Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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dougieswife - I had acupuncture for heartburn and it really helped. I didn't like acupuncture but I liked the woman at my cancer center who did it. She listened to all my symptoms (actually asked me!) for nearly 40 minutes at each visit. Then she did a treatment based on what I told her. I didn't like the needles but I went every week during chemo and quite a ways into herceptin. I stopped when I finished herceptin. Anyway - it really did help with the heartburn.0
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wow, sewingnut, a couple weeks? yikes! hoping mine is faster - doc said only about a 10 percent collapse. sure did hurt 4 being so small! on pain meds now, which really helps.
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Aw dance.....
And sewing nut....
I had no idea that was even a possibility with port placement....how frightening! When you're better I would be interested in hearing more details. How the heck does that happen?What it felt like..how they reacted , how it was resolved etc.
Now I understand why some oncs prefer to keep the port for a few years rather than remove and possibly replace.
My thoughts and prayers are with you dance... We'll get through this together.
Friggin bc....0 -
Ashla punctured lung is possible with port placement. I remember my surgeon telling me this and thinking OMG I'm tiny I hope he doesn't hit mine.0
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Lago..
I'm glad I didn't know it was a possibility. My surgeon may have told me with that period...two weeks post dx ..was such a blur . Ignorance was bliss for me on that one.
I don't understand how it happens though. Is the lung that close?0 -
Grandma V..
Thanks for the chia seed tip. With friends ..... The dumbest part was that I had the genius olive oil massage inspiration the afternoon before my lumpectomy because I was screwing my mind over about being bald in the OR.
I shmeared, massaged, heated a little with the hairdryer and then showered. I dried off and realized I was still oily. Then I remembered that one of the ONLY instructions I'd had pre op other than no food water after midnght was NOT to use any lotions or creams on my body because they need to tape you up during the procedures .
I spent the next half hour taking two more showers to make sure the oily residue was removed!
Anyway....olive oil is a great moistuizer!0 -
Looks like my lung is right under my port bases on this drawing:
Mother nature packs all our stuff in pretty closely… good think it's made of stretch materials
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Alice71,
Very, very interesting about Dr Dwyer. I'm going to save that post for daily reminders. The needle localization is my friend mantra and this lumpectomy is my friend mantra definitely helped me last week.
As for the hair issue...after mine was gone..I put that to the backburner as I concentrated on nutrition, rest and dealing with the other issues I faced during chemo.
It is only now that chemo is a month past that I started thinking about it.
There is always a new hurdle in this battle.0 -
thanks all! 50% improvement in lung 2day. Staying another night in hospital 2 be safe. looks like no chest tube if it continues along this path!
scary, isn't it lago?
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DanceT Yes it is. I know my mom's doctor had her sign forms for some surgery/procedure. She asked him what was on there… she didn't want to read the entire thing. He said "It just gives me permission to kill you." (He knows he can joke with my mom like that)
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lol!
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Dance,
That's scary stuff about the lung injury during the port placement. I'm hoping you'll be better soon. Although it may not seem that way right now, the port makes it all so much easier. I'm so thankful I had one put in, especially with the weekly herceptin treatment, along with the eventual blood transfusion.
Fortunately, I've completed the TCH phase and now I'll just be getting the Herceptin treatments every three weeks until November. There really is light at the end of the tunnel, although sometimes it's very difficult to think of it that way.
Hang in there!
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ty racer!!!!
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dancetrancer, so sorry to hear things did not go well during your port surgery, but glad you are doing well now. I believe this happened to two people on the March 2012 Chemo Thread as well. I guess it is not that uncommon, so scary.
I had so much to catch up on this thread, but I think you said TCH would take 6 - 7 hours. My first treatment I was there even longer than that but for other reasons. Long appointment with doctor, and the meds along with the caps made for a long first infusion. But after premeds, my second infusion was about 2 1/2 hours. The taxotere was about an hour and the carboplatin and herceptin about a half hour each (maybe a little longer, but nothing like first time). I think I was out by 1:00. Of course I started with blood work at 7 and then onc appt. at 8.
Racerdeb and Dougieswife congrats on your last treatments!
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thanks brax. about tch - i was saying that i've heard others say it takes 6 to 7 hours. my onc is saying it will take greater than 8 hours, so he says i need 2 do herceptin on the 2nd day. i find out details tuesday. i think he gives extra fluids and maybe will be infusing really slow the 1st time b/c i have had 4 new allergic reactions 2 meds occur since sept 2011.
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dancetrancer I forgot about your allergic reactions. Memory not what it was when I started lol.
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#6 is doing a number!! Spent the night at the ER and I don't really feel any better. I went in with chest pains and short of breath, very weak, etc.
BP was low, 98/56, O2 levels were 94...so I got fluids and oxygen, chest CT to check for blood clots. I still don't feel too much better, but I have an appointment at 8:30am tomorrow for fluids.
I hope everyone else had a much better Saturday night!!! I can't wait to have a Saturday night out!!!!0 -
no worries...i am the worst at remembering who had what happen! hard 2 keep it all straight!
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The 1st infusion takes the longest because they go slowly to be sure there isn't a reaction. I know with my first the started to speed it up because I was doing fine. (never had a reaction). I think I was in the 6-7 hour time frame including every thing for tx1. The others were about 5-6 because I did see my onc and have blood tests. TX 1 that wasn't needed.
But like brax said Taxotere was 1 hour, Carboplatin 1/2 hour and Herceptin 1/2 hour for tx 2-6
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dougieswife, oh no! hope u get some relief soon!
thanks guys 4 the details on the infusion times!
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I think I have seen this question on here before but not sure...how did your ONC determine whether you would have 4 or 6 TCH?
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mine was pretty hard line, said there is only research on 6, so that's what she recommends.
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dancetrancer - so sorry about your lung! you have had more than your share of issues! I'm glad you are recovering well. I was really afraid of a punctured lung when I had my port surgery. Scary scary!
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thanks christina! They said my x-ray looked a bit better this morning again, and agreed to send me home. I will be re-xrayed in just over a week. She said it takes time to resolve. Fingers crossed that it doesn't worsen. I am going to take it EASY. I'm still desaturating with walking, but got to about 250' today before the alarms went off.
Happy to be home!!!!0 -
dougieswife, that's not a fun way to spend a night. so sorry you had to go through that. i guess the only good news is that you're done with chemo now, right? take care of yourself and let us know how you're doing.0
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Douglaswife
You made it through the final chemo.....like a marathon runner using all her strength over the finish line! You did it! You did it!
Sorry you couldn't celebrate that victory yet but that seems to be the way this battle goes. I do hope you 're feeling better and those frightening SES are temporary and minor.
It took me a few weeks to get past that final one. I even had my lumpectomy postponed because of a bad preop ekg.
Let us know how you re doing,0 -
Dancetrancer, I am sorry you had that happen, but I am glad to hear you are better. I did not know there was that danger, and like Ashla am glad I was ignorant. Hope you continue to feel better.
Dougswife, you are done and now your body can heal. It takes a while, but it is amazing when you start feeling "normal." I was pretty weak after #6 also, and it took about 6 weeks for me to feel my strength coming back. After that, I felt stronger every day. I remember telling my daughter that I did not realize how bad I felt during chemo until I started feeling better.
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ana, i've been the same way since i finished chemo and radiation. friday i did several errands and then found myself working in my back yard. all of a sudden, i went WOW! i haven't felt like doing this for such a long time. last summer was the hottest summer on record here and i couldn't even go out to water. It feels so good to feel so good!
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Yaya5, It is really amazing isn't it? Feels good to feel "normal." It hits you when your are buzzing around doing something you have not done in a long time. My yard is looking terrible and I was out yesterday thinking about what I am going to plant!
I am going for a MUGA, brain MRI and colonoscopy this week. I am hoping my bubble is not going to be burst!
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Looking like that Her2 targeted cancer vaccine trial in San Antonio is going very well!
"A vaccine to prevent breast cancer's return in women with a history of the disease has triggered the desired immune response in early research.
The vaccine under development is aimed at preventing recurrence in women who have a form of tumor known as HER2-positive, according to researcher Dr. Diane Hale, a research resident in general surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio.
She is set to present results of the study on Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.
The vaccine, known as the "HER2-based peptide vaccine AE37," is designed to harness the power of the patient's immune system, based on its reaction to a cancer-linked peptide (protein).
"The theory is that once you form that [immune] response to the specific peptide, if the body has a recurrence, it will recognize that cancer as a bad thing, a foreign thing," Hale explained in an association news release.
The study is a phase 2 study, meant to evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness and any side effects. Phase 3 studies are needed before the vaccine could be approved.
The science is early, Hale stressed, and it will take at least five years before the vaccine could conceivably be available if ongoing studies bear out."
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