Starting Chemo in July 2017
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LoJo100 - having port is so much easier so glad you got one now.
I hope everyone are doing well .... hugs
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Teese, definitely feeling better than I was, but like you are saying, weak/out of breath more this round. Back to school shopping about did me in today! I did get some walking in with it, though
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Lojo: I was so happy to have my port as well. My onc didn't think I needed one since I only have 4 infusions. But I insisted since I have rolling veins and always end up looking like a pincushion just for routine blood draws!
Teese: I get winded/short of breath more often nowadays too. Just walking down the block gets me winded. So i just take it slow and instead of walking just to walk I'll walk around the local park or mall so that there is some distraction and I don't notice the shortness of breath... Until I stop. Ha!
I went and saw my PS today regarding the infection. The redness is gone and the area in question looked better. There was still a spot that was tender under the skin which she thought was pus. But when she tried to drain it it wasn't pus so she took a culture to get tested. I should find out tomorrow what it is and whether I can continue chemo next week... Fingers crossed!
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Sunnyjay- crossed my fingers for you hope you will be fine. Thanks for the info, for me my underarms still feels very sensitive will have follow up appointment with my surgeon tomorrow
I was kind of short of breath this morning and I took my short evening walks and I able to do it. Will try to walk a little more over the weekend hope I can build my energy back,
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Paulette: Thanks for the kind words. Will keep you all posted. Did you ever get a referral for physical therapy? The PT should help with any soreness from the lymph node removal.
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sunnyjay- yes I got the PT referral and the appointment won't be ready until middle of September.
Anyone has any good suggestions to increased white and red blood cells? I need to do that before next Friday.
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Good morning
Paulette my MO said your first infusion does a number on your RBC, then it takes 120 days for the ones that start to form to mature and then see the level rise. She said as long as non symptomatic nothing will be done. However if hgb drops to 8 they'll give bld infusion. 8 is quite low so kind of unlikely to get that low. Don't know about WBC, just neulasta.
Sunny- when will the culture report on your incision come back?
LoJo - how's day 2 going?
Jen - did AC #4 go off as planned?
Daughter left yesterday for college and I was able to be lighthearted and upbeat somehow.
Going to work on some scrapbooking today. Need to get a project going.
Hugs and prayers to all for good SE da
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Hi all, sore throat and temp fluctuating between 99.5 and 100.5, so I'm at urgent care. Of course when they took my temp here it was normal. This has been going through my family, but I have not touched or kissed any of them. We'll be talking again about good handwashing...
Paulette, I don't know of anything to increase red/white blood cells that one can do on their own. Iron if you're anemic to increase red blood cells, but it can cause constipation.
Teese, my son will go to college next year, and boy do I hope I can handle it gracefully like you. This whole BC thing has me so emotional- like I was upset (crying) when Glen Campbell died because I used to listen to his records with my dad, who died 20 years ago. I've been missing my dad a lot through this dx and treatment.
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Leatherette- fingers crossed that temp stays down and no other symptoms.
My emotions are all over the place and just driving me nuts. I've always been easily brought to tears over sappy things, but things have gone to a level that I didn't know existed. It's absolutely ridiculous, thankfully my family seems to go with the flow and has adjusted to the water works at odd times and for no reason.
Last Sunday just at the end of the service for no reason, tears just start streaming down my face. Ugh, so embarrassed. My pastor happened to see and pulled me aside all worried. I just said I'm ok, just cry for no apparent reason these days. This SE I wish would pass.
I'm sorry about your dad, it's hard I know, I've lost both parents now and I miss them still, hugs!
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Happy Saturday ladies ! I'm trying to be upbeat and eat anything looks good. I might need to suck some bloods also 😀😀😀 not going to let mg blood counts worried me if my body is not ready for chemo #4 then I just take a week off. Then I can enjoy a week of good days.
Leatherette- I hope your body temperature is not going to jump up and down anymore. Going to urgent care takes a lot out of your body.
Pray for everyone to have a better weekend! No fever no hive plenty of appetite and no D!!!🙏🙏
My dad just passed away five years ago today. My brother and I just exchanged words this morning to remember of him
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My WBC is 1.6, and I have no neutrophils. What does that mean? They are calling my onc
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leatherette- my WBC was 2.2 and the normal number should be 3. I think as long as we eat well our bloodcount will bounce back up it happened to me on my first infusion. So eat our hearts out now!!
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Happy to follow that directive once I get out of here
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Leatherette, I don't know what that means, but I hope they are able to fix it right away!
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Apparently there is no fixing-this is supposed to happen at this point in the cycle. Then my WBC count should slowly go up in time for the next infusion. I don't have any kind of infection, so they think it's viral, so no antibiotics. They were glad I came in, and It was good for me to get a better understanding of what is going on in my body. They want me to stay home for a couple of days.
My nurse moved here from the UK, and told me that she did not see anywhere near as many people working during chemo as she does in the U.S. Interesting to me.
So, took a great shower and discovered that my head stubble is coming out and there was skin peeling off my scalp. I should be smooth as a cue ball soon.
Take care, everyone.
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leatherette - hope you are having more goodays soon. Does it mean we have more cancer people here?
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well, A/C #4 is done! So glad to know the next week or so is going to be the end of those SEs! It seemed to hit earlier than usual though... I think the stomach issues are the antibiotic for the cellulitis though, which doesn't give me much hope for the "real" bad days to come. *sigh*
On the up side, I did go get fitted for a "real" bra today. The gal at Nordstrom's is a certified post-mastectomy fitter, and she was awesome. (Told me how great my expanders looked... flattery will get you anywhere!) I was excited to be a B cup (I was a DD+ prior to the bmx) and got a cute bra (no underwire, super soft) and felt like a normal woman for a few! It's the little things...
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JenRuns - in my opinions each AC infusion took a hit on our bodies, congrats you finished your AC now it's taxol.
Even though I'm on day 9 my appetite still up and down and I have this mouth sore since Thursday and wondering how long does it take to heal
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Question about SE on finger's tips, I found all my finger tips are getting very dry, anyone has this SE
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Yes, Paulette! Mine got dry at he tips today, and a couple of them are peeling.
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Hi everyone,
We're working on two hair loss management videos and we want to include your photos!
Deadline for submission: September 8
These videos will help women facing chemo-related hair loss to emotionally and physically prepare, and to understand their options. The videos will be viewable in the Hair, Skin, and Nails section of the site by October 2017.
We're looking for any of the following:
·Photos of cutting your hair shorter
·Photos of the time period when hair was falling out
·Photos of having your head shaved
·Photos of yourself wearing synthetic or human hair wigs, hats, turbans, scarves, going "au naturel," or any other options you chose
·Photos of you using cold caps or scalp cooling systems
We welcome all photos, including those that have a sense of humor (such as the mom whose young children shaved her hair into a Mohawk)!
When submitting, please also include the following:
·Your name (we will use your first name and last initial if that is comfortable for you)
·Your city and state / city and country if non-U.S.
·The year(s) the photos were taken
·Diagnosis details if comfortable sharing (stage and type of breast cancer, HR and HER2 status) Note: This isn't required – voluntary only.
·Your email address and a phone number where we can reach you
How to submit your photos:
·If the photos were taken on your phone or digital camera, please send them in their most raw form: no Photoshop, no Instagram filters, etc.
·If you're scanning physical photos, please use a setting of at least 300 dpi and then save the photo as either a TIFF or a PNG file.
·All photos can be sent to Claire Nixon, Editorial Director at cnixon@breastcancer.org. She will respond to you promptly with more information!
Thank you and looking forward to your photo submissions!
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Good morning,
AC infusion #4 turned out to be the easiest on SE for me, most likely because my MO changed meds around a little bit.
I've been given an extra week between AC and Taxol because of scheduling problems, I'll take it. So we're heading today to the Outer Banks of NC for a week. My brother has a beach house and it was available. Rough seas today means good shelling tomorrow. I'll be out there first light.
No drying of my fingertips, just dark spots near the nail beds on three fingers. MO said it's a normal SE and not a sign of anything bad like loosing fingernails. I continue to use nail envy and a OPI cuticle oil daily.
However I use eucerin body cream on my feet daily, have for years and they always stayed soft. Now a little dry. Maybe I need to apply it more often.
I'm not sure if asked this, is anyone else doing DD Taxol?
Hugs and prayers
Theresa
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Teese - I was thinking about you so glad to hear your #4 AC turned out fine. I'm right behind you will be doing mine on Friday. Now I wish to asked my Onc to lower my dose on the last one instead agreed to keep it the same. Prayed my WBC is high enough to have my last AC or else I have to wait.
All ladies have a good day will check back later today.
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Hey Teese ... I absolutely LOVE the Outer Banks -- enjoy! (Where are you going -- we used to stay in South Nags Head and absolutely loved it. If it wasn't such a far drive - 13+ hours - we'd go again for sure.)
I'm starting Taxol on the 12th -- not dose dense though. 12 treatments for me. On the one hand, I'm happy to have the two weeks (and a few days) between A/C #4 and the Taxol, but it's really cutting into my planned schedule. We booked a trip (long before dx) to Punta Cana in February, and every week delay pushes my radiation schedule back. I am hoping to meet with the Rad Onc in the next week to get a final answer on whether we have to cancel the trip. (You'll hear my sobs if/when that happens. We booked with five couples and it was supposed to be the "trip of a lifetime.")
No drying fingers (as of now), but my heels are cracking. Trying to goop on the "heel butter" that I've used in the past to keep them from being too painful.
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Coming back to this thread after about 5 pages!
6 weeks of TC are done.
Issue now is port and subsequent infection probably. Its swollen slightly, red and minor pain. I'll see doc tomorrow and will find out.
Whoever is getting infusion done via arms - how bad is it ? Finding veins is difficult task on me...nurses take a lot of time on weekly bloodwork.
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Hi Teese,
I'm starting DD Taxol on Tuesday. I'm nervous about neuropathy but I bought a whole bunch of supplements plus cold gloves and socks for during the infusion. Fingers crossed for an easy ride.
I'm thrilled to be halfway done with chemo. The time has really flown by, thank goodness. Hope everyone is well today.
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Theantz: I've gotten all my treatments so far through my right arm. 3 FEC and 1 Docetaxel. It doesn't hurt other than the initial prick of the needle. They're having a hard time trying to find good veins for blood work and infusions now. So far I've used only my right arm because of lymph node removal on the left side. However, the nurse last time said they may have to use the left arm for the next two infusions. The only other option is feet and that limits your mobility. The vein they used for my first infusion back in June has finally stopped hurting. Not that it hurts a lot but when I run my hand along it, it was pretty sensitive. I have chording in the one vein that they used for my second infusion. Nothing from the third and fourth infusions. I think that may have something to do with how good the nurse was in finding good veins. Nurse said to use hot moist compresses to help with the chording.
Good luck!
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JenRuns, I've often had the cracked heel problem (before BC) and I found that using OTC first-aid cream with anesthetic heals them quickly and makes them more comfortable.
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thanks for the tip, ping pong!
So, today was an official meltdown. Shaking sobs kinda night. I'm tired (working during treatment). I'm not feeling well (post A/C #4). And I know I sound like a bitch when I say this, but I am so tired of people asking "how are you doing." I want to say, I feel like crap, thanks for reminding me. Or, how do you *think* I'm doing....
I just want "my" life back. *sigh*
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I hear you, JenRuns. I am almost there myself. Sucks!
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