Starting Chemo Feb 2010?

Hello all - I meet with my surgeon on Tuesday to get the resutls from surgery and the oncologist next Monday 2/8 - I am not able to do a thing, except read these boards and research.  I can't concentrate on anything.  I'm 46 - have 2 daughters, 16 and 19 and hubby of 20 years.  Diagnosed 1/13/10 - lumpectomy 1/27/10. Not really sure what to expect on Tuesday.   Praying for good results. 

Hey Irishmom, I'm a fellow Irish lass (Colleen), and my daughters are the same age as yours-- or were, because my firstborn turned 20 today. Been married 26 years. I was so worried about my girls when I was first diagnosed, even more so when the pathology report came back not what we'd hoped, but as time goes on I see they're doing okay, and it's harder on my husband. They can be more fragile than they seem, these menfolk.

Good luck on Tuesday. I've been where you are, unable to concentrate, but you'll get through it and get your life back, no matter what challenges lie ahead.

And donsuzbee, wow, what a journey. We're with you. Hang in there. 

MomWhoFan, and  lbreedl, 

Good luck tomorrow.

Lots of hugs,

Grace

I'll be on this roster, too! I start Feb 17.  TCH

Beth and Cindy - This site has been a tremendous resource for me, lots of great gals here to help you through!!

Cindy - If you haven't already check out the blog on TC treatment as well.  I too had a small trace on 1 lymph node and an OncoType of 10, so I am also going the way of TC but 6 rounds vs. 4.  Haven't figured out the difference of 4 vs. 6 and it is on my list to ask my onc next week before round #2.

faithfulc - I'll be thinking of you tomorrow!  The steroids really helped me day 1,2 & 3, day 4 I was very tired, but it was the only day that I spent on the couch.  I took the Claritan 1 hour before my Nulasta shot (without the Decongest.) and I had no pain during the shot, but it wasn't until day 7 that the bone pain hit and lasted ~36 hours.  Others took Claritin every day for a couple of days, but I only took it before I was given the shot to minimize the pain of the shot.  During the 36 hours of bone pain, I said not again to the Neulasta, but I am going to do it again.  I have been feeling great, I totally feel like myself and I even had a glass of wine over the weekend and it tasted just fine, I am back doing regular exercises too this week and next leading up to my # 2!

I am going into NY tomorrow for a wig, my family and I, after further inspection, didn't like the first one I brought home from my stylist.  After looking into wigs further, I also discovered that the wig they sold me was also on www.wigs.com for $100, they charged me $400, they are letting me return it thank goodness!!  So I am off tomorrow and going to Jacquelyn Wigs where they have hundreds I can try on!!  www.jacquelynwigs.com  They have all types, synthetic, human hair blend, 100% human hair, mono fillament caps so a part looks like a part.  A friend of mine went there and said they were amazing and you don't pay the mark up that a salon tacks on, but I will still likely need it styled.  I should have gone there to start, yes well:)

I am day12 and feeling like myself, except I can't help but feel the port every now and then to remind me and my hair is getting brittle, so it is a matter of days before it starts to go....

Take care ladies!

Well, looks like I will be moving to March.  Just heard from my BS and the first date open for port is February 25.  Dang.  I had hoped to start earlier.

Starting TCH on February 10th - every three weeks for six times total.  Followed up by radiation for seven weeks, herceptin for a year and then Tamoxifen.  It's heartbreaking but gratifying to see a group of people going through the same thing.  I've been pretty anxious, but now I know I'm truly not alone.  There seems to be so many variations on side effects - that alone can make you anxious.  Stopped reading them for now!  Wish you all luck - hope we all can see each other through this.  Anyone in the Philly suburbs? 

I found this chemotherapy worksheet  to track side effects at Cancer.org

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MON/content/MON_1_Chemotherapy_Worksheet_to_Track_Side_Effects.asp

Beth

If you placed this thread in your favorite places,

check below the title of this thread and there will be a link for email

Hi all, sorry I disappeared for a while. lbreedl I hope you are still feeling good, I'm rooting for you!

I had quite a nasty surprise last weekend when within 48 hours my breast had swollen to 3x the size of my 'normal' breast, hot, very bruised-looking. I was so sick when I went to see my BS Monday that I had to be admitted to the hospital for 5 days, hooked up to IV antibiotics. I'm still on them, for another 10 days I think. Really nasty resistant staph infection. No one can figure out how I had surgery (lumpectomy) six weeks before, no hematoma, no bad signs, and suddenly the infection sprang to life.

I'm calling this 'chemo practice.' Blew out about 5 veins in the first 2 days so I know IVs will be hard for me tolerate. I had to get a PICC line put in and that has saved my sanity. I've been exhausted, high fevers, chills...wait, like chemo! Actually, I'm hoping it's worse than chemo for me. I'm on day 10 and haven't felt better since Friday. No worse but no better.

My oncologist came by to visit me, put her hand on my shoulder and said "If you REALLY didn't want chemo that badly, you could've just told me." She makes me laugh. So now for sure I won't make my original start date of 2/4, but am hoping for the last week of February. 

Stay well, everyone. Wash your hands all the time. I don't want anyone else to have to go through this.

Hugs and good thoughts to all.

Curious how lbreedl is today after first treatment.

Rash I can handle!  I hope that's the extent of it for you.  Did you have the Neulasta prior to your treatment?  Curious how that went.  Mo

Faithfulc, thanks for the welcome and for creating this thread.  How did your first treatment go today?

Leta17,  it's nice to meet someone who is similar with the small one node involvement and low oncotype score. Did your oncologist give you a choice on chemo? I am curious about the Claritin. You said you used it to counteract the pain of the shot but that others use it more. What type of benefit is it supposed to provide?

Laura (lbreedl), thanks for the update on your first treatment. I am glad to hear it was OK having it via IV. Pleae keep us up on how it goes.

Thanks to these chemo threads, because I found out about the Neulasta shot here. We live on the other side of town from my oncologist, so it would have been difficult having to go back for the shot after treatment. Plus, my chemo is on a Friday, and I would have had to wait until Monday.  I called my oncologist and asked if my husband could give me the shot instead, and I just found out that they got the approval from my insurance company. They set it up for a local pharmacy to overnight me the shot. I am so happy they did this for me. My hubby was an Army medic, so he has been great helping me with the medical stuff.

Today I went shopping at Kohl's and found a 100% cotton large purple/pink flowered kind of scarf. It was 95% off, for a grand total of $2.20!  I wanted something to have on hand for when the hair starts to go, and this seems perfect. It has that "Rhoda Morgenstern" look, but we did cut off the tassels that circled it. Oncologist said they will give me a prescription for a wig, so I hope to pick that up this Friday at treatment.  The only other thing I've picked up is some Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash. The rest we'll get as/if specific symptoms appear.

Nice to meet everyone!

Cindy

Hi everyone!

So glad to see the first group of treated ladies make it through unscathed, for the most part. I really didn't know what to expect when I got to the office yesterday, since this chemo treatment is so different from my first time through in 2002. faithfulc: Funny, but I took 1 Senokot at breakfast, just trying to be on the safe side with all the steroids and other chemicals possibly binding me up for a few days. Then, when my onc spoke to us about the side effects, I asked him about taking the Senokot for several days. He looked up at me with a slight smile and said, "Didn't I tell you about the possibility of diarrhea with Taxotere? You may want Imodium." Haha! And the Benadryl effect lasted for only 5 minutes? Lucky you! I would have preferred the beer over the benadryl!

I got there at 12 noon, and wasn't done until 5:30. Long day, but they were being careful with all the drugs being administered the first time around, watching for any allergic reactions or strange side effects. The nurse started off with Dexamethasone (steroid for anti-nausea), Diphenhedramine (Benadryl) and Famotidine (Pepcid). The diphenhedramine really set me off into la-la land and I just wasn't expecting that at all. It was almost an out-of-body experience. My husband said I sounded like Dudley Moore with a mouth full of novocain in the movie "10"! It eventually wore off as they continued with the Taxotere (over an hour to administer, since they started with a very slow drip and watched for any adverse reactions, then changed the drip time), Carboplatin and Herceptin. 

Between all the fluids being pumped into my system and all the water I was drinking, I was glad to have a port, which made it easier to maneuver the IV rack and my body to the bathroom several times. By the time it was all done, I was feeling pretty good! I was just a tad tired, but not nearly as bad as the FEC treatment.

I had a tough time getting to sleep, but I guess that's because of the prescription meds (dexamethasone and compazine, specifically the steroid). Once I fell asleep, it was a good night. By morning, I was feeling normal and did some walking on the treadmill, cleaned up the kitchen, took care of some laundry, ran a few errands and realized I overdid it. When I sat down to rest up a bit, the phone started ringing ... and ringing ... and ringing. No rest for the weary.

Now I've got my feet up and hope to take it easy tomorrow. The onc did say that it's usually the 2nd or 3rd day when the SE's kick in and that by Friday I'd be pretty fatigued. His concern is that some people are overtired and wants me to watch carefully. If it gets really bad, he'll switch me to Taxol (milder SE's). Oh, and my husband will be giving me my Neulasta shots again. Last time around my white cell count was .5 ... I guess I really needed the shot! We're assuming I'll need these again. He's a brave soul and I wouldn't be able to get through this without him. What a guy!

So far no metal mouth, no rash, no itching, no nauseous feelings, slightly dry mouth, slight headache, slight fatigue (not more than the usual for now) and slightly dry eyes. I'll return next Tuesday for another dose of Herceptin, followed by the next week for Herceptin again, then back to #2 cycle.

Grazie47, CinD, and donsuzbee: Good luck with your treatments this week. It won't be as bad as you think. Bring a good book, an iPod and a sense of humor. Be kind to yourself and rest if you need it. Drink LOTS of water!