Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
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A poem I found this morning and wanted to share:
BREAST CANCER ANGEL
While battling cancer of the breast
And all you must go through
Remember, You have a cancer angel -
Who was assigned, by God, to you.
So when you get discouraged
Or are just feeling down...
Talk to this dear angel,
She will always be around.
To comfort you and also
To serve as a reminder,
That you are not alone
And that YOU are a survivor!0 -
I don't know why I haven't thought of this before... do you ladies think that maybe... just maybe... the port weighs about 5-7 pounds???
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Good morning, ladies. Feeling much better today, day 5 of round #2. I do want to report that I tried a daytime allergy tablet for 3 days, similar to Claritan, for the Neulasta SEs, and I did not have ANY bone pain or shortness of breath this time. I did have regular chemo SEs - tender neck and throat, heartburn, constipation that finally relaxed, but I did feel better with the dropped dosages from round #1. Fingers are a little numb, but not too bad. I still don't want to do any more treatments, but that's just how I feel about it all. Waiting to hear back from the nurse at the onc's office about the tenderness and slight pain / swelling around the port - hope it's nothing too bad.
I need to have my DH shave my head again - still losing lots of little dark hairs and want to bring it closer to bald, to help keep so many little hairs from raining down. Stubborn grays won't even pull out - isn't that funny!
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Chelev, grey kept growing for me to, stubborn is right
Mom of Boys, I like your idea
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Oh, definitely!! The gray hairs on my head and those on my legs. Just won't stop growing!
Yes, the port has to weigh at least that much - at least it feels that way to me!!
Hopefully I am having some sort of allergic reaction and nothing more serious - it is tender and sore around the port and has been since Friday night. i always get the weird side effects!
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Morning Ladies...
So great to hear that you are all thinking of getting your weight back to normal and exercising...and I see that some of you have posted over on the WW thread...Thanks!!!Mom of two...the port weighs at least 20 pounds...LOL
I have been resting more on this last round of TC...it has hit me hard. I have some SEs = chills, fever, diareahh, constipation and more fatigue than I want. I have the thrash mouth again and hope to get better...I can't think of dieting as yet....Today is POST day 5 of last chemo and it still sucks....I thought it would be easier knowing I am done...but the SEs are still there...darn it..
I meet with the Rad Onco doc on Wednesday and hope to find out when I can start Rads...
Sukiann and Mom of boys...Congrats on your last chemo this week....wishing you all a SE free session.
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Checking in to see how everyone is managing. I have such limited energy and I still feel like $#*# after round #3 eleven days ago (!). Anyway, I have a quick question before I take meds and go to bed: have any of you had thrush that spread throughout your GI system, and if so, what was (is) your approach to treatment? I have been on a 10 day course of flagyl--will finish tomorrow morning--and I think I still have that nasty stuff percolating inside. I will see my onc on Wednesday, so I will ask him about it, but I am wondering what any of you might have done for help/healing? (By the way, I also used mycelex troches, but that seemed to make it worse, so I stopped those. I have been using biotene toothpaste and mouthwash to help as well. I had to stop the "magic mouthwash," because that just didn't help and seemed to add an "extra coating to my mouth.) I know that's a bit of detail, but I am miserable and wondering if anybody else has experienced this and has any ideas. THANKS!
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Sukiann: Hope your first round went well. It is good to get the first one done so you know what to expect -- the fear of the unknown is often worse than reality. I am on Day 13 after my 6th and final TC -- you will get through this. I used ativan ( a mild sedative and anti-nausea med) the day before and through Day 4 - helped me sleep with the steroids and calmed me just enough to through the crummy days after chemo. I have a port. Glad I did it with 6 rounds and lousy veins. It sounds like many get by without a port.
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Hi All,
Thanks for the good wishes. Round one down and three to go. I wish I could say it all went smoothly! I got some premeds before the taxotere was to start. The doc told me the last time I met with him that he was going to put in benedryl but for some reason it wasn't ordered. Anyway, I don't know if the amount that he was going to add to the premeds would have worked anyway. After a minute or so of the taxotore going in I started to feel a very tight chest. Then I was sweating and my heart was racing (I have a defibrillator and I was so scared that it was going to fire on top of all the other stuff that was happening to me), my throat started to swell and I was told that I was beet red. They were right there so they quickly turned off the drip and administered the benedryl. I couldn't have taken much more of it and I was so anxious for the benedryl to stop this reaction. It did very quickly but it felt so much longer. Wow, what an experience. Once I was stable and pumped up with the maximum dose of benedryl they started the drip back very slowly. My doc really wanted the taxotere to work because it has the least side effects for the heart and seeing that I have a big problem with my heart - not structurally but with an arrhythmia he said it would be worth a try. It worked. I had no other problems with it. So of course next time I will have a massive benedryl dose before I get the tax. No problems with the cytoxin. I was very tired when I got home - basically useless! Of course I couldn't sleep even with being tired. The benedryl cause my restless leg syndrome to act up horribly so I couldn't stay still to sleep. Good 'ole ambien to the rescue! Did anyone sweat a lot at night after the infusions? I am attributing it to the iv. Am I right?? Hope all are well. Just wanted to report out. Going into Boston today with my parents to get an evaluation on my Dad. He has some kind of dementia - Alzheimers or whatever. It is horrible to watch a brillant man not be able to do simple things. I hope they can help - even if it is just a little. Love, to all
Sukiann
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Sukiann - good luck with your father. I too have an irregular heartbeat, and about 3-4 days after treatment, it starts going crazy - even with my prescribed daily meds. Matter of fact, it's so wild right now, its pounding in my chest and neck, and it gets bad enough that I can't rest or sleep. I understand completely! I tried to bring it up with my onc the last time, but I don't think anyone noticed. I'm talking to him on thursday during my blood draw about stopping treatment, because I don't feel my body is taking to this well at all - the same doubts my husband had when we discussed with my doctor - he knows me well too, and knows that my body tries to reject anything done to it - (port), doesn't take well to a lot of meds and that I tend to have out-of-the-box side effects that go above and beyond what are comfortable.
My neck and throat get very tender, almost like coming down with mono. I hope you are feeling better today - and yes, thank goodness for Ambien or we'd never sleep!!!
Hope your day goes okay. I'm working on trying to feel better despite numb fingers, heartburn, diarrreah and this racing heart issue.
Hugs to all!
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Chelev and sukiann, do either of you have a port? I read that sometimes the placement of the port tubing can cause irregular heart beats.
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Firni - yes, I have a port. I have had an irregular heartbeat prior to the port, one that was affected mostly by stress. since the port, it's been very irregular, and pounding at times, like now, even though I have taken the heart meds. It's got to be the port making it crazy - and it really scares me at times.
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Morning Ladies...
Chelev...I responded to you on the other thread...hang in there and have a good discussion with your doc before doing anything drastic.
Suikiann...don't do too much...and stress over your fathers situation. You need to take care of YOU first.
The side effects are still there and gets worse with the last one...I did sweat quite a bit with this last session and then got chills and low fever. My taste is gone and don't feel like eating anything because it doesn't taste good at all. Water is horrible...trying to drink alternatives to see what I can get down me. I have a rash in my butt crack and diarreah to boot. It is day 6 Post last chemo and it is not getting any easier. I am looking forward to sleeping and getting on to next week when I will be able to start to perk up. I meet with the Rad onco doc tomorrow and hopefully have some news as to when I can get on with the Rads....
Hang in there TC gals....we can do this and get through this...together...
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I had thrush something terrible during round 1. Doc put me on Fluconazole (diflucan) 200mg for 7 days. He had me start again after chemo 2 and no thrush. My mouth was one solid white mass and was going down my throat as well. He told me I will have to take the medicine after each chemo to prevent it. I also during round one gargled with salt and soda water which helped. My tongue was bleeding and swollen with the thrush. My doctor told me its a serious matter so keep checking the mouth for any signs of white patches. I brush my mouth many times a day and gargle with plain water also.
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Cruise, I'm so sorry that round 6 is being such a bugger. Mine was too. I thought I was going to die. I'm 5 weeks out and feeling better finally. About week 4 I got my taste back and I've actually been able to get on the treadmill for 15 min. yesterday and today. I did some gardening today and had to use a chair. Couldn't stoop or kneel. I found that strong juices like cranberry and pineapple went down a lot easier than water. Also, fruit and veggies tasted pretty good. Nothing else tho. I hope you took some Imodium and have some A&D ointment. It works real good. I hope you're feeling better faster than I did.
Nadine, you are really having a hard time with your mouth. I had a white film for a few days but it cleared up pretty fast. I hope you can keep it under control.
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Nadine--Thanks so much for your response to my question about the thrush, which appears to have extended into my entire GI system. I will ask my MD about diflucan tomorrow. I can still hardly eat and drinking is problematic; of course, water tastes terrible--although the spearmint water helps--and the diluted vitamin water is still too much for my system. Every time I eat I pay....My pandora's box of symptom control meds is immense and grows each time I have another round.
I also have had a rapid and at times irregular heartrate, typically in the first week after chemo. I talked with my onc about it and he said it was a typical problem with TC, that I could probably withstand it for the 4 rounds of chemo since my heart is basically strong (I insisted on a cardiac work-up before I agreed to chemo). At Day 12 I still am running a low grade fever every day and have periods of chills. I don't even think it is necessary to comment on weakness and fatigue or all the other symptoms I have had.
Chelev, I understand what you are saying about being sensitive to meds and trying to make the decision about chemo that is right for you. My first time around with breast cancer, I did 6 rounds of chemo followed by radiation, with my body eventually healing for the most part (I did develop late effects like osteopenia and long-term rib tenderness). My second time with breast cancer, I did the oncotyping and was advised that I could probably skip chemo and just focus on hormonal therapy. In January I was diagnosed with a chest wall recurrence, so now I am doing TC. I say this not to frighten you, honestly, but to show how the decision about chemo is a very personal one and one that needs to be individualized based on the illness, person, values & belief system, medical history, life experiences, etc. I hope you will continue your conversation with your MD and others to find the right choice for you.
Sukiann, I am sorry to hear about your first experience. I discovered with my first round that I have to go VERY slow, and it typically takes 4 1/2 hours for the TC. I want to mention also that I was exhausted from lack of sleep the first time around, and now I take Ativan 1mg the day before, of, and after chemo because of the steroid effects and also Ativan .5mg most other nights. I typically don't like to take meds but I am willing to do what I need to do in order to sleep and get much needed rest!
Here's hope for all of us to get through this struggle together!
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Back from Dad's appointment. Told us there is really nothing they can do. Will up his meds for dementia and do another mri but this disease (whether it is Alzheimers or another kind of dementia can't be cured - of course we already knew that). Too hard to go in and out of Boston with him so we are going to have to find a local doctor. He was so tired when we got home. Now on to the cancer:
cruiseforlife - I'm trying not to stress over dad's situation. I just feel so bad for my Mom. She has been through a lot ( and I mean a lot - losing a child, taking care of her mom that had dementia, having me have cancer and a life threatening arrthymia - which my other living brother has too)
Brendatrue - They actually mentioned the atitivan to me. I'll ask for it for next time.
Firni - no port because I'm only have 4 rounds. My irregular heartbeat has been there before the cancer. It is idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (which means without a known cause). I had a brother who died suddenly at work and another brother who dropped in his kitchen but was zapped back to life with a portable defibrillator. They intially said I don't have the "problem" but unfortunately it is not detectable by any test and all ekgs are normal until you have the deadly arrhythmia. I pushed to have the defibrillator placed in me and low and behold it happended to me in my family room 3 years later right in front of my kids. My defibrillator zapped me back to a regular heart rate and I was ok. VERY scary!!!
Another side effect i had today was that I look like I have a really bad sunburn. I called the doc because I was afraid it was related to the allergic reaction but they said it was from the steriods. My face, arms, chest and thighs are involved. Not really a problem but I look like I fried myself! Other than that, so far so good. No nauseau or any other se's . We'll see!
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Hi Ladies -
Those with thrush problems - I believe this a yeast based problem. I may be wrong but my Onc allowed me to continue with taking my probiotics throughout TC and I never had thrush, intestinal or vaginal yeast problems. I had been taking it for years for intestinal and vaginal reasons but it's rather harmless and doesn't interfere with treatment so is worth a try if you are really suffering. But as always, check with your doctors before starting. When I showed my Onc that I had been taking it for years, he was thrilled and said I probably wouldn't experience that SE at least and I didn't.
Oh! Ativan is our friend - it helps with so many things - sleep, anxiety - I took throughout TC treatments and it always helped me cope. Now that I am done, I never even think of it. When I have trouble sleeping - one benadryl does the trick. Starting on second month of Arimidex and the night sweats are getting worse every night. Doesn't help that we are having an early heat wave here in the east but that really isn't the problem
- we need a smiley with sweaty drips on here!!0 -
Hey - I get my first nipple tattoos on Friday - wow oo! These girls take some getting used to. I went to Old Navy today and bought some summer dresses to show them off.
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Firni...you give me hope and encouragement...I will look forward to the next couple of weeks of SE FREE..and the 5th week being really good...
Suikiann...sorry about the news of your father it must be really tough on your mother..I had no idea what she has been through. You know how to be positive around her...and she will be needing you now more than ever.
Bobcat...good luck with the tats....how exciting...I would only need one since they took my nipple as the tumor was attached to it. Might be hard to match the good one...LOL
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I had thrush 3 out of 6 cycles. I used nystatin the first 2 times. By the 3rd time, I had to have diflucan. I was told it is the steroids that contribute to thrush.
Hope it goes away soon! It's such an awful thing when things already taste terrible from chemo. I found myself eating lots more just to get the awful taste out of my mouth! GAG!
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mom of boys - that is the best!!
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Can I ask a favor? I'm trying to win a contest for breast cancer survivors! I submitted an essay to be the LA Dodgers honorary bat girl on Mother's Day. I need votes!!!!
I can't link to the site from here but have a link on my caring bridge site: http://caringbridge.org/visit/lisamittleman
If you have a second, I'd LOVE your vote! My name for voting is TRUE BLUE Lisa. Be Careful to NOT vote for TRUE BLUE cancer girl. Some of my friends/family accidentally voted for the wrong one LOL!
thank you!!!!
Lisa0 -
Hi everyone! I start on my 1st of 4 rounds of TC next Friday. I'm a bit anxious but reading everyone's experience makes me feel better. It helps me know what I could possibly expect. I just a question -is there anyone here who's had their chemo rounds with tissue expanders? I had my bi mast 03/23/09 and still have my expanders and I'm curios how anyone's handled the discomfort. Thanks in advance.
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Lisa, I am a HUGE baseball fan......I put my vote in for you. Wishing you the best of luck!
Hugs
Diane
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Diane -
Thanks so much for your vote! I'm a big baseball fan too....and spent much of my life playing! I so hope I win!!!!
Lisa
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Hi rqd817, I had my expanders during chemo and even did fills during chemo. I didn't have a lot of discomfort with my expander but what I did find difficult was after a fill and then a neulasta shot, I couldn't lay down flat enough at night to ease the neulasta SEs. So I would take Ibuprofen 800. I could have taken something for sleep as well, but didn't. Do you have a lot of discomfort all the time from your expanders? How are you coping with it now?
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HUGE baseball fan here, too! My son actually plays college baseball. The city in which he plays ran a very nice article on him and me... the team wore pink shirts under their jerseys one weekend in my honor. They also had supporters who sold snacks, etc. to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Unfortunately, they had it all the weekend after a Wednesday treatment so I was not able to go.
Dodgers... will indeed vote. How are y'all liking Manny? Also, your new 22 year old pitcher (Kershaw) is from the D/FW area. We saw him play in high school. In high school, you held your head high if you got a foul tip, but hey... you put the bat on the ball. From the parents, he was a great kid who did not let the fame go to his head.
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Mom of Boys - thanks for your vote!!
How cool that your son plays college ball!!! I live near UCLA and we go to their games sometimes (they let little leaguers in for free!). They also had a day where the team wore pink this year. I don't think it was specific to any one survivor but such a nice jesture! I'm so sorry that you missed that special day due to treatment!
My town is closest to Dodger stadium but not too far from the Angels stadium. You know that recent car accident that killed the young Angels pitcher? It also killed a boy from my town....and badly injured another from my town. Our little league has been doing lots of fundraisers for both boys. So sad!
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