Starting Chemo October 2012

Hi everyone - hope you are all having a good day!  Scheduled for port surgery tomorrow - I am freaking out a little bit!!  Also having another lumpectomy next Wednesday to hopefully get my margins clear.  Anyone have any non-horrific port placement and next few day experiences?  Anyone know whether anesthesia (for lumpectomy) can be administered through the port? 

I am so thankful to have found this community, especially as chemo #1 day draws nearer (5 more days to go).  Just chatting with those who are going through the same thing is soooooo helpful!  I updated my will right before my surgery.  It was very old & out of date, and I was afraid of the whole anesthesia thing, just wanted to have everything in order "just in case".  No one accused me of not being positive, but I only told a few people.

Jennie- I start my chemo on Monday, hubby is going the first time with me.  Anticipating the SE so I'm stocked up on ambien, zofran, sennekot and prilosec.  Good luck next week!!

Got released to go back to work on the 22nd, so I'll see how this goes.  I haven't worked since August 8th.  I'm a nurse on an adult psych unit, so I'm a little concerned about my 14.5 hr days (only 3 a week).  I'm going to try to work through chemo.  We get to make our own schedule, so I can get about 4 days off after chemo each cycle.

Does anyone else work here and how is it going??? 

Thank you so much Marianelizabeth!  You are inspiring!  And an anxiety easer! Enjoy yoga!  I am scheduled to start my AC chemo on 10/24 also!  Every other week for 4 rounds then Taxol every other week for 4 rounds with the start of Herceptin every 3 weeks for a year.  The port has me more unnerved than the chemo!  Go figure!

Hi Poke,

In 1996 I had a tablet called Primulate that supressed my ovaries throughout my year of treatment.....it worked as I have a healthy almost 3 year old. (on xmas day my little miracle)

This time I was given and option for IVF however we have decided I'm not going down this path as I am blessed with my son so am going for the 2nd option which is an injection works much like primulate called "Zoladex". Its given every 28days needle under the skin in the stomach, its used to shut down your ovaries throughout chemo.

....its a 50/50 chance but one I'm going to take (just like I did previously)...it won't only assist with my ER+  hormones during chemo, but won't bring me into menopause...so I'm happy with my decision and so is hubby

I'm having blood work done also and just waiting on my appt this arvo to check the number of eggs I have left at my age of 34!

Did you have any options talked though with you hun ?  When I was 18...I was only told to have the primulate and that was it.....no IVF option back then! (which I would have done ) though I didn't worry about kids/ husbands etc when I was 18 it was omg....I'm young, I want to go out and party...lol and thoughout my entire chemo..stem cell transplant and all..don't get me wrong....I still had my ups and downs of fatigue and a little nausea but I still partyed every second weekend when I didn't have chemo ( had it every 2 weeks). Juhst hope I'll breeze through this like i did back then....... having a 'full of beans' son that lightens up my day takes it right out of me now let alone when I'm having chemo! lol

Sorry 1st chemo is now booked for the 24th Oct! When do you start ?

As for wigs....I got one back in the day but now they are soooo much nicer, just like real hair...I'm getting mine from the US .. they are $1000 cheaper than buying here in AUST!!!

Only thing I'm worried about with my wig....is that when i'm shopping with my son and he has one of his 'moments' that he doesn't pull my hair and the wig falls off...lol I will laugh about it now because the thought would be funny but if it happens I just don't know whether to laugh or cry !! lol

My thoughts are with you too hun ... From Australia with love xx

@mariannelisa I had my chemoteach yesterday at the Vancouver cancer clinic and have my chemo on Monday about the neupogen I to got coverage from the victory program my extended health from work kicked in 50% then pharmacare I think 20% and the victory program picked up the rest I picked up 7 vials for the firstvpost chemo on wed the cancer clinic will do the first one then I take 6 more wait for next chemo then 2 days later inject them again I'm not sure why they only give me 7 doses at a time instead of all of them for me its28 injections maybe it's the cost and they want to make sure you don't waste them lol I can tell you that 7 shots are 1287.31 so for me it's 5149.24 thank god I don't have to pay who are your doctors? My mo is Dr villa and surgeon Dr McFadden and my rad oncol is Dr weir hope everything is good for you .....Brenda

Hi ladies,

I was just reading this thread, and crying a little bit, cus I shaved my head a year ago today, and you all bring back such memories.

And when I say I 'shaved my head' it sounds so brave and feisty. But in reality I'm a big chicken, so I had to muster up all my courage, and pop a small bottle of champagne, while partner Jim buzzed me with an electric razor.  

Yesterday I went to the hospital for a check up, and I ran into my chemo nurses, and I felt like I was meeting up with long lost family. It may sound weird, but chemo was a very calm time for me. Almost all my stress was anticipating the events, but the actual process wasn't too difficult. I thought I'd be lying on the floor, but in fact, I was never ill. My sister often came with me to treatment, and we'd go out for lunch , so I'd have something to look forward to. I loved my nurses. My surgeon was wonderful and my MO was okay (Just okay, I don't actually like her) but the chemo nurses were amazing. They've seen it all, and can give advise on pretty much anything.

I know it's super scary thinking about what might happen - but in most cases it's completely manageable and day to day life goes on.

The bald thing is weird, but if you're wearing a wig, just be glad that you're wearing it in the fall, rather than the middle of summer.  Here's what I learned from living with a wig. Firstly - a synthetic wig does not do well in the heat, so if you're checking on dinner, don't put your head too near the oven. Secondly, a bald head feels really really good against a crisp clean pillowcase. 

Another thing that made me feel normal-ish was a fleecy sleep cap. (I ordered it on-line from a company called Hats with Heart). They're designed to be wider at the top so your head doesn't feel as small and out of proportion as a newly bald head might feel. I went crazy and ordered a lot of caps from a lot of different companies, but this is the one that I wore around the house every night.

And when I did wear my wig - I never once was discovered. In fact, I got compliments on my 'great hair'. The first time I went out I felt like I had a spotlight on me, but as my friend said, 'Don't worry, most people are too self absorbed to notice'. 

I wrote about my hair adventures, and if you're interested, the site is listed below (only fun stuff, I promise) . But mostly I just wanted to say that it won't be long before you're looking at chemo in the rear view mirror. And though I wouldn't wish it on anybody, BC taught me more about life, living, and friendship than I ever could have imagined. I hope you all find the friends and resources you need to get you through this with the least amount of fear. And one last bit of advise....ask for what you need. Now is the time to make it all about you.

I wish you all the very best - Janet

I haven't read all of the recent posts but I did see one I wanted to respond to.



Halfcan, my girls loved shaving my head. I'm pretty sure my husband and son did too. First my girls used scissors and then they all took turns using the clippers with a number 8 guard. This morning I went to get my labs (as I do every week) and they went up some but are still low. I go back in Tuesday to get them drawn again and to see my MO. Wenesday I have another surgery to remove the parts of my nipples that are open and raw. He is going to stitch them closed too. I'm not looking forward to another surgery but I am looking forward to not having any open wounds.



After my labs this morning, I went to pick up my wig that I ordered through a local non profit (Pinkheartfunds.org) and the founder of the organization buzzed me to the scalp. We had fun though. I let her shave a cancer ribbon in the back and then a heart on the side. It was fun actually. Then 2 friends and myself played with all the wigs.



It could have been a very hard day for me but it really wasn't. I enjoyed being with my friends and playing with wigs. It may hit me soon but as of now even though I don't like it, I've accepted it.

@marianelizabeth talking about small world!! Of course I saw you yesterday and I kinda held you up talking to the nurse at the end sorry about that. Maybe I will see you in chemo oh joy chemo mine is at 215 . I believe one of my daughters and my son want to be there I do think they said 2 could stay.I know that all my kids are scared and I think they want to be there as support cuz they don't know what else to do. That's ok as it's also my first time getting chemo but unfortunately not first time with breast cancer.this triple neg is so much scarier then my first cancer though...well good luck to you on Monday.....Brenda

Thanks for the well wishes for me earlier this week, ladies. So thankful I got the port--getting labs done and then hooked up for chemo was a breeze. The steroids have caused me to go on a cleaning spree that could easily rival any nesting I ever did. I vacuumed out and organized kitchen drawers today...seriously. lol. I know the affects are supposed to be cumulative so I'm not getting my hopes up too far that I can cruise through this, but I do feel much less anxiety a couple days out from the first treatment and functioning normally.

I haven't gotten my Neulasta thanks to insurance crap. It's supposed to be overnighted to me for tomorrow, so that should be fun. My husband is ready to give it for me. I just hope the side effects from that won't be worse than the chemo! I'm taking my Claritin and hoping. I'm a total baby for aches and pains. 

 Went and tried on wigs at a lovely little boutique and was so glad I did. We found a replica for my hair almost exactly, cut and color, and she works with my insurance which is amazing. She scheduled me to come back when I'm due to start losing it, where she'll cut my hair shorter, style my wig to my liking, and show me how to handle it. I'm actually excited for a wig now.

Sere, good luck with the Neulasta coming O/N and hope your husband was able to do the injection.

Brenda, my appt. was at 4 PM Monday but has been changed to 2:30 so may see you!

Poke, I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your friend from Seattle. She has just escaped crazy rain on the west coast. Red or champagne or both?

For some reason I avoided ordering any head coverings and now it is getting close. Please post or repost any suggestions as I can't even find the piece of paper I had written down suggestions over the past month. On my to do list for this weekend is to organize all the paperwork that has come my way in the past few months. BCCA gave me copies of everything from the beginning this week to add to the pile. 

Marian 

halfcan, any that you liked especially before I go online and order? And how are you feeling now and also are you losing your hair yet? 

Thanks! 

Marianlizbeth yes might see you there but as the nurse said there is 9 rooms if not I'm sure we will see each other there is a group 3rd Thursday each month that I might register for I think I could use some help and I'm going to the look good session on nov10 .yesterday I started drinking fluids like they said about 2 litres well except for coffee and a couple of rootbeers I don't drink anything much especially water!! I mixed water with some ice tea mix I did water it down but I spent all day and night peeing so along with my usual problem with not sleeping, this is going to be a real problem!! But I don't want the side affects to be worst if I don't drink lots, well here I go again....Brenda

halfcan - I'm happy to hear that mostly your SEs aren't too bad. I'll be thinking of you in the next few days - why is the hair part so hard for us?! I don't have my first chemo for 2 more days but I already have my "goodbye hair" penciled in on my calendar, 2 weeks from now... I'm ready with my wig and head coverings inherited from my sis. Yeah, it's kinda brutal for my family that she and I both got hit with this but having seen her go through it all almost 5 years ago (and she's in good health - she had a baby in March!) has made it less scary for me. She keeps giving me random advice tidbits like eat some treats now before taste buds get wrecked for awhile. 

marianelizabeth - I'm getting toxic first thing in the morning - 9 AM on Monday so I might be done before you're in. I'm not entirely clear how long it will take, being the initial session and if there's any inefficiency from getting my chemo through IV and not a port. Good luck with your first round!

I woke up at 3:30 last night worrying. Had to get up and read more research to reassure myself. There have been so few studies on impact of chemo on a fetus, I started to wonder if it's fair for me to put her through this. They have followed some children up to 18 years though, and so far haven't observed any issues. This is why I signed up for a study myself, which will follow my girl through her development. It won't help me but at least it's good data for people to gather and analyze in the future...

It's definitely time for me to watch some funny movies! 

Spending this last weekend "pre chemo" in a very strange emotional state.  Kind of surreal, almost like my life is "on hold".  Does that make sense?  I have a question for those who have already started.  It seems like I'm seeing references to prescriptions that you are supposed to take at home, sometimes even beforehand?  My docs haven't said one word about anything like that.  Maybe that's not the first time around, but subsequent ones?