For those starting chemo in June

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  • orrtrish
    orrtrish Member Posts: 2
    edited June 2004
    1st chemo today:

    Had 1st neoadjuvant chemo today. Went great, have the port in, put the lidocaine cream on about an hour ahead and covered it with a piece of saran. Had them really "freeze" it with the spray before installing needle in port and never felt a thing. About 2 hours with the bloodwork. Watched TV, read, drank coffee and water. Had a driver so they gave me Ativan, and Compasine (nausea) in the IV, plus a steriod, then the A, then C. Doing dose dense every other week 4 treatments, then Taxol same. Then surgery. I am Stage 3, largest mass over 5cm (of three), er, pr +, her2 neu (-) (although first told ++ until fish test..so now no Herceptin). +++ lymphs.

    I also went out for lunch afterward, still feel good at 5, but took a Compazine after reading the post about getting sick at 7. Hope you feel better. So far so good, fingers crossed. The only thing the nurse "worried" me about was the mouth sores. Recommend peroxide/water rinse..so we'll see. Also thanks for the info on L-Lysine.
    Hope it helps.

    Good luck everyone.
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  • mary1220
    mary1220 Member Posts: 1,246
    edited June 2004

    Welcome Ratherbefishing. This is a great bunch of girls here. Girls I had the strangest thing happen yesterday. I was at J.C.P. looking for some sort of brown top because I have a pair of brown sandles I couldn't live without. An older woman was straightening them up. I noticed they were petites and said," well I am not petite(I am 5ft. 7in.)but it looks like it will fit and its the only brown top I can find." Now girls I am not large breasted but I am far from flat chested and now after my lumpectomy one is larger than the other at any rate this kindly, sweet looking 70ish. woman looked at my chest and said "well honey I think it will fit, your flat chested." I just looked at her and she looked so sweet I said yea I guess and I bought the top.I noticed she didn't have on glasses and thought she may need some but I didn't mention it.I will remember her every time I wear it. Good luck Sevenly on Fri. I will be thinking of you. I am saying a prayer or two for you PJB that you find the right treatment. Its so nerve-racking trying to find out what to do and hoping you make the right choice.I too am scared stiff to start chemo. You hear good stories and scary ones and I guess we are just scared of the unknown. It wont be easy but we will all make it.I am affraid I will be shaking so bad they wont be able to insert my I.V. They will have to tie my arm down. I have very low blood pressure, it can run 120/60 but it is usually 88/48 and the chemo can cause blood pressure to drop. Well I don't think it can get much lower and me still be breathing.I am thinking of this as an adventure.One of those things you only want to experience once. Heck, I am affraid of roller coasters, well anything that goes fast or high.My husbands driving.I also have a low tollerence for meds. that make you drowsey so I will be in a coma for days.Gee I will wake up in time for another treatment. Looking foward to looking like a giapet also.I wont look good without hair but on the positive side I will be in coma so I wont even know its gone. Glad to hear from Shelliks. Good luck Tue. Well, leaving for St. Louis at 8 a.m. for trip to Phoenix and San Diego.Home Sun night, Go for Chemo Mon. at 8 a.m.Will be great to see my daughter again.Its been 6 months.She gets her Dr. in Pharmacy.Have a great wk. end and I will be thinking of all of you. mary

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  • normalcani
    normalcani Member Posts: 230
    edited June 2004
    Hello Ladies....

    Just a couple words of advice......Drink lots of stuff before during and after your chemo.....

    Lee, start as soon as you read this!!!!! This was the best piece of advice that I got....also, take a stool softener or prune juice or something to that effect as the a/c will make you EXTREMELY constipated....This was one piece of advice I did not follow and paid for it dearly.....

    Good luck girls......You are in my thoughts as you begin the next step of this journey......

    Hugs to you all........!!!!!!!!
    Candi
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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    Hi sisters. I don't start until Tuesday and am enjoying my break from cancer. I did enter a clinical trial and yes, the regimen is grueling. Since I already had 3 months of chemo in the fall, I already have everything I need (I think!). I have kiwi fuzz for hair, which I think I'll have my hubby shave....don't want that mess again. This is the last leg of my journey (I hope) and I'm actually looking forward to it! I bonded with my onc nurse and can't wait to see her. I also can't wait to not see her.

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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    PJB, I'm in the Bevacizumab/Avastin trial. It's an angiogenesis drug that cuts of the blood supply to tumors. It was just approved for colol/rectal cancer. My trial consisted of 12 weekly Taxoteres with biweekly Bevas, then surgery, 28 rads, 4 A/C's. It's a full year of treatment and I'm just about to start the last leg of it!!!!

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  • Sevenley
    Sevenley Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2004
    Hi Girls!
    Hi Candi!! It's good to see you post on the June chemo thread. I read your threads on the May thread. I hope that you are doing much better hon! Have your palpitations stopped? I tried to e-mail you privately but I'm not sure you got my notes. I'll start on the water. Thanks for the advice. HUGS!!

    Mary, have a safe and wonderful trip. Have a great time with your daughter!

    I'm sitting here munching on peanut M&Ms at 8 in the morning. One of our professors brought in three hugh bags of chocolate for me. He said I need to temper chemo with chocolate. Everyone has been wonderful here at work.

    I filled my prescriptions, got the flouride toothpaste...things I think that I might need. I look at all the cost of this stuff. The toothpase alone was $10. Hey, I'm turning into a high maintenance chick!! [Smile]

    I'm going to put the chocolate away.

    Last night I planted more seeds in hanging baskets. I think that gardening will definitely be my diversion through all of this.

    hugs everyone!
    Lee
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  • Fiona
    Fiona Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2004
    Hi everyone

    I've just scrolled down on the messages and my heart went out to you all. I had chemo 4 years ago and it is scary but it will finish! I am fine and the doc is happy with my progress. I had my treatment in England and it seems that things have either changed or you do the procedure a bit differently in the US. Also you raised some things I forgot.

    There are some things I did which helped me to get through it - I hope they help. Firstly your appetite can go up and down. I drank a small diluted glass of red wine before an evening meal which helped stimulate my appetite - that was after the mouth sores went. Mine were not too bad. Your energy levels will also fluctuate - a great boost for that is a juicer and juice x3 carrots, a large green apple and a raw beetroot. Once you get over the initial taste it is wonderful and I felt miles better. I did forget about the constipation and that was a bit of a shock - all your tissues get a bit fragile - so I bled a bit. Keep your diet good. I lost most of my hair and it went first from somewhere I hadn't expected - it was quite a laugh - but I saved loads of time not having to shave my underarms - what a bonus....... Lastly make sure you have plenty of moisturiser (fragrance free) for everywhere - my face got really dry and fragile for a while, but the elasticity does come back.

    Please do read Jane Plants book on her breast cancer and also go to www.notmilk.com. I am convinced it was dairy which helped start my breast cancer - since I have been practically dairy free (not always easy avoiding it sometimes) but they have some scary facts and figures about the white stuff.

    Anyway good luck to you all and please reply if you want any other advice.

    Fiona
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  • normalcani
    normalcani Member Posts: 230
    edited June 2004
    Just wanted to wish you all good luck.....

    Lee, hope all goes well today....I know it will and you will be fine, just remember to take your meds even if your not feeling any nausea, because it may sneak up on you, and if you get nauseaous and your meds aren't working, call your onco becuase they will prescribe something else for you right away.....and drink lots of clear fluid, and ginger ale is a wonderful thing....I did my chemo shopping last night, and got myself lots of ginger ale as for the first few days, it's all I really want.....anyway.....I'll quit rambling....Just wanted you to know I was thinking of ya......

    Sending you all happy thoughts and hugs.... [Smile]
    Candi
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  • rlswkndr
    rlswkndr Member Posts: 148
    edited June 2004
    I had my first chemo yesterday (A/C) and it went just fine. The anticipation was the worst. I watched Freaky Friday and Bruce Almighty during the treatment which kept some humor in it. I did have some nausea about 2 hours later , took my pill, but still got alittle sick, so they told me to take them every 4 hours to prevent it again. I have to go in for an MRI today and that scares me more than anything! I am sooo claustraphobic.
    Ren
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  • Dawnt
    Dawnt Member Posts: 55
    edited June 2004

    if you have a weak stomach have them double the nausea medicine when you have the chemo.I was sick for 2 days & had to go back so I didnt dehydrate & they gave me more nausea medicine.I feel so much better today but am having a hard time eating.I had a muga scan today which wasnt bad at all.Took about an hour.The nurse told me to eat ice cream to get some protein in me.They also gave me a more powerful nausea pill that melts in your mouth.I hope everyone else is doing fine

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  • PJB
    PJB Member Posts: 2,615
    edited June 2004
    Sounds like you guys who have already started are doing pretty great on chemo. Congratulations. What's the worst so far? How's the fatigue level? What foods seem to be most favorable?

    Hey, any of you who are doing 4 AC then 4 Taxol dose dense also taking shots of filgrastim? I'm still dithering over what treatment to do, trials or not (Plus, they also had to delay me to wait for my HER2/neu status, which came out negative) The filgrastim shots would be one part of the treatment for eight days out of 10.
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  • rlswkndr
    rlswkndr Member Posts: 148
    edited June 2004
    It's Saturday and just sick the one time since Thursday. Noodles are working for me and yogurt is good too. Wasn't very hungry on Friday.. but today, our neighbor brought ribs and potatoes for lunch and so far so good... The ribs were awesome- our neighbor is a 10 year survivor!
    What is a Muga scan?
    I had on MRI and took lorezapan for my claustrophobia.. it worked along with a towel over my face and prayers! 45 minutes later -all done- just waiting for good news from that test!
    Ren
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  • Dawnt
    Dawnt Member Posts: 55
    edited June 2004

    a muga scan is a scan of the heart.My dr does it at the begining & end of chemo to make sure everything is okay.Glad to hear you werent hardly sick.Peanut butter sand are my main meal.What a way to lose weight.I dont feel as bad so thats a good thing.By tomorrow I hope to be trying to eat more

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  • mary1220
    mary1220 Member Posts: 1,246
    edited June 2004

    Hi girls, I see everyone is doing fine. I thought about you all. Sevenly I had a great trip,Thank you, very busy but it was so wonderful seeing my daughter. She is going to work in Scottsdale Az. but she wants to come home and take care of me and I put my foot down so she is going to come home for a week or two. I too am hoping my gardening will keep me busy. Well got plenty of bottled water, cereal bars with vitamins in them, V8 juice, spinach and raisins(for blood count, my own idea) and noodle soup.Just waiting now until tomorrow.Good luck to everyone and glad all are doing good.Will be back tomorrow if I am awake after all the pre. meds. Its great to get all the tips from all who have been here and done this.Thanks,Mary

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  • Sevenley
    Sevenley Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2004
    Hi Girls!
    I had my first A/C on Friday. My daughter and I went shopping at IKEA afterward. I didn't feel bad at all. I made sure I took my meds. Saturday I went to my daughter's birthday party. Apart from feeling a bit tired and kind of weird I felt pretty good. Not much of an appetite at all but I'm making sure I drink lots of water. I noticed that I've had a slight headache when I wake up.

    How's everyone else doing?

    hugs,
    Lee
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  • Daffy1962
    Daffy1962 Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2004
    Sounds like everyone is doing well and that is great. I went to see my surgeon on Friday and found out that I have 7 out of 13 lymph nodes positive, I was preparred for bad new, not like the last time. Will not see my oncologiest until the 21st, find out then what kind of chemo I will get. Seems like the breat that didn't have the cancer in is causing me problems, the drains...that I don't like...is not working to remove the excess fluid so they might have to go back in and remove it...just a little bump in the road my recovery.

    One good thing, I live in Wisconsin, the weather is starting to act like summer!!!
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  • janie44
    janie44 Member Posts: 1,460
    edited June 2004

    Had first A/C today. So far so good. No nausea (unusual for me). Took Emend 1 hour before and they gave me anti-nausea meds through IV. Feel a little spacy. Took a nap and had a slight headache and feeling a little achy. I am doing so much better than I expected.

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  • PJB
    PJB Member Posts: 2,615
    edited June 2004
    Thanks to you all for reporting on how things are going. I finally settled on a treatment (skipping the clinical trial) and am set to get my first treatment Thursday.

    I'll get seemingly endless shots of Neupogen (days 3-10) along with my dose dense AC/T. Anyone else getting Neupogen shots? Are they awful?

    Got the wig ordered. Went wild and told them to do one with highlights. No one at work will know who I am. Of course, in the Texas heat, I'm afraid it'll melt right on my head!

    How about any mouth sores? My onc. nurse told me to mix a tablespoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt and 8 ounces of water. I also got some of that Biotene stuff.

    Keep up the good work, guys. You all inspire me.
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  • mary1220
    mary1220 Member Posts: 1,246
    edited June 2004

    Hi girls, Got my first dose dense A/C and neupogen shot.The cytoxin did a number on my sinus but better today.Had waves of nausea and my knees hurt kinda bad and my blood pressure musta dropped because I was weak. I feel much better today. Seems coke was best thing to drink for me. Water and tea wasn't going down good. Got sports drinks too for the vitamins and minerals.Hope I got bad stuff out of the way yesterday and it will be smooth sailing. DR. gave me something in pre meds for nausea that is to last a few days. I had nausea but didn't use any zofran Wasn't too bad. Did eat a little off and on and it seemed to help.Well good luck to all, it wasn't too bad. Mary

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  • Sevenley
    Sevenley Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2004
    Hi everyone!
    Had my first dose of A/C last Friday. Yesterday (Monday) I felt kind of miserable but today I woke up with no headache and I feel good except for feeling a bit tired and my legs ache a bit. Food even sounds good to me today. I think that the meds made me feel yucky too.

    I'm trying to drink lots of water and I brought a bottle of Stewart's orange soda with me to work. It really tasted good and I wish that I would have brought more.

    Any of you June ladies working full time? I plan on working through this. My guy said he would take a day off of work and help me put up a fence but otherwise I want to save my vacation time for the end of August when we are through. Thank goodness that I hardly ever used sick time before this diagnosis.

    Do any of you plan on vacation or something special after we finish our treatments?

    hugs!
    Lee
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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    I'm on my way to Cleveland for A/C number one! I had about half gallon of water this morning. I hope the Emend/Zofran works. I don't have time in my life for nausea (who does)!

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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    Lee, I work full-time. In fact, I'm working right now! I am optimistic that I'll be in here tomorrow after today's treatment. We shall see.

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  • Sevenley
    Sevenley Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2004
    Shelliks,
    Good luck today!

    Where do you live? I see you're going to Cleveland for your treatments. I live 2 hours away from Magee in Pgh. That's where I'm going.

    Lee
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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    Lee, I live in Canton, about 2 hours west of Pbg.

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  • mklein50
    mklein50 Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2004
    Quick note--this has just been such a whirlwind: mammogram & ultrasound, core biopsy, MUGA, scans of everything that could be scanned. Today was MediPort day. Tomorrow is chemo day--TAC.

    I'm going to get a wig--it's cheaper than a whole wardrobe of hats & turbans.

    I thought if I ever got breast cancer, I would go to a breast center. Now, I'm glad to be able to go just down the street for my treatments.
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  • ncbeachlover
    ncbeachlover Member Posts: 11
    edited June 2004
    Hi Gals,

    I hope I get to stay in the "June" club. I have my ultrasound guided biopsy to take a look at the new little "bugger" they found in my remaining breast tomorrow. Then the wait.....a full week to see the onco, because they have to find out if it's the same type "pos vs neg" etc, so he'll know if he's going to dish out the same kind of "poison", 6 sessions of CEF, or add something else. The nurse said it could be different. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I've made posts for that question, but no one I guess has had that kind of experience. And then there's the little matter of the liver spot.... Don't you think he'd go ahead and start the chemo, whatever mixture to start fighting this thing, then surgery later?
    Let's all hope for JUNE 17th!!! Otherwise I guess I'll begin the July thread, unless they decide on another immediate mastectomy. Let's not even go there. We'll save that for reconstruction later!

    Darn, I wish I wasn't such a worrier!
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  • Sevenley
    Sevenley Member Posts: 30
    edited June 2004
    Belinda: You've got a lot on your plate! We'll have nothing but good positive thoughts and prayers for you.

    Last night I went home and did some weeding, washed my car inside and out and cleaned up my house some. Friday will be my one week date since first treatment.

    One thing I've noticed is that smells seem to bother me. They seem stronger. I bought some Fabreez yesterday for the house but I don't like the smell of that stuff either. Except for that and being tired in spells, I feel pretty good.

    I keep a mental picture of future grandchildren in my head to remind me why I'm doing this.

    How are you all doing?

    Lee
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  • shelliks
    shelliks Member Posts: 54
    edited June 2004

    I had my first A/C yesterday. So far, it seems much easier than Taxotere. Last night I felt kind of dizzy and sleepy (Ativan). I took Emend and Zofran also and they seem to be working. I slept about 12 hours last night and took an hour nap this morning. If this is the worst of it, no big deal. Hoping tomorrow goes as well.

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  • schoolmarm
    schoolmarm Member Posts: 8
    edited June 2004
    Well, gals. I had my first AC this morning. So far so good. I have a slight headache and feel a little spacey but nothing else so far. I keep expecting nausea to start at anytime but hoping it won't. Anybody know WHEN we should start taking something like Senecot? Before treatment, the night of treatment, later??? I've heard horror stories about AC constipation, but my doc just said to take when you felt you needed it. I'm afraid that might be too late.
    I was sooooo scared this morning, I could barely take a breath. They gave me Ativan which really eased my anxiety.
    One down and three to go! Hope all the rest of we Junies are doing okay.
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  • PJB
    PJB Member Posts: 2,615
    edited June 2004

    Well, schoolmarm, I'll be joining all you guys on the AC tomorrow. I was petrified this morning, so I can only guess how nervous I'll be tomorrow morning before we start. How long did it take you guys to get the actual treatment? Did you really suck on ice the whole time? Any other last minute advice?

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