Who has started herceptin and taxol regemin in October 2016?

KB870 - Congratulations! What is this Brachytherapy? Is that common?

Hi ladies. I was wondering if anyone here has been having irregular menstrual cycles? Im spotting constantly and just feeling so tired. Thinking of calling my oncologist triage nurse

Just a post on being bald!

https://metastaticbreastcancernowwhat.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/baldies-of-the-world-unite/

Congratulations Germangirl16!

🙌🙌🙌awesome! How was radiation? To be honest I'm more anxious to start that than I was to start chemo

Germangirl16, how was your fatigue with the radiation? I'm worried about that part of it.

Great to hear! Glad it went well.

I just started weekly Taxol and Herceptin last Monday 27th. No digestive problems thankfully but I feel achy in my muscles and have lost power generally throughout my body. I walk and do a small exercise routine every day but I feel really sore/stiff afterwards. Did anyone have this problem and is it from the Taxol or Herceptin. Will it improve - will I get used to the drugs.

E

HI All, I finished my taxol/herceptin 12 week regiment on February 16th. I think my last entry in this blog was about two weeks before that. To be honest, I just felt really depressed at the end - I was anxious for it to be over. The last week was the worst. I felt like stomping my feet and saying I'm not going! And just one week later I had to go back for the first herceptin without taxol that will continue all year, every 3 weeks. Again, it was hard to drag myself back to the chemo "suite."

Overall, I had a reasonable reaction to the treatment. My fatigue was cumulative and I was exhausted the last two weeks. I had neuropathy in my fingertips and I had some pressure weirdly in my teeth. But I continued with the glutamene and vitamin B6. It never got too bad. The hospital where I was treated offers free breast cancer reiki and massages. The masseuse literally massaged the neuropathy out of my fingertips! It may have been a coincidence but she was incredible.

I start radiation in two weeks. They told me I could come in earlier but I needed a break! The radiologist said it's a 4 week treatment but because our bodies are beat up after the chemotherapy, they give it over 6 weeks.

Germangirl16 - Congratulations on being done the worst of it - the surgery, the chemo, the radiation woo hoo!! Did you have radiation over 6 week period? How soon after chemo did you start? I am relieved to hear you had minimal symptoms. I pray for the same.

Tinyfrog - I hope you are doing well! I gained some weight during treatments (about 7 pounds) but it's better than losing it. The nurses kept telling me this is one time in your life you should put on a few pounds. I am working hard now to take it off but trying not to be too hard on myself.

KB870 - We are one week apart in our treatments. I finished on February 16th and I think you finished one week after me.

kmk40 - I am not a clinical pharmacist - but I am a patient who over researches, and I read the same reports. My oncologist also told me I might not lose my hair and we discussed the hairloss was not a part of the Dana Farber study. I actually did NOT lose my hair - it shed starting in week 5. I had a tingly head most of the time after that. And I lost a lot of body hair - but nothing noticeable (at least not yet) I remember someone in this blog lost her eyebrows and eyelashes after 5 or 6 weeks, so I won't be overly confident until another month has passed. But my head hair is definitely not shedding as much and I feel confident brushing it. You are almost done so congratulations!

Danix5 - I got a wig and a baseball cap with hair - and ended up not needing them. I was so anxious about it so I can relate to how you are feeling. I only washed my hair once a week -- and actually my hair stylist convinced me not to cut it all off. I have very thick hair, sometimes difficult to manage. If I had cut it too short, I wouldn't have known how to style it since I didn't want to pull on it too much. It's easy to style now because it's thinner! But I don't know what it will look like when it starts growing in again.

Thank you for sharing your personal stories with me and with all of us. They are so much appreciated.

I'm done with Taxol and Herceptin--- woo hoo!!! It felt good to ring that bell. I had my first Herceptin only infusion today and so far, so good. A little anxious about radiation, but hopeful the fatigue won't be too bad. I hope everyone has a great week.

Awesome! Congratulations!

Daniell

Hello! I did weekly Taxol and Herceptin ending in November 2016. Then I had three weeks of radiation and continue with the Herceptin every three weeks until next September. I managed the Taxol well with fairly mild side effects and have only a bit of fatigue now that I'm on only Herceptin. The radiation was a breeze except for having to hold my breath for 35 seconds! It seems like a marathon that will never come to an end. Of course, I will likely be nervous when the treatments stop

My lashes and brows fell out too, about 4-5 weeks after my last Taxol! I thought it was strange it hung on the entire time until then. My hair is starting to grow. It started at 4 weeks PFC.

I'm in the middle of radiation, which is 3 weeks of M-F, then 4 treatments of high dose intensive radiation- 19 treatments total, then I'm done. Except for Herceptin of course.