August 2013 Chemo Sisters

gavisnsgrandma, my first chemo is this Friday....I'm so scared.

Hi there

I too am starting 4 rounds of the TC regimen chemotherapy starting Aug 19 2013. I am vet nervous to start the chemotherapy. I have heard stories that have me quite concerned. Dehydration, dizziness, seizures? Please tell me these stories are more an isolated few than the norm? I have my oncology walk through on Thursday. Any other Aug sisters or perhaps spring sisters that could spread some light on their experience with this regimen.

Thanks a bunch

Hello everyone! Late to the show but I'm an August Chemo sis too as I had my first round of TC on Aug.1.



I feel so lucky as SE have been minimal and no hair fall yet as of day 12. I got my wig already though and it was pricey but did you all know you can request a prescription from the onco for it and some insurance plans cover it?



I am waiting to see what happens with the hair but see this as an opportunity to experiment. I got a Buff, a new scarf and found that people on Etsy make wild and crazy wigs that are cool. If it looks like I'll lose all the hair I'm getting a short wig there that is dark brown with pink and blue tips underneath for fun.



I think I have been able to hold off SE (at least for now) by brushing my teeth 5 times a day with Biotene toothpaste then rinsing w Biotene mouthwash. My dental hygeneist also told me to get Biotene oral balance gel and use it every night before bed. All this stuff is available at Walmart.



Also to keep SEs at bay I drink about 12 cups of fluid a day, use Optifiber to help with C, and take Colace. To help with Neulasta pain I've been taking ibuprofen. For gas, it's Tums and Prilosec. Also I have been walking constantly and that really, really helps. Plus my onco had me on tons of IV drugs before and had me on a 4 day regimen of a combo of antinausea meds. It worked!



Hugs to you all. I know this is tough but we can all do it! I just am so thankful they caught this early (Stage 1a) and there are so many treatment options to beat this.



Remember, we have cancer, it doesn't have us. We are all exactly the same people we were before we were diagnosed, and we'll be as tough as nails by the time we beat this!

Hi Shalimar! Call your onco's office and ask if you will receive Ativan prechemo either as an oral drug or in an IV with chemo. Ativan is a great anti anxiety drug that also is an anti nausea med.



It is doable and it's natural to worry. Bring someone you love with you on Wed. It helps. Have supplies to take like books or craft projects or a laptop and movies. Also bring light snacks and lots to drink!



My best thoughts to you that it will be easy and your SE light.

So it's real. You get through the diagnosis - no idea anything is wrong with you. Do the surgery which other than needing a second go at it goes pretty much ok. And you're feeling pretty good. Arm is doing great, breast is facing in a new direction and a fraction of her former self (3/4s to be precise) but a credit to the surgeon! So then you find yourself sitting in the onco nurse's office thinking why bother having all this ! I could just move on now...

I thought I was handling this pretty well but when she said I had to have a port the stiff upper lip quivered. Please, please can you tell me out there that you can get used to the the alien invader, that you don't feel those tubes inside you. Pain is no problem , it's the concept that gets me. A lifetime of not sticking anything artificial in my body and then this. And it's there reminding me everyday that nothing is normal anymore. Worse, will the kids at school see it when I want to wear summer clothes?

Chemo education tomorrow. Don't know the date for the port or chemo yet but some time this month. Nurse said they can do the port and 1st chemo the same day. Wig outfitting day too. Baldness I think I will handle(although the reality might be different but it is sort of fun finding hats -have you seen the beanie with built in eyebrows on asos? the kids will get a good laugh , i just had to have it). but the other thing that terrifies me is permanent weight gain.

How are people going with that? Maybe it's a bit soon.

So hi, I'm new, it's nice to be in your company for this unexpected turn of events!

Gashgold, I have no problems with my port.  It was put in last Oct and I don't even realize it's there most of the time.  Nothing wiggles around and it allows me to do all the things I want to do: swim at the beach, roll in the mud, no need to keep the area clean.  I did have to put a few summer tops away since they had very low and wide necklines where the port could be seen as a small bump on my chest, but otherwise I wear everything else.   I do plan to try to keep it for an extra year past when my onc tells me it can come out -- just as a safety net.  It has saved me lots of bruises and holes in my hands and wrists -- not just the chemo but all the blood draws, etc.

Wishing Hockey Mom and Carolpr56 the best of luck with your first chemo treatment. The SE are manageable. Hope everyone else is relaxing or getting on with their routine. Everyone have a blessed day!

Welcome to all the new ladies that had posted since I was here yesterday, this is a great thread and we are all so encouraging to each other, I can agree with the port thing😛I get claustrophobic with artificial nails on but I got my port in 3 weeks ago , I was only 1 week post-op at the time and everything was still really sore but it is no big deal I fact most of the time I forget it is even there😄

Wishing Carol and hockeymom good luck today, HVV and I are on Thursday and good luck to Diane and candi Friday and Shalamar on Wednesday. Isn't it nice to know we do not have to go through this alone. Better start getting ready for labs today and we are leaving tomorrow as my treatment is 3 hours away so we are taking the camper and staying in that a few nights.



Shary🌞

What is TN?

Hello, I guess this is the place I need to be because my chemo should begin sometimes in August. I have triple negative IDC grade 3 (very aggressive). My tumor, at surgery, was only 6mm, but I am choosing to have chemo because of the invasiveness and aggression of the little devil. At surgery, "something" was removed in the area of my sentinel lymph nodes, but after the pathology report, it was found that there were no nodens in the tissue removed. I was told that my lymph nodes are very deep and if the surgeon had opted to find them, he would have made my whole side numb for life. I am numb under my arm anyway, which isn't really a bother, just feels odd when showering. I am 68, and I have read that oncologists usually don't opt to give older women chemotherapy when the tumor is smaller than 1cm (10mm), but I have also read that with triple negative disease, the aggressiveness warrants chemotherapy. There is nothing like Tamaxofen (sp) to take for 5 years with this subtype of breast cancer. It has not been discovered yet. All they know is that the 5-year meds do not work at all. The only thing I can do is eat a very low-fat diet, take vitamin D3, and exercise vigorously for 5 hours a week. My husband and I began hill-climbing. That gets your heartrate up quickly. We do this twice a day. This winter, I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe the stepper we have. Don't know. I am awaiting my oncologist to return next Monday to begin the chemo. (You can choose to have it even with small tumors. I would rather have side effects for life than to not survive this monster.) Sharon

Carol and Hockeymom  good luck today.  Wishing you two little to no SE.   

Welcome all new comers.  You have found a place of support, comfort, knowledge, spirituality, humor, friendship and sisterhood.  All going through the same thing in different degrees at different times.  Even though we all react differently to different meds or are getting different meds, there is always someone here that can relate and answer your questions.  We are fortunate enough to have sisters from previous months popover and give us advice. 

Have a blessed day all