April/May 2012 Chemo hang out

Feeling really tired. Taxol #3 done. Toes / fingers a little numb, tomorrw is my crash day. Not looking forward to it. It's really hot here for the next few days so I am stuck in the house, lucky we have air. One more to go & I am done w chemo.

Thanks, Husker.  I can't wait until I can say it's my last one.  Congratulations to you and I hope your SE are minimal!

I'm seeing so many posts with wretched side effects that I decided I should post and say that I realize that I have been pretty lucky, so that anyone new reading through this thread can see that not everyone has a terrible experience all the way through chemotherapy. I definitely did get side effects, but some of what I experienced after my first T/C treatment - five days of the worst constipation I've ever had, followed by diarrhea when the constipations meds finally took effect did not occur after my second or third treatments. Yes, I had the fatigue crash, taste changes and thrush each time, but they seemed less the second time and definitely have been less the third. My fourth and last infusion is coming up next week, so that may change, but I am hoping to skate by with as little as possible.

I have had no problem with Neulasta. I took my doctor's advice to take Claratin and my infusion nurses's to also take one Tylenol and one Motrin together with it, and to take the Tylenol/Motrin combo again if needed. She said the combination of Tylenol and Motrin helped a lot of people better than two of anything else or Claratin alone.

I think starting Dulcolax stool softeners two days ahead of the 2nd and 3rd infusion and continuing them for a few days afterwards until I was certain my plumbing was working properly, along with taking Senacot the night of the infusion and for a few days afterwards, helped get me ahead of any potential problem. I recommend that others consider trying that preemptive method to try to ward off GI problems.

I have also made a point of eating a high fiber cereal with at least a cup of fresh fruit on it every morning, no low fiber breakfasts. Like may of us I still don't like the taste of water and find drinking it very difficult, so I look for other ways to stay hydrated. I look for anything juicy that might hold a lot of water. Large salads have been very helpful, plus soups and melons as well as fruit. When I have thrush eating is more difficult as it distorts both taste and texture - a fresh orange tasted and felt creamy to me which was very odd. I couldn't eat it.

I found that brushing my teeth and tongue with dry baking soda helps to knock back the thrush, so I keep a box of it by my sink. I can see the difference on my tongue right away. I also have a bottle of Nystatin which I can use to sip and sloosh around in my mouth afterwards if I need it. 

My crash days are exhausting, but to be expected. On them I find it hard to follow what's on tv or to read so I just lie around resting, but that passes. I remember reading people posting on this website that it's important to push through our fatigue, so after those few days of feeling flattened, I force myself to get up and do things and surprisingly, I feel much better for it. By the following day I am out and about feeling fairly normal.

Hortense I am going to try the Tylenol/Motrin combo with the Claritin this time around as I am almost a week out getting my Neulasta shot because of the holiday!  Usually my bad days are Thurs and Fri after the shot and I had kind of planned on that so maybe I could do something with my girls for the 4th but now looks like my bad days will be Sat/Sun.   

My SE have been pretty much in line with yours and when people ask how I am feeing I pretty much say that there is nothing that other meds cannot control as far as SE's.  I too have a box of baking soda by my sink and when I get that terrible taste I just go and gargle and it does seem to help!  I will be so glad when my taste buds come back to normal!!

I just completed my 5th of 6 TCH treatments on Monday!  So here is to everyone who has been in the chair this week or will be!!!  We are marching forward!!! 

I have my first neulasta this Sat.  Will be getting the claritin and some more ibuprofen.  Glad to be in touch with you ladies.  I wasnt able to drink water, I found I could drink tang and gatorade, I know healthy.

The dex seems to give me a weird feeling in my forehead.  I would get this on chemo day with the last 3 after the iv chemo.  Now with the taxotere I am taking the chemo the day before and have this same feeling.  Not painful, but noticeable.

Frustrated with my period.  Was really hoping it wound leave me alone through this, but it is not looking good.  I am going for #4 of 6 tomorrow.  I feel like it will be here by tomorrow, just another thing to have to think of...ugh...

Well hope everyone is feeling good.  thanks for listening.

Hortense, my overall experience has been really similar to yours, at least, on A/C. Except no rides on the actual D train. I have found that in addition to lots of water and high fiber breakfast, taking the stool softeners and two spoonfuls of Phillips MOM at bedtime for the first 3-4 days helps a lot. Usually after that I can cut back to 1 or 2 stool softeners at bedtime and no MOM, and by day 7 or 8, pretty much back to normal as far as the C train. I had to talk to the MO's office today about my precriptions, and asked the nurse about bone paiun and depression on Taxotere. She didn't think the chances were huge and kept telling me over and over, "You have done the hard part! Taxotere will be so much easier than A/C." I am going to work on trusting that instead of thinking there's some Murphy's law poltergeist (sorry for the mixed metaphors) out there waiting to pounce on me.



I am growing back fuzz on my head too, and yes, it is almost entirely white, so easier to feel than see - but DH, who desperately needs a new glasses scrip, said this a.m. "hey! Your hair is growing back!" So it really must be there, lol. I am pretty much all bald on the sides of my head, and my scalp still seems kind of tender; wondering if the tenderness means this little bit of growth will fall out too.



I sure don't miss my periods. My last two were timed so that one was underway during my BMX, and the other overlapped my first A/C and dragged on for two weeks. None since.



My son put "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" on my iPod and I listened to it during my walk last evening, crying, of course. He also downloaded "The Fighter" by GymClass Heroes. I am not really a fan of rap, but I saw the video with gymnast John Orozco and liked the song.



We had a good Fourth - hope you all did too. Used our new grill, yay! I have dinner marinating for tonight and hoping these desperately needed storms I see building up can wait til after I'm done cooking.



Mom and my niece arrive tomorrow (she's 18). Trying to decide whether to wear my wig to greet them when they get here - I haven't seen my niece in over a year. She's really laid back and not an ultra girly girl, so it's more about how I feel about my looks rather than how she'll take it, I think.

Marcia111. I found steroids stay around for two days....I'm on taxol and get them by IV. First time is almost impossible to sleep...lots of energy the next day...then hard to sleep the second night...now Im on day 3 and they seem gone.





However...thought I was doing great on taxol...today (3rd day out on treatment #3) and I am really hurting...took the aleve as recommended but it did nothing. Feels like flu symptoms with a ton of muscle aches in my back, butt, back of legs....ugh.

babysammy - best wishes for tomorrow!  We are here to listen any time - we understand.  Hang in there! 

 indigo - enjoy your family visit.

Chapter 4 - hope the pain/aches pass quickly!  

Thanks, Gemmie. Only in a perfect world! I slept through the whole treatment this morning then came home and slept another 3hours! Hot flashes kept me waking me up in the middle of the night.

Vballmom, they are doing pretty good. My stepdaughter is visiting her mom and the youngest just left with her "Nana" for the night. As far as support goes it's awesome. You truly find out who’s really there for when you're going through something so life changing. How are yours? Taxol for me seems so much easier. They gave me Oxycodone for the pain and it's working like a charm. I hope everyone that's starting Taxol will have minimal SE’s. It's kinda like being your old self again!

Chapter 4 - I am feeling similar to u more pain in my back & legs. Feeling really emotional too. Numbness in feet/toes not to bad. Hoping I can sleep tonight, even tho I slept a good portion of the day. Hope u feel better along w everyone else.

Will my PFC start after taxol/herceptin ends or alone herceptin ends? I will have one year of infusion with herceptin every 3 weeks.

Question for any and all.  This has been bothering me for sometime.  I had my 3rd of 6 chemo T/C treatments today. SE have been manageable.  Given Neulasta shot last two treatments to counter low cell count.  No SE with first shot, time will tell with today's.  But my question is:  I did not have any other tests to determine if cancer had in fact spread to other parts of my body prior to beginning chemo.  Having Stage IIb, with 4 of 13 lymph nodes positive, I wonder why there was not some test I could have undergone.  How do I know the chemo is effective and that I won't be back in the future with cancer on the lungs, bones, brain?  This cancer and treatment of seems really hit/miss.  I feel I am going through this round of chemo with little SE and I feel overall just fine.  I was an active, heathly 56 year old prior to mamogram in March and don't feel much different now.  But I worry that while I will come through this round of surgery, chemo, and future reconstruction, what will happen in the future.  How can any of us be sure.  Chemo as I understand it, does not cure, we are only given time and the luck of the draw that it will not reoccur elsewhere in the body.  How can we know.  How do they test.  Once I've completed chemo would I not want a PET scan to at least provide a baseline for comparative purposes for the future?  I am fine today, but I worry constantly about what my future holds.  Any thoughts?

Hi melrose - it feels GREAT!  I still...believe it or not...have thrush, though!  Still doing Nystatin.  Crazy, crazy!!!  And although my energy level is much improved, I find that it continues to be easy to overdo one day and feel like crap (wiped out) the next day.  However, I have very little heart burn at all now (still on Nexium twice a day) and no fever, and my GI system is getting close to being back to normal.  Yay! 

Looking forward to ALL of us being on the other side of chemo - no brave girl left behind!  

ladyfighter - I also still have Herceptin to do for a year, but dang, it's side effects (so far) are NOTHING like chemo, so I consider myself PFC!!!  However, it will indeed be a huge day to be done with Herceptin and get this port pulled a year from now!  

Stacie - you are almost there!  

sherry - the issue of follow-up/baseline testing is very controversial between docs.  Some do not want to do PET scans at all - feel should only do them when sx present b/c they can result in false positives and increased anxiety for patients.  Some, however, do them to decrease the patient's anxiety/reassure them that all is well.  It's the same thing with tumor marker blood work - only they are even more controversial b/c they are not considered reliable.  I would say if you really want a PET scan, discuss it with your doctor and about how you are feeling anxious.  My doc did a baseline PET, and it did give me peace of mind.  However, I don't think I want any more.  I want to believe that the chemo and Herceptin has protected me from recurrence, and I don't want to go through the worry of waiting for results to come back.  However, I'm glad I did get the baseline for peace of mind.  Some never have PET scans and are comfortable with that, too.  

It's hard, so hard, not to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives.  You are right, there are no guarantees.  I've been working on two mantras I repeat to myself when I start to worry about the future:

1) Worrying is not going to change the outcome.  It will either happen or it won't.  

2) I won't let cancer ruin my present by worrying about tomorrow.  Cancer, I will not let you steal ANY more time from me.  I've done what I can, and will enjoy life to the fullest NOW!!!

Hope that helps in some small way.   

Sherry, I had a PET before starting tx too, and the MUGA scan.  I'd heard from the tech that I might need another MUGA scan before competing tx, but when I asked my MO about more tests and scans prior to my 4th A/C tx, he said no, he wasn't planning any, except for a bone density test at some point (sounds like after chemo).  I was a little surprised, too, but relieved, and like Melrose, I don't think I want any more.  I sweated the PET results big time, and I'd rather not go through that again if not necessary.  Having said that, Melrose's advice to discuss with your doctor is really good.  I do think if I hadn't had the PET, I'd be wondering a lot more. 

Melrose, I am going to memorize your mantra - or if chemo brain keeps that from happening, write it on something and read it every day!  I know these things, but I've had a little difficulty living it lately.  

Stacie, sending you purple energy for strength!  

Husker, WOOOHOOOO!

Sade, I only wish I could have all your hot flashes for you.  You are such an amazing young lady.  

Hugs everybody!