Starting Chemo in February 2016?
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Chambo- you're gorgeous!
Reflect- Neulasta/Neupogen are white blood cell kick starters. Because we lose so many during chemo some providers give a shot to jump start the production so that the time we're vulnerable for infection and illness is reduced. For me, I think it's been the hardest part. My bones have really been achy. I don't know why my nurses didn't know about the Claritin.
I'm a feared I'm another victim to the thrush. 😕 I'm supposed to go in tomorrow for blood work so hopefully they can help a gal out.
I tried getting out today, but I think it was too much too soon. I need to learn to give myself some grace. So, I'm back in bed to rest up.
Many healthy thoughts for you all
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gorgeous chambo
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Chambo, stunning!
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Everyone looks beautiful!
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chambo- you're so beautiful! I think that cut is a keeper when your hair starts to grow back👍🏻
Asher- good job giving yourself some grace;)
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Changed my avatar to the bald warrior that I've become💪🏻
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love it MLP3!
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Piper,
I had that same thing happen with my first treatment. They slowed it to dispense over an hour instead of the normal 30 min and it helped!
Elizabeth
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So a little more digging and searching to deal with this crazy itch on the back of my hands and I discovered a lovely little cocktail: Clairitin or Zyrtec (Histamine 1 blockers) and Pepcid AC (Histamine 2 blockers) taken together help to defeat the crazed itching/hives/bumps for about 12 hours at a time. It's not completely gone but it is better. Top it off with topical anti-itch creme and I can just about survive. Ugh.
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Happy Monday my beautiful friends! Here I am for Chemo#2. My bag is full with: my laptop( its a work day for me) a blanket, hard candies,ice chips, book, my drugs, mini facial kits to make for my friends( who wants one??)
So the hair is almost all out so I will shave it off tomorrow.feeling great today and had them add a special anti nausea medicine to my drip today to help with my severe nausea that I has last time.
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Second AC last Monday, and my hair started falling like a shedding dog. I really thought I could handle it until last Thursday, when it started coming out by the fistful.
A month ago I went from mid-shoulder to buzzcut with nary a whimper. Tomorrow morning I go from buzzcut to skinhead, and I'm freakin' traumatized! Wigs and scarves and WAY more emotion than I ever expected!
Way back in high school, I went from sitting on my overly long hair to an above the shoulder look without trauma! At all! So why is this one getting to me??
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MLP3- you rock that warrior look!
Thanks for the cocktail info, Chambo. You never know when it will come in handy.
Francis- hope that nausea stays away this time.
Elise- I think I might have a couple more days before mine starts falling out, but I imagine it will be emotional, too. I didn't think I was gonna my to go the wig route, but I think I just might.
I have a sneaky suspicion the Big D's coming. 😳 Here's to Loperamide!
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06elise - I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you...hugs!
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Looking good Francis! Love the scarf.
Thanks Asher! I may start heading out without the wig. It's a beautiful wig but everyone knows I buzzed my head... Why hide it now? If it's cold out, I'll wig it with a hat. I like it best with a beanie type hat on it because it looks like my hair did. It just gets so uncomfortable that I want to rip it off and really horrify everyone!!
Elise- maybe it's bothering you more these days because it signifies cancer, not just a bold cut. Try and think of it as chemo kicking cancers ass. And the loss of hair is the small price to pay to get that done.
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MLP3- HaHa! I imagine it gets a bit uncomfortable especially with achy scalps. A friend of mine with BC likes to tilt gets to throw people off.
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You are all looking so strong. I love the warrior cuts. I am at day 5 of round 1 A/C and went to work for 6 hours today (plus my 1 hr each way commute.) When I got home there was....nothing...left.
Called my insurance about places that are covered for wigs and there were almost none, plus coinsurance plus copay,, plus deduct,,,so I just said wow that's depressing, thanks, and hung up. Later she called back with new info, no copay, no deduct and a place that was recommended by my doc is covered. (What?) Now I need to get there in a hurry I guess. When will it start coming out? I've got it short but not shaved yet. I do want to shave it before it gets sore to do it.
How are you Imani? Haven't heard from you. Hope you are hanging in.
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hi ladies,
Sorry I'm late to this thread - I'm reading through the posts to get caught up.
Will be starting Monday with TC - or is it CT?
Definitely nervous, but it was recommended based on my oncotype score. Although my tumor was small, I guess it was an aggressive type so this was the suggested treatment.
Fingers crossed for few side effects!
Thank you to everyone for the behrous sharing of information and support
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hi ladies,
Sorry I'm late to this thread - I'm reading through the posts to get caught up.
Will be starting Monday with TC - or is it CT?
Definitely nervous, but it was recommended based on my oncotype score. Although my tumor was small, I guess it was an aggressive type so this was the suggested treatment.
Fingers crossed for few side effects!
Thank you to everyone for the generous sharing of information and support
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Hello Reflect!
I am hanging in there with nausea and heartburn. My throat also feels a bit weird as well. Im planning to do a buzz cut in about 7 days. Get rest and stay positive!
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reflect -I had my first AC on the 19th and no hair loss yet. Expecting it by Friday at my 2nd tx. My head is starting to feel a bit more irritated but this winter has also made my head itch so not sure which is which!
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Imani- take a daily preventative Prevacid!! They have 21 day supplies at Sam's and Costco for generics not cheap but you want the stronger Rx version (used to be Rx but is otc now). Take it whether you have heartburn or not! Easier to keep it away than get it and try to get rid of it. Same thing with the nausea medicine. As soon as I got home from my first chemo treatment I took the compazine the MO prescribed. Luckily I only needed it til the next morning. I woke up feeling ok and haven't noticed any symptoms since.
I have been fighting a cold so I take my daily Zyrtec or Claritin and then Tylenol cold meds as needed when the headache gets bad. Mine is usually sinus pressure.
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I've been off of here for a couple days as I finally started feeling myself! figured i'd get in some of my normal activities before starting the process all over again tomorrow with treatment #2.
i know i've said this before i took my internet break but LOVING ALL YOUR PICS LADIES! Francesj19, chambo, Piper33, MLP3 Such Beauties!!!
my updates...
- my tummy hasn't gone back to normal but is much better.
- i'm doing cold caps and still have my hair but definitely shedding.
- the 1 inch tumor inside my right breast has essentially DISAPPEARED!!! my MO searched for it today by touch and couldn't find the tiny thing. a week ago at my last appointment the oncology nurse was excited and amazed but hearing from the doctor today that even he was just as shocked/amazed has me in great spirits. He gave me a big hug and told me to keep doing whatever it is that i'm doing and that we can do an ultrasound at my next check up.
- I think it's the holistic approach i am taking....for once in my life, letting others take care of me and allowing myself to receive all the LOVE surrounding me, doing my best to take these badass supplements, powerful personal meditations & prayers from my circle of support (including you!), POSITIVE mental attitude, deeply listening to my intuition... and... the chemo combo doing it's job and listening to my request to release that which I don't need in my body so that i can contimue to be strong during these treatments... all of this has KILLED the TUMOR (almost completely)!
- I also drink at least 64 oz of h20 a day, rinse my mouth and gargle with baking soda/h20 combo, listen to what my body tells me, take a break when i get tired, let myself experience sadness but don't let myself wallow in it.
- i also took the neulasta shot.
- asked my MO if I could forgo it this time since i'm responding so well and my WBC is still high from the last shot... he said it was up to me, that he would support a break from it BUT he warned that his last "healthy" patient tried this ended up in the hospital b/c her counts dropped so low...that this is a risk and it is up to me whether or not the severe body aches and fatigue are worth knowing i wont be in the hospital! SO Im taking the shot and staying in bed for five days! Dgail620 I'm so so sorry you experienced what you did! I hope the Neulasta helps you! I've included some info below that may help with the expenses.
I asked the MO what all this means. does it mean i can stop treatments early? if the tumor is gone does it mean all the cancer cells are gone?
He said that the fact that the tumor has almost completely disappeared means that my body is responding exceptionally well, but because all clinical trials are for 6 or 8 rounds of chemo, stopping early would not give me the benefit of researched statistics. If i stop early there is no research to shed light on recurrence rates etc... SO I'm gonna keep powering through!!!
VERY IMPORTANT
for anyone taking Neulasta... join the Amgen First Step program to help pay for what your insurance does not cover (it would cost me 1k per shot without this program)
for anyone doing herceptin or perjeta, Gentech also has a co pay program!
most of your doctor's can provide you with this info through the billing dept and it is important to file your paperwork no later than 45 days after your first treatment.
Sending all of you lots of love & praying for our Fabulous February group to continue strong along this path!
We got this!!!
"Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever." Jim Valvano
http://www.jimmyv.org/about-us/remembering-jim/jimmy-v-espy-awards-speech/
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reflect- I'm so glad they were able to call back and find you a place for wigs! I hoe you're able to use it in time.
Imani- I hope your stomach starts to feel better soon.
33triple- So good to hear you're feeling so well & that tumor has shrunk! Thanks for sharing the info on what your onco said about the length of treatment. I've been wondering about that, too.
I went in for CBC today. My WBCs are down, but should be back up by next week when I go in. I got treated for the thrush. My tummy is still acting crazy, but I'm being stubborn about taking anti-nausea meds. I'm really trying to stay more natural for the SEs. Watermelon sounds SO good right now, though
My tumor has also significantly shrunk. For the longest time I didn't want to even look at it or touch it, but it's definitely decreased. Praise God!
I have itchy itchiness all over my head and when I blew my nose all my nose hairs came out today 😂. It was hilarious.
Healing thoughts to you all!
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Hi Imani, I think HausFrauMi is right about preventative meds. I'm using Zofran (Ondansetron) and Compazine (once) and that is holding nausea at bay. I'm sure heart burn is same.
Welcome HRWinter16, I hope all goes well on Monday. There is a good list of things to get before starting chemo on the discussion board that may be helpful.
33triple, what wonderful news! So glad your treatment is so successful, keep up your good work.
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__asher__& imani76 hang in there with the tummy issues BUT asher don't hesitate to take meds either... once the SE worsen they are much more difficult to get under control.Myraknits had an experience with this... and I followed in her footsteps with the "big D" Lotomil did the trick for both of us.
asher that is awesome!!! i heard that as triple positives we will notice big changes with the targeted therapies... feeling the tumor shrinkage helps me get through the tough times! ha! everytime i don't feel good it reminds me i'm not the only one feeling like i'm having my butt kicked, the cancer is too! PS just updated my post with more advice from my MO about not taking neulasta .i know we are both all about "less is more"... although now i'm shifting my thinking to "balance is key".
thanks asher and reflect!!! fingers crossed it stays away!
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Sounds like lots of good news all around!
Energy-wise I am feeling great - my old self. But, boyhowdie, I'll take fatigue over this crazy fire itch going on on my hands. I can't think of anything else. I guess "dermal toxicity" is a common issue with Taxotere, Beware! MO put me on 3 days of Prednisone+stronger antihistamine...no real relief yet. I have frozen peas on my hands this evening trying to cool the fire and keep me from itching. Best way I can describe it is it reminds me of when I helped install fiberglass insulation without using gloves when we remodeled a house and I didn't know any better. Same exact sensation for 24 hours. Argh!! It's going to be a double benadryl night too...sure hope I can put out the fire enough to sleep!
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I definitely agree the Neulasta is important. Thank you for sharing the info from your MO.
It is so reassuring that there are others going on this journey as well, and to remind me to not be so stubborn with the SE meds. Tonight my mom made an awesome dinner and I was in tears over eating it because my mouth h is so torn up from the thrush. Balance is a good thing.
Chambo- I hope those meds kick in soon and you're free from your itchy hands. That sounds so frustrating.
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Asher - I lived on mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese for 3 days waiting for the thrush to heal up. Did they give you the mouth rinse or Diflucan? If you got the mouth rinse and it doesn't get better quick, have your MO call in Diflucan. Thrush responds very quickly to it (and then you won't get a yeast infection 'south of the border' so to speak either...which is very easy to do once you have yeast out of control in your body)
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Chambo- I feel you. I feel like my tongue and lips have been through a cheese grater. Thank you for the advice
Yes, he gave me Diflucan. It was one dose so hopefully that will get it. (Please, please, please!!!) He also f/u with Valtrex for mouth sores.
So for those who have done more than one treatment, are the joint aches from Neulasta as intense as the first dose? Or, for that matter, do any of the SEs from treatment lessen?
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chambo & __asher__ consider trying a probiotic which will help to get the "bad" yeast under control! this is the natural way to build up the good bacteria & yeast in your body. i would always take them with antibiotics to prevent yeast infections as part of my daily life before all this cancer stuff even started. this is also why you will hear docs tell you to eat yogurt... it is full of good bacteria. prebiotics can also be increased in your sytem to feed the probiotics in your body to function even better to kill off the yeast and other icky stuff that may be causing problems in your gut, GI, etc. You can up your fiber intake when your tummy feels better or get some more inulin in your diet.
my integrative doctor started me off with a boost of 200 billion cfu probiotics a couple weeks ago when i saw him, but upped me to 400 billion last week after i told him about my tummy issues. there are a ton of them out there out there that provide you with various strains of this good stuff so he suggested i switch brands after I run out of each bottle. there are ways to test your deficiencies via blood work but these tests can be expensive so it helps to switch things up to help expose our bodies to the different strands with out having to spend 1k+ on a special blood test. these can be found at any nautural food store but must be kept refrigerated.
hope this helps!
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