Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
Comments
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Basia: Perhaps the shoe won't fall at all! Not everyone gets serious SE's - I didn't. I hope you have an easy, SE-free experience!
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Omaz & marmalade, thanks! I am hoping for an uneventful experience.
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Basia, I would think you would have already had some side effects if you are going to. I know some that never felt more than a little tired. My friend I go to church with ate normal and I was not able to eat at all. funny how everyone reacts so different. she gained weight I lost a bunch of weight.I guess not eating does that. Just be sure and drink plenty of liquids. I wish you no side effects!
Carolyn
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Good Evening Ladies, I just stumbled on this topic and was reading through. I see alot with the same dx, which is helpful. I will be coming back to visit. I will be having no. 4 TCH this coming Fri. then 2 more to go except herp. will be til Aug. My se have been very minimal. The fatigue has been getting a little worse after each chemo, so I am not looking froward to next wk. Glad I found this topic. Wish everyone the very best future.
PS I'm not really a witch, is really is a costume, we went to a campground a week ago and they had a early Halloween party and kids came trick or treating, we handed out over 800 pieces of candy. It was a lot of fun.
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IowaSue44, It is good to hear from you. so sorry you are among the numbers though. I guess my head was in the sand before I got cancer but it seems I know of more women having breast cancer now. Maybe it is because women who know me has felt like they need to tell me about their experience. I work in the public and I had to take a 7 month leave from work so they knew what the problem was. I think it is a neat idea to let the kids come trick or treat. We live out away from town so no children come here. Too dark! I think the thing we have in common here of course is the med we are taking. I guess it is mostly the standard. We are also all Her2+ but not all of us has hormone involved. I had the same as you but I was stage 3 grade 3 4/7 nodes. I was diag in May 08. sometimes it seems a long time ago and other times not long enough. Lots of great women here
Carolyn
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One of my friends from chemo did her AC txs and had her first Taxotere 2 weeks ago. She hasn't done well with it and had to have IV fluids, take nitro, needs potassium and has spent most of her last week in bed. She is on the every 3 week regimen. Seems to me that most people I'm in touch with on another board had less SE from the Taxotere or Taxol on the 1X/wk for 10 week schedule. I did the 4XTCH and it wasn't fun. Any thoughts on this?
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Bon - I wondered about the once a week vs. every 3 weeks too. I asked about that at the beginning and my onc office said that 'almost everyone' does the every 3 week treatment now for the TCH. I have noticed though that it seems like when taxotere follows AC it seems it is usually once a week. Did she ask her onc about switching to once a week?
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Omaz...The MO saw my chemo friend today and told her that she is severely allergic to Taxotere. He is starting her on Taxol next week, once a week for 8 weeks. And most people on that schedule do very well without SEs...or so he says. I do think that's true since the gals who started chemo with me in June and who have had to do AC first and then a T, seem to do better with Taxol every week than anyone who takes Taxotere every three.
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Bon - good!! That should work out better.0
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I'm doing 6, started yesterday. So far so good...
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Hello Ladies!
How is everyone?
Went to the onc yesteday for my my 2nd herceptin, spoke to him about all the stomach problems I have been having days 6&7, he said completely normal from taxatere, but he is going to lower my dosage next infusion. Hope it makes a difference. Also, I am being taken off the nuelasta shots replaced with neupron. Is there a difference? And also, does anyone not get the booster shot? I was wondering if it is really necessary?
Thanks!
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Neupron is not as strong as Neulasta and fewer side effects. You have to have more of the Neupron than the Neulasta. The reason you take either one is because you white blood cells ae low. It may be that you are not too low and so you don't need the heavy duty shot or you may have too many side effects from Neulasta. They gave me Neupogen at first chemo but then afterward I got the neulasta and I had some really bad pain from it.
I went yesterday for my blood test and my red blood count has come down to 9.7. I do not know what could have caused this. Before he said it was because I was taking antibiotics when it went down to 9.9 but I have not taken any. each time it has come down more. I did have a shot for arthritis and I had a stomach bug but that is the only thing I can think of. what next? I didn't ask for my report this time. I sure wish I had because I wonder if my platelets are still down too. I get frustrated!
Carolyn
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Hi Basia, I did neupogen in cycle 3, then neulasta in 4 - 6. My counts were dangerously low in the middle of cycle 3, and neulasta wasn't an option that close to the next tx. From then on, I did neulasta the day after chemo. I didn't really have any side effects from the neulasta. Is neupron the same as neupogen? I don't know why they would switch, unless, as Carolyn said, you are having side effects. Maybe it's because it's less expensive and you don't need as much support? As for stomach issues, I took probiotics, and they were like an instant miracle cure.
The following link is about me! I don't feel I really deserve much praise over this thing, but it is interesting to see another's perspective on my story. The author is a terrific and well-admired woman in our town. Also, a new playground in my town is a huge deal.
http://www.pagosasun.com/archives/2010/10%20October/102110/breastcancerstory.html
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mtndawn, what an honor! You do deserve it and it also makes other people aware when they know someone who has cancer or had cancer. Keep up the good work.
Carolyn
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Hey ladies,
Did any of you experience bad acne during treatment? I'm getting zits in weird places, like in my nose! They are the uncomfortable hurting kind and they don't seem to want to go away. I look awful. I've got 2 on my upper lip that makes me look like I have a disease. ha. Seriously, I've never had zits this bad even when I was a teenager.
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Hey michcon~
My face did break out after each treatment. Sorry about your nose - ouch!
It all went away when I started on just Herceptin...
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michcon - i had terrible zits in my nose. OMG it hurt so bad. it would clear up a few days before my next TCH. My nose bled almost everytime I blotted it.
My face wasnt to bad.
Oh and I am 6 months PFC and got my period back ...sure didnt miss that!
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Michon, mines only broke out after the 1st tx, thought I read somewhere it was cause by the steroids. Plus I got a cold sore which I never get. Onc gave me meds. for this so it wouldn't happen everytime.I hope it clears up real soon for you.
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Michcon, I got a "chemo rash" around week 2 of each treatment. Skin would clear beautifully right before next tx. It did seem to get better later on in treatment, though.
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which drug constipates... should i be worried? i start 10/27. i had a terrible time after my lumpectomy.
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Starella - Well I am not sure but for some reason I think it was the steroids - but maybe someone else knows for sure. There are so many medications given around those couple days that its hard to pinpoint what is doing what, plus it can be different for each person!0
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Starella, I wish I knew! I had 3 days of constipation followed by 3 days of the opposite. The onc said the diarea was caused by the taxotere, it does something to shed the lining of the small intestine. I know in the past pain meds made me constipated, I don't know if they give any pain meds in the infusion.
FYI, the "cure" to my diarrhea was get this...peanut butter! Yes, a few spoon fulls of peanut butter and my belly/intestines calmed down.
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thank you Basia, i had a horrible time after surgery i dont want a repeat. I will talk to my onc before chemo and ask for advice.. i will buy pnut butter tomorrow!
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Hello Ladies!
Oh my, it has been quite a while since I have been here and I see so many new names. Ladies, I am truly sorry that you and your loved ones are experiencing this path of cancer treatment. The good news it that everyday you get closer to completing your treatment and getting on with your life.
I am now 15 months post TCH, and seven months post Herceptin treatments. It took my hair a while to grow back, but I now have the cutest head of curls--I call them my chemo curls--and my husband is absolutely crazy about these curls. During chemo I gained about ten pounds, but once I got my stamina back the weight came off without much effort. In fact, it would be hard for me to comment about specific side effects for the different chemo treatments because I don't remember a lot of the details.
I have shared some of this before, but I will share it again because like Amy and Jaimeh said there is a transition period when you move on to Herceptin only treatments.
The hardest part of my cancer treatment was recovering from the experience of cancer treatment. About four months post TCH, I began to feel a profound sadness with respect to all that my body, my husband, and my family endured while I was in cancer treatment. Not prayers, counseling, or positive thinking could relieve my heartache. I was ashamed of myself for feeling so despondent when I had everything to celebrate, yet all I could feel was loss.
My prayers were finally answered when I realized that I, quite uncharacteristically, had completely handed over my health care--my life--to my doctors, and though I received excellent medical care, my sense of loss would never diminish until I found a way to reconnect with my own healing powers. Through radiation and chemotherapy my doctors created killing fields to save my life; now, I needed to create healing fields to reclaim my life.
Thankfully, how you reclaim your life is not a cookie cutter protocol like cancer therapy. Follow your heart; do what makes you feel alive, happy, and healthy. By the time you complete your chemotherapy, there should be no doubt in your mind that you are a strong and courageous woman who can accomplish anything you put your mind to--just like you did to get through chemo.
I hold each and every one of you in my heart and in my prayers.
Cheers!
Cloud
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Cloud, it is good to hear from you again. I am glad you are doing well. I remember most of everything I went through but does not seem as bad as it did when I went through it.
For the constipation thing take Miralax every day until diarrhea sets in and then don't take it for a while. I know it is a yo yo thing. Most of the time I just had diarrhea. It is very important not to get constipated. One of the ladies here had to have colon surgery and a bag for a while so just don't get constipated. Take something. It is better to have loose stools. I was always on the look out for a bathroom.
Carolyn
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CaliforniaCloud - Thank you for your kind wordsand your perspective.0
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Hello, I hope it's okay to jump on this thread. I've been on others, and finally found this one. I just turned 41 and I'm the proud mom of 3 sons. My treatment plan is 6 TCH with weekly Herceptin for 18 weeks. After the 6 TCH I move to Herceptin every 3 weeks for 9 months and start Radiation and Hormone Therapy. I've completed 2 treatments so far.
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Cloud, thank you for your kind words and experience.
To help regulate my bowels, I am starting to take psylluim husk. I have done this in the past and it has always worked for me, don't know why I stopped! I take a tablespoon mixed with a glass of OJ every morning, it works in both extreams! Metamucil works well too, extra fiber will keep things moving. I fear becoming dependant on stimulants for this because my mom screwed up her system so badly that she will not have a normal bowel movement without a laxative.
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California Cloud, thank you so much for those wonderful words of wisdom.
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For constipation I highly recommend drinking lots of water, daily probiotic and dried fruit. I like dried apricots but I think prunes might be better for you.
I put a powered probiotic in my yogurt daily.
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