After Chemo

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canceror
canceror Member Posts: 3
edited October 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

Hello everyone.

Just to briefly introduce myself, I just joined the club😊. I am 31 years old and I was diagnosed with Her2+ breast cancer at the end of July. After searching for my dream team of doctors , i finally had a Lumpectomy done on Sept 15th.

I had my first chemotherapy session today. Taxol + Herceptin. Within 15-20 mins of starting Herceptin i felt body aches and chills and my stomach hurling. The nurse stopped the cycle for a bit, i was given Ativen along with the rest of the prep for Taxol (steroids, extended release anti nausea meds, benadryl,etc) . I slept through the rest of the session until few minutes towards the end of the cycle.

i’m currently not feeling anything I did feel a little tired but nothing out of the ordinary. Is this normal? I didn’t eat much either, just had a bowl of broth for dinner . whereas the entire lockdown I have had a big apetite. I heard and read many posts that the side effects kick in a few days later. Is that what I should be expecting? Should I take an anti nausea medicine tomorrow to be safe? I don’t want to wait until i have to puke 😔.

Any advice is appreciated thank you everyone.



Also TMI (I did not have any issues with bowl movements today.



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  • WC3
    WC3 Member Posts: 1,540
    edited October 2020

    Hi canceror:

    I didn't have any issues with herceptin other than a runny nose. It might be more likely that you were having a reaction to the taxol or maybe something relating to the pre meds. Your chemo nurse would probably have a better idea of which drug caused the issue.

    Other than the pre meds are you just getting the taxol and herceptin or are you also getting carboplatin and perjeta?

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  • Melbo
    Melbo Member Posts: 346
    edited October 2020

    I'm on the TCHP regime -- taxotere, carboplatin, herceptin and perjeta -- and it has affected my appetite as well. Usually I eat small meals because I get full much faster than I used to. It has also affected what I eat since some foods I used to like now taste terrible or cause terrible heart burn.

    For most of the TCHP regime the side effects generally seem to kick in between days 3 and 4. I almost always feel pretty good the day of chemo and for a couple of days after, and then start feeling worse days 4-10. For me the nausea first presented as terrible stomach cramps, not like traditional nausea. I only started taking the nausea meds after I spoke to the nurse and described the stomach cramps. Later as I got further into treatment the nausea started presenting as more traditional nausea.

    I would recommend finding the monthly chemo boards and reading through some of them. The July, August, and September boards are all pretty active.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited October 2020

    canceror, we're sorry you have to go through this... but wanted to say welcome! You've come to a wonderful place for support, encouragement and information! We thought you'd be interested in checking out some of the following topics too:


    Please keep us posted on how you're doing. We are here for you!

    Warmly,

    The Mods

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  • canceror
    canceror Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2020
    • Thanks for your response. No I am only on Herceptin and Taxol. My Oncologist decided not to add the perjeta because the spread of disease was not too bad.
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  • canceror
    canceror Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2020

    Thank you I will check them out

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