Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
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HI Sue508 and Margaret, thanks to both of you. Thanks Margaret for leading me to this! I am very nervous, so all of your support really does help. I think that 64 days of Chemo, is a short time, and I also think that this can be done! I am afraid of the hair loss, and I read that some people have permanent hair loss from this treatment. My onc reassured me! Let me know! Thanks!0
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Iowagirl ... So sorry you've had such a rough time of it. What did your onc say about the severe problems you had? Does he think #2 will go smoother? For the nails, another tip I got somewhere on these boards is to massage them with Tee Tree Oil. And Katie2U, I hope your onc will be able to adjust your meds so that your next tx is much easier, too.
Gail... I feel so bad for you, especially since you did everything you could to get those premeds tweeked. I was hoping that would help. My tx #2 was the worst. Tx #3 has been much easier. In addition to really forcing myself to hydrate, I'd added the B-6 that I think Lani had recommended. Not sure exactly what it was supposed to do, but I feel so much better this time, with greatly increased energy. I also had a healing energy massage today by a practicioner who is schooled in Chinese medicine. (Gail, I'll PM you the contact info. She's @ EMC.)
Ilovemykids... I've posted this elsewhere on these boards, but a huge help to me in overcoming my fear of chemo was a guided imagery CD available at http://www.healthjourneys.com/ One of my SIL's had sent me one she'd used for surgery, and it was so helpful, I bought the one for chemo. It just helps you reframe the experience in a more positive light. For example, they talk about chemo as a healing fountain of liquid, and your body acknowledging the cancer cells for bringing you something you needed to know, but telling them that it's time to go now. You can listen to an excerpt on-line, and you can download directly to an MP3 Player. Deanna
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Dear DLB823 Deanna, Thank you so much! Elizabeth0
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jenn46,
I wish I could answer your Neulasta question, but lucklily I have not had to have one. I don't write on here much, mostly just read the posts so I would know what to expect. I am current onT/C every 3 weeks for six treatments, then on to radiation as I opted for a lumpectomy. I have been very fortunate so far, (I hope I'm not jinxing it). I have had three of my treatments and have not had to have the shot as my counts went up on their own. I have worked fulltime throughout my treatments. When I miss a day for my chemo I just make it up on a weekend that I am off. I am the Director of Nursing at a Skilled Nursing Facility and essentially work Monday through Friday from 8a to 4:30p. I have my treatments on Thursdays. I still take residents to the bathroom, serve meal trays, start IVs, whatever I need to do. I am extra cautious day 7 to day 14 to try and avoid the residents that are ill. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.
My heart aches for everyone with all these horrible side effects. Keep your chin up and good luck.
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Thanks nursekim! I am going to try to work full time other than missing the chemo day (Thursday) and probably that Friday. I am an administrative assistant at a hospital and I sit up in the Administrative Suite so I am not near the patient floors. I'm also glad that you mentioned the days that you are most susseptible to infection. I was wondering what days that was!
Deanna: That CD sounds great! I'm going to check it out.
Have a great day everyone!
Jen
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AMAAN,
I think your question about blood draws may have been directed to SherriM not me. I had my second treatment yesterday and had blood drawn right before with no problems. Although I have been anemic in the past, so far so good. It can get a little confusing with the Sherri's or "ie" in my case sometimes!!
Sherrie
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Oh you are so right Sherrie, sorry about that. SherriM if you read the message it was directed to you. Got mixed up.
Hope all is well with everyone. I am feeling alright today. It gets better everday!0 -
Jenn,
I believe you said you were getting the neulasta shot. My onco had told me that the nadir period did not apply to those getting the shot. Your counts should be back up by about day 10. Day 10 was when they always did my blood count and they were always good by then.
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Hi MsKarin, how are you doing? I like your new Pic. you are so funny
Are you doing radiation?0 -
Hi all,
RUN dont WALK to your nearest bookstore(I got mine at Costco for $15.00) and buy this amazing book called "ANTI CANCER A NEW WAY OF LIFE" by David Servan-Schreiber, MD. PhD. I bought it on thrusday and can't put it down, It is a goldmine of information that will arm you with what to do with you body and soul to fight cancer. It is AMAZING. Love, Birdsong
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Re blood counts, I think everyone metabolizes the drugs differently. Some people have become seriously neutropenic in the first five days even with neulasta, whereas I don't reach my nadir (I don't get neulasta) until around day 13-14. So my "be extra careful" period has been more like days 10-17 than 7-14 - everyone is different.
Meg/Margaret1102, I sent you a private message - you can see it by logging in and clicking on "Private Messages" on the top menu bar.
Cheers,
dcgirl
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HI Everyone:
Well it has been a rough few days... I've enjoyed reading all of your posts. I am still suffering from very bad colitis type symptoms..... pain and running to the bathroom every hour or less. I took Belladonna/Phenobarb which helped only minimally with the cramping. My WBC's are still lower than before (was 1.7, now 1.4) after a few Neupogen shots. Platelets are slowly climbing back up after going into the toilet by the 3rd day post treatment. I developed 10/10 lower back pain in the areas of the kidneys (must be an undiagnosed stone) and wound up in the ER yesterday. They did xrays but no ultrasound of the kidney. After a pain shot, it went away and hasn't returned as of yet (24 hours later) My oncologist is saying that he may discontinue chemotherapy because he has never had anyone with as many side effects as me. I'm not sure whether that is the best advice to give me. I did score 30 on the OncoDX even though my tumor was 1.1 cm, no known lymph involvement. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Will meet with him in a day to discuss things. Any advice would be appreciated... and thank you and good luck with your treatments!
Sincerely, Katie
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HI ladies.. well i went to see my onco on wednesday.. good news is the cancer has gone down a lot.. responding well to the treatment.. then i asked him what would be the next step and he said that normaly he would say that i would need my ovaries removed..then he asked me if i had any children and i told him no. i was in such shock and disbelief because i thought i would be okay to have children. its like i graduate high school child free which where i am from is common.. then i get married.. wait a 5 years and then i am told there is a good possibilty that i want get to have children.. right now at this point i really feel robbed i feel like someone has stolen everything from me. it just breaks my heart to know that i might have to have this done to me.. i am so hurt i just want to leave eveything and run away..
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Amann,
Yes I'm doing rads. Had my 25th today. If there are no delays because of equipment etc. I will start my 1st of 6 boosts on Wednesday and have my last on the 8th.
I had my last chemo on July 30th. During chemo I was always on this thread. Now I pop in now and then to see how you all are doing and offer advice if I can.
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Lashon2008
I'm glad that your cancer is going down and responding to treatment. I can imagine how you feel about the possibly not having the opportunity to have children. But please keep faithful to God. He has plans for you and you know the devil will put things in your way for you to turn your back on God. Keep trusting for HIS PLAN. He may have planned a child for you who may not necessarily come from you biologically but will still be your child and planned from God for reasons only HE knows. Please keep an open mind during this difficult time. I am sorry you are suffering so much. Keep praying and looking up. God will speak to you softly ... keep listening. My prayers are with you.
Katie.
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Hi Lashon2008
I want to tell you to please stay encouraged and know that GOD will not put more on you than you can handle. Stay in prayer and know that you will be a blessing to others after finishing this journey. GOD has great plans for you. Take care.0 -
Katie and Lashon, You are both in my prayers. I know this is a very difficult time for us all, and It makes it worse when you have more S.E. than expected. Please try to keep the faith. I like what you (Katie) and Pinky said, God will not put more on us than we can handle, although sometimes it feels like we can't handle it. Ms Karin how are you feeling doing Rads? Does it drain you?
God Bless,
Audrey
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Hiyas ~
Just started my Taxotere Cytoxan today. All went fine - and except for a real funky feeling for about 10 minutes during the Taxotere infusion when my stomach started jumping. That went away. Still feel fine. I just hope this is the right chemo for me - am still doing some of my second opinions. I did want to avoid the heart thing with the Adrimycin even though my Mugga came out okay. Will try not to worry and just see how it goes.
Presently the rounds are every three weeks and am also wondering if every two weeks is better? That's what it would have been if I were doing Adria Cytoxan instead. Will ask.
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Lashon ~
I hear your pain. Please go for a second opinion to see if you really need to do it. Could you harvest some eggs and freeze them for later? I feel for you so much because I had two miscarriages and then thought I could never have a child, I was 41 and thought I would be childless and I was so depressed. I did get pregnant then and now have a child so I will not tell you I had to do without my own blood offspring forever, but I do know the despair I felt when I realized since both hubby and I were without work and he was sick it probably was not in the cards. I did lose my husband then to brain cancer. What am I trying to say? You will somehow find your way thru all this and altho we cannot have back what we lost we can have MORE than WE EVER IMAGINED. Just be patient and let miracles work through your heart and soul.
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Audrey,
I get zapped at 1:00 and everyday about 3:00 it hits me. I have to lye down in the recliner. At first I couldn't fall asleep to take a nap but know I can. Afterwards I feel fine. I do find myself going to bed a bit earlier. It is a walk in the park conpared to chemo; even with the burns I now have under armpit and under breast.
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Katie, there are a couple of things your onc can consider.
First is to lower the dose -- several people on this thread have had that done (by 15 or 20%) and see how you tolerate it. Second is to switch to another less toxic combination. My onc was going to switch me to CMF if my second round was as bad as the first. Fortunately it wasn't. Good luck in your decisions -- and second opinions are still possible at this stage.Unique, I hope your round goes well. As for dose dense, your onc will probably tell you this -- dose dense regimen is not recommended for docetaxel. This study says "This approach is not feasible with docetaxel, since an increase in dose density induces unwanted side-effects." Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10785603
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My dose is being lowered tomorrow to 80% so hopefully better results this time. It is normal for the doctors to not order any blood tests in between the 3 weeks of treatments? When I go my zero counts and neutropenic fever the doctor at the local hospital expressed surprise that now on was monitoring my counts over the 3 week span.
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Hi Amann:
I asked about Abraxane and my oncologist said he wasn't comfortable using it until he had more data on the side effects. So we are going try taxotere for # 3. They are going to give me an allergy prep first with 50 mg IV benadryl, 100 mg IV Solu Cortef ( a steroid) amd IV Tagemet before givng me the taxotere to see if they can prevent another hypersensitivity reaction. It should be interesting.
Agnes
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Hi Iowagirl - I haven't had any blood count work done between 3 week tx's either! I was also surprised. After the 2nd tx I've been really tired, did call the RN but they say sounds normal. I sure don't feel "normal", but guess I expected to feel way better by day 7 like the 1st tx.
Good luck!
~ Gail
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Hi, Iowagirl... Sounds strange to me that your onc hasn't monitored you more closely, especially since you were sick enough to be hospitalized with your 1st tx. Maybe he just figured that they'd gotten you well enough w/the hospitalization??? I hope tomorrow's tx will be much easier for you.
After my 1st tx, which was on a Wed., my onc did a CBC on the following 2 Weds., as well as the day of my 2nd tx. With tx #2, he only tested once, about 10 days in. This time (#3), I don't have to go in at all, probably b'cuz my WBC was okay w/the previous 2 and I didn't have any SE's that seem to concern him.
Gail... I'm surprised that you were never checked, either, since you also reported feeling so bad. Maybe some oncs think if you aren't frail and don't have any pre-existing health conditions, you should be able to ride out chemo tx's without being closely monitored, especially if you've had some sort of WBC booster. I don't know... Deanna
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Good morning everyone!
dcgirl & MsKarin: Thanks for the info re: nadir period. I'm glad that the Neulesta shot will help in that respect! I have 2 children in school and they bring everything home, so the added bonus of the shot will help!
birdsong: I'm going to run out to get the book today, thanks!
Katie2u: I'm so sorry that you had such a bad time with your 1st tx. I agree with Lani & iowagirl, maybe they can lower your dose also?
Lashon: My heart breaks for you. I really like what katie2u, pinky and annie said. God does have a plan and things will get better. You are in my thoughts and prayers!
Have a great day everyone!
Jen
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Hello Agnes, My Onc told me that they don't like to give the Abraxane, unless you can't tolerate the taxotere, because It is a whole lot more expensive. and it's harder to get your insurance to pay for it. My Onc said it is the same type of drug, just doesn't have the additive in it that can cause the allergic reation. But, I am sure you will be better with what your Onc is prescribing for you this time. I felt like it did me better, But I still had side effects like the taxotere as far as alot of fatigue and a little nausea. I think you'll be fine.
God Bless,
Audrey
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Hi Everyone! I am back from a nice trip to San Francisco, where the weather was uncommonly warm and the skies blue. Go figure! We had a great time and got to preview the newly rehabbed natural history museum that opens tomorrow to much hype. It's worth seeing. Also caught the tail end of the Frida Kahlo exhibit at MOMA.
I had bounds of energy and even found myself washing windows and doing some other long overdue cleaning at my flat, though walking up and down the Bernal Heights hills still left me winded. Am so hoping my CBC on Monday will show some improvement. Anemia sucks!
Shari1232--I had 4 Txs and did not get a port. There was some talk of it as my veins are not good and I have a lot of trouble with the bloodwork, but they held up fine for the infusions, though I did have to endure some poking around on two treatments.
Lili46--I also had very low WBCs, that were not much improved by Neulasta. The first Tx I had to take antibiotics prophylactically, but no fever. The second one was ok. The third one I got a fever, possible respiratory infection, antibiotics and flat on my back with fatigue for almost two weeks. The last one I was back on antibiotics prophylactically and got through it ok, though neither the WBCs nor the red were up to snuff at my 3 weeks follow up appt. I am going back for blood work next week and another follow up appt and hope the news will be better. I think so so since (see above) I am feeling quite energetic.
With regard to the causes of breast cancer: as has been said, it's a combo of stuff. In my case, I think taking hormone therapy for two years when I was menopausal contributed. Though no close family member had BC, my father's maternal aunt did, and my onco radiologist noted that down as a potentially close-enough link to be of concern (my cousin on that side also has it). But the most interesting connection, I think is that I am a late night person, often reading in bed for hours and hours before I fall asleep. There is definitely a link between that and BC, something about artifical light interfering with melatonin production. Wondered if anyone else is a late-night-reader besides me?
Cheers!
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Hi Sandra, you jogged my memory. I was on HRT for 3 years and stopped on my own when the news came out about harmful effects. I think it was the year after that, that I was diagnosed with bc for the first time.
I always fall asleep on the couch with the tv on. Usually wake up hours later and go to bed. I wonder, does the TV count as artificial light?
Also,as a dental hygienist, I took dental xrays for years. We'd step out of the room while taking them. The wall was supposedly lead lined but now I wonder.
Your hair is gorgeous. I can't recall how long since you finished chemo. I'm eagerly awaiting more coverage. It started pure white but is salt and pepper now. I'm anxious to use permanent color as the gray sticks out from under the wig if I'm not careful but don't want to stain my scalp. I tried Natural Instincts( formally Loving Care) while it was white and it left a light purple tone.
My name is Sandra too but pronounced Sondra. Everybody but immediate family calls me Sandy.
Dear Lashon, on the surface,your situation seems so unfair and I can't add to the wonderful caring thoughts and suggestions others have sent you but I know in my own life the tragedy's we faced have always turned into blessings. There weren't usually answers as quickly as I would have preferred but in time. I pray that's the case for you also.
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Sandy,
Thank-you for the compliment on my hair. It's actually a wig and it is a very, very, short pixie style. I always had long hair and would never have considered a hairstyle this short, but I am getting so many compliments on this wig, that maybe I'll just keep my hair short once it starts to grow in. Both of my sons have made of point of telling me that I look much younger like this, hint, hint.
I have another wig that is more blonde and longer. My husband picked it out and bought it for me, and it's cute, but it just gives me fits! It's itchy, hot, and doesn't feel very secure on my head. When I wear it, I'm very nervous it is going to go flying off somewhere, or slip down over my nose.
Finally decided I would try something shorter and I am so happy I spent the extra money because this wig is actually so comfortable that I wear it all day and forget I have it on. It doesn't itch, it isn't hot, and it stays put.
I'm now 30 days past my last treatment. I probably lost about 70-80% of my hair, and what's left has grown a little bit, but there's no sign yet of anything new. My hair grows slow normally so it may take awhile.
Sandy, my name is pronounced "Sondra" also, but I seldom succeed in convincing people of that fact.
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