Starting Chemo in March 2014
Comments
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hi ladies, just wanted to give you all an update on my experience thus far. Please remember everyone is different and hopefully you will fair much better. I had my first treatment Wednesday and everything was going along as expected until Friday night. I won't go into all the gross details but I did get pretty sick and was up until 3 am in and out of the bathroom. I am alone with my 6 year old son so I was lucky to have his babysitter come over at 7am and take care of him for 10 hours on Saturday and then one of my girlfriends came and stayed with us until he went to bed that night. Yesterday was my worse day. Besides the stomach issues my whole body hurt from head to toe. It was very uncomfortable. I was in bed most of the day. Again thank goodness for my sons sitter who spent another 10 hours with us. There was no way I could have taken proper care of him. Thank goodness today I am feeling a bit better and he is at school until 4. I feel like I should be able to make it until bedtime. For me it is hard feeling my worst on the weekend when my son is not in school. I really hope I am over the worst of it and on my way to feeling better everyday. I am so happy to hear none of you was left with the nasty scar I have under my breast. I wish I could show you! It is very thick and ropey. And even after 7 years hasn't faded much. Unlike the mastectomy scar on the side which looks great. A lot has changed in 7 years.
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CancerVixen,
Sorry to hear that your weekend was so hard. But it is a good reminder of how difficult the side effects of these medications can be. I hope you have rested and can enjoy your son today. I wish I could help you.
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that is so sweet cancerisnotmyhappyplace! Thankyou!
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Ugh, Vixen, sounds as though you had a very rough weekend - I hope today is just the start of the upswing, and that tomorrow finds you as close to "normal" as possible.
Is there any way that you can switch chemo days around a little? If you get your infusions on, say, Tuesday, you should be through the worst of it by the time the weekend comes, and then you can enjoy time with your son. It might be worth it to at least ask if it's possible, right?
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Sorry to hear that Cancervixen! I hope you can continue to get the rest you need, take advantage of any help that is offered. I know I will. My mom is here now, and I anticipate I will hit a wall like you did at some point, so knowing she is here takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Just knowing that I can go off to bed and not worry right now about the kids makes me feel good. Of course, she will go home next week, but I will get other helpers for sure. It is good to know what to anticipate, so thanks for sharing. You were doing so well up to that point! I will keep everyone posted too!
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Dawn (right, vixen?) I am so sorry to hear you had such a rough time. I have a 6 yr old son at home, too. All he wants to do is help, I'm worried about the unknown, I have not started treatments yet. I hope you get rest and that your side effects only lessen from now on. My nurse told me there was no reason to suffer with ANY side effect, that we should call if we couldn't handle something. I'm praying for you
Alli
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Actually, I'm praying for all of us here, getting chemo, getting ready to start, and survivors checking in on us to remain cancer free.
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thank you so much ladies. I was happy to see your responses. I am taking so many meds right now to counteract but they don't seem to be much help. There is the zofran for nausea, the alleve for pain claritan for neulasta, gasx for bloating and cramps Zantac for heartburn. I feel like I'm on a never ending rotation of pills and I normally don't like to take anything unless absolutely necessary. Oh and to top it off not sure if I mentioned I got my period on Saturday which I know aggregated all of the stomach issues and pains. Well I'm off to take my first shower since Friday! I hope you all have a great night! Dawn
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Sending you good thoughts CancerVixen! I hope you can get all the help you need.
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cancervixen - that does not sound like a good time. It sounds like shifting when treatment happens as well as getting some more helpers for your child and yourself - plus maybe some meds to help your body would be a help. Acupuncture can help alleviate some symptoms as well but it wouldn't be available after hours on a weekend either.
Hang in there. You are one step closer to beating this!
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Cancervixen,
Just keep in mind that the side effects mean that the drugs are killing off cells. And we're here for you and we are just one step behind you. Thanks for sharing so we know what to expect also.
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Generation3-I'm here in Oregon too. Your timing of diagnosis,and everything else is almost exactly one year ago for me. January 2013 I got the news,started chemo March 1,finished up radiation July 2nd. and...........HERE I AM. I want to encourage you women that YOU ARE STRONG,STRONG WOMEN and I'm sure you'll do what you need to do. I had 4 rounds of Taxotere and cytoxan. I'm 66 years old and was in the peak of health. I'd be glad to answer what I can from my experiences,and i truly truly wish you all well. P.S. I'm back on the bike,I have hair,and WE ARE SURVIVORS,don't forget it. God Bless all of you......
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kiwilady, I'm getting my port Wed. and for some reason I'm more nervous about it than I was for my lumpectomy. I think because it's the twilight anesthesia, plus it's a doctor/radiologist I've never met. Good luck tomorrow!
I plan on working during chemo. Just taking those days off, I hope. I work with preschoolers, but when I spoke to my MO, she said not to live in a bubble. I commute an hour to work, but my sister lives 10 mins away, so I will stay at her house once a week and have a "to-go" bag in the car for "emergencies". When I'm at her house, I'll be able to nap, have dinner made for me, and have no obligations, so it'll be a good deal.
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Hello everyone- I am new here. I had a lumpectomy on 2/21, with a sentiel node dissection and port placment. Looks like I should be starting Chemo sometime this month. I meet with the Oncologist on Thursday.... we'll see how this goes!!! I find this site extremely helpful. - Thank you all
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hello, I had my first TCH on Friday, 2/28, followed by the Neulasta shot on Sat. I felt a little under the weather over the weekend, but not too bad. Last night, however, the bone pain hit me ... despite Claritin. I am taking Tylenol, but it does not help too much, I am hoping for a better day tomorrow. This sucks, even my hair follicles hurt. Luckily my mom is here for a week, but for the next round, I am afraid I will be on my own (even with a supportive husband and two kids that's going to be a little challenging). On the bright side: five more to go! The infusion itself was actually rather spa-like, my MO sent me to a small infusion center with very personal care, it took a lot of the scariness out of it. I had visited the Stanford infusion center two weeks ago, and it was huge and impersonal - thus, if you have a choice, go where you feel more comfortable. Good luck to all the ladies starting this week, we will get through it.
Alexandra
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CancerVixen, I'm sorry to hear you had such a hard time of it. I hope you can find a way to make things easier.
I'm home from my port insertion, for some reason it took them longer than expected, 2 hours in total to put it in. Also, there are little tubes, like the kind used in an IV poking out of my dressing. Really not sure what those are there for.
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Welcome Alexandra and Me-shall, glad to have lots of nice ladies joining our little group, hope I didn't forget anyone
Kiwi- are you going tomorrow for an infusion? Maybe they left a needle in your port for the injection....?
Alli
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Hi Diem and Nurselaura, I'm a Bay Area girl, too. Live in Oakland Hills, work in San Mateo, and getting my chemo (starting next week) at Diablo Valley MOG. My port goes in on Wednesday and I get my Chemo 101 class the next day. Whew! After what seems like months of waiting for this test or that report to come back, it all seems like a mad rush.
Something I've been wondering about. How many of you who work are taking (or are planning to take) disability during chemo. My employer is tremendously supportive, but they're asking for dates and all I can tell them is "it all depends" or "I don't know yet." My work isn't physically demanding, but it's mentally challenging and I'm worried about chemo brain screw ups. It's bad enough that my head will be bald without being empty, too!
Speaking of bald, my hair is already short -- no luxurious locks to mourn -- but I'm rather fond of it. I plan to go wig shopping this weekend and have my head shaved after I start treatments. There's so little about this whole thing that I can control, but the day on which I go bald is one of them!
Wishing all of us a safe passage through this chemo thing, and glad there are others to share the voyage with.
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Oh, Vixen, that all totally sucks. Getting your period is just adding insult to injury isn't it? The suggestion to move your treatment days to the beginning of the week sounded spot-on to me. That way you get the crappy days out of the way while your son is in school and stand a better chance of feeling better by the weekend.
Keeping good thoughts for you, for us all.
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Hi, Me-Shall and Alexandra - welcome to our little corner of hell. This would be the most awesome party ever if it wasn't for the whole awful disease thing.
I'm sad that you have to join us, but happy for the chance to get to know you and offer you whatever comfort and company I've got!
Thank you also to patti and the other vets who make the time to poke their heads into this thread and lend their experience and support to us newbies
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lovemyboys, I hope you had a good night with no SE's!
Kiwilady, my port goes in Wednesday. Let me know how you made out.
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I finished the first treatment today. I drove myself home and everything, no need to have my mom drive. The only thing I am feeling right now is some stomach discomfort, like a burning sensation that runs through every few minutes. I took one of the anti-nausea pills, but not sure if that will help since this isn't really nausea. I guess it's a normal side effect since the some of the cells it kills help your stomach. Maybe some probiotics are in order. Also, I have been peeing so freaking much. The day after my port surgery, I had to go like every 15 minutes, and today while at chemo (I was there pretty much all day) I had to get up A LOT to pee. Now granted I am drinking more fluids, but could it also be the medication? Oh and I had my first experience with something tasting bad. A sweet potato of all things. It tasted like metal. Too bad I won't be eating those for a while, since they are so healthy.
I am bracing myself for what is to come. I know it is different for everyone. Someone told my husband their wife actually passed out right after the first treatment, so I guess I am doing okay so far.
As for work, my employer is going to work with me so the weeks I feel good, I work, the weeks I don't, I don't. Some weeks will be part time, some maybe full time. I hope other employers are as understanding. And I am only contract where I am, so I was shocked when they said I could do that. For all of us here is is the unknown that is so difficult. I am a planner, so this doesn't work for me. I wish they could give us a definitive answer on which days you will feel like hell and which you will feel good. Ah the ride we are on, right!
Good night all, may you all get a good night's sleep tonight.
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Susiem, I took time a bunch of time off after my mastectomy and am attempting to go back to work now that chemo has started. I had my first chemo on Thursday and there's no way in hell I could have gone in today. I'm doubtful about tomorrow. That's the problem, they want to know which days I'll be gone. I just have to play it by ear. I'm hoping to be feeling better soon. Good luck. I'm thinking that having something else to think about would be a good thing. I was feeling soooo crappy all day then decided to get my butt out the door for a walk in the evening and felt so much better.
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Lovemyboys, so glad you made it through the first chemo session with relative ease! I hope you get a good night's rest and that your symptoms are minimal. I actually read something recently that putting something sweet onto foods that taste metallic makes them more palatable. Maybe you can drizzle a little honey on a sweet potato? This is such a crazy treatment - I mean, a sweet potato is already sweet, for crying out loud. But take that information for whatever it might be worth to you :-)
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AKJ--so impressive that you're going to work! I was contemplating a part time schedule but I'm going to try and see if I can just take unpaid leave. I did talk to a very nice gal who had BC eight years ago and worked through chemo as a high school teacher--but I hear chemo affects everyone differently. Definitely don't push yourself too much! Let us know how it goes.
Laura--we're so close! do you by chance go to any of the support groups? I'm going to the breast cancer connections one in palo alto tomorrow night if you're interested. In any case I suppose we're all chemo buddies
Dawn--so sorry to hear about you feeling so sick! Did you reach out to your MO?? Maybe they can adjust something for your next infusion--are you taking neulasta or neupogen (not sure if that was the achey feeling you had).
Me-Shall--welcome! I just joined the group last night
What kind of chemo regimen are you going to be on?Alexandra--you're also in the bay area with Laura, Susie, and me
Did you go to the new redwood city infusion center for Stanford?Susie--wow there's a lot of us here! I'm currently on disability from my BMX, and was originally thinking of doing part time work…but I feel the same way, I do accounting and really don't want chemobrain to mess anything up. I'm going to have a talk with my boss to see if I can max out my FMLA and then take a month of unpaid. I really just want to take this time to focus on myself…even if it doesn't end up being so bad--I'd rather stay stress-free and not be bound to a schedule, and hopefully get some walking and/or yoga in (I hear that helps with fatigue).
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Diem, thank you so much for the invite. I heard the Palo Alto support group is the best one around here. I was thinking about going but I have school on Tuesday evenings. I am off next Tuesday so if you like it and go next week let me know I will check it out. It is good to stay busy as much as we can before starting chemo. Hope everyone is well tonight. Sweet dreams.....
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Alli - no appointment yet for my infusion. I suspect it will be this week though so I'm guessing that is why they left those in. They can't schedule me till they get my blood work back. Since the oncologist is a small one person practice and not in a big hospital I have to go to the hospital lab and wait a couple of days for results. Sometimes I do wish I'd made the drive to Palo Alto and gone to Stanford, but hindsight... Oh well!
Port shoulder pain feels worse to me than my lumpectomy, but hopefully by tomorrow it'll be better!
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Laura--no worries! I actually did go to a meeting before and liked it. It's every 1st and 3rd Tuesday I think so if you ever want to go let me know
Susie & Alexandra--if you're interested in support group breast cancer connections (BCC) in palo alto and bay area young survivors (BAYS) in SF are great !
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We scheduled my port placement, out a week on the 18th so I only miss one art class (I was trying to refocus a bit on myself this year by getting back into doing more artwork) and so get one more weekend pre-chemo.
I met with the surgeon again to review the approach post-neo-adjuvant chemo and she understood our rationale for taking a more cautious approach towards node dissection. We also asked her about the discrepancy in my biopsy results between the low meitotic count and the HER2+. She said that it might just be that the area used for the count from the biopsy samples was less active. She says meitotic count can shift around a lot and often changes during surgery (I'm guessing that is surgery before chemo).
I appreciate reading everyone's experiences, help to have an understanding of what you are up against.
Lovemyboy - interesting about all the urinating. Do you think it is from the infusion fluids or were you also drinking fluids beyond that? They say to drink lots of water around treatments to flush the chemo from your body but as someone who doesn't tend to get thirsty I can imagine that this is going to be tricky for me.
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Sweetjam, I start that combo to on March 24TH and would love to know ho.. you are doing now. I am opting out of the port this time to,(had it four years ago. loved it just don't want it this time).
Hope all of you ladies are doing great today and looking forward to Spring. I had chemo 4 years ago and was looking forward to my 4 year cancervesary on St. Patty's day BUT I found a lump, (had a bilateral mastectomy March 16th 2010) in January 18 weeks pregnant, DEVASTATED, called my BS and began this journey again. Just had my lumpectomy on Friday the 28th and will start chemo March 24th. I will be having three tx of Taxol and Carboplatin. rest 3 weeks for delivery of baby then rest 3 weeks and start Gez and Carboplatin again for 3 treatment s every three weeks. I already had AC and they said that I will have fatigue with this combo similar to last but the lower WBC count is what will be the worst.
what I found out to be helpful the last time around was start on colace BEFORE treatment, drink TONS of water and excersise when you can. it really helps!! I have been reading about adding more protein and tougher for the live active cultures help too!! I wish you all the best of luck and huge cyber hugs:)
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