Starting Chemo March 2015

Hi gals. I've just been given my plan and it is supposed to start next week. Technically not starting in March, but close enough!

I'll be doing AC every other week for 4 cycles and then Taxol (I think with Herceptin and Perjeta) every week for 12 weeks. 5 months of chemo - yikes!!! Then of course the H & P will continue every 3 weeks to complete a full year of that stuff.

The MO was very methodical in explaining the possible/probable SE's and even though I had already read about everything he told me, it still freaked me out to hear him say it.

Everyone keeps saying how strong I am but right now I feel so weak and I don't know how I'm going to muster the strength to get through all this. I know I will, because that's what we do...but it's not going to be easy.

Anyway, I'm supposed to see the MO on Friday to be scheduled for port placement and a baseline echocardiogram and he will also give me a start date.

I'm scared - but anxious to get started. The sooner I start, the sooner I'm done!

I guess we will be seeing each other often on this thread. Good luck!

I too feel like my life revolves around Dr. appointments. I'm already worn out and I haven't even started treatment yet! Tomorrow I meet with the MO, BS, PS, and genetic couselor - all in one day and in 2 separate cities that are 90 miles apart. Eeeekkk!!!

My husband and I are renovating a home and hoping to put it on the market very soon. So unfortunately, that's going to be my 'fun' this weekend. But maybe we will take a little break and catch a movie or something?

Just dropping in from the March 2008 Chemo thread to wish all the new 2015 Chemo "Marchers" good luck! It's been 7 years since I was exactly where you are now - with my world turned upside down by a b/c dx and facing chemotherapy. Scary stuff, huh? And it seems that your whole life is nothing but doctor's appointments!

I just wanted to reach back and give you all some encouragement. Chemo is no walk in the park, but it is doable. You have far more courage and strength than you think you have. I'm just an ordinary person and never thought I'd have the courage and strength to get through chemo, but I did. You will too.

A couple of tips:
1. These chemo threads here on BCO are wonderful. Although I was lucky enough to have love and support from my family, friends, and co-workers, I knew no one else "in real life" who was doing chemo. I felt very alone till I found my fellow chemo Marchers. All of a sudden, I was in contact with women all over the world who were going through exactly what I was going through. We shared experiences, swapped practical tips, laughed, cried, vented, and supported each other all the way through. I never would have made it though chemo without my fellow 2008 Marchers.

2. Exercise if you can. Studies have shown that women who exercise through chemo tend to get through chemo easier than those who do not exercise. This doesn't mean you have to run a marathon! Even just walking is great. But remember, everyone is different - some sail through chemo with few effects, and some get hit with every s/e in the books. There may be days when a walk down to the corner and back is all you can manage, and there are days when you may not be able to manage that! That's OK too - just do what you can on any given day, and rest when you need to. For encouragement, check out the "Let's Post Our Daily Exercise" thread in the Fitness section here on BCO.

3. Be strong enough to admit you need help. This is the hardest part for most of us. But people want to help, and you need help - so let them help! People can cook a meal, walk the dog, take the kids for an afternoon, vacuum the rug, or go grocery shopping for you. They get a good feeling (think of the bragging they can do at work the next day!) and you get necessary stuff done. Even teens and other family members can help by screening phone calls, updating Facebook, CaringBridge or other status pages, coordinating meals, or sending out blast emails to the rest of the family so you don't have to repeat yourself over and over again to everyone who calls.

4. Bald is not nearly as bad as you think. I was so worried about losing my hair, but once it happened, it really wasn't that big a deal. Some of you may consider cold caps and that's great. But for me I had enough to worry about without taking the cold cap project on. Everyone is different - some wear wigs, some wear scarves, some brave souls go commando. I was a baseball cap girl - I wore baseball caps with long dangly earrings. Friends and co-workers brought me all kinds of caps and earrings, so I pretty much had a cap to match everything I owned! Bald is cold though, so be sure to pick up a few of those little sleep caps like the American Cancer Society's TLC catalog sells: http://www.tlcdirect.org/

5. Surround yourself with positive happy people and avoid those "Negative Nancy" types. You need all your strength to get through chemo - don't waste precious energy on negative people.

You will get through this. Hold tight to each other and support each other. Remember, millions of other women have walked this path ahead of you, so you are not alone. When I was doing chemo, many b/c "veterans" reached their hands back to help me, and I clung to them for dear life. Now it's my turn to reach my hand back to you and help you along. And someday, you too will be reaching your hand back to grasp the hand of a newbie to help guide her through this. We're a long chain of women stretching back for centuries, and we hold each other tightly in support and understanding. If you're into history, a great book about breast cancer through the centuries is Bathesheba's Breast. It's available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bathshebas-Breast-Women-Cancer-History/dp/0801880645. I read it during my first couple of chemo treatments - somehow reading about women dealing with b/c throughout history made me feel stronger - almost as if I could share in their strength.

If anyone has any questions about chemo or anything else about my experiences, please PM me and I'll be glad to answer the best I can. I know I asked a lot of questions of b/c veterans when I was dx, and learned so much from them. I may not check this thread often so a PM is the best way to make sure I see your question. I tend to hang out in the Fitness threads now, but I'm always willing to answer any questions you may have.

I know that it all seems overwhelming right now, but there is life after a b/c dx and chemo. Seven years after my chemo, I'm active and happy. I run, hike, bike, do Pilates and yoga, and anything else I want. I even ran a half marathon to celebrate my 5 year mark - if you'd told me before b/c that someday I'd do that I'd have said you were crazy! I'm lucky enough that there's no signs of recurrence, and at this point, cancer is seems more like something that happened to me once long ago rather than something that I think about every day. And that's a great feeling.

Good luck Chemo Marchers Class of 2015!

I'm 43 and I have a 13 year old daughter. I've also been online looking at hats and scarves. I can't do a wig - just not right for me. But yesterday when I was at the dr I went to the little shop downstairs and tried on some different hats. Good thing is that the ones I picked out online looked good in person too so I know I'm on the right track. I think I'm going to make a wish list because friends and family keep asking if they can do anything. Maybe they can get me a hat or a scarf. They run from $3 on the cheap end to $30+ on the other end. If I have to wear them for 5+ months, I'll want a varied collection LoL.

josalive - Dangit! I just typed a big long post and it disappeared on me!

Anyway. I gleaned a lot of info from the Jan and Feb threads so you might read those if you haven't already.

I have enough trouble with a 13-yr-old daughter (teenage years drama) and I can't imagine going through this with a 2-yr-old. It sounds like you have a good support system. Lean on them and learn to accept help when offered!

I too have been juicing for the past 6 weeks but it's because I'm terrible about eating my veggies. So I think it's a good thing to do as long as my tummy can handle it.

My MO wants me to take Folic acid too. I don't know if he recommends it to everyone but I had gastric bypass surgery 7 1/2 yr ago so that might be why?

So far, I'm putting together a mental list of stuff I need but I haven't packed anything or made a 'chemo bag' yet. I start on Mar 5 so I'll get that together on Mar 4th LoL!

I'm supposed to get my port placed next week and I'm kinda looking forward to that because I hate IV sticks!

It is a whirlwind of information, decisions, and changes... but countless numbers of women have already gone down this same path and lived to tell about it so I think we will come out the other end just fine. It's just not that easy when it's YOU that is faced with it.

My concerns are dehydration, nausea, fatigue, and not being able to work during treatment. I think I'll be able to do it but the people that know me best don't think I'll be up to the task. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part but in really going to try and work as much as possible. Not to the point of exhaustion of course but just to stay productive and active.

Stand tall and forge on! We are here to go though it together and support each other during this difficult part of the journey.

Bekah

Hi rleepac, I have already finished chemo 11/25 but I saw your post on the way by and wanted to drop you a very heartfelt Game On! You can do this. I worked the whole time through AC/T and while it wasn't easy, I still managed it. It is amazing what one person can do with a lot help and support. This is all about you, and visit here often, everyone here on the boards will help you. We have all been there and done that.

Everyone has their own chemo things that they have done to feel better, look better, and eat better. The better you can control your side effects the better you will feel. Just let us know what you need, and you will see the others pop in. Read the earlier chemo threads, lots of good info there. Just stay away from Dr. Google. Good Luck!

I'm getting a major chemo anxiety tonight. It's still over a week away, so I should just enjoy the calm before the storm, shouldn't I?

Thank you to those ladies who had chemo ahead of us and jumped in here togive us updates and let us know it's doable.

Hello, all.

It looks like I'll be starting chemotherapy either very late this week, or (more likely) early next week. I'm 54 years old, and had a unilateral mx with ALND in mid-January. My port is going in on Wednesday, and I have echocardiogram and CT scans on Thursday. Once that's done, I'll be doing 4 rounds of dose dense AC, followed by 4 rounds of dose dense paclitaxel. My cancer is triple negative, so no hormone treatments for me. I have started taking Metformin, and plan to fast before and after each chemo cycle, if I can. My MO has recommended 2,000 IU of Vitamin D, up to 3,000 mg of Calcium, and Melatonin at night. I've got my wig, and will be buzzing my hair down to about 1/2 inch as soon as my first infusion date is set.

So, I think I'm about as ready as I can get, but I'm still frightened. These chemo drugs sound very tough, even with Neulasta, Emend, Zofran and dexamethasone support. I've never been seriously ill before, and am worried about how I'll cope. My DH is bearing up pretty well, but I can tell it's taking a terrible toll on him. He's used to being able to "do things", and he feels very helpless just now.

At this moment, I just want to "get this show on the road", although I'm scared of what comes next. The uncertainty is hard to handle.

Hi rleepac,

There is actually a thread here on the discussion boards about fasting during chemo - it's in this Forum: Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, under the Topic: Fasting During Chemo? There are a couple of pages of discussion and links, so you can look through them. Basically, it seems that there is some evidence that fasting may put your normal cells into "protective mode", while cancer cells do not go into that "protective" mode, so your side effects may be reduced.

I'm taking Metformin because my cancer is triple negative, and there have been some studies that suggest that Metformin reduces recurrence and improves chemotherapy results specifically in triple negative breast cancer. Here's one link: http://strittermed.org/breast_equity/?p=44

The information on a large Phase III study using Metformin is at: httpp://meetinglibrary.asco.org/print/570748

I got these links, along with a link to foodforbreastcancer.com The member, "InspiredbyDolce" gave me a link to a news page on that site, but I can't read the whole link. If you go to foodforbreastcancer.com and search "metformin", that should find it, but if that doesn't work, I think InspiredbyDolce refers to Metformin in lots of her posts.

My DH's doc suggested that he take Melatonin rather than prescription drugs as a sleep aid, and I have a link:

link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00280-012-1828-8

Let me know if any of the links don't work, and I'll triple check them (I'm typing on a bluetooth keyboard with my iPad, and sometimes it does unpredictable things, skipping or repeating characters).

I don't know how much use I'll get out of my wig, but I've tried it on, and I think I'll like having an option that "looks like me". One of the women at my job has two cousins who have completed treatment, and they liked their wigs very much. I went to the wig consultant that they recommended. I've always been a "scarf person", so I've got lots of scarves that will work already.

I hear you about feeling that you were ordering scarves for someone else - who has cancer. I feel that way about getting ready for chemo. It's almost as if it isn't real, but here we are, and my right breast is gone, so it isn't just a (bad) dream.

Let me know how you made out with the links

Hello All, I just had my port put in today. I am starting chemo TC on Thursday. I am trying to get ready just like all of you but it seems over whelming. So much is out there, not sure what I will need. I do have a Family Doc that is also holistic so he said that he would help me through the chemo. He did acupuncture after BMX and it helped a lot. I do have a question, do they supply you a way to ice your hands and feet while you are getting chemo. How painful is the shot the next day, just want to get ready.

March 2015 ladies,  I am stopping by to say, "You can do this!"  I am from the March 2014 group.  35 of us met here and supported each other through a private facebook group.  We got through chemo together, radiation, and now starting to have reconstruction planning.  We didn't do it alone.  But please just know, you will make it to the other side. 

I had TAC.  I am a nurse and decided not to work.  But I finished my masters program and moved 3000 miles away 2 weeks after my last chemo. Then did rads in a brand new place.  So while obstacles will pop up, you can do this.  There are years of us here to attest to treatment working.  Eventually the hair comes back, but slowly.  Hang in there.

Msmath - welcome! Yes, I am also in an emotional rut right now. I feel so emotionally drained and tired and I'm wondering how in ever going to make it through if I already feel this way. But I know I will. Hopefully you can get your drains out soon. I hate drains! I know they're there for a reason but they still suck (no pun intended).

I have numerous people who keep telling me "you don't even know if you'll lose your hair...lots of people don't." Yeah...ok...those people didn't get the same cocktail I'm getting and I trust my MO who said it will most certainly fall out. Not that I want it to, but I wish people would quit trying to reassure me when they don't have a clue about what they're talking about!

I'm going to have a glass of wine tonight.