Is There A September 2011 Chemo Group?

Hi September 2011 Chemo Starters!

Had my first treatment on September 2nd.  Abraxane and Avastin.  I took the chemo class since it was 13 years ago that I last had chemo.  It was helpful to understand the new stuff going on. 

I had no premeds - the fluid retention I am experiencing would be the same se as the steriods so they were a no go.  Nausea is apparently not a huge se of the Abraxane but I did get the ativan should anything happen at home.  Yes, I will lose my hair.  It will begin to come out in about 10 to 14 days.  The chemo has now killed the next cycle of hair growth in the folicle so at the 10 to 14 day growth cycle, there will be no new hair once the end of the existing strand reached the surface of the scalp.  I have decided to cut it - it is quite long so I am donating to Locks of Love.  I will have a very short cut and then see how it comes out.  That will determine if I shave it or if it just all comes off, I won't have to. 

There is more I would like to share but it is nap time...hugs to all....LowRider

Hi All,

Day 3 for me.  Feeling a little less energetic, which I am attributing to the diminishing dose of my steroids starting today, as well as not the greatest sleep last night.  Big thunder storms.  I should be getting my neupogen shot today, so am gearing up for boney pain, although I have no idea what to expect.  I do already have some minor pain in my arm, but nothing stopping me from doing stuff, other than my head-space.

I had my oncotype test done, and had a score of 10.  I was supposed to start chemo in July, but my onc postponed it so that we could do some more research.  Since I had a grade 3 tumor, (and my young age) she thought it was still prudent to do the chemo anyway.  So, here I am.  She did change my original FECx3 + Tx3 to TCx4.  This was to reduce the heart damage issue with the E, which I think is the same as the A in AC.

Hugs to everybody! 

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to stop by and join this thread. I restart ACx4 tomorrow. Not looking forward to losing my hair again and the SE's but I think its worth it! Everyone on the boards have been so helpful!!



Kimberly1- I have a port and so glad I did it! I would definitely have someone drive you home. I too hate imposing on people but I have learned they want to be there for you and that at times, you will need them.

susanwmcg, I looked at one of your other posts and I will tell you that I started nothing right away.  My dx was a month before you and I waited an extra month for my surgery so that I had an absolute understanding of what was coming.  I also wanted to enjoy a family vacation before the surgery.  Looking at your stats (and I don't know how old you are), it looks like you have time to make an informed decision.

Larger tumors, higher stages, higher grades, more nodes, Her2+... all that stuff is more aggressive and perhaps that is why you may see some ladies acting more quickly.  I would never consider myself dragging my feet :-).  I am learning all I need to so I don't have chemo, breast or any type of remorse.  My BS said that many women get treated with chemo, but many also didn't need to.  That is what the Oncotype can help with.  I've been researching and doing EVERYTHING to keep from chemo.  Unfortunately, I haven't had too much good news.  Had my doctor taken out only 1 node (my SN was negative), I wouldn't even be learning about chemo.  My BS felt the need to take 6 and so here I am :-(.

You'll make the right choice for you and I do believe you have time.  Heck, if I do end up on the chemo train, it may even start up in October.  Who knows?

Hi Ladies! Sad to see so many new people have joined...but very thankful for all the info you're sharing.  It makes things a little less scary. 

As far as wig advice...my wig has no brand name on it.  The shop I went to has a website if you want to check it out.  It's in Canada, so it probably won't be much use to you...but you can see the type I got anyway. thewigboutique.com

Okay, back to the wig:  It's a monofilament, which means the hairs are hand knotted & look more realistic.  It's synthetic, because I figure if I don't have any hair I shouldn't have to spend time styling it.  I want to look great in 10 seconds or less lol.  I bought a long one, but shorter ones tend to last longer.  The ladies at the shop told me it'll probably only last 4-6 months.  I'm okay with that, but wigs do tend to be expensive.  I think it is absolutely imperative that you go to a "wig shop".  You have to try them on.  I picked 5 different styles from the website, and 4 of them looked absolutely ridiculous on me.  Oh, and take an honest friend if you can.  Mine was VERY honest lol.  She did make me try on some hideous wigs too, just for her own personal amusement.  I figured it was the least I could do since we drove two hours to buy hair. 

Good luck shopping ladies!

cooka: Not sure if CAT scans are a regular test to do pre-chemo or not.  Like I said before, my oncologist seems to be the paranoid type.  They took 13 vials of blood from me, plus did the ECG, the bone scan & the cat scan.  I've been ultrasounded on my heart, my lymph nodes....he seems to like ordering tests lol.  As long as he stops scaring the heck out of me before we have all the facts, I'll do whatever he wants.   

I love your idea of putting decisions before the court!  Good luck with your port placement.  I hope it's relatively painless & you have no complications with infection this time. 

Hi Jersey,

Wow we have a lot in common...not much of it fun stuff though, hunh?  I get my port in on the 13th also, will pray that we both remain staph free this go around. Sorry to hear you had to ride the infection roller coaster too, not a good time. One fun thing in common: all my family is from the Jersey shore (Sea Girt, Manasquan). I take it you are from Jersey too?   

Hi Everyone,

   My sister will be starting Chemo on Monday, Sept.12th.   She will not be posting on this site but if you don't mind I wanted to join to follow everyone's treatment.  I will be with my sister replacing her cold caps as she goes through her chemo.  I'm in Huntsville AL, but she is being treated in Knoxville, TN.

   Good luck to everyone!

Hello all! 

Had my first chemo session this morning, and was so relieved at what an anticlimax it was.  I took my first Emend capsule right after the labwork came back, the chemo tech started a bag of saline, then a steroid for nausea prevention, then the taxotere and last but not least the cytoxan.  If he hadn't been explaining the process the whole way I would never have known anything was different from that first bag of saline.  The nurses were so nice, the chemo room is long with a row of windows on one wall so there's a lot of natural light, I chomped on a cup of ice and read Rodney Crowell's memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks.  

Came home, husband is about to go back out and pick up my scrips for  phenergan and Zofran.  Had a light lunch and am drinking lots of water.  Mouth feels fine, no weird tastes yet.  Very tired but I think it's mostly due to not getting a lot of sleep last night because I was so anxious about today. 

One down, three to go.

 Oops, forgot to mention I will also be taking Decadron.

Not a stupid question at all, Kim. 

My treatment center (one of the Texas Oncology Centers north of Dallas) had an ice machine making fairly fine-grained granules.  It wasn't sno-cone ice, but it wasn't ginormous cubes either.  They also had coffee makers, and maybe tea bags?  I didn't look closely enough.  There was also a separate conference-type room with vending machines for snacks and soft drinks.

Some folks did bring their own cups, because all the center had were small styrofoam cups.  

Hope this helped! Have you had a "chemo class"?  If your center offers them (mine did), you get to see the chemo room and all its amenities. 

Hi Ladies,

Day 4 for me too.  TCx4, every 3 weeks.  Today was probably my worst day so far.  I'm going to attribute that to the laxative that I took last night.  I had really bad constipation after my MX, and didn't want to go through that again.  So, no constipation, but lots of cramps, cold sweats, and some vomitting.  It lasted about 3 hours in total, and I feel better now.  I still have the general feeling of lethargy, and achy bones, but otherwise, completley managable.

With regards to the steroids, I'm going to say that I have really enjoyed mine, my skin is definitely improved, and I enjoyed the burst of energy.  They did make it hard to sleep, but the day after my treatment, I was told that I could take my second dose earlier in the day, so that it would wear off more before bedtime.  Today was my last dose of streriods, so I'll see how I do without them.

Good luck to everybody. 

Bluejay, I'm glad to hear it went well! How long did it take for you to get all the drugs? I've heard it could be as long as 6 hours? I'm hoping it's shorter than that! I'm going to ask my dr., but was just curious how long yours took.