Chemo in Sept 08
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Hi girls,
I've been MIA - we've been at Disney World for the last week. Had a great (although tiring!) trip. Now back to reality - my first treatment is tomorrow at 8 a.m. Very nervous!
Hope everyone is doing good today and I hope to be able to keep up better with everyone now that we are back!
hugs, Susan
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Good Luck tomorrow Sue508!! Keep us posted and be strong girl!! We're all here for you!!
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jc135,
I had my Neulasta shot last Saturday, Sept 6, and have had NO bone pain. Seems like other symptoms, it varies by person.
My hair also seems to have slowed down on falling out, so maybe I will get the 2 weeks after chemo that most others get as well.
Colleen
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I am new to this thread, having started my first T/C cycle on 9/4. Greetings from the ocean - I was feeling well enough Friday to get away from Seattle for a relaxing weekend at the shores!
I am now on day 10 and found that days 4 thru 8 were the hardest for me (so far) with a mixed bag of S/E's from 'the Mac Truck' aches and pains, ongoing bloody nose / mucous, constriction / pain in chest, very achey thighs and hips, some soreness in my mouth, headaches, burning / itching membranes (you can guess where!), etc. Thanks to all the tips from this site, I was able to combat most of them and went into work for some long full days on days 6,7,& 8 (working at home on the other days). Had my first blood check Friday (day #9), and although my white cells were down (as expected), they were not so low as to be of concern.
So, all that said, I think I am doing pretty well for my first cycle; the one ongoing complaint is inability to sleep; my onc gave me a RX, but I keep trying to avoid it but often end up getting up in the wee hours out of frustration to take one . . . does this component ever die out? Also, I was prone to bloody noses under dry and stressful conditions, but am having difficulty getting rid of this sympton . . .any ideas? My onc recommended 'Ocean' saline nasal mist, but that doesn't seem to have done the trick. Lastly, looking for any remedies for burning eyes (I already take Alrex, steroid laced drops for environmental allergies) and have not discussed this with my eye doctor, but will be calling him tomorrow.
I felt good enough after dinner last night to propose a brisk walk down to the beach, so I am hoping the worst of this cycle is definitely in the rear-view mirror!
Wishing you all a restful, sunny and S/E free Sunday!!! For those of us in the Puget Sound, we are basking in a much awaited 'Indian Summer'! Rickster
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Rickster,
My son always got blody nose during his chemo. His dotor told him to saturate a 2 X 2 gauze with Afrin and place in nose for 3-5 minutes.It worked for him and he did it several times at school too! Just an idea.
Wish I was on the shore enjoying those fresh breezes!
D
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Hi Susan,
My first treatment is at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Chemo class first at 8:30.
I am also getting nervous. I'll be thinking about you in the morning, wishing you luck.
Chris
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Hi Colleen,
Thanks for the words of wisdom. Sorry you had to go through this with your son. Every time I think about my cancer I am thankful that it is me who has it instead of my kids. Glad that he is doing well!!
Patti--Yes, at 21 I would not have hesitated at all. Still, I'm glad I'm doing this even with a 14. As they say, the Oncotype score is just one piece of the puzzle.
Priz47 and Emily--Interesting that we all got the same advice. Makes me feel better!
jc135--Good luck tomorrow!
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Hi:
I am also starting this week on TC, 4x every 3 weeks. I posted in the TC section too. Wed. is the first treatment.
Peeps
DX 6/20/08, IDC, 1 cm, DCIS, 1 cm, Stage II, Grade 2/3, 1/2 SN+, declined axillary dissection, ER+,PR-,HER2-
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Good Morning Everyone-
Interested in being part of the group. Getting ready for chemo before surgery next week. Can anyone share with me where I can purchase a good wig in Southern NH and thank you all for the notes on what to buy, it has been helpful. I cleaned up at Target this weekend.
9/2/2008 Guided Core Biopsy9/4/2008 Final Diagnosis of Guided Core Biopsy, right breast, Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, Grade 2/3 No in situ carcinoma seen. Focal micro calcifications seen. No- definite lymph vascular invasion seen.
9/10/2008 PET SCAN / CT scan: 3 cm maligment mass on rt breast
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Hi Girls,
Just wanted to update you all. Welcome to all the new girls, it's so sad that there are so many of us! I have had 1 chemo sessions, part a and b, then i get to rest for 2 weeks, can't wait. I have been feeling pretty good, the nausea is better with new medication. I did have my first mouth ulcer, but only for one day. I had two booster shots one day apart and had no pain at all, I always take 2 paracetomol before the shots. As I have already had 6 x TC, I lost my hair some time ago. It started to grow back and I am now waiting/wondering if it will fall out again. Each day I dry the bit I have in a towel and then look at the towel, but so far nothing. I am on day 12, so who knows. What I can tell you is that it does grow back!
I also lost my eye lashes and brows, and they are growing back too, I love them, I love all hair now, especially those little blond ones on my face, they now make me feel so normal. If your hair does fall out, try and find something nice about your head, ears anything positive to focus on. We must still love our bodies no matter how different they look in the mirror, I believe it will really help us adjust. We are still exactly the same people hair or no hair. This is a time to be strong and use all that self belief that we all have. Good Luck girls!Singapore Chis
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Did your hair grow back the same color and/or texture? What about thickness?
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Chris, good luck to you today. I wish I had a chemo class to prepare me. I guess I'll just be jumping right in!
Sing.Chris - you sound like you have such a good attitude
I think I'll feel better (mentally, anyway once I get this first treatment behind me.Susan
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good luck today Chris and Sue---I leave in a couple of hours, my tx is at 11. Scared, but eager to get it over with. I'll be thinking of you gals too. Sue, it is great that you had a little vacation before TX...a good distraction!
Sue, I had a "chemo training" last week but basically the nurse just gave me a list of side effects and things to expect---99% of which I'd already learned from reading this site. In fact, I think I have learned more from this site.
I did take my pre-decadron yesterday with no ill effects, even slept pretty well (with a little xanax help.) Well, I guess I'd better eat a little breakfast (they said to eat something light...cereal or toast or something...) and then its D-day....
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Oldlady
My hair started to grow back white/gray and fluffy, like a little duck, it is now turning darker by the day, but I'm not sure if it is the same as before, I always thought it was lighter, but I did have highlights. It is the same texture or a little softer, and straight, the same as before and feels so soft. Will keep you posted. I love my new eyebrows the most. Please let me keep them!
Sue508, you are so right, you WILL feel better after the first round, remember it will probably get better with each dose, that is what I found anyway! Good luck and take care. Chris
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All,
Good news! My doctor said the tumor is definitely smaller and the lymph nodes are hardly even noticeable after just one round of chemo! Getting ready for my next round on Friday!
Kind of troubling news. My bone scan showed activity on my head, but the xray and PET scan showed nothing. He is going to do CAT scan just to be sure...He also suggested getting a pap smear based on my PET scan. I'm a bit out of date, so I'm a little worried about that as well.
Heading to the local ACS. They have a wig program here, so I'll see how that goes.
I'll let you know my updates!
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Hi ladies.... Today is my first day back at work and I am hanging in there. I felt feverish this morning. My legs are still very achy from the Neulasta shot... Wow, does that ever go away? Well, I just wanted to say hi to everyone....and hope all is well...
much love,
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Hi all,
First of all, Priane, glad to hear you can go back to work. Hope you are doing OK! I was reading one of your previous posts asking about whether or not you REALLY have to take the steriods. Did you find anything out?
Hey does anyone know where I can get more information on a dose dense program of AC followed by Taxal? I'm wondering why I need more of a "dense" treatment.
I'm going to the "getting ready for chemo class" tonight. Maybe I will find something out there.
Thanks!
Lisa
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Hi everyone, they have changed my chemo start date to the 29th. I am going to ask my doc tomorrow about chemo class.
LisaF- i am going to have the dose dense as well, every two weeks. ac followed by taxal as well, so if you find out anything please let me know.
Bone scan was good, but found a few cyst in my liver, well we are hoping they are, its to small to tell just yet.
cut my hair off and donated it to locks of love. at least i can do something positive with this cancer.
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priz47
Wonderful idea. Have fun with your friends. I miss how food tastes and even though I did read on the forums how tastes can change, I'm surprised at how much everything I eat tastes like metal.
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I had my first chemo 9/10/08 and have not gone in to the doc to get my booster. I have been ill...too ill to travel. I wonder if he should have given it to me as a prescription to self-administer as a doc did with one of my friends.
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Well I made it through the first day, and I don't feel bad at all--at least so far. Was there SIX hours! That wasn't all treatment time of course...got started late, then the onco wanted to see me first, the sat around more, etc etc. Also they did the infusions quite slowly to monitor andy SE's; they said next time it will be much shorter. Anyway, not one bit of nausea (yet)...in fact I was starving when I got home, as all I had during the day was some nibble of ginger snaps I'd brought along, and lots of water.
Tomorrow I go back for the Neulasta shot...but after this first one, I will get it by mail to self-administer at home.
Bar62, you should ask about the self-administer possibility--the problem is that some insurances won't pay for it that way, they will only pay for it in the hospital. Fortunately my insurance participates in a special program called PICA (I think this is in NYC only) which provides for home injectable and chemo drug coverage.
I'm sure SE's will set in soon, but for tonight I feel pretty good. Let's see what tomorrow brings...
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Hi gals,
Had my echo and port placement today. Everyone who said the port placement would be fine was right! They put me on Versed and Fentanyl and I slept through the whole procedure.
The port placement process took longer than expected, so I missed my chemo class with the nurse practicioner. My first treatment is Thursday morning, so we're hoping to cover a lot of it over the phone tomorrow, and if necessary, she said I can go in early on Thursday morning to finish up anything else.
CanItBeTrueNH, sorry, I don't know about wigs in Southern NH, but I'm in Northern MA, maybe we are located close to eachother.
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Hi Ladies, just found this for you on dose dense chemo, It came from this website.
Question from Website Question: How does dose-dense chemotherapy compare to conventional?
Answer -Kathy Miller, M.D.: Dose-dense chemotherapy means giving the same dose of chemotherapy with shorter intervals. There is one large study reported at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Meeting that compared Adriamycin and Cytoxan followed by Taxol given either every three weeks or every two weeks (at the dose-dense schedule). Giving the chemotherapy every two weeks requires the support of growth factors like Neupogen or Neulasta so the blood counts will be high enough for treatment every two weeks.
In that study, the women who received the dose-dense chemotherapy had fewer recurrences of their breast cancer and a slightly greater chance of surviving their breast cancer than women treated with the every-three-week schedule. Because everyone who got dose-dense chemotherapy was treated with growth factors, there were also fewer infections. Of course, one obvious advantage of the dose-dense schedule is that patients finish all their chemotherapy faster.
Dose-dense therapy is certainly not appropriate for everyone. This study was only in node-positive patients. It's also important to remember that this is only one study. Other studies evaluating the dose-dense regimen are needed to confirm these results, and an ongoing trial coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Canada is studying the dose-dense schedule as well. If this trial finds similar results, I think you will see the dose-dense regimen much more commonly used.It is always good to be informed. Singapore Chris
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Hi
Have not been posting since i got the pump in 8 Sep. Wore the chemo pump for 72 hours. Days 1 & 2 were ok. But days 3 -5 felt tired and had a bit of nausea but did not throw up. End of day 5 onwards, more or less back to my old self. Is the first round of chemo supposed to be the "easier" one? I did loose my appetite along the way and then had problems with constipation. Drinking lots of fluids (i felt warm water worked better than cold) and prunes/prune juice helped. Hubby gave me a booster shot at home yesterday. Still have a head full of hair - have warned the kids about hair loss and they are eagerly awaiting a bald mummy!!! sigh, i have created a bunch of monsters!!!
SingaporeChris: would be good to exchange notes since we are both in Singapore.
All the best to everyone here!
Sam
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Hi,
First treatment today went okay. I was disappointed in the "chemo class". Thank goodness I had been on here and learned so much before I went or I wouldn't have been at all prepared. After treatment I had to go to the drugstore to have prescriptions filled and then the grocery store to get some bland food.
I'm going to rest at home tomorrow before I go in for my shot. Had a little headache tonight, but that may be because I hadn't had any caffeine today with all the other stuff I had been drinking.
Hope tomorrow isn't too bad.
Chris
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My oncologist has set the 18th as my start date for the first of the 3 FEC treatments which will be followed by Taxotere. I too was told I would be able to do the neulasta at home. The funny thing is that the doctor told us the FEC was probably going to be tougher. Once the nurse came in for the education part she said the Taxotere....I guess we will see. I hope everybody has a good day today and take care of yourselves.
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How did your first chemo go? I will be starting mine in a couple of hours and am not really looking forward to it. Looked up all of the pre chemo cocktail drugs and not really sure I want to take all of them. Will be getting AC every 2 weeks and planning to keep working all the way through this- work just on weekends so that is a help. Keep us posted.
Another Chris
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Softballangel, I had my first chemo yesterday (see above) and really it was not so bad, the anticipation was much worse than the actuality. I did not get nauseous at all, and still am not (altho I have a little cramping, but that may just be from eating so badly yesterday--it is not much different than my normal sometimes crampy feeling when I eat badly.) I really would take all the pre meds as they really do work! I did have them cut down on the Decadron because that was the one thing I was concerned about, due to potential insomnia and wiredess (I don't/can't even have caffeine as I have an anxiety disorder.) They cut my Dec in half and I've been fine. I got Emend and Aloxi, and Benedryl and Pepcid in the IV. I slept like a log last night.
Of course I am sure the SE's will start in a few days--but hopefully not much, if any, nausea. Everyone is different and my regimen is different than yours, too (TCH.) Good luck to you--mostly the day was just long, tedious and boring! I brought lots of magazines, and tv shows to watch on my PDA which really helped pass the time (no patience to read a book!)
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Softballangel..I am 8 days out from my first treatment of TC. The anticipation of that treatment was the worst but the treatment itself wasn't bad. I brought a book and my iPod and resigned myself to the fact that it would be a long day. The premeds helped...no nausea or allergic reaction but the Decadron did cause some sleeplessness for a few days. My biggest SE was diarrhea after everything I ate from day 3-day 6 which resulted in a 7 lb weight loss in 5 days. I feel about 100% today-day8-so am playing catch up on the weight. My advice...drink as much fluid as you can and eat small amounts frequently after treatment.
Good luck.
L
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Adding and changing! I had to sit down with a notebook this morning in order to keep up, so if I missed someone please let me know!
Sept ChemoGals!
Sept 01 - FloridaMom TAC (Port placed Aug. 29)
Sept 02 - Jacuelyn32 TC or TAC
Sept 02 - kmg1015 TC x6
Sept 03 - 2z54 (Port and SNB Aug. 28)
Sept 03 - horselover A/C x4 every two weeks T x4 every two weeks (Port placed Aug. 29)
Sept 04 - SingaporeChris FAC
Sept 04 - Emily2008 A/C x4
Sept 04 - paweed TC
Sept 04 - rickster TC
Sept 05 - yuyueno TC x6 every three weeks (Port placed Sept. 29)
Sept 05 - BrandonMom A/C every four weeks / T every other week x4
Sept 08 - woorus 6 tx every three weeks
Sept 08 - Lili46 TC x4
Sept 08 - praine TAC
Sept 09 - Tanzie A/C x4 two weeks between (Picc Line inserted same day)
Sept 09 - cjh
Sept 09 - HeatherL FEC x3 / TC x3
Sept 09 - lyn117 EC & F(5FU)
Sept 10 - theprettiestmess FAC & T
Sept 10 - bar62 A/C
Sept 11 - klfh tx x6 three weeks apart
Sept 11 - TheMissingWink (Port placed 9/08)
Sept 11 - oldlady TC x4 every three weeks -- final treatment something else
Sept 15 - Sue508 TC x4 three weeks between
Sept 15 - floridaeyes
Sept 15 - jc135 TCH every three weeks / H weekly
Sept 15 - hopefulLady TC x4 three weeks apart
Sept 15 - softballangel Blind Trail
Sept 17 - Priz47 A/C (Port placed 8 / 28)
Sept 17 - peeps1111 TC x4 every three weeks
Sept 18 - kimy TCH every three weeks
Sept 18 - bettysgirl FEC x3
Sept 19 - Juli50 A/C x4 every three weeks T twelve weeks
Sept 22 - bunnyrabbit TC cocktail of choice
Sept 24 - LisaF A/C x4 every two weeks / T x4 every two weeks
Sept 29 - PEnTE (Pattie) A/C every 3 weeks
Sept 29 - tammyintexas
Sept ?? - Curlieqs
Sept ?? - HopefulLady (Port placed 9/11)
Sept ?? - 6cooks T - A/C
Sept ?? - CanItBeTrueNH
You girls please let me know if I need to add, or if I've forgotten anything!
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