Taxotere/Cytoxan starting July 2011

FrancesC

Snoopy glad you are feeling betterr. It's amazing how one day can be the pits and the next day, the body functions again. Rossielo- all the way, after next week, you have 1 more to go. Yippee!

Snoopy73

Frances - my thoguhts and prayers are with you and your family. I can just imagine what you are going through. I dont know what to say to make it better, just know that i will be praying for you & your dad. My dad is also not very well, he is 80, he had prostate cancer 10 yrs ago and was treated for it, looks like its creeping back so he has not been well and the worse thing is he is sooo far away from me. I am in the US and he is in East Africa, me and my family were planning to go and see him and my mom this year but after i was diagnosed we had to postpone the trip. He knows that i have BC and am going thru chemo, he's always calling/texting me to check on me. My sisters were there this summer they just got back but its not the same getting a 2nd hand info. I am the last born of 7 kids so i have always been his little girl, he was heart broken when he heard that i had BC, but i keep reassuring him that i am okay and in good hands. Take care and pray hard, God does not give us trials without knowing that we can overcome them.  Warm hugs from me. Say hi to ur girls:-)

Smithy

Great posting thread! I'm on day 15 of my first treatment. I don't have any real side effects going on at the moment. I have been feeling more manic than is usual for my personality. This is good and bad. I did have a hard time during days 4 - 6. I have no memory of those 3 days. I can not recall conversations, spending two nights at my parents' , or a supposed cleaning spree.

Scary.

My brother, an oncologist, believes it was a bad reaction to my anti nausea medication, Lorazepan - generic for Ativan. I stopped taking it - much better.



As far as hair goes I opted for shaving my head. My boyfriend is military - so he shaved my head. He loves it. He thinks it looks really sexy. Which only makes me wonder about his last 6 mo out at sea. Lol kidding. How I look at it - I live where the Navy SEALS train. There are tons of bald people being mentally and physically pushed daily where I live...So I'm not alone with sporting my new look .:)



I guess with the bald head and the new bigger breasts - the look I'm going for is that of a sci-fi character.:)

FrancesC

Thanks so much Snoopy for the encouragement. Not a day goes by that I don't cry when I think of my dad. He told my siblings his only wish is for me to recover and I think my diagnosis hit him hard too. I am bracing myself for the worst and praying that dad accepts Christ as his saviour so that he will go in peace. Our good Lord has been holding me up with strength to fight this battle and I pray for the same strength for him. I tried talking to him over the phone but he is so drugged and tired he can't hear me. I pray for your Dad too, praying that there is minimal suffering.

I went off my handle with my gals yesterday too. The biggie is having her term tests and she was playing instead of studying and messing up her study room. The younger one was trying to do her homework in the big mess they created. Got upset so fast, screamed as much as could but was weak from Monday's chemo, so called up DH at work to get them to fix the mess. You did very well by explaining to them at bedtime and making them feel much better. Hugs to your lil ones! We will be with them for a long time to come....

rossileo18

Frances -- so sorry to hear that your father's condition has worsened and that you are unable to see him. And snoopy, how difficult It must be to be so far away. My father died of cancer two years ago and although I tried to visit as frequently as I could, i felt so bad that I could not see him more during his final days. Hugs to you both. Stay strong so that your fathers can rest assured that you are getting well.

FrancesC

Received sister's call yesterday saying dad was slipping away. DH rushed me down to hospital and I saw dad who was very happy to see me. I told him I have recovered and he was happy. Was a roller coaster yesterday and last night dr rang late to say they want to try a last treatment and if he pulls through it will help him. We are praying for the best now that he is undergoing treatment for the next 5 days. Thank you all for your encouragement and well wishes.

theatercat

Its 1:00 am the night before first chemo.cytoxan and doxorubicin. Scared stiff!! Only had mt port in since last tuesday. Afraid its not 'secure'. I am obcessing about it all. Oncologists office said to plan on 4 hrs. for first visit. Port is still very tender. Any feed back will be appreciated. I will be checking all night for I can't sleep. Thanks Amy

FrancesC

Suggests you ask nurse to give you a local anesthetia for port access. You will feel the prick of injection and after that it numbs the area and takes the anxiety away from the first stick into port. I used emla cream too but not much effect.

Paintingmywaythru

theatercat.......  not knowing what is coming was far worse for em that the actual chemo itself. I don't have a port but I was terrified and then the nurses were so caring and supportive and stayed with em for several parts of the treatment. They will take good care of you. They pump you full of steroids and benedryl so that you are on a buzz for a few days and it helps get though the first part of it but nearly everyone hten gets some side effects...lots can be treated by  your oncoloigsit so call, speak up, notice every little thing and check in with them. Even the nurses will talk with you about what is going on if you have SE's later and help make suggestions.  Will be thinking of you this AM...it can be one of the scariest rides of your life but you will get through it.

Snoopy ..so glad you are feeling better. I am at day 4 with the post chemo flu like syndrome...wish the  days good drift by in sleep. My husband took my son off to college today so we wereup at 5:00AM getting ready. I wish I could have gone but parents weeknd is at the end of September.

Anonymous

 

Frances
- so sorry about your father's condition. It is good you were able to see him and show him that you are better.  I continue to hide my condition from my mother-in-law, since she is dying of ovarian cancer.  I do not think she has much longer.  She is more and more confused, and my husband and I just try to be friendly and supportive over the phone and with Skype.  My husband will likely have to go to France soon to deal with a funeral and his father without me. 

I know it is impossible to say something that makes any of this any better, but my thoughts really are with you and I am sending you a big hug! 

Theatercat - as Frances and Painting say - let the nurses know how nervous you are and they will talk you through the process and keep you calm.  My nurses are good to me and they  know that we are all scared and worried at times.  The other thing is that for the first infusion (and in my case even the second) they will go at a very slow rate of speed (ml/hour) to be sure that you tolerate the drugs and do not have any allergic reaction.  You will be fine!  Just relax. 

Snoopy - glad you are getting better!

Welcome Smithy! You are much braver than I am.  Good for you that you embrace the baldness.  I am still combing my hair out daily and wearing bandanas to cover the growing bald spots.  I am at day 16 of cycle 2; I must be in denial!

Hi Rossileo and Painting!

Hi everybody else too!

Wishing all less SEs.

FrancesC

Phillybird sorry to hear about your mother in law too. Old age sucks and old age with cancer sucks even more. My prayers and thoughts go out to you and family too during this difficult time.

Susan how does it feel with your son going away to college? It will be a long time more for my gals but I think I will be very sad. As it is they are growing up so fast. I just put the gals to bed and my little one told her sister as a matter of factly that mummy needs to rest 100% so that mummy will recover. So sweet. Looking at them, I tell myself the fight is all worth it!

ANA_424

I've been posting and keeping track of many of you over on the general July 2011 Chemo thread, but I do read this one, too. Just wanted to take a moment to tell FrancesC that I am so sorry about what you are going through with your father. Mine died 5 years ago this month and it is such a hard thing. The only way I could describe it is that the world became a different place without him in it.

I am glad you were able to see each other and hope that the treatments work and you get a lot more time with him. It sounds as if he is very proud of you and loves you very much.

Snoopy73

Frances - I am sorry for all that you are going through. Glad you went to see your dad, i bet you feel a little better now after seeing him and talking to him than before. I am praying that meds that he is on now works and he pulls through. Sending you a hug:-)

rossileo18

Theatercat/Amy,

By now you should be finished with your first chemo. How did it go? As others have said, the anticipation is so hard the first time, since you have done nothing like this before. Hoping that you have minimal SE.



Frances -- so happy that you were finally able to see your father. Hoping that he can pull through with this last treatment.



Phillybird,

I too am still hanging on with the last wisps of my hair. I think it's about 90% gone but those last strands are very stubbornly hanging on. So I'm covering up the bald parts with hats and caps and some people don't even realize there's anything wrong! So sorry about your mother-in-law. Hugs to you and your husband too. Must be hard for him to have to deal with cancer on two different fronts.

FrancesC

Thank you all for the comfort. Yes I feel much better that I saw him and we are praying for miracle of healing now. It's time like this that I question why I didn't spend more time with him, why was I mean to him when he couldnt hear me, why didn't I bring him for a holiday why why why.



I am also hanging on to my little bit of hair, mainly my fringe and I wear caps to cover the bald patches. I look like a monk with hair on the sides only:)

theatercat

Well I cried after done with pre-meds. Then came the IV push and I lost it. The nurse was very nice and kept telling me this going to save your life. I was fine till about 7:00 pm. Called dr. nausea was terrible even with meds. Could not sleep because of stomach cramps. Glands are swollen and have feel like when I had morning sickness 30 years ago. I get my neulasta shot at noon. Hope it goes well.

theatercat

I made it through. Had bad nausea starting in the evening.Alot of stomch cramping. It was strange, from the time I left to the early evening I felt great. Maybe going for a quick walk and to the store did me in. Going to get neulasta this afternoon. Thanks again,Amy

FrancesC

Sorry to hear about the SEs theatercat. Just tell yourself, all these will go away soon. I find exercising helps. I feel worst lying down whole day, so just muster your energy and walk around the house, get fresh air and breathe.

Anonymous

TheaterCat - so sorry it did not go so well.  Frances is right - a little walking and exercise will be good for you.  Lying down might just make the room spin more, so try propping up your head and watch a funny movie.  Make sure you drink a lot of water and eat small amounts of foods like sweet potatoes and crackers.  You want to be well hydrated, and to eat a certain amount of fiber so you won't get plugged up from the steroids (they tend to make you constipated - if you are not careful).  The steroids will also make you feel like the energizer bunny - so I recommend using that - when the nausea has passed - and try to tire yourself out during your good/steroid high day, so you will sleep well at night.  Remember to breathe and relax - it is not going to help if you worry and ruminate about what might go wrong next.  Just deal with what is now.

Hope you feel better soon.

theatercat

anyone suffering from alot of belching after chemo,also stillhaving upset stomach, even after compazine.

FrancesC

Yes, it's part of the chemo. I had my #4 chemo on Monday and I am still having gas and lack of appetite today. It's been 5 days. I take zofran for the first 3 days only as it gives me headache.

Paintingmywaythru

theater cat...it can be brutal at first but take meds, try to get lots and lots of hydration..even senekot if you need it and keep track of your symptoms....lots of very yucky side effects but truly they will pass.Also the neulasta can give you bone pain..soem of us take naproxen and a lortadine before hand....others may have soem advice on that.

Everyone..I see my blood work is similar but my LDH is high 695...anyone have that?

My total protein is low too.

My RBC is 3.48, my HGb is 10.0 and my HCT is 30.2. Might expalin why I get breathless walking up stairs and taking walks.

My 5 part differential was off to but jsut by a little but my lymphocyte were very low 5.4...any adivce.

We got back from Rhode Island at 12:30 last night..Were batoning down the hatches.

Phillybird...I have funny wisps around the edges of my head... trimmed them down form the long ones they were. thought they would go but I look like a funny baby.

Smithy...how weird about the ativan...total memory loss. I have taken it to sleep and I think it barely works for me.

Snoopy 73...hope you are doing OK. I did get my bilateral breast MRI approved after having a long discussion with the surgeon that it would be unlikely to be approved and it would stress me out.

Got a lot of provisions ready for the posible hurricane here. Made a huge pot of chili although it is not tasty to me. Orange juice tastes like grease...odd....

Anyway have to make a painting for delivery to a show tomorrow or Monday so must get started.

Got a text from my son who jsut went off to college Thursday...said "I love it here. great house." so all is well.

rossileo18

Theatercat,



Sorry for late response. No access to site for a day. Well, you made it through one and so you can do it again! You just have to keep thinking this is just a bump (well maybe a hill) in the road that you have to get over before you can go on with life.

The chemo always bothers my digestion, but for me it's more like a pit in my stomach. Even though sometimes I don't feel like eating, I make sure that I do, because I've been losing weight and want to make sure my body gets the nourishment it needs. All the stress, both mental and physical really takes a toll on your body. Take it day by day and eventually you should start feeling more normal.

FrancesC

Dad left us this morning. Rest in peace Dad! No more body suffering.

Paintingmywaythru

Dear Frances,

So sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Anonymous

Dear Frances,

So sorry to hear about your father.  I am thinking of you.  You are strong.  Know that your father was loved and had a great family to support him.

Robin

rossileo18

Frances,

I have been thinking about your father these past few days. So sorry to learn that he is no longer with you in body, but he will live in your hearts forever. Take comfort in all your good memories and gain strength from your family to help you get through these sad times.

ANA_424

I'm so sorry to hear the news Frances. You will be in my thoughts.

Ann

FrancesC

Thank you all! We are all terribly saddened but take comfort that he went peacefully after giving his last words to mum Even at his last breath he reminded mum to tell my sister to watch over me. I promised him just now that I will remain positive and strong and kick this cancer $ss out of my system and hence he didnt need to worry and can get on his way. He will always be in our hearts. He was a great dad and granddad and he took very good care of all of us.

theatercat

Thanks so much. Bad bad day yesterday. Last of dry heaves at 11:00 pm. Zantac helped alot. Today feel washed out. Nurse called  in Ativan,seems to help better than compazine. Going to try some toast. Hope this does not last  till next time. I believe I need better anti nausea drug,like Zofran.Fells like morning sickness all over again! Amy