Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Smile2006, put your feet higher than your head for a while and see if they go down. I have had problems with swollen feet and ankles for years because of my hysterectomy It helps but of course when you stand again they will swell again. I told my doc I was going to start walking on my hands and he said your hands and wrists will just swell then. He suggested I wear support stockings and not just the kind you buy in the pantie hose section. I wear firm stockings I get at the Medical Supply place and it has made a lot of difference in the way my legs and feet feel and they do not swell like they did unless I go without them for a while. Also try to limit your sodium intake which is hard when you are on chemo because they give that to you with the tx.
Bold I asked my onc if I could take anything to help this blood problem and he said it would not help. I will ask him specifically about the Q10 this time. They are very big on not taking anything except a multi vit and calcium when you are taking chemo including Herceptin. They say they are trying to kill the dividing cells and when you take extra vit then you are encouraging the growth. I am ready to do something to get rid of my dizziness and my breathing problems. I also go to my cardiologist for the results of the stress test Wed. and I will ask him what he thinks too. Then it is off for my Herceptin and Procrit. I sure hope my blood count is up more now.
Shadow, you belong here. I know you will get lots of encouragement from these women. the ones that are doing the tx and the ones just finishing will probably be a lot of help but you know I have forgotten a lot of stuff since I finished. I guess our minds are just wired that way. I do know "WATER" is very inportant to you right now. Not just a sip but as much as you can drink even if you have to flavor it with something like juice. there are different things you can use to make it taste different. it keeps your bowels moving and it helps your skin too. You need to get the poison out of your system as soon as you can after the treatment. I have a friend that had a lot of chemo. He was not taking the same stuff as us but he was not told to drink a lot of water and it damaged one of his kidneys. He is doing good but if you can prevent that you must. I am sure most will tell you the same thing and also the docs & nurses.
have a good rest of the weekend all, I hope it will be a good one for all.
gramma23
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Good Morning from the Sunny West coast, It is beautiful today.
Smile: Rezok has got a memory like a steel trap. I do have swelling issues and still do.Tons( that paints a pretty picture, your so funny) It is from both the steroid and the taxotere. But is supposed to resolve 5 weeks post chemo. I am wondering why you are having it now. I have some viscosities that mightbe exacerbating the swelling. My bold key is stuck. Maybe it is because of my name. I would be most concerned about you heart if you have swelling. Did they check that when you were at the emergency room? Do you feel any shortness of breath. Tiring quicker than usual? Are you hand swollen too? You can also check your weight to see if you have gained watr weight. I am a P.A. and these are the questions that I would ask if you came to see me. I think that your onc. was wrong about the blood clot as it would be in only one leg and would be hot to the touch. Please elevate them and stay off your feet for long periods. I wish I could help more. Let me know about the follow through. I'm not sure that everyone could follow that 5 week rule we are all so different. Best luck I will be thinking of you.
I have my first herceptin alone on Monday first time without toxic foam. YIPPPIEIIIII!
Lisa: I am wondering where you read or heard about the herceptin and hair I can not find it any where. Maybe I just do not want to believe it.
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
Cupcake: Hope your doing well our thoughts and prayers are with you. It is not an easy surgery and I know that rest is very important. I am hoping that it went without a hitch. And you are healing and growing hair.
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Bold - If you go to the Herceptin website, they say "does not usually cause hair loss. But if you go to the HER+ section on this board, many report slow hair growth and thin hair. I just found this post:
Feb 4, 2009 08:46 am juliejfsrj wrote:
I received Herceptin every three weeks for one year. I did not do chemo. I almost always had bad diarrhea the next day. Became very fatigued which increased with more treatments. About halfway through, I was dragging myself around at work, and would fall into these wonderful deep sleeps anytime I sat down for a length of time.
I lost hair. Mostly around the hairline and the top of my head. Not bald, just very thinned out. I never thought I was a hairy person until I lost all the hair on my arms and even facial hair. Eyebrows and lashes also thinned out..
My skin would become ghostly pale about four or five days after herceptin, everyone commented. Those were also the days I was most fatigued. My fingernails have thinned and the skin around them cracks open and won't heal.
Since she did not receive chemo, the hair loss had to be from Herceptin.
As for me, my hair grew very fast before chemo - When wearing my hair lighter than my natural shade, I could not go over 3.5 weeks without a touchup on the new growth. Tomorrow I will be 12 weeks post chemo and I still have bare spots on my head. But on the upside, not much gray to report.
Lisa
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BOLD: He did ask me about shortness of breath and tire easily, but I have not experienced either of those symptoms. I am tired..but not shortness of breath. I also have a very salty taste in my mouth....I am figuring it is water retention at this point. They do not hurt..just look funny to me. Stay off my feet....who has time for that???
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Bold: come on you know you just want to yell at us ..lol..... First joke I have been able to crack
Shari~ Sit down and put your feet up.
I have heard that herceptin slows down hair growth also
Bold didn't you have shooting nerve pain with taxotere ??? I have nerve pain that is shooting thru my back that is driving me crazy (in pain).
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It has been so busy here, that I'm not keeping up. So many new campers here. I hope that is because more oncs are using TCH instead of the more damaging AC-TH.
I'm two months out from my last chemo treatment and I finished rads last week. I've got some mild burns from that but I hope they will stop hurting in short order. Rads has been much easier than chemo. If chemo was an 8 in terms of impact on my life, rads has been a 1 or 2. So any of you who have rads coming after chemo, use lots of aloe vera and lotion and try not to worry.
I just had a blood test. My magnesium is holding at the bottom of the normal range. White cells and platelets were both recovered from chemo - solidly in the normal range.
RBC and Hemoglobin had fallen back to chemo levels - not down to the point of needing a transfusion but I had hoped they would be better by now. I've read that rads can cause that - though I haven't seen an explanation why - after all, they aren't radiating any of my big bones. I guess rads just kills them off too fast for the bone marrow to keep up. And my creatine is still high (kidneys - time to drink more water I guess) and my bilirubin is high now too for the first time (that's liver?).
I see my onc on Monday and I'll have to ask about that. Despite all that, I'm feeling pretty good. Hair and Herceptin, I've seen people saying Herceptin slows hair growth, but then the people on hormone therapy say that slows hair growth. I haven't seen anything definitive. Maybe hair for everyone grows in more slowly after chemo than we would like.
Lisa, what does the new avatar mean?
On another thread, someone said nails take a year to grow - is that really true? Will it take a year for the chemo cycle ripples to grow out? Please say it isn't so. I don't know why, but I find them more annoying than the hair. Maybe because they are always where I can see them and feeling the roughness bothers me too. I probably shouldn't complain because at least I didn't lose any nails.
Shadow, I think that Taxol's SEs are similar enough to Taxotere's that you will find it helpful here and you are welcome to join our happy band of campers.
Bold, my hair is coming in slowly but surely and it has some of its old color back now. It's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long - growing slower than the typical half an inch per month (and I think pre-chemo that my hair grew faster than typical) but growing. I'm going without head coverings pretty much all the time now. Hair coverage is really good on the sides and back where my hair lays down. Not quite as good on top where the hair trys to stand straight up but most of my scalp is hidden. The exception is my temples - I had a white streaks at the temples before chemo and white hair doesn't cover as well. I think in a couple of months it will look like a nice short hair cut.
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Bluedasher - I do not agree with "one year for nail growth". Just my professional and personal opinion. I say 6 to 9 months.
My new avatar is the celtic symbol for: Female Empowerment; Mother, Daughter and Earth; and The Father the Son and The Holy Ghost. In Celtic it is Triquerra.
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Here's another question about nails:
I am in the garden for several hours at a time, usually five to seven hours, one day a week. Two weeks ago, I worked for nearly eight hours. (We live on a large parcel and the bc treatments put us way behind this year.) My fingers usually ache after a day in the garden, but last weekend I noticed what looks like bruising on a few of my finger nails. Today, after only two hours of gardening, those reddened areas are tender--like a bruise--if I put any pressure on the nail.
Does this mean I am going to lose these nails?
Blue Dasher - I had 5 days of external radiation before chemo and my RBC were low when measured five days after treatment.
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Jermiah: I had shooting pains in my feet. The bone pain I got (bad) was from the nurlasta. Right now I am with Rezok I want the swelling to stop. I can not stay on my feet to long My legs and feet and ankles get huge.
I hope that it is not across the board about the hair. But whatever. GRRR. Well I am going to put my feet up. Have a great night. Blue your hair is my goal.
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CaliforniaCloud,
those bruises on your nails are the side effects of the taxotere, after round 4, I started to get them on 5 of my finger nails and the corners of my big toes. My oncologist said it's normal, it will go away after chemo. Try to keep your nails short, they won't necessary fall off. You should wear gloves if you work in the garden to prevent infection, you nails are not intact to the nailbed at this time, it's very easy for bacteria to get in there. Once it gets infected, that's when the nail falls out. The achy feeling is part of the tingling, numbness that everyone talks about, if it gets severe, the oncologist can prescribe neurontin, that too will go away after the last treatment. You should not be too concern.
REKoz,
i'm going for my last round of TCH tomorrow too, it's my #6, and I get them every 3 weeks, then I'll have 11 Herceptin given every 3 weeks until the end of the year.
I had my nails done yesterday, and both of my middle fingernails are black, the rest of the fingers either have pinkish spots or brown spots on them, every unsightly. I put dark polish on them to cover up.
Good luck ladies!
Cil.
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Just an early morning observation - If one were to go back and count, the bulk of the regulars on this thread reside in California. Hmmm......
Sorry to read that so many of you are having trouble with your nails. Guess I need to stop complaining about slow hair growth. My nails got very brittle and my recent camping trip tore them up, but they never fell off or turned black. Just that slight yellow color Bluedasher and I spoke of several pages back.
I have had a head cold for the past few days. I hope that won't interfere with my herceptin today.
Cupcake: I hope all is well with your recovery.
Have a great day all.
Lisa
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I had very low RBC counts with radiation, had to have a transfusion but the rad doc said that the rad did not cause that. He told me only the sores was caused by rad. I had read on the radiation post where the docs always think rad does not cause anything but I know better. My chemo onc said it was my body trying to heal the sores. I had heard that if you had Lupus you could not take rad. I guess even though I do not have Lupus but high ANA and the fibromyalgia which is an auto immune problem as is the arthritis then I had a harder time with burns. Everyone else I talked to had an easy time. Well one lady who was diabetic had a bad time but hers was colon cancer. I hope anyone who is getting ready for radiation will do well.
I was told not to dig in the dirt while on chemo and not to even mess with my potted indoor plants because of bacteria. I lost nearly all my indoor plants to freeze and only had 3 inside. I water them but I did not do anything else to them.I had to get rid of all pets etc. I didn't have any of my own but was keeping my son's dog and fish but he came and got them. I really enjoyed the dog but she was high energy so I could not have kept up with her exercise and training anyway.
My hair is starting to grow a little faster and I am wondering if it is because my RBC are coming up with the Procrit shots. I know your hair grows better and thicker if you are healthy. My nails are mostly grown off and it has been just over 5 months. My nails grew fast even while on the chemo. I thought that was strange. I have heard others say the same thing. My book says you should not use the acetone for the nails while you are taking the chemo as it will make them come off. Others have made it through chemo and had their nails done and then lost them. Everyone is different but I just kept mine clipped short. They would break at the lines once they grew out to that area anyway.
I can't keep up with all the new ones either but I am so happy for those that are finishing with tx. and I know the new ones can do it too.At times it does not feel like it but you can.
gramma23
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Nails seem to grow fast. The line in my nail, assuming I got it with the first Taxotere treatment 3 mos ago, is half way up my nail bed. So it should only take 5-6 mos for any discoloration at the bottom to grow out completely.
I was told, like Cil, to keep them short and to wear gloves doing garden work. Also, to keep a coat of 'Hard as Nails' clear polish on them.
Speaking of gardening. With my new life with BC, I'm leery of using weed killer. I used to spray it on the rock surrounding my front yard. I guess I could get my daughter to do the spraying, but for the weeds growing through my flagstone patio in the back, I need a natural week killer. I've heard vineger is good. Anyone have experience with it? Any other suggestions?
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Denali, to kill the weeds pour boiling water on them. My father-in-law did this all the time. That was also his cure for fire ant mounds - which we are famous for in FL.
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So much good info yesterday and today.
Smile2006 -- my left knee started swelling yesterday so I put ice on it, kept it elevated, and changed the shoes I was wearing, and upped my water intake. So far this morning it's behaving and is normal size.
I'm jealous of all you that can do things they like. My list of don'ts seems to get bigger each week. I can garden but only with gloves, sun screen, bug spray, and long sleved shirt w/ long pants. So I just direct DH about where to put stuff. I am not allowed to camp this year if the mosquitos are infesting the area, no horseback riding. I can keep my pets but when my white counts tank I have to wear a mask and gloves to put them out -- no petting the dogs. No biking because I might fall and get cut up.
My nails are alright so far but the cuticles look brittle. I have a petroleum based conditioner that I can use on them along with nail oil (the kind they use for acrylic nails).
My onc told me that I might not loose my hair because of the herceptin (I had a ton of thick hair) but it fell out after thinning first.
While all this is really just a temporary pain in the you-know-where the alternative is not acceptable.
Prayers and good wishes to all.
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No petting your dogs????? I've never heard anythng similar to that. Goodness, my dogs sleep with me and take naps on my couches. I even asked my vet if there was anything I could catch from them while on chemo and she said no.
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Denali -- I should have stated that I have big big dogs that get into everything and roll in just about everything. The seem to know that it's not by choice that they don't get as much lov'n right now. When I have my gloves on they get all the petting and rubbing I can give them.
Belle and Zeus are Great Pyreneese dogs and Dixie is a Shepherd/Rotwiler/something small mix.
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mln: I'm in Tampa, too. I get my treatments at Moffitt Cancer Center. I wish you the best. Sorry you are here, but it's a good group. You will get lots of support.
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So glad you found a way to get the lovin' in, Shannon!
Mine are 2 German Shepherds so I know what you mean about big! I don't know what I'd do without them. Oh, and I remembered that I'd asked 2 oncologists about the dogs when I began chemo and both said no problem.
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Shannon, I rode my horse all thru treatment. I would have lost my mind to have that stress releiver taken from me. On pet restrictions I did NOT clean out my cat's litter box or my parrot's cage. But my dogs continued to sleep with me. And I was very careful around the barn to not do anything where I might get cut or scrapped. My tx was thru the winter, so I always had on long sleeves, so that helped. My blood counts tanked very low and I never got any bug or virus during treatment.
I am in my herceptin tx now, trying to releive boredom. Appt. was for 9:45, got the drip started at 10:45. Looks like it will be just over 90 minutes for the drip.
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Lynnmom... When do you get your tx and at which Moffitt Center? I'm due for TCH #2 tomorrow at Moffitt South (Davis Island) about 10:30 AM.
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If having my dog around me during all this is wrong, I'm in trouble. My family calls her my "chemo partner". She's right next to me in the bed the whole time!
Lots of Tampa Ladies here! I'm over at Florida Onco. off of MLK, near St. Joe's.
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Hi, Magnola... I'm not sure where that is since I commute to Moffit from Lake Placid, but yes, there are quite a few Bay area ladies.
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I just returned from my first rad treatment and so far the worst is that my nose starts to itch the minute I am not allowed to move! If that is the worst that happens I will be in heaven.
My fingernail issues are still with me as a reminder of chemo.Three have turned white and could lift if I tried ( I haven't). I am keeping them very short and put vitamin e on them but I haven't been as good as I should have been about wearing gloves when I have them in water. Of course they have lots of ridges and look wierd but, like gramma, I am afraid the acetone in polish remover will dry them out even more. I didn't have any problems until I put polish on them pre tx 6. So I would recommend keeping the nails short and oiled. No polish. My onc told me that this whole nail gift is courtesy of taxotere.
I read an article in Parade magazine about how chemo was discovered through the use of mustard gas in WWI.! Wow, that was enlightening!
I never heard anything about not petting my 100 pound yellow lab during chemo. We both would have been so sad as he has been my faithful, caring friend during this whole BC ordeal. I was told not to change kitty litter or clean bird cages or have fresh flowers or dig in dirt during chemo. Especially when my white blood count was low and I never had a problem. Actually, I was really lucky and never got any illness during chemo unlike some of the other women on this thread. It is hard to stay well if you have young childrenl when they are bringing every bug home from school etc.
There are now signs all over the Cancer Center warning people to wash their hands. Luckily the center is separate from the hospital so we are not quite so exposed. Remember to use your hand sanitizer all the time.I suppose that it can dry out your nails as it has alcohol in it but it is better than contracting the dreaded flu. I got some non-alcohol sanitizer at Target but then I read somewhere that you should use sanitizer with alcohol to insure all the germs are killed So now I am confused......
So much conflicting information it is sometimes hard to know what to do! So do what feels right for you...I am a strong believer in doing what your gut tells you is right.
Cupcake, I hope that you are on the fast road to recovery. Thinking of you all the time.
I hope everyone that is having chemo this week are feeling strong and have few se's. Every one who has finished I hope that you are making a speedy recovery towards the new "normal". Actually the new "normal" is a good place for me, I am happy to be alive and try to appreciate the beauty in every day. I am easier on myself and others. I am more relaxed and I don't worry too much about the future. I am living in the moment and it is a good place to be. That is one of the lessons that BC has taught me.
Love,
maja0 -
I just returned from my first rad treatment and so far the worst is that my nose starts to itch the minute I am not allowed to move! If that is the worst that happens I will be in heaven.
My fingernail issues are still with me as a reminder of chemo.Three have turned white and could lift if I tried ( I haven't). I am keeping them very short and put vitamin e on them but I haven't been as good as I should have been about wearing gloves when I have them in water. Of course they have lots of ridges and look wierd but, like gramma, I am afraid the acetone in polish remover will dry them out even more. I didn't have any problems until I put polish on them pre tx 6. So I would recommend keeping the nails short and oiled. No polish. My onc told me that this whole nail gift is courtesy of taxotere.
I read an article in Parade magazine about how chemo was discovered through the use of mustard gas in WWI.! Wow, that was enlightening!
I never heard anything about not petting my 100 pound yellow lab during chemo. We both would have been so sad as he has been my faithful, caring friend during this whole BC ordeal. I was told not to change kitty litter or clean bird cages or have fresh flowers or dig in dirt during chemo. Especially when my white blood count was low and I never had a problem. Actually, I was really lucky and never got any illness during chemo unlike some of the other women on this thread. It is hard to stay well if you have young childrenl when they are bringing every bug home from school etc.
There are now signs all over the Cancer Center warning people to wash their hands. Luckily the center is separate from the hospital so we are not quite so exposed. Remember to use your hand sanitizer all the time.I suppose that it can dry out your nails as it has alcohol in it but it is better than contracting the dreaded flu. I got some non-alcohol sanitizer at Target but then I read somewhere that you should use sanitizer with alcohol to insure all the germs are killed So now I am confused......
So much conflicting information it is sometimes hard to know what to do! So do what feels right for you...I am a strong believer in doing what your gut tells you is right.
Cupcake, I hope that you are on the fast road to recovery. Thinking of you all the time.
I hope everyone that is having chemo this week are feeling strong and have few se's. Every one who has finished I hope that you are making a speedy recovery towards the new "normal". Actually the new "normal" is a good place for me, I am happy to be alive and try to appreciate the beauty in every day. I am easier on myself and others. I am more relaxed and I don't worry too much about the future. I am living in the moment and it is a good place to be. That is one of the lessons that BC has taught me.
Love,
maja0 -
I just thought of another reason to have dogs around during chemo. I had to go to the hospital infusion center for my blood transfusion last Friday and they had THERAPY dogs come in to visit!
Being the dog person I am, I loved it. Each dog had a calling card to give out with their photo and telling about them. Cool, huh?
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I am a HUGE pet person. Any pet, you name it. I think our pets keep us mentally healthy. My shi-tzu "Bear", was my constant companion during tx. He never left my side, literally, My golden retriever "Jake" was my protector. No one entered my house without Jake announcing and inspecting - he actually would growl! Goldens do not growl!. This was not normal behavior prior to my tx. Me and my boys would lay in bed on tx week and watch videos, think about food and grumble. We loved each other and depended on each other (Mom,. you STILL need to take us out!). My shi-tzu is actually upset that tx is over cause he does not have his mommy lying around every day!
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I need some help! After tx 3 I have had an allergic reaction to something, I am now on my 5th day of very annoying hives. At first they thought it was from the Neulasta but now they think it maybe from the Taxotere or the carboplatin. Bottom line they don't seem to know. If it is from the Neulasta I can try the chemo without the neulasta shot but that leaves me open to every bug that is around or they can do daily shots. If it is from the Tax or Carb they hope to treat it as we go with steroids and benadryl. I have been on both for the last 5 days, for most people benadryl makes you sleepy not me it keeps me up all night! So if you need to talk to someone I'm there for you at 3:00 a.m.! Has anyone else had this problem or do you know where I can find some answers.
I have a black lab when I crash from the chemo he sits or lays right by me and will just put his head on my arm or leg any other time he demands to be petted!
Hope everyone is having an itch free night!!
Karen
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I just got through treatment #3 today, halfway through now, only 3 chemo left and then continuing on with the herceptin. This time I didn't have any severe drug reactions to the taxotere like the first 2 times! I had 2 hours worth of pre-meds before my treatments. I was there all day again for the blood work, talk with the doc and then 6 hours with the pre-meds and treatment. A little tired, gonna head off to bed now...
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Christy - Congrats on the halfway mark. It sure feels good, huh? I have chemo #4 on Wednesday. I am so looking forward to getting this one under my belt. What am I talking about? I am happy to get each and every one under my belt! Wishing a great three weeks until your next chemo.
To all the Pet Lovers - I never heard a word about not caring for, or having my pets around me. I heard or read somewhere about cleaning the litter box and tried to stay away from it. My husband is an absolute dream of a guy who will do anything for me or our pets, but he just isn't the greatest at frequently cleaning the litter boxes. One day, my little kitty crying for a clean box and hubby was away from the house. Reality hit me that if I was a single woman with two cats, I would be cleaning the boxes, so I gloved up and cleaned the box.
Karen - I take the daily Neupogen shots at home. It is a breeze. I take them for six days following chemo. The only thing I would recommend is that you get the pre-filled injectables. I was initially given the vials and syringes, but it was a hassel; the injectables are much better.
I have read that higher doses of Benadryl can cause excitability. Cil236 is a pharmacist, maybe you can PM her for some answers.
Comment about hand sanitizers and virus protection- Each year I am required to take course on blood-borne pathogens. During this presentation we are told that the hand sanitizers are great for bacteria, but not good with viruses. The key with hand sanitizers and viruses is that you must wipe the sanitizer off your hands. Viruses are not killed by alcohol, they need to be physically removed. Just thought I'd pass that along. . .
Okay ladies, this is the first week of May, here's hoping for an all-around excellent week in every aspect of our treatments and our lives.
Cheers!
Cloud
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