Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
Comments
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maureen - I think most of us had 6 TCH, but unless there were issues with ejection fraction, we continued with Herceptin for the remainder of the year. Congrats on finishing with the chemo part! Are you post-menopausal, did chemo put you into menopause, or have no effect? The chemo drugs are more likely to be the ones causing the hot flashes, so now that you are done you may see an improvement, but you may also experience hot flashes after you start Tamoxifen. Hormonal therapy drugs also cause insomnia so you may want to try several ways to help with sleep - have you tried Melatonin, or an anti-anxiety med like Ativan? Also, when you start Tamoxifen you might want to take it in the morning to see if that helps. I know there are some Tamoxifen threads with discussion on insomnia, hot flashes and other SE.
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Maureenb, I have 6 TCH, I completedd 2 so far and have 4 more to go, and will be on Herceptin for one yr. To me Herceptin causing me headache :-(. I told my nurse to do 60 mins infusion still have headach. Had hot flashes on first TCH, so far so good.
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I'm also getting hot flashes and insomnia. I'm on 10 mg ambien which I have sometimes halved, but not since I started chemo, and I am lucky to get 5 hours of sleep. I wake up right after. Fall asleep and too early in the morning, then drag around all day. Sleep is not restorative.
My doctor said something about prescribing Ritalin for the day, but I forgot to get a script. I want to go back to work and I do not have the energy for it now. I am going to call her about getting that script. My next psychiatrist appointment is not until after the time I want to return to work, so I need to solve this problem sooner than that.
Other issue with me is headaches that totally render me useless. It was worst first go round, but when they happen more ally cannot do anything.
As of today I'm 3 down, and three to go of TCH, the its just H.0 -
Marsha, hugs. I hope you find something that works for you. I am usually up til 2 then sleep for 4 hours, and mostly fall back to sleep for a couple more. I wake up at 9, so its as if I. were on 2nd shift. But it works for me. I am not working right now though. Much live. Congrats on being halfway done!
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Marsha- sorry to hear about your insomnia and headaches, too! I used to be able to take ambien and a quarter of a pill (2.5 mg) would work! Now it doesn't do anything! I can take a full 10 mg and be awake all night long. My onc thinks it's anxiety but I swear something chemical is keeping me from sleeping!
Feel like a zombie with a pounding heart.
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Finished TCH 2 months ago now on herceptin. Still have hot flashes. Sleep is slightly better. I took tylenol pm or benadryl to sleep. Herceptin doesn't seem to bother me much.
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Walkinginfaith,
If you are on tamoxifen, do not take benadryl. They are contraindicated for eachother. Something in the benadryl can prevent the tamoxifen from working properly.
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I am triple positive. I started chemo last May and am set to have my last TCH this coming Monday. So happy! I will continue with Herceptin until next May. When should I expect to start tamoxifen? I thought I would start it sooner then May but now my NP said May. I thought my onc said Sept. Thank you! Love and hugs!
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Hello!
Hope you all are hanging in there as well as possible.
It's been a while since I've been on. Just plugging along taking it all in one day at a time. Just had round 5/6 on Monday. All my rounds are different. Can chemo treatments get worse as you go? I seem to feel worse, more nauseous... than the first couple. Why would that be?
Also, I wish I could own the baldness. I don't wear a wig but if I leave the house I always have a hat or scarf on. Why can't I just say to heck with it and walk around bald?
Not sure that I'll have to get radiation yet. My Dr. said he'll determine that after my last chemo. What would be a reason not to?
Thanks!!
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Mcgis, hugs. Yes, every tx can seem worse, because every tx you are a bit more worn down. BUT you are only one away from finishing. Your doc may not say anything about rads, because he wants you to het thru chemo before you think about more tx. And, some people just aren't comfortable with going "topless" . So just do what works for you. Try going around the house eithout hats, go out to water plants, or get the mail without it, work up to seeing people without them, go slowly. Much love.
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hutchins - the majority of us started hormonal therapy about a month or so after chemo, or for some who had rads - either during rads (which usually starts a month or so after chemo also), or just after finishing. Docs usually like a bit of separation between therapies so they know for sure what is causing any side effects.
mcgis - what type of surgery did you have? Yes, chemo side effects are cumulative and tend to get worse the more you have. You are technically being systematially poisoned every few weeks - you body only has so many resources to rally! I didn't own the baldness either - it was not a good look for me! I wore my wig, or a hairpiece that I had made of my own hair that was cut off, when I left the house because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. The vast majority of people I encountered had no idea I was in treatment for breast cancer and I liked it that way. Radiation may or may not be necessary depending on tumor location (close to skin or chest wall), type of surgery and nodal status.
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Hutchins, I started hormonal - arimidex, in August of 2012. PFC was June 2012. I was still on Herceptin at that time, but I had a low EF, and they pulled me off Herceptin in late August.
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Maureenb, I think most of us had 6X TCH to start because we were a higher stage. HER2+ tends to grow so fast that many of us had bigger tumors and node invasion is more common with HER2+. (My tumor was a homebody. 5.5 IDC with another 1cm of DCIS but no node invasion).
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SpecialK: that's what I was afraid of. Just one more, but ugh! :-(
Moonflwr: I do own the baldness at home :-). I can't stand wearing a hat at home. With the hot flashes it's just too much.
Thanks, ladies.
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mcgis - I had cumulative SE the further I went into chemo, with #5 being the worst one. I was expecting #6 to be pretty brutal, but weirdly I had almost none of the SE I had previously except for crushing fatigue and burning in the large muscles from low hemoglobin. I did not have the GI issues that I had on the first five tx though, which I was very excited about because that is what kept me captive at home for 10 days after each tx. Hope your last one is easy! I also went without head coverings at home for the most part, and totally forgot that one day when the firewood guy came to the front door - scared the crap out of him, lol! Besides, who buys firewood in Florida, right?
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Did anyone have severe tearing during chemo...mine has gotten so bad I just cry tears all day..then wake up with very swollen eye lid(s) every morning..my right eye is worse...any suggestions that helped anyone would be greatly appreciated.
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ChickaD, I love the picture. So serene. I did have terrible tearing during chemo, I still have it but not as bad. I finished TC on 3/13/13. When I went to the eye doctor I was told that it is usually caused by the eyes being dry and to use eye drops at least 2x a day. I know it seems counter productive since the eyes are tearing all the time, but it has helped some. I use one called Systane in the morning and then a gel drop in the evening. I don't think my tearing wasn't quite as bad as yours, but I did wake up every morning with eyes stuck shut. And I couldn't even get my make up on in the morning without the tears washing it away. Hopefully others will come along with what worked for them.
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Yup, called Taxotears. It was worse in the winter. The dry midwest air would blow on my eyes as I walked down the street… tears would flow. Right after my last chemo I went to a funeral (friend's 46 year old sister lost her battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). I was talking to her husband and the tears started to fall. Told him I wasn't crying but it was from the chemo… he said "we know all about that." His sister-in-law must have gone through the same thing at one point.
My left eye is still a bit dry and I do use drops in the morning.
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Anyone here get migraines 2 days after TCH that last for days? My onc is acting like this is something unusual and is blaming cold caps, when its listed as a common side effect. She wants me to stop using the caps and I said no way, especially when I don't believe there is any relationship. The headaches hit when I feel tired and queasy, feels line chemo to me. Headaches don't respond to OTC pain killers, really because I think they are migraines. They are behind my eyes and a halo around my head. First one lasted 8 days, but I was coming off prednisone. Second one 3-4 days. I'm on day 3 of the third, and fiorecet is helping.
I guess what annoys me is when I mention side effects that are all over these boards, like the dry eyes, and its like I'm the only one that has ever mentioned it. Just makes me wonder why no one else is talking.0 -
ChickaD, I also had taxotears. Because I also have glaucoma my eye Dr hit it hard with FML steroid eyedrops. They helped alot. The good thing is about 4 weeks after tx ended so did the taxotears. I also used cool compresses to help with the swelling I had.
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Thanks for the responses on the tears....I'll try some eye drops!
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chickaD - I also put some Aquaphor at the corners of my eyes because the tears caused some minor cracking of the skin, and general irritation.
marsha - are you taking Zofran for anti-nausea? It can cause a terrible headache - solves one problem(although it didn't work for me) and creates another, nice - right?
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Marsha, I get migraines during weekly herceptin only, not during TCH. I noticed chemo #1 & chemo 2 of TCH no headache, once I started weekly Herceptin I will get migraine. I used to take Tylenol or Alieve but didn't help, so I decided to take nothing, just put ice pad on my head. I don't have headache the whole day, but sometime could be 4 hours in the morning or in the evening....weird!
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CHickaD be sure NOT to use the ones that say "get the red out." You want artificial tears only!
marsha1970 Tell your onc stop blaming it on cold caps and own up to the fact that chemo effects everyone differently… and this is a listed SE. Repeat that the cold caps are not going away so she better deal with that. (Granted my onc I just found out won't let her patients use them but I never asked. Too $$$ for me and I hate being cold).
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Thanks ladies!
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Chicka I had tears until about 8 wks PFC! I just carried a lot of tissues!!
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Tears went away six weeks PFC. I am now two months PFC and find that its a little easier to climb steps and my muscles are a little less tight and sore. But first time out of bed in the morning I walk like a 90 year old woman!
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marsha I agree with lago on the headaches/chemo/cold caps thing. I never got headaches from the cold caps. Yet I know many who got headaches after chemo. Don't let your onc push you to give up on the cold caps if it is something you want to continue to do!
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Hello Ladies....Had my first visit with the oncologist today. He said I will need 6 treatments 3 weeks apart of TGH and then Herceptin for 1 year. Is this pretty standard? Coming here and reading posts sure did prepare me, I didn't expect a any tears today...made it until I got to my car and lost it as I told my parents. I was going to go to work today...but the incision from where they put my port is very painful if I move my head just right. Got a prescription for more pain killers and anti-biotic. I do have a question about being ER positive...I am only 10% and PR negative. I know being HER+ is what makes my DX worse....but Is it better or worse to have a high ER+? I thought he said it's better when it's lower? He said I will start chemo in two weeks. I hope it is ok if I join this thread and I going to go back and read some history here...thank you all for sharing your journeys.
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Dear Lovewins (love your name) - a few answers -
yes the TCHx3 plus herceptin to equal one year is very standard. Many/most of us on this board had that, some women have 4TCH, but most 6.
OF COURSE you cried. We all cried. Just part of the deal.Many women's ports do not hurt. Mine hurt A LOT for 2 weeks. I couldn't envision that it would ever be something I forgot was there, but eventually it was. And it is GREAT to have during the infusions. You will be glad you have it. So be patient, it should stop hurting soon.
Re the estrogen+, I do not know if it is 'better' or 'worse' to have a lower/higher number. Maybe someone else here will know. I do know that if you have a higher %, the tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor that you take post chemo, can be effective in lowering estrogen and helping prevent recurrence.
BUT my onc said that for HER2+/ER+ women, they do not definitively know WHICH of those two things caused the tumor growth. So for instance, when i was 2 years out, she said I had passed the most probable window for recurrence IF the tumor had been HER2 driven, but if it was ER driven, the highest window of recurrence could be still ahead. So the whole thing seems confusing and unsure to me, and I am just living day to day, taking care of myself and not thinking about it (or trying not to).
There is a lot of wisdom and experience on this thread. Feel free to come any time with your questions - someone will be able to help you.
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