How sick after first chemo treatment....?

Hard to say, everybody reacts differently to chemo. I never had vomiting, but had the big D. Some work full time, some just can't. Keep your docs phone # handy, hope for the best.

I would agree that each person is so different. I've had one treatment of A/C. I didn't have a single side effect except my sleep was a bit interrupted but I know that's not the case for everyone.

Side effects worsened for me after three rounds. The first two were fairly easy, only fatigue and diarrhea. Never had nausea with any of my chemo. Again, we all handle it differently. I think vacation is the perfect way to recover from your first treatment. Much luck to you.

Amy

There is no way anyone can tell you how you will react to chemo. Not all react the same to the different chemos. For me, my neoadjuvant A/C did not slow me down at all, adjuvant Taxol had me completely and utterly exhausted. For some, it's the other way around - A/C nasty and Taxol nice. (I was 63 when went through TX - turned 69 today and still NED for IBC.)

The time frame between infusions depends on depends on the chemo used. Some are every 2 weeks, some every 3 weeks and some weekly. Your Dr is the one who can answer your questions.

"Getting sick" means different thing to different of us. Are you talking about your immune system being compromised? Nausea? Fatigue? etc.? Again there is no way of knowing beforehand. There is no "One Size Fits All".

Your surgeon is not the one who makes decisions on what chemo may or may not be needed. The Medical Oncologist (aka MO or Chemo Dr) is the one who does chemo. It has been SOP to do neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) chemo for IBC for quite a few years but neoadjuvant chemo is becoming more usual for other types/stages more recently to get 'better' surgical results. Radiation - again not the surgeon's decision but the Radiology Oncologist (aka RO or Rads Dr) to make radiation decisions. It always surprises me how many jump into surgery without seeing a Chemo Dr and Rads Dr to get a complete overview of the complete TX plan first.

Your ER/PR and HER2 status play into overall TX plan. Family HX? There are MANY 'things' that play into the best TX plan which include Surgeon (the one who 'cuts'), Chemo Dr (the one who does chemo) and Rads Dr (the one who does radiation) as they are each specialists in what they do and all needs to be coordinated.

I recovered from the first tx pretty quickly. As I recall, I was sick (not throwing up kind, dopey from the benedryl given for allergic reactions, and hepped up from the small amount of steroid they give, also for allergic reactions) the first night. The second and third days I was simply mildly nauseated with no appetite and a little fatigued. It didn't stop me from walking the dog, going on errands, going to my bikram yoga class, etc.

They did seem to be cumulative so the 3rd and 4th were a bit more hard to take. And yes, AC took me down and caused weight loss, hypersensitivity to food, food and other smells, even food commercials on TV made me ill! But I felt a lot better on Taxol.

Good luck. I hope it works out in your favor. Let us know.

If you are planning a really active mountain climbing/camping etc. or heavy duty visiting tourist sites type of vacation, I would switch it to a relaxing, laze around vacation. No matter how little or big your SEs, most people are not going to be up for extra excitement. But even with SEs, a relaxing vacation would be good for the spirit. You generally get more worn out as you go along; that being said, I went to my niece's graduation out of state between rounds 3 and 4 of AC without any problems, other than feeling kind of creepy and 'off'. Best of luck!

OxfordLady, I'm glad you won't need chemo. If you have questions about radiation or wish for some camaraderie and support during the experience, please drop by the Summer 2015 Radiation thread (in the Radiation Forum). You'll find lots of useful information and support to help the time fly by.