March 2010 Chemo Start

Tomorrow is the day ... last day of chemo!   I am baking a strawberry cake for the nurses and taking the movie "Men who Stare at Goats" to watch. I will also talk to my dr. about what to eat or not (I hear soy is not good) and medication interactions with tamoxifin since that is in my future as well.

Just to weigh in on the nail changes/neuropathy issue. I am on taxotere/cytoxan.  I did ask my dr. about it since I have had strange sensations in the feet and some weakness in the hands and whether I should use ice during chemo.  He stated it was difficult to ice your hands and feet the entire time you are receiving the chemo and although they had tried it in the past he did not know if it really helped at all.  He said some people got it and others did not so he did not recommend it although I was welcome to try it if I wanted.  I have not used ice at all during my treatments. (6 xTC every other week) My symptoms have improved since treatment #3 (I figured it would get worse instead of better) and I don't have the strange feeling in my feet anymore.  My nails are fine and have been growing.

Toni - I have had the inflamed GI tract as well from the stomache on thru. It seems to get better toward the end of the 2 week mark ... 

Barb- CR=controlled release.  It is supposed to help you sleep longer.

Lorrhaw - I expect to see you along side of Jamie Lee Curtis on an Activa TV commercial soon!  I have had the opposite problem ... fortunately or not ... which is worse?

Good luck Ana ... I will be thinking about you tomorrow as we do our final!

Hugs, Charley 

Second dose of steroids is done for the day. Lots and lots of water has begun, chemo bag packed, snacks packed, Miralax has been taken...I think I'm all set for my last chemo tomorrow. Just hope I am able to sleep...gotta love the steroids!

I bought Nioxin today to help with the return of my hair. I have heard wonderful things about this product. A close friend of mine owns a salon so I got it half off.  I made sure to check out their website and it states it can be used for chemo related hair loss. I can't wait!

Charley- we are so similar it's scary. Rads consult on June 2nd, followed by Tamoxifin for 5 years. I hear soy is a no no...We'll have to share our findings on the food thing. I also understand that some antidepressants and some anti-anxiety drugs have bad interactions with Tamoxifin. I will be thinking of you tomorrow!

Ladies, have a wonderful evening if possible. Sending prayers to all of you.

Having (I hope) my last chemo treatment tomorrow.  I always worry about the counts as I have so little energy. Ana1973 and Charley, I hope that all goes well for you also and that we can celebrate this milestone together. 

Lorrhaw -Activia has definitely helped me with the intestinal side effects.I found that eating prunes is helpful too.

My best wishes to everyone.  I look forward to when we all finish our treatments and they are nothing but memories of a difficult time that we shared together. The support shared on this board is beyond words.  God bless!

Anyone else having stomach issues from the steroids?? I had this last time I did chemo but not quite this bad. I start taking them the day before chemo. I've had ulcers on and off for 20+ years and as soon as I take the 1st one within 2 hours I can feel it burning my stomach where my ulcers have always been. I take it food and am on Prolosec, strong dose of it. I take decadron and HATE it. Dr. will NOT let me discontinue it because of fear of allergic reaction to Taxotere. Is there anyone else I can do?. This stuff is causing me pain and suffering and nausea than the chemo drug itself. Dr. says there's NO way around it. What do people do that are allergic to decadron? Hope everyone is having a great week with minimal S/E. Having my 4th chemo today, hopefully, only 4 more to go. Hang int here everyone!

Suzanne E.

Done! I got a certificate and a nice little bag of Aveeno lotions and such. Those nurses are so great.

After talking with dr. today may need to do rads.   I had one node involved with extra-nodal extension. (outside of the node). Dr. had first said no  need ... lymphedema was too great a risk and not enough benefit .. but now reconsidering.  (I have had BMX) He is going to present my case to the tumor board to see what all the great minds will think about it. So I will know something next week. Hmmm ... this will delay the exchange surgery by a couple of months. Or I presume it will.

Dr. said minimal soy, baby aspirin once a day, low fat diet, minimal alcohol consumption, vit. D and exercise. Also said to massage my tear ducts to see if that would help me with the tearing otherwise I will need to have them opened up.  Angi - please tell me how that goes as I may be going as well. Does not sound fun!

I will be interested to see how SEs go now that I won't have the neulasta shot tomorrow. Hopefully won't have the 4 day flu ... but I'm sure the fatigue will be there!

Hugs, Charley

congratulations Charley and Ana and LillyC, and anyone else finishing this week. We will be there with you soon. What a trip hey? 

Suzanne, I'm sorry you're having stomach problems. Have you ever been checked for the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori? It's one of the causes of stomach ulcers, and its discovery has led to the rapid decrease in stomach ulcers over the past couple of decades. If you've ever had an endoscopy for stomach ulcers they probably tested you for it, although sometimes you can get a false negative, and need to test again.  See if your oncologist can put their mind to come up with more options for you to decrease your discomfort.

It's a chilly 6 degreesC this morning, I have one of my 15 hats on, and am about to put my gardening gloves on and plant some brassicas - cauliflower, cabbage, and brocolli. Making the most of the good days.

Hugs to you all,

Lisa

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry I have not posted in awhile. Just haven't had the energy to turn on the computer at times. I hope you are all doing good. I have one more treatment to go next Thursday then will start radiation. Has anyone been having trouble with weeping eyes? Mine are weeping and burning. I know some of it could be allergies but at times I have to sit until I can see again! If you have been having this problem, what have you used?

Thanks!

Joanne

CONGRATS TO ALL WHO ARE FINISHED!!!!

 I'm on #4 (of 6) and smack dab in my bad days.  This nausea is relentless!!!  I can't wait to post my last treatment.

A huge big hug to those who have finished and a bigger hug to those who still have a few more to go.

 Marilyn 

I apologize for being so openly excited in my earlier email about being finished with this chemo. I was just so afraid that my counts were going to keep me from getting it.  When I got home, I felt like shouting it from the rooftops. 

Today, I am feeling somewhat uneasy and anxious knowing that I will not be fighting the diseae with these drugs any longer and just hoping that they did what they were supposed to do. I suppose this is natural. I see my onc on the 3rd and then get tattooed on the 8th for radiation.

To all that are still in chemo, you will get there.  My thoughts and prayers are always with you as we battle this together. It is just such an unbelievable journey we travel both physically and emotionally through all of this. Hoping for a side effect free weekend for all!  Again, I send my love and prayers. 

You are not alone! I am also on AC and have constant watery eyes. Seeing my doctor today but don't fancy the idea of having my tear ducts messed around with!!

I wish my chemo was done with. I'm envious of those who have finished all ready. Monday is #4 for me. The good new is #4 is my halfway mark. Only 4 more to go! I've been on Adriamycin and Cytoxan. The next 4 cycles are Taxotere. I'm a bit nervous...wondering how I'll react to the new stuff.

I understand what you mean about wondering if the cancer will come back after the chemo treatments. I wonder the same thing but my situation is a bit different. I tested positive for the BRACA 2 gene and if that wasn't enough, I also am triple negative. So what this means is I am treated with chemo and then that's it. No radiation, no medication, just nothing. I guess I wait and see if it's gone. My doctor told me that if it comes back (or never left in the first place) then it will most likely be in my bones and I'll have bone cancer. He tells me my cancer is very aggressive and should show itself within 2-3 years if it reoccurs. But I am going to try really hard to put cancer very, very, very far away in the back of my brain and live my life as if it's gone, which it just may be. I've got a lot to do still and this cancer is just a bump in the road, a distraction, or an obstacle. I gotta keep goin'.....

I'm with you Charley!  Although this is a terrible disease, we must have faith that the treatment we are going through is effective.  I may be a Pollyanna, but I fully expect to be a 30 year survivor and this will be a footnote in the story of my life - not the main theme.

I turned the corner on #4 today, just in time to host my daughter's Sweet Sixteen BD Party.  With the help of my sister-in-law, and a couple girlfriends! My house is electric with GRRRRLLLLL Power!.

2 more to go. Hugs. Marilyn 

Hello lovelies,

Yeshua, I too am starting taxotere on Monday. I have to take 16mg dexamethasone on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - bugger.  Lots of good advice here, I am planning on keeping my toes and fingers cool, and sucking on ice blocks during the infusion. Gotta get cracking and whip up another batch of chili con carne sans chile. It's my comfort food.

Suzanne, wouldn't it be great if your tummy problems could be so easily resolved - it still may be something else, but at least H.Pylori should be excluded. Good luck.

I had an appointment with a genetics team on Friday - they entered my details into some algorithm(sp?) and came up with I should be tested for BRCA1 and 2, as I have an Uncle who was diagnosed with BC at 59 years old, and I got it at 43, and I have around a 10% chance of being positive.  They said it will take 6 weeks to come back - goodness knows what the delay is, and I really want to know the result before I make my final choices on reconstruction. ie if I have a high chance of having a second bad boob, I'd rather have just one more surgery vs two, or maybe having bilat DIEP rather than silicone. And then there's the ovaries.

Otherwise, regarding the future, my breast surgeon has told me that people often tell her that they find the post treatment time challenging to deal with, for all the reasons you guys have mentioned. I guess because I've got 3 more treatments, I'm not there yet. I'm going to seriously consider yoga and meditation (I don't do either now), and if I really find things too up and down, I'll get some counselling, and even consider an anti-depressant (they're supposed to help with the hot flashes -so may kill 2 birds with 1 stone).

warm thoughts to you all,

Lisa

teemee - i understand about being in battle mode.  when i was first dx'd that's all i was in for a long time until treatment started.  then i guess i sort of backed off cuz we had a plan of action and we were moving forward.  last week my chemo (#4 TCH) was cancelled due to my numbers being far too low.  onc said he is also going to lower the dose 15-20 percent.  this scares the hell out of me because i am thinking that with an interruption in treatment and a lower dose then my chances of recurrence are higher.

i am once again in battle mode.  searching and researching and asking questions about the connection (if any) between interrupted treatment and recurrence.  it seems there have been little or no studies done at all on women who have had recurrences after their treatments have been interrupted or dose reduced.  the only thing i can find is something that goes like this "well it's not as good as a full dose normal schedule of treatment but it's better than nothing."  this does nothing to appease me.  soon i'm going to just have to accept that it is what it is and what will come will come.

i too have been hit all of a sudden with depression and some anxiety.  i am a person who thinks of the worst case scenario and then works backwards in order to put it in my mind in the proper order so that i'm not surprised.  sometimes this works sometimes it doesnt.  for whatever reason i never ever expected that my numbers would cause an interruption in treatment.  i'm supposed to go back again this weds and they'll check my numbers again.  if they don't give me my treatment i'm not quite sure how i'll react.

sorry for the rambling... i'm just trying to put this all in proper places in my mind.

congrats to those who have finished their chemo!  i hope to join your ranks very soon.

~M