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Weekly Taxol group

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Comments

  • DonnaJoan
    DonnaJoan Member Posts: 20
    edited July 2017

    Just passing along some information that might be helpful. I wish I had known this at the beginning of treatments.

    I had to visit my opthomologist last week because of flashing lights in my right eye. So relieved that it was not a detached retina, but I did learn that my watery eyes are caused by dry eye! The doctor recommended using Genteal Tears eye drops at bedtime. It has helped tremendously.

    Also, after experiencing an alarming amount of swelling in my neck under my jaw last weekend I was diagnosed with a salivary gland infection. The cause...dry mouth! I'm now on antibiotics and can't continue treatments until this clears up. This just emphasizes the importance of using the salt/baking soda mouth rinse (or Biotene) throughout the day. I was already doing this but obviously not enough. I drink 10 to 15 glasses of water each day so this shows how dehydrating the Taxol can be.

    I'm leaving today for four weeks in Illinois in a rural community with no internet and limited phone service. I won't be able to keep in touch with you, but please know that I'll be thinking of you and praying for the best outcome for everyone.

    Donna

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    passed my blood test and port worked!! So getting ready for Taxol # 7

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    Donnajoan- thanks for the info! Will make sure to use my salt, baking soda, water rinse more often as the drying from Taxol is so annoying

    Enjoy your 4 week visit to Illinois. Will you be tourist-ing

  • l_brain
    l_brain Member Posts: 40
    edited July 2017

    Last Taxol today! So glad this part of the journey is almost over.

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    I brain-- congrats on finishing Taxol!!!!!

  • tonyaberryman
    tonyaberryman Member Posts: 37
    edited July 2017

    Thanks everyone, feeling a bit better today. So happy that some of you are finished with Taxol or almost finished.

    Dodgersgirl - This is #7 for you huh?! Only 5 more and you are done!!!

    Hope everyone is having a great week.

  • bji
    bji Member Posts: 116
    edited July 2017

    Getting taxol #7 right now ! Can see the finish line!

  • T-Sue
    T-Sue Member Posts: 207
    edited July 2017

    DonnaJoan - thanks for sharing. It's a good reminder to me to keep up the preventative measures (like Biotene mouthwash) even if I think all is well.

    Congrats to all of you nearing the finish line. I have 6 out of 12 done - just scheduled my remaining appointments in August - the end is near!

  • Bmac16
    Bmac16 Member Posts: 29
    edited July 2017

    Taxol #11 is over, only one more week!

    The dry nose, watery eyes are still the main SE's plus fatigue of course! Good to know I should still be using the Biotene, I stopped after the A/C. Will also try eye drops.

    I hope everyone is having a good week and managing those SE's.

  • bji
    bji Member Posts: 116
    edited July 2017

    Taxol #7 done. Sleepless night, taking advantage of steroids today. Port continues to work well, WBC still dropping, at 3.8. Not to concerned about it, my liver enzymes up so got extra fluid flush at the end. Seems to be a pattern forming, day 15 shows a spike then drops back to normal. Drinking extra water, feel like I could float away! No new SE, dry nose, dry eyes, dry mouth. Definitely more tired this last week. Only 5 left, I can see the end!

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    BJI- Taxol 7 completed yesterday. WBC down to 4.9. MO isn't worried (yet) as 4.9 is still in low end of normal range. Sleepless night last night, too. So far more wide awake all night more so than any other chemo treatment. Dry nose, dry mouth both continue. I think my one mouth sore is starting to heal. Still using water, salt, baking soda wash after eating anything and applying Blistex Kanka to the sore spot

    And, just as you posted, my port worked for the blood draw and chemo blood draw test by nurse without anything special being done. Wondering if having chemo weekly helps keep the port working? My other thought is I wasn't drinking enough day before chemo so maybe being at some level of dehydrated was part of the issue so I drink more water on Tuesday and make sure to drink a bottle of water before leaving for chemo on Wednesday

    Five more treatments. Hard to believe, isn't it. 5-4-3-2-1. Got any plans on celebrating the last treatment???

  • l_brain
    l_brain Member Posts: 40
    edited July 2017

    Thank you ladies. Good luck with your final rounds.

  • bji
    bji Member Posts: 116
    edited July 2017

    DodgersGirl - Last round falls 2 weeks before my birthday, so have been hinting to hubby to do something special. We cut our vacation short to Arizona in April to come back for my surgery. Also have 42nd anniversary in September, so thinking we could combine all events and do something. Any ideas?

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    BJI- you have a lot to celebrate! Happy anniversary a but early! DH and I will celebrate 41 years in a couple of weeks. And happy early bithday. I had my biopsy the day after my birthday and dx 2 days later.

    I hope to finish my chemo mid August. I still have surgery and rads so we are hoping to take a 4 day weekend and go somewhere not too far away but still be away, like running away from BC life. I would prefer to stay on an ocean front hotel and relax and listen to the waves but that in not practical for a long weekend so thinking of staying at a casino hotel thinking they offer some amenities beyond a standard hotel and if I can't sleep all night, the slot machines are always open. Not sure how much sightseeing I will be up to so looking for a resort were there is stuff to do on property.

    Let me know what you come up with. I love to travel but don't think 2017 will be a travel year for us. We are planning a Disney trip in 2018.


  • GlasgowGirl99
    GlasgowGirl99 Member Posts: 44
    edited July 2017

    Reading your posts about making celebratory plans has put the idea in my mind too!! Taxol #5 done and dusted today. Fingers crossed for some sleep tonight!! Have 4 weeks of radium after chemo so am hoping treatment will all be over mid October latest. Have been warned about the fatigue after radium so am wondering about a long weekend trip back to Glasgow where I was born and raised for the 1st 20 years of my life. Haven't visited in such a long time and still feel homesick when I think of going "home" 😔😔. Would I be fit enough though for a city break?? Also going to be pretty close to Christmas (😵🙈🙈) so will be a busy time. Reading this post back it sounds like I am trying to talk myself out of it and doing a pretty good job of it too 😹😹. Any advice much appreciated. Dodgersgirl and BJI many many congratulations on your anniversaries. Wishing you many more to come 💖💕💕

  • lifeb4me
    lifeb4me Member Posts: 6
    edited July 2017

    I just have to share this. I had 4 DD AC and 12 taxol (finished in February) and am still on Herceptin till November. I didn't ice (yeah, I know, stupid of me) because my center did not support it and nobody iced there so I had horrible nail side effects. My nails went black and lifted and both my big toenails broke very near the nail bed. For a couple of months I was gluing on the broken parts of my toenails until they started breaking and I couldn't do it anymore. I found out about LCN barefoot. This wonderful lady Lisa Torres from unique nails by Lisa and she uses the product to restore the toenails. I am just finishing. She restored both toenails and I got a pedicure. With the nail polish you cannot tell it's not my natural nail. Whoever has a similar problem, I would encourage you to look for this near you. It feels great to have normal nails again! I am feeling so have to have my feet back

  • bji
    bji Member Posts: 116
    edited July 2017

    DodgersGirl - I finish up chemo mid-August. I had my lumpectomy April 26th and did brachytherapy (twice daily for 5 days) so that's behind be. I will be on Herceptin only for another 9 months and then hormone suppression drug. Still taking it one day at a time. Will let you know if we come up with any exciting plans. Am hoping 2018 is a better travel time for us also.


  • cdv4251992
    cdv4251992 Member Posts: 110
    edited July 2017

    Taxol #11 done. One more to go and then Herceptin only through May. Really looking forward to the every 3 weeks schedule to get some breathing room between appts. Hoping for some sleep tonight because work on a Friday is not fun when I have interrupted sleep the night before. Trips to celebrate and get a break and relax sound wonderful! I hope everyone gets an opportunity to do that.

    BJI and Dodgersgirl, congrats to you both on the anniversaries, 42 and 41 years together is great, you don't see that often now sadly. Hubby and I had 25th this April but with all this going on and our oldest graduating high school, it got lost in the shuffle. We are talking about doing something for a weekend in Sept when our girls are back I need school. A long weekend just the 2 of us would be nice.

  • GlasgowGirl99
    GlasgowGirl99 Member Posts: 44
    edited July 2017

    KB870 - how amazing to read you are originally from Scotland too!! I am from the Govan/Kinning Park area of Glasgow but have lived in Ireland since moving here 31 years ago. You moved a wee bit further afield than I did! Both my parents were Irish which is what brought me back to Donegal to live. And you are right about Glasgow changing. It was very run down when I left but it is now a beautiful and vibrant city. Hopefully I will get back to it very soon 😃

    CDV - well done getting to #11. Only one more to go!! Good luck 😊😊

    BJI - It sounds like our chemo will be finished around the same time. I have 7 more Taxol so hopefully be finished end August. I am also on Herceptin and have been told I'll be having hormone treatment for 5 years also. I don't have any info on that as yet so trying not to worry about it until I need to. Good luck 😁

  • Lb1234
    Lb1234 Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2017

    Hi everyone, I have been a lurker but decided to introduce myself. I am on weekly taxol herceptin for 12 weeks and now have completed that - today!!! I have my every three weeks herceptin for 9 months and radiation and tamoxifen to look forward to. I have tolerated the treatment very well so far. I have had no neuropathy - took glutamine and my hair thinned but not enough to cover my head. I had big taste changes/sore mouth and smell changes and some wicked fatigue. On to radiation next - I had a double lumpectomy on my left breast with a second area with extensive DCIS. The only reason I detected it was via MRI - no show on mammogram and ulltrasound- that I had after the IDC was found. Scary that I need MRI to detect lesions. I have very dense breasts. It's been comforting to follow these boards

  • l_brain
    l_brain Member Posts: 40
    edited July 2017

    Congrats Lb1234. I finished this week as well. I tolerated treatment well, but sadly my hair has thinned enough I need to cover it and probably cut or shave as it continues to fall out. I have another surgery and radiation to look forward to in addition to the 9 months of herceptin. Curious did you stay active during treatment? I did and think that contributed greatly to helping with side effects. That and lots of water.

  • Snax
    Snax Member Posts: 15
    edited July 2017

    Glasgowgirl, I finished #6 on Monday, so we're on almost the same schedule. I know halfway through is a milestone, but actually I just feel overwhelmed, like I'm halfway through a big pile of dirt, with as much to dig through as I already have piled up on top of me. Maybe it's because I went through this very same $#@% not 5 years ago. Or maybe I'm just having a lousy day. I'm normally MUCH more positive. Regardless, I felt compelled to comment on your and KB870's posts about Glasgow. Yesterday I was filling out my family tree on ancestry.ca and all of my Dad's side of the family is from Glasgow, so I was typing the name many times. And exactly a year ago, I was there visiting an elderly relative. I just know all these references are the universe telling me to call her! I hope you make it there for that celebratory trip. Book that ticket!

  • trinity42
    trinity42 Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2017

    Started Taxol and Herceptin treatment 3 weeks ago. I had experienced a lot of muscle aches during the first treatment. By the second treatment I noticed vison at at distant is sometimes blurry. Has anyone experienced this? My onc. seems to dismiss vision issues. Is there a site where I can get valid information on the side effects of Taxol and Herceptin.

  • tonyaberryman
    tonyaberryman Member Posts: 37
    edited July 2017

    Completed #6 Taxol today, just 6 more to go, then on to double mastectomy surgery and rads, then 2 more surgeries. Feeling very rough today, hope I sleep tonight. Can't feel my fingernails, the bottom of my feet are burning, my vision gets a little funky at times, but this is doable and I'm blessed! Not everyone gets a second chance, I can do this!

    Dodgersgirl - Just think # 8 is right around the corner, we've all come such a long way!!!

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    Tonyaberryman- hope you get some sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow!!

    I have an UTI and was placed on antibiotics this afternoon..... for the next 7 days.

  • Taco1946
    Taco1946 Member Posts: 630
    edited July 2017

    Trinity42 - Sorry to say, I had "significant" changes in my vision which haven't improved. (I'm almost 4 months post-Taxol.) My muscle aches turned into very painful neuropathy and with my MO's blessing, I stopped after 8 infusions of Taxol. Until the neuropathy, I was walking, playing golf and going to a stretch and flex class. Muscle and joint pain returned when I started AI's but I have been able to manage them. Put your diagnosis in and make it public for us to see. Also, when you put your diagnosis in, the site will recommend articles for you. Welcome to a site that is a sanity saver.

  • tonyaberryman
    tonyaberryman Member Posts: 37
    edited July 2017

    Thanks Dodgersgirl , hoping the meds kick the UTI to the curb quickly

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    cdv4251992- thanks for the well wishes ref my upcoming anniversary! And congrats on your 25th this past spring!

    #11 in the books for you Woot Woot.

    Hoping you doget an escape weekend trip in September

  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902
    edited July 2017

    glassgowgirl99- thanks for the anniversary well wishes!

    Glassgowgirl99 and kb870- love reading about your Scotland stories. So uplifting as I read and imagine being there. Mom's family MANY generations ago were Scottish/Irish. Have never been to either but still enjoy the thought of visiting

    I brain and lb1234- congrats on finishing Taxol!!! Hope I can make it, too. I know SE are cumulative so just going every week and taking on Taxol at a time.


  • l_brain
    l_brain Member Posts: 40
    edited July 2017

    DodgersGirl-Thanks. I found my SE were not cumulative. Hopefully yours will lessen. Fatigue set in about 2/3 of the way then got better. Praying the end will get easier for you.

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