Starting Chemo December 2015

wonderful news Jodes!! So is chemo over for good with you? Congrats and what great support!

Good luck with your return to work. Just ease back in.

Twirp26- Hi. I had a blood clot in my superior vena cava 2 weeks after my chemo port was put in my left arm. At that point my anemia and chemo racing heart symptoms hadn't kicked it as bad as they are yet. For me the symptoms were pain and throbbing in my left arm. You could feel some heat around the veins and the veins in my left arm were much more visible. My blood clot is where the catheter runs from my arm through my shoulder. I was still using the shower sleeve for my arm port and the last night i used it the pain was almost unbearable (i was secure it with a rubber band). I imagine the clot symptoms directly related to the port catheter might be a little different than a DVT type clot. Here is a quick link that may be of interest: http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/side-effects/blo...

They did a dopler scan (pain free) to find my blood clot & i have to self inject Lovenox daily into my stomach for the entire time i have my chemo port. Which will be through the end of this year with the Herception infusions. I use the EMLA cream to numb to injection spot on my belly to help with the needle pain.

i was having so many weird racing heartbeat symptoms that i went in to consult with the Cardiologist whose office did my ECHO. Got some peace of mind that he thought all of my symptoms were chemo related. Helped so much to relieve some of the anxiety i feel when i don't understand what some of those disconcerting chest and out of breath feelings are..

jodes001- Congratulations! How lovely your friends and family showed up! You are indeed very blessed. Take your time and ease back into work. If you ended up with anemia after chemo, that can take weeks to get your stores back to where you need to be. I'm so happy for you!!

lawyer180- Yeah sometimes i can't tell what I'm feeling in my dense breasts. My MO doesn't tell me that much upon exam. I do feel a bit of scarring from my needle core biopsy. Other times i feel my dense breasts and feel a little freaked out that i have some big lump.Hopefully you can get in with your SO soon and get some more clear information.

I'm four days out from chemo #4 and still feeling crappy.. really bad heartburn this time.. and much more fatigue. Trying to officially go on disability to finish chemo and the 2nd 1/2 his hitting me much harder.. I'm so hungry for a meal that just feels good to eat without side effects.. And i haven't had coffee in months. Missing a "normal" day..

Hope everyone is off to a good start of their week!

chinookmom - same here - I think we are taking the same chemo and this one has been the worst for me so far. I thought I was doing so good until this time. I have been more tired and just not feeling myself. Also having more bathroom issues and don't feel like eating. It sucks we have 2 more to go. I am hoping #4 was an anomoly and that 5 and 6 go ok!

Congratulations Jodes!!! Love the picture and great support team! Good luck returning to work and with the transition to Herceptin alone. I have 2 more chemo sessions then transition to Herceptin alone myself.

Sorry about the arm/leg pain and shortness of breath Lou, mvspaulding and twirp. Hope you all feel better today!! And no clots!!

Hope the abraxane works better for you chinacat!

Sammy, think about this way. Surgery starts at 7 and you leave at 5am. it's actually better. They will keep you nothing to eat or drink past midnight (therefore you won't be too hungry waiting for surgery). plus, your waiting time is less. Kind of like airport, first flight is usually on time 😁😁

can anyone tell me if your path reports had a ki-67 score? I see people reference that here and there, and I can't find one in mine. I see a Nottingham score, but that's it. Thanks!

Sammy3 my path report showed my Ki-67 rate. Mine was <10%.

Hi ladies, hope you are all playing it forward and kicking the lil c's butt. I see some of you have finished chemo. Congrats! A long road....but certainly seeing the end of chemo treatment is quite the accomplishment mentally and physically.

I finished my 12th and last Taxol last week and went straight into my first AC treatment today. My time in the chemo chair has increased from 1 and 1/2 hours to 2 and 1/2 hours but so far, so good. I do feel a little bit achey. I got the Neulasta patch which doesn't hurt but I know its there on my stomach waiting to release at some point tomorrow. Taxol wasn't too bad for me but the cumulative effect was a heaviness in my legs, endurance problems, lots of nosebleeds, and generally breathing heavier than normal. This of course has made my usually fairly easy 60 minute workout on the elliptical seem like climbing a mountain for 6 hours. Also, the decadron has causued a 27 lb weight gain. I whined today about this and finally my oncologist prescribed something called triamterene to reduce the water retention. We'll see if this helps.

Be blessed!

Hi AngTee, I still get steroids including decadron for A/C but its a different combination of other drugs that don't seem to have the water retention problems. In any event I'll stay on this prescription diuretic until I finish chemo (as long as it doesn't seem to interfere or cause issues with potassium levels). I know the chemo/drugs are helping me live literally but they all have some sort of negative impact. Oh well, let me stop before I hit the WHINE button

got my first treatment of abraxane today and no reaction. Phew. 5 weekly treatments left.

I had to pull out all my reports to find my Ki-67 rate, which is 40%. I don't recall any conversations about this rate with any of the 5 doctors I consulted with. My oncotype score was 17. They don't really correlate. Strange.

Angtee and Opt and anyone else starting AC. I wish I knew this before I developed lower end issues so I'll share with you my thoughts. Stay ahead of constipation! Stool softener, Metamucil or whatever you choose or your MO advises. Just stay ahead of it at all costs in any way you choose. A couple others here have described it pretty good when saying its like giving birth to glass shards. I don't wish that on anyone. Good luck avoiding it!

Twirp and anyone starting FEC, I believe the E and the A (from AC) are both doxorubicin. The C in both is cytoxan. If interested, see above for my recommendation. ^^^

Have a great day and few SE's, beautiful ladies:)

My ki-67 was 90%

Ki-67- Was this test part of everyone's original biopsy pathology? Or part of the pathology from your surgery? My biopsy pathology doesn't have this test. Sorry, there are some test results that are discussed here that i don't think i was ever tested for.. a bit nerve-wracking.

Sammy3~ Thank you for the Her2+ link. Interesting. I'll have to learn more.. Let me know if you find anything out. Sometimes i think the early surgery times can be better, there are a few studies out there about better outcomes from early am surgeries.. beginning of the day for the surgical team etc. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/27/health/youn-surgery-... & http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/health/15safe.ht... I figure i'll take any advantage & schedule mine early.

puremalarkey- Love the new cloche hat! Beautiful color.

mvspaulding- Hope you're feeling better & able to enjoy your upcoming getaway!

For those still doing chemo 4-6. I'm right there with you. I too am more wiped out by the 4th chemo. Its been a week since my infusion, and i just get exhausted from doing the littlest thing. Just trying to get through each day. I'm so foggy and forgetful.

TGIF! Hope everyone feeling pretty good and that side effects are diminishing. xo

I had my 2nd Cardio echo today. Well I guess its the 1st since being on Herceptin, as the other one was the day or 2 before I started chemo. I'm interested to see what it says, and praying that the Herceptin isn't damaging my heart Any other Her2+ ladies have results yet?

Really Cindi?!? What was it? The ejection fraction? UGH I'm so sorry!!!!! Will you get Herceptin in 3 weeks or do you know? Did you feel any different? Sorry for the 10000 questions, just man this roller coaster ride we are all on is crazy. I was explaining something to one of my friends and people can't believe the process that breast cancer puts us through. She said "so you're done next month, right?" And I had to explain that *kindof*, but still Herceptin till Dec, then also another lumpectomy, then radiation, then somewhere in there start taking tamoxifen. NEVER ENDING!!!!!

I'll keep you in my thoughts for sure!

Hang in there! I visit the Triple Positive page quite often and I know women have talked about this very thing. From what I understand it is temporary. When you meet with your MO again be sure to ask about that new Her2 drug that I posted about yesterday. I am short of breath too - figured I was just out of shape for the same reasons you mention.