Starting chemo February 2018

Options
1…4344464849…52

Comments

  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    moth-YAY! So happy to hear your news! Happy dance for you! :)

    I have rads #4 today. How many are you taking? What a pain but hopefully it will go quickly. I have 33.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited August 2018

    Thanks Colleen! Happy dance news indeed!

    I'm doing 20 rads. Today is my #4 as well but not until dinner time (they're not at the same time every day at my center). The rads part so far is kind of boring LOL.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    it is a bore! And to drive all the way out there just to spend five minutes and turn around and go back lol. Oh well. At least I’m not far from my hospital.

    I spend the whole time praying and imagining cancer cells getting killed and my body being completely free of any cancer cells. Who knows but positive thinking can’t hurt, right?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 2,279
    edited August 2018

    moth congratulations on the good news. What a relief for you and your family. Have a great weekend. I have been locked away all week in the evening , cleaning out closets and trying to finish painting and decorating my guest bedroom. It's looking good. Working 8 to 10 hours, and tackling this room 2 to 3 hours every evening is tiring but fun.

    Tomorrow morning I have a 5k. Hopefully the heat won't kick my butt.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Insideout2
    Insideout2 Member Posts: 128
    edited August 2018

    Moth- this is great news. Take care


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lolotte19
    Lolotte19 Member Posts: 129
    edited August 2018

    so glad to hear the good news Moth.

    Kind of tired. I got swollen feet and ankles now! I don't unders5and why because i never got that before even when i was pregnang

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lolotte19
    Lolotte19 Member Posts: 129
    edited August 2018

    so glad to hear the good news Moth.

    Kind of tired. I got swollen feet and ankles now! I don't understand why because i never got that before even when i was pregnant. Does anyone have experienced that?

    Have a

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lolotte19
    Lolotte19 Member Posts: 129
    edited August 2018

    so glad to hear the good news Moth.

    Kind of tired. I got swollen feet and ankles now! I don't understand why because i never got that before even when i was pregnant. Does anyone have experienced that?

    Have a good weekend

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 2,279
    edited August 2018

    lolette- My MO reviewed side effects with me before I started chemo and he did list swollen feet and ankles as being possible side effects from taxotere. I was fortunate I didn't experience any swollen feet or ankles. It sounds very uncomfortable.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ButterflyLily
    ButterflyLily Member Posts: 104
    edited August 2018

    hi ladies! Just checking in and good to see everyone is moving forward with either finishing treatment or taking on new adventures and enjoying post treatment life. :)

    Today I had my first 3mile run after the reconstruction on July 20. Had a tight sports bra on and all was good.

    For those on tamoxifen, there are certain medications that can reduce its effectiveness. There is a post on the site about that. One of the is benadryl which I always have at home and apparently shouldn't take anymore.

    What is everyone ER+ doing about diet?

    Hugs to all!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ButterflyLily
    ButterflyLily Member Posts: 104
    edited August 2018

    hi ladies! Just checking in and good to see everyone is moving forward with either finishing treatment or taking on new adventures and enjoying post treatment life. :)

    Today I had my first 3mile run after the reconstruction on July 20. Had a tight sports bra on and all was good.

    For those on tamoxifen, there are certain medications that can reduce its effectiveness. There is a post on the site about that. One of the is benadryl which I always have at home and apparently shouldn't take anymore.

    What is everyone ER+ doing about diet?

    Hugs to all!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 2,279
    edited August 2018

    butterfly Lily I have to check on the site regarding Benadryl and tamoxifen. My Mo had given me permission to take Benadryl. Occasionally, I have taken a half a pill when I want to fall asleep early. Which side is the information on that you read?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LoveCanada
    LoveCanada Member Posts: 96
    edited August 2018

    I’m also interested in checking out the site about Tamoxifen interacting with other drugs. I hadn’t seen that.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ButterflyLily
    ButterflyLily Member Posts: 104
    edited August 2018

    jo6359, lovecanada

    This is the link that talks about what can interfere with Tamoxifen effectiveness. Scroll down thru the article and you'll see where they talk about the enzyme required for Tamoxifen to work and what meds could suppress that enzyme and reduce Tamofixen's effectiveness:

    https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/serms/tamoxifen

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jo6359
    jo6359 Member Posts: 2,279
    edited August 2018

    butterfly Lily- I'm going to read the article tonight. Thanks so much.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • indahood
    indahood Member Posts: 152
    edited August 2018

    Hi All, just checking in. Congrats to all who have finished. Me too, but it's been a few months now. I was taking FEMORA, Letrazole is the brand name, it's an AI drug and not Tamoxifan since I am post menopause. One side effects I'm experiencing is I have now developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on both hands. It sucks. Worse on the surgery side and yes it is a side effect of AI drugs. I did and EEG to find out if my amnesia was caused by a seizure but all was normal, so that's a relief, but really still having difficulty with my memory so advised it's still too early in recovery to be back at work, taking on a full class. Feeling a bit down this week. I'm not yet going back to school and it's that time of year. I'm tired of CANCER. I'll be heading off camping next week. Hopefully get over this funk and miss the back to school chatter that is surrounding me.

    Hope you are all well, sisters. I didn't have it in me to read all the posts I have missed.

    Laurie

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LoveCanada
    LoveCanada Member Posts: 96
    edited August 2018

    Butterflylily that was very helpful. Thank you!!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    Laurie I feel ya. I’m a teacher and haven’t gone back to school yet either, and it’s hard. I’m so sick of cancer messing everything up too! I’ve been really down as well. When I first started I felt like I would go through treatment and there would be an “end” to it all at some point. I’ve realized since then that there is no end-even when we are done with treatment we still have to be checked, still have to take pills that mess us up, still have to worry about mets/recurrences for the rest of our lives. It’s so exhausting and overwhelming just to think about.

    I haven’t caught up on posts either but do hope everyone is well. ❤️

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • indahood
    indahood Member Posts: 152
    edited August 2018

    Thanks for the kind words, Colleen. Brought tears but I feel supported. No one gets it like we do here.

    Laurie

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    hugs, Laurie. I really hope your camping trip brings you some joy and peace. And hope today is better emotionally for both of us! So thankful for the sisters here. ❤️

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited August 2018

    Hi Laurie - sorry that the mysterious memory crap is still troubling you and now causing problems with back to work :(

    & Colleen, you're right, this stupid apparently never ending cancer trip sucks, doesn't it.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    indeed it does, moth! I’ve currently convinced myself that I have a met tumor in my mouth and freaking out. I’m not sure how I’ll live the rest of my life thinking “cancer” every single time something is wrong with me. Ugghhhhh

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ButterflyLily
    ButterflyLily Member Posts: 104
    edited August 2018

    jo6359, lovecanada-

    You're most welcome! Glad you found the info helpful. I think it's important to be informed and proactive about taking care of ourselves in our post chemo lives. 😀❤

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lolotte19
    Lolotte19 Member Posts: 129
    edited August 2018

    Colleen, Laurie, i hear you! I am back to school but 2 days in and I was exhausted. Also, I think I have eye cancer. It is stupid how you associate any symptoms with cancer. I see floating objects in my left eye. It is probably nothing and i have an appointment with eye dr next Saturday but in rare cases could be a breast cancer metastasis. Guess what I think? This is what I have...

    Anyways lumpectomy is this Thursday for me. I hope everything will go fine. For whatever stupid reasons 10 to 15 years ago I watched a show about people who were still awake during their surgery but paralyzed from the drugs and felt everything cuts, etc. From the surgery. However they could do nothing to stop their torture as they were paralysed. So i am afraid of that more than anything else.

    Have a great Sunday everyone.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LoveCanada
    LoveCanada Member Posts: 96
    edited August 2018

    Lolotte good luck this week! I also made the mistake of reading an article right before my mastectomy about that (people who knew what was going on during their surgery). I had never had surgery and it scared me so much that I asked the surgeon and anesthesiologist about it. This is such a weird and scary time that we can really freak ourselves out!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • CBOK
    CBOK Member Posts: 73
    edited August 2018

    There is a post on here somewhere that talked about not liking the term "survivor" because you don't really know that until you die of something else. They use cancer "contestant" because you're stuck in a never ending game of "what if" forever.

    My MO flatout said the first 2yrs will be hell because of this.

    I'm going in today to get a shot to shut down my ovaries (they still haven't actually restarted from chemo though) and start on an AI. I'm not quite 40 so this is considered an aggressive move vs tamoxifen. My joints have already started hurting and we think it's from lack of estrogen. It's not great but it's tolerable and I want to try this first and hopefully SEs won't be so bad. If they do become unbearable then I'll stop and go with tamoxifen.

    Almost done with radiation. Still have 8 to go and I look like a lobster but it barely hurts. Very thankful I don't feel like what it looks like.


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ColleenS80
    ColleenS80 Member Posts: 271
    edited August 2018

    CBOK,

    So glad you posted this today as I’ve spent the morning studying over the tamoxifen vs Zoladex/AI-and I’m 38 so we’re in a similar place.

    My onc didn’t even discuss tamoxifen and wanted me to go straight to Zoladex/Arimidex, which I did three weeks ago. But I started studying and now I’m worrying myself. Are you worried about the long term effects of going into menopause at our age? I’ve read studies that discuss the rise in heart problems, bone problems, and dementia and that all scares me because I have all of those things in my family history. Can you imagine surviving cancer to die of a heart attack or early onset Alzheimer’s? I wish I knew more about the risk /benefit between the two. Like, if the AI lowers my recurrence risk by say two percentage points, but then my stroke risk is raised 20 percentage points (totally making up as an example), that’s hard for me to justify.

    The other thing that scares me is the fact that Zoladex (the shot) does not always work to shut down the ovaries. (Now granted it does in most cases, and I don’t say that to be a fear monger, but I always worry about even the smallest percentages.) And if you are on an AI and your ovaries are still functioning, it actually causes a surge in estrogen and has the opposite of the desired effect.

    I’d be really interested to hear what your onc says about the reasons he finds this approach best! I’m going to ask mine Thursday as well. Are they planning to monitor your hormones to make sure you’re in a menopausal state? I called last week and left a msg asking for my onc to test mine at my apt this week, bc I’d read about the opposite effect if you’re on the AI and not in the right hormone range, and she said we’d talk about it at my next apt. Wonder what that means...

    Anyhow, hope your apt goes well and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on all this!


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • CBOK
    CBOK Member Posts: 73
    edited August 2018

    Colleen- I had to fight a little for the ovary suppression/AI. My doc wanted me to do tamoxifen but I keep reading all these things I have going against me (not just the obvious ones) and I wanted the most aggressive treatment available. Everything (hard data) I've read says that the side effects of AI vs. tamoxifen are about the same except for a few categories. Bone loss and cardiac events are higher risk on AIs. Tamoxifen actually has a higher stroke risk than AI. While AIs have shown better disease free survival rates, their overall survival rates are not necessarily better (meaning the side effects could kill you instead of cancer). I honestly believe that some of that is because nearly all of those studies involve women already post menopausal and therefore older) I feel like since I'm younger I have a better chance of making it 10+ years against heart attack odds than I do cancer (as I'm sure you unfortunately know, younger = typically more aggressive cancer). I too have family history of heart issues and Alzheimer's but I'm slowly turning into a health nut to try to make sure that doesn't happen.

    I've been looking at the SE comparison tables from the ATAC study. Here's a good link. Scroll down to Section 6 "Adverse Reactions" https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm...

    I haven't been tested for estrogen levels yet but I'm going to ask my doc about it next month. I haven't had a period since my 2nd round of chemo which I take as a good sign considering the aim anyway.

    My doc also sent me for a baseline bone density scan which was normal.


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • CBOK
    CBOK Member Posts: 73
    edited August 2018

    test

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited August 2018

    I finally broke down & bought a wig lol. My hair is growing but it's still very short and I wanted something for the start of the school year & the dreaded school ID photo. I've always wanted curls and I have dead straight hair so this is super fun.

    image

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories