April 2013 Chemo Group

well had # 3 yesterday....came home and napped a bit...hung out with friends on the deck and laughed till 10pm....stayed home this am whey they went to the farmer's market....too many folks and too much walking...didn't wanna push it....went @ 11:30 and got my 'shot' @ the main hospital....since it was my first one, they had me wait 1 hour after to make sure everything was ok...I started the clarieden Thursday when they told me i'be be getting it....went to Garden Ridge looking for bar stools..no luck, grocery store for a nice pork loin we're gonna cook w/ a peach mango chutney....and just chillin on the couch while I get spoiled.....Room mate from college who flew in cooked last night, Chicken and dressing casserole, scratch made biscuits w/ gravy for breakfast, fresh veggies tonight for dinner AND she cleaned up the deck so i can enjoy it all summer.......

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend with little SE...

6cats, could it be radiation recall? You might want to look up more info on it. It can happen in the area that was radiated or be more general. 

http://lungcancer.about.com/od/radiationtherap1/f/Radiation-Recall.htm

"The symptoms of radiation recall are due to inflammation in a region that was previously treated with radiation. The most common type of reaction is radiation recall dermatitis, a skin rash involving redness, swelling, and/or blistering of the skin. The rash is often painful and can have the appearance of severe sunburn."

Pool?? This weekend our neighborhood pool opens and my kids want to go. Unfortunately, my MO said no pools this summer "unless it's in your own backyard." He said I could go to the neighborhood pool and not get in...my kids are too young to swim by themselves (almost 2 and 4) so this really isn't a good option either. Was anyone else told that pools are a no-no during chemo?

I'm not getting Neulasta (so far) so I don't know if that's part of his concern. Since I'm getting chemo every 3 weeks, I'm wondering if he'd allow me to go during the last week before the next cycle when my counts would be the highest.

What else have you been told to avoid this summer? 

I wasn't warned about pools but I do remember reading something about avoiding lakes. Fortunately I will be done with chemo by mid-June so I figure I'll be fine to swim for most of the summer. I suppose you could put the kids in life vests and stay at the edge of the pool to watch them? Doesn't sound as fun though! 

I was also told to avoid the sun, which I'm finding much harder. I don't think I was cautioned about any other summery things though. 

Lynn, could your skin pain have anything to do with the steroids? I haven't had any issues this round or the last but I remember the very first round I felt like my face was sunburned after the steroids wore off (except it wasn't red & I hadn't been in the sun).

Pamela, I have to admit I was disappointed, I saw you posted and was hoping it was another episode of Chemogate!

Round 3 has been a bit rougher in terms of fatigue & pain... but mostly constipation!! I don't know what happened, I forgot 2 preventative doses of colace and ate something with rice flour the night of chemo (I usually avoid rice) and have been in horrible pain ever since. Finally got things moving not long ago but still recovering from writhing on the couch with waves of cramps and not sleeping for several nights due to the pain. UGH glad it seems to be better, but hope everyone can learn from my mistake and don't slip up or slack off on the anti-constipation regimes! 

Pools: I am getting the Nulasta shots and my MO said no pools except for certain days of the cycle (I don't remember exactly, but I think it was days 3 to 7 or something). This is in my own pool with no one else in! Even then, she was really reluctant to say yes at all. I didn't even bother asking about the hot tub. I've already had one minor infection in my finger for no reason I could see, except that I did some cleaning without gloves, and I don't want any more courses of antibiotics than I've already had, so I just decided to skip the pool this summer. So far, it's not been hard since we've had lousy weather. 

Interesting how we are all getting such different advice about pools and hot tubs. You'd think there would be more standard practices on such things. 

Just an interesting side note: one of the young fellows who teaches at my martial arts school just got a job at Oxford BioTheraputics in San Jose, one of the companies that worked on developing Herceptin. The company is working on developing new cancer drugs that target tumor cells and spare healthy ones. He was describing the machine he will be working on and how it separates cells depending on if they have antibodies attached or not. Amazing glimpse on how cancer research is done!

I know I keep saying this, but the Epsom salts really do work, even when things have gotten backed up for days, usually within a few hours. 

Indenial, I'm afraid the next Chemogate will need to await further developments, but I will have something else for you soon.

rockermom66... yipes! what an ordeal! Glad you are feeling better now!

Oh No Virginger.... Do they have you doing the salt and baking soda rinse/gargle? I get mouth sores, they have me use the salt/soda mixture first, then the magic mouthwash.

I'm off to my third chemo infusion this morning. This will be the first at the dose dense two-week schedule. I'm hoping that doesn't change things too much, as so far my SE have been minimal.

I had my last chemo treatment 3 wks ago. Will have Herceptin for 11 more treatments. The last 2 wks Ive had problems with my eyes watering. Does anyone know, will that ease up over time while I'm only on Herceptin or is that a SE of the Herceptin itself?

@heather214..yes, I took Neulasta. Thanks, just seems like it started after my 6th and final treatment and is really bad right now. I can't wear my contacts at all and I see better with them than my glasses. Someone just told me it was an SE of Taxotere. Hopefully now that I'm finished with that, it will get better.

just checking in....feeling better but still achy, so took the day off...being a couch potato and RESTING....MO called back and does want me to take antibiotic for a week just to make sure there's no infection...<sigh> still using both mouth washes....after she SHOCK of lossing the tooth, almost glad..no pain anymore so we shall see...

Hope everyone is doing well and minimal SE

Beherenow...how much apple cider do you add to 24oz of water? I had thrush my first round of chemo and would like to prevent it the next round. Thanks



I also listen Bellruth Naparsek's guided imagery. I listen to them before I go to bed, whenever I am anxious and during my chemo treatment. Most of the time I fall asleep so they must be relaxing me.

Hi LadieS,

Wow so much going on with everyone. Those feeling the "Mack truck effect" - ohhhhh I get it. My worst was my 3rd AC treatment but the 4th not so bad. I'm now done with AC an had my first Taxol today. Other than a nap I'm feeling good today.



Sending y'all love and light as we continue on our journey.