May 2, 2022 12:09PM alleycat5 wrote:
Hi all! Took a bit of a break from reading/posting on here, but I do appreciate your replies so much. 1982m that thread is amazing! Thanks for sharing!!
I just got home from my first chemo treatment. Got Herceptin for 90 minutes and then Taxol for 1 hour. I'm having it weekly for the next 12 weeks. Then the Taxol ends and I continue on Herceptin every three weeks for the next year.
First treatment was piece of cake!!! No side effects at all from either drug. I didn't even know when the meds were going in, no difference between that and just the regular saline IV drip. I did get a port. I hadn't planned to, but a couple of my RN friends who work in oncology said I should definitely get one. So glad I did. The surgery to get the port was last week was a bit rough after and I had more pain with it than with either of the lumpectomies or node biopsy, but I think it was my body finally deciding that three surgeries in a month was enough. Accessing the port was easy. The only thing I noticed today was when the Benadryl went in, I got sleepy for a few minutes, but that went away. I tolerated the steroids well too.
My RN friends said just like with pain meds don't chase the nausea with meds. They said go ahead and take thyyem as soon as the doctor allows and keep taking them for a couple of days before trying to come off to see how I do. So I'm going to try that and hopefully it won't be too bad.
I did use the ice gloves and socks during Taxol. No one at my cancer center seemed to think it does anything or but they didn't discourage it anyway. I'm going to do them and cross my really cold fingers it keeps neuropathy away.
I had the dip powder removed from my nails and gel polish taken off my toenails and I had both repainted with regular polish. That way if they get sore, no big deal to take it off. If they're sore, I can't imagine how that grinding drill they use for gel and dip powder would work for me at all.
I did find a really great wig that looks just like me and my regular hair. At this point I'm probably ready for it to go ahead and fall out since that's what it's likely going to do. Again the waiting on it and wondering how it's going to go is stressful.
Heading out in a bit for a walk around the neighborhood. Decided I will try (weather permitting) to do that every day as well as getting out and watering my flowers. Just want a goal that no matter how I'm feeling, to do something that takes my mind off of it and makes me feel better.
