Starting Chemo July 2012

Round two.. being honest. Round 2. Day 6.  Yay for anti-nausea pills and sleep. Perking up after a couple of not so fun days.  but still do-able. All food and drinks taste awful.  Blatantly honest.. runs and hemorrhoids, but this time mouth isn't as sore, heart isn't racing as much, and I'm sleeping well. (I think that's the anti-nausea pills whom I currently am completely in love with) (Yes, Sue49, this from the anti-med gal of the past) 

So my thoughts right now.. who knows what to expect, so have no expectations, honor ourselves with questions like "what do I need right now?"  "What would make me feel good?"  and ask for help to make those things happen if needed. You and I deserve whatever it takes to heal, because we rock, right?

Hi, just checking in, this thread's gone kind of quiet, I hope that means everyone is resting or enjoying their weekend.  I'm still feeling well, just a bit of fatigue.   I discovered that if I let up on the fluid intake I get bladder pain, so I've been swilling the fluid nonstop again.  Plain water is not good right now so I add a quarter glass or less of ginger ale or juice.  I got sick to death of the taste of sweet liquid so I tried unsweetened 100% cranberry juice as my water-addition instead.  It's a nice break from sweet, and it's so concentrated I don't need to use much.

Can anyone tell me what their Oncotype and if there was even an option?



I have Crohns Disease and ACx4 will be really tough on it. I'm starting to lean back toward not doing, chemo. I'm scheduled to start Thursday .

Hello all you lovely ladies!  I will be starting chemo this Thursday, 7/26, and am getting quite anxious.  I've only read the first two pages of this thread but wanted to join in -- now I will go back to read the other 11 pages.  I think I am as prepared as I can be but am getting quite concerned about keeping up with my house, laundry etc.  I am unemployed so I do not have a job to go to like some of you, and my two sons are 31 and 23 (on the 26th, what a birthday gift!) so I do not have small children to care for either.  My husband has turned out to be a rock for me but he is battling his own demons with prostate cancer -- doing active surveillance.  So, his plate is quite full.  He also works full time and needs to continue to do so for the insurance. 

See look!  I'm already rambling.  Maybe some of my questions will be answered in the pages I have left to read.  

Anyway,  good luck to each and every one of you!  Talk to you soon!

Hey guys-4 days out from  1st treatment. 1st few days I was nauseus but Sancuso patch and hydration + steroids really helped-no reversing. Yesterday was my last day of steroids and I am relieved as they made my ankles swell and I was very jittery. However, I have found tricking my water with slicing any kind of fresh fruit, lemon slices, and lacing in some Getorade, low sugar apple juice, or white grape juice has really helped me get more hydration. I just make pitchers of it with ice, or let it get it warm a bit.  Today (day 4) I feel achy and very tired (a bit weird as I am 36 and ordinarily very active), but eating small meals with protein, carbs and as much nutrious food as possible has really helped me. In addition, my Allegra is keeping the bone pain at bay.  Once in a while I just put on my MP3 player and take a few walks around the house, just to get movement-and only for a few minutes. Also, doing some memory exercises and other 'brain' intensive things, to the extend that you can, really helps me. I am pretty wiped out physically, but trying to stay positive-good luck everyone-we can do this-see the big picture and stay positive!

Woke up this morning feeling super anxious.  Felt pretty good over the weekend, only lingering se was taste, but I know with upcoming 2nd treatment, I am going to be knocked down again. I am just dreading the rollercoaster. I'll do something positive to try and get my mind off it all. Thanks and have a peaceful week.

CityFi--

I don't know about other drugs but I know the nuse explained that teary eyes were a common side effect of Taxotere.

I hope you bounce back pretty fast.

Coffee sounds so good! I am still wasting my day away, but coffee is a good idea. 

Hi gals.  I had my first round of Taxotere/Cytoxan on 7/3 and going for #2 tomorrow.  Yay! I will be halfway home!  I'm in one of the other SE groups but so glad to find this one as we are more on the same schedule.  I had my lumpectomy in May and it went very well as she was able to remove it all and get clear margins all around and no lymph nodes were involved.  
When I received the diagnosis, no one said a word about chemo then.  It was Lumpectomy and rads and you'll be fine.  And I fell for it.  pffffft.  Now here I am 3 months later and while I no longer have cancer, I no longer have hair either!  (Or tastebuds)  
Has anyone else tired of the 'cheerleaders' in your life telling you that "You're gonna be ok"?  I am having such a Debbie Downer Day today I want to growl at everyone. I'm sure it's the anticipation of #2 tomorrow.  It might also be that I was dog-tired all weekend and wanted to do nothing but watch the Food Network and nap the whole time.  And I felt guilty doing that WHY??  Oh, yeah... it was my baby's 20th birthday on Saturday.  I did manage to make him a wonderful supper of shrimp fettucine which everyone assured me tasted wonderful.  Not even birthday cake tasted good.  But Sunday was a ME day.  I finally made pancakes for supper.  Another blah meal for me.  You would think this would be a great motivator for weight loss, but oh noooooo.  It seems like I'm always hungry now!  (At least that's what my growling stomach tells me.)
So sorry to be such a grouch in my 1st posting here, but I KNOW you all understand because we are all in the same boat together.  

Aw, CityFi, I'm flattered! I'm glad I resonate with you. I hope we all resonate for positive things!



I love the way my amazing BF handled the whole "you're gonna be all right" thing. I had a big break down with him last Monday and he said the tried and true, you're gonna be all right, and I kind of snapped at him. Then he stopped and said, "It's gonna be awful and you're gonna be sick and that's terrible. And I realize that. But you've been through so much more, Midlife, and while it's not gonna be easy, you'll come out healthy and better after all of the shit." That's what I needed to hear. I wish people could acknowledge how tough the journey is but I think they're afraid to scare us more by saying, dude, it's gonna suck. But sometimes, we need that acknowledgement.

Welcome SusanHG123...plenty of friendly people here. Hugs and here's to you having a great day and treatment with little to no s/e. Hang in there sunshine!

I had my first TC treatment on Wednesday, 7/18.  I am back to my normal self today.  So thankful!  I didn't have any adverse reactions and tolerated it very well. I have worked each day since, though I did leave early due to fatigue Friday.  It went much better than I feared.  I felt tired and headachy all weekend - like I had a major hangover.  Experienced a night of stomach cramps Sunday as things began moving again, but I never got sick. 

All in all, it was bearable for sure. I can do this.  I will do this. 

I am trying the Elasto-Gel Cold Caps to save (I hope) my hair.  Nothing on that yet, but I understand it takes a couple of weeks for the hair loss to begin.  I will post about that over on the Cold Cap Users thread.

My skin is already super dry.  Anyone have advice on how to combat?  I have lotioned up like you wouldn't believe, and I am drinking tons of water.  Is is safe to take extra fish oil caps?  Would that help?

I was wondering how everyone's hair is doing?  I had AC on the 11th and was expecting it to start falling already, but it hasn't.  I'm having the tingly feelings and sensitivity though.  I really haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do as far as head coverings.   I'm not liking how I look with scarves and buffs, and the wigs I have are horribly uncomfortable.  I can't find a knit cap anywhere right now due to summer.

Just checking in to say Hello

Had my first chemo streatment yesterday - A/C and went for the Neulasta shot this afternoon. Yesterday I got home at 4, laid on the couch watching a movie, tried to eat and was shocked that just five hours after the infusion that my taste was gone. Hubby made me a peanutbutter, banana and choclate smoothie - that tasted pretty good. I hated the taste of even water last night but tried to keep drinking to flush it out of my system. I slept in 1.5 hour increments all night for a total of 12 hours. The whole night my body was weighted down by a dull pain. After moving around a bit this morning I started to feel better. I've been eating small meals all day and luckily no nausea. I hope to stay on the up and up - off to rest some more. I hope everyone is having a good week - thinking of you all!

Hi Susan HG123  Glad you found this site.  We are all here together to help and support each other.  Although I do not post very much I do get on this site to keep up wi th everybody.  Your husband @#@^!  Let me tell you a little story about my sister.  She was diagonsed with lung cancer with a turmor bigger than a basball attached to her chest wall .  The Oncologists gave her little hope of survival and we are talking a few months.  He gave her an option of a very agreesive rounds of chemo that frankly may have killed her.  She wanted to see her children raised.  Guess what her husband did.  He packed up his  clothes and left her with no car and broke/  She got the chemo.  That was in the days when chemo was really devestating.  Her course of action was to take chemo have surgery and rads.  The Radiologist Oncologist said this is impossible.  They will never shrink it enough to have the surgery.  I took her to her chemo then after chemo she was admitted to hospital to have it flushed out.  This went on for months.  I took her  getting multiple blood transfusions and also multiple iron infusions.  This  woman did nothing but vomit throuhout her therapy.But guess what?  Her tumor shrunk and did have the operation.  The RO could not believe his eyes.  That was 21 years ago and she is still here.  Her course of treatment was also written in  a medical journal.