TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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HapB I agree hate pink
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Taxol/Herceptin #6 done- half way to the finish line! Went fine, port did well. Since my blood work has been good, got to skip blood draw and MO visit. Was great since we were still at the lake. Neighbors invited us over for supper. Have been wearing my wig when I go out, still have lots of hair on sides and back, just thin on top. But I did have it cut very short last week. Anyway got some compliments tonight on my cute haircut, did admit to them it was a wig. They were very surprised and thought it looked great. So I am feeling better about that. Home tomorrow for a few days, then off to see my daughter and grandkids.
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DeniseT,
I am not an MD so this is only what I have researched for my care.
Ejection fraction (EF) is the fraction of blood ejected from a ventricle of the heart with each heartbeat. If you ejection fraction is 65% that means 65% of the total amount of blood in the left ventricle is pushed out with each heartbeat.
Your report reads "The ejection fraction is calculated to be 65%."
At www.heart.org I found "a normal heart's ejection fraction may be between 50% and 70%."
This is the same type of information I get on my MUGA Scan.
Vicky
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Thank you!
So I'm good.. I just wanted to make sure .. kind of get a 2nd or 3rd or 4th pair of eyes to double check... I'm going to ask my MO tomorrow too
I wonder if exercising would help bring that up .. I know I need too.. my Triglycerides are up...way up , not from the chemo but from me sitting around for 2 years .. .
Again Thank you !Denise
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BJI, that is GREAT! Woot! 1/2 way there!
You give me hope that I can make it through this!
Tomorrow is round 2 of 6 ..
hugs from TN
Denise0 -
Thanks KB870
I'm your average American woman of 55 .. blah... I took early retirement two years ago from a job that was KILLING me to start over kind deal..well the only thing I started was stuffing my face more and sitting on my butt...
I'm overweight ... but MO said I'm to try to lose weight during chemo.. but afterwards.. yeppers.. going to a RD in Augs..
KB870 I will say this .. excising DOES help with sx for sure.. that and drinking lots of fluids.. walking up and down my driveway in the evenings has been a blessing ... the driveway is not long ( 40 or 50 feet maybe) but if I do 12 trips up and down I feel like I've got some workout ..
On the bad days I could maybe get 4 times.. but it helped with bone pain.. and my temp going up in the evening .. and my state of mind..
which is always important ..
Blessings from TN
Denise0 -
I raise my MUGA over points from the first time to the last time a couple weeks ago.
I walk six days a week for at least 2 miles or at least 30 minutes.
Coach Vicky
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I am taking another week off from Taxol. Not bouncing back at all. Tomorrow was supposed to be #11, but I will just have the Herceptin alone and then we'll see if I can eek out the last two Taxols going forward. I want to do it but the SEs are cumulative and not fading from week to week. Add in the pulmonary problems I'm experiencing from Herceptin-constant drainage, cough, and feeling like I'm breathing through a filter. I finally hit on a combination of OTC drugs that gets me through the night-Mucinex and Xyzal (Claritin keeps me awake.). One for the cough and one for the drainage. Onc nurse says it's oK to keep this up as long as necessary and that my body would eventually figure it out. I just lost my eyelashes again. Boo Hoo! Hair regrowth is still strongly rooted, though and despite some scalp tenderness, it's not shedding. Yet. I'm on a reduced dose of Taxol -110 mg I think, and that's probably kept me going this far. One good thing is that I've figured out how to manage the weight issue. Daily Intermittent Fasting is really working for me. I've lost three pounds in the last three weeks and that's a BFD for me. I can live this way. It's so much easier than other weight management programs I've tried. And beneficial for cancer patients as the research I've seen here shows that there's less chance of recurrence with IF. Basically, I gave up breakfast and only eat during a six hour window, about 11:30-5:30. SInce I'm on the fence about whether I'm going to take AI's, exercising and keeping my weight down are even more important.
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Best wishes, Bareclaws.
Vicky
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so i called my onco yesterday regarding my bone/ joint pains but she is out of town. talked with NP instead. according to her, herceptin shouldnt cause bone pain and it couldn't be from lupron too since last dose was 2 months ago.she said i am experiencing menopausal symptoms. this is bec of low estrogen. she advised me to try glucosamine chondroitin ( any brand) and gave me tramadol as needed when pain is bad. hopefully the joint pain will lessen in time..i am also drinking lots of fluids. lets see how it goes:
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HapB,
i will meet with my onco in 3 weeks . we'll see what she says...
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HapB right on
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kae I was on Lupron for the last two years. I just stopped. My gp says it can cause weight gain, mood disorders, etc. my feet kill. I'll let you know if I feel better off the lupron! I decided it was worth seeing how things went without it.
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BJI - woo hoo half way is a great milestone! Happy to hear you are doing well. Hugs
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bareclaws - hang in there, sending prayers and hugs your way
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Deniset - I was exercising 5 days a week prior to my surgeries and it did help with the aches and pains. I had more pain when I didn't exercise. Plus the fatigue was more tolerable.
I've tried walking since my DIEP surgery and while each day is getting better I'm nowhere near the exercise I was doing previously. I am so tired all the time, my body is just not bouncing back like I expected. My care manager said the meds are starting to accumulate in my body and I'm getting HP while recovering so my body is telling me to rest often.
My BS told me that exercise and maintaining my current weight (I lost 45 pounds since diagnosis) will go a long way in preventing recurrence. Not sure how accurate that is but I'm going to give it a try 😊
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deni - fat cells produce estrogen, this is why oncologists urge breast cancer patients to maintain a healthy weight and level of fitness. The less body fat, the less estrogen that can fuel a recurrence or progression.
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tresjoli,
will you have your ovaries removed? im scared of getting off it due to fear of recurrence. i will be taking arimidex after surgery.will AI or Tamoxifen eliminate the estrogens produced by ovaries?
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specialk- I did not realize the fat factor.More motivation for me (and all of us!) to eat well and maintain a healthy weight.
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Hapb - it makes me sad that you feel alone and I do understand how difficult it can be to share/explain your feelings to people who have never experienced cancer. This forum is a lifeline that provides a much deeper level of support than we often get from family and friends. I have made many new friends at the cancer center and am amazed at the close connection I feel with people I've known for such a short time. I feel the same about everyone here
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deni ... what little I've doe since I started chemo has helped a lot..
I've got a lot of weight to lose.. .. I see it as something pro active in helping to keep the cancer away....0 -
Read my labs from today.. everything is either in "normal range" or in the "low normal"
WBC is good.. my RBC are on the lower end of the normal range..that kind worries me ... but my MO did say that if it got too low they would do a transfusion .. I'm cool with that..
Maybe that's why I've been craving meat.. ::shrugs::: the body knows what it needs..
Wish me luck tomorrow is round 2 of 6 ... going down the chemo hole!
Love to all..
Denise0 -
denise - eat as much protein between rounds of chemo as you can muster. It is totally expected for your blood counts to drop during chemo, and a blood transfusion is not based on RBC, but rather on hemoglobin level. Most docs will transfuse at 8, but eating protein - clean red meat, antibiotic free poultry, pork, eggs, fortified cereal, quinoa, Greek yogurt, protein shakes - all should help. I had difficulty with GI issues for the first 10 days after each TCH, but at the 10 day point I loaded up on protein, even if I couldn't taste it and a steak felt like cardboard in my mouth. Also, keep in mind, that lab values are based on adult males. Often women fall into the low normal range even without chemo - I definitely did pre-cancer.
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Hey Denise, I had a similar experience with a good report card for blood until TCHP 5 and 6 and then the wheels came off the wagon. Between TCHP 6 and surgery, I had no significant improvements and ended up receiving several blood transfusions after surgery. I could have done a better job with my nutrition. After the last chemo I lived on toast for weeks. Sounds like you are staying on top of your nutrition which will serve you well. It's been two weeks since surgery and I admit I feel like a wet noodle and should have paid more attention to advise to eat more protein. Hang in there.
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Thank you SpecialK
I've tried up my protein more..... for the past 10 days I've been eating like a piggy...
You know I'm glad you told what the labs are based on.. because I was looking at some pass labs like back in 2012 ... and some of them on par with how they were yesterday.. I was like what???
Suburbs .. thank you !0 -
My hemoglobin is
HEMOGLOBIN BLOOD(CBC/PLT/DIFF)
12.7gm/dL (11.8-16.0)
AndNEUTROPHILS % (AUTO DIFFERENTIAL)
58.6%
and WBCWBC (CBC/PLT/DIFF)
6.9x10(3)/mcL (3.9-10.7)
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Suburbs,
How are you doing after your Diep Surgery? You must not need Radiation?
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here at chemo ..had to share some good news.My tumor has gone from 2 cm to 1 cm!!! With one treatment. Dr J said this was excellent news . Means the chemo is working to get rid of the tumor and if there was any thing running around on my body it would take care of that cancer too.
I started crying....
I'm a little dehydrated and going to start coming in on the next Monday to get fluids .
Sitting here getting the Hecreptin right now .
Its been a good morning so far.
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The goal for protein and healing is 100g a day - that is a lot but you can get there faster if you sneak extra protein in, a smoothie with protein powder and a little ice cream or Greek yogurt, things like that.
Here is a list of high protein foods - I might personally skip any farm raised fish though.
https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/ultimate-list-40-high-protein-foods.html
denise - it is common to see a gradual drop in a number of lab values over the course of chemo - mine was like a stair step. They would drop, recover, but not all the way, drop the next time, recover but not to where the previous recovery was, etc. It took several months for them to return to "normal" after chemo, but I am, and have always been, on the low end of a number of them - including hemoglobin. About half of the times I tried to donate blood long before breast cancer I was declined because my Hgb was too low.
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That is the beauty of neoadjuvent chemo - you can tell it is working and it provides motivation to get back in that chair for another round. I had adjuvant chemo and had to go on faith that it was having some effect, on something, somewhere, lol!
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