Weekly Taxol group
Comments
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notdefined, I'm so happy you're almost done! I'm right behind you. This has been may worse week yet on Taxol. I have been so exhausted with no relief in sight. I ran a low grade fever Monday night and experienced abdominal pain for the first time. Last night my right eye was running along with my nose and it was hard to open this morning. I guess #11 didn't agree with me. Fortunately, no real neuropathy though.
I saw my MO this morning. I won't see him again till 8/28 and that made me very emotional. I guess I've become attached to him.
Please post tomorrow on how it feels to be done. I would think you'll be pumped by more than just the steroids 😊
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Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a good week.
Notdefined- Yay to the last Taxol tomorrow!! Congratulations and you definitely should celebrate because it is huge!! Sorry to hear about the increased fatigue!
Happy- I'm not sure how old your kids are but I'm sure they would rather have mom kicking cancer's ass then necessarily doing lots on their summer break!! Have fun grocery shopping!!
Thoughts and long distance hugs to all you cancer kicking ass ladies!!!🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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Dawn-hope the fever goes away! You are so close too! I'm sorry you are feeling the same fatigue. My eyes have been glued shut each morning, and then they are dry for the rest of the day. It is just another annoying SE. Here's to being on the other side of this feeling!
I will be here to ring my own bell tomorrow! Moderator's we need a bell ringing emoji! My spirits are up even through the fatigue.
Hang in there everyone. One day at a time...
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congrats notdefined to be so close to the finish line. I saw my Mo to day that all se will pass after three month of last treatment and I think it is not that bad. Have fun with your sister.
Happyanyway- i understand very well feeling bad for our kids. Me too I can do all as I wanted but we are doing all to get better and to be there for them
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Hello everyone. I usually try to address everyone by name. I'm currently finding it difficult to concentrate.
Our girls are 8, just turned 16 (last Friday), and about to turn 19 (tomorrow). Our oldest is plenty busy with college, work, boyfriend and friends. Our 16 yo is stuck until she gets her driver's license at the end of the month. They don't complain too much. I agree with all of you, one boring summer is a small price to pay to kick cancer's ass and hopefully put all of this behind us!
My eyes are still weeping, sticky and blurry. I think they may be getting slightly better. Add me to the list of you with the runny, yet dry and occasionally bloody nose.
For those of you who are experiencing SE, I hope you feel better soon.
Hugs to all.
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Notdefined
So happy you are done tomorrow (with this part). I had #11 today. Found out my WBC count took a major dump and have to go back for a shot tomorrow and Friday and will have to give myself the shot on the weekend to stay on track (and I am staying on track with one more to go). I have been feeling good, so the news was a bit of a blow. Go in tomorrow and get this done!
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congratulations on finishing not defined!!!
HappyAnyway— you’re right, I’ve been without WiFi for a week didn’t miss much. I also have been trying to stay away a little more now that treatment is done in hopes it will help with the feeling of being “normal” again.Not sure it’s working... still waiting to feel “normal”!
I hope everyone is doing well and having minimum SE
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Notdefined, Yes Nat is my wife. We started dating at 17 and 15. Married at 20 and 18. We are the best of friends and do everything together. 37 years of marriage. 2 adult children and 6 grandkids. This was not in the plan, but God will see us through this. So happy to have found this site and everyone is so accepting of having a "dude" on here. God bless on your final taxol. Move on to the next step and cPR is awaiting you just around the corner. We are praying for everyone on this site.
J
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HappyAnyway, weren't you planning a Sweet 16? How did it go?
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laurence- first wishing your wbc come up to normal. how low wbc were that required shots? I am wondering in what level of wbc we must really be careful for our immune sys
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laurence- ouch that's alot of shots to bring it back up. But yay only 1 more to go!!!
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Hi DawnS1962! It was great! Thank you for asking. We all five worked on the house and it looked good. Nearly all of the friends that she invited were able to attend.
I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try self tanner! I'm trying to get outside for a bit every day. My 16 yo told me that my attempts to have my scalp match my face are futile! Lol
How is your recent graduate doing?
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Yay notdefined!! Congrats on the upcoming last Taxol. I will ring a mental bell for you tomorrow.
Dawn - I'm sorry that 11 has been bad. I hope you feel better!
Yay to HappyAnyway on getting closer to normal-ish!
Yay to ByUmom2 on your 7th!!
Laurencl- I hope your blood count is better.
Yay to Nat for finishing the AC!!
I'm a bit anxious about tomorrow. I really want my WBC to be up so I can get #5 and closer to the end. But I have to say that this past week has been really nice on just the Herceptin. Almost no nausea, more energy and sleeping better. Back to the steroid high and the bonk on the 3rd day, bloody nose, nausea, headache and potential for neuropathy.
Oh well, it's not like most of you ladies aren't going through even stronger/harsher treatments and still strong. You all are the inspiration!
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Margun,
I was told that 1 (which the doctor said is 1000), they will stop treatment for the week. I was at 1100. The thing is, I have been feeling great, kind of normal with the last two treatments, so it was a bit of a shock. The nurse told me that the shot is kind of like neulasta with AC. Neulasta takes too long to do the job with taxol, so they give a shot every day for 5 days to do the job. She said it was common...but I am freaking out a bit. I have my surgery date and was starting to feel like I was making progress...silly me!
Ipenelope,
I agree, and the idea of doing it myself (which they put in my hands if I feel comfortable) is freaking me out. I guess I should see what is involved before panicking. The nurses have never steered me wrong yet. Need to continue the positive vibes. Would like to get off the roller coaster!
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HappyAnyway, she's waiting to land a teaching job but is a server at a local seafood restaurant. I think this is her 3rd summer there.
I'm so glad your party was a success. You had to be exhausted when it was over, but I'm sure a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
I've tried the self tanner on my scalp. Not bad and I figured if it looked hideous, it would fade in a week.
I bought a backup wig. Came today. Looks nothing like the pictures online. I swear I tried it on and first thought was Rod Stewart. Not a good look. My oldest daughter is coming Friday and will try to style it for me. Otherwise I'll save it for Halloween 😊
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DawnS1962, my daughter started out going to college for teaching. She decided to switch to medical assisting.
Everyone experiencing low wbc, I'm sorry. I was shocked when I was told that my count was low the first time time. I had actually gone to an awards ceremony for one of my girls the night before. I'm thankful to have avoided illness. Low wbc and low hemoglobin are the scariest SE that I have faced thus far. It seems there are no red flags for low wbc.
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Back from treatment and WBC still at .9. My MO did not want to skip the Taxol again so I get to have neupogen injections Friday, Saturday, Sunday and possibly Monday. On Monday there will be more blood work to see if I need to continue the neupogen.
I think Margun was asking if I was going to have to add another Taxol week and apparently that depends on the individual. I don't know when that will be decided. If I have to get neupogen every 4 weeks then he may decide to not make up my "snow days". For anyone not in the south, snow days are when one flake lands on the ground and schools are cancelled for two days. :
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Dogmomrunner- lol I love your description of a snow day!! I'm in the midwest and out takes a little bit more than a couple flakes for snow days.
Sorry you have to do the shots for the next few days!! I really hope they do what they need to and get you back up to a more normal level!!
Thoughts and long distance hugs to all you cancer kicking ass ladies!!🥊🥊
~Katie💗
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DogMomRunner, you're absolutely right about the snow days!
I hope I your wbc rebounds quickly.
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DogMomRunner, can you get Neulasta onpro? You wouldn't need to go back for shots. It worked great when I was getting AC.
As for the snow days, as someone originally from NY, it's crazy how an inch of snow can stop a city in the south. I've been here 25 yrs and I'm still amazed
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Thanks, DogMomRunner, for finding out that info. Sorry about the shots. My dr had also told me that if neuropathy problems get bad, we might just stop the rest of the treatments. I wanted to say if we can just stop the treatments, then why do them anyway?
I totally agree about the snow days. In Texas, we also have school cancelled for "ice days". Ice days are when it rains, and there's a possibility that the temperature might get down to 32 degrees at some point the next day.
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congrats on finishing up today notdefined!! Hope it went smoothly. I remained exhausted over last weekend and then Monday had a neupogen which seemed to hit me again with aching and fatigue, but yesterday and today I see progress in the right direction in terms of energy level. Have really no eyebrows and very few sparse lashes.
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Omg DogMomRunner... your snow day reference had me ready to run out for bread and milk! :P
I start my Taxol journey tomorrow. So ready to get it under my belt so I can quit worrying so much about it!
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Hi ladies!
Laurencl - yes my MO also uses 1 or 1000 as his cutoff. He didn't want skip even though I was .9/900.
I am usual (at least for the last couple of years normal low WBC especially neutrophils. My MO reasoning for doing the taxol today was that I am used to running low and do it is not such a shock to my system. Someone else might really have problems.
My MO did not want to use the neulasta. I think that he uses that for more drastic drops. Chemo care website has some really good information on low WBC/RBC.
I am also a germaphobe and wash my hands constantly even before all of this. Which is good for where I work (skilled nursing facility).
Thanks for all the good wishes. Same to all of you!! I'm on a steroid high right now so no sleep tonight. I'll have to make sure I have a good book on the kindle. :
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palmetto- Good luck on your Taxol journey!!!
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HI Everyone: Had my first Taxol today. The infusion was fine and so far no side effects but man did the Benadryl set me off. I couldn't get comfortable, sleep and was moving around the whole time. I almost always slept through AC. The chemotherapy nurse said that she would discuss my reactions with the doctor. Anyone else had this kind of reaction to premeds??
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I'm done!!!! whoo hooo!!! I didn't get a bell, but I got a certificate signed by all the staff. I brought some treats for all the nurses, as everyone there has been so helpful and nice.
Laurencl-Sorry about having to take those darn shots. BUT You are almost there! Hang on, the finish line is in sight. When I was pregnant, I had to get shots everyday for the first 4 months (I had to take a blood thinner due to a genetic marker). DH had to learn how to give them, so when we did AC he was comfortable giving me shot. Hope your counts go back up in time for the last one.
jrominger-Wow! That is so wonderful that you two have been together for all that time, and continue to support each other. I love to hear about couples who are still together and supportive of each other.
DawnS1962-I'm so happy you have not had much of the neuropathy. My fingertips are a little numb and my toes are too, but thankfully I'm able to maintain my balance and walk okay. I will be watching it closely in hopes that it fades away quickly.
palmetto-Good luck tomorrow! Hope it all goes smooth!
DogMomRunner-hope the counts go back up!!! Thanks for ringing that virtual bell! I heard it loud and clear
loiswb-Thank you for sharing. I hope to see some progress soon, but know I have to endure the next few days of SE. The achiness is the worst, and the fatigue is heavy, and quite frankly I don't remember what it's like to have energy again. I hope that you are able to gain your strength back in full force, and look forward to reading about it.
Thanks everyone for the prayers, well wishes, and congrats (which are virtual fist bumps in my head)
! I intend to stay here to report how quickly the SE subside, and to offer support for all of you on here. I wish there was a way to meet you all, but I'm glad technology has given us this opportunity to meet online. 0 -
Yay notdefined!!!!!! Congratulations!!🛎🛎🛎🛎🛎🛎🛎🛎not the same but definitely deserved!!!
I hope everyone has had a good week and keep kicking cancer's ass!!!🥊🥊🥊
~katie💗
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notdefined - I actually went over to the bell at our center and read the inscription. And then "ding"!! I really wanted to grab the string and give it a good one. I am so glad that you are through with this part of your treatment. Now get to growing some hair back on that lovely head of yours!!
palmetto - good luck tomorrow!! I'm assuming SC with the profile avatar
mvp459 - I had the muscle twitches. And found out on here that it's due to the benedryl, and it's not uncommon. I asked my NP about it and she said that they can slow down the rate they give it. If you don't see your MO/NP for your next one, ask the nurses to slow it down. They will do it for you.
ipenelope - thank you for hanging out with us and giving encouragement.
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notdefined, Yay!!!! I am so happy for you! I could hear your virtual bell ringing all the way in Virginia🔔
I'm hoping your SE goes away quickly. Please keep us all updated. This site and especially this thread has been a godsend.
🤗🤗
Dawn
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