March 2012 chemo

Indigo-mine started on AC. MO says its a common SE from chemo.

Hi folks. I just found this forum and it's refreshing to read real experiences where people are having SE's and discussing them. All I've been reading about previously were people still going to the gym and work and just having a few minor discomforts, which has not been my experience at all.



So far I've had 4 treatments of A/C and 1 of Taxol, with 3 more to go. Then surgery, mod/rad mastectomy of left breast and lymph node, probably in July. Then radiation after that.



Chemo has been devastating to me and Kelli, my partner of 16 years. My new measurement of a "good" day, is a 3 on a scale of 1-10. Taxol is not any better than A/C either.



Next Taxol is on Tuesday with that horrific Nuelasta to follow, so I plan to covet the Vicodin from Thursday to the next Tuesday.



I humbly join you in your fight and welcome you to mine!

Some how this thread was removed from my favorites!  Hope everyone is doing ok!

Long ass day for me, Dad had surgery turned out he needed a valve and a double bypass.  He is in ICU and will be through the weekend.  Wasn't awake when we finally got to see him (they have him sedated) so hopefully he will be awake in the morning when we go.  He was one sick puppy!  It was so worth postponing my treatment till Tuesday so I could be there for him and my family.  He has a long road ahead to heal but feeling pretty postiive.

Super tired with very little sleep so heading to bed.

Hope everyone had a great evening! 

FYI - yesterday first first day in the chair for Taxol and all went well . It was a very long day as you all know from 8:00 AM to 3 PM but I was able to sleep some during it. All the meds knocked me out. Feeling pretty good this AM just a slight backache but that probably from old age. Of course still left over steroids so I'm staying cautious waiting for the bad SE's to hit. I'll keep you all updated.

Welcome Trailgirl! This thread has been a lifesaver for me. This group really understands what you are going though and will offer lots of info, advice, and plenty of love and understanding. I prayer your journey gets easier.

Kim- payers for your dad's recovery! You're a great daughter.

Regards to all my fellow sisters and hope all are having a great day!!!!

Trailgirl

Welcome.  This is a great place to vent because we've all been there and nothing is TMI.  I know for sure if I didn't have this and the February thread I regularly post to and had to go it alone I would have been freaking out!  At least when others are experiencing things along the same lines you feel alot more "normal".  If I had just had friends and family to rely on I would have been lost and alot more scared.

I can't say that you'll have an easier or worse time on Taxol vs Adriamycin (spelling), my regimen was Taxotere-Cytoxen-Herceptin.  I just know that first week after TX was the worst, then things improved over the next 2 when it was time for the next.  I'm 4 weeks PFC and am feeling more my old self, say 90% anyway.  Hang in there!

onvacation

Happy to hear your Dad did well with surgery.  What a day for  you though yesterday.  I know how exhausting it can be with a parent in hospital without going through chemo.  Try to get all the rest you can though, you still need to look after yourself.

Kim: Hope your dad recovers quickly.

Welcome trailgirl! This is my favorite thread. The ladies on here are wonderful. I'm one of those who still drags my achy, exhausted butt to work most days, but some days only because it's my source of health insurance. And besides, I love what I do and the people I work with, so it's a nice place to be - doesn't feel like "work". But there are a lot of days where it's all I can do to get here and sit at my desk. Luckily, my employers and coworkers have been unbelievably supportive. They say, come to work when I feel like it and, when I don't, stay in bed - and that my job will be here when this is over. So I truly couldn't ask for better.

So I'm week out from my first Taxol. The bone and joint pain was excruciating for a couple of days and then I was just really achy for a couple more. Almost back to normal now. No neuropathy or nail issues so far. I check my brows/lashes at least ten times a day and I think they're thinning a bit - but I'm obsessed about it, so it may just be my imagination. No regrowth on my head yet, but I still have quite a lot of stubble after AC. It's enough that I actually wonder how much would have been left if I had not shaved it when it started to come out in clumps.

Anyway, on to brighter thoughts. The family and I are headed out of town this afternoon for a couple of days. Nothing major, kind of low key - just need a change of scenery. And our kids are accustomed to traveling a lot. That's kind of our thing - the whole family loves to travel, so we are constantly planning our next trip. But this year, not so much because I'm missing so much work with treatments, appointments, etc.; besides, most of the time I wouldn't feel like doing much after we got where we were going anyway. So I'm planning several weekend trips to nearby places so the kids still feel like they're going somewhere. So yay, I'm excited and ready to get on the road. But 5:00 seems like a long way from now.

CAYH: wow, your clean immune-boosting eating is inspirational, chemo or no chemo! It must feel good to make a decision like this that you feel so right about...I would love to know more about how you got to this decision, but of course you don't need to share that with me... or if you want you could pm me. It's true that the journey from diagnosis to starting treatment is super fast, and fraught with emotion or shock, and there is no time to become an expert on our own personal situation...

CAYH - love juicing myself!  Glad you found a plan that works for you!  Your eating plan seems excellent!  

Greetings 2012 groupies from a 2011 lounge lizard. Glad to see you all seem to be doing well.



A couple of notes....nails...ice them during chemo if you can. Best tip I got from another thread is to get insulated lunch bags that will fit your feet and your hands. I put frozen peas in and then my feet (and hands last) and zipped them up.I was amazed at how well it worked. My nails did great until the last couple months of herceptin, and I even kept them iced for that.



I did shellac until February and it was fine but then they started breaking low, peeling, are very flexible and they used to be tender. That seems to be getting better. To get shellac off, you have to soak in acetone, which is hard on the nails. Because of the tenderness of my nails, getting the shellac off became painful. It felt good when it was on though. They were stronger. I did pedicures throughout. Felt so good. They did not cut cuticles though.



CAYH....I juiced throughout chemo, before I realized I wasnt really supposed to be doing raw fruits and veggies. One oncology nurse about had a coronary when she heard. Then my onc told her it was fine. He is of the belief based on some new studies, I guess, that there is not a lot of factual basis for avoiding it. He only recommends a neutrogenic diet to his lymphoma patients. My counts never dropped out of normal range so maybe it helped. I used a lot of the same ingredients you did, but would add fruit, whatever I had...apple, blueberries, mango, strawberries. It was one of the things that tasted good. In fact, raw stuff and cold food tasted best to me. Hot food was unappealing.



Good luck to everyone! I will check in every so often, or you can pm if you have any questions.

Indigo...my manicurist suggested doing a french shellac, so I did, it looked great. I kept mine short also, although they are way shorter now than they were.

Morning all - I am so far behind I won't even attempt to catch up except to say that I am glad your dad is doing ok Kim.

Spent the last 3 days in bed - literally in the bed except for bathroom breaks.  Couldn't get comfortable anywhere else, even on the couch...nausea seemed worse this time and of course my allover Neulasta soreness.  Realized about halfway through that I didn't take the Claritin this time but it wasn't any worse than it ever has been so for me, I don't know that it helps all that much.  

I have managed to drag myself to the couch today.  We are supposed to go on this alleged vacation a week from Sunday and I have made no definite plans.  Some of that was intentional - I didn't want to make reservations and have things all fall through.  But we need to have a general idea of what we are going to do.

ktlb-hope your feeling better so you can go on vacation!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend.

Had my first Taxol on Friday and today I'm having small stabbing pains in my tumor area.  Picturing the taxol with little swords taking out the cancer cells.

Kim -hope your Dad is still doing good and that your siblings are helping out.

Indigo-that's us alright! We do plan on getting back up there at some point.  Doughnuts I want one so bad.  I've been craving them for weeks now. LOL

Indigo- lol about the lipgloss.  We had pizza at Wall and I have to admit it was good pizza.  We had Indian tacos down in the park and they had buffalo meat in them.  They were good, but they weren't quite spicy enough for me. Now I am getting hungry.  

I am so ready to get going again.  Friday I was asking the MO are your sure I still have to go through this and this.  He said yes  .  Hopefully by late fall.  If Missouri bugs don't get me first.

Good morning ladies!  Happy Memorial Day!  

Another HOT Houston day, summer is here for sure!  

Hope everyone has a wonderful day with minimal SE!