Chemo starting October 2017
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JadeShiva, oh my gosh that look so painful. I would have been dying so don't think you're a wimp at all. I have the worst luck with IVs so get horrid bruises all the time. And the hair looks great, even the wigs. I'm too chicken to stray from what looks like my hair used to look lol.
Petey, the wig looks great! Hope your numbers were good.
LisaRx, ooh I hate how much my tastebuds have changed. I bought some Cuties at the store yesterday and when I finally had one today it was sooooo gross. So sad. I still have my fingers crossed for pumpkin pie. Please please please!!!
Joy, I get the Neulasta shot the day after each of my infusions. I had bad bone and muscle pain the first shot, lesser the second, and still lesser the 3rd. I totes street or soaking baths help a lot.
stage, I haven't had my period since i had that d&c oct 15, and definitely haven't had any pms so I'm not guessing it's gonna happen. I guess we'll see as time goes on.
Peoy, welcome to the club
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Just another recommendation for Melatonin if you're having difficulty sleeping. I took some last night and I slept from 9pm to 5:30am, with 2 potty breaks. Check with your MO if it's okay to use, but I feel so much better when I'm able to sleep.
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Dear Peoy, Welcome to the group!
Thank you so much for sharing the specifics of your follow up ultrasound. A few of us here would like an ultrasound to gauge progress but our doctors haven't ordered them. I am so very happy that your lump shrunk, even if the ultrasound showed more than you were feeling. I hope a lot more of the tumor disappears before soon.
It's very interesting to me how treatments differ around the world. I was watching an interview with a German cancer researcher on YouTube and learned from him that it is more common in the US to start with AC, but in Germany they would do neoadjuvant with a Taxane and then add AC after surgery if necessary. Perhaps Singapore works on the same treatment model as Europe.
On a side note, I'd like to celebrate this great group we have here on the October Chemo thread. We are women from all over who are in this together. It really means so much to me to connect with women who are going through the same thing at the same time all over the world. We've learned so much from each other. I've collected the locations I could find - sorry if I missed anyone. Let's hear it for the girls from:
- California
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Ohio
- Kansas
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Arkansas
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- Florida
- Nova Scotia
- Alberta
- Ontario
- Australia
- Philippines
- Ireland
- Singapore
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Got the genetic results this morning in the car on the way to chemo. Everything came back negative. Good news for me, my daughter, my niece. But as they said, still a mystery what caused my triple negative breast cancer.
Both my daughter and niece are recommended to start mammograms at 35. My age of BC minus 10
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Jenn. That’s a relief. I don’t “qualify” for testing but might investigate the process. Heartbreaking to think that my daughter will worry about breast cancer long before I did.
Ladies. Thank you for the doxetoexl and Neulasta reassurance. I feel a bit better. Dat six post infusion #2. Things should be turning around soon 💜.
Love to you all.
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That's great news, Jennifer! Congrats. When I got my negative genetic tests back I was so happy for my 9 nieces !! I was dreading having to put any worry into their young minds.
Here's to hoping more treatment options for TNBC soon!
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Hello Everyone and Happy Thanksgiving Week! I have loved all the photos of the wigs, and they all look great to me. I will post one next time I wear it. I did a trim on mine and added some bangs and really feel good in it now, it does look like my real hair did.
I had my last A/C treatment (4) yesterday. I had been battling a flu bug that started last Thursday evening. After my last treatment I only had that one good day and then the flu took me out until yesterday. I was actually able to go get my nails done, walked 4 miles and grocery shopped. It was a fun day and should have started my 5 good days until my treatment yesterday. The bug turned into a nasty sinus infection by Saturday evening, ran fever that only got to 100.7 and chills. It was nice to just call my DO and get a prescription for antibiotic and not have to visit the emergency clinic!! Started feeling better by that evening. I did worry about my WBC yesterday when I had my blood work, but I was really good, what a relief, so afraid I would not get treatment. He did a breast check again and my tumor is gone, I also had nipple retraction from the tumor pulling, but it is back to normal too. Which is wonderful. I Start my DD Taxol in 2 weeks. I do not think they are giving me the Neulasta with it, but not positive, I forgot to ask the DO. I did discuss the icing of nails during Taxol, he said they are not set up with ice packs to support because it has not been proven to help anything. He said he does have one patient that is using ice in another County but she just started. He said that there are two types of Taxol and the type I am getting Paclitaxel is usually not as harsh and does not cause nail problems. I think I will try the first dose without the ice and if I see discoloring do it with the next ones. I do not think I could deal with the taking ice packs to chemo, taking off shoes and socks to add packs and then having to remove it all when I go to the toilet and back during chemo...sometimes I have had to go twice (lol) Right now my nails are super hard and growing at the same rate as before, which is fast. But I am anxious to hear about others experience, DO NOT want to lose nails!! I also wanted to mention that I get my Steriods in my tube feed prior to A/C, and do not take anything at home. It does make it hard to sleep the first 3 nights but wears off after that I guess. Not sure why that differs per doctor but others take steriods at home??? I too hate the lack of taste, but after 7 days most of mine come back and some stay altered. Cravings are weird too like others of you and the things I craved my first week of treatment I can not stand now, my cravings are ever changing. Lately Chinese sounds good, like someone mentioned!
Thank you all for being here and providing your experiences. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, even if we can not eat, we can be Very Thankful.
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Happy Thanksgiving Week Ladies. I am still trying to figure out how to post and get email notifications so hopefully I can now keep up with everyone's comments. Sorry to comment so late on earlier threads. I will turn 60 on Wednesday and will have my 7th chemo that day. Not exactly what I wanted to do for my birthday, but trying to take everything in stride. So far I feel pretty good. Fatigue is now my friend as she is around all the time. I am so thankful for just small SE. Hope all will experience the same if they start on Taxol. Is anyone else on here going to continue with Herception for an additional 9 months after they finish their regular chemo? I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of you on here. The sadness, the hair loss, and the emotional roller coaster is so much easier with ladies who are beside you. I pray all will have an awesome holiday and enjoy the little things that come your way.
petey111 and scaligirl: The new wigs look great on you girls. Hope mine will too. Thanks for your suggestions. Haven't shaved my head yet but getting real close. Still scared to see my bald head. My oncologist said that she has never seen an ugly bald headed women so just a new way to look a things I guess. I had a dear friend encourage me by saying "Just go with it" meaning we have to go through all these changes cause we really don't have any other choices. It really helped me to look at it by trying to embrace the new me cause this will happen and I can't stop it, so just go with it! Hope that helps.
agathanyc: Thanks so much for the tips on helping with my bloody nose. I am on the 12 weekly treatments with Taxol. So far SE are minimal compared to others on AC treatments. No nauseau, nails are fine, some bone pain, no taste bud changes, in fact food seems to taste better which is not good for my waistline with the Holidays coming. It does seem that I have a cough, runny nose, and cold sores on a regular basis and think that's from the chemo, since I usually don't get colds.
simbobby: I too and Her2+ so thanks for recommendation on Living Proof movie about Herception. It just seems like 12 months every 3 weeks is a lot of treatment.
lisarxcincinnati and jennifer522: Thanks for your story on some just do not "get" it. I feel the same way and 'm sure others on this board feel the same. Using the "cancer card" is warranted sometimes. We are going through a lot and most people don't understand but you will find that if you ask for or tell someone in a situation that you need to get out of because you are not being treated fairly or due to not being able to participate due to our illness, hopefully most will understand.
voilalia: What a beautiful bald headed lady.
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I haven’t shaved my head yet. I had a lot of hair and I still have about 25%. It’s warm. Lol. Remember? Canada? -20 in November?
I developed what I liken to cradle cap. I’ve been washing my scalp with baby shampoo sparingly. Someone on here mentioned a neutrogena product. Can you remind me? This flaky scalp is nasty. Thank you!
Sara
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Started the day feeling better, but then had a nice bout of diarrhea thanks to eating crappy the last three days. It gave me new resolve to get back to eating better, and after a healthy breakfast and lunch I'm feeling better. I have some furniture being delivered at 1pm, then I plan to get on my sneakers and hit the pavement for a long walk. Yesterday I was really down and out and fatigued. While vacuuming, I realized that all of my muscles were really sore and achy, especially in my back and neck. I think that the chemo was just sitting in my cells because I hadn't kept moving. So I took a walk. I could only do 15 minutes, but I focused on moving my arms and felt noticeably better after.
Today, I can taste a few things. Still not 100% but much better. I'm glad to hear that the SEs of Taxol do not involve taste buds. It's so hard to get proper nourishment and hydration when everything tastes awful.
Jen, congrats on the negative results for genetic testing. None of my relatives have tested positive, but who knows? It does seem like there is a family tendency to get BC, so my daughters will still have to stay on top of it.
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2brandy, Herceptin only works for those of us whose tumors are HER+. It's a great tool to have in your toolbox if you have a HER+ tumor, so even though you'll be on chemo longer than me, don't despair. It's actually a very good thing for you, as they can target your tumor (using hormones) without a lot of the collateral damage that a broad-spectrum chemo does. We triple negative ladies are hoping for a similar treatment for our tumor type soon!
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Sara - the Neutrogena shampoo I mentioned is T-Sal. It has salicylic acid and I used it for slight seborrhea.
I decided to go to a barber today and really get my head shaved. Part of my fuzz was growing and part thinning - I think it looks better all smooth. I may even screw up the guts to go out like this! So, in honor of all the poor plucked turkeys this Thanksgiving:
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Beautiful Agatha!!! 💕💕💜💜😘
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Agatha, you rock that look.
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Agatha- I agree, you look fantastic! You remind me of a woman I see in the cancer center sometimes. She has to be in her late 20's/early 30's. She rocks the bald, beautiful makeup (which I am jealous of because I don't have that skill) and pretty dangle earrings.
So last AC done for me. Found out too it's the last nuelasta. Nuelasta is not done with taxol. I tried to nap a little this afternoon but with a 5 year old, I get a 30 minutes napping on the couch before "what do we have to eat" "can I have...". She really has been great with all these changes with mommy. The hardest part is mom not being able to do what other moms do at her school- go on field trips, have lunch in the cafeteria with her, read to her class. I am hesitant about being around groups of kids (and kid germs)
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Agatha- you look beautiful!
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Agatha, it's gorgeous!
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Thank you, everyone! It was a spur of the moment thing.
I'm still feeling cruddy from my sinus infection and had to go to the doctor get more antibiotics. Across the street was an old school barber shop. I decided on the spur of the moment to go for it. The barber was a very sweet young guy. About half way through he told me that he'd been through cancer treatment himself and was now studying to be a doctor. We had a really nice connection so it was a good experience.
There was also a MAC makeup store on that block. So, I took my bald head in and asked them to help a sister out. The makeup artist did a good job, never to be duplicated by me unfortunately.
Jennifer - I am sorry that you can't fully participate in everything for your daughter. That must suck. I only have to take care of myself and it's hard sometimes so I have such awe of you guys that are taking care of kids, too, through all this. Give them an extra cuddle for me.
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Agatha - you look smashing!
I wish I'm as bold. Still have 10-20% hair left. I'm uncomfortable with wigs so I wear a beanie n the bit of hair protruding at the end of beanie makes me feel better.
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Peoy. Me too. I’m faking that I have hair with the tufts in the front.
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Agatha - You look fantastic!!! I wonder if my stylist could have gotten much closer than my husband, like your scalp is. The stubble is annoying to me. Maybe I'll see if she's in tomorrow. I can't remember if she works or not on Wednesdays.
Sara - Maybe look into a moisturizer too. I used my lightweight face moisturizer until I went to the wig store. Then they gave me an aloe-based spray that's good. I'll find the name of it when I go upstairs later.
Not much new on the home front for me today. Just catching up with everyone's postings and trials and tribulations. Hope the rest of the week goes well for you all!
~Sara~ "Wonders never cease if we never cease to wonder." -Ziggy
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Completed my 4th and final AC yesterday and move on to 12 weekly treatments of Taxol in two weeks. Just noticed that my Taxol treatment is scheduled for five hours. Can this be right? My AC treatments were two hours.
Agatha- you look beautiful. I am definitely doing that! You trendsetter you.
One of these days I'm going to figure out how to upload a photo on this site.
I love seeing everyone's photo to put a face to a name
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@Simbobby- My understanding of it is that they administer the first dose of either taxane slowly to watch for reactions. I could be wrong and hopefully your treatment doesn't to run that long!
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Hi Jeniffer and VL22,
I am also TN and 47. I am in AC 3 and will have AC 4 next week. Then I will have 12 weeks Taxol, maybe add carboplatin depend on next week Ultra sound result. I feel lump size didn’t change at all. Hope my feeling is wrong.
I’ve been reading a lot and try to catch up. Thank you all for sharing. Pray for all of you have enough energy tomorrow!
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agatha, you look amazing!
Joyseeker, I feel you. I can't do as much with 4.5 year old either. I had surgery first and couldn't lift my 22 month old for 3 months! Its very hard. I do take her to playgroup sometimes. Its on the day after my infusion so my wbc is still good and the steroids plus a coffee give me energy! I don't week my wbc is low though. I had to take my son to his allergist on Mon in a busy kids outpatient area. I wore a mask and they let me sit somewhere quieter with him. Its hard but I have 3 more doses of dd Taxol to go. I keep focusing on the end game. Kids are so adapatable though. Mine have got used to me being tired but thank goodness no nausea with taxol!
I'm off in for second taxol today. Wore my wig for the first time. I tried putting on mascara. I have blond eyelashes so didn't realise how few I have left. I hope they grow back quickly. Bald head doesn't bother me now, but bald face with zero make up skills is proving a challenge!!
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It's 5am and I nearly slept the clock around. Fell asleep at 7pm yesterday. That final DD AC kicked my butt! Just making the bed exhausted me. I'm hoping that today will bring me new energy. My taste is slowly coming back, so that's a good sign. And my body hair is starting to come back in. I've read that some people's (head) hair starts coming back in a few weeks even as they are doing Taxol, so I'm crossing my fingers for that.
My wig came in. It's the wrong color for me. I should have gone to a wig specialist. Oh well. I guess I'll be wearing a hat to the wedding in December.
I asked the MO NP last time what Taxol was supposed to do. She said that the purpose is to shrink the tumor and get rid of any cancer cells, or the same as AC. I know some ladies get Taxol first and then AC. So BriMom, there's still a good chance your tumor will still shrink.
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morning folks chemo #3 today but im concerned my muscles are fatigued and feel like I have been to the gym all week. And i haven't arms and legs mostly. Blood work good to go but hemoglobin is bit low. She (MO) said good enough to do chemo. And whats new here is the RO called with an appointment and Im pissed didnt know I even needed to see them. Damn time for me to go. *sigh*
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Lisa I was curious what taxol was suppose to do vs what AC was suppose to do. Seems like I am the only one getting taxol every 3 weeks. I asked the infusion nurse yesterday and she said that is standard. Every 3 weeks either 4 or 6 times. I am on the 6 times.
I admit I have liked not having hair on my legs, arm pits and some pesky facial hair but sure miss having hair on my head. It's funny my daughter draws her family at school and now mom has the shortest hair. Short spiky hair she calls it. Since I am sporting the thinnedout buzz with white scalp.
I always pick over my blood work numbers and it's analyze anything not in range. It's always something each two weeks. But changes back to normal by the next two weeks and something else isn't in range.
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Sara the spray I got is Euphora Aloetherapy. I see it in Amazon for $10. (Which kind of kills me because they charged $25 for it at the wig place!)
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Simbobby - I noticed you're triple positive like me. For my 12 weekly taxol, herceptin/perjeta will be given together with taxol on the 1st/4th/7th/10th treatment. It was 7hrs on those days. Otherwise 2hrs on taxol alone.
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