Starting Chemo May 2015

JenJenJen, have you tried baby wipes and hydrocortisone cream? That worked for me, but it is awful to deal with. Thankfully mine has been gone for a long time but not forgotten. Cheryl

Steflove and surprise...my AC2 was the same dosages as my first treatment. My urine turns bloodorange color within 45 minutes of the A and is usually back to normal by the next morning. Hope you get a culture steflove!

Hey all you fabulous ladies! Had my second AC yesterday. I saw my MO before the treatment and got great news. He said my blood levels were almost back to normal after two weeks. He was very happy to see that.

Second AC went fine with half the steroid dosage and much less heat and sweats. Feeling fair today. Taking things slow and will spend the time knitting and watching TV.

Talked to my MO about staying out on disability for all chemo treatments as my job is very analytical and requires constant visual monitoring to do my work. He has agreed to keep me out.

More in a few days.

Hair Hair........About the chin hair.........my family laughs at me because I take my 10X magnifying mirror on every trip I go on. Can't go one day without examining my chin. Good news though! Even though the hair on my head has just started thinning, my chin hairs are thinning even more. When I pluck, they come out very easily, and there are definitely fewer of them. I think my mustache is completely gone. I just hope that isn't bad news for my eyelashes and eyebrows! Yesterday I had my hair cut from shoulder length to a pixie cut.

I went in today for a CBC to see if I needed a Neupogen shot. Luckily my white count was high enough that I didn't need one. So, tomorrow I go in for spa day #3. I had a rough week and finally felt almost normal today, so I am not looking forward to it. I am struggling so much with nausea and headaches. I am scared to take Zofran because of the headaches. I think this time I will just take Compazine first thing in the morning, and if it makes me sleepy, I'll just set my alarm to make sure I drink enough water.

JenJenJen, what helped me was wet wipes and Preparation H. Preparation H also makes wipes. I think they have some kind of numbing agent.

lindatwo & others with nausea:

I pass this along for what it's worth. I have found great comfort using Bigelow Lemon Ginger herbal tea (available on Amazon if not locally, but any lemon ginger herbal tea will do). I discovered it long before chemo and am using it a great deal now. I also add a couple of slices of fresh ginger to it as it's brewing which is really what helps me, I believe. Think ginger ale as a nausea remedy. I get a thumb of ginger, peel it and slice it into rounds, then put them individually on a cutting board or cookie sheet to freeze, then bag. Take out a few slices each time I have a cuppa. I use a bit of sweetener, but do as you wish. It's the ginger that soothes the tummy.

As long as my white count is ok I go out and about....I try not to get too close to a lot of people. I don't wear a mask...my oncologist said it is not needed at this time. I did cTch a stomach bug from my 13 year old last week, but I can't not be around her.I also am staying away from school even though my students want to see me. 1200 middle school kids have LOTS of germs.

AC #3 done!! I am so happy I only have one more of these left. Got my infusion, went out for pancakes (today's major craving) and now I'm at home and the yuck feeling is starting to hit. Over it!!

Hope everyone else is faring well. I have yet to use a mask but my blood counts have been good too. If they get low I wouldn't hesitate to use them. For the time being I just try to lay low, be aware of other people in my surroundings (grocery checker coughs? I get in another line), and I have hand sanitizer everywhere: my purse, my car, my desk at work, my chemo bag, etc etc.

Tifree -- I went back to work on Day 6. I can't wear a mask since I'm a police dispatcher and my mic won't work with one. Day 7, I woke up with a stuffy nose and sore throat. Day 8 now and I've got that raw feeling in my lungs like I'm about get bronchitis. I'm off tomorrow so hopefully sleeping all day will help fight off whatever bug I'm getting.

I've kind of made a game of having my coworkers pick what hat I'm going to wear to work with my uniform when my hair comes out. So far they've come up with a coon skin hat, a Russian-style hat with ear flaps, a beanie with a fuzzy ball on top and ear flaps and one of those beanies with a propeller on top. The best so far is this one:

So day two after AC #3 infusion and I noticed my face looks flushed...anyone else have this? I didn't notice this with my first 2 infusions, and I don't feel feverish or anything.

TGIF Everyone! I hope you had a good week. I am 4 days out of my AC #1 and not use to feeling constantly rundown. Took claritin before the Neulasta shot, which helped, but still feel out of sorts. Today I was achy and decided to take some ibuprofen which has helped enough for me to actually do some laundry and tidy up my kids rooms this morning. The weather in NJ has been crappy all week but the weekend is suppose to get warmer and sunnier which will give me a reason to go walking again to lift my spirits.

Has anyone taken the LGFB workshop that is offered through American Cancer Society? What were your pros/cons of it? I just signed up for 6/22/15 and hope I am feeling up to attending.

Marlanab-love the headress too! Looks like it would go with just about any outfit you wear!

Magnolia83 - congrats on completing AC#3 and getting one step closer to the finish line. I keep telling myself all I have to do is get past mid-July when my AC will be over and then it's only 4 treatments of Taxol.

t100angel - your MO allowed you to take multivitamins? Mine told me to stop taking while in treatment but now I'm questioning the reasoning he had behind that?

Tifree40-Hope your chemo went well with out any major side effects The anti nausea meds helped me quite a bit the 2 days after my 1st treatment, but then I didn't need them after that. Crackers & ginger-ale along with dry toast was helpful for me.

ok i need tricks to keep the water intake up as i'm starting to fail miserably. I can't stomach any more liquid, it makes me nauseus just thinking about taking another sip. I've tried all diff types of liquid. Water, water with lemon, water with juice, juice, gatorage, gatorade with water, coconut water, lemonade, iced tea lemonade. It's driving me nuts!!!! I'm at MAYBE 50oz right now at 3pm.

I'm 1 day post 2nd TC chemo. I usually drink lots of water but found getting it down difficult the first few days after my first round and seems to be going the same this time, though I don't feel as bad thankfully (touch wood). Smoothies and decaf tea definitely go down easier for me too, and watermelon tastes really good too so I've been eating quite a bit of that. (I got that tip from a local booklet written by a husband of a breast cancer patient for other husbands, that I picked up at the hospital and brought home for my husband).

The LGFB workshop was great.... Lots of good information and lots of goodies. We had a fun group and laughed a lot too. I definitely recommend it

I can tolerate hot tea or decaf coffee early and late so that counts for 36-48 oz and would count bullion or jello as well. The tap water at work is yucky so I bring from home for 32 more then get in a powerade zero or low cal gatorade. I am finding if I do straight water,  leg cramps occur so i am either drinking too fast or not enough electrolytes. Chewing gum,  pepermints or hard candy as well as biotene may help.

Being TP my 2nd TC of 6 is next Wed so a whole summer of spa treatments. Luckily the Herceptin weekly isn't giving me too many problems except being decaffinated due to the tachycardia, the benadryl is kicking my butt. My siesta time. 

I finally quit making daily trips to Walgreen's,  everything finally stocked up. A co worker in my department of 11 just dx'd today with IDC. Pray for her please. She sees BS Tuesday. I want to be there for her but with so much on my plate,  I don't know if I can handle it. She was supposed to have D&C on the 10th but her screening mammogram put that on hold. She does't have computer savvy or access or I would point her to this site. 

LGFB is Monday 8th for me. I called to see if I needed a reservation,  was called back that evening and welcomed. Looking forward to some fun. 

Lots have commented "like your hair" and I am not fidgeting with it as much. Still haven't lost much since the buzz on day 13 but it is only day 16. Probably a bit premature but the wig is much cooler and fits better. 

I drink 64 oz of water and then smoothies, 7up, V8, and orange sparkling juice, sometimes mint tea. I tried 100 oz of just water and that was making me more ill then the chemo. I am signed up for LGFB on Monday 6/8. So we will see how it goes. My daughters hat came today. I got 1 on line and she thought it was great and wanted one to match. Website hatsscarvesandmore.com. A little pricey but cool beanies, scarves and hats

tjh, nice website but you are right, a bit pricey especially with shipping to me here in Canada and with exchange but I've taken some screenshots and am going to look for similar styles closer to home.. Thanks. I'm planning a beach holiday for as soon as I can after treatment, so the summer styles would be great for the beach. If I can't find anything closer to home, I may just splash out and order from them.... I do have a tendency to plunge on myself these days!

dunesleeper, sorry to hear about your issues with lymph nodes. Hope they resolve themselves. hugs.

rosesrx, hope you enjoy the LGFG seminar. Sorry about your coworker. I like wearing my wig too and I have had some very nice comments. People who know I've lost my hair are amazed it looks so natural on me, those that don't have just said 'nice haircut' hahahaha. I wear it when I go out all the time but just wear scarves around the house and I have a snazzy large brimmed hat for when I'm outside in the sun.

Everyone, take care of yourselves!!