Tiffany`s Twenty Terrific Tips for TC

Hi Meow! I used Penguin and highly recommend them!!

hi all , did anyone get hives from neulasta or stomach pain/ acid ? My nurse didnt want to give me the shot if I got reaction to it but my dr didnt tell me to not to. I kinda want it bc I hve 3 kids going back to school next week and I dont want to get sick. I also have a friend that got sent to ER w 105 tempt when she didnt get hers. Any advice?

Stephanie, thank you so much for posting these tips. I just completed 4 rounds of TC in October, and had a bilateral at the end of November. This was a recurrence or most likely a new tumor in the same breast. In 2009 I had a lumpectomy, radiation, and Tamoxifen. This time in 2016 I had 4 rounds of TC, a bilateral, and will start hormonal therapy soon. The bilateral was my choice vs removing just the breast with the tumor. I never would have known about cold capping if I had not read this. Your post also reminded me to drink lots of fluids, rinse with salt/baking soda to avoid mouth sores, and exercise even when feeling really crappy. My oncologist also emphasized fluids, exercise and rinsing.

I kept maybe 40-50% of my hair, and had a few bald spots. Both the surgeon and oncologist were impressed with how much hair I had left, and said I would have been completely bald without cold capping. It is really important that you talk to your oncologist about cold capping. The first clinic would not let me do this and did not seem to know much about it, so I switched clinics. The second clinic knew about it and were very interested in how well it would work, but could not provide any support. There is an FDA approved cold cap, DIGNICAP https://www.dignicap.com/ that the clinic manages, which may or may not be available in your area. It was not available in Idaho. I used chemo cold caps http://chemocoldcaps.com/ . It takes lots of support to do cold capping, you cannot do it by yourself. I wore a cold cap for 1 hour before infusion, throughout infusion, and for about 4-5 hours after infusion. This was a lot of time for any one person to commit to, so friends signed up up for 2 hour shifts. Chemo Cold caps uses dry ice to keep the caps cold and has an agreement with AIRGAS (makes dry ice) for a discount, if there is a distributor in your area. None in Idaho, so I bought retail, check around for prices, it varied by about 60 cents/pound, which adds up at 80 pounds per session. Retail is also unlikely to have pellets, so you have to break up the blocks, easy to do, but another task when you are already stressed out. ( talk to AirGAS, some reps konw all about what you are trying to do, some might not), and may be able to provided more tips about Dry Ice).

Several companies offer cold caps for chemo therapy, I have no idea if one is better than another. I did redesign the forehead-ear protector. The directions called for using the ever versatile pantiliner for protecting the ears - changing soggy pantiliners sounded uncomfortable so a friend ran out and got some long foam craft. We used the original template, then extended the ends to have flaps for the ears - it worked great.

Also, ask about ports. I did not like the idea of having to manage a port and was worried that it could be a source for infection. I asked the oncologist if I had to use a port. Only 4 infusions and healthy big veins. She let my try not using one , and it worked great.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!

Sweetp, Absolutely!

Any advice on mani/pedis? I get gel on my fingers regularly and havent found any details whether gel will hinder nail damage or make it worse? I get regular polish on my toes and from what Ive read regular polish is fine.

Hi - Im new to this group and finished my 4th TC treatment about 4 weeks ago. Start radiation next week. Im wondering if anyone who completed the 4 rounds of TC was still experiencing nausea 4 weeks after the last one? It seems worse this time then any of the previous times and is lasting longer. Any tips are appreciated. (I will check out the queasypops )

Thank you for your information. I just finished chemo and was going to use the cold cap however I heard you had to wear it for 7 hours afterwards. I did ice my hands and feet however.

Nuna4life,

Congratulations on Ringing that Bell and completing that part of your journey!!! I read about the cold caps, but Id already had my 1st treatment, so theres that. 😞 Hang in there.. You can handle the rest. Will you need RADS? Whats next for you?

Hi, I hope you are doing good

I was diagnosed HER2 negative breast cancer stage 1A in November and had a lumpectomy of the R breast in December 2016 a and started chemo in January 2017.

I wish I had seen your tips before I started treatment.

I have neuropathy of my L and R fingers and toes and it has been a year since taxol that ended in 6 April 2017 and continued with Herceptin until January 2018. I heard that neuropathy could last up to 2yeras and will go away.

Thank you!!! This list is incredibly helpful. I start my first TC infusion on Friday, June 8th and I feel prepared for it because of this!!!

Tshire, thanks for all the tips!

Tiffany - thank you SO much for posting this! Ive been searching and searching for anyone who managed chemo fairly well, did not lose their hair, etc. as Im pretty sure Im going to have to undergo chemo and while Ill do it, the prospect of it has me so nervous. Im bookmarking this page and might try ALL your tips!

Ive read that painting your nails can help keep them healthy. Anyone have any experience on this?

@wildcolonialgirl - thank you for your post. I met with the oncologist this past week and while were still waiting for oncotype dx scores, and bone and CT scan results (which is driving me crazy with the wait), it seems pretty likely that chemo would be recommended in my case. The oncologist said based on what hes seen so far, hed be surprised if my oncotype dx came in low, plus the cancer had already spread to my sentinel lymph nodes...

So Im trying to prep myself for chemotherapy but I am SO concerned and so afraid that I might actually be making the wrong decision to do it. I watched my mother-in-law go through chemo (for lung cancer, so different, but still...) and she ended up in the hospital 3 out of 4 times. I was referenced to a lovely lady who beat breast cancer through chemo but she also ended up in the hospital in the first round. You read articles about some chemo drugs actually causing permanent, not temporary, baldness. Its well known that chemo can cause infertility and my husband and I were just looking into fertility options when this happened. And more...

I might be only influenced by those who had it tough right now, which is why this thread was such a comfort. Any words from people who have managed chemotherapy / are managing it fairly decently, and tips to minimize side effects, would be so helpful...