Starting Chemo July and August 2024 Support Thread
Comments
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@lukasmom Thank you so much, for the words of encouragement and the link to enterade- I’d heard of it before but it fell out of my brain (as many things seem to be doing lately 🙄) and I’ve just been using Gatorade and pedialyte for hydrating. I thought enterade was the same thing, but now that I’ve actually looked at it, I realize it’s not, and could be super helpful! Especially wish I’d had it after my first infusion, because they didn’t even give me IV hydration at my 1 week followup appointment. I got horribly dehydrated, felt dizzy and weak for most of a week, and this time my nurse said they’d make sure to schedule me for it.
My 2nd infusion (out of 6) is tomorrow. You’re doing amazing at 3/4 completed, just one to go! I can’t wait to be able to say that myself. As it stands, if I stay on schedule, I should finish two weeks before Christmas. So I’m praying nothing gets delayed, so I can feel well enough to enjoy Christmas with my family. 🤞
I had a freak out moment on Friday, when I felt my tumor for the first time (it’s weird, I know, but I hate even touching it, so in the shower I just soap up quickly over it and don’t do much feeling it) and I swear it feels like it’s grown since before I began chemo. 😞 I called my MO and he said we can do a mammogram whenever I’d like, to check the size and possibly change my treatment plan, like bump up surgery, if necessary. I said I’ll do one more round and then maybe a week or 2 after that, before my 3rd round, do the mammogram.I read some articles about the possibility of chemo causing mets, and that really got me spiraling too. Being triple positive, they told me it’s a good thing because there’s so many treatment options for me. But I don’t feel lucky in any way, I would have much rather had the surgery first, like please just get this out of me! I’ll be having a bilateral mastectomy, so it’s not as though I need it to shrink in order to do a lumpectomy. It’s hard, but I’m doing my best to trust my medical team and go with what they say has been proven to work.
My colleagues have all been amazing, offering me help, small gifts, and words of encouragement. I truly love what I do and the people I work with, but I worry about the brain fog and whether or not I’ll be able to keep “with it” enough to continue to do good work with my students. So far, so good, so I’m chugging along! My friends have been another story, so I understand what you mean about the anxiety surrounding the situation. One of my best friends is an RN, and she’s told me some terrifying stories of people she’s encountered with reoccurrences and mets, which wasn’t super comforting. I have another best friend is really into natural remedies, and insists that I shouldn’t do chemo (“poison”) and that the only purpose it serves is to make doctors richer. 🤦♀️ She told me about some mushrooms I should eat to treat it instead. I had to log off from that conversation, it wasn’t helpful or conducive to me staying positive.
I’d love to get your bone broth recipe! I often buy chicken and roasts with bones and feel guilty for just throwing them away. Then I go and buy bone broth from the store, which doesn’t even taste great, so that would be super helpful to have a tried and true recipe!
I’m sorry to hear about your IV issues. 😔 Not fun. My nurse told me to use coconut oil with tea tree oil added to it if that happens to my nails. Did you not get a port put in since you’re “only” (not to diminish your experience at ALL) having 4 infusions instead of 6? Even with those issues, I have to admit I would still choose not to have one if I were you either. Mine still isn’t healed, a month later, and it’s terrifying to me. Most of the incision has, but one part of the end of it is a huge scab, and every time I take a shower, it oozes a little. I went back to my surgeon’s office last week and the nurse disinfected it and put a steristrip on it. She gave me the rest of the pack of strips so I’m replacing them as they get dirty and loosen up. I’m using them to hold the skin up from underneath the port to directly above it, so they’re not directly touching the incision.
Whew, that was a lot and yet somehow I feel like it was the tip of the iceberg.
I hope everyone has been doing well!
Lots of love ❤️ strength 💪 and healing vibes ✨ your way.0 -
Hi girls, how are you?
I have finished my 4 cycles of AC and will now start TCHP next week.
@jsizzle my first infusion was the worst in terms of side effects for me. The first one left me very scared, but the following ones were quite tolerable. I hope the same happens to you! Also, after my first chemo I noticed that the tumor had hardened and looked bigger. The doctor assured me that it was normal, it seems like it gets bigger but that's not true, it just hardens because the cells start to die. At this point I can already notice that it is much smaller! The worst thing for me was the nausea and tiredness, but then I recovered between treatments and I was almost fine. I'm a little apprehensive about the new phase of chemotherapy.
@lukasmom as for the darkening and weakening of the nails, the nurse told me to apply silicium varnish, as it helps protect and strengthen the nails and is recommended for those undergoing chemotherapy. I've been using one from La Roche Posay (I don't know if they have this brand in your country). Here is the description of it: "La Roche Posay Toleriane Silicium Nail Polish
Packaging: 6ml
Description
Protective and fortifying nail polish for fragile and fragile nails. Protective, fortifying treatment enriched in Silicium, to repair and reinforce nails. Thanks to the incorporation of a Mexoryl XL filter, the formula protects the nail from UVA-UVB rays and prevents yellowing. High tolerance. Suitable for patients undergoing anti-cancer treatment."I've been using it, it comes without color or with color, and I haven't noticed any changes to my nails so far.
Wishing you all the best! Go girls 💪
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@catarina_fm Congrats on finishing the AC!!! You are crushing it. I hope the next rounds of TCHP are smooth. I’m going to try to find that nail polish in the US. We do have some Roche Posay products but not sure we have the nail polishes but sure there is something similar. That is really interesting to learn about the hardening and shrinking of the tumor - I imagine my TC chemotherapy regimen killing all the stray cancer cells during the infusion and especially on day 4 when I am feeling low. The ‘precision’ of cancer care is really remarkable - hooray for science!
@jsizzle as we celebrate science, i totally understand how you had to stop the conversation with your friend who says chemotherapy is just making money for doctors - NOT HELPFUL. Here is the video I watched to insure ‘gelling’ of the bone broth.
I also realize the actupuncture I am getting is really supporting me on my recovery. I was surprised I needed less nausea medication in general this round. There are acupuncturists who specialize in cancer care and side effects of chemo.
Apparently there is trend to use the fat from beef fat - tallow - as eye cream. So I think I’ll try it next time I make bone broth. It’s supposed to be low in terms of non-comedogenic and packed with lots of vitamins!
One of the things I’ve leaned into is allowing people to help and show gratitude for the assist. I know adversity is our greatest teacher, but it’s a challenging lesson to learn. I really appreciate all of your sharing this journey. It’s a season I wasn’t prepared for but I also feel the resources - especially on this board.
Thinking of you all.
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Hi everyone.
This is the first time I'm posting, but I've been reading. I started TC in early July and just finished my last of 4 tx on Wed of last week.
I have a question about nails: I have a few that are dark at the cuticle. Do they fall out if they are dark/black or does that not always happen? I feel like I want to paint them to hide it. It bothers me a bit.
Thanks for your input.
I hope all of you are doing well!
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