My experience with Chemo so far

Shmoopie

Hi! I was diagnosed in early may 2019 with a stage 3 breast cancer. ER positive, HER negative - no DNA mutations, no history of breast cancer in family. I’m 36 years old.

The lump is 5.2cm in my left breast. In the bottom left of the breast. They did a biopsy of a lymph node and that’s how they found my cancer (under left arm).

I started an AC / Taxol dose dense chemotherapy treatment mid June 2019. Tomorrow is my 12th of a total of 16.

4x AC (red devil) - every 2 weeks:
It was like I was buried alive. It was really bad. The first dose was ok. I’ll list all side effects and what I did, I tweaked some of the meds, I don’t necessarily recommend doing that, but for sure I’d be as vocal as possible with the doctors and pharmacists to make sure they understand all the side effects that you’re feeling and making sure they address them.

First Dose: I couldn’t sleep, got watery eyes, Jimmy legs.. Not too bad.

Second/Third/Fourth dose: I was sick that fist night of the second dose, it was very painful and that’s when it started to be bad. I couldn’t read, couldn’t watch tv, I couldn’t sleep - they gave me decadron (cortisone) and that kept me super awake. I couldn’t do anything that week. following visit with the doc, she added two meds to control nausea at that time for all subsequent chemos (Emend and Olanzapine). it really helped, I was still feeling buried alive but at least I wasn’t sick.

My eyes kept crying. I always had tears in the outer corners of my eyes. Doctor said my eyes were too dry and to keep them hydrated I kept having tears so I was prescribed artificial tears that are more lubricated - didn’t help. I ended up taking two others to finally fix the problem (took 5 weeks to find solution) - anti-allergy drops opticrom And Fluorometholone eye drops as well.

12x TAXOL every week I’m on dose 7 now:

So far, it’s nowhere near as bad as AC mostly fatigue, general feeling of I don’t feel good but not sick, just can’t do much.. I rest, I watch TV.. I eat, I sleep...

cortisone gave me a bigger appetite, I’m always hungry. I’ve gained 20 pounds. I was 127lbs and now I’m 146lbs. I was vegan and now I crave random foods.

MEDS:

Decadron 10mg, then 8mg twice a day for two days - was like having 25 cups of coffee no way I could sleep (for allergies)

Benadryl 25mg, for two days - made me super wired and jittery - but sort of drowsy (allergies)

Stemetil - 10mg - 3x /day for the first day, then once at mighty for 3 days (nausea)

Lapelga - injection that boosts production of white blood cells (one injection the day after each dose)

Apo-Prochlorazine - 10mg at bedtime to control nausea

Sandoz-pantoprazole - 40mg -( for heartburn)

Emend - 125mg day of chemo and 80mg x 2 following days (nausea)

Olanzapine - 5mg x1 at bedtime (sleep aid)

Allergan - every morning to control allergies (dry eyes, congestion)

If anyone has questions, I’ll be happy to help share my experience if it can help someone.

Xxxxxxx

Moderators

Hi there, Shmoopie! We want to welcome you to our community here at BCO, and thank you for sharing your experience so far. These kinds of firsthand accounts can be so helpful for members who are just starting on their own treatment journeys! We hope the remainder of your treatment goes well, and look forward to seeing you on the boards!

The Mods