Sept 2012 chemo

@foreverchanged72612 - I start Thursday. I still have a drain from the double mastectomy and it gets removed on Tuesday and then Thursday I have the surgery for my port and first round of Taxol. My hair was just above my waist and my girls cut it all over and we donated it to Locks of Love - then I went and had my auburn hair bleached to a fun blonde...might as well go blonde before bald - huh?



@firestorm531 - Soooo like MDA - but understand staying near to home and help. I'm a single mom of 3 - I have 2 high schoolers and a middle schooler. I'm not to far from downtown (even work downtown). I was already treated at MD for skin cancer and have had the OTHER breast monitored for the last 3 years. The left one snuck in with cancer.





I'm laughing at myself this weekend. Feels like I am getting ready for a big event or hot date...had my nails done, toes done, got a massage, been buffed waxed and polished. All for my "date" with a bag of poison..........am I crazy?????

Sugarland, that is so funny! Because as I am preparing for tomorrow it dawned on me that I forgot to ask at the hospital at my last visit: what does one wear to chemo? Is it cold? Do you need to wear comfy pants? T-shirt? I was planning on bringing a blanket because I'm always cold.

Melrose.....thank you so much for the support and will sure ask for the medication....i tried to breath in and out but it dosent work....so i took xanax...maybe i can rest for a little bit...i really dont like to take medications but i need it now...so do they place the port and chemo together?? or place it first and then chemo after 4 days??

jojo im so happy that you are doing great what are you eating and doing for all this to go smooth...??

Just wanted to know how is evryone eating or not cause i hear so many things that i dot eat any more cause i dont know what to eat ..i purchase a how to survive canacer and eat healthy...but i havent started...some eating advise

please!!! 

Patricia- Sometimes the port is placed a few days before the chemo and sometimes, it is placed the day one starts chemo.  I had mine placed when I had my UMX.  If you are having it placed on the same day as the first round of chemo, I would think that your onco has had patients do that before.  Glad you had something to take to help calm you. 

As for the eating, I was given a cookbook by the hospital I'm being treated at, called "Eating Well Through Cancer" by Holly Clegg & Gerald Miletello, M.D.  The book is divided into what to eat before chemo, and what to eat by side effects ( diarrhea, constipation, sore mouth, low white blood count).  It has shopping lists and menus.  I used it like a reference guide so I would know what to eat when and didn't have to figure it out on my own.  I bought another book called "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen" by Rebecca Katz with great recipes and pictures.  That book is divided up by food groups.  I ate 5-6 small meals to help keep something in my tummy.  By keeping food in your tummy, you may avoid having nausea.  Most of the anti-nausea drugs that one takes, require that one take them with food since taking the drugs on an empty stomach will cause nausea. 

Since I'm participating in the Herceptin B-47 clinical trial, I kept a food diary, drug diary and symptom diary.  The food diary helped me make sure I ate healthy, regularly and enough and also what foods worked the best for me.  My taste buds did go on vacation after my chemo rounds but always returned before the next round.  Do yourself a favor and avoid eating your favorite foods when your taste buds are on the fritz.  You want those foods to stay your favorite after you finish chemo.  I also may have a different perspective on food than most.  I view what I eat for its nutritional value and fuel for my body; and not as a way to find comfort.  I'm not going to tell you that I didn't cry when the food I was trying to eat didn't taste like I thought it should or would , because I did this several times.  I remember sitting at the dining room table with my husband and son and bursting into tears because I was so disappointed that the food tasted like blah after I put it in my mouth.  After I calmed down, I started laughing because I knew how ridiculous that really was since I was crying like a little kid.  Chemo can make you cry over what appears to be nothing.  It just goes with the territory.

I usually ate what I called the "white meal" around the time I had chemo.  It was just all white colored foods--- rice, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese and white fish or chicken.  Everything pretty bland but filling.  I don't eat butter or salt much anymore because those two things just don't taste good anymore to me.

Hoping the best for you tomorrow!!!!  Try to rest if you can.  HUGS to you!!!!

amylovesbubby - Mouth issues are not fun and just one of the chemo side effects.   If you have mouth sores, you can try rinsing your mouth several times a day with the following solution.  Just remember to mix a new batch every time you rinse.  Sometimes, I would put a little more salt in because it seemed to help my mouth feel better.

--- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/4 teaspoon salt + 1 cup of warm water.

Brushing your teeth after every meal helps.  I used a manual soft toothbrush and Crest Pro toothpaste and Crest mouthwash.  I also have a ultraviolet tooth brush cleaner to keep that brush clean.  You can put your toothbrush in the dishwasher to get it clean.  I did not use my Sonicare electric tooth brush or floss my teeth while on chemo since the brushing action could cause microabrasions and I was afraid that I might accidently cut my gums while flossing.

For the heartburn, ask your onco if you can take Zantac or Pepcid or some other kind of anti acid med for the heartburn.  I may have had heartburn after my first chemo but not sure.  I described what I was feeling to my onco and she told me to take some Zantac.  I didn't because I hate to take extra meds and just made sure I ate the blandest foods around chemo time.

For the headache, my onco told me that I could take Tylenol or Advil for aches and pains.  Make sure you ask your onco what you can take for that.  

Hope you feel better soon.   Just check in with your onco and let your onco know how to deal with your side effects.  You may need an adjustment in your meds.  No reason to suffer.  You won't be bothering the onco since it is your onco's job to help you.  I know you may think that the side effects and symptoms do not warrant a call to your onco and you can handle them on your own; it is just better to give your onco a call since the reason you are having them isn't from an ordinary case of the flu or a just a cold.

jojo2373-  You are too funny.... it would be so much easier for all if we were all together as you each travel through chemoland!!!! 

I have heard of the peeling of fruits and veggies and eating only cooked veggies.  The reason for that is to help avoid the possiblity of infections.  It isn't easy getting fruits and veggies clean.  The fruits that come to mind that are difficult to peel or not peelable are berries ( strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, blackberries), and grapes.  Fruits like bananas, apples, oranges, peaches, apricots, nectarines, melons (watermelon, honeydew melons, cantalope) are ones that you either don't eat the skin/rind or are peelable.  I know it's a pain but at least you can eat them peeled/skinned.  Fresh veggies such as lettuce are difficult to clean.  You can always parboil fresh tomatoes to remove the skins for a salad.  My onco never restricted what I could eat or where I could eat.  One just has to be smart about eating and where you go out to eat.  I didn't eat at buffets or get condiments at restaurants that were accessable to everyone.   

Foreverchanged:  I wore a button down shirt so that my port was easy to access.  Next time I'm bringing a pashmina, and wearing warm fuzzy socks.  It is cold in there!

Power port procedure observations worth sharing:

• My procedure went well, and I chose to have only a small amount of the sedation so that I felt more in control.  Having been through it now I can say that if I had it to do over I wouldn't have had any sedation.  My nurse told me I should think of her as my personal bartender - I could have as much (within reason) or as little sedation as I liked, it was all about my comfort.  She was terrific. 
• I do wish I'd have known how very uncomfortable and sore I would feel from that placement.  That feeling kicked in a couple hours after the numbing agent began to wear off from the procedure.  For several days following the procedure even fabric grazing the surface area was painful.  Wasn't prepared for that mentally, and for me it's all about knowing what to expect (cancer has made me into a pretty big control freak).  
• The position of my port works perfectly for my bra strap, which is something I hadn't thought about, but I do wish it would have been positioned a little differently to allow me to wear sports bras.  Minor inconvenience, I know, but when you're stuck with this thing for 6 months I think those little details are worth considering.
• Another realization after the fact was how the port positioning relates to driving and riding in the car.  My port's on the right side, so I wasn't bothered by my seat belt when I was driving, but for several days after I couldn't stand the thought of riding on the passenger side.

Here's to one week closer to getting through this!   

@cindi74 Thanks for the add. BTW I live in the Washington DC metro area :-)

Patricia you will be fine . We are all here for you. I was so nervous before but once they started I was fine and everyone is so nice . Take deep breath and know that shod is with you that is now I get through it and I am doing fine very little side effects my first time

@patriciahur You sound a lot like me. I too am a happy go lucky person. I was really hoping this cancer diagnosis wouldn't change me, and so far it hasn't. I refuse to give into negativity. Life is beautiful and I want to enjoy every minute.

Thanks Donna , I know once I cut it I will be fine . I feel so blessed that i have a wonderful family as well and maybe we will play that so g when I have him shave it . I do feel so blessed that we have such good people here to talk with .

@Cheerioo As far as the head shaving I think the anticipation of it was worse than the reality. I actually felt much better after it was done. Just one more hurdle over with. I bought eight wigs in anticipation of this, and I haven't worn one since I shaved my head a week ago...lol.

Hi everyone:-)

   I will be starting chemo on September 18th.  I am still waiting to get a port appointment.  Very nervous- but I can't wait to get started.  I was diagnosed over a month ago and the waiting has been agonizing.   I had waist lenght hair but cut a lot of it off a week ago.  I got a very cool undercut on one side (I am a little old for it, but I figured why not!  I always wanted one back in the 80s)  I have already bought some scarves and a buff.  I hope to get a wig this week.   I think I am most nervous about how my body is going to be impacted by all of this.  I have two little ones, their birthdays will be a week after my first chemo appointment.  One will be three and the other will be six  (Their birthdays are four days apart).   I worry about having enough energy to be a good mom:(  

  Thanks everyone for sharing your stories.  It helps so much to know what to expect.  

Hi, Mariposa. I have three little boys myself...ages 7, 4 and 15 months. I'm glad to see someone else out there with small children too. We can support each other through this! Thank you everyone for tips on what to wear. We'll see how I do with leggings and a sweater. Packed the comfy fleece socks, too.

Donna you look great with no hair. It is kinda fun to have a bunch of wigs to play with to.



Amy so sorry you are have mouth problems and have been having bad days. Hope things turn the corner for you soon.



I feel weird that I have gone these first 6 days with no real SE. I have been eating fine, mostly whole wheat raisin toast, egg sandwiches, soup, yogurt, watermelon, nuts, meat, potatoes carrots. Oh and chocolate....Biking everyday. Plus fluids, fluids, fluids!



Sugar land thanks for making me laugh about getting our nails all prettied up for our bag of poison!! Way to funny.



To all those moms dealing with little ones, you are amazing!....I am still shocked everyday to see so many young moms with BC.



Hang in there Sept girls!....