Cytoxan Taxotere Chemo Ladies- February/March 2013
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Yippee SchoolCounselor!!!! So happy for you!!!!
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Runningfromcancer- Your eyebrows and eyelashes are on a different growth cycle than your head hair. During the first year that one is post chemo, it is possible to have your eyebrows and eyelashes fall out and grow back several times.
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****SchoolCounselor***!
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School - GREAT news. Congrats. Good luck tracing the problem w/walking.
Melrose - Your comment about eyelashes & brows is the most depressing thing I've heard. I'd just posted on the hair thread last night when I lost the lashes on one eye yesterday. I'd used Latisse since last April and kept lashes & brows all the way through 6 Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin & Perjeta (which ended the first of August)- as well as a couple of separate H&P infusions. ALND surgery found a large & positive node so they started me on Adriamycin/Cytoxan in November. I stopped Latisse during December because my eyes always felt so gritty & crusty, figuring it must be reacting some way w/the AC. Started again in January, but I guess I made a bad error in stopping. I've been able to deal w/no hair on my head but not sure how I'll manage w/no eyelashes. Luckily the brows are still there but now who knows.
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SC, Happy Dance for you!! I know that made your day. I hope you can figure out what the problem is.
yes, that is depressing about the prospect of losing my lashes. I can deal with the brows; I have bangs on my wig that can disquise that well enough.
there is one good thing-my one gray chin hair that I have to pluck out every month is gone!:)0 -
SC -- Doing the dance of joy with you, woooooo whooooo!!!!!!!!
Melrose -- the cycling of the eyelashes and eyebrows I had heard, and yes, Minus2, it is depressing. I and see that my lashes are thinner and eyebrows too, but hoping that I don't ever lose all of them at once.... I would feel like an alien! Meanwhile, the peach fuzz on my head is growing and growing (maybe the Biotin and Nioxin are helping). Just in case, I have been putting the Nioxin on my eyebrows too..... I just want so much to look sort of normal by summertime.
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Happy for your great news, SchoolCounselor!!!!
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SC -- I'm thrilled with your good news! I know you will sleep better tonight than anytime in the past few weeks, even if your back is hurting a bit:-)
And speaking of your back, I wonder if your problem might be anything like what's been going on with my shoulders? My MO sent me to my PCP 3 weeks ago because I was having what both thought was a rotator cuff issue in my right shoulder, unrelated to BC -- loss of range of motion on only one side and hurting enough to keep me awake at night.
Long story short, both my shoulders are now about equally affected, but after 3 PT workouts are also both feeling much better. My PT says chemo can inflame muscles, and contract tendons and ligaments. So she thinks my original right shoulder issue was probably due to immobility and differences in my sleeping position after surgery, plus the chemo harming both joints and muscles more and more with each treatment. It makes me wonder if you could have some of the same things going on in your back!?
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Sorry I made everyone sad about the what I posted about the eyebrows and eyelashes. However, if you are lucky as I have been, the brows and lashes will come back in record time and not fall out again. I got a prescription for Latisse from my onco before I started chemo and never filled it. I checked out other eyelash/eyebrow serums and decided I didn't want to spend a lot of money on serums plus I knew if I stopped using any of these products, that the lashes and brows may not stay. I did use an $8 Rimmel Eyebrow/Eyelash serum that I got at Target. Do I think it works.... who knows. I started losing my eyebrows after Round 4 and by Round 6 (my final chemo), my eyebrows and my bottom eyelashes were gone. I also started using Nioxin shampoo after I finished chemo and always dabbed some of the shampoo suds on my eyebrows. My eyebrows and eyelashes came back just like they were before chemo. I purchased the Nioxin shampoo at Marshall's and TJMaxx which cost less there than at Ulta. Those two places don't always have Nioxin shampoo/conditioner so you may just want to check periodically when you are out and about. I also have a bottle of Biotin supplements which I never took because my onco said no supplements for me. I will keep good positive thoughts for each of you that your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes will return at a fast pace after you finish chemo.
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Regarding eyelashes and eyebrows - - I am 8 weeks pfc and have noticed my brows and eyelashes thinning out considerably while hair is growing back elsewhere. I found the Anastasia brow kit from Ulta is really natural looking (its a powder) and was told by the Look Good Feel Beautiful people to line my eyes while my lashes are gone. Doesn't look the same, but it helps.
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If I step back & look at the whole picture - I spent 5 years going once every month or two to electrolysis to get rid of all the stray eyebrow hairs - not to mention those on my chin. Seems kind of amusing if I look at it in the right mood.
Thanks Melrose. It is depressing, but not as bad as much that we've already had thrown at us. And after all, I'd rather know up front 'how the cow ate the cabbage'. Just tell it like it is!!
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SC, glad your scan came back negative. After 3 tc, I've got crippling back pain, and transient leg cramps. Weirdest back stuff ever, it travels! It might spend an hour in my shoulders, then move to my middle back, then to my lower back. I go in tomorrow to see MO and 4th tx. I've got muscle relaxant and norco, I'm going to need some stronger pain pills since the pain sometimes keeps me up through the night. Mine is exacerbated by movement: last week I tried the experiment of walking for 30 minute a day hoping it would make it better. Nope. This week I'm trying the opposite and it's better. It's so strange!
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oh my! my lower back has been hurting the last two days! I thought it was from sitting so much! Wonder if it is another side effect. I have also gotten neuropathy in fingers last week off & on...
I really don't want to go for the last one...I know I should be 'excited' it is the last one, and I am thankful for that but I 'really do not want to do it'....just because it might make all of these symptoms just that much worse and I am SOOOOO tired of having a new symptom every day! I feel like I'm 90...in fact my grandma is 95, and she calls me weekly, she is way busier and feeling better than I am...that is unreal! She also said she has had years to gradually slow down and do less and ours is abrupt...so it's harder mentally. The 'resting' has been excruciating for me as I am always on the go...and the feeling like crap doesn't make me perky either...
Interestingly I read something on Medscape yesterday ( I get their emails) it said they had done a study on cancer causes and found a new cause being: meats and dairies...it said it was a buildup of 15-30 years of eating these foods that was shown to cause, colorectal, breast, prostate, and some other cancers... you know studies...not sure controls and all and how specific it was or just general...but interesting none the less and annoying to as hasn't everyone on earth eaten meats and dairies in the last 15-30 years?
I guess I am still looking for a 'cause' and I need to let that one go..
I have been reading a ton...read a good book by breast surgeon here in Dallas, Sally Knox...The Breast Cancer Care book....I actually liked it and she had some good info. another good book series I started is sortof like Hunger games...The Divergent series...it is AWESOME! Couldn't put it down...I LOVE to read and this is perfect time to sit and read...if any of you have good books let me know!!
My husband bought me a pair of 'camo' underwear to wear to last chemo! I told him weeks ago a friend had done that to 'fight the cancer' every time she went....funny! They look too small but he expects me to wear them, so I will cram them on just for him..
WE CAN DO THIS!!!!! WE ARE WARRIORS!
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SC: Awesome news about the scan! So happy for you that you can have some peace of mind. I hope the pain eases and is soon gone for good.
Audra: LOL about the underwear! The good thing about the last infusion is when the side effects come, you know they are for the last time.
My exchange surgery is next Thursday, so I am looking forward to that...bye, bye boulders!
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Pat, I hope your back pain goes away! I guess we never know what is going to hit us or when.
audra, I know what you mean about the next TX. My next TX ( 3rd) is on the same day as your last. Although my first 2 were easy, I find myself waiting for the other shoe to drop, and at the same time, looking forward to getting it over with. Right now, I am feeling good, except for seasonal allergies. I hope your last one goes well and you can do a HAPPY Dance when you're done! Love the camo underwear story! I am going to try the Senna smooth move tea this round and see if that helps with the Big C....
Have a wonderful week fellow warriors!
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Try doing a recombinant bike
it might be easier on the joints and such.mfm48 Love the Look Good Feel Better program. I’m glad they
taught us how to pencil eyebrows on.Melrose- I just hate the eyebrow thing, but
it is life. So thank you for being honest.Bluegrassharp-What shoulder
exercises is your PT giving you? My left
shoulder has been bothering me lately.charlotte14…-sorry to hear about
that issues. I will ask some of my friends. that is interesting to hear. I
won’t know yet, but I get that neulsta shot each time, so my blood work is
always high.SchoolCouns…I hope they find your
pain. Awesome about the scans.Nancyjeanne…I found taking Nexium at
night, then Prilosec or zantac in the morning and after/evening helped. I took
too many tums and my CA levels were off the charts, so I had to stop taking tums.Warrior_Wom…I hope today wasn’t too
bad for you. Rest up and drink lots of
fluids.TeamKim-Love the picture! I took your advice with my MO.
FIRED MY ONCOLOGIST TODAY! I feel so liberated. I even told her way I am quitting her. That I
could have permanent damage since she didn’t believe I had an allergic reaction
to the first chemo! I told her she
doesn’t listen to her patience and that I felt like I could not trust to work
with her for the next 5-10 years. I
teared up, I never cried, but I think the stress of being with her was too much.I feel so
relieved. All the anxiety is gone. I
found out that a lot of her patients have left too, because of her lack of
interest. I should have done this after chemo2, but she
wasn’t there for the appointment. I feel like as cancer patients we shouldn't have to worry about whether our doctors listen to us or take our concern seriously. I'm just upset that this might have cost me some throat issues, but lessons learn. I now just keep moving forward. I'm also over the flu. I
have ONE CHEMO LEFT JANUARY 22nd!
YipeeeThank
you all for helping me.0 -
Good for you Fairydogmother!!!!!
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FairyDog - It's really hard to fire docs, but even harder to face them & tell them why. And they do need to know. Great job!!
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Good for you, FairyDog!!! I am proud of you for standing up for your rights. I fervently hope you find a new MO who listens and makes you a partner in your treatment -- Ultimately, the wizard listened to Dorothy! Lol! Big (((((((hug))))))) to you, my dear!!
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momat927-
I keep re reading your post when you said chemo is like a haunted house....so true! My onc. made it seem like this would be a walk in the park for most ppl. I guess I thought I was like most ppl. Lol, come to find out I'm either not like most because this has been really hard or could it be my onc. was just trying NOT to scare the crap out of me?
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Hello everyone! Hello new Sisters!
SC- I am so happy for you!!!!!! YES!!!
I have been away from the board for awhile- my daughter was home from college & I needed a brief break from this new normal. Also my husband wasn't feeling well so I had to find a way to step up.
Did someone mention eye twitching? My right eye twitches all the time and I am not sure if it is a SE
Today begins the steroids and tomorrow round 3 chemo. Always apprehensive.
Just needed to check back in and so happy to read great news from SC
Xo Amy (aka momat 927)
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I survived my first TC infusion yesterday. I was told my bad days will be Thurs. & Fri. and I can "recover" Sat. and Sun. Right now I am fine. I am sitting here waiting for something to happen.
NancyJeanne - I would like to apply for membership to the "Most People" Club. Where can I sign up?
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Warrior, My experience with TC has been this: The day of chemo and the day after I am usually pretty good as I am still on steroids, though the benadryl pumped into my port before chemo makes me drowsy. The day I am no longer on steroids, as I am coming off, SE's begin. They are not horrible. The first round felt like I had a flu. The second round no flu but some nausea which compazine helped with. I am typically very fatigued once off of steroids. About two days after the Neulasta shot, I feel those SE's. The first time, honestly, was a pistol as my body adjusted to the increase in white blood cells and bone marrow changes. This second time was much easier, just mild bone pain. I think the hardest part, for me, is waiting. I feel as though I am waiting for a tsunami and I don't know what it will bring, what devastation. I was surprised to find that the second round was much easier. I don't know if sharing my experience is helpful to you, but it is my hope that your journey will be manageable. Best thoughts, Amy (aka momat927)
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Warrier - - For me, days 4 and 5 were the worst. Mostly I felt tired and "yukky", though I didn't have nausea due to Zofran. I often felt like I couldn't stand up for very long, but was okay if I was sitting down. I never had to have neulasta because my white counts stayed high. After a week of not feeling great, I got more energy and felt more like myself until the next round. Except for the bad days, I walked most days, and surprisingly, the walking really helped improve my energy level when I was feeling tired.
I got eye twitches around the 3rd and 4th TC round and the lasted nearly two months after chemo ended.
Good luck to you. It sounds like you started out in great shape, which should help you get through it.
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Amy & RunningFromCancer - Thank you for your stories. Everything I read here better prepares me both in terms of prevention and knowing my experience is in the "normal" range. My MO did not give me the neulasta and I hope I don't need it. It doesn't sound fun.
I am wondering what drugs I can get that will help me feel great, lose weight, improve memory, brighten my skin and grow hair?
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Enjoy the good Warrior! For me the worst days are 4 and 5. Very tired before then but come day 4 the evil big d shows up and makes me miserable for about 36 hours. My bone pain kicks in, too. Day 6 is much better and then mostly it's fatigue and queasy stomach. It's not fun but even the worst parts aren't as bad as I'd feared they would be. Hugs to you!
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Warriorwoman- Love your name! I didn't get the neulasta the first round and actually felt like I was dying on day 6 or 7 - went to get bloodwork with help walking and my wbc was a 2.0...they said that is why I felt like death..other blood counts were super low too...since then I have gotten neulasta each time, and like Momat- the first time it woke me up in the night with the bone pain,-with taking Claritin 3 days prior and 5 days after....but the 2nd time on my 3rd infusion I had no bone pain at all...and my blood counts are wayyyyyy up a week after and I can actually go around anywhere without worrying I would catch things, and then it seems to go wayyyy back down this week and I can feel the difference, and last time was a 3. on infusion day...I was VERY against the shot and didn't want it but it really has helped me feel ok in between...and WAY better than that first time during the nadir. So never say never...is what I have learned.
I usually feel better day 8 on each round I have had...and then gradually better and better, til the few days before 21 again...
Good luck and wishing you higher counts and feeling good throughout!
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Thanks Ladies for your support as always.
Thanks Blue, Pam and Audra. I will probably have to do PT, it is so hard to walk. I guess we never know what SE's we are going to get.
Good for you fairy! Our relationship with our MO is a long one and we need to feel good about it!
I noticed some fuzz growing on my head today, really exciting, never mind most of it is grey!!!!
My eyes, both, have been twitching since the 2nd chemo, sometimes it's o bad that I have to close both eyes until it stops.
Warrior, the next day after chemo for me was okay and then I crashed for almost 8 days and jut when i started feeling better, it was time for the next one. The last chemo I crashed for three days and then took a soak in the tub with Epson salts and it must have been the magnesium, but I felt so refreshed. I had also had a picc line so could not get in the tub.
Hope you are all doing well.
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Warrior Woman - be careful to check all supplements w/MO and with infusion nurses. I had to stop many of mine as I was told they were fostering cell growth in opposition to the chemo trying to "kill" cells.
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Okay, TC ladies, my MO and I need help understanding a new SE! About 3 days after my last TC infusion (#4 of 6), I started to feel breathless with mild exertion -- going up the stairs and walking at my normal pace. It has persisted, not getting much worse but not getting any better in weeks 2 and 3 like my muscle aches and shoulder pains. Anybody else had this kind of experience?
I figured it was my RBC and HGB continuing to slide down, and contacted my MO. Long story short, yesterday I had a CT scan and physical exam that ruled out pulmonary embolism and lung infection; blood work that showed my RBC (3.9) and HGB (11.7) was not worse than before I noticed symptoms; and a normal echocardiogram that ruled out heart function issues.
My MO (and me, too) was happy that all came back okay, but she's still puzzled about cause of symptoms, since breathlessness in her experience is not a chemo SE without some other underlying reason.
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone?
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