**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009

Hello all,

I'm reporting in after my first AC treatment yesterday. I got to the hospital as directed at 11 with the lovely boyfriend in tow and was admitted to a private room rather than the day ward because I was staying overnight. Very swish!

Then there was a lot of waiting around. I had the cannula inserted around 1pm - first attempt failed, and I was told to consider getting a port. Do many of you have them? I have 15 treatments to go and don't want to have cannula needle related panic every time, but I have read horror stories about ports on this site.

After that, more waiting - in the end Damian and I went for a long walk in the sunshine. It was a glorious autumn day in Melbourne. Finally around 4pm I was given oral Emend, decadron and maxilon, and at 4:30 the influsion started.  No problems with the A (I sucked on ice though my onco rather scoffed) which ran through in under 15 minutes, then the C took about an hour and was followed by a 12 hour fluid drip to assist in flushing it through. I also drank at least 10 litres of water.

Around 10:30 that night I had some nausea and was given IV Zofran. This morning a bit of a headache which paracetamol cured, and an Emend tablet. I was sent home with another Emend for tomorrow, and Zofran and Maxilon as needed. A friend collected me and we went for lunch.I fear not even chemo can take my appetite away! I know darker days are coming, but as you have also said, it is very doable. INdeed it was a total anticlimax! I have no nausea and apart from some slight heavy-headness feel quite normal.

(I should add that after all the advice about avoiding constipation I went too far and gave myself the opposite problem!)

I wanted the port put in the day of my next treatment but the only time my BS has is next week. Bit annoying. BUt if that is the worst news of the day, that is okay!

A big shout out to pickle and maidmarion - my fellow 31 March princesses. I hope you continue to feel well. And best wishes to the rest of you too as you continue the warrior princess march.

 Rachel

Sakura73, I have a port and while it takes awhile to heal, I think its worth it, esp since you are having so many treatments- It hurts a lot less to get stuck and there's no worries. I had a bad IV for one of my tests and it was miserable. they couldn't get it comfy- gave me lidocaine, barely helped, luckily that was just for a CT scan and I only had it in about 45 min.

Overall I feel better this second round than I did the first, but things are still following a predictable trend. Today I felt ok at first, was going to go to work, but after breakfast I felt a whoosh of dizziness and had to lay down. I have noticed that if I give in to it and nap I might feel better. Last time I think I just tried to endure, I'm not really a napper by nature. Today I wanted to nap and couldn't,just laid there.

 Now I feel decent except for the gland thing. it sorta feels like I have something caught in my throat. Drinking lotsa water.

Rachel,

Yay for you....one down.  I recommend the port.  My placement was 2 days before chemo and was a breeze.  It did take about 2 weeks to completely heal and it was itchy but now its just a bump above my good boob

As far as constipation.....I had no issues but I did take the first or second day of chemo one over the counter stool softener.  Drinking lots of water should help with any issues.

I noticed days 3 (late in the day) 4 and 5 were my worst and I really think that this go round I am going to take the compazine every 4 hours.....my fuzzy head feeling was probably me being nauseous.  Also, when you come down from the steriod HIGH, you hit the wall hard, grab a caffeineted bev to get you through. 

You now know you can do it so I don't even have to tell you so!

Sorry for the grammar/spelling mistakes....on my steroid high early and typing too fast.

Kathy,

I will be in my chemo chair at 0900 tomorrow...EST.  You will do great!  I should have taken the steroids at midnight like I did last time.....I took them at 8 and guess what?  I am up and flying high!

My 2 admins told me that weren't going to talk to me for at least the first 24 hours because I was a lunatic my first round! 

hugs!!

What the??? My post posted twice.  wow these roids are good.  Too bad I don't play baseball.

Diane and Kellerka - I will be in the chair at 9:40 anyway that's my appointment time. 1st blook stick then Onc's Nurse Practitioner, possibly onc too (not last time though) then chair time it was around 11:00 1st round and wasn't done until 3:30.  This one should be quicker I would think.

I took the decadron today 8mg AM and 8mg PM.  tomorrow before chemo 8mg.  Then IV of Decadron, benedryl and Zofram prior or T and then the C.  I continue decadron Thursday 4mgAm, 4 Pm and Friday, Sat. as well. SE's were thirst and sleeplessness, I didn't need the compazine.  All will go the same - using my positive thinking.

Good luck my  Warrior Princess partners!!!.

And good luck for everyone continuing round 2 or approaching round 3.!!! (I have trouble keeping track of all the different schedules) 

Buddy I think they want you over 4100 but I bet you will be today or tomorrow. When mine jumped up, it did so quickly.  Good luck!

Diddle  Thank you so much!

Chris I will have to try the Punch.  As far as the MX.  I had some extensive positive nodes on one side and decided to clear it all out.  He did a radical on the right.  The left side show pre cancer. So I opted to have it done at the same time.  He did a simple on that side.  Every case is different.  I hope I made you feel better about your decision.  If your surgeon thoght it was necessary, he would have pushed it.

Chris:  I had a lumpectomy and ALND on the left side.  They found no cancer on the right by mammograms and ultrasound. 

My decision for a lumpectomy had to do with the fact that the tumor in my left breast was only 2 cm.  Although there was lymph node involvement, a mastectomy felt like overkill.  Bottom line, I just didn't want to give up on "The Girls" too soon.  I guess I'll find out whether or not this was a good decision eventually.  I would have had to have chemo and radiation either way, so why not give the girls a stay of execution?   

Carol

Jan:  I am, and will forever be, happy to be your joke writer; but...

I WANT RESIDUALS!! 

This time and last time, day 5 and 6 after TAC the glands on the sides of my neck feel really swollen and tender. It kinda hurts to swallow. I also have a headache. Has anyone else had this? It went away after a couple days last time, tho I ran a low grade fever day 6 and 7 (99 degrees- I'm normally at 98.0)

 So far I feel like I'm dealing with round 2 better, but the progression of symptoms is pretty much the same- I don't feel like I'm pulling out of it any faster. Really weird dreams last night- mental fog more than anything today. didn't manage to go to work yesterday- still not sure about today. I feel sorta agitated, like if I sit here I'm going to go nuts, but I'm not sure I'd be much help functionally, so maybe I'll go for a walk and see how I feel.

Rachel and MaidMarion...Congrats on knocking the first one down...hope you are doing well today. I feel good, a bit tired, nausea is well under control....still didn't jump on the treadmill.....maybe one more nap first...lol

 MOB...you are so good at keeping track of everyone. Thanks

Gina-I hope all is well with you and you're getting lots of rest...I'm sure you need it after your houseful of 25 kiddies.

Good luck to all the ladies that are getting their treatments this week. There is a lot of you for sure. Whether your having #2,3 or whatever....it's one more down and closer to the end zone.

Hang in there !

Beth P

Chrisc433- you decscribed the agitation perfectly- that's how I feel- I want to go do SOME-thing, but I don't have energy or attention span enough to do it. I went for a walk and then felt wiped, tried to read something, can't concentrate.

first tx I didn't try to work, just rode the wave for a week. I had hoped I could force myself back to normalcy this round- I feel guilty cause I don't feel totally horrible but I just feel like I can't function and going to work would be pointless cause I can't concentrate.

So I have 4 more of these after this. Work is undertstanding, tells me to take it easy. I'm not a workaholic type at all and I know they will get along fine without me. I need to just accept that I need to take more than just a couple days off each round. The money is an issue, but not really that big of a deal in the big scheme of things. I guess I just read where other people can go back to work after a day or two and be ok and I'm not.

what a small world. I live south of springfield in Ozark- sorta halfway between republic and forsyth. I used to live a few blocks from Grizzly. I can't imagine working with k-2 kids at all let alone after chemo. That's great you have the bank of sick days to draw from.

 I sort of lived in PA for a few months about 7 years ago. In 2001, I hiked the AppalchianTrail which runs through your fair state from near Chambersburg to Delaware Water Gap. Two hundred something miles of rocky fun!  In 2002, I came back and worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy out of Boiling Springs, near Carlisle. I travelled all over , but my home base was a farm near Carlise. Then that summer I worked in the NW New Jersey area on the Trail. Delaware Water Gap, Worthington and Stokes State Forest and High Point and Waywayanda State parks were my areas.  My husband's cousin lives in Philly at the moment, working on her phD.

My job is comptuer based- editing digital maps , not taxing at all most of the time. Some of what I do is very mindless , but some takes some mental organization. I haven;t ever felt even close to puking and really I am just tired tired tired. The thought occured to me that maybe since I had major surgery 2 months ago I am still am not recovered from that- I opted for the TRAM flap recon and you know that is a lot more taxing on the bod than say a lumpectomy.

so I'm trying to be understanding with myself. My TRAM surgery areas do hurt a lot more after a tx- first time I even went back on pain meds for a couple days- those areas are still trying to heal and having chemo kills all those healing cells. I had 6 weeks after surgery before having chemo, but still. Last round I had a PET scan 6 days after chemo and the report mentioned a lot of increased metabolic activity around my recon areas, plus the bone marrow from the neulasta shot. But fortunately NO activity from a couple suspicious spots on my lungs that had shown on the CT scan and thus the reason for having the PET scan. yay!!