Chemo starting October 2017
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Welcome Laxmon- so hard to feel normal during this process completely understand. I agree Mrs Winnie staying active is the best. The moment I get any down time my mind goes to those dark places ( don't want to be there)! Sara and Trees looking good! I unfortunately am not able to post any pics yet. After 4 A/C treatments I was completely bald now after Taxol #2 I am seeing very small stubble coming in. I heard hair will start growing during Taxol so I am hoping this is the start. Hope everyone has a restfull and warmer weekend! Supposed to snow here tomorrow.
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My chemo peach hair... Lost most of it first treatment by 3rd treatment fuzz starting to grow. Pretty sickly little hair sprouts lol makes me laugh all different lengths and not soft like it looks like. With chemo done now just a matter of time for me. Please darlings just call me Winnie lol.
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Hey Joyseeker - we look like twins! I can't believe your hair is growing on Taxol...that's what I am on and I lost mine! I have had 10 of 12 weekly Taxol...hoping to have some hair for my sons graduation in May as well.
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KimCee. So odd. What’s left is growing. Crazy. I started Doxetaxel yesterday. We will see what happens. I hear it’s really hard on the hair/skin/nails 😜. Yes. My Christmas wish is hair for May
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Joyseeker...My wish is also for hair in May, lol. I also hope you are as lucky as me. No skin, hair or nail issues at all. I do have itchy scalp but that's about it. Not sick, no neuropathy, no fatigue. Hope I am not now jinxing myself
Oh shoot, just realized you are taking taxotere...I had taxotere in 1999. No issues at all...didn't want Taxol this time, wanted taxotere again, but didn't get what I wanted.0 -
Happy New Years Eve everyone! Here is to a happy and healthy 2018!!!
I have been dealing with taxol SE since Tuesday chemo. Wednesday called the nurse and got OK to take Benadryl since my face was flushed and so itchy for 3 days. I learned Benadryl is not something I can take lightly. It knocks me out very fast. I fell asleep with lights on, people around me, etc. So thank goodness my mom was here with my daughter.
Friday started the bone pain in my thighs, ankles and shoulders. I went grocery shopping on Saturday and that was a mistake. Overheated with the wig, getting dizzy, hurt walking and running my cart (accidentally) into shelfs. Luckily not the wine or pasta sauce aisle.
Chemo is wearing on me and my family. Before all this I was always on the go, took care of everything at home/with my daughter, very organized. And now struggling to keep up. Tomorrow is my birthday and holding on to the hope of better days ahead
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Happy Birthday Jennifer...hope you have a great day, side effect free. How many more Taxol treatments do you have? Weekly or every three weeks?
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Thank you Kim!
I have 4 more (total of 6) taxol every 3 weeks. Finish March 20th, if everything stays on cycle. Surgery is scheduled for April 9th (I think from the online my hart).
Not sure how many surgeries I will have or if I will need rads. Being TN, I will consider anything they can throw at me.
As for hair talk, I haven't noticed any change yet. I wondered this morning if my eyelashes are thinner. Hoping I don't lose lashes and brows too.
I just got a essential oil diffuser for Christmas. So I may try a mix for growth. After chemo, wonder if MO would ok rogain? I have heard it helps. Thinking it will be late summer 4-5 months before true hair. I have never had short hair before, so styling will be a learning process.
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Oh Neulasta. How you pain me! I had injection on Friday and haven’t been able to get ahead of the pain. It seems a lot more severe with Doxetaxel. Also. Feel like I’ve beeb hit by a truck. Fun times. Hoping to feel better by the 4th which I my birthday. Was thinking of an Epson salts bath except it’s -40C here. Do not want to be damp. Alas. I camp on the couch with Tylenol.
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Jennifer, I can't get over how different we all are with se, hair, nails, neuropathy, joint pains and weight. My friend is going thru 12 weekly Taxol, like me, I am bald, she is not. I lost eyebrows and lashes after chemo last time but they grow back quickly. Mine did not grow back like before, been penciling eyebrows since. I had 10 Taxol so far, still have brows and lashes but none on my head. Strange. I hear you on TN, this time I am her2+. So hate BC.
I used rogain for a short time years ago, didn't see any plus side, and never did ask my MO ooops. But another poster swears by castor oil and jojoba oil for regrowth. I bought it and will try it after I finish Taxol.
You are a fellow Cap! My birthday was the 27th 😊
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Thanks MrsWinnie. It's been 3 months since I was diagnosed and started treatment, but I still can't quite wrap my head around everything. I guess that I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I look in the mirror and am so discouraged at the reflection starting back. Being positive is so difficult- especially around the holidays.
Wishing everyone a healthy 2018.
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Hello ladies! Happy New Year's Eve! I've been down and out the last 4 days battling a virus that I probably picked up at Christmas. It's a doozy of a cough/cold. Last night, I coughed so hard from the postnasal drip that I thought I was going to crack a rib. Then this morning, I woke up and my eyes were glued shut by a crust of goop. I lost a good portion of what remains of my eyelashes trying to extract my eyelashes from the sticky goop that's infected my eyes. I have about 25% of my eyelashes now and maybe 30% of my eyebrows.
So I spent 2 hours of my day at Urgent Care because I was concerned that the conjunctivitis was bacterial. My eyeballs actually hurt when I press on my eye lids. The PA gave me a prescription for eye drops even though she thinks it's a virus, because she was alarmed at how red my eyes were. Other than the random chills/fevers I've gotten as a SE of Taxol, this is the first "other" sickness I've suffered in the last 13 weeks. I hope to God I can get through this next 7 weeks without picking up the flu, as it's supposed to be especially virulent this year. The PA recommended a few OTC things, such as Mucinex, but I'm reluctant to take anything because the Taxol is so dehydrating already.
46 more days of chemo! God help us all get through it!
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Speaking of the flu and the news on how bad it is. I have been wondering how paranoid I need to be the next few months? Stay out of costco, target, restaurants? Order my groceries online and stay in as much as possible? I don't have great WBCs or RBCs and not getting neulasta, now that I am on taxol.
I can't do much about husband and child bringing germs into home. But wonder how much I should do besides the normal hand washing and staying away from obvious sick people
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I am 47. I had neulasta and good WBC. I did not have to avoid crowd but I did wash my hands frequently. I say avoid crowd every other time.
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Hi everyone, Happy new year!
Jennifer522…, Happy birthday! I was amazed you have been taking care of everything! Also I see our regimen is so different as we are both TN. I am on 12 weekly taxol, finished 3 already. I have one SE it seems nobody has mentioned: my heart beats so fast. Most of the day time it is about 100-110, my resting bpm is 80. For the last two days, I had shortness of breath for several hours, so I just lay down on the bed when I felt I couldn't breathe.
My last blood count is not very good. I've been avoiding crowd for quite some time. No shopping, no party. My husband takes care of sick child.
LisaRxCinci… I hope you feel better soon. I'll pray for you!
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Happy new year everyone,, This weds. I will be half way through my taxol. 6/12 weekly. and that ends my chemo. Though Taxol hasn't been as harsh as my AC I think the accumulation of these SEs are getting to me.
When I look in the mirror I feel like the person I am looking at is not me. Not bad enough being bald but now most of my eyebrows and eyelashes are gone. I too have shortness of breath, rapid heart beat and it feels like my heart is going to explode if I walk a sort distance especially in the cold. I can not walk around the grocery store any more, it is too tiring.
My WBC has been slightly low but not too bad. This person is not me and emotionally it's getting the best of me. I am hoping to turn the corner and start to get some positive energy to keep fighting, this monster that has taken over me.
Mrs. Winnie, Trees and Joyseeker, thanks for sharing the pictures. II am amazed at all the hair you girls have!!! That gives me hope.. I feel little stubbles, then I get a treatment and my head feels like a babies bottom again. MrsWinnie my hair is about your length, on a good day
Just curious ... With Taxol which week it stops falling out and starts growing? My son is getting married in July but I think I will still have to use my wigSorry to sound so depressing, just feeling down today. Need some prayers and positive vibes my way.
First day of a new year, have a wonderful day today
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Happy 2018 everyone! I woke up feeling human again, although I'm still suffering from a racking cough. At least my eyes are not as awful. I do appreciate everyone's good thoughts and support during this time.
DKK, we're on exactly the same timing. This Wednesday, assuming my numbers are good, I'll get my 6th Taxol and will be halfway done with the last round of chemo. I'm getting so impatient to be done with this. I, too, feel like a different person lately. It doesn't help that people treat me so differently now. My husband and I made it our friends' son's wedding 2 nights ago, and everyone went out of their way to come over and hug me (even though I asked them not to because I was sick), and tell me how GREAT I looked, even though I'm bald (I wore a chemo cap instead of a wig) and my eyes were swollen from the virus I'd picked up. The line for drinks was really long, but the host made a point to get a drink just for me. I mean, I really appreciated everyone's love and support, but I hated feeling like such a spectacle. I don't WANT to be a poster girl for BC. I don't WANT to be sick. I just want this regimen to be over with so that I get on with my life!
Well, now I sound whiny again. And I'm trying to start the new year on a more positive note. As soon as I'm done here, I'm going to go and clean the rat pit that is my home. Then we're going to take the Christmas tree down. Those two things will make me feel much more in control. And then I can face the next 44 days, hopefully with a smile!
44 more days of chemo!
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"I guess that I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired."
This was going to be my exact post. I was going to ask, "Who else is sick and tired of feeling sick and tired????"
Jennifer - Happy Birthday!! My nurses said that the main time they really encourage people to stay away from crowds is when your neutrophils drop below 1. The neutrophils are the first things to kick in and fight infection. They don't worry about the WBC or RBC's as much as the neutrophils. So...are those ok? Then I would say continue on mostly as normal. :-)
ABCMom - I had that side effect on AC, but I think it was more from the steroids (premeds) than anything else.
Sara - I'm so sorry the pain is so bad for you!! It wasn't that bad for me until the last round of AC. Hang in there!
DKK - Hang in there. You never know how fast things will grow back once you are finished. I envy you a bit being halfway through. It seems such a long hill for me to climb. And a week longer now that they postponed my first Taxol for my throat infection. :-( I am saying prayers for you and hoping that a little positive energy lands your way!
Lisa - Glad you are feeling better! We took down the Christmas stuff yesterday and cleaned and put things back today. Made me feel a bit better too! I totally get the spectacle business. I avoided a wedding Sat. night mostly because I'm still trying to get over my throat infection (and/or whatever I've got going on). But I was glad to not have to sit and talk about BC constantly.
Winnie - What a perfect quotation for us to focus on. I am not one to say that I'm "grateful" for this experience, but I will try to get something positive out of it - like growing as a person and knowing how strong I am - how strong WE ALL ARE!
Wednesday I start Taxol (hopefully!). I'll be honest in saying that I don't want to. I think my body got a little happy that I went an extra week without chemo because it gave me a little period. (oh goody) On one hand, I don't want to start it, but I know that the sooner I start, the sooner I get it over with. So.....here we go. Here's to a new year! Hang in there gals!
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I am tired of feeling sick and tired Petey ... hoping we all have a much happier, healthier, 2018.
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Dear warriors, I read your posts and I like to tell you ladies, you are strong and you will be done soon. I finished only 9 sessions of taxol because of my neuropathy I have to stop. Yes I agreed with all of you, taxol is not as hard as AC but it got so much hidden SE and so unpredictable also. I have stayed away crowd during chemo and I still stay away now due to I haven’t finished radiation.
There is the end of the tunnel, and you know 2018 will be a better year for all of us.
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Thanks so much for your support ladies
you all are so positive and that’s why I love this group. Sometimes there is no one else who truly understands those days when we are low. Thank you for lifting me up. About the nails.... I hope this doesn’t gross anyone out but my two big toe nails are lifting in the side corners and have small dark spot on the nail. My fingernails are fine so far. Thought I would post a picture for those interested.
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Ended up in emerg last night. 38.4 fever. Checked me out. Did my blood. Neuts were already 1.9 (chemo on Thursday) so home I went. Slept 12 hours last night and just rolling out of bed now. Hoping for a better day today
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Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, that pretty much nails it on the head. I hardly look at myself in the mirror anymore because don't regonize the person looking back. I shower, put some face lotion on and thats it. It's been weeks since I put even a little make up on.
My husband was standing on a chair yesterday putting up birthday decorations for me and fell off. He can barely walk, can't sit. I am sitting in the car outside urgent care. Dropped him off at door, parked and then walked in to a sea of people with face masks covering nose/mouth. Thought it's probably not the best idea for me to be in waiting room. So waiting in car until he calls me to pick him up. Nothing like starting the new year with both of us down.
ABCMom- Heartrate could be result of anemia. When RBC and Hemoglobin are low. I wear a Fitbit and I have been struggling with those blood numbers. I totally see correlation. I get dizzy and my HR is beating usually fast doing nothing. I have days were I am in "fat burning zone" 85-110 for 14, 15 hours when I have done nothing! Resting before chemo was 57-62 for me. Now I get as high as 80. It goes up and down.
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Hope everyone is feeling okay! It's my b-day today and I'm preparing to start back at work toafter having so much time off for the holiday. I have my 3rd Taxol of 4 on Friday. Not looking forward to it. My eyebrows have finally thinned out and I had nosebleeds with the last infusion. I can officially say I look like a cancer patient.
Anyway, I wanted to know what if anything there is for me after my radiation ends. I asked my MO about Xeloda since I read about some TN folks getting it here. She said that it really is for people with advanced cancer and that she would not recommend it. She also said it has been used for those TNs with residual cancer and that isn't me. I had my surgery before chemo and my surgery was successful— clear margins — no lymph involvement. Scans clear.
The chemo was just the preventative measure that TN requires. Anyway, I guess if I had chemo first and saw how effective the chemo was on my tumor we would know if Xeloda made sense...but for now it does not. So I wrap up Taxol soon and then have 6 weeks of radiation which is standard for lumpectomy. It's wild to think this part of the journey will end for Me will end late April or early May... almost a year from diagnosis. I guess everyone feels this way.
Taxol has really been harder on me than she anticipated. I had serious neuropathy and muscle pains...my MO considered stopping treatment completely but I told her if this is all there is for my type of cancer then I needed to finish. I need to know that I did everything I could and utilized all treatment available for me— especially since it's so limited.
Anyway .... here's to hoping for better for all of us in 2018!
Best wishes,
G
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Sick and tired of being sick and tired. Truer words were never spoken.
Jennifer, happy belated birthday!
Sara, glad you're back home. I've been running random fevers as high as 38.8C (101.8F) throughout Taxol but I've just been told to take Tylenol and call them back if it persists.
Eightoutof, Happy birthday! Way to push forward with Taxol. I wish I was signed up for the 4 DD Taxol instead of this "softer" 12 weekly treatments.
My NP finally got back to me re my request to have an Ultrasound. It sucks having cancer over the holidays because it seems the entire hospital just shuts down the last 2 weeks of the year. Anyway, she and I are going to meet tomorrow to come up with a game plan. My husband is coming, too, because, he knows how important this US is for me. Unlike me, he tends to get what he wants. Maybe it's the suit and tie. Apparently, sweats and a Fiona the Hippo t-shirt don't command a lot of respect.
While I'm slightly better than yesterday, this upper respiratory virus is still making me miserable. I wince when I cough or swallow because it hurts so bad. Add in another dehydrating Taxol treatment, and my throat will feel like sandpaper. I haven't run a fever with the virus, so I'm sure they'll green light the chemo if my numbers come back good. After tomorrow's treatment, I'll be halfway done with Taxol. Yippee.
43 more days of chemo.
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Hi. everyone and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all of you Capricorn babies!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. May 2018 bring us successful treatments, quick healing and gentle side effects. May it also bring us peace and happiness in all areas of our lives since cancer is not our whole being.
There's been so much to read; you guys have been busy while I was away for the holidays. Thanks for encouraging me to arrange wheelchair assistance in the airports. As I was being pushed to and from the gates I realized there was no way I could have walked all that way with a bag, especially those long slightly uphill corridors. If anyone finds themselves traveling while on chemo I strongly recommend the wheelchair option, even if it makes you feel a little self-conscious.
I was pretty lucky with my side effects when I was away - nothing startling or new. My heart rate is VERY HIGH and I get winded easily like some of you have mentioned. That's not getting any better. Also the tingling/numbness in my fingertips has been getting more intense. It was especially notable when we were playing cards and I had trouble pulling a card out from my fanned out hand of cards.
Friday will be my second to last chemo treatment. I'm very anxious to get this part of treatment over with. I'm hoping I can get back to working full-time at the office soon.
I still don't have a new surgeon yet. It does seem like a lot of things grind to a halt the last two weeks of December. When I go in on Friday hopefully I'll be able to move the process along. Since surgery is the next step I'm anxious to make a final decision on what procedure I'm having and when.
On the 12th I do have a first consult with the radiology oncologist. That's going to help me since I'm nervous about radiation and have a lot of questions.
Again, Happy New Year ladies!!
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Happy New Year Ladies. Here's to getting beyond treatment and moving forward. I am too sick and tired of being sick and tired. I finished my last Taxol treatment last week, now moving on to Herception every 3 weeks for 9 more months, wow! I feel as if the side effects are getting worse and can't wait for this to get out of my system so I can start feeling better. I haven't shaved what little hair I have left yet, I was waiting till the end of Taxol, so guess it's time to go bald. Tell you the truth I have been putting this off cause I am really not wanting to look at myself completely bald. Any uplifting thoughts. Guess it's just one more step toward the end. Happy Birthday eightoutof8 and Jennifer522. Hang in there everyone.
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Happy New Years ladies!!
I think we can all agree we are all sick and tired of being sick and tired.
And I've been sending these pics to ppl so they can see how fabulous I am looking lately. Enjoy!!
I'm the one in the front
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That's great, Scaligirl!! Did you make those tiny accessories? So clever and fun.
I have to admit I'm getting more comfortable being bald. I even go out in public bald sometimes now - but depends on the place/situation. The key for me is having on lipstick :-) I still like my wig but it gets too damn hot! Even my cotton head covers get hot, too.
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