Starting Chemo January 2015

hi! i hope everything went well with your first chemo session. im new to the forum and i've been given as a "reasonable alternative" to do TC chemo in the next 2 weeks (instead of ACT). any tips you could provide to get me prepared? i'd be most appreciative. i'm going to use the peguin cold cap in order hopefully not to loose all my hair. thank you!! )

Thanks SweetHope! Unfortunately, I got my hair cut to my shoulders and dyed it back to my natural dark brown since I don't want to walk around w brown/gray roots w highlights. My goal is to keep my hair (cold capping) and eventually get my hair back to my profile pic it can't come soon enough!!! Best of luck today .... stay hydrated...drink drink drink. It will not be as bad as you think! Stay positive ... you got this!!!

Julie8 - I'm on TC. 1st treatment was done on 1/8. Had minimal SE ... first few days felt great, days 4&5 I was totally exhausted. That was really it other than taste left for about a week. I'm cold capping too. So far, so good. Should start to see some shedding I would imagine within the next few days. Any questions, let me know. I'm early in the process but got tons of great tips on here. Read up, you'll learn alot .... these girls are awesome here also, check out the penguin cap posts .... very helpful!!! Good luck

♡ Kim

Hi everyone!  I haven't been here since last week.  Trying to recover from port placement and get my ducks in a row for starting chemo tomorrow.  The port placement was uneventful until in the recovery room my heart rate and blood pressure crashed!  One minute I was fine and the next I was sick to my stomach and dizzy.  Nurses ran around like crazy pushing Zofran and fluids in my IV.  It only took a few minutes to feel better but man, that was crazy!

I think I have everything I need for my chemo bag and my kitchen stocked with the necessary foods to see me thru.  All you ladies that have already started seem to really have things in hand and are doing well.  I hope I am as lucky.

Had a really lovely time with some close friends on Sunday.  Went to lunch and then to see Menopause the Musical at a local theatre.  It was hysterical and for a short time I completely forgot what I had ahead this week.  Everyone please take a little time to enjoy something in your life.  Sunday night my children and one year old granddaughter came over for dinner.  If a one year old can't cheer me up I don't know anything that can!

Good luck today, SweetHope!

Kathy

Here's my pixie-cut from Saturday!

Marjorie

tennisfan- lookin good lady! I will share mine soon

Hello all! I I have been off the boards for a few days due to my return to work for four nights at the hospital. It was so great to get back to work, to see my work "family" who have offered me so much support in these 3 weeks post-mastectomy and just feel a sense of normalcy again.

I have been reading your posts every day and usually multiple times a day. I am so impressed with all of your strength and positivity in the midst of a difficult journey. I start my chemo next Wednesday. All of your experiences and sharing has help me prepare for this first day of what before was a much scarier proposition.

I wanted to share something that I found on this website that may be of help to some of you. You may already have checked this out but under the "Community" section of this website there are breast cancer.org podcasts. There is one if you haven't seen it yet entitled "Integrating Complementary Therapies Into Your Care." It is the ninth podcast down the list and it aired on September 22, 2014. The podcast features a Cancer surgeon in Delaware who created a program where she helps her patients integrate yoga, breath work, Reiki, meditation, nutrition, guided imagery, massage and other therapies into their cancer care. She feels this work places her patients in a much better place emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to withstand the rigors of surgery, chemo, radiation, and the lifelong battle of recurrence prevention. I really enjoyed it and it inspired me to consider some options that may help me get through the next 29 weeks of chemo, oopherectomy and radiation.

I will be thinking of all of you and praying that you experience minimal side effects. I have come to care about you all and anxiously wait for your posts to assure me you are getting along ok. I will be sharing my first round experience starting Jan 28. Talk to all of you soon!

With love and the best wishes for all,of you tonight,

Kristin

Hi cubbieblue, Congrats on the wig, sounds awesome. Nice to have control over the hair. I felt so much better knowing I had hair, wig or not! And I'm sure your good friend was very supportive. For the Biotene, I use Dry Mouth Oral Rinse, 16 ounce bottle. It works very well for me. And I always have lemon drops handy. I carry them in my purse for the dry mouth. It hasn't gone away yet. I know it's weird all these crazy side effects, but you won the wig battle and the dry mouth battle as well. I take every little victory I can. But that is how we all win this war, one battle at a time.

I saw the Doctor today for my peripheral neuropathy, thank you Taxol! So I have the new meds for that. If treated quickly, it will make a difference in the nerve damage. It's just one more side effect that I don't need or want. I already have the heart meds for the heart damage, thank you Adriamycin. At this point, I'm thankful I have eyebrows and eyelashes again.

Have a great evening!

Hey Tennisfan, you rock that new look! That will make your life easy. Even though everyone hates to lose their hair, we all rock the new looks! Amazing how we own it when we can control it. Battle on Ladies!

My second chemo today went very well and I so much came to appreciate the port.My first infusion was 2 hours and today it was 45 minutes only.That and the fact my limited/tricky veins didn't get damaged made the port insertion process way more worthwhile in my mind.I felt more tired this evening and felt little things like sore feet, hot flashes, funky mouth come on way faster than cycle 1.Nothing unmanageable or really bad but it reminded me I am starting this time from a weaker place. I am going to be aware of that but keep drinking, rinsing my mouth, walking, eating and staying positive.I wanted to share one thing from today that I thought was so interesting.

While I waited in the patient lounge with another lady and her DH, we started talking.She asked me what I was being treated for so I told her. She said I looked good/healthy! I asked her about her cancer and she said her original cancer was in her colon back in 2012.She had surgery but it had spread to her lungs 2 years later.She was optimistic because the chemo was shrinking the tumors.I told her that she looked great and she did too!

She then said breast cancer was pretty tough.I didn't get a chance to really answer as she was called to get her chemo underway. I thought it was interesting and thoughtful for her to empathize with my situation when I felt hers was so much worse.Simply amazed me!

Sweethope – hope your chemo was a smooth process and you are doing well.

Kbram – sorry to hear you had that experience following the port insertion.Totally crazy but glad it got corrected pretty quickly.Did they say why something like that would occur?It's great you got your "supplies" ready to go.You will be lucky, believe it!!Great advice about enjoying your life too!

Kristin, thanks for the tip about the about the podcast!I will definitely check it out. I'm trying to get more active (can't do all I want with the port in I find). A couple of days ago I tried to do an old fashion sit up/crunch.The port on my neck hurt so much I realized that I would have to find other ways to work that area. Took me quite a long time to get up on the floor. I'm counting some of that as crunches though..ha ha ha

Last night, I looked up a whole bunch of core exercises on google that are done standing up. Going to try and get those into a regular routine for myself!I tried yoga a couple of weeks ago but I just can't do it.Bah!! I already believe being in a better place to handle this onslaught will be to my advantage.That's what I remind myself about when I need a little encouragement to get moving.

Beachbum1023 – I hope that the new drugs will do the trick for the nerve damage. I so wish this whole cancer crapshoot was way simpler but I do appreciate your ability to find something humorous and positive in your outlook.

Good night to everyone and keep strong!

Edited to say it was 1:44 here when I posted. I think the steroids are keeping me up. Better go lay down I guess and at least try to get some sleep..LOL

Hi ladies,

I haven't posted in here in a few days as my first chemo treatment had kicked my butt!!

I am in TCx4 every 3 weeks, I felt good the first 2 days but by day 3 my joints and bones in my lower body ached so bad. I have not been able to have a solid nights sleep and have broken down many times thinking this is just the start!

I called my nurse yesterday about the pain but was advised they do not give out pain meds without proof I've tried everything (tried hot baths, sleeping with heating pads, extra strength Tylenol). They tell me I need sleep and rest to build by strength back up but how can I in such constant pain?!? I had quite the melt down yesterday.

I can't tell if the pain is getting better or I am just getting used to it. But I've noticed body aches (not deep in the joints/bones, kinda like cold body ache). My skin is very sensitive to the touch especially around my jaw line/under my tongue. Seems a little swollen, but no fever or anything.

I am coming up on day 7 tomorrow so I am hoping the SE will start to subside. I have been fortunate with no nausea and stable appetite. Head is tingling like crazy, very sensitive.

Sorry but needed to vent as no one around me knows what I am going through or feeling.

Thank you ladies

You guys are amazing. Seriously—I do not know how I would be coping without having your stories to relate to and know what's ahead. Yesterday was my chemo class, and there were no surprises thanks to everything learned here.

And (maybe) I am not in as much denial about my hair after seeing you guys that are posting pics after your hair cuts!! You guys all look great!! I just know I've got a bumpy, unattractive bald head! LOL Did any of ya'll do something with the hair you cut off? Like hot glue gun it to the edge of a cap or something? I do have a wig picked out (haven't bought yet)--do any of you buy your wigs online? The ones I tried on are so much cheaper online—but I just had to try them on first! I called my insurance company to see how much they would cover. First person I spoke with said they covered 100% of allowable amount (forget about extracting THAT piece of classified info from them!) I called the next day with codes to see if I could find that out, and was told it was not covered at all.

Hope everyone is feeling well... Lorie

Hi all!  No chemo for me today!  After getting the port and all the planning, I went for my first infusion this morning.  All vitals and blood work was done and I was ready to see the dr.  She came in and we discovered that she had ordered an echocardiogram that did not get scheduled before the chemo was to begin.  She was very angry with her staff and was very apologetic. Stated that I probably would be just fine to go ahead with treatment anyway, but then changed her mind when I told her about my crash in BP and heart rate after port placement surgery.  So, hurry up and wait.  Test scheduled for this Friday and treatment next week.

TeriMP, I agree with SweetHope, you should talk with your dr.  My whole oncology staff is all about getting ahead of any pain and side effects of chemo.  It is hard for your body to heal if in pain and discomfort.  My dr is giving me pain meds for bone pain with the neulasta shots.  They want to know any and all that I am going thru.  I want that for you as well!

Lorie, your words ring loud and clear with me about learning things from this website!  Think about everything you've learned from BC.org and the time it took to learn it.  Can you imagine how much time you would have to spend with your dr and nurses to know things you now know!

Thanks Beachbum for the kind words!

Hugs to all, Kathy

Hi all, I would insist on the ECHO. I had Adriamycin and I now have 2 cardiologist and heart meds for life, thank you chemo! Make sure you report every side effect, some of them can be serious. I had an ECHO before starting chemo, and I kept complaining about shortness of breathe, and I was sent 3 weeks after finishing all 4 Adriamycin for the ECHO. My cardiologist wasn't too happy. Although it is an uncommon side effect, I have permanent heart damage. I am looking at heart failure in my case. Not trying to worry anyone, but the drugs are toxic, and the side effects are very real.

Confirmed! Starting on Friday.

All my tests came back clean, so finally some good news! Getting my chemobag ready to go.

I am meeting with the nutritionist on Friday, so hopefully that will help with my weight gain concerns. Oncologist said when I get to the taxol, if I don't have a bad reaction the first time they can cut back on the steroids to help keep weight gain down.

Bought 2 hats and 2 bamboo tubes today Not a wig person, so was glad to find some good hats that will stay on during dance.

Port placement will be just before my 2nd infusion.

Jenn