Starting Chemo Feb 2010?

For all of you noticing a tingling- mine did that for about a week before strands started coming out in a more significant fashion.  I don't know why I thought the process would go much faster... its been almost a week, and now I feel that I am at the "mangy dog" stage.  I just want it to be all smooth.  The onc. nurse yesterday said not to shave it with a razor blade, but to get clippers and buzz it as close as possible. So I guess thats what I will do tonight.  The other thing I noticed was how brittle my hair had become. Had not heard the duct tape idea- I can see that working better than cleaning out shower and bath drains.

So fashion advice-  dangling earrings work best with the scarf/buff look?

Cat story made me laugh out loud!

Hubby said to me after the wig shopping fiasco " I'll just get you some bigger diamond earings so nobody will even look at your hair! I did not say no.

lbreedl, now that's a wonderful husband!!

ezscriiibe, thanks for the worksheet link. I'm going to do it for round 2. You do kind of forget (a good thing).

I'm bald (with a 5 o'clock shadow) now. Although the stress of it gave me stomach trouble, I stayed pretty cheerful, and it's not too horrible. Interesting to hear that I have a couple of small scars on the top of my head-- no memory of any injuries. It helps that I still have strong eyebrows and eyelashes. It will be harder when they go/diminish.

Here's the short version of what the chemo/cancer nutritionist for Huntington-UCLA said: Forget about eating healthy while in chemo, you've got your whole life to do that. This is about getting through it. Eat healthy and good fiber on your "good" week/weeks if you can, but don't feel guilty if you can't. In the few days before a chemo day, lots of hydration and fiber foods if you can. Starting on chemo day, go to the opposite of what we normally should do: a White Diet. Small amounts, every two-three hours. White bread, yogurt, white rice, chicken, smoothies (with peaches, yogurt, whey protein, bananas but no berries--seeds are irritants), chicken soup (no celery), tofu, pudding, Jello, ginger snaps, smooth peanut butter, milk (if your system tolerates it normally) and small amounts of cheese. The only fiber food is oatmeal, because it is soluble and digests well. One coffee in the morning is usually okay, but don't drink it throughout the day. A little wine is okay if that's what you normally do (although it doesn't taste good anymore, as we all know).

No vegetables. No beans. No whole-grain breads. No fatty meats (ie lots of bacon). No low-cal drinks or food that have sugar alcohols for sweeteners, because they don't digest and irritate the bowels (I was drinking Vitaman Water 10s to stay hydrated, big mistake). If you're drinking sugar drinks like Gatorade, have a little protein with it, otherwise it will go through your system too fast and might make diarrhea worse.

Make yourself eat a little something every few hours even if you don't want to.

Take Benefiber every day. It's a "good" fiber that helps even if you're in intestinal misery.

Finally, as to my concern about gaining weight, she said it's usually from too much comfort eating, which is understandable. Watch out for too many shakes, puddings, etc., and don't eat constantly, just every few hours. And of course exercise!

Writer, thanks for posting that information from the nutritionist. Very helpful.

Kshep, I've also noticed my hair being more brittle. I'm Day 6 since hair loss began, and my hair is still hanging in there.  It's wispy, but there are no bald spots yet. I just washed it after letting it go for a few days, and I was prepared to see the rest of it come out in the shower. To my surprise, very little fell out. I've gotta see the PS today, and I think I'd better take a scarf just in case. Should we take bets on whether I have enough left tomorrow when I go for my second infusion?

Good luck to all having treatment today. Donna and swiftbird, hope your first infusions go well. Faithfulc, hope you're still doing good today. 

Take care all.

Cindy 

CinD, thanks for well wishes. The first infusion went off without a hitch. Thank God for the port! I can't imagine how much damage can happen with the adriamycin if it is goes straight into your veins. My chemo nurse said "I still get sweaty palms every time I push that drug, and the day I don't, I will stop being a chemo nurse." I was so impressed by the encouragment and dedication of these nurses. Even though it must a very rewarding job, it's got to be tough too, not to have it emotionally drain you. My hats off (ooh, bad pun) to them.

Like others, I felt very spacy and somewhat dizzy with a touch of nausea last night, but ginger tea and crackers kept it at bay. I actually slept pretty well, which surprised me given the steriods and nerves. And the Senecot and strong coffee this morning did the trick on other fronts, so I'm feeling almost myself today. I get my Neulasta shot this morning, so the nurse said Friday and Saturday will be rougher, but I plan to try the Claritan and lots of Advil, so we'll see how it goes.

 Ado, I hope you had a similarly smooth experience! My thoughts are with you, and all you other brave women!

Sally

Hi, Ladies - Donna - more snow, isn't it just great!  This is a continuation of the conspiracy called cancer - give woman cancer, make her have chemo and then have her kids home half the winter because of snow days - someone's idea of a cruel joke!!!  Just a moment of bitchiness - now I feel better - Mo

sally, the problem with adria isn't really the vein thing, as much as the horrendus damage it will do to your tissues if the iv gets dislodged & goes through the vein allowing the drug directly into the tissue area....and no you can't imagine the damage.  and you don't want to.  that is why they pause so often if they 'have' to push it for some reason, and make sure there is still a blood return to prove they are still in the vein.  try to get some exercise--just some gentle walking will help, that and water water water--helps to push the drug out of your system more efficiently.  good luck this weekend & stay on top of the meds they have given you & you will do just fine.

donna--so sorry you had a reaction to the taxol, but they got it under control so goody goody for you!!!!

yesterday was the first day they used my port & it is still sore from surgery.  told the nurse i would punch her if she hurt me.  so she numbed me up pretty good (after offering to push the adria again--no thanks) and was really careful when she stablized it for the poke..what a girl....may have to take her a goody basket.

feel pretty good today--hope all have as easy a time as i seem to be having.

tata

hi, am back. my day 10 after first chemo session. am feeling much much better, gaining back strength and no more nausea feeling, ye! am going back to ONC to check my blood count next wed, to check if they are sufficient.

am taking lots of high antioxidants veg and fruits to boost my immunity as well as drinking beet root water, am surprised that it actually taste quite nice

about the vit supplements, my ONC says no no too. he said something about the chemo and radiotherapy (especially) needs oxidants to eliminate the cancer cells and by taking concentrated vit supplements, its like having a protection shield over the cells.

Sally, I'm so glad your first infusion went well. It sounds like you have a great bunch of nurses, and that must ease your mind.

Donna, oh wow, sorry you had that bad reaction, but I'm glad it was fixed quickly. Benadryl is amazing stuff. We're never without it in the house. One of our pups had a severe allergic food reaction a couple of months after we adopted her, and if we hadn't shoved a Benadryl into her, she wouldn't have made it. It was a lucky guess, but her white gums made us think it was some type of allergic reaction. Our other pup got stung, was starting to lose consciousness, but Benadryl rode to the rescue once again. Sorry, got off track, but I love Benadryl!

I wish there was one definitive souce on vitamins, supplements, and what to include or avoid as far as food, drink and herbs. There seems to be so much conflicting information. I'm avoiding any supplemental vitamins, etc., while on chemo just to be safe. I'm also using herbs sparingly and avoiding others like curcumin altogether right now. I'm still eating some foods rich in anti-oxidants, like broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, and blueberries, but just not to the extent I did before. Michele, after reading your post, I may cut those back even more. What is everyone else doing?

I wish you well.

Cindy 

I love ginger snaps!

Especially these (Anna's Ginger Thins - I know our local Walgreens carries them):

Hi Gals,

Question for you all - I start my chemo Tuesday - picked up my pre-meds yesterday. My question is did any of you notice how you felt based on what you ate the day before?  I know some of you have had a couple treatments and was wondering or could you direct me to a thread that has the answer. 

Forgot to mention that hair is officially coming off tonight.  Handfuls are just falling out, so when my husband gets home from work, we're having a buzz party - unlike our usual buzz parties, we'll both end up bald after this one!  Hugs to everyone - the hair thing sucks, but I think I'm just about over it since it looks awful now anyway.  Mo

Thank you mofend and frosty1 for your response.  I have already picked up my anti-nausea yesterday. Onward we go