Sept 2012 chemo

Lol... Mariposa... I did try it twice but it dosent relax me it gets me paranoid.... Anew used right .. So u just drink tea now!!!

Patricia, I am hoping that my MO is right and I will lose at least half the weight once treatment stops. I have held steady the last three weeks, but that does not give much consolation when I gained 15 pounds.

I had my first taxol almost two weeks ago, no nausea, lots of aches, pains in joints and bones and some numbness in hands and feet. Have second taxol on Tuesday, not looking forward to it.

Hope everyone had a good Saturday!

I got really excited after this last chemo about having more energy and being able to embark on my weight loss and fitness regime.  When I went in for my radiation planning session last week, they told me that I absolutely must not lose any weight between now and the end of my treatment at the end of January since all the measurements are obviously based on what I am now.  A bit disappointing, but a good excuse to indulge in some festive goodies over Christmas (in between all the flax, blueberries and broccoli of course.)  Thank God for Spanx is what I say.

Hope everyone's doing OK today.  We are putting up our Christmas tree today (which usually involves the kids putting all the decorations on the bottom front half of the tree and me rearranging it all after they've left the room!)

Patricia  - I am so with you, I feel like an amazon, and I'm so not used to being big!

Right there with you ladies I'm right at the 10lb mark so not fair! Thanking god its winter and I can hid in my sweats.

This wednesday brings me taxol #7 this puts me at the half way point for this regiment. Kinda excited to be done and over chemo it seems like such a rut.

On a good note my hair is growing (I think) my whole head is covered with light fuzzy hair I look like a baby chick lol I cant keep my hands out of it.

Has anyone elses hair grown back while on taxol?

Hello all,

              Starting taxol on Tuesday.  Has anyone had taxol w/herceptin?  How is the nausea with taxol?  I am worried about new side effects and also getting out of breath upon fairly little exertion.  Are you girls going for MUGA scans?  This is a nuclear medicine test.  I have gone for three so far.  Any info will help, thanks.

Hope and Waiting, I've finished 11 of 12 weekly taxol + Herceptin, and will have #12 next Friday. I haven't had any nausea, aches or pains. I take L-glutamine (30 grams per day, divided into 2 servings; I mix it with Crystal Light lemon iced tea and it goes down OK) and vitamin B-6 (100 mg per day) for the neuropathy and it has been minimal to non-existent. Who knows if the L-glutamine and vitamin B-6 are actually helping or if I am just one of the lucky ones that gets by without much of a problem? I have gotten more tired and have less energy now, although I have continued to go to the gym 3 - 4 times per week. I mostly just walk on the treadmill though - nothing too strenuous. I do get out of breath going up stairs.



Waiting, I had an echocardiogram before starting treatment and will have another one before starting Herceptin alone in 2 weeks. I understand the echo gives the same info as a MUGA scan - it's basically an ultrasound of the heart. I am worried that the Herceptin might have damaged my heart already and will be on pins and needles waiting for the result of the test!



As for hair growth, I have used cold caps throughout treatment and still have my hair, now featuring long gray roots. Legs and "other areas" have lost hair, but not completely.



Reading about the hell so many of you have gone through with treatment, I feel incredibly lucky. Better days ahead to all of you!

Waitingfor.... I am also on herceptin once my weekly taxol is done I will still need to get the herceptin every three weeks for the next year... But as of now it is weekly with the taxol. I did get one muga before the chemo but not sure if I will get another. The side effects of taxol for me are better than the AC but the constantly going in every week for 12 weeks is getting old fast.....

I am doing the dose dense taxol every two weeks, have number two coming up on Tuesday. First taxol had horrible leg, hip, feet, joint and muscle pains along with numbness in fingers and toes. So not looking forward to Tuesday. On the bright side, I should be done with taxol at the end of the month, yay!!

With the hair, I retained stubble throughout the AC and still have the stubble now. Just took a bath and "conditioned" my stubbly head. Hoping it starts to grow back soon.

Hi Ladies -- I seem to be having the opposite problem in terms of weight.  And I don't think its something to be excited about either.  I've already lost 17 lbs and I've only been in treatment for 8+ weeks.  The AC gave me no appetite at all, and I ate about 1/2 a meal a day.  Now that I'm on to taxotere, I was excited to feel a bit more of an appetite, but I can't seem to keep anything in.  Everytime I eat something, I have to rush to the restroom.  I'm really starting to worry about my health, as I probably have zero nutrients in my body.  I stopped taking my multi-vitamins 2 weeks into treatment, cuz I read somewhere that it was not advised, but I'm strongly considering taking them again.  Recently, I've looked at my fingers and they are starting to be more "bendy".  They actually have a curvature to them! Hard to describe really, but they are starting to definitely not look like my fingers.  Dr. said it was too early for chemo to be causing any bone changes, but I think I'm probably deficient in something and I'm starting to panic.  Oh, and add to that that I'm vegetarian.  Are any of you taking multi-vitamins??  Or do you know the reason why we shouldn't?  I really really feel desperate that I should take some!

I get a dense dose every 3 weeks and joint and leg pain is terrible! Mine starts on day 2 through 4 and then starts to go away.  

English Rose; christmas tree decorating tradition sounds familiar, lol!

I am also a bit larger than when I started treatment and I dont like it! Walks with my dog and in the last few weeks some gentle yoga classes is how I plan to ease back to more active exercise.

Amy: I'm also a baby chick! Had taxotere and lost almost all hair but had some that didn't fall out. It actually grew during treatment and looked really silly so I buzzed it almost to the scalp the other day. It seems the hair on my head is really trying to grow now 5 weeks after my last chemo but it's super fine and has no colour. I have done 4 of my 6 weeks radiation now. I'm getting red and sore but the thought of only having 2 weeks to go helps.

Got my prescription for Tamoxifen the other day and will start that one week after radiation. Dreading side effects. More hot flashes and sleeplessness to be expected.

Fight4two: talk to your dr or nurse if you can't keep food down and have lost that much weight. Your body will need protein and nutrients to rebuild the damaged cells after each

cycle. If you are vegetarian it can sometimes be tricky to get enough protein.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and are ready for the week ahead. One day at a time we will get through this.

Vent on Timbek we feel your pain!

fight4two, not sure of your weight before chemo but chemo nurse told me they adjust amount of chemo at 5% weight loss. I have lost some weight and trying hard not to lose anymore but sounds like you need to "choke" more down. That is what I call a lot of my eating as most stuff tastes so bad. Here, we are told to email pharmacist help desk for any and all vitamins, supplements etc. and definitely no antioxidants. Also, you might want to have a look at your hemoglobin - I am not strictly vegetarian but when my Hg slid to 92 last cycle I started adding organic beef and am trying hard to keep up protein in general. Blood transfusion if it goes below 80. 

jojo, I will be hoping that the gabapentin works for me for my first Taxol on the 11th. 

timbek, it is overwhelming and I am so in awe of all of you taking care of young kids too.

timbek2:  Hope your little one starts feeling better soon!  Start taking lots more vitamin C and D now!  It is so hard when they get sick.  When my son got sick, I couldn't prevent from getting sick- even though I tried to wash my hands a ton etc.  He is my little boy who loves to cuddle- and right now,  I could use the cuddles.  Oh well.  Hopefully it is a super quick little bug that your youngest has.

And like everyone else says- vent away!  I think we have all been there!  That is what is so great about this group- we get it.  No matter how awful we feel, each cycle, we dust ourselves off and keep kicking cancer's butt.  We don't have any other choice- but at the same time, we shouldn't dismiss how strong each of us are.  And, I think it is much better to let out all of those frustrations rather than just sit with them alone.  Hope you are feeling better soon.

Good night everyone!  Hope you have a restful sleep with no SE!!!