Chemo, like child birth, will be a blur a year from now

My prayer for all of us is to be well behind all of this a year from now. Mary2246, i admire your strength to go spinning after each chemo. I personally gave up my gym membership after more than 10 years of religious exercise, promising to be back in a year. I do 20 minute walks at home on the treadmill, though. Will try to do more in the days to come. Im just 3 days after my 4th AC. Really feeling crappy now.

Ditto, I just recently joined a gym and my energy levels have vastly improved, my hair is in a short ponytail and I've lost the weight Ive gained after I stopped Tamoxifen. I am a year and a half out from chemo.

Jejik,

I am so happy to see your post. I just had my third AC and am not handling chemo well. Most of my time is in bed. So nice to hear that is not my future@

Pam

I am 5 1/2 years out from chemo ( 4 1/2 years from herceptin). I exerrcise and consider myself in great physical condition, However, while the chemotherapy treatments themselves do become a blur after a while, the chemo itself is a gift that just keeps giving and will slap you in the face with reminders every do often.  Examples:

Your WBC levels and RBC levels slowly recover  into the normal range, although the WBC will probably remain at the limit of low normal.  However, every so often, your WBC will fall down below the normal range, and may even be low enough that you will be considered immunocompromised until the WBC again rises.  The reason: You have had chemotherapy.

You have decide to exercise again, but notice that there seems to be a problem with your balance (you may have already notice that when you stand up, you fall over to one side).  The balance will improve slowly, but if you are someone that used to balance in an arabesque en pointe, the fact that doing a basic yoga tree position with one foot flat on the floor and the other foot balance on the toe next to the first foot causes you to lose your balance is very frustrating.  Reason: You have had chemotherapy and while killing off those fast growing cancer cell, the chemo has also damaged the fast growing nerve cells of the inner ear.  At least,I never had a problem with neuropathy

Back to the blood: All at once your hemoglobin levels fall way below normal.  No physical cause can be found for the problem except, you guessed it, you have have chemotherapy.

Hi Jejik

Are you going on to Taxotere afterwards as well?

I had problems with FEC and found the first dose of Taxotere difficult (low white blood cells, temperature of 38 degrees and bone ache).

The second dose was reduced and I feel great. Finding Taxotere much easier than FEC.

Maybe you will too!

Best wishes

Alice