Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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I don't remember when my eyes stated to water but they also twitched. By tx 6 it was practically constant. When I would look down to try and read a book my eyes would fill with water. Cold and wind too. I walked down the street with tears falling on my cheeks. It eventually does go away after treatment.
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I had the watery, twitching eyes, but now that I am a month+ out of chemo, it has all corrected itself. I had my eyes checked Friday and was told everything is fine. I have had, however, a runny nose for wht seems like forever. O go through Kleenex like nobodies business. My nose is raw right inside and gets little scabs from all the rubbing. The lotion tissues and the really soft ones don't seem to help anymore. Has nayone else experienced this?
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SickofPink,
Could your swelling possibly be lymphedema?
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finished the chemo and now on the herceptin tx of the TCH tx -- what is the date for which you begin saying you are 1, 2,3, 4, 100 year survivor... Is it 1 year from the date you started chemo, or 1 year after completion of chemo and herception or something else?
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Dventi, you are a survivor from date of Dx forward. :-)
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Survivor according to the American Cancer Society (or at least my understanding) is the day you were diagnosed. Your NED (no evidence of disease) date is the date the cancer is gone either from chemo, surgery or hormone therapy. Remember those stage IV and distant mets are survivors too. They may not get to NED or get to NED several times but their survival date will never change.
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rickysgirl - I have the runny nose thing too. At first I thought it was a cold, but I had no other cold symptoms, just the constant sinus drainage. It seems to get a little better towards the end of the 3 weeks, then starts up again right after the next tx. Between that and the watering eyes, I have kleenex in very room, car and purse!
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I think I had it too. Some people do get it from Herceptin. I found that is went away after chemo.
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Taxotears! Not to mention the Herceptin nose! It does get better. Really! It may take a while, but it does get better. I only need tissues in the morning now. I am 5 months PFC. Hang in there. It is my understanding that Herceptin goes after ALL fast dividing cells, and hair is one of them. Hence, losing the nose hair, which causes the constant dripping. here's to completing the course, hitting the finish line, finishing the "journey" ! (Without the stupid scenic detours!) LOL
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I also had tears all the time, I finally used lubricating drops i picked up at the drug store and that worked..good luck
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Hey Bren58 - I "accidentally" stumbled across something on facebook which goes like this: If you buy some Kleenex, certain boxes have a sticker on the front with a code on it. It's a round sticker. You can tke the code to Kleenex.com, and follow the instructions to send a gift pack to someone, at no cost. You may have seen this advertised on the tele. In the gift pack are some little packs of Kleenex, some hand santizer and some Kleenex nose & lip balm. I LOVE the balm. I got a gift pack sent to myself and one to the boyfriend, who suffers sinus problems. If it's still available, you may want to give it a try. I haven't been able to find the balm in the stores. I also ordered something online called the SickySticky. It's like a chapstick for the nose. It's pretty good, too. For as much as I've used, I still get the little nose sores, but I imagine it would be worse without it. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.
Can anyone tell me how long it was before you actually were able to tell your hair was starting to come back. I lay in bed at night and feel & touch, rub & touch, feel & touch, just hoping I can tell a difference. 1 month and 13 days post chemo, so I'm sure I'm being impatient, but................
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Rickygirl everyone comes back a different paces. I thought mine wouldn't come back so I didn't pay attention. It actually came back before chemo ended. I never saw the fluffy stuff. I know a gal who also had Taxotere, 6 rounds about the same time as me. It seem to take her forever but it came back. Also my neighbor same 6 rounds TCH. She took a long time too but she has her hair back. One thing they both have in common is they don't have very thick hair. I do. Not sure if that means anything. Also Herceptin does slow growth. My hair always grows fast but it was slower on Herceptin. I went topless at week 13 but it was still very short and the bangs were challenged.
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RG, mine came back slowly. My hair is still thin, but curly, not tight curls but nice curls. I felt my hair before it came.in "bumpy" so it looked real short for a long time, because of the curls. They're the only thing I liked about this whole business. So if you feel weird bumps, you're on your way! Much love.
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My hair started to come back in before chemo ended. I've been off herceptin 2 months and it's really growing fast now. My chemo curls aren't as tight as they were. Also nose sores are gone and no more dripping.
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OOOOO, I'll take the bumps !!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm taking some Biotin, which was recommended by my hairdresser and another friend. My hairdresser seems to remember that my hair grows fast. I'll have to take her word, as I just cannot remember anymore.
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My dermatologist gave me a great idea for my nose during chemo.
Take some aquafore (its OTC, like vaseline) and put a small glob on both ends of a Qtip. Then gently coat the inside of each nostril with each end of the Qtip.
Its lessened my bloody noses, and also, with the cold weather we are having, makes breathing more tolerable!
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I know this is completely neurotic, but... What is the range when you started to lose your hair? I was told 14-16 days after chemo round #1. I am 16 days out, and although my scalp is tingly and weird, I haven't lost hair. Of course I could just smile and say great, but my mother had chemo for BC, and she didn't lose her hair, and then she had a recurrence (and died of it years later). I KNOW that I can't extrapolate from her experience to mine. I know they didn't have Herceptin, Tamoxifen, etc. 28 years ago. Still, I would love to hear what the range of experience is with the hair.
Thanks, Shoshana
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I actually did use Vaseline up my nose but you must be careful not to put too much or go to high. You don't want this to go into nasal cavity. It helped. I have been doing that since I was a kid. I still get bloody noses in the winter at times. Problem when on chemo is they just don't stop bleeding!
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My hair started to come out in clumps and falling everywhere on day 17 after chemo 1. Couldn't stand the mess so I buzzed it off.
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Thanks rickysgirl for the kleenex tip. I will have to look for the specially marked boxes. I can use all the help I can with the nose blowing and resulting soreness.
I am putting aquafore on my shopping list.
I buzzed my head at day 15 because it really started coming out and I didn't want to wake up and have most of it on my pillow.
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I am going to try yo post a pic of my hair that came out in one day! It looks like a wig by itself! LOL
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Shoshana,
I didn't start to lose my hair till a few days after my 2nd TCH treatment.
I remember thinking that the chemo must not have been working, since I still had my hair. It did start to come out, and after watching it come out over the course of a few days, I got fed up and buzzed it to spare myself the agony of it slowly falling out.
I will suggest getting some of those breathable caps that drs and nurses wear during surgery and wearing them when you sleep. I got some from the hospital I was using---the nurses were really very understanding when I told them why I wanted them and they gave me a bunch. The caps are comfortable and catch the hair, so you don't wind up with a pillow case covered in hair, which I'm told is very hard to get rid of.
Good luck!
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I just vacuumed my pillow every morning (and the bathroom floor). Oddly enough the other day I found a long hair somewhere in my bedroom when I was cleaning. It kind of creeped me out.
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Hey all. I finished with the t and c day after xmas, and have one herceptin only infusion since, and am due for another on february 6th.... thing is, as i was getting dressed this morning, my boyfriend noticed a series of bruises, about fingerprint size on my back. bunches of them! almost along where bra lines and straps would be, altho i haven't been wearing one at all. Anybody have any idea? I saw my pt on the 22 of january, and she did not say any thing so i assume they weent there then. And plus i almost never look at my back. Help! now i am worried that i have chemo induced leukemia. I do see my pt tommorrow, and I will go to the triage center then just to show them. anybody else experience anything like this? Thanks.... I am stage 3c, 25/30 lymph nodes pos.
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I got a weird rash while doing Herceptin only on my leg. It wasn't itchy or anything. It eventually went away before I got to see the special dermatologist my onc wanted me to see. That was over 1.5 years ago. Don't assume it's anything. Might be the detergent didn't get fully rinsed out of your bra. Could it be bed bugs or fleas? Do you have a pet?
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Taxotears stopped for me at the 6-8 week point PFC.
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thanks iago. no pets no bed bugs no bra. they are bruises. altho i will let you know how it turns out.
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ably - my hair didn't start falling out until day 24, 3 days after my second tx, but then it fell out like mad - I buzzed it to about 1/4 inch but it never did fall out completely. It was slow to fall out and slow to start growing back, but it did finally. It didn't come back curly or thicker - same as before, just like my avatar pic (although still shorter than that at the moment!)
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kathec it's lago as in Lago. I'm not that clever to think of iago. Keep us posted
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Ok, thanks everyone. BTW, I'm not as stressed about the hair coming out as most people would be, because for religious reasons, I cover my hair (with a wig, scarf at home) anyway. Of course it's still weird, but I don't have to deal with the social aspects of it.
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