Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

lago

dancetrancer yes that was me. My dentist said the same thing. He gave me some floride toothpaste and told me to use Biotene mouthwash. I am a flosser  and use Colgate Total anyway. I never had teeth issues. For sore tongue I iced during Taxotere. Once I did that I never had a sore tongue again. My onc was the one to recommend that. And I agree you should switch dentists. I can't believe they couldn't fit you in. They get cancellations all the time.

I used Acetyl-L-Carnitine but I did notice that the vitamin shoppe also sold the L-glutamine

Hi Alice

Omaz

Hey racerdeb - Congratulations!!!!

racerdeb

Thanks, Omaz!

Omaz

racerdeb - Are you going to be doing or already doing tamoxifen or an AI?

SpecialK

racerdeb - yay!

racerdeb

Omaz,

No, I'm just doing the TCH.  Since I had a mastectomy and my lymph nodes were negative, I don't have any planned radiation or further treatment, other than the continued Herceptin.

Special K,

Thanks!  You've been a great source of help for me!

YaYa5

racerdeb, HOORAY!!  i'm happy for you!!

nmoss1000

Hi ladies got the MRI results back.. Left side is cysts but now there is something suspicious on Right!!! Headed for a mammogram and ultrasound tommorow fingers crossed.And to boot had a mole removed And it came back positive for Squamous cell carcinoma in situ. apparently it's not a big deal, but god I hate cancer..

dancetrancer

Thanks for the GNC tip for the L-glutamine.  If the dose is 30 g/day (10 g 3x a day), and my pills are only 500 mg, I'd have to take 60 pills a day to equal that dose.  Egads!  (30,000 mg/500 mg = 60 pills).  Uh, I'll be getting the powder if my onc approves it.  LOL!

racerdeb, big congrats and thank you for the welcome and encouragement! 

dancetrancer

mnoss - fingers and toes crossed!  I hate cancer too. 

christina0001

nmoss - I hope your tests tomorrow come out perfectly normal.

Omaz

dance - I started having neuropathy with the first infusion so I met with the oncology nutritionist and she was the one who recommended the L-glutamine.

dancetrancer

Omaz, what dosage did you follow?  30 g/day (10 g 3x day?) is what I saw here and in the study I read.  Did the glutamine seem to help?  (sorry if I have already asked you this question).

I had my echo today and met with the port surgeon.  Port surgery set for Friday.  I'm kinda depressed tonight.  I really just really don't want to do it. No matter how many times people tell me it's nothing, it really creeps me out thinking about a foreign body in my body, especially in my vein, and it being so long.  Creepy, creepy, creepy to me.  Also, the surgeon said she was going to do it on my L side, since I'm R handed, and she wants me to be able to have better use of my arm.   I told her I just finished rads 1.5 wks ago on the L and was concerned about an incision on that side, esp. since it is also my SNB side.  She said she'd try for the R side, but if there is a problem, may have to go with the L side.  None of that made me feel any more comfortable.  I know I'm being a big baby about this procedure, but I can't help myself.  Wah! 

lago

Dancetrancer my port surgeon gave me all kinds of scenarios of if he can't put it one place he'll put it someplace else. He was concerned because I am rather small and bony. Well it went in place in the exact spot he told me it would be located. They just want to cover themselves.

He placed mine on my right side since I had more nodes removed on the left. I'm right handed. I don't have any issues.

dancetrancer

Thank you Lago!

Omaz

Dance - I did 20-30 during chemo.  Hopefully it helped, I don't know.  I thought the port was to be placed on the side opposite bc.

dancetrancer

Thanks Omaz.  Technically I have bilateral bc (tiny DCIS on R side, too), but no SNB on the R. 

SpecialK

nmoss - I had 3 basal cell carcinomas removed the week before I started chemo - I feel ya!  Even though I have had probably at least 15 of them previously the timing sucked!  They delivered the path report by certified letter, which was weird - no phone call or face-to-face.  Hoping whatever is going on with your right side is nothing.

Laura5133388

Dance,  I opted out on the port. I really did not want another surgery, even though I am sure it isn't a big deal. Also didn't want to look at a port everyday. Don't get me wrong, I am a big baby about needles, but after 6 treatments of TCH, and several more so far of H, my veins have done fine and I'm glad I don't have one.

lago

dancetrancer I too had a tiny little bit of LCIS on the right side. I did do a SNB because we didn't biopsy it before so we didn't know what it was. I so wish we didn't. My BS ended up taking 4 nodes on that side.

nmoss1000

Thanks ladies!

Alice72

So far, Neulasta has not been mentioned. I know they will check my blood every week before the Herceptin weekly/TCH every 3rd. Wk .

Alice72

Hi Special K, thx for the welcome and suggesting the Miralax. I actually had some from my first lumpectomy I'll know to use it next time. ..so much to learn.

YaYa5

alice, some onco's wait to see if you need the neulasta shot.  others, like mine, prescribe it from the first treatment on.  i never had any problems with neulasta because, as suggested by the women here, a took a claritin the day before, the day of, and several days after the shot.  never had any bone pain at all.  by the way, i am in LOVE with your city.  if i could live anywhere else, it would be in charleston.

dancetrancer

I'm thinking of telling my onc if it can't be done on the R side I want to try going without the port.  I'm worried about the L side for these reasons:

1) SNB side.  Last recon surgery I had in December, I had swelling in my supraclavicular areas, L hand (slight), and severe tingling in my L hand for about 12 hours.  I was petrified I was developing LE.  Fortunately it resolved, but I think my body was trying to warn me to be careful.

2) only 1.5 weeks out of rads.  If I'm not supposed to try any more recon (which I don't think I'll be doing anyways) for 6 months to a year b/c of poor healing, why would I risk an incision on that side at this time?

3) signs of thoracic outlet syndrome on my L side for several years now.  This is a syndrome of tight muscles on the L side of my neck causing intermittent tingling in my L hand.  I have kept it at bay with stretching exercises when it flares up.

Do you all think these are valid reasons for refusing a port on my L side, or am I overreacting?

Lago that sucks that you had the SNB on the R side when it turned out you didn't need it.   All my pre-op tests showed the R side as clear, so we thought it was prophylactic MX on that side - so of course no SNB.   

lago

Well technically I didn't need nodes removed on the left either but this is the way I look at it. We didn't know what was in the right side. I could have had a biopsy but it would have delayed surgery even more. I already waited over 2 months from mammo for surgery as it was and when you have a larger fast growing tumor on the left that didn't look like it was in the nodes you want it out before it decided to go "nodel". If righty was invasive and we didn't do a SNB then they would have had to go back and take level one because once the breast is gone they can't do a SNB.

So although I wish we didn't do it I'm not mad. These things are a crap shoot. In the end it's better to lose 4 nodes than keep them and found out they are invaded. It really was good news.

dancetrancer

So true Lago!!! 

Relda

Question ladies - last time I went through this my hair started coming out in chunks on day 14 following my first tx.  Well today is day 14 following my first tx, and besides 4-5 strands coming out when I tug on my hair - nothing.  My scalp doesn't even have that familiar tingly, sore feeling it had last time the week before it started coming out.  Dare I hold out any hope?  How long after you started TCH did your hair really start to come out?  Oh and this is weird - last time my eyelashes were the last to go - this time?  They are already very very thinned out.  Everything is so different this time!!

lago

Relda that's what I told the wig place on day 14 or 15 (can't remember which. They told me that my hair would start day 15/16 (can't remember) and to keep the appointment. Sure enough the next day it started to come out. Mine seem to come out pretty evenly but I had a lot, I mean a lot of hair. (Still do). It mostly came out in the shower although Chicago wind at 50 MPH removed quite a bit one day.

christina0001

dancetrancer - I was (and am) also disturbed to to have a foreign body, a port, in my body. I was really sore after the surgery. My onc also recommended having it put in on my left side since my cancer was on my right side, so I wouldn't be so sore on one side. But I drive a lot, and I absolutely hate having it on my left side, it really feeling annoying when the seatbelt bumps it. So that might be something to think about.

Relda - I am already forgetting but I shaved my head around day 20 and I started noticing thinning within a week. I am currently on day 3 after treatment #3 and I just have a very sparse amount of light colored stubble all over my head. Eyebrows and eyelashes are hanging in there, but I haven't had to tweeze my brows or shave since around day 21 or so after treatment #1.