Weekly Taxol group
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Margun, I wanted a lumpectomy but can't have one. My whole thing is multiple surgeries that come with reconstruction. I'm going to have an implant put in when I have I have surgery 8/8. It's hopefully only one and done. I'm praying radiation, if necessary doesn't mess up the implant. The PS will remove tissue from my left breast and raise both. If they can't save my nipple I'll get a tattoo next year. I just don't want multiple surgeries. The only time I've spent the night in the hospital is when my daughters were born. I like the one and done approach but don't know if it's the right decision. I'm hoping it is.
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Dawn-yes, I have met with my plastic surgeon, and she is the one who helped me decide on mastectomy. I asked her if she were me, what would she do. I wasn't offered reconstruction with the lumpectomy, and would be required to do radiation. Which I may request anyway depending on the results of my path report. I only met with her once, so I don't feel like I asked all the questions I should have. I will be having a DIEP and reconstruction at the same time. I meet with the PS once more at the end of this month.
HappyAnyway-I think I want your doctor! They sound like they are having you do every possible treatment option.
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Loiswb - Yay!!!!!!
I will say that I wanted a mx, actually willing to get bmx. Both my BS and my MO said that my prognosis would not be improved with a mx. I wanted nothing for BC to feed off of though but did the lumpectomy. If it comes back in the same breast or the other - they will not talk me out of a mx. And then a prophylactic on the other.
And I will have to have radiation when I finish with the taxol
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loiswb-Congratulations on being done!!! whoo hoo!! How are you feeling?
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Lois- Yay and congratulations!!!!
Im just going to put this out there... when I was diagnosed and given the choice of lumpectomy or mastectomy single or double I was talking to the oncology nurse educator and she told me that it wouldn't be an "if it came back" it would be a when would it come back. I was speaking wth my boss at the time, she's retired now, and she pretty much said the same thing from personal experience as she's had BC 3 different times and treated each with a lumpectomy and radiation.
Choosing lumpectomy, single or double mastectomy is ultimately up to each one of us as it's our bodies and minds!! While research shows, though still not convinced personally, that the chances are basically the same whether lumpectomy or mastectomy, there is still the chance. A big factor in my decision was the mental stress of "when will my kids and I have to go through this hell again? " I personally didn't want to live my life with that thought always in my head. Yes there is still a chance i may get cancer elsewhere since I've already had it once but with the BXM my chances are lower.
Always choose what you feel is best for you!! While the doctors may have the bok knowledge they don't know your mind, and body!! Stick to your wants and make sure they respect them!! If they don't there are many other MO, PS, and BSs out there!!!
Thoughts and long distance hugs to all you cancer kicking asses women!!🥊🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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Thanks everyone. I'm feeling good today but I don't think the steroids have worn off. Plus, with the holiday Thursday I've been able to get some extra rest/sleep which was much needed. I have been pretty fatigued the last 2-3 weeks. Also, just pumped because of being done! I will keep checking in for awhile at least.
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loiswb, congratulations on being done! That must be a wonderful feeling. I would be pumped too🤗🤗
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notdefined, I've only met my PS once also and TBH when he told me I was looking at a mastecomy instead of a lumpectomy I didn't really hear much after of what he was saying. He is rated very well but I didn't get the warm fuzzies I did with my BS and MO. He mentioned several times how beautiful my breasts would be. I know that's his profession but I was more concerned with my cancer being gone than beautiful breasts.
I'm glad you asked your PS what she would do and I'm glad she answered you honestly.
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ipenelope - I know HER-2 pos are aggressive and my fear is that it will come back. And it can come back any where but at least with a bmx it won't be breast tissue. My BS seemed to be really recluctant to take off the breast. I will say in her defense that doing a mx (when in her opinion a lumpectomy was just as "curative") based on my fears could have potentially put her in a bad position. I know she has to also think about a possible lawsuit if I regret my decision. But a bmx is what I would have preferred. With no reconstruction
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I love this forum! It is so nice to get other's insight. My primary goal is to get rid of the cancer, and reduce risk of recurrence. That topples everything else.
ipenelope-are you happy with the results of your reconstruction?
4 more days! So sleepy, and not motivated to clean the house.
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I'm with you, notdefined. I really enjoy the diverse group of people on here, all to support each other. It's nice to see different opinions, perspectives and choices. I appreciate everyone's input.
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notdefined- I am happy with my results!! I still have swelling from the exchange surgery but so far everything looks good!! I'm on the fence about more fat grafting on my non cancer side related to there being an increased amount on the cancer side. Ive been very lucky that I have not had some of the complications some other league have had.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! Keep kicking cancer's ass!!🥊🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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Hi everyone! Joining 'Weekly Taxol' crowd
My first infusion was today and went very smooth. They kept me for an extra hour for observation but all was good. MO and the chemo nurse assured me that Taxol side effects are, typically, very manageable....but then, contrary to their expectations, I had really hard time after the last EC. I am cautious now and keep my anti nausea meds close by
Could you please share your experience what to expect with blood counts on taxol, white and red? I needed Neulasta / neupogen during EC. I also had anemia which was corrected with iron IV and ESA. Today my counts were good but my WBC was somewhaton a low side.
I know everyone is different, but I wonder what to expect with Taxol. Thank you in advance
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Hey LaCombattante! All of my counts are climbing towards the normal range. My RBC and HGB are low, but not alarmingly so. With my counts on the mend, my energy is returning. I haven't experienced nausea with Taxol, either. I've only had three Taxol infusions. I know that the SE will likely catch up with me.
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Welcome LaCombattante. Thankfully, my counts have been good. I will have my 12th and final Taxol on Thursday. Someone on here recommended eating a lot of protein to keep white blood counts up, and I have been following that. I did not get nauseous on Taxol either. The one issue I have been monitoring is my liver enzymes. They had been slightly elevated, but not to the point of having to delay.
I had AC first, and even through the end of Taxol I would prefer Taxol over AC. It is slightly culmulative when it comes to fatigue though.
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Thank you very much, HappyAnyway and notdefined, for your reassuring answers!0
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Welcome LaCombattante! I am having taxol #7 tomorrow. Will see what my counts look like. My wbc’s and platelets have been pretty good, but my rbc’s have been dipping. Hope they are up tomorrow. Have only had a couple of moments of queasiness, but usually passes. Hope that continues too! I would agree with notdefined about the cumulative of taxol, more fatigue the past couple of weeks for me.0
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Welcome LaCombattante!
I have a history of neutropenia but usually still normal low. For my 2nd and 3rd taxol treatments it was low but they still felt ok to give me the med. This past week should have been my 5th treatment but they held the taxol. My WBC was .9 and they didn’t want to risk it. I did go in a day earlier than my usual (due to the holiday) so I don’t know if my body just needed that’s extra day. We shall see this Thursday if it’s better. I hated to lose a week.
I am nauseous on taxol. I don’t take the Zofran because I don’t want the headaches. I use a lot of ginger tablets and occasional Gaviscon (antacid).
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DogMomRunner, Will they add that week on to the end or will they just skip it? I was hoping that if I had to miss a week because of wbc, it would just be skipped. My BS is pregnant, and I'm on a tight schedule so she can do the surgery before she goes on maternity leave.
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Welcome Lacombattante- The SEs on AC were worse then on Taxol. Like the other ladies have said the effects are cumulative. What was noticed more as it continued was the fatigue, muscle weakness, hot flashes, nueropathy, and eyelash and eyebrow loss. While not everyone gets these from reading different boards on this site these seem to be the most common SEs with Taxol. One positive was little to no nausea and food and liquids started tasting better!!
I thankfully was one of the lucky ones where the Nulasta injections helped my WBCs go up enough during the AC that they slowly came down during the Taxol but I didn't have to delay infusions or need anything to bump them back up. My RBC and hemoglobin actually improved during the Taxol.
Notdefined- yay your almost done!!!😁😁
I hope everyone is having a great day!! Keep up the kicking cancer's ass fight!!🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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BAMR - I'm not sure but I am assuming that they will add another week. If they don't then that would be great. I'll let you on Thursday. It sounds like you have a tight schedule with your BS
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for all triple positive ladies. I knew it is rare cancer but I did not know it is that rare so that the surgeon of my acquaintance dx with et/or positive but her2 negative told that he hardly saw her2 positive. How rare are we?
My acquaintance contacted me because she knew I had cancer but hers is different. Fortunately only 0.5cm and intermediate grade and she has to go lumpectomy and some radiotherapy only. Still it seems that I saw here ladies with et and pr positive and her2 negative who are having chemo so I am wondering if because their tumour is bigger or grade 3?
Any one knows what triggers the her2 positive ifit is that rare form of cancer
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About 20% of breast cancers. Not that rare.
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I had issues with low WBC during my Taxol. I never had to delay a week but of the 12 I would say I needed the shot around 8 or 9 weeks. For reference to the 0.9 level mentioned, mine hovered around 1.7 or so, and that was high enough to proceed with infusion but low enough to do the neupogen, which they like to do 24 hours after the chemo. The biggest hassle was going back to the center just for the shot. They did allow me to get it several hours early on Memorial Day weekend when I was going out of town, and last week I had Taxol on Friday (holiday) instead of Thursday so they scheduled the shot on Monday morning (and I was finished with treatment so there was not as much rush to get it "fixed" ). the side effects are more tolerable for sure, but the "every week for 12 weeks" is tiring mentally and physically. My red count is lowish but never needed any special treatment for it.
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Good morning everyone! How are you all doing? I have been so exhausted these past few days, and I am so close to the finish line. Will have my last blood draw for chemo today, and then last infusion tomorrow. This week has been the toughest by far. I have not gone in to the office. I have had enough energy to take a bath and put the kids to bed, but the rest of the day I lounged on the couch working. I don't think it is helping me, but I just feel so exhausted. Today I am going to try to be more active. Neuropathy is visible in my feet. My feet feel like I have been walking for hours when I haven't been on them very much. Today is much better, but of course everything starts over tomorrow. A thin slice of my eyebrows remain, and I see a small area of growth in the half that went away. Eyelashes are nowhere to be found. I don't get a bell tomorrow, but my sister and I will be going to dinner to celebrate afterwards.
Hope you are all doing okay with your SE. You can do this!
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Hi notdefined. It's been quiet on the boards lately. I suppose that's a good thing. Hopefully everyone is out and about and enjoying the summer.
I'm sorry that you're tired. I'm so excited about your last infusion tomorrow! Thank you for mentioning your SE. Of course, I don't want you to experience any of them. It's nice to know what may be in store for me.
I'm feeling stronger every day, but nowhere near how I felt before all of this.
I feel bad for my kids. This summer has been a real dud. We're getting ready to go to the grocery store. Isn't that exciting? Lol Unfortunately, that is our idea of exciting these days!
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notdefined... glad to hear you are at the end! I had #7 yesterday. Not much sleep for me last night, steroids. Had good energy this morning, but am starting get tired. The fatigue seems to really hit me by the weekends and definitely notice it progresses each week. I also try to keep up with walking at least 30 minutes, just to keep moving, but there are days I just don’t have the energy. I also find my appetite decreases over the weekend too, so I guess I will eat up now while steroids are kicking! Lol! Enjoy your dinner celebrating with your sister!
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notdefined, congratulations on #12 tomorrow. Praying all goes well for you and that your cPR is just around the corner. Thank you all for your input. My wife Nat, begins her T on the 22nd. We finished AC this past Monday. From all the advice we are getting our ice socks etc... ready in attempts to ward off the neuropathy. Best wishes and prayers to everyone.
J
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HappyAnyway-I think I feel worse because I let myself be a couch potato. I am going to try an experiment next week and give myself a list of things I must do each day to see if it makes me feel less fatigue and neuropathy. I took today off work, so trying to regroup.
I feel so guilty for not having something planned for the kids. They didn't go to any summer camps, and have just been at home. They have had several playdates which is good, but that only covers so much of their free time. I have been ordering my groceries online and having them delivered, so they don't even get the exciting grocery store trip! I just keep hoping that I am able to beat this, put it behind me, and that the kids don't remember much of it.
ByUmom2-You are more than half way through! I hope the next few weeks fly by for you. It is so interesting how our treatments are slightly different. I only had to take the steroids for Taxol #1 and 2. Once the nurses saw that I didn't have a reaction, they said I no longer needed the steroids. Things really felt like they went faster after the half way point for me.
If there is a silver lining in all this, it is that it has given me 1 on 1 time with my sister and mom. They have been alternating taking me to my appointments. I haven't been needing to bring anything to make the time pass by, because we use the time to catch up. It is one of my silver linings.
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jrominger-Congrats to your Nat on finishing AC! The red devil is a beast. I think that the first Taxol was scary for me, because I had no idea how my body would react. Once that first one is done, your wife and her care team should know how to navigate the rest of them. It was definitely an easier ride than AC. I continue to ice, and I think it has helped ward off severe neuropathy. I am still able to walk and thankfully type. Prayers that your wife has a smooth ride on Taxol.
How fortunate she is to have such a supportive husband. I am one of the lucky ones too, as my husband has been amazing during this nightmare. It was another silver lining for us to know see that we are here for each other through thick and thin. He has really stepped up with helping with our kids too.
Edited-to add that I assumed Nat is your wife, but that is not what is important. My point was that she is lucky to have someone like you to care enough, and who is willing to get and share information here.
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