November 2009-Starting Chemo

Wha'ts a Smart One Prune?  I've looked on the internet but can't find anything called that. 

ccnani...were you a cheerleader in your former life??!! 

ccnani, you should definitely insist on the emend and neulasta.  I have had no issue with nausea at all, My insurance isn't the greatest but I am getting both these drugs and you should too!

I am tired today.  Just vacuuming a rug wears me out and nothing tastes good.  But my sweet neighbor from next door is sweeping up all my leaves outside with his cool tractor toy.  What a relief that I won't have to do that.  People are so great!

It's a SmartOne for me next time.

Have a good everning everyone.

Shelley

SLV:  Add bland snacks, like cookies or crackers, to your TX-bag.  That helped me last time when I hadn't eaten enough ahead of time. (Animal crackers have been good on my stomach and a change from saltines.)   I also picked up some Aloe "butt-wipes" (pardon the language) for those constant bathroom trips I'd heard could happen. 

For my mental well-being:  When I go out of the house to go anywhere, I wear a thin, wire bangle bracelet for every week of TX, starting with 17 (extra one was for the port-implant week).  I will take one off when I get home each afternoon after a TX.  (I only have 15 left!!)   I had read about a woman who wore a pink, beaded bracelet for each week of TX, and she took one off at the end of each TX. I liked the idea a lot, but I "borrowed" my 19 yr. old daughter's bangles instead.  On my other arm, with my watch, I wear a braided leather bracelet with my 15 yr. old son's name on it.  Both the leather bracelet and the bangles remind me of why I'm going through all of this. 

I love the bracelet idea!  Considering that I also have to have herceptin for a year though, those bracelets will go up to my elbow, lol..

Okay ladies, answer me this:  What medications did your oncologist prescribe, and what did you have to ask for?  I have heard a wide-variety of things on this board.   Some get Emend, some get ativan, some get percocet for bone pain, some get ambian for sleeping, some get compazine...etc.   I'm curious why everybody doesn't just get the same thing!  Is it because some people asked and some didnt?

I'm not including neulasta in that, because to me that is part of chemo and I'm kind of shocked that you didn't get it pre-authorized automatically, ccnani!  

I'll keep the smart one prune in mind - I hear dried apricots also have a lot of fiber and are effective - I like them a lot more than prunes!    Remembering what happened to me after surgery - I intend to take care of that part of things right away!  (This is indelicate, but it was on my son's birthday that I finally overcame my constipation.  I was up in the middle of the night, feeling exactly the way I had 23 years ago when giving birth to him, lol!!!)  

I see my oncologist tomorrow.  Anything you more experienced ladies thing I should bring up wtih him?

 

Hi Ladies,

I'm popping in from the August 2009 chemo board.  I just completed the first part of my chemo regimen which was 4TX of AC every 21 days.  I know how scarey it is to be just starting, but trust me, most of the time I was surprised by how good I actually felt and the "down" days were pretty predictable.   Here are some suggestions for you...

- Keep a daily journal of how you feel and your side effects.  As the cycles went on I saw a definite pattern to how I felt and when.   This allowed me to prepare for the down days which, for me, were all clustered in Days 5-7 after a treatment (in my journal Day 1 was the treatment day).

- Take the meds.  My chemo nurse gave me a schedule for taking the meds in the days following treatment and I followed her instructions to the "T".   I never had any nausea! (My meds were: 1 Emend in the am Day 2/3,  2 steriod pills in the am Day 2/3/4,  Zofran every 8-hours Day 1/2/3/4, Compazine and Ativan as needed)

-  Not all side effects are created equal.  On these boards we all talk about a huge variety of side effects which can be pretty scarey and overwhelming before you start.  For me, extreme fatigue was my most debilitating side effect and it always started and ended between Day 5 and Day 7.  The other side effects I had were annoying and unpleasant to varying degrees, but they were manageable with OTC meds (Clariton, Tylenol, etc) and didn't keep me from going about my normal life.

- Don't sweat the small stuff.   During the down days I learned to just forget about the state of the house and the laundry and you know what?...My family hardly noticed.  We had lots of pizza delivered and ate more fast food than normal and my 12-year old was just delighted! 

As far as the cycles go,  TX1 seemed hard mainly because I didn't know what to expect but in retrospect it was actually pretty good with only one afternoon/evening of couch time required.  TX2 was my "best" one, I knew what to expect and down time was minimal.  TX3 and TX4 were increasingly difficult with the fatigue (2-3 afternoon/evenings on the couch) but by then I was focused on being 75%, then 100% done with AC!   

Best of luck to you all!   I know everyone says this...but you WILL get through it just fine.   I start 12-weeks of Taxol this week...which I'm sure will be another new experience!

Patty

Susan62, I totally get you!  I was diagnosed a few months ago, then with the ensuing surgeries, and recouperation etc... I am ready to move on to the next step.

I just want to get thru the first TX so I know what it will mean to me, how many SEs will apply, and what I need to do to cope.

Tawanda!

Haven't been rx'd steroids, but I think it may depend on the type of chemo coctail you get, number of infusions etc.  I think some hit you harder in different ways to the point where steriods become a good option.

Thank you for the helpful advice, Patty!

Good Morning.  I'm not feeling so cool this morning.  I was a bit backed up this weekend and shall we say I had a breakthrough this morning.  But now I just feel week.  What I really want is a big good glass of apple juice, but the other day when I had one it sucked so I don't want to be upset by more crap the doesn't taste good.  I just wish I could be at home in bed instead of here at work.  Sorry to be such a bummer. 

I had a good weekend.  We finally got the fire in last night, it was nice to just sit and talk to my sweetie.  He and I had a few talks yeasterday that we needed to have.  He feels total left out.  Because of his work he isn't able to get off to come to doctors with me, so he feels that this is not something he has any control over.  I keep trying to get him to talk but... He is a guy.  And he is scared.  I know one of the first things he said was that this was so hard for him because he is always able to fix stuff.  But not this.  I have started to ask him for help more which I think is helping alittle. 

So when I came home on Friday from work I took my wig off and it felt weird.  i spent this whole weekend not reallying feeling like myself.  When I took my wig out this morning I had this great feeling of having found myself.  I think that I will be cutting my hair on this weekend. 

Quick question... Is the second set of drugs harder on the system then the first?  I know it all builds up but I really don't know anything about what is to come after the 16th od December for me. 

Thanks all.  I think I should go to work now.  Have a great safe and happy and healthy days.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( HUGS )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Love Kimmy

Hey hey,  my onc said the Taxol is much easier to tolerate than the A/C.  I'm banking on that info and am looking past these 4 A/C treatments to that!  I too had heard that your hair comes back before the Taxol treatments are done.  Something else to look forward to.

Is day 7 for me, post TX and it is definitely the best I've felt.  Ran into a lady in my neighborhood this A.M.  Don't know her well, but we often pass each other while walking our dogs. (She is probably 50-something.)   I hadn't seen her in a weeks, so she wasn't aware of my BC.  When she offhandedly asked how I was, I said, "Well, I've been better..." and I told her about the BC, the 1st TX, shaved head, etc.  She said she was so sorry, and then said she had had it when she was 31 and then told me briefly her experience and her double mast.  She even said, "No one knows how hard it is to go through this unless you've been there."  There is no doubt that she was "in my path" today for a reason.  We just gotta keep positive thoughts and constantly remind ourselves that we are not alone!!!

Thanks Shel and Alicia but my schedule is up in the air again.

I do see the surgeon for my post port check up tomorrow and then see the new oncologist. Perhaps I will get first treatment later in the week.

I am going to a "Look Good, Feel Better" class today at the cancer center.

SLV - I can understand your fear about accessing the port but it was not bad at all for me.  I did not use the cold spray and I didn't look when she was accessing the port.  I only felt a minimal stick, for me having blood drawn was worse than that.  You WILL be fine, I know that you will do great!

Good afternoon friends.  I had my oncology appointment today.  My first chemo is December 2. He gave the choice of starting it before Thanksgiving or after, and I chose after.

Can I still stay in this thread, even though I've peeked into December?

I will have Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin.   T/C every three weeks for six cycles.  Herceptin weekly for a year.  Then five years of  Tamoxofen.  It'll be a long, long haul won't it ladies?

My second infusion is the 23rd.  I hope the side effects don''t kick in until after Christmas!  

Maybe I'll pop into the December thread too, as I will be an early one there and can help the ladiies with my experiences. But, I hope you don't kick me out of this one too! 

Nobody mentioned putting a port in, and I forgot to ask.  Is it normal to have a year of infusions and no port?  I have small veins too, they always have trouble with me.