Has anyone started a forum for Chemo in Dec 2008?

Lainey64

Cinda, you got that right!  We ARE kicking some serious cancer @ss here!  Go US!!  I'm feeling pretty good today.  I still have a little bit of a stuffy nose but nothing major.  Oh boy is my appetite back.  Last night I cooked steak, baked potato and asparagus.  It was so good.  I've been craving a strawberry sundae from McDonalds and I might have to get one after all this hot fudge sundae talk!  I hope everyone is doing good. 

Brenny - I'm so glad you got that hot fudge sundae and pizza.  I've learned that we have to go with whatever makes us feel better.  I hope it did the trick. 

Zuffa & Swest - Zuffa it's so encouraging to know that your cancer cells are responding well to the chemo.  I just started Taxol and will have my second TX this Friday.  I've been taking lots ot Tylenol!

Cat - Congratulations on finishing your last A/C!  I was so happy when I finished mine.  For me the Taxol has been much easier and no nausea!  I think that is the best part.  I had some muscle and joint aches for the first 4-5 days but they went away. 

Have a good day everyone! Love, Elaine

swest

Zuffa - That is great to hear that chemo is working on shrinking your tumor.  They say chemo works best on triple negative.  Good thing since that's all we have!

Congratulations Cat!  I know you have to be feeling good about finishing up 1/2 of the chemo!  Hang in there!

Have a great day everyone! 

colleen1960

Hey All - I am finished!!! I had my 8th and final tx yesterday.  So far I am feeling ok.  But usually day 3 & 4 are my worst.  When I went yesterday my blood ct. was just borderline, but I am so glad that I was able to be treated.  I drank like a half gallon of water and they were able to to get my vein started on the 1st stick.  So now for the next 7 days since blood was borderline she wants me to keep taking my neuopgen shots.  I already celebrated my last shot last wk.  But if it helps me not to get sick, it is worth it.  I have to go back on March 9th.  And she wants me to start taking the tomaxfin.  She said she usually starts one mth. after chemo stops.  They only thing is they will take me off it 3 days before my exchange surgery on the 26th.  Is anyone else taking this drug?  I have to start investigating more.

I am so glad them some of us have finished, and those who have not just keep being strong and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Ice Cream has been my friend through all of this, I don't think I missed many nights without having my ice cream.  If I didn't have icecream after dinner I would wake up in the middle of the night starving like I had not eaten in days.  So I went with the icecream.  Don't worry about sounding off on this thread.  We all have our bad days and it is so great to be able to come and type away and get a lot of understanding from everyone.  My family has been great, but I don't always want to talk to them, sometimes I think they just don't get it.  And it is nice to come here and know that everyone here does get it.

Well I am already hungry for lunch so I must go and eat.  Everyone stay strong and be well.

Colleen

swest

Yea Colleen!!!!!!

lovemyfamilysomuch

Congratulations to those who have finished treatment!!  I will go tommorow (with my friend Firni by my side in spirit).  Hoping for fewer side effects this time.  STiff fighting the depression and anxiety and catestrophic thinking about return of the beast.  Did Reiki yesterday which helped alot, as does the weather which has warmed up alot.  Sending good energy to all of you!

Ellen

swest

You can do it Ellen!!!  <<<<<Cheers from the crowd>>>>>  I will be there in spirit with you too!

Sonia

lisasayers

Colleen...congrats on your last TX!  I'm day five from my last treatment...yesterday I couldn't function...I was exhausted!  The only thing I've noticed differently from this last one is it feels like somebody smacked each of my fingers with a hammer!  My nails are really tender!  Other than that...the usual nasty taste in my mouth, the fatigue and constipation! 

Had my last neulasta yesterday and blood work today...have to go for blood work every week now until I meet with onc on March 3.  My exchange surgery is March 20!

Hang in there ladies!

BonnieK

Everyone sounds pretty good this week -- not so many dreadful side effects!  Congrats to those of you who are finished with chemo.  My last Tx is next week, Feb. 19th and I'll be joining you then.  SEs were bad for so many of us last week, but mine are mostly gone now and I'm looking forward to that last treatment, SE's or not.  The decrease in Taxotere last time seems to have helped the neuropathy in my feet a lot, so I'm pretty sure the onc will go ahead and finish up my treatments.

Yesterday was my last fill and I feel like my chest just might explode today!  My ribs hurt, it hurts to breathe and my skin is so tight that it shines -- just like my shiny bald head!  Next week the radiation oncologist will tell me whether exchange surgery or radiation will come next -- I'm hoping for the radiation, since it seems much more important in the scheme of things. 

Last week I had one day that was a bit of a "pity party", but that is over and I'm feeling strong and determined to beat this beast into the ground once again.  Every now and then, the stage 3 diagnosis just hits me between the eyes and I get really scared and uncertain.  Fortunately, I have been able to return to my positive outlook fairly quickly so far.

Lisa, -- I loved the pics of your Zumba party, but still can't figure out where you get all that energy while you are on chemo.  You are one strong lady!

~Bonnie

CindaD

I went to see my onc today and stopped at McDonalds on the way back to work........ you guessed it......I bought Hot Fudge Sundies for everyone in my office!   Yeah!  We celebrated my upcoming tx #4! 

Woo Hoo to all of you who have finished chemo! 

Firni

Hey Colleen, Congrats on getting thru 8 Tx's!  Totally awesome for you.

Cat, yea! on being done with the AC.  The rest should be easier.

Elaine, it's good to hear you're feeling better and the Taxol has been relatively easy.

Zuffa awesome that the chemo is working so well.  I always am reassured that chemo works since once the tumor is gone, there is really no way to measure. 

My mouth is just watering with all the talk of steak and pizza and sundaes.  All of it tastes so bad to me right now.  When and if my taste buds come back, I'm going to be in BIG trouble.

Hi Ellen.  I have my chemo bag ready to go tomorrow with you.  I'm so glad you're going.  It is one of the best ways to keep the beast at bay. A little sunshine sure goes a long way in clearing the depression and raising the spirit.

Lisa, how exciting to have your exchange surgery scheduled already.  Sorry about your nail beds tho.  Hopefully that will just clear up soon.

We're expecting snow again today.  During afternoon drive time.   It seems like that's the only time it snows here any more.  Drive time.  And always enough to make it ridiculous trying to get anywhere.

zuffa

firni - being triple negative and having a huge tumor that grew up overnight, that is why I am so happy my oncologist went the neo-adjuvant route -- before the mastectomy.  Even if I have a complete response, the breast is coming off -- but at least I know the chemo is killing the beast -- which makes it all worthwhile and betters my prognosis significantly.  All of that talk of SUNDAES has ruined me (I haven't gained any weight -- have acutally lost a bit through this process) -- and I will be stopping on my way home from work at McDonald's to get one!  I have probably had more junk food since I started treatment than during the entire rest of my life -- the first week after TX my body craves it (and this from a woman who grew up on the Mediterranean diet and is the granddaughter of a world-renowned french chef).  Weeks two and three I'm fine with good, healthy, food -- but week one, I'm hopeless.

DrDecker (ellen) I am so glad you are going for TX tomorrow and you have a steadfast soldier by yourside -- firni!  Hope all goes well.

havehope

Japan scientists identify enzyme that may suppress cancer

Mon Feb 9, 2009 2:21pm EST

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Japan have identified an enzyme which appears to suppress breast cancer and they hope the finding will spur new therapies to control the second most common cancer in the world.

At issue is the enzyme CHIP, which experts say can stunt cancer growth by degrading a number of cancer-causing proteins. The enzyme occurs naturally in human breast tissue.

In an article published in Nature Cell Biology, the scientists said they injected two kinds of human breast cancer cells into mice. One set carried the CHIP enzyme and the other was without the chemical.

Tumors in the first group of mice with the CHIP enzyme were far smaller than the one without the enzyme, Junn Yanagisawa at the University of Tsukuba's Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Japan told Reuters.

The same results were seen in a parallel experiment using a more aggressive line of human breast cancer cells, he added.

"Our conclusion is that we have found that CHIP protein prevents breast tumor growth and metastasis," Yanagisawa said.

Metastasis occurs when cancer spreads from its site of origin, which challenges therapy and may even result in death.

"In breast tumor treatments, measurement of the CHIP protein levels in the tumors may be valuable information for the treatment. Furthermore, designing a new therapy that increases CHIP protein levels or its activity could be useful for breast tumor treatment," Yanagisawa said.

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer, after lung cancer. In 2005, it killed 502,000 people worldwide, or almost 1 percent of all deaths.

(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn); Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.

EleanorJ

zuffa I'm so curious, who's your grand-mother? I love cooking

Colleen YEAH!!! Congrats on being done chemo, so glad you were able to finish the study.

Lisa Your daughter is beautiful, and I agree, no idea where you get the energy

Went for the bone scan today, should have the results tomorrow. I picked up my medical chart from my BS today and found a new piece of information. They retested my tumor at time of surgery for ER/PR/HER2 since they weren't sure about the biopsy results, turns out I'm really a triple negative. What exactly does it changes?

Texas357

All of this talk of food makes me wish I could enjoy it ... everything tastes salty to me. And my dry mouth isn't any better, even with a prescription mouth wash, so everything I try to eat just sticks wherever it lands in my mouth.

I had #3 out of 9 taxotere treatments yesterday. So now I'm done with the FEC (red) chemo and 1/3 of the way through with the rest. Next comes 33 rads, six months of waiting, then the exchange surgery.

Simvog: great information. Promising for the future ... sadly these things always take so much time to go from the research labs to the hospitals and clinics.

Congrats to those who are finishing their chemo! And wishin all of the rest of us fewer side effects as we progress along this journey.

Fight on ladies!

swest

Caroline, triple negative tumors are not fed by hormones (ER/PR).  So the doctors will not put you on a hormone blocker such as Tomoxifin (spelling?) after chemo.  The good news is that everything I've read says that triple negative cancer tend to respond the best to chemo.  Are you having to do rads?

Sonia

Lainey64

Caroline - I will be praying for you today and for good results from your bone scan.  I am also trip negative.  Being triple negative means our cancer cells are not receptive to hormone therapy so after chemo and radiation, there is no follow up drug for us to take such as the Tamoxifen.  Apparently, or so I've read a lot, trip neg cancer cells are very receptive to chemo.  I haven't read too much about it but I try to stay positive that there IS a reason why I'm trip negative.  I have put all my trust in my doctor's and God's hands with this!

zuffa

caroline -- Lainey64 and swest pretty much covered the basic differences between triple negative and hormone receptive positive cancers.  Triple negative is generally viewed as a more aggressive cancer-- which, oddly enough, is the reason it responds better to chemo -- it is a greedy feeder and sucks up the chemicals.  As they both said, there is no targeted follow-up therapy for us at this time -- although triple negative is a fertile area of research.  I stay as positive as I can -- of course, since I haven't had my surgery yet and know the tumor is shrinking, the response to chemo is helping me maintain a positive attitude.  There are also some differences in the recurrence timeframe between triple neg and hormone receptor positive cancers. 

On the subject of cooking, the chef was my grandfather -- not my grandmother (and he passed away many years ago -- not one of the new school -- but certainly a culinary icon).  When I get a moment, I will pm you about him (I have an aversion to putting readily identifiable personal data on these boards because of the relative ease with which they seem to be searchable on the internet -- just my point of view -- however this issue has come up in the past -- and I do know that I have actually been able to find some of my individual postings, as well as those of others, when performing an internet search using  basic terms that may have shown up in the poster's message.

Fingers crossed for your bone scan! 

lisasayers

Caroline praying for good news on the bone scans!

Today is day 6 after my final treatment.  Energy is coming back quicker than my third treatment.  I did take a day off from Zumba on Monday, but went back last night and did fine.  Still dealing with the nasty taste in my mouth...thank goodness for Tacos! LOL

My nail beds are still tender, but feeling better today as well. 

As far as I'm concerned, I have officially kicked cancers a**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 It is warm and balmy here today...but now everything is muddy!  I can't wait for Spring!

Hugs to all!

Lisa

swest

Lisa - I second that "you kicked cancers a**" !!  I am so glad you are feeling better than TX #3.  Are your nails turning colors?  I've not had nail pain but it looks like the white area is going back further in my finger.  They have not turned black or anything but the nail issues kind of freaks me out. 

Have a great day!

Lainey64

Is everyone else ready for their hair to start growing back?  That's all I've been thinking about lately.  I even had a dream about it.  It's crazy.  I haven't allowed myself to even think this way but lately it's been on my mind so much.  I think since finishing the A/C I have some idea in my head that it's going to start sprouting like crazy.  The pharmacist at my Onc center told me that I'll probably see it starting to grow so that's probably what put the idea in my head.  Anyway, just had to vent! 

EleanorJ

NORMAL bone scan WOOHOO!!! And the pain is slowly going away, so how knows what it was.

Thanks gals on the info on the triple negs. I'm actually happy not having to deal with hormones & herceptin and makes me feel better about the chemo. Not getting out of rads though

zuffa I completely understand. Internet is a great ressource, but you still have to be careful about what you put out there.

Elaine I can't remember, are you doing Taxol or Taxotere? Taxotere causes hair loss as well, but I don't think it's as harsh as AC. I heard that your body starts acting normal again when you skip your first tx. I personnaly don't expect to be able to get a haircut before the end of the summer, thinking about 2-3 years before I'm back to my old haircut. It's depressing just to think about it...

lisasayers

Hi Swest....nope the nails didn't turn color, they are actually hanging in there pretty good!  I kept putting Hard As Nails on them throughout my treatments.  Not sure if that helped at all, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

Caroline...that is AWESOME news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firni

Great news Caroline!!  I'm glad the pain is going away.

I don't expect to have any decent type of hair at least until fall.  Then I guess it comes in kind of grey at first because it's all the damaged stuff.  Eventually it will get some color and do what ever it's going to do.  But the initial hair that comes in isn't real nice.

Had Tx 4 today.  Feeling ok so far.  

How did your Tx go today DrDecker??  Did you feel me with you?????? 

BonnieK

Caroline - That's great news about the bone scan results and that your pain is going away.  You must be so relieved!

Elaine - I'm so ready for my hair to grow back, but still have one more chemo treatment so it'll be awhile before it even starts to grow.  It's something to look forward to, though!

Lisa - Glad your nails are feeling better.  It's so great that you are done with chemo -- are you going to do Tamoxifen or did you decide against it?

Texas357 - Hope your taste buds return soon.  I'm on TC and everything tastes bad for at least 10 days after every tx.

I'm fighting a cold, so am off to get some much needed rest.

lisasayers

BKokie

 I decided against Tamoxifen for me after doing my research.  I don't believe in a "one size fits all" treatment plan.  Sorry to hear you are fighting a cold...double up on that water!

My hair is growing...but I keep shaving it off! LOL  I told my daughter I just may keep it this way....so much easier to get ready in morning.  She told me..."bald is my thing Mom!"  LOL

Yes...my taste buds are always the last thing to come back!  I had to have some vanilla ice cream with ginger ale tonight to help soothe my tongue (well...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Have a good night ladies!  I'm off to the land of night sweats and cold chills!  My poor husband!

swest

Yea Caroline!  Can you see my happy dance? 

I am ready for hair too!  I'm not wearing a wig so I'm getting tired of base ball hats. Thankfully my work is understanding the appearance thing.  I keep thinking my hair is growing but it is only the gray hairs. 

Lisa, have you spoke with your Dr. about the night sweats?  I'm wondering what we can do now that we've had BC...???  Is there anything we can do?  I'm only 42 and this is going to be a long run with menopause......

Sonia

Lainey64

Caroline - I'm so happy and relieved for you!! Isn't it amazing how the pain just went away? I think stress and worry causes so much of our pain.  I also blame it on the devil!! 

I'm doing 4 rounds of Taxol.  Tomorrow is #2.  Yay!!  So far no neuropathy. I'm taking about 2 gms of L-Glutamine each day.  I hope it will help.   I guess hair falls out with Taxol too but for some reason my pharmacist thinks I might see some hair growth.  I have noticed that around my scalp towards the side of my head near my temples I'm starting to see some growth.  I don't know, I'm just ready for hair.  I'm tired of my wig.  But I have had the bug to go buy a new wig and I think I'm going to look on Saturday.  I want something short and sassy that will not go in my eyes.  I think once my hair gets to about an inch long I'm going wigless for good! 

Bonnie - I had a horrible cold last week.  My nurse told me to push the fluids big time.  I hope you feel better soon!

Firni

Simvog, that was really an interesting article.  It's too bad that it takes so long to go from hey, we found this enzyme to hey, this is how we can use this enzyme to prevent and cure.  I was going to ask Onc more about it yesterday and then I forgot.

mombos

I have heard several of you talking about having a cold.  I have a bad cold right now.  My next chemo treatment in on Feb. 19.  Will having a bad cold keep me from having my treatment if I don't get over it before then.  I don't have a fever or anything just sneezing and blowing.

 Pam

Firni

Pam, I'm pretty sure people have had Tx with colds.  They really go by WBC and fever.  If those are ok, you should be good to go.