Anyone starting chemo August 2016?
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Annie, so glad the baby is doing well. Hope you are getting some strength back now that you have a break. Marlene
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Thanks Kelly. When I lived in NJ up until August I attended support group meetings in Princeton and was selling a breast cancer counselor. Since moving across the river into PA an starting chemo it is difficult for me to get there because the chemo has affected my vision, and I don't feel comfortable driving. Hubby has offered to drive me for the once a month meeting and sit in the car and wait, but I hate to have him do that after he has worked all day.
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E- if you are on taxol it's muscle pain. Tylenol won't touch it, you need ibuprofen and/or hydrocdone. Muscle relaxers, if you have them. It's nasty stuff. I get it day 4-9 and I can hardly walk.
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Elizabeth, it would be my guess that it's from the Neulasta (you get that right?) That's what the rest of us sometimes get from the shot. For me it lasted about 3 days.
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Morning Ladies 🌻
My throat is doing great now ...Dara shakes and frozen yogurt got me through it. People always ask can I get you anything and finally when they would txt me ...I'm like...yeppers I need something cold. I got some nice quick visits from them too. I am so very tired though still and woke up with goopy eyes.
Ketchla...Happy Birthday! Sounds like a perfectly simple celebration with your family. ..there are so many issues this chemo brings on ...my nose & eyes run all the time for a couple weeks after each treatment. But we do have to enjoy each good day for sure. I will be praying for that PICC line ..you got this!
Dara...I do have to get my wig issues under control. I have 3 now and can't get happy with them ..but I think it's me!! They look fine on the stand. I have been hoping to make it to my nieces wedding next week. My daughter and granddaughter are in it. All the family will be there and I want to be there ...in my wig.
Kelly...I am glad that the news is going in a positive direction for sure. We got to keep are eyes on the goal.
Annie ...yay baby girl & mommy too.
Elizabeth..when I had horrible joint pain Tylenol did nothing..I finally took ibuprofen & then at my next treatment they gave me Norco.
Hugs
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Hello Ladies, I am hoping to tap into your experiences and ask for your best advice around Taxol. I have my first of 12 infusions on Monday. I have bulked up on Vitamin B, and purchased a recommended product called "Nerve Fix." I've also added glucosamine to my protein shakes in the morning. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Hope you're all enjoying your weekends :-)
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Cali, I understand completely about the wig issues. I now have bought 5, exchanged 2 and still am not happy. I did just find human hair ones on a site called Lace Wigs that are super reasonable. I bought one, but then learned that you need to buy a color two shades darker than you want. I think I will be happier with the human hair one because I'll be able to curl or style it as I want. You just need to know that if you get one online, you can't wear it out of the box, you need to have it cut and styled. I'm also still struggling with recovering after the last chemo. It's been two weeks and I find that by noon, I'm out of steam. My eyes are just driving me crazy with watering and twitching. I've started taking the Claritin again to see if that can help. I see my RO on Wednesday so hopefully will have my plan and schedule then.
LifeisNot, The other sisters who had that drug will add their advice I'm sure, but I would just recommend that you check with your MO about any supplements you take during treatment. Mine had me off every single vitamin and supplement, especially and that in any way was an antioxidant. I even asked about Biotin at my last visit and he said wait until after 3 weeks post chemo.
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Annie- love the update on the baby- such a bummer you'll have to do more chemo afterwards, but love your attitude and you're an inspiration to us all!
Dara- definitely smart advice- it seems like each of our MO's has different thoughts on supplements and pain meds. I have been taking fiber, Vitamin D, and acidophilus during my chemo- Dr was fine with all of it, as well as any pain management (Tylenol, Aleve, etc). I was advised to stay away from antioxidants. Dara- my NP had me adding electrolytes for the twitching - so I've been drinking Vitamin Water every day and it's definitely made a difference. She said to watch the watery eyes- using Refresh as a lubricant. I had eye issues before all of this and my eye dr had me using Zadiator (most drug stores have it just a little pricey).
Life- I'm on Taxotere (same family as Taxol) along with Carboplatin. I've had 3 of 6 infusions- the neuropathy feelings have actually lessened over time- I don't get anything really in the 1st week- after the cruddy feeling goes away then new side effects happen (I'm every 21 days)- some tingling in hands and arms and legs...but they're minimal.
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Caligirl, can I ask some advice. Came down with a head cold on Thursday, and today I woke up with a wicked sore throat. Even took some motrin to try to ease the pain. Drinking lots of green tea. Even have some taxol cruddiness today in the way of sore hips and back, dizziness, nausea, and its been 3 1/2 weeks since my second and last taxol infusion. Also have a few mouth sores. Wonder if the sore throat is part of that or just from the cold and what I can do to ease the pain. I'm paranoid because a close friend has been hospitalized for the past 12 days with shingles in her throat and ear and is being fed intravenously because she can't get anything down. Se had just finished her first AC and was about to start taxol.
Also wondering when it would be safe to get a flu shot and a shingles vaccine after stopping chemo. I start radiation on Nov. 2nd and wonder if I should wait until after radiation to get them or get them now. Difficult to get answers from the onco. Thanks Marlene
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Marlenelin... My throat was so sore and hurt so bad..NP said it was the mouth sores just down my throat. But then I have had a nasty cold and cough. The chloriseptic helped as much as it could and I took ibuprofen for pain. I would ask your MO about flu shot for sure. Mine said I had to wait till after my last chemo a few weeks ....it just doesn't seem fair that with all we have to put up with we have to get all these other things...head cold, coughs, sore throat. I sure hope you feel better soon. I still am so stuffed up and coughing that when I try to sleep its one more thing keeping me awake.
Kelly...you are right my MO said no ibuprofen or Aleve just use Tylenol which does nothing for me. My MO didn't seem to worry about supplements & vitamins but so many things I read said to stop during chemo so confusing.
Dara...sorry about those eye problems ...that would drive me crazy for sure. I just have the dry eyes & conjuctivitis after each treatment. Tomorrow I take my first wig back to my wig lady to have her help me with it. I will get this under control ...I hope.
Hope y'all have a restful night
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Thanks Cali. I have some preventive mouthwash in the house and I am using that. Does nothing for the throat pain though. So stuffed up too. Gave in yesterday and picked up some Afrin to clear my sinuses so I can breathe for a few hours, and I did take 400 mg of motrin twice yesterday. Have to have an echo cardiogram tomorrow and schedule a bone density test for sometime this week. Radiation starts next week. My breast seems so full since the tattoos were inserted a week and a half ago for the radiation. Keep thinking the tumor is back. This is making me crazy. Take care
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Marlene and Cali, so hope you both feel better soon! I just realized last night that I haven't left the house for two weeks! Just haven't felt great, so hopefully that has kept all cold germs from me at least for now. Marlene, is your mouthwash the "magic mouthwash"? That has lidocaine in it for the pain.
Elizabeth, hope you're pain is lessening.
Kelly, Also hope you're doing OK. I agree that having a 13 yr old keeps you out in life more.
I'm 2 weeks out today but still have some nausea and eye issues, but not too bad. It does seem that the last tx seem to have a longer time getting out of my system.
It's been interesting, I went back to the beginning of this thread and wonder what happened to a few of the regulars who started out with us... WenchLori and HopeFloats for example. Hope their tx has been easy. I know it helps that I"m retired and have a tablet right near me and I can read the posts on my phone as well. It's been nice having all the new sisters join us as well.
Hope everyone out there is doing OK. We have RAIN here! and if you know SoCal, you know why I put it all in caps!!! so cool.
Good luck with your wig Cali, let us know if you like it better. I find I've been wearing one around the house more to try and get used to it. Last about 2 hrs then I have to pull it off.
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Ugh. Back to the Dr's office this morning again. 4th dressing change on my PICC line in 1 week. There is about a 4" x 6" area that is nothing but blisters and it itches so bad. Nothing will stick to it anymore, so they did a gauze wrap instead. Feels so much better already. I've always been sensitive to adhesive and plastic against my skin, so I guess I am lucky that it didn't get this bad until now. Just need to get through it till Thursday and then we can yank that sucker out!
I had very unusual fatigue for me this weekend. Got tired just walking around a couple stores and had to sit down. Spent most of Sunday reading. This is unusual for me compared to the past treatments. My last week I've usually felt almost normal. I do tend toward anemia though, so I hope counts are ok and nothing to delay my last treatment.
Cali and Malenelin - I hope you are feeling better soon!!
Dara - I feel for you with your eye problems. Mine has been watery and twitchy for the past 2 treatments, but Claritin does seem to help a bit. Also, my vision doesn't seem to be quite right. My glasses don't seem to be the right prescription right now. Guess I'll wait and see if that goes back to normal after I'm done...
As for supplements, my nurse said I could take Biotin, B6, Probiotic, and my Epicor. I'm not trying to sell anything and just a disclaimer... The company I work for makes Epicor, but I completely believe in it and since I've managed to not get sick during chemo, I thought I would mention it. It is a yeast culture product used for immune health. I have had extended (2+weeks each time) very low WBC and Neutrophils for all of my treatments and have yet to get sick. I take it every day for about 7 years now and while it doesn't eliminate ever getting sick, it does improve immune health so that your body can fight off illness better (obviously not cancer though...) When I get a cold, it is a few sneezes for a day or two and then gone. While the product is all natural and my MO approved me using it, I would suggest if you are going to try it, to run it past your doctor. If you are interested in the story of how this product was discovered or more info: https://www.embriahealth.com/products/epicor/the-epicor-story/ Again, not trying to sell anything, just proud of the product the company I work for makes.
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Today was a good day and my wig lady appointment and we agreed I have wig issues. She trimmed my 2 wigs I bought from her and I did what Dara is doing and wore one of them around the house for awhile this evening.
Marlene...now no thinking that tumor is back ...keep the positive thoughts coming.
Dara...this last one wiped me out too. We got some good rain her in central Cal too. We need any rain we can get. I wonder what happened to WenchLori & HopeFloats too ...they were on this site quite a bit.
Kechla... Almost Thursday ... It's getting closer..glad it's a bit more comfortable now...you got this! Epicor...never heard of it & will have to check it out. Juice Plus is something I use to take for years but stopped during chemo just in case.
Hope y'all rest well
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Hi Dara. This is a whopper of a cold and sore throat. Was supposed to have an echo cardiogram today and also see lymphadema specialist and canceled both appointments. Don't want to infect anyone and don't even have the energy to leave the house. Don't have magic mouthwash. I have something called Prevention that it supposed to prevent mouth and throat sores. I think what I have is more of a virus. Have to get that echo in before I start radiation next week. Hope they can get me in later in the week. Take care.
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Marlene, that is just miserable. We feel pretty bad anyway, but then to have a cold on top of it is just not right. Hope you feel better so you can start rads. I'll know my schedule tomorrow when I can start.
Kechla, I did go to the site and read up on the supplement. For years, I took Echinachia (sp?) and found I never got a cold or anything. Studies showed that it didn't do anything, but I figured what did it matter if it worked for me? Do you get yours from your company, or is it available in health food stores? I took your advice and started taking double doses of Claritin for my eyes and they seem to be getting better. I'm still a bit nauseous each day, but hopefully that will be better each day also.
Cali, so glad you got your wigs trimmed. I find that now I don't really want to wear scarves as much, and I know it will be a very long time before I can wear my own hair. I find myself rubbing the top of my head ofter :-) and find the stubbles are back where it was smooth, and in the mirror I notice a couple of wayward longer stray hairs! Pretty weird. I just hope I'm not one of the 10% who take taxotere where hair loss is permanent.
Kelly, next week is #5, right? Soon you'll be starting the final countdown. Hang in there!
Elizabeth, how are things going? Pain any better? My MO did give me a prescription of Norco for bone pain that helped quite a bit when things were bad. It's allowed during chemo also. Thinking of you.
I'm off to a new GP today. I don't think anyone here knows my story of my last one. I switched after 25 years when my old GP retired and I didn't care for the new replacement. The new GP was a young female (I thought that would be great) but she was horrid!!!! She was disgusted that I had a lumpectomy instead of mastectomy, said I was crazy to subject my body to radiation, wanted to know WHY I had had so many surgeries in the last few years (numerous joint replacements due to psoriatic arthritis, I couldn't even walk) and was generally just nasty. I couldn't wait to get out of her office!
Hope everyone else is doing OK and hanging in.
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DARA -- I sure hope the new doc will be more to your liking.
CALI -- I'm glad you are happier with your wigs. I still have not bought any...
MARLENE -- I sure hope you get over this cold and sore throat really quick... They are never fun to have.
KECHIA -- I sure hope that PICC line holds out as long as you need it.
I still have the joint and muscle pains, but I have found that the Tylenol 3 help if I take them 2 at a time. Now I have a wonderful rash on my upper chest and the side of my neck. So I went and got some Benadryl, That is what they give me when I take my treatments of Taxol. It seems to be helping clear it up. Tomorrow is my electrocardiogram, before I start the Herceptin next week along with the Taxol. A 5 1/2 hour session
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Dara, I get mine free from work for our wellness program. Before they initiated that we could get it at vrp.com. I think that is still the cheapest source.
I hope you like your new doctor. I had to leave mine a few years ago when he indicated my headache and bloating issues were due to depression. I told him I wasn't depressed and he said maybe I should try it anyway. Seriously. Actually, turned out to be digestive issues that are mostly under control now... I found a new doctor who is great! Glad you are not putting up with bad treatment.
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Kechia -- I thought the PICC line was supposed to be flushed everyday. At least that is how they handle them here. That is why I got the port instead. It has to be flushed once a month, but with my schedule of Chemo and Herceptin, it will get done with every treatment, so I don't have to come in special to have it done.
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My Picc line has to be flushed once per week. From what I've read that is pretty standard.
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That is awesome, Kechia. That is not so bad
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For those of you wanting wigs or bangs for caps, Patti's Pearls is having a sidewide sale. I believe everything is 25 or 30% off. I have gotten two wigs there and they are great to work with. Hardly wear them though. Hope everyone will have a good day. I'm still battling this cold. Take care Marlene
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Hi Everyone- chemo #4 of 6 is underway...blood work looked ok, some a little low but still workable.
I never even looked at wigs....wasn't for me, scarves and beanies have been working fine (esp when the california weather cooperates for beanies! So can't comment on that discussion lol
I too wonder how some of the ladies are doing as mentioned above....I'm hoping no news is good news for them.
Dara- how was the new GP?
Elizabeth- keep us posted on how the testing goes.
Marlene- I have the magic mouthwash- my NP said to swish 1 tsp for mouth sores, etc BUT she said I could also swallow some of it for the throat issues. Not sure if that's the same with the med you were given but wouldn't hurt to ask. Hope you feel better soon.
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Thanks Kelly. Throat seems better Now left with a lot of head congestion. Think this was an upper respiratory infection. It better leave soon. I start radiation on Wednesday. Take care Marlene
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Yea Kelly, then just two more!!! The end is getting closer!
Marlene, so glad the throat is getting better, but hope the congestion clears up soon also. I imagine it takes a little longer to fight off a virus with chemo.
Kechla, sure hope your'e finished tomorrow and am able to say adios to the picc line! It sounds like it's been quite the nuisance. A neighbor recommended the picc line, but my MO said it would need to be flushed at least a couple of times a week which didn't sound doable for me. I"m just thankful I didn't have problems with my veins during chemo.
Saw the RO this morning and really like him. He took lots of time going over everything and was fairly personable. I'll start with the CT scan Tuesday morning and then get my schedule to start then, Nov 7 at the latest. I'll have 28 regular treatments and then 8-9 boosts to the tumor area. 😬 so I'll finish up between Christmas and New Years. Long friggin time!
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Hi everyone. Just got back from an ultrasound to see how the tumor is doing after 3 of 6 rounds of chemo (TCHP). The oncologist seemed really excited at my last transfusion saying 'I will be really pleased at my ultrasound". Well, I'm not, lol.
The tumor did shrink but not enough imho. It was originally 3.7 x 3 cm and is now 2.95 x 1.95. [initial MRI measured greatest range of disease as 4.7,btw] Granted that's a 50% area reduction, but based on his words and the fact that 80% of women using this protocol with my cancer stats had No Evidence of Disease at the end of treatment, I expected more by this point. It doesn't help that I can't feel it really anymore (neither did the oncologists), but the thing is still there! At least my one lymph node looks clear on the ultrasound and nothing else troubling on that front. I want the surgeon to leave my lymph nodes well enough alone!.
I guess I should be happy with this progress and expect great things during the next 3 treatments. Sigh. Sort of ready for round 4 on Monday.
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JandJ- my MO told me that i should expect it to shrink every time. Of course we want it gone completely but that isn't necessarily the case. I look at it as any shrinkage is progress and therefore is hopefully killing any random, floating cancer cells that can't be detected!! I'm in for a BMX anyway...so it's all coming out. Feel good that there is some progress. I have 4 masses, 3 responded pretty well- the big doosy with the marker in it from the biopsy is holding steady...errr. Hang in there.
Thanks Dara- of course pumped up on all the good meds...not looking forward to this weekend LOL.
Marlene- keep us posted on the radiation!!
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Kechla....sure hope tomorrow goes well and you can get rid of your PICC line for good.
Dara .... I am still not doing as well as you with the wig I haven't made it longer than an hour till I pull it off. Saturday is the big event I want to wear it to my nieces wedding that my daughter & granddaughter are both in. With my doctors blessing I fly out with everyone to Phoenix tomorrow.
jandjmom...sorry you were disappointed but it sounds good to me but then I have no idea about how mine is doing because I won't have tests done till the morning of my surgery.
Kelly... Yay one more down
I hope to start my radiation mid December.
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Hi Everyone-
I had signed up for emails from Living Beyond Breast Cancer. I haven't had a lot of time to explore, but wanted to share the website with you....looks informative. Has info for those of us currently in treatment, but also goes beyond- living with possible long term side effects, etc. Annie- I even saw a blog post on cancer and pregnancy. Might be helpful for some of us so sharing.
http://www.lbbc.org/about-lbbc
I'm still on the steroids today- so things aren't too bad...yet. I just know to write off the weekend lol.
Kechla- wishing you a good LAST treatment!!
Cali- keep us posted as you approach radiation...hope you're feeling well.
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Cali, I'd recommend getting a super pretty scarf that you can also take to the wedding, maybe sheer or in colors of your dress. That way if need be you can just switch over to the scarf part way through the reception. I find I get a head ache after a while but I have gotten up to about 3-4 hours that I can wear the wig. Do you have a cap for underneath? I get lots of compliments on the scarves. I wrap them to the side, almost like a side ponytail. Then put a rubber band around the ends once, then pull the tail though half way so you have a loop with some ends still hanging down. Then just poof out the loop made by the extra ends. It looks a little fancier and might be pretty for the wedding. I found it on YouTube.
Kelly, hope you're still feeling the effects of the steroids.
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