Starting Chemo March 2015

SC- my mo said 100.5 for me. Call their office and speak to on call dr if they are closed. Or go to ER. You cannot mess around with this.

Still at about 99.8. I think I may call since I'm also kid of light headed and I tend to run a low temp. I have some antibiotics here as well, but if it's viral it's not going to do anything.

SC, do not take anything for the fever, but if it is above 100.3, you need to call right away, day or night. A fever with low white cells (specifically neutrophils) is an oncology emergency. I had that last time and was admitted for a few days. You will need to get your white cells checked to be sure you can fight whatever is causing the infection. It is not something to try and monitor your self (and I am a person who tries to take care of everything myself before calling). I sure hope you are feeling better!

One thing I should have mentioned earlier that I did when I had chemo in 2013, is that I kept a log every day (some rounds printed, some on my iPad). Each day I just wrote Round 1 day 3 (or whatever round and day). I wrote my temp every time I took it (I took it a couple times each day because of a clinical trial) and I also noted any symptoms. This made it very easy each time I saw MO, because I could bring things up and tell him exactly when they occurred. You think you'll remember, but you don't always remember the specifics. It also made it nice from round to round to look back and see if you had the same thing last round. Some things are just minor annoyances, but it sure was nice to have an idea of when they'd go away each round. Anyway, I just thought I'd pass that along since it helped me so much.

hi all.

Since I start in a week.. March 31st. It's good to see how you all have been doing. I get my port tomorrow and am really starting to feel anxious about it all. I took my daughter (14) to get her hair done today and allil pampering for her. And talked to my stylist about when I'd chop it off. I'm not sure when... Suggestions. I thought around the 2nd cycle.?.

rleepac, you are very pretty. You may feel tired, but I do not think you look tired, so you hide it well.

Stacey, we both start the same day. Same regimen too

sc coqui, it isn't the viral part of the flu. It's that with a fever and low white blood count, your body can't fight off any opportunistic bacteria that might be in your body or anywhere around you

Rleepac, sorry for so many posts, what did you wear on your head to chemo? I'm thinking I'm going with just a do rag and ball cap.

Stacy- it is such a personal decision about your hair. It seems anywhere between day 17-22. First the shedding, then the falling out in clumps. I think it is one of the most dramatic aspects of this whole business, for some, in some cases even more so than losing their breasts themselves. Several in this March group said that the hair is the first outside evidence of their illness. The first time when some realized they almost have to "out" themselves to those outside their innermost circle. Until that moment, in some ways it just isn't Completely real.

I cannot advocate one way over another, but it seems you have a couple of weeks to think about whether you will be a hat person, a wig person, a scarf person, Or all 3! Call your insurance company and find out what kind of coverage you may have for a wig. Many do these days. You can sign up for a "Look Good Feel Better" program which is a really nice 2 hr clinic that helps with ideas about hair and make-up while going through this. Mine was 5 minutes away put on by the American Cancer Soc through our regional hospital. Think you could google it and find the nearest and soonest.

All of us here (well most of us) are going through this the first time and it's so hard to say for someone else the right path. I knew having it come out when I wasn't ready, when it wasn't my decision, would cause a total meltdown. So I had chemo day 1, shaved it all off day 2. I haven't regretted it, and I had fun buying hats and earrings. And in my mind, I took away cancer's chance to f___ with me.

I will say this. Whatever you do, have a plan. Talk to your hairdresser. See how much warning she would need to get you in asap. And begin to see yourself, if you don't already, as so much more than a body, a head of hair. Your beauty will shine through. You will find strength you didn't know you had. You will sport your bald head as a badge of courage, not weakness. You will be a warrior. And every woman in this group who shared pictures of themselves, were, are,without exception, beautiful, sometimes even more so than before.

I'm sorry I wrote so much. It wasn't a simple question, even if you meant it so

My fever hasn't gone up. The nurse asked a bunch of questions, probably checking if I have anything bacterial going on as well.

let's hope it stays as it is!

Meme-YAY ON THE SCANS, so very happy and relieved for you.

I hereby award you bonus points for high bucks per hour quotient.

I had pain in my lower back, like back spasms, from the N. A small iced gelpack 20 min on/20 off helped. Later, after a couple of hours, I alternated with heating pad to the site. Had to jockey for position, though, because Jack thinks it belongs to him!

oh, and about the "in-person" support groups. I live in a combined metro area of around 25,000 people. I checked it out and found one cancer survivor's group. I went to one meeting, and the people were very nice, very supportive.

However, it was a mixed group, men and women, people currently going through treatment at one end of the spectrum, and 30 year survivors at the other. The types of cancers were varied, with no more than 20% bc.

After I attended, I found this and one other on-line site. I found that my personal need for particular information spefcific to BC far outweighed the need for in person group therapy, if you will.

And now that I've met all of you, I could never even imagine getting through chemo and the rest of treatment without people standing in the same shoes I'm standing in. So I doubt I'll go back. Plus, I get to do this with my jammers and slippers on, with Jack, my own personal therapy dog, in my lap. How can you beat that

SC-my docs also said to call them with any temp over 100. They cautioned about using ibuprofen or Tylenol if you start to feel sick as that can bring the temp down and so you don't have that as a warning marker. Like IC said, they're mainly concerned about your wbc count and they use any temp over 100 as a red flag to run some blood work. So sorry it sounds like youre in a bit of a petri dish with all the bugs in the family. Best wishes to stay healthy. Oops just saw that you had talked to your docs so this is old news for you. Sounds like they're on top of things!

Shaz......woo hoooooo! After starting down this road I've decided that there's nothing more exciting than good news about a test or scan-I am so so happy for you and know you'll be sleeping better tonight, migraines notwithstanding!!

I'm ready for chemo round two tomorrow. Bag is packed and steroids are on board. Hoping they will let me sleep tonight!

Shaz- doing the happy dance here with your news.

You lookin FINE in that tiger getup. I hear you ROARING.

slothabouttown I'm ready with you for tomorrow. Bag packed, ice chopped, etc. thank goodness I don't have to be there until 9:40 so I have time to get ready in the morning and not worrying about oversleeping, etc.

I wrote out my schedule and preferred times for all my chemo treatments, so tomorrow I am going to have their scheduling person set them up in my time and schedule.

Kind of nervous since I don't know what to expect for round 2. There are lots of horror stories out there, but also lots of people who said round 2 wasn't as bad. And they did front load me for round one, higher infusions, etc. so maybe since the next round won't be as dense, I'm hoping it won't be too bad. But there is the cumulative effect thing.....

I decided I'm just wearing a ball cap. I was really hot last time, so im going to try to stay cool, but am taking a cover shawl just in case. I mean, it is a chemo cancer facility, so I'm sure they are used to seeing bald mangy heads.

Shaz, awesome news about brain scan, and you definitely looked elegant and fashionably great for your treatment!

I have to find out tomorrow if there is a non codeine based pain reliever, cuz the codeine isn't doing it for me. I feel worse on it, and I onky took it two times. Felt terrible, and got a rash on the outside of my legs

rleepac,

You are beautiful!