Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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hi all, starting my chemo today. 6rounds of tch, and then h for the year and hormone pills for 10 years. My MO seems to think this will be a breeze for me. I am 32 with Idc and triple positive. I am also a first grade teacher with a 3 and 5 year old. We will see about breezy.
I started my 3 day oral steroids regiment. The first dose in morning made me very tired, then the one last night kept me until 2am and I'm up at 630, worst I have slept during this whole ordeal. Was also achy and a tad cramps last night and my period not due till the 16th.
I was reading the threads and did not see a patch mentioned. My MO prescriped me a nausea patch that was crazy expensive to bring to my first treatment, also campazine as needed, and I had Zoloft left over from my mastectomy. Did anyone else get the patch?
My MO said no caps bc of possible scalp mets and no vitamins bc it will interfere with chemo. My other MO for second opinion said no fruit like blueberries bc of antioxidants interfering. my present MO said only restriction in diet is alcohol. Anyone here hear anything similar about the fruits?
Thanks,
Alicia
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welcome, fallenmirage. I hope all goes well with your chemo today. For many of us it was just a long uneventful day. The patch is an extended dosage for nausea, sometimes also used for surgery, and motion sickness. I had it once for surgery and it made me very sleepy. If you find that you cannot tolerate it there are numerous other anti nausea meds they can try for you that are given with chemo. Same thing with the meds they give you to take home. Not every med works for everybody, sometimes it is a matter of trial and error to find the one that works best for you. So if the compazine doesn't work for you don't be afraid to ask for phenergan or one of the others. Let us know how you do, there are lots of ladies here to help you through this.
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The only thing my Oncologist told me about fresh fruits was to stay away from them (and fresh veggies) unless they are cooked. Due to the risk of bacteria infections. Of course, one of the only things I have been able to eat has been fresh fruits, so I completely ignored her advice on that one.
Also, I am using the caps. Many doctors discourage their use, but it is a personal decision for you to make. I did my research and decided to use them. My Oncologist said she would not encourage nor discourage me using them. But it's my decision anyway
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fallen - is the patch Sancuso? Some docs use it as more of a last resort for anti-nausea due to the cost. It is supposed to be a very good med for intractable nausea, but most on TCH get adequate relief from less expensive meds.
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fallen, Welcome to BCO. My MO said no fresh fruit while my counts were down....he said I could eat canned fruit during those times.
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My MO's opinion about diet was to simply eat whatever I could manage to get in my mouth. With crazy taste buds, icky after taste, and a variety of stomach/digestive issues, the reality is you can't be too picky. During chemo week I tend to stick with bread, pasta, and chicken (and lots of ice cream, of course). I usually avoide acidy fruits (OJ, strawberries) during chemo week becaue that doesn't help with the tummy issues and they usually taste funny anyway. During my "good" weeks, I can eat a bit healthier. In general I tend to avoid tofu/edamame (I'm ER+) and I've heard rumors about avoiding blueberries and anti-oxidents. At the end of the day, I try to eat healthy when I'm up for it, and I fall back to comfort food when I'm feeling blah.
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Hi Fallenmirage,
Sending positive vvibes your way! You and I are on same meds including H for a year, etc. I have a 9 and 7 year old. My first tx is scheduled for 8/13.
My MO said I didn't need to take any vitamins but I'm going to question it again along with a few others I have.
Let me know how things go for you! Hopefully its uneventful and that you have minimal side effects.
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Thanks ladies, yes it is sancuso, as I am blessed with good prescription coverage so my copay was minimal. They did balk at giving me all 5 pads right away. Insurance said to dispense each one at separate visits.
Ever since I got dx, I've been using nutribullet..nothing to kick u on the healthy trail than cancer. Been dumping tons of fruit and veggie and making interesting color shakes. Dragon fruit is wonderful for constipation. It is in season so not as expensive, they have it at wegmans and shop rite by me. It is an Asian fruit and u cut it in half and eat the inside. Taste like a bland kiwi..but is awesome sending me off to the toilet. Hope it will be as effective on chemo. Did really well with it after my mastectomy, didn't even need the stool softener.
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Hi Fallenmirage - the only thing that my MO told me to not eat or drink during chemo was green tea - he feels that green tea is a highly effective antioxidant. Although he was very restrictive on any supplements - I went over everything with him prior to using it. On antioxidant foods like blueberries etc he said eat what I normally did - don't add new items in or eat more than I was eating of those items prior to diagnosis. What I have found from reading here is ALL Mo's are different and have different restrictions.
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fallenmirage- the drs are all so very different. I saw 3 different MO's. I was told by all that they just didn't want me taking vitamins c a or e. No fish oil either, but eat whatever I want.
I can drink alcohol if I want, but it's only been a beer here and there because it doesn't taste right anyhow.
2 MO's said caps won't work, and it's just hair, it grows back. But the MO I trusted more than anyone else highly recommended caps because taxotere has a 6% chance of permanent hair loss, whereas caps have a less than 1% risk of scalp mets. I really believe most docs just don't keep up with the studies, which is sad for thousands of women who could save their hair.
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wyomama - we were on a similar regime - I had to stop my supplements of A, E & C - but I was allowed to continue Omega 3 fish oil. I continued with Centrum Silver & Citracal w/D and extra D3. He also had me start B-6 & B-12. I was allowed to drink if I wanted but it tasted so horrible I didn't bother. I've since read that those 3 heavy antioxidants can cause too much cell growth for those of us who have had BC shouldn't take them at all.
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minustwo- my dr said the same thing. Skip the a c and e in general, not just in chemo. They felt I will get enough in my regular diet. I'm going to ask about fish oil, I'd like to get back on it. I do take b-6, b-12, a prenatal, d-3, l-glutamine, acidophilus, and biotin.
Anyone else start to get nauseous when you open your pill bottles towards the end of treatment? I'm finding that anything that smells like medication or my cold caps gives me a temporary but strong desire to puke. Pavlovian response maybe?
Also, I cry constantly. For every little thing. I'm finding the mental aspect of these last 2 treatments is significantly harder than the other side effects. Am I going whacko, or is this just part of the journey? (Side note, my 2 teenagers are gone for the whole summer, and my 17 year old cat died less than a month ago, then my dog died suddenly a couple weeks ago. Not to sound debbie downer, I'm just wondering if it's a combo of all these things, and without the strength to Really work through each thing at the moment it's overwhelming me). I'm really just over 2014 altogether
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I was just wondering about the mental aspect as well. I will have tx 5 tomorrow and I'm on the couch feeling like crap already. Possibly could be the steroids, but I'm thinking its more the anticipation of things to come. I've also been dealing with a sick dog since about the same time of my dx. In addition to huge vet bills, we're not sure yet if she's getting better. Luckily my DH is caring for her and all her meds cause I can't deal with it, which is unlike me. Some days I just want to crawl in a hole, turn my brain off and escape.
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wyomama...geez, I am so so sorry. Yes, I found it so hard emotionally as things progressed. It seems there is always some crappy news..I am also sure that the other losses are adding to your emotional burden. I am thinking of you and hope that things get brighter in the near future.
For what its worth, I was told no drinking the week of chemo but like was mentioned it tasted so awful I didnt bother
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Wyomama and Debiann, I think there was definitely something going on w/the emotions. I would find myself reacting to things during weeks 1 and 2 after an infusion, but then around week 3 I'd be back to normal, things wouldn't bother me. After infusion #4 it took a little bit longer to get to normal, about 2-1/2 weeks. I wonder if it's part of the fatigue. When you're very tired you're just not at your best. I also had a lot of trouble sleeping, which may have contributed. Occasionally I took an Ativan to get to sleep, and I'd always feel much better the next day.
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wyo - I think it is the cumulative fatigue - the whole experience saps your reserves, so you may cry more easily. As you come out the other end of this experience you should see improvement, but it may take longer than you think. If you don't start to feel emotionally stronger, you need to ask your MO what they recommend. Many need some anti-depressants after this experience, at least in the short term. They can also be helpful for some to offset the SE of anti-hormonals. I participated in a study right after the end of chemo, still had a one TE/no TE situation and still on Herceptin and wearing a wig. It was a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction study through the USF School of Nursing. Awesome study that helped me bridge out of "active" treatment and learn how to meditate and come to the realization that I can't control any of this crap - and how to let it go. This made a huge difference for me and I have used those relaxation techniques many times since, particularly at times I have felt I am not catching a break! The flip side is that it helped me derive happiness out of little things and see that every day has positives.
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I couldn't agree more with SpecialK. I did a lot of mindfulness/meditation stuff to help me get through all the cancer treatments - so very helpful especially since it is something you can do even if you feel like crap! The mind is so powerful. There are tons of free resources on the web - many specific to cancer - for example:
http://www.mcancer.org/support/managing-emotions/c...
This is just one - if you google you'll find many more. I did a different one, but can't recall which one it was specifically.
I also continue to participate in the free ones put out by Oprah and Deepak. They are so excellent. I'm so conditioned to Deepak's voice now that as soon as I hear it I immediately feel calmer, happier, lol! Now that's a Pavlovian response you want, lol! Here's a link to one starting very soon (August 11):
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thanks ladies! I'm going to look into this stuff. Control what I can control for now
Debiann- we're almost through. Almost!!! I hope your dog gets better, and soon.
It's nice to know I'm not going crazy. I'm just tired. And overwhelmed. 1 more chemo. 1 more chemo. Breathe.
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My onco hasn't told me anything about stopping any particular vitamins or foods. On the drinking of alcohol, I was told not to but later his nurse told me I could have one small glass of wine after the second week following infusions. I won't bother with it though because I've done fine for the last 5-6 weeks without that glass of wine with dinner, haven't missed it all that much.
On another note, does anyone have odd sharp/shooting/jabbing type pains that hit anywhere (head, ear, wrist, ankle, elbow, shin, eye-socket, neck, ribs.....)? I never know where the pain will hit next and it comes and goes quickly, only to hit somewhere else the next minute or two. Last night I was having trouble getting to sleep because of these pains. I have not been given Neulasta shots yet, so I can only attribute these pains to the chemo drugs or something else in the iv bags.
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BlownAway, I had several days of very sharp shooting pains - would last a few seconds, then mysteriously go away and occur elsewhere totally unrelated in my body. It felt like the pain was in my tendons - not in my bones - so I didn't think it was Neupogen. I had just been on Cipro so I attributed it to that (it is in a class of drugs that causes tendon damage/rupture), especially since my Achilles tendon was so affected (had to use crutches for 2 days).
Maybe it was the chemo afterall. So hard to know since these drugs affect us all in wacky ways.
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Dancetrance - thats exactly how I would describe it (as though its in the tendons and even cartilidge areas). Mine comes and goes quickly, then hits elsewhere in my head or body - it started about day 6 after the 1st chemo infusion and also about the same time after the 2nd chemo. I just took one of hubby's tylenol 3's. If that doesn't calm it down, Im sure he's got something better in his stash. I'm just glad to know someone else is familiar with the same things that's happening to me.
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Hope you are feeling better Blownaway!
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Dancetrancer - Thanks! I do feel better this morning, the pains are much duller (only way to describe it). The tylenol 3 sure makes you sleep better!
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That's great!
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I had those shooting pains first treatment too! They were like little electrical shocks in various places. Had them for a few days - but I didn't get them on other treatments - i think they became muscle twitches after that lol - which I still have but at least they do not hurt.
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Linda505 - It's nice to know I'm not the only one with this side effect if only to validate that it stems from the chemo drugs. The nails on my thumbs and forefingers are starting to feel weird kind of sore and numb a the same time. The new normal really sucks!
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Blownaway - Are you icing your fingers/hands during taxotere? I think that has REALLY helped with preventing finger pain and hand neuropathy. I did my hands and my feet. I had tingling burning pain in my hands and feet after first treatment and i talked to my MO about it - he did reduce my dosage on the 2nd and ongoing treatments and told me to take the B6, B12 and L-glutamine and I didn't have that at all on the next treatments. PLEASE tell your MO about that soreness/numbness as it could be neuropathy and you want to make sure that your MO knows about that SE. It also could just be the taxotere's effect on your nailbed which is why I iced my hands and feet (really fingers and toes lol) during taxotere.
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Linda505 - my onco won't allow me to ice anything - he says that I am not to try to protect any part of my body from the infusion drugs.
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Ahh ok blownaway - I was allowed to ice my hands and feet although he said he didn't think it would help anything. Every MO is different on this stuff.
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hi girls..I have an interesting se....actually, everyday brings a little surprise. Lol. Wednesday will be 2 weeks since first treatment.....got se's quickly this time, prob cause it's been 3 straight yrs on different chemos...most annoying one on this so far started 4 days after treatment....external vaginal and rectum itching...wow, how annoying...tried all kinds of stuff including prescriptions....best thing is rinsing off in cool shower after going to bathroom and towel blotting and going commando . Not exactly convenient, so today doc said let's try good old fashion desitin. So I will go buy some slips, cause we r still bear butt. And don't want residue coming off on my skirts. Do need to sit sometimes lol, and don't want to make a mess...anyone else ever had this issue?
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