Starting chemo July 2014
Comments
-
Perjeta Boosts Overall Survival in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer September 30, 2014
Final results from the CLEOPATRA study showed that women diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who got Perjeta, Herceptin, and Taxotere lived about 1.5 years longer than women who got only Herceptin and Taxotere. Read more...
The Mods
0 -
Perjeta Boosts Overall Survival in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer September 30, 2014
Final results from the CLEOPATRA study showed that women diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who got Perjeta, Herceptin, and Taxotere lived about 1.5 years longer than women who got only Herceptin and Taxotere. Read more...
The Mods
0 -
Wallegator, you look lovely!
And as for the menopause thing, Bring it on! I'm fairly sure I'll still be able to operate as a functional, productive member of society.
0 -
another landmark today, reactivated my gym membership and this morning walked one mile on the treadmill at 2.5 miles/hr. Had to hang on to the siderails, but I did not get short of breath, making some progress.
0 -
go Puffin!
And agreed JennKay.
Can I just say once more how much I appreciate this fantastic community of wonderful women?
Thank you all. (Mushy moment)
0 -
YAY Puffin - good for you. Throughout this mess I've been walking my two chocolate labs morning and night. I was adamant chemo was not stopping me from this. I think walking whether on a treadmill or out and about is great exercise and helps to clear your mind, Keep it up - I will. Of course, I have two dogs that look at me with pleading, begging eyes sheesh.
Nancy
0 -
I am now 8 days out from my last chemo tx (#4 and last) and I am starting to experience a lot of eye and hand twitching. Has anyone else experienced this?? Also, I decided not to get the last neulasta shot after talking it over with my ONC. I'm not sure if this is the reason I haven't bounced back as quickly from the tx. My digestive tract is awry (had to go back on Prilosec) to the point I am getting nauseated again. I have a serious runny nose and some other quirks that I'm thinking would have subsided if I had taken the nuelasta shot. Just not sure maybe this is all cumulative build up.
0 -
Redheeledwoman, the SEs you're talking about, especially the runny nose & twitchy eyes, can be caused by the taxotere.
0 -
Puffin -- Congrats on your "return to exercise"! I'm sure it will take a bit to get back to your previous energy levels, but it's all one day at a time here in Cancer Land.
I've been trying to keep up with my usual activities, but I've been very busy grading midterms. My Midterm Grade Reports are due on Friday, and I want to be able to give accurate grade estimates.
Still, I do make it out to the pool on weekends and I [slowly] do my Saturday morning scootering with the boys!
redheeledwomen -- I did get some eye twitching while I was doing AC. It came and went. Now, I tend to get weepy gunky eyes after Perjeta. It's almost like having pink eye, but it doesn't look/feel too bad by Day 4.
0 -
So, I met with the MO and BS today. Seems if all cancer isn't gone when they do surgery, I might have to do more chemo. What???? I'll have to ask more next week, as I'm very confused right now. Also, seems that although my electrolytes are a little messed up, I'll still be able to continue with my next two rounds of chemo and 'finish' all 6. I want a Mx preferabley a BMx, I want the cancer gone. I have dense breasts, so every 6 months I will need a Mamo or MRI, flip flopping between the two. Now BS says, we could do a 'big' lumpectomy and a reduction on the other side, therefore, both could be reduced. Only problem, if she doesn't get clear margins, they would have to go back in a week and do a Mx. Again, WHAT, I was gearing up for a BMx. I see the PS on Friday... All these thoughts... I just want a clear plan with no changes. I do not do change well. Surgery 1st or 2nd week of December, whatever option I choose.
0 -
Knmtwins, I hear you on the surgery options. My surgeon also wanted to do a lumpectomy as I had large dense breasts. I know I've told the story before, but it can't stress it enough. My tumor was measured to be 3.8 cm at ultrasound. Nothing was found in the other breast. But I was determined to have them both off and done with. As it turned out, the tumor was 5.8 cm and there was invasion on that side into the chest wall, so they had to take muscle as well. And the healthy breast? Turns out it was not so healthy, it also had cancer in it. Had I opted for a lumpectomy, I would have had to have more surgery to get rid of it. It's your decision, not your surgeon's and it's your future you're dealing with.all of there fancy tests cannot show you the whole truth of what's in there. Stand your ground.
0 -
Knmtwins - I hope it clears completely! Can they tell if it has shrunk?
I had DCIS going into surgery (IDC after), but opted for BMX...for 2 reasons. One, I thought I would get pregnant in a year or so after surgery....and didn't want to worry about my other breast. Second, I had to get a Mx on my right breast b/c my breasts were itty bitty and would have been deformed after the removal of DCIS. So would have needed surgery on my left breast to match my right...so just decide to do a BMX. I don't regret my decision....but it's a personal one. I guess there was 3rd reason...radiation therapy...I didn't want it. Did docs say you would need that with the big lumpectomy?
Fingers crossed for no tumor after chemo!!'
0 -
My computer is ill again. Hopefully I'll be back soon. #5 today. Take care July Team.0 -
knmtwins, It sounds like you have more questions after your appt! I have read that so many women who opted for the lumpectomy had to then have a mastectomy. you and I are similar in dx (I'm not er/pr +) and I am pretty sure I'm going with bmx. I'm not meeting with my docs til next month or two when I'm done with chemo and have the final mri's though. I'm probably having my surgery also in December so we can commiserate together!
Mags, that's crazy that there was such a big difference with the tests vs the actual size. That's what I'm worried about mine.
Glad that some of you are back to exercising, I can only walk around the block because my legs still feel like they're burning. I did start the L Glutamine powder and hope it helps. For those of you taking it, do you take it everyday or just on chemo and day after days?
0 -
I'm taking it every day. I think it's helping, but my MO also put me on Cymbalta for the neuropathy at the same time, so it's a little hard to be sure which is working. It hasn't made the neuropathy go away, but it's a little better, and at least it hasn't gotten any worse over the last couple of treatments!
0 -
Coyote, have you done a cat scan on your computer?
Is your mouse dead?
Ya gotta laugh. It's really the best medicine.
0 -
lol those are cute mags made me laugh
0 -
Thanks for the sweet comments on my pic. Wasn't a fan of it, but then what's to like about looking like a pirate everyday? ( :
RedHeeled Woman - I finished my CT also and while I've had the eye twitch, I had a couple other SEs that just made their presence known. So I think it is cumulative, and it's all hitting hard now. I'm 8 days out from my 4th, too! Hopefully, they'll all disappear soon.
ElaineTherese - Keep us posted on the BRCA results. I was positive which was a crazy shock to me! No bc in the family, and I'm headed for hysterectomy next on Oct. 16. Menopause, here I come!
My chemo killed my periods which was a great silver lining, so I've been fortunate there.
Puffin - so glad you're walking! I forced myself to walk this AM and I can feel how slow I've gotten. It felt good to do something about it though. Hope you're feeling like you've accomplished something!
Nancy - I too have a chocolate lab who gives me those eyes! Thankfully, I have a neighbor who has volunteered to walk him. My neighbors rock! It's nice to have those big babies around!
knwtwins - I could have done a lumpectomy, but I feared any recurrence there, so I just said take them off. Just work with your dr to make the right decision for you. Big hugs on that.
0 -
wallegator glad to meet a fellow lab lover especially those chocolates though I am a bit partial to yellows as well lol.
I thought your pic was great better than any of mine. I burst out laughing about the pirate comment. Ain't that the truth. It's Halloween and I don't even have to dress up just get me an eye patch and I am set lol
Nancy
0 -
I gotta say...the cat scan cracked me up.
I'm quietly here watching all your progress and so proud of how you're all forging on. Hang in there...especially those of you who are getting new and confusing information about your treatment plans.
I'm carrying on through radiation. I've had 9 treatments and feeling fine. Maybe a little irritation under the (non-underwire) bra band by the end of the day and a bit of a feeling of fullness in the breast, but totally manageable and NOTHING like chemo. After my morning shower I'm slathering the treatment area with pure aloe gel, letting that dry, then slathering again with glaxal base and letting that soak in. So far, it's working.
I've just filled my prescription for Tamoxifen. I'll start it as soon as I'm through with radiation.
Puffin, I really appreciate the info on the sugar myth. While I agree that sugar is terrible for many reasons, it's good to know that the fear-based 'studies' that go viral are not accurate. I'm curious if anyone has any comments or has done research on an alkaline diet...I've given a lot of thought to this lately and it feels like the right thing to do. For me, all or nothing never works, so I suppose it's a diet that is more alkaline (less meat, more veggies, green juice, etc). Any thoughts?
0 -
knmtwins, I am having similar issues with port. the incision is still pink and not the same color of my skin. I do not have fever. My neck feels like it is bigger from the inside and as though my nodes are inflamed, which they've checked and they are not. So then when i turn my neck, the part where the tube is bothers me. like it is tugging or stickih into my neck. when i am sleeping on that side, it bothers mhy neck when before it did not. i noticed this week that sometimes i get a dull twitch of pain discomfort where the port is. I'm not sure if it related to me using that arm. it seems lately that teh arm with port bothers me more if i am using my arms then the arm where i had surgery.
Walle, diito what someone else said, you look like a teen. wow! that's awesome.
a dietician had told that it's not sugar per say but the high spike in sugar in our blood caused by high glycemic foods,we eat that effects cancer. haven't really researched it. i also have heard of the alkaline diet since acidic foods cause inflammation which effects cancer apparently. and most of these foods are the veggies, fruits, nuts, fish, etc. good food high anti-oxidant stuff. seeing as i was eating teh complete opposite, think going to try it after this.
i had taxol #1 today. tried putting my fingers in ice. damn it is freezing!!!i couldn't handle it. it was in and out during the entire time.
0 -
Dancingdiva...try thin socks on your hands next time...it helps and worked for me.
0 -
WalleGator: I had my Kindle in front of the mileage indicator on the treadmill so didn't see how far I'd gone, just knew I'd met my goal of 20". Did a big Wow when I realized I'd gone a whole mile.
Mumford: I attended an educational retreat today for breast cancer patients. One of the sessions was a Myth Buster Panel made up of our oncology staff: surgeon, MO, RO, PA. The audience threw out topics and the panel came back with a truth or myth answer. Alkaline diet was one brought up. Response was that it doesn't make any difference what you try to do to the acid/base balance of your body, the kidney will do what it needs to bring the body back into balance.
other topics:
eating charred part of grilled meat: truth
sugar feeds cancer was brought up: myth
aluminum in deodorants and metal underwire bras: no don't cause cancer
getting the depo provera shot: minimal if any increase in cancer
stress: there is a correlation with stress but is not causative
low Vit D level: it is bad to have too low of a Vit D level, it is bad to have too high of a Vit D level, important to get Vit D level drawn but not when you're in chemo or while getting radiation. goal is to have level of 40-60. for every 10 it is under 40 take 1000 supplement/day
overall best protection is keeping body weight where it should be, eating healthy and exercising regularly
0 -
Today's retreat was awesome! Several inspirational stories, and I
learned so much at the breakout sessions on genetic counseling, taking
arimidex and Chemo brain-living in a memory maze.It was my first all-day event though in 3 months, and I'm exhausted tonight.
0 -
Anybody getting cold chills and u do not have a fever? I guess this pretty often as well as the wonderful hot flashes.
0 -
I also went to a seminar on BC. What I learned:
-her2+ was a bad thing! Not anymore...now a cure is almost there. Targeted therapies are very good
- a tumor status in terms of ER, pr her+- can changeover time so if you get a recurrence, get it rebiopsied so you get the right therapy
-recurrences commonly happen at 2-4 yrs, but in many .young women at the 5-10 yr, so tamoxifen is preferred for 10'yrs
--some tests show that even if u are her2- u can benefit from Herceptin.trial being done
- sometime biopsying a lesion that turns out not cancerous, actually starts cancer to start. The don't know why...wtf????
-diabetes drug metformin might be useful in future....as some diabetes patients have lowers incidences of cancer because it lowers insulin levels which certain cancers feed on. Back to the sugar thing
Found this link also on insulin...glycemic index..sugar...
https://www4.mdanderson.org/pe/index.cfm?pageName=...
Time to go to bed...it's 1!!am
0 -
dancingdiva: thanks for sharing the info. Interesting that my lump came back back negative first biopsy and cancer second bx.
0 -
Hi guys, I keep forgetting to check in. I've been reading along and cheering everyone on but general fatigue and chemo + baby brain make me forget to actually post. I am done (for now, at least) and a little disappointed that there was no bell to ring! I have at least a month and a half off and then maybe Taxol or maybe straight to rads. Having this kid any day now...
0 -
Just turned in my midterm grade reports..... Those were fun!
Looking forward to getting to bed early tonight. We've been getting up at 5:00 am around here because my 15 year old daughter's been having 6:00 am basketball practices. Urgh.
Taxol #3 is as usual -- Day #3, D starts and I have no appetite. But, at least I'm not as spacey as I was on AC, and I have more energy. And, Immodium works pretty well so I'm not up all night, walking the D-Trail to the Toilet.
Hope everyone else is doing OK!
0 -
So, saw the plastic surgeon today... each time you see someone it is different... he says to ask the MO or BS what my chances are for getting a new cancer in the left breast if I chose to keep it. I get the feeling he is leaning towards Bmx with expanders and then implants. He says he wonders about the statistics, and although it isn't 'scientific', he just knows, he sees people back in his office because it has come back. I don't want it to come back! I've been thinking BMx, once I knew it was an option, and Mx before I knew BMx was an option. I'm leaning more and more towards BMx. Oh and both BS and PS say I have good skin. All these things they tell you are just so crazy. I always thought I had pale, allergic skin that always gets a rash. Nope, good skin, not too thin, not too sun damaged.
Mags - did you reconstruct?
Jennliza, thanks for the info on your infected port. Mine isn't pink, and I had the surgeon feel it. She says it is the 'catheter' part of the port and probably some scar tissue. Humm... should I have been massaging it so that didn't happen.
Mumford - thin socks and then an ice bath??? As in rubber gloves? For me, I made ice gel packs (water, alcohol, ziplock quart freezer bags) and put my feet and hands between two. I'm thinking maybe bringing 4 gallon sized ones, so the ice packs don't roll off as they did the last time. Now, my MO said to ice my mouth at the same time, so things won't taste as bad. Not sure how to suck on ice chips when my hands are in bags of ice. Maybe I'll give spoon feeding ice to me as a task for my husband.
Ports in general - can we do anything when we have a port or are there restrictions. I know when I lift a box or something I might bump the area where the port is, so I haven't been lifting anything, but now with surgery coming up, I'm thinking it is time to lift while I can. Tons of winter clothes in bins need to be gone through to see if they still fit the kids, etc. But if I could harm myself, I won't do it.
Lab - me too, ours is Chocolate and old... hope she makes it through my treatment, her loss would be tough on the kids.
0