August 2013 Chemo Sisters

Lighthouse,

Yes, it is a very similiar story. I'm feeling a little worried about the other breast now, but I think I will monitor it with Ultrasounds and MRI's unless the BRCA comes back positive. Will hear about that in a couple weeks.

Yes, I am going to have surgery after the chemo. I am still deciding where that is going to happen.

Hope your day goes great, and you have no side effects!

Naan (Julie),

I met a woman in July at MD Anderson who had mets all over the place, in her own town they didn't give her a lot of options. She was three years out and all the mets and cancer had disappeared, she was coming to give someone her wigs and gave them to me.

I don't understand why any of this is happening to us, but I believe we can get each other through it. It's not fair, and it hurts too much to try to do anything but put one foot in front of the other and believe we can make it through this together.

I am here for you, and I care. Let's whip this breast cancer together.

Hi Beeve--

I just finished round two of TC on the 26th of August, and I found that this chemo was worse than the first round.  My hair started falling out on day 18 after the first chemo, so I shaved it off completely.  This time, I had to have the Neulasta shot because my counts were really low during round 1.  I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it or not, but this time around, the stomach pain is horrible, it has lasted longer than the last time, and just this morning, I awoke to spasms very low in my back, which seem to have affected my walking a bit.  I, too, have the diarrhea, and take Immodium, but nothing seems to help the stomach pains-- especially at night, and if I move to readjust myself in bed, it seems to stir up the pain all over again.  The pain feels so intense, at times, that I feel very hot, and like I could faint.  Any suggestions?

Shannah: Call the on-call MD at your oncologists office. No need to suffer just ask your MD what can help! Do you have a fever? Then call ASAP. Take care and let us know how you are.



Sharonanne: Why wait til Tuesday to find out what may help? I would urge everyone to call the MOs office anytime day or night whenever you have SEs that are really bothering you or are painful enough that OTC drugs can't do anything.



I was told before tx that there is no need to suffer or be strong and the doc has many ways to deal with SEs.



A really good and accurate source of info on LOTS of stuff about dealing with all aspects of cancer is the American Cancer Society website. I really like it.



Everyone good night. I hope I can sleep more than 5 hours tonight!

Thank u to my sisters here in Aug thread, so blessed to have found you all! I have 2 older brothers so, I declare as of the day I joined this thread you all are my sisters forever! I feel all of your love, prayers, and support! I will beat this, I can beat this, I will win in the end!

Naan, I prayed for you fervently in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. I have typed 2 messages to you this morning and when I hit submit, my computer jumps back to the login page and erases what I wrote. I just want you to know that I think of you numerous times throughout the day and say a prayer of healing. I pray for everyone else, as well, but somehow, God has laid your story on my heart.

Lisa, I do have a 24/7 number, but in my small town, the drugstore closes at noon on Saturday and won't open until Tuesday. I would have to drive 45 mimutes to Walmart or Kroger to get it filled and since the peroxide is working, I just decided to wait until Tuesday, when I have to go in for bloodwork. I have been lazy, I guess, and haven't wanted to even take off my pajamas. I didn't feel like dressing and driving all of that way. As I always told my kids who sometimes wouldn't take medicine I offered them, "Then suffer."

Naan: What a fabulous thing you did for your children, I'm so glad you had such a great day, your whole family had a great day. And your 11 family get together sounds awesome. Those are the times we have to remembe and keep close to our hearts.

Love, Rayna

Ok several suggestions from my chemo experience

Mouth thrush - used a mixture of 1 part liquid benedryll, 1 part liquid Malox (or equivalent) and 1 part liquid advil.  My onc then ordered liquid lidocaine to add to this mixture if raw tongue pain was really bad.  This really helped and I had these bad symptoms each of my 6 treatments.  I did this mixture 3 times a day in addition to the salt water mxture several other times during the day.  I was also unfortunate that by treatment 3 I never got my taste buds back again until about 5 weeks following my last infusion.

Neulasta bone pain was fierce even though I took the Claritin as recommended.  The onc had me start 2 days before each infusion and take for 10 days and miraculously that worked.  The problem was my body was reacting well to the Neulasta and was quickly building the WBC in the blood marrow.  My numbers were always great.  That was the good part of the bad.

Praying for eveyone as they endure these harsh treatments to kill this cancer.  You will make it to the other side of this treatment.

jbdayton, Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll stock up on those things tomorrow when I go for my CBC. I tried Claratin, but didn't take it 3 days before. I'll do that this time. You are an angel, I'm sure.

Sharon, thank u so much, I felt this mutual bonding between u and me the moment I stepped my fingers on this thread. So glad u r here!



HVV, my drink of choice was ginger ale, even for morning sickness this worked for me.



Lighthouse, our kids are around the same age. I usually don't like those kind of places too, being I was a teacher at one point in my life, but they really deserved it for being so patient with me for all these years!

Try showering before going to bed and wear all cotton pjs- that's really all you can do.  It does suck but it ends after chemo is done!!!

Well thank the Lord for small favors. I had hot flashes for years and took premarin for them. I don't have hot flashes from chemo! Yeah. Age has a benefit!

I kept a small fan in every room and blew it on me while getting ready for work. Put aold damp cloth around your neck. That will cool you off. Also, Dick's Sporting Goods has a cloth for athletes that stays cold forever. I want  just for working in the yard. You just wet it and it feels like ice water.

DebDylan, as I mentioned before my 10 year recurrance rate was 11% assuming Tamoxafin with no lymph node involvement.  Choosing chemo decreased my 10 year recurrance rate by about 3% down to 7.6. 

On this journey I have to first trust God, secondly trust my medical team.  The Word of God mentions having good counsel + experts.

No one wants to have chemo, including me; however, both highly educated doctors thought chemo would be in my best interest.  So I had to put my emotions + fears aside and chose chemo.

On the other hand, I don't know if they would have recommended it if the decrease was only 1% nor do I know if I would have chosen it.

Pray, know that God has an answer for you + trust the process.

Deb: I also believe the need to trust the med advice given but in the end you have to do whatever is personally right for you. Remember too that chemo is different for everyone in how they react, meaning that it is possible that side effects could be mild or easily managed. I'm so sorry you have to be in such a difficult place.



Sharonanne: What a pain to have to drive so far! I understand your reluctance. That mix that the other lady talked about sounds perfect though. I've also heard the MO can prescribe something called Magic Mouthwash that works really well.



Sorry you're feeling bad gilded cage. Do your GI probs include constipation? If they do I highly recommend the Constipation thread on this board (man there's everything here). Their recommendations are invaluable and they work!



Ok, inventory: still have eyelashes and eyebrows. No hot flashes though period stopped 2 weeks before diagnosis in May. Weirdly though I am very patchy on my head there is stil hair and what's left is growing longer. Well, only halfway through chemo.



Somewhat constipated but eating loads of fiber and drinking nonstop. What really helps are stewed prunes.



Heartburn seems to have stopped, no thrush but dry mouth and my mouth tastes like a bitter shoe (weird). I just experienced knee pain and leg pain so I took 3 Advil and ate a little banana for potassium.



Still sleeping short hours. Sigh. Hope that improves.