Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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soriya123 my gyno does a pap. They will also do a test for the papiloma virus depending on age and when your last test was. Also my gyno does a physical exam of my boobie prizes and also does what every visual check. Not sure what the hell they are looking at up there but he looks and says everything looks good every year.
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Latisse - My MO said yes but I went to see my opthomologist before I filled the Rx. I'm funny about my eyes. She was OK with it too. Yes it is prescription. It was originally developed as drops for something like glaucoma (can't remember for sure now) and they noticed that it made the eyelashes grow thick & long. I asked about putting it on my eyebrows too. Neither doc had any experience w/that but were fine w/my trying. Rx said twice a day. I used only at night. Never lost the eyebrows although they did thin some. When I started the second round of chemo with AC, my eyes got crusty so I quit the Latisse - but still only lost about 1/2 of my eyelashes & they grew back quickly. Yes it's expensive. I paid $160 at WallyWorld. My insurance wouldn't cover it.
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Home and resting comfortably. Removed implant, stitched the torn skin, cultures and then had IV antibiotic, replaced implant with a smaller one (by 100cc) to reduce the tension on the skin. Keep fingers crossed for me!
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SpecialK, sending healing thoughts your way!!
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SDB - Thank you so much!
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can't wait to hear how the onions work!
SpecialK - prayers for a speedy recovery.
I had to get some moles removed last fall so I spent lots of time sitting around my dermatologists office waiting - and reading brochures. I was going to ask her about the Latisse - but when I read that it can cause permanent pigment darkening in your eyes (I have blue eyes) I closed the brochure. Not up for possibly changing my eye color!!
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McKatherine - I have 'hazel' eyes. I used the Latisse for 7 months & it didn't change the color at all. But like everything we've been going through - some SEs attach themselves to us and others we skip - with no apparent rhyme or reason. I was more concerned about losing eyebrows & lashes than I was about losing my entire head of hair. Weird I know.
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SpecialK Im Glad YOUR Home AND Got An Implant in! Awsome. Fingers crossed.
Minus we all have that one thing we can't stand.... LOL
Mckatherine I just didn't want another med to take. Even if it involved putting it on not in!
Much love to all.
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SpecialK, thinking of you ...take care...
My eyelashes did not come back fully.. will they ever?
Glad everyone is going okay.
Just so tired all the time-hope it gets better.
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Thinking of you SpecialK - fingers and toes crossed here for you!!!
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Fingers crossed special K
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Onions are good for many things....Cough syrup made from boiled onions and some honey , sniff a cut up onion to decongest sinuses, sniff a cut up onion to produce tearing and remove something in eye.
My Mom and Grandma, were advocates of many natural remedies.
They taught me how to make soaps,creams, oils and poulitices. Some are fixed in memory, but I am going to start writing down some of these.
Another I learned as a child and still use...most recently when my finger tip was sliced using the mandolin slicer. If you have a cut that is bleeding , after cleaning it, place a piece of onion skin over it and apply pressure for a few minutes then bandage. Leave it in place and don't get the cut wet for a few days. Remove bandage and if peel still stuck to skin , run under warm water for a minute and it will come off. You will see skin looking slightly brown, it comes off . Keep finger/cut protected with bandaid until it heals. ( I have memories of my mother taking care of many a nasty cut this way, my dad worked in a factory and metal was used a lot of workers came to our house with their cuts)
Sorry back on topic.....Onions for hair. Blend onion and skin and rub paste on hair/head, do this 3x a week for 1 hour at least. (Use a shower cap for smell and gloves because the skin absorbs the smell) The sulfur in onion can add a yellowish/coppery tone to hair. Especially if your hair is coming in white or is light colored.
Boiled onion skin as a hair rinse will lighten hair and add coppery highlights.
I can only assume that onion in shampoo for 2 weeks allows the onion juice to sort of leach into shampoo, and the shampoo masks the scent
All of this info was with brown skinned onions. Don't know about red/purple/white skinned onions, I would assume they are all sulfur rich, not sure if the skins give off a different color.
Vivian
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SpecialK, I've been away for a while, what happened that you had to have more surgery?
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Hi all :-)
I'm newly diagnosed (and brand new here), starting TCH on friday 4/11/14. I feel so confused and anxious about what to expect, but am going to hope for the best and expect the worst (as far as side effects go). Any advice on what to eat day before and morning of my 1st treatment?
Thanks!
Xoxo
Jen :-)
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I don't remember eating/not eating anything special the day before or morning of. I probably wouldn't have the most super spicy chili or anything else that would be extra challenging to digest. But other than that, no restrictions. Also, remember to take a small snack with you to chemo. You will be there a long time. I would bring a simple sandwich, an apple and a little cookie or something, and a HUGE water bottle, which made it easy to refill from their water cooler in less trips (because I didn't like walking around with the IV pole) and it is important to drink a lot of water.
They give you benadryl in the drip and I dozed off for most of the time.
One thing that REALLY helped me, and I would encourage, is to take a tour of the infusion room BEFORE the day of chemo. They let me walk around, ask my questions, sit in the chemo chair, just generally become familiar with everything. It took a lot of the fear out of the day-of, because I knew what to expect.
Do you have a port? If so, be SURE to ask for Emla cream (which numbs the site). Then put the cream on at least an hour before you go - 2 hours is even better. There are some tricks to putting it on w/o making a mess. Let me know if you do have a port and I will write them out for you.
I KNOW it is scary, but the day of chemo really isn't much of anything. You really just sit there. Be aware that you will not be allowed to drive home b/c of the benadryl, so have someone with you.
Any other questions, write back - or feel free to PM me.
You can do this!Amy
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I agree with Amy...I would also bring a good book or knitting because it can get boring. I was never able to fall asleep. I am not sure if this is true of everyone, but don't eat your favorite food after chemo....not because it made me sick, but because I can't enjoy it anymore. I always had Chinese chicken with broccoli....now I can't bring myself to eat it. We are all here if you have any questions or just need support or whatever. Hugs to you...you got this!
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Welcome sunshine! I think all of us were pretty scared before out first chemo. For most of us the day turned out uneventful, just long. One of the things I wish I would have known to do before my first chemo was to take a stool softener the night before and the morning of because the anti nausea drugs were so constipating for me. Others had diarrhea after, so it is hard to know what to do until you see how you will react. Make sure you check back and let us know how you do, there are some wonderful ladies here that can help you through it. Make sure you drink lots and lots of water the day of chemo and for a few days afterward. It helps to flush the toxins out of your system.
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I take 200 colace and fibercon twice a day two days before and 3-4 days after. I try to drink as they want but it's hard.
I get headaches too. Let you MO know if you do or any other side effects
Good luck!
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What they said! I would take a stool softener anyway. If you have diarrhea (that was what I got) it won't make a diffrrence. But if you get constipation you're ahead of the game. After your first one you'll know which way you go. No pun, we'll alright maybe, intended! LOL
I would also eat your favorite meal some time before your treatment..with TCH, sometimes taste buds leave for a while and things just don't taste great. Mine came back right before the next tx. So on the way home from tx we stopped to get something I'd enjoy. By the next day things tasted off.
My onco nurses were wonderful. Ask them if you need anything. One of mind suggested I eat some ing on the even hours and drink something on the odd hours. Drink at both. My SES (side effects) started the day after for taste and tiredness, but day 5 was the start of my D which lasted til day 10 or so. At that point i didn't want to drink Amy yet that was what i needed to do. Cold things were easier to drink. I drank very weak iced tea by the gallon. Sometimes water with lemon. Citrus water was ok. Good luck. YOU CAN DO THIS! Much love
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I found that taking prilosec the day of chemo and a few days afterward helped with the heartburn.
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very good advise rose...I took it everyday.
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lindakr - I had a re-meshing surgery - the alloderm placed originally at my BMX was failing and not holding things in place. Unfortunately, during that surgery my very fragile skin tore open in two places. It was dressed daily until Friday when I returned to the OR to have it stitched closed and a smaller implant placed to ease the pressure on the skin.
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specialk, So sorry, so many challenges with this lovely adventure. You would think 3-4 years out things would be back to normal, but no t so much! Hope you heal well and quickly!
Linda(KR)
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Thank you everyone for your advice. AmylsStrong, I am having my port put in tomorrow. I didn't want to have it, but my oncologist encouraged me and gave me all the reasons why it will make things easier.
This all feels so unreal still, but in many ways, I am happy to finally start and hoping that it wont be as aweful as my imagination makes it. My husband and I have two small children (for them, they just know mommy has a boo boo), so im hoping I can have more good days than bad.
Is the port placement procedure painful??
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Sunshine - good luck with chemo. I wish you all the best. I never had nausea which in my mind was the worst thing I could imagine. I never had it when pregnant either. Eat what you can when you can and drink fluids. I could not do sports drinks and towards the end was ill just thinking about water. My nurse in day treatment recommended cranapple juice (not cocktail). It was a life saver - I could handle the tartness and it actually tasted really good. A positive attitude is the best thing you can have daily.
I had a port as well and it was done under anesthesia. It will be tender for a few days or so but you will get used to it. It is nice to have for blood draws and infusions. EMLA cream is amazing but I forgot to put it on many times especially before Herceptin. So I would grab a glove out of the box put some ice in the fingers and stick it under my bra strap. By the time they were ready to get the meds going I was numb enough.
As others have said we are here for you. Even if you just read the posts - it will help you through it.
Off to rads #4/33. #kickin'cancer
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I start TCH on April 23 and I'm lucky that I get to benefit from the advice of the women who started earlier in the month. I've already started putting together my chemo bag. Great tip about the EMLA cream.
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Is the emla something they can give me or I can purchase ahead of time? Im feel like things are moving so fast (which im thankful for because the days of waiting feel like an eternity) , but I still feel so scattered!
If I take an over the counter stool softener the day before my 1st treatment, it certainly wouldn't hurt anything right? Its wierd, I almost feel like I could handle diarrhea, but constipation scares me. My husband and I are very active and eat very well (I love my veggies and leafy greens!) So constipation had never been as issue for me, so I think that's why im alittle worried about that side effect.
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Here is the best way I found to do the EMLA cream. TWO hours prior to chemo, cut a 3" square of plastic wrap (from your kitchen) and put it on the bathroom counter. Squirt a nice big blog of the cream onto it. Pick it up and press it against the port area, covering the entire area. It will stick to the area, and the plastic will protect your clothing.
Wear a zip front or button down shirt to chemo. The nurse will open the top button or two, remove the wrap, clean off the area (which will be numb by that time), and access the port. They use a fairly big spikey needle to do so, not like starting an IV. They sort of punch it through. You will feel nothing but a push (no pain), but it's better not to watch, IMO. Once it's stuck in there, they put a piece of tape over it and your IV fluids can drip right in. It is a HUGE benefit to have if you are doing the year of herceptin. If I were having only 4 or 6 tx, maybe I would have been ok without, but for the entire year, it was a blessing.
Re the port - I did find the port area tender for about 2 weeks after insertion. It was almost unbelievable to me that a time would come when I would ever forget I even had the port (as others had promised me would happen) but it definitely did happen. Others have told me that their port insertion didn't bother them at all. So, once again, it all varies by individual. But even having a harder time with it, it wasn't that bad, and I was glad that I had it.
So to our newbies, Everforward and Sunshine, stick with this invaluable group and we will help you get through this. Everyone here has been through your journey and will help you and answer your questions, and hold your hand and cry and laugh with you. I could not have made it without these wonderful women, and it is my privilege to stick around now to lend a hand to others coming along behind.
In love and sisterhood
Amy
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Amy -- thanks for the EMLA tip. Never tried it that way, but I will next time and see if it makes a difference. I usually put the cream on then cover with plastic.
One other thing that makes a difference with the port is apparently the surgeon who places it. When I had mine put in 4 years ago, it NEVER got comfortable. That thing was so uncomfortable and bothered the crap out of me for the entire year. Couldn't wait to get it out the minute I had my last Herceptin treatment. The difference this time was night and day. I had it put in in January, and within weeks it was comfortable. I hardly notice it anymore.
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Hi Everyone
Not sure where to research this. Would appreciate
any input I'm meeting a geneticist tomorrow. Out of 30 first cousins
on my fathers side there is Breast Cancer with1 aunt, 2 cousins, 1
sister. They all tested for the BRCA gene, It was tested negative. I
never tested because I knew it would be negative. We are Middle Eastern
origin, so I'm not sure what other tests are there?Thx for any input
The good news is I have only 1 more Herceptin treatment left.
Hope everyone is doing well.
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