Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Hey ladies....got my treatment today, and Onc says I am still very anemic, they took several vials of blood to check iron, b12, and some other stuff, so maybe he can find out exactly what type of anemia I have and how we need to treat it. Right there with you girls on being winded when doing anything at all, and having issues with hearing/feeling heartbeat. Hopefully I will know more when I go back next week. Here's praying for good stuff for all of us!
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Haha... I think my husband thinks I'm lying when I tell him I'm wiped out from walking up the stairs! It's so true, it can completely wipe me out loading the dishwasher or moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer. I have to stop and go lay down. Oh well, I'm 10 days out from chemo #5 and only have one more left!!! I don't feel like I have to justify anything anymore... I am so impressed with all you ladies who work all the way through chemo- it was all I could do to get the kids to and from school every day. I'm sooo glad they're on summer break now!! And I actually had very few symptoms, mainly fatigue and slightly anemic- not enough to need treatment. This is a tough treatment for a tough diagnosis... kick it where it hurts and send it packing!!!
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I am with you on the fatigue and being winded. My onc said it was most likely the slight anemia I was showing at #5. I know it is worse as I get winded getting up! And I'm still trying to get my walks in, just can't run. Dang. Glad #6 is next week. And then on to Herceptin.
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I am still anemic after 1 1/2 years of finishing TC. I did rad and H getting blood transfusions and then I got put on Procrit but I am still not getting above 11 but I would be happy with that if it would stay. I would be happy with a 10 but they won't let me skip a shot even above 10. I was going to try to skip it this time to see how low it would go in a month. When I was getting the shots every 2 weeks I could maintain 11 but this time I waited a month and it went down to 10.4. I think I would probably go to a 10 if I waited another month but they say no. If you skip a shot for a certain amount of time then you have to drop below 10 to get it again but I still wanted to try. I was at 7 just after I finished TC. I was real dizzy but I could drive. My husband had triple bypass so I had to drive to and from home everyday even though they said I could stay nights with him but I felt like I needed to get some sleep in my own bed. I stayed all day with him and would go home in the evening. the onc liked that because they could call me to come down and get my blood to test and the day he was to go home they decided to give me 3 units of blood after my H tx. I was so upset they didn't do this the day before. I would have stayed the night with him and felt better the next day but my daughter and her husband had to come after us because they would not let me drive. Oh my that was a crazy day :} Don't want to do that again. I read some place on the BC site that if you stayed anemic as long as I have it was more likely to come back. That may be why I have to keep my port.
I wish everyone a good day even if it is laying on the couch. Hang in there you will be back to a new normal. I do work part time and feel better than I did when I first went back to work.
Carolyn
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Carolyn,
Glad you are feeling better. You are a tough cookie and I can't believe they "demoted" you at work...shame on them!! But you know what, isn't it nice to be part time and have less responsibilities? Take it easy and let yourself recover. Look how much you've been through.
Everyone have a great weekend!! Stay in bed and get pampered!
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Has anyone else been dealing with really watery eyes? It's driving me nuts. I'm 2 1/2 weeks past my last chemo, with Herceptin/Avastin to continue; I'm hoping it's just from chemo and will go away. I noticed it some after #4 and #5, but much worse after #6.... I look like I'm crying all the time, and it's really hard when I'm walking-- any kind of fresh air just makes the tear ducts go.
Anyone else dealing with this? Any ideas to help it?
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Funny that you mentioned that, writer! Just today I'm "crying" all the time! I haven't had this before, just day #11 after chemo #5!! So, clearly a side effect. Not sure what to do... carry tissue?! Guess I can look forward to seeing this again in the future
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I thin the watery eyes are from the herceptin, but not sure. Got results from yesterdays blood work, and will be starting B12 shots next Thursday. Onc said iron was ok, but b12 was low...hopefully will feel better after that!
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The watery eyes & nose are from Herceptin. I was so happy to get rid of that after H. I am not sure why it does that but if you do a search on watery eyes you will find a lot of them I think.
Carolyn
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I had no problem with the red blood cells bouncing back after chemo. I had gotten down to a 9.4 at my last chemo, but onc decided not to do anything and see how my own body handled it once I was off the chemo. It was a smart choice because in less than 6 weeks I was back up to a solid 13. White blood cells and platelets have been another story though--they've been all over the place.
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Strange how the same meds can cause different problems with us. I want to try to let mine come up on it's on but they tried that and it went down to 7 and I guess they decided to try something else. I had 3 units of blood at that time but within 4 weeks it was down again and platelets were down too. I am 2 years post chemo and I want to get back to normal but then I would like to have mega bucks and I don't have that either. I guess God will take care of things for me.
Carolyn
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The eye-watering is from the Taxotere (Taxo-TEAR, get it?)
It should calm down once chemo is over.
Hang in there!
Alaina
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Hello everyone! This is my first posting. I found this site tonight and am encouraged to see others taking the same chemo that I will start this week. There is alot of information here! Thanks for all the postings and best wishes for you all.
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Hi CrazyBC, Welcome to the club we didn't really want to join!! This is a fantastic place for frienship, support, and information. Good luck as you start your journey, and don't hesitate to ask- you'll find so many helpful ladies here!
Alaina, you're absolutely right- there it was in the drug info, one of the "rare" side-effects- lucky me!!!
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You are not alone in the eye watering. It started just in the mornings, making it hard to read the paper. This weekend it wouldn't stop -- several hours I had tears running down my face. How attractive! Last chemo is Wednesday, so I'm hoping it will clear up. Unless it is Herceptin that is causing it. I'm just hoping to hang on to my fingernails.
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Welcome, CrazyBC. You've found a wonderful, supportive group of women!
Becky
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with me I did not have watering eyes but that is because I have such dry eyes anyway. At least they seemed a little more moist than normal but my nose dripped at the most inconvenient times. I guess I was lucky with that. My hair is starting to get longer now but still so thin. I was hoping it would be getting thicker by now. Well, I am happy just to have hair I guess.
Welcome everyone to this site but so sorry you have to be here. I am sure you will get lots of support here.
Carolyn
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Between my eyes and my nose, I'm a regular fountain! It is very pleasant. NOT!
I had my final TCH today. Actually it was just HC - my doc pulled the taxotere because my liver function was 'funky.' It hadn't changed from last go round so he decided I didn't need it and pulled it. No hard feelings on my part! He thinks the funky liver may be why I'm feeling so fatigued and out of breath at times. And pulling the taxotere he feels will help with the leg balloons. Had an ultrasound to check for clots and nothing. Go for an echo in 2 weeks just to rule out any heart issues. So happy to have this phase behind me.
Next: Herceptin every 3 weeks through March 2011 and Tamoxifen. And I start on the biphosphonate study tomorrow for 36 months.
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writer,
hi... I have been finished with chemo for over 2 years now. One of my s/e from taxotere was that it gave me a burn like rash ...apparently inside and out... My tear ducts were "burned" which when healing they closed up. This is a "more common than you'd think" s/e! My eye surgeon knew about this right away and asked me if I had been on taxotere. Go to an eye specialist right away...they might be able to put tubes in (plastic stents) to keep them from healing shut permanently. I've had several surgeries...my eye surgeon (ES) at first tried the plastic tubes...they had to be in 6 months...and they actually did reopen the ducts but it didn't work. I think he described it as the "canals" that the ducts drain into were just not working right. So..then he put in "Jones tubes" ... small glass tubes (glass attracts water) into the corners of my eyes and bypassed the tear duct system. They drain into my nose. Is it perfect? No BUT..it is 97% better than crying all the time! I was not able to work before the surgeries... it has taken over a year but the last time my ES cleaned my tubes..he "revised" the opening in my right eye and it has been almost 100%! Got to the eye dr. asap and see what they can do....
Good luck..it does work!
Pati
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I found ladies hankies at the dollar store and use them instead of tissues. Tissues seem to leave small fibers around the eyes and by night time it always seemed that I had "something" in my eye! It got to be painful! I still need to use tissues for my runny nose but..
good luck!
Pati
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Sounds like a good thing to go to the eye doc. I need to go and see what they can do for my dry eyes but the stuff they advertise just burns. My eyes are dry because I have an autoimmune problem. I had this for years before chemo. thankfully my nose drips have stopped now. that was a pain. Seems like I have more allergy symptoms now but may be just the year with more pollen.
Carolyn
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This may be related to the "dry eye" thing they warned me about. Try using an eye drop (there is one listed in the chemo shopping list on the board) and see if it helps at all.
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I had TCH # 5 yesterday and the dose was increased from what I was given before. Did fine till about 2 AM and had the worst acid reflux. Took some Prilosec and after about an hour it finally kicked in. I was wondering if any of you are bothered with this also? And what you do as I read that the Prilosec cause some problems also.
Everyone posting on this site is so wonderful and all the sharing of info has been so helpful. You are all such an inspiration.
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Good morning - I am very new to this site and fond it very infomative. I am also taking the 3TCH
I had my first Chemo round yesterday with no side effects (praise God) But I also took Emend - does anyone else out there take that for the vomiting and nausea? So for so good for me - I feel nothing now. I have to go every 3 weeks for 6 sessions and then continue the Herceptin till the year is up. was just wondering when can I expect the matalic taste, black nails, and when will my hair begin to fall out. My hair is very thick, and long (past shoulder blades) some say I it may only thin but other say it will. Either way, I'm prepared. I still feel like this isn't really happening, almost like a dream - I'm the healthy one in the family, my husband and I particiapte in 5k, I go the gym regularly and I powerwalk.and am in excellant shape. So we were so shocked with my diagnosis. Since my lumpectomy I haven't worked out or anything - I'm nervous about the port and don't want to over exhurt myself. I just don't know how I;m gonna feel.
Any advise ?
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Grandma - go ahead and exercise! I have all the way from my mastectomy in January to just finishing my TCH #6 this past Wednesday. I actually have felt better getting out and walking or doing the Wii. Don't let this stop you or it will be a long crawl back up. You will know what your body can handle. FOr me, days 3 and 4 were the worst, so I didn't try to do too much. I'm working my way up to walk/run a 1/2 marathon in October, so I'm out doing 4-8 miles a weekend and walking 15-30 minutes a day when the weather holds. It helps.
JoJo - stick with the Prilosec. My onc put me on it right away. I start a 14-day pack on the day after chemo (day 2) and take it every morning. It makes a huge difference.
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Thanks Frost1 - I will get out and walk then. So then tomorrow I shouldn't expect to feel that great huh? So how did you feel on day 3? Did you take the Emend for the vomiting and nausea? I did and I feel normal.
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*sigh*
Just found out yesterday that my aunt (Dad's sister) has breast cancer. Mastectomy on Thursday.
*end sigh*
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So sorry Alaina...
Can't wait for the day we find the cure and no more friends or family face this devastating disease.
Prayers to you and your aunt. Hope everything goes well for her. She's lucky to have you to guide her through this journey; my cousin was so much help to me.
Best,
Melanie
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grandma2b, the side effects tend to sneak up on you and come in waves so don't be surprised if that's what happens, however, with the wonderful nausea meds you may never experience any nausea or vomitting!! Yay!! I have my last chemo on Monday and still have about half of my eyelashes and eyebrows, although I did lose all of my other hair (starting around day 18...I had it shaved off.) My nails didn't turn black or fall off although they're a little more fragile than usual. My side effects have been pretty mild and cycle through a pretty predictable pattern after each chemo. Everything does taste funny- that one has been a constant! I can't wait to finish up and have my taste buds back!! Best of luck to you, and keep in mind that chemo is definitely not as bad for most of us as we fear it to be. Drink plenty of water and rest as much as you need to! Come here for a friendly shoulder and to lean on a great group of ladies!!
~Melanie
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Grandma2b...I was on Emend while taking my chemo and I had no naseau at all. It works great. My worst days for other side effacts were days 3 through 10 after each treatment. Let's hope you are side effect free! Don't forget to drink A LOT of water, it helps to flush the toxins out and also with the side effects.0
