Starting Chemo January 2015

Hi kbram, hopefully you will bounce back, and your son will feel better. I have stayed in as much as possible because of all the winter flu, sniffles, and colds. I had my shots, but I am not taking any chances! I finished chemo 11/25 but I am now doing rads and I want to get done. My blood work is coming in clean, close to where I was before the chemo. But I see the Doctors, go to rads and not much else. I shop late right before close, and hide. So since I do this myself, it's probably better than having to stay in. But I am going a bit crazy with cabin fever. My blood pressure has been really low, and I am still fighting that. I finally got back to decent after going down to 70/34. The fatigue has been rough. Let's hope winter ends soon! But I live on Lake Erie, so we have plenty of lake effect snow to come!

Chloesmom, I finished AC/T on 11/25. That was my last infusion. I had surgery 12/15. I started rads 1/26. If you are drinking water, drink more. I will drink 4+ bottles a day, more during chemo. Jell-o, juices, popsicles, all count in the liquid amount. But staying hydrated will help a lot to flush your system. The better you can control the side effects, the better it will be be. I carry a water bottle everywhere I go along with lemon drops for dry mouth. Chemo is cumulative, so the fatigue will keep going. Try to rest as much as possible. Everyone here will help you, just ask. Since everyone has a different reaction, you will have to listen to what your body wants, and decide when you can go back to work. Good Luck!

Brandi999 - I plan to have my head henna'd as well! Would love to see it!

Hello everyone,

it's been a few days since I have been on here. I really get behind on the conversation that way. None the less it's great to read all your comments. I am so sorry to hear all the horrible Se's going on But the care advise sounds really great from all of you.

I too am getting ready for round 3 of the AC cocktail tomorrow. After reading that many of you had a rougher time with round 3 I am a bit nervous about it.

I am not sure I understand the oil pulling thing but I will try to look it up online. I have heard that coconut oil is very good for many things. As a matter of fact I use it when cooking many foods. Also, I went to my health food store after my acne breakout after my 1 chemo treatment and asked them what I should put on my face to help and they told me organic all natural coconut oil. I put it on my face 2 times and the acne was cleared up.

I wish all of you well and good luck with treatments this week everyone.

I would love to meet all of you as well. I think that's a great idea.

Hey, has the monkey been named yet? She is soooo cute.

Good luck tomorrow, Cat! we are thinking of you and sending all the best

Sweethope, I am so glad you are feeling good this go round. I know you suffered with the first one. I will tell the girls about the crochet Foobs. I will google that tomorrow. Thanks for your sweet reply. I am all packed and ready to go for AC 2. House clean, all new bedding, bag packed. Feel much better, too. I think I just needed a good cry.

Cheryl, our fearless leader, how are you feeling?

Jenn, how are you?

Marjo, did your flu like symptoms get better?

K

Good morning thecolorpurple, I hope you have sunny blue skies and a smile on your face today. You got this!!

I'm glad you have friends coming over to sit and keep you company. Some girl chat will take your mind off everything BC. AC is tough, I know how hard it is, and losing hair when you feel like crap is very emotional. But you will get through this, and your hair will be back. Mine started to grow after the first Taxol. I have very soft hair coming back, it's almost 1" long. So far it's straight, dark brown and gray. I dyed my hair for so long I was surprised when it started to grow and it wasn't blonde!! OMG!

Not every day is a winner, let us all know when it's not and we will be here for you!

Good evening RV6gal, I had rads #12 and it's turning pink/red and the skin feels like it's a sunburn. I have 16 more to go, so not fun! I can feel the skin pulling since it feels tight. But from all the others that I talk to, this is the best it will be until it's over. And the burning continues for several weeks after. I am not looking forward to this getting worse. I already had lingering fatigue from chemo and surgery, and rads is adding to it. But the heart damage contributes to it as well. So I have a mixed bag of tired!

I'm glad you are hanging in there, sounds like you have the SE on the run! And sleep is always good. I hope you feel well.

Brandi, you have a beautiful profile...what are you talking about - a gobbler?! Love the henna head. Such fun! Must have felt like being back at a beauty shop getting your hair done. Boy I miss those days.

I still have a lot of prickly hairs that won't give up and leave. They are sensitive and keep waking me up at night. Can't wear my wig cause it hurts. Damn chemo!

Hope you all have a great, relaxing, SE free day.

Hey ladies ... hope you are all having a good day 😀 Well, I'm nearly done with my chemo for today ... Taxol infusion 4/12 plus Herceptin and Perjeta this week ... only 8 more to go!

My MO is happy with my progress ... my liver seems to be coping and while my liver function is still not back to normal, it is coming down every week. My WBC is still good around 4.1 and my Neutrophils are also still okay around 2. she checked the "beast" - it has shrunk in the last three weeks and feels a lot softer. So, despite all the side-effects Taxol has thrown at me, it's sound it's job

She's still undecided about whether we will do AC straight after the Taxol or whether I will have surgery first - she'd definitely prefer for me to finish the chemo but it all depends on whether my liver plays ball.

Question, how are you all dealing with sick family members ... my husband has a cold at the moment and I have relegated him to the spare room ... he's getting really irritated with me because I won't go hear him and I'm getting really irritated with him because he's behaving like he's on death's door ... man-flu at it's worst!!! Suggestions welcome ... I did offer to put him out of his misery lastnight, he wasn't impressed 😊

Dimcecleland: I think it might be from Taxotere or in your case Taxol? I have same sores in nose. I will try Aquaphor. I had bought some. Same on vision problems. It bums me out makes it hard to read paper or see Tv. Sure hope it is reversible. Definitely reporting it to my MO. How many cycles are you planning on?

Patty

I am chiming in to say that I have also had blurry vision since Chemo#2.I mentioned it to my oncologist and they suggested using eye drops to moisturize/lubricate them.I have used the drops sparingly (because I don't like the feeling of them) but need to use them more to see any benefit I think.

Brandi999, love the henna.It looks great on you!

Beachbum1023, it sounds like Rads are just as challenging in a different way unfortunately.Sounds like everything you have faced is making them a bit of a test. Are you allowed to put any cream or moisturizer on the area?I have really fair skin and expect it will burn quite a bit.I go on March 30^th to find out how many treatments they have planned for me. I was told initially Rads tend to be done in sessions of 16, 20, 25, or 30 here but I don't know what information they use to decide that.I guess I will find out though.Wishing you a quick journey to get them done!!

Dimccleland, hubby needs to give you some space while he is sick.I had a sinus cold for most of cycle 2 and it takes us a lot longer with many risks to overcome it. We can't take the usual slow release cold medicines. Lucky I didn't have any significant complications other than pink eye and total misery (headache, sore sinuses and very sore throat) but it was a long 2 ½ weeks.I'm going to be extra, extra careful this time around.

Wishing everyone a great day.

Hi everyone!  Treatment #2 of AC is done!  Glad it is over but not looking forward to the next few days.

Brandi, you look great!  You are so brave to do the henna, not sure I could do that.  So glad you could tune into your creative side to deal with cancer side effects!  That's awesome!

Beachbum, I am anxiously waiting for any info from you on your experience with radiation.  I will start it sometime in April for 33 treatments.  I did not have radiation my first time with breast cancer, so I am somewhat apprehensive.  Any info is greatly appreciated.

Dimccleland, I can understand your concern about sick family members.  My son has been sick with what appears to be just a cold and he is keeping to his room with limited movement around the rest of the house and family.  We do what we can to stay away from illness but sometimes it is not enough.  My husband threatened to send him to a hotel!

To all others, hang in there!  My hair is coming out by the handfuls and I was emotional at first.  Hope I can hang on to it for my neulasta shot tomorrow and then I'll probably shave it.  Just cannot stand to have hair all over me.  Emotional, yes, but I will not let down my shield of strength.  As people say, it is just hair!  I never really had a breakdown moment with my second diagnosis, although this could be it......

Love and strength to all, Kathy

Kbram, I had rads #13 today. I feel like I have the start of a sunburn, the skin is hot to the touch and looks like it's a brownish pink. I slather on the Aloe Gel 100% 5 to 6 times a day and wear large baggy tee shirts over it. The techs said that it looks good, most of the burns start at the end of week 3. The skin damage is cumulative, and will continue for several weeks after the end of rads. I am not wearing a bra or anything tight. I am doing my arm exercises because the skin feels tight down the arm and the armpit is tight. But so far so good. No shaving the armpit, but since my mastectomy most of the hair has moved to my upper chest. Side effect from surgery I guess. No deodorant either during rads. So I hope it continues, and I make it to the end without any burns. My other rad pal has a pretty bad rash and her armpit hurts but she is done on Monday. I have 28 total so I will keep you posted.

As far as the hair goes, I buzzed mine off before any of it fell out. I had already picked up my wig, so it was my way of not giving in I guess. And I was so glad when it was gone, and I could go on. Now I wash her once a week, and flat iron and go. I love it. So easy and the last thing I want to do when I feel crappy is fuss with hair. So for me the custom wig was the best for me. And the cost was close to what I would have spent for the year anyway. So a huge win.

It is scary when we spend so much time on our hair all of our lives, but the time goes fast. My hair started to grow back after I started Taxol. It's almost 1" long already. And my eyelashes are coming in thick and full. I can actually wear mascara!! And you will again too. Take care of yourself, it did go faster than I thought it would.

Hi all,

As far as side effects, I seem to be getting passed them. My back has almost worked out all it's kinks too.

I am really upset right now. I got a call from my oncologist, who I am supposed to see tomorrow, because she just realized that my port placement is scheduled for Monday and feels that is too soon after an infusion on Friday, so she wants to delay my second infusion until Tuesday. What is upsetting with all this is that when I got the date for my port placement from my surgeon I immediately contacted them to ask if my oncologist was aware because it seemed too soon after my second infusion (my port placement was supposed to be scheduled just before). The surgeon's office told me that it was the only date available, and that my oncologist's office was aware and had no problem with the date, which is apparently not the case.

I am upset because I do not want to delay my infusion for my port placement, and even went out of my way to make sure everybody was ok so that wouldn't happen. This is like adding an extra 5 days to my chemo 'sentence' and I am having a hard enough time dealing with the 3 week wait between infusions. It also means I would have to reschedule almost all my appointments over the next little while. Tuesday infusions also really messes up my dance schedule.

On top of all that, I am really not even sold on getting a port in the first place, and now it is delaying my treatment. To me, chemo is the priority. I want to get it over with. I would much rather delay getting the port than delay chemo. I can understand delaying chemo because my counts aren't up, but to delay it for something elective (which is how I see the port, as my veins are good--I just don't have enough in one arm for 16 treatments) is extremely upsetting.

Is anyone else having a hard time with the waiting between treatments? It seems most of you are on 'dose dense' protocols that are every 2 weeks, and I can see how that would be easier. Right now I feel like I have about a week of bad side effects, then two weeks waiting--waiting for more side effects, my hair to finish falling out, my next treatments, my life to resemble something normal....

I see my oncologist tomorrow, and we are going to discuss it more. She didn't expect me to be upset about the delay, so she was surprised when I was. She was thinking it might be ok to go ahead as I have a track record for dealing well with anesthesia, and my side effects haven't been too bad and it's a short procedure. I really hope we do go ahead as planned.

Am I crazy to be this upset about adding 5 extra days?

Hi Beachbum,

I also can't have my right arm used for anything. I am not against getting the port--just against getting it causing delays in chemo. I have done one infusion without it with no issues, a second or third wouldn't be bad, if the port can't be placed until later.

I am hoping for better news from my oncologist tomorrow. I find there is a lot of mental prep getting ready for an infusion and to delay for so long is just completely throwing that off for me.

Jenn