AC+T SEs

My last period was a week before I started AC. Nothing since and I'm ok with that. I was peri-menopausal before BC diagnosis anyway so maybe the chemo was just enough to push me over the edge into chemopause?

Bekah

I saw my Chemo Dr before my 10th Taxol. I talked to him about how completely and utterly exhausted I was (existed either in bed or on couch in front of TV). He told me it was ip to me me IF I felt I had to stop he was going to put in an order that I could IF I decided I needed/had to stop as the 9 I had already done had done 85% of what doing the 12 could do. Having already done 9 and 85% - I was not going to stop with only 3 more to do and get 100% of what it could do.

I was more fortunate than some as I did not have 'anything' I had to do other than fight the 'Monster' as Hubby took over all cooking, house and dog chores and Son took over all horse/barn chores. I h

We each have our own uniques issues and no 2 of us have exactly the same experiences. Do not assume that the worst that you read you WILL experience.

You say you are worried about infertility - have you talked to your Dr about having eggs 'harvested' before Chemo? It was not something for me to worry about as I was 19 yrs post menopause when DXd but there are some going women here who have.

'Chemo Brain' - Can't say I had any issues but I'm A.D.D. (DXd) anyway. Hubby and Son said they didn't see any difference in me that way during either the neoadjuvant A/C or adjuvant Taxol.

A/C was not bad at all - did not slow me down at all. I did loose head hair, lost sense of taste and smell, lost appetite (no nausea - just never thought about eating). Taxol wasn't as nice - completely and utterly exhausted the entire time. For some it is the reverse - A/C is worse than Taxol. We are all unique and there is no 'One Size Fits All'.

rleepac, I do not know how they came up with 12 Taxol. If you compare the dosage for those doing dose dense 4 Taxol (175 mg/m2) to the weekly, (80 mg/m2) then when on the weekly, you have exceeded the dose dense total by week 9. When they compared the toxicity nad efficacy of the two, they had people do 6 dose dense treatments so teh time frame was the same...so it did not compare the 2 standards in use. I never understood that. So 12 may be better than 9 long term (who knows), but if you have done 9, you still have gotten more of the drug than those on the dose dense regimen. Best of luck. I start weekly Taxol at the end of May. I am worried about neuropathy since I just competes Taxotere in 2013.

Thanks. I'll discuss with the BS and MO this week when I'm not doped up on Benadryl/Ativan cocktail and try to get a better understanding of what the plan is.

I am ER+PR-/HER2- and did A/C neoadjuvant and Taxol adjuvant. Herceptin is for HER2+.

There are no absolutes when it comes to our individual TX plan as we are each unique as is our DX. Different Drs also have different thoughts on TX plans. Different types also have different 'usual' TX plans. For IBC, neoadjuvant is the SOP but neoadjuvant is being used more often with other types. Most IBC will do A/C and Taxol neoadjuvant but I did 4 DD A/C neoadjuvant and 12 Taxol adjuvant.

Travler, I am doing DD AC and T. Not sure why it isn't showing up on my signature. If this is hand and foot syndrome..ugh. No. Just no. 😠

There is a fairly common childhood disease (hand/foot disease) that is a virus and easily spread that sounds a lot like what you are experiencing. On Chemo, our mmune systems can be very compromised thus easier to contract. This past fall, Hubby developed it (apparently his boss brought it to work as his going child had it at the time). It was horrible and he could hardly stand or walk. It was bad enough that he actually had me drive him to the Dr (I usually have to fight to get him to go to a Dr for anything). I did not remember what the Podiatrist gave him for meds but they did start working within days and it took about 3 weeks to be healed. I was warned to be on the watch for it 'just in case' though I had not been on Chemo for almost 5 yrs.

I had a follow up with the BS at UCSF and she couldn't stop smiling at me and she told me twice how I was rockin the earrings I went commando because I figured nobody in S.F. cares if I have hair or not but I couldn't go without earrings!

Anyway...we are on track for me to finish the last 10 rounds of Taxol/Herceptin and then will repeat scans (chest CT, mammogram, breast MRI) and BMX will be scheduled for the week of Aug 17. She said she only sees a slim chance I'll need rads but she is going to take it to the tumor board after the repeat scans. She said probably an overnight hospital stay and then 3 weeks recovery.

Overall I was happy with the visit and the rest of 'the plan' is starting to take shape.

Bekah

I was feeling perfectly fine yesterday, but today I'm a little woozy this afternoon. Hoping that some food in my belly will make me feel better. I don't have much of an appetite since my tastebuds are shot.

That freaking sore throat...hits around day day 3 with the swollen glands and the mouth sores...is usually gone by about day 9. And the constant low grade nausea. Even with prilosec calfate, zofran, and cpmpazine....Ativan puts me to sleep...and the freaking lead legs....and the giant purple circles under my eyes....and the fstigue....and the no sex drive, no alchohol, no nothing......only 5 more....goddamit.. only 5 more....God I feel like shit!