Chemo in June 2015

Hi Everyone,

I have been diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer and starting Chemo therapy of T & C tomorrow morning.

I'm scared and frighten, and looking for any positive information that you are will to share with me.

I had a Radical Left Mastectomy on April 9, now Chemo.

Tamkay123. Glad you are feeling so well! I hope I will too!

What does Claritin do in regards to having the Neulasta injection?

Thanks in advance! I'm new ;-)

I second what Scarlete said. Do all of it! I have T/C #3 tomorrow. Not looking forward to days 3 - 7! But do all of the things listed. I will will be drinking 100 oz. of water tomorrow and as much as I can in the next week. It does help get the toxic stuff and all those dead Cancer cells out......if there are any. Yes, take the Zofram BUT it causes constipation, so I will be taking Peri- Colase on days 2 and 4. Strange, but then diarrhea sets in for me - toward the second week. I also wipe my bottom with baby wipes after toilet paper. Stay very clean as the same bacteria is there, as in your mouth. Yucky, but true. You can get sores there too. I know, things you don't want to hear, but better to be prepared. Start taking Clatiton, not Clariton D, the day after treatment. I take it in the mornings for 10'days. It helps bone pain......I guess it does. I still get some bone pain but am thinking that the Clariton helps. The Neulasta shot makes your bone marrow go crazy building up your white blood cells, which you want, but this overstimuation does cause bone pain. It does go away and my blood counts have been good when I go in for blood tests one week after treatment and beyond. Eat small meals every two hours. Use the salt and did a mouth swish every time you use the bathroom. I keep all that stuff by the sink.....glass and spoon to mix. It has worked! Not kidding, this is not fun, but rest, go with it and remember why you are doing this! Be thankful there are medicines to get rid of any stray cells. You can do this! Ask any questions you have!

Hi all,

Good timing I jumped on here and you all are talking about Neulasta......as on Monday I got my most recent bloodwork done and my neutrophils hit an all time low (below normal and this has never happened) and I am only on chemo #2 (or getting ready for it)...Im at .9 neutrophil count and waiting for my oncologist to call me..and he hasnt called me yet..so I left a msg for the oncology casemgr. How serious is this when the neutrophils drop this low? are you all talking about Clariton the over the counter allergy med to take? weird that would help with bone pain...but hell I  will take whatever to get rid of side effects...

magbrew. I am on TC as well I am 14 days out from my first infusion and let me tell you it hasn't been bad at all. I have felt pretty dang normal except for on day 9 I developed a "mild" case of strep throat and had a fever of 100.5 ( my onc didn't give me nulasta for some reason!) and so I freaked out and went to the er. They gave me the Zithromax z pack and in 3 days I was back to normal except I had some mouth sores. Now at day 14 those have pretty much gone away so I am back to feeling completely normal. Hope you have the same good luck I have had ( except the strep throat

justmaximom15 - I get my bloodwork done each time I go in for a treatment so bi-weekly. I'm on day 11 of the first cycle of AC and I've noticed my hair feels different as well. It seems a lot more dry. I've already got a wig that is very similar to my current hair. I'm trying to decide as well what I ask for at the hairdresser. I think I plan to transition straight to the wig so it's not so noticeable at work to some people with which I haven't shared my diagnosis. I'm not totally freaked out about losing my hair but it might be less traumatic to go really short but not buzzed and then let it fall out from there. Thoughts? I noticed you are in Missouri. Where are you located? I'm originally from STL but now I live at the Lake of the Ozarks. I'm receiving my treatment at Ellis Fischel in Columbia which isn't too bad of a drive.

Espanola, I had my first AC when my port was a week old and other than the fact that my port is rather deep and they had to use a longer needle it wasn't that bad at all and I didn't even have the numbing cream yet. Best of luck to you for an easy time!

tamkay123, I have treatment every 3 weeks and so far they've had me come in weekly for blood draws but that might be because she isn't giving me the Neulesta shot and she's just watching me closely. As for my location, I am in the St. Louis area about 20 miles south of downtown though. I'm going to SSM St. Clare and I love it.

I am starting TC tomorrow - I was diagnosed in March and had a right mastectomy in April. My Oncotype score came back a 23 and my Oncologist recommended Tamoxifen and Lupron injections (to shut down my ovaries... I'm 46) but a second doctor recommended the Mammaprint test. That took FOREVER to get done (because MSK won't do it), but it did come back high risk, so here I am - 12 weeks out of surgery today, starting chemo tomorrow. Any advice? I read drink a lot of water today and tomorrow? Maybe chew on ice chips during the chemo? Painted my nails and toenails. Getting a "Mylie Cyrus" buzz cut today (after 25+ years of very long hair). (I LOVE eaglemom's mohawk!) We have concert tickets for tomorrow night - any chance you guys think I will be able to go? I got the tickets months ago. I appreciate any thoughts!! Thanks so much!

Just started cheomo yesterday. Adriamycin/cytoxen. Was already fatigued from other health problems & sure not feeling any better today. Because of the pre-meds the doctor said yesterday I would feel the best I had and would hit chemo drain around day 3-5. Since no improvement I worry about days 3-5! Yikes! I know I can do this but boooooo

HOptimistic - it is likely you will be able to go to the concert. I had my first TC one week ago today. I was pretty tired from all the Benadryl they pumped through me, but otherwise the first couple of days were a breeze. My MO has me scheduled for a Neulasta shot after each treatment. It turns out that is what has caused me the worst side effects, not the chemo.

I took the Claritin as recommended, but it didn't work for me. Sunday and Monday my legs really ached, especially over night. By Tuesday I had such severe back pain that I was using Lamaze breathing techniques to get thru the spasms. They put me on Tramadol and that coupled with Extra Strength Tylenol for 24 hours got me back to normal. I've consistently run a fever, but they are attributing that to the Neulasta too. Anyway, although the Neulasta SEs are lousy, I'm a testament that it works. At my worst on Tuesday my WBC count was 4.2. By today, it was high at 18.9. All that pain was my bone marrow on a workout.

My NP says the worst is behind me. Hope so! I'm struggling with my optimism! I don't want to be a Debbie Downer with my friends and colleagues, yet I'm also realizing that this pillar of strength that I'm evoking isn't really letting them know that I could use a pick me up! I feel like I shouldn't ask someone to bring me a meal, you'd think they would already think that would be helpful! So, what am I doing? I'm making a big pot of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup for a friend with inoperable brain cancer tonight. I've had to sit out on my porch while it simmers, because the smell isn't doing it for me right now. So, I guess, rather than feeling sorry for myself, I'm doing something for some one else and that makes me feel good! Problem solved

TheyCallMeCommodorable Thanks for your experience - I hope I do get to go! What exactly is the Neulasta for? It seems like that is a lot of the bad side effects, but my Doctor didn't mention it. Does everyone get it if they have TC?

I'm sure it's hard to stay optimistic but helping other people helps! You also have to understand that women are wired to anticipate need, but many men (and children, some women) are just not wired that way. When I take care of my husband I get everything he needs before he knows he needs it! When he takes care of me, I have to ask. It sucks to ask (especially when no one ever has to ask me!), but people who love you really do want to help. It makes them feel better, just like you are feeling better helping someone else. I was told not to take that away from people. Even when you're used to doing everything yourself, to allow others to help you is actually something you can do for them in a strange way. That's been hard for me, but I have really learned to let go and it's better for everyone!

You gave very good advice on the salon! I had my hair cut short today (not the final buzz, but it was very long, so I figured two cuts would get me used to it) and I just did it in the salon because I was not upset about it. If I had been, it probably would have been bad! There were several odd stares and one woman looked at the pile of hair on the floor and said "I want that hair!" clearly implying that I was foolish to cut it off. I looked at her with a smile and said "If you want it, I'm sure someone will sweep it up for you!" I think her stylist gave her the down and low and she said how great it looked after, but people are so thoughtless! Even if I had just done it because I wanted to... why butt in?

Anyway, my girlfriend is going to come over and do the final buzz and I'll have a few friends over and we'll watch a fun movie because laughter is the best medicine!

Espanola: I had my port put in on JUn 2and started chemo on june 3 which is the very next day. I did not feel anything(maybe because the soreness of the port covered the chemo needle pain?) I had my 2nd chemo yesterday and do feel a little pinch and thats it. Just look away. Suggest you put some numbering cream(nurse recommended a quarter sized cream to apply and cover it with some plastic bag/food wrapping paper). I think I just applied a pea sized cream and trying to rubbing them into my skin so I guess it didnt work! Next time I will put a chunk.

Hi everyone, thanks for the support. You I were right, using the port this morning was relatively easy. Since I don't know how to show my chemo at the bottom ... I started AC dense dose today. I'm feeling very nauseous and have taken all 3 prescriptions they gave me and now I'm nauseous with a headache. Any suggestions?

ThanksThanks!

Espanola, I would call your oncologist's office tomorrow morning and let them know that you still have nausea. I'm sure there is something else they can do to help you. And please don't feel bad about calling them.

Hope you start feeling better and congratulations on completing your first chemo.

Liz