April 2012 Chemo Starters?

Hello everyone i started TC- taxotere/cytoxan on yesterday April 13, 2012. I will be doing 4 cycles. So far so good with side affects. Lets see what the next few days/ weeks bring.

Hi Ladies (I didn't read all of the names so I hope if there is a man here, it's not intended to offend)

Just thought I would pop by from the February 2012 chemo thread and wish you all the best and the smallest SE's ever.

My cocktail is TCH with my last one scheduled for this Friday the 20th.  While its no cakewalk, it is way more doable than I ever imagined.  If I can pass along anything at all its hydrate X10, take the stool softeners and get whatever rest your body demands.  As for the sleepness nights due to the steroids, your MO can prescribe something for that too.  Take all of the anti nausea meds to stay ahead of it (much harder to reign in once it starts).  For those getting a Neulasta shot, I suffered big time with back spasms my first TX and lived on percocet for a few days.  Through the advice of people here and checking with the MO, Clariton 24 hour worked like a charm.  

As for the hair thing, yes we all struggle with that one, don't blow the bank on expensive wigs that you'll hate anyway.  Go for a couple of decent inexpensive ones, some hats and scarves.  I find personally that at home I just rock the bald, way cooler and more comfortable.  The hair really starts to go about a week after your 2nd TX.  I personally had my hairdresser buzz it off.  Believe it or not its already starting to grow!!  Have about 1/3 inch is coming though already.

Hang in there and above all, try not to lose your sense of humour. Best of luck to all of you!

Hello everyone- I just found out Thurs. that I too will be getting chemo. I had originally been told that since I had adenoidcystic variation I would probably just get radiation. Well not so once they saw my genetic test-I am TN and I was tested on 18 genes-but I was at a 30.

I will be getting the Taxotere and Cytoxan combo starting this Wed. the 18th. This will be 4 treatments 3 weeks apart. With the first neulasta on This Thurs.

 I went Friday and had 21 inches of hair cut off-I truly thought I'd cry but the short hair looks really cute. My DD10 is really upset about it and is freaking out I'll be bald - on the up side she's so proud she has the longest hair now. It's past her bottem end. Tues. My sister will be going with me for wig fitting-we have a cancer cneter that provides you with one free wig. I figure it's worth a shot just so I don't have to spend any more money.

I've had my lumpectomies left and right side-3-9 my DH had a cyst removed from his privates on 3-21, had to put DD on previcid last week-now she has pink-eye-so I have to get here into the doctor first thing tomorrow. This is nuts- just the office copays are running a couple hundred a week-I sure hope this slows down.

I wish every one small SE's and good nights rest-I know I don't get them.

I am tentatively scheduled to start pre-surgery TAC (I wonder if that's the same as ACT I'm seeing on this board?) on the 23rd.  Neulasta the following day.  Six rounds, three weeks apart.  I go in for my echocardiogram Tuesday morning.  My MO looked at my arms and said I have good veins and wants me to try to go without a port.

I'm with you Buttons!  2012 has been pretty sucky so far but I'm looking forward to better days!  2 weeks ago I thought "no lymph nodes" meant "no chemo"!  shows how cancer stupid I was!  Apparently 2a + 2.5 cm + 43 years old = today I found out it'll be 4-6 dose dense AC or TC and then weekly Taxol!  We'll all just have to hang in there together, right!?  And I find great strength from all of you - both the good and the bad!

Well Ladies...

On Sunday my daughter threw a 'Pre-Chemo' party for me. It was a complete surprise. All my fellow work friends as well as all my fellow teachers were there. It blew me away! They gave me presents like scarves, hats, lotions, gift cards, etc. there was a mound of food, friendship, and my grown up boy scouts from when I was a Den Leader, Cubmaster, and Assistant Scoutmaster. The outpouring of love was humbling.



I had my first chemo today (taxotere and cytoxin) and did just fine. My daughter was with me and one of my sons brought my husband over for a little while. My other son took my new car to get the coating done. I couldn't figure out when I could schedule it.



So far so good. I have my pickled ginger to nibble, and my ginger snaps for nausea if I need it. I also have my zofran to take if needed.

I'll check back in soon. Good luck, good vibes and many prayers for all my sisters.

Diane

This morning was good full of energy no other apparent SE's. Could not eat or drink anything before fasting blood specimen at 12:45 today at the hospital. Took fruit, nuts, and oat bar and juice to eat after blood is taken. Had bone density test no pain at all 1:30pm, one of the easiest test. Visited with my MO 4pm, discussed the port. I really have only one good vein and they have had to stick me twice each time to put the IV in, he said that was not good so we are talking about the port sooner than later. Came home sneezing and with a runny nose, around 4:30 pm after sitting in a cold waiting room, and oh so tired again, all my energy is GONE, used up in the waiting room of the hospital. I am hoping for energy in the morning, I want to go grocery shopping, so my DH will not have to, even though he doesn't mind at all, but I like to grocery shop sometimes, it's been almost 2 months since I got to grocery shop all on my own.

I am ready for bed can hardly keep my eyes open, don't want to go to bed too early, because I will probably wake up in the wee wee hours of the morning and can't go back to sleep.

Have a good night every one.

Melrosemelrose, it wasn't bad at all. I'm sitting here almost 12 hours after the treatment and am feeling fine. You will too.



Jaebon, we are taking the same thing and the SE are god so far.



I did notice that my diet coke had a funny taste. I wonder if this is the start of a SE?



Many prayers and good thoughts to all my sisters!



Diane

DianeC- So glad you are feeling fine right after the infusion!!!  I will be sitting in the infusion chair a little longer than I originally thought because of the Herceptin B-47 clinical trial I signed up for.  I got randomized yesterday for the study and will be one of the low HER2's ( I'm a +1) who will be receiving Herceptin every 3 weeks for the next calendar year.  My oncologist and her research assistant are very excited about all of this; I just view it as my very small contribution to breast cancer treatment research.  I will keep you posted with how I do next week after my infusion.  I have a PET scan tomorrow and a few days off before treatment begins. 

Praying for minimal SE's for all as we move forward!!!

Hello ladies, im on day 5 after receiving TC. Day 1, was fine. Day 2 was the worst thus far.  I had flu like symptoms. My body ached so bad i did nt know what to do but moan and cry.  I have never had so much pain. I also had sore throat.  Day 3/4 were a little better. Today i think i experienced my first bout of fatigue. Other than that, im just taking it one day at a time.

Hi all~

hope someone sees this soon because I am in need of your expertise!  I had my first AC today and I have a wicked headache!  Worse than the worst hangover I ever had (in my younger days). I've been on top of the meds since returning home (about 4pm, CST) and taken Ibuprofen, Zofran, Buspar (anti-anxiety), and LOTS of water as well as some Vitamin water.  I can't seem to shake the headache & I can't necessarily switch to Tylenol until the Ibuprofen wears off. 

Any suggestions for when I CAN switch to Tylenol or something else that might work better?  I don't feel it's life-threatening so don't want to call the onc office at this hour (10:30pm).  You ladies probably know better anyway!

Thanks!! 

SinginCyndi I hope you are feeling better!!!

I had my first chemo today. I will be getting 4 rounds total of adriamycin and cytoxin every 3 weeks then switching to taxotere (also 4 rounds total every 3rd week) followed by 5 years tamoxofin. I started treatment at 9 a.m. The treatment itself went very well. Nurses were very kind and I was comfy and relaxed. My nose got a lttle itchy/stuffy during the cytoxin but nurse said that is common and to take a zyrtec an hour before treatment next time. I really felt fine all day until exactly 4pm when I was hit by sudden wave of nausea, dizziness, facial flushing and headache. I was scheduled to take compazine at 6pm but by 5 I felt so bad I went ahead and took it a little early. It stopped the nausea and other stuff almost instantly and I felt ok until 7:30 then bam , the nausea came back and was worse than before. I wasted no time...called the after hours clinic number and got my oncologist who happened to be on call. He said "O Oh..you are going to be one of those people...clearly you and the Red Devil are not going to be pals!" "Swell" I replied. "Can you do anything to make me feel less seasick and dizzy?" he called in some Odansetron to the all night pharmacy and a dear friend picked it up. He said it will help with "breakthrough"nausea since it appears I will get only about 2 -3hrs relief from the compazine and you can only take it every 6hrs. I took the odansetron about 10 min ago and I am already feeling better. Lessons I learned today...I don't need to be scared of the actual treatments, but these are SERIOUS drugs and the side effects can hit HARD and at anytime so you have to be prepared. Lesson two..take the doctor and nurses at their word when they tell you don't just sit and suffer in silence..there is almost always something they can do to help..adjust your meds; call in a different med etc. As patients we have to advocate for ourselves.



I learned these lessons from my beloved husband who passed away last Friday after a grueling 18 month battle with adenocarcinoma of the lung. He endured FIFTEEN MONTHS of chemo...EIGHT different chemo drugs plus radiation near the end. He endured all sorts of side effects but by communicating with his physicians and getting advice on boards like this one we were almost always able to solve chemo related difficulties. Chemo gave him more time he would otherwise not have had and I am determined to handle my treatments with the same grace and bravery he did.



Sorry for the long post, but it is quite a thing to bury your husband who died of cancer on Wed. And start your first chemo the next morning on Thurs. But I did it, and got thru it. WE WILL ALL GET THRU IT. Stay strong ladies and let's keep supporting each other and solve problems together. I got so much practical advice and moral support from this site during the surgical part of this journey.. We can do same during the chemo part.

Good healing to you all!

PelicanGirl

Pelicangirl~

I too wish to express my condolences-on the loss of your husband and I could not even begin to imagine the depth of your pain. I wish you the very best. I can tell from your post you are facing this whole thing head on and you sure put my blubbering little rant into perspective.

I do agree that we must be our own advocates and really pay attention to what's going on with our bodies.

c-squared ~

I sure hope your headache is doing better I don't have any advice there-I am a migraine sufferer and I was told take my imitrex as the chemo will more than likely kick them in=that is after trying tylenol or ibuprofen.

I think today I will feel more flu like  I am feeling a bit queasy and my head is starting to ache some-of course the muscles are tight also. I'll make sure to have the onco's number handy for hubby-my poor mother had a heck of a time yesterday trying to call them. She got so flustered-you have to realize she's 80 and I probably stressed her something fierce yesterday. She couldn't even figure out how to answer our house phone. We came home from the hospital and she had gone out and cut lilacs for the table - they sure look nice but -that smell is more than I can take this morning.

To top things off our DD 10 was sent to the office and was told someone would be picking her up and I have no idea how that happened-we had the kids picked up on Wed. anyway they had to call our house-good thing mom had figured out how to answer the phone by then-so she had to take DS and go get her at the school. She was beside herself beacuse she didn't have keys to lock the house etc... boy what a day. DD said later she thought we forgot about her.

I pray you all have better days ahead and yes we will get through it!!

First of all, Pelicangirl, my heart goes out to you. Your husband would be so proud of you. We are here for you and know that everyone supports you through this terrible time.



Melrosemelrose, being part of clinical trial is commendable and appreciated.



Buttons2, my SEs really began on day 3. Chemo was fine, but the steroid kept me up all night the first night. I couldn't go to sleep for over 24 hours. So, day 2 was very busy. I walked around all day and couldn't sit still for anything! My Neulasta shot took effect on day 3 complete with flu type symptoms. My body ached and I had a headache that was tremendous. Day 4, today, was the same, so my daughter called to see what could be done. They called in a prescription and it has worked wonders. Now I know what I can do the next time!



As far as nausea, I have been lucky. The meds have kept that under check, although I haven't had an appetite. The main problem I'm having is diarrhea. My backside is just raw!



Well, no matter the problems, we are here for each other. May our trials and SEs be minimal!



Diane

Pelicangirl. My saying "My condolances to you" seems a bit inadequate. Please forgive me... It sounds like your husband gave you a gift of strength and resolve. I hope I can do as well for my wife.



Sharon had an appointment with the oncologist's PA today. So far all is as expected. When asked about her headache, the PA said it was very likely due to the anti-nausea meds.



She was more or less fine for a couple of days and then started to hurt a bit again. We thought it was AC related. Perhaps it was the neulasta shot she got the next day.



The dr is calling. Gotta go.



Eric