Worried abut chemo

Bonnie02

Worried abut chemo

Bonnie02

Hi everyone,  had my first visit with the med. oncologist. I was under the impression from my gp that the cancer I had was not that bad when in fact the story is very different. The cancer was 4.5cm and he said that was considered very bad, had 2 lymph nodes with cancer also.  He is putting me on a total of 15 months chemo. First 6 are going to be the AC and the last 9 are TT.  He said the only thing for sure that would happen is to loose my hair which of course I am really not looking forward to. Anyone that can give me some advice on this would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

drcrisc

Hi,

Are you starting chemo this month?  You might want to check out the "Chemotherapy" section as there is a thread for those starting in May.  You might find some answers there.  I will be on a different "cocktail" and haven't started yet, so I can't offer much except to point you to the help!

nosurrender

Dear Bonnie,

Of course you are worried about chemo. It is a scary thing for anyone to think about.

I have done chemo twice. The first time was in 2001 and it got rid of my first breast cancer.

Then I got a totally new breast cancer, unrelated to the first one, six years later, I had to do chemo again. I had a whole new attitude about it the second time because I knew it had already worked for me once.

I was really nervous to start but I got through it.

I started last April (2007) and did Adriamycin, then Abraxane and then Xeloda. I lost my hair and that is hard. But I had a wig all ready that was the same color and style of my natural hair so when the day came that I needed it, I looked like "me."

They have wonderful drugs now to keep you from getting sick from the chemo.  And if you remember to keep on schedule with your medicine, whether you feel like you need it or not, and you don't let your stomach get too empty, then you should do ok. If you don't tolerate it, then work with your doctors and get different drugs to take.

About your tumor.... Your doc wants to make sure that if there are any stray cancer cells in your body are killed off. The only way to do that is with chemo. The surgery removes the tumor, but if you have positive lymph nodes there is a possibility your cancer got into your system. So the chemo knocks that down and you have the best chance for a long, disease free life.

Everyone always thinks about all the bad side effects of chemo, and it is normal to do that. But don't forget the most important side effect of all-

it works!

Cristine above gave good advice, join the chemo group starting this month on the chemo forum. It really helps because you have a whole family with you going through all the same things you will be experiencing.

Good luck to both of you!

Remember, it is not forever, it does end. I finished my chemo in December and I have already had one hair cut!

Take care,

g 

petelzmom

Hi Bonnie, The Chemo chat board was my lifeline during treatment and I still keep in touch with everyone there.

I had a similar diagnosis - 7cm tumor ILC in one breast and three small 1-2cm tumors IDC in the other breast. My sentinel node biopsy came back neg. but after more nodes were removed during my mascetomy 3 out of 15 were positive.

I did 4 dose dense a/c and 4 dd of taxol. I had chemo first and then surgery. My surgeon couldn't believe he was looking at the same breast. Chemo shrank the large tumor quite a bit and the smaller ones had disappeared. I chose bilateral mascetomy because I wanted to be super aggressive. Thanks to the chemo my dr got clear margins on both breasts.

I would recommend that you read the posts on the chemo board, you will get tips on side effects and how to deal with them

They have wonderful medications available and if the first ones don't work for you thee are many more in the arsenal - keep trying until you feel better. My biggest fear was vomiting i'm a wuss, but i took zofran and barely got nauseas (sorry about spelling)

Good luck and stay strong!

Carolyn 

Sierra

Hi there:



My goodness, your doc does not sound v.positive



I wanted to share with you



that my tumour was 3.5

High Grade 3,, and node positive

Today, 8 yrs later, still here am I

and very blessed



You will be too

Try to steer clear of toxic people

and one day at a time



It is a tough road and not a sailing ship

but by golly, many gals here got through

it more than once

Honestly, I had a surgeon tell me my cancer
was like a racing car!..
then my onc kept saying No Guarantees

Well, we know that.. but we have
to move forward.. I asked my Lord/Higher Power
to guide me..





Hugs to you





Sierra )



PS I did ac and taxol, rads