Who is starting chemo in September 2016?
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Paloverde & Loriann: Were you initially BRCA positive from your first diagnosis - or is that new? How did you discover your new cancer? Sorry for you to join us here - but you both seem incredibly strong and we can all definitely learn from you!
Paloverde - I am confused what you state about the wig too. My insurance says they will only pay $375 towards a wig - but are you saying if the MO writes that other thing you noted, I can get more coverage?
Leydi - re your #4, what snacks did you bring of your own? Am I reading your signature correct...did you start your hormone therapy before chemo? What is poweraid zero - is that like gatorade?
Nayda - did you determine your zofran/compazine dosing - or was that how it was prescribed? (Zofran with the Compazine together for 5 days..then stopped the compazine and did the zofran for another 2 days..then stopped the zofran)
Jaigern - I have to work through chemo; unfort I have no choice. I wish I could drop to part-time, but can't afford it.
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Welcome to all the newcomers. Sorry that you are going through this, but this is a great place for support!
Emily & I went to her chemo class this morning. She starts chemo tomorrow. I'm really concerned she'll have an allergic reaction to all the meds because she has a lot of food allergies. Fingers crossed on that. Looks like it'll be an all-day ordeal. They told us to expect to be there from 08:30-3:30. She'll also get the neulasta injector patch along with imodium, compazine, aprepitant, and more decadron. The nurse gave us a link to a handy side effects tracker in case any of you are interested: http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsidee...
Bagsharon - she got the same instructions as you for the dexamethasone tablets.
Think happy thoughts!
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Welcome Helen,Tanyam and Hahlyn
Hahlyn.....i have had 1 treatment and still very uneasy with this chemo mess..i am dreading my next treatment this friday..so i have been relying on that saying "THIS TOO SHALL PASS"
Jaigern...Sorry your job is so stressfull lady..that sucks...well you will know what you will need to do far as working after your first treatment...Chemo affects us all differently.
Imen...I am on the ACT plan...and i asked my MO about drinking and he said that it is fine as long its not overboard..but if i want to have a glass of wine that's fine...he said that it may not taste the same b/c of the chemo though...i am drinking a glass of wine right now and it tastes great..lol
KD....My MO told me to first start with the Zofran and if that didn't stop the nausea...then pair it with the compazine...so on my day 1 of treatment(which was my worst day)..as soon as i came home i felt like i was finna throw up...I immediately took the Zofran and waited..but I still was very nauseous and about to throw up..so i then took the compazine and afterwards i immediately felt relief..no more nausea...so after that i did that zofran with the compazine together for the 5 days...then did the zofran by itself for 2 days and then i was fine.
Sam/Emily...Good luck on chemo day tmrw! I hope everything goes smooth and you have minimal S/E's!! Thanx for the link..i am going to use that chemo spreadsheet on the my next treatment this Friday
.My 2nd Treatment is this Friday...i am dreading it...but..i gotta do it...my kids and hubby and my mother and brothers need me...glad i got my Ativan...i am going to take it Friday morning as soon as I wake up..lol
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I had a lot of posts to catch up on! Welcome to all of the new faces, sorry that we must "meet" under these circumstances.
I did not have a chemo class either, so I'm curious what all of these OTC medications are on that list. I have purchased claritin from reading that it helps with bone pain. I purchased Senekot S and I have stool softeners. Other than that, what else do we need? My MO told me absolutely no Ibuprofen or aspirin products at all. I can only take tylenol and my vitamins, iron, and B12 since I am anemic already and have a B12 deficiency.
I took the plunge and chopped about 16 inches of hair off today. I was able to donate it to a charity that makes children's wigs for no charge to them. That made it a little bit easier.
Tomorrow is the big day! I'm very nervous, but have packed a bag with all of the essentials I've read I might need. Stay strong ladies. Thank you for sharing your journeys with complete strangers. It makes it so much easier knowing I am not alone in this fight.
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In my chemo class I was advised to get:
Claritin or Allegra, Immodium, Senekot S, Mirialax, Milk of Magnesia or Dulcolax, Ginger capsules for nausea, tea tree oil to put on nails
Also, recommended were a soft toothbrush, press and seal plastic wrap to put over the numbing cream on the port, lots of hand sanitizer for around the house, clorox wipes, a good thermometer to check for fever. High protein snacks such as nuts, nut butter, cottage cheese, string cheese, pea or bean soups, sunfower seeds, tuna, egg or chicken salad, yogurt. Also gatorade if there is a lot of vomiting.
The list is pretty overwhelming. I got some of this but definitely not all.
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Hello All!
Omg I have become so nostalgic by reading all of your posts; this time last year I found a lump during a routine breast exam and was FREAKING out!! I didn't know what to do and this site was a life saver!
Here is some of what worked for me so hope it helps.
Water - A must, the less you drink the worse you will feel. The metal taste was killing me so My MO recommended Propel water as its flavored and colorless (I developed an aversion to anything that was red or similar in color from AC, so this flavored colorless water was great.)
I too spoke up about steroids as I didn't want to take them (I was up all night the few times I took it and my body was exhausted) after a few infusions my MO started weaning me off bit by bit; so no harm in asking, and if told No keep asking if it's important to me it was and she understood.
Zoloft makes you extremely constipated (I'm sure you already know that) so I chose not to take it for nausea and instead used Sea Bands (wrist band usually work for boats, motion sickness etc.) (Walgreens, Target, CVS sells them) which worked so good that the nurses at my hospital started recommending them to all new chemo patients. (I only took 1 Zoloft and for my entire chemo sessions I wore these bands and was never nauseous again)
The hardest thing for me was losing my hair it was devastating, 2 weeks after finishing RADS I still wear my wig to work. 😳(Though this past weekend I went to the supermarket without it and felt that was a huge accomplishment) - my insurance covered mine at 100% but it may depend on ur coverage, but The American Cancer Society donates wigs to anyone in need & while on their site sign up for their look good feel better program. It's a free make up session, where new brand name make up is donated by several companies (MAC , Loreal, Cover Girl etc) and a trained cosmetologist gives a class on how to put on makeup. (Trust me though you may not need this now, or feel ur good at doing ur make up, once you lose ur eyebrows and eyelashes their tips will come very handy) also with our immune system not being at its peak performance it's recommended we don't use any old makeup, so the bag of new makeup that's provided actually ensures nothing is expired, contaminated, etc.)
I will keep you all in prayer! Feel free to message me if I can help with anything. This is a scary time but at the end of this road awaits a new woman that you will be so glad you found! Fight on stay strong and know that this too shall pass! 💞🎀
Allie
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Cancerpickedthewrongone--I'm so glad you mentioned the sea bands. My daughter works at Walgreens and saw that it specifically says on the package that they can be used for chemo side effects. She insisted that I get some so I just did that last weekend. Did you wear them constantly throughout your whole treatment or just before and after chemo? Could you post more details about how you felt during your treatment. We have similar DX and I have to have AC/Taxol as well and I am very nervous about my first infusion on Friday. I am trying to find out from anyone who had the same treatment how they felt. I'm freaking out about the hairloss thing too. I have a wig but really feel uncomfortable even looking at myself in the mirror. Not even able to visualize myself going out in public with it. If you'd rather, you can PM me.
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Hello all, my name is Stephanie and I will also be going through chemo with you. I am doing AC every 2 weeks for 4 cycles followed by 4 weekly taxol treatments, then radiation. My first treatment was on August 25th and so far I have been very lucky! Some nausea, a few days of extreme tiredness but that's it. I am a stay at home mom to two fabulous little boys. Michael is 6 and a half and Joseph is 3 and a half. I also homeschool, which might be a good idea with my immune system this year. During round one I was really tired on days 4 through 7, but then it lifted. I still managed to cook, clean, and even homeschool, through it all so it was not as bad as I had feared! Thursday I go in for my second round and am hoping that it will be about the same as the first. The only real complication so far is mouth sores, which are really annoying! I was happy to read that chewing on ice chips during the A would help, no one at my center has mentioned it. So Thursday I will go to my infusion center with a cup of ice chips and hope for the best! So far my hair has not left, but is strangely greasy even immediately after I wash it, but I'm expecting it to leave soon. I picked out my wig a few weeks ago with help from the boys. I'm trying to involve them as much as possible so that they feel part of the process and hopefully less scared. In July I had a unilateral mastectomy on the right side with spacer and am currently having fills in anticipation of reconstruction. This week I am 6 weeks out and just now starting to feel like myself! It's kind of like grade school again learning to pad a bra correctly. I think that's about all, I am very glad to have found this board; it's nice to meet people going through the same thing and to be able to talk to others with out the sad looks.
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SEQ24- glad you are familiar with the bands. I wore them the entire time I was on AC, as the minute I would take them off I felt nauseous. Luckily Taxol for me and many others doesn't include nausea as a SE, just fatigue.
I will be honest I felt very sick at first but then realized it was because I was sleeping all day and I wasn't eating (lost 5 pounds 1st week) and I wasn't drinking water or anything else. (Since I wasn't drinking I wasn't flushing the chemo out of my system so it amplified my side effects. So drink plenty of water though your body will tell you it doesn't want you too. My infusions were on Thursday mornings, by mid day Friday I always got extremely tired and slept usually till Saturday with no problem. Again the bands didn't let me experience nausea but before I got the bands I was extremely nauseated. Hopefully your side effects will be minimal , 🙏🏽
I think on my 1st infusion I felt sick bcz of all the anxiety that I had built up in my head abt the side effects etc.
Allie0 -
Hi everyone i'm new here. Going in tomorrow for 1st chemo doing the AC/T which seems to be what all the rage. Haha
Don't care about my hair, let my 4 year old cut it a few days ago. It was a blast we had so much fun. I have curly hair so all the different lengths don't matter to much.
My big worry is working through it. I'm like 99.9% sure it's doable. But......
God's speed everyone!
PS, when y'all say drink lots of water... How much is a lot?
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Boondock--Welcome to the board.
As for the amount of water to drink, they told me in chemo class, 2-3 quarts per day every day. I've been "practicing". I can do 2.5 quarts. I start AC/Taxol on Friday. You sound a lot more confident than me with the whole process! Good luck to you and please post how it goes. Best wishes!
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Seq24 I could function, but more of a go through the motions on autopilot. I could read but I didn't have the focus or concentration. 3.5 days and was back to 100%. I stopped taking compazine ( I can't take zofran due to drug interaction with another med I've been on pre breast cancer)48 hours after treatment. It may have been that that helped too. Other than that literally no SE. Good luck. Hope your experience is a good one.
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Seq24 And boondockD- I also drink a ton of water. Like constantly sucking it down. I don't know how much I drink but it is a lot. Keep yourself diluted
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Ware--Thank you. That's encouraging. I hope I experience the same. Please keep posting how it's going for you. Best wishes.
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hi all, day 14 for me since treatment day #1. It's weird going through this, I feel like I am on a clock counting forward watching every little SE development, while simultaneously counting down to the next treatment which is a week from tomorrow.
Made it through work yesterday but wore myself out and wound up crashing last night for several hours. Still intermittently having the D issues, grrr. Woke up this morning and seems that my hair has decided this is the day to start drifting away. Fair enough, I have an appointment in a couple of days to have it cut off and pick up the wig. My insurance covered $350 toward the cost.
All the water continues to be a challenge. The R.N. at my clinic told me 64 oz so I've been making that my minimum goal. Over the weekend I tried putting a little cranberry juice into water with ice. It wasn't that great tasting but it did overpower the flat metal taste of water alone.
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Wow..so many tips from you gals...thank you..I am going on a little chemo shopping spree tomorrow I guess..haha
Nayda..thanks.glad ypu can still enjoy a glass of wine..haha
Sam13..thanks for the symptom chart!!!
Cancerpicked..thanks for the sea band recommendation..nausea Is what I'm worried alot about..will totally get those!!
Steph2016..welcome..sorry you are here but these ladies here are great with support amd help!!
Boondock...I have an 11 year old son..maybe I will let him cut my hair..AFTER back to school night..haha!! Did you have a wig though ready when they cut.it??
Thanks everyone for all your tips...almost ready for next week!!
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ACS74..good luck tomorrow..you are on my same cocktail..so if you feel up to it..please let me know how you do..will be thinking of you...
Stay positive!!
By the way..bought myself a Good Vibes shirt..going to wear it to all my treatments to feel positive and strong!!!!
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Hi all, Sorry I haven't been on in a while. I had my first AC chemo last friday, and am pleased to say that I have only gotten sick twice, and had some chemo fog. I have been very blessed to have very few SE. Welcome to those I haven't met yet and prayers for those of you that have been not so well. Love and light,
xoxoMichelle
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I began my chemo on 9/1/16. Have my second treatment tomorrow. I'm still stunned that I'm stage 1, but because I'm triple positive I'll need chemo for a year. It just doesn't make sense to me so I'm trying to find all of the information that I can to read.
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We're very close to the same except I'm stage one. First chemo last week went well. No N/V, but took Phenergan at night and Zofran twice during the day as prescribed, for two days. Hope it continues to work.ne
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MFalabella--great to hear you are doing so well. I noticed you hadn't posted in awhile and was getting worried. I'll be right behind you starting Friday. Needless to say, as everyone on this board knows, I'm scared, scared, SCARED!!!! How is your level of fatigue? Glad to hear the nausea has been minimal. Please be in touch.
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Storm last night woke up to no power! Getting ready was interesting and I was thinking if my road is washed out maybe it's a sign not to go. But got across wash!!!!
On my 2 hour drive to the city! Chemo here I come!!!
Seq24 & Ware, Thanks glad to hear only 2-3 quarts I do that now anyway ,well almost. I was thinking like a gallon or more. Lol!
Imencken, no wig just going with the scarfs and hat route. Don't know if you watch the Walking Dead but I can't wait to rock the "Carol" hair when it grows back. I cut my son's hair and every time I cut his he asks to cut mine. So this time I was like totally go for it!
God's speed everyone.
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MFALLABELLA..glad you are doing welll...good vibes to you that it continues
Boondock..will.have to check out walking dead now!!! I need to learn scarves..I'm not too handy with accessories.. And wow that's a long drive to your appointment Hope you have a buddy!!
Cjyp...keep checking and ASK questions..I feel so prepared being here and getting the scoop from everyone..so lucky to be able to help each other!!
Sending good vibes to all!!
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Blood screening today. Wbc low so I have to take extra precautions. Crap. doctor said most of the following treatment SE should be similar to the first treatments, which were very little in my case, but maybe added tiredness. Let's hope that is the case.
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I'm in the chair... Let the fun begin! Iron levels low so will have to come back Fri for Iron injection.
Imencken, check out YouTube I found several helpful clips on how to tie scarfs. My favorite is one that you actually use a rubber band, almost like putting your hair in a ponytail.
Rock on everyone!!!!!!!
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Big, warm welcome to cyjp and Boondock! Thanks for joining us here!
Don't be strangers -- continue to let us know how you're fairing through chemo. We're all here for each other!
--The Mods
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Welcome cyjp, steph, and Boondocks!
Seq24-thank you so much for the list of meds. My MO went over some of those today. I have claritin and motrin to take to cut down the bone pain from my nuelasta. I may need to get some ammonium, but for now I'll wait it out. Thank God for the add on bidet my hubby installed! I, too, was extremely nervous about chemo. I know that nothing I can say for you will make it better. I will tell you that it's not near as bad as what you are thinking.
MFALLABELLA- happy to see you are online. I hope that you are doing well.
lmencken-It wasn't nearly as bad as I was thinking it would be. I took about five rounds last night in my dreams, that was much worse! I went in at 8, my MO went over the process prescribed some meds and checked me out. I then went upstairs where they started me on three anti nausea meds, zantac, and benadryl. Those took about an hour total. Then they started me on the taxotere, it took about an hour. Followed by the the cytoxan, which took about 30 minutes. So far my only SE's are grogginess and I just feel really drained. Please ask any questions you have. If I can make this process easier for anyone I am happy to do so. Take water, snacks,a close friend/family member to pass the time and it will be over before you know it!
On a side note, I started receiving packages in from the freebie sites. I received my Free knitted knockers yesterday and am excited to test those out when I'm up to it. Today I came home from chemo to a package from Phil's Friends-what a beautiful surprise.
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Oh yeah scarf tips. I'll share a link my breast cancer fighting sister-in-law sent me.
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This is Emily.
We went in this morning for chemo day 1. Everything went very well and she had no reactions to the meds. They plugged into her port at around 09:30 and we finished about 4. They said it would go much quicker next time. Emily sucked on ice during the Taxotere in the hopes it'll spare her tastebuds a bit. They installed the neulasta patch and gave us the anti-SE meds before we left. Now we wait and watch. 1 of 6 done!
Stay strong!
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