Starting Chemo in July 2017
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Hello July Chemo ladies. I'm going to have my first infusion of 6 on Friday and I'll confess that I've been lurking here in your thread to help me focus on getting through this chaotic mess. Your posts about post-chemo are so uplifting: hair growing back, energy returning. Gives me hope.
I have a question about exercise during chemo: for any of you who exercised before dx, how much of that exercise were you able to maintain during chemo? Right now I swim 1-2 x week, lift and strength condition 1-2 x week and take a yoga class. I don't expect I'll be able to do that, but were any of you fitting in "normal" workouts, maybe in week 3 when you felt good before your next infusion?
I want to manage my expectations here so I don't slip into a funk. Any advice/ideas you have would be appreciated.
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hi there Diveslikeagirl! Glad the board was helpful for you... I was a runner pre-diagnosis, albeit a slow one! I walked throughout my treatment... 30 minutes a day with longer walks on the weekend. I did the Komen 3-day for the cure during chemo too.
My biggest challenge was my heartrate. My PA explained that because my RBC went low, my heart had to work overtime to pump the RBCs through my system. I found that even just walking 3.5 mph would get my heart rate up into the 160s. A slower 3mph walk would have it in the 140s, my normal HR for an easy run.
So, you may slow down a bit because of the HR issues or general fatigue. But I found that making my self walk everyday really helped and (I think) made a difference in my overall fatigue. I credit walking with getting me through a really tough time.
Best wishes to you as you start this portion of your treatment!
Jen
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Thanks JenRuns. Good grief, are you emailing one day after having reconstruction surgery? You're a beast!
I'm going to make sure my walking shoes are ready (if I don't get to use my swm fins)!
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Diveslikeagirl, welcome to our group! I can only speak about my experience when it comes to working out during tx. Prior to dx, I was doing a fitness bootcamp which focuses on strength and resistance training. So for me, I had to stop my workouts since I had a mastectomy. I also have to be careful because of lymphedema since I had lymph nodes removed. I started the LiveStrong program through my local YMCA during chemo and we have personal trainers versed in cancer care so you may want to look into that. My treatments were 3 weeks apart so I was able to get workouts in on my good days. I know of someone in my surgery group on here (see May 2017 surgery) that was doing water aerobics, so swimming should be fine for you. Check what your MO recommends. I think most MOs will recommend some kind of activity durong treatments, both chemo & radiation. Hope this helps!
JenRuns, I'm so glad to hear that your exchange surgery went well! And yay to no drains!! I have to wait at least 6 months to a year before I can do this. My PS is very conscientious about post-treatment issues so she prefers to wait until after all my treatment is done.
Emily, make sure to ask your RO and nurses what they recommend for lotions. Some ROs like mine only wanted to stick to one remedy at a time. If my skin had a reaction, then he would make adjustments. I was actually given a sample of calendula cream that lasted me a few weeks.
Runnermum, happy belated birthday! You deserve to be spoiled! It's a good thing your birthday is far enough away to be combined with Christmas. Hahaha My brother's is on the 27th but we have been good about celebrating his day separately.
Paulette, I start tamoxifen sometime after the new year. I'm starting to feel more pain under my armpit and the edge of my breast where the rads was targeted. I feel it mostly when I move my arm and the skin stretches. But I am persisting with the manual lymph drain massage and stretching daily. How's your LE during rads?
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sunnyjay, I was supposed to wait too.., that was the plan, until I became a candidate for proton radiation therapy (more on that below for context). The protons don’t go through the port of the TEs, so I had to take them out... my PS, RO and MO all agreed I could do surgery 3 weeks post-chem, then start rads in 2-3 weeks. So, today I had my exchange surgery!
Proton therapy uses protons instead of photos in traditional radiation therapy. It’s much more precise, as the beam “stops” at the target and doesn’t go through or scatter. The end result is less radiation damage to the surrounding tissue. It’s good for left-sided breast cancer because it minimizes/eliminates radiation exposure to the heart and lungs. (For the same reasons, exposure to healthy tissue, it’s also used for pediatric cancers, brain tumors, moving organs, etc.)
I’m super lucky to work at a health system that just got proton therapy this fall... we are the only center in the state, and one of a few in the Midwest. My RO and PS are excited to see if there is less potential damage to the implant because of the different approach.
(For the record, it’s just as effective at zapping cancer cells as photons... just a different type of energy.)
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Diveslikeagirl- welcome to our thread. I’m the older gal so my workout have been walking. I tried to walk as much as my body allows and I’m still walking.
JenRuns - glad to hear things worked so well for you! You are one tough cookie!
Runnermum - happy belated birthday! Enjoy the days without treatment, I enjoyed so much that few weeks, now I have to do daily radiation, the running around caused more pains.
Emily - my RO only wants me to use Miaderm, I used to use Aquaphor at night. He wants me to use Miaderm on my breast and underarm.
So far my skin is holding up not much pink, but I’m only on 9/30,too early to say.
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Hi Diveslikeagirl! I am a runner and prior to starting chemo I was a running about 4-5x per week and doing yoga and strength work a couple times per week. I kept up as much as I could during chemo. I had 4 treatments of DD AC and 4 treatments of DD Taxol, 8 treatments total. Since it was dose dense (DD) my treatments were every 2 wks. Usually day 5 following each chemo treatment I would feel up to running and working out and I would be able to get some runs and exercise in until the next chemo treatment.
I also did a lot of walking on days in between my runs. As my treatments progressed my pace slowed considerably and I would have to alternate running and walking instead of just running. The biggest issue wlfor me was shortness of breath when running. Yoga felt great during chemo and I did that quite regularly. Keep doing what you are doing. You will slow down but keep at it as much as you can. Listen to your body and you will know what is too much. My Oncologist told me after finishing chemo that he believed the reason I did so well with side effects during chemo (particularly neuropathy with the taxol) and recovered so quickly after finishing chemo was due to the shape I was in prior to chemo and my activity level during chemo. It was really nice to hear him say that as I am pretty sure he thought I was crazy and was not overly supportive when I told him I was running during chemo. 3 weeks after finishing chemo I ran 4 miles with no walk breaks! It will take work but you will be back at your normal activity level sooner than later! Good luck!!
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Also Diveslikeagirl I have started posting over in the "let's post our daily exercise" thread in the Exercise and Getting Back in Shape forum. Check it out...very motivating group of ladies! I think there is a gal who swam thru chemo over there.
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jenruns...glad to hear everything went well yesterday. One more step forward!!
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Runnermom, your response was SO helpful. I am getting different drugs than you, but hope I can get in some exercise every day or so. In weeks 2 and 3 of the 6, 3-week cycles, I will be going in for an infusion of Herceptin, so I'm worried that I won't be getting any infusion-free "recovery" weeks to get into the pool. But I do have a great personal trainer who said she will work with me to accomplish whatever we can and she also offers yoga classes, so I may have to switch to yoga during the cold winter months here.
Off to check out the exercise thread. Thanks.
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Dives,
I was on the same chemo mix you are starting, and I lost a lot of weight/strength/energy. Exercising was hard, but I wasn’t starting out with a good exercise regimen (walked one mile uphill/one mile downhill daily, plus walking and up/down stairs all day at work). For me, it hit harder as the treatments progressed, so get in your exercise whenever you feel you possibly can. Everyone reacts differently, but I hit a wall after my third round and had trouble getting out of bed for 10 days. The next three weren’t as bad.
But as you can see, there are people like Jenruns who get a lot of exercise in!
I hope all goes well with your first infusion!
*and on hair- I can’t go without a hat/scarf yet, because the sides of my forehead are too high-like male pattern baldness, even though my hair is coming in dark-I always had thinner hair in that area.
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Dives, I also had same chemo mix as you- I didn't work out as much as you before treatment- just walked about 5 times a week but I wasn't able to exercise during chemo. I was in bed for the first week, diarrhea was bad second week and just weak the 3rd week. I'm not trying to be discouraging and a lot of other people did great with exercise- i just don't want you to feel down if you find you're not up for it. I hope you can keep swimming
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Thanks Leatherette, this is what I needed. Everyone is different and we all fall on a continuum. I just needed to know what that continuum might include. I am able to work from home but I have a "desk job" on the computer and phone, so I'll need to make time for exercise and will heed your recommendation to watch for the times I'm feeling best and grab exercise while I can.
Trying not to stress the hair loss too much. Gotta save my life first. This board is so helpful for perspective.
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Dives - since you have removed your lymph nodes, when you do yoga or workout make sure you are not out any weight on your left hand, read about exercise for LYMPHEDEMA.
I’m stepping into 6 weeks of PFC and hair is growing slowly but I got my nasal hair back and eyebrows is coming .... started to gain some of the weight back. Energy level, yes and no, I still do my 40-45 min daily walk but I need nap now. Could it be radiation, I don’t know for sure. I’m going into my 10/30 session today. 1/3 done for radiation!!!
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Dives...regarding lymphedema, I saw a Physical Therapist that specializes in lymphedema after surgery/before starting
chemo. Exercise is important to me and I wanted to make sure I didn't overdue it when I started back. I had NO signs of lymphedema and was given the ok to start yoga and move on to weights a few weeks later. You only had 5 nodes removed, hopefully you will not have any problems either! But you can ask your surgeon for a referral to PT and they can help you with that. I saw my PT again before starting radiation. Everything still looked good and I have been doing yoga, weights and strength work regularly since mid August.
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Jenruns, that's so cool that you had the option for proton therapy! Since my bc is only on the left side, this could've been an ideal treatment for me.
Paulette, yay for being 1/3 through rads! Once I got to the halfway mark, the days seemed to go by faster. Hope your skin is holding up well.
This afternoon, I have an appointment with my eye doctor. In the last year since I saw her, my left eye vision got worse. I think we discussed here before that it may be a chemo SE, and now that I'm 11 weeks PFC my vision has improved a bit but not back to pre-chemo vision.
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Sunny - I have so many appointments I needed next year, dentist, vision and my family doctor also, on top of all these, I have to do my mammogram and US, I think bone density also. I don’t know how many appointments I can fit it!!
Ladies, I hope everyone have a good day, I’m happy my skin still holding up well.
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i so get the overwhelming number of doc appts, am actually almost glad for the new chemo i am on, it is a pill so while i still see doc, no more chemo visits
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Hi All!
JenRuns - Congrats on the exchange surgery going so well, and the start of therapy soon! Sounds like it's all headed in the right direction!
Dives - I am an avid hiker. Before all of this, I was doing 4 mile hikes with 1000'+ elevation gain a few times a week, with yoga mixed in (and some walks/hikes that didn't have much elevation gain). I was on the same regimen you are on, at first. The first infusion went well, and by week three, I took my first real hike (4 miles, 1050' elevation gain) and felt good. It was also my first hike since my no reconstruction BMX (at the 7 week mark). I was definitely more tired, and had to be very careful about the sun (it was the dead of summer... that was fun!), but I did it. Then I had an allergic reaction to the chemo on the second round, which produced hives like i've never seen before, and never want to see again (haha!). So, this limited my hiking a bit just because the heat and higher heart rate really made them show up. But, I still walked every day. Even on my worst SE days, I walked at least around the block for .25 miles. The walking and moving really helped the SE's and actually helped combat fatigue quite well.
Thanksgiving week I was up in Big Sur and did my first real hike since July (which was 2 months PFC) and it was great! Over the four days I logged around 12 miles and 2800'+ elevation gain.
Anyway, this is to say, exercise when you're feeling up to it, and at least get some movement in on those days when the energy just isn't there. This is no time to judge yourself for the things you're not able to do... any movement is better than none, and you will have good days, especially as you enter the 10 days before the next infusion.
Sending good thoughts out your way!
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Tomorrow I'm 3 months PFC, and my hair is really starting to come in. Eyebrows are mostly in, just getting a bit longer, and my eyelashes are back, but still not quite long enough to curl with an eyelash curler (and just like pre-chemo, they are straight, straight, straight! Was actually hoping my eyelashes might get some natural curl!). The only real SE at this point is tight joints and tendons/ligaments, especially in my feet & ankles. But, this is getting better every day.
I'm two weeks out from getting my port out and the incision is healing. Taking a little longer than it did when they put it in, but this is due to it being taken out so close to the end of radiation. Not a big deal. The rash that I got from the cleaning solution after the surgery is getting much better, and did seem to be the worst in the radiation zone. I guess my skin is way more sensitive now, and might be this way for some months. I never had very sensitive skin before the chemo reaction, so this is new to me, but it's fine and as long as I'm generally good to my skin, it seems to do okay. Will be happy when this rash is completely gone, but it is manageable! :-)
I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays and that your SE's are minimal!
-LoJo
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Well we must all be Christmassing, yay for us.
Today was 22/30, doing good and so looking forward to being done.
It's freezing cold out and I'm happy to stay warm and cozy insidewith my DH.
Christmas Eve I was putting a blackberry cobbler in the oven and forgot I had my wig on. It's synthetic. At dinner my daughter asked what I was doing to my wig to curl up the ends so. Took a look in the mirror and it had all shrunk and melted/frizzed. Ugh! We were sitting in a restaurant, there was nothing I could do but chalk it up. So now I'm waiting for the replacement.
Hair is still coming in at a glacial pace, but at least it's growing.
Enjoy the weekend, take care and hope all your Christmas's were peaceful and blessed
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LoJo, thanks for your insight. It's really uplifting enough to just hear you describe life after this chemo mess is over.
I'm now Cycle 1, Day 7 and just had my first Herceptin-only infusion. My WBC was high today but the PA warned me that it will drop in the next 2-4 days. I felt good enough to do a little snow shoveling (light, fluffy stuff) and it felt good to get outside, even at 10 degrees. Tomorrow I'm going to try to take the yoga class I was taking before I started chemo. I'm going to heed your advice and just do what I can. After a week off for the holiday and working my job remotely from home, I'm getting stir crazy and would like to see what my body will allow.
Mindy
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LoJo, I hope the rash has cleared. My lashes and brows are just about completely in, yay. Here's my hair as of last week.
Quite a bit more gray, but I'll take it!
Today is rad session 26/30 and my first boost. It's going to be the scar line and my axilla. So far my skin is dry, flaky and itchy, also quite red and tender. I'm having a little more stiffness in my shoulder, and a small increase in swelling in my arm, so I've added another hour on the pump and some stretches my PT gave me. It's all helping.
All in all I'm doing good, a little uncomfortable, but every morning I get up and say, "this is manageable." Heading to lunch and a movie after rads with my daughter and hubby.
Have a great day everyone! Hugs and I include you in my prayers everyday
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Hair looks great, Teese! Sorry I haven't logged on here for quite a while. I always have FB at my fingertips (use it a lot for work) so that's where I do most of my chatting
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Hey gals ... hair is looking good! Mine is growing well, but I've noticed my scalp is really dry and itchy. Will probably move from using my face soap (yeah I know that's not ideal, but it's Clinique's liquid soap) to my old shampoo (which is paraben/sulfate free). Hoping that works!
No start date for rads yet ... I was resimulated on 12/28; I figure with the holiday, it'll be early next week before they call with the plan. Recovery from exchange surgery went well... I have to remind myself not to lift too much (he wants a 10 pound lift restriction in place for a month).
Hope everyone's doing well! I only check this site a few times a week, but I always smile when I see a new post for this chemo group. You gals were such a central part of my life for those 20 weeks
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Teese - The rash has cleared, thank goodness! Wasn't nearly as bad as the hives due to the chemo allergy, but, it wasn't fun! My skin is looking very good and the port incision is finally closing up and looking good, as well (don't even need a bandaid over it anymore!). Your hair looks great! It's coming in so even. When I was at the point your at with growth, it felt like a lot changed every day. I'd wake up every morning and it would look thicker, longer and the scalp would be less visible.
JenRuns - It has been very dry here in California, so I had the same issue with my scalp (and I wasn't using the best shampoo on it). Now I'm back to my nice shampoo and my scalp feels great. My hair is super soft, too... even the gray strands! I kind of love it! Will probably keep it short moving forward (want some bangs, but who knows... may cut them off after I grow them... it's kind of nice not having hair all over my face, especially when I'm hiking!).
As JenRuns said... this group of women holds a special place in my heart. You were all amazing throughout the chemo ride, which I still consider to be the hardest part of the treatment. You all made this whole thing so much more do-able!
Happy New Year to all of you! :-)
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Love your hair Teese, you know skin cut is in now so you're fashionable. Mine is not there yet, they are growing so I will show my picture in few weeks. Your RO allowed you to use your pump, mine told me stop. He worried pump will irritate my skin. Now I have to do manual massage daily and it isn’t effective at all. I got my fluid back and I know I have couple months of PT ahead of me now.
I'm going #20 of my 30 radiation today. Skin turned red and breast became tender, also I have a small break on my nipple. RO gave me telfa pad to put on top so nothing can rub on it. My fear is today radiation on the break would it be painful or not? I forgot to ask yesterday. As Teese said, this is manageable, just pray won't get worse.
I'm on FB a lots and I do come to this website daily, I'm trying to help the new comers as I got helps when I first came here. Now I'm thinking more about the future after radiation, I might go back to work part time again but I know my husband doesn't want me to. I'm still trying to figure what to do.
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Happy New Year ladies!!
Good to read everyone's updates!
I finished #18 of 33 radiation treatments today! It is going well! Skin is holding up well and I am feeling good...no fatigue. Some muscle stiffness that seems to be a side effect leftover from chemo as it started a few weeks after I finished chemo. My MO said that is normal. Started Tamoxifen last weekend. Have taken 5 doses and no horrible SE's that I am aware of. Take at bedtime and do possibly feel a little more muscle aches at night but not sure if it's just the after effect from chemo or if the med is causing some of this too and have noticed dye eyes like I had during chemo but I also live in the frozen tundra called ND and our furnace has ran non stop for the past 2 wks as we have experienced well below normal temps and wind chills. Am going to start acupuncture next week to see of that helpless. I will have my ovaries removed in the spring and switch to Armidex after that. Registered for my spring half marathon this week and will start training for it the end of this month. I know it won't be my speediest half marathon, but I am willing to bet my last dollar that when I finish this one, I will never have been more proud of myself! I will run it a little over a year after my diagnosis and I can't think of a better way to celebrate being 1 year out!
I check into BC.org pretty regularly still... I have been posting over on the daily exercise thread. It's a good fit for me. Never got into the Facebook group...felt it was too large.
Wishing all of you the very best as we head into the new year and are finishing up our treatments! Love hearing everyone's updates!
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Runnermum, Paulette's Facebook group has 31 members at the moment, I wonder if that is the group you felt was too large, or maybe you were looking at another one?
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dmjmom...yep that is the one. I joined but have never posted
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Hi ladies, the FB group I setup it up for everyone, many of us are admin to that group and we can add more. Just a group which we can stay in touch easier.
Happy new year to all and hope 2018 will be much better year to all of us.
Runnermum, I just finished #20/30 radiation, skin turned red and praying it won’t get cracks as my nipple did. Last night skin felt warm but I slept anyway. So glad to have the weekend off, skin could use some rest.
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