Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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shelclaire - like all the ladies say, everyone is different. I'm 43 and starting with TCH #2, on the 3rd day after I start my period. Yeah me! Everyone else stops and I now start every 3 weeks.
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Hi, I'm starting my first TCH tomorrow. I went and got the picc line today. My question is about the decadron. I read in the taxotere pamphlet that it is supposed to be given the day before, the day of, and the day after. Like I said, tomorrow is my 1st chemo. No one gave me any decadron to take today. Will I just get it the day of? Will this mess everything up and cause my chemo to be postponed since I didn't take it today? Its too late to call the onc. since it's after hours. She never mentioned having to take it the day before. I just saw it in the pamphlet she gave me. Did she forget to give me a prescription?
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weety- I only get my decadron the day of chemo and then take it orally the day after. I don't think it will be a problem.
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Shelclaire My period stopped after the first chemo too.... I am 45. I have been done with chemo for about 5 weeks now. I will have to start taking Tamoxifen soon so I dont think the period will come back, but the doc said it could always come back after the 5 yrs of Tamoxifen, YUK.
Weety I had a PICC line when I started, but only had it for 2 months before I got a blood clot and they had to remove it, so I had to do my last 3 treatments with a regular IV and am still on a blood thinner for the clot and to prevent more clots. I have a chest port now, so I can keep getting the Herceptin until March, it is much better than the PICC line. And as far as the Decadron goes, I never got pills to take at home before or after the treatment..... I always got one dose at the hospital about 30 min before the infusion.....along with Tylenol and Benedryl.
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HI....I guess I am new to this area.....I had my first TCH Aug. 11th and it did not go very well. I recieved the Hereceptin first and that was fine.....but when it came time for the Taxotere.....as soon as it went into my chest, I had a horrible reaction....my face swelled up like a puffer fish and I started shaking and had the need to vomit instantly......the nurse had stayed with me as it was my first time and she had an injection of something to stop any reaction I may have.....she said it was rare.....well....ha to that.....as soon as she gave me the injection....things got better....but it was pretty scary. Has anyone else had a bad reaction like that.?...I had read so much about how TCH was easier......I am only now starting to feel better....I was fine the first day, but have had a neausating feeling the past week and also no appetite. I am just wondering if it is going to be like that every time. I tried going back to work and only lasted a day. I have 5 more to go.....They also did not give me the stuff the day before treatment....they gave it to me same day.....could that have been it? they told me no....but I wonder....I was also 4 weeks out from my double mx......and also had 4 months of chemo pre surgery.
I just want this to all be over.
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weety...I took Decadron pills the day before, day of and for 2 days after. They also gave me more before my infusions through IV. It is to help with allergic reactions and nausea. I can tell by reading on here that every hospital is different. Just tell them your concerns when you go in tomorrow.0
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giglgrl....I too had a bad allergic reaction to Taxotere my first 2 treatments. My face turned red, chest tightened up and got very dizzy. I had taken my decadron the night before and the morning of and they had to give me more after the reaction and double the benadryl. They slowed down my drip and that helped. From then on, during my next 4 treatments, they continued with all of the pre-meds and slow drip and I was fine. Make sure you tell your onc about it the next time you see him before your next treatment.0
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Weety - they put my decadron in the drip. It was in the pre-meds - several bags of medicine they put into the IV before the chemo. I got the decadron, some zofran for anti nausea and some benadryl. I really think they are pretty organized and don't 'forget' to give you medicines you need. I was very anxious in the beginning that the medical people would make a mistake or be distracted and do something wrong. But as the tx's progressed, i saw how professional and focused they are and I stopped worrying about it. You have to devote your energy to taking care of yourself and we really don't have extra energy to worry about other people doing their jobs right. I'm sure you will be fine tomorrow. Sleep well tonight and post tomorrow to tell us how everything went.
I wish you peace. You will come through this just fine!
amy
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Weety, I'm at Kaiser and when I went for my chemo class, they told me that the prescriptions for decadron and nausea medicine had been ordered for me at the pharmacy.
One time, I forgot to take my pre-meds. They ordered them for me and gave them to me right before chemo. That time they gave me IV decadron which I guess acts faster. They didn't make me delay chemo but it wasn't my first chemo.
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Hi all. Just checking in.
Swampy, I had almost zero pain after my bi-lateral mx. Barely even took any of the pain pills they sent me home with and I was back at work in one week. We need to hook up for lunch!
Bold, I too still have really bad nueropathy in my feet. I have 3 Herceptin only's to go. I hope this is not permanent,
To all the newbies, sorry you are here but you have come to the right place for support.
Looks like we have a ton of Florida people here now - we should plan a get to gether.
Question: What date is your "cancerversary". The date of my diagnoses is coming up (Aug. 28). Is it that date, the date of my mx, the last day of TCH or the laast day of H only?
Lisa
Lisa
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I got the results from my last MUGA - 62%. I started at 65% so it is almost no change. I also had my 6 month after chemo follow-up mammogram and a follow-up lung X-ray because of the calcium granuloma that was found in December. The mammogram was clear and the calcium nodule was unchanged (if it had changed, then there would be a concern that the diagnosis that it was a harmles calcium nodule would be in question). I'll have one more follow-up X-ray on the lung in a year.
Just a bit more than 6 weeks until I'm done with chemo. I hope that when I see my onc in about 3 weeks that she will schedule my port removal.
August 18 was the anniversary of the bad mammogram. It has been quite a trip. When I started this, I had very little medical experience like some of you who are starting. My most serious surgery (in terms of recovery time) prior to this was getting my wisdom teeth out. I've gained a whole new vocabulary and have lost gotten over my aversion to IV needle sticks. I think that since September I've had more blood tests than in my total life before that - more than 25 and most of them were during the 4 months of chemo.
I'm feeling pretty good - overall about the same as before this all started except for a couple of minor things like my breast still being a bit tender around the scar. My strength and endurance as well as my enjoyment of food is all back. I'm a bit worried about my creatinine level but not about anything else. It's proabably from the Clodronate on the bisphosphonate study and I'll see a nephrologist today to help me understand what level of risk that represents so I can decide whether to get off the study.
I think I had about a medium rough time through chemo and when it ended I felt pretty weak and worried about how long it would take to come back. It can be pretty hard on the days when you feel so tired or battle other side effects. But there will be a time when you feel better. My memories of things like how many bad days per chemo cycle and such are starting to fade.
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Lisa: my anniversary is Halloween-the same day my 15 year-old son was driving us home from the grocery store and we were hit from behind. I was literally standing on the side of a very busy road waiting on the police to come when I got the call from my OBGYN that something didn't look right on my mamo. And, I had just lost my 43 year-old brother to cancer...it's been a long year!
Rockstar and Bold: You both sound happy! I am 10 weeks PFC and feeling good. My hair is getting fuller and I'm working on getting rid of some of the chemo weight. Still have my hysterectomy looming next month, and 8 more herceptins, but life is definitely getting back to normal!
For everyone just starting out, you may have some bumps in the road and set backs along the way, but you will see the light at the end of the tunnel! Good luck!
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Hi gals,
I survived my first TCH today. They did the drips very slowly. I was there from 9:30 am and didn't get home till almost 8:00 when all was said and done. I am EXHAUSTED, a little dizzy but thankfully no nausea.
I have a few questions about my treatment today that I hope some of you can answer:
1. My blood pressure is always a little on the low side (not uncommon for it to be around 100/60) but when they did the taxotere, it went really low (87/41) and stayed there for most of the drip. They kept asking me how I felt. I just felt dizzy and kind of out of it the whole time today, though, even before the taxotere. They seemed to think the dizziness was just from the Benedryl in the premeds, since it didn't seem to be progressing once the taxotere was introduced. This still seemed really, really low to me! Any thoughts?????
2. Now its midnight, and of course I can't sleep even though I can barely keep my eyes open. I think frrom what I've read--its the decadron. Anyways, I am feeling a little itchy, mostly on my arms. No rash. Just itchy. Should I take a benedryl? I don't think its enough to warrant a call to the emergency room. WHat does everyone else think?
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Weeety, it is the decardron and possibly the TCH. Don't be suprised if your face is a little flushed this morning, it is nothing to worry about. Good luck. Lisa
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Weety - the decadron made me very "wiggly" - if that is a word - both my brain and my nerve endings. So I stopped using it. I was so jumpy that I prefered the nausea to the jittery feeling. This go (9 years later) I am going to use Emend - new stuff since I did this 9 years ago.
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Blessed by 4 - no period during chemo (in 2000) about 1/2 way through. However, it started again about a year later ( I was only 34) - they were shorter but heavier - I had a couple of uterine biopsies just to check on my organs since I was taking Tamoxifen.
Right now, I haven't had a period since my bi-lateral in July 2009. I needed a blood transfusion in the hospital, so I think that had something to do with stopping my period. I am sure that some of this depends on your age...I am 43 in a couple of months, and I hope that the CTH will turn them off. My girlfriend was 43 when she had ACT and hers stopped and she hasn't had one for 6 years now. If you are wor
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Just What the Doctor Ordered!
Diagnosis: Breast Cancer
Remedy: A T6 (ta-ta-to-the-ta-ta's) Party!The party was a rousing success! I'm still floating on air! The love and support that 100 people came out in a pouring rainstorm to share with me will keep my spirit uplifted for days, weeks, and months to come! Heck, I'll still be grinning this time next year!
I'll do my best to share the joy that permeated that cozy Cabaret Room at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute, but I'm not so sure how successful I'll be.
When they entered the Center, my guests were greeted by a Videographer in order to leave me a video-taped message to be viewed by me after surgery later this week. I cannot WAIT to see what they had to say!
Then up the elevators to the 4th Floor Cabaret Room, where you were greeted by one of my BFF's MB, who was "on the door." He checked your name off, offered you a "clapper" and depending on when you arrived, a special "reach-in-the-bag" door prize for being early.
At some point, I squealed and hugged each of my guests! LOL!!!
On the dinner buffet (catered superbly by Tbonz of Ellicott City, MD ---> http://tbonzgrille.com/ )
Fried Wings
Lemon-Pepper Wings
Buffalo Wings
Macaroni & Cheese
The World's BEST Collard Greens
Tossed Salad
Shrimp Salad Wraps
Turkey Club Wraps
...and some hot sauce...LP was the Extraordinary Bartender! He created a signature drink for me called The Chocolate Nipple and it was FANTASTIC! It was nutty and fruity and creamy and had a chocolate kiss on top! PERFECTION!
JL was the Baker who created the yummy cupcakes! Some were Margarita flavored and the others were Devil's food cake flavored! All were topped with thick delicious chocolate swirl icing and....wait for it...a HERSHEY's KISS! Get the image? *grin*
SC provided the music and helped us all catch a rhythm and dance into the evening! Well some of us caught a beat...*ahem*
My buddy LC provided comic relief and had us all laughing out loud with his signature brand of humor!
There was a Silent Auction to benefit the Outpatient Chemotherapy Center at the hospital where I'm being treated! It was an amazing success! Items in the auction:
* 5 Necklace & Earring Sets custom-made by the talented Kathy Reading of Catju Designs ---> http://catjudesigns.com/Catju_Designs/Welcome.html
* August Wilson's Century Cycle (10 Dramas)
* The Complete Stephanie Plum Series (15 Mystery Novels)
* KitchenAid Tabletop 5-Quart Mixer (in Breast Cancer Pink)
* The James Bond Ultimate Collector's Set (all 21 Bond movies, plus an additional 21 bonus DVDs)
WE RAISED $1000 IN THE SILENT AUCTION! The generosity was amazing! Now the Outpatient Chemo Center will have PLENTY of board/card games (like Scrabble, Monopoly, UNO, etc) to occupy/entertain chemo patients and their friends/family who come and sit for several hours with them! I am beyond thrilled!I shared my testimony, then we danced and I got hugged so many times...whew! SO MUCH LOVE! Even my head got kissed! Lots of times! LOL!!! Yeah, I went bald for the party!
I'm sleepy ya'll! There's more I could say, but I hope this gives everyone a flavor of how fantastic a time was had by all! What a party!
Night Night!, Alaina
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Alaina, your post made me smile and brought tears to my eyes. I am glad that you are enjoying yourself and feeling more confident each day.
I am lighting a candle at 9PM Sunday night (California time) with prayers for you and Swampy. May the light of love surround you both during your surgeries.
Bold, I am scheduled to see my onc with each Herceptin infusion. (During chemo I saw him once a week.) However, because of my low white counts I actually see him about every 10 days.
My Herceptin infusion is 30 minutes in duration, same as during chemo. I do not receive any pre-infusion drugs. I haven't attributed any side effects to Herceptin.
Lisa, interesting question about the anniversary date. I found my lump on January 12th, had my lumpectomy on January 19th, and finished TCH on June 18th. I think I would call my anniversary January 19th because that was the actual start of my cancer treatment. But what date does the medical world use for suviorship?
Paula, Lisa, Bold, Dasher, and Maggie it is great to read your informative and upbeat posts.
Cheers!
Cloud
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I also am not sure about my date of cancer but I use the date they did the surgery. I did find my cancer in Dec. 2008 and did nothing about it until May 10,2008. I know! I should have but I felt sure it was cancer and did not want to mess up everyones happy times with weddings, graduations, etc. I know! I should have gone on. I ended up with ER-/PR- Her2 +. Grade 3 IIb. I had a sential node as large as the original tumor (the reason I eventually went) that I could feel under my arm swelling. 3 more lymph nodes with cancer. They did a lumpectomy and took 22 nodes all together out from under my arm. I did not have anything in Nov. 2007 to show up and by the end of Dec. I had a big lump. I have had lumps all my adult life and nothing ever came of it. In fact the same place I had the cancer was a place I had a lump 30 years ago and so I kept telling my self it was just the fibrocystic stuff I have always had but in my heart I knew better. I did not want to tell anyone but my husband even after I knew, I had the biopsy but my husband made me. This is called sticking your head in the sand. If I ignore it, it will go away, yeah right. I now try to get all women and men who find lumps to have them checked out. Trouble is since I waited so long I am still not out of the woods. I am sure this is one reason I can't get my port out for 2 years when others are getting theirs out right after they finish. I guess my onc is cautious.
Carolyn
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Alaina - What a wonderful party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May God bless the wonderful people in you life that put that all together.
As for the date: August 28th was my diagnoses and September 24 was the surgery. I am going to use them both. Aug 28 was the day more world tipped and Sept 24 was the day in turned all the way up side down. Up until the surgery I thought I had DCIS, found out when I came out recovery that I had IDC with lymph nodes involved.
Lisa
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Alaina! I LOVED reading about your party. Goodness, I had a shaving party and a wig party, but just with family. Sounds, like you had a festival! What fun. If you EVER want to party in Denver, you let me know. I say never, EVER pass up any excuse for a party.
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As far as what they use medically - the clinical trials of chemo often use the date of randomization which usually is about the start of chemo. I think otherwise it is common to use the start of treatment which for me was Sept 20 and that is what I'll probably use for counting.
I got the diagnosis Sept 2 (the day after Labor Day) and I had my surgery 10 days before Rosh HaShanah, so maybe I'll just use one of those because I won't have to think about remembering a date. My whole treatment was woven around the Jewish holiday calendar. I started chemo just after Sukkot. My son helped me make my Purim goodies while I was recovering from the last chemo and I was in the midst of rads for Pesach. I'll get my last Herceptin during Sukkot this year so Sukkot will be the anniversary of the end of my treatment.
I mentioned August 18 when I had my mammogram just because I was thinking about what a year it has been since I walked in there all unsuspecting.
Alaina, that sounds like quite an event. You have great spirit. I hope surgery goes easily for you.
Bye to the SWOG 0307 clinical trial and Clodronate. Well, I tried participating in a clinical trial. I've been concerned for a while about the elevated creatinine level that the drug appeared to be causing. I was frustrated that I couldn't get my oncologist or PCP to give me a sense of what level of risk to my kidneys that represented. I understand that that probably was because they don't know so I have been trying to get one of them to refer me to a nephrologist for a consult. My oncologist finally did that on Monday and Kaiser moved pretty quickly after that so I saw the nephrologist on Friday.
She went over all my history and we went over the record of my creatinine levels vs taking clodronate - the level went down when a took a break from clodronate for three weeks and went back up when I went back on. She agreed that it looks like the drug is causing the elevated creatinine.
There isn't a lot of history on clodronate especially in the US because it isn't FDA approved here, but bisphosphonates in general can be hard on the kidneys. Renal problems from them are dependant on dose and on how long you are on the drug. The trial uses a fairly high dose for 3 years which she felt was long. Since I'm already showing that that my kidneys have a hard time dealing with it, I'm more at risk for damage. My test results indicate that so far the problem may be reversible but that may not stay true if I stay on the drug. We agreed that staying on the drug is too risky for the benefit for me. She said that if I felt strongly that I wanted to stay on the drug that I should go to a half dose (I don't think that the trial will allow that at my current creatinine levels because they don't think that is a problem).
So, I've stopped taking the drug and Monday I'll call the research nurse to let her know.
If I was higher stage, I might have made a different decision, but at stage Ib there isn't that much benefit for me on this trial. My recurrence risk should be quite low even without it. I'd rather have a couple of % more recurrence risk than risk kidney failure by continuing this stress on them for 3 years. I wanted to help out other women by being in the trial, but I guess leaving the trial due to elevated creatinine is a result too.
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Blue~ I am glad you got some answers and I hope your levels go back to normal.
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My Onc said that the countdown started when I began my Arimidex. This was 3 weeks after my last Chemo. The same time as my first Herceptin only. so for me it was 1/1/09.
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It's B-Day!!!
Nope, not my birthday. Breast-Day! The day I undergo a unilateral mastectomy of my left breast along with an axillary lymph node dissection of all my level 1 & 2 lymph nodes in my left armpit. Thelma & Louise (the "girlz") will be separated for good. *sigh*
Last week I was put on Potassium tablets (20 MEQs daily, the max) because my levels were too low for surgery (3.2, needs to be at least 3.5). The diuretic I've been taking to reduce my leg/ankle/foot swelling is to blame. But I was instructed to continue taking the diuretic. Then they were concerned about my urinalysis results and put me on a 3-day anti-biotic (Bactrim). The Potassium and the Bactrim are HORSE PILLS! It was all I could do to choke them back every day! *blech!*
So tomorrow please pray that all my "counts" permit us to move forward with surgery. I've come too far to turn back now!
I've taken the required evening shower pre-surgery, including washing my left breast (Thelma) with Hibiclens, a special anti-microbial body wash. I have to repeat this process when I awaken in the VERY EARLY morning. Thelma will be medically washed again pre-surgery in the hospital.
It's now midnight and I am not permitted to eat or drink anything.
The outline of the day is as follows:
* 8/24, 6:30am ~ Arrive at hospital
* 8:30am ~ Surgery (I'm told it's a 90 minute procedure)
* 10am - ?? ~ Recovery
* 12Noon ~ In Room
* Visiting Hours Till 8pm
* If all is well, discharged to go home by Noon on Tuesday 8/25I'm still not sure how I feel about all this, but I know it has to be done. I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to save my life, and I know this is part of a very aggressive treatment plan designed by some of the best oncologists and surgeons in this area.
Thank you in advance for every prayer and wish of wellness on my behalf! If ever I needed you, I need you now!
Love Always! Alaina
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Alaina, I am sure you will be fine but we of course will keep you in prayers and on our minds. Take it easy and be kind to yourself. some recover faster than others so just know if you don't follow anyone's schedule it will be okay. I asked them to let me sleep as long as I could because I don't seem to get enough rest and they did. Normally they wake me up from a surgery and I am groggy for a while but I actually felt rested when I woke but a little sick but that soon passed. I am so glad you had a party to remember. Hope you have a video so you can watch from time to time. I am not a big party person I am afraid but now my appetite is back I could probably go for some of that food!
Blue, I think you made a wise choice to quit the study. Everyone appreciates your try though. You do need to think about your own health and I hope your kidneys bounce back fast. I already have some kidney problems but not caused by chemo or anything related to cancer.
I hope everyone is doing well, I think about all of you like you are family and in fact we are family. We are BC family. Hang in there and it will be better soon. I think about all of you that are on the 5 year meds too. Hope that is going good for you.
Carolyn
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Alaina~ Thinking about you and while I am sorry about having to have the unilaterial I hope you are in surgery and everything is going well ((bighugs)) and you have a speedy recovery.
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Alaina
I hope by the time you read this that it is OVER and you are on your way to a full recovery - and, of course, a long, happy and healthy life. I want us all to live to be OLD ladies!
Check in when you are up to it. You are in our thoughts and prayers today.
Amy
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Alaina, I do hope all went well with your surgery. Now you can focus on your recovery and getting stonger.
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Alaina, you have my prayers also that your surgery went well and that recovery may be smooth.
And I'm with you on choking down the horse pills. I've been taking magnesium since the end of chemo which is a big capsule. And the Clodronate and calcium that I was taking on the study were huge.
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