Calling all TNs

EnglishRose -- congrats and way to go!



ALL -- thanks for the encouragement. Off to chemo I go.

englishrose..horray!!

5thsib...best wishes for today

Maggie

English Rose - woo hoo! Enjoy feeling well.

My port was a non event also - I put numbing cream on 30 mins prior to chemo and didn't even feel the needle.  I am ready to get mine out though and will next Friday!  WOOHOO!

Shirley - glad it went well today - drink lots of water to flush your system!

Why a breakfast of grapefruit and marmalade on toast could be lethal for people taking medication

• Both grapefruit and Seville oranges contain chemicals that can interact with certain drugs such as statins and antidepressants 
• Adverse effects can include acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, internal bleeding and sudden death

By JENNY HOPE

Grapefruit contains chemicals that can interact with certain drugs, making them more potent

Doctors are warning about serious health problems caused by mixing medicines and grapefruit.

Although it was already known that some drugs are affected by grapefruit, the number has doubled in the last four years.

There are now some 85 such drugs, including statins, antibiotics, antidepressants, drugs to treat cancer and heart disease, plus others used by patients who have had organ transplants.

Grapefruit can either increase the potency of drugs, potentially leading to an overdose, or render them less effective which puts patients at risk of receiving too little medication.

This has led to sudden death, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure and gastrointestinal bleeding, Canadian experts say.

Dr David Bailey, of the Lawson Health Research Institute, in London, Ontario, said there had been a ‘marked increase’ in prescription drugs that interact with grapefruit. But many doctors and patients remain unaware of the problem.

The list of danger medicines includes treatments for anxiety, depression, allergy, HIV infection, seizures, heart rhythm abnormalities and high cholesterol

He added: ‘Many of the drugs that interact with grapefruit are highly prescribed and are  essential for the treatment of common medical conditions.

‘Recently, however, a disturbing trend has been seen. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of medications with the potential to interact with grapefruit and cause serious adverse effects  has increased from 17 to 43 – an average rate of increase exceeding six drugs per year.

‘This increase is a result of the introduction of new chemical entities and formulations.’

Of more than 85 drugs that may interact with grapefruit, 43 can have serious side-effects, says a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Grapefruit contains a compound, furanocoumarin, that prevents the enzymes in the intestine, responsible for keeping foreign substances out of the body, from working properly.

This leads to more medication being absorbed, effectively  doubling or even tripling the dose in some cases.

I am new to this forum so here is a little background. I am 51 healthy , have a wonderful husband, 4 wonderful  children and a beautiful little grand-daughter that will be 3 in December. I go every year for my mammograms!  This October 3 weeks prior to my appt. I found a lump. I didn't wait I went right in to my Dr and sure enough it was cancer.  I have been posting on the newly diagnosed, but yesterday after meeting with the oncologist I found out I am TN.  At the time I met with my BS he only had back the preliminary report.  It was IDC grade 2.  I had already decided on a bi-lateral Mastectomy.  He did tell me it looks like I am T1 but I know that can change when they do surgery.  The tumor is 1.7 to 2 cm that is from the core needle biopsy and 2 ultra sounds.  It looks contained and no swelling in the nodes but I know that can change as well. 

He said I had a choice of going every two weeks for 4 months as opposed to every 21 days for Chemo, has anyone heard of that?  I have never been anything but positive the entire time until yesterday,  I fell apart when we came home.  I was still in shock over the whole BC and then this.   My surgery is Dec 4th a week from today.  I was going to have reconstruction at the time of surgery, but now I am having second thoughts I read that with reconstruction the chance of it re-occurring is higher.

Please any input would be so appreciated!

Thank you all,

Carla

I had my LAST chemo session today! Yep, this is definitely something to be very happy about, but somehow I reacted by crying. I got out of the chemo chair, please God let me never sit in one of those chairs again, and I started to cry. I got home and when I walked into my house and looked at my children I started to weep again. Later I called my mother, and can you guess what I did on the phone when I heard her voice? I'm a great big crybaby today ffs!

Now it is on to rads. I will have 35, with 7 boosts. I know it will be a breeze compared to chemo. I am a bit worried about the tattoos for rads, specifically the one on my surgery side since I was told never to stick a needle there or it risks triggering lymphodemia. This just occurred to me and I haven't asked the doctor about it yet. Any advice on this?

Desertmama--oh baby...you made it..I cried once I stopped throwing up the day of my last chemo..I also cried my first and last day of rads.  I had the tattoos for the rads and it was a non issue as the do it on the body and not the arms.  Congrats to you on finishing this huge step..enjoy your time off before the rads start

Carla--I had a bilat Mast followed by the chemo you describe...it is called Dose Dense and usually consists of 4 treatments of A/C (adriamyacin and cytoxin) and 4 treatmenst of Taxol ( or a form of it). I did the taxol first as there is a study out there that shows it works best for TN's.   there are many variations to this of course and it depends where you live as to what you will receive.  I liked the every 2 weeks for 4 months instead of 6 months every 3 weeks.  It went by so quickly and then i moved on to radiation (35 tx)  I did very well on chemo considering.  Side effects were managable with meds that they will give you.  Only threw up that very last time.  Check out www.tnbcfoundation.org for some really specific things for us TN's too.  Ask anything here and someone will probably be able to answer for you.  I did not do reconstruction right away and just had a bilat Diep procedure on Nov 1 of this year (15 months after mast).  One side failed so will return in March for a new leftie.  Take your time if you like and choose a recon that is right for you..there are so many options out there.  Get several consults too if you do not like the answers you are given.  Sorry you had to join us here but you will love the wealth of knowledge of these great women.

Maggie

CS - sorry don't know anything about a fatty liver.  Sending prayers and hugs that it will be ok!

CS- I think alot of women, after chemo, have a fatty liver. We take soooo much medications while on chemo, our liver gets hit hard for a while. Last november, I had a liver scan and it saw what they thought was fatty liver. They sent me for an US and when I did it in march, there was nothing. No spots, nothing. I hear that many people have fatty livers and never know about it. And don't worry, it's not the beginning of liver cancer. I read a whole lot on this when they told me it was fatty liver. Maybe if they do an US in 6 months it won't even show anymore.    

Just stopping in to say hi to all you wonderful women and wishing you a wonderful night.

adagio - Just to let you know that even those of us who get a tx every 21 days still can be getting the Neulasta shot. I had Cytoxan and Taxotere 4x and did get the shot 24 - 48 hours after each tx - actually ended up giving it to myself (in the stomach) after the first one by the nurse.

Had my first mammo since dx on Monday and yes, she did do a mammo on the mx side too. She wasn't going to as there wasn't much flesh there but she asked me if I was concerned and when I said yes, she said she would try and she did manage to do one. I won't get the results for a while but have my followup with my onc on Dec. 11th.

Sending HUGS to all the newbies and those going through tx or dealing with SEs and a special shout-out to Inmate, Luv, Hope60 and OBXK!

Doreen

Oh Bak, I can hear your pain in your words.  Please do not feel defeated.....you kept your job all this time! Soon after I was DX, I, too, had a meltdown in the middle of a workday and called the boss, gave report so a coworker could finish my work and I LEFT!.  In tears of course.....I never went back.  I am sending a nice cooling hug your direction, lady.  Good idea to call your therapist and get further support, too.  And as far as your mind.....I think my mind is in cahoots (sp?) with yours!  I haven't seen either of them!  Not sure where you live, but if you were close I'd meet ya for a cup of coffee or maybe a martini!  Hang in there.