Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Hello Ladies, its been a while since I posted. I am 3 weeks out of TCH, my big toe nail is trying to come off, which after everything else I have been through I think I can handle that. My hair is also growing back. I have surgery on Aug 7th to have expanders removed(they suck) but thank God I have them and then after I heal I will start 6 weeks of Radiation. I gained about 15 pounds on Chemo, started a healty eating plan today to try to shead some on this weight. I really hope my hair grows back fast, I miss it so much. I was reading alot of other posts and some of you have had so many side effects I thank God I did really well during chemo, I have worked the whole time,(only because I had too, couldn't afford not to), but only had a few side effects.
For you ladies that have just started Chemo, hang in there, you will make it.
Simone
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ssimmons... I just had my first tx 3 wks ago...go for 2nd tomorrow and I get the awful cramping in my upper colon also...and it's not from constipation...gonna ask the nurses about it tomorrow...
anji... I just wrote down Buscopan and will ask about it tomorrow, thanks!
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arnie, Thanks for letting me know I am not alone if you
Amy suggested that I take Bentyl which i did and it has helped a lot...let me know what your doc says....Thanks
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ccbaby and jkrml: you just saved my life! I had never felt so crappy! I was starting to get depressed but now on day 5 after that nasty neulasta I'm coming around. Why does an antihistamine work for bone pain?? That's why I didn't use it, it didn't make sense. I sure as hell with have that in my little bag of tricks for the next 5 times. So I take it pretty much before during and after the shot, is that right?
Also have stomach cramps and the runs, good news is I've lost wt, bad news is nothing tastes good. Pushing fluids though, my daughter keeps at me. Thank God.
Thanks for all your help, all of you are my lifeline...
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Charm....I am not sure how it works, I read about here on the boards months ago and tried it and it worked. I told my onc and chemo nurses about it and they had never heard of using it for that. They were going to tell other patients about it. I take one the day of and then about 4 days after to be on the safe side. Good luck with your other SE's.0
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Ok, so today I could barely stand it anymore. My lower back hurts from just a little bit of walking and I feel like my feet are going to explode at any moment.
I called my onc and he is calling in a diuretic for me. Please pray that this works and the swelling will go down. He says it's a cumulative side effect of the Taxotere. He doesn't think this should preclude me getting my last chemo on Friday.
All good news.
I just want my feet and ankles back! *sigh*
Alaina
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Hope you get some relief soon, Alaina. Good luck with that last chemo on Friday!
Becky
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Thanks Becky! I took my first pill this morning. So far I've been peeing every hour. Still swollen though, but I'm thinking good thoughts and drinking half a liter of water every 2 hours until my feet look human again!
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Alaina...Congrats on having your last chemo coming up!0
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This is day 6 of diarhea for me and I am sick of it. Drank Pepto Bismol after each trip to the potty, I have to be hollow now. No appetite, no energy, feel like a whiny little baby but this is now painful. Can only drink water, even smell of gatorade makes me sick. Still haven't puked though.
Not sure I need help but it feels good to bitch!! I'm saving tons of money on wine....
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Kauaicharm... I've had TCH treatments that left me with 14 days of diarrehea. It is the worst of all the side effects for me. Try over the counter Imodium. It may help you.
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Kauai - you may want to try an oz. of pure aloe juice before each meal. Also I take probiotics (capsule) before each meal and a digestive enzyme capsule as well. These help your body replenish what the chemo destroys. All are available at a health food store. REALLY HELPS! You also need to be so careful not to get dehydrated.
Amy
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kauai- I feel your pain girlfiend!! It has been 8 days since my 1 st tx and my stmache is till cramping. Amy gave me some good advice on some med's to take. It did start to ease off some but today I my stomach is killing me! I hope this gets better! Good Luck
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Oh yea the only good thing to come out of all of this so far is that when I went to Herc. appt yeasterday I did lose 5 pounds since last week! LOL not really they way I wanted to loose it though!
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Went to my pre-op for port surgery today. They didnt have to do any tests or labs, since I have had them recently anyway. I don't talk to the surgeon until the day of..... so am not sure which side he will be putting it on, since one side had the blood clot and the other side is the side where lymph nodes were removed........he will tell me on Tuesday. I did see him for a minute in the nurses station. He is the chief of surgery and is soooo good looking....Its usually my kids who have the cute doctors, and now that I do, I will be asleep. ha ha.
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Cakelady ~ I had a male nurse who was a cutie-pie for my port surgery. :-) I didn't have my glasses and had to walk down the hall into the OR with him escorting me. It gave me a reason to cling very tightly to his very muscular arm! LOL!!! You can always dream about your cute doc while you're out! *smile*
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Last Chemo Eve!!!
It seems like just yesterday that I was posting "First Chemo Eve!" Wow time flies, and it hasn't been much fun! But it HAS been doable, the tough times conquerable, and the side effects manageable; and for all this and more, I am supremely grateful!The diuretic is working, but slowly. I still have swelling, but not the gi-norm-ous proportions I experienced on Tuesday! I can walk with only SOME lower back pain now, as opposed to extreme pain with nearly every step.
I started taking my steroids today and thoroughly enjoyed the several thousand calories I consumed. One of the side effects of the steroids is hiccups. I guess that's designed to curb the eating. LOL!!!
Anyway, I'm going to enjoy one more night of good sleep and get myself mentally and physically prepared for tomorrow!
Phase 1 of Operation KickCancersAss is almost over! Thanks for taking the ride with me!
*hicc*Alaina
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Alaina~ I hope your last SE are gentle
Congratulations on Phase 1 !0 -
Alaina Thanks, too bad you don't dream while under anesthesia...ya just disappear for a while, its so wierd. Good luck with your last chemo, It is great to know its the last one.... my last one was 11 days ago... My side effects did not get progressively worse with each one, they pretty much stayed the same throughout, with the exception of # 3 which I was sick as a dog for a day. So I assume you will continue on with Herceptin like I will.
Anybody know when the eye twitching will stop?????
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CakeLady ~ I did not know that you didn't dream under anesthesia! Learn something new everyday! My fatigue got worse with each one (mainly because of lowering red-blood-cell #s), but all other SE's stayed pretty consistent. Yes, I will continue with Herceptin through next April. As to the eye-twitching and the other "gifts" of Taxotere, that seems to be one of the SE's that takes a while to dissapate. Congrats on being DONE! As of this evening, I will join your ranks! So excited I could just PEE!!! (could be the diuretic...) 0
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I will be joining you "Last Time Around" ladies next Tuesday! I just want to thank all those who went before for thier hints and tips on surviving the s.e.'s.
For those just starting, I wish you all the best. You can do it!
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I will be joining you "Last Time Around" ladies next Thursday. I was A LOT worse with SE's on #5 than the previous 4 tx's. But this is the LAST one and I am confident I can do ANYTHING knowing I don't have to do it again. (The Herceptin continues but I am confident it will be much easier.)
I am so thrilled for us that we are really finishing up. We are true warriors (and conquerors!).
Question - will you 'finishers' be staying on here during rads and on throughout Herceptin? I hope so. I consider us quite the team by now.Also are any of you starting on Tamoxifen after chemo? Do you start DURING rads or after? My onc says during. I am a little apprehensive about the Tamox SE's. Are you?
Good luck to all of you on your LAST ONE!!!!
And Wendy - good luck on port surgery. Even if it hurts a bit afterwards, you WILL get used to it and forget it is there most of the time. I never thought I would, but it is true. And you will LOVE it during treatments!
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Yes Amy I will still be around here with Herceptin, but as of now I don't get rads,,,, I do start on Tamoxifen soon and yes I am dreading the side effects too, especially the hot flashes... thanks for the wishes on the port surgery.. I only wish they gave that to me in the first place before I did the chemo, but they said that PICC line would be just fine,,,,,,,,, ya right, that only made it thru 3 treatments and then the blood clot.... and my poor arm had to have IV's the last 3 treatments., and I have the bruises to prove it! Congrats to all who are at the end and starting the new phase of this trip!0
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Alaina...Congrats on today being your last chemo!!!
Swampy...Congrats on Tuesday being your last chemo!!!
Amy....Congrats on Thursday being your last chemo!!! Yes, I plan on posting here during rads and Herceptin. I iwll post also in the August rads and the Herceptin only threads too.
Cakelady....I hope your port surgery goes great!! I don't know when the eye twitching stops, but I can't wait until it does!
I go in Monday for my first Herceptin only treatment. I will set up an appt to talk with the rad onc to find out when that will start and I will have to do another petscan, muga scan and ecg scan soon too. Also, I will meet back with my PS to find out when I can finish out my reconstruction. According ot my onc, I am not having rads on the breast because I had clear margins, only rads on the arm pit and upper chest area forthe lymph nodes. I have a busy couple of weeks coming up!
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I made it! LAST CHEMO DONE!!! I am so thrilled! It was an uneventful treatment! Met with my oncologist who is just tickled with my progress so far. He wants me to stay on the diuretic to manage my swelling, especially since I have to have surgery in exactly 30 days!
Yes, I plan on sticking around. I still have a ways to go. Surgery in August, radiation in October/November, and reconstruction next spring. So my journey is really just beginning, but I'm so happy the first (and they tell me the hardest) part is DONE!!!
Alaina
PS ~ Oh, and I'm getting my MUGA scan on Tuesday! :-)
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I just want to say it's so inspiring to hear you all talk about last tx. After my first one, I'm wondering how I'm going to do this...and I'm not even feeling that bad!! But reading all your posts reminds me that I WILL make it and I WILL be fine. Good luck to you all on the rest of your journeys and thank you for sharing your experiences.
On another note, I'm on day three after my first tx and aside from being tired and not liking any food, I'm doing fine. Could it possibly be that it won't get any worse this first time? Or is it too good to be true and I'm gonna crash? I'm really trying to enjoy the time that I feel good and get around and do stuff, but I'm also afraid it won't last and I'm scared of how I'm gonna feel. I know everybody's different, but what did you guys experience? Thanks!
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TwinMom ~ The major side effect that got WORSE for me was the fatigue! I got progressively more tired, and it was harder to crawl out of the "chemo-hole" with each successive treatment. It now takes me a full week (or even a little longer) after each chemo to start to feel normal again. I was warned that most patients hit the "brick wall" after treatment #4 and lo and behold, that's when my swelling started and when it would take the wind out of me to even walk up 3 flights of stairs or walk short distances from one point to another. And it only got worse. So be prepared. Whatever you experience, it will generally be doable, manageable, and/or fixable by your nurse or oncologist. I should have called about my swelling much earlier and gotten a prescription for a diuretic.0
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Hi everyone,
Twinmom77 You are so lucky to have so few SEs. I hope all your treatments are as good as this one. My first treatment was really bad and the dr. said I was in shock. It has gotten better!
Alaina Congrats! Your previous post made me giggle.
I am so happy to hear that you are all going to stay on this thread when you're finished the TCH. I am trailing behind you all. I can't tell you how much it has helped me reading all your posts. Especially in terms of what to expect.
I was wondering about the reconstruction surgery. When I had the mastectomy I could have cared less about getting a new boobie. And wish I'd had them both off. I have a really low pain tolerance. Mind you, I said never again after my first c-section and had two more. So I guess we do forget the pain. I was wondering if any of you have had the surgery and does it hurt? I am still so numb. I am really starting to not like how I look. And I'm really starting to feel sorry for my husband. (Sorry, maybe too much information here) I haven't been able to get close to him since the Mastectomy and that was in March. Maybe I need counselling or something I don't know. I think why it's been on my mind is I saw a thread somewhere that said you could get a lift on the good breast when you get the new one. I can't believe I'm talking about this. Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts on it. Sorry
and thanks.Have a great weekend everyone. Anji x
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Anji x: Now that my reconstruction surgery is behind me (done on June 17) I am really happy with the results. I had a tissue expander put in place when I had the mastectomy done, and it is a long process--had fills every 2-3 weeks till probably the middle of April. The expander is not comfortable, but for me, not painful. It feels like there is a hard turtle shell on your chest. They did my surgery about 5 weeks after my last chemo. In surgery I had the expander removed, silicone implant put in, and on the other side I had a lift and implant put in to match the mastectomy side. The lift side is still a little sore, but because the mastectomy side is numb, I have really had no pain. In a couple of months I will go in for nipple reconstruction and areola tattooing. I'm glad I made the decision after my diagnosis because I probably would have been chicken now, but it sounds to me like it might be a good decision for you--my husband is happy. Also insurance covers the lift side as well.. Good luck with your decision.0
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Anji: I just had my exchange surgery on Tuesday. So glad to have the tissue expanders out. In order of ease: this was the easiest. I was on pain meds and muscle relaxers through Wed. then Tylenol through today. The tissue expander surgery was the worst! He had filled me up to 400cc's on each side and it was painful. The bilateral mast. was in between. So far, I'm happy with what I see. Iam 7 weeks pfc (post %^%$# chemo). My hair, though peach fuzz, is starting to come back-looks like 5:00 shadow, but seems to be growing fast. Trying to hurry to the finish line, but still have 10 rounds of Herceptin and 5yrs of Tamoxifen...
Maggie
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