Starting chemo January 2009?

Hi Susan,

     I also had a/c Before surgery..........They stopped at 2 treatments because they could not longer feel a tumor. had one breast removed now I have this large lump they say is fuild.........going to surgeon tomorrow, after 2 weeks my chest and arms hurt WORSE than it did before worked a full day today.

      Does anyone else have a burning arm?? I also have to do my 2 remaining a/c...which make me mad cause I could of done it before!! and then 8 weeks taxol.   Keep in touch!! Pamela 

Hello Jewels,

mimi07 - Good yo hear you're felling better,  You're brave to get buzzed.  I;m waiting til it starts going, which will be soon.  My headgear arrived today - turbans and underwig caps and a couple cotton skull caps.  So I'm as ready as I can be,

Re: fluids.  I found Gatorade G2 to work well - it's the lower calorie version and not as sweet as reg gatorade.  

My WBCs came back really low.   My onc called and told me he was surprized I went so low.  We'll check tham again on Thursday to see how much I;ve recovered by then.   If not enough, I'll get neupogen shots next time.  I hope this doesn't delay my next treatment.  He also told me to stay away from sick people - hard to do when you work in a hospital.   So he gave me two choices, stay home or stay in my office.  I promised to stay in my office.....alot can be done by phone and email.  I totally disinfected my office today before I left.     Ah, something new to worry about!

Today is my 5th day since I started my treatment.  Except for the low sodium scare to the hospital on Friday, everything else seems to be okay. Once they brought my sodium count back up, I was aware of what was going on.  Before that, everything is a blank.  I can't seem to remember about 4 hours.   I was able to go home on Saturday.  Saturday I was nauseous and really tired, although I was able to go for a 2 mile walk.  Sunday I started to feel a little better.  Went for a walk again with DH.  I seem to feel better after I walk.  I feel pretty good today.  I thought about going back to work for at least 1/2 day but DH thought I should rest one more day.  Tomorrow I go in for my shot.  I hope that will go okay.  My onc told me to take Claritin before I come so I hope that will alleviate the bone pain. 

Anyway, I hope they resolve the low sodium issue for my next treatment on 1/22.  I definitely do not want to go thru that again. 

Pamela (I'm a Pam too) - I am also doing chemo before surgery.  My onc told me that even though my tumor disappears, we will still finish up with the remaining treatments (4AC and 12 weekly paclitaxel).  I think the tumor has shrunk a little since this 1st treatment but I can't really tell.  Was your's a noticeable difference?  When were you able to tell?

Hi all:

Pam--my arm is driving me crazy, still numb and now a little red under the arm, and it feels tight around my back. It was improving after surgery, and then I think I did too much walking with my poles. I've had 2 referrals to the lymphedema clinic and hope they call me really soon for an appt, and I'm afraid my insurance won't cover it. My surgeon said it's just swelling from surgery, but the onc. today said it needs to be looked at.

Ddlatt-don't know about my AC dosage. I weigh somewhere between you and Chris! Good luck on Weds. I follow with #2 on Thurs. Do you go to UCSF for the txs, or are you able to get it locally?

Chris--hope the Emend works. It really helped me with my first AC. Now my insurance says they only cover every 17 days, but my txs are every 14!  Good luck with the HER2 info.

Kathy-Did you have the Neulasta shot? My WBC was up today, but much later than they had wanted after the Neulasta. My Nurse Pract. told me that Neulasta is long acting because whatever's in it is attached to a "big" molecule. Neupogen is the same stuff, but on a small molecule and is not so long lasting, and that's why you need to get one every day. I just want something that works!  

Glad you're feeling better, Hawaii Pam!

I think I get steroids in my iv during tx. Maybe the pills are for the T treatments? I can't sleep as it is now, so I hope I won't need something to rev me up more.

berkelykim - i will be having chemo locally, in reno. wish i could go to UCSF for everything - it's so much nicer there in every way - well, except for parking. hope your arm situation improves quickly!

Hello everyone!

I am there with you, starting chemo (TC) Jan 22nd, 4 cycles, followed by radiation and hormone therapy.  Will have PET scan and brain MRI on Thursday and will be very anxious waiting for the results. I am 52, single and live in the Portland, OR area. Also not looking forward to loosing my hair.  Thanks to everyone here for all your encouragement!  

Pam,

Hear you on the arm, drove me nuts.  Hypersensitive, burning, and seemed to sweat more then usual.  For me it started to get a little better about 3.5 weeks after surgery.  Hopefully you'll find the same.  I found sleeping with my arm down against my side about 3 weeks post op helped with the swelling  and resolved things faster. 

Jewels - you all are wonderful.  It helps me so much just to read these posts.

I am day four after chemo #1.  I had awful nausea but no vomiting, plus a wretched headache for two days and total flu-like aches and chills.  I went in yesterday for fluids and antacid which seemed to help quite a bit.  They said I'll take Amend (?) for the next round which is supposed to help a lot.  

They really think they can wipe this out if they're aggressive.  I hope they're right.

Hang in there everyone!  Hugs to all!

Nancy    

carlajane have you looked on the web at cjhats, i placed an order on sat shipped mon looked up my label and should be delivered today.  hugs to you

carpediem good luck on the pet and mri  hugs to you

i hope we all wipe this out

ddlatt---lol about the parking at UCSF..I used to work there.Fortunately , I walked or took the bus.  It is a nice facility, though.

K-where do you order the light? 

One of my students came into the classroom and started cleaning my room.  It's probably the cleanest ever!  Gosh, I am shocked at the amount of clutter......

48 hours to go!

Hi everyone, I am now 5 days out from my first treatment of A/C, +maybe Avastin.  Day 1 was uneventful.  I felt really good.  Day 2 I spent sleeping the entire day and feeling a bit of nausea but not unbearable.  Day 3 just felt a bit blah all day, but nothing major.  Nagging headache since treatment.  Since my treatment did not end until after 6 PM on Thursday I could not get the Neulasta shot until yesterday.  So far, I am not feeling too bad from that.  When did most of you begin feeling the flu like symptoms from the shot?   I feel a tiny bit of it today but nothing major.  

Sweetpam, I am also experiencing burning in my arm just below where my port was inserted.  Not sure what that means?    Not all the time, just once in a while I get the burning.

I am going to go to work beginning tomorrow until my next treatment on the 22nd.  Hoping that goes well.  

I have not be on the past few days, but tried to read most of the new entries.  Welcome to our new members.   Sorry you have to be here, but glad you found us.  

I will have 12 tx of Taxol after this series is over.  That will be every week.  I am wondering how that will affect me.  

I am finally scheduled for a bone scan on Thursday and they are going to try and get me in for a ct scan during the wait time for the injection to go through my body.  Fun, fun, fun.  I am a bit scared of these scans though I expect they are only a bit uncomfortable.  I was told not to eat any solids for 2 hours prior but I am not sure when I am allowed to eat again. If it is an all day fast am am going to be very unhappy.  I have also been scheduled for my infusion.  The 21st.  10:15 blood work, then the teach in, then the onc visit then the infusision which should take 2-4 hours. So I will not be done till 5 or 6pm.  Then the journey begins in earnest.  I expect to start losing my  hair about 1.5 weeks before valentines day and my look good feel better seminar is not till a few days after V-day.  You girls will have to help me through those 2 weeks, and beyond.

me again -  drink tons of water before, during and after to flush everything out!!

if u r there how did u react to r first treatment of

A/C I have beeb very b-sick,

Ijust had my fisrt treatment and I am very sick, I take A/C for 4 cycles every other week , then Taxol for 12 weeks everyweek. If all the treatments are like this treatment I don't know if I can do this. Help Anyone else have this violent of a reaction?

desperate