Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Ashla - I started Tamox after rads was done, but still on Herceptin. Doc felt that it was easier to figure out which SE was from what, by not doing them concurrently.
Kind of cool that you wrote to the JH people and they wrote back. I had seen that but never done it. Good for you!
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FYI..this is the Johns Hopkins info...
View your Q/A Here: http://www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org/services/ask_expert/viewquestions.asp?id=999811955
Lillie Shockney, RN., BS., MAS.
Administrative Director
University Distinguished Service Associate Professor of Breast Cancer
Associate Professor, Depts of Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, and School of Nursing
601 North Caroline Street, room 4161
Baltimore, MD 21287
PH: 410-614-2853
FAX: 410-614-1947
E-Mail: breastcenter@jhmi.edu
Website: http://www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org/0 -
Ashla - thanks for that link! Very cool that you got a response so quickly.
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Amyisstrong,
As you well know...Johns Hopkins is a very cool place!0 -
Funny you say that. I was in a Baltimore BC group for a while (I live about an hour outside Balt) and the women WITHOUT EXCEPTION were very negative about JH. Said it was too big, unfriendly, treated you like a number etc etc etc. I was very surprised. They liked some of the other Balt hospitals and treatment centers MUCH better. I have no experience with any of them (had my treatment in DE) so I can't say. But the Q&A thing is cool for sure.
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Where I live we feel the same way about Sloan Kettering. I thought long and hard before I decided against going there. Very clinical and impersonal but for complex issues and the latest word in treatment and knowledge...there are no finer hospitals.
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I wanted to share the response below from the contact person with the civilian clinical trial on the BC vaccine in San Antonio:
Thank you for your inquiry and email about the Vaccine Study that our sit is currently enrolling to. At this time it is unknown if we will still have availability in November, but you are certainly welcome to check back with us at that time. The last communication I received from the study team was that they were projecting enrollment to be reached in the Fall of 2012. They have not put an exact date on it. My best suggestion is that you check back with us the first of November to see where we stand. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have.
I plan to discuss it with my ONC during my next visit and we'll see where it goes from there.
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Yep...yesterday was just my "bad" day.....thanks for letting me vent....
So...I talked to my husband last night about all the stuff going through my head and he told me to talk to my MO and see if there actually was/is a program that walks people through chemo. My MO just started a survivors group to help people the "what's next" phase after chemo. Maybe I just missed the boat on that one. We have an American Cancer Society office inside the cancer center where my MO is located, but, honestly, I did NOT want to go in there. So...all of that to say this...I will be talking with my MO about my last 2 experiences and see if there is something that can be done to help people through the process.
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Dougieswife have you checked out Gilda's Club. They have events like yoga, support groups, lectures, wellness, golfing, comedy, etc for survivors and all those effected by cancer.
http://cancersupportcommunity.org/MainMenu/Cancer-Support/Find-a-Local-Program/Pennsylvania.html
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Hello all!
I have a few more questions for you.
(1) What did you all take for post-chemo nausea? My doc has ordered Zofran, but I see on the MDA protocol that they give compazine. Note that I will be getting the following for my IV premeds: benadryl, dexamethasone, aloxi (same family as Zofran), and Emend
(2) I know that you all have said to stay ahead of the nausea and take your meds before you even feel nausea. I plan to ask my doc when I can start them after chemo, but I'm curious how soon you all started them.
Thanks! A bit calmer about all of this today. We'll see how long it lasts.
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dance - I had promethazine also known as Phenergan. I did get nausea starting the next day so I took mine regularly but at 1/2 dose sometimes. For all the chemos I wrote down what symptom happened on which day and brought it all to my appointments to show the doc. I wasn't sure what might be a problem so I just told them everything.0
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dance - I was given three meds to try in order. First was Zofran - didn't work and gave me a wicked headache. Second was Compazine, worked well. Third was Ativan, never had to take it. My instructions were to start taking meds at 9 pm the evening of treatment. Then take at 12 hour intervals for 72 hours, even if I was not experiencing any nausea. If I needed to continue after that I could, but I never did have to. I was not given Emend in my pre-meds.
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Dance..
I have no idea what was in my premeds other than benadryl. I love that stuff. I've hardly ever used it before and it actually allowed me to sleep through a few hours of some of my treatments.
I was given Emend 3 pack was told to take the first pill as soon as chemo was started. I was also given Zofran to be taken every 8 hours for 3 days.
Nausea was probably the ONLY...SE effect I didn't have. Not a problem thankfully.0 -
Dance I never had any nausea. I have met others that didn't have any. I hope you are like me and don't get any. I was really surprised because general anesthesia made me terribly nauseous and the one time I took a 1/2 a Norco I started to get it too.
There were so many things I bought before chemo because people said I would need them then didn't. My taste changes were very minor and didn't even notice it till tx 3. I never had the metallic mouth taste. I never had the flu-like symptoms. I would tell my onc that the flu is much worse than chemo SE.
I assumed the worst. I thought for sure I would get every SE. Granted I got some surprise ones but not any of the more common ones.
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thanks all and LOL on the the benadryl ashla. I love it, too, since it has given me SO much relief during my many extremely itchy allergic reactions this past year! (My body apparently REALLY does not like most pain killers, lol.) I will be happy if it makes me kinda sleepy, too, since I think that will help with anxiety. I don't want to take an all-out anti-anxiety pill unless necessary...b/c my paranoid self wants to know what is going on.
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It's great to hear many of you didn't get nausea. My onc is really proactive on that and hates for his patients to experience that...so hopefully I'll be just like the rest of you! And Lago that's great to hear, since I get terrible n/v post anesthesia if not pre-medicated properly.
I know there is no way to predict how I'll react, so just gotta move forward and hope for the best. Maybe I'll finally get a good string of luck. A girl can always hope!
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Dance....
Probably the most annoying SE or me because I had never experienced it was constipation. I understand it's from the Zofran. It was like clockwork the third morning and persisted throughout the first 6 or 7 days despite yoghurt, high fiber, fruit and veggie diet and lots of liquids it was omething I had to constantly attend to the first week of chemo.0 -
Dancetrancer I had bad GI issues with TCH i.e. diarrhea and cramping that could not be relieved for 4-5 days (days 6-10 consistently) of every chemo cycle but the nausea was not a problem. For me, the first couple of days following chemo infusions I had a constant mild gnawing feeling in my stomach which I suppose was mild nausea but the compazine kept it from ever being any worse and I never needed anything stronger. It was a weird sensation but not really a problem. Oh, and there was heartburn which I never had before and haven't had since. My nurses told me the Tax is the one that causes these GI problems. I'm hoping you get away with minimal SEs.
I scheduled my acupuncture and I'll begin on Monday morning and then have my port removal Monday afternoon. I'm still having pain but feeling more optimistic:)
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Dance...I was NOT like the others, but I hope you are!!! The good news is, they have drugs to help you if you are like me.
A little bit of my story is that I had a delayed response for nausea and it didn't hit me till day 6. I thought I was doing good on the nausea front and then all you know what broke out. This was after my first treatment.
Here was my nausea routine...
Emmend/Kytril with premeds
Sancuso patch, worn for 7 days. (300.00 patch, but worth every penny!!!)
Compazine for mild nausea and then would add Ativan if it got worse.
Phenegren suppositories
and then after my 5th treatment, we added Zofran to the mix. 8mg, dissolvable tablets so that if you are throwing up, the meds are in your system and you can't throw it up.
Miralax was my friend as well!!! Do NOT let yourself get constipated!!!!! I had to go after my 2nd treatment to the ER to get help in that department. TRUST me...you DON'T want to do that.
Taking anti anxiety meds, for me anyway, helped me to actually HEAR what they were saying to me and not what I thought they were saying to me. It helped me to focus better.
I really hope you don't experience what I did. The nurse said I just have a sensitive "throw up" button...I do. Please forgive me, I don't remember, but do you have children??? Studies have shown that if you had bad morning sickness, you may have more problems with nausea. I know someone who had zero problems with morning sickness but was like me with chemo.
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Asha - I've heard about the constipation and asked my doc about taking a stool softener preventatively - but he wants me to try fiber instead. I'm pretty sure this is b/c like someone had told me, you could go the other way...and it wouldn't be good to have taken a stool softener then...eeeks. I have a tendency to get constipation with pain meds...so I'm sure this is a high chance...uggh...guess I will just have to tough it out the first time til I see what happens to me. Oooh fun! Oh well, it's better than vomiting. My husband has a saying for when we have to make a tough decision...it seems appropriate in this context..."Gee, we get to pick the prettiest turd in the bowl!" LOL
dragonfly - I'm anxious to see if the acupuncture works for you - am hopeful that it will! So happy for you to get that port removed!
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BTW, for anyone who has a nerd-like curiosity about things like me, here's a cool calculator that lets you figure out your actual chemo dosage for meds prescribed in mg/kg or mg/m2:
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dougieswife - a delayed response? That is SO not fair!!! My onc prescribed the dissolvable tablets. I will be on the lookout for this type of reaction - very glad to have a heads up - would rather know that it is possible than to be hit completely out of left field by it!!!
You know, I am getting Herceptin on my 2nd day, so if I don't go that morning (I'm usually "regular"....oh the TMI we share!), I am talking to my doc that day about taking something!!! Egads!!! Would definitely like to avoid an ER visit for constipation!
I've never had children, but I do have a sensitive tummy. Oy! Someday science will look back at what we all had to do to rid ourselves of possible remaining cancer cells and will think "how barbaric!" Until then, this is the best we've got I guess.
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I think I posted this somewhere on here before, but I'll share again....
The research nurse at my MO's office shared with me what causes the nausea...apparently, your GI tract is made up of rapidly dividing cells. Chemo kills rapidly dividing cells hence the nausea/stomach issues.
I am a "like to know why" kinda person, so I thought this was good information.
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I too had constipation issues. I used (and still do because of IBS) Nutra flora powder in my yogurt and starting with the night after chemo Metamucil for 3 days till things started moving at a normal speed.
Nutra Flora was recommended by my gastroentinologist way back when I was first diagnosed with IBS.
I also had heart burn but again they have meds for that too.
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dance - I was given three meds to try in order. First was Zofran - didn't work and gave me a wicked headache. Second was Compazine, worked well. Third was Ativan, never had to take it. My instructions were to start taking meds at 9 pm the evening of treatment. Then take at 12 hour intervals for 72 hours, even if I was not experiencing any nausea. If I needed to continue after that I could, but I never did have to. I was not given Emend in my pre-meds.
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My MO 's Nurse Practioner told me the worst parts of our cancer treatments are the first and the last.
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AMEN, Ashla!!!!!!! SO, SO, SO true!!!!!!
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Never had constipation - total opposite, with a vengeance. For ten days, each tx, until #6, and I waited for it but it never happened - so happy! Be careful about pre-medicating for constipation until you know which way the pendulum will swing!
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Lago - my onc mentioned he wanted me to either eat yogurt or take a probiotic as part of my regular diet (not related to chemo, more related somehow to cancer prevention). I've been eating yogurt but maybe I should add that probiotic in anyways. Thanks for the link!
SpecialK, your warnings are the reason I am not going to premedicate until I see how I react! I once took one fiber pill for 3 days in a row. One pill only, each day. I ended up with a horrible bout of diarrhea that lasted for 2 days off and on - had to go in late to work one day b/c of it...had been up through the night with it! It was awful. So yeah...between that experience and the constipation with pain meds, my body seems to be able to swing either way. I will just have to wait this one out and see what happens, but be ready to react either way.
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For those who iced to prevent nail lifting and mouth sores (chewed on ice)...is this only for the Taxotere? Or do I have to do it during Carbo, too? brrrrrrrrr.................I'm buying an electric blanket tomorrow to take with me next week!
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