catherine

Primel

Karen, I am usually pretty quick to be a bit too critical or sarcastic (thinking humor is my way out of everything, but not everybody appreciates the nuances... I do not call people names, though... not yet...), and, curiously, since my dx on Dec. 18 (although in the back of my mind for most of 2006) I found myself very calm, zen, I'd say, and spontaneously friendly to people around me, whether on my walks with Toby, my sweet doggy, or in the hospital environment, to the dentist that tortured me, etc... To tell you the truth, I never could take things seriously enough to get mad, aware as I've always been of the relative and fragile nature of everything (maybe it's because I had polio when I was 5, and had to watch life go by for a while rather than jumping into it to join my classmates). The thing is, having BC does not change the final outcome: life is an adventure nobody gets out alive (tell these poor families who lost young, healthy fiends and relatives in the Florida storm, just yesterday...). It's a platitude, but it is a fact, so I do not perceive myself as being more "mortal" than anybody else... chances are we'll die for reasons other than BC when we are older, and thousands of people will leave their houses on Monday morning and won't make it back that day because of accidents... Life is a lotery, and those "nitwits" and their trivial little conversations and big dramas may have less life ahead of them than we do with our BC dx, they just forgot this little existential detail of our human nature (lucky them...). Don't be upset at yourself (and not too much at others -- now, incompetence is agravating, I grant you that), it takes real adjustment... I hope chemo is not going to spoil my mood too much (I dread the chemical yoyo our brain goes through). At least, I'll be able to follow the game since I go through 3 hours of testing next Thursday (cognitive functions, memory, verbal abilities, multitasking abilities, etc.) as a participant to an on-going study here in Denver about "chemo brain" (is it chemo or is it menopause??!! that's the question they try to elucidate). They repeat the tests 3 and 9 months after chemo (each test is followed by an MRI of the brain). Results won't be out for years, I am afraid...
Cheers,
Catherine

Primel

Hi, Kay, I am glad you liked the site... this took you through a lovely part of France. BTW, Pippin was from the Houston SPCA (adopted in 1991).
Although French, I lived 11 years in Houston (82-93), and I enjoyed our life there very much (my husband moved there with his parents from PA when he was 8, but never got this lovely accent people have there -- I think I have more a
texas accent than he does). His children and grand-children live in Houston and San Antonio. We loved Austin and the hill country, the bluebonnets, sailing in Clear Lake in January... shrimp boils in Galveston... you name it. When in France (93-2005), we went as far as having H2O smokers shipped to us to do ribs and would have GoodCompany BBq sauce shipped, too: big success with neighbors and friends invited to share the BBQ... My first BC scare was in Houston in 87... Which part of this beautiful state do you live in?
Wishing you the best,
Catherine (now in Denver, not quite the same temperatures, but love the climate!)

leahrc

I am getting the Neulasta every time because we are doing dose dense- every two weeks. I think it is "required" that way in dose dense.
The sleepiness seems to just come in 20 minute naps, although I have been sleeping well at night. Didn't think I would with all the naps, but a five hour stretch is my norm, and I had that both nights so far.
wasn't able to eat dinner that was prepared last night, so I had some dry cereal and seltzer. As Catherine says, whatever my body wants.
Since I had so much contrast medicine in two weeks, I have been constipated. I took the normal laxative yesterday morning, and still haven't gone. Damn. I hate this part, bowels always used to work great.
Woke up this a.m. feeling ok. Hopefully I will have a good day and can go to work tomorrow.
Work for me is "therapy"- i can make hours fly by, which has been a great thing since dx.
Again, ask anything. Happy Sunday!

NarberthMom

Once again, welcome to the new Februrary Chemo-cruisers. At this point, I don't know whether to be depressed at how many there are of us or pleased to have so many wonderful women with which to share this journey.

I'm getting anxious to hear about MRI-guided biopsy results from the "other" breast. Everyone keeps reassuring me that it will be benign, but I'll feel better knowing for sure. I should get the results sometime on Monday.

Leah -- Thanks so much for these updates! Your attitude is very inspiring for those of us yet to start!

Karen -- You're right that many of us are the same age ... I just turned 49 last week. Still very much pre-menopausal, though tumor is ER/PR/HER2 negative.

CatherineH -- I'm also finding myself a bit more zen-like, though it may have to do with the vast amounts of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills I'm taking!

Katherine and Kay -- I'll be starting on the 13th as well. We'll be fellow cruisers!

Kim -- How are you??? We're all anxious to know ...


Today is the day that my husband and I decided that we'll finally tell our six-year old son. We're both dreading it.

Last night we told my 24-year old step son, who lives in the area. He's back in school full-time taking pre-med courses and is also very busy studying for MCATs, so we probably won't be able to rely on him for help until late spring.

I've told three of my closest friends. I have no family in the area -- just two sisters who live in Florida. We're going to start telling some neighbors, mostly as back-up help if my husband has to work and I'm to tired/sick to take care of son. We'll also tell my husband's ex-wife, who lives a few blocks away. We actually have a good relationship (share holidays, etc.) and I imagine that she'll be a big help.

On a more amusing note, I got my long (below shoulder-length) hair cut short in anticipation of losing it all. I also got it colored, just for a lark. My hair had been slowly going salt and pepper, probably half-and-half. Well, I can't begin to tell you how many compliments I've gotten! Folks tell me that I look at least 10 years younger -- I should have done this 10 years ago! After this ordeal is over, I'll probably stick to the coloring and shorter style.

I'm signed up for a LGFB session on March 5th. I don't normally wear makeup, but figure it might help. Who knows, maybe that too will change my life. Next you know, I'll have a wardrobe makeover!

In fact, that's not a bad idea -- free wardrobe makeovers for all BC sisters after chemo!

-- Hillary

marshakb

Karen, I updated your list, so we have an idea where everyone is on this cruise!

1. Karen (sween) Ohio, Chemo start 2/15, port 2/15
2. Hillary (narberthmom), chemo 2/13, MRI bx 2/1
3. Marsha (marshakb), Florida, chemo __ feb, port 1/25
4. Melody (maj01), Texas, 2/5 port, 2/9 chemo
5. Phyllis (erinsgram), Mid Feb
6. Cynthia (cynthis1962), California, 2/6 port, 2/13 chemo
7. Linnie was Linda #1(linnieva), Virginia, 2/6 chemo, port in on 1/29
8. ? (wayover20), chemo 2/8, big birthday on 2/11 and need for hugs!
9. Catherine (catherineH), Colorado, __ Feb
10. Leah (leahrc), Massachusetts, bx on 1/29, chemo on 2/1 our first to start us off, + thoughts! surgery in March
11. Linda (LindaSuzy), Seattle, 1/29 surgery, chemo late Feb
12 Kim (nynurse), NY, start 2/1 also our first of the group, + thoughts
13. Mary (Reggio113) South Jersey, Port 2/5 chemo 2/14 (Happy Valentines)
14. Jen (HorsegaL, Ohio, chemo 2/6
15. laronson, surgery the week of Feb 5th
16. LuLu (Piper) (actually Linda #3), Port 2/12, chemo 2/12
17. Kay (KayBeeson) Port on 2/5, chemo 2/13
18. Terry (talbrig13), Muga MOnday 2/5, chemo 2/8

Hope everyone is doing well. Love to my sisters, Marsha

Primel

Leah, do you take Colace to help alleviate the constipation (it seems pretty efficient and fairly innocuous). After surgery (the 10th of January), I was on Vicodine (only one pill every 6 hours), but nobody warned me about the constipating effect (a condition unknown to me), and I was pretty distressed, and they recommended in the end to try that. I guess you drink as much plain water (no sweet sodas) and fresh juice as you can and eat veggies (lettuce, leeks, apples... dry prunes). I have been mixing almost unsweetened cranberry juice (tart!) with orange juice (not from concentrate), I think it may help too (plus cranberry juice is good for you). Now, I did not start chemo yet, so I do not know what your onc would recommend for not interfering with treatment. Do you take walks? It may help, too, and some deep breathing/stretching in a calm spot at home... (breathe with your belly). Hope relief is near... Enjoy your Sunday.

Hillary, so far, I never took anti-depressants, hope not to have to, but they seem to help many here, though... It's good to know that I did not fire all my ammunitions, yet, keep the strong stuff for the toughest times...
Hugs to all for an enjoyable Sunday (warming up nicely here...)
CatherineH