January 2013 chemo group

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  • KATRS
    KATRS Member Posts: 18
    edited March 2013

    Thanks LeeA - I am up on the 'roids taken for tomorrow - and since I get to go into work late and dressed very comfortably yet office inappropriate (yoga pants, oversized big shirt, cross trainers on my feet) I feel like it is super casual Thursday for me! And, after my chemo session and for the rest of that day I feel invincible - strong and up, with just a tad of aggression thrown in!

    K

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  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 230
    edited March 2013

    Skigirl: your plan sounds good. If you they see no hurry in starting rads for health reasons, then some time for your body to heal is a good idea.

    KeKe: glad things are better for you. It's easy to forget that the body does need time to heal from such a major surgery. I am now 9 weeks post surgery and the difference is amazing. You will get there too!

    For those of you on AC-Taxol, x4 dose dense, what is the status of your eye brows/lashes? I still have mine and start Taxol #1 in two weeks. I know some say they lost them after starting Taxol. I am soooo praying they stay but.....

    Good luck to all!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2013

    Good morning ladies,

    I may be getting ahead of myself here but I want to have my plan in place post chemo so i can keep this treatment ball rolling.  I ran into some issues with my docs yesterday - i'm having a hard time getting answers.  I want them to tell me what to do while they are looking for me to tell them.  I'll ask it here intead :) 

    Meg - You may have been through this recently.  I am done with chemo on April 25 and I want to start rads 3 weeks after.  My RO said the bad boob needs to be fully expanded and the healthy boob a bit smaller.  The problem is my PS will not do fills while i am in chemo.  So he cannot touch me for at least two weeks (maybe 3) after my last treatment and i think i need at least two more fills.  It's hard to tell because this TE is so flat and wraps around almost to my back :)  I asked the PS nurse...how many more until i get to a large b/small c?  she asked - how many more do you want?  Well i had an implant that was 286CC and not much natural stuff on top of that before we started this whole bc thing.  I'm filled to 250 right now.  I'm guessing i go to 400 for the overfill on the bad boob and 350 on the good boob?  That said, I cannot find enough of a window between chemo and rads mapping to get my fills in.  How do others coordinate this?  Am i one of the few not getting filled while doing chemo?

    I'm totally rambling here.  I guess my questions are...who determines I am filled to where i want my final result to be?  How do i get this done before I start radiation? 

    I mentioned i already had implants - I had them for exactly 4 months until they came out.  Within hours of having the implant surgery, I found lumpie.  Not sure how the PS missed that one.  Anyway, they were super cute and quite possibly saved my life.

    keke - i want to go to your PS.  Sounds like you found a good one.

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited March 2013

    Keke, so glad to hear your good news!  And happy drain free day!  I remember how great that was to finally have all 4 of my drains out...I even drove myself 2 hours to have the last 2 removed when I wasn't supposed to drive...I just couldn't wait another 3 days til my DH could bring me.  Enjoy your shower!

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited March 2013

    Jules, that's so interesting about your original implants and how things unfolded, wow...I also have a lot of questions and am going to reach out to my PS (really the PA does everything) to see what she says...I've also heard of ROs who insist that the expander be deflated before rads so I'm very confused.  I also don't know how many fills to get - really thought I'd end on just the one I got right before chemo but now that its settled a bit, I think I may get one or two more...its tough since they can't tell me what ccs i need to get to be my old size...400 sounds big to me...I need to see some samples in the office..I was 180 coming out of surgery and only filled once, which I think is 60 more, so I was aiming more around 300?  

    I also will be flying soon and need to find out what challenges I may have with airport security.  Let me know what you learn, and I'll do the same.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2013

    hope - it's a hard to say how much is enough, which is why i get the PS office leaves it up to the patient.  However, i called the PS I am changing to, and the nurse took my height/weight/chest circumference and boobie size I wanted (i am fairly small - 5'6", 110lbs and 32 inches around chest).  She recommended 400 cc's which pretty much surprised me...but said that is what she thought would get me to a large b/small c.  Sounds like a DD to me - holy knockers!  Fun.

    ***WARNING DEBBIE DOWNER STUFF***

    I know this week has been an up and down week.  Mine has been completely up until my BS just clonked me over the head with another very sad statistic.  And she has always been my positive, bright and cheery dr!  So i was at my 3 month checkup and she just got back from the breast conference in FL.  She said there was a lot of talk about TNBC at this conference.  The jist of what they were saying was about 50% of the time TNBC is extremely responsive to Chemo.  About 50% of the time it is completely resistant to chemo.  So I asked, why didn't we leave my tumor in to watch it shrink so I know it was responsive?  She said, "Julie you don't want to know which side of that 50% you are on.  If you are on the non-responsive side there is really not much else they can do for you.  It is devastating for woman to know that."  Okay, I do not believe there is nothing else they can do if your cancer is not responsive...i think there are clinical trials going on to add something to make the tumors more responsive to treatment.  Regardless.  I think i'm responding fantastically to treatment.  I just really don't need to hear stuff like that.  In fact, I'm sorry I shared it with you gals.  I just can't really tell my friends or fam because they are so scared for me as it is.

    Back to planning my new boobies.  That is much more fun.

    And congrats to all of you hitting yet another milestone!

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  • bcfree2013
    bcfree2013 Member Posts: 94
    edited March 2013

    Julesdenver, I had a small skin abscess incision and drainage surgery 10 days after a chemo treatment and my 1cm wound is healing very slowly even with antibiotics. My doctor says though my counts are normal b/c of the naulesta shot, my immune system is not able to fight off the infection. So it's better to do any kind of operation a couple of weeks after chemo. If an infection happens and the bacteria enter the blood stream, it will be very dangerous. In my case, i had to have the small operation but my next chemo had to be delayed.

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  • smethot
    smethot Member Posts: 161
    edited March 2013

    drumroll...AC #4 is in the hole!  The picc line.  Whatever!  Its DONE!  YEE HA!  Back home, feeling fine, making chicken a al king over egg noodles for dinner...yom-yom.  (Hot [turkey] sausage tacos tomorrow!)  i get to work from home for the next few days which means jammies, no makeup, cats and dogs galore and yummy, nutrituous meals.  Hee, hee...i love working from home.

    Jules, i think people should just stop talking stats (especially your docs).  I hate the f-ing things.  until they come up with a stat that says you are 100% in the clear and will never be bothered by that nasty old "c" again, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT.  I am a person...not a stat.  I react in MY OWN way.  MY bc is GONE...lumpectomy with great margins, a crap-load 'o nodes out and every test know to medical science (including the dreaded trans-vag) says I AM GOOD TO GO.  So the chemo is simply precautionary, anyway. And so are the rads we'll be getting.  And there are two different kinds of chemo to mix it up and f*** any potential CELLULAR insurgents right up the arse.  If its killing me hair, its killing any floaters that may be there.  PERIOD.  TMI from your doc...like...really, doc?  In the words of my 15 year old, don't you wish you could tell your doc to just "suck it" sometimes??? 

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  • ywheels22
    ywheels22 Member Posts: 230
    edited March 2013

    smethot: Awesome you are done!!! We are together on this one. Here's hoping our SE's from #4 aren't too bad. I am feeling a bit more tired this time around though but I can handle tired! Let us know how you do.

    Jules: stats are just stats. It's a baseline to go on for doctors and scientists but they are just numbers. You are you!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2013

    Let me clarify - i hate stats when they are stating anything negative about my health.  However, I am also a super big computer programmer geek that totally latches on to that number stuff.  I think my dr was excited that they discovered some big things about TNBC.  One of which chemo either really works or it really doesn't.  They are starting to gene map the types that don't respond to come up with a plan b.  So some day, just being TN won't promise you a trip through the chemo valley.  I think what she failed to realize in all her excitement is I am in the middle of that chemo valley and have TNBC  And she just told me there is a 50/50 chance that there will be any response to the chemo.  Turn that around and my BC will have a 100% response to it!

    I have dwelled on it quite a bit today and came up with the same thing Shannon.  They got all the cancer.  This chemo is preventative treatment.  I am doing the radiation (for sure now) to nab any other nasties that may be hiding out in my nodes.  Done and Done.

    A few have asked me this question and I'm curious about others response.  Would you want to know if your tumor was responding to the chemo?  I think it would be super exciting when it is, but what if it wasn't?  I still lean towards yes, i'd want to know so i can go find other clinical trials or whatnot.  But it is a tough question to answer.

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited March 2013

    Shannon, way to go!!! Your posts always lift me up. Enjoy the rest and the yummy food. I can't wait to taste again. Last night I tried to eat a burger so I can up my iron and it tasted not just bad but actually like a poison chemical...sigh...



    Jules, I look forward to seeing how things shape up for both of us! My PS said they prefer to finish expanding before rads, but can do starting 2 weeks after if necessary, so now I have to see what the RO says. Once expanded, I can do the exchange as soon as 4 weeks after...hoping to move this along as quick as I can. For travel, she said I may set off the metal detector so they will write me a note...I hope I don't have to get into any elaborate explanations in public! And I agree, stats be damned, you ARE responding fantastically!

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    Ladies, regarding breast implant sizing - if you haven't visited this thread you might find it worth your while.  I have it in my favorites. 

    BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101: 

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/746448?page=259#idx_7758

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  • Nicole503
    Nicole503 Member Posts: 295
    edited March 2013

    Smethot and ywheels22 ~ my heart celebrates with you as you close the book on the AC chapter of your treatment.  "And as the breast cancer cells lay in ruin on the battlefield, our princess rode off into ths sunset looking forward to a lifetime with no more red devil.  THE END!"  Smile

    I posted the following on the taxol board so for those of you who also read it, I apologize for the redundancy but something came up during my trip to the bar today and I am curious to hear how others are weighing this issue.  There are so many wonderful women on this board that I hope to get some feedback from you.

    Today during my 4.5 hour treatment I met Pat, a woman with ovarian cancer who was getting treatment in the cube across from mine.  Now that is a scary cancer.  She lives on a block that has 7 people affected with cancer, all different kinds.   She said her neighbor tried raising a fuss but no one seems interested.  She just confirmed my belief that environmental toxins are the cause of so much cancer, and who knows what kind of toxins we are exposed to every day???  I know that some women with breast cancer choose to have their ovaries removed because having had breast cancer may put us at higher risk for a future ovarian cancer.  Both my surgeon and my medical oncologist are of the opinion that this is not something I strongly need to consider.   After hearing Pat’s story today, I think I want to do more research and have another conversation with my oncologist.  What are your thoughts about this??  Are any of you considering oopherectomy in the future??  Why or why not??

    Pat was a cute litte old lady who lost her husband to a brain tumor 5 years ago and had a wonderful grace that I see a lot in people who have suffered because of cancer.  She was full of cute little sayings like “God won’t call you home until he has made up a bed for you, so I tell him to stay out of my bedroom!”.   She and I bonded quickly, and I will think of her when my side effects start in on Saturday night (the same time as hers do even though she has a different chemo).  We made a little pact to think of each other when we both start to realize that we’ve been “hit by the chemo bus” once again!  Fortunately for me the taxol chemo bus is a lot smaller than the AC bus was!

    I appreciate your thoughts about whether or not to consider oopherectomy after breast cancer.

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    Shannon, congratulations and multiple happy dances for the end of AC!  Enjoy your pajama days!  I went outside and talked to our gardeners this morning wearing black and white tiger striped fleece pajamas (and a beanie) and didn't give a flying you-know-what.  

    Hope49, I hate it when an anticipated food doesn't come through!  All that build-up and then - meh.  It happened to me one night with a small filet mignon.  I couldn't get the taste of that steak out of my mouth for two days - and it wasn't from lack of rinsing my mouth, brushing my teeth, flossing, etc.  

    julesdenver, I'm an ostrich or must have been in another life so I would have covered my ears and said "lalalalalala" when your PS started reeling off that sh*t.  OTOH, I understand that you're a numbers person and your left brain has to listen and take it all in.  I agree completely with hope49, shannon and ywheels22...you are jules, not a statistic out of the San Antonio Breast Conference (or Florida or wherever it was coming from).  My son called this morning and told me the story about a high school classmate of his who had brain cancer.  He has made a COMPLETE recovery against all the odds.  There are doctors in Great Britain who want to study his case because it's so rare to recover from this particular type of brain cancer.  You are young, you are healthy and your tumor is gone.  You divorced it - it's out of your body.  You're 5'6" tall and that tumor was a mere 2 cm.  You kicked its a$$ to the curb for good!  I'm going to find a link to something and post it in a minute.  It's kind of harrowing to read (it's about a woman who had breast cancer back in the 1800s in Hawaii) but the amazing thing is:  she lived to be in her seventies AND her tumor was removed without anesthesia!  And all this in the days before antibiotics were invented! 

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    "In September of 1855, Lucy Thurston — a 60-year-old missionary who had been living in Hawaii with her husband since 1820 — underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Incredibly, she somehow endured the operation wide-awake, without any form of anaesthetic. She wrote the following letter to her daughter a month later and described the unimaginably harrowing experience.

    The procedure was a success. Lucy Thurston lived for another 21 years."

    http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/02/deep-sickness-seized-me.html

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  • LisaMM
    LisaMM Member Posts: 120
    edited March 2013

    Keke- congrats on getting the drains out! Sounds like you're getting a good handle on things!

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    Nicole,

    Tonlee on the triple positive thread has discussed her oopherectomy quite a bit on that thread.  She really researches everything and her posts might be of interest to you.  At some point I plan on asking my oncologist about it - even though I've been through menopause for nine years.  Before I broach the subject I plan on re-reviewing what Tonlee has to say about it.  

    Here's a link to her posts with the key word "ooph" 

    http://community.breastcancer.org/posts/search?search_builder[keyword]=ooph&search_builder[author]=tonlee&search_builder[source]=&search_builder[date_range]=&commit=Search

    And another link to her posts with the key word oopherectomy.  

    http://community.breastcancer.org/posts/search?search_builder[keyword]=oopherectomy&search_builder[author]=tonlee&search_builder[source]=&search_builder[date_range]=&commit=Search

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  • hope49
    hope49 Member Posts: 370
    edited March 2013

    LeeA, thanks for that link, looks like a great thread for the info I need...you are the best researcher! I'm also smiling thinking of you in your zebra jammys. :).



    Nicole, I am going to consider the oophorectomy once I get through reconstruction and have some ''normal' time. I won't need them and while I don't want to start cutting things off 'just in case' I feel this may be worth it because I am ER+ and ovarian cancer is tough to find early stage...I will be talking more with my MO and gyne about this for sure.

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  • smethot
    smethot Member Posts: 161
    edited March 2013

    Hey Jules- the other thing is, are your doc's stats from EXTENSIVE studies or one?  I firmly believe that until there is a BODY of real data on the topic, its interesting but not CONCLUSIVE.  I'm almost triple neg (5% er & pr +) so this does pertain to me.  But a lot of this is still in its infancy.  My MO told me he's had EXCELLENT overall results long term with AC-T (even 3t-) and he's worked at (and headed) some of the major oncology centres in Ontario (our BESTEST province IMHO- most populous and arrogant province for sure!!!). 

    I still think a lot of this is a crap shoot...you rolls the dice and takes yer chances.  And overall, the odds are on our side...we obsess about the possibility of reoccurance (and even i think about it- i'd be a monkey of i didn't) but the reality of bc is, for most of us the odds ARE in our favour (and yes, that's the correct spelling- we speak/write the Queen's english in Canada).  We're on the statistical winning side of "hell yeah i beat this".  But because we got screwed on the whole "1 in 8 chance" of stupid f-ing bc in the first place, we're ALL a little leery of believing we're THE GOOD end of the stat...totally understandable- fool me twice, shame on me type-deal.  But we are.  A 20% chance of reoccurance means an 80% chance of never having to deal with bc again.  And 80% chance is pretty damned good.  Someone told you you had an 80% chance of winning the lottery if you bought a ticket, you'd buy the ticket.  We need to remember: we are on the winning side of the stupid stat. 

    And if we aren't, we'll deal.  Just like we dealt this time.  With strength and fortitude and humour and grace.  And the doc's will be watching out for us.  If it rears its detested, misshapen head again, we'll catch it earlier this time and beat its f***ing ass down again.  IF it comes back.  Let's not buy trouble here...there are too many women out there who beat this DED to think we can't be one of them.  MILLIONS of women who beat this DED...its happened.  Its reality.  Let's make it OUR reality.

    (btw, when do i get my cheerleader outfit and pom-pom's???  And who out there reads my posts, rolls their eyes and thinks "there goes that whacked-out, kool-aide drinking, Canadian bitch blowing sunshine up our asses again"?  It really isn't my intention to pontificate...really.  And I'm not some Pollyanna/Stepford wife/disney world automaton spewing "its a small world" all day long either.  Most frighteningly, i actually BELIEVE this shit i'm spewing.  i don't like the alternative...like my HR at work said, "cancer picked the wrong person to f*** with".  And in case you were wondering, no i never stop (tenacious my boss calls me on my yearly review) and i really don't want a cheerleader outfit...all the cheerleaders in my high school were matress backs...left a BAD taste in my mouth...pun TOTALLY intended)

    xoxoxo to ALL of you!!!  Shan

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  • smethot
    smethot Member Posts: 161
    edited March 2013

    Jules- have you considered BRCA testing?  (just caught your question after i posted my last rant).  A positive result on that one would make yanking the ovaries and nixing the boobs a no-brainer for me...but we're hoping/praying/knocking on wood for a big, hairy NEGATIVE back on that shite test.  THINK NEGATIVE.  If its all good on the BRCA, i'm keeping me bits and monitoring the hell out of them...bring on the trans-vag...woop-woop.  just my futher $1.25...i figure i'm WAY over two cents at this point AND they discontinued the penny here in Canada...

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  • jocanuck1951
    jocanuck1951 Member Posts: 1,003
    edited March 2013

    Funny stuff smethot!



    Lee, just read that letter Lucy Thurston wrote her daughter......SHIT! I have to re-think my bitchin........ Xoxoxoxo

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    JoCanuck1951 - just the other day I was thinking about you and wondering how you were doing.  I haven't seen you since the November surgery thread.  I love your new avatar - you look great!   

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  • jocanuck1951
    jocanuck1951 Member Posts: 1,003
    edited March 2013

    Thank you Lee! Things are.....well what can I say, different. Floored and pissed off that I'm stage IV. Jealous of old people lol! Hoping for a miracle for this beasty disease that's keeping me from disney world with my granddaughter! If I ever get a decent chemo break that's where we'll be lol!



    My sister made me put it on backwards..my mom used to wear a scarf like this...Lucille Ball ruled!



    How are you champion researcher? Xoxoxox

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    Yes!  I remember Lucille Ball wearing her kercheifs like that!  And in black and white (because it was the early sixties and we didn't have a color television).  

    I'm doing fine.  Four chemotherapy treatments down - two more to go.  Then, Herceptin through December. 

    Hoping you and your granddaughter can get to DisneyWorld very soon!  I remember you having to postpone your trip because of your surgery/diagnosis. 

    And regarding miracles - I just posted above about a classmate of my son's who is now NED after having a form of brain cancer that doesn't typically go NED so miracles do happen.  

    Stay warm!  A friend of mine in Toronto emailed and said they had an unexpected snowstorm.  I don't know if it's still cold where you are but I'm guessing it might be...

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2013

    keke what a great feeling having those darn drains pulled isn't it? I felt like I was freed from the Matrix. And I fully agree on the "now is the best time to try it" in regard to cutting your hair. The funny thing is, when I look back at my pictures now I keep thinking that god, how awful my hair use to look. I really enjoyed being able to experiment and have my hair cut short, and I am looking forward to trying some new styles when it grows back.

    Today one of my co-workers told me I can really "pull off the gypsy look". IDK how to take that. Of course I will take it as a compliment and roll with it, because why get bogged down in the negativity of it all.

    Kathy that is a funny image of your wig sitting on your purse. I have never once worn my wig, but lately have contemplated it. I just want to see and feel hair again. But then I think how odd it would be to show up after all this time with head wraps to suddenly sport hair. Obviously everyone would know it was a wig, which I don't think that is the part that even bothers me the most. I bought a long wig from Voguewigs, but it looks a little to "Elvira-ish". Maybe I'll have it cut and try it out. Mine will probably end up on the back of my desk too though. ;)

    Jules I'm so glad you brought this up about trying to coordinate the fills and rads. I've been driving myself bat-shit crazy trying to think about coordinating. However, i do have a slight advantage because my PS will do fills the day before, day of or day after chemo. I'm surprised you don't have that option. I have two more chemo sessions left. I go for rad mapping exactly three weeks following my last chemo. I think I also have about two fills to go (I don't want to do it all in one sitting because OUCH, 'nuff said).  So i'm thinking I need to do one in conjunction with each of my next chemo appt's. But I don't want to be lop-sided for that much longer than I need to.  And now I'm thinking I really need to buy some special tanks/bras and inserts. Have you thought about that either? I've been trying to find answers, but to no avail thus far. I'm sure the PS will be able to provide some advise too. The other reason I have procrastinated making the appointments is because I"M SICK OF APPT's. Chemo day is so freaking long, and then to go all the way back on Friday for a stupid shot. I don't want to see another doctore during those days, but I must.

    I've also been completely on the fence about how much more on the fills. But to give you an idea . . . before bc and mx i was a very big 'D'. I had always said if I had a boob job (to make them stand upright and not to my knees) I would go smaller, like a c. But now that I am facing making the actual decision I'm thinking I may not be happy as a c, because I was a d all of my adult life - a c just "wouldn't be me". Anyway, right now I believe I'm somewhere around 500, and not nearly a d. Maybe a large c. The size is certainly just about right, but when they say after the recon they will shrink a little and drop that worries me too. Anyway, just wanted to give you an idea that 400 cc really won't put you up to a d.

    My jaw literally dropped when I heard the response from your BS (which is a funny acronym for them because they absolustely do NOT bs - if they are all like mine they are all completely straight shooters). Anyways, isn't it a shame that we are all not armed with good solid information going in. I feel like I was slapped with info, give a couple of choices, but not any really good solid facts about those choices. And chemo BEFORE anything else was not even brought up as an option.

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  • ablydec
    ablydec Member Posts: 124
    edited March 2013

    Ok, I need to vent.  I had a not bad time for the first two months or so of this chemo, little side effects, but nothing serious.  I guess it's still nothing SERIOUS, but for the last week (since TCH #4) I have been so much more tired, specifically weak legs, especially going up stairs.  And getting out of breath so easily, just walking a little, or going up.  How exactly are you exercise guys doing it?  I know it's partly anemia, low RBC.  I'm a teeny bit worried it's something with my heart (I know that is a possible side effect of Herceptin.)  But mostly I'm just so frustrated.  I'm a mother of young kids, including a 9 year old with serious special needs, who need me to be up and running.  I work almost full time. I'm not interested in the sick role!!!  I know that's ridiculous to say, because it's not up to me, but ... And it's not really the "home stretch", I have at least six weeks left to go.  (And that's assuming the Herceptin alone won't be bad, which I certainly hope, but can't know for sure.)   Thanks for listening!  Shoshana

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  • powermom
    powermom Member Posts: 195
    edited March 2013

    Fighter69, thanks for your post.

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    ablydec, I'm on the same regimen and the fourth one hit me hard as well.  Side effects started earlier and lasted longer.  I have a friend who I met via BCO who also did the TCH regimen last year.  The fourth round put her in the hospital.  

    I think it might be the low hemoglobin that's making our legs so sore but additionally there have discussions about "herceptin thighs" on the triple positive thread. 

    I had an acupuncture session on Monday and surprisingly enough, my WBC was up to 5.4 yesterday (the highest it's been since starting chemo).  The integrative physician at Disney said there are studies that show that acupuncture can help increase WBC counts.  

    Additionally, she said that there's a cumulative effect to all this.  

    Re: round four - two people here at BCO have also said their fourth one was difficult.  

    Have you talked to your oncologist?  For this round, I had to go in for fluids.  He has recommended that I drink lots of water prior to round five. 

    Good luck with everything.  I just wanted to let you know what I know thus far about the fourth round. 

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  • LeeA
    LeeA Member Posts: 1,660
    edited March 2013

    ablydec - a few more things - re: the sore legs - I use Theragesic ointment on my thighs, in fact, I just rubbed some on before getting into bed.  It really seems to take the edge off.  Here's a link to a product description: http://www.thera-gesic.com/

    Also, re: Herceptin alone - I had a loading dose of Herceptin alone on December 12, 2012 because there was a delay in actual chemotherapy due to a tissue expander infection.  I had no problem with it whatsoever other than being a bit tired afterwards but I was also on intravenous vancomycin and recovering from a second surgery, both of which may have factored into the tiredness (note, I was only tired for a few hours the evening of the infusion).

    Additionally, have you ever checked out the Triple Positive thread?  Many women who have been through our regimen are still there for advice/support/ideas.  Here's a link in case you haven't seen the thread: 

    http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/80/topic/764183?page=545#idx_16347

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  • Jubby
    Jubby Member Posts: 85
    edited March 2013

    Shannon and ywheels22 -yay on finishing A/C. Bravo.

    Shannon, I needed your soapbox today – thanks for the pep talk.  The thing about this crapola disease is that the more you read, the more freaked out you become.  I am a big believer that ignorance is bliss – just a pity I am a sticky beak and can leave no stone unturned!  I’ve had a sore lower back for the past few days and managed again to talk myself into bone mets.  More likely is that this rusty old rig does not like the ‘Couch to 5k’ after nil high impact exercise for 6 years!  I have probably shocked my back and joints to bits.  This being said, the Couch to 5k is being put on hold until after chemo.  I can still do my powerwalking (which I enjoy a hell of a lot more) without torturing my already weary bones during chemo.  I think I was doing too much.

    I admire everyone’s courage to ask their oncologists questions.  I always feel like a nervous Nelly when I ask too many questions.  My onc is in her 60’s. She’s very kind, empathetic and gentle but I think she has seen it all so is not one to be acutely responsive to my Dr Google line of questioning.  She answers my questions but I do feel a bit like one of those kids in class that asked too many questions that people used to roll their eyes at.  I am probably being paranoid (I have been acutely self-conscious since becoming sick) and most likely she doesn’t think I’m a pain in the arse. 

    Nicole, oopherectomy has been mentioned to me in passing but I haven’t gone there yet.  I will once chemo is over.  I am BRCA negative so not as worried about ovarian cancer as I was before.  I know it is mainly offered to premenopausal women.  I wonder if you have one if you need Tamoxifen still?  I read somewhere that oestrogen is produced in muscle tissue as well as the ovaries so also wonder if Tamoxifen gets to the muscle oestrogen too?  It’s all a mine field…..I think oophorectomy wipes out libido pretty badly.  Although after babies and chemo, mine is pretty much down the dunny (slang for toilet here) anyway!  I’m not sure mine could get any lower!! 

    I’m getting ready for my first Taxotere next week.  Can feel the anxiety building but am determined to have a good weekend before next week’s crash. My bad days will be over Easter.  I’ll be a bag on fun for the kids – NOT!

    Another question….. Is anyone else finding they need less sleep than usual?  I have been going to bed late (11.30/12) and am getting 6.5-7 hours most nights.  After pushing through the witching hour(s) – 5-7 with kids when I’m my tiredest and they are their most feral, I am getting a second wind at night.  No idea why.  I was expecting to be way more bombed than I have been. But, after Taxotere I too may be struggling with fatigue so guess I should just lap this up!

    Happy Friday to you all as mine comes to a close.

    Jubby xox 

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