For those starting TAC in March/April 2006....
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Hi ladies - I saw my breast surgeon today for my 6 month follow up. She said everything was looking good including the skin (I am 19 days post rads). I don't go back for 6 more months (yeah). She did a thorough breast exam including lymph nodes on both sides. Talked about risk of re-occurance and she said that it was low, but it could happen - so to be sure to do self-exams even though I had a double mastectomy. She also agrees with decision to have hysterectomy. I am at peace with the decision, but it is nice to know that all my docs think it is a prudent decision. My hair is coming back in nicely. Still quite tired - by the end of the work day I am spent!!! I don't sleep the best, even with sleep aids, I wake up a few times a night. Also reflux - can't wait to see the GI doc in two weeks. Its the lack of stamina that bothers me the most. Everyone tells me that I look good - but I don't like being tired all the time or not being able to do what I used to be able to do. I just get so worn out. The Denver race for the cure is in 3 weeks, but I am not sure that I can handle it emotionally. I saw a commerical for it the other day and I cried. I will sign up for the race, and decide the night before if I will do it. Sometimes I think I am going to wake up and find out that this has all been a bad nightmare - well it is a nightmare - but real!!! Yesterday someone asked me what I learned from this - almost expecting a profound answer. I guess its that your life can change in an instant, not to take anything for granted and to be greatful for each day. Its stil just one day at a time. All the best to everyone as we move on in our journies. Keep in touch.
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I have my port removed tomorrow in outpatient surgery at the hospital; it's the end of a long chapter. Rads starts this Thursday. Sometimes I feel like I've been dealing with cancer forever. Thank God for these boards where I've continued to learn and get support from all of you wonderful women. Let's all keep keeping in touch!
Brigitte -
hello everyone: I am getting ready for 2rd tax chemo on the 27th had 4 AC prior to this/ my count hit the dirt at 237 im told after 1st tax and i have to go in and get three shots this week. gessss now have to get neulesta shot after the rest of these tax hits/ this one is really different the AC. I look worse and just have so many pains /mouth stuff/stomach stuff ect. hope i can find you folks again. trying to be tough but heck this much side effects after only the 1st scared about 2rd some numbnesss in hands/pain at port site. Anyhow good to knonw im not just being crazy with symptoms.
thanks for listening.
myrna in Oklahoma -
HI girls I have been spending time with the wagon circle bumch - catch the thread in the moving beyond section. So sorry for being neglectfull to all of you who have walked this journey with me.
Changed my name from morningsky woman a few weeks ago. I still feel and look like a bald eagle, with some fuzz on top.
Karen, I know what you mean about the fatigue - it just won't go away and me stamina is also way down. My doc tells me to be patient - that it will return but the doing too much slows everything down.
I am now in the reonstructive phase 2 - fixer uppers from the tram reconstruction. A boob lift (small, the PS did a great job of matching things up) and when that is healed a new nipple and markings and I shall be done - hopefully. Am tired of the surgery but it could be worse.
Glad to see that so many of you still check in. If you want to sit by the fire check out the wagon circle.
Jeannette -
Hi Ladies,
It seems like I haven't posted in quite a while. I had TAC round 4 on Monday the 11th. This one was the hardest for me. I started running a fever Friday, felt crummy all weekend then got diarhea on Sunday-Monday. I think I'm starting to get the neuropothy too. My middle toes and the balls of my feet feel "funny" and my thumb nails feel weird too. Is this neuropothy?
Yesterday I was in a meeing with 8 women. To make a long story short, out of the 8 women, 3 were breast cancer survivors (I'm counting myself in that group too). The other 2 women were long term survivors (10+ years) and they were living regular, normal lives. I would never have known they were survivors if the topic of my treatments hadn't come up. Those women made me realize there is a regular, normal life waiting after these treatments!
Hang in there everyone,
Darlene -
Way to go Darlene!! Keep hanging in there. You're 2/3rds of the way through.
It's been a little over a month since my last chemo treatment. I'm starting to feel more clear headed. I've made it through the first week of rads. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Jackie -
Darlene,
The 4th was also the hardest for me. Somehow #5 and 6 weren't so bad. And yes, as Jackie says, tou are now on the home stretch - only 2 more to go. I am 6 weeks out from my last treatment and already feeling much better.
you will be bouncing before Santa arrives.
Jeannette -
Hello Tac Ladies!
Hope everyone is doing ok. It is good to see so many progressing through their treatments. Guess a lot of us have about finished radiation as well.
I got my muga scan results. Went from a LVEF of 61% before TAC to 54% after 9 weeks of Herceptin. Not sure if it is the adriamycin or the herceptin that is causing the reduction. I am having problems with herceptin. Headaches, muscle pain, chest pressure with shortness of breath and a hackey cough. Not sure I will be able to take much more. I understand lots of women can't complete a year of herceptin. I have about decided that quality of life means more to me than quantity. I have another muga scan scheduled for December. I suspect if it goes below 50% they will discontinue it anyway. Just found out herceptin works long after you get it. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life lugging around an O2 tank with me where ever I go.
On a happier note, Congratulations on those of you who are able to move forward and feel better. Getting ports out and treatments and surgeries completed. It is good to know that most can get back into the joys of living again. Hopefully cancer free! or at least NED.
Take care all, I will be checking in on this thread now and then to read all the good news of everyone moving forward but until then I guess I will be hanging out on the HER2/neu+ threads.
Hugs and best wishes!
Marcia -
HI Tac Sisters,
Well, it has been 8 weeks since last tac and I am half way done with radiation. I have completed 17 of 33 treatments. I am now feeling the radiation burns. I tried the aquaphor but it really doesn't do very much. I'm a bit nervous that i am this red, this soon. I am wondering what is to come???
Also, tac ladies, was wondering if any of you that have completed your tac are experiences muscle soreness/stiffness still??? From my knees to my toes, I feel so sore when I wake up in the morning. I feel like I'm 30 years older than I am. Was wondering if this is normal.
I would also like to have a hair update if any of you care to share. Mine is barely there...maybe a quarter of an inch. At least it is growing. I can tell that. Thought by now, I'd have more. When did you all throw away the scarf and go as 'you'.?
Molly -
Yes to the muscle soreness!! My knees have been hurting me every morning when I wake up. My onc said it is probably becuase I am going thru menopause. I haven't gotten my period since March. I start Tamoxifen Oct. 12th, he wanted me to take off 4 weeks before starting it. I'm glad I did!
The 4th TAC for me was my most tired. I don't think I got out of bed for 15 minutes at a time for the first 2 weeks after it! Then, yeah, 5 and 6 were the home stretch, I didn't care lol.
17 sounds about right to start seeing redness. I HATED aquaphor, gave the whole bag of samples to my hubby for his excema (sp?). lol They gave me radiaplex gel, and I have still used it until now. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks after my last rad. Then I can use regular lotion and my deodorant again. I kinda like the Crystal liquid though. I noticed I don't.. er.. smell as much as before all this. hehehe
My hair.. yesss.. it finally covers the back of my head enough that you can't see my birthmark lol. It's blonde again so it's relaly hard to tell how long it is. I'd say about 1/2 inch? Who cares! It's there and I can't stop playing with it lol I tossed the scarf thing over the summer. hehehe I decided I was just glad to be alive, and screw what everyone else thinks. I wasn't working though!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend, it's rained here the last 2 days.
I am walking in the Komen Race in Chicago next weekend!
Paula -
Glad I am not the only one with muscle soreness. Didn't know that it could be caused by menopause though. That is interesting. I also haven't had my period since April. The doctor said because of my age (39) wasn't sure if it would be permanent or not.
Now that my hair is growing on top of my head, my eyebrows and eyelashes are finally falling out. Strange.
Enjoy the day....
Molly -
A LITTLE ADVICE PLEASE...GETTING SCARED.
i HAD MY LAST FULL TREATMENT ON 9/7. I HAVE TO HAVE THREE SMALL TREATMENTS OF TAXATERE TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT THEY REDUCED AND THEN RADIATION IN NOVEMBER. for two weeks now have this nagging pain in my back. It feels muscular but it is lingering and I am petrified that the cancer has gone to my lungs. I also have a dry cough but not consistently. I asked my treatment spcialist ans she did not seem concerned and tried to assure me that it wasn't cancer. Now that I have had cancer it just doesn't work aNYMORE WHEN SOMEONE SAYS IT COULDN'T BE BECAUSE MY BODY HAS BETRAYED ME AND I FEEL AS IF I CAN NEVER TRUST IT AGAIN,
HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THESE SYMPTOMS?
TERRY -
Hi Terry, Sorry that you are getting nervous. I haven't had back pain, but for about 4 weeks after my last taxotere, i had a nagging pain on my right side under my right breast. it was weird and made me very nervous. it is gone now. i also had a dry cough during my treatments. hopefully it is just something temporary and will go away like mine did.
i am off to the 'look good, feel better' class tonight. hope it is fun.
molly -
Well, Like Molly, my brows and lashes fell out after the last TAC. So now I am growing fuzz on the top of my head - and it looks like I will have to shave my legs after a 6 mos. holiday (they were the first to go). I wear my wig for formal business occassions and like Paula, the rest of the time the world can have some reality therapy.
I know that everything is growing back but wish the brows hadn't gone. oh well, on the road again.
Molly, did you pick up any good tips at your class?
Jeannette -
Terry, I had terrible back pain and cough last couple of TAC and another 4 weeks or so after. They even did tests, and no problems detected. Everything is fine now--no cough or back pain (last TAC 7/12). The Dr. said that Taxotere can cause lung problems in a few people, so I would not worry too much!
Good luck! Karen -
Hi everyone...last TAC was 7/12 and I am still very stiff and have sore joints. I am taking herbal supplements (forgot the name) and it is helping. I am also seeing physical therapist and trying to get back into condition. Hair is coming in slowly, but I ditched the wig and decided to go out looking like a little boy!.
On the weight issue--I have lost 10 of the 18 pounds I gained through South Beach diet. After looking at blood tests, etc. found out I am insulin resistant and South Beach seems to be working well.
Hope everyone is doing well. Karen -
Hi everyone - its now 2 1/2 months post chemo (last TAC 7/6) - and 4 weeks tomorrow post rads- and I am still TIRED!!! More tired yesterday and today than the past couple weeks. Busy weekend with Rosh Hashanna, so wondering if it is just being too busy. I am working full-time, but come home exhausted (been back to work since the start of the school year, mid August). Achy as well - some days worse than others - past couple my legs have really been bothering me. I have just attributed the achiness to the Arimidex. Still suffering reflux and heartburn - even with 2 40mg Nexium/day. I see the GI doc one week from today. I see the PS on thursday to talk about the next steps. Won't do any recon atleast till the end of the year at the soonest as I have my hysterectomy scheduled for 10/19. Hubby wonders if I should be taking a multi-vitamin. What do you ladies take? Right now I am taking the Nexium, Arimidex, Calcium, Glucosamine with MSM, mylanta (lots most days) and acetamenophin as needed. For a 50 year old, I feel like an old lady with all these medications!!! Hope everyone is having a good fall. Keep in touch.
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hey jeannette,
the 'look good, feel better' class is wonderful. they give you a bag of all kinds of name brand make-up...clinique, mac, channel, etc... it is way nice. probably worth 200-300. i don't have any tips to share, but i got this nice eyebrow pencil with a brush on the end that really helps with the thin eyebrows. i actually look like i have them now.
If anyone else is thinking about this class, I totally recommend it.
molly -
Hi everyone!
It's been five weeks since my last chemo, and tomorrow will be one and a half weeks down for rads, five weeks to go. I know that when I was in the midst of chemo, I was a very sad and depressed person who never thought she would see the light at the end of the tunnell. Now I have days where I feel absolutely normal, like my old self. They are few and far between but they give me hope, regardless. I just keep wishing my hair would grow back, but I know that takes time and I have to be patient! So far, rads is a breeze, though I continue to carry around a stomach of anxiety most days ... I wonder if that will ever end. It's so good to keep reading the boards and staying in touch; it always helps me feel less isolated in my bc.
Hugs, Brigitte -
Hellol Tac Ladies!
It is so wonderful to read that so many of us are moving forward. It is nice to have TAC and Rads behind some of us. I was er/pr neg and her2neu+ so I had 12 months of herceptin facing me which I started July 12. It has been 12 weeks and after a lot of soul searching (and internet searching as well)I have made the decision to stop my herceptin. The side effects of this "monoclonal antibody" were almost as bad as chemo. I would have severe muscle and joint pain, heart pressure and pain, headaches and hot flashes, wheezing and shortness of breath. My muga scan fell from 61% to 54%. My doctor called me this morning and we had a discussion. He said that Herceptin has not been out long enough to have proven longterm survival benefits. (Even though he is convinced that it will probably be proven) And that considering the aggressive approach I have taken with surgery, TAC and radiation (which gives me a 93%+ chance of survival of 5 years or more) that the benefits of herceptin would probably be minimal. He offered to give me steriods to help me continue Herceptin...That went over like a ton of bricks..I hate Decadron! I quoted statistics with my "walking encyclopedia" doctor. I told him that the mean of the number of weeks of herceptin taken in the trials was somewhere around 26 weeks. (thats about 6 months) And there is another finnish study that shows that 9 weeks of herceptin are effective. I read that some women stay on herceptin for years without any side effects. I may never know if I am making the right decision. I just know how bad and battered my body feels from the medicine. If I get a re-occurrance I may be able to try Tykerb by then. I hate cancer and I hope that we all will be long term survivors but for me I don't feel like I have any choice but to choose quality of life over potential quantity. I was truly suffering. Much more so with herceptin than I ever did with chemo. That to me isn't living. I have surrendered 10 months to cancer already.
I am sorry if I am letting anyone down. I always considered myself to be a fighter but even warriors get tired.
Congratulations to all who are proving their strength and courage.
Best Wishes
Marcia -
Marcia,
Thank you for your honesty. I think it's wonderful that you have made this decision. Personally, I hated chemo so much that I can't imagine anything worse, except having to ever go thru it again. I can't even think about it without shuddering. You are right: quality of life is key, in my opinion anyway, and if the herceptin is breaking your body down worse than chemo, that sounds like true hell! Congratulations to you for being an informed advocate for your own care; you are a powerful reminder that we all need to listen to our bodies as well as to our docs.
Hugs, Brigitte I -
Marcia - Just my two cents. I do believe strongly that we have to balance various elements - risk, quality of life, the uncertainties of the research and its relationship to our own bodies - and I think you are doing exactly the right thing. You have been a VERY brave warrior, and this is just more proof of your courage. Leigh
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Marcia, I think you have your statistic wrong, but I'm not sure. I think he meant a 93% chance of NO recurrece. My doc freaked me out when he told me I had a 96% chance of surviving 5 years, and then I asked and he said he meant of no recurrence! That made me feel a lot better. In NO way are you not a fighter! You survived TAC!
I still feel things and my last TAC tx was June 27th. Some pain in the knees is the worst. And my right breast hurts sometimes, I think from everything the poor girl has been thru. Rads and TAC.
Hugs all around!
Paula -
Hi there,
The past two nights, my right arm (side of axillary dissection) has been swelling - bad enough to wake me on friday night - and then during the day, my hand has been numb and tingling (like its asleep). Wondering is this is post chemo neuropathy or a side effect of the Arimidex. Legs (like you Paula, the knees are the worst) and feet have also been botherin me - quite stiff and achy after sitting for any length of time. This I attribute to the Arimidex. I started taking glucosamine with msm shortly after starting on the Arimidex two months ago, but don't know if it is working yet. I don't want to give up on the Arimidex - onc said it could take 6 months for the body to get usefd to it and the side effects to diminish. I know there are two other AI's, both if I switch, I may just be trading side effects. Want to stay on the Arimidex (or some sort of AI) if at all possible - need to do everything I can to keep my survival rate up there. My onc told me that doing double mastectomy with axillary dissection, TAC chemo, rads and AI's my survival rate increase to 75% (but I never asked him survival rate for how many years!!!) My hysterectomy is 10/19 - also have a date for recon exchange surgery - 3/23/07. PS wants to wait atleast 6 months post rads. Exchange will be a few weeks after my one year mastectomy anniversay. Wishing everyone feeling good days. Keep in touch. -
I want to give a hug and special thank you to Leigh and Paula and Brigitte. I guess sometimes I feel all alone in dealing with this diagnosis and somehow it is comforting to hear opinions from others who can understand. Making decisions about my treatment has always been a no brainer (chemo brainer) I have felt comfortable before in fighting the hardest and taking the best approach. I guess I will always wonder if I am doing the right thing. But thank you ladies. I am so honored to be among such special women who have helped me through this tough time. You have inspired me so much.
Armidex sounds almost as bad as herceptin. I kept thinking that the side effects I was having were leftovers from chemo and rads but they worsened after each herceptin treatment.
Karen in Denver, I hope your surgery goes well and that you have the best outcome. Paula and Leigh are you scheduled for procedures too?
Take care and thank you for your posts.
Marcia -
I don't have any other procedures at all. I will start taking Tamoxifen in about 10 days, and I have a mammogram and check up on December 3rd. Tamoxifen for at least 2 years, then if no period by then onto something else, otherwise stay on it. That's all I have left to do for the next 5 years I guess. I had my lumpectomy and all that right away before chemo.
Marcia, we couldn't have done this TAC thing without you. You were like the first of us to go through it all, and then finish leaving us knowing that it would be over, and we would make it through! Big hugs for you!!
Paula -
Hi Marcia, Thanks for the kind words. Like Paula, I'm done, procedure-wise. I was able to have lumpectomies, despite having bilateral b/c (and one of them ILC) and that's what I chose. Started Tamoxifen on Saturday; I was pre-menopause before chemo so we'll do Tamoxifen for a year and then discuss switching if the periods don't restart. Herceptin and the AI's are both great additions to the 'arsenal' - but they definitely come with more SE's for many women. I think our doctors - even the best ones, and I love all of mine - often focus our attention on the possiblities and positive outcomes of any procedure or drug, and we learn the down side as we go. Maybe it needs to be that way...maybe they think we'd never try anything! Just recognize that this disease brings a series of new things for us to navigate - and you have been a wonderful navigator, not just for yourself but for all of us here (you're welcome on my boat any time!) Leigh
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Hi girls,
Guess most of us have crossed the finish line and are patiently waiting for the "new normal" to set in. I am still tired. Did a 5K walk for BC on Sunday which was great, but then I went to the gym to work out yesterday and was exhausted by dinner time. Guess I will have to take it a bit easier. No more treatments for me - except to finish off the reconstruction. I will get a new nipple in a few months - after the boidy heals and recoups some more. And the good old tamoxifen.
I plan to not even worry about recurrence rates. Unless proven otherwise I am cancer free.
You have all been such an enormous support, and made TAC do-able. Without all of you, and your experience and wisdom this would have been a much more difficult and stressfull journey.
Jeannette -
Hi everyone,
It's been six weeks since my last TAC and no sign of hair growth. I am so aggravated! Tomorrow I'll be a third of the way thru rads; so far, so good. Nothing like chemo, that's for sure! Like you, Jeannette, I have high energy days and then days when I feel pretty blah. Nothing as bad as those days after each chemo, though, so I count my blessings daily that those days are behind me, all given over to a very long summer.
Take care everyone and hang in there.
Hugs, Brigitte -
Hi ladies,
My last TAC was August 31st and I'm still bald too. I do think the stubble up there is going to stay though, because my head is bumpy now. During chemo it was always smooth as a baby's bottom! I had surgery last week and rads are to follow, but I feel blah as well. I guess I'll feel much better when the soreness goes away.
Take care,
Ferne
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