Jan: Good luck on Monday.  I will be thinking of you and praying.  I am on Day 3 and so far no really SE.  Alittle heartburn, and fatigue but nothing worse than what I've had before chemo.  HAve a great rest of the weekend.

Barb

Day, it's too early, I think. You might start noticing hair loss around the 2-week mark.

My hair loss update:

I think day 12 was the day I noticed a few strands coming out when I pulled. Every day, it was a bit more.

Day 17: This is it. I had a function today and I survived it, but my friends sitting on either side of me kept brushing off hair. Hair kept falling into my eyes. I tried like crazy just not to touch it at all. Tonight, I'm pulling big chunks out. It's freaking my family out, making me crazy, and I have obvious bald spots.

I'm actually handling this with a little more panic than I thought I would. My husband is going to give me buzz after the kids are in bed. The wig lady recommended a 1/4 inch cut--she said a buzz might cut my scalp if there are any sores, etc. But at this point it looks awful and it's driving me crazy and I need to do *something*.

I'm so scared and sad about how frightening I'm going to be looking for the next several months. The threads about hair never growing back after Taxotere aren't helping at all.

I guess I was more attached to my hair than I thought. 

JennyB & Sacphotomum - Hi I started TC April 30th (so have been checking both april and may threads) and am on day 16 now. I too am having same issues with hair - I didn't think it would really affect me so much but am on a bit of a downer today as last night it was just falling everywhere!!  I reckon I only have about a third of my hair left - bald spots are appearing but I can still sort of cover it but I know myself that they are there. So when people say to me - "Oh but you can't notice it" - I get so defensive as I know they are there and that my hair is not MY hair anymore. 

*sigh* must try and snap out of this funk - I keep thinking now I get to wear my beautiful scarves.

Oh and from what I've read about the taxotere - there is a rare(ish) side effect that hair either takes a long time or doesn't regrow after it. My Onc didn't say anything about that to me - only found out through reading these threads so am hoping that it is on the rarer side fo the possible SEs.  I think it comes back to the 'it affects everyone differently' and it's too hard to predict exactly what may happen as our bodies are so different.  Here's hoping it all goes to plan hey?

Bye for now,

Mel

Sacphotomom: Here's the link where some of the ladies were talking about their hair not growing back after Taxotere. I don't want to scare anyone, but it's on the biography forum here on the site:

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/23/topic/701423?page=14#post_1832147 

This is so tough, isn't it? Ugh. Please keep me posted on how you're doing.

DancerMel, I'm just ahead of you--my first TC was on April 28. Isn't it the strangest feeling? It feels like it's no longer YOUR hair, like you're wearing a hair piece or something. The consistency and feel are completely different... So strange!

Swolfram, thanks for checking in with us. I'm glad your hair is growing back.

Hair update for me: Last night (day 17) I started combing my fingers through my hair. In about 10 minutes, I was 95% bald. I have blonde hair, some really light natural platinum blonde mixed in with darker blonde, dishwater blonde, light brown, and a few grays. The grays and the darker blonds &  browns fell out, leaving the platinum blondes. They're so light they look fake! I look like I have white/blonde hair, like when I was three years old. I wonder if that's happened to anyone else--one color being more persistent than the rest!

But I look like a very old, very sick woman, if you ask me. I don't really know what to do with the stragglers at this point. My husband is refusing to cut them for me...I think he finds them fascinating.

This is the weirdest thing I've ever been through, hands down!

Hello All: Been  a few days since I've been on boards. Had first treatment last wednesdsay and all was good until yesterday. Feels Liked I tanked.. stomach and dizziness problems. Went to bed rest of day. Today I feel like a balloon is on my head and totally fogged out. No joint pains just horrible foggy head thing going on.  Anyone else feel like this. I hope this goes away before I go back to work tomorrow.

Hi njbhwgirl, Yes, I felt that way, too. I had my first TC on a Wednesday and the weekend was really tough. Monday was pretty bad, too (low energy, dizziness, felt like I was going to faint all day), then I started feeling better on Tuesday, and every day got a little better from there. Hang in there! big hugs,

Jen

Hi everyone.. glad you are all doing as well as can be!!  It's all very strange eh!!  I feel like I'm in some sort of science fiction movie being experimented on  I had my first session on tuesday, thankfully with no adverse reactions!  Day 1.. I surprisingly had quite a bit of energy, but got some heartburn and a touch of a headache that night. Day 2, I crashed and burned & was very flushed in the face.. I pretty much slept for the next two days, could hardly keep my eyes open.. especially on Day 3. Day 4, I started to come back to the land of the living.. I was awake and functioning.. sort of.  I will be happy if the rest of the sessions go like that (crossing my fingers)!!  My youngest daughters highschool graduation is happening on the 28th of May and I am so hoping that I don't lose my hair until at least the 29th.. (that is 18 days post chemo though) I am worried that I may have to go to such a big event so soon after or during my hair loss  Guess I will cross that bridge when I get there!  

Good luck to anyone who is having chemo this week.. I wish you all the best!!

njbhwgirl, have you had your blood pressure checked?  And are you taking Decadron after your treatments?

I had my first treatment on a Monday, and had a lot of dizziness the following Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  On Sunday I really thought I was going to faint, so I went to urgent care and found out my blood pressure had dropped to something like 92/58.  My onc told me it was due to the abrupt withdrawal from the Decadron.  It may be possible to taper off  more gradually next time if you are not having problems with nausea.

I read a little about the Taxotere causing permanent hair loss - I had Taxotere, so I was a little worried about that - but it seemed to me from what I read that those affected often had recurrent or metastatic cancers, and the dose can be higher for these patients.  My understanding is that early stage breast cancer is usually 75 mg per treatment, but it can be up to 100mg for recurrent or metastatic.  (Disclaimer - I have no statistical evidence to support this theory!  It's just a theory.)  The number that seems to be quoted a lot is as many as six percent may have a permanent hair loss problem, but patient groups are not broken out by what dosage they received.

I really feel for the women who have been affected.  It seems to me we all think, when we are first diagnosed, that anything is acceptable as long as we don't die.  But then if we are fortunate and the danger of dying recedes, we realize that BC leaves us all with losses, and some are harder to take than others.

It's certainly legitimate to ask your onc about the issue, and find out what your dosage is.

I finished chemo in January, and my hair is about an inch and half now.  It doesn't seem to be growing very fast, but it's thick.

Hi everyone, I start my first treatment tomorrow 5-17-10 of T/C X4.  I had a bil mx on 4/19/10 and have recovered well. My stage is early but the grade is 3 and the OncoType DX came back 30, thus chemo...   I cut my long hair to the nape of my neck and donated it to Locks of Love and have my medicinal arsenal ready.  I am anxious and tightly wound about chemo tomorrow, but hopefully I can relax and calm down a little tonight once all my little ones are asleep.  Anyone doing chemo with small children at home to care for?  I have four aged 7, 6, 3 1/2 and 2yrs.  We have hired help and placed the little ones in day care until 5pm to help me handle the fatigue soon to come.  Hopefully this will go well and not scare them too much. Good luck to all starting this week!!

Drim- thanks for answering my question. Will take the frozen peas with me tomorrow. I also liked the Claritin advice to off-set SE from Neulasta shot.  I also bought a really funny adult humor joke book on a whim to make me laugh out loud when needed.  Hope this is a good week for you.

I wish everyone good luck who is starting tomorrow.  I know how hard it is but you are all strong women and can do this.

I am on day 4 and really no side effects to speak of.  Alittle heartburn, but nothing that tums didn't help.  Also alittle achy, but tylenol took care of that.  Fatigue was alittle worse than yesterday, but I could still get some things done today that needed to be done/  I'm heading back to work tomorrow.  I hope I have enough energy to get through the day with my little guys. 

Fotopet: Good luck at the PS.  I hope you get the clearance to start.  I know how much I hated the wait.  I hope you don't have to wait anymore. 

Jenny B:  I am really sorry that you are having such a tough time dealing with the hair thing.  I'm alittle worried about feeling the same way when it actually happens.  I have been tracking your time table closely to decide when to cut my hair.  I have a program at school on the 26 which is 13 days post chemo.  I will just have to wait and see.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Here is the east the weather was great, so it made for a nice weekend.  Have a great Monday.

bArb

Today is the big day, and here it is 6 a.m. and I've been up a couple hours. I actually slept quite well. DH tried to keep ma awake last night cause I was falling asleep watching TV at 8pm, but he gave up around 9. I only woke up once before 4:15 a.m. so I guess the benadryl worked.

Goodmorning All:  Fog central reporting in.. or shall I say Novocaine alley.. Feel like just off novocaine. In work here hoping I make through the day. I need to save my days for when I really tank.

thanks for all the tips.. glad I am not alone.. Going to call dr. and see if I can take anything for this horrible feeling.  Gotta run and try to do so some work.. will write later.. You all are the total best. I never feel totally alone when I have you.. THANKS>>>>>>

I start today.  I can't believe I actually slept through the night!  Good luck to those starting today with me and thank you to everyone else who has already started for posting what's happened so far.  

I think I've got everything ready....but it's so hard to know how you will react. Sick or tired or maybe fine?  I've stocked up on everything I can think of that I may or may not need.  The worst part is not knowing and the waiting. I just want to be there and get this done!

I am relatively quiet on the site, but I can't tell you how comforting it is to read all the posts and know that there are people going through the same thing as me.  Before I discovered this website, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown!

 Alice 

Alice: Welcome! You have different drugs than Claudette and I (TC x 4), but we all are starting chemo today. And there are several starting tomorrow, too. So there are helps from people who are in all stages of tx. I, too, slept fairly well last night, but I can feel the anxiety coming as the time nearers. I come to these boards and read, read, read since that helps me to stay more controlled. Like you, before I found this site, I felt pretty alone despite all the great support I got from some friends, my family, and devoted DH. Come back often!

fotopet: Thanks for the encouragement. I'm also glad (?) to see you've been cleared for tx...you know what I mean. Not so much glad for tx, but that your 'waiting' period is over. That's what I'm most grateful for..if it has to be, then let's get on with it.

njbhwgirl: I'm sorry you're having these 'fuzzy' days. From what I'm reading it seems to be a fairly common occurance...but that doesn't make it easier, does it? Hugs and wishes for clearer days to come.

Jan