Starting Chemo September 2019
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Hi everyone. Coming late to the party, but I thought maybe I could book-end all you September women with my Oct 1 start date. Met my oncologist for the first time today, but we’re not wasting any time and treatment starts in a week.
Trying to feel okay about the fact that the new staging system puts me at a IIIB instead of II. The glass half full approach says this is good because I may qualify more easily for additional testing and services.
All in all I’m feeling a little deer-in-the-headlights-y, but also glad to not be dilly dallying. Meanwhile, my 10yo is psyched because I promised to get a haircut called a “shaved pixie” and donate the rest of my hair before starting treatment. So I guess that has to happen this weekend and I’ve got to find a wig ASAP
Any thoughts on best places to donate hair? (Locks of Love is the only one I know.)
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Snaffle
now Bald and Beautiful!! I am following you in a week. My hair is a dry mess just after one chemo. 0 -
welcome mandamaybe
We have several ladies on your protocol, I’m sure they’ll jump in.
I know there are others besides locks of love but I don’t know their names 😳
The only thing I don’t like about locks of Love is that I heardthey charge patients for the wigs.
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Hi
Mandamaybe I will be on my second AC +T on October 1. I am stage 3 too. First one wasn't too bad on AC 3 more cycles. Feel good this week. Not sure where to donate hair. Welcome
Prayers to all you beautiful ladies .
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AngieB92 - Congrats on the weight loss. I lost 18 pounds on the cancer diet. Only 10 more to go. It's the worst way to lose it, but I'll take it. It's one of the few good things I've gotten out of this.
Floridaliving - That stinks about the mouth sores. Have you been doing the mouth rinse with baking soda and salt? I did that about 3 or 4 times a day during my first week after treatment, plus I did the Biotene mouthwash twice a day. Did you get pumpkin pie gelato at Jeremiah's? Love that place. Haven't been in awhile, I've been trying to be good. I'm craving salt, not sweets, during chemo anyways. I'm having trouble saying no to french fries. UGH.
Tracy - Good luck tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you. Hope having your BFF and her mom there will make the day go by faster and be more fun, too! I'm behind you with treatment #2 on Thursday. My dad is going with me this time since hubby is on deadline at work.
mandamaybe - Welcome! Another good place to donate your hair to is Wigs for Kids, or so I've heard. No personal experience, but lots of recommendations for them from neighbors.
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So sorry about the hair. I know mine is going soon. It’s such chemo hair.
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LMS yes Jeremiah’s so close to me. I tried the bs and salt rinse. Also got magic mouth wash today. I have been so good since cancer diagnosis then double mass that wasn’t healing. 7 weeks later finally driving again this week was almost normal weeksince July .
How are you doing ?
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Rocked my first 6hour chemo cocktail, nothing like I thought it was going to be, Requested a bed because I have issues with getting legs comfortable, a side effect from working behind the chair for 43 years, owner operator,, did do ice therapy, my feet loved it, hands well more like a cold massage I played with ice, expecting side effect, praying for none, but im prepared, and let me tell you ladies I may be 61 but I rock them diapers, 3rd awesome short hair cut, the last cut will b very wild,,, did find a wig just in case my grands get upset, I have 6 grandchildren ages from 22 years to 4 months, 2 great grands ages a 4yr old and a soon to be 1 yr old, my seven yr old said Nana you got your haircut his response you don't look like yourself, my response Brody show me your teeth WELL you have teeth missing a big one coming in ,, you don't look like your self either, took care of that, ladies we got this, work on what you control, my anger is gone because I have a plan I work the plan every day, hugs and prayers wish you all the best keep repeating the serenity pray, if losing hair ease into, pick out cuts, do several, when your hair starts hurting falling out,or scalp sore shave it, your hair and scalp will definitely let you when the times it,Biotin is great to take ask your dr first,works on hair skin and nails, also find a oil product you like to use on scalp it will help with the dryness, and get scalp massages if possible, also got to keep a eye on the nails, discoloring nail bed changes,if you have question about your hair skin nails or a wig please feel to ask me, we share,care,uplift, may answer some questions for ya
Hugs and Prayers ladies we have got this
CANCER has messed with the wrong Bitch here!
FYI bag of steroid taken today so i am rambling
Hugs prayers nothing but positive vibe
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Probiotic yogurt, baking soda has help dr can give a script
Feel better soon
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I love reading everyone's posts. 😂 I'm still hanging in there! Today makes 1 week since my first TC treatment. Other than diarrhea I'm doing well. The flesh in my mouth feels weird but not painful. My scalp is still itchy. I'm cold this morning! A refreshing change from hot flashes and night sweats. ❤
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Bridget
I got that weird mouth feeling too, no sores just weird and a little sensitive
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Thank you so much for the warm welcome everyone and special thanks for that comprehensive list, Tracy! I plan to go on a shopping spree at the local pharmacy tomorrow.
Having lived in Indonesia for the past 12 years, I'm okay with having treatment here - I guess in this day and age, cancer treatment is pretty standard wherever you are. The language and cultural barriers are beginning to grate on me a little bit this week, though. The doctors here are very old school and share little unless they're asked. Not having done this before, knowing what to ask is proving a nightmare - thankfully this resource exists to help with that!
My main concern is that another tumor has emerged in my breast since the original mass was removed at the end of July. The speed with which it seemed to make it's presence felt in the lymph nodes under my arm was scary enough and now it's back interfering with my boob again. How come these little beasties seem to grow so fast?! One thing I'm grateful for is the recent implementation of a public healthcare system here - it certainly rivals the good old NHS! I'm not sure what kind of timelines I should expect if I went back home to the UK for treatment, but just over a 2 week wait for a breast MRI is okay, isn't it? At least I'll have had my first chemo infusion by then so something should be halting this tumor's growth spurt. The fact that I had to request an MRI for a before/after impression of the efficacy of the chemo is an example of how pushy one has to be here when what one really needs is guidance and clarity. I also fail to understand why a FISH test is not covered by public health. My IHC results came back with HER2 borderline so a FISH is super important in moving forward with treatment. I am fortunate enough to be able to pay for the test (just!), but what about people who can't afford it? Do they just throw drugs at them and see what sticks?
Bought a wig today - can't stretch the budget to a decent one, but the one I got looks fine with a thin cotton beanie. I work as a teacher (well mainly management nowadays, but I still like to keep my hand in) and while I'm sure I will sweat like hell under a wig in this climate, I figure it would go down better with the kids. I'm still finding it tough to admit to others that I'm sick; aside from a tender boob and dodgy underarm, I don't feel at all ill. I suppose chemo will take care of that! As much as I know it's stupid, it feels like a weakness and I can't work out why on earth I feel embarrassed about it. I think it's fear of pity. I'm sure it will work itself out over the next few weeks.
Anyway, just needed to ramble for a bit. DH is not coping well with the diagnosis so thought I'd spout a bit here. Maybe I should consider starting a journal instead!
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Geez, remind me that just because I think I can eat it doesn’t mean I need to! You would have thought I learned my lesson from the beans at lunch. Dinner was spaghetti and I was so hungry for it.
Spaghetti left the building (or so I thought) before bed. Got up this morning- a little more diarrhea. Brushed my teeth and out came the rest of dinner - plus my morning coffee and applesauce!! I must admit I feel better but, dang let this be a lesson to me! At work now armed with everything I need to combat this.
Also, today has turned in tosoup day.
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Floridaliving - I'm doing well. I feel close to normal. Not looking forward to losing that feeling tomorrow. I hope maybe we can get together before your 3rd AC. I'll be far enough out from my 2nd TC at that point that I'll be ready to head out and socialize. I'll message you about it in a couple of weeks.
Maggie007 - That's some strong bag of steroids! LOL! I love your confidence and enthusiasm. Nana may look a little different, but you're still Nana - the grands will learn a good lesson from this, plus see how strong and tough their Nana is! Thanks for the reminder about Biotin. I need to ask my MO tomorrow if she's okay with me taking that. I do a spoon or two of probiotic yogurt each day. I feel it helps my tummy a bit.
Bridget - Sounds like it's going pretty well for you! My mouth felt weird, too, but no sores as I kept up with the mouthwash routine.
SazzleD - Sorry to hear you're having some struggles with the medical system in Indonesia. Keep fighting for what you need. I hope the chemo works really well for you. Going through it sucks, but it also feels good knowing you are doing something powerful to kill the cancer cells. I write in a journal a couple of times a week. I highly recommend starting one. It's a great place to get out all your hopes and fears without putting it on someone else who may not be ready yet to deal with it.
AngieB92 - Oh, that sucks! I hope your digestive system calms down soon!
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After all my port/PICC waffling, I got a port on Monday. It was a pretty short procedure, went well. I am still sore from it.
My first AC was yesterday morning. Port access was super painful due to soreness. Made me regret waffling so I didn't have recovery time between, but whatever.
It was..okay. The infusion part went pretty straightforward. No discomfort, just powered through both the red and the drip. Felt some sinus SE's towards the end of C, but nothing big. I take a Claritin daily anyway, so nominal prep there.
I am so totally not one to throw up. It's really quite rare. The nausea started about five hours after and kept going. Two emesis bags later and I was okay to sleep. I crashed early, like before 9 PM, and ended up waking up at 2 PM for over 90 minutes. I nibbled on some pretzels and sipped gatorade. Managed to go back to sleep, but it wasn't very restful.
All in all, I'm crossing my fingers. If this generally how it'll go, *knock on wood*, I'm braced and can handle it.
Hugs to all my September sisters! Keep powering on!
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Hello ladies,
I'm starting my four rounds of taxotere and cytoxan next week. Super nervous, but ready to get on with it so I can be finished. Still recovering from my double mastectomy with tissue reconstruction 7 weeks ago. Had my port put in yesterday and it is so sore today. Thank you for sharing your experiences so far. It's been helpful!
Kristi
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KPS
Welcome!What date do you start? I’ll add you to our list.
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Just finished TC number 2, which means I’m 1/2 way done with infusions 😊. It went faster today as they ran Taxotere at normal speed. Having my BFF and her mom there was great, we cut up and laughed a lot.
My friends made me a basket full of candies and lotions and beanies, etc. in it was a F&ck cancer coloring book. Here’s a page I liked in particular for us.
Hugs to us all
Tracy
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Ange743
Good luck with your first treatment tomorrow, check in and let us know how you’re doing if you feel up to it.
Tracy
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ACchaos
Did they give you prescriptions for nausea meds?
I also ordered 500mg ginger capsules, and take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening for 8 days starting the day before chemo ( with oncologist’s blessing, she said ginger is good for nausea and doesn’t interfere with chemo)
(((Hugs)))
Tracy
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Tmh0921
Thanks! 😊 Got my PICC in yesterday so it's feeling very real now. Feeling very nervous about it all, more about the side effects afterwards I guess. They had to take away one of my anti nausea meds because I can't take it with my sleeping pills. So worrying about being sick now. Doctor said he'll add it back in next time if I have problems, but that could make for a long 2 weeks. How do people get through this?!?!
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Ange
We'll all get through it one day at a time.
Try ginger capsules for nausea. I bought 500mg capsules from amazon and take 2 in the am and 2 in the pm for 8 days starting the day before chemo ( with MO blessing, she said ginger is good for nausea and doesn't interfere with chemo or most other drugs.)
Tracy
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I get through this one day at a time. I try not to think very far ahead. Today was AC treatment #3. All I’m thinking about now is avoiding the constipation I had after the 1st treatment. If I get things moving tomorrow and Friday, I know I will be okay. So it’s figuring out just how much Miralax to take tomorrow. It’s a real balancing act between not enough and too much. But then we just deal with whatever we have to.
I already have a date for my first of 12 weekly Taxol treatments. October 23rd. I thought I would get a little bit more of a break before the start of Taxol. Guess not. But the sooner I start, the sooner I finish. I’m going to go on the weekly Taxol thread and ask about what I need to get for cold therapy during treatment for my hands and feet. I would particularly like to avoid neuropathy in my hands as I am a pianist.
So far 3rd treatment went well. I’m tired because I get IV Ativan to counteract psychosis from the steroid they give me. But other than that, I’m doing well.
Prayers for all receiving treatments this week
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SazzleD
Feel free to ramble away anytime, that’s what we’re here for! I think you’ll be less anxious once your first treatment is over and you know what side effects you’ll have.
((Hugs))
Tracy
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Snaffle
I’m hoping you keep constipation under control and your side effects are mild.
Tracy
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Tmh0921 - I was given zyprexa and zofran as well as a steriod before the infusion started. I don't know how much good that did me since I puked later that day. I am not actively taken ginger caps - I had a couple of ginger chews that I like, but didn't feel like they did much for me. After the two incidents, though, I've been pretty good. I took the zyprexa and zofran again this morning and am about to take another zofran shortly as they're 6-8 hour interval doses. I ate both breakfast and lunch today. Crossing fingers!
Snaffle - I am also considering cryotherapy. The nursing staff had anecdotal info re: a violinist who had done is to some success. The whole having to keep hands and feet on ice for hours after the infusion is the part that's making me wary.
I did try the fast mimicking the day before and most of the day of. When nausea kicked in, though, I went for food because I can't stand dry unproductive hurling - I'd much rather puke actual contents, which I did, and then it was done. I'm going to try it again next time, a little more diligently since I won't have a port installed the day before.
One down, three more AC's and four T's to go!
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ACchaos, how many hours after the taxol infusion? I thought it was just during the infusion, good information to know
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good to see everyone's treatment seems to have went well,
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Yes, ACchaos, I thought it was only during treatment. Longer will present problems
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ACchaos
I take ginger because it was recommended here, but I have had no nausea so I can’t say it works or doesn’t 😳. I figured it couldn’t hurt. I haven’t had to take nausea meds at all (except the two they infuse before chemo)
Fingers crossed that you do t have repeat vomiting, I think I can handle most anything but I hate nausea and vomiting. I had it for months when pregnant with both of my boys.
Tracy
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