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Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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I had my first weekly carboplatin/taxol treatment yesterday and I'm feeling just fine. Was a little queasy last night, but I tried to eat a little something every two hours. Seems to help to be not empty and not full. I *did* stick to food I wouldn't mind throwing up, though! LOL Mashed potatoes, tapioca, toast and rice.
When I had chemo in 2005, I bought a wig, but it was just too itchy for me, so I stuck with turban-like hats made out of T-shirt material and fleece. (It was winter in Minnesota!)
One of the posters in the May group suggested Buffs, which I'd never heard of. I'll post a link for videos that show you how to wear them!
http://www.buffusa.com/waystowear.html
From this summer collection, I chose: Blue Sun, Kasba, and Xinland.
http://www.buyabuff.com/Summer/summer.htm0 -
Hi ladies. This last week finished with my first round of chemo(every week lady here),,,,,,then on Tues had the neulast shot,,,,,,,,,,man o man,,,,,that put me under,,,,,,like I had the flu. Then today,,,,,,,I finally feel semi or rather half way with it,,,,,pretty much my normal self. But lo and behold,,,,,,,,,the great follicular fall out is happening anyways,,,,,,,,so much for the possibility of saving my hair and doing it every week. Goin on Tues for the herceptin only,,,and going to switch over to the every 3 week thing, Only reason I was doing the every week thing was the possibility of keeping my hair from falling out. O well. Have 5 more to go,,,,,,,and I just hope I can hang in there and finish this all. I so hate not feeling like myself. hate it, hate it, hate it. When I was doing it weekly I felt like crap half of the week,,,,,,,,,,now when I change over to the every 3 weeks,,,,,,will I have worse side effects and for longer? Any input from anyone on this I would appreciate it. Thanx,,,,,,,,,,,,
I just cant wait to be done with this crap,,,,,,,,,cant tell you enough how much I hate this.
Hope all is well with you girls,,,,,,,,,take care
Cindy0 -
Hi Cindy,
Sorry to hear that you are losing your hair. I lost mine last week, started to come out a great amount, although I still had a lot left. the mess and the emotional distress was too much, I just had it all cut off. being bald isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I have a wig, but it is a pain in the butt to get it ready so this weekend I have been just running around in a scarf. At first, I was worried that people would look at me wierd, but everyone is so preoccupied by their own lives that I didn't get any stares, at least that I noticed.
Every three weeks is very doable. In fact, I felt fine the first week, second week (when your counts are the lowest) I felt kind of tired but could still go to work. This third week, I feel almost normal. Good energy level. Mild headache, although I think it is due to my seasonal allergies.
Leslie0 -
oh cindy, forgot to add, and not to be gross, but the diarrhea went away after 10 days! Had a few mouth sores, not very painful at all and did not keep me from eating. Used grade 1 mouthwash prescribed by my oncologist. they went away after 3-4 days.
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Iwy,,,,,,,,,,yes i had a weird taste in my mouth,,,,well still have the weird taste,,,,,nothing tastes good,,,,,,but my tongue is red and on fire. I was going to ask the nurse on Tues if there is something I could do for that. Hope you are well. Switiching to the every 3 week thing on Tues. No sense in doing it every week since hair is coming out anyways. And thats less time I have to be at the Drs. I am beginning to feel like this chemo runs my life at the moment. Iwy? Did you mention somewhere that you are a nurse? Take care all,,,,,,,,,Cindy
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Hi Cindy,
haven't had the tongue on fire thing, but doesn't sound like fun. I am in health care, but I'm a physician (but NOT an oncologist! so I don't know much about cancer). I trained in internal medicine but I'm subspecializing in gastroenterology so I know alot about butts and diarrhea! Hope you are having a relaxing weekend. My parents are in town this weekend in time to take me to my second round of chemo tomorrow!
Leslie0 -
Good luck on your second round! Sounds like we're on the same track....I'll be doing my second round this Thursday! So far, so good....hope it stays that way. My hair is beginning to fall out....I'm not quite ready to shave it off, but probably this week. I hope round 2 goes as well as round 1......we'll be 1/3 of the way there.
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good luck katymom! Being bald isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They buzzed off my hair, but I still have a lot of stubble, so I'm sure I could have held onto it a little longer. As I was cleaning my house this weekend in anticipation of my parents arrival, I was impressed by the amount of my hair all over our carpets and hardwood floors. It's hard to hide long asian black hair on tan carpeting and light color wood floors! I had to take the decadron starting this morning and gave me some anxiety/heart pounding for an hour or so and I got very irritable with my parents. I had to appologize to them for being so grumpy, it's the medication's fault not mine! Good luck tomorrow!
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Leslie,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I thought you had said you were in the healthcare field but didnt know where in the medical field. Very cool that you are an MD so you do know quite a bit already. My husband is a registered nurse and his specialty is cardiology,,,,,,,,,so he is learning along with me about the cancer stuff. Where are u again? Im in southern California. Go for my herceptin tomorrow and am going to change to every 3 weeks........the hair is coming out in an amazing amount. Thought I might be able to get it to last till this next weekend,,,,,,have a wedding to go to,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but we will see. I have to go to the wig place tomorrow to get it thinned out a bit on the top and for them to helllllllllllp me,,,,,,,,i cant get it to stay tight on my head. There is this elastic that you cinch up but when I do that and put it on my head,,,,,,,it goes back to the way it was,,,,,,,,so I dont know if I'm doing something wrong or what.........Have a great week this week,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Take care all of you gals..........
Cindy0 -
What is your dosage on the decadron? I'm not sure if they figure it by weight or not. My oncologist is cutting mine in half because it seemed to really elevate my white blood count. I'm just concerned that at the higher dose, I had a relatively easy time and really don't want to do anything to change that! So, I'm contemplating just asking to leave it the same, but wondered how much everyone else is taking. I know what you mean about the hair. I got mine cut really short a few weeks ago, but even so I'm starting to find it everywhere! Not sure when to buzz it.....does it start coming out in larger clumps or does it just keep coming out a little at a time until it is mostly gone? Good luck with round 2!
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Hi guys,
just had round 2 yesterday. the actual chemo day was fine, having slight nausea today but not vomiting. Very strange sensation of being hungry but the thought of food is kind of nauseating! The zofran is helping though.
Katymom-my decadron dose is 4mg twice a day for three days, starting the day before chemotherapy. I'm not sure how fast the hair really comes out. I buzzed mine around day 17 but I still have all stubbles, so I'm sure I could have kept my hair for a bit longer.
Cindy- my wig also did not fit well until they buzzed off my hair, now it stays on without any problems. I got a real hair lace front wig so it attaches with double sided tape.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Leslie0 -
Hello girls,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ok,,,,,,,,I did it,,,,,,,,I had my daughter and hubby shave my head last night. I was losing so much hair,,,,,,,,,I just couldnt take it anymore. So I said,,,,,,,thats it family,,,,,,off it goes. Now I gotta admit,,,,,,,we had a group hug and cried,,,,,,,,,but honestly,,,,I was just so tired of finding hair every where,,,when they shaved it,,,,,,,,I was totally ok with it. They say I have a nice shaped head,,,,,,but its very small,,,,,so on this body at the moment I look like a freak. But its ok,,,,,,,,,I'm just gonna have to deal with it. Its not so bad after all actually. I wont let anyone else see me bald,,,,,just my hubby, daughter and son. I went to the store tonight for the first time with my wig,,,,,,,,it may have been my imagination but I felt like people were looking at me. I really dont think they were,,,,,,,,I just havent gotten to that feel good confidence level thing yet. But I will.
I also switched over to the every 3 week thing. No sense in doing it every week,,,as the only reason I was was to possibly save the great follicular fallout,,,,,but not the case. And also I will finish with this all earlier and hopefully I will have more better days than bad days. Doing it weekly I was feeling like crap for 3 or 4 days a week,,,,,,,,,I start on the every 3rd week thing on this Monday,,,,,,so should be interesting to see how my body will react to it all at once. Will keep you posted.
And I agree with you ladies,,,,,,,we are all entitled to be grumpy,,,,,,feel sorry for ourselves on occassion,,,,and complain and bitch. I know for me,,,on my bad days,,,,,,,,,,omg my poor family, I feel bad for them. This week has been such a good week for me. I feel like myself again. Now check in on me next week on my bad days,,,,and that will be a total different story. But shoot,,,we are entitled, I think.
Hope you are all good,,,,,,,,,take care,,,,,,,,
Cindy0 -
Leslie,,,,,,,,,,I went to the wig place yesterday since I knew I was going to shave my head,,,,,and you are right,,,,it stays on just perfect being bald. She did give me some tips and all about styling and wearing it. Its actually a cute wig,,,,,,,but it will always just feel like a wig to me. But better for me to wear it than to go bald,,,,,,,,,,self confidence issue you know?
Cindy0 -
Hi Girls,
Now day 4 out from 2nd round of TCH. I'm having quite a bit of nausea still but no vomit, so that's a relief. Also having slight itching and burning of the palms of my hands and feet, which, from my reading, is from the taxotere. I'm looking forward to this weekend, my brother in law just had a baby 3 weeks ago and we're hoping to go visit. Our airconditioning broke down, and it's getting hot in chicago so we have to get a whole new compressor. Just in time for my hot flashes! HOpe everyone has a great weekend.
Leslie0 -
Hey girls. I have felt so good this whole week,,,,,,although I only had herceptin on Monday. I wish I felt this good every day during chemo,,,,,don't we all huh? I'm such a dreamer.......lol This coming Monday will be my second round of TCH,,,,,,this time the whole dose. Should be interesting how my body reacts to the whole amount instead of 1/3 the dosage that I have been doing (I was weekly). Went out in public for the second time today with my wig,,,,,,,,I think I will get used to it. I know it's just a me no self confidence thing. My family loves the wig and says it looks soooooooooo good,,,,,,but I think i need a few more times in public to convince myself. lol This weekend should be the real test,,,,,,We are going to a wedding on Saturday and a co-ed baby shower on Sunday. I'm just hoping no one will mess with the "do". lol One thing sort of good about being bald is,,,,,,,,when those hot flashes occur ,,,,,the cool air feels kinda good on the scalp. I think at least. lol
Leslie,,,,,,,since you are doing the exact same thing as me,,,,,,,,,what is your typical week after chemo? Is there a pattern to your side effects? Do you get most of your side effects during the first week after chemo,,,,,and then have two good weeks? Just wondering as to what to expect next week.
Have a great weekend all,,,,,,,,,,,,
Cindy0 -
Hi guys,
Just checking in. hope everyone is having a great weekend. I'm now day 7 out from my second round of TCH and just starting to feel better. I was extremely tired this past week, worse than the first round and had moderate nausea, but now vomiting, which is good. just finally got my appetite back today I think. Also, I've been having hot flashes, not certain if it's from the chemo or the ovarian suppression, or both, but I was totally not prepared for menopause! I'm only 30! Looking for ways to stay cool, trying to use ice bags on the back of my neck at night. Hoping this week will be a good one. I know that I will feel best the week right before the next chemo, isn't that the way it goes? Just when you are better, it's time to do it all over again!
Leslie0 -
Well,,,,,,,,tomorrow i do my 2nd round. This time its the whole dose,,,,,,,,,switched to the every 3 week thing. Should be interesting to see how my body reacts to it all at one time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more good days than bad days..........Went to a wedding yesterday,,,,,got lots of compliments about my hair (well wig),,,,,but still felt self conscious about it. Still seems like a wig to me. People just thought i got a new haircut and highlighted.
Now off to a baby shower at a park. Wig time again. I ordered scarves and hats from headcovers.com but havent gotten them yet. Hope they come this week as I really dont like wearing the wig all the time,,,,,,,it gets too hot.
Hope you all had a great weekend.
Take care
Cindy0 -
Hi Cindy,
just wanted to wish you good luck on your 2nd round. I hope it goes well. I also got a couple of things from headcovers.com that work well. My favorite scarves are some that I found at a local department store, the brand is ECHO and they have a website too. Their cotton/silk blend scarves are so comfortable and not hot at all. I'm thinking of ordering detachable hair (sticks to hat and not you) and hat form a website called "hats and hair" (I think) because wearing the wig is just too warm. I've been feeling unbearably warm on my head even though it is cool outside. I imagine this is what hotflashes are right? I'm actually hoping it is just from the chemo so it will go away soon!
Leslie0 -
Hi Cindy, Ivy,and anyone else on TCH...
You made me realize how lucky I was that I had it in the winter (although winters here in Dallas aren't that bad). I knitted a couple of lightweight "chemo caps" (found the pattern online) for fuzzy pretty head covers that weren't too hot. I loved wearing those for chemo sessions since they were so comfortable when in a recliner (I find hats or wigs are NOT comfortable when I rest my head).
After wearing a wig a couple times, I gave up on that. Just not comfortable. So I had a cute knit hat with a small brim that I would "trim" with scarves as 'hatbands', or just wear scarves, and I was fine.
I AM going to wear a wig for my passport photo that I need to get taken next week though. I don't want my photo there showing 1/2" of hair that is trying to curl (*laugh*).
FYI: I finished 6 cycles of TCH in mid January 2007. By then, I was DREAMING of food -- salads, chocolate, oranges... all the things that I could no longer eat. I couldn't believe that I was dreaming of eating. Wierd.
And now I'm back to normal. Nails are almost back to normal. And I can east chocolate, but don't LOVE it any more. M&M's are safe with me. Crazy, huh?
Good luck getting through this. You can do it!!!!!
Janet0 -
I am with you on the hot flashes...I wake up every night at 3:00am burning up. Not to mention that I'm hot all day long, but it is 90+ degrees here in Texas. This second round has been a lot more difficult....stomach issues, achiness, headaches and just weakness. Hopefully someone will have suggestions for the hot flashes! Otherwise, it is going to be a long summer.
Cindy--hope your 2nd treatment is going well.....
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I read on another website that women swear by something called the chillow. I googled it online and it is something you fill with water and put on top of the pillow to keep it cool. I've been buying icing packs made orginally for the knee and putting them on the back of my neck when I sleep.
I agree that this second treatment sucks. I went yesterday for my zoladex injection and when they took my blood pressure and pulse they found out I was pretty severely dehydrated. my pulse was 144 when I stood up. I thought I was drinking well (I was told 64 ounces a day!) but they ended up giving me a liter of IV fluid before letting me go. I haven't been throwing up or diarrhea or anything so I don't know what happened to all the fluid! Our airconditioner broke last week, but this is chicago so the hottest it got was like 85 degrees and this whole weekend was cool.
Leslie0 -
I've been off work for six weeks since my mastectomy and went back to work half-time yesterday. I'd waited to make sure I kind of knew what pattern my chemo side effects would take this time. I'm on weekly Taxol/Carbo and had my second treatment last Friday. All seemed well, just queasy and tired, with some tingling in toes/fingers.
But last night, I was hit with the worst diarrhea in my entire life! I was "going" every 15 to 20 minutes. After 90 minutes of that, I phoned the oncologist on call, who thinks it's more likely a bug than a chemo side effect. He said it was OK for me to use imodium, so I did.
Four pills later, I had improved to going only every 30 minutes. Then every hour. Then every two hours. I finally got to sleep around 5 a.m. Things seem OK now. I even hazarded a piece of bread and butter. Been drinking lots of water and some severely diluted Gatorade.
I know some of you had diarrhea with your treatments. Was it as severe as what I just described? I'm thinking I may have been food poisoned. I had fresh spinach on my Subway sandwich for lunch yesterday. Or else I picked up a nasty intestinal virus from being around people at work. Ugh!!0 -
HI CindyMN,
The diarrhea I had was nowhere near as bad as what you are describing. You probably got something viral or food poisoning. My diarrhea was more like 6-8 times a day of softer, less formed stool. I had it for about a week and then, one day, it just went away. My oncologist told me I could take immodium, but it didn't really bother me much so I didn't take anything. I'm glad you are feeling better. Just be careful with the immodium, it is pretty powerful stuff ( you may find that you won't have a bowel movement for days ater this incident!). Also, I don't know if you have tried this, but if you are looking for something like gatorade but less sweet, I really like vitaminwater. Also, smartwater has no flavor and no calories but has electrolytes in it. Hope you feel better soon.
Leslie0 -
Air conditioning and ceiling fans directly overhead. (I'm outside of Dallas (*smile*)
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Thanks a million, Leslie! I may never have another BM in my life! I think I pooped myself dry. (Or at least that was what I was praying for last night!)
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Hi girls,,,,,,,
Had my second TCH yesterday. Today I went in for my neulasta shot. This morning my hubby said,,,,,,,,,,,"hey hun,,,,,do you feel like taking a walk?" I said,,,,,,,,,U bet I do. I feel great today. So then after that we stopped and had lunch somewhere and then walked home. I think we walked about 2 miles,,,,,,it felt wonderful to be out and about like that. Then I went for my neulasta shot,,,,,,,so that usually kicks me in the butt for 3 days,,,,so we will see. But so far I feel fine. This is my first time doing the whole dose at once,,,,remember I was the weekly gal but stopped that since the great follicular fallout was happening anyways.
I did get a presc yesterday for ativan because when taking that decadron I dont sleep for days,,,,,but last night I took one and I slept like a baby It was niiiiiiiiiiiice. I am not a pill taker,,,,,,so will only take that on the days I am loaded up with decadron. But it was nice to get a good nights sleep.
Hope you all have a great week this week and we all keep our side effects down to a minimun.
Cindy 0 -
hi guys, just wanted to check in. I was surprise to find this blog (my favorite one) on the second page so I had to write to bump it back to the first page!
Having a good days so far. today is supposed to be over 90 degrees in chicago but we just got our new air conditioner replaced after the old one broke last week so I"m happy to be sitting in a cool room!
I don't get neulasta and or procrit and I don't get lab work in between chemo. I haven't been told to avoid any fresh fruit or stuff so I feel like I'm free floating in between chemo. Does theanyone else feel like that? I get some many weird side effects that I attribute to chemo and they go away after a day or 2 so I don't bother calling anyone. This time, I had horrible burning and itching of my palms and feet for the 2 days after chemo, which is due to the taxotere, I think. I'm also having some tingling/soreness of my left arm. I only had a sentinal node biopsy, not full axillary node dissection, so I don't know if that type of pain is normal? I know after an axillary dissection,they tell you to never use that arm again for blood pressure cuffs/labs, but no one said anything to me. I try to avoid the left arm, but this past week, accidently got blood pressure taken on it ( i was talking and not paying attention to what they were doing). Anyway, I'm rambling. Hope everyone is doing well
Leslie0 -
Anybody have a weird taste in their mouth. My tummy says I am hungry,,,,,,,but everything I eat tastes like nothing to me. The burning went away,,,,,,but I have no taste for anything. Dont think the biotine is working on that either. Guess its just another wonderful side effect to this chemo crap, huh?
Have a good weekend,,,,,,Cindy0 -
If I choose to do the treatment, it will begin on June 29th. I am IDC grade 3 ER+/PR+ her2+, left breast had my bilateral mastectomy 5-24-07. My spreadsheet my ong gave me yesterday said that 67.1 percent of women do not have chemo or hormonal therapy maynot have a relapse(10years) and if I do the combo meds it give me a 75 percent that I would not have a relapse. Not much difference. So I am confused if I even should do the taxotere/carbo/herceptin.
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wierd taste? Normal with taxotere. Each cycle, I had more things that had no taste, and a few more that tasted disgusting. I also had 3-5 days/cycle where I had "sewer mouth" - a horrrible taste in my mouth. I was up every 15 minutes rinsing with Biotene. But it DID go away.
If things don't taste good, then look to see what DOES taste good. I could drink chicken broth through most of chemo. Cold stuff (celery, frozen fruit, popsicles, ice milk fudgsicles (go figure)) was good.
Good luck,
Janet0
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