October 2013 Chemotherapy

I am joining pity party today. Had a good cry. I am so not myself. Slept 11 hrs last night and still get winded so easily. Can't take this shortness of breath. Getting ready for AC #3 on Tues. Hoping my counts are ok this time.

Ladies,

Here are a few of my favorite verses and have gotten me through since my dx in August. I hope it isn't too much but once I got going and started putting some down I just got moved when I thought of how they have helped me and reading how it has been such a rough week for some of you I just was hoping to give you some comfort. I pray you all have a less stressful day and feel stronger in the days to come.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not be afraid...I am with you! I am your God, let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.

Joshua 1:9

Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Don't be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go!

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Psalms 34:17

The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Nicole - I am right there with you on the head shaving... I have been putting it off all day. I finally put a skull cap on just to keep it from falling in my face... As soon as dinner and football is over there are no more excuses. I was scaring myself walking past the mirrors in the bathroom earlier today... My hair just looks like straw on my head anyway.

My mantra for the day is - I was brought to it and God will get me through it!

LiLi - not sure what to advise but SSDI is not doable for a short-term solution. You have to have been unable to work for five months before you can apply, compassionate allowance (almost immediate approval) is only for stage IV. So if you worked last week you would have to wait five more months before you could apply, then wait for months for a decision. SSDI is meant to be for those who will most likely not be unable to return to work ever, not so much of a stop gap for situations like this. Your best bet may be to pursue any solutions offered by your state, or local county. Do you pay into a state disab system with your state income taxes? I am thinking you might be feeling better once you move to the Taxol portion of your chemo, so is it possible for you take a short leave for the duration of AC?

Here are some resources - don't know if any are helpful for you:

http://www.thepinkfund.org/the_pink_fund_state_resources.php

Hi everyone I am new here. I am also an October chemo sis. I started my first T/C on Oct. 18 and had a very tough time. I fainted on the 4th day and started to have high blood pressure and high heart rate (doubled my avg. heart beat). I was sent to ER and given different tests. ECG is normal, no blood clotting, no infection so the ER doctor sent me home. But with that symptoms I cann't rest even one minute. So I rushed back to ER again. They gave me two doses of Ativan and I had 2.5 hours sleep. After then I still had high BP and BR but after two days, it slowly went back to normal. Did anyone have the same/similiar symptoms as me? What happened to me? Thanks for any tips.

welcome plumbread. That sounds scary. Hopefully someone will come along with an answer for you soon. I haven't started chemo yet but your post made me wonder which of the chemo drugs seem to be causing the most problems. I know each of us will have different reactions but I wonder if one drug is more likely to cause problems than another?

I hope things improve for you plumbread. Stick around for support.

dose dense is every 2 weeks for treatment.

Plumbread- I am in AC and did not have those SEs. Did you contact your MO?

Specialk- I notice you and I have similar pathology except I have ILC. What is the difference between carboplatin/taxotere chemo you were treated with versus the adriamycin/cytoxian? I will be starting the AC next week and I am curious about the difference.

I was told to take anti anxiety meds. Ask them about adding ativan or something to calm you,

Gram - thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes with my Neulasta fever. It is still going up and down, but not spiking as high (just around 100.2) and was normal most of the day today. Still taking Motrin every 8 to 10 hours. Tonight I have quite a bit of bone pain -- might take an Adivan to help with sleeping tonight... Ugh! How come every solution seems to come with it's own new set of problems?

smrlvr - the biggest difference in our pathology is my Her2 status, it is what drove the decision my doc made to use TCH as he does not like to combine Adriamycin and Herceptin for his Her2+ patients, even when the drugs are not administered simultaneously. He does use ACT in his Her2- patients though. There are several drug regimens commonly used for Her2+ patients, regardless of whether ILC or IDC, and they work differently from each other in causing cancer cell death. Some docs use AC-TH, which is Adriamycin, Cytoxan for a number of doses, then Taxol and Herceptin. The Adriamycin and Herceptin are not usually given together because they are both cardio-toxic. Adriamycin is an antineoplastic and is used to treat a number of different kinds of cancer, it is a drug that has been used for quite a while, but it does have the potential for causing some permanent cardiac issues. Some docs like to use the regimen of TCH, which is Taxotere, an anti-microtubule (and also a taxane like Taxol), Carboplatin (or Cytoxan) and Herceptin. This combination is actually favored by Dr. Dennis Slamon, the doctor responsible for bringing Herceptin to the market. You will sometimes also see Taxol alone for 8 or 12 treatments, and sometimes this is used for smaller Her2+ tumors, or for people, who may be either Her2+, or -, who cannot tolerate AC-TH, or TCH. The reasons docs use different drug regimens is varied - sometimes it is geographically driven, sometimes it is the policy of the medical practice, sometimes it is what they have the most experience with. Some of these drugs are newer than others, so there is less data to assist with decision making.

SpecialK - we do not pay into a state disability fund here in WI so there is no fund for me to draw from.  I have other health issues and my PCP was encourageing me to leave the workforce and go on disability in the few months just prior to diagnosis.  I'm stubborn and want to be self sufficient, I started working at 16 and full-time since 18, so I balked at her about it and worked as best I could during that period; can't even begin to tell you w/o looking at busn records how much time I missed from work since Jan1st but it is a disgusting amount....I'm thinking she would have my Care Manager use that in conjuction w/current situation when preparing the application.  Our health insurance carrier assigns a Care Manager to every cancer patient to assist in all aspects of everything that may come up; mine is very knowledgeable w/the disability issue, I know, because my PCP had her contact me, strangely enough, the same day I came home from tests that turned out to be the ones verifying my cancer dx, because I was already losing so much time from work.

I don't want to leave work permanently but am getting pressure from my family to do so.  I will wait until I see what Care Manager has to say and how I handle this next chemo.  See, if my current employer ever let me go, there is nobody who would hire me w/the attendance record I  have because of all the time lost from work due to the health issues I've had for the last 10 years. 

I do believe my employer is going to be very compassionate during this period; yet they have a business that needs to be run and coming up on the end of the year....this is the time they rely on me most.  I don't know if they CAN be as compassionate as I need; we will see......

LiLi - it is a gamble to apply for federal disab at stage II but with other issues concurrent it may improve your chances. One thing I would really stress is that because you need your physicians to provide statements, make sure you have them document every side effect and how it impacts your inability to work. Also include any emotional impact, as well as physical symptoms - don't leave anything out. This is very important in building the case for approval. Also, expect to be turned down initially, you may have to appeal, and you may have to retain a SS attorney for the appeal. They usually don't charge a retainer up front, but take a chunk of your award - which will be backdated to your application date and paid retroactively if you are approved. SSDI is a federal program that is administered by each state, some states are more lenient than others in granting approval - it does not seem to be that cohesive across the country. I am not sure if they can go back and piece together the missed work over time, or if it has to be a solid five month absence before you can apply. There is also a dollar earned limit so if you were well compensated you would have exceeded that threshold even though you were missing work - I believe you cannot earn more than $1,000 per month. I hope you can work something out that is good for you and your employer - it is an additional stress to have to worry about this while dealing with treatment - I am so sorry you are stuck in this position.

Spirit - thank you so much for the scripture verses! I have been struggling with my faith this entire year. My step dad passed in April and my mom passed unexpectedly a month after my diagnosis. I have spent the last few months struggling with the reasons why all of this has happened at once. I am trying each day to get back to my faith and your posting I feel is a part of my journey.

Had my amazing husband shave my head on Sat night - no tears shed this time! It felt so much better as my scalp was so itchy.

DebDylan - I have not yet looked in the mirror either! For whatever reason, not quite ready at the moment. Just getting comfortable with my wig and the new look, so one step at a time for sure. I wear a cap or my wig in the house. My daughter is 10 and she has said she would prefer not to see me without something on my head. I think she is afraid I won't look like Mommy. My eyelashes are are quite sparse these days as well. As for the leg hair, I had to shave my legs as it was not really falling out, but no new growth there.

Hope all the ladies going through SE this weekend are starting to feel better....

I always pulled my wig off and tossed it on the counter right inside the door from the garage into the kitchen - hot and itchy. If it was still there when my DH came home from work it scared him every time - he thought it was a dead animal, lol! If you have not tried a wig liner they really help cut down on the itch.