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Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

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Comments

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570
    edited October 2013
    Thank you Moonflower and everyone for your prayers. I am getting treatment right now...on my 3rd bag and 1 more after that. I am pleased to say all my counts are good except my plateletts a little low. No damage to any organs at this point. Everyone was right on time today so it looks like I will get out almost 2 hours earlier than last time! Praise the Lord! I am liking my MO more with each visit. Decided to just take the loopy anti-nausea, I think if I take less it will be ok.

    I hope you are feeling much better mamastewart and they are able to give you something to help you.
  • specialk
    specialk Member Posts: 9,261
    edited October 2013


    mamastewart - low hemoglobin will also cause that muscle fatigue in the large muscles of the leg - take a look at your CBC and see where your level is. You might want to try to increase your protein level with diet - red meat and leafy greens can assist your hemoglobin.


    lovewins - platelets counts change very frequently - platelets are the most fragile type of blood cell and the levels go up and down very rapidly - average life span of a platelet is only 5 days. They will check on the day of chemo and will postpone if they are too low as it makes it difficult for your blood to clot. I didn't want you to be worried about your platelets!

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570
    edited October 2013
    Thank you SpecialK...yes you are right the nurse said exactly the same thing, they were a little low but not low enough to stop my treatment. Hope all is well with you.
  • Miss_Mama_Bear
    Miss_Mama_Bear Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2013


    I didn't think about that. I know that can cause muscle pain, but I was thinking it was more like spasms. Was yours directly related to exertion, or just come out of no where? Mine is just from "exercising" although it is not exactly what I would consider exercising: things like standing up from sitting in a chair kills my legs!

  • specialk
    specialk Member Posts: 9,261
    edited October 2013


    lovewins - I am good thanks, glad you are hanging in! Your platelet count can actually change several times a day so don't worry too much about it, unless it becomes trending.


    mamastewart - mine was exertion related, definitely. Climbing stairs was the worst, but by the last tx walking was even a bit tough. That fatigue seems to stay with most of us until about 6 weeks PFC. I did not experience much in the way of bone/joint pain from either Taxotere or Neulasta, but my hemoglobin did fall almost to the point that requires a transfusion (it went down gradually and hovered just above 8), then it came slowly back up once chemo was done - and while on Herceptin.

  • Miss_Mama_Bear
    Miss_Mama_Bear Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2013


    Doc says they muscle pain is because they are "jacking around with your hormones". I guess that possibly confirms that I am in chemopause? She told me to take a Tums or something else with calcium in it. I would never have thought it was that. I guess that is why they make the big bucks, huh? At least I am glad to know that it can be treated.

  • MarisaC
    MarisaC Member Posts: 32
    edited October 2013


    I'm a little late with this but flowergirl, my onc recommended Aleve for pain from the Neulasta shot. It worked for me. Maybe give it a try if you haven't gone for the pain pills yet :)


    Also, my legs felt so weak since TCH #5, especially climbing stairs. Special K mentioned low hemoglobin and that was what my dr. said too. I was anemic. I've been done with chemo for 3 weeks and I'm still waiting for this to go away.

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited October 2013


    glad for you MamaStewart. I am glad SK brought up hemoglobin counts. I forgot anout. Also potassium and magnesium lows cause cramps and weakness. I had to have potassium and mag infusions many times during tx. I also needed 2 transfusions. So I am glad you didnt need any.


    Lovewins happy things are moving right along. Hoping for small SEs for all.


    Much love.

  • soriya123
    soriya123 Member Posts: 384
    edited October 2013


    TCH#5 somehow got me too, my legs felt so weak. Day 5 still tired. Maybe cus I didnt really force myself to walk, i spent too much time lying in bed. :(

  • soriya123
    soriya123 Member Posts: 384
    edited October 2013


    Hello Lovely Ladies, TCH#5 hit me so hard this time, I cant imagine #6 :(.

  • bren58
    bren58 Member Posts: 688
    edited October 2013


    soriya I am sorry it has been so bad. Darn cumulative effects! If the SE's were really bad, you might want to ask if they can decrease the dose for your final one. I had to have mine reduced twice because of SE's.

  • AmyIsStrong
    AmyIsStrong Member Posts: 426
    edited October 2013


    My fifth was really difficult. I made contingency plans for #6 - had my mom come down and stay with me..and then...nothing bad happened. (I mean it wasn't a picnic, but NOTHING like #5.) Not sure if that was because I knew it was the last one or what, but we just spent the week together, went shopping etc. After the last one, it is so awesome because you aren't just getting better only to have to do it again, you are getting better FOR GOOD! (And having Herceptin-only is NOTHING like chemo, so don't worry about that.)

    Love to all - press on, sisters!

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570
    edited October 2013


    Day 2 of 3rd treatment...last night was a wee bit rough but experience told me what to do and I finally got to sleep around 3 am. I think it is the steroids. Today was very good, feeling tired but was able to go get my shot and go shopping. It would be so awesome if tomorrow I don't feel like I got hit by a truck....my prayers to all who are going thru a rough time. I hope you all feel better soon.

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited October 2013


    Hugs to all in tx right now.Soriya keep in mind its only ONE more. Keep repeating that. To all, May your SEs be only small ones.


    Still working on my low mag level. and TMI following. NO D for almost 2 weeks. First time in almost 1 1/2 years. And way TMI coming next- just warning- I can see my BMs. LOL! No funny colored water instead. In other words, pretty normal poo. I can make it to the restroom in time snd I dont have to wash a load of clothes all the time. LOL So I hope my levels came up enough to stay on the slo mag! This NEW NORMAL I like!


    Much love

  • Miss_Mama_Bear
    Miss_Mama_Bear Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2013


    Thanks for all your input everyone! I will be bringing this list to my doctor next week if things have not improved and request some testing be done or something. I have been ingesting a ton of calcium but things have no improved. I could just be impatient as I am not sure how long it should take, but I am done with this business lol. I have hit the pain pills. Ibuprofen did nothing and even taking two Lortabs barely did anything today. I at least managed to get some stuff done though. I think maybe it was do to inactivity from being sick with a cold (that I think is turning to bronchitis) I just have not gotten a break this round. I had a stomach bug -twice- too!


    Have any of you looked into fasting? I did it my 2nd round but am not this round because I am sick. I would say the typical chemo side effects (all this other sickness and stuff aside) were less than normal although I did have different ones. It is hard to judge basing on only two treatments and one of them being the first. The thing that got me, though, was my ALT levels (that detect tissue damage in your body) Before round 2, they were at 72 (normal range is 0-33) and my onc -and myself!- were a bit concerned. Now before round three (with having fasted for round 2) they were at 22! I think that is a huge improvement and it says to me that it is at least reducing the damage at a cellular level even if my side effects were not much different. I am kind of glad that I decided to eat this go-round so that I have another round to compare. I plan to fast for as many as possible. Hopefully that will cut down on the cumulative effects.

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570
    edited October 2013


    So happy for you! I wanted to post the same thing at the end of my last treatment! For the last two days I had almost normal poo!!!!! In otherwords I think I know how you feel! TMI I know, but it's too good not to share!

  • bren58
    bren58 Member Posts: 688
    edited October 2013


    Moon, that is great news about your poo! I know it has been a long an scenic detour for you. I do hope that your mag levels will stay up and you can enjoy this new normal for a long time.


    mamastewart, there was quite a discussion about fasting and chemo on the Triple Positive thread back in April/May. If you go to page 574 of that thread SpecialK posted some links to other discussions about it. (sorry I can't cut and paste right now)


    lovewins, I smiled when I read your post about knowing what to expect this tx round. It also took me about 3 rounds to finally figure how to handle most of the SE's.

  • specialk
    specialk Member Posts: 9,261
    edited October 2013


    moon - yay on the poo! I have to say that is a sentence I never thought I would be typing, but yay!

  • Miss_Mama_Bear
    Miss_Mama_Bear Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2013


    Jj

  • Miss_Mama_Bear
    Miss_Mama_Bear Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2013


    I'm not sure why my last post didn't post right, so I'll try this again... I'm sitting here getting my #3 infusion and I just had a pretty scary reaction to the Taxotere. I was sitting here talking to the nurse (luckily) and I got a bit of a weird hot kind mm feeling in my stomach, then I coughed once and suddenly couldn't breathe. She stopped my infusion and gave me an inhaler and more steroid. They are going to restart me in about 30 if I'm feeling fine but super slow. The nurse said that it is pretty common for 3Rd time Taxotere infusions to have a reaction if you are going to have one for some weird reason. I just wanted to forewarn everyone going for their #3 and to p on remind everyone if you feel anything weird at all to let the nurse know!

  • AmyIsStrong
    AmyIsStrong Member Posts: 426
    edited October 2013


    MamaS - that must have been so frightening - glad the nurse was right there. I know that when I had my initial tx, they watched me closely, but not after that (as far as I know). I never heard of that about the third one. That is why this board is so super valuable.


    (But sorry we had to learn it at your expense.)



    Rest up - I'm sure that took a toll emotionally and physically.


    Sending love and good thoughts for no SEs for you.

    Amy

  • moonflwr912
    moonflwr912 Member Posts: 5,938
    edited October 2013


    MS wow. That would have scared the poo out of me!LOL. Just cant stop my crappy conversation. Um sorry.... LOL. But I would have been real scared to. Glad the nurse was there right away.


    Much love to all.

  • bren58
    bren58 Member Posts: 688
    edited October 2013


    mamaS, I hope the rest of your infusion was incident free!

  • ChickaD
    ChickaD Member Posts: 971
    edited October 2013

    Hugs to all!

    This is kinda long but good...

    Johns Hopkins Update This is an extremely good article.  Everyone should read it.  

    AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .  Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins: 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancercells do not show up in the standard tests until they havemultiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patientsthat there are no more cancer cells in their bodies aftertreatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect thecancer cells because they have not reached the detectablesize. 2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in aperson's lifetime. 3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancercells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying andforming tumors. 4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person hasnutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors. 5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changingdiet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system. 6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growingcancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cellsin the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc., and cancause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc. 7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scarsand damages healthy cells, tissues and organs. 8.. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will oftenreduce tumor size.However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction. 9. When the body has too much toxic burden fromchemotherapy and radiation the immune system is eithercompromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumbto various kinds of infections and complications. 10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells tomutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancercells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are madewith Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitutewould be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very smallamounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white incolor Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt. b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in thegastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved. c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-baseddiet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat, like chicken. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer. d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, wholegrains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body intoan alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cookedfood including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide liveenzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down tocellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhancegrowth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for buildinghealthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (mostvegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some rawvegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed attemperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).. e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have highcaffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancerfighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, orfiltered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tapwater. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot ofdigestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in theintestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup. 13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. Byrefraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymesto attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows thebody's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. 14. Some supplements build up the immune system(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroycancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are knownto cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body'snormal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, orunneeded cells. 15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warriorbe a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness putthe body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn tohave a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenatedenvironment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help toget more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells. 1. No plastic containers in micro. 2. No water bottles in freezer. 3. No plastic wrap in microwave.. Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.  Please share this with your whole email list.........................Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.  This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life...   

  • LizA17
    LizA17 Member Posts: 102
    edited October 2013


    Great article ChickaD! Thank you for posting!

  • bounce
    bounce Member Posts: 215
    edited October 2013


    Please provide a link or directions to the original article.


    Thanks.

  • flowergirl1
    flowergirl1 Member Posts: 36
    edited October 2013


    Hi y'all....yesterday I felt horrible and couldn't get out of the recliner all day. I felt like I had the flu. Today I went for my Herceptin and they took my bp. It was 157/97 and my heart rate was 107. It is never that high. I have been having diarrhea the last 4 days, taking Imodium and trying to drink liquids but they said I still got dehydrated. They gave me fluids before the Herceptin and I can not believe how fast I felt better. By bp was back down and heart rate too. Just wanted to share that in case someone else was feeling that way. She got me a prescription for Lomotil for the diarrhea so that is better. Yay!

  • ChickaD
    ChickaD Member Posts: 971
    edited October 2013

    The article came thru a family chain of emails and I dont see the original link anywhere...I think it just copied over and over.....sorry

  • ChickaD
    ChickaD Member Posts: 971
    edited October 2013

    Any know about pre or post menapause hormone therapy...my RO did blood work to tell if I'm pre or post...from what the two blood tests..it looks like I'm post ...so how will they determine if I get Tamox or an AI ?

    Kinda cool because I never had any menopause symptoms until  "chemo-pause"...lol

  • GrandmaV
    GrandmaV Member Posts: 1,045
    edited October 2013


    The Johns Hopkins e-mail may be a hoax:


    http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/news_events/featured/cancer_update_email_it_is_a_hoax.html

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