For those starting chemo in June

Cathi,

I was just about exactly where you are in the process a year ago (as were the other women on this posting). My chemo started last June 10. I did the 4AC/4 Taxol every two weeks. Drink lots of water the day before, of and after your AC treatments. I sucked on ice throughout the infusion of the Adriamycin, which is supposed to help you keep from getting mouth sores. I'm not sure if it was using that or Biotene toothpaste/mouthwash, but I never got any sores. (I did get sick of ice and water. I really couldn't stomach either from about my 3rd AC on for months)

The chemo session itself was pretty unventful. Took a few hours, so I took books, we had videos we could watch, took some light snacks. Also, I found I got cold pretty easily, so I took a sweater along. Didn't hurt really (are you getting a port? I was glad I had mine) except when they actually put the needle in...

Sometimes, I went out for lunch after. You'll feel tired probably. And I always just felt a little "off." I never really felt nauseous throughout chemo. The Taxol was the harder for me, as it caused quite a bit of bone pain a few days after. For some women, Taxol/Taxotere are quite easy.

I've got a 7-year-old and I think that he really wasn't aware (given they're very self-centered at this age, thank god) anything that awful was happening to me. Well, outside of the hair thing. I was able to pretty much continue being regular old mom. I did have sisters and my mom who flew in for most of my chemo sessions just to be here and support me and cook, etc...

My advice, take help when it's offered. I remember a year ago wondering if I would ever have a normal life again. You know, where what you worry about are getting the kids to school, what to pick up at the grocery store, could you put off mopping one more day. Well, THIS year, I find myself having mostly normal days like that with a tinge of anxiety. But I'm busy thanking god my days are so boringly normal. Yours will be, too, sooner than you think.

I'm about to go to my latest 3-month checkup. Take care

Well, back from my 3-month checkup, which took all of about 5 minutes. Everything looks OK. My onc wants me to have the ovaries out in Sept., since chemopause has ended and things are back to normal. Luckily, I hear the surgery is not completely awful and I have a few months now to not have to worry about any appointments, etc.

You guys take care. We're enjoying our first rain in a long while here and I'm taking the day off work. Life is good today.

Cathi, we'll all be pulling for you next week.

Janie, I'd say it's both. Basically, since the chemo didn't put me into menopause and since my tumor was ER/PR+, having the ovaries still churning out the estrogen is a bad thing, I guess. And if, God forbid, the genetic test comes back positive, I'd also have a heightened risk of ovarian cancer. You being both menopausal and ER/PR- I guess means they wouldn't need to remove yours. Hey, that's ONE thing you don't have to go through... Hope your treatment is still going OK.

Hey, I have three canteloupes growing and a bell pepper. I'm very excited. My best garden ever. Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend.

OOps, Janie good question (overies) and I asked my Onkey about that way back when and I forgot what he said but I will ask on Thursday. I know he said I didn't have to.What? Who? OH Yea! Mary

Hey Mare, Glad you got off the rock. See any birds?
Thanks PJ. I guess if ER/PR negative is good for something after all, even if it does mean Hormone therapy is out.

Night all,

Janie

Oh, Mary, glad you got home with both yourself and the hubby in one piece. I hate bridges of any length or height and the Bay Bridge is one of the worst I've ever seen. I'm sorry that you had to do that and the tunnel too. The tunnel before the Golden Gate bridge had a rainbow painted on it when I was there. I guess that's to make you feel better about going thru a tunnel. Don't you know that there's not a man alive who can listen to directions? They all just naturally think they know instinctively where to drive to arrive by the best route and they really don't have a clue!! Let us know about joining the Herceptin group. I had #29 today with 23 to go.....Achoo--I've got Herceptin nose again tonite. Smiles & sneezes--NancyLee

Hi ladies!

Add me to the list of June Chemo chicks! I start June 8. I go to chemo class this afternoon right after my MUGA. I will be on the Dose Dense AC X4 followed by Dose Dense Taxol X4 plan. After that, I'll have radiation. Then I'll have a hysterectomy because in the middle of this I was diagnosed with Cervical Carcinoma in Situ. I just had surgery to remove the lesions last Tuesday. Although an extensive area, my surgeon was able to get clean margins. Just to be on the safe side... I am having all girly parts removed as soon as I am able to!

I am scared silly about the chemo, but trying to keep up a brave facade! It helps me to fake it... ya know... just pretend that it's no big deal.

I will be having my port put in on Thursday. I am happy that I'll be able to get one as I've heard it makes life a bit easier. With my last surgery, the nurse tried 2 times to place the IV before she had another nurse come in and try. (2nd nurse had it in in about 15 secs!) I about lost my mind though... I've never had an issue before, but that hurt so bad when they blew the veins and that fluid leaks into the tissue. I was in tears. I don't think I want the emotional stress of IV placement every 2 weeks X8! No thank you!

Anyway... that's a bit about me. Thank you all for posting your experiences. It sure helps a lot to know that others have been through this and are SAFELY on the other side and that I am not alone right now. What a great sisterhood!

Hugs,
Dana
Dana's Journal

Hi,
I go in for my first chemo June 1. Ax4; Cx4; Tx4 every two weeks followed by radiation. I had a lumpectomy 4/29. I am concerned about nausea since my insurance doesn't cover prescriptions. Has anyone used ReliefBand or anything else to help with nausea other than drugs?
The discussion boards have helped since I feel overwhelmed with all the terms, drugs and treatments I had have to become familiar with since being diagnosed.
Thanks.

Should I start a "Starting Chemo in June 2005" thread? I don't want to confuse everyone?

Thoughts?

Hugs,

Hi Nanacy Lee, Hope your nose is better. I am not looking forward to sinus crap, I had that with chaemo. Hugs, Mary

Hey Renee, It sounds like a wonderful vacation. I am so stiff when I stop for just a few mins. that I hate to sit or stand. I have to keep going until I am ready for bed or I wouldn't go at all. Its so great to go places and take the kids and its even nicer when they are old enough to take care of themselves. I am glad you had a wonderful vacation. Its always good to get home too. Janie, will the hercept. cause white or red blood counts to fall? I hope not I hate those shots. The red count shots(arenesp) isn't as bad as the white count shots. Gotta go later ladies. Mary

Janie,

My friend who had the recurrence originally was diagnosed 5 years ago with no nodes, ERPR-. I don't think they tested for HER2 back then. She doesn't seem to know much about her treatment (like what chemo she had; I'm guessing Adriamycin since she had 4 tx), mostly I think because she's scared. I've told her some questions she needs to ask this time around. (3 nodes positive, so I'm sure chemo's in her future again)

She asked me how I knew so much about stuff. And I told her I'd had a great education with all the women on this board. I hope she takes my advice and joins up. It's such a well of support.

Mary, hope the appt. goes well. Hope all are well.

Hi girls, Janie I am with you. I never thought of myself as sick. It was like a little setback in my life that I had to get out of the way and get on with my life. I struggle with the whole "brave" thing cause I did what I had to do and I was far from brave. My body just went and did what it had to do and my mind wasn't happy with it but it had to go along. I just scared the s*i% outta myself. I looked down at my belly and legs with my reading glasses on, thank God I realized I had them on!!! I was in shock.... I looked really big for a while there.... Maybe I don't fully realize all the time what I have and maybe thats good. I watched a movie the other night and a person was in a coffin with the lid closed and that kinda bothered me but it may have been my claustraphobia too, if it had a window it probably wouldn't of bothered me. O...K....P.J. I think you are right, it doesn't matter how many nodes are pos. or how big the lump or if you are her/2, some it comes back fast, some it takes a while and some it never does. If we knew the answer to why that is... we would have a cure. My hubby can't have surgery or any treatments, we have to deal with the pain and he can no longer work. If one of the 3 disc slips anymore in his neck he could become paralized. He had a chance for a good job at the state too. He may try it I don't know what he will do but its working on the roads and I don't see how he can do it because he can't be on his feet for more than an hour. He is so directionally challenged that if he had taken my suggestion in Springfield to find the Dr. office we would of been there 15 mins. earlier but instead we drove down the same road 4 times, like the street the Dr. was on would magically appear before us. If we had gone down 2 more blocks guess what? yea; there it was. He did stop for directions, I guess there is a GOD. I guess my suv needs the millage. Gotta go girls. Hugs, Mary

Janie--I had my first Herceptin on November 15th, 2004. It started out with the nurse not being able to get blood to come back in my PICC line in my arm. SO they tried a whole bunch of different ways for me to sit and stand and twist, but nothing worked. Then they got the Nurse Anesthe. who had put the PICC line in my arm to try. She had me lie down on a bed and they tipped the bed backwards so that I was like standing on my head and then she Jerked on my arm and HERE came the blood. So then I had to be tipped slowly back up and lie there for awhile before I could stand up cuz all the blood was in my head!! Interesting experience. Then I had the MEGA dose of 335 mg over 90 minutes with all the wires and machines attached to see if I was going to be ok. I got flu like symptoms right away, but this was just one week away from my last Taxol so I was still dealing with that dreadful stuff. I should back up and say that I had a Groshong Cath in my chest placed during mascectomy 4/22/04. In October I developed a staph infection in the cath and drove 160 miles round trip morning and night for 2 weeks/28 doses of Vancomyacin to try to save the cath due to my long treatment schedule. The Vanco gave me "Red Man's Syndrome" the first time so they slowed down the infusion and it took 3 hours each time instead of 1 hour. SIGH. It was a long two weeks and it didn't work so on 10/26/04 I had surgery to remove my Groshong. I had 3 blessed days of "nothing on my body that I didn't start out with" and then on 10/29/04 I had a PICC line placed in my arm so that I could have my next Taxol on November 1st. Then I had my "Week from Hell" as I named it as if a bunch of the preceding weeks hadn't been but on Monday 11/8 I had my last Taxol. YAY! On Tuesday 11/9 I drove 225 miles to a big hospital to have my 3rd MUGA. That night after driving 225 miles back home, I drove the 85 miles up to the hospital where I have my chemo each week. I stayed in a motel that night and on Wednesday, 11/10 I went into the hospital for my Port placement. So I had a PICC line and a port at the same time. They wouldn't let me drive back to the motel after the surgery so I left my Jeep in the hospital parking lot and one of my chemo nurses gave me a ride to the motel. She also came back that night and checked on me to see it I was comfortable and taking my pain meds. She's an angel. On Thursday, 11/11 I walked over to the hospital from the motel and had my bandages removed from the port 24 hours after the surgery. I was left with steri-strips that I had to leave on for a week. Then I stole my Jeep out of the parking lot and went back to the motel. On Friday, 11/12 I had my monthly appt. with my Oncologist. He told me that I was past the "bad part" and it should be smooth sailing now. He told me that I didn't have to take any premeds for the Herceptin. He couldn't believe the bruising due to the port placement and on my arm from the MUGA and around the PICC. And the reason for the PICC was that they had to wait for my chest to heal on the left side from the removal of the Groshong before they could put in the Port-a-Cath and they wanted the port to be able to heal before they used it. On Saturday, a couple of friends drove up and rescued me from the motel. I got home and spent the rest of Sat. and Sun. taking pain pills and then Monday, 11/15 I had my first Herceptin. So I was somewhat whimped out at the time and I thought that was why it affected me the way it did. I also got some really bad bloody noses after the first treatment, but I still think this was left over from the Taxol. It has gotten better, but I still get the sneezes and sniffles and sometimes a rash on my feet. It is worst on Tuesday and Wednesday. I got my PICC line out on 11/29 after they successfully used the port for the first time. I LOVE the port. I just wish I'd had the option to have it inserted in the first place, then I wouldn't have had the whole Vanco oddessy, but WHATEVER. I just had Herceptin 29 on Monday with ONLY 23 to go!! My RBC/Hemoglobin is back up to 12.2 so I didn't have to have my every other week Arenesp shot this time. I've had to have Arenesp shots a couple of other times in the Herceptin part. It must have done its job this time, but my WBC and my lymphs are still on a downward roll. I see my oncologist tomorrow morning so we are going to discuss that issue. SIGH. In rare cases Herceptin can mess with blood counts and I won in that category I guess. I feel really good now that the anemia is gone, but I just have to avoid "sick people" and stay heathy myself. My mindset has been that I HAD breast cancer and they took it away from me surgically. Now I'm doing adjuvant therapy to make sure that I never have it again. This got longer that I meant it to be, but that's my last kinda 7 or 8 months in a "nut shell". My welcome to all the June newbies too. I gotta get ready for work--It hailed here last night for about half an hour and I can look out the window and see my poor Jeep sitting out there all covered with leaves from my trees. I'm half scared to look closely. I bet I've got some dents. Oh, well, it's old and beat up like me!! Hope you all have a great Thursday. Smiles--NancyLee

Mary, glad you're starting on Hercept. and can do the treatments in town. You Herceptin gals are gonna do great things for the Kleenex industry, I guess. Your heart is 50%? What does that mean? Why do you get treatments more often with that rate? Are they smaller and then easier on the heart? I hope all goes gangbusters. Janie, Nancy, hope yours continues to go well as you count down to the end of Herceptin.







Hope all the new chemo treatment gals are doing OK. I think you'll be relieved by how quickly it goes. Well, OK, not quickly, but chemo IS eventually over.



Renee, I'm very jealous about your trip. We're headed to San Antonio this weekend for Seaworld and Six Flags. Boy, what a difference from last year.