Starting chemo February 2018
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I am going to try cottage cheese but I am a picky eater and I hate plain yogurt so not sure I like cottage cheese.
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Lolotte 19 mix it with some fruit you like and you only need 2 tbs from the information I read. Think of it as a medication that you have to take. Try it for a week if it is not helping and you do not like it then you could stop eating it although it is a great protein boost as well. You could also use it like sour cream on a baked potato or on a burrito or some tacos it does not need to be eaten plain at all.
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AMBurt,
Thanks for the tips. I tried this lunch and by itself I won't be able to eat it but it was ok on bread. I will try also on potatoes. I am avoiding most fruits for now as they are acidic and don't go well with my gigantic sore. I am using religiously mouth wash and twice a day the mix with baking soda but this sore is a tough one.
Have a great weekend everyone
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hi everyone, i finished my last chemo treatment last thurs. It kicked my ass and I possibly have a little neuropathy in the feet, but it's not awful. Its crazy and I'm trying to wrap my head around being done and healing now and not freaking out about reoccurence. I'm feeling a bit guilty that you ladies still have a while to go and I'm wishing you all the best . I'll be following along and thinking healing /low SE for you all.
Kick ass in the rest of your treatments.
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Congratulations JLove! Hope you will soon get your life back to normal without SEs.
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Jo - lol love the pic with your mom! even when she's not smiling she looks great! glad you ladies had a good time! what a difference from Miami!!
AMBurt - the nail pain for me did not start immediately after a taxol treatment. Maybe about day 5-6 is when is started? However, my MO reduced my dose 15% and the second treatment was definitely easier than the first. Still had the bone pain from the taxol but i had an RX for pain meds so that helped. There was a funny finger sensation but nothing like round 1.
Jlove - congrats on finishing chemo! Now go out there and enjoy life!
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Hi All
Feeling better with each day away from chemotherapy so thought I'd just come here and cheer you all on. It gets better, slowly.
Deb, sucks about your knee. Take it easy, you deserve to rest a bit, hope you can get some rest. Sending healing vibes in your direction.
AMBURT, your sharing about the Fatigue SE from Taxol is exactly how I felt with Taxotere. While most of you were doing AC, I was on TC and wondering how in heaven you could work and raise children through the fatigue or that maybe because I am in my 50's that I was more knocked out that younger people. Your insight into how your limbs feel so heavy hits the nail on the head. I would tell my friends, it's like I'm wearing lead skin. Anyway, again thanks for sharing.
Moving forward, I have my radiation dates. I'll start May 7-12. I am on a 5 day trial and look forward to being on the other side. I have also started my AI drugs. I am not a candidate for Taxotere so on a drug called Letrozole. So far no bad side effects, AMEN to that.
Hope everyone has a good week. Good luck with your treatments.
Laurie
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jlove-congrats on being finished with Chemo.
Butterflylily- my mom and I had a great time. The OT conference was great. Spring is finally headed in your direction. You guys had a rough winter.
Amburt- thanks for the tips regarding cottage cheese. I've only had one mouth sore and it went away within a few days. But I'm going to try to eat a couple tablespoons everyday with fruit as a preventive measure. I hate cottage cheese refreshing down but I like your idea accept as medicine.
Best of luck to all of you with minimal SEs.
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So many updates from all of you! Hope this week goes better for us all! Congrats JLove on finishing chemo, we will all be there soon! So my knee was a torn miniscus, that knee is bone on bone and Dr says that makes it easier to trear the miniscus. I have chemo number 5 tomorrow, 3 days early as I have an event may 10th and I wanted to be that far out from chemo for it. I'm hoping since this is earthly it doesn't backfire on me and make me sicker BUT if not and I can keep this schedule for my last chemo I will finish 3 days earlier too yea! I see 2 of my surgeons this week unfortunately on day 3 and 4 after chemo so I will feel like crap probably. And I have to work a few hours Tues already had clients booked, hope I can do this week girls, wish me luck 😊 ps up all night from those stupid steroids so thought I'd check in
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Deb- hope you get some relief for your knee quickly. You have enough going on with your chemo already. Good luck with your infusion tomorrow. As I'm typing I'm downing my steroids for my infusion tomorrow. Don't want to go but I just want it done. I just got my taste back to normal a few days ago and have been enjoying my meals. I know that’s about to end again.
I hope you are feeling great for whatever special event you have on the 10th!
Good luck to all of you who have infusions this week or are recovering. You February ladies are the best
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indahood - hope radiation goes super smooth for you!
Jlove - girl, you did it! Congratulations on being done!
Debsmisto - oh no, your poor knee!!! I hope working will not aggravate it too much & you'll be able to be up on your feet. Torn meniscus sounds painful. Hope your early infusion and your event all go off without a hitch.
Rockcity - I hear you on the 'don't want to'. Each time now I get packed and ready to go and get in the car for a chemo appt I constantly mutter like a whiny kid "I don't wanna go!"
Lolotte - I hope your mouth sore heals up. Do you have the prescription mouth wash too? I found when the drs gave me that one it made all the difference - way more than any home remedy.I'm enjoying my chemo vacation. That third week is magical. I feel almost back to normal and can actually DO stuff. My young dog is providing lots of entertainment, our weather has been warming up and we're getting out for walks.
It's my son's birthday today - now there's no more teenagers in the house as he turned 20
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indahood - didn't realize you're done with chemo too!! congrats!! enjoy every day of post chemo freedom, you deserve it! adn the gorgeous views!
jo6359 - ny had a loooong winter. made me wonder (on more than one occasion) why did i leave MIAMI!!???? i almost went back lol.
Anyway, taxol #3 for me this friday. still have something weird going on with my toes, i had an infection earlier on that i needed antibiotics for, it was the skin on the side and under my toenail. never seen anything like that. the PA thought it was chemo related. the infection is gone but i still need to see a podiatrist. after chemo is done, i'm going to Montauk or VA Beach on vacation to celebrate!!
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so ladies it’s been a while since I’ve been here, chemo has really been kicking my ass. I’ve had horrible side effects and I’ve been hospitalized twice for C- diff infections... Feels to me like if you can’t go wrong it os
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Hello everyone
Deb I hope your infusion will go well today and that your knee will feel better by the 10th so you can enjoy your event. If I understand correctly, you're almost done. Hope you will celebrate!
Worried me, i feel like you about cancer. It sucks and i hope you will feel better when chemo is done. It must be horrible to be hospitalized twice.
ButterflyLilly, i hope that your issue with your nail won't be recurrent. I've read some weekly taxol posts and it seems that you're not the only one suffering from this side effect.
Moth, glad that you can have a little bit of your life back before taxol.
I am still suffering from my gigantic sore in my mouth and will need third refill for magic mouthwash. I've read that taxol can create mouth sores so I guess that i will have 12 more weeks of that SEs. I got one dose of taxol so far and fatigue has not been one of my SE. I got the treatment on Friday and yesterday and today I have felt some aches in my back. I had hoped that taking claritin would have helped me but apparently not. No neuropathy so far and no pain in my nail but I need to cut them. Second dose this Friday.
Wish you all few or no SE!
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Lolotte-There's a recipe for mouthwash on here somewhere (I think it's the tips list) that says half malox/half liquid benadryl, but just swish and spit, don't actually ingest it.
AMBurt-I had the pins and needles for two days after round 1 but haven't since except randomly here and there. The smashed finger pain started up 5-6 days after treatments. It seems like it got a little worse after round 2 and 3 but then tapered off.
ButterflyLily-My doc did tell me it was rare to lose nails with taxol but on mine you can actually see spots under the nails where it's bleeding a little and that's why she thinks I might be one of the ones. Overall I have healthy nails but they are very thin to start with and that may be a contributing factor. And for me I can also tell those tiny spots are where the pain is radiating out of if that makes sense.
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Hello all, just wanted to let you know that today, day 25 with no chemo and it's the first day I actually felt like myself since February. I just wanted to share that with you so you can know that "this too shall pass" I cleaned my house, rode my bike, went for a walk, did chores around town, all without a nap or even feeling like I had to stop and rest. I am grateful. Anyway, for this week because my rads start next Monday. Wishing you all minimal to no side effects and much love all around you.
indahood
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indahood- congratulations. I am so glad that you are feeling like yourself. Enjoy.
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indahood, so happy that you're feeling like yourself! You're like a beacon for us following
I almost got myself down yesterday because I was booking some camping dates & was flipping through my daytimer where I had pencilled in the original schedule. Good thing I pencilled it in... If things had gone as planned, I would have been finishing chemo May 24. Now I'm scheduled to go to July 19
& then the break & then rads. I'm supposed to start school in September so I don't know how all this is going to work out.
But I bounced back quickly. It is what it is & this whole thing is a big lesson in radical acceptance.It was a nice day yesterday and we took the dogs for a walk in the forest and my oldie tried to wade into a little creek but it was deeper and muddier than he thought & had to be rescued out of there & came out looking like a mud monster lol... But he's 14.5 and I'm happy he's still managing long walks in the forest.
blood work today & chemo tomorrowCBOK - my nails started showing damage during AC. I'm a pale caucasian and my MO said "hm, that's unusal. I more see it in darker skinned people". My nails are growing in almost white & several have a purplish discoloration where the moons would normally be. I don't see any signs of lifting right now but i wonder if that's next... I'm just keeping them short and keeping the cuticles moisturized. I hope taxol doesn't finish them off....
Still don't know what to do with icing. Both the MO & the nurses said it's not necessary for weekly taxol. They recommend it for taxotere & maybe the dose dense taxol but not the weekly.0 -
indahood - so happy for you. We all hope to get to that point soon. Enjoy this beautiful week
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WorriedMe - oh hun, that sucks
I'm with you with the 2 hospitalizations but mine were both 'fever of unknown origin'. C-diff is horrible. I hope this is all behind you now. If I can offer one piece of totally unsolicited advice - now that you're home, wash your laundry with bleach (even if it ruins some of the clothes and towels and bedding) and run your washer empty with just water & bleach too, to disinfect it. These stupid germs are tough & will survive otherwise.
I was reading this website about how many germs survive laundry (and also survive wiping on counters & dishwashers etc) and definitely if we've been sick with anything like that, bleach is necessary in the wash. Reg detergent will not do it. If anyone wants to gross themselves out here's the website. It's run by a stay at home mom who has a PhD in biochem and got interested in this topic. She buys petrie dishes in bulk and runs a bunch of tests to see how much growth you get after supposedly cleaning. http://www.stopthestomachflu.com/does-clean-laundr...0 -
I have disinfected house and all my clothes, fingers crossed I got all the germs out of here!!! Chemo has affected Me in ways I never imagined it would. The side effects of Chemo been horrible but not recognizing myself in the mirror has been just as hard. I’ve got Round five chemo Friday and I’m not looking forward to it. On a more positive note I’m so happy for all of you ladies that finished chemo, My daily quote to myself is I have cancer cancer does not have me. I pray for all of y’all my pink siste
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Hello ladies,
I have run a fever yesterday for the first time during treatment. I was borderline going to ER but hopefully not high enough. I am also coughing a lot. Today MO said it might get worse before getting better. I hope not! They have taken more blood for culture analysis. MO was not please with my weight loss. He wants me to weigh myself everyday and make sure I don't lose anymore weight. Today I was 127. Because I am petite to average I think there is still so margin. Maybe it is because of the quantity of taxol received.
Red blood count were low but MO said we could proceed with next taxol dose this Friday.
CBOK thank you for the tip regarding homemade mouthwash. The magic one I was prescribed has already those ingredients but it is not working for me. So my MO told me to try oraljel. This is not cheap for a small tube. I hope it will last more than a couple of day.
Temperature have been rising in Virginia these past few days. I think I will push myself to go fir a walk tomorrow. Maybe I'll feel better afterwards.
Moth and WorriedMe77, good luck for your treatment tomorrow.
Debs and the others post treatment hope your SE are minimal
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hey everyone ended up in the ER this morning was there 7 hours ugh I am having really bad fluid retention in my neck it's making it feel like I'm choking there's so much fluid in there so the ER docs were worried I might have a clot from the port they chased that down and didn't find anything thank goodness so the only thing we can figure is they did give me extra fluids through my port with my chemo and maybe the fluids are pooling in my neck but it is so uncomfortable and scary. Sorry to make this post all about me but I had a rough day. Hope you're all doing okay I'll check back in on you all later.
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Hello Ladies, I haven't posted in awhile because I had such a tough round last time and was feeling (and posting) too much negativity, so I wanted to wait until I was feeling better. I've had a great week and a 1/2 since SE's settled down, and have made the most of it. Generally that has consisted of taking my 16 year old for driving lessons whenever possible so she can get her license soon, and I’ve been doing some meal planning and prep since my mom, who was a great help with planning, shopping, and cooking, returned to FL two weeks ago. The help had been great, but now I am mostly missing her company. I know how lucky I was to have her for so long, and am so grateful she was willing and able to do this.
I've also been eating everything in sight since I feel better. I realized the last couple of rounds my weight has fluctuated 10 whole pounds in a three week period. I know some of you are battling continuing weight loss (Lollette, I hope you can keep your weight steady so you feel nice and strong and keep your onc happy), but does anyone else have such a fluctuation?
I’m holding on to any shred of positivity since I’m so dreading my fourth round (out of 6 TCHP) tomorrow. I was given something to encourage me today: at my appt today my onc measured my tumor with calipers, and since my first visit with him it seems to be half the size. This is my first proof that the chemo is working for me!!! Now I can go on with a 😀
Congrats to those of you finished with chemo! I’m so glad you are feeling yourself today Indahood, and thanks for checking in with us and letting us know that timeline. Moth that’s a bummer that the end date got pushed back, but you seem to have a good attitude about it and making it a learning and growing opportunity and I salute you for that. Deb I hope that fluid drains from your neck soon, I imagine that’s beyond uncomfortable. Worriedme I hope that the Cdiff had cleares up and stays away for good. Butterflylilly I keep myself going by planning all the places I want to vacation- I hope you get to Montauk AND Va Beach. Jo that is a great picture of you and your mom on your vacation. You look so happy and she looks very content.
For those of you battling SE’s I wish you comfort and strength. For those of you with upcoming infusions, courage.
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22fight, I'm on your same regimen minus the perjeta which gave me such bad diarrhea I had to quit that and my chemo nurses keep telling me that our regimen is about the toughest of the breast cancer chemo sorry you're having such a tough time with it I can relate but we can get through this. Worried me that cdiff is tough hoping your rid of it for good. This cancer thing ain't for wimps 🙂 what a tough bunch we are, we're gonna make it girls
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22fightfor- so glad you have been feeling better. It must be very encouraging to know that tumor is shrinking! We’re getting through this.
Deb- so sorry about more complications You just don’t get a break. We’re five down. Just gotta hang on for one more round. I’m counting down the days. Literally.
Worriedme77- glad to hear from you. We’be been worried about you. Hopefully you are on the mend for good now.
Wishing a good week for everyone. I’m just waiting for my side effects to kick in. Got a chill day planned
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I went for bloodwork yesterday and my counts are all great (except for a bit of anemia) but.... I was starting to feel not so good. I took my temp just before I drove to the lab and it was 37. An hour later it was 37.5 and about 30 min later I hit 38. I was shivering and feeling unwell (but had no other symptoms of infection) and just crawled into bed with a heating pad while waiting for the MO's office to tell me what to do. I didn't want to go to the hospital since we knew I'm not neutropenic. He confirmed I could stay home & just take Tylenol & hope it goes away.
I'm still scheduled for Taxol 1 today. I slept well overnight & woke up with no fever this morning so I guess it was just some stupid fast acing virus or something? So weird.
Debs - that swelling sounds horrible! That must be a terribly uncomfortable place to have fluid build up. I hope it goes away asap.22fightfor - glad you're feeling better. I'm in awe of you even getting out to do driving lessons. Being driven by people who are learning to drive makes me so tense and nauseous ...it's one part of parenting I totally failed. I homeschooled my kids through all other subjects & they're in college now but still.don't.drive. Ugh.
Feel free to post even when things suck and you're down. This isn't a place we should have to be cheery. We get it.
Lolotte, hope that coughing clears up & the fevers go away. Are you having problems with appetite or is it the mouth sores keeping you from eating? I hope you find a way to keep your weight in the target zone.
Ok, I'll be heading out to the cancer center in about 4h; gotta admit I'm nervous of the Taxol. I think I'll try to go for a walk with the dogs and then watch a bit of comfort netflix. I'm binge watching the old Gilmore Girls now.
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Deb- I'm so sorry to hear that you're having complications . What an odd place for fluid retention. Are you still trying to work? Teaching a teenager how to drive? That isn't for the weak of heart. I had round 4 tchp this past Friday with minimal side effects. I had two wonderful weeks of being able to taste food and within 24 hours of round 4 everything tasted like crap again. The only thing I've noticed really different after round 4 is that I feel a disconnect between my mind and body. I'm still running and walking but I feel as if I'm in a tunnel moving in slow motion. At work when a client asks me a question I'm very careful to repeat the question before responding. I feel as if I'm on a time delay. I'm explaining very poorly.
Moth- good luck with your first taxol treatments . I hope you have this fever / virus under control. Thank goodness you didn't have to be hospitalized.
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Moth, I am also binge watching Gilmore Girls on netflix. Good luck for your first taxol.
Deb, I hope that you feel a little better. Your journey so far has been plagued with so many SEs.
22fightor I am glad that you are feeling better. Week after treatment are always hard. We are all here to comfort each other when we are down. Vent as much as you want😊
Jo, I felt also disconnected from my body during AC. It is a really weird feeling. I hope that next week will be better. Kudos for still running!
Some of you are on their last round very soon. I am so glad for you. A lot of people say that chemo is the hardest part. You will have that behind and some time to become human again.
Cheers everyone
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