TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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pbrain - peppermint schnapps?? Never thought of that!
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Camille...
I feel the same way about avoiding testing lately. You reach a point when you just want to not think about it all for a while. You probably reached it long time ago.
Lee... Don't feel badly about posting the cardio article. We've discussed this new information regarding cardiac effects before . This is information we need to make decisions and monitor se's.0 -
Oops, forgot I had Aloxi too. Chemo brain.....so far I've kept my cookies down today. How long do I need to take the anti-emetic? I am (I think) 6 days out. I'm not sure how to count the first day...
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Oh, good! Sounds like adding IV Emend might be beneficial in your case.
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pbrain - I counted infusion day as day 1.
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Omaz- I was told at the time of treatment, and now volunteer at the cancer infusion center and hear frequently, that the steroids were to help mainly with allergic reactions to the taxotere, second with nausea (though it can cause nausea also), then things like swelling, etc...
Pbrain - I had Emend the day before, of and after chemo, I also received it IV, I was given a couple more nausea drugs IV, one was Aloxi, but can't remember what they were, then was given compazine and ativan for nausea at home, the compazine worked really well the few times I got nauseous. If those drugs didn't work I was supposed to call the office and they would get me some different drugs. I had the prilosec because I had really awful heartburn. I wasn't constipated, but did have a lot of diarrhea.
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Thanks Linda - I did develop swelling in my forearms. It went away after treatment.
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Crlamb, sorry abouut your mom. She will work if she can, or at least until her MO says no. I worked in a hospital, not with patients, but I did end up with an infection and he wouldn't let me go back after that. so just so she is aware there is that possibility. Cami, and pbrain, perhaps just peppermint for the tummy? Not schnapps? To all, much love.
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My onc and nurses said no alcohol the first couple of days, but then after that I could have a little bit now and then. They said you needed to wash the drugs out of your system with lots of water the first couple of days.
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Hi everyone! Although I don't post often, I have this thread marked on my favs and read it daily. A person has to...it's so fast moving!
I had an abd. u/s and tv u/s last week and results are in. Seems I have a cyst on an ovary about 1", no biggie. They've noted my endometrium is thick, and are going to draw blood to check my harmones to see if I'm in menopause or not. Reason being if I"m not in meno, it could be my body simply doing it's job. However, my LMP was April/10...never to return so far - yay! One ovary looks pretty good, and she didn't comment on the other. She mentioned a D&C would take care of the thickness if I"m pre-menopausal.
So, I told her that if I'm pre - menopausal I'd like a complete hysterectomy because I really don't enjoy having this and the anxiety that goes along with it. Not to mention I went through IVF years ago, and know I've an increased risk for Ovarian Ca. So we'll do the blood work and go from there...she's mailing me the req.
Anywhooo....anyone else come across anything like this? If so, what were you're main consideration points in your decision making process? Any pros or cons that should be pointed out? Please discuss.
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Is this for real- sorry you are even having to think about this.
I took clomid several times when trying to get pregnant (all within the last 5 years), I found out I had bc in 6/12 and then my pet scan showed an ovary lighting up...after an ultrasound it turned out to be endometrial lining...(endometriosis was why I was not getting pregnant). After talking to my obgyn and onc they both felt a complete hysterectomy was the only way for me to go.
I felt like I could not breathe for the 15-20 min I had to wait for the results of the ultra sound.
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IsThisForReal a friend of mine has a family history of endometriosis and both her sister and mom ended up have an hysterectomy. She chose to have a D&C to avoid having a hysterectomy. Her Gyno told her if she waited another 2 years she would have had to have the hysterectomy. She was about 48 at the time she had this procedure done. Her periods were terrible. Now she has none and loving it.
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I went through early menopause. My last period was May 2003 when I was 44 years old.
My periods had stopped a few years before that but when I had rhinoplasty in August 2001 I was given steroids and lo and behold - the periods returned for about a year and a half.
In 2000 or so I had very heavy bleeding and was diagnosed as having a large uterine fibroid (benign). It was removed vaginally, IIRC.
Several years before that (around age 34) I was having some shoulder pain and I'm not sure how they found it (ultrasound?) but they saw a cyst on my right ovary. My mom also had a cyst (hers was removed) and she went through very early menopause (last period was when she was 37 but she was and remains a heavy smoker - I am not a smoker).
I've never missed having periods and the only real side effect I've had is an abrupt change in my skin that I've been dealing with now for nine years.
From reading the posts on this thread (older and more recent) it seems that many of us (some of us?) had gynecological issues along the way. I'm assuming that may have been because we were (or are) estrogen over-producers.
In my case, I've been postmenopausal for nine years and my estrogen receptors were at 62% on the biopsy report. I have my first appointment with an oncologist on Monday and then another appointment with a second oncologist on Tuesday and one of my questions will be about the estrogen level and the number of years postmenopause. Progesterone was 7%.
I need to look at my blood report from July 2012 to check the estradiol and testosterone levels.
All that said to relay the fact that the postmenopause years have not been bad for me. I started menstruating in fifth or sixth grade and it was a relief to finally be finished with it after all those years. Swollen breasts, mood changes, bloated. Meh.
As far as bone problems go - I have the same hip problem I had starting when I was pregnant with my son at age 29 but nothing else really stands out and the Curcumin with Bioperine has done a phenomenal job of eliminating that discomfort. I haven't even had the urge to go to the chiropractor for months.
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Hi! This is my first post. I am Triple Positive and have had two treatments thus far. First one was a whammy! I had raging diarrhea and vomiting and ended up dehydrated. Nice. Second round we went to an anti nausea patch and emend before treatment. This seemed to help. I still had the nausea and some diarrhea, but not nearly what I had. Monday I am having a port put in and the following Monday is my Third treatment. Halfway there! Of course, there will be radiation and the continuing of Herceptin until Oct. 2013. That all seems simple in comparison to all the Chemo - I guess.
I have low energy and no appetite. Forcing the calories and it isn't easy. Any suggestions for any or all of the above would be welcome.
Thanks.
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Lee I was kidding about the article, it didn't bother me at all---It's informative and everyone has interest in it. And I really haven't thought about that stupid lump even, me thinking about it isn't going to help--let the Dr. figure it out. That why I go to her. LOL
Welcome Bellanan. Sorry u have to be here but these ladies are extrordinary (sp) u'll be comfortable here.
And if u'r diarrhea is really bad make sure u tell the Dr. and the Dr. can give u a med--Immodium doesn't really work on this stuff.-Make sure u tell the dr. everthing about any SE most of the time they can help, they really don't want u to go thru all this--they try to help u all they can.
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Welcome Bellanan! Glad you found us.
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rozem - I asked my PS about your continuing discomfort. He said he's seen something similar in two cases. He referred to it as "phantom" pain, meaning that there's nothing obvious to the physician - everything looks "normal" yet the pain is still very real for the patient. He said that it might be exacerbated in women with smaller frames and/or smaller original breasts (I'm sure he said smaller frames but not positive about the wording on the original breasts - someone else came in during the middle of all this). He also mentioned the skin. He said that if there wasn't as much skin left behind (during the mastectomy process) or if the breasts are smaller and there isn't as much skin to work with it can make the tissue expanders even more uncomfortable. I think he said that one women had the pain persist throughout the implant process and they eventually put in smaller implants and that remedied the problem.
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Also, welcome Bellanan and congratulations on being 2/3 of the way through with the chemo part.
There's a wealth of information on this thread and great people helping one another out.
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Welcome Bellenan- the welcome of glad you found us, sorry you have to be here. I sing these ladies praises! They are wonderful. I am doing my 3rd treatment on the 23rd. So I'm there with you. And there are some more of us at various syptages of treatment and many that have finishes and are wonderful and helping us through. Yes, chemo sucks! But we can do it! The first was my worst too. This past time was a little better. Physically I did pretty good. I get the wonderful mental down afterwards. Ladies here have great advice. I have been keeping notes and hence my second treatment went much smoother. Pipe in with symptoms and you will definitely get suggestions. :-)
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IsThisForReal,
I also asked for a hysterectomy, but then I researched it. I encourage you to REALLY look at the potential complications of removing the uterus. The uterus acts as a corner stone in the lower abdominal area. When it is removed, they must cut tendons/tissue and it really compromises the structural integrity of your lower abdomen. You can have things fall into your vagina that shouldn't be there...
I elected to have an Ooph. I kept my uterus, and my vagina in tact. (When they remove the uterus they stitch it closed up top, but eventually the sutures dissolve (which is how the bladder can fall into the vagina...bladder prolapse.)
I did a lot of research and found that some studies show that 50%+ of women 10 years out have complications.
Also, any issues you have with your uterus (if any) will be resolved with an Ooph. At least that is what my OB Onc said, and the research I found backed that up. (I think I linked it somewhere on this thread...) The recovery time for an Ooph is barely 2 weeks...hysterectomy is a lot longer. 6 at least.
The negative is, if you are younger than 45 some of the SE from losing your ovaries can be life threatening down the road (heart issues, etc).
Anyway, I encourage you to really research this (I watched both procedures on Youtube)....I did and it changed my entire outlook on what to keep and what to get rid of! lol
There are women here who had everything out, and have had no problems. It's a crap shoot. I didn't want to trade in one set of issues for more than I had too.
Hope that helps!
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Bellanan, welcome. Sorry they had to put a port in now. But it will help. I am glad you had gotten help with your SEs. Much love.
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Bellenan- if your having Nuelastra injection- Claritan helps with bone pain. For appetite, try eating smaller meals throughout the day. Also, if taste is off, have you looked at the icing boards? It's really saved my taste buds and no sore mouth. As far as energy, just try and do as much as you can. Try to go on walks when SE dismiss after each tx or stay semi active. It helps.
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Welcome Bellanan! Sorry you have to join us, but glad you found us. This is a great group of very supportive ladies!
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Bellanan, my onco nurse recommended eat a little something every even hour and drink something every hour, even if you don't want to. It helps you from getting too empty, and too dehydrated. And if you gave diarrhea, ask for more hydration during your tx or finish the bag of saline when you go much love.
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Wow! I think my appetite is back.....and screaming for anything sweet or chicolate! Tonight is vanilla ice cream and hot fudge! Not sure I've ever craved sweets this much.....
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Well everyone, I'm in the hospital. I have a white cell count of 0.2 and a fever of 102
I did get to talk to my oncologist and he said it would be better to change my chemo to 12 rounds of taxol with hercreptin. Anyone do this approach? Is it easier to handle? I just can't do what they were doing. I never felt so sick in my life and I'm old so it has been a long life :-)0 -
Pbrain I do hear it can be is easier that way just keep a watch on neuropathy. Taxol is a bit more toxic than Taxotere for some when it comes to neuropathy.
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Pbrain, I did the taxol weekly for 12 weeks with herceptin. This was following 4 AC tx for 8 weeks. Compared to AC, I had a much easier time with taxol. My stomach was still upset, but nothing like the stomach issues I had with AC. I liked going weekly because it made it feel like it was moving along fast. I hope your counts go up soon - did your MO tell you why the switch? Wondering what the difference is.
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Lago what type of chemo did you do. Or did you get to skip it altogether? I'm worrying that I'm straying away from what I should be doing but I also hear the chemo is there to make the herceptin work better.
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pbrain - I don't remember, did you have a neulasta shot?
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