January 2016 Chemo!

Cathytoo Google 'Hand Foot Syndrome' - I had been having red and irritated fingertips and then a day after my first taxol my fingers started getting a little swollen and irritated like a sunburn.

My oncologist said that it was related to the neuropathy, I don't really understand that but taking steps to heal. Then she said I need to minimize using my hands until it heals, especially with tasks that put a lot of pressure on your hands. I'm using my Google microphone to record this message to haha. You can also wear those cotton gloves that you can get in the manicure section at the drugstore to reduce friction on the irritated skin. She recommended 100 milligrams of vitamin B6 per day and to keep the skin really moisturized with Aquaphor or Udderly smooth.

Good luck and hope it heals up well

Oh my I reached a new low today! I have been sooooo tired and light headed the past 4 days and today I had an appointment with the plastic surgeon. Well on the way up in the elevator I actually had to sit on the floor! I just couldn't stand any longer😥 My husband ended up getting me a wheel chair! This sucks! How long can this weakness last?!?!

Yikes, I know everyone is different, but I'm starting to get nervous for Taxol/possibly Carbo! AC wasn't horrible for me, just very tired and some nausea here and there.  My doc had told me that I should be able to work through Taxol, which is what I told my employer, now I'm wondering if I should give them a heads up. I see my PA tomorrow, I think I'll see what she has to say and if it's any different than what my MO said. 

I do thank you ladies for all the info, and I hope the side effects lessen quickly!

:::hugs:::

Just saw the bill for the first treatment of Taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta in my hospital account -- $152,630!!! Multiply that by 12 treatments and it's close to 2 million dollars. Seriously?? Thank goodness the bill is going to the insurance company.

Oh my goodness! I don't pay it, buy my bill shows that each taxotere/herceptin/perjeta is about $25,000. I thought that was outrageous!

robyn31024

mltdd Have you heard of "oil pulling" with coconut oil? If you haven't - look it up!

I've been doing that after every chemo treatment and haven't developed any mouth sores. I started doing it after round 2. it's kinda gross the first time but then you get used to it. If you try it, remember to spit it up into paper towels as you don't want to spit it up and clog your drains. I usually rinse after with Biotene.

Good luck

And congratulations to those that have finished treatment - you did it!!!

Congratulations Robyn!

I thought the AC bills were already outrageous at $40,000 approx per session. Itemized list of charges for my $152,630 first Taxol/HP isn't available yet, but I'm really curious what it's made up of. The breakdown for the AC bills is amazing. Turns out the bone-pain-causing horrible neulasta stick on device cost $23,769 (!) for each one (insurance paid $14K of that, the rest gets written off). No wonder when the device looked like it wasn't working during my last AC session, the pharmacist told the nurse to wait a few minutes and try again, rather than replace it! Then there is the anti-nausea pre-med at $2800, charges per hour of $2600 for "chemo IV infusion" on top of the cost of the drugs. Adriamycin is comparatively cheap at $445 (insurance agreed to pay $0.12 for that, go figure!).

So give it another month and I will have $1 million worth of poison in my veins. How does it feel? Not great.

Yes, this is indeed the reason people go bankrupt over healthcare. It's not like you can sell your house to pay for cancer treatment if you don't have insurance -- it would only cover the cost of one chemo session!

CONGRATULATIONS Robyn!

I guess the Neulasta stick on device is a lot more expensive than just a shot, I just do the shot and it's very easy. I don't even know if they have the device in Canada or not

Day 7 after taxotore and I'm definitely seeing the light. I have had a headache today, but I think it's more of a regular run-of-the-mill headache because it's been overcast and rainy, it hasn't been the pounding that I was getting the last few days. The bone pain is almost gone and I got my energy back!

I have read that oil pulling helps with the dry mouth and mouth sores. I haven't tried it but maybe I should, I've done it in the past for other things and liked it. I don't think it could hurt! My gums are getting dry and I'm starting to get mouth sores, just like I did on the last chemo around this time. Magic mouthwash really helps, but man is it vile it makes me want to vomit!

Robyn...way to go on finishing your treatment!!

Jill...glad you are turning the corner! My doc said that having bad nausea and stomach on day 6 not the Taxol as it would have started day 1 so he thinks I got a bug or overdid the acupuncture a few days ago...said while it's great too much can over stimulate. Hmmm? Hope the next round easier!!

Bills Bills Bills.....this horrible disease not cheap...these prices for some of the drugs are just absurd.

Onward and upward

I can officially say that this fourth round of taxotere and Cytoxan has sucked more in terms of tiredness and body aches. I can't believe I have two more to go :-(. I can't quite remember but I don't think I drank as much water during or after this latest round. Lesson learned.

I had an MRI after the first three rounds and it confirmed some shrinkage of the individual masses and the masses didn't take up the contrast as fast as my first MRI. So that's good news but we we're hoping for more difference. Maybe the next three rounds will do their magic. My mo said it sometimes takes some cancers a little longer to respond.

Maya - I'll chime in on the cost issue as well. I get the Neulasta "pod" and it runs just under 5 grand at my MO. The figures you posted are absolutely criminal, whether any of it gets written off or not.

Robyn, Congrats.

Jen, glad to hear the MRI looks better. Just because the mass is still there, doesn't mean it is active - could be scarring up and still take up space:)

To those nervous about Taxol - my experience was wicked tired and cranky on day 3, and somewhat tired with sore muscles etc after- but I managed to go skiing today and put in a full day ( Taxol was Thursday, today is Tuesday) so it is not so bad for me! However, my knuckles are turning orange ( weird) and i do have the sensitive fingertip thing going on is spite of B6 and glutamine - thought I have not been diligent with the glutamine- it tastes yucky and makes my stomach sore.

That's what I've been hearing too, Buttafly. Not liking what I'm hearing about taxol. The thing is, we don't know who is on a weekly schedule or a dose dense two week schedule.

I'm happy to say that we went on a weekend photo journey at the urging of my photographer friends. There was a high surf advisory for the Oregon coast, so we left on Saturday at noon, drove 8 hours down there and spent several hours on Sunday shooting this:

It was amazing! Water getting catapulted 150-200' into the air! Monday we left there and worked our way north, seeing lighthouses, etc. Came home yesterday. Our dog was happy to see us and boy, did I sleep well!

I did notice that I'm having to work harder to hike up hills. I'm panting and out of breath, going slower. My husband said he forgets that there is anything wrong with me because I am doing so well. He had to stop and wait for me to catch up a few times. We are calling it operating under diminished capacity. :-