Starting Chemo October 2020
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Hello ladies, tomorrow is my first chemo treatment. I will be on AC every 2 weeks for 4 treatments, followed by Taxol weekly for 12 weeks. Got my port put in this morning. I wasn't sure I wanted it, but with all the blood draws recently on the left arm, my veins are showing some "wear". The port should make it easier. I'm making a backpack to take with me for the 4 hrs. What have you found to be helpful to pass the time? I have some hats and a wig ready to use. I'm glad It'll be winter soon and everyone will be wearing hats! Thanks all and I look forward to talking with you as we go on this journey together! Juli
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Welcome, Elledwriter! We're sorry you find yourself here, but we hope you find this to be a welcoming and supportive place during your treatment and beyond
The Mods
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I got the mittens from healthy hands on amazon and the booties from natracure cold therapy socks. You need to make sure you have extra cold packs that fit inside since they won’t stay cold enough through the whole chemo session... also I have to bring ice and ice chest to keep them cold.
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wishing you the best with your treatment! I haven’t started mine yet. I would bring a book, maybe word puzzles to pass the time. Maybe there will be a tv you could watch. Bring snacks.
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First treatment done. All went smoothly. Took 3 hrs total. Everyone was so kind and helpful. They passed out a goodie bag filled with snacks, hand lotion, a deck of cards, an eye mask, pen and paper etc. Now to imagine all of the cancer cells being destroyed! Good luck everyone. Juli
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Good to hear Juju! What kind of chemo are you getting?
I am having taxtore and cytoxan.
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marie914 I am getting AC dose dense for 4 treatments followed by weekly taxol for 12 weeks. Should be all done by mid March. The most likely a mastectomy and radiation. Probably reconstruction after radiation. Hope your treatments are going well
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How is everyone feeling?
My port procedure was very painful and it took almost a week for the pain to subside. I had my first infusion on Wednesday, a little less than a week after the port was placed. It was a long day with the cold cap and I felt heavily "drugged" by the benadryl. My nurse is a literal angel on earth and my husband was a trooper. (Treatment: Taxol + Herceptin for 12 weeks/ then once every 3 weeks herceptin for the rest of the year)
I've had a terrible upset stomach with diarrhea since Thursday, some general nausea an headache. I found that Thursday i was feeling the lousiest, slowly getting better since then. I have such a hard time reading these boards- it seems that everyone has such very different experiences. My appetite has been all over the place. I only seem to want to eat bland carbs and drink as much liquid as possible. I've been trying to do a gallon a day... which is a lot. I think I am starting to get mouth sores...or my tongue longer fits in my mouth. I am so tired of feeling crappy. My mastectomy was 5 weeks ago, then the port, now the chemo. Feels like a really long road ahead.
Good thing I've got candy...candy does seem to make things better. Happy Halloween!
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I've had 3 Taxol infusions so far. I've got a bit a neuropathy in my left hand only once in a while and I'm breaking out like a teenager again.
I way overdid it today, thinking that my feeling good meant I could help rake leaves. NEWP. I ended up getting wicked dizzy and shaky. I've learned my lesson.
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Jujumartin:
If I had not been cold capping I would have likely slept during infusions due to the IV Benadryl, so no need to bring much except yourself and maybe a device to keep you occupied if you do get bored. My infusion center had snacks but I never got hungry and my blood sugar was too high to eat then anyway.
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I'm about to get Treatment #5 of Taxol. Has anyone else been getting headaches since treatment #4? It's awful. I'm speaking with my Med Onc on Thursday, but as someone who never got headaches before it sucks.
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I started chemo on October 21. I have stage 1A, grade 3 invasive ductal. 4 rounds of AC, followed by 4 rounds of Taxol. Treatments are 2 weeks apart. Since I have been through 2 of the AC treatments, at least I know what to expect, and how long I will feel yucky. Looking ahead to the taxol, any advice on dealing with all that dexamethasone I have to take before treatment? Is taxol easier on the stomach than the AC is? They said there are a lot of allergic reactions to taxol thus the steroid and benadryl. I have only taken a small amount of steroid before for poison ivy! Thanks for any advice.
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Hi, @believe60 - I'm having to do the dexamethasone the day before/after infusion, plus day-of for Taxotere. Biggest problem for me is that I can't get much sleep the night before due to the fairly high dosage. I get anywhere from 2-4 hours of sleep- but manage to function okay, as I'm tired but not sleepy. Once I'm home from chemo, I tend to be very tired- enough to get a good night's sleep despite the IV steroids.
I'm getting Taxotere, Carboplatin, and Herceptin. The Herceptin has few side effects. At least one of the other two (maybe both?) is rough on my lower digestive system. Having just done some reading, I'm suspecting the Taxotere, specifically. Perhaps Taxol will be less rough on the stomach- the Taxotere apparently has some warnings about being worse in that regard. Going to have to ask my docs about that!
Good luck to you on your course. I just had the third of my six infusion sessions - getting them every three weeks. Can't wait to have it behind me!
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Thank you AbbyRhodes3. That confirms what I was wondering about...must be tough to sleep! I don't do so well on reduced sleep, but maybe since it's a short term effect it will be okay. I have been told the benadryl infusion they do before the taxol infusion knocks some people out. Just have to remember to keep the ice things on my hands and feet.
I feel exactly the same, can't wait to have it all behind me. I am just through 2 of the AC, then still have all 4 Taxol to go. Good luck on yours too!
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Hi! I’m having 4 rounds of Taxol as well and decided to get booties and footies to wear. I’d rather be a bit uncomfortable than get CINP. All together cost me about $100.
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I just had my 3rd infusion as well last Tuesday and I'm having terrible stomach issues. Last night I woke up with severe diarrhea and vomiting despite taking the prescribed medications. It is definitely getting harder, maybe compounding? It only took about 3 to 4 days to bounce back from infusions 1 and 2, but this one is definitely harder.
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I got my first headache after my infusion last Tuesday (number 3). Hopefully it is not a pattern. Let us know what doc says.
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Hi, rbbaker1 - I'm on the same infusion drugs as you, except that I had to drop the Perjeta after the first round. My gut has always been sensitive to start with, and the Perjeta is known for being extremely rough on some people's lower GI. I let my team know the degree of misery, and they had no problem with dropping the Perjeta. Worth asking them if they think the problem might be about that.
After we dropped it, I had a pretty rough round two as well - still lots of cramping, diarrhea. I'd say 65% as bad as round one, and it was rough for two of the three weeks. Then - round three, and I had a much easier time. That's not to say I didn't have diarrhea, but it was much more manageable. I also only had 9 bad days, and will have had 12 decent-to-good days before my next infusion, which will be #4.
Taxotere is also quite rough on the GI system, from what I have read, so it's likely not going to get any easier for me the rest of the way through. I'll still have 4-5 days of lower GI pain each round once the steroids wear off.
What meds are you taking for symptoms? I learned that for the diarrhea, I can and really need to take two tabs of Imodium with the first occurrence, and another tab with every instance of diarrhea after that. Literally 8-9 pills, some days. For nausea, I have compazine and ondansetron. I have only needed those for a day or three each cycle, so I've been luckier there. The ondansetron seems to help most/fastest.
I hope your next round is better- I don't think the stomach issues are additive by round, at least not in my case. Fatigue might be, I've noticed I need more rest than at the start and hope I'm not sleeping at the drop of a hat by rounds five and six!
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hello ladies, I started a blog to notify family and friends of my progress. It's actually really helpful to write. Wordpress is a free site. Just an idea as we battle through cancer and Covid. I have my 4th AC this Tuesday, then Taxol begins 12-22. I've been having so few side effects with the AC, hopeful that it will continue with Taxol. I started working from home 2 days a week and it feels so good to be back doing something I enjoy and am good at! Hope everyone is well. Stay strong! jujuscancerjourney.Wordpress.com
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just finished my 4th AC! Yea! Taxol to begin 12-22. We are all making progress! Day by day, keep moving forward....best of luck to us all
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How is everyone doing? I had first Taxol treatment today. I was nervous about having a reaction, but all went well. First one done, eleven more to go..
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Hi, @jujumartin - glad you had a good first round with the Taxol. Guessing you won't have a reaction - and I hope the weeks go by smoothly and quickly!
I had round 5 of 6 of my TCH infusions on Wednesday. The Carboplatin and side effects from it are starting to add up; I had to have three bags of IV magnesium this round, because my electrolytes were lower than the healthy range. I could really feel it - was dragged out and not feeling well the entire last round. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting #6 done in January, and having this part of the treatment behind me.
A month off after that, then outpatient surgery for a lumpectomy. I'll get the sentinel node biopsy - that's the next big thing on my mind - obviously am hoping it brings good news that it doesn't appear to have spread.
Hope everyone's course of care is moving smoothly along despite the challenges of 2020. Fingers crossed for good news and better days in the new year!
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Hello everyone!! I am so happy that I have found this community/website. As I read through some of the posts, it's good to see that I'm not alone in my treatments, side effects and just dealing with this journey alone.
I am on a TCH treatment plan. I'll go for my 4th of 6 sessions on December 30th. After my 1st round, I had lots of GI issues and lost tons of weight due to lack of appetite and diarrhea which I had to go on the BART diet in order to help those issues. Bland... bland.. bland! I started taking a daily probiotic which has seemed to help with along with being very careful with what I eat. I am working with the nutritionist who has been quite helpful. I tend to hold my weight steady now and my Onc dr is on me about my weight (mind you, I could use a good 10 off but this isn't the time to think about that). I've lost all of my hair on my head along with some other places on my body. I've started getting the Neulasta shot after my 2nd round due to my low WHC. I had the patch the first time but had to go back and get the shot after the 3rd round due to my insurance denying it. Not sure why if they approved the first one. Good ole insurance!
My side effects had been minimal except for the GI issues but now I am notifying an increase in my fatigue. I felt like I bounced back after the first two rounds and was feeling good after a week. This one I've been feeling more and more fatigued as the days go on. I'm praying that my WHC hasn't dropped when I go on Wednesday. I'm having body aches in my legs more over the past few days too. I hope that's an indication that my body is working on increasing the count.
I pray that you all are doing well and I look forward to communicating with you as we continue on our journey. Sending positive vibes to you all.
Pam
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Hello all,
I hope everyone is doing well. I have 7 more Taxols to go. More than halfway thru chemo 😊. The only real side effects I am having are diarrhea and a skin rash. Doc told me I could use a steroid cream on the spots and Benadryl at bedtime to stop the itching from waking me up. I am going to look into getting the Covid vaccine. Perhaps the first shot during chemo, the second after chemo is done. Since I am post menopausal, AI for 5 years after mastectomy and radiation. I've been watching a video series called "Chris beat Cancer" and like his food suggestions. I'm trying to eat more fruits/veggies daily. Even made a smoothie with a banana, spinach, ice and soy milk, and a small amount of honey. It was really good! My eyebrows are getting very sparse...it's amazing how it changes how you look! So I'm practicing penciling them on...funny how I still have body hair! Eyelashes will be next I think. We are in the thick of winter here in Michigan. More cloudy days than sunny. Any good book suggestions? Stay strong ladies!
Julie
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