April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

Rockerwife, have the best camping trip ever! Happy trails...............I am so glad the kids gave you a Hero send off! My Mom taught 5th grade for 32 years, and teaching was her life. I know what that means to you. Cheryl

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed March 12, 2015 and will start chemo Tuesday, April 7th.  Thank you to everyone for posting their experiences with chemo.  Still overwhelmed with all of this but I'm finding these posts very helpful!  Still in the process of getting more details about my cancer DX.  Thanks again ladies and everyone have a Blessed Easter!

Peggy

Hello ladies. I'll hope you'll forgive this intrusion. I am approaching the one year anniversary of my first chemo; I was part of the "Starting Chemo in April 2014" board. As my "chemo-versary" approaches, I've been thinking about what I would say if I could write a letter to myself as I was starting chemo. The next best thing is to write a letter to you ladies who are starting chemo this month. So here goes.

Rely on the ladies on this forum. They will become your sisters. This will be the safe place where you can vent, cry, scream, or pout without guilt or judgment. I have wonderful friends and family who supported me during chemo, but there is no substitute for having comrades who are going through it with you. I could not have made it through without my April chemo sisters; we're planning an in-person get together in the fall.

Chemo sucks. It will do all kinds of crazy things to your body, mind, and spirit. There will be good days and bad days. And then eventually the bad days will outnumber the good days and the good days won't be all that good. When you're at your lowest and feel like sh*t, it's okay to curl up in bed and do nothing. You don't have to be strong all the time.

There is life on the other side of chemo and whatever other treatments you may have. I am 7 months PFC, 6 months post BMX, and 3 months post exchange surgery. I joined a gym a month ago and have been taking Zumba, yoga, and barre classes every week religiously. It's not pretty, but I feel myself getting stronger every day. I'm able to sleep through the night again. My hair is growing, although much too slowly (thanks to the ongoing Herceptin infusions). There is life after chemo!

I know these words won't alleviate the pain and suffering that chemo can cause. But when you inevitably find yourself in the dark place, I hope they will help you to not give up hope that it will get better. I wish you an uneventful treatment with no complications!

Hey everyone. I just started to get bladder spasms yesterday. I am thinking that it may be necessary for me to cut down on my hydration. The doctor on-call seems to think it is an effect from the cytoxan. Anyone else have experience with this? They called in a prescription for me to try. I was still a little nauseated this morning. Is that something that I should expect throughout treatment or is it just for the first few days after the infusions? Also I'm starting to get acne.

I am starting back to work on Monday after being off for the past 7 weeks.

Karen, I'm glad things are starting out smoothly for you & I hope things continue.

Thanks for looking in on us EverForward.

Thanks EverForward, much appreciated.

Thank you KBeee!  Trying to keep positive and realize everyone's journey is different, but I'm so grateful that I found this board and appreciate all information!

Peggy

KBee, thanks so much for sharing the pictures. It put a huge smile on my face.

How is everyone doing? My first infusion was Thursday. I had some brain fog on Friday. Last night I had some pretty severe leg bone pain that has been on and off all day. It seems to go away when I walk so I took a walk this morning. I have been exhausted since then. I took a 3 hour nap and now still lounging in bed. My partners parents came over for Easter. They brought all the food so we didn't have to do anything which is awesome! Hope everyone is having a good day.

ankledolphin, did you take Claritin for the bone pain? It works for some ladies. I tried it and gave up and went to Tylenol #3 with codeine. They fight here about writing scripts for it, but I couldn't take the aches and pains. I had relief with the codeine. That was the only way I got through it. The last injection for Neulasta with the Taxol, I refused it. I only took half of it, and no pain. If you need pain relief, get it and don't take no for an answer!! I get very annoyed when I need meds for pain and they try to refuse. I have plenty now. Sigh. I hope you feel better!! Cheryl

I will begin chemo this Wednesday. I am so lucky that my son will be with me for that first go-round. He kept me laughing for the surgery. Hopefully, he continues to keep me entertained during the infusion.

In the meantime, I am part of a study of heart disease and breast cancer. Tomorrow, I'll do the third part of the study where I get to eat biscuits and gravy for breakfast and then nothing else. Worst part is no coffee. I'll be ready to chew nails by the end of the day. Hope it doesn't ruin my mojo for the big show on Wednesday.

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'll let you know how things go.

Hi Allicat, I never took the popsicles with me, just kept a bunch at home. I guzzled water during the infusions and never had mouth issues. I also used Biotene mouthwash, and sucked Brach's lemon drops for the dry mouth. And I'm still doing all that. I can't seem to lose the thirsty or dry mouth. I usually drink about 4 to 5 bottles of water per day! But the popsicles do count as a liquid when the water tastes weird. And I have margarita and pina colada ones, no alcohol. So they cool your mouth and throat, and count as a liquid. They usually have a lot of flavor so helps getting enough liquid.

For chemo I always took yogurt, celery, pretzels, water, mac and cheese for lunch, and bananas. Just small snacks to keep something in my stomach. I always felt better having all the drugs with a snack during the infusion. My worst fear was the nausea, and I never had a problem with vomiting. Never once! But I took my meds, drank a lot of water, and snacked. You just have to find what works for you.

Good Luck. Cheryl

Hi ankledolphin, The runny nose is from losing the nose hairs, nothing to protect it. I had AC/T, and still have a runny nose. The bloody nose was a nightly thing when I was on Taxol, but that is a rare occurrence these days. I have a large cool mist humidifier, and it helps a lot with breathing issues. So I'll wait and see what happens when summer arrives in humid Ohio. I just hope the Lake winds help me there.

The food was tricky on chemo. Something would sound good until I took a bite, and sometimes one bite and in the trash. Very annoying for sure. But I did well with mac and cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, canned mandarin oranges, Jell-O, popsicles, whole milk, pudding, chicken, and noodles. Strange menu but the nurses said to eat whatever it took to not drop weight. A big success since I gained almost 20 pounds by the end of chemo. But it is coming off, slow and steady. I did not many restrictions on food, just fresh raspberries, strawberries, and lettuce. They did not want me to eat anything that could not be washed properly or peeled. But I am so glad to eat all of that now.

Buy small amounts of food items until you know what works for you. I ate the same things over and over. And pass on the things you love, because you may have a strong reaction to it after chemo. Brings back all of memories from chemo. I thought that idea was bunk until now. I can't gag down mac and cheese or mandarin oranges.

I liked to treat myself on the way home from rads to homemade ice cream and homemade hot fudge. But after 33 rads, my thighs are showing it. And I haven't craved it since rads.

I hope this helps, if not let me know. Been there done that! Cheryl

Thank you all who are doing chemo this week for posting! I think today is a bad day for me....the fear has got me down. I start my chemo Thursday and get my port in that morning. Even though we all may never meet, I love you all and pray for our collective strength!