Starting chemo July 2014
Comments
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Jenkay - Road Trip! I'd say come and get 'em, but you probably couldn't get them back into California. Fruit restrictions.
Thank you Shirley. I enjoy making the ornaments and they make good donations to organizations for fund raising events.
This is a really good day. I can tell that I'm feeling better when I wake up and want to go to my studio and make something. The list is long this morning and I'm raring to go. I have 3 days before infusion #6 so I'm heading off for the day.
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Coyote, umm pomegranates. Love the ornaments. Let us know when you get a website. ,I love your work.
-Angie
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I am definately having a worse time on taxol. I found the SE on AC were tolerable or if not, there was medication to make it better. And if I was tired, I was just tired. on taxol, and I've only had 3, I'm light headed, dizzy. I can't move at a normal pace or I feel like I'm going to faint. This sucks...
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dancingdiva,
I've had 5 Taxol/Herceptins (and Perjeta every three weeks). I actually feel more mentally alert on this mix than on AC. But, I do have mild D that I never quite recover from. I can treat it with Immodium and all, but Immodium gives me C so I sometimes just don't take anything to clear myself out. Also, because I'm getting weekly infusions, I don't quite feel "normal" ever. Food tastes worse to me than on AC, and I sit and plan bland meals for myself. But, I'm happy to feel mentally alert. That's what I need the most to teach.
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I have a feeling I am going to have an uphill battle for a double mastectomy. My BC keeps talking all different sorts of lumpectomies. We have another apt with her tomorrow afternoon. How have you all gotten them?
Neoadjuvant gals - any of you been told if when they do lumpectomy/mastectomy, if any tumor cells are still there, you will have to do chemo afterwards. My MO told me that. WHAT??? Not pleased, but will do what it takes to live.
Anyone feel ‘full/bloated’
in upper stomach area around your bra under the ribs?
Wearing a bra is SO uncomfortable, I pull it away from my chest sometimes, but these DDD puppies, do not do well
when left to blow in the breeze. Pulls
on my port and hurts, besides other things.Anyone have hair
growing back on their legs or feet? I’m
still in chemo every 3 weeks. Is this a
bad thing? Did the chemo stop
working? (clueless about my head, as I never shaved it, just cut the paltry amount to 1'2")L-Glutamine – I take
the capsules, 8 a day, when I can, many who take the powder mix it with yogurt
or in a smoothie. I read somewhere not to mix it with hot food, it won't work.0 -
kmntwins,
At least you've met with your surgeon lately. I haven't seen mine since he installed my port back in July! I'm sure he will want to see my post-Taxol/Perjeta scans before he starts talking surgical options and all. But, when I met with him the first time, he pretty much gave me a hand-out with my options (plus the pros and cons of each) and told me to look through them so when the time came, I'd be ready. BMX was an option, and he made some noise about reconstruction and meeting with a plastic surgeon, too.
As a neo girl, I know that I will have to -- at the very least -- do six more months of Herceptin and rads after surgery. But, I don't know about any more chemo.
I feel bloated when I take Immodium under my ribs; I think it slows everything down with the digestive process. That's why I plan some Immodium-free days so that my digestive system can sort-of function normally again.
No new hair growth here. If anything, my eyebrows and eyelashes have gotten sparser. I've taken to drawing in my brows and wearing false eyelashes when I want to look nice.
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hi dancingdiva I had my first round of weekly taxol. I get lightheaded sometimes but that started happening while on AC. I lost 10 lbs and the cardiologist said my blood pressure is lower now because of the weight loss. I don't feel dizzy though but I have only had one treatment. I hope you get some relief soon.
Does anybody else feel that l-glutamine causes some nausea? I don't know if it's the taxol or the l- glutamine causing slight nausea. Are you all still taking 30 grams a day? I think that's too much for me so I am dropping to 20 grams.
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Neo gals - surgery is 3-6 weeks after chemo, NOT after Herceptin (at least for me) so we July gals need to see our BS's and PSs. My surgery, whatever it may be is scheduled for the 2nd of December. My last chemo is Oct 29th, and they wanted to do the surgery in Nov, but I said, no way, not before Thanksgiving.
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I didn't miss that much it seems, which is good. I was able to be out for several hours today at a craft festival. That blood transfusion gave me new life. I almost feel normal except for a few SE's and I never feel this good until a few days before my next chemo. Ladies, if you are severely fatigued and you have the burning feeling in your legs, check your hgb levels. I was hesitant about getting the transfusion but now I wished I would have gotten it sooner. I was at 7 point something. It is worth it.
The only other new thing going on now is my big toe has been sore for a couple of days then today it's red and hot. I have nail polish on so I can't tell if it's got spots or anything on it but it hurts really bad. I can barely touch the part near the cuticle. Has anyone had this? I have a feeling it's just the beginning of lifting but not sure if the red and hot are normal.
I have a tiny bit if fuzz left on my head since I shaved it in the beginning and my hubby swears I have new growth. I was thinking about starting rogaine. Is anyone else using anything to help it grow back?
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Well, ladies, I'm scheduled to see MO at 8 am. He will determine if I will have my last chemo tomorrow or postpone again. I'm really hoping to finish, but I trust his judgment if he thinks I should wait. I've been keeping a low profile, but I still get really short of breath with any exertion. I'm not wheezing or coughing. No other symptoms, no temp. "Atypical pneumonia" indeed.
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It was a pretty nice weekend for me. I'm so used to the 2 never ending SE's that I think I will think it unnatural when they are gone. My eyes run constantly and the "D" is still a daily occurrence. It forces me to drink fluids constantly so I don't get dehydrated.
Mags - I do hope tomorrow is a go for you. I know I will not be happy if Tuesday's infusion is postponed. After suffering through 1 to 5, finishing #6 will be such a relief. Still, I am not looking forward to the 2 weeks of SE's.
About hair... it comes back all by itself. Last time I had short curly hair 6 weeks after my last chemo.
It sounds as if you neo gals have a really long haul.
kmntwins - This is a question... If I read your post correctly, you will have to have another chemo series after surgery if they find that the pre-surgery chemo did not totally eradicate the tumor? That sounds awful.
I've been reading the 2014 Fall Rads topic to get an idea of what is in my future. I've not posted there, because I figure I'll most likely be a winter rads person. Most people posting now will be finished by the time I start. Someone may have asked this - who all is going on to radiation therapy after chemo?
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twins, I already had a lumpectomy but bcuz of positive margins and large size of tumor, I'm supposed to get mast in feb. My last chemo,will be mid dec I think. I have the holidays in between so it sucks..more delays. Then rads. Have had no mention of more chemo after what they find after the mast. Good question though..will ask MO.
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Coyote, I will be having rads after chemo. The RO is submitting my case to the board as a good candidate for proton therapy. One reason is the lymph node behind my sternum that lit up with PET scan, which they elected not to take when I had BMX as it would have entailed opening the chest cavity. The other reason is that my tumor & lymph nodes were on the left side and proton is much easier on the heart. The echocardiogram last week showed a little hiccup which the tech couldn't say was new or existing as she didn't have the previous one to compare. I imagine I'll find out tomorrow. I just feel like I'm in limbo.
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my last chemo is October 29th as well. I was hoping for a surgery date (switching out the expanders. Good riddance!) at the beginning of November, but instead it's December 24th. Not a huge deal since my family celebrates Thanksgiving much more enthusiastically than Christmas, but it does mean I'll be recovering for my birthday on the 27th. No rads in my future, just Herceptin and tamoxifen (although I'm going to discuss options with that, for some reason the tamoxifen scares me). I'm going to take advantage of the big gap between finishing chemo and my surgery and take off on a vacation for a couple of weeks at the beginning of December to travel the length of California by rail.
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Yay! I'm in the chair! Y'all listen for me ringing the bell, you'll prolly be able to hear it on both coasts!
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Mags -- what awesome news! I'm so happy that you're finishing up. I'll be interested to hear whether you get proton therapy and how that works for you.
Coyote -- I'm not sure all neo girls are in for as long a haul as me. To some extent, my lengthy set of infusions is a product of me being HER+. But, I feel blessed to be getting Herceptin and Perjeta -- they're two powerful weapons against my cancer.
pinkninja -- here's hoping your toe is OK. I'm not going to do anything but wait to encourage hair re-growth. I guess it will grow back in its own sweet time.
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Yeah Mags! One more thing you can check off the list. It's been a long 4 months.
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I will be doing rads in February. I still have 11 more weekly taxols blah.
Mags so happy you are in that chair for the final time. Ring that bell and ring it loud. I want to hear it.
Nancy
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Congrats Mags! I bet it feels great to ring that bell!
PinkNinja, I take biotin for my nails and so far so good. The doc ok'd it.
I'm fighting nausea and hip pain today. Had to take a vicodin to get some sleep last night. Is anyone else having pains with taxol?
I hope everyone has a good week.
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Mags, I'm so happy for you! I hope someone took a picture of you ringing that bell that you can post here.
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Hi All, finished my AC treatments and will begin weekly Taxol (12) next week. How many are doing weekly Taxol and any pointers or words of wisdom for those that are ahead of me?
Mags, I heard that bell all the way in Cali. LoL! Congrats, Congrats, Congrats. Can't wait to see the pictures.
-Angie
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Angie I used to live in the Bay Area. I was brought up there. Concord - my mom and my brother still live there.
I am doing weekly taxol. I've only had one treatment ( tomorrow is #2). A lot of us are using l- glutamine in the hopes of not getting any neuropathy which taxol is known for. Other than that my first round was a lot easier than AC though I did feel a little icky on days 3 and 4. Hope it goes well for you
Nancy
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knmtwins - I am HER2+ also and asked my onco if I had both breast removed would I still have to do chemo and he said yes. SSsooo, one lumpectomy, one re-excision, 4 TCH infustions, 2 Herceptin only infusions and ten radiation treatments later.....all this because some HER2+ cells were in the margins. I still have to do rads every weekday until Thanksgiving and Herceptin only infusions until June. I saw no reason to take off both breasts if I was going to have to do all this anyway.0 -
Blown - are they going back for the cells in the margins? I was told if I didn't have clear margins, I'd be back within a week for a mastectomy.
Maiden - are you getting a shot for white blood cells - Neulasta I think. If so, are you taking claratin?
Dancing - they are going to let you go that long before a mast? We are on different chemos, so maybe that is it, but they wanted me within 3-6 weeks, preferably closer to the 3 weeks. I'm doing at 5, because I want it after Thanksgiving.
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knmtwins - The cells in the margins were from the second time they went in (re-excision). The first lumpectomy path report showed that the margin on one side of the cancer was not wide enough so I had to have a re-excision 2 weeks later but there were HER2+++ cells in the margins so....chemo (TCH) before rads.
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I rang the bell so loud I pulled the rope off the clapper! Fortunately it went right back on. But I did get pics, and I got a certificate with good luck wishes from each of the chemo nurses, so sweet! and a bell to take home with me! DH won't let me put it on the dog though. OK pics!
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maidentired -- my bones have felt achy from time to time since I started Taxol. But, they haven't hurt enough to keep me up yet.
Angie -- I don't have any great Taxol advice. It has given me mild D, so it's helpful to have Immodium on hand for those days when I'm out and about. Food tastes weirder on Taxol, so I've been eating blander foods. But, otherwise, I feel pretty good. I leave myself some time to nap every now and then -- took a nap after lunch today while the kids were still at school.
Mags! Congrats! What great pix! Oh happy day.
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Mags - Wow, what a long haul it's been for you. Congrats on ringing the bell! Now on to the next phase of the journey....
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mags great pics! Pretty sure I heard that bell. YAY for being done
Nancy
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mags: What a beautiful smile! Thanks for posting the photo of the bell you got to take home, I'm going to show it to my nurse navigator, something for them to consider doing here.
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