Anyone.Starting Chemo in October 2016?

I think maybe, after 3 weeks, I may be on the mend. I am so weak, it's pathetic. My first 2 taxol and carboplatin infusions were cancelled and she said she was cancelling the one for this Monday too although I do still go in. I hate to have a 3rd one cancelled but really don't know that I am up to handling any more side effects yet. I have totally lost the last 3 weeks. I still have no answers as to what caused these high fevers which I am hoping are now gone. I'm not sure we'll ever have an answer at this point. 3 days in the hospital, 4 specialists and a multitude of tests and all I know is what it isn't.

Sorry, Dee. That sounds miserable. :-(

Nfullblume, no fevers allowed! I hope your temperature cools.

Connie, I'm glad you checked in. I've been very concerned for you. I know you and your doctors would feel better if you could pin down a definitive cause for the fever. Luckily, I've not been hospitalized, but know very well how frustrating repeated delays are. It's not that we're looking forward to more chemo, but we WANT IT DONE ASAP, darn it!

My eye still looks terrible. I have to venture out in public tomorrow to pick up a package at UPS so hope I don't frighten any small children.

Lyn

Hi Rachel,

Regarding the whole "living in a tropical paradise" thing, you are a very likeable person, so we are not going to hold that picture against you!! lol!! (Molly has a pretty sweet set-up!!)

It was so cold here last night that the water main burst on our street, and so the street has been flooded with icy flowing water. The city workers have been working through the night to try to 1) stop the water break, and 2) clear the water before it freezes into lethal chunks of ice that are known to destroy the underside of your car as you try to drive over it. So the night has been full of the sounds of heavy machinery, flashing yellow lights outside our bedroom window, and the house shaking periodically. Will I ever sleep through the night? Sigh ...

Once the coffee kicks in, I'll feel more up-beat. I'm going to the gym this morning with a friend, and that always puts me in a better frame of mind. Have a good day everyone!

Barb

HI Ladies

This week was to be my last Taxol treatment but it got cancelled as well as last weeks

I came down with pneumonia and had to spend 4 horrible days in the hospital, I am on the mend now

but disappointed that Chemo is now going to drag into the new year when I thought I would be done before Xmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas

Char

Char, so sorry to hear about the pneumonia and the chemo delay. :-(

Nfullblume, it must be wonderful to have your own pool. What a lovely setup and Molly looks ever so content. I know they require maintenance, but I love to swim and the very limited hours for lap swimming at the city pool and the hassle of driving over there are a big deterrent. I used to swim / do water exercise about 45 minutes 2-3 times per week, but my encapsulated shoulder started really limiting what does I can do and I got away from it.

Yikes on the water main, Barb! I feel so bad for people working in the frigid weather.

I'll get my eyelid drained this afternoon. Doesn't that just sound gross? :-p I'm sure I'll have to use the antibiotic ointment for several more days, which I hate since it leaves a film over my eye that makes it hard to read, watch TV or use the computer. Still, I'm eager to not look like an escapee from a horror flick and, more important, get back on track with starting the Taxol.

Lyn

Char - You just never know which germs are going to pass by quietly and which ones are going to become a pain in the butt! Glad that it's over, and hoping you are feeling well for the holidays. Regarding the cold ... yup ... it's been darned cold, but it's supposed to be a little warmer today, so hang on!!

Lyn - How did the eyelid procedure go? Hope you get some relief.

Wish me luck today ladies ... I'm going to see my breast surgeon this afternoon, to ask whether I should have another re-excision (after chemo, but before rads). I really like the idea of finally getting clear margins ... it's at the top of my Christmas list lol !!

Best wishes, Barb

Good Afternoon ladies,

Yes taxol has been easier as far as SE with nausea, dizziness and wanting to vomit however for me the joint, muscle pain was almost immediate after infusion on Thursday. I'm sure the neulasta played a huge roll with that as well. I did experience a BAD headache for over 48 hours. My lower back but mainly my knees are in excruciating pain.

Abracadabra, the warm bath did help with the headache, THANK YOU!

VLH, Thank you it was absolutely the most miserable feeling EVER!! I felt like my eye were going to pop-out of my socket.

Nfullblume, I'm totally hating. we have been in the single digits here with tons of snow.

Connie, I'm so sorry you haven't been feeling well hugs amiga.

Charlene, That SUCKS!! I wish I had a magic wand that I could just erase all of this crap of our lives. hang in there!

I'm at work, have been since 630am due to my knee pain I haven't been able to get much sleep I did some research on hemp oil and I'm planning on visiting a dispensary after work. The oils range from $39-$300 I just need a mild dose to get me through these next 3 rounds of taxol I read on another forum on here that some of the ladies have been immobile for 5 days post infusion due to the severe pain in joints and pelvic pain. Mine has been BAD but not that bad. I want to take as many measures as possible with that said anyone else heard or is using the hemp oil? CBD is what its called.

Ok I better get back to work. Ittyl

Good news! My breast surgeon is willing to do another re-excision surgery to try to get clear margins. It's not 100% confirmed yet (she needs to confer with my MO and RO) but if it's a go, it will happen in April, after chemo but before radiation.

She said that there may not even be any cancer cells left, due to the chemo, but I'm worried that my "grade 1" cancer may not respond to chemo all that well. So ... if there is any cancer left, we take it out and hopefully get clear margins this time. If there is no cancer left, I get clear margins and peace of mind!! Yay!!

Barb

Lyn - Oh no ... the draining procedure sounds horrible. Just thinking about it makes my knees shake ... there's something particularly vulnerable about an eye. The good news is that you got through it, it's over and done! I hope with all my heart that it heals quickly and that you can put it behind you. Have a comfortable healing day! (((Lyn)))

Dee - I don't use cannabis oil, but I know that many find it helps. I hope you find something that works for you!

So ... have any of you been experiencing 'chemo brain'? I had a good/bad one yesterday when I was going to my doctor's appointment. I left a little late, so I had to rush, but I made it just on time. I went to the secretary and told her I was there for my 2:20 appointment. Hmmm ... she can't find me. She keeps looking, I'm wondering what's going on .... and then it hits me. I'm at the wrong doctor's office!

But the worst of it is that, for a few painful seconds, I can't remember where I'm supposed to be ... I'm completely blank on where my BS is located. I just stood there blinking, my heart hammering in my chest, as I waited for my brain to catch up. The last time I saw BS was in the hospital ... is she there? No. She has an office ... where? And then it hit me ... I was in the right building, but on the wrong floor. I calmed down and went to my BS's office and all was well, but the experience left me feeling very rattled. If I can't trust my own brain, who can I trust!!??!!!

That's it for my morning ramblings .... hope the day treats you all kindly and gently.

Barb

Thanks for the cyber hugs, Ladies! I can open my eye a bit farther today compared to yesterday so I think / hope all will proceed nicely.

Barb, I've read about similar "brain farts" on the forums for ladies farther along in their treatment. A few mentioned suddenly realizing that they'd been driving and suddenly don't know where they're at or have gone somewhere other than their intended destination. SCARY! I've had a similar situation. I went to a different Kohl's location than my usual store and suddenly felt disoriented and panicked that I wouldn't be able to find the right exit to get to my van. I forced myself to take some controlled breaths and looked down each aisle to get my bearings. Mine was apparently a combination of Fibromyalgia brain fog and low blood sugar so adding chemo brain to the mix is daunting.

I saw an article recently showing how brain cells don't reproduce at the normal rate after chemo so the lapses are very real. It's probably a good thing that men also experience chemo brain or the phenomenon wouldn't be taken seriously as has been the case for Fibromyalgia, which disproportionately affects women.

Kathy - Thanks for the positive feedback, and the reassurance about my chemo brain. Whatever it is, I don't like it!! Ah well ... in future, I'll just be sure to verify where I'm going BEFORE I leave the house! It's encouraging to hear that you are not having difficult SEs from Taxol alone ... I'm hoping to follow in your shoes. Good luck on Friday.

Lyn - I'm glad that your eye seems to be responding well. Hmmm ... you mentioned chemo ladies who find themselves driving along a route they didn't plan to take ... I must confess I've done that before ... pre-diagnosis ... so maybe it's just me! I can completely relate to your Kohl's story ... I still have an aversion to IKEA from the time I wanted to leave the store but couldn't find the darned exit, and started to panic after realizing I had circled past the same kitchen table 3 times!

Terry - Great news about the manual exam. Here's for more of the same next week when you do the imaging tests. You are getting this done, lady! Merry Christmas to you too.

Hkuester- I'm so happy for you!!! Thanks for sharing the good news!

Hkuester and others who have had bilateral mastectomies: I still have 3 Taxol treatments to go and so won't have my surgery until sometime late February/early March, but I am wondering what your recovery was like? Did you rent a reclining chair? Were you able to go up and down stairs? I'll be having expanders and temporary boobs for radiation after I recover, and then another (outpatient) surgery to place the permanent implants after radiation is over. But right now I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to need post-mastectomy. Any thoughts?

I had Taxol #1 on Monday. No allergic reactions, no neuropathy so far, but I am achy in my joints and pelvis--not enough to keep me from sleeping, but maybe a 3-4 on a scale of 10. I'm on an every two week dose dense schedule so I am beginning to believe there is light at the end of this tunnel and and end to this tunnel. A couple of weeks ago I just was trudging through the days and feeling very discouraged. Better now, thank heavens.

Happy holidays, everyone.

Love,

Kate

Congrats Heather on finishing chemo!!! That must feel awesome. And regardless of the number of treatments you did, you went through a tough experience and came out the other side. Hopefully the rest of your non-chemo treatment goes smoothly. Let us know how the Nioxin works for you.

I had chemo 5 of 6 today, but I honestly wanted to stop at 4, even called my MO's office to talk about it. I'm glad I have only one more, but I wish I was done already. People who don't understand how hard the treatments are are like, "you're almost done, you only have 2 more." Yet, for me, the last 2 didn't sound like the walk in the park they were making it out to be. But I talked with a nurse navigator (who had BC and has been through chemo), and she acknowledge how hard treatments 4 and 5 are, when you have knowledge of how bad your body can react. So I felt validated in my feelings. But she mentioned how eager I'll be for that final treatment, just to have it done. I hope so.

subhash gud morning to all having chemo treatment wish a better health for them. Pls let me know if all the chemo r necessary. Dr has told six chemo after surgery 21 days cycle. Pls advice. I hv breast cancer not metastatic. Surgery has been done lymph node removed. Lymph node having no cancer cell. Waiting ur reply. Thanx