Cytoxan Taxotere Chemo Ladies- February/March 2013
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I have missed a lot lately! Trying to work as many shifts as I can before my exchange surgery in 2 weeks. I read everything, but won't get to respond to all.
SC, Congrats on crossing the chemo finish line. hoping your side effects go away quickly, and that your back pain resolves as well. Thinking of good results on your scan.
Virginia, The reaction sounds scary. glad they have a good alternative for the last round.
Audra, Love the new look!!!!!
Wishing everyone in the chemo chair recently minimal side effects.
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Kbee! Great to hear from you.
Getting a little anxious about my PET scan, but will be leaving with the Xanac. Thanks for your support. I have to fast for 6 hours so I'm done eating right now.
Went to the LIVESTRONG program at the YMCA yesterday it was great, its a free strength and conditioning program for people who had/have cancer, 12 weeks. They are all over the country, ladies check if they have one near you.
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Hugs SC - we will all be with you in spirit!!!
Nancyjeanne- I was totally totally shocked to have the reaction I did, for sure. I had chemo in 2007 and tolerated it really well with no issues. So, the fact that I had as severe a reaction as I did almost 10 days after my treatment, it was weird. But, I guess it happens. He good news is that the reaction responded to the steroids really well/quickly. I am guessing that I am more a unique case than the norm and you will be fine!!! I see you are from Jersey! What part? I am in Bergen County...
KBeee! Nice to see you! Love my onc
she really is amazing and very clearly stated her plan when I saw her. I am comfortable with her and have complete and total faith in her....0 -
Hi all!
SC - praying for you today...you can and will get through it! You are a tough cookie!
Thanks for the nice comments on the new wig. I like it. Never really had short hair before but figured it will be short when it grows so that might be a good transition. It does make my head itch though...and poke...take it off immediately when I get home.
I have felt good the last week- and I have one more before last chemo! So this is unusual...and nice.! The nuelasta didn't hurt me at all this time either...so all in all round 3 was good to me. I have been having bloody nose the last 3 days, gushers...but that might be the cold weather and dry heat...even though I turn it to 62 at night in our area for my hot flashes!! My normally warm husband is freezing! But he says he is OK and leave at 62...I think he is a saint!
Saw the new counselor yesterday, he has Masters in divinity and PHD...I liked him, very straightforward and seemed to know what he was doing and like he had a plan to help me get through anxiety or negative thoughts...
He told me to do 2 things until next appointment
1. Live in the now- do not think of future or past negative thoughts at all- live today and redirect myself when starting to worry about past or future things - I can plan future happy things or think happy remembrances but no going over diagnosis or worrying of reoccurrence ,etc.
2. Whenever a negative thought comes to mind or a thought that produces 'suffering' or going down to the dark side, he said to replace it with a good thought, or bible verse or something encouraging!!!
So that was it for yesterday, but he said tons of good methods to train your brain to not go there and be positive!!!
Also it was encouraging that he said all of these thoughts are normal and all people with an ailment or prolonged disease and especially cancer patients all experience these thoughts and worries and we are supposed to, not normal to suppress them or act like all is OK when obviously your whole lifestyle and body has changed....
So THAT made me feel good too...
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VirginiaNJ-
I'm from Somerset county ( central). Glad to hear the reaction was quickly taken care of!! I always say there's no norm when it comes to bc!! I never realized until I joined the club that when they said bc, how different each and every case could be! Feeling just ok today. Three days out from #1 I'm tired and feeling like I have an upper bronchial thing going on. Can't deal with that too....well on the other hand I guess I'll have to deal with it. Ugh!
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It's been a while since I've posted. I am now 5 weeks post-chemo and am having an annoying side effect that I wondered if anyone else is having. (It started to show up about 2 weeks post-chemo.) Both of my big toes are very painful, especially around the outer edges of the nails. I'm wondering if this is the start of the toenails separating from the nail bed that I've heard of. There are no other changes to my nails, just the big toe pain. I'm having trouble finding shoes that are comfortable, and it's so cold I can't wear sandals. Anyone else having this? On the positive side - I'm finally starting to see hair growth!
I've moved on to radiation. Just finished my 7th treatment out of 25. It's going well, but I'm starting to notice redness and some swelling/soreness.
I hope you're all doing well with the chemo. It gets better soon!
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Bondsy - a couple of thoughts.
Could be toenail lifting or a fungus. I saw a podiatrist at that point & he did a culture. No fungus. MO said don't let him remove big toenails until after chemo since my blood levels were so low. Podiatrist said to take Biotin.
CIPN - chemo induced peripheral neuropathy - pain in the big toes. If that's the only place I'd wait it out awhile. I waited almost 5 months then saw a neurologist since I have pretty invasive toe/foot & finger/hand pain.
Hand & Foot Syndrome - I'm just learning about this so no useful data yet.
I'm sure others will chime in with things I've forgotten. Try Easy Spirit TravelTImes. Not pretty but they don't hurt my toes.
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Nancyjeanne - I used to live in Somerset County - right in Somerset on Easton Ave in the apartments behind K-mart! My nephew is a senior at Rutgers
. My best friend lives in Griggstown on the canal and I have friends in nearby Franklin Park!!Made my appointment for my implant exchange surgery. I was so anxious calling the office.... So weird. My exchange is March 24th.
Hope everyone has a great weekend with manageable SE's. Our temps were in the single digits earlier this week, yesterday we had snow, and today we are expected to get up to 59F. Crazy!
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Virginianj- my exchange surgery was a breeze -NOTHING like mastectomy...it is an hour or two and recovery was WAY better! I felt good way sooner, and the new boobs feel way lighter and comfier than expanders for sure!! SO YAY for March!
That will be awesome-
and we are done next soon - yippppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cannot even believe it!
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I finished Cytoxan,Taxotere and Neupogen in April 2013. Now I am anemic and my hemoglobin is only 6.9 and
trying to avoid a blood transfusion. My Doc said this not a late development after chemo? but I read Neupogen can cause Bone Marrow problems? So I have to have an endoscopy and colonoscopy to see if I have any intestinal bleeding. But I have no G I. symptoms. started hearing my pulse in my right ear in November and my oncologist said that is a symptom of anemia. anyone else anemic months after finishing chemo? Any input appreciated.
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Thank you, MinusTwo, for the information on CIPN. Sorry to hear yours is getting worse. I just emailed my MO and let her know about my issues, we'll see what she says.
Charlotte14, sorry to hear you are having so many issues this far out from chemo. I had no idea there could be so many problems post chemo. Let us know how it goes.
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charlotte14- I posted this info Jan. 5, 2014 here about what foods you may try to add to your diet to help with your red blood cell count and anemia. As per my onco's instructions, I have to eat whatever nutrients my body needs rather than taking a supplement and/or vitamin. Apparently, one's body absorbs the necessary nutrients better through food than through supplements or vitamins. You may want to look at what you are eating to see if you can add in some more iron enriched foods to your diet....
Here are some links to articles about what to eat to help your red blood cells.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/349946-foods-to-eat-to-increase-red-blood-cells/
http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/health-and-wellness/iron-rich-foods
This link will get you to a Food Data chart . Just click on "29. Iron" and you can read how much iron you need and how much certain foods have in them.
http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server../info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data-fs.html
When my RBC started to drop during chemo, my onco told me to start eating foods to help get that RBC up a little. I asked about taking iron supplements and I was told no and that eating the right foods was better absorption-wise. For me, eating more iron enriched foods ( ie cream of wheat, Total cereal, lean red meat) helped my RBC numbers.
Hope this info helps.....
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Nancyjeanne - I am next door in Hunterdon.
My start date is close...Tuesday. Fingers crossed that I don't have any severe reactions.
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good luck warrior woman!! We are just around the corner. Where are you going for chemo? I'm not feeling so great 4 days out. I have had the most painful indigestion I've ever experienced in my life. Couldn't sleep Friday night because of it. Has anyone else had this problem? I also came down with a terrible upper bronchial thing and feel like sh#t. Called my dr. And was put on antiobiotic but now having stomach issues, no picnic sisters!! Ugh!
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WW, good luck on Tuesday! The first TX was the scariest for me, but once I got through it, it really wasn't that bad. I hope yours goes well also.
nancyjeanne, sry you are having indigestion issues...ginger is supposed to be good for indigestion; you might try some ginger tea; Bigelows lemon ginger tea is good. Sometimes anti-biotics can reek havoc on your stomach, too. Get better soon!
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Nancyjeanne1967- Indigestion/heartburn is one of the side effects of this chemo regimen. You may want to ask your onco about taking Prilosec, Zantac, Tums, etc to help prevent that the next chemo round you have. I drank ice cold ginger ale and ate bland foods( baked chicken, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese) for a few days after my chemo rounds. One of my side effects was burping which I did often and not very quietly. My onco gave me the go ahead to take Zantac before my chemo rounds but i opted not to take it since that indigestion/heartburn was never severe enough for me to want to take the Zantac.
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Bondsy -- I have had toe pain too -- not big toes, but middle 3 toes on both feet. Also have had skin peeling on my toes and balls of my feet. Shoes are uncomfortable for me too -- struggling to find something I can wear through a whole day of work.
Had to shave my legs this morning for the first time since October! Hair on my head is a little more than a quarter inch. Had my 59th birthday last weekend and took baldy twins photo with my 90 year old FIL -- he has more hair than I do!
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TeamKim - thanks for sharing the fun picture. Belated Happy Birthday.
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TeamKim- That is too cute! He probably LOVES having more hair than someone!! Happy Birthday to you!
Indigestion just got me after round 3 and severe stomach pain, nausea, burning after eating and in the night...I started using Prilosec and it helped - totally gone! I also was still eating on the 2nd, 3rd week out when I could taste- some of my favorite hot sauces and jalepenos,etc...not a good idea...so I gave those up too...now it's better..and I'm taking psyllium husk fiber daily which I think helps too..
Good luck Nancyjeann!
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TeamKim---- You are a cutie!!!! Happy Belated Birthday!!!! Good luck with the rads..... (I don't know if you checked out the Miaderm radiation cream.... it was recommended to me by several gals who used it and also by a radiation nurse.)
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TeamKim - I love that pic!
NancyJeanne - I had my surgery at Penn but I'm staying local for chemo - Hunterdon Medical. There is no need to commute. I like my MO a lot and frankly, he's rather good looking.
I stocked up on otc indigestion meds. Pepcid and something like malox. Keepthefaith - I absolutely expect the first time will be the worst. I simply don't know what to expect. They better be able to work with my veins and I hope not to have any type of allergic reaction. I simply want to be an everyday ordinary cancer patient who comes and goes without any excitement.
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About indigestion - I used famoditine (generic for Pepcid) which is a lower dosage than Pepcid AC and cheaper. It worked very well, and was approved by my oncologist.
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Thanks everyone for the info on my indigestion. I'll talk to my onc. tomorrow the only thing that's been helping so far is drinking a tablespoon of white vinegar. Gross but it works if you can stand the taste. I'm now fighting a fever. It was 100 tonight and was told to call if it gets to 100.4. I also have a sore throat, ear ache and cough. I guess I'm getting some kind of infection. UGH!! The BMX was a breeze compared to this.
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Nancyjeanne1967- You may want to call your onco today and get checked out. If you are getting a cold/flu/infection, you are heading into the nadir period ( lowest point of your white blood cell count). Don't hestitate to contact your onco because you may need some antibotics to help fight that infection since your white blood cell count is on the decline from the chemo. I know that normally you probably don't call the doctor just because you are getting a cold/flu but this time is different because of the chemo. Keep us posted....... hope you feel better soon......
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talked to my oncologist today she is calling in an antibiotic thank God!! She said she wants me better befor my WBC's hit the low, just like you said Melrosemelrose. She said normally we would let it run it's course but because of the chemo etc. she wants me to start ASAP. Unfortunately I'm allergic to all the penicillin"s and azithromax so she has to find something else. This too shall pass!
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Nancyjeanne- Glad you called your onco this morning!!! Hope your doctor finds an antibotic that you can take. I have the same problem you do with being allergic to penicillin and other antibotics. Fortunately, I can take Keflex antibotic which is the antibotic I tell my doctors that I can take. Hope you feel better soon!!! Drink plenty of liquids, hot lemonade and honey for your sore throat and rest......
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Team you look great!
I got my PET scan results today....drum roll please...no evidence of metastatic disease! Thank God!
So now to figure out why I am having difficulty walking, thank you ladies for your support!
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Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Hooray SC!!!!! SO very happy for you!!!!!!!
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yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew you were fine SC!!!!!!!!!!!
Im sure it makes you feel WAY better!
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Just noticed that all my eyelashes are gone - - two months after I finished chemo!!!! Wierd!
I only have half of my eyebrows, too, but the hair on my head and chin is growing like crazy!!!!!
Eye twitching is gone, too! Thank goodness! By why some hair is still falling out while other hair is coming in is beyond me!
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