Starting Chemo in March 2014

Jenwith4kids

Those of you having mouth sores - are you sucking on ice pops during the adriamyacin infusion?   The nurses told me that since they have been giving out ice pops during the infusion they incidence of mouth sores has all but disappeared.  My infusion takes two ice pops...

Big hugs, lgoldie!

Jen

lgoldie

Shoot, no.    Good news is IM DONE with AC.  Wonder if Taxol is gonna be the same way?  One of the onc nurses told me yesterday that she has only seen one Taxol reaction and they switched her to something else.  A bit scary

MJHJAN1014

I am so sorry to hear of all of these damn SEs everyone is dealing with, and job woes, and migraines. That stinks. I received my third TC infusion today, with one more on May 7th. I have been pretty fortunate so far. I am hoping not to have cement packed sinuses this time around due to using a steroid nasal spray and sudafed. I expect to be pretty achy and fatigued Sat. evening and Sunday and Monday. It is unfair to have things stink at work, and screw ups with disability. I mean, this is frickin' breast cancer folks, get it together for your employees….hoping everyone can get some enjoyment from spring weather! I live in Maine, and we got 2 inches of snow last night. Ugh!

P.S. On the way home from chemo, I always stop at Trader Joes and buy myself two bouquets of flowers for a pick me up….

alycallie

lgoldie: my experience with taxol has been good. My counts have always been perfect...and side effects very minimal. Never had mouth sores. I think most of my trouble comes from the steroid!

xrayalli: have you lost your eyebrows/eyelashes? My hair fell out after 4th taxol but is already growing back. I don't have to shave though...anywhere! I like that part of it!

alycallie

Can someone add me to the Facebook group? Please and TIA

alycallie

Jodi040812:

Great to hear from you. I know you must be really excited to be almost done. Did you have any nausea with AC?

Jodi040812

allycallie-  not if I took my medicine like they said.  Just had another person in town get dx.  I told her it is not as horrible as you think.  The same for you!  You can totally do this;). 

Xrayalli

Alycallie-I think my eyebrows are thinning, my eyelashes are hanging on. I go for my 6th Taxol tomorrow. The hair on my head I have shaved/buzzed, I have bald spots now. I will private message my FB name, if you friend me I can add you to the FB group!

MJHJAN2014-I live in Maine, too, what the heck is up with 62 degree weather one day and snow the next....

maryland

Scalp is still a mess and still got the blues. This was the first day I really felt fatigue, I had to struggle to get through my work day, It's 9:10 and i'm going to bed, ugh…so unlike me. My eyebrows are hanging on but my eyelashes are really sparse. My sinuses are a mess but I have allergies and they are usually pretty bad at this time of year, just a bit worse now. No mouth sores thankfully. Going to bed now, I'm beat.. goodnight all

CaliKiwi

Genny - I noticed that my eyebrows are getting pretty sparse too. Today I saw a couple of gaps in my brows. I am handling the hair loss just fine, but I'm a little freaked out about the eyelashes and brows.

The good news is that I had my last appointment with FEC yesterday. I'm switching to taxotere for the next three. The chemo nurse and another lady who had been through the same regimen were telling me there is a good chance my hair will start to grow back even while doing taxotere, so here's hoping. I'd love to have some hair in December when I go back to NZ for my sons big birthday party!

I'm feeling ok today, better than the last two infusions which is surprising. My nausea is nowhere near as bad as it has been, I'm tired, but I think the steroids are actually doing something ie keeping me awake! The first two rounds I basically slept days 1 - 4 away, last night I had trouble sleeping, weird that they seem to be working this time.

I hope things start improving for everyone, I'm sorry to hear that such tough things are going on, along with all the side effects. It's really not fair that we have to deal with all this extra stuff!

Jenwith4kids

leaving for AC#3 in a few hours (darn I wish that meant Atlantic City!).  I've done really well so far, but for some reason today I am a mess of tears.....

Can I please get added to the Facebook group?  I am Jennifer Simon Blanchard.....do I need to. Send a friend request to anyone?

Thanks! jen

AKJ

alycallie, I just sent you a PM.

susiem

Hi everyone, I've just been catching up with the posts from the last 10 days and overall, it seems like we're coping. We have good days, not so good days, and some downright crappy ones, but the tone is veering to the positive. I had my head shaved at day 14 after my first AC, so I've had over a month to get used to having a bald pate. I have a couple of wigs that were style for me and that I use for getting "dressed up" and going out. The rest of the time I do scarves and caps. I saw my granddaughters this week for the first time since the head shave and was a bit concerned about how the 4-year old would take it. I needn't have worried. Her mother told her that Bubbie's (that's me) hair was hiding because she's taking special medicine. I was wearing a wig when the kids arrived and I could tell immediately that the 4-year old was distressed. Then the miracle cut in. She demanded to see where my hair was hiding so I whipped off the wig and let her rub my head. Her unconditional, matter-of-fact acceptance was real balm for my soul. Yeah, I'm bald, but as I remind my DH, at least my hair will grow back eventually, which is more than he can say. The dear man laughs every time. BTW, judging by the stubble left on my head, I've lost only half my hair. Eyelashes intact, and eyebrows down to about 50%. 

My final AC is next week, and then I start the 12-week Taxol routine. I'm a bit apprehensive because the AC has been so easy. No nausea, no mouth sores, nothing much more than a raging case of hemorrhoids, a bald head, a certain lack of focus, and serious fatigue. The aches from the neulasta shots are actually worse than everything else. My onc nurse encouraged me to suck on chipped ice during the AC and it has helped. It also helps that I'm on short-term disability and only working the odd hour here and there to keep up with the most critical stuff. 

So like so many others, I'm getting accustomed to the chemo routine and am hanging in there. Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those who celebrate. 

PS: I'd like to know about the FB group, too. Thanks.

Jenwith4kids

my apologies... Thank you for adding me to the Facebook group.  But I decided not to stay.  Facebook is currently my "break from cancer" place... Sorry if I put anyone out.   Hope to stick around here a bit though.....

Jen

Meg, Brenda and I go way back.  She and I worked together way back when the. We ended up in the same town and our kids are friends as are our husbands!  It's a very small world!

AKJ

No problem Jen!

lgoldie

I NEED HEMORRHOIDAL ADVICE.  I AM MISERABLE.  THERE IS NOT MUCH TO DO.  It's from diarrhea (not constipation)   OMG    Help/    Leah

AKJ

ouch lgoldie! Preparation H? Call the doc's office and ask for their advice?

Xrayalli

Leah-Witch hazel wipes! Sorry, that's awful....

megomendy

lgoldie, and use A&D ointment in between

Jenwith4kids

My doc gave me some sort of suppository - I'd have to go upstairs to see what it's called, I'm thinking it might be some sort of steroidal ointment to reduce inflammation.

I'm sorry if earlier in the week I dismissed someone's blues as being par for the course.  I am starting day three of constant crying.  WTF...???  I'm typically a pretty emotional person and I'm sure I have cried ever day since my dx, but the last few days have been really awful.  I don't even feel that bad....  just sad.  I can't stand it.  

jmg58

Jenwith4kids...I understand completely.  I am in the same place.  Starting 3rd out of 4 TC treatments Thursday and this past week I've been really really down.  I think ever since they found the nodule on my lung combined with my onco score (40) I have really taken a nosedive.  I can't seem to pull myself out and all week have been so depressed.  Before this, since December, I had my odd sad moments but nothing like this.  I think it's because I went back to work and really feel different from everyone else now  At home I could just hide and pretend everything was basically the same, I was just bald.   at work, now I don't like the way they look at me....  But, the weather is better this weekend and I hope to get out and take a walk, maybe even take some springtime photos...that should help and I hope you can do the same.  I was reminded by my psychiatrist last night (who is also a bc survivor) to just think about today.  Just right now.  Don't think about anything else (Hard) but try to stay in the moment.  Don't let the cancer bastard ruin your day today!   I'm going to make a chocolate Easter layer cake and then go for a walk.  That's all we can do.  Enjoy the day.  It's here for us right now. My boyfriend, who is an eternal optimist, sometimes to the point I want to hit him, lol, always tells me I have a choice whether to be happy today or not...so I try to fight it as much as i can.  A lot of the time it works.  BIG BIG HUGS!!!!

Jenwith4kids

jmg, you are so right (so why have the waterworks started again!??)

The weather here is beautiful today, I plan to go to my daughter's soccer game.  I love to watch her play.  Then my youngest has a softball game.  I'll get a lot of fresh air today and then a friend is bringing dinner for my family so I don't even have to cook tonight.

I think part of my problem is the kids - I have four of them - I hate that they keep seeing me so sad.  I also hate that I get aggravated with them when they ask me to do things - normal things that moms are supposed to do...that I am just too wiped out to do... I want them to know not to ask me.  But, they are KIDS, they only understand so much.  And they are sad too.

Bottom line is that I KNOW I will - we will - get through this.  It just sucks for now.

Thank you for the encouragement, jmg; enjoy your chocolate cake!

Jen

1knightsjourney

Hi all. Another sleepless night here, so I've been catching up on all your posts. So much sounds so familiar that it's comforting to read. My 2nd round had been going fairly well. None of the flu-like SEs this time. Just fatigue. Jenwith4kids, I can relate. Trying to be a good mom through all of this is the hardest part. (And I'm a single mom of 8 & 10 yr old girls, so they really need me).  It makes me sad to have to tell the kids I can't do things because I feel so crappy. My WBC count nearly hit 0 again and I got a bad cough.  Then Fri. (Good Fri at 4:00), I felt a searing pain in my ribs where the drain scars are. I found a swollen blotchy red area. The doctor freaked me out over the phone by saying the expander may be infected and could need emergency surgery. I ended up in the ER.  It ended up being shingles with possible pneumonia and the wanted to admit me. So unprepared for that and crushed about the kids missing me on Easter weekend. In the end, I got to come home!!!  Feeling better now, but, WOW, shingles on top of the surgery site is SO painful!!

I'd also like to get in the FB group.  I check that more frequently than this.

jmg58

Cancerjourney, so sorry to hear this!  I hope you manage to have a good Easter Sunday.  That sounds horribly painful and like it was a scary experience as well.  I hope they go away soon.  I had them once but only a small weird outbreak that didn't hurt much.  I sure hope that the pain subsides for you asap.

I am sorry I can't join the Facebook group...this is already the second social site I belong to and i just don't want to get involve with FB right now..I hope some of you check in here now and then so I'm not all alone!    The home health care nurse came over yesterday to do the weekly dressing on my PICC line.  It was fine until she left and within 4 hour it is red and looking infected again and hurts a bit this time..  At least tomorrow i go to the hospital for fluids so they can check it and tell me if I have to go back on antibiotics again.  I sure hope not.

lgoldie

DOES ANYONE HAVE A FAST HEARTBEAT WHEN THEY TRY TO DO STUFF?

lgoldie

Hey, I am having lots of palpitations and my onc told me that it was anxiety not the chemo and maybe I was not emotionally or physically able to finish.  (Wowo)  I said yes I was finishing, halfway through.  She was irritated I called during Easter Mass.   I didn't know and apologized.  Does anyone else get a fast heartbeat?

princessrn

I do get a fast heart beat though I have a two story and go up and down the stairs multiple times a day. But I notice it too.  When do you get your next MUGA scan?

cbg4

Hello,

I just found this group.  I go for round 4 of AC this Wednesday.  Round 3 was horrible and I’m very anxious.  The doctor says Taxol isn’t as bad - is this true?  My biggest issues are headaches - which on this last round was more like a concussion.  I also cannot find anything to drink that tastes good so I think I’m dehydrated most of the time.  I got this nagging cough about a week ago - does anyone else have a cough?  It’s mostly dry and no fever.  

It would help me if you could share your mechanisms to make yourself go to the next  round.  The last one was so bad that I want to give up.

Thanks.  CBG

MedicMom2

need picc advice...ended up w 2 stays in hospital after round 1 TC w neutropenia and diverticulitis where each iv lasted less than 12 hrs and iv therapy had issues getting access. (Really want to stick my tongue out at my oncologist and say "I told you so" but trying to be more grown up about it).   At end of second stay doc had picc placed. Last weeks chemo round 2 TC postponed 1 week due to poor labs. Now the picc  vein is really sore.  Afraid to call bc they will remove it and back to square 1.  Thoughts? 

princessrn

why no port?