Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Ashla - thank you so much, you just made my day!
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Hello all!
Has anyone here developed kidney problems from the carboplatin?
I have done 3 treatments. My GFR dropped from normal (94) to 84 after my 3rd TCH. This is technically Stage II "mild" kidney damage, although I know you need several readings to be sure. I haven't been able to talk to the doctor about it - the nurse said it really wasn't something to worry about, they've seen a lot worse, and they can adjust my dosage for the next TCH based upon my GFR. She said it may have been low if I were dehydrated when the blood was drawn.
Despite her reassurances, I'm not sure about doing my last TCH (scheduled for next Wed). I'm worried about the fact that is has dropped in just a few short weeks...what more could happen with another treatment? As some of you may know, treatment for my size tumor (3 mm) is very controversial and me going forward with treatment is being very aggressive as it is. I'm worried about doing further damage.
If anyone knows anything more about this or has feedback I'd appreciate your input.
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DT, I had ARF when I got dehydrated. My gfr has been around 60, sometimes dropping to 54. My doc is not too worried. I am finished now though. I hope all the numbers come back up
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Mine did too, after 4th I think. But admitted to nurse that I did not do good drinking water! Drink up!! I know I have been struggling!! But have to make a concious effort!! Ulgh! Drink drink drink! Flush that stuff out!
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Moonflower - do you know what your GFR was pre-chemo? I hope your numbers come back up, too. Hey, how is the foot swelling? Did you ever call your onc? With you having that history of ARF and reduced kidney function, you may want to let your onc know if you haven't already.0
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kfontaine, thanks for sharing your experience. I do drink tons of water, especially the week of chemo. I chart it - about 75 to 100 oz a day. My blood work was run week 2. I had slacked off a bit, but didn't feel dehydrated. I'm drinking more again since I got that reading, LOL!
Did your GFR go back up?
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dance - my GFR was in the mid-80's through chemo and continued dropping, and reached 82 six months after chemo was finished (last December). I just had it checked a couple of weeks ago and it was 99. My MO was not concerned, I think this is pretty common for someone receiving a kidney-filtered chemo, but it took 6 months for it to rebound.
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SpecialK, thank you - great to hear yours came back up - that helps ease my mind. I am on Carafate, too, which I believe is filtered through the kidney (aluminum toxicity can happen with reduced renal function), so I might be getting a double whammy. Happy to hear it is not permanent damage.0
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Yes mine came back up! Hopefully will do good this time too! I am sure you will do fine! Time for me to go drink some more water! Yummy!
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DT, my gfr is only reported as greater than 60 normally. So I don't know what it really was. I had to go for my tx on Thursday and reported it then . It just shows that I have been drinking a lot! LOL.
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Do any of you who have ports have issues with them sometimes? For example, today at work, I was using the carpet extractor and it is a pull-back type. Since then, it has been, I don't know, feeling almost like it did when it was first put in. I am thinking if it is still feeling this kind of weird on Monday, I will call my MO. WIth my first infusion on Friday, I don't want anything to delay it.
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Okay weird. Lump in left breast was found and now have been on TCH x6 rnds! Today I just notice pain in my other breast, and a very hard lump bout 2cm!! Very painful! Had mammo less than 2 months ago, could it really be C!? all they found before was calcifications..really
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Vickilind, hope it is nothing and your port is still good to go. Kfountain. I am praying for you.
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Great news! Another weapon in the fight has been approved for use by the FDA for us Her 2 pos ladies. Pertuzumab....aka Perjeta .... is another antibody which will be used in combination with Herceptin. Let's see if our insurers will pay but I'm planning to ask for it. It's injectable.
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Thank you moonflwr, me too. I can't even say if it's better today because I had such a bad night trying to sleep, I am miserable and achy everywhere. I think I might go to the pool and try to loosen up all these tight muscles.
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kfontaine, I had a second lump (palpable) within a month after diagnosis through mammogram. However, it turned out to be a cyst and it completely disappeared when I started chemo. I attributed that lump to the immense STRESS that I was having. This is a silly question but have you been feeling extra stressed? It made me realize that I needed to relax more. I try to meditate frequently now. It has helped lot.
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Vicki, I had a similar problem with my port once after walking my dog, who is a strong leash puller. The pain was so scary I called the surgeon's office. The nurse reassured me I wasn't going to die, and I saw the PA a couple of days later. She ordered an ultrasound to make sure there was no blood clot; all was OK, and the pain resolved on its own.
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Thanks so much!
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MizMarie, thanks for the info. I work at a medical facility so maybe I'll ask our DoN to take a look at it on Monday; she is so great. It is feeling better now, but still just weird.
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Vicki I jumped over from our other thread; ) I wonder if your pec muscle might have just pushed up against your port or something. Mine has been bugging me a little since my last fill.
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markat, I know I've used my pec's more this past week, since I went back to work. Then yesterday, my foot slipped on tehladder at the pool and I used my arms to stop from falling in (badly) so it isn't feeling better today. My cousin is a retired RN and I'm heading up to Denver to visit; I will have him do a touch/feel thing and go from there.
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Vicki - my port feels "weird" from time to time. Don't be surprised if it feels strange after your infusion too. Mine still feels funny for a week or so after my Herceptin. Some people say the port surgery was a breeze but I thought the pain afterward was way worse than the lumpectomy! Mine hurt like hell for a couple of weeks.
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Kelloggs - I totally agree. Lumpectomy - no pain meds needed. Port install - OUCH where's the pill bottle?
Best day of entire bc experience - when they took the port out (for many reasons).
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Amy - I won't see that day for a while! It's ok, the port has been my friend.
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Yes, I loved having mine too. I would recommend it to anyone -it was SUPER helpful during infusions. (I wish they would have used it for blood draws, but they never would.) And i got to the point where I would forget it was even there for days at a time.
BUT the day they took it out - I was so glad to have it gone, plus it symbolized the end of active treatment. Just take it a day at a time, Kelloggs - your day will come!
I'm three years out from that point (port removal) and the scar is almost all faded. This whole bc journey is so all-encompassing when you are in the middle of it. All the doctor's appointments, treatments, managing SEs, recovery times, fear of recurrence, etc etc ETC. But I'm here to tell you that over time, as the weeks and months pass, it DOES fade into the past, and the whole thing fades more and more into the background, into the rear view mirror, until one day it drops below the horizon and you go a day or so without even thinking about it. And then another day or two, and then more. And then you only think of it once in a while, and it seems like something that happened to you a long time ago, rather than defining who you are.
And it feels wonderful.
That is one reason i stick around these boards even after all this time. I was SUCH a basket case in the beginning - never would have believed that the paragraph I wrote above could be my reality. But it is. I am living life, loving every day. And I want to help encourage others in the midst of the battle that better times ARE ahead.
In love & support to all my TCH sisters-
Amy
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I'm sure I'm not alone in saying thank you for sticking around and encouraging us. I hope to do the same some day!
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I still have my port. No issues. Still need to see if I can get it out this fall or if it's the following fall.
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Still have mine as well - BS says to keep it indefinitely, MO says I need a post-Herceptin PET before removal and that won't be for another 6 months or so due to exchange surgery obscuring what needs to be seen. I have a skin cancer right next to it that needs to be removed later this month so I wouldn't remove the port until that is completely healed. I have an inch long scar on the other side, also from a skin cancer removal, so I am not motivated to remove it anyway because all of these are visible 100% of the time.
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I have been very thankful to have my port - on top of chemo/herceptin, I also have had 2 hospital stays stays and 5 blood transfusions through it. It sticks up like a doorbell, and I will be just as thankful when it's gone. However, I have not had this conversation with my MO yet, so I don't know what his thoughts are about the timeframe for removing it. I sure don't want to leave it in "just in case", because I don't plan on having cancer ever again.
It is interesting how some of us don't have a port, or had to ask for one. For me, it was never presented as an option - MO simply told me that I would get a call from the surgeon's office to schedule the procedure....
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One good thing about the port is I can get blood draws from it. Once it's gone it looks like I am going to have to have it done in my 4 node arm and I'm not happy about it. No one will do blood draws from the foot. Even my LE MD didn't have a suggestion on what to do.0
