Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
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My docs also did not warn me off fresh fruit and veggies, and told me not to "go into isolation". They indicated that the greatest danger of infection was from ourselves and that the one key thing to do to reduce risk was careful and frequesnt hand washing. I was told to stay away from close contact with people who have colds, avoid shaking hands at church and being in crowds in close quarters from days 8-12; otherwise try to live normally. Having read many of your posts, I have avoided fruits like berries which are hard to wash well from days 8-12. I guess just as there are as many chemo regimens as there are patients (and oncologists), there are as many "standard" precautions that doctors give. I think they each have their own philosophies as to what factors are important.
Gina_M.
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OMG Sherry my scalp is doing the exact same thing!! My scalp itches like crazy and I have those same little red bumps all over my head!! I've been using dh's Nioxin scalp therapy when I shower, and it relieves the itch for about an hour, then here we go again!
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Sherri & Sherry, I had the same scalp problem at I think the same time of treatment (I had posted about it on this board when I was going nuts from the itch). Mine did go away after a day or so, after I thought I was going to have to submerge my head in the swimming pool just to make it stop! I put aloe vera gel on it and it helped cool the burn a little. Hang in there, it shouldn't last long!
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Did the red, itchy bumps look like this?:
Actually, the red bumps aren't very obvious in that pic. There were a lot more of them, and they were very red. After about 3 or 4 days, they developed "pustules" on the surface. They went away before my next tx, so I had to show my onco a pic instead of the real thing. She said they were "folliculitis", and she told me to use baby shampoo. That did the trick--they never came back.
BTW, all that hair you see is what I had left on day 10 or so after my 2nd TC tx. The hair was gone completely by the time I had finished my 4th tx.
otter
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Hi All,
Thanks TN Chickadee for remembering me! Looks like I am for sure skipping my last treatment. My burn has been doing amazingly well considering that it happened right after a chemo tx. I seem to be the exception to the rule in that my immune system has not been severely impacted by chemo and my blood counts have remained high. My PS and BS did not think that I would heal at all but my burn is now half the size it was!
I am now moving forward to see how the burn is going to impact finishing my reconstruction! The PS nurse actually said "it is too bad that you will have a scar" and I told her that last thing I am worried about is a scar! I do not plan to do any topless sunbathing so a scar is not big deal as long as it does not mess up my recon!
I am now on the outlook for my hair to return! I wish you all well and hope that your chemo journey will be a gentle one!
Valerie
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Now that's a thought Valerie! A topless beach just for us BC babes! What a hoot that would be!
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yes, Otter, that's just what mine look like...this has been going on for about a week, yesterday started noticing the "pustules" forming. Hope this means the downhill stretch. I'll try the baby shampoo.
Sherry--forgot to mention that what little hair I have left grew a little, too--we buzzed it to about 1/8" three weeks ago, and it's about 1/4" now, but I'm day 14 after tx 2, and I've noticed a little bit of shedding today, sooooooooo........
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hello, I know I am late on this response, but I am just now experiencing hives. What did you do for them. I took Benadryl for 4 days. My Onc said it could be a virus too. I also had a temp of 101.7 and a sore throat. I am due for round 3 Mond. and I feel so terribly weak, irritable, tired and scared. How did your other treatments go, and did you experience this again?
please let me know,
thanks,
Audrey
Audrey
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I also had hives - they were like a necklace around my neck starting around day7 of my first treatment. I went to my family doc and was given a prescription for a heavier-hitter antihistamine (pills and a cream) - worked in about a day and a half. I also had a temp (101.1) and sore throat. It was on a weekend and I was told to go to the Emergency Room. They took some tests (ECG, blood, urine, chest X-ray), found out my absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was VERY low (<0.1), then sent me home with prescriptions for two powerful antibiotics to take for 10 days. When my oncologist saw the reports of all my side effects and my ER visit and ANC, she reduced my chemo dose by 15% for treatment 2 and added Neulasta to get my WCB up.. I'm now day 16 after treatment 2 and have had very few side effects this time around.
Audrey - I suggest you call your doctor about your fever and sore throat, as it could be a problem if your white cells are low. We have been told to call for anything, as we should not be feeling so miserable during chemo - many of the side effects can be well controlled. The oncologists are not shy about giving prescriptions to help you with the side effects. I was told to call immediately or go the the ER IF my temperature ever got higher than 100.4.
Good luck - let us know how you're doing.
Gina_M.
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Thanks so much for the feedback on fruits/veggies and other infection risk precautions. The variability is recommendations is so interesting, but seems to be par for the course. Just like the soy/ER+ thing -- seems like some oncs FREAK OUT about it, and other are pretty much whatever. Have to see what mine says tomorrow!
Otter, LOVE the chart -- thank you. I hadn't done any research into Neulasta, just assumed that it prevented neutropenia generally -- rather it seems like it helps keep neutropenia from becoming severe (usually). Which is a big difference.
Tomorrow's my "big" appt with the onc where we go over my CT scan (already went over them once with my 2nd opinion onc, but I'll be interested to hear her take on my residual thymus, adrenal nodule, and all the other little blips that showed up) and bone scan results (I know that I'm going to need an MRI to rule out mets as the cause of a hot spot on my fibula of all places, but interested to hear all the other nitty gritty); make a final-FINAL decision about chemo regimen and start dates; and I ask 284 questions about additional meds (steroids, antiemetics, Neulasta, and then of course antianxiety meds, sedatives, antihistamines and pain killers to treat some of the side effects from the meds to treat the side effects of the chemo... am I forgetting anything???), lifestyle, diet, supplements, etc. And then I have chemo teaching with the onco nurse (who I love). Also have bloodwork and a DEXA scan that day, just in case I'm bored. Phew!
Will let you all know how it goes... I can't tell you how helpful this thread has been for me already!
Best,
Drea
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Just checking in. I've had kind of a punky week, beginning with Monday (Day 5 Tx #3). Feeling somewhat better today (#8). I didn't get a call from the Onco after my blood tests on Tuesday, so I assume my WBC is within an acceptable range (and no fever), but this is definitely the worst I have felt since starting chemo. Now I'm worried about my last treatment later this month. Just walking across the room wears me out, and I have come close to fainting on numerous occasions. My poor husband is so solicitous and concerned he is driving me nuts!! My BP is way down, my pulse up. Haven't even felt like leaving the house. Paraphrasing Michelle Shocked: I feel like a cancer patient. I think I'm a cancer patient.
Still, no projectile vomiting! There's lots to be thankful for, I guess.
Regards,
Sandra
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Sandra--I'm sorry you're feeling punky....and I can relate. I'm day 16 tx 2 and still not feeling too hot. Tuesday and Wed woke up feeling pretty well and ended up overdoing it and sick by day's end, and today I have a sore throat (no fever as of yet) and weak and exhausted, still having to take Zofran 1-2 times a day for nausea, still taking lomotil for diarrhea. I keep thinking of tx 3 a week from today, and it really scares me--almost to the point of panic....and me, too: I feel like a cancer patient. I think I'm a cancer patient. That scares me more than anything.
Hope everyone is else is doing well!
Sherri
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Sandra-- We have had so much in common with our tx's. This is day 4 tx3 and I feel worse than I did the other two times. No energy at all, my legs feel like complete rubber and hips and thighs are hurting. I kinda feel out of body as a whole and very irrititable. I think it's finally getting to me and dreading the last one already. People keep saying, well you only have one more, but I'm not through this one yet!!!!! I have a son to move into college next Tuesday and I have so much to do for that and I'm freaking myself out about not getting everything done. Hopefully this will end by tomorrow or Saturday at least. That's about how long this punky feeling lasted before, but just never this bad.
Alright enough of my complaining. On a happier note, I wanted to let you all know that the Rod Stewart concert was awesome last weekend. I'm so glad I changed my tx to Monday so I felt the best I could for it. I couldn't believe the range of ages there and he put on such a great show. He looks great for 63 and sang all the songs I wanted to hear.
Sherri - I know what you mean about feeling like a cancer patient, but this shall pass. Hang in there everybody.
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Terri & Sherri,
Thanks for your words of kindness. I've been pretty lucky up to now, but this is just the pits, and now I know how bad some people must get with this! What I most hate is just feeling so puny and whiny and cranky.
Terri, you were SO smart to put off the treatment so you could enjoy the concert while you were feeling good. Glad it met your expectations and then some. Don't do yourself in now with regard to getting your son off to college. You really need to rest, and iIf he's like my kids, the more I tried to do for them at that phase, the less they appreciated it. It won't be the end of the world, if a few things get forgotten or go undone. There's an old saying: no one knows what you do until you stop doing it. It will be a learning opportunity for him. There's always the US Mail and Daddy.
Sherri, I don't know. With the degree of nausea and diarrhea you've been experiencing, I wonder if they will reconsider the wisdom of doing #3. That's just not right, Woman. Such a little tumor and only Grade 2? Mine was 3 cm, Grade 3 with an OncoType score of 29, and even so--I was pretty much drug into chemo kicking and screaming in resistance because it hardly seemed worth it. It wouldn't take much at this point for me to bail on the final treatment either.
What's got me feeling kind of pissy too, is that the Oncos totally downplay the significance of the SEs. Don't really feel there's full disclosure. For instance, in a few short months I have become every phlebotomists' nightmare draw. The last time I was there I mentioned that it seemed to be getting worse, and she said, well, yes, of course, that's because of the progressive damage to your veins because of the chemo. They have become terribly fragile. Say what? I said, so that's temporary, right? She looked at me like I was a child, and said, no, it's not temporary. This is the way they're going to be from now on!!! Now, granted I haven't researched this issue, and she could be mis-representing things, but Cripes! that seems rather a high price to pay and I don't recall anyone ever discussing this issue with me. In fact, reading through all the literature they gave me on C-T I find not a single reference to "vascular or arterial damage (permanent or temporary)." So what happens to me now if I develop coronary artery disease and need stenting or, or, or,............"
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I consider myself very lucky in that I did not have any nausea during my chemo. I found that if I followed the regimen they prescribed for me. I was good to go. I took zofram twice daily starting the day of treatment and 3 additional days. I also took dexamethasone 2mg, 2 pills twice daily for 2 days, starting the day of chemo, then 1 pill twice daily for 2 more days. I had compazine on an "as needed" basis for nausea. I never had nausea, and believe me, I took my meds as directed and did not waiver on the schedule.
I will also add, that for me, the chemo was worse than radiation as far as fatigue goes. I had chemo on thursday, felt great for 2 days, then had bone pain for 2 days and was tired the next 5 days. Then, for 2 weeks (give or take a day or 2) felt normal. I came home each day and took at least an hour long nap, sometimes 2-3 hours depending on my work schedule. With the radiation, I worked fulltime the entire time, and only took 1 day off during the last week of my full breast treatments. That was due to the skin under my arm being so raw and draining, I felt fine otherwise. Once I finished radiation, within a week my skin was healed and back to to normal. I have had no real fatigue. I did however, find the day after I finished my radiation that I was in a foul mood. I mean, an actual, mean mood .. I came home and went to bed. If I had to chose between radiation and chemo, I think I would do chemo again before radiation. The skin issue for me was bad and very uncomfortable, but given the options, a necessary evil.
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Sandra--I was actually thinking along the same lines--what the hell am I doing this for? Wouldn't take much for me to bail....but then I would feel like I'd come this far and gone through all this and for what? I whine alot but I've not had near the problems some have--no fevers, no infections, etc, etc, etc. It's just discouraging that I'm not bouncing back like I did after tx1. But, I don't know why I'm surprised, it's what I was told to expect by one of my onc's nurses....he said that 2 would be a little worse than 1, and 3 would be a little worse than 2, but that 3 would be about as bad as it would get...so don't know what I'm b#$^*ing about.
I agree about the full disclosure...seems to me they don't tell us everything cause they don't want to put any ideas in our heads. I've been led to believe that most of the se's were temporary, which is one of the reasons I decided to do chemo. It's the chemobrain that has me most concerned......if cognitive ability doesn't come back I'm in big trouble.
I'd ask your onc about the permanent vascular damage....never heard of that either--with taxotere or cytoxan.
Hope tomorrow is a better day for you and everyone!
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Hi
Just wanted to say "I'M DONE!!!!!" Had my 4th tx today. I'm so glad to be finally on the other side. I'm just hoping that my s/e's aren't too bad.
SherriM - my 2nd tx was my worst. I was told that they were cumulative, so I was really worried about my 3rd and it turned out to be the easiest of them all! I'm just hoping that this one doesn't make up for what I didn't get on the last one!
Sandra - So sorry you had a rough time with #3. Hopefully #4 will be like my #3. It's just amazing how different we all react to the same chemo.
Good luck to anyone having chemo tomorrow. I'm heading to my recliner before I fall asleep on the keyboard.
Kathy
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Kathy, Woo-Hoo! so happy to hear you're done! Hope you breeze through the next few weeks and have your old life back asap.
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Kathy that's awesome!! Congratulations!!!!! Praying that 4 is even easier for you than 3 was! At least you know you're done and don't have another one looming in the horizon. Are you on to radiation now, or are you done with tx?
DH is taking 1/2 day off and we're going to go see The Dark Knight matinee...should be good for an afternoon escape!
A great, s/e free day to all!
Sherri
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Thanks for the congrats! It is so nice knowing that this was the last one - and no I'm not having radiation. So hopefully, even with bad s/e's I'll be on the upswing by September. Didn't think it would get here, but it does - eventually!
Hope everyone has a good day,
Kathy
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Thank you for the "hair" info. I am going to buy some baby shampoo today! I also put benadryl lotion on my head and that made it easier to sleep!
I'm still itchy, but it isn't quite as bad as it was. I was getting crabby just putting on my wig it itched so much!
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Hi all,
Posting from work, so I'll be quick... Just wanted to let you know that I WILL be joining you. Saw my onc on Thurs, decided to go ahead with TC, and set up a schedule: 8/21, 9/11 (an easy one to remember!), 10/2, 10/23. So if all goes according to plan (not holding my breath), I should be done by my favorite holiday, Halloween. Wonder if I can incorporate my bald head into a costume?
I'm going to have bloodwork the day before tx, at the community hospital where I work (5 min from my house as opposed to an hour to the hospital where I'm being treated) which should save time during chemo day itself, and then the day after I'll get Neulasta at an oncology office next door to the community hospital. I was hoping to self-administer, but the onco nurse said insurance won't cover it -- at least I don't have to drive all that way for a single injection!
Oh, we talked about the raw fruit/veggies thing. My onc says that although it's a theoretical risk, to be on the safe side, she does recommend avoiding raw, soft/thin-skinned produce that can't be peeled, especially lettuce, spinach, sprouts -- all the stuff that has had outbreaks of E. Coli, etc. that has made even healthy sick! She said if I want to, I can just avoid them during days 7-14 of each cycle. I'm glad it's going to be fall, so I can get my veggies in soups and stews (my partner's already promised me carrot-ginger soup)... I eat a lot of salad in the summer! I'm also going to stock up on frozen berries, and use those in smoothies, oatmeal, etc.
Okay, not so short! I'm just glad to have a plan in place, and though of course I'm scared sh*tless, eager to get cracking.
Congratulations, Kathy on being done!!! And I'm sorry for those who are having a rough time with the SE's...
Best to all,
Drea
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Kathy -- thank you for the good news about differences in tx experiences, and congratulations! Other people on this long T/C discussion seem to have had variable experiences with each tx, not necessarily cumulative.This is my second, and it's a better than the first so far (day 5). I have better meds, which helps.
Sherri and Sandra, I'm sorry you're having a rough time of SEs right now. I hope each day shows some improvement -- that will help your spirits as well as your body.
Drea, you're going in with your eyes open and very informed. That's going to help you so much.
Warm thoughts (it's 103 degrees here today -- not wig weather), Lani
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Hi Ladies, I'm starting TC 4 treatments in September. I get migraine headaches and am worried that the chemo drugs or any of the other drugs I might be on may worsen my headaches - maybe that should be the least of my worries, but I was just wondering if any of you had headaches as an SE. Thanks!
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Hi Sue, I just had my first TC tx last week (8/6) and I did have a bit of a migraine today but an Excedrin Migraine tablet put it away. I've had bone pain from the Neulasta injection was the worse pain I had. No headaches really. My migraines were/are definitely hormonal as is my bc Er+/Pr+ so I'm hoping the chemo helps getting rid of all those hormonal issues monthly cycles, migraines, bloating, crabbiness.... I'm hoping at least!
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Sue - I have had migraines periodically for the past 5=6 years and have a prescription for Zomig (melt-aways). My onc. says no problem taking Zomig for any migraines during treatment. Which is really great, as Zomig does not affect platelets and clotting the way ibuprofen ot tylenol do. I've taken one Zomig during each of my 2 treatmetns so far. Worked like a charm!
Gina
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Hi Gina - I take Imitrex for my migraines. I'll have to find out if it's okay to take that during chemo. Thanks for the replies Ladies.
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Hi Hood1980, I know what you mean about getting rid of the bloating, irritability, cramping, moodiness, crabiness, migraines. I am on my second treatment, and it has been the worse, I did experience some hot flashes, not to bad managable, compared to everything else.My first treatment was not bad at all. Second one I just didn't feel good but about 2 to 3 days, very fatigued, emotional, can't sleep and just wanting to stop. I didn't get my period this time yet either. But I was scheduled for my 3rd treatment this Monday, and just couldn't do it, the Doc saw how low my red blood cell count was and said I can wait one more week. He gave me a shot of procrit.I had a severe headache yesterday, I don't know if it from the shot or what, I hope this works. I hope you the best,
Pray for me,
Amann
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HI LADIES. WELL I STARTED TAXOTERE AND CYTOXAN ON AUG 7. DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL BACK LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME. IT JUST MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WASNT MYSELF. AND ON TOP OF THAT I HAVE TO DO 6 TREATMENTS OF THIS. SO I GO BACK ON AUG 28 FOR MY SECOND DOSE OF IT. I AM SCARED AND NEVOUS EVEN THOUGH I HAVE ALREADY HAD THE FIRST DOSE BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT MAKES ME FEEL. BUT ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS, IS IT NORMAL TO FEEL DEPRESSED WHILE ON THIS MEDICATION ALSO WHEN DOES YOUR HAIR START TO COME OUT. AND SHOULD I GO AHEAD AND SHAVE MY HEAD.
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Hi Lashon, I am on my second treatment, about to do #3, but my RB count was low, and I felt terribly fatigued, so they gave me a shot of procrit to raise it, my wbc is good. I will do my 3x a week later. My 1x was not too bad, I didn't really get much nausea, just tired easily, and yes did feel wierd, I didn't really feel depressed but a couple of days, but 2x depressed alot of days, but the doc will give me something for that, and you can also get something for it. My hair didn't start coming out until the 14th day, and I had long hair, that I kept relaxed and long most of my life, but I told myself well maybe it's time for a change, I know it will grow back, I didn't really let that get to me. I had my sister cut it off to about in inch long. It was harder for her to do it and I said wow I don't look too bad with short hair. but now Iook like a baby orangatang
I know it's all temp. I still haven't shaved it off, I;ll just see what happens from here. I believe in God too.. but it is a shock to us. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS! I feel like God is waking me up to get closer to him. Yes, Jesus will get us through this. I am praying for you too.God bless you,
Amann
Amann,
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