Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

McKatherine

My hands were tingly after day 4 (round one!) and everything felt scratchy until I was in the hospital this weekend (so, day 12 . . .).  I'm taking B-complex, too.   Will talk to the MO (well, her PA) before round 2 on Tuesday.

Hugs, ladies!  

LindaKR

My infusion nurses and MO told me that TCH (mostly the T & C) is one of the toughest chemo regimens, don't know if they were just trying to make me feel better or?  But I volunteer there now and I still hear them say that to other patients, they don't say it about other chemos they give, so maybe it really is -

jittersmom

hi everyone havn't been here in awile. I remember being where you guys are towards the end of Chemo I was really in rough shape. I finished chemo last April, and my herceptin in December. I had the worst side effects and at one point couldn't even walk or stand up. I still have neuropathy in my toes but my hands are much better. Someone at my support group said B comlex is good to take and I think it helping. There is light at the end of the tunnel...you may not be able to see it while your in there but I am at the other end and it does get better hang in there!

Jinkala

LindaKR - My MO said that my chemo (TCH) was a tough one too.  It certainly was tough on me.  It does feel good to be done with it.   The Herceptin alone is a breeze though.

lago

LindaKR The only thing tougher than TC is A according to a relative I know that is an MD and works for Merck.

And yes ladies you will feel like you again. My only chemo damage is my nails (with polish they look fine) although I had an unusually bad case of lifting and a little neuropathy/numbness in my left heel that only acts up depending on the weather. Yes am better than the weather.com

beckstar18

Lindakr--that's interesting about TCH being tough. When I originally sat down with my onco and dicsussed my options between TCH and AC/TH, TCH seemed like a no brainer after she listed out the regimen and all the SEs.  All this time I thought I got off easy  For real, though, any chemo sucks--that I am sure.

AmyIsStrong

Chemo sort of HAS to suck in order to do its job. But back in 09 when I went through it, the options were AC/T/H or TCH and I was told that the "A" element was much harder on the heart especially in combo with the H (which was pretty new then). I did the TCH and was glad I did.

I KNOW how awful this is to go through, but  I have to say, now i am 4 years PFC, and it really has faded into memory and it is SO WONDERFUL to be healthy.  Keep pressing on ladies - you will get there.

LindaKR

A wasn't offered to me for the same reason Amyls - they wanted me on the herceptin as soon as possible, so no choices.  I actually wasn't given any choices in treatment, my only option would have been NO!

Rhonda2

Thank you Amyls for the encouragement and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Jinkala

My MO mentioned the A one and the connections with heart issues especially with the herceptin which is why she recommended the TCH.  I do have some family history of heart disease though so far my MUGA scans have shown little to no adverse effect from the herceptin so far.

Moonflwr912

I was one of those that had to stop Herceptin because of heart issues. It does seem to have resolved a bit with my EF coming up. But only 6 mo of Herceptin for me.

rickysgirl

Hi ya'll.  Haven't been on in awhile...........major computer problems is all I will say except that I'm waiting for a new one.  It's become a huge hassle to even turn this one on, but I wanted to share......................My new wig came today.  So excited.  I went straight to the mirror to try it on and boy did it look good.  I felt like a whole new person.  As  I went out to the living room to show my boyfriend how absolutely fabulous I looked, my dog took one look at me, raised his back fur, barked, peed and ran.  I'm now thinking I don't look as good as I thought.  I may have to re-evaluate.

LindaKR

Funny (or maybe not so) story rickysgirll - my wigs looked good, but didn't look like me at all, I think I wore each of them once.   I think we need an emoticon with a wig and fake boobs!

lago

too funny rickysgirl You scared your dog!

rickysgirl

Right?  Now every time I walk into a room, be it bald or hatted, he looks like a deer in the headlights.  I may have scarred the poor thing.

beckstar18

that's funny about scaring your dog, Ricky!  On a related note, I went outside this afternoon to find my kids who were down the street sledding and realized I forgot to put a hat/scarf on.  Snow plow driver almost broke his neck trying to figure out what he saw lol!  My new neighbors who just moved in across the street saw me too, probably surprised them a bit.  Hair is coming back a bit, but still not in front very much.  I've got a skullet.

SpecialK

steiner - I often did not wear anything on my head when I was in the house.  One day there was a knock at the door and it was a guy selling firewood (somebody forgot to tell him this is Florida and hardly anyone has a wood-burning fireplace!), I totally forgot that I had an uncovered bald head and I scared the beejeesus out of the guy.  He figured I had bigger problems than no fireplace!

LeeA

My husband once read (and relayed to me) a little factoid about dogs recognizing us by our hairlines. 

cgesq

My dog has seen me bald, with a long wig and even a neon-green bob style wig that I wore to a costume party recently!  She always seems to recognize me!!

LindaKR

Our little silky terrier was my constant companion during treatment, she always seemed to be at my side and never looked/looks shocked at my appearance - whewww, because some days I don't look as good as others.

rickysgirl

About this hair growth........mine seems to be coming in on the right side above and around my ear, trailing to the back a little, and nowhere else.  Is this normal?   It's dark where it's coming in, and on top and the other side all I see is white or grey, but it's very faint. Am I  seeing a skunk in my future? 

LindaKR

When my hair came back I was worried that I was going to have that "male pattern baldness" look, but it filled in, and my gray hair grew back faster than my other hair. 

AmyIsStrong

When my hair was growing back, i went to my hair stylist and she trimmed it so it was all even. I don't think it really helped anything, but it made me feel a little better. My last chemo was 7/31 and I went out in early Oct 'topless' for the first time. It was all grey (sort of salt/pepper) and VERY short, but I put on big earrings and pretended I was a supermodel with a stylish buzz cut.  
I was told not to use the real (chemical) type of hair color for a while, so I bought some all natural kind at WholeFoods (my health food store had it also). I forget the name of it -sorry.  I used it for the first six months or so, then went back to my hair salon and got the 'good stuff.'

lago

Odd my onc told me I could dye my hair when ever I wanted. I did at 13 weeks when I went topless. Actually my hair dresser did it 2x because the first time, although a nice color was a little too red for me. I know how red fades too. Gets very brassy. My friends said I looked like a jewelry designer with the super short hair. It at came in black and grey. I did have some grey but my hair is dark brown, not black. Even my eyebrows were initially blacker.

linky (10th picture from the right is 13 weeks and dyed. Still too red for my taste but nice color).

Jinkala

Mine seems to be coming in all over my head - hard to tell at first because my hair is pretty light colored.  I'm not really seeing any gray and I'm not seeing any 'chemo curl' yet either.  It's still less than a half an inch though so there's still time for it to go weird on me. Heheh

beckstar18

I can't wait to go out in public topless.  (Hair, I mean...not shirt!)  I hate wearing stuff on my head.

Victoria38

I'm diggin' my blondie wig.  Not looking forward to dealing with my salt and pepper chemo hair.  I do miss my old hair, but I doubt that will ever be.

LeeA

I'm wondering if the TSA would require the removal of a Buff.  I'm assuming they can't make a person remove his or her wig/hairpiece but who knows.  Ugh.  That would be annoying.

rickysgirl

I hear ya Steiner18.  Before this, I really never wore hats, except for a few "special" occassions, like a wedding, cold weather, or working outside.  This has driven me bananas.  It's hot under there, and makes my head itch, which is hard to scratch when you're out in public without revealing too much.  I admire those who lost their hair and boldly went topless anyway.  I just haven't been able to do that.   I hate having to coordinate my clothes with my hats, too.  Sometimes, it's just easier to stay home.  For me, anyway. 

lago

I didn't go topless until my hair was long enough. I do not have a nicely shaped head. Cotton & rayon scarves felt good. The cotton scarves breathed the best. I love the ones from this place because I would wash and dry them in the machines: linky I love the Koi designs. Comes in red too.

I met another women who was stage IV (and HER2+) that had been wearing the same scarves for years.