Calling all TNs

I don't want to sound Pollyanna but my chemo was doable. I was Dxd at 43. Did dose dense ac x 4 then t x 4. Worked through the whole thing. Day 3 and 4 after infusion I would take off, drug myself and sleep. Friends, laughing, and pain meds made it bearable. I was single and would even date on the good weeks. It was no cake walk but through prayer, imagery, and laughing as much as possible, I made it. You can do it. Take pain meds as needed. Nebulasta has rib pain. But it is short lived. Fight it hard in your head and let people surround you and love you. Working made it better for me. I had structure and an understanding employer.

Regbeach -  I had a much more difficult time with chemo than most ladies.  I had ACT every 3 weeks x 6 times.  Dosage had to be reduced twice because I became so weak I could barely get to bathroom for 2 weeks after each infusion.  I was 68/69 years old at the time.  Many times I begged my DH to just let me die because I felt so terrible.  As you have seen on these threads, lots and lots of the ladies here have sailed through the process.  I wish you and your mom the best in this very difficult situation.  Jan

I get my first rad treatment today. I went yesterday for the dry run with the machine. My arms have to be on such an uncomfortable position that my shoulder was aching. I had a spasm in it at one point. They said the actual treatment would be a few minutes shorter. Hopefully I get the tattoos today and can get these marks and tape off. The drive is 40 minutes each way. Round trip yesterday from leaving to getting back was 2.25 hours.



Work is so stressful right now and I am so very tired. I sometimes regret my decision to work through this instead of taking medical leave. I may have to take a sick day tomorrow to just rest.

Schatzi,

I am on tamoxifen for 5-10% ER found following surgery (initial biopsy was triple neg).  The tamoxifen has made me gain weight, fatigue, and hot flashes. I also get some muscle cramps but not a lot of joint pain.  My sister was on Femara with horrible joint pain so I am going to see if I can stay on tamoxifen as long as possible (I'm supposed to switch next year to arimidex.)  2 oncologists told me it could make a difference and the 3rd said if I had side effects I could probably come off it.  I'm scared to come off in case it is helping at all as I was told at one point that I had a 50% chance of recurrence because of my poor response to neo chemo. I'm 52.  You might ask about tamoxifen rather than getting off of everything.  I think it is not supposed to be quite as effective as the aromatase inhibitors.

Regbeach,



One option to consider is to try a single dose of the chemo and see what occurs. You can then stop it if it is unmanageable. As someone else just said, everyone reacts differently to these chemo drugs and also the pre drugs given to help with side effects.



The good news is that aside from the fatigue that is cumulative, people's pattern of side effects are usually the same as they have the first dose. So you can know what you and your Mom are facing after the first dose.



If you decide to go this route I would forgo the port until you see whether you and your Mom are able to continue with chemo. They can give the chemo in the vein, especially with the first dose.



All this is just an idea to consider.



Hugs,

Peggy

christina19...thanks for your reply. My MO said I could never have taken Tamoxifen even if I were not menopausal because of the SEs of blood clots. Good thing I am as old as I am apparently.

I can see you taking Als at 5 to 10% positive. It's a good chance it can help you. At my 2% I doubt it is doing any good. My first year on it, I was pain free...just hair thinning and I am able to deal with that.

My PCP has given me a script for Actonel DR and it just sits in the cupboard. The SEs are so scary, I might just take my chances with more bone loss.

It really annoys me that I am not able to do the housework and gardening that I always did. It just seems to be getting worse. My MO did say if the SEs got too bad, he would say it was OK to stop. It's a crap shoot for sure.

regbeach..so glad you have a plan now.  Neulasta is to keep the white blood cell count up to help hopefully with infection.  The pain from it was for me the worst part.  The doc can suggest over the counter meds to help and if that doesn't work she can get some prescription ones that will!  I was only nauseated after 1chemo--my last , but I think lack of sleep and anxiety before were why it happened.  All the best to you and your mom...you are a great daughter to take care of her and be her advocate

Maggie

I am hoping that some of you can help me. Anyone have DD ACT and are still suffering extreme pain in hips and legs? Also weakness and pain in the arm on the opposite side of mx? I finished treatment in January and am experiencing more pain now that what was felt during treatment. How long can one expect these side effects to last? Is this normal?

Thanks.

I have a question about massaging the chest area after a mastectomy.   I knew from a book by Dr. Northrup that it was not good to massage the breast or the arm if you had breast cancer.    Well, after my mastectomy I was told to massage the area.   I did this faithfully for the whole 2 years and now my cancer is back and up to the collar bone.    My MO says that she sees no reason why if it feels better I should not continue to do the massage. 

Any of you have any experience with this? 

Stupidboob...thanks so much. I am going to see if it fades. I was mwoing the lawn on Sunday with a ride on tractor and remember gripping the wheel really tightly as I had never done it before. My right arm has been sore ever since but maybe I never looked at my breast and I bruised it them. I am going to watch it over the weekendand see if it resolves. It looks a bit like bruising after my lumpectomy but only much leass and more diffuse.

Say a prayer out there in the universe if you can.

Jcolford...yes! I finished treatment end of December and had double MX in January. I have leg pain just like I did when I was on Taxol. Sometimes, I walk like a little old lady. They say that this pain and the fatigue I am having will last at least a year. I started acupuncture and that has really helped with the leg pain. She told me that our nerves were damaged by the chemo and they are trying to regenerate. I also have been walking 30-40 minuted 5x a week. When I am consistent with walking and the acupuncture, I feel much better. I have not experienced any weakness or pain in my arms. At first, I did under my arm where the nodes were taken out and sometimes I will have sharp pain in my upper arm. I massage it and that helps! It's just a long road for us! One that I don't like being on! Hope I was able to help!

Regbeach, my MO said to take Claritan or Zyrtec. I chose Zyrtec since my son uses it. He said to start taking it on the morning of the shot and to take it twice a day for 5 days. I did that faithfully and never had any bone pain from the shot.

Did any of you who took Taxotere have breathlessness?

Inmate - that's great. 

To jump on the good news wagon my bone scan came back clear, which is awesome but I wish I knew why my lower left pelvis hurt.  Dr. thinks it's muscular.

Dawn - I often wonder why our tumors aren't checked from the git-go.  It seems to me that that would save us from chemo we don't need and give us a better shot with chemo that has the best potential to work.

Not a question, but why?

My best to you, Jan