Starting Chemo Feb 2010?

Teemee: I'm so glad you are back on the road to a cure! The actual chemo infusion is so hyped that is was uneventful for me. You just get plugged in and hang out till its done. I sometimes watch a movie & text. I get fuzzy eyes so prefer not to read. I make several trips to potty since drinking water is a big help. Using the numbing cream on the port is very helpful, be generous with it & you wont feel a thing. I take a benadryl when I get home to help with the rash from the dex, it helps a lot to get ahead of it and helps me sleep better too. I try to eat light and have crackers to nibble that day too. Just take care of yourself and let others do for you, rest.

You'll do just fine.

Sitting here at key-moe treatment #3...no biggie, other than being bored. So I'm playing on my phone and texting like a teenager, including the iPod in my ears. It's a full house today-no spare chairs. Drove myself, so I don't have to worry about a chair for the husband (that way I also don't have to worry about his snoring either!)



I hope everyone has a great day!

Lindee629, you hit the nail on the head--I think the anticipation is going to turn out to be much harder for you than the actual port surgery. You have had nothing but trouble with that thing, of course you're nervous. But I feel you will be better than fine, probably amazed at how much better you feel without a broken thing stuck into you.

I only have the 4 treatments so they are trying to just use my veins (I had a PICC line for the 2-3x daily antibiotics during the staph saga but had it removed). So I am lucky that way.

Yes, today was pretty uneventful. I knew from this website that a lot of people get a reaction to Taxotere and I didn't even make it 5 minutes into the slow infusion--within 10 seconds gasping for air, little fire darts in my tummy, butt, legs and i was red hot all over. I got double benadryl and something called solmedrol (I think?), had the cytoxan, and then they tried again super slow and hovering. I'm happy to say all went fine! The onc was talking about switching me to Andrimycin, ANOTHER delay, so I'm very very happy it all worked out!

Right now I'm just enjoying feeling good, and hoping it will last. Thank you for all your good wishes, and Mo, I am so so glad you are bouncing back. I was really worried about you!

Hugs,

Toni

I haven't been on here in a while, but I have been thinking about everyone and enjoyed catching up on the blog!!  Love all the discussions, Medical MJ, Alchohol etc.!!  For those having bad SE's hand in there and remember each day is a day closer to being finished with chemo!!

I had my 4th TC tx yesterday of the 6 - again no surprises:)  I did develop some eye twitching about a week ago it is annoying but it comes and goes randomly.  I still have eybrows and eylashes and my nails seem to be ok too.  I do love my skin at the moment, it is so soft and smooth and I think I look younger in the face.  Someone said that chemo is like daily exfoliation and i must agree!  I have still be able to exercise, although my work and children's activities have kept me very busy and so I haven't had the time to do as much as I like.

Faithfulc, mebrown - 1/2 way through, way to go!!

teemee - So glad your tx ended up fine and you are on your way!! 1/4 through!!

Be well ladies!  (((Hugs)))

Good morning fellow fighters! I hope everyone is feeling good.

Laura and faithfulc, thanks for sharing your hot-flashing experiences. It helps so much to know others are experiencing the exact same thing. The chills have stopped finally, so I'm just having the flashes now and they have slowed. I'm finding if I underdress and stay as cool as possible the flashes aren't as frequent or as pronounced. As soon as I put on a sweater, a flash comes, so I'm getting used to living chilly. Also, I don't sleep in caps, which helps keep my head cool. What a scary thought that it's up to my brain to adjust and turn down/off the flashes! Laura, congratulations on the pathology re-read with finding no lymphatic vascular invasion! That is awesome!

Salsoda62, I'm sorry you are under the weather and that your treatment got pushed back. I hope you recover quickly.

Kim, that's great you're done with number 3. I hope you enjoyed your work day the other day and that it didn't tire you too much.

Lindee629, sending you positive thoughts today for your port surgery. With all that you've been thru with your port, no wonder you're feeling anxious. I bet getting that thing out will be such a relief, and by this weekend, you'll be feeling so much better!

Toni, whoo hoo, you finally got your first treatment! Congratulations! Sorry you had that blip at the beginning, but I'm glad they got it worked out. I hope your SE's are non-existent -- you deserve a break!

Kjp, it is good to hear from you. That's such great news that your tumor is shrinking! Will they be doing a lumpectomy or a mastectomy after your treatment, or are you waiting to decide after seeing how small that blasted tumor shrinks? I do something similar for my hands when they get bad, but I use Vaseline then put them in gloves. They are better within two days.

Leta, it is good to see you, and I'm glad #4 went smoothly. That's good to know you have the great skin going on now. I've been waiting for mine to look better, but I think my lack of sleep is holding it back. Hopefully in time.

Sunnycoconut, congratulations on your last AC! That's great that you're halfway there.

Things have been going pretty well since my 3rd treatment a week ago today. Except for days 2 and 3, I haven't had anything to knock me on my butt.  Yesterday and today are my normal days for some bone pain, probably from Neulasta, but that hasn't hit -- yet. I  had requested my onco do a Vitamin D test, and they called yesterday to say I'm a low 28.  They want it in the  50's, so I'm now taking 1,000 D3 daily. Onco also told me my liver test results were a little elevated, but they're pretty sure it's from the chemo. Anyone else have this happen?

We're getting there! Have a great weekend, all. 

Cindy

lbreedl, laura and faithfulc, I think I'm getting the hot flashes too. I woke up yesterday morning DRENCHED in sweat. It looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water on me! Funny that it didn't wake me, but then I've been taking tussin with codeine, so I'm pretty knocked out. I'm also several days past when my period usually comes, so I'm wondering if I'm into the chemopause as well. Oh the fun never ends when you have BC!

I still have my eyebrows and eyelashes, but I guess treatment #3 next week with take care of that. I think that will be the hardest to lose. Once they go, your face becomes like a blank slate. And I've never drawn my eyebrows before. I hope I don't end up looking like Nora Desmond in Sunset Boulevard!

Well girls, it is Friday, and sunny, and I hope it is lovely where you all are. Have a great, SE-free weekend.

Hi all I'm very new here, I am about to start,my third chemo treatment. This AM, my hair has started to fall out, in huge clumps. Thought I was  prepared for that. NOT!  I am also type one diabetic, which isn't helping anything. My skin since starting chemo, is getting even drier then before, to the point, my face is cracking. Has anyone else had this happen?

OK, so I didn't have any reaction to the Neulasta shot the first two times, but this time?  Holy crap, I'm in pain.  My neck and my chest are killing me-feels like I was in a car accident!  Tylenol isn't touching it-ugh.  I am so buying Claritan for the next one...anyone know of anything else that will help me at this point?

Colleen,  I feel your pain.  More heartburn, metal mouth, and constipation/hemorrhoid issues this time.  Hope you feel your energy resurging.  I couldn't believe the difference between today and two days ago, but am crashing early tonight.  Weird, but other than neck pain after the neulasta, I didn't have much bone pain this time.

My best to all for a beautiful Sunday!

Hi everyone! Gosh, I haven't posted on here in probably over a month. Sorry about that, but I've had lots of little niggling problems with my treatments. I'll try to sum it all up in short, sweet sentences.

Problem #1: My port site became very red, hot and swollen, to the point where it looked like it would burst and it seemed to have white "gunk" behind the scar tissue. Of course, my doctor was on vacation and it was a Sunday. DH convinced me to call the office anyway and it switched over to the hospital emergency room physician. He told me to come down right away, since he felt with the chemo coursing through my veins, I really shouldn't take any chances. (NOTE: visit the emergency room on a Sunday morning, not busy at all!) He took me in right away and prescribed some antibiotics, but wanted me to keep an eye on things for a while and make sure to notify my doctor when she returned.

Problem #2: As soon as I finished the antibiotics, the scar opened up. Not a lot, but a small hole at the end of the scar. Really strange, right? My surgeon took a look at it and put some steristrips on it, but told me the Herceptin does "funny" things to new scar tissue and they take longer to heal. Anyone else hear this news? It's taken three weeks to heal over, but it popped open again last week, just before my treatment. Grrr.

Problem #3: I'm now off my schedule by a week because several weeks ago, I had a problem with the platelet count. It was way, way down. Not safe and a little on the scary side ... especially when the nurses tell you to not bump into anything, don't cut yourself and don't bother shaving. Yikes! The count went from 265 to 55 in just two weeks. I guess that's bad. I had to have two shots of Neumega in one week to boost the platelet count. That worked wonders, but I'm going to have to look into this "Neu" company and buy stock in it.

Problem #4: Since my platelets were up, I was able to get my drugs on March 22 ... one week later, but that's okay. The other problem now is the red cell count has been dropping. Procrit seems to have some issues with drug interactions and reduction of effects of the treatment. I may need a blood transfusion for this problem. This is a new one for me and don't know what to expect. Is it an overnight thing or is it similar to receiving chemo? Do I go to a hospital or is it administered at the oncologist's office?

Has anyone else had these problems? My hair is starting to grow back, but it never fully fell out to begin with. Same with my eyebrows and eyelashes. I've got a rough stubble intermingled with baby soft hair on my head. This whole process has been so strange and different than my first time around.

Exhaustion anyone? Out of breath? I guess that's related to the red cell count, too. I don't want to delay these treatments any more than I have to, but I must really learn to go with the flow. I'm tired, I've got dry skin, water tastes like doggie doodoo, food isn't appetizing, I've got back spasms (started in the middle of the night last night) and I just want it all to end.

I guess the rain isn't helping my mood, either. When will the sun come out??? 

Hi everyone.....thanks for all the positive thoughts--I made it thru my Port removal on Friday--yippee!  Don't know why I was so scared. I had a PICC placed in the morning without problem, and then went off to the OR where the surgeon was able to remove my Portacath entirely without losing any parts. They did tell me in interventional radiology where I had the PICC placed that the portacath was definitely more fractured than it was the previous week when I had the dye scan, so good thing I got it removed. Visiting nurse came by Saturday and showed me how to flush it (I was pretty sure I could do it on my own lol) and it so far is easy to care for. Bathing is a chore because I can't get the dressing wet, but I am so happy to have that port out that I don't care!  The port site on my chest is bruised and swollen but it already feels way better than it did.  I am so happy!!! 

So tomorrow I start my first round of Taxol--Sunnycoconut, thanx for the positive thoughts, and I will be sure to let you know how my first Taxol is, I think I am about 2 weeks ahead of you. Not looking forward to the tons of steroids I have to take to prevent an allergic reaction but will keep my fingers crossed that the SE's are not too bad. Also, yes, I think I have that same rash--at first I thought it was just itchy dry skin but over the weekend I noticed little bumps on the back of my hands, a little itchy, but my chest, back, and shoulders itch like crazy and what I thought was just dry bumpy skin I think is that rash that you are talking about.  well, if they are pre-cancerous cells coming to the surface (eeueeww) then I guess I can put up with the itchiness. Just trying to keep my skin hydrated with creams and lotions and stuff. Winter dryness hasn't helped either.

Mofend--I am from Bucks County PA,  when is your art show?  I would love to attend (provided i feel up to it, as always you can never know) but it sounds like a wonderful undertaking. Also, sorry about your joint pain from the Neulasta...so far the Claritin has been helping me, sometimes I just have low back pain and my legs ache but pretty much the joints have been OK. Still suffering with the reflux--it hurts to swallow! Now it feels like a painful hairball ugh..So I think i will be asking for that prescription Nexium, maybe that will help.  

I guess I am still in chemopause too.....but I am not complaining because I at least have not had those horrible hot flashes that most of you all are going thru. (Mine are probably waiting for the dog days of August)...and I still have (most) of my lashes and brows, although I have had to "touch up" the brows a little....also trying not to look like Nora Desmond (thanks for the visual, Salsoda62 lol). Still have no hair growth on my head to speak of though. Someday...... 

Burley-congrats on your new job!  That is excellent news!!!! 

As of tomorrow, I have 4 treatments to go, and 6 WEEKS to go!! 

As always, wishing all you ladies a little or no SE day and a great week!!!!      

Ugh, it's getting hot here and most of the time I wander around the house with nothing on my head.  All is fine until I forget and go to let a dog in or out...then my husband's employees glance up and catch some seriously white skin!  They always do a double take.

Start my new job tomorrow-should be interesting since I hardly sleep at night.  Between the tissue expanders and hot flashes, I just basically "rest" all night, and usually sleep in.  I actually have to be there at 8am-alas!  What's a girl to do...hopefully the new boss is forgiving for the first couple of days.

I just have no taste for water right now, and I know it's so bad that I'm not drinking enough.  Even flavored waters taste terrible.  I need to find the one thing that tickles my taste buds, and just buy a lot of it.

Hope everyone has a terrific evening!