Starting CMF next week

Jojogal123

Hi All - I am starting CMF next week. I will have it once every two weeks with for 16 weeks (8 treatments) with a "booster shot" of something the following day (can't remember what it is). My question is this - I am having the chemo Thursday afternoon - can I expect to work that Friday? How bad will those weekends be? I have plans for many of the (summer) weekends. Is it crazy to think that I can keep them? I have perused the boards quite a bit and so appreciate all the advice.

On a side note, I had planned to get a juicer for unrelated reasons and am now compelled to order one!

Just heard back today that lymph nodes were negative and am happy to be able to start this chemo soon. I figure the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends!

curveball

@Jojogal123, there's a long-running thread about CMF over here. You'll find others who are doing or have done CMF, with tips & support for getting through this part of your treatment.

Maureen1

(((Jojogal123))) so glad to hear your nodes were negative! Yes...getting started with chemo is one less thing to stress about...I had dose dense chemo which is the very 2 week cycles that you will be getting. Not sure if you will have the same drugs? I had Cytoxan and Adriamycin in the first 4 cycles then Taxol in the last 4 cycles. There are some great boards on chemo and I am sure you will find lots of wisdom and support there...in the meantime I'll respond to the questions you asked...I went to work in the morning then I had chemo on Weds afternoon - it  took about 3 - 5 hours, the Taxol took the longest time because they had to give me meds to prevent allergic reactions and they had to run the infusion fairly slow. I took off the day after chemo - Thursdays, but was able to work from home and was able to go to work on Fridays without too much difficulty although I was tired and had meds to take for the side effects. Every Friday evening I go to dinner (date night) with my DH and I didn't miss one of those during chemo either. The shot they give the day after chemo is Neulasta - it worked really well for me. It is a drug to stimulate your bone marrow to bring your blood count up. My white cell count went way down after chemo but came back up and I didn't get any infections or problems with bleeding, etc. The only caution for you with the juicer is that you might lose your sense of taste and smell or it might change...mine did and things I used to love smelled awful and tasted wierd so I just couldn't eat them. Fresh veggies and salads were hard to digest - my GI tract just couldn't handle it and my stomach would get nauseated and bloated but...not to worry, that all came back to normal in a few months after I finished... So many of us have gotten thru chemo and we can share lots of tips, you're not alone...(((Hugs))) Maureen

Jojogal123

Thanks so much, ladies. I start tomorrow! @Maureen, will look at thread! Thanks!!