Chemo starting January 2019
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B74 - I have been thinking of you. Glad to see you have checked in. I totally understand about chemo/cancer aversion. There are days where I just don't want to see or hear anything about it. Even commercials! My husband immediately flips the channel!
Kathy03 - I think its the norm. After round 2 I noticed it and even more so after round 3. I still nap and find on my good days if I do to much I am pretty much wiped out the next day.
Mylife42 - I am half flat now but I have tissue expanders as I had a double mastectomy. No balance issues. Just had to change up my wardrobe as I opted to not use a prosthetic during chemo. I will be getting filled starting in April and reconstruction.
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I actually am doing much better today! I've been running errands and on my feet for 4-5 hours today. I'm ready for a nap now, but am glad to see that my energy level picked up significantly today. I'm sure I'll have my ups and downs and probably won't be “normal" as long as I'm on chemo, but I feel better that yesterday was a “down" day and not my new everyday.
Of course, who knows what round 3 will bring. I’m learning that there is no “normal” here, and whatever it is, I’ll adjust and soldier on....
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Round 4 over and done with....and guess what? MO said it is my last round! I thought I was in for 6 but apparently there was a miscommunication (or a misunderstanding), so I move on to radiation next. Have the consult next week. It's a good thing too because with every round my port has been harder and harder to get a return on....having to try all sorts of positions and antics. Still, nice to know I will be done (after Imake it through the fatigue and Neulasta bone pain in my immediate future.)
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You must have done something good in your past life!! What a nice surprise to have two anticipated chemos disappear into thin air!
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I am headed in the morning for my first Taxol. I’m so nervous. I dread the thought of having to adjust to new side effects. But I am glad that I am getting closer to finishing so I will focus on that. And my doc said I wouldn’t have to do Neulasta anymore. Yay! I did finally clean my own kitchen on Monday and I really felt like I deserved the music to Rocky playing in the background. I was home alone so I did cheer a little for myself
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Congrats MLAnne and Nanomom! We have to celebrate all of our accomplishments! I have my last AC tomorrow...
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Hi Ladies. I also have been keeping away from all things chemo... had 4th and final round today!!! The fatigue was much worse for the 3rd and was told by MO 4th woukd be tough as well.
We talked today about removing ovaries vs. monthly shot to suppress. I have an appointment with my gyn in two weeks and will get his opinion. I think I'm leaning towards suppression till mid summer after vacation then removal. (I teach so will not interfere with work). I've always gotten cysts and have had so many problems since I was a teen I figured get them out. MO said they can do it with laparoscopy and it's not a bad recovery.
I am also dealing with the constant runny eyes and vision changes. MO suggested waiting at least a month after chemo ends before going to eye dr. to adjust prescription.
So I wasn't planning on ringing the bell today after chemo, I told the nurses I felt bad for the people that didn't yet see the light at the end of their tunnel that might be sitting in the waiting room. She told me that it was actually a very hopeful sign for them to see other people reaching the end of chemotherapy I'm glad I did it.
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Hope everyone is hanging in and leaning on your support systems. Xo
Melissa
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Congratulations to all those that finished their 4 rounds.
Mgm0712 I had my complete hysterectomy laparoscopy and it was the easiest surgery I have every had. I would definitely recommend it for the ovaries. Unfortunately I had one ovary removed 15 years before my hysterectomy and for that they went through my c-section scar that one was not an easy recovery. My eyes have also been watery and blurry (more so the first week after each treatment). My left eye has been twitching since day 2 after round 3. My MO also suggested waiting to see eye doctor unless it gets extremely much worse.
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Congratulations MGM0712!!! So happy for you! I go today for my halfway point but last AC then on to Taxol!! I can’t wait to ring that bell!!
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Mgm0712 - my MO also mentioned suppression shots. She didn't think it would make sense to remove my ovaries since I am so close to menopause. And Congrats!
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Well round #4 of AC was cancelled for me due to an upper respiratory infection and a fever. So i was sent home with antibiotics and told to rest up, it has been rescheduled for next week. I was ok with it yesterday, today I am still running a fever and feeling not so hot and am just very emotional. Ugh, ready to move on to something else. I guess I will just hope the extra week to recover means round 4 won't be as bad as round 3.
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I was worried my counts wouldn’t be high enough, but I successfully did do round #4! I am so glad to put this portion behind me (although I do have to live through SE still) and get started on the next 4 Taxols. My MO assures me I will be a whole different woman! Time will tell!
Alden, so sorry you had an infection, rest up and heal!
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I made it thru my first taxol with only some minor issues. It took me from 10:30 to 3:30 to run everything. Once the taxol started I had some pretty bad tingling in my right arm and hand. My nurse stopped it for a little while and then started back super slow and I made it with only some minor muscle spasms and tingling. My back is achy and the muscles in my legs feel like I walked all day but all in all it wasn’t too bad. My doc said the side effects will prob b fatigue and muscle aches with less GI issues
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Wow! Congrats to all who finished their chemo!!! MLAnne, I am going to hope when I go for #5 TCH next week that my oncologist says, just kidding, it was only 4. Probably unlikely.
With #4 in rear view mirror, I alternate between thinking, "Yay, half over, almost done", and "ugh, still 2 cycles plus SE to go...and then radiation...and then Arimidex....". "Put one foot in front of the other", I tell myself, with varying degrees of success.
I also have the constant watery eyes, skin at the edge is cracking (ow!) and the eye muscle twitchiness.
I have found Zilactin-B, at OTC mouth medication, to be fantastic for mouth sores, makes week 2 post chemo much more tolerable. I had to get it mail order from Amazon, didn't find it anywhere locally. My husband is a retired dentist and had some old samples I tried.
And it is snowing again in Wisconsin. Hard to believe spring is 5 days away. When it does arrive, I think I will REALLY appreciate it this year.
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Finished my fourth and final round today! Yippee! I had mixed feelings knowing it was my last but dreading the next two weeks. Round 3 really knocked me on my butt. The oral thrush took 10 days to go away and my taste was off for 2 1/2 weeks. MO gave me a funcal oral rinse this time that I can swish, gargle and swallow.
The only difference this round is my throat is sore and hurts to swallow. Strange.
MO does want to remove my remaining ovary instead of doing shots every month. In my case she feels it would best to go this route. She is not sure if it can be done during my resconstruction surgery. I hope so.
I hope everyone is doing well! Here’s to minimal SE’s!!’
Congratulations to those who have finished and will be finishing!
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Congrats Jenkins!!! Yay!
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Congrats! Wishing you minimal SE's as you finish this up.
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Finished my last chemo last Friday. My mom was a trooper and was with me for them. Some GI issues but mainly just tired. It has taken me longer to recover from this last one, but it’s done.
Seeing radiologist April 4th for consult and then onto Tamoxifen. Nervous about so much but trying to suppress the worry.
Good luck to all that are still trucking! Praying for minimal side effects and feeling strong soon
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Congrats to those who have finished AC!! I had my first round of Taxol yesterday with no issues. They gave me benadryl via iv which made me extremely tired and almost knocked me out, so had half hour rest before they started Taxol. Came home and slept for about 2-3 hours. Today I'm feeling ok. No meds to take and no more neulasta shots!! So far night and day compared to AC. Hope it stays this way! Good luck to those who will be starting!
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I should not have said lessGI issues in my last post because I must have jinxed myself. I developed what I thought was indigestion that turned into painful upset stomach all week. So now I am in the dreaded waiting game to see what is going on after my abdominal ultrasound today which is why I can’t sleep tonight. My Onc said could be steroid damage ulcer or gallbladder from chemo but all my mind can think is progression to liver. And of course I thought the ultrasound tech spent a lot of time on my liver (when in reality it was probably not just me panicking). I did have Taxol #2 (just less steroids) anyway because i don’t want to get behind. Hopefully I will have answers tomorrow.
Congrats to those that finished! Wishing everybody minimal SE’s.
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Nanomom11 hoping for good results for you and pain relief. I had high liver blood results after the first Taxotere Cytoxan. Every round they have gone done thankfully. Hope you get some rest as we all need that.
I am going in for Round 4 tomorrow and the steroids have kicked in tonight even with the Benadryl. Hoping my blood work continues to improve after roud 4 as I have surgery scheduled for April 15th and would love to keep it that day as it is the first day of spring break for my job and i am out of sick leave.
Hope everyone is doing well.
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Thanks rrshannon I was happy to hear from dr on Friday that my liver looks good but he still suspects an ulcer so I will have some testing on that. I currently look like I am 6 months pregnant. I took the weekend to try and absorb what was going on. Some more testing! Ugh! I still have 10 more taxols to go and I have a lot of aches and pains. But I will get through slowly and surely. I hope everyone has little to now side effects next go aroun
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Hello! How is everyone doing?
I am 9 days out from my last chemo and of course dealing with the normal side effects. All four rounds I got oral thrush. I will say that was my biggest issue for SE's. Eating has become a chore now. Round three it took 2 1/2 weeks for my taste to come back and hope it doesn't take this long after this round.
In a couple of weeks I start the round of appointments. Breast surgeon, MO, OBGYN oncologist and plastic surgeon. Of course I am vacation too. Oh well has to be done.
I hope everyone is well. Thinking of you all and wishing minimals SE's for those still sitting in the chair. Hugs!
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Yay Jenkins!!!!!
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Jenkins, Congrats on finishing your chemo! That’s a big milestone! Hope your thrush heals quickly this time. It must be nice knowing it’s the last time to deal with that! Good luck on the next steps. This is a journey for each of us, and you’ve completed a significant leg of your journey.
I’m on day 7 of round 3. It actually seems better than last round. Some mouth issues, fatigue, diarrhea, etc... but I feel like I’m bouncing back quicker than last time and the SEs are less severe. The Claritin and Tylenol seem effective to help combat the Neulasta SE’s, so huge thanks to all who educated me on that, since my MO didn’t mention it.
Good luck, fellow warriors!
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Jenkins hope your last round goes smooth I had my last round last Friday and the fatigue seemed a little more the beginning of the week I now feel my energy level is about where it was every round 1 week out. I hope the oral thrush clears quickly I hate that food doesn't taste good and the texture of my mouth is off but thankful it was the last round. Good luck with all your upcoming appointments. Can't wait to get a vacation planned post surgery. For now we are taking a little weekend RV trip to the beach.
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I had my first biweekly dense dose Taxol yesterday. Had reactions that were attributed to Benadryl (twitchy, restless legs) and high doses of steroids (got very hot and sweaty). Since the reaction to the steroids was after I already had two hours of Taxol, they did stop it briefly and take vitals just to be sure. Everything else went well and I came home and napped. All seemed well until I got ready for bed. I noticed that my face and chest were red and warm like a sunburn. Then my eyes felt tingly like I was going to break out in hives ( I’ve dealt with chronic hives in the past so I know this tingly feeling well). I took my temp, no fever. Called the on call doc which luckily for me was the Nurse Practitioner who had seen my reaction while at the cance center. She told me to take more Benadryl and if my eyes got worse or it affected my mouth to go to ER. Also to drink more to help flush out steroids. That did help and I got very disrupted sleep since I now had to pee every hour too! Feeling a little off and chest still red so I took another Benadryl this am and they will be checking in with me and I’ll let them know in case they want to see me again. Otherwise feeling well and was debating working a full day, we’ll see what the np says
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Sorry if I wasn't clear I finished my last round of chemo on March 18th. Oral thrush is almost gone and taste is slowly coming back. It does feel good knowing that I am done. Stamina sucks but I know it will come back slowly. I haven't been walking like I was and need to start doing this again. I have been doing a little gardening which is nice.
I can't believe its almost April ladies! Love this time of year.
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To those of you who have switched from AC to Taxol, how has the switch been? Overall I am feeling fine, except I am TIRED but not sleeping well, and when I lay down i cannot nap.
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