AC treatment
Comments
-
I had AC every two weeks, four infusions total. Then I had Taxol every two weeks, another four infusions, so there wasn't more than the usual break.
0 -
Hi everyone I’ve just found out I have to have 4 x AC (on a 3-weekly schedule) followed by 12 x weekly Taxol - just waiting to be told my start date. I’ve been reading everyone’s posts about SEs in an attempt to mentally prepare, but I think all I’ve succeeded in doing is terrifying myself!! It sounds so tough. I do intend to fast (48h before, 24h after) & I certainly hope it’ll help but know it’s not a magic bullet. Anyway thanks everyone for posting your experiences, it really helps.... even when those experiences are on the really severe end of the spectrum 😳
0 -
Ps Each_day_2018 - did you find any change in your awful SEs with fasting? I think you said back in Nov that you were going to try it, but I didn’t see any update about whether you did or if it made any difference
0 -
B74–I will be following to see how the fasting is going for you. I’ve done 11+ chemo fasts they get easier every time. The first chemo is just daunting as we don’t know what to expect. Hydrate and take a walk daily. Even if you can only throw yourself outside to get the mail—really helps. My friend had AC and only took one day off when she was wiped out. She did really well. Everyone handles AC differently. But it’s super aggressive so planing ahead is good. And we can only get doxorubicin once, so I am happy I never have to have the Red Devil again.
Jess0 -
yellowb, I think we were pretty close to in synch with our chemo. I also did 12 weekly taxol, (started mid July) followed by 4 cycles of every other week A/C. I got my chemo at the University of Minnesota. My MO said that there are two studies that found doing taxol first was better than the reverse, but she also said that those two studies were not especially well done/strong studies, so it's probably 6 of one, half dozen of the other! It also made more sense for me because I left town a few days after my first infusion to work for two weeks half way across the country (did chemo there), and since AC is so much harsher she felt more comfortable with my being on taxol while out there.
With the Taxol it didn't really bother me much til the last couple when muscle fatigue kicked my ass. I'd walk up the steps to my bedroom and have to lie down for 10 minutes to recover. Thighs felt like I'd done a major workout and would scream. Didn't have any nausea, weaned off all the premeds except for the pepcid, did cold capping as well as iced my hands, feet and ice chips in the mouth (should have sat naked in a freezer with an electric blanket around my boobs!). Really had minimal hair shedding with Taxol and cold capping. I think my eyebrows and lashes were just starting to thin at the end of the Taxol.With the AC, each round actually seemed easier than the last. I think the remainder of the Taxol combined with the AC on the first infusion and I had the worst side effects, which got better with each round (except for the fatigue, which was about the same or a little worse, and the taste changes which were different every day!). On the first round, infusion was on Tuesday and on Saturday I woke up peeing. There was no urge, no burning, try as hard as I could I could not stop peeing. It just streamed out. I was a little horrified. I think the muscle weakness/fatigue of the taxol combined with the AC and relaxed all the smooth muscle (sphincters). I didn't lose bowel control, but it was more lax and I had HORRIBLE heart burn (which I don't normally get) so I'm pretty sure the sphincter at the top of my stomach was defunct as well. Oh, and I got thrush that day, too. All symptoms were less severe on Sunday. Called onc RN on Monday (symptoms resolved by then, including thrush), she was concerned about UTI, got checked out on Tuesday and everything was fine. The leaky bladder and thrush repeated the weekend after infusion each time, but progressively less severe. My onc PA said she'd had one other patient who had a similar issue.
Nausea: I occasionally felt a little queasy, but that's it. I do get motion sickness, and oral narcotics make me very nauseated, but I had no trouble with chemo. they gave me emend and aloxi, I took the oral steroids for three days after for the first and second round, but I was often taking them at like 2 pm and didn't have nausea, so I tried skipping them the third round and no issues, so didn't even get them for round four.
Poop: I had a little constipation and used miralax a few times, but I had worse constipation during my out of town taxol rounds (stress + Aloxi). Turns out the anti nausea meds are totally constipating. Once those drugs wore off I ended up with loose stools but nothing uncontrollable. Did make things a little sore for a day or two each round.
Neulasta: I had the auto injector and took generic claritin. I have environmental allergies normally so I take generic Zyrtec for those and I added the Claritin in addition (as it does nothing for my allergies). I started taking the claritin a day or two before infusion and continued for several days after, figured it couldn't hurt. I had NO pain from the neulasta. I had more joint pain from Taxol.
Skin: got a rash on my chest from taxol that seemed like a reaction to my necklace, improved during AC, but got some acne-ish stuff under and between my boobs during AC. possibly from the steroids. Not too bad. Skin down below got very sensitive toward the middle/end of each cycle with underwear almost rubbing the skin raw where leg and body meet. MO hadn't heard this one before. It was not a yeast skin infection. I just think the skin is delicate there and the AC kept it from healing from minor trauma.
Nails: I had nail issues towards the end of taxol. I'm pretty sure I would have been fine, but I was doing an outside project with brick-like pavers and I'm pretty sure that my grabbing them and carrying them was traumatic to my finger tips and I ended up with nail bed bruising several days later. That hurt! And after a particularly long walk the same thing happened to several of my toenails, so I'm pretty sure that increased pressure on finger tips/toes = injury to nail beds= messed up nails with eventual separation of that portion of the nail from the nail bed. They are growing out slowly. With AC they say you can see a stripe for each infusion. I have that on my thumbs and one index finger, on all the other nails its just one big whiter section, no distinct lines.
Hair: I used Penguin cold caps and noted MAJOR shedding about 21-22 days after first AC. Scared the bleep out of me. It lasted a couple days and then decreased dramatically. Oncology PA told me other patients who did cold capping had a couple days of increased shedding with AC and then it slowed. The woman who I picked up my caps from and who I paid for a class for my mother and aunts to learn her capping techniques doesn't seem to know any of that. Overall the cold capping was pretty successful. I've thinned a lot all over and my ponytail feels ridiculously skinny, but people who don't know me would just think I have thinner hair. I met with the radiation oncologist and I think she kept forgetting that I did chemo since I had hair and commented on the fact that I didn't have a seroma at my lumpectomy site (I reminded her that my surgery was at the end of May and its now December!). I am curious as to when I might stop shedding and start to see some new growth.
Brows and lashes: Went pretty quickly after starting AC, brows first, followed by lashes. I got eyebrow wigs from headcovers.com and I LOVE them! so much easier to glue those puppies on than try to draw them on and as a dark blond, none of the pencils/powders/gels are really the right color. Everyone at my infusion center was very impressed with them. I tried fake lashes one day, but my eyes water so much right now that they failed quickly. Might work better if I use the glue for my brows for the lashes. 23 days pfc and eyebrow fuzz is evident, not seeing any lash activity yet. Would really like lashes to keep the cat hair out of my eyes. Has anyone gotten insurance to pay for Latisse to help get lashes back after chemo?
Overall, AC made me very fatigued for about a week, messed with my taste buds worse than taxol (improving but still not back to normal), gave me minor thrush for 1.5 days each round, and made me leak pee a few times, but was not anywhere as bad as I anticipated given the nicknames. To put a more positive spin on it we called it "The Red Warrior".
Sorry about the novel, but I hope my experiences might reassure someone else.
Warm wishes for speedy recovery for all!
Cria
0 -
Hello everyone! I am new to this thread. I started my first AC treatment this past Friday, 14th. I feel it went rather well. I was tired and a little nauseated the day treatment, but that was really it. I’veBeen a little bit more tired than usual, but not much. I’m pretty happy with how well the first treatment went. My next treatment will be on the 28th.
I will have 4 rounds of AC every other week followed by 12 weekly taxol treatments. I’m keeping my head up and hoping for the best...one treatment at a time. I am thankful for a wonderful family and amazing coworkers that make my life just a little bit easier during this process.
0 -
B74 - I Did not get relief from any side effects from fasting and that was probably my worst treatment as far as nausea and vomiting. Normally I am better by about the 5th or 6th day and back to work by the 7th day. I was still throwing up 8 days later. It was really bad!
0 -
Hello ALL! I finished my last AC treatment on 12/12 and am just coming back to life, but I am so glad it is done! Some of you may remember I was ready to quit after the second treatment! AC was really hard on me, so I am hoping for some relief with the Taxol. Thankfully, I get to spend the holidays with my family without being bedridden by chemo, and I don't have to start the Taxol until January!!
0 -
I don’t think I could have fasted while going through aC. I was surprisingly hungry during that time. But my symptoms were mostly manageable overall.
0 -
After reading a lot of the posts here, I just wanted to share my experience. I finished my fourth and last A/C treatment on 12/6/18. I start weekly Taxol treatments tomorrow. As for the A/C treatments, I feel like and my doctor also said I had done really well through them so I will share with you what I did and hopefully this will help someone along the way. First of all, I drank four 16.9 oz. bottles of water each day on day 1, 2 and 3 of treatment. After that I drank 3 bottles a day. They say to drink "lots of water" but most don't tell you how much exactly you need. But this helps flush the chemo out of your body and I feel it reduced side effects for me. However, on treatments 3 and 4 this did become a bigger job for me as I am not usually a big water drinker and the bad taste in my mouth made water not so good but I tried and when I couldn't drink water I tried to substitute enough of decaffeinated liquids (juice, decaf soda, milk and even jello) to keep hydrated. Another thing I did which was told to me by a friend was I ate 2 eggs each day in some form or fashion (scrambled, fried, deviled, pickled, etc.). This helped provide protein and helped with energy. On days I felt weaker, I would drink a bottle of Ensure Max Protein or eat a Protein bar. I ate minimal red meat, mostly chicken and fish. My doctor said red meat is harder for the body to digest. Constipation is a side effect which I also had. I took a stool softener daily (or most days) and I tried to eat one Activia yogurt each day. This helps with constipation. I learned this on some of the boards I read here. On days I felt like I needed an extra boost I would have oatmeal for breakfast which also helped. My first and second A/C treatment were fairly easy. The day after treatment I was normal with no side effects. On the third day I would start to feel more tired and weak but I was still able to function at home although spent a lot of time on the couch watching TV that day. But each time I got up for bathroom or whatever I would try to walk a little extra around the house before sitting back down. Don't give in to the fatigue. This also helps with energy. On day 4 I was still weak/tired but felt improvement little by little and on day 5 was usually back to my normal by the end of the day. However, my 3rd treatment hit me harder and also fell over Thanksgiving which I think may have been the reason. I may have overdid myself with travel and cooking although I didn't do a lot but I guess after a treatment it was a little too much. This one took me an extra day or two to get through the weak/tiredness. I was expecting #4 to be worse then #3 but it was about the same. It did take a little longer to get back to my baseline. Throughout all four of these I NEVER had one minute of nausea, which was my greatest fear of chemo. I told my doctor my concerns at the beginning and asked if I could have a prescription for Scopolamine patches (which is what they give for motion sickness/nausea) which had worked well during my surgery. She gave me the patches and I also took the Zofran 8 mg starting the night of chemo and took around the clock until usually day 5. The patches lasted 3 days each and I used 2 each treatment (a little pricy but worth it for me). I hope this helps someone as it did me. Always stay positive! They say attitude is half the battle. You can do this! Best of luck to you all!
0 -
Jill64, thank you so much for the tips. I also wondered how much to drink. I am drinking so much I am up many times thought the night, every night. I will try what you tried and see if that helps. I’m not a big meat eater either, chicken is my “go to”. I haven’t had much nausea, but with the thrush I’ve had a tiny bit of aqueasy stomach. I was prescribed meds for the thrush, so I am hoping it will clear soon. Other than that, my first round of AC went just fine.
0 -
This is the summary I provided on my Caringbridge site two years ago, about two weeks after my last chemo infusion. You can see my stats in the summary box; additional background is that I was in good physical shape (active, reasonable weight, etc.) prior to diagnosis. (The fit and thin reference is a running joke due to something one of my doctors said.) I did not go to work on infusion days but otherwise, worked full time (desk job) during chemo and did some business travel.
I am two weeks past my last chemo and feel pretty safe that I am past the worst of it.
I had four rounds of chemo. The experiences of those who went before me have allowed for fairly targeted treatments which I believe translate to my getting through this phase relatively unscathed. That and being fit and thin.
The list of possible side effects is lengthy for the two drugs I received. I experienced some, skipped others and was surprised by other effects.
The chemo process for me:
Day 0 - chemo
Day 1 - off to work, feeling fine; stop by the hospital on the way home for a neulasta shot
Day 2 - by the end of the day, start to feel icky, "flu like" symptoms. This was at its worse after round three.
Day 3 - more of the same
Day 4 - start to feel better, continuing till about day 7 or 8. It's at this time that if something weird were going to happen, it happened.After the first round, I had that killer back pain (while not listed as a side effect, I did find a study from 2003 that supports my hypothesis - as does my PCP). After round 3, I got a rash from head to toe. Fortunately it spared my face so while my YMCA crowd knew (no secrets in a locker room) no one at the office was aware. That was with me for two days.
From about Day 10 till the next treatment I generally progressed to feeling relatively normal.
The other side effects I experienced:
- The obvious one was hair loss. Right on time - two weeks after my first dose. My radiation oncologist predicts that my hair will start to grow back in April (three months after the last dose). Based on watching Jack's hair recovery, it will be a while before I give up Marilyn. As mentioned before, no hair means speedy showers (not as much to clean and it's cold once you get your head wet). Another plus is an easy answer to regulating body temperature (at least while at home) - just pull off my head wrap when during a hot flash. The down side is there's no hiding that something's off when in the Y locker room - acquaintances usually ask when they see a bald woman.
- The week of chemo was always accompanied by constipation. Prunes are my friends.
- Fatigue came along too but I had more issues due to insomnia. This happened mostly in the second week after chemo. It would take a while to fall asleep, I'd sleep for a couple of hours, wake up and then spend an hour or more getting back to sleep. Repeat. For a woman accustomed to 8 hours of sleep, getting 4-5 was rough.
- Pain: the flu-like feeling about 2-3 days after a dose was the first pain. That usually dissipated by the end of the week. I also experienced pain along my trunk, on the right side. I think about it in relation to my mastectomy surgery but it wasn't in all the places touched by the surgeon; more along the edges of where the pectoral muscle was pulled up and around to the back. Manageable (and on the nights I popped a valium, the insomnia was better!).
- For the most part, those were my acute side effects from chemotherapy. I do have a few chronic ones. The skin at the tips of my fingers is very dry and cracked, especially my thumbs. The first split I assumed was the result of cutting myself while cooking. By the time it was mostly healed, I noticed the other thumb was cracked open. Do you know how hard it is to keep a bandaid on a thumb tip? Or how often you use your thumbs? The one thing that help is to slather your hands with Aquaphor before bed and put on some gloves.
- I am starting to have some pain in the tips of my fingers - I noticed this a couple of nights ago while trying to pop a pill out of the foil packaging (I hate those things). I do hope this clears up soon.
- Taste - the literature mention loss of appetite due to nausea or mouth sores but I hadn't read anything about just plain ole taste buds. I was never nauseated and didn't have mouth sores. About a month ago I realized that food just tasted off. It's been progressing to the point where I really just don't taste much of anything. Last weekend I made a double batch of lasagna - one in the freezer for a dinner gathering on Friday and Jack, Spencer and I had one for dinner on Saturday. I sure hope my guests on Friday like it as I couldn't taste a damn thing.
- Last is energy. I do exercise most days but not at the intensity as pre-chemo. I figured out pretty quick after surgery that running and swimming would have to wait. I started running in October and swimming in November. Not long after chemo started I noticed that my running felt hard but was slower each day. Executive decision - walking would be just fine while my body did the hard work fighting cancer. I like to swim, both for the exercise and my swim people but between low energy and the surgical impact on my right pectoral muscle, I really just focus on getting about 30 minutes of pool time - strenuous is off the table for now.
That was my chemo experience. Hopefully it will help someone. My hair did come back and I stopped wearing my wig (Marilyn) in May. All of the chronic side effects cleared up too.
0 -
I am having the worst experience since my 3rd AC infusion than any other. I dont know if It made a difference that a different nurse gave me the chemo in reverse order if it mattered. I Have been throwing up consistently for days. Not able to eat or drink. Fatigued and ready to faint a lot. Heavy breathing, loss of breath when I speak. Cant stand long because my legs give way. This has never happened on the last two with my other nurse. The nausea meds are not working nomatter how many times switched. I am miserable. I told my oncologist I refuse to do the 4th AC. They will have to start me on the Taxol soon . She said I may have Anemia. No way in chemo hell, Im putting that stuff in me again. I don't think it will make or break my situation. Ive read about some women that opted out of the 4th infusion and it didnt make a difference. They are doing fine.
0 -
Hopebry - that sounds terrible!! Are they checking you out properly to find the cause, whether anaemia, your heart etc? I hope you have someone to advocate for you if you’re not feeling well enough.
I’m wondering if I’m the only person to feel terrible within a few hours of AC? Everything I’ve read has suggested symptoms start on about day 3. But about 4 hours after the infusion finished, I was feeling dizzy, headachy, terribly nauseous and exhausted (I’ve had no trouble with insomnia - I can’t keep my eyes open). More of the same today. I was lying in bed this morning feeling physically sick at the thought of having to go back and do it again - let alone another 3 times.
0 -
B74, I also always felt terrible within a few hours of the infusion. I cried after AC#1 because I felt so awful and was sure I was going to throw up. Then, strangely, I would usually feel ok on day 2, and then horrible again for days 3-5. I did read that there are 3 different phases of nausea - acute (right away), delayed, and anticipatory (before the infusion). I eventually ended up with anticipatory nausea, too!
0 -
HopeBry - My 3rd treatment was the worst, and I read similar reports from many others who said the 3rd was the worst. I have no clue why though! For me, the 4th treatment for some reason had the most mild side effects, although they were still pretty brutal.
B74 - My nurses were always shocked at how fast I started having symptoms too. I would leave the clinic around 1 or 2pm and by 5 or 6, side effects would kick in full force with violent vomitting. I finished my 4th treatment about 3 weeks ago, but after every single one, I said I wasn't going back. Side Effects were awful and lasted 5-6 days at the worst before I started to feel better. I was bed-ridden most of that time.
I now have nausea just thinking about going to the cancer center even if it's just for blood work. If I even look at my chemo bag, I swear I get nauseous. I know it's probably psychological, but still! I don't know if I'll ever be the same.
I start taxol on Wednesday and they say the nausea isn't as bad, but I know I'll be nauseous before it even starts....As beeline says, it must be anticipatory!
0 -
Each_Day_2018 - as you know I've only had 1, but I swear I'm already suffering some kind of PSTD from it. Any thoughts of the treatment centre, needles, drugs, cancer etc make me feel panicky and sick. I was hoping it would fade a bit before #2, but really I don't know how people complete treatment.
0 -
Does anyone know why they prescribe AC over other options when it’s so harsh? Is there evidence it’smore effective, or what?
0 -
b74 - I think age and/or grade significantly affect the use of AC. Mine was only grade 2, but they told me because of my age (31) they were going as aggressive as possible. As far as effectiveness, I have no clue.
It looks like you had treatment this past Friday? Are you going every 3 weeks right now? After the first week, for me, the symptoms started to subside and I felt almost normal up until the next treatment. That's what helped me get through all 4. So give it a few more days and you will feel better! It is hard and traumatizing though. I know a few women who had nearly no side effects from AC and I have no clue how, since I had every single one known to man. It's not fair!
0 -
B74 - also get and take some lorazepam or similar from your team. I didn’t like to take it during the day but alway took it the night before my infusion. It’s supposed to help that anticipatory nausea plus the anxiety. AC + T is one of the strongest regimes out there so as Each_day said, they usually use it in aggressive cases and if you’re young.
0 -
B74—AC chemo destroyed me. I would not have gone past #1 if I didn't have a hubby and then 11 yr old daughter. I felt shattered. That treatment was ridiculous. I completely developed some kind of generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and PTSD. I bawled during infusions. Bawled. You are not alone. That treatment is VILE. One of the most aggressive chemotherapy protocols there is anywhere. I'm so sorry it's awful for you. My MO tried to turf me to rads mid-AC. Completely skipping Taxol alltogether. One oncology nurse thought I might die. I was unable to breathe and having cardiac arrhythmias. I can't believe I finished AC. At 41 years old I figured I would push until I finished or die trying. I made it out alive. Weekly Taxol was a cakewalk. I was supposed to do DD Taxol but they took that option off the table due to my AC DD experiences.
We are all so different. I had to stop working as an RN as I couldn't drive anymore. I crashed my new car too many times to count if I had to drive. My daughter had to do online school because of my treatments as I couldn't literally move out of bed for 11 days straight.
We only get AC because we're young and strong enough to handle it. They don't give that shit to just anybody. It's an ass-kicker.
I ended up with a Sancuso patch for 7 days and olanzipine 10 mg once a day for N/V for AC treatments 2-4. That's it. I burned through everyother antiemetic. However, I've never heard of anyone here on those antiemetics. That regime was better than zofran, compazine, inapsine, promethazine, or another med.
I’m 2 weeks out of Taxolchemo tomorrow. I feel stronger everyday. I am running everyday again, although much shorter distances. There is a light. I promise, even if you don’t do anymore AC.
this too shall pass (I kept repeating it over and over and over like a meditation)
Big gentle Hug to you
0 -
I just want to say, for those struggling through AC right now...I had my first Taxol treatment yesterday and it is a walk in the park compared to AC. Just get through the AC! I know its easier said than done; Trust me! I wanted to quit after every single AC treatment...but my dang husband wouldn't allow it! You will make it through, and it will go by quicker than you think!
0 -
I had dose dense AC and 1 dose dense taxol then switched to weekly taxol. I was 72. I did not have nausea at all with any of it and no bone pain from the Neulasta shot. I had to skip the last 4 doses of Taxol because of the beginning of neuropathy in one hand -- which disappeared after about 6 months. I read and followed most of the tips on this forum for getting through chemo and I am so grateful to the posters who took the time to post that information. My worst issue was my blood really crashed and did not come up even with the Neulasta shot until the day of chemo so I had to stay home those 3 months except to go to the clinic because of the risk of infection. I did not spend one day in bed. I walked in out hilly pastures 3 x a day to exercise my dogs (husband rode behind me in a Gator to make sure I was okay.) So age is not dispositive as to whether you will have trouble with AC-T. My nurses said I "waltzed" through it compared to some patients. Have no idea why. We are just all different. I write so that those of you who are facing chemo will not be terrified. It may be awful for you but it may not be. I wish everyone the best. Polly
0 -
Finished my last AC of 4 and start Taxol this week.
I had nausea, but if I could get it down I could keep it down.
Other than nausea, my primary side effect was fatigue.
I found the side effects got progressively worse. Or rather, they didn't intensify, but they lasted longer. AC#1 I was nauseas for a few days. By #4, I'm 10 days post treatment and still queasy.
For #1 - #3, the second week after treatment I not only felt normal, I felt a great sense of relief to feel normal! My energy levels rebounded. I regained some of the weight I lost the previous week, and I went back to a normal sleep schedule.
I didn't get the body aches many report with neulesta and my blood cell counts were all good, so it did its job.
I only got a sore mouth after #4, but it's manageable.
Be kind to yourself. Get rest. Accept help (Mealtrain.com has been useful to us for coordinating the goodwill and offers of help.)
For nausea, stay hydrated and try to eat small meals, but more than the 3 per day we are used to. But hydration is key!
Oh - and the biggest effect of AC so far - bigger than anything - my tumor has shrunk dramatically. It went from 6+ cm, obvious and painful, to hard to find, even by my oncologist and painless. So, you know, there's that.
0 -
wonderful news, kber! The shrinking tumor helps us keep things in perspective. Best wishes
0 -
kber—Good stuff! AC did it’s job—tumor has shrunk down to virtually nothing! (I give people side-eye when they say cancer doesn’t hurt. Um, yes it can! Mine ached.) Are you going to do weekly Taxol or DD? I did weekly and it was a breeze compare to my hellish DD AC.
Best wishes to you!
Jess
0 -
It's amazing how different our response to chemo can be. I was 58 when I did DD A/C, and while I didn't sail through it, I'd have to say it was doable. The key for me was to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I was drinking at least three to four liters of water every day. I had nausea, but nothing the antiemetics and acupressure couldn't handle. And I'm a barfer 😁
Taxol, on the other hand, kicked my butt. I was ready to quit after dose 4 (of 12). My muscles cramped constantly and my blood calcium got so low that I had doctors calling each other at home to see if they should call 911 to take me to the Emergency room. (My husband took me) They were afraid I was going to have a heart attack.
By the last two doses I could hardly take more than ten steps without resting. I was thrilled to finally be done. I think part of the problem is that the effects of chemo are cumulative. By the end of 5 months your body is completely worn out.
But it does get better. I had a twelve hour surgery 6 weeks after my final chemo, and healed just fine. Better than fine, actually.
So, as Polly413 said, don't worry too much about having to do A/C. Maybe you'll do okay.
Good luck. Sending warm wishes and gentle hugs.
Trish
0 -
I too am amazed at the variety of reactions to the “Red Devil"!
Here's my story. I started DD AC on 5/31/18 and finished on 7/19/18. I had a different reaction to each infusion. Significantly increasing my protein helped the most during AC. I only vomited once, after the 2nd infusion, when I didn't eat lunch during my infusion. I did feel nauseous through the rest of Tx but figured out that it was more like really bad heartburn. No way I could have fasted during my chemo! Started taking 150mg Zantac every night which helped tremendously. Also took generic Claritin daily and never had too much bone pain from the Neulasta. As others have said, water, water, water! I had to have fruit infused cold water (lemon or lime tasted the best). The constipation was a problem the first 3 or 4 days after each Tx. Stool softener and miralax took care of that. Mouth sores, the baking soda rinse worked wonders. Dry, bloody nose from lack of nose hair - I used a saline gel at night.
I did 12 weekly Taxol after AC, with my last chemo on 10/24. Taxol was a breeze compared to AC! Finished rads on 12/31 and am now on Arimidex for at least 5 years.
When you're in the midst of chemo, it feels like it won't ever end. It will, and you will survive it. You're a fighter and you do what you have to do to get through all the treatment they throw at you. I'll be 14 weeks PFC on Thursday. I feel great, food tastes like it should and I was glad to put 2018 behind me!
Sending hugs and good vibes for minimal SEs to anyone still fighting through AC.
Kim
0 -
hey Moongirl. I’ll start weekly Taxol for 12 weeks this Friday, then rest, then some kind of surgery, yet to be determined.
I figure, fighting cancer is pretty much what I’ll be doing this year.
0 -
kber—I certainly got tired during Taxol. That was my main complaint. I iced my hands and feet to prevent neuropathy. I have no problems with neuropathy in the slightest. During Taxol my head hair grew and grew, although I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes a few weeks in.
I always say 2020 is going to be my year!
Big hug!
0
