Starting chemo February 2018
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LoveCanada, glad you avoided the neck pain, and thanks for letting me know it's a common thing. This board is so awesome for helping ease these types of worries in the wee hours of the night when there is nobody else to ask!
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Hello, everyone,
After getting an Oncotype of 25 (I was 40 at dx), I opted for "strongly recommended" chemo. It's 4 rounds of TC. My first time went well...few side effects overall, but the bone pain (however brief) really took my breath away. Not looking forward to more of that. Anyway, I guess I am just here looking for tips and tricks, and everybody's posts have been so helpful.
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22- yes, totally agree!!
TheMinna- I have no tips at this point as I was supposed to start today but was moved to 3/1. My situation is very similar to yours though so wanted to say hi. I was torn about chemo since I had a middle score (and it obviously was something I hoped I wouldn’t need) but I had a second opinion and both doctors recommended chemo, with the same course of treatment, mostly because of my age but also because I’m BRCA2 positive. I felt better going forward knowing that both felt the same way. Good luck! One of the doctors referred to it as a “gentler chemo” and I’m hoping that’s true.
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Wow, so many new members here, welcome to all of you just wish we didn't have to meet like this. So I finally went back to work today, missed 2 weeks ugh but felt pretty good today. I'm exactly 2 weeks out from first chemo and started losing hair by the handfuls yesterday, cut it short today but not buzzed yet. Going for a wig fitting in the morning. I'll try to catch up with all of your posts tomorrow but hope you are all not having horrible SEs
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Ok Girls, here I am. posting my bald photo. I shrunk the photo but seems once I post it goes super big. Maybe someone who knows how to post a reasonably sized photo can offer me some assistance.
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OMG, Rock city, I'm glad I'm reading this page backwards and get to see your tumor was, praise be, benign before finding out that you had one. I'm sooo glad for you.
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Butterfly, good luck tomorrow too.
All those doing claritin. I was not told about Claritin, but do a drug called Naproxen which really works too. It's prescription though and I don't know the price since I'm in canada and I only pay a dispensing fee.
For all struggling to drink enough when drinks taste bad, I have found Coconut water and drink tons of it. It's full of electrolytes too.
Despite good platlet scores and White blood cells scoring high, my Hemoglobin keeps going down with each blood test I get done. I'm now down to 10, which is moderate anemia. No wonder I couldn't seem to do more than a few sets of tennis before having to go sleep. And after I do exercise, walk etc, my legs feel like lead. Anyway, anyone else having any anemia? I'm on AT for 4 rounds. If it goes down any lower I may have to have blood transfusions. Yuck. I'm cleared for round 2 though, tomorrow. So see you all on the flip side.
Laurie indahood
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insideout, my next fac is on 2nd march which is my 2nd cycle
hope it will be liberal with me as well So quick update yesterday after having low blood count i was devastated .. today my blood count was more than average.. so my chemo is as per scheduled previously .. i feel alot better so m gonna eat and be fit before the next chemo hits me down..
indahood u look cute
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Laurie, you look good!
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Hi ladies,
I've had neo-adjuvant chemo (3 taxotere, 1 CEF), but stopped short of CEF #2 because the tumor stopped shrinking when I switched chemo, and my tumor had to be removed asap. Because I did not complete chemo, I've started a new chemo regiment yesterday (12 taxols), so I am back here.
Out of my 4 neoadjuvant chemos, I've had 3 febrile neutropenias, a condition that is supposed to be rare, even moreso on CEF. It seems chemo is particularly harsh on my immune system. Since taxol is milder, I'm hopeful I won't be catching all the bugs imaginable, or at least my WBC will be high enough to fight it on my own.
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I am practicing beanie wearing; tomorrow I go to a way too cool for middle aged soccer moms hair salon and get a cut. I felt worse this morning than any other morning yet, just tummy aches. I def need to drink an ensure in the morning, everything has no taste.
Inda-you look lovely!I hope I can pull it off that well. I'm an awkward smiler to begin with lol
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laurie - you look awesome and I love how cancer barely slows you down. I’m getting ready for round 2 on Tuesday and my hemoglobin is starting to also drop a bit. The Dr told me to eat a lot of steak and spinach salads this weekend. Ok!! Thanks for your kind words. So relieved the tumor is benign. I’ve been freaked out for a few weeks but didn’t want to post about it and scare everyone else as they were getting scans.
Deb- so glad you are finally feeling better and able to work. Hopefully round 2 next week will be a lot kinder to you.
Ofmiceandmen-you look way cool in that beanie.
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I had a heart echo, a blood draw and a chemo class this morning in preparation for my first treatment (TCHP Monday). There a lot of info to take in during the teaching, but I felt there wasn’t much I hadn’t already heard by following all of you brave women who have gone before me. Even though I’m planning to use Arctic Caps I went for a hair cut this afternoon. -Although the chemo teacher was very encouraging about helping his patients manage side effects, he was not too enthusiastic about the cold caps! Oh well, at least it’ll keep us busy and occupied during the infusions. I knew the first day was going to be a long day, and I assumed it was because they would be infusing me slowly to watch for reactions, but no! I learned that I’ll be getting some heavy doses the first couple of treatments, aaarrrggghhhh!
TheMinna did you take Claritin for bone pain? I’ve also heard Naproxen works. I’ve read for some ladies the first round is the worst, I hope next time it’s easier on you.
Laurie you look beautiful, and ofmiceandmen you really rock that beanie!
Dya good luck starting the Taxol, I hope it treats you well while doing the job.
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indahood - you look amazing! Good luck with round 2 and glad you were cleared to go ahead with it.
I'm doing AC round 2 as I type this. Cytoxin now and Adriamycin push after then I go home to rest. I got my blood reports: one from before round 1 and one today. The WBC levels are the same as which means the Neulasta did what it's supposed to do.
I got my wig yesterday. Now waiting to see when the hair starts to fall out.
Hugs to all!
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Hello ladies
Hope everyone is feeling not so bad. I was at Walmart today looking for Claritin. I was wondering if I could buy the Walmart brand, which is about 4 times cheaper than the Claritin brand. The only difference is in the other ingredients. The active one is the same. Thanks for your comments
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i bought the generic. Claritin is expensive. So far I have had no muscle or bone issues. Good luck
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This has been the worst day yet for me. I simply can not seem to get ahead of the nausea. Called my MO and they had some new liquid stuff delivered sorry I can't think of the name right now and simply don't have the energy to get up and look at it. I know those here get that. My little three year old grandson (in the picture), his mommy and baby sister are living with me right now. He is such a sweetie knows that his Nana is pretty sick but that I also love to hear him sing so every once in awhile he slips into the room I am hibernating in to sing to me. "Liam loves Nana with all his heart." he sings then sings most of the time "Twinkle Little Star" I have 14 grand daughters and adore them all. He is my only grand son so it is ok for me to say he is my favorite little boy in whole wide world and how can anyone stay sick with him singing how much he loves you? The second I feel up to it we are going to cuddle up and do some binge watching of Umi Zumi.
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I've been taking the generic Claritin for 4 days after neulasta. And generic Zantac. I haven't had any bone pain. Actually this round I only took the zantac the first day and still haven't had any pain. Isn't it weird that an allergy drug keeps your bones from hurting? I'm thinking about trying to give it to my kids the next time they have "growing pains" in their legs. Not sure if it works the same for that as neulasta induced pain but I figure it won't hurt to try.
Lolotte-I did fasting mimicking (no carb/very low protein) 2 days prior to round 1, and a true water fast 1 day before round 2. Day of for both I only drank until evening when I had a few saltines. I didn't notice much difference in side effects this time versus the first. They gave me extra saline to hydrate but I don't think that made a difference either.
I buzzed my head a few days ago and I think I'm going to have to actually shave it tonight or tomorrow. It started going a lot faster than I was expecting and now I kinda look like I have mange or something. I was really upset the day I buzzed it but then I got used to it. That seems to be how I've handled most of this since the beginning. Get bad news/bad event - get upset, 2 days later - move on to the next bit.
My first PT appointment was this morning. I've got a little bit of swelling that may be the beginning of lymphadema. Nothing too bad but I didn't want it to get a foothold before I tried to stop it at least. Not sure it will help but I want to at least feel like I'm doing something productive.
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thanks for your answers
And AMBurt, your grandson is such a cute little guy. I am glad that he can warm your heart
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hi all, diagnosed at 34. I'm 1 week and a day post my first taxotere and cytoxan chemo. This group is so helpful for me to read through and altho I wish none of us were going through it, I know I am not alone. The 1st and 2nd days weren't bad, fatigue and queeziness. The 3rd,4th, and 5th were the worst with bone pain and a migraine, jaw pain I couldn't shake no matter what. I took claritin morning of my neulasta shot( I may try day before too?) Also constipation, then stomach pains after taking meds to battle it 1 night. Zantac has been my friend. Day 6 was better and the past couple of days I've felt better. My husband went back to work yesterday and I can finally take care of my kids ( 1, 3,7) without him! I got a rash on the back of my hands which I'm trying to baby. Anyone else? If it gets much worse I'll let Dr know. And my stomach has been on and off upset. I have had insomnia now too which I'm trying melatonin tonight. ( ativan wouldn't even touch it the past couple nights) ..
I hope to get some excise and and start eating better the next week and half before my next round.
Does anyone else not get their labs drawn until day of treatment? I wish I knew if the neulasta was working!
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Amburt- hope you feel better soon. It's tough when you get behind on any SE. Stay encouraged it will pass.
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Jlove1821- I do labs weekly in between chemo(every 3 week, Monday-Thu). I get blood drawn on Thursdays following chemo. I get results at a MO visit between chemo ( Tuesday after the first draw) and get my confirmation on Friday before my next round.
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jlove - even i get my blood drawn on the 10th day after my chemo and if its okay my chemo get scheduled and then again on the day of chemo i get blood drawn and then only i get to proceed for chemo.. my cycle is every 3 weeks
Guys, did any of your doctor mention of getting heart or echo test before every cycle of chem or how often? Because i forgot to ask my doctor regarding it.
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Anybody have experience with Dose Dense CMF?
I'm starting Feb 27th every 2 weeks for 8 rounds. Lots of questions!! MO said SE are well tolerated.
I am also a 6 yr stroke survivor and already sufffer from fatigue and short term memory issues.
Fear of the unknown is getting to me...
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i get my labs done the am of my chemo. My MO looks at the lab report before ordering the chemo meds. He reviews my lab reports with me. A phtsucal exam was also done. He told me he cannot order the chemo medication until he looks at the lab report from that morning. No blood work was drawn after chemo . Because chemo medication is so expensive it cannot be ordered in advance in case there is something hinky with the labs. The good part everything's it's right there at the Cancer Center. I can see if it is extremely busy that scheduling could easily get backed up.
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Aanoliver I am starting TCHP on Monday, and I had a heart echo Friday in prep for this. My MO said we will recheck every three months.
AMBurt your grandson is such a cutie
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Aanoliver - i did one echo for my heart week before i started chemo. My MO has not mentioned doing it again yet. I'm two rounds of AC in.
Ladies, just checking in to report after the second AC round yesterday. Today I woke up feeling a little more fatigued than usual but i expected that. I did take an anti-nausea pill since my stomach felt a little queasy. Not really looking forward to the naulasta shot which will self inject on my arm tonight. Maily because of the bone pain which i'm taking Claritin and Advil for.
Hair loss watch now!
Hugs to everyone and hoping all the ladies about to start treatment next know that you can do this!
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It’s going quick, girls!
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Colleen - I'll be posting similar pic soon!! (Sorry about the caps, no idea what I did)
Are you noticing worse side effects than round 1 (other than the hair loss) or is it all a repeat is same symptoms in round 2? Did you do the Neulasta last night?
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Butterfly, my effects have been easier this time, knock on wood. I’m listening to my body more. The second I feel queasy I take a nausea med. If I still feel bad I lie down. Last time I tried to stay up as much as possible for my family but I realized I just can’t, and they understand. The only thing worse so far is the hair!
Hope everyone is doing alright today. One day at a time!
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