Starting Chemo in March 2014

Great to see all you 2014 Chemo Marchers getting together and supporting each other.  I know I never would have made it through chemo without my wonderful 2008 Chemo Marcher group!  And I love how many other March chemo "alumni" have chimed in to support you.  We all take care of each other her on BCO.

Kris - I see you're having your port inserted the day before your first chemo.  I had that as well, and my MO told me to ask my surgeon to "pack it off" after installing the port.  I had no idea what that meant, but my surgeon did. 

It turns out when they place the port surgically, the surgeon will test it by inserting a needle through the skin, just like the MO does for chemo.  "Packing it off" meant that the surgeon left that testing needle with the attached tubing inserted into the port, and packed it all off with bandages.  The next day when I went for chemo, all the oncology nurse had to do was remove the dressing, and the needle was already inserted with the tubing in place, so all she had to do was connect the end of the tubing to the IV pack.  That saved me getting a needle stick in a sore surgery site.  It really didn't hurt having the needle and tubing sticking out overnight - the surgeon packed it off so well with surgical dressings that it never moved.  When chemo was done, the nurse just took out the needle as usual and put more surgical dressing on.  The site was pretty much healed and fine by my next chemo.  

You may want to check with your MO to see if he/she prefers that your surgeon "pack it off" after inserting the port - it may save you from what could be a bit of a painful needle stick into the port the next day.  

Kiwi - I agree with everyone else - that stylist was probably freaked out about working on a cancer patient and just said she couldn't cut your hair short so you'd go away and stop scaring her.  What if you'd just wanted a short cut just for fun - would she have turned you away then?  Grrrrr. 

And yes, everyone - you will save a fortune in hair styling fees, shampoo, conditioner, gel, etc.  And those little nasty chin hairs??? Gone!  No worries about squinting into the magnifying mirror for plucking. You'll save time too - the first morning after I'd buzzed my hair off I was ready for work a half an hour early - I hadn't had to take all the time to shampoo, apply conditioner, rinse, towel dry, comb out, apply styling gel, and blow dry.  It was amazing!   

thanks and good luck Nina.  I would love to see pictures.

Jmenchaca, I know what you mean about the silver lining. I am a scrapbooker and when Hurricane Sandy hit and we had no electricity for a week, I did a page on the "good" things that happened that week. I am already trying to think of the "positive" side of breast cancer. Like saving the money on hair coloring/cutting, saving time getting ready in the morning, finding out how many people really love you, etc. Feel free to post more!

Welcome, MaggieMay12 and sandrawright. kiwilady, susiem. Yes, unfortunately but fortunately for us, we have a lot of new members.

Meg

I had chemo teaching today, and that helped a lot really understand what I can expect. You read so many things, what you can't eat, what you can't do, that it really helped my head from spinning.

Just had my first chemo today (joined March too because I'm one of the last ones in Feb) and so far so good.  They told me that if I need nausea meds it probably wouldn't be until at least tomorrow.  They put some in the IV so I guess that covers day 1.  After drawing blood (where they used my vein saying it was good so they want to save the port for the actual chemo) then meeting with the MO, I had my infusion.  They had me chew on ice during the Adriamycin administration but it wasn't very long since that part wasn't from the IV bag, it was injected into the line slowly by the tech.   So they did one bag saline, one bag anti-nausea/steroid, the Adriamycin in two big fat syringes, then a bag of the Cytoxan and more saline.  Whole infusion took about 1 hr 45 min.  So far, I don't feel any different right now, but I'm sure that will change in the next day or so.  I snacked on pretzels during infusion, then right after ate a small bowl of soup, then animal crackers later, then a Kashi frozen dinner a little while ago (Lemongrass Coconut Chicken, my favorite!)  So, we will see how my body handles it.  Oh, and the Adriamycin makes you pee light red or orange for a day.  Good thing they told me ahead of time!  I've been hydrating a lot hoping to flush it out of my system.  I just wanted people to know it wasn't scary and it didn't hurt!  Other than a tiny weird taste and smell for a few seconds each time he cleared my port for the next drug, I didn't notice anything different.  FYI-I will be getting 4 rounds of A/C every 2 weeks, then 4 rounds of Taxol every 2 weeks with a Neulasta shot the day after each infusion.

HAIR HAILO INFO

If you are interested in making a hair halo, here is a link to a BCO discussion thread which may help...

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/784615?page=1#post_3807427.

ICING INFO

As for icing, here is some info that I wrote a while ago to help those interested in icing.  Hope it helps

FOR THOSE ICING NAILS DURING TAXOTERE INFUSION: Always clear anything you want to do with your oncos.  You will need to clear it with your onco about icing since not all oncos will allow icing during the Taxotere infusion.  At the suggestion of my onco, I am using clear nail polish on my nails to help keep them strong and also icing the nails to help prevent nail damage which is a side effect of Taxotere.  She suggested that use Sally Hansen Strong As Nails Clear Polish but I switched to Essie polish since it doesn't chip as much as the Sally Hansen brand.  Essie polish costs more but for someone like me who never used nail polish before chemo, the fewer times I have to apply polish the better.  I don't mani/pedis but some do.  I'd rather avoid the germ issue at nail salons and taking of a chance of getting nicked.  

ICING :

• Time period for icing- You will for 1/1/2 hours in total= 15 minutes before the Taxotere infusion + 1 hour during the infusion + 15 minutes after the infusion.
• Ice- You can use frozen peas in quart size ziploc bags marked "Do no eat!!!" and reuse those bags of peas. Some have used small reusable/refreezable ice bags you can get at the drugstore in the first aid department.  I opted to use ice.  I have an ice tray that makes small rounded bottom circular ice.  I tried the peas and decided I liked the ice better because I thought it stayed colder longer.  My infusion center has ice available for me to use if I want to use it.  I always bring an extra bag of ice just in case I need it.
• Transporting ice to infusion center- I use a cooler with a freezer pack plus take extra infusion ice bags.  
• What to put the ice bags in- That is a personal preference.  Some just put the ice bags on their feet and wrap a blanket around them so the bags don't fall off.  Some use insulated lunch bags and put the ice bags in those.  My hands and feet are small so I'm using some neoprene wine cooler bags that I bought at Target for $6.99 each.  I figured I could use the wine bags later on.  I'm still able to hold an insulated mug so I can drink really cold water and eat ice during the infusion.  I have pretty small hands/feet which explains how I am able to use those Neoprene wine bags.
• Hand & Feet Protection- I wear thin sports socks on my feet when I ice the toes.  The socks keep the rest of my feet warm during the icing.  On my hands, I wear a pair of knitted wristlets/fingerless gloves to keep the rest of my hands warm.  If you don't have knitted wristlets, you can make some from men's socks by cutting holes in the toe area.  Some people take their feet/hands out of the ice periodically; however, I don't do that.

Process- I let the infusion nurse know that I'm icing so we can coordinate when I should start the icing. Once I know when I'm going to start the infusion, I put the ice bags in the bottom of the Neoprene bags.  I put the ones on my feet first and adjust the ice bags so my toes nails are covered.  I then put the ones on my hands on and adjust the ice to cover my fingernails.  My husband helped me with this process.  I always wore the same outfit to my infusions--- leggings, socks, men's undershirt and a pullover v neck hoodie sweater.  During the taxotere process, I would put on some fleece pants and sometimes a fleece jacket, and also got a warmed blanket that the infusion center had for patients.  Yes, the first 5-10 minutes took some time to get used to the cold on my fingers and toes but after a while, I was fine.  My husband did have to hold my giant insulated mug so I could sip iced water during the infusion.  I know that this sounds like a lot to do but my nails showed minimal damage ( indentions that appeared sometime after I had each round of chemo) and I never lost any of them.  I also suffered minimal neuropathy in my feet and hands.  Yes, it was worth it to me to ice but yet I know that some who did not and did not have nail damage. 

Do what you can to protect your nails.  That means when washing dishes or using household cleaning products, you may want to wear rubber gloves.  Keep the nails short so that they don't catch on anything.  Try to not use your fingernails as tools to open cardboard boxes or to remove staples. 

So what does TCHP stand for ? Sounds like a mouthful. Good luck tomorrow.

Macintx, thanks for the link! Going to go and watch that now.

Alli - would love to hear how your wig shopping goes, I'm so torn on the idea of getting one for myself.  On one hand, the styles of wigs look great, on the other I'm worried that it'll be itchy, annoying and I'll never wear it.

I loved my wig wore it everyday from late March to early December.   I was fortunate that my insurance paid for a very nice wig (cranial prosthesis prescription) human hair and hand tied in a lace cap.  Did not have to wear anything under the wig.  My head was measured and it was made to fit.  No adjusters or anything like that.  I did have to go to a true wig studio.  They ordered my wig at 12" of hair then I went in when my hair began shedding fast and they buzzed my head and cut and styled the wig.  It was one I had to wash and style just like real hair but I could change my style could curl or straighten or whatever I felt like for the day.  It did take more time but it looked real.   If you are vain and insurance will cover it check it out.  My wig was my same hair color and we cut and styled it to match my pre chemo hair style. Most people could not tell a difference.  And yes I lived in south Texas with 100 degree days.  It fit well enough I could pull my hair back into a loose pony tail to keep my hair off my neck for ventilation in the heat.

Hospital by general surgeon with general anesthesia.  Checked in about 8:00 am and out by 12:30 pm.

No problems.

Maggiemay, yes my skin is still sensitive on the back of my arm and felt like it was sunburned at first.  I think a lot of people have that, and it's normal.  I think it takes a while for the nerves to calm down.  I had my AND on 1/24 and it's getting less sensitive each week.