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Chemo starting December 2017

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Comments

  • Swewing
    Swewing Member Posts: 27
    edited December 2017

    mjb1018: Oh no! Next time I guess keep taking those anti nausea meds through day 7 at least. I’m hoping tomorrow is better. I felt a lot better after I met with my oncologist and listed all my symptoms, then she could help me with some of them

  • vl22
    vl22 Member Posts: 471
    edited December 2017

    Hi Swewing - I’m from the August chemo thread, but I read through others like Paulette!

    I just finished my last Taxol today!

    I just wanted to let you and others with nausea issues to be aware of a patch available called Sancuso. I wish I had gotten it before I did, which was my final AC treatment. My nausea just got worse and worse and the oral medications weren’t working.

    My cancer center just really started using it. My MO warned me that it could be really expensive, but the pharmacy added a coupon and it cost me $20. The MO would have given me a sample if he thought it was too expensive.

    It was the only thing that worked for me

  • Hariry
    Hariry Member Posts: 100
    edited December 2017

    Paulette it was reassuring to know that being bad from d 4-6 could be norm. Mine were awful. D 8 today and I'm feeling better. Even though coffee still taste weird

    Mjb our regime started on the same day 15/12 AC. D7 was still fatigue and intoxicated.... hang in there you can make through it!

  • Laura644
    Laura644 Member Posts: 24
    edited December 2017

    Hi Daniz1983,

    Sorry for my slow reply. I am a pianist and I played for a Christmas concert last night and have been tied up with rehearsals (a welcome distraction). My MO had originally said we would start AC+T 5 weeks post op, but I really wanted to play the concerts for my daughter's school and it would have overlapped with treatments. She said it was fine to delay chemo until 8 weeks post op. I had my port installed today. It is achy and feels like I have metal weights on my bone and it really hurts when I sneeze. Weird....I remember talking to the doc the whole time during the procedure, but now I can't remember a word of it, LOL. Even the bags of frozen peas hurt:( Tomorrow is my first treatment. When I was diagnosed in Sept, my hair was 3/4 the way down my back. I had it cut shoulder length in October before surgery. Yesterday, I got a pixie cut - got a lot of compliments, except my 6 year old daughter, "mommy, you look like a BOY!". I figure I won't feel so shocked when it all starts falling out.Last night I started to feel nervous about it. I keep reading everyone's posts to see if I can predict when I will feel lousy. I guess it's just wait and see. I am worried that I will be in really bad shape for Christmas.

  • GenevaC
    GenevaC Member Posts: 38
    edited December 2017

    Round 2 AC was yesterday (dose dense) and my hair is starting to fall). This is my mantra —-This is winter. My body is passing through the cold, dormant season of winter. I am letting the old leaves fall and keeping the vital sap deep in my roots. My core is strong and will regrow new foliage in the spring. My heart, my brain, my soul are deep in my core and well nourished. I am safe. My body is passing through a season of winter.

  • Daniz1983
    Daniz1983 Member Posts: 84
    edited December 2017

    Hey Laura644,

    Aw that’s so cute and great to hear you’re participating in your daughter Christmas show and not letting this stop you.

    So how are you doing after your first treatment? Hope you are doing well for Christmas.

    I finally got results and answers from my doc they got my results from California and are ruling me HER2 negative. Not sure I feel comfortable either way knowing I tested slightly positive second time around but oh well. Tripple negative and AC+T here I come.

    I start next week after Christmas. I’m sooooo nervous and so scared. Scared of everything. What if the treatment doesn’t work and doesn’t kill anything.

    LOL your daughters realonse is hilarious. I am certain my 5 (almost 6 year old) daughter will have the same response when I cut mine off. I’m not sure when to chop my hair before or after my first round.... keep us posted on how you’re doing.

    GenevaCanada,

    Thank you for posting it that way about loosing your hair I need to start looking at it like that. How long after your 1st treatment did you notice your hair fall out

  • sswp
    sswp Member Posts: 61
    edited December 2017

    Had my first infusion yesterday. Slept for 14 hours off and on starting 5 hours after the infusion. Felt like I had a horrible flu and was hungry but didn’t have an appetite. Feeling better this morning but I’m a morning person and predict I’ll feel crappier as the day progresses. Not looking forward to the other side effects that are common with FEC.

    I’ve got a couple of wigs, ordered my breast prothesis even though I’ve been using a fluff on days where I’m going with my Coobie bra. I’m hoping to pull off a good look while I’m going through chemo on days I feel up to it. I’m planning on making appearances at the office almost every day, going on weekly date nights with my husband and shopping with my teenage daughter. It will give me some satisfaction if I can pull off a good look. Ever since the diagnosis I haven’t been putting a lot of effort in that department. My husband says I still look hot. I said maybe passable, but I plan on taking the loss of hair etc as a challenge, kick it up a notch lol

  • mucki1991
    mucki1991 Member Posts: 77
    edited December 2017

    Hi ladies I'm also from the August group and still in active chemo 3 more taxol to go!! My chemo plan was/is dose dense red devil ( that's every two weeks) and 12 weekly taxol. Chemo effects everyone a little differently and here's my words of wisdom... DON'T compare your symptoms to others they are yours! Chemo is much nicer to some than others while I have controlled my nausea by staying ahead with those meds, my fatigue and nerve issues have kicked my azz. Ask for and take pain meds there is no reason you need to be going through cancer and be in pain or not sleeping.

    Chemo brain has made for some funny stories. Oh also take an electric blanket to chemo so I'm not freezing the whole time. Counting weeks was too depressing for me so I counted treats made is seen less daunting. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.


  • bowser
    bowser Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2017

    We started chemo Thursday 12/21, so far she's just really tired. The nausea's been under control with meds so far. Like others on here, we're bracing for what's coming, much of it unknown.


    USASAM: Reading through your earlier posts I know exactly where you're coming from. Our kids are older, but I wished so much I could take her cancer and have it instead of watching her struggle with it. I'm no longer a basket case, but instead want to put that energy into helping her get through this. It's hard on us spouses too!


    SSWP: My wife will have to lose far more than her hair and breasts to be unattractive to me. When your husband complements you, he probably means it, and he doesn't mean just "passable". She hasn't lost her hair yet, but I already know she'll be beautiful. It'll be much harder on her though. Also, definitely yes to keeping your date nights.

    GenevaCandanienne: I love your analogy. My wife is about to go through the same cold winter. It sucks, but think about how glorious the "warm spring" will be!

    Hang in there everyone, we can do this.



  • sswp
    sswp Member Posts: 61
    edited December 2017
    BOWSER: Thanks for your kind words. Hope your wife gets through this round with minimal side effects.
  • GenevaC
    GenevaC Member Posts: 38
    edited December 2017

    my husband “ I’ve been with the same woman for 14 years and it’s been great. But it is kind of exciting to have this new wife with a punk haircut (shaved) who is into body modification (mastectomy)”

    He makes me laugh :) and I can see that he does still find me beautiful. It is hard for me to see for mright now but I appreciate it from him.

  • ejean
    ejean Member Posts: 10
    edited December 2017

    Diveslikeagirl,

    I wanted to check back and see how you were feeling after the first infusion. I hope you are managing well and have minimal side effects?

    Warm wishes to all this holiday season.

  • mjb1018
    mjb1018 Member Posts: 151
    edited December 2017

    GenevaCanadienne...Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your words. 💕

    Ahhh...Day 10! The fog lifted yesterday and I was able to have some normalcy. Yay! I'm being careful as I think I have a slight head/chest cold. No fever and I don’t feel sick. Just annoying. I can't remember the last time I've had something like this. Thank you lowered immunity!

    When I felt my worst I slipped into not knowing how I'd make it through 3 more cycles. Pissed me off because I really have been so very positive! It lasted only a moment. I acknowledged it and moved on. Staying strong!!

    I hope everyone is doing well. Love to all & Merry Christmas

  • Swewing
    Swewing Member Posts: 27
    edited December 2017

    I started chemo on December 12th and today my hair is starting tomorrow fall out. I knew it was coming but it still stings! I have an awesome wig and I bought hats. I'm still sad. Silly, I know

  • Laura644
    Laura644 Member Posts: 24
    edited December 2017

    hi everyone, I’m weathering a bad chemo storm. I had my first infusion of AC on Friday. They gave me Benadryl, two kinds of anti-nausea meds, etc. the creepiest part was the big syringe of red liquid which was the Adriamycin, injected directly into my port catheter and not through the drip. I had to suck on ice chips the entire time of that push to prevent mouth sores. I started to feel very drowsy from the Benadryl. I got immediate sinus symptoms with the Cytoxan. Arrived at 9 AM and didn’t leave until 130. They gave me a Neulasta patch which is on a timer that went off 27 hours after my infusion and give a 45 minute release. I removed the patch today. It is to raise white blood cell count what causes bone pain, so they told me to take Claritin. They also told me to take Pepcid AC to help with acid indigestion. Within about 5 hours the nausea sudden and by 8 o’clock I had to take Compazine... made me drowsy but didn’t help the nausea. I took Zofran and that helped a lot. I’ve been able to sleep thankfully. But when I’m awake it’s really tough battling headaches, nerve twitches, fatigue, nausea, acid indigestion. It’s been a ough 48 hours. I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. It’s so hard to motivate to eat and drink.

  • GenevaC
    GenevaC Member Posts: 38
    edited December 2017

    Swewing- I’m with you i’m losing my hair. Between the next cycle of chemotherapy, the holiday season, the hair loss it’s really a lot to deal with. Gentle hug

    Laura644 - sorry to hear you are having such a bad cycle. I’m almost out of day 4, round 2 of AC. I’ve really been counting the hours, knowing that it is just a couple of days. I hope you are doing better. Gentle hug

    GC

  • bowser
    bowser Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2017

    Laura644, are you feeling better at all now? You may have already done this, so please ignore me if you have, but our nurse told us that she should take the anti-nausea medicine around the clock whether we need it or not for a few days. It's so much harder to stop than it is to prevent, so we're on a very strict every-six-hour schedule around here. My apologies if you have done that already.

    Also, Zofran can cause headaches, but it's possible that what they gave you in your drip on Friday is making that worse when combined with Zofran. We were warned about that also. If that's true, maybe the headaches will ease up a bit for you. I hope they will.

    I'm not an expert, we're on our first round, but I think it does get better, hang in there.


    MJB1018: You're allowed to be negative sometimes, you're going through a lot! You can make it!!!

    Question for others: Are you ordering your wigs before you lose your hair, or is it better to wait? Our turn's coming, but we're both a bit unsure on where to start.

  • sswp
    sswp Member Posts: 61
    edited December 2017

    I have one wig that I ordered, just got word that it arrived on friday. thought I would get the buzz cut first before going in to get it fitted and trimmed next week. I also bought one that was in stock. It has bangs so I thought it might hide the eyebrows

  • Daniz1983
    Daniz1983 Member Posts: 84
    edited December 2017

    hello ladies.

    How soon after AC+T does hair start falling out? When is everyone cutting their hair? I plan on getting a biz cut before I really don’t want to watch my hair fall out but don’t know what to do...

    Any suggestions will be appreciated.

  • sswp
    sswp Member Posts: 61
    edited December 2017

    daniz1983: I was told 14 days from the 1st infusion, I think your regime is the same so someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm buzzing mine sometime this week, before the wig fitting.

    I hosted 30 relatives for Christmas Eve last night, I didn't know how I would be but I did surprisingly well. Sang and played bass to Tom petty I won't back down with my kids on guitar, back up vocals and drums in front of my guests. Only started singing for my kids and husband about a month ago as a sort of music therapy, have no idea where I got the confidence from to sing to an audience lol. At the end of the night we told some of my relatives about my breast cancer and that I had just started chemo. It felt good to have the support but also hard to see the worried looks. Looking forward to a quiet day today with hubby and the kids, feeling a little run down this morning. Hope everyone is doing ok.

  • Hariry
    Hariry Member Posts: 100
    edited December 2017

    Arghhh I feel your pain Laura... I hope you're better now... The first AC went in on 15 and I'm doing better for this"second" week. Just easy fatigue. Bit of sore mouth/throat.

    Hair is slowly falling off yes and what I did was I've surveyed few wigs supplier and got an idea of what kind of styles they keep. I've chopped it short to get myself ready for the chemo. I bought some scarfs and hat, plan to wait till the day (half of my hair is gone perhaps) and I'll get the pricey wig

  • Swewing
    Swewing Member Posts: 27
    edited December 2017

    I went to a wig shop while I still had my hair so the lady could see my hair. Then we picked a real-hair wig that looks almost exactly like my hair, I really love it. I look at it when I get sad about my hair falling out, helps give me confidence.

    The wig specialist told me not to shave my head. She said that will cause acne on my head. She said don’t cut it too short either. At some point you may want to pull out the stragglers and if they are too short, you cant

  • Swewing
    Swewing Member Posts: 27
    edited December 2017

    I also had a really rough time with my first AC injection. I had a bad migraine and then nausea and started puking! Anyway, my dr thinks I may have had a reaction to the zofran so I’m now going to take Zyprexa. My next injection is on the 27th so I will see how I do

  • diveslikeagirl
    diveslikeagirl Member Posts: 69
    edited December 2017

    Thanks for thinking of me Ejean.  My first "full" infusion was Friday, so this is Day 3 and I've been able to fight off nausea and Big D with drugs.  Had a small Christmas with just the immediate family but now I'm exhausted.  I believe the weekly Herceptin infusions are supposed to be less SE, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get some "good weeks" 2 and 3 before the next infusion.

    For my hair, I bought a wig before chemo started that is similar to my "beginning" hair.  I plan to wear it for work mostly.  If I ever get back to working out with my trainer, I have a bamboo "activity cap" that is really comfortable.  I plan to shave my head short at the 2 week mark, then "style with a lint brush" as I read somewhere else on the boards.  

     Hope everyone is staying warm.

  • mjb1018
    mjb1018 Member Posts: 151
    edited December 2017

    I just may be the only one skipping a wig! To this point the thought doesn’t even interest me. I’m glad it’s winter and I can rock all kinds of cute hats, beanies and scarves that I normally wouldn’t wear. Heck, I may seek out a place for an awesome henna tattoo. Why not?

    On another note to those who haven’t had surgery yet...I think the goal for me is to shrink the tumor and then get lumpectomy. I know I have lymph node involvement but won’t know how may until surgery. Do you know if that could change the lumpectomy option

  • Daniz1983
    Daniz1983 Member Posts: 84
    edited December 2017

    Hello ladies. Merry Christmas!!! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday today.

    I have another questions for everyone, did anyone get sick before their first treatment day? I am getting sick. Loosing my voice, coughin, somewhat of a sore throat nose a bit stuffy and I’m supposed to start this Friday. Anyone else have this problem?? I’m so worried about being sick and already lowering my immune system. 😞

    Mjb1018,

    That is the same plan for me to shrink the tumor then do surgery. But I will be having a double mesactomy with reconstruction. I had issues with my breasts since I was 21 it sucks u really don’t want to but what can you do, my doc thinks that’s the best approach for me. But I am scared of the treatment and that the treatment won’t work. Agh.

    Sswp,

    Thank you for the reply and to all the ladies with their hair and wig talks I appreciate it. This has been a great holiday but also a very hard one for me. Sswp you are brave for hosting such a big family. :))))

    I cannot figure out what to do with my hair and wig too. I know I want a wig but don’t know anything else.

    Hugs to everyone!

  • Hariry
    Hariry Member Posts: 100
    edited December 2017

    Daniz1983, ppl falls sick simply because we are human beings. Drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest so that to have a good state before treatment. No worries. If your dr thinks that you are not fit for chemo so soon they might wait till you are ready. I went through again the reports about alkaline water, it's not some strong objections that it interacts with treatment. It's myself who was skeptical. I went all out to knock down these potential cancerous cells in me, I wouldn't want anything to slow the progress.

  • DxAt37
    DxAt37 Member Posts: 32
    edited December 2017

    Daniz, I was also diagnosed just before Thanksgiving (11/22). I am 37 and similar diagnosis. I am after surgery now and waiting on my chemo to start.

    I am a little fuzzy on the whole lymph node business-my BS only checked one sentinel node and since it is positive he said no need to check the rest of them-chemo and radiation will take care of that. I am very uneasy about it-i dont know if I am a stage 2b ir 3

  • mjb1018
    mjb1018 Member Posts: 151
    edited December 2017

    Daniz, I wasn’t sick at all before first treatment, but am now. Round 2 is scheduled for Friday. Started last Wednesday with a sore throat an has progressively gotten worse. 101 temp with major chest congestion. Went to my MO today who had my white cells checked. Since they were good, I was given antibiotics. I imagine I’ll be fine to get round 2 even though I feel like poop today. Rest up! Hope you feel better soon.

  • PauletteK
    PauletteK Member Posts: 1,279
    edited December 2017

    Harley - I stopped drinking coffee because of my taste bud, I didn’t start try my coffee until 6 weeks post chemo. My taste buds still not back 100%.

    If anyone of you have bad case of diarrhea call you MO so he/she can give you something strong to stop Big D.

    During my chemo, I basically stayed away from crowds or I wore face masks. Because if you get sick you might end up in ER because our bodies are so low on WBC. I did get my flu shot during chemo, did you?

    MJB, for the five months I buzzed out my hair, I only wore my wig once or twice. I usually wear my hat or beanie. So you aren’t the only one who skipped the wig.

    All the strong ladies, you gals are doing great! This journey challenges us physically and emotionally, so we need to be strong to get over and you will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Believe me you will get your taste bud back and you will be dancing!!



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