Starting Chemo October 2009

MaryNY

Sido and Michele: Good luck today with Tx #3.

Hollycan

Wow, there have been at least 4-5 pages of new posts since I last logged on.  I've been crazy busy which is a good thing I guess becuase it keeps me from thinking about the fact that I have breast cancer (I hate saying that word).  In addition to having a 2-year-old or 5-year-old, I work full time selling wine for a living (I know lucky me right?), the holiday's are always super busy and every time I attempt to log on in my free time, one of my kids needs something or is getting into something they are not supposed to.  :-)

So I just finished reading through all of the posts (well most of them anyway) and it's nice to know that so many of you are experiencing exactly what I am.  Well it's not nice that you have to experience the SE's too (sorry we have that in common) but nice to know I am not alone.

I can't remember specifically who wrote what but thought I'd make a few notes:

My nose (and eyes) have been running constantly too.  I thought I was getting sick (both the kids and the DH have been sick on and off for weeks) but so far it hasn't gotten worse.  Guess it must be a SE from the TC.  I started doing a nasal rinse (the netti pot is a good one) everyday to clear out my sinuses and supposedly it helps keep the cold viruses at bay.  And I wash my hands about every five seconds in addition to using hand sanitizer.  My hands feel like aligator skin!

I've had a super sensitive scalp too.  My Dr. recommended benedryl for the itching and rash (I had bumps all over my entire head) and I wash my head and the little hair I have left with Cetaphil.  Feels pretty good afterwards.

My tongue feels wierd too, sort of like I burnt the whole thing eating hot food.  Am also using more salt than usual, nothing tastes like it's been seasoned enough...

As for meltdowns, I have had a few of those too.  One was at the airport security checkpoint.  I kept setting the alarm off so they were patting me down and using the security wand and my boobs kept making the alarm go off.  Long story short is that I had forgotten that the expanders have metal ports in them and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why my boobs were setting off the alarm.  They made me take off my hat so that the whole world could see my bald head - I started crying and everything.  Finally they let me go and about two minutes later I remembered the ports.  The flight home was easier at the checkpoint because I now knew to explain about the ports.  Kind of personal info to share with airport personel but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Sex?  What's that? 

Lastly, I thought that my periods had stopped because I was about 10 days late (def not pregnant!) and just yesterday got one of the heaviest period of my life.  What's that all about.

Well, this post has literally taken me about 3 hours to write becuase of all the (kiddo) interuptions but happy to be able to check in with y'all and send you my best wishes and postive thoughts.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday!

Holly 

txstardust

Piffken, treating depression for me is a little different, since I have bipolar I I can't take the traditional antidepressants as they push me into mania.  I take a medication called Lamictal and another called Abilify.  After trying MANY different medications over the years, these seem to help the most.  If you've had success with Lexapro before, I would talk to the doc about going back on that - it's bad enough to be dealing with the bc and everything that goes with it, there's no reason to risk a depression on top of that.

OK, time for another nap!  Hope everyone is doing well... 

DebbiD

Completed round three of Avastin/Taxotere two days before Thanksgiving.  Side effects kick in on day 3 so my husband and I enjoyed having in our home 2 of our 3 children and their spouses and 4 grandchildren.  A BLESSING!

When they tried to access my portacath this time, they discovered it had flipped over.
  All of the nurses gathered around and no one wanted to try to flip it back. They wanted to put  an IV in my arm but I reasoned that since the portcath flipped on its own, couldn't they just flip it back - I mean they do that with babies in the womb, surely they can do that with this little old porta cath. ('Course, babies aren't stitched in...)  They didn't want to cause me any pain- come on, I'm tough!
 Finally God sent an angel nurse over and she just flipped that baby back into place and we were good to go. 

 Today, I noticed the portacath has flipped again - I have an app't with the surgeon in a week.  Has anyone had this problem?  Until now, I have LOVED my portacath!

joanneasiata

HI ladies

Holly wow you must have your hands full good to hear from you , i don't know how you do it  having small children ,a full time job ,AND doing chemo wow i take my hat to you and all the other mums with small children .Ive been Babbie sitting my 2 granddaughters the last two days  one day each and I'm not working and I'm wrecked  .

Hope all goes smoothly for everyone doing TXs now  ,a really big hug for all of you.I'm a bit worried about my veins i have an IV for my chemo and last time they had trouble getting a vein ,and taking bloods is getting harder as well, my arm has been sore as well ,my veins on my hands usually are very raised like Angelina Joelie's(the only thing we share unfortunately)  they look like the have collapsed you Carnot see them ,keeping my fingers crossed  that they'll hang in there  till the end 4 more to go .

On depression my doctor gave me zoloft a very mild dose to help me through this , it seems to help well ill see in a week or two

have a great weekend ladies hugs to all.

JOJO

unklezwifeonty

Hi Jo, Debbi, TX, Holly, Mary, and all the other lovely gals,

Hope you had a good thanksgiving with family and friends!

Sido

Thank you Onty and Mary and everyone for your good wishes.  TX #3 went smoothly today, and other than some persistent indigestion, I'm feeling okay.  I finally saw my onco in person (usually NPs) and she said that the rash on my face and hands was from the taxotere.  I also learned that I do not have the BRCA mutation, which I have mixed feelings about.  Being triple negative, the only options I seem to have are just chemo and radiation, and a 70% chance of recurrance.  If I had the mutation, I could have convinced my insurance to cover a double mastectomy and reduced my chances to 1 or 2%.  If I had known before my lumpectomy that I was triple negative, I would have done it that way initially. 

I guess I've got some of that depression that's going around. 

Be well, Sido

Piffken

Hi ladies,

It is always so nice to see that I'm not alone (and unfortunate that any of us have to be here) and these side effects are not just my personally owned ones.  

txstardust - Wow, you have a lot to deal with with all these mental health problems on top of bc. How do you do it and how are your other symptoms while you're going through chemo?

MaryNY -  thank you for updating my smileys and always keeping track of everyone elses. Our board ist starting to look pretty good. Soon the smiley faces will outweigh the sad ones. Almost ready for round 4, the time has gone by so fast. Wish I could stick with the dd for the Taxotere part but unfortunately that does not seem to be an option.

Sido - how is the Taxotere going for you? I will be starting on it in about 4 weeks, have one more round of AC left - I'm getting a little nervous. How is the neuropathy and the hairloss (brows and lashes)?

Take care all of you and enjoy the rest of this weekend. I hope everyone is feeling decent and for those of you that just had thei rtreatments - I hope the SE's will be minimal. Hugs, Piffken

           

micheleboots

Mary,  I keep forgetting to mention this, but I talked to my Dr. and she informed me I would only be getting FEC for the firts three treatments and then Txt.  I had originally thought I was getting 6 FEC.  Must have been the Chemo brain...Man I love that excuse, I use it often...

Holly,  My periods have gone out of wack as well.  My first was 10-12 days,  With some of the days being super heavy.  I just started my second, yah me..

Michele

snuziq

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving.  Thus far mine has been pretty good.  Thursday was spent with the In-laws and all I had to do was make broccoli cheese rice casserole and sweet potatoes.  My husband had a pecan pie recipe he wanted to try so he made the pies.   The funny thing is his older brother basically asked him to let me make the pecan pie from now on; he said something about Victor's being edible but not likable. 

 Yesterday, the kids and I spent the day with my best friend's family playing games and eating leftovers.  It was fun and not much work.  The best part is it kept me from even contemplating the shopping crowds!  Today, I am cooking for the last of our Thanksgiving feasts as we go to my parents tomorrow.   I'm thinking I am thankful to have so much family!   They really are good to me and would be fine if I decided that "Mrs. Smith" or "Sara Lee" was making the desserts.

On the chemo front, I have been very lucky.  Other than a runny nose and being a bit tired I haven't had any issues once the pain of days 3-9 went away.  It was only really bad for about 3 or 4 days so I guess it could have been worse.   I did think for about a week that I was as bald as I was going to get since the hair seemed to stop falling out.  Unfortunately, it started coming out again earlier this week so my stubble is spotty; if that's the worst then it's not too bad.  Of course I go in for treatment #4 this week so my good feeling may be short lived. 

Luckily, I have just had the occasional crying day like Marie or Michelleboots so no real depression here.  Those of you that have been experiencing it, PLEASE contact your doctor.  We want you to feel as well as possible to battle this cancer.

Oh MaryNY, due to scheduling, my 4th treatment will be Friday, rather than Wednesday this week.  The change works in my favor as I have tickets to a concert Thursday and I will feel well for my company's holiday party on Saturday! 

ReneeJean - I will still be mentally at chemo with you on Wednesday.

Well, I guess those pies won't make themselves.  Everyone have a great weekend!

MaryNY

Hi all: sun is shining here today, though it's colder and windy. But my mood seems to have changed again with the weather. Days 4 and 5 are definitely rough for me on AC. But now I've turned the corner again.

Glad to see so many more smiley faces on the roll call as we all gradually make our way through the treatments. 

valeriekd

Mary Thank you for keeping track of this all, you are saint! Valerie

unklezwifeonty

Dear Sido,

70% of recurrence with Stage I? No way. Please ask your onco to give you the proper historical statistics pertaining to your profile. I'd guess 70% risk of NON-Recurrence before chemo and 85% with chemo.

Also, if you have still not had radiation your insurance would still pay for double mastectomy and reconstruction. If you are really keen on it, push for it. BUT PLEASE get the right statistics for your profile.

Piffken

Hi unklezwifeonty,

That's what I thought when I saw the posting. I'm a stage II with a 4.5 cm tumor and was told that after chemo there is a 80% chance it won'r recur (sounds better than 20% of recurrence). So that didn't sound right tome either but where did you get the actual statistics as I was unable to find anything and was told by my oncologist. I would like to know what my chances of recurrence are with or without lymph node involvement as I had to have chemo first to shrink the tumor then surgery - so I don't know if any lymph nodes were ever involved? Thanks Piffken.   

jeanl151

thank you Onty for clearing the percentage thing up. I read that post and my heart skipped a bit. (Sido- I understand how you can mix up all this info - I have a hard time keeping it all straight. 

Onty, you and I have similar diagnosis and I pay close attention to the info you post. It helps me stay well informed....thank you for all the work you do to get the information.

  -Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving as best they could.  My family and I had a nice day. It was nice that I had an excuse to take a nap late in the day.  I think I used the cancer card cause truely every Thanksgiving I can use a nap at 4 p.m. : )

take care girls, Jean

MarieK

Hi All!

Another rainy & cold day here on the West Coast!

I am still in pjs and loving my lazy morning today although I'll have to get dressed at some point because we are going to a party tonight and I need to prepare an appetizer.  I've got a great recipe for proscuitto with borsin wrapped around blanced asparagus spears - to serve broil for a few minutes to crisp the proscuitto and melt the cheese.  YUMMY!!!

JoJo- I use my hand veins for my pre-chemo bloodwork.  I wear a glove on the way to the lab and then keep my hand under my arm to keep it warm while I wait.  It really helps to keeps the veins popped up!  Because it's getting colder here I bought some of those hand warmers (for skiers) and intend to put that in my glove for this week's bloodwork.

Sido - I've had terrible heartburn and indigestion this round too.  I found that Malox liquid really helps.  Mine is especially bad at night and so I take some before I go to bed and it works for me.

Holly - thanks for the heads up on the TE setting off the metal detectors at the airport.  I don't have them (yet) but will be doing some travelling next year during recon and will have to remember to let them know when I go through security.  I was worried about the metal clips in my wig setting off alarms and had visions of having to remove it in the airport. Sorry you had to go through that.  I'll have to remember to wear my hat through security and put my wig in my purse for when I go through the metal detector.

As for me I am doing ok except for a couple of issues. 

Mouth Sores - Despite the constant rinsing with Biotene I have developed a few mouth sores.  I've got a couple of sore bumps in the roof of my mouth and then some gum tenderness on the bottom outside.  I think the gum soreness is from the Walnuts I ate in my salad.  I have some cuts and I think chewing the nuts may have done that. I've been using Kanka on them and that seems to be helping to alleviate the pain and make them heal faster.

Dizziness- I've been feeling kind of lightheaded lately. Almost like vertigo whenever I get up.  I've experienced this before and it was attributed to my low blood pressure.  Not sure why it's come back again.

Tired Eyes - I'm having some trouble seeing up close (worse than usual) and getting my eyes to focus.  I was 1.50 and now am up to 2.0+ on my reading glasses.  My eyes are really dry and I've been using the Tears eye drops but it doesn't seem to be helping.

I started to get a runny nose and deep chest cough earlier this week so I turned to my trusty Cold FX and did the 3 pills 2 x on Monday, 2 pills 2x on Tuesday, 1 pill 2x on Wednesday and that stopped it from developing into anything (actually got rid of it).  Gotta love that Cold FX!!  It really works for me!

As for the periods mine have stopped completely.  The last 2 I had during chemo were horribly long and heavy.  I could hardly leave the house on some days.  Good riddance - I don't miss them at all....

Well I should get showered and dressed and get on with my day!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs!

Marie

txstardust

Piffken, I've been dealing with the bipolar since I was 19 years old, almost 18 years now.  I've had to learn to pay close attention to my emotional state, and to be proactive rather than reactive.  I think those lessons served me well when I was faced with the BC diagnosis.  I researched, read, talked to people, got second opinions - tried to make rational, thought-out decisions.  That doesn't mean I haven't made any mistakes, of course, but I've tried to come at this with the right approach and the right attitude.

SnuziQ - I think Mrs. Smith/Sara Lee are GREAT pie chefs!  Isn't it great to have families that are willing to cut us some slack?  Even though we'd love to do everything we used to do, we've got to give ourselves a break, too.

I went to try on my wedding dress today after having it altered.  It looked great - until I turned around and saw that a thread had gotten pulled in the back!  So I had to try on another of the same dress and am having that one altered.  As I was standing there in front of the mirror, I got this sudden "hot" feeling, and just about fainted!  Waves of nausea, and my hands were all shaky.  I guess I should have eaten something for breakfast.  It's just hard to put food in my mouth when I'm afraid it won't stay in there!

Well, have a great Saturday everyone!

Peace....

Shelby 

unklezwifeonty

Dear Piffken, Jean, Sido,

Ask the oncologist to share the output from Adjuvant! Online. It is a single sheet of paper that shows recurrence over next 10 years with or without chemo.

lainieo

Marie  My  doctor gave me a prescription for Magic Mouthwash for mouth sores. I haven't had to use it yet, but she did give me a prescription for it. I also feel lightheaded and dizzy days 5-7. I am not sure why. I was wondering if it was coming off the sterioids or something else. Have fun at your party.

Mary glad you are feeling better. I can definitley relate to days 4 and 5 and then feeling better after. 

  Feeling good today except for the irregular stomach. This happened last time.

We are off to a birthday party as well.

If anyone is starting to feel like they are getting a cold I use a herbal remedy called Umkca. I buy it at Whole Foods. It really works. If I feel a cold coming on I take it immediately and haven't gotten a bad cold.It is expensive $14.00 for a bottle, but it has always worked for me and my family.

unklezwifeonty

Dear Marie,

You write such long nice juicy posts. I have to learn that from you.

Dear Shelby,

Good luck with the new dress.

Dear Iainieo,

I second the efficacy of umkca. It has worked wonders for me too in the past.

micheleboots

lainieo,  I have good things about this umkca.  I had a friend from CO that loved it...

I get light headed from time to time as well, as wellI feel my eyes go out of focus..I blame it on chemo.

Michele

Enjoyful

Marie and lainie - I sucked on ice chips during treatments 2 & 3 and it drastically reduced the mouth sore I got from treatment (taxotere and cytoxan).  Not sure if it would work with your treatments, but maybe it's worth a try?

I ended up going to a nighttime clinic last night because the phlebitis in my arm turned into cellulitis.  Has anybody had this??  The dr prescribed augmentin and told me to go to the hospital if it isn't better within 48 hours or of it starts to get worse.  Slight improvement this morning, but now back to where I started.  No hospital.  I do not want to go to there!

one-L

Piffken, I am doing TC and have 2 tx so far.  I still have my lashes and brows.  I also have not lost all my head hair, even though I keep it shaved, it is still hanging in there.  I also have not had any neuropathy.  I am tolerating the Taxotere very well, very few SEs, so we will see what tx 3 is like next week. 

enjoyful, sorry to hear about your arm.  Luckily, I have had not problems with my arm, so I can't help you with suggested treatments.  Hope it gets better soon and you don't have to go to the hospital.

shelby, it is not long now  until  the wedding.  I know you are excited.  Keep us updated and be sure to post some pictures.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We had about 25 people come to our house for Thanksgiving.  I cooked the turkey, ham and sweet potatoes and everything is was done my someone else.  I have so many leftovers, I don't know what I will do with most of them.  There is way too much for the two of us to eat.  My son and his family came and stayed until today.  I hated to see them go, my grand baby is 7 months old and she just loves her Maw Maw.  She doesn't allow them to hold her for her to go to sleep, but she will let  me rock  her forever and she just sleeps and sleeps.  My kind of baby.

This was my good weekend, you know the one right before the next tx.  I go next Friday for tx #3, wooohooo.  I still get tired easily, but in general can make it through the day without a nap.

All of you that I didn't mention, I have not forgotten you and hope you are all doing well and will have a restful Sunday.

Juannelle

valeriekd

Wow everyone is so different- its amazing that this stuff works at all. I am aslo dizzy for 2-6 days or more and for about 2-3 days feel like my lower body is one big toothache. I am amazed 1L at your stamina! I could not do that if you paid me yet last time I thru a small b-day party on day 6 or 7- one day at a time I guess.

And Shelby just kudos to you for getting married! This Ca thing ain't beaten you girls down - makes me as weak as  kitten at times but I just have to curl up.

GOOD LUCK for you gals facing enfusion this week - my thoughts and prayers are with you!

Love, Valerie 

JustmeAlicia

Marie ~ I hope you had fun at your party last evening !  I too have a cold.  Will have to look for that cold fx ~  my eyes are doing the opposite, tearing and running. (as if I don't cry enough !)

Juanelle ~ you amaze me.  I am glad you are feeling good !!!  TX # 3 this week, and then woo HOO just 1 more for YOU ~~

Shelby ~ I too love love love that you are getting married.  You are such an inspiration.

Valerie ~ I tend to have a bit more SE's like you, but keep plugging along as best as I can.  I have been doing some Christmas shopping, gotta love stores with shopping carts.  (I use it more like a walker - thank you TARGET! )  LOL

Treatment # 3 for me tomorrow.  UGH !

Have a great day girls.  Good luck to anyone having treatment this week ~~

Alicia

Scoobydoo

Hi  ladies.

MaryNY- Had 2nd taxol tx on Friday...can you please update my smilies.  Thank you so much for doing this.

Onty- thank you so much for responding to Sidos concerns.  I agree that those numbers do not sound right.  Plus triple negatives respond better to chemo than other types. 

Well I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of energy.  I am still high on decadron but unfortunately the bone and joint pain is starting to kick in.  I will start my percocet regime today adn then eventually level it off in the next couple of days to motrin.  Yesterday we decorated the whole house for Christmas and it is stunning.  I have a little tingling in my fingers but last time that went away after a few days.  I am still taking B6 and L glutamine for the neuropathy.

I am wishing all the ladies a SE free rest of the weekend.  I can see the finish line.

Anita

CAtharsis

Hello all,

Was absent for a week, you ladies are posting a lot... having a hard time to keep track.

While looking for Adjuvant Online, I found this one, www.lifemath.net/cancer/breastcancer/outcome/index.php

Any thoughts? Being an accountant, I do rely on numbers but still, I am working hard on beating the odds.

Piffken: I am starting Taxotere this week. Will post next week-end to disclose SE... To be honest, the unknown scares me a lot and I will be a nervous wreck until Thursday.

 To everyone, the energy is good on this thread and makes me feel great.

 Good luck to everyone getting Tx this week and courage to those fighting SE's.

 

Hollycan

JOJO, I read in your post that you are having trouble with your veins.  Mine are also Angelina Jolie'ish and they are still hanging in there after two treatments (my third one is Wednesday).  I drink a ton of water on a daily basis (probably at least 60-80 ounces) and I think this helps with the veins alot.  In fact the nurses at the chemo clinic said to drink a lot of water before blood draws and before the infusions and they put a heating pad on the infusion site before they stick the needle in.  If you are not doing this already then maybe this will help you.

Best wishes to all of you.  P.S. Thanks for the suggestions for cold prevention/remedies.  I finally succumbed to one of the colds that my kids and DH have had and will try one of these to help with the symptoms.

Cheers!

Holly 

Piffken

Hello ladies,

I can't believe this long weekend is almost over. Not looking forward to getting everyone off to school and going into work tomorrow - it was a nice break and I get tired just thinking about the coming week.

CAtharsis -  thank you for offering to post on the taxotere, like you I'm nervous with anything new. I was the same way with the AC but know what to expect with it now. Looks like I will have my last AC treatment the same day you will have your first taxotere (Thursday of this week) then onto taxotere for me, too. Thank you for posting the link, I will definitely check it out.

oneL - hopefully I will be able to tolerate it as well as you did. Great to know that not all of us lose their lashes and brows on this stuff. Like you, I never lost all my hair and what remains, seems to be there to stay. I'm finishing up AC next Thursday and it looks like it is hanging on for dear life. Not enough to go without a wig or head covering though but a very evenly spread very thin layer of hair remains.

unklezwifeonty - thank you for posting on the recurrence research. I will definitely ask my Onco when I see her on Wednesday. Should be interesting to see.

txstardust -I feel pretty bad for you having to deal with so much from such a young age but it sounds like you have the symptoms under control and have a great positive attitude about it. Looks like you are taking the right approach, I can imagine the help this has given you in dealing with the bc diagnosis, I think most of us felt just completely overwhelmed and like our lives were temporarily taken out of  our control. Can't wait to see the pics  of your wedding - you must be so excited.

     

joanneasiata

HOLLY-------Thanks for that, i do try and drink about 2 liters of water a day and they also do the heat pad on my arm .Oh well ill just wait and see i suppose there are a lot of other places thats up for a jab

TXSTARDUST-------- I think  your amazing as well

JUANNELL---------isn't it the best thing being a Nanny you must of had the best thanks giving and had been very thankful for all of your family being with you  .Ive been really been thinking over this week end about thanksgiving ,we don't celebrate it here but i wish we did cause this year with the whole cancer scare Ive been thinking a lot on the things that I'm most thankful for and i think it is good to have a day when everyone can get together and let each other know that they are thankful for them being in our lives ,oh i can feel the tears coming.Now we have to get ourselves ready for our cocktails on Friday I'm having mine with some  home made choc chip cookies ! 4 more sleeps to go.

MARY ----MICHELLE ----CATHARSIS ___ You girls are doing fec to ,hey hows your eye lashes and your eye brows going ,mine have thinned out will we loose them on fec? oh boy i hope not i don't want to look like an alien .

WELL 4 more sleeps to go till my next cocktail

Big cuddles to all of you

JOJO