Chemo in July 2015

Adarkadaptedi- I am not entirely sure if they gave me decadron along with zofran and amend prior to infusion, however I did not take any decadron post infusion. This was a decision my oncologist made based on the SEs from round one. This eliminated the dizziness, shakiness, banding headaches and reduced vision disturbances, racing heart, anxiety significantly. My emotions still went out of whack and I did have a terrible headache yesterday but all in all doing better without steroids. No difference in nausea at all.

Adarkadapt , Free & Princess -thanks for the heart info! I haven't taken the steroids in 5 days so my heart must be freaking out about the blood cell count. It feels better just to have a reasonable reason. Guess I'm not going to have a heart attack this week.

I am hoping to go to the yoga for chemo class that the hospital offers, but today was the first day that my nausea was under control, so I haven't even called yet.

I used to be a fully functioning adult.

You are all doing great! I know this is tough, and nothing we asked for, but it's the hand we've been dealt.

I am grateful for the support from all of you, and this board, as it definitely makes me feel A LOT less alone in this.

Inkster: so glad the nurses were able to help you quickly! That sounded super scary.

Peabrain: even though I feel good, I echo your comment about being a fully functioning adult once! We will get there again!

Free: I too am struggling with the effectiveness of Tylenol. I did take Advil early on ( recommended for bone pain), but perhaps I took it too long, as I had some bloody noses that required me to get bloodwork (it was fine). Now I'm scared to do that again. So if you have a good solution, let me know!

Adarkadapted: I think we live pretty close to each other! And I'm from CT, and I'm so curious where the Armpit is! 😜

And to everyone else I missed: chin up, and you are all in my thoughts. Sending you all positive vibes and strength.

And as my beer cap says: " be at peace not in pieces"

This is my buzz: I am on day 21 (2nd infusion tomorrow). It's still there, but definitely going.

This is me with hair and my first super duper Neulasta injector, lol.

Hi I hope it's not too late to join in I started Abraxane three weeks ago this is my off week I shaved my head Sunday and that helped my mood for some reason. I'm having nausea but no vomiting and I can't eat heavy meals I'm just "snacking" all the time. This is my second time getting treated with chemo the first time in 2010 didn't feel so awful but maybe I just had a more positive outlook.

Look forward to reading suggestions how to make it through treatment.

Aurora

Are any triple negative bc in any clinical trials? I had a bone marrow biopsy to determine if I qualified for a study at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO. No results yet. I am terrified of only having chemo as a treatment option. Would love to hear from other triple negative ladies for encouragement and support.

@mama26 - you have to mark the info as public for it to show. Did you do that

Want2Bcamping: Good luck today! Please keep us posted!

mama26: I'm also TN; yes, it's terrifying to know that there's nothing that "they" can throw at our malignancies but dose-dense chemo! I'm not currently in any clinical trials, but that's a good point. I think I'll broach the subject at my pre-Round 3 chemo meeting next week. I'm guessing that my poor mom was also TN, because she didn't qualify for Tamoxifen or any other "conservative" therapies when she was going through this hell years ago...

Thanks Courtleboo! got some mineral water yesterday and a Gatorade but I have to dilute the Gatorade way down.

Tizzylish - your new buzz cut is beautiful as you are. Keep the positive attitude and stay strong this will go well!!!

Suzanne- I love your pic also. You are a beautiful lady as well and it sounds like your attitude and positivity will definitely help you thru the treatments

I'm seven treatments in tomorrow. I feel good and juice everyday and try to eat healthy. So entires I crash with sugar cravings from the chemo but other than that everything has gone really well. My hair has started growing back and I got a breakout on my scalp after the sixth treatment as well as my chin but nothing bad. The dr prescribed Benzaclen gel for the acne and it's worked great. I will be on herceptin til next June but I finishe taxol on sept 3. Here is a picture of my new hair growth. It's not much but I'm so happy to still have some lashes and brows. I pray for more to come. I am returning to work the first of sept and would a good inch of out grow then I would consider going without my wig.

Erika & Mama26 & Batesburg & any other triple negs that I missed

I looked for clinical trials before I started but there wasn't much in my area. The only one that seemed local was up at UCLA and all my medical team are 40 minutes the opposite direction. There is a trial search on breast cancer.org. Let me know if you find anything interesting.

I did get an email a few days ago where they were looking for people to do either exercise or nutrition components and then fill out surveys from the Komen Foundation:

We need women and men who have been diagnosed with any type of cancer from anywhere in the U.S. for a study evaluating a web-based program designed to increase physical activity and promote healthy eating behaviors.

let me know if anyone wants the contact info for that one

@mama26- I am TN, there is a lot of work going on here at Ohio State University at The James. I am currently receiving a newer regimen of carboplatin with taxol and then AC as there is much excitement about increasing significantly the chances of PCR upon completion. Plug in carbo/taxol studies for TN into google and you will see the studies pop up. It is almost looking like adding carbo to "Gold standard" of AC and taxol as a "targeted" therapy for TN. My MO had no reservations in getting me into this protocol although I am struggling with bone marrow toxicity to some degree with neutrophils (platelets are popping back up easily- its the weekly taxol that is not giving me recovery time to bounce back). I have had significant response already (carbo plus 3 taxols so far)- cannot locate tumor in my breast and my one palpable lymph node is reduced to a "pauper"(smile).

Also, found a study (will relocate for everyone) that more and more evidence is showing that PCR is more significant indicator than staging for 5 year survival rates.

Perhaps meditate and think PCR as the RULE for all of us!!!!

JillyB, awesome photo! You all look great. Thunder7

Hello! 16 days out from chemo #1 and feeling good. My white blood cells have rebounded with a little help from some Granix shots. (ins. won't cover Neulasta until Granix is tried first) My mouth is mostly recovered after allergic reaction to a thrush pill. My hair started it's exit right on cue on day 14. Got a new style yesterday....I don't think it will last long but it's fun for a few days. I'm trying really hard to exercise and eat right before I start round two on August 4th. Of course I'm paying close attention to how everyone else is handling round 2. Have a good day!