Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Paula - I am so happy for you. I cried when I read your post. It reminded me of the intense flood of relief I felt when they told me I was negative. I felt that I had been holding my breath for A MONTH waiting for the results. When she said 'negative' I collapsed and burst into tears.
I am so happy for you Paula!!!! I cannot express it enough.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy
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Decadron is pretty standard. It helps prevent reactions to Taxotere as well as prevents nausea. If you don't have diabetes, it rarely poses a problem and in fact will give you a bit of an energy boost. I too have a little one-22 months. The hardest part for me was the fatigue. Hopefully your toddler still takes naps. Get all the rest you can and accept help!
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Great idea! I am definitely going to ask him about cutting back a bit. Hopefully my 2nd round will go smoothly without so many blood sugar issues.
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OKAY PLEASE HELP; i am doing TCH and have very few side effects. A couple yucky days 3-5 and a few toilet loving days but otherwise life is grand . Today i noticed my hair on my legs is coming back. am freaking out thinking chemo is not working along with not being as bad as I expected.I have had 2 cycles with the 3rd on the 25 of this month. I don't think I have gotten my period either, unless I am pregnant. Doubtful sense I told my husband I am toxic for the next year. HAHA.. My secret...I really feel great. What is wrong and is the chemo just not working. Heck the perk was not shaving for 4 months and this has ruined my last few weeks of summer..
Please help. Oh yeah, did I mention everything sounds good to me and I can eat anytime. What is the deal with this.
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shelclaire: Sounds like I also am having basically the same reaction to chemo as you are, not too bad but a few bad days and the hair on my legs didn't even fall out! I was looking at that as a perk to this whole bad deal but I didn't get that SE. How about weight loss?? I have gained almost 8lbs!! Not fair in my opinion and I also can eat just about anything except for the first week after tx when nausea is slightly present. I have been told by docs that many people do not have a lot of SE's from TCH and that I am pretty average in reactions. All the perks that I thought I could claim in this cancer ordeal have not shown themselves for me!! Ugh!!
Hang in there!!
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Ok, so it is either not working for many of us (prayers that is not true and faith it really is doing the job) or we really are super heroes and can get through anything. I am sure I have gained weight and all the healthy eating is just not enticing me. Ketchup which can not be enjoyed with out fries is though. UGHH. My private area and legs and underarms had slow hair growth but I swear it is long now and I can dread lock the area on my knee that I paid no attention to for the last 6 weeks. Anyone else please tell me I am normal and when this is over we can start a weight loss thread.:) I am a hairy beast anyway so this stinks. Oh and I am patchy bald on my head. So lovely
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ROCK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rocky. I am so glad that you are relieved. I must admit I have been watching and waiting for you to know.
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shelclaire: I go for the super heroes theory! We can get through anything!! If I had to go through this I figured I would focus on the "good" benefits of the SE's: weight loss, hair loss on legs, and a whole new outlook on life! NOT!!! But have to remember we are blessed to not have it as bad as some of the others in regards to spending lots of time over the toilet or layed up in bed. This is the good life! Right??
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Shelclaire...I am done with the chemo part but I had to shave my legs about 2 times during the 4 months I received it because I have sporadic growth. I don't think you have anything to worry about, the chemo IS working.
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I am beyond grateful I can enjoy all my favorite foods but was looking forward to craving fruit (yeah right). I would not trade with anyone out there unless it is is working. So God if you are listening I am not asking to feel worse just asking to make the chemo work really well and maybe help the sugar cravings. AMEN Just want to be sure the shaving thing is OK Maybe HER2 girls are hairy are any other of you normally hairy. That could be the link to HER2(part monkey) Example. I broke my dog clippers shaving my head. I had a ton of hair.:)
Boy I am on a roll today...
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Oh how many did radiation and had a full boob whack?? Just a random thought.
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Kara - I just finished TCH (6 tx) 2 weeks ago and my SE's only got rough the 5th tx. Then I got all ready for the 6th to be worse and it wasn't. I never had to take even one anti nausea pill the whole time. My hair didnt' fall out on my legs until later in. I lost the outer 1/2 of my eyebrows after the 5th one. I could eat mostly throughout also. It does not mean the chemo isn't working. It just means your body is handling it. But as you move through the treatments, you may find an increase in side effects. Mine got worse about 5 or 10% each time, but then about 40% on the 5th one. And then the final one was better. So please do not worry. You have enough to go through without this added stress.
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Hi girls, I am starting TCH in 2 days and have been reading everyones take on Decadron. Has anyone had to take 8mg. 3 times a day for the 3 days.? I am suppose to do that tomorrow and it seems like a very high dose considering what everyone has to say about the not sleeping effect. Thanks, any advice would help. Bonnie
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Bonnie,
Good luck starting chemo, if you are like me it will be better than you think. I took the steroids and I sleep but I keep super busy during the day and stay up a b it later but still get a good 6-7 hours in.
Amy
think you for the feeling of normalcy(is that a real word) So wonderful I will feel crappy in two more doses.LOL. Actually I just want to the hair thing to be normal and the eyelashes I wold rather keep. Thank you so much for making me fit in.:)0 -
Bonnie, I hope your first chemo has few side effects. 8 or 4 mg twice a day from the day before chemo to the day after is more typical, but some also get some IV decadron just before chemo. I had the 8 mg twice a day and no IV decadron and changed to 4 mg twice a day.
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Well, my upcoming business trip resolved the 17 vs 18 Herceptin treatment question. I'll be in Europe in 3 weeks when I would be due for another Herceptin treatment so my onc gave me a two week dose this time and I'll have another 2 week dose in 2 weeks. Two more 3 week doses after that will get me to 1 year and I'll be done.
I've been getting the 3 week dose in 90 minutes but yesterday, my chemo nurse told me that they have decided that if someone isn't having any trouble with 90 minutes, then they will try a 1 hour infusion and if that goes well a couple of times, they will try 30 minutes. So yesterday I got my 2 week dose in about 45 minutes. It seemed really short and I didn't have any side effects.
My oncologist is giving me a referral to a nephrologist so I can discuss the risk of elevated creatinine from the Clodronate I'm taking on the bisphosphonate study and decide whether or not to stay on the trial.
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Have a wonderful trip blue.
Bonie you will do great! It is not easy but before you know it you will be on the other side of chemo and radiation. (if you are having it) Wishing all the new girls a uneventful treatment.
I have hercerptin only today. I have not seen my med onc. in 12 weeks for one reason or the other. Vacation this time. I am still considering leaving and going to city of hope. I really do not feel that anyone really cares anymore. I had a echo three weeks ago and my ejection fraction went from 73 to 55 and no body even talked to me about it. I finally ask to be seen by anyone. Then this new onc calls the head of cardio at Cerdar Sinai. He said it was nothing to be concerned about. I wonder if it was his heart if he would be concerned. Anyway we will see.
Best to all of you.
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Bluedasher. At Kaiser , they always give you Herceptin for only 30 minutes, since the beginning. I go every 3 weeks too. I get 2 tylenol and 25 mg of Benedryl first. Never had any problems.0
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Cakelady, I don't get any premeds for Herceptin only treatments - no Benedryl or tylenol and I also haven't had any problems.
I'm at Kaiser too but in Northern California. I don't know if the Northern and Southern CA Kaisers have the difference or if it is even more localized to different chemo clinics or oncs. I'd rather have the slower infusion time instead of premeds - especially Benedryl. I can work on my laptop during infusions so a half hour or 90 minutes isn't a big difference in time wasted, but getting Benedryl which might make me sleepy would be undesireable. And overall, I prefer to take fewer medications.
Bold, if I wasn't on the bisphosphonate study, I would be seeing my onc only once every 3 months while on Herceptin only so not seeing your onc for 12 weeks isn't unusual. But I understand your concern about the drop in MUGA score. Anything above 50 is normal which may be why the cardiologist said it was okay, but that doesn't make us not worry about it. I hope that it stays okay.
I get my next MUGA on Thursday. My onc said that this will be my last one (assuming no problems). She doesn't do a follow-up one after chemo because if Herceptin sent it down, it will recover so there is no point in doing the test when I'm not getting any more Herceptin. Assuming that this MUGA is still good, in 7 more weeks I'll get my last Herceptin.
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I'm a Kaiser patient, too. I go to the Bellflower Kaiser. I will be starting my TCH this Friday. Scared to death, but it sounds like I really have to get through that first treatment before I know what to expect.
Bluedasher, I have seen some of your posts about the BETH trial that you opted against. My Kaiser facility is also a site for this study and I was torn with this decision, but finally decided to stick with the standard TCH regimen. I think that is what you went for too. Have you ever regretted your decision? It looks like we have almost the same diagnosis. I also had no node involvement, but one of the pathology reports did note some vascular invasion.
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I got my second Herceptin only treatment yesterday and asked the doc for no pre-meds of benadryl and pepcid this time, only tylenol. I did just fine without being extra drowsy like before. I needed the double dose of benadryl and more steroids when I was doing chemo because I was allergic to the Taxotere.
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Hi Ladies - I go for my 3rd TCH on Monday. Looking forward to being halfway through. Has anyone had a rash on their face and head? Doc gave me benadryl with my Herceptin last week and it did help. He is not sure if it is from the Carbo or the Taxotere. Told me I could take benadryl at home for it as well. I'm hoping it won't interfere with the rest of my treatment.
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I had a bad acne-like breakout on face and head (mostly around my hairline/forehead/jawline after the 1st TCH and a milder one after the 2nd tx. None since.
I got Cetaphil (very mild OTC face wash) and used it several times/day and patted dry. No scrubbing or anything. It went away pretty quickly but was very upsetting when it happened.
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weety, no regrets - not the tiniest shred. The side effect that most made me consider not doing chemo at all was chemo-brain. Not a mild case with just a little bit of short-term memory lapses, but every once in a while you hear of someone with a really severe case where it interfered with doing their job - and I've never heard anything about which chemo drugs or combos are most likely to cause that. So when my doctor told me about the study and that a possible side effect was stroke, there was no way I was going to participate in that trial. The only regret I have ever had was that I believe in the importance of clinical trials and we benefitted so much from the women who were brave enough to join the Herceptin trials so I felt a little bad turning down any trial. But the trial wasn't right for me and turning it down was the right thing to do.
Here is my thought process:
We are already at low risk of recurrence by treating Stage I cancers with TCH. There are no data on recurrence percentages for Stage I after TCH, but the node negative women in BCIRG 006 had 7% recurrence and I figure, we have to be lower than than being node negative with smaller tumors. Say it's 5%. Adding Avastin couldn't reduce that by much - what if it gave a 1 or 2% possible reduction in recurrence. Would that be worth a risk of a stroke that might do brain damage?
I don't like going through breast cancer treatment, but my father had some mini-strokes and my father-in-law had strokes. Mental accuity is very important to me. I'd rather have a couple of percent extra risk of breast cancer recurrence than run a 0.01% or less risk of stroke. I don't know what the percentage risk is for pernanent brain damage with a stroke from adding Avastin to chemo - I didn't look into that. To me, the risk was too high for the benefit even if the risk is extremely small because I'd weigh a stoke as a much more severe consequence than a recurrence. To me, that is like placing a bet where I had a high probablility of winning $1000 but a small probablility of losing a million $.
I'm kind of struggling with a similiar decision again because I joined the bisphosphonate trial after chemo - it tests which of Zometa and a couple of other similar drugs does best at lowering breast cancer recurrence. They might reduce recurrence by a third - once again a % or two for you and me. And none of them has a serious side effect that bothers me as much as stroke so I decided to join the trial (SWOG 0307) and I've been on it for a few months now. It appears that the drug puts some stress on my kidneys because my creatinine has been up while I'm on it, went back down when I took a break from the drug and back up when I restarted it. I don't understand how much risk that indicates and I'm trying to decide whether to stay on the trial given that information gap. My onc finally agreed to refer me to a nephrologist so I could find out what he felt my risk was from this drug. Then I'll either quit the study or stay on without worrying every day when I'm taking the pill whether I'm killing my kidney.
backagain, What is the rash like and did you get it right when the chemo treatment was being given or later? I had little red dots that developed on my scalp in the second cycle I think. My onc said it was acne but others have had something similar called folliculitis. She gave me an antibiotic cream for it. I didn't get it at the same time as treatment so benadryl during treatment probably wouldn't have made any difference.
I also had a red dry skin patch on one of my cheeks - even more annoying because at the same time I had a couple of pimples develop near my nose. And I had occasional red, itchy dry skin on the backs of my hands and some fingers. I used hydrocortisone for that. All of these happened somewhere mid cycle - not right during the treatment like an allergic reaction rash might.
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Weety911:
My baby is a little older - 16 months. She is the reason I found the cancer - I was still nursing back in Jan. However, I decided it was a milk duct and left it until my annual even when I was done nursing. Funny thing -eh?
I too, was asked to do the BETH Trials, but I think I will not go for it. I know 3 doctors - one who lives in Germany the other two up North. All 3 of them did some research for me and said not to do it. If not for myself, but also for my 2 children (my other one is 5 and starting kindergarten this year). There are too many side effects, and they have seen more negative come from avastin than good when it was not necessarily "needed." It is still used on lung cancer patients and a few others but they completely advised against it b/c of the side effects. BlueDasher is right on! I told the onc yes at first but I am going to back out of it. I am all for helping science and feel very guilty for not doing this but have to think of me and my family.
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Rash- is a a red face and chest than take the Benadryl I had that goes away after 3 days so they give Benadry with every treatment. The nurses always told me it was the Decadron so after the 1st TX they lower my dose, so I wasn't so red.
blue dasher so nicely put. you almosted sounded like my DR when she explained why she would not recommend me doing that study.
Best of LUck to all those starting chemo.
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dehamramam- I lost my mom to BC 5.5 years ago and she too was diabetic. The decadron was a HORRIBLE mix for her. The dec sent her blood count thru the roof into deadly levels (600 -750) every time! The diabetes became a trial to control and any sugar number over 300 put her in the hospital Please be your own health advocate and post often. We care and we want updates.
Lisa
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Cleared for Surgery!!!
Wow! What a whirlwind 5 days I've had!Friday I went in for my 1st Herceptin-only treatment. I was advised that these sessions would be:
1. Side-Effect Free
2. Shorter in DurationWell...as for #2, they were correct. Instead of running the Herceptin over 90 minutes, they set the drip to 30 mins.
Which brings me to #1. I actually felt queasy after this treatment! I'd never felt queasy after a treatment, even with the heavy duty "real" chemo I was getting (Taxotere & Carboplatin). I think I need to have them run it on a 60 minute or even go back to a 90 minute session, because 30 just made me GREEN! LOL!!! (but my cereal stayed down...ya-hoo, small victories!)
As for my mastectomy, I will arrive at the hospital at 6:30am on Monday the 24th, and I'm first on my surgeon's schedule for the day. The nurse educator who met with me and my Mom today told me that the surgery only takes about an hour and a half, and that I should expect to be in my room by Noon. She said that most likely, my pain levels will be about a 3/4 on a scale of 1-10, and that assuming all things go as expected, I should be discharged to home the next day. I should spend only one night in the hospital. I will spend the 1st two weeks of recovery at my Mom's home and the last 2 weeks, hopefully, at my own home.
I simply and humbly ask for your prayers on Monday that God will guide the surgeon's hands and hold MY hands while I embark on this phase of my treatment in my journey towards recovery. Surgery really scares the bee-hoo-ey out of me, and while I will show up and step up...every bit of encouragement, love, and support really helps right now.
Strap in! We're cleared for take-off!
Alaina
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Alaina~ I was also green with my first herceptin only but I have been fine since (well except for joint aches). Good Luck on your surgery on Monday. Wishing you a quick and smooth recovery.
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malleme, I had a flush on my face and the breast that had the surgery for a few days after each treatment. I didn't consider that a rash. It is how one would look when overheated. I think that was the steroids but lowering the dose didn't change that noticably. It looked odd but never seemed to do any harm.0
