Starting chemo Thursday, May 31 - June Group?

This is what I was given prior to AC chemo.  Thought it might help someone.  I didn't have any nausea and was pleasantly surprised, because even the thought of the word nausea makes me nauseous:).

Emend 125 mg 1 hr prior to chemo.  I have to bring this with me for the 2nd infusion.  They have to do bloodwork first.  They had it there for the 1st time, then they gave me an rx for it.  Take 80mg on the 2nd and 3rd days.

Decadron (dexamethasone) -- they gave me a few pills prior to chemo.  I don't remember how many.  Then, 1 tablet for 3 days after treatment.

Prilosec (omeprazole) 20 mg -  take one tablet daily if needed.  I took this for the 1st week and I really think it helped.  

They also gave me rxs for compazine (prochlorperazine) 10 mg if needed for nausea.  I didn't need it.

Also, ativan (lorazepam) 1 mg if needed for nausea.  I didn't need that either.  

Hello there, looks like we have the same diagnosis, i was diagnosed on 5/16/12 and had my first chemo last Monday, June 18, 2012.  I also do not know as much about this as everyone else seems to and quite frankly, do not know if I want to make it my life's work.  This is my first post and am so glad to have gotten this referral from my friend, who just returned to work after one year to tend to her cancer.  But I also know that the person who cares most about me and my treatment is ME, so it is necessary to keep a handle on it.  I too, got all of the 'preventative' meds, but hate taking meds, so i have resisted thus far, except for the nausea pill on the 4th day after chemo.  Thus far, have only had one bad day, the rest have been pretty good.  I get a port put in next Friday, June 29th and my second chemo on July 2.  Attended ACS class about makeup, wigs, etc., which I highly recommend - called Feel Good, Look Better.  My doc said that my hair will be gone by July 4, which i am not looking forward to.  I am single and on leave from work, and kind of bored already!  Need to get into a routine of some sort.  Thanks again for keeping up this site.     

I'm a June chemo girl too! I will be starting Monday. I had BMX on June 6th and will do my first treatment then have a power port put in on July 5th. I'm doing A/C every other week x 4. Then Taxol weekly x 12. So glad to get started so I can be that much closer to being finished.



I am nervous though. Funny thing for me is I'm more upset about losing my hair than I was my boobs :-) .I can't express how helpful it is to read all of the posts. It's comforting to go through this with so many other fighters :-)

Welcome back, Ellebee!  So glad you enjoyed your vacation!

Pamelahope- thanks for the reply and support. I will be honest with you the mastectomy was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I highly recommend when the time comes you discuss what is called on On-Q block. It is similar to an epidural and blocks out roughly 80% of the surgical pain. You go home with them and they were a cinch to remove about 3 days post op. The JP drains freaked me out some in the beginning but then they were really just more of a nuisance. I am 2 1/2 weeks post op and although I don't feel like running a marathon I am doing well. I went out to dinner last night and was able to get dressed even for my first post op visit a week out. The first week is the hardest but you will be surprised at how helpful your kids want to be :-) of course this was just my experience. Individual mileage may vary :-)



I am cutting my hair short next week and then each one of my 3 kids get to pick a wild color and they are going to dye it! I thought it would be a fun thing for them to do and allow some fun memories to be made.



How did you do your first treatment?

Ellebee - I love pinterest.  It is one of my new addictions!  I would love to follow you! 

Did you go to a look good feel better class?  I heard they show you how to make a head covering out of an old t-shirt.  The ACS gave me a wig and a nice cap for sleeping and I can't find the cap!  It's driving me crazy because I don't usually lose stuff.  I can't imagine where I put it!

I took a shorter, cooler shower today and the sleeping pill at 10 p.m., rather than 5 a.m., so I had a much better start today!

I hope everyone has a great SE-free day!

StephanieJM- Hi! I'm the one who sectioned off my short bob into little pony tails and snipped them off while everyone at my house was gone running errands!!!!   Just got so annoyed with hair failling out here and there.  I was having to lint roller myself, my pillow, and my clothes too many times a day.   My husband used some electric clippers with a 1 inch cutter guard and cleaned up my work so that I had a really short short boy cut.  He cleaned up the sides and back and left the front the way I had cut it.  I left the front section a little longer so I could comb my hair to the side.  I have not cut my hair since then.  I'm heading into #4 of 6 rounds of Cytoxan/Taxotere on Tuesday.  I still have some hair which I would describe as sparse and I look like I have a shadow/veil of hair on my head.  I still have eye brows/ lashes and some leg, arm and down south hair.  I'm not planning to cut/shave my head to the nub because I have always wanted to see if the chemo would take out all of my hair or not (my personal science experiment) and I felt that I couldn't handle the dramatic/abrupt change from having hair to no hair in a matter of minutes.  Whatever you do, be comfortable with your decision.

On the subject of eyebrows/lashes - I did not lose all of mine.  I used Anastasia colored brow gel one shade darker than my natural hair color.  It is like mascara for your eyebrows, easy to use.  If you do lose them all this company also has stencils with powder so you are not having to draw them on with a pencil.  You can find these at Sephora.  For lashes I lost all the bottom ones, but had a few stragglers on the top.  I used dark eyeliner and that seemed to mask the fact that I really had no lashes.  I also used darker lipstick or gloss and wore bigger earrings.  This is especially helpful when you go "topless" and stop wearing headcoverings or wigs.

Here are some links for scarves/hats, I believe that gaila fund and france luxe will send you one for free :

www.franceluxe.com

www.4women.com

www.gailafund.org

www.abonitascarf.com

www.anokhiusa.com

Pamelahope- Yes.... I'm having #4 of 6 on Tuesday and looking forward to my time in the Big Girl Chair.  Yes, I call it the Big Girl Chair because my feet don't touch the ground when I'm sitting in that gold recliner lounge chair plus I have to have someone else put the chair in the reclining position for me and pull out the foot rest!!!!!  It's pretty funny to see me sitting there with feet dangling and trying to put the chair in the reclining position by myself!!! 

FYI:  I had a left UMX in March 2012 so I've been through the surgery, drain thing and recovery of my arm movement.  All very doable.  I knew I was having chemo after I recovered from my surgery but until the chemo start date was set, I focused on recovering from my surgery so I would be ready physically and emotionally ready for chemo.  At this point, that is what I'm doing while having chemo.  I don't know if I will be having rads but until I know and if I do, when the start date of the rads would be, I focus on what is right in front of me right now--- the chemo.  For now, concentrate on getting through chemoland.  One step at a time, girlfriend, one step at a time.  It is much too difficult and overwhelming to comprehend and deal with all of the different phases of treatment, so the goal for now is for you and your family to continue to thrive and get through chemoland.

HUGS!!!

Pam, I was FREAKED OUT by the thought of the drains before my surgery too!  You will be surprised by how fast you get used to them, they are temporary anyway.  I had three of them.  I had the first one removed by the surgeon at 11 days.  Well,  they told me to watch for the drainage to drop below 30cc per day for two days then I could go back and have them removed.  

As soon as mine hit those levels (at 16 and 21 days) I just clipped the stitch and pulled them out myself.  It didn't even hurt, but was so freeing to get rid of them, mostly because I wanted a good bubble bath soak!  I had to wait one more week for that, but it was great when it finally happened.  

My good friend also has BC, she took her drain out too... they aren't as bad as you think.  Do you know when your mastectomy will be?

I haven't heard anyone mention a sore mouth SE.  Gosh, about 4 days ago I ate 4 sweet cherries, waited an hour to see how my stomach felt, as I have had no fresh fruit or vegs.  Seemed o.k. so ate about 10 more, yummy!  The next morning I woke up, felt like Jack the Ripper had cleaned my teeth!!  I couldn't even brush my teeth my gums are so sore.  I had read not to use commercial mouthwash as it is drying, and use mild salt water.  I put 1/2 sea salt in a pint of bottled water, added a couple pinches of baking soda to neutralize from acidic to neutral.  I swish this around several times a day.  I have also just swished a spoonful of Maalox, if it's good for the stomach... should help the mouth?  I also bought a baby toothbrush today.  So hoping this calms down and I don't have to feel like this for 4 months.  Acidic things like fresh pineapple tend to bother me if I eat it for a few days, I just wasn't expecting sweet cherries to give this reaction.

Also, got horribly sick one day, terrible stomach cramps even vomited and I had never been sick or nausious at all.  Called the onc. nurse she said a more unusual side effect can be a sudden onset of lactose intolerance, I had drank a nutrition drink that morning containing MILK.   

So this is just FYI, of a couple of side effects you might be alert to.

I am editing this message:  I read a couple of things... do not use whitening toothpaste ( I was) and mouth sores can be dabbed with magnesium hydroxide ( Maalox is 40%) not sure where to find pure MH.