Starting chemo Thursday, May 31 - June Group?

Marcia1111- Good Morning to you!!!  Sorry to hear about your Mom.  Sending you plenty of hugs and prayers to you and yours.  Good luck on your last A/C today and minimal side effects for you sweets.

I'm still icing my nails during my Taxotere infusion and keeping those nails polished with clear nail polish.  So far so good on the nail front.  I figured it couldn't hurt to do what I had to do to prevent nail damage and glad I'm doing it.  If your onco doesn't have a problem with the icing, and you want to do it, just do it.  It may seem to be inconvienent to do it but rather deal with a little coldness for a short while than with nail damage later.  If you need to some help with the icing, let me know.  Make sure that you use rubber gloves when washing dishes and get used to not using your fingernails as tools to open things. 

I have a little neuropathy but it passes.  I just wiggle those toes and fingers of mine when i do.  I do get momentary finger cramps but I just bend those fingers gently and everything starts moving again.

Good luck today and have an easy and peaceful time in the Big Girl Chair!!!!  Just look back at the night before you started your first round....... you've come a long way, girlfriend!!!!

morning..went to the BGC yesterday..and got rejected!!!! Low platelet count..way low..drop from 121 to 43..normal low is 142..according to the print out..feel fine..no bleeding or bruising..but sure was disappointed..dang..had all the chemo dates and nadir points written on a calender..screwed that up..LOL..

also worried..is the three weeks between tx to give body time to recover? or is the time critical to the cell death of the cancer? didn't think to ask doc..go back next week to retry for nuther "cocktail" of poisen...

funny how I wanted it soo bad..

also lightening struck the direct tv system..zapped the phone..and killed the sound on big tv..bummer..doesn't bother me too much but hubby and step son are totally lost..LOL..

ya'll have a good day..

Keep Moving: I had an MRI, and that is all. No CT, no PET. And my cancer is extensive throughout my right breast.  They said it's "very diseased". I am not terribly concerned about it. I imagine another MRI will be in my future before surgery. They seem confident of no lymph involvement. 

Marcia: I am sorry about your mom's diagnosis. Sheesh. Just one more thing! Glad your boy will be home soon! Hope your mom is doing well. Let me know if you need anything, ok? AND CONGRATS!!! Last AC!!

Pam: How are you feeling now that AC is all done?

VVH: I had some wicked water retention yesterday. Like 4-5 lbs. worth. I just pushed fluids (which I have not been really slacking on, but it has been unusually hot up here) and my weight was normal this morning. Make sure you are making your kidneys work girl! 

Pam, I take dexamethasone for 3 days post AC chemo now to help with the nausea.  I have a little trouble sleeping with it, but I had trouble before too. Some people say their appetite increases, but I didn't notice that.  Otherwsie, I've not had side effects from it...or else they just blend in with the rest of them!  Good luck with "Part 2" of chemo!

Pam: I am pretty sure that is the steroid they give me in the IV before the Taxol. I don't take it orally, just in IV form. I have not had any increased hunger. If anything, my appetite is reduced. I have noticed that it makes me drowsy when it is going in. It usually goes in before the benadryl. Prednisone makes me drowsy too. No weight gain either...not a bit. It does give me atrocious acne though. On my face and scalp, and no where else. Hopefully you won't have that! Hope you are feeling better and better!

Marcia: Your son sounds sweet and wonderful. You are raising a very nice young man!

Off to teach, although I would rather nap  

ElleBee 

Steve-Billiemae - I hope that the docs can get to the bottom of the fever!  And that she can continue with treatement.  

Pam - dexamethazone is also called decadron . . . I am given 12mg right before my AC . . . then on days 2 and 3 I take 2x4mg (2 doses of 4mg, one morning one night).  The bottle says for nausea, but it is a steroid nausea.  I just got my orders for the first Taxotere and I am to take 16mg the day before, day of and day after treatment (8mg morning, 8mg evening).  So far I have found that I dont sleep well on the first few days, but I am also getting up to pee a lot then and struggle with the swelling.  I also think so far (knock on wood) that #4 is going to be better than #3 . . . one thing I am doing differently is to drink more fluids.  I am struggling with what goes down, but water with lemon helps, along with some tea and apple juice.  I am also drinking powerade/gatorade, but TMI Warning - when I drink the purple ones (my favories) I notice my bm is green!  well a greenish-brown.  But as long as I am going I dont really care what the color is.

Doris - sorry about treatment being delayed, but it is best to be as healthy as possible.  And the 3 week timeframe is so that you can recover and have good counts to begin with.  Although it sucks to delay it, im sure they are just looking out for you.

I forget who mentioned it, but I asked my doc about nail issues with Taxotere and she said that the nail issues are only if you do it once a week, but since i will be doing it every 3 weeks I should be ok.  I also showed her my nails - they have these pink and white lines going from the cuticles - she didnt seem concerned and that it would grow out.  She doenst recommend any supplements, but I may do b6 and glutamine anyway.

As for scans - I had a MUGA, bone scan and CT (without contrast) done before.  I think that if you do herceptin you have more scans as that can do more damage.  I personally hated the muga and bone scans . ..  and that is where I got my screenname from - it was freaky to walk into the nuclear medicine room, complete with a giant radioactive sign on there.  The bone scan left a nasty taste in my mouth too - yuck!  I do get where my heart races a little/I can feel my heartbeat just sitting there, which worries me a little, but I am glad to be done with the AC as I think Taxotere isnt that hard on your heart.

On the surgery - I expressed my desire for a lumpectomy from the start.  They started to tell me that the tumor was too big, but then I think it was the general surgeon that actually mentioned that they could do chemo first to shink it then do a lumpecotmy.  the surgeon and oncologist seemed ok with that, but the ps seemed to think there would be some cosmetic dimpling.  I think it all depends on how much the chemo will shrink it.  But I think it is just as common, if not more to do surgery first then chemo.

Marcia - glad you were able to see your son!  But too bad aobut your Mom :-(

AFM - I had my last AC yesterday and I had a major meltdown in the chair.  First of all, I have had a different nurse for each infusion and I have noticed that some are faster than others.  I was in the chair for 2 hours before I got the drugs.  She hooked up the iv and started the saline flush, but by the time the drugs were ready I was having these weird pains in the area.  After much deliberation I had her redo the iv . . . then she couldnt get it, and finally she got a good one on my hand.  I was so frustrated I began to cry . . . and continued to do so for the whole adriamycin push.  I was just starting to recover from round 3 and mentally was not prepared to go again, but knew i had to be a big girl.  I was dealing with it ok, until I realized it had been 2 hours, then the iv issues, and I was getting hungry.  I think that all contributed.  I am feeling much better today - I did take a 3 hour nap and prior to infusion I was drining water like it was going out of style. . . at one point I thought I would float away!  I think that helped.  Plus, I dont remember who or where they said it, but I love the saying - Sometimes the chemo has to come out of your body in your tears. 

wow, I wrote a book!  sorry for typing your ears off. 

steve - It's good to hear from you, but I'm so sorry to hear that Billie Mae isn't doing well.  I'm sending healing thoughts and prayers to you both.

ElleBee - I hope class goes well and you can sleep afterwards.

havingfaith - That is such a beautiful story about your son.  I love when they show each other love like that.

radioactive - I'm so sorry that you had a rough time with your infusion.  I think tears can be good, but mine sting on AC.  Do yours?   Keep drinking whatever you can.  I think it makes a huge difference.

i have another test scheduled wed and thur of next week....they seem to be unending..this one is orecnascan(i think)..2 days...then i start chemo on aug 1...i have not had any fear until now..i fear being sick..i keep hearing its only a day or two....but if its not so bad why all the nausea medication...thank god for the chemo and radiation..hope it does the job......but it still scares me......my thoughts are with anyone else going through this..i was diagnosed may 2012...

Maxip - chemo scared the crap out of me too, but I am getting by . ..  dont let my story scare you - After the second round I posted that i *almost* felt normal again.  Each round has been different for me, and like Pam said Drink Lots of Water!  or gatoratde/powerade.  I loved coffee before chemo, and in the beginning I had absolutely no desire for it.  The other day it smelled good so I had a cup and it was just so-so . . . and I felt the acid getting to me.  I dont really have nausea - and if you do, you should get the docs to change your meds - they have a bunch of meds to work with so if one doenst work for you, ask for another.  And the fatigue is doable, the food aversions are more annoying than anything but doable.  What chemo will you be doing?

Pam - I am curious to know how the breast feels after radiaiton though.  I heard it can feel a different texture and just be different.  But if I had the gene, I would probably get them both taken off . .. but I hear it is easier to have them reconstructed together than with a umx.  My grandma had a umx a long time ago and never had reconstruction, and my Dad told me he asked her if she wanted it and she said no but didnt get the reason.  I guess I am getting cold feet on radiation and the damage it can do, but I would prefer to have my own breast tissue.  I need to do some research on how bad the skin damage to the area is.  But then I fear it coming back too and a mast seems like a better way to prevent recurrence.  I will ask my doc about doing an oncotype test.  I also only came up weakly ER postive (between 1 and 10%), which makes me very close to triple negative.  But as one of my friends said about my chemo, surgery and radiation . .. . that they are knocking the nasty out of me.

Marcia - hmm, no my tears did not sting, but aside from yesterday I have not really shed any tears.  Interesting.  I think my tears sometimes sting my face depending on what moisturizer I use - I havent narrowed it down to what brand, etc, but even before bc I had an incident where my tears left a red mark on my cheek . . . and at the time I wasnt taking any meds or anything.