Anyone starting chemotherapy in July?

Hi xxyzed I don't think Mri is standard here either. So it would be interesting to compare notes with you as well.

Take care

I was so happy to read the posts above to know I'm not in this journey alone. I am new to this community and new to breast cancer. at age 53 Surgery to remove the mass was on June 21st and will have another surgery on July 5th - right sentinel lymph biopsy. I have currently been diagnosed with Stage 1A invasive ductal breast cancer. Size before removed with clear margins was 1.2 x 1.1 x .9cm. Her2Neu positive. Treatment suggested today with my oncologist was Taxol every week for 12 weeks + Herceptin (will continue every three weeks for a year after chemo) plus radiation.

Anyone else have a similar treatment plan? I begin on July 15th with the chemo and am scared to death!

I am technical starting chemo tomorrow but being that it is the end of June I figured it would be better to be with the July group! This is my second go round with chemo I had Taxol carob and herceptin with my original diagnosis last year. However it has now spread to the lymph nodes at my collarbone. I started out as a stage 2b and now I am a 3c.... Ugh ! I will have 4rounds of dose dense AC.

HelenWNZ: no history in my family either I the unlucky first as well

Boricua 63: I'm pretty sure they will want to install a port and if they don't mention it you may want to request it ! Your veins will thank you! I am so glad I have mine !

Hi Kdlee welcome too. Scared is pretty much the norm for me. I just want to have a plan in place so I know what is happening and when. I have my first appt with the oncologist on July and have been told I will know by then what my treatment plan will be.

I was googling like crazy before I found this group and have found the different groups in this forum really helpfully.

Take care

HelenWNZ: I actually felt the lymph nodes enlarged just above the collarbone on my right side which is the same side as my BC. I called my MO the next day and the whirlwind of tests began. When the biopsy came back it we realized the reason it was able to grow is because it had changed itself fro Her2 pos to Her2 neg! I didn't know that could happen ! Never even occurred to me but my MO said that the cancer can adapt/ change to get around some treatments usually only in about 15% of BC cases .... Yay me!! But that is why the herceptin didn't or I should say quit working. Thanks for the well wishes I will keep you all posted

Hi everyone!

I am 41 and found a lump in my right breast on May 12, it was so large it woke me up from my sleep. I had my yearly mammo in Dec and it was negative. I have no family history of breast cancer. On May 17 I underwent U/S, mammo and an in office biopsy. I got the call the next day that it was cancer. I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on the 19th. My sentinel node was negative however, my surgeon saw a cluster of nodes that didn't look right. She removed those, there were 9 and 5 of those came back positive. I had PET scan that was positive for 1 lymph node. My MO wanted that removed as well, so I had that removed and my port placed on June 6th. I am ER+/PR+ and HER2 -. I start Adriamycin and cytoxan on July 6th. My regimen is 4 cycles every 2 weeks then taxol weekly for 12 weeks. I will also need my ovaries out and am opting to do a total hysterectomy as well. I'm waiting to see the geneticist to have testing done for BRCA. As of now, if that is negative I do not need to have a mastectomy. I will also have radiation. Also about me, I have 3 girls an almost 8 year old and identical twins that are 3. Sorry we have to meet this way but I'm so thankful for this forum!

hi Lindsay glad to see you here after chatting to you in other groups.

Welcome to the other newbies

Hi Helen, it's nice to see you here too, especially coming from my other thread where we both shared some similar concerns and worries, and can connect now on this part of the journey.

Juju I don't feel like I have much helpful advice since I had a lumpectomy and won't have anything else going on surgery wise, but I did have my port put in Wednesday on my chest and although it's still healing I can tell I'm already forgetting it's even there. My arms are getting awfully tired of getting poked and being sore on my lumpectomy side. I think as long as they can find a good spot on the arm that won't get bothered to much as you move about you should go with your gut, the main thing is that you have a safe spot so you're not getting beat up with IV after IV. I'm still pretty new to this but it was such a relief yesterday to just have all my blood draws and infusions in this one spot with no worries about finding a vein or not being able to get enough blood, etc. Good luck.

morning everyone

I had my port put in at the time I had my op so it's been here waiting and waiting.... My veins are terrible and I was advised the same thing that it will be easier on me in the end to have one inserted. I still feel tender in the area where it is in the fleshy part under my shoulder and having two sore side makes it hard to sleep.

The nurse flushed it the other day so it's all ready to go. On Tuesday 5 July first appt so will have my plan after that

I never had to ask, it was just assumed I'd have a port. I had a kind of surgery for it, you are awake but give lots of local anaesthesia and some IV stuff that makes you very relaxed and I didn't feel a thing. I got a small amount of Vicodin after which I was grateful for because I did have swelling and pain but after my other surgery it felt like no big deal. I had first chemo yesterday and even so close to it being put in there was very little tenderness. You could ask to make sure you'll get one, every single provider I have gotten blood draws from, the nurse yesterday, etc., said you will be SO glad you have this port.

I'm sorry you have to do so much waiting! I remember from another thread it seems like you have to wait around a lot and wonder about certain things. I'm learning to not be afraid to be pushy about my questions, to help lessen what waiting and anxiety I can.

Yesterday after I came home I started feeling rotten. Definitely some nausea but it was just a really weird, all over sensation that something very foreign was in my body. I felt very very tired. I was able to eat some mashed potatoes, a little Mac and cheese, trying to stay healthier over all but in the moment all I wanted was comfort food.

Today I woke up almost vomiting. I have a schedule of meds and today took two kinds of pills for anti nausea. I crept into the kitchen for some crackers as one is to be taken with food and took my pills and laid down and it subsided but is still subtly there, but I'm eating some Malt o Meal right now. Today anything that's not mild sounds awful. I feel bored but if I'm up and around too much that nausea starts to build! So probably lots of laying around today, probably why I'm checking these boards so frequently!

When I was diagnosed, I looked in the chemo topic and there are some amazingly helpful lists people put together of things to get for chemo and I started getting them right away. I made an Amazon wishlist and it was an easy way for people who want to help to get me things and I was able to get the rest on my own. I'm very glad I was prepared because I have a little basket by my bed of things that have really helped. Hard candies like queezy pops and Tummy drops made me feel a lot better as I wait for nausea to subside. I have ginger caplets, ginger powder that you can dissolve in water, and ginger tea. I got many Biotene products to brush teeth and rinse my mouth to prevent mouth sores. Some people are more open to this than others, but I have a few tinctures made from Marijuana, called CBD that distills properties out that make you high that leave the properties that help with nausea and anxiety. So they do not get you high. I'm in Washington state so you can just walk into a store and buy them, and my chemo nurse even recommended them to me yesterday. There's probably threads around alternative treatments or integrative treatents around here; I'm not one that thinks pot is a cure all or can shrink tumors or anything but I'll take it for nausea and sorry if it's controversial but if it helps someone I'll throw it out there. Someone sent me something called an Aromatherapy Inhaler, it looks likes a little chapstick tube but inside has ginger and mint that you can inhale and it was a lifesaver for me last night.

I keep reading that days 3 thru 5 after infusion can be the worst so we'll see what's to come. Here I am talking like an expert after one day!

I am doing 4 infusions of AC chemo, every two weeks. Adriamycin and Cytoxan. Pretty gnarly stuff I hear. They gave me an IV of anti nausea meds first, then did one drug at a time. One through a bag, the other one, Andriamycin, through 4 big injections through my port. It's bright red and sorry if this is tmi but I peed bright red right after! They warned me so I didn't have a melt down thinking something was terribly wrong. After those 4 rounds are done I will do 12 rounds of Taxol, once a week. Then radiation, then Tamoxifen. They are being pretty aggressive due to my lymph node involvement.

I also got something called L glutamine to help reduce neuropathy during chemo. My nurse yesterday said the AC doesn't really do that but I should take it during Taxol. I've read a lot about it here and there seems to be some confusion about how much to take but I got a sheet with instructions. It's a vitamin I ordered online in powder form, blue bonnet brand. I can share the instructions I got if anyone needs, I believe it's 10 mg mixed with water 3 X per day and I have heard that lots of people have great results.

That's all I can think of for now, it's a lot but if there's any way I can help through my experiences, although they're limited, I want to. Anyone pm me anytime, we all have to stick together through this and I have found so much support and comfort here.

I hope everyone gets their plan in place soon, I think we all know the waiting is the absolute hardest part. Ugh. Just the worst.

Thinking about you all and sending virtual hugs.

Oh, and I got a tube of topical lidocaine after my port placement which really helped yesterday. I put it on an hour before treatment and covered it with Saran wrap to help it soak in. They can give you some tape to do that but I got a rash from what they gave me so will now just use gauze or Saran. Ask for that if you're still hurting! It never hurts to ask, don't worry about being a pain (no pun intended).

❤Lindsay