Starting Chemo January 6, 2014

Diamond_lil, I just started back to work on Monday after my Dec 12 BMX.  I've had a great surgical recovery, gotten back to the gym, and am up to 240cc in each TE (starting from no fill at surgery).  The 3.5 week absence was pretty well camouflaged by the holiday and the weeks leading up to it, plus I did some work from home.  If that was the end of it, I'd be doing back flips, but instead we have more adventure in store. 

I plan to do my darnedest to hold off as long as possible on taking any short-term disability stretches, and then only if absolutely necessary.  I'll have treatment on Thursdays, so days 3 and 4 of each cycle will be on weekends.  Don't know if I'll be one of the lucky ones who feels good on day 2, but I'd like to go in for a few hours on those Fridays if I can, then leave in the late afternoon for my Neulasta.  As a bonus with my first treatment, we have the MLK holiday on the 20th so I won't be working on day 5 either.  Sounds like days 6-7 of each cycle could be a crapshoot, go either way.  Reduced hours sounds good for those days. 

My experience over the holidays was that my adjustment to a Stage III diagnosis that I wasn't expecting, was not helped by spending too many hours at home with not enough distractions and not much structure except Christmas Mass and medical appointments.  That's just my personality.  In the crazy 6 weeks between my biopsy and my surgery, which included getting a surprise BRCA2 positive result, I usually felt better at work because I was forced to focus on other things.  On one hand I'm very scared about chemo brain making me less effective, but on the other hand I think (hope!) all the mental stimulation and interaction with others may actually help with chemo brain.  I'm also fortunate that some of my work can be done from home by remote access, and many meetings take place on conference calls. 

Now, I could be totally kidding myself and be down for the count two weeks from now.  But I want to start out trying for the best case.  If I need to use leave (I have up to 26 weeks and they don't need to be all in one stretch), I'd like to hold out till later in the AC-T course when I may be really draggin', like halfway through Taxol and coming up on radiation.  I've also got at least 3 more surgeries coming up in the second half of the year:  TE/implant exchange, female plumbingectomy, and recon revision.  

Diamond_lil, have you been out since your surgery or did you go back at all?  Who else is working?  What kinds of work do you all do? 

Ladies

I am in horrible pain 2 days post op power port placement. I feel like the port is on top of my collarbone. it is swollen and protruding out of my skin. These last two days have been worse than my BMX post op days. I can barely use my Rt arm and have been icing it trying to get swelling to go down. Did anyone else have pain after port. I am going to call Dr in morning, but wanted others experiences with port.

Had my first chemo today too.  Not nearly as bad as I feared.  Tonight just tired, got terrible taste in mouth, and peeing red.  The taste reminds me of a bitter aspirin dissolving in my mouth.  Have already used Biotene mouthwash once and soon will again before going to bed.  I'm needing to stretch out in my good warm and soft bed!  Goodnite, January sisters.  Hope you all will have the most minimal difficulties!!  Love you.

JoAnn

Ladies who started this week, thanks for sharing your experiences!  Diamond_lil, so encouraging, didn't know such a good first few days were possible on AC ... Any secrets? 

Welcome andrea14, bride, stacey, nancyjeanne and SLCgirl. 

2ndtime, so sorry to hear about your port distress.  Hope they can get you taken care of quickly.  My port and I are not friends yet, but nowhere near what you're dealing with.  MsJAR, glad yours finally resolved.  Sam2U, hope your placement went well. 

My chemo "orientation" is tomorrow morning, should be interesting.  Sorry to use up all the oxygen earlier going on & on about my (probably wishful) work plans, I had just gotten home from work and it's been on my mind a lot all week. 

Best of luck to those starting treatment tomorrow and Friday! 

Had my first TC yesterday. I was scared sh#%less and cried in the bathroom for awhile (mind you I didn't even cry when I found out about bc). I hate hate hate putting stuff in my body. Oh well you do what you have to.  But.... All went well. Nurses where great although when they talk to you about the possible side effects it's scary. No problems except they ran the anti nausea meds to fast and I was so dizzy it was like a pscyodelic high type of dizziness. That was not fun it lasted for a good hour then got better. I played scrabble with a friend, we laughed talked to other patients, drank tons of h2o and ate and all and all had a good time. Don't know what the next few days will bring we will see. Oh and I didn't get a port they went right into my vein in my arm. They had trouble finding the vein but eventually did and it was fine. I am only getting TC 4x so my onc said the ports not necessary.  Good luck to all my Heros out there we will forge through this together!!! Hugs. 

Nancy

Hi Ladies - My name is Michele.  I'm 47.  I'm new to this thread.  I was on the CMF thread because I had one CMF treatment on 12-27-13 but now my oncologist has switched me over to AC starting on 1-16-14.  He thinks we should be more aggressive with treatment because of the aggressiveness of the tumor.   Must admit I'm a little scared.  CMF was a breeze compared to other chemos I'm told.  Not looking forward to being bald either but I suppose that no one does look forward to it.  Think I'm going to buzz it all off before it comes out on its own. 

I'm getting 4 treatments dose dense which means I'll need the Neulasta shot, which I think I'm more worried about than the chemo  My sister needed the Nuelasta shot while she was going through chemo for cervical cancer and I think she had more side effects from that.

Any insights anyone who's been through this before can give me, I'd appreciate it! 

I'm glad I found a group going through the same thing I'm going through.  I wish you all luck in your treatment and good health through this New Year and beyond.  Hugs...

Paloverde - Thanks!  Looks like we're in the same boat then.  I'm also BRAC2 positive.  Do you know why you're doing Taxol too?  I wonder why I'm not.  Not that I want to, just wondering....maybe because of the stage and node involvement?  After chemo I have to take Tamoxifen for 5 years apparently. 

 Do you hate these tissue expanders as much as me???? They are so uncomfortable.  Can't WAIT to get them out! lol

 Good luck to you.  I'll be thinking of you next week!  I'll let you know how I make out.

Soteria205 do you take Claritin for the Arimidex as well as the Nuelasta?

Ciamarro66--I am another 47 yo starting A/C on 1/16--welcome!!

Sam2U, I take generic Claritin with arimidex. Since I got Adria/cytoxan every 3 weeks instead of dose dense I didn't need Neulasta. They figure you have an extra week to bounce back between treatments.

Paloverde, many women could relieve the bone & joint pain associated with als just by taking Claritin. I have just a bit of stiffness when Ive sat for a long time or been in bed, but that is gone by the time I walk to the bathroom. I don't get the hot flashes that many women get, but I didn't have them with menopause either and I think there's a correlation there.

It also seems like those who get the brand arimidex as opposed to generic anastrazole have fewer problems.

Paula

Morming to all. Isnt it great to have a group of people in the same place to talk to! Not that we want to be here at all. So many young women.... Ive just turned 50, thats young isnt it? Im doing well, day 4 post dose 1 A/C, no side effects to speak of and I have stopped the dex so I'm much less buzzy. I was fitted for my wig yesterday and am pretty pleased with the results. I was wondering if any one had any ideas about getting eyebrows applied permenantly before they fall out? I do not " do" make up and I think the brows are my biggest worry. I hope you all have a stress free day or night where ever you are. lIL

Hi everybody -

I'm new here, diagnosed on Christmas Eve with IDC, both breasts. My chemo is actually starting before my surgery. I get my port placed on Monday, and starting Jan. 14, I'll have AC 4x for eight weeks, followed by Taxol weekly for 12 weeks. Then most likely a bilateral mastectomy. My head is swimming. For those of you who have just had your first session, how did it go? How did you feel?  

Hi ladies! Visiting from the Dec. chemo thread. My 4th cycle of A/C, neulasta, will be on the 16th. Each cycle has been pretty much the same for me. I have about a 72 hour period that sucks and the rest is manageable. I generally have a headache the night of my treatment, Tylenol works fine for this. About 12 hours after my neulasta I start to really hurt. The Claritin does not work for me and Percocet helps but does not fully take the pain away. This lasts for about 36-48 hours. It gets progressively less painful after about 24 hours. Then I am off all meds until next treatment. I started losing the hair on my head at day 17 from first tx. Started losing my pubic hair before that. My scalp and privates were achy prior to the shedding. It felt similar to when you take a ponytail out at the end of the day. I had really long hair and cut it shorter twice before starting chemo. I buzzed it the day I started shedding full force. Used the #3 guard on the clippers. Some women on the Dec. thread have gone shorter. I still have a fuzzy head, but can see my scalp.  I still have my eyebrows and lashes. I am hoping they stay but know the Taxol may take them from me. Love my scarves and hats. Have a wig, went shopping for it prior to losing my hair to color match. Ended up getting a different color that I liked better than my own! If you want, feel free to visit our thread. More than willing to answer questions. You can also read up on some of the SE's people have had and how they were resolved. Generally the meds are pretty good at treating SE's and if they are not working well enough for you, ask your MO for different ones. Ativan has been a good friend to me. It not only helps with anxiety, but also helps to combat nausea! It helps me get some sleep as it can be difficult to shut off my brain at night. I also tend to stress right before my next treatment. Hope this "book" is helpful in done way. Wishing you all minimal SE's!

katiegrey, that certainly is a difficult holiday surprise that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Hugs to you.  

I don't know if this helps, but your diagnosis as you described it might actually give you some advantages as far as simplifying decisions.  Since you said both breasts, you may be spared the difficult unilateral vs. bilateral mastectomy decision.  Having chemo before surgery means they can actually measure whether that regimen is effective for you, unlike many of us where everything known to be cancerous has been removed and it's "blind faith" in the treatment regimen your MO chose (those are my MO's words, not mine).  Also, you'll have a lot more time to consider your reconstruction options and choose your surgeons.  

Please take good care of yourself and stay in touch with us here.  

Thanks RobinLK, Soteria and other veterans who have shared with us!

Thanks msphil!  Candycandy and lawyergirl how did it go today?  Myra104 have you been OK, and good luck to you and everyone starting tomorrow!  Thanks to all who've been sharing, it's very helpful!  Diamondlil, whatever you're doing to scare off those SE's, keep doing it!