Sept 2012 chemo

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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    Have to say I can feel the anxiety rising as my first chemo is on Thursday..... This week is gonna be rough. The kids start school, soccer, dance, have a dentist appt and I have 3 doc appts including chemo! LORD HELP  ME.....

    Wanted to ask you all about the claritin... it is for the neulasta shot side effects? Did your docs recommend it? and why does it help?

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  • bearcub
    bearcub Member Posts: 485
    edited September 2012

    Wow, Amy you will be super busy. Hopemit all goes well. I am starting chemo Wednesday

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  • firestorm531
    firestorm531 Member Posts: 176
    edited September 2012

    Sleeping meds have been great!  But I took my MO a little seriously when she said to go out and have a great weekend...had a couple drinks and conked out.  Now here I am wide awake at 3 am and its too late to take a sleeping pill :(  But at least I'm finally feeling like I'm coming around the corner on the port, its bugging me less and less with each day.  YAY!

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    I sense the stress coming up for this week my sisters! Relax and try to focus on why we doing this. We are strong and will do anything to be cancer free. I am now 3 days since my first DD AC treatment. So far day 1 and 2 were the worst, but no worse than any other flu. I have learned how to manage the side effects quicker already. I have no regrets in using the meds for the first 2 to 3 days. I wanted to share what my chemo nurse told me during the process, she has been doing this for 30 yrs. Her comment was 10,20,30 years ago the chemo I received would not have been possible to have been given due to the unbearable side effects. With the premeds and wonderful anti nausea meds we can now kill our cancers faster. So please use the support meds as we work thru each treatment. Rest as much as you can for the first days! Good luck this week - we can do this!

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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    Thanks for the uplifting words JOJO I def needed them. I am a mother and we got a lot of fight!

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  • cgesq
    cgesq Member Posts: 319
    edited September 2012

    Hi All,

    I'm new to this thread and I'm sorry we have to meet here.  

    Have my appt with the port surgeon tomorrow to schedule the port insertion (prob later this week), then I start on my TCH chemo regimen for the next 18 weeks!

    I hope and and wish that all of us have a smooth and easy chemo process!!! 

    Take care,

    Cheryl 

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    Welcome Cheryl, sorry to meet you here as well. However we are all working towards the same goal and will help in anyway we can.

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  • laura_g
    laura_g Member Posts: 38
    edited September 2012

    Busy week indeed, Amy! I know for me, staying busy keeps my mind off things. Hopefully having your mind occupied prior to chemo will be more helpful than stressful and then you can rest after treatment. Good luck with everything!



    To answer your question, it looks like lots of people are taking claritin for nuelasta side effects. I don't remember my dr or nurses recommending it. I heard about claritin here on the discussion boards. My team advised I take a 12 hour alieve, which I did prior to the shot. After that they suggested I take alieve as needed, just like the nausea drugs, reglan and zofran. So, that's what I've been doing. I'm lucky that I haven't needed much this time around.



    Past experience with chemo tells me that side effects can be cumulative. My next treatment could leave me feeling much sicker. That's why I'm doing what I can to exercise, eat well and drink a lot of fluids so I can wash as much of this stuff out of my system as possible. Staying active was also my doctor's advice. I'm not overdoing it or pushing myself though.



    Every doctor is different just as every patient is different. A lot of us are on different treatment plans and different doses too. What works for one may not work for another. You and your doctor will have time to talk prior to treatment and come up with a plan that works for you both. It looks like Jojo and I are doing things differently, but it's working for us. That's what counts.



    The stuff you learn here like the claritin tip and the lemon water tip I picked-up on another thread are worth asking your doctor about. Many of the women on these boards have a wealth of experience and are so generous to share that with us so we can all benefit.

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  • amylovesbubby
    amylovesbubby Member Posts: 53
    edited September 2012

    Good luck to all starting this week. Thanks JoJo for encouragement. Start tomorrow @11. Took the day to take my son to the beach. I will let everyone know how it goes :)

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  • Cindi74
    Cindi74 Member Posts: 363
    edited September 2012

    We are with you.  I get port tomorrow, Echocardigram Wed., apt. with chemo nurse Wed and chemo after.  My prayers are with you and hugs from all of us.  Wonder how many of us there are.

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    Cindy and Amy I start Thursday as well going Wed for chemo class and have to be their at 9.00 the next morning . Getting nervous as well. I am betting a total of 8 rounds then rad for three weeks . I am looking forward going through this with all of you

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    Good luck tomorrow Amy. Prayers going out to you

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    Thought I share with all of you that I cut my hair from mid back to a short cut. I was surprised that I love it . I am so sad that I will only have it for a few weeks until it falls out but it feels great . My kids said Mom you look like the kardation Mom.

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    Jojo how are you feeling today ? Thank you for your encouragement to all of us newbies

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  • Melrosemelrose
    Melrosemelrose Member Posts: 3,018
    edited September 2012

    Hi September 2012 Chemo Gals,

    As kjliberty said, there is life after chemo.  (She and I travelled together through Chemoland on the April/May 2012 Chemo Hangout; she finished before I did because I had 6 rounds of Cytoxan/Taxotere while she had 4 rounds.)  There is a lot of support and info on all of the chemo threads.  Please don't hesitate to ask for help and support whether it is just to find out if your side effect is "normal" or what to do to help manage one of the side effects or to let everyone know that you're having a bad day and need some extra encouragement and support.  We can all use an "Atta girl" and a shoulder to cry on some days.  If you have questions, please don't hesitate to private message me. 

    FOR THOSE GETTING A NEULASTA SHOT AFTER YOUR ROUND OF CHEMO:  You may want to try taking regular 24 hour Claritin to help with the bone pain that may accompany the Neulasta shot.  There is an ongoing clinical trial evaluating Claritin to prevent the bone pain.  Here is the link:  (clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NC...). According to the clinical trial, one takes the Claritin (10 mg) once a day for 7 days beginning the day of the Neulasta treatment.

    I had my first Neulasta shot with my 3rd round of Cytoxan/Taxotere and took the Claritin.  I did not experience any bone pain.  The Claritin doesn't help everyone but it is worth a try since from my understanding the bone pain may be intense.    I took the Claritin for 9 days starting the day I had the Neulasta shot.  I would take the Claritin in the morning and would get my Neulasta shot in the afternoon.  Just remember to ask your onco about trying the Claritin before you take it.

    I get my Neulasta shot in the tummy where there is some tummy fat.  In fact, I ask the nurse to give it to me there rather than in my arm.  It hurts less going in and I don't seem to have any post injection pain.  The nurse gives the shot to hold in my hand to warm it up before I receive the injection.  She then, slowly injects the shot which to help with injection pain.

    I've also read on the boards that you can take one Tylenol and one Motrin combo every 4-6 hours to help with the bone pain.  I do not take any Tylenol or Motrin or Advil after I get my chemo but I am cleared to take Tylenol or Advil by my onco.  Again, always ask your onco about what OTC pain meds you can take before you take any.

    At the suggestion of my onco, I iced my nailsI(fingers/thumb and toes) during the Taxotere infusion and used clear nail polish to help keep my nails strong.  She had suggested Sally Hansen Hard as Nails clear polish but I found that Essie All in One Base/Top Coat on my nails worked better for.   I have also been very careful about my finger nails to prevent damage by using rubber gloves to wash dishes or to do house cleaning (cleaning shower/sinks, etc) and also stop using my finger nails as "tools" to open boxes/containers/ plastic packages or remove staples.  So far so good.

    As for the port, if you get one placed right before you start chemo, you will not be able to use any lidocaine cream (EMLA cream) for that first round.  EMLA cream cannot be applied to any newly sutured areas.  Ask the nurse to numb the area with some ice or ask for a lidocaine spray. 

    Whether you get a port or not, make sure you start to hydrate a few days before your chemo day.  It helps make the IV's easier to insert in arm veins if you don't have a port and it makes it easier to access the port.  I know each will hear and read, the importance of plenty of fluids during the actual chemo treatment and the days to follow to help flush the chemo through your body.

    Wishing all of you an easy time in the Big Girl Chair aka BGC (that's what I have always called it- Big Girl Chair) and minimal side effects throughout your time in Chemoland.   

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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    Laura G... You make an excellent point a busy life might be a blessing in disguise!

    I am very blessed all my friends and family have really gone overboard.. with the helping and all. I am not even sure I have filled you all in on what my regiment will be so just incase here it goes..

    Starting Thursday I will be getting dose dense AC two weeks apart for 4 cycles followed by the day after shot of Neulasta. My doc states that waiting 3 weeks gives cancer time to recover and due to me being young and otherwise healthy she is gonna hit mine hard since I can handle it. Then they will be switching me to weekly taxol for 12 weeks. I believe they will start me on herceptin at this point too. Then I will have surgery followed by 6 weeks of radiation 5 days a week. and after it all five years of Tamoxifen! 

    Wow Heres to shrinking this cancer which was once thought to be only 6cm... My MRI came back to find out I am actually a stage 3 due to this tumor being 7.9cm by 3cm by 5cm... I am still lost as to how they missed this in April and here I am in August a stage 3? Thank the lord I am in better care now...

    Oh well it is what it is and I am pushing forward! 

    BTW I believe it was JOJo who said the irritating feeling in my neck would go away it was just due to having the port put in and she was right! Its gone....

    Thank you all again HUGS!

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    Great chat tonight - prayers for all my Sept sisters starting this week. To add more to my experience, I did not take claritan post the neulasta shot. I choose tylenol which covered the small aches i had. Also, i got my neulasta shot in my belly which i found painless. my nurse said the key is warming the syringe and pushing it slow. Today i did almost nothing but rest and eat lite. I have a sore throat but not sure if its chemo related or not. My hope for tomorrow is to try for a normal day, but be prepared to rest if i cant. One last TMI, the colasce is working great:-) hugs

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  • bearcub
    bearcub Member Posts: 485
    edited September 2012

    Thanks for the insight JoJo, hope today is much better...Good luck today Amylovesbub ..hoping for mild SE, my turn tomorrow at 9.

    Cheerio, it's funny how most of us who cut our hair end up loving the easy style, oh well we get to enjoy it for a few weeks before we will be wishing it was short again.

    Good Luck to everyone starting this week, praying the cancer army gets the job done!

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    Thinking bout u Amy! Hope the day has gone well.

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    Jojo how are you feeling ?

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    Hi Cherioo, except for a cold I must have inherited along with the chemo, better today.  Thanks for asking!  Still  not 100% but will we be that for months? 

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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    Hope all went well Amy and you are not feeling many side effects...

    Cherrio I have always had long hair Im talking a good 7 inches past my bra strap long aqnd when I Chopped 15 inches to prepare for chemo it was refreshing! I think I might be on to something when my hair finally does come back lol

    melrosemelrose... thank you for the tips I will def ask about the clariton and I love the term BGC.. Im def gonna call it that ( the BGC) and see if anyone asks me "what is that?" ha!

    Are any of you ladies looking for great ways to raise money to help with the medical/travel expenses? A good friend of mine is doing a raffle for me. She had 7 different restaurants donate a 50$ gift card and is selling raffle tickets for 20$ in one month she will draw a winner for 7 days of eatting out for free. All proceeds will go to me to help me climb out of the hole this will put me into even after insurance. I thought it was a great idea and wanted to share.

    Have a great night all 2 more days and I'll be in the BGC!

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  • Neta69
    Neta69 Member Posts: 203
    edited September 2012

    Speaking of hair, 11 days after my first chemo I'm expecting my hair to start falling out any day now :( I dread it. The place where I got my wig/headscarves will cut the rest of it off for me when it starts to fall out.

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  • jojo2373
    jojo2373 Member Posts: 662
    edited September 2012

    Great idea Amy, I am already sick(er) seeing the bills after insurance coming in.

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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    I know right... I havent even started chemo and have about 2500 in bills coming... Yell

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  • Cindi74
    Cindi74 Member Posts: 363
    edited September 2012

    Port in.  Only pbm whn panic started after two tries at vein for IV.  Husband and surgeon very understanding  Poor girl was soi frustrated  Kept talking about good veins. (I drank three bottles of water before 12 last night so well hydrated)  Finally, different girl got it in.  Scrrew up from Surgeon's offivce.  They sent wrong scrip down--one from lump already done instead of port.  FINALLY they knocked me out.  Came home and had big meal and went to sleep.  No pain.  Ice on incission.  Watching Democrat Con.

    Echo Caardigram and apt with chemo nurse tomorrow.  Chemo starts soon

    You poor ones struggling with inurance or no insurance,  My medicare and tricare handles all.  That wiould have been the single payor we progressives wanted in Obamacare.  Of course no way to get pass congress.  The opposition said it would be the gov. governing health care.  Well I prefer the gov to insurance companies and I have dealt with both.  My insurance company had a fight with the  anesthesists when I was workingl  While they were fighting, no one told me, but I got the billl and threats from the guy, because neither i or my employer had coverage while they were fighting  MEDICARE  I love you,  No voucher system for me.

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  • firestorm531
    firestorm531 Member Posts: 176
    edited September 2012

    Amy - what an awesome fundraiser idea!  Can you PM me and tell me a little more about how she approached those restaurants?  I'm in an area where I know very few people and the schools have cornered the market on car washes LOL  Plus I DO NOT look good in a bikini hahaha

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  • Cherioo
    Cherioo Member Posts: 305
    edited September 2012

    I am with you on that . I have a stack of bills that I have to start paying min payments . I think you had a great idea I will talk with my friends about dong that as well . Tomorrow is chemo class and thursday is our day . Let me know how you do and I will do the same thing .



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  • Amy4978
    Amy4978 Member Posts: 473
    edited September 2012

    Firestorm I was gonna Pm you but it is real simple just ask. Even if they say no you can always do the fundraiser and purchase the gift cert with the donations and you get the rest. Another option is if they only donate say a 25$ gift card you can purchase the other half of the 50$ with the donation money and again keep the rest.

    We had also talked about in November doing it again but this time only use stores like walmart, khols, toys r us ect and do the same thing run it for a month and the winner would have 350 dollars cash to spend in december toward christmas.  I think I would be willing to spend 20 near christmas for the chance to get 350.00

    Another thing I did was create a group on my FB page and the amount of people who wanted to join and get me support was astounding! And it is also so uplifting to get on and read all the posts and good thoughts coming my way. Plus It stops me from repeating my story to everyone over and over again. Then I just post updates also and if I really need help with the kids I post it and people wanna help. I have really reached out to my community I live in a real small town 1 stoplight 1700 people. I am amazed as to how many are opening their arms to me. My family is an amazing support system but they are 3 hrs away and I have 3 kids all in school and activities. So if they need rides here or there and I just cant do it(I am hoping I can but just incase) I know I got people to depend on. It has really been making this ease my tension and fears.

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  • wendy49
    wendy49 Member Posts: 45
    edited September 2012

    Hello everyone,

    I have been reading your posts and there is an incrediable amount of support on this thread.  A lot of positive and loving energy.  I am looking forward to going on this journey with all of you sharing our fears, frustrations, joys and that dirty little word, SEs of TC/AC.  Hopefully, we can gather our knowledge to making this journey smoother. 

    jojo good luck in continuing to minimize those side effects - you are doing great!  Cindi74 glad you have your port in and are watching the DNC! Neta69, I know its difficult losing hair, lashes and brows. We all share this and it just sucks! Amy4978, thinking about you and in the long run, it will all work out - one day at a time.  You have your attack plan!  Cheerio good luck with your chemo class and your first treatment.  You will do great!  Laura, thinking about you going through this alone.  You are one brave woman!  Did you find out any information on your scan?  The more doctors scan and ultrasound, the more they find, which most of the time turns out to be nothing.  A friend of my had an ultrasound of her abdomen.  While doing the scan, the tech asked her "what happened to your right kidney?"  My friend freaked out and asked what she was talking about.  Turns out, she was only born with one kidney.  The more they scan, MRI, or US, the more weird things they are going to find -- things that have been there a long time, or you were born with an imperfection.  Firestorm if I can't sleep tonight, I'll see you on the board at 3:00 am!  A special thanks to Melrose for looking over our board to give us her wisdom, having gone through this process.  It is a beautiful thing to give back to our sisters who are in distress.  Bearcub wishing you peaceful thoughts for tomorrow.  I will be thinking of you.  Amy, hope you are doing well.  You must be a bit overwhelmed with treatment and school starting.  Hope everything went smooth for you today.

    I had my first TC treatment today.  Tonight is the calm before the storm, or shall I say storms. It wasn't fun, but, some things you just have to "man up" to and this is one of them.  If I have to be miserble for a while, I hope those rouge cancer cells are being paralyzed!

    Hoping and praying for everyone for minimal side effects.  We have to do the best we can to get through this.  Together, we are strong and positive.  Yes, we can also laugh and cry together, although in my case, I like to throw and break things.  

    Take care everyone -- if I missed some of you, sorry -- I will catch up, perhaps at 3:00 am!

    "You can strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."  ~~ Eleanor Roosevelt 

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