Calling all TNs
Comments
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Hi, Lauren15 and welcome. DD stands for dose dense and means you will get chemo every two weeks. I had DD A/C for 3 rounds and 6 DD taxols. A/C was a breeze but Taxol kicked my butt! It is my understanding that one of the chemistry will be rough and the other one easier. Just make sure you tell your MO what SEs ( MO is medical oncologist and SE is side effects) you are having. Good luck! Are you having surgery after chemo?
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Yes, surgery after chemo. Does anyone know the difference of taxol and taxotere? I wonder why all the different protocols when we all have very similar cancers.
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Lauren, you have asked the 64,000 dollar question regarding all the different protocols for chemo. And there even more protocols when you start chatting with the gals all around the world.
As far as the difference between Taxol and Taxotere.....I know that they are both taxanes and important for the treatment of BC. I think that Taxotere was developed after taxol. Please, please start writing down your questions for your MO. The ladies here on BCO are very knowledgable but your MO should always your best source for info.
My Mo offered me two different chemo protocols. So I asked her if I were her sister which would she chose and she picked TAC (Taxotere, Adriamycin, Cytoxin) for 6 treatments every 3 weeks.
Welcome to all the new gals. You will find comfort here.
I've not been posting much but reading almost everyday. Had a very difficult Christmas...First one being away from Navyson. He is on deployment.
Trying to live each day as it comes. And grateful for the joys in my life.
Hugs to all of you.
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Navymom- I can only imagine how much you miss your boy. Hugs
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Happy New Year!!!!
Have any of you that finished chemo over a year ago have pain? It seems I was doing fine until I had my hysterectomy in October, I just don't know why I have so much pain. Is it from the hormone difference, or se's from chemo? I'm too scared to even mention the other possibilities! I have an appointment on the 14th.
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Lauren, if you're doing a taxane every week, then my guess is it will be Taxol. I haven't heard of anyone doing Taxotere every week (I think it's usually every 3 weeks) but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. From the chemo board that I am on, it seems that most people find Taxol every week slightly easier that Taxotere every three weeks, although there are exceptions of course.
Navy, a big hug to you.
OBXK, how are you doing?
Bak, I only just finished chemo in November, but I've started to get some weird side effects since finishing that I never had during treatment. I have some numbness in two of my fingers in my non-cancer side but never experienced any neuropathy when I was on the Taxotere. Occasionally I get some tightness in my chest and shoulders too, and am working hard to convince myself that it's stress/residual side effects from chemo and nothing more sinister. If it persists or gets worse, I will get it checked.
I started rads last week. Two down, eighteen to go... All fairly straightforward so far.
And I went for red (and it was definitely a man who first said that vanity feels no pain!).
Where is CS? Still caravaning?
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Navymom - count your blessings that he is still around. On Jan. 16th, it will be 3 years since my 20 year old son died. I talked him out of enlisting in the marines years ago because I didn't want him to die; however, he died any way of an accidental drug overdose. After that, chemo and BS is a picnic!!! Enjoy and cherish every moment you spend and hear from him!!! As for chemo, I re-read my notes, and it is definitely taxotere every week for 6 weeks after the 4 cycles of AC. I still have to take the echo cardio test for the "A", and I'm not sure how it will come out and what will be the protocol if it doesn't come out ok; I have been feeling irregular heartbeats. Did you take the TAC all at one time for 6 weeks?
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Lauren...I'm so sorry about your son. It must be very difficult for you. I can't imagine what you are going through. I'm praying for you!!
I have an irregular heart beat as well. They did an echo and everything is fine. Mine only happens at night so I take an Ativan when needed and that seems to calm it down.
OBXK..I've been thinking of you and wondering where you are. Hope all is well!
Navy: Hugs to you!
EnglishRose: Glad your rads are going well so far....and glad you wore the red shoes!0 -
Bak - Chemo left me with joint pain. My hips, most notably. I forget, and almost fall out of my SUV.
I had a scan to see if my gemzar/carbo is working last Wed. Still awaiting results. Onco has promised to email as soon as he knows. I have chemo Wed. - if all goes well with the scans.
Hope everyone has a good week ahead.
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thanks to all for your support. Fingers crossed for you, OBXK.
Oh dear sweet Lauren, I am so sorry for the loss of your son. I understand your pain. Our son was killed in a car accident 11 years ago. he was 20 yrs old at the time, too We miss him everyday. There are others on this thread who have lost their children, too. We will be here to support you as you get through the BC journey. I promise.
As far as your chemo question, I did TAC exactly like Jen jen explained it. I got through it... Just seems like forever no matter what protocol you decide on. But you will get through it.
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Oh wow NavyMom - I love to hear from people that keep positive and keep moving forward after having such devastating curve balls that life throws at us. There is nothing worse than losing a child, and I'm sure you know that BC is a hurdle we can handle!!! I pray that your son who is currently in the service has a wonderful guardian angel who will bring him home to you. This board is wonderful. It's a group hug, which you can't get too much of!!!! I'm going to ask my doctor why he's not putting them all together.
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My son's best friend was horribly injured in a car accident 7 years ago and was in a coma for a month before they removed his life support...although he wasn't my child and I will not even attempt to know how it is to lose a child I certainly feel the pain. A group of us go out for dinner once a month and this boy's name is often mentioned and talked about...I think it helps the mom and keeps the child close to all of us. It has been a long journey for the mom but she is doing the best she can...
Just sent my son back to school after Christmas break.not easy...I miss him already
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It does help talking about him like he isn't really gone or forgotten about. I even had his name tattooed on my wrist. It keeps him close to me always! Does this sound funny, but at the moment I'm not sure I'm in denial about the BC, but I'm so calm and going with the flow. I think if I got a bad prognosis, it would shock me, because I'm really thinking of it like another hurdle to jump and no worse than having knee surgery and less than going deaf or blind. I don't see it as a death sentence at all unless I'm being ignorant. If I'm being ignorant, than ignorance is bliss!
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Lost my nephew the same way Lauren 4 yrs ago...hugs to you it must be so hard...
Had pet scan Friday will know results Tuesday when I see my onc. She assured me at last visit that according to blood work I was done with periods....well got it now so there goes that theory. Gonna tease her that I am pregnant due to her advice that I was safe!!..should be fun will keep ya posted.
Welcome newbies...hang in there and you will be looking back before you know it
Maggie
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I managed to get my hot little hands on my CT report. Liver mets reducing. Chest node stable. Woo Hoo! However I have a lung nodule and T6 lesion, that were not on my Sept. PET/CT. So, I'm thinking that my oncologist will keep me on my current combo and scan again after the next 3 treatments.
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Just found out my protocol starting Thursday will be TAC every 3 wks x 6.
I'm too tired to go through all the posts. I can barely stay awake. In a nutshell, what am I in for? Is that harder on the body than the other cocktails? I plan to take whatever is dished out, I just want to know!
Thanks!!!!!! Lauren
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It's what I get - I have my 2nd one tomorrow. Dehydration was my worst part so I now get fluids the three days following my infusion. When I get the T chemo they ice my nails during it to prevent them from falling out.
TAC was hard (bone pain, inability to sleep from the steroids, unable to drink enough or eat) on me but I was coming around day 5, then got a cold and fought that for 2 days then by day 8 I was ME again, laughing and smiling. I was not able to care for my kids those first 5 days, they are somewhat fuzzy (I talked to my boss in those 5 days and didn't remember, I just said I hope I didn't let anything out of the vault).
Everyone is different- many women have TAC and are running and walking miles right after. I lost my hair day 18 post chemo #1.
I will know if the adjustments they make are helpful for me. The adjustments are fluids and having percocet, Tylenol didn't do shit on my pain from the nulasta (sp) shot.
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JenJen - are you taking claritin for the neulasta pain? Take it for about 5 days, it usually make a huge difference.
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I also have to give a shout out for Claritin. I just had my neulesta shot yesterday and NO bone pain! I was immobilized the last shot and spent 48 hours in bed with severe head to ankle pain - which Tylenol did not touch. I don't know what's in this stuff - but I'm a believer!!!
I just finished my final treatment on Friday and had serious constipation. It seemed to build with each treatment and I didn't pay much attention. Onc said it was the pre-meds for nausea. Spent four miserable days following the constipation protocol and ulmost needed the enema. It was worse than child birth. Pay attention to all of these things to avoid what I went thru.
Hugs to all you ladies on this journey!0 -
re the claritin i did do it for the day before the shot and 2 days after maybe I need go for a full 5 days....another adjusment
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hello sisters,
today had my follow up results for bloods and ct scan..
all good, large nodes on chest shrunk by 80% and the mass of small nodes almost invisible.
the surprising thing was my bloods, they were excellent and he was surprised that they were as good as they were,. so for now im happy - but dont trust the nasty critters...cancer sucks!!
lauren - everyone reacts different, im on xeloda and navelbine and have had hardly any side effects and others have had heaps. for me tac was hard at the beginning just like jenjen says i was pretty much the same. third day complete fatigue and joint aches and dehydration. nearly developed pneumonia after 2 weeks when treatment finished, ended up being a blood clot.
after 2nd dose i got the hang of it and knew exactly when to surrender and started to drink gallons of water and knew i had to have complete rest & before i knew it 6 treatments were finished. doable for sure.
just go with it and expect bits of what jenjen i had and most of all surrender when you feel bad, you will come good.
luvRVing - thx for tip claritin, must remember if i needed.
loafer - either its diarrhoea or constipation, i got the constipation and its just the pits,
ladies dont suffer or let it go too long its just not worth the anxiety and pain, more than anxiety. i take dulcolax, they always do the trick, never have failed me. Have to take them every couple of days otherwise i dont move, their a blessing, don’t suffer girls.
xx
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Thanks for all the GREAT tips! A few more questions:
When do I start taking the claritan and for how long?
Nausea meds: I was given prescriptions for Zofran and Compazine and to take as needed. I'm going to get Emend in the IV. Is there anything else I should know?
Pets: Any tips on that? I have 3 dogs and a parrot. I heard not to clean the cage or the bird stand, but the dogs are velcroed to me and sleep in my bed.
Nails: What do you recommend for icing them. I have a small cooler but haven't purchased anything to put in it yet. Manicures/Pedicures - do you go to a salon, have someone come to your house - I'm getting the gels removed and going to use shalack instead.
thanks sooooo much!
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OBXK--horray on your good news. I get my pet results today so fingers crossed...save a dance for me
Maggie
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yr welcome jenjen ((hugs))
dont know about claritin but sure luVRing will give the heads up.
Nausea meds, they give you steroid meds to take at home before each dose of chemo., you will have nausea meds to take whenever you feel the need throughout the treatment. not everyone gets sick or has diarrhoea, fingers crossed you dont either.
Pets: yes supposed to keep yourself extra hygienic but seriously i have 2 pooches that are also velcroed to me and as long as you wash your hands after patting or cleaning you should be fine, i had aqium an antibacterial sanitiser placed everywhere and used it constantly at the beginning but it dried my hands out too much with the chemo so i bought some natural soaps and used them constantly.
Nails: ive always had acrylics on but had heard of the blackening of nails so for the first time in 15 years took them off and im glad i did because i did get aching toenails and my finger nails were sore for a while, all good now except for a bit burning on new chemo xeloda & navelbine.
wouldnt recommend doing too much in a salon for nails as there would be a lot of bacteria.
the cold water theory is around for nails and hair. i know some people use cold water caps whilst having chemo to try & prevent hair loss. my advice is dont try and save your hair, i tried to keep mine when it started to fall out on the 12th day and stressed myself out so much it was not worth it.
when i did shave my head i had already got the wigs in advance and it was a huge relief once i chopped it all off. dont suffer trying to save it, you will only get more anxious.
just think in a few months it will all be over and somehow you learn to go with the flow, at first its just horrific to even try and comprehend the next 6 months but you sound so positive & i know you will be fine.
xx
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Lauren - take the claritin the night before your injection and then for 4 more days. As for nails, I didn't ice mine at all. There's no way I could sit there with my fingers being iced. I kept them polished and didn't have a problem. As for mani/pedi advice, shellac polish involves scraping off the polish (or lengthy soaking in acetone - my salon doesn't seem to have the patience for the soaking and they do it for just a couple minutes then scrape away.) I find it has weakened my nails and so I'm not going to do it for a while to see if my nails stop breaking way down in my nailbed. Regular polish for me. Be sure your salon is using sterilized equipment. Better yet, buy your own and have them use it. You don't want an infection from a contaminated tool. I don't remember if you're getting taxol or taxotere. Taxotere seems to be harder on nails.
Pets - talk to your doctor about it. If you have no help, I'd wear a mask and gloves for cleaning the bird cage, picking up any poop or cleaning a litter box. If someone else can do it, great! As for sleeping with your dogs, I don't think it's a problem. If I had one, it would be sleeping with me!
Mostly, know your blood counts. If you're very low then you need to be extra-cautious. Otherwise, just take normal precautions. That's the advice from my Dana Farber oncologist so I think it's a good approach.
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OBXK, so glad for your good news.
This radiation business really brings new meaning to the phrase "hot boobs". Feel like I could fry an egg on mine right now. Four down, sixteen to go...
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pet scan all clear and tumor markers are back into the normal range again!! woo hoo
Maggie
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Yay Maggie! That is fabulous!
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Hi Ladies, I popped in to wish you all a Happy and HEALTHY New Year.
Hello to all the newbies I haven't met. This thread was the best thing I found after my diagnosis.
Life has gotten very hectic, I had been working like a dog getting my Aunt's house ready for sale. Just when I could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, a tree fell thru my house. (My uncle gave me some great wisdom. He told me when you think you see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's often the train that's about to hit you!)
The tree thru my house was a reminder of God's sense of humor. (Geeez, BC wasn't enough???). The one room in my home that was completely renovated was the bathroom. (My Dad remodeled the whole room when we bought the house). The tree that fell is directly dead behind the middle of my kitchen. ( that end of the house needs a new bow window and a chimney repair). The tree literally went sideways to fall and take my whole bathroom out. (My pearl of wisdom for this year is: When you walk into your house in November, you haven't decorated for Christmas, and your house is filled with smell of Christmas trees......you have a big problem!)
About a week after the tree fell, God proceeded to keep showing his sense of humor. I was at my Aunt's house on my hands and knees scraping rubber adhesive off a wood floor. Since I wasn't able to attend Mass, I listened to it on the radio while I worked. The priest gave a sermon on "gratitude". (I'm big on practicing gratitude). He said "if you got up today and can see and hear, be grateful". As I'm prying rubber off the floor with my raw thumbnails, I say "I'm grateful God". He said, "if you have food today, be grateful". Again, "I'm grateful God". He said, "if you have a roof over your head, be grateful". I shot the radio the death stare...and said "okay, now your screwing with me God!". Apparently God didn't appreciate my sense of humor, because when I left my Aunt's house, (after 16 hours of dog labor). I turned on my car, and my windshield cracked from side to side. (My insurance company must love me, lol)
Luckilly, I'm down taking care of Mom at her house. (Still waiting for my insurance company to settle the claim). Mom spent the holidays in the hospital. (Please don't get me started on the quality of health care ). She has reached the level of almost total dependence.
So ladies, you are always in my prayers, I'm just busy swimming with alligators and dodging crocodiles, waiting for the next shoe to drop. I don't post, but I'm lurking when I can. Keeping you all in my heart.
I may have missed a post, but has anyone heard from Inmate?0
