September 2013 Chemo Group

hi everyone, today is #4 ac. And THE LAST ONE, saw my onco yesterday and after a physical exam one of my 2 .5 cm tumors has reduced by more than 40 percent and the other one is also reducing. The bad news is he said my last AC will be harder as far as fatigue goes. Wow cant wait to be slugging around with screwed up taste buds lol. Gotta be positive right? The one thing that gets me thru the horrible first week is i plan things, where my first vacation will be after this is all done, xmas stuff, i also peruse the real estate in florida in hopes of buying. Nice condo in madeira beach one day. Hey good to dream right helps this s****** were going thru.

Peacock girl. Too funny u go girl!

mamastewart~ I had mastectomy with expanders, which are heavy hard and feel like rocks by the way, they also seem to go into your armpits...HATED them!!! All that being said I felt exhausted and sore for about a good 3 weeks then started to feel better, I had them switched to implants on week # 6 after mastectomy. I wasn't having radiation and developed a seroma in one expander (leakage of fluids) where the drains were taken out, speaking of drains, that's probably the worst part of the surgery. I had 2 drains from each breast and they drain a fluid out and stay in a week or two until they dribble and nothing more comes out...but there is always a chance a seroma happens and that is just more fluid with nowhere to go...mine had almost absorbed back into body when I got the exchange...

The exchange surgery was a whiz and WAY easier and better than mastectomy, hardly any pain and felt OK a few days out and it's been 2 weeks for me tomorrow and I have been driving, shopping, doing normal things...and I am healed enough to start chemo. tomorrow.

I flew to Colorado to have mine done as a family member is a surgeon there...there is tons of information on their website about it if you want to see...www.parkmeadowscosmeticsurgery.com ~ the specialize in breast reconstruction after cancer and Jeremys mother had it 4 years ago and also has had procedures done. So they are VERY caring and aware and on the forefront of reconstruction, both went to Johns Hopkins....good luck!

Mercedes, I hope you recover quickly from your last A/C. Glad you don't have to do that one any more.

Simplelife, I hope this one doesn't knock you down as badly. Should just be one more of those left?!?

Viji, I have the same "will this ever end" feeling. The end seems so near, but yet so very, very far away. I always said that my kids were growing up too fast and I wanted time to slow down. I am eating those words. Time has screeched to a halt, and I want to put the next couple of months on fast forward!

Felt great, great, great to get to work for 2 hours today and to get out for a walk. Nauseas from the neupogen shot, still, and no appetite for food from the antibiotic, but liquids seem ok. Smoothies and Ensure it is! I always thought of Ensure and those drinks and things just really old people buy. I am NOT really old!!!!! I just feel like it some days.

KBeee Glad to see your feeling better.

KBee, I've been told I will receive neulasta shot at the hospital's infusion center, which is open 7 days a week.

kbee-I had the shot at all different times. Twice 24 hours later and once 48 hours and twice a week later. Honestly my numbers always were down on week two whenever they gave it to me and was always up by week three so I don't know if it did me any good or not.

Lociti - Are you doing weekly or dose dense taxol? I'm doing dose dense and I completely know where you're coming from. Days 2-6 are horrendous for me... everything hurts, even my fingertips. It's bone pain and muscle aches and the flu all rolled into one. If you're doing weekly, I thought those side effects weren't as bad (for most), so if you are doing weekly, maybe it won't last as long. {{hugs}}

kbee thks and glad ur home your journey seems to bequite challenging! In french we have an expression to someone that is going thru rough stuff its (bon courage ma belle) it means good courage sweetie! (And yes as bruce willis famous words in his die hard movies (yipee kaiyaa MF! AC done) and oh yah chemohead setting in a little hallucinations last evening as chilled in my recliner with my entourage 2 dogs next to me and my cat lounging on the sofa,my girls upstairs studying supposedly, my husband in his man cave in the basement My cat she didnt notice the shadow going across thefireplace soit was just me lol. Had this on my first round of chemo my doc said its side effects from the anti nausea pills for 2 days after chemo. Really? I take emend and decadron which is a steroid, shakes. A little hyper lots of fun. Anyway i am Preparing for the worse which usually hits me day 4 and 5 after. Good news my bloods were better than last time red and white, plates all up. My nurse asked me what i did, well week2 when i start to feel better i invorpoate more meats such as hamburgers,steaks, salmon, chicken into the evening menus lots of spinach, broccoli maybe this helps. Iron and protein, fruits apples are the best, lots of water, sport drinks etc...

Question does anyone have any tips on a goodface cream, i use aveeno for body, and i use lancome cremes for my face but they dont seem to do the trick, i have extremely dry skin on my face so amy suggestions

lighthouselady: I am doing dose dense every 2 weeks my mo decided that I did not need the neulasta after my 1st Taxol since all bloodwork was good, however I did have the injection after all 4 ac treatments and this pain does not compare at all feeling a little better today but I will admit the pain can take you by surprise

Peacock Girl: I did Claritin with the ac and neulasta treatment however just had my 1st Taxol on this last Monday no neulasta given as blood work was good so mo will monitor to see if I need the neulasta injection after taxol I wonder if I can just take the Claritin because it helped tremendously anyway chick I hope you feel better soon sometime we have to waive the white flag I am at that point also because I have kids and stay very active with them I try not to let my energy level affect them but I have pulled out the yellow flag and slowing down

70 - here is a link with normal CBC ranges. Anything under the low number for a WBC would be considered low, but it is subjective as to whether, or when, to give a CSF like Neulasta or Neupogen:

http://www.medicinenet.com/complete_blood_count/page2.htm#toce

As far as a low white count the danger signal is infection or a fever spike, and it can be a bit confusing because some of the SE from chemo feel like illness, but it is not like a low hemoglobin that makes you feel tired and causes muscle burning. This is why they have to do CBC throughout treatment.

Thanks Specialk & Kbeee.

So here's my question....when I start the AC, how much Claritin do I take each day to help with the bone pain from the neupogen shots?

simplelife - take a 10mg regular 24-hour Claritin (not Claritin D) at least an hour prior to your injection, then continue for at least a few days, or longer. I used the redi-tabs because they dissolve on the tongue and you don't need a drink. Sometimes I was running around doing errands prior to going for my injection, and I was really tired of taking so many pills!

what comes from the mouths of babes