Weekly Taxol group
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CBK hope everything goes well will your final surgery - sending lots of positive and healing vibes your way!
I think Letrozole is hormone therapy for post menopausal women , ( please correct me ladies if I’m wrong! ). I turned 50 this year so was assuming that I would be taking tamoxifen but blood tests showed that chemo had pushed me into menopause so it’s Letrozole for me!!
So far so good with the meds and I hope that it will stay that way!!. My oncologist said that she couldn’t stress enough the importance of exercising and staying active whilst on these meds especially where joint pain was concerned as this is one of the main side effects so I’m heading out now to get my 10,000 steps done and out of the way - Justin Timberlake, Abba and George Michael will be keeping me company and who knows ; some of those steps may even turn into dance steps , ( I do tend to get carried away when I’m listening to music!! ) 😄
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Indigo...You are correct. Letrozole (Femara), Anastrozole (Arimidex) and Exemestane (Aromasin) are the drugs used for post-menopausal women.
Hope
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VL22- I hear you loud and clear! I was on your schedule today and that morning nap helped. Went out and did some afternoon activities with more ease! Taxol #11 fooled me, I was full of energy! Gooooooo VL22, only 2 left. I wish you the very best.
Nonahope- Hitting those B6 and B12’s now. Glad to hear you are faring well with no neuro issues. That’s fantastic.
Indigo- I’m going to ask about Femara vs Arimidex both are for menopausal women. I’m the same age as you, and the surgery will throw me into menopause, so why Arimidex for me and Femara for you. 🤫
Good advice on the “keep on moving”. Totally makes my Neuropathy better but sometimes that fatigue rears it’s ugly head.
Keep dancing Indigo29!!
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Hope, Thank you for clarifying.
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hey lovelies!
I know there are posts about this but I’m curious if any of you have experienced it:
I have a mild rash covering most of my trunk and neck. It’s very very hard to see but easy to feel. Like a bunch of super tiny dots all over me. It started a couple days ago. I am between Taxol 4 and 5. I know Taxol can cause rashes. Did any of you get a rash? Did it go away on its own? It’s only mildly itchy in spots but otherwise not really. Not sure what to make of it!
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CIW - I got rashes and I put cortisone cream on then I went to see dermatology she gave me something stronger. This is one of the SE from taxol.
You girls are doing great, keep dancing and walking, I need to join you also.
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Femara vs Arimidex - CBK - a lot seems to be physician preference. I started with Arimidex and was switched to Femara after about 7 months with the hopes that my headaches would go away. Haven't taken it long enough to decide which SEs I prefer. I don't know about Femara but many on the arimidex thread think even manufacturer makes a difference. So we'll see. Clearly, whichever one we are on - it's for the long haul. Good luck.
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CBK that's a good question. At least we can be rest assured that if one type of meds don't agree with us then at least we have other options!
CIW sorry to hear that you are dealing with the rashes and as PauletteK stated, they can unfortunately be a side effect of the taxol treatment . I hope you find a cream to soothe your skin before you start your next taxol treatment.
Ladies , if the fatigue prevents you from physically dancing don't worry; just put on your favourite music, crank up the sound as loud as you can -without disturbing the neighbours of course!! - and using either your hairbrush or remote control , ( or whatever is handy ), as your make believe microphone; sing your tonsils off - you may not be able to exercise your body right now as you would like tobut at least mentally and spiritually you will feel wonderful and it's a great stress reliever! - and if anyone dares to critique your singing abilities , just throw your make believe microphone at them!!😄
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CIW - Yes! I have a very similar rash but on my arms and legs. I just had treatment #5 today and beforehand I met with the PA asked it I had any skin issues. I told her no because I hadn’t. After treatment I went home and napped. When I woke up, boom, itchy rash on my arms, then on my legs a bit later. Dang it. Not cool. But it’s similar to what you described, I can feel the bumps but it’s not really visible.
I’ll try the cortisone cream. Hopefully that’ll take care of it. Each week seems to have different SEs. Who knows what next week will bring
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Taco - keep me posted how did you do on Femara. My MO suggested that I go on to Arimidex after radiation.
Rashes is one of the taxol SE, I got that also. I have explained on the previous post above.
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Indigo...I love your "love" of music...me too! Years ago, I would "sing" along with Carol King ("I Feel The Earth Move") and my microphone would be a candle! My sister, daughter and I would sometime become a trio of candles...such fun and very uplifting.
I haven't had the Taxol rash yet, but I've only had 3 rounds.
After I was finished with chemo/rads (2010), my BS put me on Arimidex for five years. When my BC had metastasized, I was on a combination of oral Ibrance/Letrozole - until being switched back to Taxol. I, too, think it's just a physician's choice for the most part (my Arimidex, that is).
Have a great day, ladies. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers that my liver ultrasound tomorrow has uneventful results.
Hope
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I agree Hope, music is indeed a wonderful thing, I bet that you, your sister and daughter had such a blast singing along to Carol king, ( love her songs ). I do the same thing with my daughter too!!😊
Sending you lots of positive healing vibes and keeping you in my thoughts and prayers that everything goes well with your ultrasound and that you receive good news tomorrow
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Hope-
Praying for you today and sending you lots of love from Minnesota! Lots of love to all you ladies, actually!
frozentoes-
I see you're in Minnesota too! Maybe us Minnesota people are extra prone to the rash. Jk. But I hope you're enjoying this blustery day, and I am sorry you also have the taxol rash.
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Thanks Taco for information on Arimidex and Femara!
Indigo- How many acupuncture sessions did it take for you to see improvement in Neuropathy? Did you do any specific exercises to help? I love your attitude. Keep singing and dancing like no one is watching!!
Nonahope- Soooooo wishing you a non-event with your testing! Big hugs from me!
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CBK, I started to see improvement definitely after the 4th session. My acupuncturist had me come in everyday for the first week then in the 2nd week I went 3 times and after that it was once a week. Apart from the neuropathy, she also applied needles to lessen my fatigue and improve my immune system. Each session lasts between 30 - 40 minutes, ( which gives me time to have a quick nap!! ). Exercise wise she recommended that I rubbed each of the tips of my fingers with my thumbs as many times during the day as I can to encourage blood flow. I’ve gotten so used to doing that, that now I do it without thinking - I’m sure that it must look really weird to people whom I’m having a conversation with when they notice my fingers in action!!!😄
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Indigo- Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love the rubbing the fingertips exercise! I was doing it as I was reading your post! Nothing weird about it. This whole experience can make you super self -conscious on some level; letting go of it,THAT, in our own time, will be the ultimate healer!
With gratitude!!
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CBK- you are very welcome and I really hope that you get the much needed relief from your neuropathy . It’s funny but I find that rubbing my fingers also has a calming effect so it’s a win win situation! 😄
You are so very right about the self conscious aspect - I think that all the changes that we are made to go through physically and mentally , (and in such a relatively short space of time ), from the initial cancer diagnosis through to the surgery, chemo ,radiation etc can knock our confidence about our self image and how we see ourselves and also how we think others see us . Getting to a place where we begin to be comfortable again in our own bodies and minds and excepting that , yes, it is a little , ( or a lot), different from what it used to be is the road to our healing.
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CIW - Maybe it is the weather! I was joking with my doc that all of my SEs seem to be ramped up versions of things that usually happen during Minnesota winters. Bloody/runny noses, dry skin. I guess I can’t blame the hair loss on MN winters.
Luckily, us Minnesotans are a hearty bunch. If we can live through the winters, then chemo’s going to be a breeze! Nonahope - you’ll be getting double the positive thoughts from Minnesota tomorrow! I’m going to throw some Carol King into the mix tomorrow so if you feel the sudden urge to dance, you’ll know why
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Well, I haven't actually "heard" (via phone call) from my oncology office regarding results of my ultrasound. However, I did get an e-mail from the patient portal. Call me crazy, but I'm not opening it. I don't want to see any bad news. So, if I don't hear from them before I have chemo next Thursday, I will find out then. Meanwhile, I will choose to continue to feel good and not worry.
Time to think about dinner...I think it will be salmon tonight.
Hope
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Nonahope, take this with a proverbial grain of salt, but my team said that they wouldn't post any bad reports online without having a chance to discuss them with me first. So she said that if I see a report online before I talked with them, I could go ahead and open it.
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Indigo29- Great insight! I keep saying “ I just want to be the person I was before this all happened”. I threw out that phrase at my reconstructive surgeon a few weeks ago. She astutely pointed out, “that simply is not possible”. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, now is it?
Ohhh Nonahope- Been thinking about you! The craziest thing is my portal seems to always update right before midnight. I sort of wish I never signed up for it. But I believe LisaRx has a very good point , please enjoy that salmon and your weekend
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Lisa and CBK....I thought the same thing...they wouldn't release the info if it were bad. But, I just can't bring myself to do it. I saw my elevated liver enzymes about 1/2 hour before I got the call that an ultrasound was scheduled. So, I guess they released it as soon as they saw it, but didn't call me -- just went ahead and scheduled the ultrasound. I, too, sometimes wish I hadn't signed up for it. I'm too much of a Nervous Nellie. If I were feeling bad, I would definitely open it. But, I'm feeling really good...why chance ruining a good thing..LOL
My salmon was delish...as was my asparagus and parslied potatoes. I'm trying to eat so healthy. Sometimes, I think I'm going overboard.
Hope
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Hope I totally agreed with you, bad news shouldn’t delivery by email. I rather they tell me in person.
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CBK, I know what you mean when you said , “ I just want to be the person I was before this all happened”. That is the person whom we all want to be because that person represents us before all this trauma and upheaval and uncertainty came and punched us in the guts. The logical side of us knows that this isn’t possible but it doesn’t mean that we can’t wish it were the case. Your reconstructive surgeon rightly stated, “ that simply is not possible”, but I wish that they would have ended that sentence with, “ but I totally understand where you are coming from and you are not alone in feeling that way”.
Hope - thinking of you and so glad to hear that you are feeling good😊
Wishing that everyone is having a lovely weekend!
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So I met with my MO Thursday. After getting two neupogen shots on the previous weekend, my wbc went up to 2.2 and my anc went from 0.6 to 1.0. He said that he was expecting better numbers and that now I will have to continue to get the injections for two days after each taxol, and he wants to see me before each taxol. Our original plan was to draw labs the day before chemo, get chemo, and see the MO every other week or so.
I have also relearned thr importance of my new bff claritin. I forgot to take it Saturday morning before my first shot and holy moly did I pay for it on Sunday. I ended up taking a norco that was left over from my surgery. I have been taking it everyday ever since. I am having bone pain today, bit it is not excruciating like last Saturday.
Has anyone had a rash appear on thier scalp? Last night when I took my cap off I felt bumps and welts and it kinda aches? I'm gonna ask about it today when I go in for my shot.
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I've been taking Prilosec every day because I was suffering with acid reflux. At first, it worked like a charm. But the effectiveness seems to have worn off. What else are you guys taking? I hate this constant burping, and it's all foods. Today I'm burping up Raisin Bran, for pete's sake. It's making me sick to my stomach.
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Lisa...I had Raisin Bran for breakfast, too. But, I'm not burping it. So far, so good for me and heartburn or reflux. But, then I seldom ever had heartburn when I was healthy...maybe, that makes a difference. We are all on this crazy merry-go-round with these side effects.
Where do you live in Cincy? I, too, am from Cincy.Hope
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Hope,
I live in West Chester. I'm getting treatment at UC West Chester.
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Lisa,
I have tried them all. The one that seems to provide immediate relief for me is Pepcid Complete.
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Lisa...I am on the East side of Cincy and see OHC physicians. I wish you the very best on your journey!
Hope
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