Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Dance, Thanks, I think I'll try it, too.0
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DanceT you don't complain too much. I found that certain symptoms stopped getting better after TX 4. For instance I got neuropathy in my left heel (numbness). It resolved after the first 3-4 treatments but after that it didn't. Also many of the SE that I did last a bit longer each time. I think that's why I eventually had to add the Carafate after TX 4 to the protonix/nexium0
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Thanks Lago...sometimes I do feel like I complain too much! Thanks for making me feel better. :-) I guess this is what they mean by the symptoms being cumulative. Uggh!
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So, this is the thread for my chemo regimine. Glad I found you all. I kind of glanced at the first page (really wasn't going to read all 450+) and was surprised at the number of ladies that didn't lose all their hair. So, really, what is the likelyhood that I will lose it? To be honest, I am not all that freaked about losing it; minor sacrifice in the larger scheme of things. I am wondering though.
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my wife lost most of hers after her 3rd treatment. By the 4th she had a few strands left. A few people use the cold caps to preserve their hair, lots of threads about it.
FWIW, she's about 14 months out from TC and 6 months past herceptin and has a full head though it still isn't as long as she'd like it to be.
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imatthew, thank you for the info. I have done a bit of reading on the cold caps and I'm just not even going there. Awesome, btw, that you do this on your wife's behalf.
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vickilind there's a very good chance you will lose it. Everyone I know personally who's been on it has lost it. But I will also mention so far everyone I know who was on it got it back. Some were a bit slower than others though.
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hello, everyone! i've been away for a few weeks puttin g my mother in a nursing home in texas. honestly, i think that was harder than chemo ... but maybe not! i wanted to say 'welcome' to the newbies and hooray for the good news for some of you. also, i agree with amelie. i'm 6 months PFC and i have only three herceptins left and i'm starting to feel almost normal again. in the middle of chemo, i thought i was doomed to feeling horrible for the rest of my life, but, of course, that didn't happen. hang in there, everyone. it DOES get better. it really does.
grandmaV, how are you doing? special hello to kellogg, omaz, amelie, and lago!!
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vicki i was told i would lose all my hair so i shaved it. i have lost a lot but judging by the stubble i have left, i think i would just be very thin on top. i think i could possibly have gotten away with just wearing a hat. having said that i have no regrets about shaving my head, i think it would have been painful to watch it fall out. and i was not interested in icing, doing cold caps, anything like that either.
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YaYa!!! so glad to see you. I remember when we put my grandfather in nursing home. It was hard but it was time, and he knew it too. I was lucky I was back home then. (Stock market crashed in the late 80s just after I got out of grad school). I was able to spend time with him).
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yaya - Hello!!
vickilind - even if you don't lose all of your hair, you will most likely lose enough of it that you will need a head cover of some kind - scarf/hat/wig - unless you elect to rock the bald look. I was unusual in that I made it through 2 tx before I started losing significant amounts of hair - most start losing at the 14 day point - I still had a full head of hair at day 24 - but then it came out rather rapidly the next day, so I shaved it. I am now 11 months PFC and have a full head of hair, and have had several haircuts.
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Hi YaYa, It's so good to hear from you. I'm so glad to hear you're feeling almost normal. I'm sure it was hard to move your mother to a nursing home. You look great in your new picture. I'm been feeling a bit better the last few weeks. The fatigue from rads was unbelievable. Dead tired, but couldn't sleep much most nights. But it's been getting steadily better. Tinnitus is still with me. Still learning new ways to cope with that. I will be going to an Ent in about another month. I have about 8 more herceptins left, last echo Showed no change in EF so far. It will be 2 months on Femara at the end of the month and I really don't have any new side effects that I can attribute to that.0
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thank you, grandmaV! that's a pic of my son (i cut him out) and me at one of the thunder basketball games and i was soooo happy! we had a ball. so much positive energy packed into one place.
i'm glad you're feeling better, but sorry about the tinnitis. i can't imagine how hard that is on top of everything else, but good news about no femara side effects. after everything you've experienced, 8 more herceptin treatments sounds really easy, huh? good luck with sleeping at night. i can handle almost anything but that. take good care of yourself.
hi there, specialK!!
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Hi ladies, This question is for anyone PFC. I finished TC May 2011and H In Feb 2012. I was fine for awhile, had trouble with AI and was off and on from March until Mid April then my period returned and I started taking Tamoxifen. I am half dosing until I get used to it. I am noticing my weight fluctuateing up and down 10-15 lbs every 3-5 days, so I know it's water weight and it just started after switching to Tamoxifen. Also, the port side shoulder pain and finger swelling in my sleep has returned, joint stiffness. Is this normal? Its like chemo SE all over again, I took a few Lasix but it's only helping temporarily. I am eating well and doing Pilates and taking surfing lessons, so I am being active. How can I stop the water retention, I tend to think the amounts are a bit extreme. My MO is no help. thank you.0 -
Hi Yaya...thanks for the shout out! You look fabulous in your new avatar! I've had a rough time lately, lost my mom May 8th very unexpectedly. I am hanging in there. It has been one shitty year. I am in the middle of rads right now, 14 down and 21 to go! Still on Herceptin every three weeks, too but that is a breeze compared to what I've already been through. The hair is coming back but not fast enough for me or course....and there is an awful lot of gray! (I'm 45) So good to see ladies like you, Lago and Special K who have already been through it all and are thriving. It really gives us still in treatment something to look forward to!0
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nmoss if you are gaining 10-15lbs in 3 days you need to discuss this with your primary care MD. I will admit I have started fluid retention again but more like 3-4lbs at the most. I did start taking the diuretic that my onc had prescribed before (had a couple months left) but it's a very small amount. I too need to check with my PC MD. For some reason anything salty sends my weight up too but not like you. 10-15lbs is serious.0
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nmoss, I agree with Lago. 10-15 pounds in just a few days is a lot. I would also see about getting an echo if you haven't had one recently. Heart issues can also cause fluid retention.0
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nmoss how is your blood pressure?0
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Thanks ladies, Blood Pressure is great never an issue, I dropped 7 lbs since yesterday.. No diuretic . Its really crazy.
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Nmoss, that is a really big swing. I bounce a lot too, but the big swings usually mean dehydration for me, have they checked your magnesium and pottassium levels? Are you drinking a lot? A gallon of water is about 8 lbs, just FYI.
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Silly question, anyone ever try the eyebrow temp tattoos? Just wondering, I am not good at drawing mine on. And the stick on ones seem a bit too theatrick for me. Besides, I keep thinking of the dropping off like catepillars, LOL
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Hi yaya - Love your smile in the new avatar. Hope everything went well with your mom.0
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I am still having fluid retention issues - never stopped! If I don't take the diuretic I have about a 3-4 lb change. Nmoss - 10-15 is a lot, but I would be more alarmed if it went up and did not come down. The aching is normal for Tamoxifen, but not sure about the fluid retention.
moon - what about an eyebrow stencil so you don't have to draw them yourself? Anastasia makes one and so does Japonesque.
kelloggs - I already knew my hair was pretty gray but I was unprepared for just how gray my whole head was! I had been coloring it blond (as it is in my avatar) for quite a while, because if it is any darker the gray roots make me look like a skunk! I colored that gray stuff at the earliest opportunity! You may find that it will grow in darker after a little while all by itself.
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SpecialK - It's pretty dark on the sides but I have a skunk-like white-gray area on top. I have colored my hair for years, too but was actually looking forward to having my natural color. I guess I didn't realize it would be so gray. Back to Miss Clairol for me!
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Moon - I had my eyebrows tattoo'd after my first tx...and I am soooooo glad I did. Next week I have my 6th and final treatment and my brows are starting to thin but only I can tell!! It was worth the money for sure. I still have to get the second colour tattoo'd in but they told me to wait until they start thinning so there is less hair to get in the way of the needle. I will have that done next week.
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Love74 where did you get your eyebrow tattoo done?
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I had it done at a cancer salon but I think there are lots of places that do cosmetic tatooing.
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Hi Yaya! Good to hear that you are doing well and hope things are better for your mom. I love your hair; it's a bit more than I have. I keep giving myself deadlines to get rid of the wig, but haven't gathered the courage yet. It's so very thin still... I have 3 herceptins left and my Onc says I can schedule the port removal as soon as I am done, which should be mid-July. Can't wait!
Dance, good news about the test being okay and also not needing transfusion. Sorry you are having such difficulties. Hang in there.
Kellogs, sorry about your mom. It's a terrible loss at anytime, but for this to happen while in treatment must have been so very difficult. I am sorry. Are rads going okay for you? I hope you get through them with minimal SE's.
To all the newcomers on this thread, welcome!
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Love, I never thought about tattoos, but how do you decide the shape? I am so bad at that kind of thing, I wouldn't want to be stuck with unibrows!
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Moon - I still had my brows when I started with the tattooing so the girl knew where to go with the needle. They use a stencil with eyeshadow first to see if you like the shape then they mark it with sharpie and then start with the needle. If you don't have brows left you probably have to bring a picture but I think they can tell from your brow bone where they are supposed to be.
Its not one of those electric tattoo guns...just a tiny needle that they make thin scratch marks with to look like hair. Feels kind of like plucking...my eyes watered but it wasn't too painful.
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