Starting Chemo in Nov. 2011...anyone else?
Comments
-
GrandmaV - my onc also waits for blood tests to check WBC before any further meds. I am ok with that. We have santized the house as much as we can and my coworkers are doing my office. They are all taking such good care of me! My Chemo nurse used me as an example today - telling others that people with positive, upbeat attitudes like mine tend to have less SE! Let's hope she is 100% right!!!
My son seems to be doing better, he had a talk with his older sister (she is 37) and she offered her house as a haven if he needs it. My other daughter and her hubby (she is 35) came over last night and talked with him as well.
Keep the faith as you wait! The waiting is the worst in my opinion.
Welcome Beth! I have only had a partial mastectomy on my left breast so I have no experience with expanders. That said, I am here to support in anyway I can. I am having 4 cylces (3 left) of Docetaxel and Cyclophoshamide followed by radiation in the new year. I have not seen the Radiation Onc yet so I am not sure how many treatments. My BS thinks possibly 20, but we will see.
Hope everyone else is doing ok!
LJ
0 -
Bethu77-
My expanders will begin being filled on Nov.1 followed by TC chemo on Nov 2- first of four chemo rounds.
0 -
good luck to all you starting chemo now or in a few days. i just finished my 5th tx of TCH on monday. i have only one more and then herceptin for a year, rads for six weeks and arimidex for 5 years. i want you all to know how scared i was at first, just like you. what i can recommend is that you try all the little ideas that have been posted about ways to help with side effects. for instance, i take claritin with my neulasta shot ... one pill the day of the shot, and one pill for 4 or 5 days after. i've had no reactions whatsoever to the neulasta shot. also, for those of you taking taxotere, i've iced my finger nails and toe nails during taxotere infusion and i've had no problems with my nails. if you have a port, ask you onc for a prescription for the numbing cream to put on your port before infusion. it helps so much. the lists of what to take to chemo and how to fight the side effects that were posted on the first page of this thread are so very helpful. read them and decide what might work for you. also, try to stay ahead of the nausea, if you should have any. if they give you meds to take at home after chemo, take them for a few days whether you're nauseated or not. it's hard to get ahead of the nausea once you have it. HOWEVER, the drugs they use now are fabulous and i've never had a moment of nausea. my onco says that's why some of us gain weight ... because we're not too sick to eat! (oh, yes ... and the comfort food.) good luck to each one of you. i'll be thinking about you and hoping for very, very easy treatments.0
-
YaYa5
Thank you so much for all of that good information. I feel like I know you already because I've been lurking on the Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin thread for a few days. I've noticed that our diagnosis is identical and our treatment too. So I've paid especially close attention to your posts starting with your first treatment on July 28. Also I'm in Wichita, Kansas and I see you're in Oklahoma City. So we're not too far from each other. My son, his wife and my 4 year old granddaughter were at Frontier City just this past weekend. You have such a good attitude and I'm so glad to see you're almost finished with the TC part. I did notice that you didn't seem to have the real bad SEs and that is just so encouraging to me. Did your thumb clear up? I was thinking of joining in on that thread too as soon as I approached my start date. Even though you didn't know it at the time, you've been an inspiration to me, thank you.
0 -
Beth,
Thank you for joining us. I'm sorry you're facing this a 2nd time. If you don't mind my asking, did your doctors call this a recurrence or is it a new cancer. I had a lumpectomy and no reconstruction, so don't know anything about expanders, but there are plenty of ladies that have. My oncotype was 38 and being Her2+ guaranteed chemo.
0 -
oh, grandmaV, thank you! yes, my thumb cleared up in terms of the infection although it still throbs from time to time. it's funny, though ... my identical twin sister had the exact same thing happen on her thumb this week and she's not taking chemo! maybe my little thumb problem wasn't even about chemo. who knows? i don't really know why i haven't had bad side effects. the worst thing that happened (you probably remember) is that my port incision had a staph infection and the massive antibiotic i was on gave me horrible diarrhea. horrible. that was the worst of the past 3 months. i'm very grateful and i have a hunch that you will do well, too. you're right ... we have exactly the same dx. let's stay connected as you go through chemo, ok?0
-
YaYa
That would be great. I know you will have a lot of tips for me. I read that you had an infection in your port incision last August. Do they know how that happens? I've been a little concerned about my SNB incision. It has been red and the two ends of the incisions looked swollen, but two different doctors looked at it and both said it was just irritated from rubbing on clothes and my bra and to keep putting antibiotic ointment on it. It does seem better. I hope it clears up before Friday. I will be posting on the TCH thread just before my chemo starts on Friday. Thank you for all your encouragement.
0 -
Hi All, Five days after my first A C chemo and feeling okay. No bad side effects to speak of. I'm taking the nausea meds just in case. And feeling tired in the morning, but I perk up in the afternoon. Don't know if this is from the chemo but I sometimes feel very cold....so I look like Linus dragging my blankie around! And my head itches a little bit at times (uh-oh!) But if this is as bad as it gets I can sure handle it! Hope everyone else is feeling okay and keeping positive thoughts. We'll get through this!!!! XOXOX
Kathy
0 -
Denise---Said a prayer for you Wednesday....you popped into my mind a couple times that day!! Hope everything went well and you are feeling "human". I had a Neulasta shot the day after my chemo, will you have that as well? I think it is for the immune system. Kind of makes you feel like you're getting the flu; and then goes away in a few days. This stuff is all SO WEIRD!! Let me know how you're doing when you feel up to it OXOXOXO
Kathy
0 -
This is a new mutation and not a recurrence.
0 -
Grandma V my BC surgeon said this was a new mutation and not a recurrence. I don't know why my body decides to do this to me. I have cried more now than ever. I just cannot get over my fear of needles! I am so glad to see that most posts talk about the fear before actually receiving chemo is more than the procedure itself. I will be visiting often!
0 -
Beth,
I don't blame you for crying a lot. I would be too. Once is more than enough to face this awful disease. It's good you're having a port put in. I got mine when I had my lumpectomy, so I've already had it for 2 1/2 weeks. I had some pain from the neck incision for a couple of days, but nothing my lortabs couldn't handle. Since then I hardly know it's there. I haven't had it accessed yet, but from reading these boards the other ladies say they're so gratelful for it. I did read that putting some lidacaine (don't know how to spell that) cream on the port site just before your infusion makes it painless. I don't know if that's a prescription or not. I'm calling my Onc Monday with some requests for prescriptions and will find out then. I'm all for painless whenever possible. I'm not having the same regimen you are, but I've seen many others on these boards that are. In fact I think Kathy9433 on this thread is. She just posted that she's 5 days after AC and hardly any side effects. That sounds good. We all understand about that fear and crying. I get weak in the knees every time I think about Friday. But we'll be OK. Women are tough.
Hugs
0 -
Kathy,
It's so good to hear you're doing as well as you are. I hope that continues. Your post was very encouraging. Thank you
Hugs
0 -
Nel,
I've been wondering if you found out some more about your chemo regimen and when you start. We are glad you're here with us and look forward to the encouragement we can get from each other.
0 -
luckyjnjmom,
We're starting chemo on the same day along with CaroleH, gamergirl, and claireinaz. I get confused with TC. Some use that for Taxol and Cytoxan and others use those letters for Taxotere and Carboplatin. I'm getting Taxotere and Carboplatin along with Herceptin. It's all scary though. I hope you're little girl does OK with all the changes mommy with be going through. It's very tough for the little ones to understand all this. It tough for me to understand all this. I hope all goes well for you.
0 -
3girls,
Let us know when you find out something. I hope they got clear margins, so you can get on to the next step. Did you find a wig? I haven't found one I like on me, yet. As Denise said, there are a lot of beautiful wigs and they look wonderful (on every one else). But I'm just not happy with them on my head.
0 -
Hello,
I just had a DMX on the 3rd of October and will start Chemo on the 8th of November. I get the catheter implanted on the 3rd. My onc stated that he is leaning towards the TC treatment but I do not know yet which treatment I will definitely receive. I am going wig shopping today but still a little terrified about how my hair will fall out since I am being told it will start to thin within two weeks after treatment.
0 -
kathy9433: The neulasta is to keep your white blood cell count from dropping too low and making you go neutropenic, I ended up in the hospital for 8 LONG days in sept due to Low WBC longst 8 days of my life... Only 1 more treatment to go Nov 17th and Im DONE with chemo and on to 5 weeks of radiation.... All the ladies here have been so wonderful and friendly, and a HUGE support, a BIG thank you to all of you
0 -
GrandmaV,
I read, with interest, that your oncologist does not routinely give neulastra shots 24 hours after each treatment. I am wondering if my oncologist is doing this because I do live so remotely and am 3 hours from the nearest medical facility should I get an infection. I have experience a bit of a fever the past two days and last evening it was up to 100.5. That concerned me as they say to seek attention if it hits that. But I laid low, drank plenty of water and my temp has been normal all day today. I am not sure if that could be a side affect of chemo or the neulestra shot. Also, I did tell my oncologist that I always, for years, when having blood work done have my WBC on the low side of normal. My doctors have never been concerned about it and said my numbers were normal for me. Perhaps that is why she prescribed this shot each time. Has anyone else out there had any issues with fever? I have also developed an aversion to certain smells, top of the list is the hand sanitizer that I am using. I should have checked closer to make sure it was odorless. My apetitie is okay, not great but I am eating the 6 little meals they say you should eat. I am also trying to go for a walk each day and the fresh air feels wonderful. My continued best wishes to my fellow bc warriors. Allagashmaggie
0 -
Hi Beautiful Sisters.....Sorry for the delay in touching base with everyone.....I started this forum topic but had to get through my first AC dense dose chemo treatment and port insertion this week. Chemo was on Weds and all went well took only half the time expected...Yeah! I did experience a wee bit of naseau during the evening hours but nothing that I couldn't handle. On Thursday, I had my 24 hour later booster shot and then my port insertion at the Emory Hospital. The surgery was delayed a few hours due to backups but it was finally completed by 6:30 pm. I was wide awake during the procedure but good drugs killed all the pain. My evening was good and restful. I work up at my normal 5:30am time and felt energized....hung around the house chillin not feeling any notable SE effects....then went out to take care of a few errand around 2pm and it a serious energy lull at 5:30pm....quickly heading home and got in the bed. I then experienced what I would call flu-like symptoms but no fever up until around 3:30 am. It was a tough night but I woke up this morning feeling much better. I did experience some light blood in my saliva this morning but doctor said it wasnt anything to worry about and it did go away quickly. I am not feeling good but will spend the remainder of the weekend resting and enjoying a peaceful time on my sofa bed with all of my favorite comfy items close at hand!
I overall thoughts on my first chemo treatment....not half as bad as I had expected. The some of the mystic of the unknown factors have been dealt with so now I am ready to embrace this journey as my "best new friend" in my defense for a full recovery and to be cancer-free and a long time survivor!
The healing power of God is actively working with me. I free my mind of any thought that is creating dis-ease in my mind & body.
Luv ya all!!!!
0 -
Allagashmaggie,
You're probably right about why you received the Neulasta shot. When I asked my Onc about it the other day he checked the blood count numbers in the file and ordered another one for a baseline. My WBC is slightly low as well but is due to some of my blood pressure medicines I take. They're still within normal range though. I'm glad your fever went back down and that you seem to be having few SEs. That's great. I hope it continues that way. It was good to hear from you.
0 -
Kathy...thanks for your prayers and best wishes during my first week of chemo.....I survived it with minimal SE...thought it would be a lot worst.
YaYa5....thanks for your tip on using Claritin before and after the administering of the booster shot. I will give it a try my next chemo session....hopefully it will be helpful to me as well.
I am keeping everyone in my thoughts and know that we will be successful during this journey. Sharing our experiences and knowledge will give us the resources and power to overcome and SE and discomfort we may encounter. Peace and blessing to all!
Denise
0 -
RockySG
It's good to see you. How's your left lung? Is it any better? I hope you have better success finding a wig you like than I have. I'll probably just be using some kind of head gear. I don't like scarves really, but I'll get used to them I guess. I learned how to make turbans out of T shirts and I kind of like those and there's a hair halo I'm thinking about getting. I just can't make up my mind. I guess I'll play by ear.
0 -
when i met with my onco the first time, he told me i would get the neulasta shot after every chemo and that i would 'love it.' i think maybe i do. my counts have slowly dropped, but never enough to skip chemo. last time, in fact, my WBC was up two tenths. what's amazing to me is that the shot costs almost $8,000!! i was looking at it on tuesday and it's just a very, very small syringe with the stuff in it. why, oh why, does it cost so much? that's what confuses me so much about medicine today.
0 -
Denise,
It's so good to hear that you're SEs have been managable. I like your positive attitude. I hope things continue to go the way they have for you so far.
0 -
YaYa5,
I know the shock to hear the price of those neulasta shots, though I was told at my Cancer Care Center they were $3,000 a shot. Because we asked if we could self administer them at home due to our remote lifestyle, they had to show us how to do it, then when they mentioned the price, it was like "okay we had not better mess this up." You would think they are manufacturing it on the moon or something. Because I am self employed and have a high deductible on my insurance, I am incurring some of these costs but I am finding there is help out there and I am determined to get well without fearing the costs or the insurance companies. I know that a lot of the costs are associated with research and development and then FDA approval but at some point, the price should come down. I, too, will mention the claritan to my doctor to see if it would be an added benefit to the side affects of neulasta. I hope I am as lucky as you with blood counts during this process. Thanks for sharing your info. Allagashmaggie
0 -
allagas, my onco acted like he'd never heard of claritin with the neulasta shot and kind of poo-poo'ed me, but the infusion nurses had definitely heard of it and encouraged it. i think dr's aren't willing to talk about other drugs, even if they're OTC, that haven't been researched in their journals. your onco might agree with the claritin. some do.0
-
Grandma V,
Thanks for asking about the lung, it is actually feeling better now I spoke to my physician about it but he didn't seem too concerned. I actually found some very doable wigs today. I have never worn one before but I think I can get use to it.
DtHolden,
I am glad your SE are not too bad, I hope you feel better soon:)
0 -
Hi ladies,
I start chemo next Friday November 4th Cytoxan/Taxotere 6 rounds. Have been an emotional wreck. My emotions are so out of whack! I know that it is normal to me worried, but I feel like I am just anticipating the worst (hard not to). I am such a positive and upbeat person, so this just sux. I think it is the fear of the unknown. I just want the doctors to be able to tell me how I am going to feel, but I know that they cannot. I hope everyone is having a great day :-)
0 -
hang in there, bullwinkl. i promise that waiting is the worst part of this and you have almost an entire week to wait. i remember walking outside to my car after my first infusion and saying to my sister, 'look at me. i just had chemo and i don't feel any different.' i definitely had a HUGE fear of the unknown, but now i've finished 5 tx's with only one more to go, and it hasn't been as awful as i thought. it's certainly not wonderful, but it's tolerable. i'll keep you in my thoughts on friday and hope you have minimal se's and lots of relief once you're done.0
