Starting Chemo in February 2019

DeeDee,

I realized after I posted that it was an old post (duh...). I have moments when I’m fine and moments when I’m not (like can’t read dates). Glad you are doing well x 2. ! Thank you so much for reaching out.

Lauren

Hi Ladies

My mom had her 2nd AC chemotherpy yesterday. She is feeling a bit off. She started taking Clartine two days ago and she will continue to use it for a week to avoid the SEs of the neulasta. She says that the SEs of the neulasta aremuch worse than the AC. Anyone agrees?

Furthermore, the pathology report ofHER2 equivocal. What does that mean? Will she get targeted therapy? Anyone had a similar experience?

Hoping for the best!

Good morning everyone. This Thursday (3/7) will be my third round of AC. I thought my second round was mild with hardly any SEs. No nausea, not really any bone pain from the Neulasta but by day 6 I was running a slight temp again and generally feeling tired. Day 7 I developed a fever, called the cancer center and they had me come in right away for labs. WBC way down again at .2 this time. Back to the hospital (where I still am) to get iv antibiotics. The first two rounds have landed me in the hospital with neutropenia. My oncologist is thinks my cocktail is too strong and wil adjust for round 3. It might mean longer chemo with smaller doses, I don't know. I just don't want to end up in the hospital each time trying to get my counts up. I want to be able to live a somewhat normal life; all relative I know with this journey.This time they changed how they treated me, giving me a daily white cell booster shot. Oh and I developed painful mouth sores this time around even with brushing and rinsing like a fanatic. Eating was agony! The hospital made up some Magic Mouthwash. What a lifesaver!

Good luck everyone on your journeys. I’m reading everyone’s stories. Lots of good tips

Today is the 6th day for me since the first treatment

The steroids and anti nausea meds definitely got me jacked up/insomniac/loopy Thursday-Sunday. All I took yesterday was Zofran and clariton.

I haven’t taken any medicine today but I don’t feel like I’m fit to drive. My head still feels mixed up. My reaction time is super slow. Anyone decide to quit driving while going through chemo?

Is this just the usual effects of chemo — maybe chemo brain?

I’m also struggling because I cannot keep up at work.

Anyone else feel this way?

I re-did my liver tests and gratefully the levels came back down.  The AST is within the expected range, but the ALT is still slightly above the maximum.  It is 57 but the upper limit of the range says it should be no more than 41.  Before it was 134, so I'm guessing I am okay to do chemo tomorrow.  

A friend of mine is talking about Rick Simpson Oil.  Does anyone know what that is?  I am going to do some research, but thought I would ask here.

Hey Paloma,

I had over 15 seperate mouth sores that appeared right about 1 week after my first infusion with TCHP. My lips were really swollen also. The second time around, I am fairing better ( i'm day 7 post round 2) and so far so good.... here's what helped me...

I sucked on ice chips as much as I could during Taxotere and Carboplatin (I didnt know to do this first round). I believe Taxotere has up to 50% SE of mucositis (mouth sores). I also started L Lysine supplement daily. Tons of Aquaphor lip balm. Salt(1/2tsp) and baking soda(1/2 tsp) with warm water (8oz) gargles (do this 4-6 times a day).

Magic Mouthwash (3 ingredients).... ( this is a Rx you can ask for)..... You can't get viscous Lidocaine OTC. The other 2 ingredients are OTC... 1 part liquid benadryl and 1 part liquid mylanta to coat your mouth. The benadryl and mylanta without the numbing agent is def. better than nothing.

I hope this helps you. Mouth sores are terrible! Mine lasted 2-3d FYI. btw- you can soften your toothbrush by running under hot water

Thank you, IdRatherBeBoatin! I’m going to make the rinse and use it constantly, and I’ll have some ice for round 2. I hope your mouth fares better this time. I’m about 3 weeks behind you, so I’ll be keeping a close eye for you here. Wishing you a peaceful week.

I'm 15 days out from my first TCHP infusion and yesterday my hair started coming out. It's worse today. I'm going to call my hairdresser to see if she can get me in for a buzz cut. My wig won't be ready until next week so it will be hats and scarves until then. It’ssupposed to be really cold here this week!

I can relate the the mouthsores. I got those about 6 days following my treatment. They lasted about 3 days. I used Biotene toothpaste and rinse. I tried 3 different toothpastes and they all burned my mouth. I use the softest toothbrush i can and run it under warm water before using. Helped a lot. I lost my taste about the same time.

Anyone else getting nose bleeds? Not so much bleeding but when my nose runs (all the time!) sometimes there is bright red blood. Not a lot but still...

I'm not a great driver to begin with and I hate to drive anyway. I only drive when I need to and stay close to home. I have a great friend who is always willing to Uber me around!

Kathy,

Same with me, just enough to make me wonder what is going on. We have a humidifier in our bedroom as well. I never know if it will be red or not. I always have tissues close by!

Nose bleeds and runny nose both normal. Our platelets drop due to the meds, which increases our chance of bleeding. Should improve with time as our platelets recover. As for the runny nose, we lose nose hairs from the chemo as well, hence less to collect secretions. Lovely huh ?!?! Continuing the claritan may be helpful. Otherwise, tissues and more tissues! I've been dapping neosporin up my nose to serve as a barrier to all the germs going around.. Also helps lubricate nasal passages. Something to consider

Yes to runny nose. Yes to eye twitch. Yes to a sore throat.I think Vaseline in the nose might be helpful too - both as a barrier and to keep it moist.

I bought my wig a few weeks ago & got my haircut to match the wig. Planning to get a “crew cut” in 7-10 days. I’m nervous about wearing the wig to work, but feel like I have to do it. I think my going through cancer treatments is too heavy a burden to lay on my massage clients. They are there to relax, after all.

Going to lie in bed all day in preparation to go to work tonight for s few hours. Wish me luck!

Hi warriors!

First AC treatment today. The nurses were very nice and the experience was not unpleasant. Have a bit of a headache, but doing okay. Feel kind of full of fluid and I was surprised I was hungry. Still don’t know how I got here, but glad I started.

Lauren

Hello fellow warriors! Regarding the bloody noses, I started getting them after my first few rounds of Taxol. I started running a humidifier in my bedroom 24/7 and use gel nasal spray before bed, which helps. Now I have the constant dripping nose, which is really embarrassing. I might try putting a little aquaphor in my nose to see if it helps. After 12 rounds of Taxol and 1 round of AC, it looks like my hair is starting to grow back. I’m leaving it alone for now and hoping it doesn’t fall out again before I’m done. AC round 2 tomorrow. We got this!!

Hi Ladies!

Today is day # 19 post AC chemo # 1 and day # 4 post chemo # 2 for my mom. I would say that 70% of her hair is gone, and she is very depressed about that. This SE has caused her the most physiological effect. I think because it is a constant reminder that she has cancer. She has started wearing scarves and hats all the time. She can’t wait to be on taxol because she heard hair can grow back on taxol. Is that true?

As for her tumor, she says that it started peeling a lot. I’mnot sure what this peeling signifies. Any ideas?

-Laurencl, my mom takes Tylenol for headaches and body aches most of the time. Sometimes , she takes ibuprofen. She alternate between them.