Starting Chemo in Nov. 2011...anyone else?
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bahamamom,
I had my port implanted last Wednesday. They gave me a light sedative through an IV, along with local anethesia in the implant area. I was awake, but sleepy (didn't actually fall asleep). They made me turn my head to opposite side and covered it so I couldn't see what they were doing. I didn't feel any pain throughout the process.
I had some minor pain in my neck that night, but I just took one of my post-surgery Hydrocodone (Vicodin) tablets. I was fine the next morning. I hope this explanation helps. Feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions or need additional information.
I really like having the port, especially since they had such a hard time threading my IV for the port implant procedure (took three tries).
I did fine with the spray when I got my x1 yesterday. But I'm not very fearful of needles. Several years ago, I was awarded a five-gallon blood donation pin (that's 40 pints, I think). I'm finding out that's probably a great strength throughout this BC ordeal. I've been "poked" so much in the last two months, it's almost routine to me. Like I said, I'm very lucky in that category.
Good luck with your port and chemo treatments.
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Grandma V - thanks for the good advice. I have heard ginger helps, so it helps to have it confirmed by someone with "practical" experience, I have the tea kettle on the boil now and some ginger tea with crystalized ginger to add to it. I have Compazine to take as needed, but with everything else I am taking, I'd rather avoid another med if I can.
Thanks again!
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attypatty - I hope you get some relief. That's so miserable.0
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All of the feedback and help from this message board continues to amaze me!
When I spoke to the nurse about my disorientation, she said it was probably temporary and probably due to all of the fluids running throughout me body, draining my electrolytes. She also suggested the sports drinks. She didn't think my pulse was a problem following all of the stress from getting my treatment yesterday.
So, thanks for all of the advice, grandmaV and others! Like I said, I'm learning so much from all of you!
So far, I'm still not having any other SEs, but that will probably change by this weekend (hope not). If so, I'm almost fully armed for battle with all of the suggestions from this message board.
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racerdeb, I hope the sport's drinks helps. It makes it so nice when there's an easy fix. And thank you for the detailed account about your port placement. I'm sure that will help those facing that procedure.
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Hello ladies! Wow this post is jumping today! I missed a lot since I was away having a CT scan, bone scan and meeting with my oncologist. I was so happy to hear that my scans all looked good! No signs of metastasis! She did say I have a seroma built up in the underarm that I had the lymph nodes removed from, but since it's not palpable and I'm not having pain it will hopefully resolve on it's own now that I'm able to move it more. My oncologist went over everything again today and asked if i had any questions. My response, "Yeah, are you sure you wanna do this?" She smiled and reassured me that the anxiety is the worst part. I also asked her about my staging since technically my path report showed pure DCIS with micro-mets in the sentinel node. According to the tumor board I am now officially a Stage 1. Funny, I always thought getting a higher ranking was a good thing....apparently not in Cancer World.
It's so good to hear that most of you are fairing well after having treatments this week.
Gamer girl, I'm the palest person alive so looking like a tomato might be a welcomed change for me! lol! I hope you're still cruising by with minimal SE's.
GrandmaV- yes, I do start A&C tomorrow at 11:30. I wish I had thought to ask my MD how long I should plan on being there. She said "all day", but I've heard varying times from 3 hours-7 hours!! I'll pack a bag of magazines and have my iPad charged for sure. Any last minute tips from any and all are always welcomed here!!! I'm such a planner
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Kim, bring SNACK, drink water, Lots of water!!!!!!! Most clinics have snacks but bring things you like to eat..... Gingerale works wonders too....... Just sit back, relax and think 1 down,
Will be thinkning of you tomorrow while I am In the chair too for my LAST treatment.... I know Im gonna cry tears of JOY !!!!!!!! I made it, I did it.... 18 weeks and No reduction is dose and No delays....... Big hugs Kim let us know how things went 0 -
Thank you Terry!! You are such an inspiration! It gives me strength to know that you're doing well and have made it to the end. I'll be thinking of you crossing the chemo finish line! You should jump for joy, high five all the nurse, form a pyramid and do spirit fingers! Lol! You deserve it!!!!!
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Aweee thanks Kim...... Im gonna do cartwheels, ok maybe just in my head.......LOL It all boils down when you really dont have a choice if you want to beat it to to all that is thrown at you and go at it head on..... Iended up in the hopsital once from Sept 22nd to the 28th My white cell count went way too low and was neutropenic, so stuck in Isolation in a private room for those days until it came back up... had treatment the following thursday.... and Now DONE
Big Hugs to you girl ((((((((Kim))))))) 0 -
Terry, Congratulations! You made it to the end. That's got to feel great.
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Kim, I hope all goes well tomorrow and that you have few SEs to deal with.
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GrandmaV- Thank you so much it feels GREAT to know I made it, Good luck to you... I will declare myself done when the se's end after 10 days LOL I hate that part
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Kim- I will be in the chair at 10AM here and thinking about you xx
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Getting ready for round two on Friday! The past 3 weeks have been a roller coaster ride, that is for sure. Bone crushing pain for a week, in the hospital for a week, two types of anti biotics, nuepegen shots, ultra sounds, ct scan.
saw my Onc on Tuesday and talked about how to prevent some of the SE. So I start taking Gabapentin tomorrow for the pain. I start the neupegen shots the day after chemo. All of this together with my arsenal of steriods and anti nausea meds, and round two should be much better than round 1!!
Hair fell out in huge chunks on day 14. I have a few patches left and am rocking the scarves and turbans! Got to go back to work this week. Felt great to be back at my desk. I did find it hard to do anything in the evening however. 8 hours at the office is apparently my limit!!! Hopefully with round 2 I wont miss so much work.
So glad to have all of you to encourage me as I get ready for the next round. Hope you are all doing well. Keep up the good spirits ladies.
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Kim, all the best tomorrow. I go for my second treatment tomorrow. I also had micromets in one of my sentinel nodes. I got two second opinions and they also put my case before the tumor board. They all felt that biologically, my "early stage cancer" did not behave the way they way they expected it to. I have peace with my decision to do chemo. I know there are no guarantees, but I wanted to do everything I could to prevent a recurrance. I think you are definitely doing the right thing. I'm officially stage 1b T1 N1mi M0. Great that your CT scan was clear! I see you're HER2+. I posted a couple of things today over on the TCH forum that you might find interesting.
Thank you all for the encouragement on the hair loss. I'm coming to terms with it now and I know it will be okay. I know there are ladies on this list dealing with so much and it really helps put things in perspective. I am truly blessed. Linda, I'll tell Patti our story on Saturday. Good night ladies and sleep well.
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Tipnas- It is so good to connect with another woman who has the same staging as me! My original diagnoses changed from Stage 0 because of the micro-mets. I was disappointed to learn I'd be having chemo, but agree with my oncologists and the tumor board that we need to be more aggressive because of my age and HER2+++ status. I will definitely be reading up on the other posts. I hope that your second treatment goes well tomorrow. Good luck & Thank you for reaching out to me. I'm finding these boards to be so helpful and comforting.
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el-jaye: I had gabapentin for the joint pain and jusst a heads up it DIDNT work for me at all, Im starting Celebrex today to see if that works...
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Kim137,
I hope everything goes well for you today. The anxiety about what to expect seemed to be the hardest part for me. Once I was at the Cancer Clinic, the nurses made me feel at ease, and it turned out to be a good, relaxing day for me. However, it was much longer than I had expected.
I arrived at 9A this past Tuesday morning. First of all, they did a blood draw for a BRCA test, took my vital signs and then I met with my Onc. Once I got to the treatment center, it took almost an hour to get everything started. After that, I spent most of the day on my mini laptop, Kindle and talking with other patients and the nurses. I was finally finished around 3:30P, which was 6.5 hours later! However, I had three chemo drips (TCH) and they each needed to be run separately. They used the other tube for a saline drip. With two drips (AC), it shouldn't take you quite as long.
I know I've given a long description (I type fast LOL), but I hope it helps ease some of the pre-treatment anxiety for you and any others who might just be getting started. Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions or want to know any additional information.
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This place has been busy since I last posted. My infected thumb seems to be healed. No more soaking in epsom salts.
Terry congratulations on your last chemo treatment. You looked great in all your pics.
Sueshane I'm on TC. My hair is coming out in big chunks now. My 1st chemo was Nov 3rd. I thought maybe it wouldn't come out, but it did. I'm going to get my DH to buzz cut it today. My head doesn't hurt since it's falling out, it's just annoying and itchy. I think I'm okay about the buzz cut. But I'll probably cry afterwards, but not so much about the hair. Because I look at my hair falling out that the chemo is working to kill all those stray cancer cells. My problem is that everyone will now know I have cancer of some sort. And will start looking at 'me' differently.
Here's a link from a nurse who writes for the Huffington Post about her hair loss from chemo. She calls her hair loss the big f-bomb. She also seems to know the founder of this site.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hollye-harrington-jacobs/chemotherapy-hair-loss_b_874765.html
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ed-jaye, Hope everything goes well tomorrow and that the next week or two is better for you this go round. Let's hope your onc can keep your SEs at bay, so no hospital stay this time.
Tipnas, Terry, and Kim, and anyone else getting treatment today, let us know how you are when you can. Our thoughts are with you.
LynMichel, so glad your thumb healed up. You are one day ahead of me, so I'm expecting some hair fallout within the next few days. It hasn't so far. Is your next treatment the day after thanksgiving?
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GrandmaV my next treatment was supposed to me the day before Thanksgiving. But my Onc's office changed it to November 22nd.
My DH just buzz cut my hair for me about an hour ago. He seemed a little bit more upset than me about it. But I did cry at the first buzz he did. It's sorta strange seeing all your hair lying there on the floor. I just took a shower and put on one of my caps and scarf. My DH has been having problems with his Mother, since his father died this year and his brother killed himself in September. And with my diagnois it's been hard on him. I think he and his Mom are both suffering from depression since his brother killed himself.
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LynMichel, Oh my. You guys have had a really bad year. I guess your husband would be depressed, losing two loved ones and worried about you. Was it his baby brother or older brother? That's an unbelievable amount of loss. I hope nothing else happens and you can guys can have a break from grief.
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Has anyone heard from Trinity? I'm really worried about her.0
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I was wonderign the same thing GrandmaV?? She and started the same day..
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Trinity - lets hope my insurance will cover the Nulasta shots. Considering they own a big fat hospital in my area, you would think they would. But that would make sense and insurance company decisions never seem to make sense! Port placement is scheduled for 11/23 - day before thanksgiving - and first chemo is 12/1. Im glad to get it started....i think.
Healing thoughts to all!
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Hi ladies Im home from treatment now, all DONE, picc line is OUT, Did the happy dance and got a Huge hug from my wonderful nurse Louise....... Feeling great so far, last neulasta tomorrow at noon...... Woot Woot, I did it ladies....... And so can ALL of you xoxo HUGE HUGS TO ALL 0
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Terry, Woohoo! You're an inspiration to all of us.
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Thanks GrandmaV- Im glad i was able to get through this journrey with the encouragement and support of all of you ladies.........
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Things have been going at lightening speed lately. Changed oncologists and met with her, meeting with surgeon tomorrow for pre-op port placement, port placement scheduled for 11/23, meeting with the plastic surgeon on 11/30, first chemo 12/1, and meeting with radiation doc on 12/15. As it turns out I have to cancel the radiation appt....its a chemo day! Im pretty calm with surgical procedures so im hoping they dont put me "out" for the port placement. A local is just fine with me. So it seems that applying the numbing cream is a good idea, eh?
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Terry71,
I'm so happy for you! Yes, it's definitely time for a big celebration!
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