Starting chemo February 2018
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moth-that really sucks about the neutraphils. Im glad your temperature is normal again. Feel better. Sending positive energy and good wishes.
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moth- thinking of you and sending you good vibes for quick recovery! ❤
AMBurt- yes, round 2 so far same as round 1, only this time i know what to expect. Neither was too bad. Honestly, the neulasta is the bigger hurdle for me than the AC. But half way there with the AC part! Keeping my fingers crossed for an easy round 2 for you this Friday!
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moth- did you get a Neulesta injection or something similar after chemo? I think what you have is exactly what those shots are supposed to help prevent. I hope u feel better quickly. Hang in therr
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Moth I’m so sorry to hear you’ve gotten so sick, and hope you kick that fever to the curb quickly! Gentle hugs to you.
AMBurt I’m glad to hear you are feeling better, and able to eat again. How great to have company to keep you occupied and your spirits up!
Welcome to the group TracyinMA. Sorry you had to join this crappy club, but I know you will find the support you need here with these February Beauties.
Roll call for first infusion... who else is kicking it off this week? I’m starting tomorrow at 8:30 central time. My little bag is packed, and the cooler full of cold caps is almost ready to go. Right now I’m trying not to go down the rabbit hole, but I have some lexapro at the ready just in case. My mom and bf will be with me all day tomorrow, and although we would all rather be almost ANYWHERE else, I’m so glad to have them.
Best of luck to everyone for a good week, may the SE’s be gentle on us all.
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moth - I’m so sorry you’re at the hospital. I hope you get better and out of there as soon as possible. Keep us updated. Sending hugs & good vibes
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22fightfor- good luck tomorrow❤, psychologically it was difficult, but the infusion itself was pretty easy!Good luck with the cold capping, I know sometimes that can be the harder part. I had a machine at my place luckily, so props to you for having everything ready!! Xo
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22fightfor- good luck with your first infusion tomorrow. You will be so busy coldcapping the infusion should go by quickly. I am on the same drug regimen as you. I am also ER+/PR- and HER+. 2 cm but the culprit was my left breast. I will be having round 2 this Tuesday and am also coldcapping. You may want to consider icing your fingers and toes during taxotere and fifteen minutes before and after. Sucking on ice chips or popsicles may help prevent mouth sores. Glad you have loved ones with you for support. They will get a workout tomorrow with those caps!
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Moth, thinking about you, girl. Hope all your wbc's get their act together and get you strong again.
For the rest of you, just checking in: day 3 after 2nd round, much better than first round. I can drink water it doesn't taste funny, I'm pretty much Side Effect free except for some fatigue and constipation. Still anemic, so that's part of it too. Started to take Iron and B vitamin supplements, hopefully that'll help my energy. My poor dogs, they really like their 2 walks a day but I just seem to only have 1 in me.
The bald head is all good too. Getting used to it. one day at a time, girls. Love and good healing to all of you!
Laurie indahood
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Laurie- so good to hear 3 days post round 2 you have little side effects and it's better than round 1. Yay! I'm on day 2 post round 2. The neulasta is kicking my butt. But took pooch out to the dog run and she had a blast. And the hair is still hanging in there. Barely. I'll prob have to switch to wig Tuesday or Wednesday. Hope it's not too weird at work. 😟
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Moth, my thought are all yours for quick recovery!
Glad to hear that round 2 seems easier on most of you.
I went dining 2 days in round, first with friends then for my son's birthday. I feel like it was the last meal before a long time. I have my broth ready for my fasting days and chemo in Friday. It is getting real for me!
Hugs and kisses to everyone.
Laurence
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for those who had their second round las week and are recovering - hope SEs are at minimal. Good to hear this is the case so far!
For those doing treatment this week - wishing you the best. Also hope SEs are small.
I’m doing round 2 tomorrow. Packed and ready to go. Can’t wait to get one more done. I’m a little worried about SEs this time sound, but it seems those who have had round 2 are experiencing the same as round 1. For me that’s good news. I can do same SEs.
Wishing everyone a great week! Keep strong!
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Moth-sending prayers and hugs your way.
To those getting treatment this week and you haven't tried icing or other tips to get in front of SE(s), it's never to late to start.
The Claritin made a huge difference after the Neulasta injection. My appetite was crazy this weekend. I loved being hungry. I live in Houston, Tx. Tex-mex is one of my many food favorites. I found food comfort eating bean and cheese breakfast tacos. It was
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Moth, I hope you are recovering and can channel some of that Wakanda warrior women spirit!
I still don't have my chemo start date, but completed my MUGA heart test on Friday with good results, so cleared for Herceptin. I've got to get back to exercise to keep my heart strong. Have not worked out much since surgery 2.5 weeks ago.
Wishing you all a good week
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Hello ladies,
Have you heard about night fasting to decrease the risk of recurrence? Apparently, we should stop eating around 5 pm and fast for minimum 13 hours after that to rake the results. I know it is something that would be challenging for me as I usually eat dinner around 7:30-8 pm!
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/full...
Have a good week!
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February Beauties: My dad texted me some advice yesterday, and I wanted to share because it helped me change my mindset a bit. I hope these words might be able to touch others going through this. Backstory: my dad beat stage 4 Non-Hogkins lymphoma 23 years ago and is still going strong. Also he’s not the best at punctuation, the message still holds true
“Remember when you sit in the chemo chair concentrate on chemo is my friend it is here to help me and to cure me think of it as your friend.” Ladies, today I make friends with chemo.Have a great day everyone, and thanks for the well wishes and tips rockcity and Jlove. I brought some cold booties for my feet and will ask for ice for my hands. I also packed a frozen protein smoothie since I have all this dry ice for the cold caps. Even though the support here at my infusion center is awesome, I get the feeling that they are not super on board about all the icing/cold caps, etc. Still forging ahead with what I feel is right for me.
Love to all
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Hi moth: Sorry to hear about the scepsis... I've had 3 febrile neutropenias out of the 5 chemos I've received since my cancer dx... chemo just drops my wbc to the floor every time and with my daughter... it's just so easy for me to catch everything. Not much I can do about it. As long as you monitor your temp and follow what the hospital told you to do, you should be fine.
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Hello everybody. I start my chemo tomorrow and have a mixture of feelings...want to get started to be over and done with....and also some apprehension. I think I'm better emotionally though since I feel we're working on something (ie. getting rid of any possible lingering cancer cells).
I'm wondering if we have to be careful with family members while on chemo? I have two kids (11 and 13) as well as my husband and don't want to expose them to any "chemo residue". Is this a true concern or am I being over the top paranoid? I know some people mention, double flushing? Also, being careful with body fluids?
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mom of two- we have two bathrooms at my apartment. I have been using only one and have asked my family to use the other one. Doing the double flush and washing my hands very thoroughly. I’m not sure if it helps, but that’s what I’m doing.
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Mom of two, I was also advise to flush twice and toilet seat cover down. They said at my cancer center that chemo drugs can burn the skin, even in the urine. However, this precaution should not last more than about 5 days. Good luck for tomorrow!
22fighter, glad to hear that you are feeling well after your infusion. I like your dad's view on chemo.
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hello, just a quick check in that I'm still in hospital but my last blood test shows neutrophils are starting to rebound a bit. I've been downgraded from IV abx to oral this morning! Yay!
No fever any more and I feel much better but of course now getting mild diarrhea - between chemo & the heavy duty abx I guess it was inevitable.
for someone who asked above, yes I was doing the neutrophil stimulating shots - 7 days' worth. I did them at home starting day 2. last one was thurs, got sick friday.
MO called to say we're skipping chemo this week & we'll see if we can resume next week.0 -
moth-glad you are feeling better. Even with the neutrophil stimulating shots, you still had to go through all this. Hang in there.
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moth- happy that you are feelin better. Hopefully you will be able to get back on schedule soon.
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Moth- glad you are feeling better.
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ColleenS80,
I was worried that my melon would be scarred and bumpy (tomboy kid). It's quite beautiful, and all of the ones I have seen have been so yours will be as well.
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Thank you, Butterfly...you will give someone else that same strength at some point in your journey. I was hysterical (for about 5 minutes) the day I cut a bunch off but far less the day we shaved it. I have been told that stages of cutting/shaving are less traumatic than a balls to the walls shave, so think about trying it!
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moth - so glad you're feeling better! You're a trooper. Thinking of you and hoping you can resume and complete chemo in short order.
TheMinna- thanks for the advice. I did cut about 3 inches a week ago. My hair is about shoulder length right now. Not for long though. I just came out of the shower and quite a bit if hair came off as I was using the conditioner. And it's becoming a nuisance throughout the day. I'm thinking by Friday I'll be shaving it all off.
Status report on day 4 post round 2 SEs: same as round 1. Neulasta bone pain is fading. Some fatigue. Appetite is normal. Much more hair loss. Overall manageable.
Good luck to all the ladies heading into round 2. You can do it!
Hug ❤
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Round 2 for me tomorrow. Can’t say I’m mentally ready. I had a rough day of chemo last time. Cold caps don’t seem to agree with my stomach too well. Ativan and Tylenol are being added to my arsenal tomorrow.
ButterflyLilly- glad your SE aren’t too bad. Hope they are gone soon.
Good luck to the rest of this awesome group as you either go thru chemo this week or are recovering from last week. Hope everyone is on the mend
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Wednesday I try again.
This anxiety. Ugh. The chemo can’t be worse than this crippling anxiety.
Trac
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Tracyinma- As soon as my first chemo date was set, I started getting crippling anxiety. The symptoms went away as soon as I woke up the morning of chemo 1. You go into survival mode instead of fear mode. Dealing with side effects becomes the focus, not fear. No anxiety symptoms since. You are right. I think your anxiety will get better as soon as you start
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moth - so good to hear from you. So happy you are feeling better. Hope you recover quickly!
22fightfor - thanks for sharing your dad's story. It's very inspirational! Today when I sat at the chemo chair, that's what I thought. It's my friend!
Rockcity - I did my round 2 today. I was anxious and worried about the nausea before getting there. This time I got the Ativan and tylenol before starting. It was amazing. No nausea and no cold headache. I even got to take a Nap. I hope it helps you too. Good luck tomorrow.
Round 2 chemo complete ✅
Cold cap froze head ✅
Slowly kicking cancer behind ✅
Round 2 went much smoother than round 1. Hopefully side effects will be at minimum. Last time my worst days were days 3-7. Let's see what round 2 brings.
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