March 2012 chemo

Hey guys:  I finished my chemo in November 2011 my last one was the week of Thanksgiving.  I received AC 4x and TX 4x and the day after each treatment I went for a Neulasta shot.  Bascially it is to increase production of white blood cells in order to prevent infection and your immune system from failing on you since chemo poison to our bodies.  The shot is simple doesn't hurt however it can cause some bone and/or spinal pain since it is making your bone marrow work overtime.  But it is needed. My chemo was every two weeks so the neulasta was needed

My shot shows up as "Prescription Drug" on my EOB, just like the chemo.  The shot is EXTREMELY expensive.  I was told $9,000 per shot.

Maybe I need to start a new thread with fave foods during chemo: I generally love to eat, almost anything, so having little appetite makes me sad. The glimmer of hope is in the rumble of my tummy.

Back from first chemo and everything went well. No bad reactions. I am on a steroid high though and cant decide if I like it or hate it. I cant stop talking and last night my legs wouldnt settle down when I tried to sleep. I like having this extra energy but need an off switch.



Karri - I am so sorry for all this. I am praying for good results from the u/s and that you can get your chemo Monday.

Karri: hang in there! Its going to workout just the way it's suppose to....im praying for you!

Zillamom: you described me exactly.I'm on stationary bike nowto workout some of this restless steroid legs. My chemo good so far too. Just trying to drink drink drink and it makes me feel so bloated!

Good news Karri!  So do you know when you are starting chemo yet?

Please add me to march group. I will be having port placed march 26 and start chemo march 30. I will be having 4 rounds adriamycin and cytoxin every 2 weeks then 4 rounds taxol every 2 weeks..so 16 weeks total. I am just finally starting to feel better after two surgeries at beginning and end of february. So the thought of starting the "dose dense" chemo is daunting. But I am keen to get this over with and move on. I am going to eat lots of cake on my 51st birthday this weekend, and enjoy a last haircut and color tomorrow for what will probably be a very long time (my hair is already short but I am going to go even shorter...maybe a bold spiky Billy Idol 'do to enjoy for the next five or six weeks..what the heck right?!) I have even bought a few cute hats at Target in preparation for "the Balding." Might as well be fashionable while we face down this Beast, right? Good luck to all you brave March ladies starting chemo. We will get thru this!!

Karri - That is great new Karri! Now you can get on with the chemo.



Everyone - I am drinking so much water but not able to go to the bathroom much. Onc said that I would retain water and swell with taxotere so I wonder if that is why. I am really water logged. For how long do I need to keep drinking large amounts of water to keep the chemo out of my bladder and flush everything?

Starting March 22. Clinical Trial.

Diane, welcome! You've found a good place to get support. These ladies are wonderful. I feel lucky to have such freat people helping me through this. As far as your worries go, you just need to be more careful and ask your family to be more careful. If the kids are sick, don't visit with them for a couple of days. Make sure everyone is washing their hands a lot. My teenage son came down with a cold the day after I had my first infusion and he's just avoided hugging or kissing me for a couple of days and been careful about sneezing or coughing around me, i haven't shown any signs of catching it. You'll be exposed to germs everywhere you go, so don't try to turn your home into a bubble.



Karri, I'm so relieved to hear all went well and you aren't facing anything else as a result! I have now had three drains from my surgeries and one of them from the BMX did hurt. It ached and was tender to the touch. The incision for it also hurt and the stiches itched. I felt like it was probably irritating a nerve or something. It was a HUGE relief to get it out, but it also hurt like hell when they did it. I hate to say it, but they are probably right and you'll just have pain. I wonder if there is anythign topical you can use? Maybe the Emla cream?



Shera, I love the poem! Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us. I know I told you before, but i envy you your outlet!



Galena and Sissy, it's so okay to be afraid still! I'm still dealing with my first infusion and I'm already dreading the next. I thought I was prepared for what would happen, but the reality has been tough and I would really rather not have to go through this again and again. But...we ARE strong, and we will do what we have to do and we'll make it to the other end of this. Being afraid doesn't mean you aren't strong. Doing what you have to despite being afraid is what strong is all about.

Masserz, I love what you wrote about being afraid. Of course it's so normal to be afraid of what we're living through (key word: living). It's hard to admit to being scared. I'm admitting: I was terrified not before, but after my first infusion in Tuesday, waiting for whatever was going to hit me. I dread that it will happen all over again, but I'll have lost my hair then, and worry that I won't have that sense of my normal self to keep me in balance. I dread when I go from FEC to taxotere, a whole other list of things to get used to...pardon me, but this is scary shit.

Sorry for the profanity. But as I said to my 8 yr old when he broke his wrist (10 days after my surgery), today you're allowed to swear.

(he didn't, bless him!)

Thanks Kadia and msbelle for the shaving advice. I'm just starting day 4, so have a bit of time I guess, but tons of hair, even though I got it chopped short. So are most of you going with wigs or hats or scarves?

So here goes ladies.... I am a fellow march starter as well... my chemo started this past tuesday the 13th... I will be getting AC + T.... 4 round of a AC every 2 weeks followed by Nuelasta shot.. then on to 12 weeks to every week of Taxol.. along with this I did join a clinical trial so in my second round I will be getting Herceptin once every 3 weeks for the next year... the reason for this is that I'm not technically herceptin negative.. my score was a 1 +...



As far is my first round of chemo went..... I'll tell you I was petrified... we even thought for a bit there might of been something wrong with my port... nope just an extremely high anxiety level.. we got through that with the help of a lady who sat next to me and made me not think about it...

I am now 3 days out and thought I should feel better... finding it very difficult to keep my eyes open..nausea not all that bad but just a little tightness in throat that is annoying

another note.... anybody have any discomfort with their port?? mine was put in approximately 2 weeks ago on my left side and it still annoys the heck out of me... more of a pulling in tugging kind of thing and a little discomfort in the neck.. They tell me it's fine... and I read about people taking up to a month for their port to feel "normal".. if that is something that even exists....