Chemo starting April 2018
Comments
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Just popped in to say hello, ladies and Engine! Wishing all of you an easy week. AC #4 is this Friday. Better have some ice cream nowwhile I still got my taste buds.
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Frog-on-a-lilypad I too have always wondered what I would look like with big dangly earrings and short hair. Before all this started I had started selling Paparazzi jewelry. However I had long hair so I purchased quite a few dangly earrings plus you get a pair of earrings with each necklace as well. The plan was to go out on Facebook and sell my jewelry. I've been wondering what those earrings will look like when my hair grows out a little more. I tried wearing them with my bald head and my chemo cap. I personally myself was not impressed with that look. Perhaps with some hair on my head I may change my tune.
Look Good Feel Good Class. Would love to here more as you venture down that road.
Have as great day!
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InnaB. 4th A/C. Then on to DD Taxel! Go You!!!!
Enjoy that ice cream!
Have a great day!
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Dee- I'm also hoping to start radiation in August. My final chemo is 8/7 so I'm hoping that by the time I'm ready to start the Herceptin alone infusions I'll be started on radiation. I'm pushing for appt with RO at my next MO appt on Monday.
Frog and Life - I highly recommend the Look Good Feel Better organization. I attended during my previous cancer treatment and was blown away with the care, ideas and HELLO! Lots of freebies. I later participated as a cancer survivor in one of their training classes as a way to give back to those who volunteer with that organization.
Molly- I was not able to have an option this go around because of my previous exposure to Adriamycin (I'm somewhere near the lifetime max). Luckily the TCH is a good alternative and for many considered standard of care for my hormone receptor negative, HER2+ cancer. I'd ask your oncologist why you are being offered alternatives? Do you have preexisting heart issues?
Speaking of Heart - this week is my repeat MUGA scan Fingers crossed no issues to slow down treatment.
Anyone with tips for anal fissures? I'm dealing with some right now and really don't want any drug treatment so looking for at home treatments that have been tried and successful. I'm thinking sitz bath like following childbirth might help.
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Duffyzmom, when I have issues like that I use diaper rash cream. Zinc oxide helps with healing and if it's safe for babies, should be safe for us too
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duffyzmom--just an FYI on my timing. My last chemo is 8/2; I'll get the preliminary rads appts done 8/9 and start rads on 8/20. My first H only infusion is 8/10, and then every three weeks thereafter. (I usually do Fridays but had to change my last one to a Thursday because of a work commitment. I've liked Fridays so will keep them for the H only appts.)
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Thanks Ingerp- I jotted down your dates for reference.
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Hi duffyzmom,
Yes, please join us--several people here are active on the August radiation group. Some have previous experience, which is a big help. Hope you are feeling better this week!
Dee
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UGH. 10 minutes into 60 minute drive for appointment, and found out it was cancelled. Turned around and came home. So much for my list of questions. Found out the oncology fellow (as in fellowship) I'd been seeing is "gone until January." I often see the NP, which is fine with me. No idea when I'll be able to get another appointment between work, Herceptin, and radiation...
dee
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urdrago71 - Hello! I read your post that you did not take any steroids. Did you feel ok without taking them? Round #2 of AC is coming up in two days, and the worst side effect I had was from the steroids. My oncology nurse told me I had to.. I wonder if I skip?
To all; thank you so much for your posts; I keep reading and reading, and you all are very inspiring. My first AC was 6/29, and have 3 more to go. Reading your posts encourages me!!
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Hello everyone,
I am diagnosed with Stage III ,Tripple negative and Metastasis BC in my left breast and lymph node. I started my Chemo on April. My treatment plan is 5 months of Chemo, Surgery and Radiation. Chemo is divided into two phase. First phase - once in every two week for 8 weeks , second phase - every week for 12 weeks. I completed the first phase and AC was the Chemo med that they used. My second phase will start from next week. First day of Chemo was horrible. I had very bad nausea and vomiting. After taking two anti-nausea back to back helped me to get sleep. According to doctor and from online posts, Taxol will have less side effects. I am looking forward for the second phase of my Chemo. Hair started to fall after 2nd treatment so I shaved all of my hair. Lately I have been seeing skin discoloration and dryness.
Any tips on how can I take care of the skin discoloration.
I have been reading this posts and getting lot of tips so thank you for that to everyone.
Good luck to everyone and my best wishes are always with everyone of us.
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Back home. Just finished round three of TC. Fingers crossed for an easy ride this time. We'll start Neupogen injections on Friday for five days.
Naesha: Welcome to the group. I pray your second phase will go easier. My wife, fortunately, hasn't had any issues with vomiting. I do recall seeing some tips in this section recently about skin care. We're not totally sure of my wife's staging. We do know her tumor was invasive and at 3.5 cm, was borderline for spreading to the lymph nodes and maybe beyond. Unfortunately, they took so many of her lymph nodes when she had BC 22 years ago, they could not find any to test this time, so she is doing 6 rounds of TC chemo just to be safe.
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bobby77056, i dont take steriod tablets which is my prescription my MO gave me before I start AC.. dont miss understand during all infusions I do get a steriod as Premed before the chemo, Decadron. I feel find without taking extra tablets of steriods..question for u ,what is it about the steriod thats bothering u??
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Naesha. Im TNBC as well and I think the AC plus Taxol is standard medical care for our diagnoses. Taxol has been easier than AC treatment, no nausea or flu like symptoms.but I do have bone /joint pain.
Skin care, I use mositure creams mornings and evenings everywhere.. Even on my bald head.. i think my discoloration or paleness is from anemia-low rbc..
Hope that helps and welcome, sorry ur here..This is a great place to ask questions and vent!!
Sending Good vibes !!
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Bobby7705 and Naesha - Welcome aboard. You will find everyone here have such big hearts out here!
Best of luck to you both as you start into "chemo world" as I call it. This is a great board with lots if information and experience.
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Heading to the MO opt on Friday to talk to him about the next steps. He did tell me over the phone that he is going to start me on the hormone blocking receptor pill letrozole. Due to my age and estradiol level. Still up in the air on radiation start date. Not sure what's going to happen there. He still thinking about whether or not September would be too far out. His feelings are that medical studies have only studied 3 to 6 weeks not 7 to 8 so he can't really give me a medical opinion on that. Radiation doctor said it would be fine to start September due to a vacation that we have planned. However it is a four wheeling vacation with a lot of bouncing and I don't know if my body could even handle it. I am going to do some soul-searching before I make this decision. Kind of scary going past the 6-week mark after what he said.
Hope everyone is doing well! :-)
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Hello, Bobby and Naesha, i hope you find great support and answers here, as i have. As far as the steroids, i told my dr. They kept me awake and he eliminated them, other than the dose in the actual infusion.
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How are others dealing with or experiencing general tiredness, if done with chemo? I'm 2 weeks past last infusion, still very limited on energy. I'm able to get my grandson back and forth to da y camp, pack his lunch, etc, snd do a load of laundry. Other than that and maybe a store or 2, I'm beat. maybe that's normal, idk? I push myself by early evening to move enough to prep dinner, and do ordinary stuff, by 8pm, I'm done!
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Djt this might be one of those "listen to your body" times. Some people think doing more than you feel like doing is energizing, but through/following tx, I'm not sure that's true. When fatigue kicks in, I find that if I get off my feet for a while, I feel a lot better. Your energy will return, but let your body heal.
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Hi, and welcome, Bobby and Naesha,
I only got steroids during pre-infusion (like djt), and after 8 treatments, I asked for them to be reduced. Worked great! I went from 20 mg to 4 mg with no problems, and I felt so much better! Hope you can find a good balance for you.
dee
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DJT, I'm fairly worn out. A little sluggish in the mornings, but I feel okay with work and light duties until about 3 pm. I then crash hard. I feel like my hands and feet are full of cement, and after I drive home from work (I'm working there 2 days a week and telecommuting 3 days a week), I have to rest before I can even eat dinner! Last night, even after working from home, I was prepping dinner and after cutting up a batch of sweet potatoes, I had to sit and catch my breath before finishing. I hope the further past Taxol, the better it will be; it's only been 2 weeks.
dee
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Thanks, Dee and Ingerp.....yes i tend to push, rather than listen to my body. I want to find the old me, so I keep trying harder. But, yes i think i will give in to naps and rest time. I do believe I have been getting a bit more able, each day. Slow, very slow, but sure. Dee, i understand the catch your breath thing, that's me after any stairs, from doing laundry. But, if I look back to days on the sofa, this is definitely better. 🏵🏵🏵
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Bobby, I stopped taking steroids at home after the 2nd AC. Only the one they gave me on the day of the infusion. Also, I received steroids only once with my first Taxol infusion after that I have not received any steroids through infusion or tablets. I like it this way. I did not like the crazy feeling with steroid, neither the steroid crash that followed. But, this was my doc's decision, I just went with it.
Naesha, TNBC here as well. Hope you have minimal SEs, all the very best to you.
Engine's wife and Robin, I hope you guys are having an easy time with SEs. Robin, 1/3 done.
Urdrago, 1/2 done. 6 more to go.. yeyyy.
There is someone else on Thursday that I am missing I feel.
Urdrago, there is an interesting article by Moth on the weekly Taxol group on compromised immunity. I will try to copy paste the link here. I think I remember you asking about it in the group long back, about how chemo makes our bodies lose the efficacy of vaccinations and such.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC47273...
Friday ladies, Inna B, way to go, last AC for you. Ingerp, I have adopted your last date as mine. Twice, I have given your last chemo date as mine to friends and then, oh wait thats not mine. Ha ha ha ha, silly me.
Mine is 13th August. So exactly a month left. When I was a kid, I used to cross out days before an exciting event, summer holidays, or getting a new bike. I almost feel like I should do that.
Life, I hope you are doing better and getting your energy back every day. You should try on those earings you got for your business, you can be your own model.
Djt, Dee, Deb, life thankyou for coming back to the group and letting us know how you are doing. Take it slow and easy. Its been a hard journey.
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Hope all are doing okay with infusion and SE's.. I still have bone pain and taking Aleve for pain. Seems to barley just take the edge off. I started to talk with different facilities that handle breast cancer surgery and PS.. interesting fact I found: if i have clips in breast tumor and lymph node which tested positive for cancer. A center wants to do another MRI to see what the shrinkage is or if the entire lymph node is gone. Bcuz if no cancer shows up after chemo i might not need radiation??
Talking to another center .. just verbal conversations but it sounds that if I do need radiation its not favorable to do implants. Either way Im looking at bi-mastectomy.
I'm scheduled the 23rd of this month all day clinic with surgeon/PS..maybe than i will get more clarification, hmmm...
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Thanks. So far so, good. She did a ton of stuff around the house today: Organizing bills and photos for her scrapbooks. She's a scrapbooker
That said, she looks and is acting tired, which is expected.We start the Neupogen injections tomorrow, one per day for 5 days again.
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DJT. I am 2 weeks out and still lacking energy. I have gone home from work on lunch hours and take naps. I would say today I started feeling a little better. Yes. I believe taxel zaps you big time! That is one of the questions I am asking MO tomorrow. Will report back.
Undrago71 the only thing that would calm my body pain down was hydrocodone. I tried everything from tylenol, advil and peppermint oil.
I forgot to share with everyone this tid bit if information. My chiropractor recommended that when it is approved I should start getting a massage to start working out the scar tissue where I had my drain, lymph node surgery and lumpectomy. I took the advice and when I went to see the radiation Dr she was very impressed with the fact I had hardly any scare tissue. She told me that was good because radiation would make scare tissue hard and lumpy. Just thought I would share that forward.
Heading to MO tomorrow to learn more about want is in store. I have my pad full of questions for him.
Today was my first time in 16 weeks that I did not have to go to chemo world. It was a good feeling and I did the no chemo dance! Looking forward to hearing the rest of you getting to do your own no chemo dance!!
Have a great weekend!
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Frog if I could give you my last chemo date I would. Still--early August sisters.
Life--that sounds delightful. Congrats!!
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Hi everyone, just checking in and hoping everyone is doing ok. Djt, I am 6 weeks out post TC. I am doing fine during the day but definitely tire out more by early evening. Each day will slowly get better. Just listen to your body. Let me know if you find yourself with swollen feet and ankles. I heard it's a taxotere side effect and this started for me after my last treatment. Between work and exercising I get in a lot of steps plus the heat doesn't help. By the next morning it's gone but reappears in the evening. It seems weird to just be taking a pill a day and not focusing on chemo. Definitely an adjustment. Each one of you will get there and I can see and feel how you all truly lift and carry each other through this. You are a special group and that is why I check back. Hang in there. Hugs to all of you.
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Wow, you don't read the boards for a few days and there is suddenly lots to catch up on!
I got T#4 on Wed (one third done with T, woot!). I'm feeling good, no SEs so far. My red blood cells came up 0.10. That's not much, but at least they are up and not still falling. Lol, the MO said if they keep going up that slow, though, I should feel like myself again in about 40 weeks. Let's hope it doesn't take that long!
InnaB, good luck with AC#4 - wishing for no SEs for you!
Duffy, hoping your MUGA scan comes out well.
Oh, no Dee - how aggravating that your visit was cancelled. I'm glad they caught you before you got too far, though.
Bobby77056 and Naesha, welcome to the group. Naesha, I'm triple negative, too. For AC, be sure to take your anti-nausea meds exactly on time - don't wait for the nausea to start before you take it because it will take hours for the meds to catch up and stop it (it did for me, anyhow). Keep the meds in your system - trust me, it helps and also helps to keep food in your stomach. I munched on gingersnaps and things like crackers and shredded wheat biscuits. Taxol has been much easier for me than the AC was. Hang in there, you'll get through this.
Engine, hoping this round goes well for your wife.
Urdrago, I hope you are feeling better, pain-wise. Yay, half done with T! Just wondering, are you taking l-glutamine for your fingers? The onco nurse told me on Wed. that it helps a lot with the bone pain from T. I haven't had a second of bone pain on T and wonder if it's because I'm taking the l-glutamine? Also, you're getting a Granix shot, right? That might be causing your pain like the Neulasta did? Radiation - it's my understanding that we don't get radiation if we have a mastectomy? No one has mentioned it to me, except if I was to go the lumpectomy route, then I would have to do it. I am stage 1, though, so maybe your treatment is different because of your lymph node involvement?
Congrats, Life - doing the no chemo dance. I can't wait until Sept. for mine. Thanks for the massage info - I wonder if that applies to getting a mastectomy, too? I'll keep it in mind.
Dee and DJT, I've read that chemo tiredness often takes 2 months or more to get through. This stuff does a number on us! We have to let the blood counts get back up and get the crap out of our systems. Hang in there!
Frog, definitely get a calendar and cross out those days! You'll feel like you're making progress. I'm glad you're feeling better this round. 4 to go! I'm green with envy, since I have twice that much left to do.
Have a good, SE-free weekend, y'all. Big hugs!
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Hi ladies, so nice of you all to reply....Yes it's a bit better day by day, but wow, at times, it's like someone pulled the plug on my energy all at once. I love bedtime!, and I mean like 8 or 9 pm! No swollen ankles or feet, but my feet get sore easily.
Took my grandson to camp this am, and I normally don't always use my handicap hangtag. Today I did as no spots were open near the trail where i walk him dow n. Omg, some dude dropping off his wife for work starts blowing his horn yelling at me out his window ...that its HIS spot. To get out, so on . I got out and calmly told him i have a hc hangtag. He kept on yelling, but was very able to pull up in a spot By the door to deliver his wife. She works there, i recognized her, she uses a wheelchair. But he actually was closer than my spot was. So when my grandson and I start walking down to the sign in pavilion, this creep is screaming at me that there is nothing wrong with me, that he videoed me walking, and got my plate number. ! I said Mr. Not everything is visible to the eye you dont know everything. Wow, it's all I can do tho just get my boy back asnd forth.
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