Chemo starting June 2018
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Kat22, wow, great news!!! very happy for you!!!
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Kat22, that’s wonderful!!!! So happy for you!!!0
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Yay kat22! 10 weeks since last TC infusion and out of the blue last night at work I had roving itchy rashes again. Benedryl cream last night before bed. Fine this morning. Weird. This is my third week of work. I'm tired. I want my mojo back. Just doing what it takes to keep my job and keeping the dishes clean at home is all I'm requiring of myself for now. I used to accomplish so much more in a day.
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How soon can you resume "normal' activities like going to public place (mall etc) after the end of chemo? Three weeks? I knew this might be a silly question.
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LilyCh:
I was getting Neulasta and I live in the city so there is really no avoiding people and I was going to public places like the market as soon as I was well enough to leave the house...about a week after my infusion. I bought some N95 NIOSH masks to put on if I thought anyone was sick and I wash my hands a lot and am careful to do so after using the restroom, when I get home, and before I eat or touch my face. I did stay away from my sister and her family though, as she has a child in pre school and they get colds a lot. I got sick with a cold once, right after my final infusion.
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Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences, WC3. My wife just finished the final infusion yesterday and like you said, the first ten days or so have also been rough for her. She was getting Neulasta as well after each infusion and the WBC has been normal. But our daughter's birthday is coming soon, so we were wondering if a party for her is realistic
Thanks again and you have a great weekend!
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LilyCh
RE: how soon normal activities/mall
My MO had me do blood labs 10 days after last infusion, at the “nadir” of WBC to check. My WBC was back into the normal range, so I was cleared to do usual stuff, and he said that my immune system was back to normal. He said that meant that getting m flu shot was okay, travel, crowds, etc. and I went back into the swimming pool as one of my exercise options at that point.
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HikingLady, this is the first time we heard the term of "nadir", thanks for letting us know
. We usually do the follow-up blood test exactly one week (not ten days) after each infusion, would that still count as "nadir"? During the past 5 follow-ups after each infusion, WBC has always been very high (even out of the "normal range"), I believed that has been caused by Neulastas. I would expect the coming up check-up next week will follow the same trend. Does it mean it is OK to resume "normal" activities by then?
Thanks so much again
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My blood tests were done the day before I was scheduled to have my next infusion (three weeks from the previous). My WBCs and lymphocytes were always low...same with my RBCs and platelets, but my neutrophils were normal or high from the Neulasta.
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WC3, that is interesting.
We always had two blood tests between each infusion, one was one week after and the other was two days before the next infusion. The former always had high WBC, a few times even reached around 20 (it says Adult Reference Values should be 4.80 - 10.8), but the latter usually came down to 6-9 range. Sometimes I was even wondering if Neulasta was really necessary but it should not matter now (after all the infusions are done) anyway
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Yes, after the last infusion, it didn't matter what my WBC count was, since it didn't have to up in any particular range for another infusion, so I didn't have Neulasta that time. Possibly certain chemo recipes / TX have different “nadir" low-point days, and my MO was helping me figure out when to get on a plane for a trip, when to get back in the swimming pool after chemo, so he announced that with my WBC in normal range on Day 10, my immune system was its usual self, and I could go back to that Normal Life Stuff.
FOONOTE—-it turned out that 3 weeks PFC I got a serious lung inflammation, panting, fatigue, couldn't fill lungs up deeply, coughing, felt like pneumonia, so even though my WBC was fine, I then had several weeks of reduced activity and was winded all the time and I have had to be on steroids while it has been healing. It was diagnosed with a chest X-ray, and has been getting better slowly. This was one of those unfortunate and not super common “chemo reactions." Chemo, the gift that keeps on giving.....
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LilyCh:
Yeah, I think my MO or the facility might do things a little differently with respect to labs but they gave me a calender of when my anticipated nadir was. I have two. One from the taxotere about 6 days post infusion, and one from the carboplatin near the end of my cycle.
HikingLady:
I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's like a box of surprises isn't it? Right before my 6th infusion my feet swelled up and that was almost 4 weeks past the 5th infusion.
I'm 17 days PFC and my platelets are low again...I can tell from the bleeding and bruising, and I have a mystery pain in my abdomen that I have had at about the same time for the past few infusions.
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HikingLady and WC3, sorry to know the complications PFC, hope those will be gone very soon. Sounds like we still need to be very very careful, even if WBC is normal.
Thank you all.
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Ok, y'all......who's getting hair? Not me
Hope everybody is doing well!!!0 -
Kat22: None? I'm 10 weeks out from chemo but still can see my scalp. It's coming in but much slower than expected. Anesthesia from exchange surgery 6 weeks ago and Tamoxifen adds to the thinness I think. It feels dark and grey. It's probably close to where it was before DX but I bleached it platinum for years. When I think these follicles can handle it I'm going back.
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I'm 6 weeks PFC and not even the first sign of any peach fuzz. Bleh. SO ready....
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Kat22, do you know your pathology report yet?
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LilyCH: Sadly, no. I saw the surgeon today (5 days post-op) and it wasn't back yet. But I just KNOW it's good news. She looked at her handiwork, commented on how well it was healing, and asked when I wanted to go back to work. I'm so happpy to be going back Thursday, a week earlier than expected. Sick of laying around the house, broke. And work is my escape.
Funny story: during surgery, they lost the clip that they had removed. Apparently the entire surgical team was searching through removed tissue to find it. Such a tiny little thing, I can imagine the scene. One of the techs said "is this it?" and it was. lol
How's your wife doing?
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Kat22, very glad to know it will be GOOD news for you. Good things always take time, just be patient
. As I said before and I am going to say it again, your story inspired us, we all root for you .She is doing great. She finished the final infusion last Thursday (yea!) and is going to have the MRI this Thursday, then we would see the BS next Tuesday... The MO could not feel anything during post infusion examinations (starting from the 3rd one). Hope the MRI and surgery would indicate the same!!!
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LilyCh:
Thank you. My platelets are still low and I am still anemic but I'm able to eat again and I'm happy with that :-)
Tell your wife congratulations on finishing chemo! I hope things go well for the both of you.
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WC3, thanks you very much, I would definitely let her know.
Regarding anemia, are you going to ask your MO to get iron supplement infusion? That should help. My wife did it once in between the 1st and 2nd TCHP as she had iron deficiency even before the 1st TCHP. That worked fine. Before the last TCHP, I asked the MO to see if iron supplement infusion is needed again as the RBC was sort of low, but the MO said no need...
Glad to know you are able to eat again. I always encourage my wife to eat as much as she could, even if lot of times she had weird tastes. I believe eating better is the key to recover better and soon.
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LilyCH: Great news on finishing chemo! Tell her we're all proud of her! Something to keep in mind: I never had an MRI, but ultrasouund a few weeks and manual feeling, both indicated still both a breast lump and node issues. The nodes were dead cancer. SO remember that even if there's something there, it may not be bad. Best of luck to you both!
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Got it, thanks, Kat22
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Okay I need a place to vent:
My hair is growing out. I'm back to work and the gym. I'm slowly starting to get my energy back. I have about 4 lbs of water weight left from the Taxotere that's very slowly going. My tattoos are happening 11/15 ( they were postponed due to insurance issues). I'm totally happy and relieved to be able to get on with things. I'm like a teenager getting used to my new body in the mirror. I still feel beautiful. I feel like I processed the trauma of the whole thing as I went through it. I cried and raged and talked to wise friends and asked questions here and to all of my medical team. No PTSD here. My DH on the other hand is falling apart now. I'm ready to celebrate and he wakes up afraid or angry every morning. We'll get through this. I love him and he's worth it but dang. okay vent done!
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rachelcarter35:
Sorry your husband isn't coping well. I'm sure that just adds to the stress for you. Is he open to talking to a counselor who specializes in counseling spouses of survivors?
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It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Got bumped from my Friday afternoon chemo on the 26th due to nursing issues, so I had to 2 do weekly treatments this past week. So Taxol #11 on Monday and #12 (last one) on Friday. With the Benadryl and Steroid premed cocktails has certainly been a rollercoaster of SEs and insomnia and steroid crashes (expecting another tonight). Throw in an afternoon for blood work and an RO consultation on Wednesday, it has certainly been a crazy, exhausting week to end chemo.
I'm hoping, as I've done my last chemo, that most of those who were on the longer regimens are also nearing the finish line that seemed so far away in June when we all started.
For those of you who have finished and are talking about healing, exercise, getting your appetite back, growing hair, etc. you are inspiring us to know that we will get there too.
Emotionally I feel I have been in survival mode since finding an enlarged lymph node in March. I'm actually now crashing a bit and feeling a lot of anxiety as my brain is coming out of the fog and has more time to think.
My RO has arranged my planning apt for next week to coincide with my bloodwork and MO apt, so I will hopefully get the 3 weeks between my Herceptin treatments away from the hospital later this month. I'm hoping a break from the place will give me some perspective and time to heal and build strength before starting the 30 radiation treatments.
Best of luck to everyone as they move forward. Wishing you all physical and emotional healing. It has been great to know you have all been there on this crappy journey.
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It's official.....I can now declare that, at least for now, I am CANCER FREE! Much love and hugs to everyone on this board, I pray you get the same good news. Never give up!
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Kat22, congratulations!!! pCR!!!
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LilyCh: Well, partially. pCR in the lymph nodes. There was still cancer in the breast, but surgeon got it all and margins are clear! Going it tomorrow to get fluid drained from armpit area, got a tennis ball size seroma there, but that's no big deal I guess
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Congrats, Kat22!
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