AC treatment tips & concerns

blinds23

AC treatment tips & concerns

blinds23

Okay so I finally started my AC treatments yesterday. They have me doing chemo first then surgery. I already did taxion (spelled wrong) 12-weeks completed. This AC treatment is rough already! I'm only one day in crying! I'm 23 and super active so any tips would be greatly helpful. I don't have any family or friends that been through this so no one understands.

linzer

Sorry you are feeling awful and don't have anyone who understands. Hugs! Maybe if you can share exactly what's going rough, people will chime in with what worked for them. In the meantime, take good care of yourself and take comfort in knowing that we understand  

Maureen1

(((blinds23)))  I am so sorry you have been blindsided by this beast and have to experience chemo...I had AC chemo first and it was tough but the meds they gave me for side effects were alot of help. I found some great tips on the forums, like: take the medications to prevent nausea as directed - don't skip doses; drink lots of water to flush the chemo thru; take it easy and rest when you need to; eat foods that are easy to digest; make sure you don't get constipated - Miralax won't hurt you and it will keep things moving; and, don't be shy about asking for something to help you relax and/or to sleep. You will find lots of support here and you can always ask questions if there is something you are specifically concerned about. Unfoturnately there are other young women in their 20's here and they have a forum - they will know how you feel and can be another source of support. Take care, (((Hugs))) Maureen

Daralee

Hi 

I am 43 and probably not as active as you but I too finished 12 weeks of taxol and am half way through 4 cycles of AC. My oncologist thought that it would be easier to tolerate the taxol first but I almost have to disagree with her. Why not hit with the big guns when we were closer to our baseline normal? It has been pretty rough I must admit. I used to be very active with work and my kids. Now I spend the first week after AC pretty much sofa bound and there are a lot of tears. The alternate weeks without AC I feel better but no where near my normal. I just try and remember that this awful cocktail is saving my life! Even though it is the worst thing I have ever had to endure it is so worth it. Do not be afraid to ask for help. I have friends bring me and the kids meals (even though I am rarely hungry). I had a friend clean my fridge, do my kids laundry, do my laundry. People want to help you just have to let them. I am so sorry for your suffering. I totally get it. You are not alone trust me. And do not give up! This is just a bump in the road for us. Life will resume. 

Daralee

Oh also try acupuncture for some symptom relief 

jujubes8

Hi there,

I too just had one AC treatment so far and had 2.5 very sick days. I have also been taking mushroom extracts - Maitake and Oncozac - Yunzhi mushrooms which are known to help and ease side effects, boost immune etc. Let's see how the 2nd round goes for me in 11 days!!

I was not expecting the side effects I had at all nor to be fatigued and drained for about 6 days in total.

First 2 days were pretty good. Then it hits. 

It's important as others have said to try to drink as much fluids but I get how you can also get very full and bloated and harder to just drink or eat.

• Ginger - pounded and drinking the juice really helps with the nausea and stomach bloat and cramps. Its a very natural remedy and it is a life saver.
• Lemongrass - if you can have access to it, boiling it with ginger is also a good drink to sip through the days
• Fresh coconut- right from a young coconut can replenish electrolytes and energy esp if not eating or having diarrhea (which I had and I wasn't eating)
• Protein drinks - ensure, prosure, cal100, - these can give you some protein, energy if you're not able to eat (which I wasn't able to for 2 days)
• Cravings? Eat what you crave to boost energy and weight (as I had lost weight rather quickly)

Feel free to message me if you would like to chat more as I too, don't have a large support network where I am as am living in a new city and country. Good luck for your next round and we have to remind selves...this is saving our lives!  

love and light

blinds23

Thanks for the advice 

annika12

Hang in there !!! I finished AC just about a year ago, had my last of 4 on Aug. 12 2013....my 44th birthday !!! I was sicker then sick BUT it shrunk the tumor to nothing...... after the first it shrunk 60% after I was done it no longer showed on tests , when it was taken out after taxol I had a complete response, NO cancer cells to be identified So hang in there, one day at a time, five minutes at a time some days but sooner then you know you'll be done !!!!

linzer

I'm due to start AC this coming week. Anyone else want to chime in on tips/tricks and what worked for them. Also, I'd love input on which days past infusion were the worst. I teach and I'm trying to decide which days I may need to take off if any. I will be infused on Wednesdays. 4 cycles every two weeks. Thanks!

Janetanned

Linzer - I started chemo (dose dense AC/T) in January 2012.  I had taken 6 weeks off to recover from surgery and did not want to miss any more work.  I found that I was able to work throughout chemo and rads.  I  took off chemo day, which was every other Friday.  Monday was my bad day, but I was still able to put in a full day of work.  I teach in a small private high school and the staff and most students knew I was in treatment.  My co-workers and principal were very understanding.  I was encouraged to go home early if needed (never needed to though) and I wasn't given any extra assignments.  While the days were long and tiring, I was able to teach all of my classes.  I did miss two days because I ended up in the ER due to high fevers.  Fortunately, I don't have young children, so I could crash when I got home from work.  My husband took over meal preparation and I just ignored household chores.  Everyone is different, so you might be able to do more than I was able to do.  I would think that Friday or Saturday might be your down day. 

You might need to go back to your MO's office on Thursday or Friday following each infusion for a Nuelasta shot.  My MO likes her AC patients to get the shot 24 hrs after each infusion.  Since that was Saturday for me, my husband gave me the shot at home (Mo office was closed on Sat).  That was certainly interesting!

Kicks

I did 4 DD A/C neoadjuvant (before surgery) 5 yrs ago.  Did not slow me down at all.  It wasn't bad at all.  I did lose head hair and about 1/2 of eye brows and lashes.  I lost all sense of taste and smell.  Nothing tasted 'bad', just had no taste at all.  Also lost all appetite - Hubby had to call me several times a day to remind me to eat something.  Drinking enough water (very important) was not a problem - I'm a 'waterholic' always having iced water handy so habit just took over.  I was very good about taking all the antinausea meds and never had any problem with any.  (I was told that if you did not have problems with morning sickness, probably wouldn't have issues with nausea with chemo but if you did you are more likely to have chemo nausea.)  

I did not work as I am a 'stay at home' wife, I could have gone if I had a job though.   I only got a bit tired on the 2nd day but nothing bad.  Basically I only did what I wanted to do during chemo times as Hubby took over house chores, cooking and taking care of the dogs and my bunny.  Son took over all horse and barn chores - so all I needed to do was what I wanted to do.

Neulasta is usually given the day after infusion.  For some it causes bone paoin but Claritin is supposed to help.  The only issue I had with Neulasta was almost to minute, 2 hrs after injection I would go to sleep for 2 hours.

If you haven't gone to a Look Good - Feel Better class I suggest you take one.  They are through the ACS.  They are done at different places in different towns.  The BC Navigator at your facility should be able to send you in the right direction (classes were/are at my facility). The classes are to teach/give info about dealing with 'looking good' through chemo by giving tips on make up, etc. (One thing that I thought was a very good tip was how to draw on brows that look natural.)  Each person is given a 'goodie' bag of name brand cosmetics that has been donated by the manufacturers.  The Cosmetologist who did my class also gave us samples of Nail Envy by OPI.  It really worked great for me - I didn't have any nail problems during my. 4 A/C or the 12 Taxol adjuvant.

Remember we are each unique so no 2 of us will have exactly the same experiences.  For me, A/C was not bad at all but Taxol was BAD.  For some, it's the other way around and many that fall somewhere in between.

linzer

Janet - thank you for the teacher perspective. I have been working so far and doing okay. I had 12 weeks of taxol/herceptin/perjeta, mostly over the summer. I started tx in June, and had my last one the day before school started. I took a week off after my lumpectomy / lymph node dissection on 9/17. Now AC and then rads with Herceptin for 39 weeks (every 3 weeks). 

I plan to go to onc office for my first Neulasta. The school nurse has graciously agreed to give me the others. I plan to take Wed. (infusion day) off, then go Thursday. Take Friday off and have weekend to crash. 

Kicks - Thanks for your response. I have my Claritin already purchased I did Look Good back in August. It was awesome! I've already lost my hair and do a wig since Taxol did a number on me. I found Taxol to be okay. I have heard that those who do okay on AC rough it out with Taxol and vice versa. I'm hoping to be the girl who does well on both - haha! We'll see.

Good news is that I had a complete response to the neo-adjuvant chemo. My MO struggled with whether I should even have to do AC, but he met with his colleagues and they decided that it was the right thing to do given my HER2 status. He said that in years to come we will probably discover that I was over treated, but for now it is the safe/sure standard of care. I appreciate your input! 

Janetanned

That is good news!  I had surgery first, so I don't really know how my cancer responded to treatment.  It sounds as though you will do just fine!  I tolerated AC and Taxol with little trouble.  As Kicks pointed out - hydration was so important.  water tasted bad, but with a twist of lemon or lime it was palatable .  Bland foods were my friend.  I ate mashed potatoes and rice with every meal.  I liked white foods, while others crave spicy foods.  I will warn you to not eat one of your favorite foods while receiving treatment.  I made the mistake of ordering a chicken cutlet sandwich from a favorite sandwich place during my first infusion.  It was a long day and my husband went out to buy lunch.  I was hungry and the sandwich sounded good.  Unfortunately, I can no longer stomach that sandwich due to association. 

As a teacher you might want to prepare a 'clean area' or bag for items that you alone can touch (pens, tissue box, stapler, etc).  Carry hand sanitizer with you and ask students to give you space if they are sick.  Wwith a lowered immune system you will be particularly vulnerable to every germ floating around your school.  My students are older and they fully understood the problems related to a down immune system.  They became very protective and warned the more careless kids to not touch me.  It became a little weird but endearing. I did pick up something which resulted in a high fever on two occasions.  However, with the Neulasta, my immune system bounced right back.  Also, I never needed the Claritin for bone pain related to Neulasta.  My bone pain was manageable and short lasting.  The first time I felt it, I took a leftover pain pill from surgery and went back to sleep.  I never needed pain meds after that.

 

Good luck with treatment!  I have a feeling you will do well!

linzer

Thank you! I am going to head into it thinking I will do well too. The power of positive thinking has worked for me so far. Thanks also for the tips about keeping healthy while on chemo and teaching. I teach 5th, so the kids are fairly careful about germs, but should be reminded.

JoeyJamesMom

HI. linzer and others.

Question, please regarding this statement:

Good news is that I had a complete response to the neo-adjuvant chemo

How do Dr's determine someone has had a complete response to chemo?

My orginial mass was approximately 1.5 cm, but after my 4 Taxol treatments I can't

even find it now.

Would that be considered a complete response to chemo?

Many thanks in advance for any information.

P.S  Congrats on your complete response!  That's wonderful news :-)

linzer

My complete response was found based on the pathology done on the tissue removed from my breast during my lumpectomy. Also, I had all lymph nodes in level 1 and 2 removed as part of an axillary dissection, so those were tested too. I stopped feeling my 2+ cm mass after about 4 taxol treatments as well. It is likely that you will be in the same situation. Triple negative tends to respond very well to chemo. I'm curious why your plan is for neo-adjuvant. Typically, that's only to shrink a tumor, or for Her2+ like me to get Perjeta (since it's not available early stage adjuvant).

JoeyJamesMom

Hi, linzer.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply to my question.  I appreciate your time.

Regarding my choice for neo-adjuvant treatment, it was suggested by my BS.  At first, I was totally against it because I wanted that mass removed asap, but then I knew I would always wonder if the chemo was working, so that is why I made this choice.

Take care of yourself :-)

linzer

That's great news that your BS suggested it. It seems that they are often ready to jump into surgery right away. How has it been going for you, JoeyJames? I had my first AC last week and am finding it rougher than taxol, but manageable. Compazine has become my new friend! I had my first infusion of AC on Wed and started to feel a bit better on Saturday. What drugs are you using to manage the nausea?

Shuler3015

I found that Ativan helped with nausea zofran gave me headaches . Every treatment my heart went up 7-9 beats a min  , I went from resting heart rate 57 to 90 beat a min my last rd , so it was given to me for that but doc said it would work well with nausea and I would get very anxious day of treatment . 

linzer

I'm using Ativan at night, Compazine during the day and I guess the steroid helps the Emend work better. I wish I could get rid of the steroid. It makes me jiggy and a puddle emotion wise.