Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
Comments
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Sherri - You are right - I did finish right behind you. My infusion nurses gave me a pretty tea cup at my last treatment, but it was at my ONC's office that I rang the bell.
Michele - sorry to be so confusing about the bell and the card, I should have explained it better, anyway, this is what was printed on the card:
This is a day of celebration as you continue on your life's journey....
Reflect on the accomplishment of meeting the challenges that have come your way...
Striking the gong three times signifies
Letting go of the past
Living in the present
Embracing the future
We honor you and wish you peace...
It was nice of the office to help celebrate the end of my chemo, I'm so glad to be through with it and I hope I start to feel like my old self soon.
Liz
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Wow, my hospital did not have anything like that. I did give the staff boxes of chocolates. I appreciated them so much!
Brenda
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Tomorrow is my #3 of 6 TC so almost half way there!! But all the conversations of Neuropathy have me concerned most of you have only done 4 txs! I have had a really easy time thus far with SE, the only aches I have had are after my Neulasta shot and then my 2nd and 3rd weeks after tx I feel fairly normal! Did the problems start after you finished or did you see them during your tx's??
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Leta, started during treatment, then worsened steadily for several weeks after. However, TC and I didn't get along, if you're feeling great and not experiencing anything it is a different story from what I experienced. By my round #3, my hands were so bad I couldn't open pill bottles and the myopathy was ridiculous, it was not a subtle thing at all. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that things stay so good for you!
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Leta - please don't worry...we all react differently. Overall, I tolerated TC quite well. The twitching eyes are really the only lingering effect for me right now. And, I think it improves when I've had a few good nights of sleep. Hang in there!
Sherri
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Leta, we are all unique in our reactions to TC. My neuropathy is just now getting worse. I am almost 4 weeks post TC. My feet are swelling, and my legs feel very heavy. My eye twitching is practically gone, though. I feel very good about that.
You never now. You just might be one of the lucky ones.
Good luck to you!
Brenda
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I have TC 6x as well and so far I've done with 2. Have not felt anything in the extremeties yet but these posts too had me worried. My case manager, a wonderful lady, did tell me that the effects could be cumulative. I've lost all hair before second treatment and this round I'm a bit more fatigued than last. But I'm in week #2 and feel generally OK given the circumstances - only some occasional knee pain - I think from the Neulasta shots. Four more to go and I appreciate reading about all the SEs - especially the parts where they are disappearing. :-)
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I feel like I'm waiting for another shoe to drop. I was so girded for the hair loss thing, even cut my hair extremely short to prepare for it.
But so far, almost 2 weeks out from my first infusion, and I am not having any hair loss at all. Even those weird ants-under-the-scalp sensations have stopped.
Did I dodge it or . . . . is that shoe almost on the floor????
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Michele - mine started at 16 days and I shaved my head on day 17. I hope you dodge the bullet but I think Taxotere pretty much does this to everyone. At least you are prepared. Hugs, Bobbi
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Michele, I hope the shoe doesn't drop for you. That said, my hair didn't start falling out until day 21. It didn't all fall out either but I do need to wear a wig or head cover. Good news is...I'm starting to see some new hair sprouting through. Hang in there!
Sherri
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Hi Girls Hope everyone is feeling fine... I keep reading the parts about eye twitching, hands and feet and HAIR LOSS....Well today is day 6 and I do have a little tingling in the fingers,and I don't open my eyes in the shower to see the hair go down the drain..my hair does feel thinner..My DH says I am imaginating it....Who know... I do have energy. back... But by mid day I feel tired... Not that I rest, because I won't be able to sleep..... I only have 2 more pills for sleep and my rx won't be able to fill till Saturday..... I will need to have my Dr, call an rx in for my Husband or something. How will I be able to sleep????
Ezcriiibe___ Good luck with the hair loss. I hope someone dodges the bullet...Are you taking anything for that? That is what is going to send my over the edge.
Congrats on people who finish infusions.... The ringing of the bells is a great idea.
Liz- what a beautiful saying on the card..... I hope I live by those words.
Good luck everyone feel good... Hope everyone sleeps well.
Hugs,
Donna
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Donna - I hope you are doing well. One bit of advice - you need to demand meds to help with sleep, anxiety, pain, constipation...whatever you need help with. We are not drug addicts, we are dealing with cancer and chemo and we should be as comfortable and functional as is possible. I know I'm ranting, but I remember calling my GP's nurse because the first person I spoke to at his office said I wasn't due for a refill!! Excuse me, but I was trying get through the days and nights and still care for my family and work. My onc was hugely helpful but too far away to get scripts from. Finally got the two offices talking to each other and I am now one year post TC and guess what?? Not addicted to anything but thank the intervention of my onc and GP's nurse to get me what I needed. I wish you comfort and restfull sleep - your DH too!!
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I had my second treatment today. I had pretty severe reactions to the taxotere during the first treatment, but today they had put in some preventative measures to help. Today did not go well. I had a reaction to the taxotere 20 minutes into it. Chest pains, rash on face; couldn't draw a full breath. They stopped it and switched to saline to weaken its effect. Then another IV steroid, followed by two doses of bendryl, then we started again. I made it for an hour, trying to tough it out, but my I couldn't breathe and the face rash came back accompanied by a chest rash, and the chest pains returned. Another round of saline. Then we decided this is not right drug for me. We will be trying a different one next time. Sigh. Side note: They realized that every time they give me a steroid, by blood sugar goes up (i'm also diabetic). I left with a blood sugar reading of 444. Not a good day.
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Magister!! Holy moley!! 444!! Yikes! Are they not giving you insulin?! OMG!
I'm a diabetic, too, and the steriods send my glucose through the roof, so they test it periodically throughout the infusion and when it starts to elevate, they give an appropriate dose of insulin.
Wow, please don't let them do that to you anymore!
I'm so sorry that you are not tolerating the taxotere well, and am glad they are going to rework that regime for you!
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Michele, I am 10 weeks post chemo and I buzzed my hair before it started falling out. I still had some hair at the end of 4 chemos. But, it was all gone in a couple of weeks as the new hair pushed it out. I do believe that it just didn't have the weight to fall out on its own. Everyone is different and there are some ladies that do not lose all their hair, but like Sherri said, she had to still cover up, because it gets so thin.
Brenda, I too had heavy legs and feet, could hardly make it up a flight of stairs, chest felt heavy and had trouble breathing, retained fluid and had to take Lasix. I am so much better. I am retaining a small amount of fluid, but not enough to take pills, no trouble breathing and have no trouble going up and down stairs, multiple times. My fatigue is gone, my hair is growing, food tastes good and I only have 4 rads left. I am doing great.
magister, so sorry you had trouble taking Taxotere. I was so lucky, I did not have any problems. Glad they were able to take care of you, hope the new regiment goes better for you.
Juannelle
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Magister- I am sorry that you had a problem with the taxotere.... I too had a problem with the first infusion with taxotere. I had the pains in stomach, back, kidney chest crushing and palputations. The shut me down gave in 50 mg of benadrly and saline and continued... I was able to finish treatment.... I go again on the 18th for the second round and I am scared..... I really am....I wish you luck.
Today is 8 days after my first round on TC and I must admit yesterday was the best day. I felt like I did before my diagnoses. I hope it continues...
Today I walked a mile and 1/2 and I get a fill form my PS... Taking Tylenol....
Hope everyone feels good today... Enjoy the weather...
Donna
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On my 1st TC they were worried about me reacting to the Taxotore, so gave me all the IV steriods etc and did the infusion very slowly gradually increasing the dose. I did fine. On the 2nd they just started the Taxotere full speed (one hour infusion) well, it wasn't even a minute and I was red, seeings spots, spine pain and having a hard time breathing. They did more meds a saline flush and restarted it at the slower speed (3 hours infusion.) Yesterday was my 3rd and they did the 3 hour infusion and I was fine.
So, slowing down the infusion makes a huge difference.
I have the stupid eye twich and runny nose. Both annoying!
Yesterday the onco said he wants to remove more lymph nodes after chemo just to check they out. I had ITCs in one lymph node (not mets, Still node negative.) 2nd node was clear.
Then I met when the radation onco and he disagreed, saying more nodes wouldn't show anything after chemo and especially since I only had ITC's in one node not the other. He says the chemo has already treated systemic and I'm doing radiation (even though I had a BMX, my margins were clear, but the onco still wanted radiation to be safe) The radiation onco felt that if they wanted to take my nodes, they should have done it before chemo.
I did ask if they could do take the lymph nodes before my 4th treatment and they said no, because of risk of infection..etc.
I'm really confused, hubby thinks the radation onco is right. Anyone been through this? How would you decide?
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Everett78 - My sentinal node tested negative during my lumpectomy, but then after further testing showed a 1mm deposit, which sent me back to the table for more nodes to be removed but all were negative. My surgeon, who has been amazing, said statistically with only a slight deposit, they wouldn't find anything more, but the standard care is to check for more and I agreed. All this was done before chemo...so for you I would ask them about the statistics or likely hood of finding more on your lymph nodes, if the statistics are low before chemo as my surgeon said they have to be even lower after surgery! I would want to keep my lymph nodes, they are a form of protection for our bodies, so check out all the statistics before they take more out!
Had my #3 TC on Thursday, no surprises....half way...3 more to go.....still seems like a long way to go...I am hoping I don't get the whooping cough, my daughter who is 8 was just diagnosed with it, and I suspect my son now has it as well, he is getting checked tomorrow! Crazy!
Be well!
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Leta, I thought there was a vaccine for whooping cough? Didn't our kids get them when they were babies?
I'd like to say TC is a distant memory, but it is still bugging me. Now, in addition to edema in both feet, I have muscle pain all over. I see the oncologist tomorrow.
Brenda
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Brenda - hopefully your onc will give you something for the edema. I recall others getting lasix prescribed. Overall, I'm feeling well and my twitching eyes are starting to ease up. I keep checking the mirror to see if any hair is coming in. There is some but not a lot yet. I guess it just takes time.
Sherri
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Well, the clumps of hair are coming out now.
Oh well. I guess I will go get it shaved this week.
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Brenda, I took Lasix for the edema, I thought my toes were going to explode. I took it for about a week and all has been well since. If you have never taken it before, the doctor will tell you not to take it at night, because you will be up all night. I would take it and for about 3 hours I was going, going, going and then it would slack off and be about normal. At least it didn't take all day to get the water out. I hurt for about 3 weeks or so after my last chemo, then that also slacks off and my shortness of breathe also was gone by week 4. It just takes awhile for your body to get back to its new normal. I hope all is going well for you.
leta, you are 1/2 through, that is great. Keep strong, I know it is not always easy, I only had to do 4, so I can't imagine what it would have been like to do 6. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Alicia, hope all is going well for you and both you and your DH are healing. I know you are ready to get on with the next step and that is coming quick. I will say a pray for you.
ezscriiibe, don't you just hate it when the hair starts to go. I didn't wait that long, but it was very traumatic for me. Before long, you will be like Alicia and me, just waiting for the next hair to come in.
I did have to shave my legs yesterday. I have really light hair and looked at my legs and was shocked that they needed to be taken care of. I guess that was a good sign. I haven't been so excited to shave my legs in a long time. How life has changed.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Juannelle
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Leta17, How was the surgery when they went back for more nodes? Did it take long to recover? Did you have drains?
After reading your post I realized they never said how many additional nodes they would take out...I think I need to ask a few more questions. Has having 8 nodes removed caused you to have lymphedema problems?
I just had TC #3 Thursday and I hate that I still can't really taste anything but salt. Drives me nuts. Oh well, it will be done soon.
Deb
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Deb - I recovered fairly quickly from the 2nd surgery and I did have a drain for a week, almost forgot about that till you mentioned it, but it wasn't too bad:) My surgeon had said that the nodes are very small and she would not take many, thus leaving me with the majority of them...I have heard some have 30+ nodes cleaned out...so I think there are many that are in any one location. I have not had any problems thus far with lymphedema, no swelling, no numbness etc...lymph nodes are a filtration system, and my onc has told me that perhaps the cancer only went as far as my sentinal node, that it did its job and contained it...but IT could have had a mind of its own, thus why I am on chemo....I'd like to think that the nodes are there to help protect or slow down the spread of BC...but who knows...perhaps they can do a PET scan when you are done with Chemo and see if anything comes up??
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well....
after reading about the eye twitching and the low spine pain, I do feel a bit better and held off calling my onc and her nursing assistant to rant and rave.
But does anyone here on this board also experienced jaw and tooth pain? Before my BC dx, I was doing dental work and had fillings done. I've read about getting dental work done before your chemo treatment; yes, I did neglect it. Now, I feel like almost a 24 hour toothache in my jaw and when I checked, the more I brush and rinse, I see that my some of my fillings are no longer there!
Excuse me while I do my morning expletive: HELP!
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Good morning Girls! Hope everyone had a nice weekend..... Well to day is day11. Still have foggy head.. I feel good all the days except Sundays. The first Sun after chemo and yesterday... Maybe its's because mother nature came to visit.. I though that you were to stop after the BMX and chemo... What the hell.. How do you know if your counts are down.....??? Can some one give me the heads up on what to do?
Thanks for your help.. ..
Hope everyone who had or is having chemo today is feeling great.
Donna
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Flmgkat - I have had dental problems a well. Usually, about 4-5 days after tx, my teeth feel like they are gonna just drop out of my mouth. Jaw hurts like crap too. All this from the gift that keeps on giving...
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Hi All,
I am one month post chemo. I made a F/U visit to my ONC the other day. He told me that the swollen feet, achy muscles and tingly face (this is new) are all side effects from the chemo and steroids. I look like a chipmunk and weigh 12 lbs. over my original weight (before chemo).
I am not scaring anyone, you are all unique, so don't worry about getting my side effects. But I am learning that they can develop and get worse after chemo. I'm also being told that they will go away eventually. My ONC thinks my present S/E's will be gone by April. He said for me to ride out the edema (no meds.), and to keep elevating my feet over my heart when I have the time and to avoid salty food. He did give me pain meds and muscle relaxers for the muscle pain.
Donna: When your red blood cells (RBC) are down, you may feel lightheaded. I don't know about WBC. WBC fight infection in your body. Blood tests are done before chemo to determine your level.
Take care, ladies.
Brenda
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Brenda - one month for me, too. My eyelid twitching is getting better and that's been my main side effect other than hair loss.
I see a bit sprouting through my my scalp is still so visible. How long before it starts to fill in? Is there anybody who's done TC who can let me know?
Sherri
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Sugar, I thought my hair would never come back in. A few months later and some stubble and I was panicking. 6 months a very very very short brush cut. A year later and everyone thinks I'm deliberately keeping my hair as a short cut.
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