Anyone on just Taxotere and Cytoxan?
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Hi all - Hope everyone is feeling good today. Moving my son into college yesterday went ok except I decided to wear my wig for a change ( usually wear hats for comfort) and it was so hot in his dorm room I had sweat running down the back of my head and I found it looks like hell when it is wet!!! Luckily I had my hat in the car and put it on half way through, which turned out to be a great idea because people started holding the door for me and letting me pass them!! One of the few benefits of this mess!
My daughter and I too joked about a temporary tatoo on the back of my head. My favorite she came up with was "Got Chemo?" Except for around the house though I don't dare go bald now, the little hairs that have begun to grow back are pure white and starting to look curly! Ugh!!!! Love the mowhawk TX66!!
Have a good day all!
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Hello everyone, This is day 2 after round one and the only complaint I have is my surgical breast is suddenly very red and considerably more uncomfortable than before. I'm 5 weeks post-op uneventful wide spread lumpectomy which healed quickly now feels a bit like a fireball but not really like an infectious process going on. Anyone else have this experience.? No fever or anything. I love tattoo on back of head idea. What a way to make a statement. bonnielee.
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BonnieLee - I too have had considerable pain at mastectomy and reconstruction (expander) site after tx. I even had to go back to pain pills which I had long stopped after the surgery after the first tx. I've been told it is not uncommon but never got a good explanation as to why. I'm assuming the chemo affects vulnerable areas of the body and I'm sure there is still a lot of healing going on. I would however keep an eye on the redness and burning as that could mean infection and take your temp. Good luck and hope se's are minimal.
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I have not had any sores in my mouth. My mouth has felt sore some. I swish with 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp baking soda and 8 ounces of water 4 times a day. I also try to eat yogurt or cottage cheese every day. I don't know if that is what kept me from getting the sores or not. Treatment number 2 tomorrow. Regarding the tatoos on the bald head. I really did see a man who had tatooed eyes on the back of his bald head at the State Fair one year. I REALLY wanted to ask him if I could take a picture, but I didn't.
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Bonnie and Terri - I have been told that the dexamethsone aka Decadron - heavy steroids - is what causes the redness and pain flare-up in the recent surgical areas. Don't know if that is what you had, but I did, and my lumpectomy breast turns red and sore and the axillary dissection surgical area gets very sore and swollen but doesn't turn red. It's done it all 3 times so far, #4 tomorrow, and starting to be sore again. It goes away after the dex wears off.
Marilyn
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To all the temp tatoo seekers, check out savethetatas.com. They have a couple of great "tata's forever" tatoos. That's one of the first things my youngest dd and I planned to do once I'm bald and she comes for a visit. We thought it would be a hoot but dh didn't think it was funny and refused to help, so have to wait till she can get up here. Course I'm not totally bald yet, but it will be worth shaving for.
Marilyn--I read on line somewhere about doing a swish-n-spit with vit E oil for mouth sores. I didn't have them after tx 2, but did with tx 1, and tried it it then. I poked a hole in a couple of Vit E capsules and tried it and it really did help, amazingly.
Tx 3 tomorrow...putting the 'game face' on as dh would say.....
Blessings to all,
Sherri
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Thanks Marilyn and Terri, Appreciate the info. bonnie
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If your mouth gets that funny sand paper coated feeling you can swish with Biotene. That stuff even helps when your teeth are feeling sore....I don't even know if anyone else gets that, but there are days when the entire inside of my mouth feels foreign....
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Hi all, my mouth was probably one of the worst se's I had. No taste, hurting, etc. But I never had sores so didn't call my onc after last tx. When I told her before this one she prescribed two mouthwashes which I alternated and it seemed to help a lot. One was mix of Benadryl, malox and lidocain. The other is called nystatin, which is for infection. The nystatin seemed to help more than the other even though I didn't think I had an infection. It was definitely worth it and would recommend asking for it. My taste came back way faster than last time and my teeth and tongue didn't hurt as much.. Hope it helps for anyone else.
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I was also prescribed Nystatin (maybe for thrush), but the Pharmacist told me to swish, then swallow the stuff, as it was great for the throat too.
Gina
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Sherry,
I get the sore teeth thing too. It is quite miserable. The Biotene seems to help it though. People look at you like you're nuts when you tell them your teeth are hurting from chemo.
Sandra
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Hi !
Had my 2nd treatment yesterday.....still doing good...I can't believe I took my son to soccerpractice last night and even went out to dinner....I know the bone pain will hit Monday after my shot but I can handle that a lot better than the nausia and vomiting I had with the chemo 6 years ago...I keep taking the medz the doc gave me and hope it keeps going like this...
Thanks for al the info you guys bring to this site
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TX66--I'm so happy you're feeling well! The bone pain may be a pleasant surprise this time around...mine wasn't even half so bad after the 2nd tx as it was after the first.
Had tx on Thursday, and came home with new nausea meds and a Decadron taper that will take me through Tuesday and I am doing so much better than tx 1 & 2. Not running any road races, mind you, but have managed to wash a couple loads of clothes and hang them out on the line, anyway.
I know there were lots of us having tx this past week...hope all is well and the few posts from everyone means everyone's wonderful and out living life!!
Blessings,
Sherri
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Hi all,
I'm on day 3 of tx 1. Day 1 & 2 were pretty good! I think it was the steroids (I got dexamethasone day before, day of and day after) at least in part. Did get some constipation, but Senokot-S came through (so to speak). Still ZERO nausea or queasiness -- yay, Emend/Aloxi/dex!
Had my Neulasta shot yesterdary afternoon. Today I'm feeling really fatigued and moderate-severe muscle aches. Wouldn't call it bone pain. Feels very flu-like. Even my lymph nodes in my neck and armpits feel tender. I took Aleve & Claritin morning of Neulasta, Aleve last night, and then Aleve & Claritin again this morning. Would hate to think how I'd feel without! A long warm shower this afternoon helped a bit. Hoping to feel better tomorrow -- I have a daylong orientation for nursing school!
Hard to say if it's the Neulasta, crashing from the dex withdrawal, the TC, or the combo! I think next time, I will schedule a massage for Day 3. Any other tips or experience welcome, of course!
Oh, yeah, my teeth totally ache! It's not too bothersome, but weird for sure.
Best,
Drea
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PS: I just read back a page on the thread and wanted to say thanks to Sandra for the well wishes!
Also I agree with what everyone said about bad SE's getting the most "press" -- you'll note that on Day 1 and Day 2, I was not here crowing about how great I felt -- it wasn't til the crash today that I felt compelled to come here and vent a bit!
Many have done it before us, and many will do it after us -- we can too!
Hugs,
Drea
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Hi friends. Just diagnosed in July. Two lumpectomies.'Start tc on Friday. What can I expect on my weddinganniversary the next day? Have read most of your posts.Scared and inspired. Don't want to do this. Have a wigalready and will get my hair cut next week. Nice to know so manyof you are out there for support.0
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Donotcallmesue, I think. if I've learned anything this last week ( first treatment Monday past ) is that EVERYONE'S experience is and will be different. I have been soooo lucky with only vague and rather minor side effects this first round. The day after therapy was just another day with a little fuzziness from antiemetics and decadron. Other vague symptoms I confirmed with the ladies on this site as being something others too experienced. And does that ever help!
If it makes any difference to you, I too was petrified. Last week at this time I had decided against going forward with chemo. I spent an angry sleepless night and then went ahead with it. I have been almost giddy since with having stepped forward to do what I'm hoping is a decision clearly giving me the best chance at the most positive outcome. We are close to the same timing so stay in touch. bonnie
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Hi ladies.. Havent been on in a while.. I got a fever on day 9 that was 101.9 and had to go get medication that made me have chills and i slept the whole day.. but when i went to the doctor the next day i was fine. So I will be getting neulesta after my treatments now. My hair came out on 8/20. I cryed as each time i racked my hand through my hair it came out.. I thoght i was fine then i went into this i didnt feel pretty. and cryed for an hour last night to my mom about how i just dont feel pretty.. But now i feel fine. understanding that it will grow back and it is not the end of the world and i have bigger things to worry about and that it beating this cancer.
I am nervous about this 2nd round of chemo. i dont know if i will be down like i was the first time. Everyone tells me it gets better and soon i can take myself to treatment and stuff.. and i am praying for that.. stay blessed everyone and keep the fight going..
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Lashon, it is hard to feel pretty with no hair. I don't feel as sad about it, after two weeks, but I'm not thrilled with it, either. I hope you have a good round 2. The neulasta should help. Take care-- Lani
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Donotcallmesue: If I remember correctly, the day after my first tx was really okay--drove myself to my neulasta shot, bought groceries, came home and cleaned house. Of course, the day after tx for me is always a decadron day, which, even if I'm not feeling real great, makes me feel pretty energized so I can function. A little fuzzily, perhaps, but functioning. I think your anniversary fell pretty conveniently--ours was 2 days after tx 2, so we went and celebrated the week before.
Overall--chemo's not a walk in the park, regardless of how mild or severe anyone's se's are, but it is doable and we're all here for you....this place has been a life line for me....for education, information, support, humor, and a great place to vent!
Lashon: Oh the hair....Mine's been pretty much gone for a month and though I'm slowly coming to terms with it, I still not really thrilled with it either. It's really wierd--at times I forget how I look now, and then catch my reflection in a window or mirror and I'm absolutely shocked!
I do a lot of praying of the Serenity Prayer these days, and the hair is one of those things that definitely falls into the category of "things I cannot change". :-) I've been wearing mostly baseball caps cause I only had one scarf I really liked, and my wig is nice but too hot for the current weather. I bought a turban the other day and messed around with it, and kind of liked it, though I'd have never thought it my style, before. But, after a month, I think I'm ready to start having some fun with it....
About your 2nd tx--I've heard a lot of people say their first was the worst just cause they didn't know what to expect and it was the fear of the unknown....then it's easier to relax with the 2nd cause you have at least some thing to go on. Though I must say this, now that I've had my 3rd--none have been just alike.
Just remember to take the meds they give you, and be sure to tell them what you're dealing with if something is going on that you don't have a medicine for. My onc and nurses really scolded me the other day cause I hadn't called to tell them about a few things that were going on....but they sent me home from tx that day with new prescriptions and samples that have made things so much better this tx. One of which was the extra decadron, which is why I've been up and on the computer since 3 am........:-) So with that I'll quit rambling......
Blessings,
Sherri
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I had my first Taxotere 10 days ago. The first 2 or 3 days I felt great..much better than the FEC previously. I felt VERY pleased with myself. Then, about day 4, I felt like every bone in my body was broken. I could not believe the pain! I was also SO dehydrated.no amount of fluids seemed to help. I also caught my husband's Man-Cold, and today (nadir) feel like complete shite
! At least only my shins and ankles feel broken now. I still think it's better than my first regime, but I would have liked a warning about the pain! Can't complain though..our pain will pass, unlike those with bad arthritis; I really feel for those gals. As for the hair..well, I'm loving the smooth shins! Don't forget how awful it must be for blokes..I mean, when they go bald it's permanent. I put my shiny dome out in some almost-spring sunshine yesterday. God that felt brilliant! (Hope it makes the hair grow a bit faster.) 0 -
Happy Monday to all!
Here is the schedule of treatment for the week. Please let me know if I've got the wrong dates for you. Also, if you see a ? mark, it means I don't know how many treatments you're scheduled for. It looks like several of us are finishing up this week, including me, chloecat and terridwo. Hope everyone has a good week!
Schedule for Week of September 25th:
Monday, 8/25-AMANN (#3 of ?), Kim1965 (#3 of ?), KLG (#3 of ?), Young79 (#3 of 6), dcgirl (#3 of ?)
Tuesday, 8/26-MariaG (#2 of 4), texasmom (#5 of 6), sherry38 (#3 of 4)
Wednesday, 8/27-catlover44 (#5 of 6), gk2bc0 (#3 of ?), Hood1980 (#2 of 4)
Thursday, 8/28-slortiz (#4 of 4), California RN (#3 of ?), charlene216 (#4 of ?), LASHON (#2 of 6)
Friday, 8/29-wdornan (#5 of 6), chloecat (#4 of 4), terridwo (#4 of 4)
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Hi Everyone,
I am new to the boards, although I must admit that I've been evesdropping for sometime now. I am 44 and had a lumpectomy (left side) in June. See my sgnature below for details. I also had surgery at 18 for a fibroadenoma in the same breast. Funny thing the doctors are still insisting that this did not put me at greater risk for BC. I'm not sure if I believe that.
Anyway, I have seen one oncologist and he is recommending 4 treatments of TC to begin on September 3rd. My Oncotype was a 22. 14% recurrence with 5 years of Tamoxifen was more risk than I could live with so I'm opting for the Chemo. I am also getting a second opinion on Thursday, hopefully it will be the same as the first or I will be back to the drawing board........
I am amazed by the support you all are offering each other and hope that I can join in!!
- Sherrie
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Sherrie,
Hate to give you this news but because of the grade 3, I can almost guarantee your second opinion will be the same. Not to worry if you want to take every step you can. This is doable. I had my last treatment on 7/30. I made it to the other side and am now doing rads. Stay on this thread and you will find all the help you need to get through it. I learned more here then anywhere else. And you couldn't get better support anywhere else. We know we've been through it.
Enjoy the day, Karin
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Sandra,
Thanks for tracking us, and congrats to you and the others finishing today. Mine was #3 out of 4 - yesterday now for me because I'm in New Zealand (though originally a DC girl) and it is the 26th here now. I had an allergic reaction again to the taxotere - major face flushing and just felt icky - but they did their usual "reboot" of turning off the drip, letting me return to normal, and restarting it. Then all was fine.
Question for you all, especially those post-surgery and ER+/PR+. Do you think of yourself as "I have breast cancer", "I had breast cancer", "I'm in remission", "I'm being treated for breast cancer" or other? For now I think of myself as "being treated for" as hopefully I don't still "have" it, but it's premature to say I "had" it. Does that make sense? What I'm more grappling with is, given the extremely long (10-15 years) potential for recurrence for hormone-receptor positive BC, how to think about it once treatment is over but the risk isn't? There's no right answer to this of course, and many of us will view it differently. I was just curious whether others had thought about this as well.
Hope everyone is having a SE-free day!
dcgirl
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dcgirl - I had lumpectomy in Feb, finished chemo (TC) end of May, finished rads beginning of Aug and start Arimidex tomorrow. I look at myself as being cancer free and having completed treatment for cancer. My surgeon and onc hold the same opinion. Surgeon says cancer was removed, onc says I have done all treatment to rid any stray cells. I look at Arimidex as preventative. Yes, 10 - 15 years of risk is a long time to wait for recurrence but my personal opinion is that I will trust the research that has shown Arimidex will help prevent recurrence and that chemo and rads did their jobs. As you said, each person looks at this differently - for me this is the way I keep moving beyond cancer.
Deb
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Hello everyone, I haven't been on in a bit either. I was suppose to get 3rd x tommorrow, but it will be Wed. now... The onc said he want's to try another Chemo, Abraxen I think they call it. Because of the the severe hives I had with last treatment. Oh boy I have to try something else...hopefully S.E. arent bad I have been having a hard time with my sleep, I think I am getting more anxious for the next tx. By the way I was just frying chicken, and got popped and some of my skin on my hand came off... wow skin gets really thin with chemo.
Audrey
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My surgeon says I've been "cured", as the lumpectomy surgery removed the tumour, no nodes were positive, and we got clean margins. I think of myself as having had bc, had it removed, and taken extra precautions against recurrence with the chemo and Herceptin. I tell people I was diagnosed with bc in April and have been taking any treatment possible to ensure it doesn't recur. In my own mind, when I hear stats like "1 out of every 8 women will have breast cancer at some point in their lives", I sort of think that my chances of another bc are probably not that much greater than someone who has never had it. maybe even better,as I will be followed closely and not neglect check-ups or anything suspicious!
Gina
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Hi everyone... I'm a long time lurker and a first time poster. I am 30 years old and scheduled to start my first round of TC chemo on Thursday 8/28.
Although I had my lumpectomy back in June, it has taken me almost two months to get my head around actually doing chemo. Although I am a generally positive person, I am REALLY struggling with the idea of pumping what is essentially poison into my veins. I know it kills both the good and bad cells, but I just feel so fundamentally opposed to going through with it. I feel so normal and otherwise healthy; it's next to impossible for me to really believe that I could still have some microscopic rogue cancer cells drifting through my body. My nodes were clear, my margins were clear, but I had (have?) an aggressive form of triple negative breast cancer. The ONLY thing that convinced me to do it is that my onco told me that if I didn't I'd have a 1 in 3 chance of recurring metastic breast cancer and would likely have to deal with it for the rest of my life.
I am a huge planner and the unknown following chemo absolutely terrifies me. I understand that everyone's side effects differ, but I have to admit that just reading through what some of you have gone through has brought me close to tears.
Any suggestions for calming down and changing my attitude? I'm worried that I might wake up on Thursday and not be able to bring myself to my first "poisoning" session.
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Hi rosemaryap,
Chemo/no chemo is a very personal decision. Some people will do it for a 2-3 percent increase in percentages, others won't do it even when it will increase their odds substantially. Like you I felt very healthy going into chemo - for various reasons I didn't start until 11 weeks post-surgery - and I was scared of feeling/seeming sick when I really felt fine. I was also node negative, clear margins. Like you there were other factors leaning towards chemo - my age (40) and multifocality (4 little tumors 1 cm or less). I ultimately got the Oncotype Dx done and with a score of 26 that made chemo an easy decision. As far as attitude, what helped me was doing a lot of research into regimens, deciding that TC was the regimen I really wanted to do, and making that happen. As I live overseas it took quite a lot of doing to find a way to get TC (the public system where I live doesn't pay for it and wanted to give me AC which I was very nervous about). I don't feel like chemo is being done to me or that I'm being poisoned but rather that I have made a choice that seemed like the best combination of cutting the odds of metastic spread and less dangerous side effects (I was keen not to have an anthracycline due to the heart risks).
If it helps, as has been discussed on this board recently, not everyone has bad side effects. perhaps those with an easy ride don't post as much. I just had TX#3 yesterday and the whole thing has been so much easier than I ever hoped. I don't know how much my attitude has to do with it, but I have to think it doesn't hurt. Maybe it also helped (physically if not mentally) having a long gap between surgery and chemo. The anticipation/dread is far, far worse than the actual chemo. Even for the women who have had a lot of side effects, I think you'll notice most of the days of each of their cycles aren't too bad.
So I'd say, if you've decided to do it, make peace with your decision. You are being proactive and giving yourself the best chance of living 30 more years at least twice over - and a much higher chance of living 60 more years is definitely worth 12 weeks of chemo! You're not poisoning yourself, you're buyng yourself as much insurance as possible against a much more dire situation. You can do it!!
good luck, and let us know how you go.
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