Chemo starting April 2018
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I did have one very mild nose bleed.
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No nosebleeds here, although I have a drippy nose, lol. I hear that the tiny hairs in your nose fall out just like the rest of your hair and that does it. Also, my mouth is better, yippee!
Urdrago and Frog, how are you doing after your first T?
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Hi Leli, Im new to this also, been reading posts and info is great here! had a mastectomy Feb 25th, right breast with 4 sentinel nodes removed. No reconstruction. I'm her2 positive but cannot take herceptin due to a left bundle branch block (weak heart). started Taxotere/Carboplatin with a shot of neulasta on April 25. 6 rounds every 3 weeks. Drippy/bloody nose here too, but it's not excessive. This week, add the teary eyes. Apparently side effects of Taxotere. Hang in there, let's see what suggestions we can find, so far ive heard Vaseline in your nose but I can't stand the smell. After first treatment thrush was bad, but now trying to be proactive. Any advice on preventing thrush? Next treatment is Wednesday 6/6.
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Hi All!
GAWarrior my baby run was ok. Legs heavy and I ended up with many walk breaks but hey I was moving.
DJT- Ready to hit the halfway mark. Discussed my gastric issues with MO this week. Not sure if it made me feel any better. He agrees if I don't get the acid issues under control I could definitely leave chemo this time with a nasty ulcer. His suggestion start Prilosec OTC and then supplement with the Pepcid as soon as I need it.
Because I'm feeling good like most of us in the final days before next round, I've been what I call chemo nesting. Getting houses clean shopping done etc. I may have overdone it though. I developed a little lymphedema but what is strange it isn't in the side where my lymph nodes were removed but the opposite arm. I'll discuss it with MO this week but I'm concerned it is caused by the chemo or possible my port placement causing a blockage in the lymph system. Luckily I had a sleeve on hand and had a massage already schedule for this weekend. She did a little lymphatic drainage and arm is definitely improved from where it was. Any one have tips for lymphedema?
Engine- So glad wife seems improved. I've been wearing wigs much more in the last week. It helped that I bought some of the adhesive that rolls on and I feel much more secure.
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A bit of a drippy nose here--was told that Herceptin can cause this, and it's pretty minor. One mild nosebleed that stopped quickly.
We're back from Atlanta--hotel folks were great, but the security folks at graduation were not going to let me take in water and Ensure until I politely pointed at my scabby scalp and said it was part of my nutrition/hydration for cancer, especially since we'd be there several hours. (They relented--the idea is that there were expensive waters and snacks inside they wanted people to buy). Kinda sad we have to have metal detectors at high school graduation, but I understand safety is a priority. Anyway, the most delightful part was my very shy, geeky son (as in he prefers books to socializing) had a *wonderful* time at prom with a beautiful young lady he met at camp last summer. They didn't want to leave! I couldn't believe it. He said he'd rather have a second prom than graduation, lol. Then they sang Weird Al songs as we drove back to the hotel to rendezvous with her parents. Doesn't get better than that. ;0
dee
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Hello all,
Dee and Duffy - I finish my taxol on June 20, 2018 and see my RO on June 21, 2018. When I met the RO the first time she advised that they recommend at least 4 weeks between ending chemo and starting radiation. I will be waiting 5 weeks as I already had a family vacation scheduled before I got my diagnosis. I will begin radiation on July 23, 2018.
Thanks for the Glutamine recommendation!! I still have the neuropathy but adding that with my B vitamins have made it more manageable. I have not lost my hair and it is growing as well. My MO thinks I may get to keep my hair. I did have it cut short when I started this process but it has probably grown 3-4 inches since I started chemo. I am ready for a trim but am going to wait until by last three treatments are completed. However, my scalp is sore every weekend after chemo and almost feels bruised and it does itch a lot. I still have to shave my legs but not as often.
GA Warrior - I had a lot of mouth sores in the beginning but they have pretty much gone away in the last few weeks. However, my MO prescribed something called "Magic Mouthwash" it is awesome. The pharmacy has to mix it and it has maalox, benadryl, and something else in it. It numbs your whole mouth and gives you some relief. I still use Biotene daily for the dry mouth.
Engine - I am so glad your wife is feeling better. Happy Birthday to your mom!!!!!
Here's hoping everyone has a good week. Remember.....WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!
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I was going to respond to Lynne603 about her nosebleeds and looking for something other than vaseline, but I see she deleted her post. Maybe though, this will be of help to some of you others. Several years ago, my ENT suggested Ayre Saline Nasal gel and a saline nasal spray (I use Ocean brand, but there are multiple brands on the store shelf) to help with nosebleeds. My primary care doc had told me to use an allergy nasal spray daily to get through allergy season, but that daily use caused the nasal passage to get way too dry with subsequent heavy nosebleeds. The ENT said to discontinue the allergy spray and stick with the saline. I'll be having #3 of four T/C on Thursday. I've been using the saline nasal spray twice daily since chemo began.
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Dee, so happy for your sons wonderful graduation and your enjoyment. You are so right, it doesn't get better than that. I so remember my son loving Weird Al!! His prom memory will be a life time smile, ...for all of you!! That's just great.
Maggie, I am familiar with the Ayr products, i think I may still have some sampled gels here somewhere, I used them during winter dryness, it may help. My nose bleeds are nothing short of dramatic, length and exhausting. Thanks for the reminder. I feel it is a combo of dried out nasal passages, blood counts, and too many darn meds.
Duffys mom, hope your gastric problems end soon , with no ulcer!! I get pepsid in my pre meds and taske Omperosole every few days at home, that stuff works for me. We are getting through this!
I actually weeded my little flower patch this morning, and then painted my nails. Yippee for normal moments☀️☀️☀️
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Hello Everyone! Tax #2 done! Bone pain pain. Can't tell if it is the nulesta shot or tax. Maybe both. Went for a walk with my BF. Try to walk 30 miles a day but some days are tougher then others for sure!
Have not had the bloody nose but Gawarrier I go through a box of kleneex every other day! Poor nose.
Feeling numbness in my face.
Anyone else experience this? Also, my hands and feet get super hot and the dry and peel. Any suggestion for that out there?Postiveinohio I finish my last chemo treatment on June 28th! We are pretty close on treatment plans.
Duffyzmom I also do what you call "chemo nesting" I want everything done before I go to treatment every time. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment.
Astyanax66 sounds like you had a great time! That is good, helps to bring your life back to a little normacy!:)
Well nice catching up with all you lovely ladies and Engine too!
Good luck to all those who have upcoming treatments this week! I will be checking back to see how you all are doing.
Really enjoying this group. So glad I joined!
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GA Warrior, I am doing good. As Djt said yeyyyyy for normal moments. I met up with friends over the weekend. I go in for Taxol 2 tomorrow. No oral dex for this round, only ranitidine and Claritin which I have to take today and tomorrow. I am not sure about the IV meds. I do have Omiprazole once a day.
Have not had much bone pain since yesterday. On AC my mouth felt really dry and I also had acid reflux. I have not felt that with Taxol, yet. But, early days. I plan to go out today to buy eyebrow products. Have no clue what I will do with those. I am very bad when it comes to makeup and those sort of things.
Dee, your son’s story made me smile. So glad you guys had a wonderful time.
Engine, wishing your mother a very happy birthday.
Life1963, how about a warm bath with epsom salts?
I am so glad for you ladies who are finishing up with chemo soon. It is tough going but you guys are almost there.
Have a good week ahead everyone.
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Gawarrior, I’m doing pretty good for first round. I’ve got hives that just continue to grow in one spot. Benadryl is my new best friend.
Frog, wishing u good vibes for next round..happy to hear u had normal weekend.
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Duffyzmom, lol, I've been cleaning all weekend too - prepping for the final AC on Tuesday. If I don't do it now, It won't get done until a week from now. Glad your run was "doable". I've been clocking 2 miles or slightly more on the treadmill every day. I'm walking, but on an incline, so I hope it's keeping my heart healthy. Good luck with your lymph nodes!
Dee, so glad you had a fun time with your son at his prom/graduation. It's nice to hear positive news. My hubby and I LOVE Weird Al!
Positive, thanks for the Magic Mouthwash recommendation. I should have had my dentist bosses call one in for me, but I thought the ulcers were getting better. Instead, I think I'm getting a new one. I have agranulocytosis because of low neutrophils and one of the symptoms is mouth ulcers, so I think they are from that. Makes me wonder if my blood counts will be high enough to get the final AC on Tuesday... So happy for you that you are almost to the end of your chemo!
LIFE, sorry about the bone pain. When I had it from Neulasta, it lasted about 24 hours and came in waves. It also kept jumping around from place to place. Definitely call your MO and tell them about your numb face and problems with your hands and feet! I did a search and found this thread on it: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics.... They got relief with vit B6 and L-Glutamine. I'm glad you're almost done with chemo, too!
Frog and urdrago - yay, glad T doesn't seem to be too bad! How long do your T infusions last (start to finish)? My AC is about 3.5 hours - does T take that long? Good luck on your next rounds! Good luck with the hives, urdrago - ugh.
Hugs and wishes for a good week for all of you!
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GAWARRIOR, infusion last 3 hours almost same amount of time as AC treatment. I was expecti led less time as well. So update: my hives is Shingles which probably been laying low. But since my immune system is down they have came out to show their ugly face. Also my illness prior was symptoms of Shingles, not a sinus infection.
Frog. Hope your SE's are mimimal. ..thinking about you today, how many more cycles do u have?
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OH NO, urdrago! I'm so sorry - shingles are the last thing you need right now. They can be very painful. I hope you caught it early - there are meds you can take if you catch it quickly enough, so call your MO or primary care and get them asap. GOOD LUCK!
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undrago71 I am so sorry to read that post! Prayers your way that they clear up fast!
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Oh no Urdrago! I literally gasped when I read you had shingles. I had them 10 years ago and they were miserable. Hopefully they are giving you all the meds to make them easier to endure.
All my shopping is done. Here's hoping for another speedy infusing tomorrow.
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Urdrago, so sorry about shingles! I’ve heard it’s horrible. Is there anything that can help?
Dee
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All thanks for the concerns and yes my MO is treating shingles with more drugs. I'm just hoping nothing else happens as I go through the taxol. I go tomorrow for blood draw. I want to get through the rest of the treatment plan without additional drugs. Staying positive, am hoping I get enuff peep in my step so I can yoga or just a little longer walks since the weather has changed to a nice 70 degrees.
GAwarrior, are you heading tomorrow to you're last AC treatment? Keeping you in my thoughts as you get thru the end of you're treatment.
Duffy- did you get a chance to try the Prilosec? I had to use it thru the end of my AC treatment and it worked well. I hope if that doesn't work then you at least find something that gives you relief from the discomfort.
Life- no issues with numbiness but I've only had 1 infusion of Tax. honestly, I'm with Gawarrior call you're MO and report. Hope you get some answers soon. One additional thing B-12 at least 200 mg a day per my MO for neuropathy.
I'm so greatful for getting to know everyone as we all go through this together.
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Hi Positiveinohio,
Great that you are almost done! I finish on the 29th, and I need 5 weeks off to get some tasks done at school (I really worry that this will be held against me, FMLA or not). I’m just going to lay it out for RO.
My first Taxol was 3 hours. Now, counting all the port flushing and blood work, it’s about 2.
Dee
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Urdrago, wow you sure did not need shingles. I'm so sorry. Hopefully the rx your Dr. Has given you will lesson the effects. Iv had them, it's painful, something you sure don't need. Sometimes they are mild, j hope so for you. Best wishes, Deborah
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So sorry, Urdrago! Hope shingles will go away soon. Hold on!
Question: how long after the treatment are you guys taking Zofran and rinse your mouth after each meal? Should I stop if I feel better or continue until the next session? Yesterday was day 5 after my first AC and aside from mild dizziness I thought I was ok in the morning. Boy, I was wrong! Nausea hit me in the afternoon, and it took Zofran a few hours to start working. I wasn't be able to eat anything between 1 pm to 9 pm, and then got so hungry, I had to make myself a sandwich at 9.30 pm! Here goes my sensible diet during chemo. Plus, I managed to bite my cheek, so now I'm scared for the soreto never heal. Am I too paranoid?
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Inna, that stinks about nausea. I’m on a totally different regimen, but I take Zofran the day of infusion, then 3 days following (1 tablet in am, one in pm). Day 3, I take a half dose due to constipation. I think there may have been once or twice I took a half dose in day 4 (worst day for fatigue and bone pain). I hope this doesn’t happen to you again.
Dee
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ok, here we go...today, TC infusion #3. No sleep, something about the night before twists me up so bad. Ah, and this two shall pass. Best to all others heading in today as well.
Deborah
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You go, Djt!!
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Hi djt, this too shall pass is right. I just finished TC #4 yesterday - done!. 2 week break then will start arimidex. I assume you are getting steroid day b4 and day after treatment? Keeps me awake a fair amount over the 3 days. I am able to nap and at least I'm not wired and jittery. Hope all goes well for you today. Hugs!
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Best wishes, DJT, for an easy time this round.
We'll see the surgeon tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, he will take out the drain and the PICC line and I can stop doing the IV antibiotics infusions every 8 hours. The oncologist has agreed to let us wait until next week to do the second round of TC.We asked him because we wanted to be sure all of the infection is gone and the fluid has dissipated. We definitely don't want any fluid left behind to become infected once my wife's counts drop again. My brother in law, a retired oncologist and ER doctor, is coming to visit this weekend.
What are your feelings about the new (TAILORx) study that states up to 70% of women with breast cancer can avoid chemo? Unfortunately in our case, they were not able to get a lymph node to test, so we don't know if that would have been negative, which, according to the study, is a key element in determining if a woman can avoid chemo.
I hope you are all doing well.
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Engine, My thought about that study is that it sounds like a lottery. If you are in 93.8 percent of success rate without chemo, you've got the winning ticket, but how do you know whether you are in the remaining 6.2%? True, the odds are similar to the ones after chemo, but there is, like 0.1% differencethere, so we are still talking about thousands of women in that gap.
I had a positive node, so I didn't get to choose, but there was a small chance of that as well. Neither MRI nor mammogram nor ultra sound picked up that one affected node, so I went into the surgery super positive, thinking I will avoid chemo altogether. I was in that 0.1% for whom imagining studies didn't show the full picture.
So, yay for the study, but I would've done chemo if I was in the intermediate risk group. At least I would know that I did all in my power to stop this horrible disease in me and minimized the chance of recurrence by a fraction of a percentage point.
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Dear InnaB2018,
That is exactly what my wife said as well. Her's is very similar to your DX (3.2cm, Stage 2, ER+, HER2-). The problem was, when she had a lumpectomy on the same breast 22 years ago, they took as many nodes as they could find. That's how they did it back then. They were all negative, but it left nothing to test this time. So, we really don;t know for certain if a node would have been positive, etc.
My son was initially very upset that my wife had chosen to do chemo, but when the oncologist explained to him that without it, we are looking at about a 40% chance of recurrence and with it, about 7% or 8%, he agreed with my wife's decision.
I also read an article today in the L.A. Times about a woman with Stage 4 BC who had tried several treatments and all failed, but she was put on a new type of immuno-therapy and she is now in remission. It is a new method because previously solid tumors, such as BC and Colon, etc did not respond to that. This shows great promise, but it is probably several years away.
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Urdrago, I am so sorry about what you are going through. I really hope that this does not mean anything for the upcoming infusion on Thursday.
Djt and Deb, congrats. Please do keep popping on to these boards to let us know how you guys are doing. What is next? Radiation or more meds? I believe you guys are done with surgery.
Taxol 2, day 2. I was in the infusion chair for maybe 1hr 40 mins. I took some premeds. No dex not even with IV. They did give me some saline. Then Taxol, they did it really slow for the first 15 mins and had a box of allergy meds at my station just in case.
One thing I notice different from AC or the first Taxol is my mouth has this bitter taste. Its not dry yet but will get there, I can tell. Also, I did not like going back to the clinic again in a weeks time. My eyebrows are still there, have thinned a bit. My nails are getting a bit darker so are my palms. The only upside, my face is so smooth, no downy facial hair.
In the early days when I had just got diagnosed, I used to think about how wonderful it would be if I could just wake up from this horrible nightmare. This feeling lasted until chemo started. Till the exact minute chem started, I kept on telling myself, wake up, now would be a good time to wake up and not actually go through this. Ha ha ha, I wish.
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Hi Frog, thank you. Starting arimidex in about 2 weeks. MO said I can have time to detox from chemo. I'm more nervous about the side effects of this pill that I was chemo. Just such a long time to take it. I was very very fortunate to get thru TC with no side effects. I'm sure the neulasta helped. I need to wait 6 weeks then surgery for permanent implants. I hope your taxol goes well with minimal side effects. A friend starts the A.C. and taxol soon. I'm sure returning every week for treatment will get old. I do like the soft face side effect i must say! I hope everyone feels better soon. I will definitely check in to see how everyone is doing. HUGS to all of you
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