March 2010 Chemo Start

Sandiek9:  Welcome to our March group.  Sorry that you have to join us, but here we are...all in the same boat, good that we are together.  

Groundhog:  thank you for the well wishes for the upcoming week.  It'll be good to get started, feels like I've been waiting so long!

Good luck to staceyt and Frosty1....hope your "day #1" goes smoothly.  

staceyt:  are you starting Decadron tomorrow a.m.?   

Just popping in from the Feb 2010 board.  March is here, and you ladies will do fine!  When you read through the shopping list/chemo bag/side effect lists, keep in mind that these lists are made to be comprehensive and it aims to cover everything POSSIBLE.  You are more than likely to experience only a few of the most common SEs.  Be prepared but certainly no need to be in the paranoid mode.  I promise you that once your first treatment is over your mind will be much more at ease - the wait will be over and you'll know what happens to YOUR body and how you can deal with it.  And should you have any questions this board is the BEST source of information and support.

I'd be happy to answer any questions any time - I'm only two treatment ahead of you so my memory is fresh :-)  Best of luck and you CAN do it!

Frosty1:  Do you know how much hydrating we should we be doing?  I've been drinking water and have my SE fighting gear (from that shopping list) but  I'm wondering if you know of an estimate of the amount of water/liquid we should be shooting for pre-chemo and what about after chemo?  

staceyt:  its' hard to say about feeling b*tchy...  I'm guessing that the stress combined with lack of decent sleep, for me, anyway, has something to do with it?  Also, I had my ovaries out, along with my dbmx, so I've been sweating for a few weeks now.  Not so much a "flash", just sort of feel warmish, whereas I used to be freezing all the time. Are you all set for tomorrow?  We have the same start and same cocktail.  Yeah for us : ) Are you going back the next day for Neulasta shot?  Hope all goes well for you.

faithfulc:  thanks for the words of wisdom.  I've been reading you on the Feb. thread..glad you all seem to be doing okay over there.  Its' s so encouraging. 

Most of the advice I've found online about fluid intake during chemo say between 3 and 4 quarts a day, which translated into 8-ounce glasses would be between 12 and 16. The problem is the definition of how much a "glass" of water is -- do they mean an 8-oz glass or a 12-oz one or what?



I was told to super-hydrate in the days before my surgery and so doubled my intake from 1 quart (4 eight-oz glasses) a day to at least 2 (which would be the recommended normal 8 glasses). Since then I've worked myself up to 3 qts a day which is 12 glasses. I found the easiest way to do it is to set a timer to go off once an hour, and at that point I drink half of a Poland Spring water bottle which is as close to 8 oz as to make no difference! It's also easy to carry along with me if I go out or even just around the house so it's always at hand. Drinking six of those bottles spaced out between 9 am and 9 pm gives me the 12 glasses a day. When I asked my oncologist about water intake and said that I'm already drinking 3 quarts a day she said that was plenty, but on the treatment day and the two days after, I'm going to add at least 2 glasses to that, to bring it up to 3 1/2 qts.

Hi ladies, sending well wishes your way.  Had my pre-chemo haircut this afternoon.  It looks OK   but that was a hunk o'hair that went to Locks of Love!  {{hugs}}

Hi all, This is the first time I am posting although I have been reading on this forum since my diagnosis in Dec 09.  I had bil mastectomy in Jan and am scheduled to start chemo next week-4 rounds of AC and then 4 rounds of Taxol.  Radiation ?

I really appreciate this thread for March 2010 chemo start group.  I wish all you ladies good luck and look forward to sharing my experience as well as learning from yours.

Staceyt Thanks for sharing your exp, I am sorry to read about the pain that you had-I will pray that you have minimal SE because of the chemo.  Can you tell us more about the pic line? How it was placed, maintenance etc.  My Onc has suggested that I go for the regular IV type for the first chemo and based on my exp will see if I need port to be installed.  Honestly I am not looking forward to more surgery to place the port, plus I have tissue expanders placed so I want to avoid more areas that could be potentially sore.  Your input will be greatly appreciated

Hello Sarikasd, the answer to your question about the pic line is that because my veins were so small they couldn't find one large enough to be able to push all the chemo thru,  Therefore, she used a long slender small flexible tube inserted into the peripheral vein in the upper arm and advanced until the catheter tip ends up into a large vein in the chest near the heart for intravenous access.  It will stay in my arm for the next 4 months, I have to go in once a week and have the site cleaned and re-taped, but as far as I could see it was the lesser of 2 evils w/having to post pone the treatments while I have surgery for a port.  This line will be used for everything, it is where they will draw my blood and give me the chemo treatment.  I don't have to worry about any more needles for awhile.  Hope this helps and Welcome - Stacey

stacyt & frosty1 - thanks for checking in and letting us know how you are, glad you got through #1.  EZH - hope you are doing OK!!  Anne Marie - best wishes for Friday!  sarikasd - welcome to a club you never wanted to join.

lovemygarden - love your new tag line!  Murphys Law of Chemo SE Management: "If you don't have something on hand, you will need it exactly when you cannot go out and get it." Corollary: "If you buy it in advance, you will end up not needing it at all."

If that's the case, I'm loading up on supplies this weekend!  LOL  {{hugs}}

stacyt and frosty1: So happy to hear that your first one went okay! Stacyt, what a PITA about the veins. :-( I opted to get the port during my BMX since I already knew I was HER2+ and thus would be getting the Herceptin.



groundhog: Glad you like the new tagline! I figured that if there wasn't already a Murphy's Law for chemo, it's high time there should be! ;-)



EZH: I'm curious as to why you had the Neulasta starting with your very first treatment; did they already know your WBC/neutrophils were low? I thought Neulasta was only given if/when needed according to your bloodwork, and not prophylactically.

frosty, I think the incidence of Neulasta also depends on whether someone is getting TC (Taxotere + Carboplatin) or just weekly Taxol alone (as I will be). Supposedly there is less likelihood of needing it with the weekly Taxol than with the 6 rounds of TC(H). Three people I know who had the Taxotere x 6 ended up needing Neulasta at least once, but the other person I know who did my regimen (Taxol weekly) did not. Probably due to the lower taxane dosage in the weekly schedule?



Neulasta is SOOO expensive too. That's one reason of several why I opted for the T+H rather than the TCH. I'm uninsured and so the prospect of those $6000-$9000 for each injection is something I definitely wanted to avoid if at all possible!

lovemygarden - Neulasta is 6K to 9K PER SHOT?  Holy cr*p!  That's outrageous!!

Ann Marie:  hope you have an easy time tomorrow...will think good thoughts for you.