**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009
Comments
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Beth - For me, the decision to do AC-T was based in part on my grade 3, in part of my tumor size (not huge, but not small either), in part on a high Ki67 score, and in part on my wanting to be aggressive and knowing that I'm relatively young and otherwise healthy and likely to tolerate it well. Another option I was given was four rounds of TC, and four round of AC without the Taxol would probably have been considered reasonable, too. I talked to a few oncologists and the decision was split, so I made it myself. Also, the oncologist I'm doing the treatment with wanted the more aggressive therapy, so that worked out to pick what he was recommending. I'm actually in a clinical trial where I may or may not also be getting Avastin, but for me I decided to do the trial less to try to get Avastin and more because the AC-T was the trial baseline so I figured I may as well contribute to research. If you are concerned at all and want to explore the question of following AC with Taxol, ask your oncologist about it and do a good thorough review of your pathology and how the decision to do what you're doing was reached. I'm *not* saying you should be second-guessing your treatment or that you should follow with Taxol - I'm no doctor, that's for sure. I'm just suggesting a specific conversation about it to help you feel more comfortable with what you're doing.
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I have a question for everyone:
I was told that my tumor which was 2.1 cm (they had a hard time measuring because I had a lot of scar tissue from my reduction) was only 70% IDC and 30% DCIS.
Did anyone get this kind of information regarding their tumors and if so did this factor into what chemo option you opted for?
Just curious......thanks in advance if anyone has any info to share.
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NYDEB: Love Tanner! A few years ago I was at Costco with my little one, who was just starting to talk, and there was a giant, floppy, stuffed Tanner. Jonah fell so instantly in love, I had to take him home. Jonah named him Present. Present still sleeps in Jonah's room. I can't get pictures on here, or I'd show him to you.
Michelle
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JDeking (Janine): Good to see you! Sorry you're having hot flashes. Did you have them before? Knock wood, I've never had one.
Kim40: Thanks for the link to that article ... very interesting!
Michelle
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Feeling hopeless on chemo. Just started chemo last thursday (TACx6). This is the 5th day and I can still just barely get up for a few hours a day. Really tired and achy. Achy ribs, back; throat and ear pain. Queezy all the time. Nights are the worst; feel tense muscles, sick at stomach, achy; can't sleep; feel hyper. Can't imagine how I could ever go back for another chemo session; feel like it can't be worth it. Is this normal for chemo?
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My two goldens shed like crazy (and they're both huge ... the Molly is 85 pounds and Rudy is down to 95 pounds now, but he maxed out at 118). I LOVE the furminator! It rocks at getting out the extra hair, and it's also good for the knots they get behind the ears. It does cut down on the vacuuming. I am on my second Dyson. Burned the motor out on the first one.
Cyndi and Chick, good to see you here, but I wish things were going better.
Michelle
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Diane, My tumor was 2.8 and had both invasive parts and DCIS. Don't know the percentages. The lumpectomy was close to the DCIS margin (2mm) but they thought that was ok; further (4 mm) from the invasive cells. So didn't have to have re-excision. Just started chemo last week. Not liking it. Felt hopeless last night; hopefully it'll get easier. I'm on TACx6. Doctor recommended that; didn't really offer trials or choices. Hope you do well. Eliza
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What is warrior princess? Is this a blog of people who just started chemo in March 09? Is everyone feeling ok? I just started and am not feeling so good. Thought I'd be able to work but can just barely sit up.
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Eliza2009....I just sent you a PM. Sorry you are feeling so badly. I hope your onco can get you straight. Thanks for the info on your tumor.
You can PM ginagina your treatment information and she can add you to our list above.
MichelleinSJ Good to see you!
hugs all,
Diane
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Eliza - soooo sorry to hear you are so miserable! There is a lot of that going on around here, but at the same time, if you can describe your pain, you should be able to get something to remedy that from your onco. Most of the gals who read this thread started their chemo in March...but that is just a "most". I technically started at the end of February and we have several newcomers that started at the begining of April. Folks share what is going on in their life - both from a cancer/chemo perspective as much as other stuff. Whatever you want to talk about...though I think we are learning to keep politics and religion out of the conversation.
What treatment are you on? What is your diagnosis?
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There were some more dogs!
Beth: How cute all three of yours are!
Moborn: Rocky looks like he's ready to give us a kiss
I'm missing a couple. I'll have to go back again.
I need to change my avatar.
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Diane - I never got the breakdown on my tumor % IDC vs DCIS. The decision to do chemo was because I was PR- and have a family history of cancer.
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Today was #4 of 12 taxol and 2nd for herceptin. Went just fine. I will work tomorrow after a visit with the dietician about the diabetes from the steroids. I have only had to do 7 shots so far and 5 of them on chemo days, so not doing to bad keeping it under control but hoping for a few hints to help tomorrow, Evening of day 4 and day 5 still the worst. Lots of abdominal pain, gas, tired etc. Having a little numbness in 4th toes. They want to keep a watch on tingling in hands and feet. No hair loss yet so I may make it thru or it may hit later. Since the 12 week is the low dose some people just have in thin or don't lose it at all and some people that did other chemo first start to regrow during taxol. If I had not needed the herceptin for the HER2 positive only radiation would have been recommended, so I think that I why the onc recommended the taxol low dose regime as being one that I could handle with least interuption to my life and still get the herceptin I need and also the taxol to do its job too. Hopefully we can make it thru all 12 with the neuropathy and we also have to watch for anemia with taxol.. White blood counts have not seemed to be the problem. They monitor liver function too, but that has improved every week over the first so far. Needing less pain meds since surgery for port and banged up knee from an ice storm have both improved. Anything with tylenol in it is processed by the liver that also is processing your chemo and makes it work that much harder. I cannot take anything but tylenol because aleve gave me and ulcer a couple years ago so am not allowed any Nsaids or asprin. I hope everyone else who had a tx today had a good day and best wishes to those of you who are going tomorrow. Annette
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well I think the decadron is kicking in- suddenly its midnight and I have little desire to go to bed. I moved up my treatments from fridays to wednesday in hopes of missing less work. So I have tx 3 tomorrow. so I know what I'm in for and I'm trying to be positive, I know I can do this, but I am sure as hell am not looking forward to it.
In a way I try to enjoy the fatigue- sometimes it does feel good just to lay there and not feel like there is something else I should be doing. oh sure there are things I should/could be doing- but after chemo there is just no way hardly any of it is happening, so I give myself a lot more permission to relax than normal. Trying to find the silver lining in feeling like crap.
round 2 has been better than round one- no mouth sores or heartburn as I know how better to prevent and avoid things that trigger. digestive issues have been much better too. I hope that round 3 will be better than round 2. I have been sleeping better this week than I have in a long time.
I love all the pics everyone is posting!
Sessna- love the poem!
ok, really should try to go to bed.
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patti That is so funny. My Golden loves soft things too. His favorite is tolit paper rolls. He fights me pulling the blankets all the way to the washer he dosent want me taking them. He loves socks espically those furry slipper kind and of course undies. He is crazy about pillows. He will grab things and parade around me making silly sounds showing me what he has trying to get my attention. At least this gives our cat a break. I have pretty bad allergies to latex and some tapes they use. Mine started out simple with red marks temp. Now it is pretty bad. You may want to mention if you are having a reaction. It compounds every time you are exposed. if so try to limit what is causing it.
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Hi All,
I hope everyone is as well as can be... I can see we're all hanging in there by reading these great posts and looking at all the great pics! I'm getting ready for treatment #2 this Friday and hope it's no worse than the first one...
I got a good chuckle out of the following this morning, so I though I'd pass it on in hopes to give you all a good chuckle as well.
Went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
The nurse starts with certain basics.
"How much do you weigh?" She asks. "135 lbs." I say.
The nurse puts me on the scale. It turns out my weight is 180 lbs.The nurse asks, "your height?" "5 foot 4 inches,' I say.
The nurse checks and sees that I only measure 5' 2'.She then takes my blood pressure and tells me it is very high. "Of course it's high!' I scream.
"When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I'm short and fat!'
She put me on Prozac. What a bitch.
I hope you all have a fantastic day!!!
Beth
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Alyad- You freaked me out when I started reading your post. I knew we were the same day TX and I'm like whoa, she's taking her decadron already, WTH day is it anyway? I would love to switch my TX to Wednesdays. They finally approved and found me an alternative assignment at work. So I am hoping to go back to work by Wed. next week. It should be challenging learning a whole new job with chemo brain. And , I'll have to learn to tolerate the wig!
Good luck today
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bether you are funny
deb youll do fine
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Bethr - thanks for the chuckle!! Tooo funny
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MOB - We haven't heard from you in a while as you , no doubt, have been buried in tax returns as well as dealing with round 3 SEs. BUT, I didn't forget that you have been promised some pics of hot guys to celebrate the end of tax season. So, I found this one for the " tough biker chick" in you. Can't tell what that tattoo says, I think something about family!!
Don't work tooo hard today.
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NYDeb - Oh, that is priceless!!!! Now I need to get to work! But I love that picture!!! Thank you for another chuckle today!!!
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Hi MichelleinSJ! Good to see ya back! I didn't have hot flashes before (I just turned 34) so this is all new to me. It's not fun, but if it is the worst SE I have this week then I am not complaining!
Eliza - welcome, and sorry to hear that you are having a tough time. I am also on TAC X6 and have finished 3 rounds. Everyone is different, but I have to say that I have found that the 1st round was by far the worst, and each round has gotten "better" since then. I bounce back quicker and have less side effects (SE's). My worst days are 2-4 and by 5 I am back at work and almost normal. Are your treatments every other week or every 3 weeks?
For everyone else - I hope this proves to be the same for you (each treament getting easier)!
I had options of either AC + T 4 each or doing the trial I am in which would have been either TAC or TC for 6. Lucky me, I got all 3. Actually now I am glad, because I'd rather get all at the same time and not have to deal with the different SE's at different times and for 8 treatments instead of 6. I was a little worried that getting Adriamycin for 6 treatments might be hard on the heart, but so far so good. I think all of us who had node positive get one of these regimens for at least 6 treatments. Node negative has other considerations like grade, oncotype, fam history, etc. ER/PR/Her2 status is also important for if and what kind of chemo you get.
As for the furminator - I have 3 60 lb+ dogs and one 45 lb dog, all of whom shed like crazy. My chow/husky is the worst, and furminator works like a charm. They also make a shampoo that is WONDERFUL, I highly recommend it once a month.
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NYDeb & Bethr Thanks for putting a smile on my face.....I got up and washed my hair ready for work this morning and it was coming out in clumps.....but you lightened up my day. K off to work!
Julie
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Bethr...made me start the morning with a smile! Thank you!
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Eliza,
I hope you are feeling better. I am on DD 4 AC followed by 4 T. One thing I can tell you...call your onc if you have nausea or vommiting for more than a day or two. Each time the TX effected me differently. The second was probably the best. I was sick for a week and onc gave me Kytril yesterday...haven't been sick since. I get different premed drugs in IV to help put off nausea and then Emend for 2 days. I guess the point being..there are a lot of drugs out there and it takes a little time to find what works for you. Don't give up and be persistant. TELL them you want something different! I took Claritan and had few body aches. Not sure about Taxol, sounds like that might be more of an issue. I got my TX backed up to Tues. from Wed's hoping I would feel better by the weekends. Now I'm looking at it as one less day to feel good this time around!
I love the pictures and jokes. You ladies always keep us smiling. Good luck to all with TX's today...we are thinking about you!
Chris
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ok ladies: I am going to try and post again,hopefully I won't lose the darn thing.
I had my 3rd DD AC tx on thursday and it or the shot or the bug I caught or something unknown to mankind knocked my proverbial d*ck in the dirt. geez, I had to call in work for 2 days even with the 4 days I had scheduled off for tx, unheard of for me to call in at work. I felt absolutely horrid. I won't bore you with the details, suffice it to say I had every SE I could imagine, finally went to the er on Monday, got some iv fluids, dx with mild CHF, my white count was crazy ass high i can't remember if it was 45,800 or 48,500. normal is between 8,000 -9,500 at the lab in the hospital where i work, anyway my favorite er doc was like HOLY SHIT!!!, he called the oncologist and the onc said "Well, at least we know her neulasta injection is working" he's a little smart ass but i love him,he is awesome. so, they put me on antibiotics for the unknown bug that was giving me a temp, couldn't dx anything specific because all the symptoms could be an infection OR just side effects. HMMPPHH. I can't friggin stand being a patient instead of the nurse. I boo-hooed to my boss because i felt like i was letting everyone down by calling in sick, she told me i set too high expectations for myself and basically to get over it get better and come to work when i felt like it, i was more important than being short staffed. I have the best boss and co-workers i could ever ask for,yeah!!! Gosh! I typed such a long post yesterday and lost it that I can't even remember what all I wrote. I am feeling much better, like you do when you are recovering from a nasty cold or the flu.
ALYAD: Awwhh what cute little kittie kisses. I love everyone posting their animal pictures on here, my computer is a dinosaur, but my brother is going to help me put pics on his computer so i can post them.
GINAGINA: You and your daughter looked adorable with your pink wigs, i love your new pic. Go to you tube and type in Jeff Dunham, he is the ventriloquist that does Achmed the Dead Terrorist. He also has several other characters that are hilarious. guaranteed to make you pee your pants.
Speaking of peeing your pants, if anyone is into just stupid potty humor,go to you tube and type in farting preachers,not meant to be offensive to anyone in anyway, just pretty darn funny. I am an er nurse, i grew up with only brother and a slew of male cousins, i am the only girl,so bodily function humor is just normal to me. I take my laughs where i can get em.
BUBBLY BUNNY: I know that isn't the correct screen name but it is how i see you and i just can't help it, your smile is infectious,it cheers me up just to look at your picture, plus i love bunny rabbits,not as pets though,ewwhh. You have hit the nail on the head about the tats, males are definately gentler than females,and i know that not everyone will be able to get to miami so we should all have access to the same design
ARNIE: I think it is grandly amusing that you have your wig in the window, now you can give your shitty neigbors the "hairy eyeball" (local saying, pun intended) even when your not at home. LMAO. I have a friend and her ex-husband is giving her a ration of bs about her starting to date,doesn't want his kids to see her with other men, etc, event hough it is ok for him to date now. I told her since i had completely shaved my head now (couldn't sleep with the stubble,I don't know how men do it) we could go to his has when he had a female visitor over,we could play the addams family music, and i could just keep popping up in his windows like a deranged Uncle Fester, Ha! I wonder how long it would take for him to change his tune, he is such an a-hole, and we know all the cops and they wouldn't do anything but laugh their heads off and make us leave. PLEASE someone dare me, double dog dare me!
NYDeb48: I can't believe your dog ate a pair of pantyhose. All I could picture was you following him around waiting to see what would come out the other end. Did your get pantyhose or a pair of knee highs? LOL
Vangoghpro: I hope i spelled that correctly. I think it is wonderful that you went bald in the car, liberating isn't it. I was in town recently,normal errand, went in the bank, in the grocery store, in the post office, in the insurance co, etc, well, as i was driving home my head got hot and i reached up to remove my bandana, OMG it wasn't there, it was laying on the seat beside me. I had just inundated the town with my bald noggin, and here i thought everyone was staring at me because my make-up looked so hot that day, Yeah right!
Luv2Sing: I like the picture of you and your new sleeve. Your face is glowing as your admire it, what a beautiful moment.
Janet0527: Miley looks like a likker and a kisser and such compassionate eyes. I love animals, they show their soul through their eyes.
Sessna: Glad to see you back and thanks for the poem, I really needed one. tank ya honey
I have a friend at work that has decided to start getting me a shirt to wear for each chemo.
the 1st one says: Does this shirt make me look bald?
the 2nd one says: I'm too sexy for my hair cool huh.
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forgive any misspellings from here on out, i am no longer going to preview my posts because i keep losing them
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DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU MARSHALL!!! hehehehe
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YEAH!!!! I'LL DO IT, I AM OFF FRIDAY AND THAT IS DATE NIGHT AROUND THESE HERE PARTS(READ WITH HILLBILLY ACCENT) OHH HE SOOOO DESERVES IT TOO. MY FRIEND WILL PROBABLY TRY TO CHICKEN OUT BUT I WILL JUST BULLDOG HER INTO IT. HER TEENAGE DAUGHTER DEFINATELY WANTS IN ON IT TOO.
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Love it, Marshall...you'll have to keep us updated! Now I have something to look forward to on Saturday! ha! Have a great day...
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