Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

Sandra7inCA · January 2007

Hi Carol,
I had my loading dose of Herceptin today and it was over before I even knew it. It went so well, and I had worried so much about it. I came home, had a good lunch and got on the computer. Tomorrow's a different story, I begin chemo, Carboplatin & Taxotere every 3 weeks, 6 doses, herceptin for a year, followed by rads. I took a nice bag with a small blanket, some mags, water,crackers and cheese and a sweater just in case it got cool in there. Each recliner had a flat screen direct tv in front if you wanted to watch. You might want to take along an ipod, laptop, crossword puzzles, books or mags anything to make the time go faster, also plenty of drinking water. You need to drink a lot of water to flush all the chemicals out of your body. You will be glad you got a port, I'm thrilled with mine!! You will do fine, sweetie, just think you get to come back to these boards and let us know how it went. We are all in this together. Gentle thoughts and (((HUGS))) are being sent to you from California.
Blessings,
Sandra

IowaCindy · January 2007

After the first AC treatment on Friday and feeling terrible on Sunday and Monday, I rested yesterday and went back to work today - for 5 3/4 hours. I'm not sure how the finances of this adventure will shake down in the end.

I live alone and don't have savings that will carry me through treatment. I think I'm going to have to borrow against an old annuity from a former job and use that to make up the difference from a full pay check. If this pattern holds true, I'll miss about three days a pay period for recovery and then for treatment. And I don't think I'll be able to work full days all the time, being the apparent wimp that I am.

Whew, it's not enough to wonder how striking you will look bald, or how best to manage an unruly stomach.....you actually have to wonder how to survive financially. I guess at age 50 I'll have some time to recover monetarily but it's going to be hard. I may have to start buying lottery tickets. Or stocking up on cat food.

Dar1 · January 2007

Cindy, I think you're amazing! I had my treatment last Wed. and haven't done much since. But I think a lot of it has been a cold - I feel much better today. I'm so sorry you are having this worry as well. I feel though, that whatever financial setback this brings, I'll have years to work a bit longer if I have to. When I was first diagnosed, I thought why have I been worrying about retirement - am I going to live that long? Now I'm focused on getting through the next 3 months. Old age is a privilege.

robertin · January 2007

Hello all, a tumor was discovered in my breast on Friday, 12/8. Since I was going to San Francisco for a week, I had the biopsy that same afternoon. The surgeon, a genius, said that the tumor appeared malignant, but that it didn't seem nodes were involved. I went to my meetings in SFC - and can you believe I forgot my bra? Thank goodness for Victoria Secret. Since then I've had a lumpectomy, which was painful, because my breast got infected - and all that during the holidays. I am stage 2, with no lymph nodes involved (the surgeon was right all the way). The cancer was a grade 3 (angry cancer), but the margins were clean. I will get my port on January 26. Chemo will start 1/30: 4 sessions of Adriamycin/Cytoxan and then 4 sessions of Taxol - 2 weeks apart. After that 33 sessions of radiation treatment. My son is on a church mission in Brazil and I will be done shortly before he comes home. I am blessed with the best family. My husband and daughter have bathed me while I had a drain in my breast and was sick. They have been so supportive. And right now I am being spoiled by my parents in Holland. I had booked the flight before the whirlwind of cancer hit me, and the doctors saw no need for me to cancel the trip. I am stocking up on good snacks (chocolate - cookies). I am going to fight this thing and I am going to look back to this time as a growing experience!!! I have spent the last few days reading these posts. I have learned a lot and I am ready. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Amera · January 2007

Hi Robertin, I'm so glad you found us. This board has been a lifesaver for me and so many others. I am seeing the onc today to get my chemo schedule. I'm thinking I will begin around the same time as you. Am a little anxious, but ready to get the show on the road.

I noticed you are from Lawrence. I went to KU! Rock Chalk!
Amera

robertin · January 2007

Hi Amera, I am still at KU. I'm a postdoc in the physics department. On occasion I teach. Last semester I taught 185 students, but luckily I'm not needed this semester. KU is still rocking and I love working there. I have the best boss. I can work at home, I can work only when I feel like it and I can make up the lost hours later in the year. I informed the whole department and now I have an incredible support team surrounding me. By the way, my daughter send me a book called "I'd rather do chemo than clean out the garage" by Fran di Giacomo. Great book on surviving chemo.

Amera · January 2007

robertin, I will look for that book!

I had my oncol appt at Dana Farber today. The dr. gave me a totally different chemo schedule than the first dr I saw. She also saw that there was a huge discrepancy btwn my path reports regarding Herceptin. The hcl was 0, but on the FISH it said -1.6. Makes sense, right? However, on the cumulative path report, it said the FISH was 2+, which is still borderline but totally different. Soooo, they are resending the sample once again to see if Herc. would be beneficial.

So for now, it's A/C every three weeks for a total of 4 doses. If we find out that Herc. is beneficial, then it will be once every 3 weeks. No Taxol for me. She did this thing on the computer to find the cost/benefit for me and it only lowered my recurrence rate by 1%. However, she said we could revisit it once the second FISH tests comes back.

So I start next Thurs. Acutally looking forward to getting this done. We shall see how I feel Wed. night.
Amera

viddie · January 2007

Amera,
That's great news! It is much better not to be Her2 positive. Besides not having to take herceptin for year and not having to take Taxol, that means your tumor is not aggressive. That is indeed great news.

Who is your oncologist? My onc at DF told me I should take A/C every 2 weeks for a total of 4 doses. My onc at Cape Cod gave me the same regiment as yours, every 3 weeks. Very interesting! My onc here did say that each onc at DF had their own formula and it depended on who you saw there.
So I guess either way would be fine- same amount of doses- Just a matter of length-I am glad your appointment went well.

chapuzan · January 2007

I started chemo today. I'm not feeling too bad right now I have a bad headache right now but it is one of the side effects. I'm getting a tired but it's another side effect....right. I was almost terrified when I went in to start. I wanted to get up and run but I new I couldn't. I met some very nice people today that reached out to me they said I was so young and scared (scared I was but not that young). I'll be okay this wasn't so bad.

Lynn12 · January 2007

Hi Ladies,

Got my port in this morning. I feel like such a wimp. They sent me home saying I might need a couple tylenol, but geesh, it sure is sore. The actual insertion wasn't bad as I had the twilight sedation. It hurts to move my head and turn my head and use that muscle, hope it's better tomorrow.

Talked with Onc this afternoon, CT and bone scans came back negative *whew*. I start chemo next Friday 1/19. Am anxious, but ready to get going. He only called in 2 scripts for me. One to take the night before and morning of to ward off allergic reaction and one for nausea, already have script for Ativan.

Hugs to everyone!

Lynn

jamie33 · January 2007

Cindy,
What kind of a job do you do? Maybe you can work extra hours/days just before you get chemo in prep for the lost hours after txt.. also, see if you can move the day of your chemo (usually only by a day or so, mine said) to put the worst part during the weekend.
I had a hard time 6 yrs ago on A/C and missed a lot, well ended up in hospital for a week....twice... This time, I just had my first last wed, but other than day of txt, I only missed part of a day monday for a major headache.
doing Taxotere, carboplatin & Herceptin every 3 weeks.
((HUGS))
Jamie

Amera · January 2007

Viddie, I saw Jennifer Ligibel. I really liked her. I am still shaking my head over the fact that she caught the error on my path report and the other onc was all set to use 2 drugs that wouldn't have benefitted me. Scary. She also said I don't need a port as I will only have 4 infusions. Yippee!

When do you start? Soon, right?
Amera

Dar1 · January 2007

Hi chemo sisters - Chupazan, you made it through #1 - yeah! As others have said, the fatigue hit day 3-5. However, I have had a bad cold, so hard to tell what was chem, what was the cold. I feel like a human being today - no cotton balls in my head. It's a bit of an eye opener - my resistance has not been there since the surgery. Normally with a cold, I would push myself to do everything I usually do - 2 years ago this led to a chest infection. Can't risk that now, so I have done nothing but rest and drink fluids all week. Even with low WBC, my body likes that better and I seem to have avoided the infection. Maybe bc will teach me something...pretty mean teacher though.

sharon56 · January 2007

I started my regime of 3 sessions epirbicin , 5-fu and cycotaxin on Monday waiting next in line 3 sessions 3 weeks apart taxotere ending in April
my first session on monday .Had hopes of no vomiting or nausea , but no I was puking and felt like hell after i got home . Took a zofran before I left for the clinic and they injected Decadron when infusing . I got stemicil to take at home every four hours and more zofran . I really did not think I would get sick BUT I was on the phone to the hospital a few times that night . After about 1 1/2 days the vomting stopped and nervousness and restlesness set in . I mean I could not sit still , it was a reaction to the stemicil , now I cannot use it , the Dr perscribed Ativan so now I take one of them everynight before bed .

Man I hope the 2nd time is not like the first , I am sure they will help out as I am going to let them know exacly how I felt .
Now I feel ok tired and shakey . Next is the hair loss and that should happen within the next 2 weeks . I am going to get my hubby to buzz my hair really short as my hair is realllly thick it stands on end right now .

i know i have the best of care its just friggin hell after the treatments , I hate that nausea feeling would rather throw up , but i have a few weeks before that happens again . I am off to have my first visit for my rads next week so then i find out what happens after my chemo and how long radiation will be .

Can't wait until summer man ..............

Stage III triple neg BC , StageII colon both primary cancer sites

tlc60 · January 2007

shorti: so sorry you're having a rough time with it all! I agree, nausea is the pits.
Hope things , get better, we're pulling for you!!

tlc

sharon56 · January 2007

I am over the retching and now am feeling better , the ativan helps man . Now the next treatment Jan 29th I will be asking for more help on how to cope with the nausea. From just going through surgery I know it takes a few trys to get the right relief meds . When getting the colon surgery they gave me percoset for pain and my that sent me flying I was hallucinating ...... I threw up alot then too
Its true everyone is different the docs just got to get the right combo for you .
Feel like a walking drugstore

Amera · January 2007

Big, stupid, immature whine ahead...

I got a very short haircut yesterday in preparation for chemo. I love it, my kids love it, my husband loves it, and at the gym today, I got no fewer than 10 complements on my great haircut. It's the best one I've ever gotten. And it will fall out in 2 weeks. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
Amera--starting to feel sorry for myself :9(

Dar1 · January 2007

I too am feeling very sorry for myself today. My husband went to help our son/wife move yesterday and won't be back until later today. I just got off the phone with my sister and am realizing I will get no emotional support there - all she can do is mouth platitudes. My mother completed suicide last March (2006 was a banner year). My Dad wants to ignore the whole thing. My MIL has called once - I guess we cross her mind occasionaly. I've had more support from friends. I realize that this has changed my life - everyone else has to continue to cope with jobs, commitments, everyday life etc. I'm sure they care, but they don't understand. I don't know whether to indulge the pity party for awhile or what. Just want to vent I guess.

Robbin65 · January 2007

The news is I am getting my port put in on the 19th and starting my 3 months of chemo on the 25th.

I can skip the chemo and go straight towards the radiation. Many of you that knew me when I first came in here in Sept 06 knows how I feel about western medicine and the medical feild, but I have decided to give in to the media and the experiment on my 41 year old body...

They win again!!!

Anyway, well see what happens....

robertin · January 2007

I'm winding down my trip to the Netherlands. The emotional support I got there was priceless. My parents are such great listeners. I can talk and talk and never will they say, "You've told me that already" - how I hate those words. I've gone on lots of walks and my mother will mention something and off I go again, talking and talking - I think she does it on purpose. My husband and daughter at home are very supportive, the inlaws are great at pretending nothing has happened. I am going to be grateful for the phone and low international rates.

I recall reading somewhere on this forum that sucking on hard candy while getting the AC helps with the headache. Can someone tell me more about that?

talbrig13 · January 2007

I am new here...diagnosed Dec 8th, lumpectomy w/sentinal node biopsy on Dec 28th...1.2 cm, clean nodes, clean margins, ER+, PR+ and HER2/neu 3+. Good friend is nurse practioner at the oncologist, so she is helpful. See the onc on 1/24 and should start chemo by end of month. Have not found very many posts on the ER+, PR+ and HER2/neu +..all three pos. My nuclear grade was 3. Does this make my case more aggressive? Not sure if I am even pre or post menopausal...has hyst in 2002, but left ovaries...have been having terrible hot flashes since I stopped taking my HRT. Guess I shouldn't have been taking that anyway. Oh well!

Guess I am joining this club...Looking forward to all of your support~

Dar1 · January 2007

Robertin, a friend gave me a bag of candies for during the infusion (AC) - said it helped her. I noticed that when the Cytoxin was going through, I started to get a head ache and the candies helped. I think next time I will get sugarless candies though - I had so many that I felt a bit of sugar overload. I'm told that if you do get a head ache they can also slow the drip down. I did have a bit of a head ache afterwards - but nothing major.

Lynn12 · January 2007

Checking in on our Jan. girls who have already started their treatment. Hopefully you are all hanging in there. We'll get through!

I start TC this Friday and am thinking about what to pack in my bag.

Football sure kept my mind off of things yesterday. We are hug Patriots fans and had quite a time watching the game yesterday. We were exausted when it was over, but we won!

hugs,
Lynn

meliaanne · January 2007

I start with a/c on wed the 17th. Scared and upset, but I felt that way walking into biopsy, surgery, oncologist ... I am ok once I have to handle something, but kind of a sissy beforehand. I have tapes, magazines, water, candy, crackers, biotene ...will be glad to have one behind me!

FacingLIFE · January 2007

Hi RobbinJaye,

Here is the website for the Oncotype test:

http://www.genomichealth.com/oncotype/about/patresults.aspx

I found the site after my oncologist left a phone message (the night before a long weekend) giving me my score as "33" and telling me it was a "high score" but didn't say what the 33 meant. I found out from the site what 33 meant in terms of recurrence within 10 years. Low is 1-15, Intermediate 16-30, High 31-100.

My oncologist's office didn't order the test but my breast surgeon ordered it after we had clerical problems with the cancer center offfice.

Since getting the "high" score" my oncologist's changed my treatment schedule from 4 A/C 3 weeks apart followed by Tamoxafen for 5 years to dose dense A/C every 2 weeks for 8 weeks followed by Taxol every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.

Regarding your question does it only apply to HER2 positive, I don't know. I was not HER2 positive. I only found out about the Oncotype test when my oncologist told me about the trial that included the test. I elected not to be in the trial but insisted on the test to find out what my chance of recurrence might be and to make sure the appropriate treatment had been selected for my cancer.

Often insurance won't pay for the test. My insurance said they would not, but the oncotype test office is appealing that decision. If the insurance doesn't pay, I will have to pay a reduced amount for the test. It is expensive: approx $3500. My cost will be around $850 if the insurance doesn't pay.

There are so many details that must be handled with this cancer diagnosis. It doesn't leave a lot of time for just thinking positively and meditating as recommended.

I wish you good luck in your treatment and pray for a cure for everyone.

marshakb · January 2007

Finally had my first oncology visit today, found out my FISH test came back neg. Having a pEt scan on Thursday, surgeon is putting my port in the following Thursday and Chemo will start after that. Doing A/C x4 every 3 weeks and taxol x 12 after that. Have the option on the taxol of doing 4x per week for 3 weeks or once every week for 12. Lord I do want to just get it over with. ER/PR POS (97%) so tamoxafin (sp) for 5 years. Any one gone the shorter route? What is the difference between the two types? Which causes the most side effects or both? Thanks for the feedback.....Marsha

Sandra7inCA · January 2007

Hi Amera,
Make sure you take a photo of it before it's gone and enjoy it. I think I can expect about 9 more days of hair left. Take care, from another January girl.
(((Hugs))),
Sandra

ritajean · January 2007

meliaanne,
I will be thinking about you tomorrow! I understand your fear. I start my chemo on the 26th so I have one more free week. It sounds like you're prepared. My thoughts and prayers will be with you. Please let us know how it goes. You will be O.K.

Rita

SuperSurvivor · January 2007

I Started chemo in Jan but they changed it mid-stream. So, now I am on the big guns. I have been so sick and thrown up for two days. But if this is what it takes to get this disease out of my body -=--sign me up. I have be battleing this thing for 13 years with 4 recurrences. I am so confused and I judt dont know what is write anymore.I want people to tell me what to do because I am so tierd of all of this I will stay in this room because you people get me.

Dar1 · January 2007

Well today was the day - the hair started falling out yesterday, 13 days past chemo. I went today and had it buzzed and the wig trimmed. The stylist does this for a lot of women in town. She took me into a back room for the buzz, said she'd had tears and laughter in there. It wasn't so bad, better than watching it fall out over the next week, at least to me. It feels like another step towards the post-cancer diagnosis me, a different me. Lots more scars, but hopefully stronger. Courage, chemo sisters.

Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

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