Starting chemo September 2014

Ok so I'm a bit slow. Just realized that the fatigue, hunger and crying I get 2 days after the chemo is due to the Decadron steroid wearing off. By the time I am done I will have figured all this out. Teehee. Love, Jean

Hey all. Is anyone out there. No posting for almost 2 weeks. Hoping that is b/c you are all doing well. Love, Jean

Tommorow is big day last day of chemo yeah

My greatgranddaughter Valentina has arrived in time for Christmas. Wishing all of you dear ladies a very blessed Christmas. Love, Jean

Jean, what a perfect gift! She is absolutely adorable. Congratulations to you and your family!

zjrosenthal congrats

last day of chemo was bittersweet no more chemo but mom still has lifelong infusions of herceptin/perjeta/zometa

we were told at first, but when told again was just as hard

thanks kjsimpson

I'm here. I got a little break for Christmas... no cancer doctor's appointments!

I started rads this week; 5 days a week for 5 weeks. No boosts because the pocket where the cancer was located was destroyed when the PS rearranged my remaining breast tissue when he put me back together again.

Jean, there is a starting rads in winter group that you might be interested in joining.

Hi Jean, I'm guilty of being a "silent" one lately. I do keep up with reading this topic but have not had much to write about. A little catch-up: I have finished my AC chemo and yesterday had my #6 Taxol tx - only 5 more to go. Not fully recovered from my AC tx and on my 3rd Taxol tx, I became very run down and ended up with a fever, touch of pneumonia and a bladder infection. My blood counts dropped low enough that I required a transfusion. I've fully recovered and feel much stronger. Like you, I'm finding I'm tolerating the Taxol much better that the AC. My SE are very mild and I am grateful for that.

Unlike most of the members on this topic, I have not had my surgery yet. I am doing chemo first, then I'll have a mastectomy followed by radiation. Surgery will probably be late February. It was decided to do chemo first because of the type of cancer I have and a biopsy showed it was in a lymph node. ILC does not form a lump, it's in strings and is difficult to detect and even to determine its size. The good news is the chemo is working. After my AC treatments were over, I had an MRI and compared to the MRI before I started chemo, the shrinkage in both the lymph node and the breast was pretty dramatic. Thank God!

Anyway, that's where I am right now. Because of the cancer in the lymph node, my surgeon has told me that I will be needing ALND so I'm going to keep on following you closely - just like I have since you started Taxol just before me. I'm very nervous about the surgery and especially the ALND. I know this can result in Lymphedema and that does frighten me. I have to thank you for being my trailblazer. Your posts have always been so helpful to me.

Kaya

Hi everyone! I am in the midst of CMF, my new chemo regime: tolerating it MUCH better than taxol or taxotere. Rose, especially nice to see you since I believe we started the same week.

I STILL ^{have some SE's from taxol: runny nose, etc. I read on one thread it takes a long time for this stuff to leave our bodies. I lost two fingernails, but at least they don't hurt}

^{Hugs, stay strong ladies, we will win this!!!}

^K

Rose, The watery eyes drives me nuts! I can't see to read or even watch TV. The drippy nose just comes out of no where.

Badhairday, So glad you checked in. I was worried about you, but hoped you were just busy with real life! I have soft baby hairs all over my scalp, but am still losing my eye lashes and eye brows. I'm rocking the scarves.... so much easier than styling hair.

Toby, Good to see you! I don't run across you as often since you changed your chemo protocol. My nails are growing, but breaking along the white lines that correspond to the chemo infusions.

I'm in my second week of rads. Fatigue is a big issue for me. The RO ordered labs, so hopefully it's something simple like low iron.

Well, well, well it sure is nice to see you both Toby and BHD.  I have been wondering where you were.  I have been on the rads board with Poppy and was hoping we would be together soon, but that hasn't happened.  Geez, Toby I sure hope you are done real soon.  BHD, let me know if those vitamins you are taking are helping.  I look like a minion and would like to be able to get out of my wig by spring, but I need more hair than my husband first.  Let us know about your impending hysterectomy.  I am so sorry you are having to go through all this.

Congrats to you LARock!!!!  It is nice to know you are done and moving on.  As you have read, for most of us, rads are so much easier than chemo.  Come on over!!!!!! 

Congradulations to those of you moving on to rads. I was all set for that when my chemo doc and surgeon spoke and both agreed I should have ALND surgery first. Had to cancel the rads appointments and get set up for more surgery on February 12. Love, Jean

Jean, I'm also sorry to hear about your surgery. Thankfully my nodes were clear so I don't know much about ANLD. Do they only think they'll need to take three?

PoppyK, I would agree about the steroids. I had already cut my dose in half after my first treatment but it seems to only have caused insomnia these last two. I'm also in the moderately anemic zone. What is really getting me is the nausea this time around. Much worse than normal. None of my meds seemto be working.

Tobycc, good to hear from you. We started TC the same day. I've been having similar problems with nails, running nose, watery eyes and skin rashes but thankfully I've been able to stay on the same regime. I hope to see you in the rads room soon