Starting chemo September 2014

Kayarose-- I still have my eyebrows and eyelashes but in most other places I am just about bald.  I agree that its only hair. My husband is bald so now we match.  It's still hot here in Texas so wigs are out of the question for me.  Besides I have never worn one.  Once my hair grows back (next year) I will donate all of my hair wraps.

Ctillie-  please remember to hydrate it really helps push the chemo through your system.  You will have some good days with a few days that SE seem to come out of nowhere.  I try never to dwell on those "not-so-good" days!  I have my third infusion on 17 October and although I thought it wouldn't happen my appetite has slowed down and food doesn't taste quite as good as it used to YUCK!  I find myself putting lite raspberry salad dressing on everything, weird right?   I just go with the flow and refer back to the discussion board for suggestions on how to combat what SE presents itself.

I just got home from a Breast Cancer Awareness Month dinner and I have to tell you it was so much fun!!!!  There was a comedian there, gifts, prizes, great food and just the fact of knowing that all of us in that room have been down that same road.  Even my surgeon was there and we had the best time hanging out together as friends and not doctor/patient.  At the end, they acknowledged the person who had the most recent diagnosis (me) with a nice bracelet and hugs and well wishes and then they acknowledged the person with the longest diagnosis who was a 35 year survivor. For the first time ever, I actually said "I am a breast cancer survivor, since August" and it made so proud to say that!!!!!  There are very few people outside my family that know I have had any type of cancer and tonight that changed!!!! 

Hi all.  Had my 3rd A/C Monday and feeling pretty good.  Spoke to my surgeon and found out I might need the rest of the nodes taken out when I finish the taxol on about 3 months.  I am putting it on a back burner till I get through the chemo.  Rose, I found eating more fiber, veggies, oatmeal etc. helped with constipation.  Also my doc gave me prescription Reglan for nausea that helped.  Hope you feel better soon.  Fight on fellow warriors.  Love, Jean 

Cleaningforareason.org

I just heard of this organization and applied. They clean your house 4 times while undergoing tx. I would love that !  Nationwide....check it out if you like

Kath

KayaRose my mom had this on day of her chemo, dr said was because of steroids. It went away in a few days, if persits contact your nurse.

KayaRose, My MO is recommending 10 years of tamoxifen. I had redness on my chest which I was told was from the dex.

Kayarose - my onc said ten, too.  I may not take tamoxifen since my tumor was only 15% estrogen receptive.  I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.  

Wow, 10 years, seems like a long time.  But it it keeps cancer away, it will be worth it.  Face is still flushed and warm.  Hubby says he doesn't notice it.  Nice guy.  He says my hair doesn't look bad either.  Ha.  

Well, day 3 after treatment 2 and I've already experienced constipation and diarrhea and everything in between.  I'm fortunate not to get nauseous but digestive-wise, bad news.  

Got a bill from the hospital for my biopsy yesterday.  After Medicare and Blue Cross Supplemental paid their parts, they say I still owe over $1,800.  Odd since BCBS is supposed to pick up everything Medicare doesn't.  I just went on Medicare this August and was dx'd in September.  So I'm new at this type of insurance.  Does anyone have Medicare and BCBS.  If so, do you also have to pay charges like this.  I'm going to call the hospital and ask for a detailed bill.  All they showed me on this bill was what Medicare paid and what BCBS paid and said I owe the balance.  I think it will be a day on the phones for me.  I'm worried because the biopsy was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to charges.

Anyway, hope everyone is coping well today!

Kaya, do you have a high deductible on the BCBS? That may be the issue. You are right, it's a long, confusing, and winding road with bills and insurance. Driving me crazy.

My mother had a myriad of health issues in her final years. She had Medicare and supplemental BCBS as part of her retirement plan. Every time we went to a doctor or hospital, she would hand them both cards and tell them "I've got TWO insurances, don't ever send me a bill". It worked for her, give it a try.

Poppy - Thanks for the suggestion about Restoril. I'll ask about it at my next MO appointment. I finally did crash out yesterday and last night, which might have had something to do with the Benedryl they gave me in the ED yesterday. No matter the reason, I'm grateful for the sleep!

Rose0766 - I'm of the age that I need to get up once a night to pee anyway, but yeah, much more often now. Adriamycin is rough on the kidneys, mostly the first few days after tx when it's murdering all those cancer cells that we wind up eliminating that way.

Nomatterwhat - That dinner sounds like it was fantastic! Glad you had such a great time!

KayaRose - Thanks for the tip on Nexium. I think I'll trade out my Prilosec for that. And good luck with the insurance issues, those only add insult to injury.

Jean - Sorry to hear about the mis-read on your biopsy! I'd sure be confused about what to do. I still had 3/5 nodes light up after neoadjuvant chemo and surgery, which is why I'm back at it. Having to make more decisions about it sure sucks.

So, yeah, I spent a big chunk of yesterday at the hospital ED. Had back and chest pains, some shortness of breath, dry mouth and a sore throat come on suddenly, and thought it the better part of wisdom to have it checked out. Blood work, chest x-ray and chest CT later, and at least it wasn't a heart attack or heart related, nor was it any kind of a blood clot. Doc wouldn't commit, but my guess is GERD. A scary start to a boring day. Feeling much better today! And since I'm shedding so badly, DD has agreed to buzz me down a bit later. I"m sorta looking forward to it, despite her threatening me with a mohawk again. Cleaning up from the dog and cat fur is enough without adding me into the mix!

LA Rock, I had sensitive gums, too.  Once they bled.  I switched from a toothbrush to a disposable thingie that you put on your finger.  Bought them for travel a while ago and it worked great.  The sensitivity did go away and hasn't come back.  So, not sure what brought it on or what took it away.  I am using the alcohol free mouthwash now and that seems to help, too.

I talked to the hospital billing person and it turns out he didn't know why I received the bill either.  I told him I had the explanation of benefits from both Medicare and BCBS and they both said I would owe nothing.  He asked me to send him the EOBs and they would do a "charge research review" but not to worry that it looks like just a misbilling.  Said it could take a couple of weeks but someone would call.  I have his name and faxed him the EOBs.  Hopefully, this will take care of the matter.

Sybil, I think I'll try your mother's tactic next time!

My DH just told me something funny - said I woke him up in the middle of the night and asked him how to spell a word.  He didn't remember what the word was.  It must have been the pain pill I took.  LOL  My life is so strange these days.

mom wore her wig today and looked fab!!

Thanks for asking Tobycc! So far all I have is hunger. I am breaking my fast tomorrow around 12:30. You are supposed to do that 24hours after chemo, but I don't know if that means after it ends or from when it starts. I tried emailing Dr. Longo to find out but no response. So to stay on the safe side I will wait 22 hours. Will let everyone know about SEs in the next three weeks. The last time I fasted I did have major fatigue day 19 of 21. But that was my only SE.

Its been really helpful going through this journey to read the posts.

A quick update on my experience for those that may be on the similar regime. Taxol 12 weeks, every week. Herceptin 1 year, every 3 weeks.

I had my 5th Taxol today and have had 2 Herceptin infusions.

My hair started shedding lightly 3 days after the 3rd infusion. Not noticeable to anyone really and I'd had it cut short

After the 4th infusion I would loose hairs randomly more shedding, but no big clumps coming out. Lots on the lovely white tables in our meeting room at work one day, that was a bit embarrassing. I wore a wig at work yesterday as my hair is so thin to me and has a few bald spots. Everyone loved it, it was way different than my short dark hair, it was a red short bob. cute. At my son's school most loved my new hairstyle and didn't even know it was a wig. I'm getting a #2 clipper on it this weekend as I'm not comfortable with it and to be honest this hair loss process has surprised me by how intensly its bothering me. I had some wigs. Had explained it to my boys. But when it started to get so thin I just wasn't ready for it to be happening.

miscraw - there is a book "Nowhere Hair" which I read to my children (4 and 7 at the time, the younger turned 5 last week) which is really lovely and is told from a little girls point of view on where did her mommy's hair go. The mom explains that she takes medicine for my cancer and that makes my hair go away.  My younger son really loved the story and asked to have it read multiple times. 

My main side effects have been from the steroids - unable to sleep, hypersensitive to noise and light, very irritable, and I did get an asthma attack during the second taxol infusion which my inhaler didn't control so I was given more steroids.  Not sleeping well on the weekend after my Friday infusion is awful and by Monday when I go back to work I'm pretty tired. But I'm so thankful that these SEs are so minimal for now.

My oncologist did warn me though when I saw her last week that this is building up in my body and I may experience more SEs.

Sleep well Ladies 

Fiona