Starting Chemo June 2014
Comments
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I take claritan every day regardless, but my dr suggests I take it day of treatment +6 days after. My blood counts are so low that in addition to the neulasta shot, I take antibiotics the following week, days 6-9. I usually see my oncologist for blood work on day 7, and the first time, he was very worried about how low everything was. Now that I take the anti-biotics, I feel like my recovery on the off week is much smoother and quicker.
I don't know what is going on with me. I am not a morning person, never one to wake up without an alarm clock. But since starting AC, I wake up at 5am and can't go back to sleep. Its only 8am and already, I showered, dressed, had breakfast, paid my bills and straightened up the living room. Have to be quiet so I don't wake the kids otherwise, I would have vacuumed too!
Feels so good to not be constipated or the opposite!
My girls are not happy with the bald look on me, they asked me to start wearing my wigs when we go out, they are noticing that with the scarves, people stop me on the street to say, "how are you?" and it is starting to get to them. Today is out scheduled day of beauty, they are going to get hair cuts, one of them wants to cut off enough so that she can donate her hair, I think its so sweet, but she would have to cut too much and her hair is baby fine, don't know if they could actually do anything with it. And then we are going to get our nails done…woohoo. Girls day out
Hope everyone has a wonderful day
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Kimmyd,
Well, my Dad was married briefly before he met my mother...lol
Seriously all, it's a lot of tmi...but who else could we really discuss that with? Lol
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In some ways it's handy that my daughter is autistic, because she does not notice or care what anybody else thinks.
It's sweet that your girls are protective of you though, and that one wanted to donate her hair. Maybe when she's older!I'm at chemo now, getting round two. They had a hard time getting my port going and had to declog it. It wasn't a big deal, they just injected some kind of draino for ports and an hour later it worked fine.
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Kimmy, my hair is about the same, barely have anything now and the shedding was driving me loopy. Will be glad when its totally all gone.
Sorry you are having lots of fatigue. Hope your blood counts go back up. Mine were all low, red and white.. had neutropenia but then by chemo day yesterday white blood cells went really high. Onc said it was because of the infections I had. Go for the Neulasta shot today and keeping me on antibiotics...just in case.
Anyone else having port problems? Last two times I had tog et blood drawn and chemo yesterday, my port was blocked and I got stuck with the needle four or five times and flushes lots of times. Starting to hate my port..lol
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Mine was blocked this morning too. They didn't have to stick me more than once. The needle went in fine, they just couldn't get any blood to come out. They wound up taking blood from my arm for the bloodwork they needed before my chemo started, and flushed the port a couple of times with some kind of draino for medical devices. Delayed the start of chemo by about an hour, but not a big deal, really.
My husband finally shaved my head last night. Who knew I'd have acne on my scalp? SCACNE? That's just totally unfair.
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Nola,
I am sooooooooo stealing the word scacne! I have it too. It's not too bad. My cousin (who is a head shaved due to horseshoe head syndrome) said his was like that at first and cleared up with fresh air!
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Date with the red devil #2.
Get this, as soon as I get home I am opening the garage door for my hubby to drive the car in and I feel something warm in my pants...I run to the bathroom (not even sure what came out) and yes ladies, I sh$; my pants with no warning whatsoever, I just fell out, full on diahrrea! Sorry, TMI..good thing I came straight home! Talk soon, I'm going to bed!0 -
Oh Canuck, at least you were home, poor thing! It's so damn comical, but it's not. LOL. In hopes of making you feel better and laugh, I'll share a story of my own....
In my 20's working retail management. I had a 45 minute mostly rural interstate commute from home to the mall. About 10 minutes away from the mall my stomach starts gurgling. I think I can make it, because there really is no other option. I get all the way to the mall, and to my store (it was closer than the public bathrooms). Have to bend down to unlock the gate, and I'm literally squeezing my butt cheeks closed, as I'm doing this. Duck under the gate, not even bothering to shut it all the way, and I start running towards the backroom and bathroom. About 5-6 steps in, I slipped and hit my knees. Yep... you guessed it. Game over, stomach won. I spent the next 30 minutes in the employee bathroom washing out and trying to dry my pants (tossed the undies and then took that bag out to the dumpster) so I could open the store and work the next 8 hours commando. It was absolutely horrible, but now I can't tell that story without laughing my butt off to the point of crying, it's so funny to me now.
I hope the rest of the evening went better for you!!!
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Nola70115 I got stuck a few times and at one point she pressed it into the port so hard it made me cry out. I was about ready to tell her to use my arm. LOL SCACNE is a funny word. You are right though..it's totally unfair. I think the fear of loosing my hair, for me..part of that was the not knowing what is under the hair.. what my head looks like bald. lol Never seen it bald before.
CanuckMom Do you have your chemo in your arm? Hope today went well, apart from the accident in your pants.. I have had a few of those incidents. I made Hershey kisses on the floor all the way to the bathroom ..lol Hope you get lots of rest and side effects are minimal! I am starting to feel #2 kick in..
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Have been out of touch too and changed my user name (all of yours sound so cool). Had round 3 of AC on Jul 3 and by Jul 9 was severely dehydrated with low blood counts all around even though I drank 8-10 glasses of water a day...they seemed to run right through me. Tear-ducts are super-irritated and some of my lashes are falling. My head is patchy but I think I like the shape of my head...I tell myself to appreciate it as it's the only one I've got...and what a treat to see myself bald first time in my life. It's important to play with make up and ear-rings too and I did. Felt a little rebellious, so I have been wearing caps which revealed the hairless parts. Started strength-training and imagining a halfway vibrant looking body. Won't that confuse people...the signs of cancer and wellness at the same time? How exciting just to think of that possibility!
So I am using my next good days to heal some. But don't get me wrong somewhere between Jul 3 and 9, I was quite discouraged.
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Canuck, I am only laughing b/c you were home...nothing matters once you're home!
Vtgpoint, I like the new name! My friends keep telling me I have a nice head! Lol I will say that I have started threatening to keep the bald thing! It's so hot and sticky lately that I can't even imagine having hair! I'm sure I'll change my tune when it gets cooler!
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Kimmy, your story was hilarious, made me LOL! Thanks for sharing! We should start am embarrassing moments thread!
JDMAC, glad I'm not alone! So not funny, but yes funny afterwards! Yes, chemo in my arm which was quite painful yesterday actually cuz they picked on the same vein again!
My husband now calls me poopy pants...grrr.
Radical, I've always had digestive issues myself (but that one was a first)!
VTGPoint, like the new name. Too bad you live so far away, I could use a workout partner.
Cammy & mommato3, hope your chemos went alright for you.
Nola - Scacne is super funny...glad we can laugh at ourselves through all of this!
I'm still fasting and get to eat today..yay!
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Morning, ladies!
Canuck -- glad it made you and laugh and that you're feeling better. The nickname your hubby gave sounds like something my BF would do. Men! I'm super impressed you get chemo with no port. I couldn't do it. I'm starting to get over my needle phobia with this whole mess, but ugh, I don't think I could deal with that. Kudos that you're able to.
JDMac - hershey's kisses? LOL. You guys are too much! I hope you feel better. Round 2 knocked me out a bit more than Round 1, fatigue wise anyway.
Vtg - I'm patchy as heck right now, too. Not quite horseshoe like my Dad, but more like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. LOL. I know I have a lumpy head, I can feel it. But with a bit of hair left, I can't quite see how lumpy it is just yet.
Nola - Scance is an awesome word. Knock on wood, none here, yet. But, I still have some hair left. I'm sure I won't be immune to the issue.
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. I'm supposed to head to a birthday party tonight, hope I'm feeling up to it. Got a tad feverish with slight chills last night. Temp topped at 99.9 so no need to call in, thank goodness. Feeling a bit better today, but plan on being a bum most of the day so I have enough energy to go tonight.
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I finished round 2 of AC on Thursday and Friday. Feeling ok just tired. It's hot today and my son wants to go to the beach! Will have to see how I feel this afternoon.
Hope everyone else is doing ok today
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I don't know what happened to me! I was feeling fine yesterday morning, running around w the girls and then I waited too long to eat and everything went downhill from there. I was so nauseous all day yesterday and all last night up until about 2 hours ago. Everything hurt and I just wanted to crawl up into a ball and cry. Finally some chicken noodle soup settled my stomach...go figure! Thankfully I only have one more AC to go, don't know if I could handle more than that.
Does anyone else notice everything tastes sour? Water feels slimy and gross in my mouth, and nothing is really appetizing?
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Basia, sorry to hear about your SE's, your are usually so upbeat, so I know it must have been bad. What day past chemo was that? Did the anti-nausea meds help at all?
Yep water tastes like crap, but I've had an ok appetite today. I strongly believe in my fasting approach....I think it's cut down on my SE's but I'm only on round 2 so who knows.
Hang in there...you are lucky you have daughters who love you so much!
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Cancuck, I don't know how you can do the fasting, if I don't eat the acid in my stomach goes completely crazy! I'm so glad your SE's aren't so bad.
Today is day 6, I expect to feel like this on day 3-4, not 6. I kind of wish I would just vomit already and get all this crap out of me. I think holding it in with the anti-nausea meds is making it all worse.
Thank goodness my brother came over today, he came by to do some electrical work for me, he's my electrician, but ended up being the babysitter today. He saw how miserable I looked and took the kids out in the pool all day. Poor thing was exhausted, but at least I got to rest. And today of all days, my husband went to a co-workers wedding, the day I felt the worst throughout all of this, including the first time around.
Hope everyone is having a great time and limited SE's
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Basia, hang in there...my worst SE right now is fatigue...thankfully I have lots of help. So glad your brother babysat for u today, I hope you get some much needed rest and your nausea goes away. Do you have Ativan? It may help u sleep through it?
Canuck
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Looking back over recent posts, I was glad to see so many comments about the constipation/diarrhea challenges ! I am scheduled for my third chemo treatment in 4 days and generally feeling good except for ongoing issues with diarrhea . I'm hesitant to go out to eat because sometimes the cramping starts soon after a meal and I am hurrying to find a bathroom. A dose of Immodium buys me a day "off" but then it's back. Tonight the cramps woke me up after midnight and this time there was was blood and the usual raw feeling.....a fissure or hemorrhoid , I'm guessing....and that has me a bit freaked out! When this next cycle starts I'm expecting a swing back to constipation.
I also like the name scacne! I have it, too!
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good morning girls. Scance yep got that too! I am curious are you girls noticing where you live that cancer not just breast cancer seems like an epidemic? I live in a very small town and 2 people I know have been diagnosed since me and everyone I talk to seems to have either had it already or their mom or sister did! In my church I have 2 friends diagnosed with melanoma with metastasis! Is it the food we are eating? What is happening?
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Agent99,
Not where I live, but where I work! We even had the board of health and others come in to do a study. They told us they can't find any unusual cancer-causing agents but our numbers are high. They can't consider us a cluster because to be a cluster, everyone must live in the same location!
This has been going on for years, but this year the parents got involved. In our school, the kids have teams of 4 core teachers. All the kids on the same team have the same teacher for math, science, ela and social studies. The science teacher had bc twice, then in September she left school with pancreatic cancer. In March, I left school with breast cancer. Two kids at our high school were then diagnosed with brain tumors. Parents went into a tizzy. After 10 years of us saying something was up, they finally investigated this year...nothing was found.
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and has anyone else experienced their hand burning? My hands are red and feel as though they have been in scalding water! I don't know if it's a sunburn or just a weird chemo thing but they really hurt
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Agent, I have a different issue with my hands, my fingers are all pruney like they have been in water all day long.
Cancer seems to be at epidemic proportions these days. I can't tell you how many people I know with some sort of cancer. Its scary. I think its the food. nothing is natural anymore, everything is so processed and loaded with pesticides. I truly fear for my children's generation, it doesn't seem to be getting any better for them. Think about it, when I first started my BC journey, it was 1 in 9 women will develop BC, now its 1 in 7….that is not a good trend.
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IMO, just because I have no other reason or cause for mine, I'm saying mine is due to stress. The 6-8 months leading up to my diagnosis were the most stressful of my life. I've only known 4 other people with breast cancer, and there are no commonalities to make a correlation.
I've got no family history, mine is Triple Negative, so it's not fueled by hormones. My BRACA was negative, so it's not a mutant gene. The only thing I have to hold on to is stress. In Dec I lost my job and had the stress of starting my own business, in March I lost my Dad unexpectedly, and now this. My onc and the radiologist both said that my tumor had been growing for maybe 5-6 months because of it's size and aggressiveness. So timing wise, it makes total sense to me.
I even asked my onc about stress causing these things, and he said he believes there is definitely credence to the theory, but how do you prove it? Everyone's stress level is unique and you can't scientifically quantify stress, especially since we all process it so differently.
And if you think about it, our current way of life in general is stress inducing. Most everyone works crazy hours, overextends themselves and tries to do too much. In the US we take the fewest number of vacation days in the world. Whether it's heart problems or cancer or any other myriad of diseases, our jobs are harming us.
Well that's my theory, anyway.
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I blame it on both stress and the fact that I went on bc pill to control my periods and 4-5 mos later I had breast cancer! The onc thought id only had it for a few months....it was the highest grade you can get so really fast growing (initially the biopsy was triple neg, surgery found slight estrogen receptors 10-30%). I was told bye my bs I am still considered tn. Oh and I do agree food has a significant role. I am working with a dr and a nutritionist to overhaul my diet. They did extensive bloodwork and I had very low levels of vitamin D3 and high levels of glucose (not diabetic) but these are both common in women with bc. I am eliminating sugar, gluten and dairy and buying organic meat and veggies when I can (cheating when I am sick from chemo I eat & drink what I want). They say 1 in 5 women where I live get BC now...I fear for my kids too.
Out of my husband's high school friends, I am the 4th wife to get breast cancer...something is very wrong here.
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I definitely believe stress is a factor .... Of coarse everyone will say they are stressed. We all are bou I have been dealing with caring for invalid in laws , work issues related to owning our own business and deaths in the family. But I think also there are factors related to our environment and diets. That allow stress to trigge r the cancer in our bodies
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I have been getting together with 4 other women that I grew up with.....we go for a long beach weekend once a year. Out of the 5 of us, I am the third to be diagnosed with BC. For the other 2, it has been 10 years. One of us had a family connection. For the other 2 of us, we are the first in our families to be diagnosed with any type of cancer. There seems to be a large number in our community , too. I am especially blown away by the seeming numbers of young women! I was diagnosed at 63 and was surprised, but not shocked. I never missed a mammogram, but it was not a mammogram that caught my cancer. I saw an abnormality in the nipple area of my breast and I knew.
Causes? Yes, likely our food, raised with antibiotics and genetically modified must play a part. Lifestyle? Maybe. I had adopted a pretty regular exercise regimen and worked with a trainer for the past few years, I have no other health issues other than some extra weight that I battle . AND, after retiring at age 56, I had allowed myself some leeway with alcohol. I was drinking a glass, sometimes 2, most evenings as I cooked dinner.
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Agent99...... I see you are a triple positive, as am I. Your hand burning reminds me of the reaction I had to my first treatment ......I had extreme aching in my hands and feet. It was blamed on Perjeta. Could your burning be a form of neuropathy ? I hope your Oncologist can offer a remedy.....that sounds painful.
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Fiona I will be calling the dr in the morning. My hands are now fire red and swollen! Yikes
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Agent99,
That's scary! Let us know that you're ok, once you have been to the hospital and are feeling better.
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