Anyone starting chemo in June 08

JoAnne sorry to hear about your mom.

Went for my first chemo on the 19th. Everything went great until midnight. I felt like I hade the flu. Had to go get an echocardiogram, which went fine. After I got home started throwing up for the next 24 hours. Went hospital for iv fluids and additional anti-nausea(spc). I can eat and drink now and feel much much better. Even though I had a bad day with treament am so glad  that I only have 5 more to go.

I'm sorry if I haven't  been specfic to answering any one person. My mind is a little confused and overwhelmed, soo good luck and my prayers are with everyone.

Wyoming

Good morning everyone - thank you each and everyone for your condolences.

My first chemo is scheduled for Wednesday morning. DH and BF (best friend) Jen will take me, but DH will have to leave in order to catch his flight to Boston. DD is flying in from SC, they will meet up somewhere there. The funeral is Thursday morning. DD will fly back to SC Fri. DH will fly back Sat. he wants to spend Fri with his mom who is 93! Jen will stay with me one or two nights she is scheduled to return to the U. K. on Saturday, then my other DD will come in to stay with me 'til her Dad gets home on Sat. I'm glad they are all making these plans. I can't keep up with it! And next week promises more of the same!

Hello Ellen - we're glad to meet you - not under these circumstances - but welcome to our group - these ladies are the best - the support is unbelieveable. I will keep your and your soon to be newest addition in my prayers.

Hello Rover girl.

Wyoming - Hope you're feeling better.

Firebug1 - I know where you are having your treatments. My docs are in Montgomery County. I have a history with the surgeon and trust him implicitely. The medical oncologist I'm using is the same one that my friend Jen had when she had BC. She's a 5 year survivor and in April 08 will be a 5 year survivor of ovarian Ca. I haven't picked my radiologist oncologist yet but will probably ask the medical onco who she will refer me to. I don't have to cross that bridge just yet.

Well, I really gotta get going and get something done around here!

BBL

Jo-Anne

it's been a few weeks since i've been in here but i've just finnished up with all of my tests and had a port put in my chest, which got infected. just returned from my onco, i start on wednesday(25th). i'm going to be on adriamycin and cytoxan every 2 weeks for 2 months. anyone else on these? i'm kinda of nervous about wednesday. then i go in for a shot on friday, forget exactly what for.

sorry to hear about your mom jo-anne, i hope you're doing better now.

my sons b-day is on sunday, that's 4 days after chemo. does anyone think i'll be doing ok by then, or what kind of afters should i be expecting? hugs to all  

Karen, 

   Amazingly I can't take advil, but chemo will be just fine for the little man!  All of the MD's have said that the placenta is a wonderful thing and it protects the baby from this type of chemo.  Everyone that I have talked to have had healthy babies, maybe just a little smaller than "normal".  They also tend to have a headfull of hair while mom does not!  I sure hope so : )   

Good evening,

I'm back with the living. Eating has finally been better. What has helped me is applesauce, pudding, and peanut butter sandwich.  My husband made a homemade chicken soup which was wonderful. If you are having problems eating, the best is to eat a little bit at a time. My doc said to eat every 1/2 hour or hour, maybe a bite or two. If you like breakfast but can't eat in the morning eat it for dinner.

Kaejon, my day three was the worst. Day 4 and 5 have been recovery days. My doc is going to gvie me anditional meds to help with side effects. The first treatment is hard as you don't know how you will react.

Jo-Anne good luck with cold and travel. Let us know if you set anything off!

Wyoming

Kaejon 

I am also on cytoxan and adriamycin and then I also get a day later a shot of neulasta to help keep the white cells a pumping.  So how did you do with your treatment?  And how many will you have total? I think I read for 2 months.  I have my treatment every 3 weeks not every other week like you and it will last for 6 months total it ends in Nov. It is like I had it on Mon. the 9th and then again on June 30th and then next on July 21st. If you read my post above it tells how I did with the first one.  I did have nausea problems but one lady I know didn't so we all react different. My main thing was no energy for the first few days.  Well I hope yours is going well take care all.   

Hey Vinogal, you're on your way!  Whay is your Dr.'s name?  My chemo day is Tues.  Darn, I was hoping to meet you.  FYI, I had no side effects from the neupogen and the AC takes only about 45 min. to run.  You'll be home in no time on Wed.  Sending positive thoughts.

Westie

Vinogal,

Good Luck Tomorrow.  I'll be thinking about you.  You have waited long enough.  It's time to "Rock the Boat!"  Oh, and in response to your comment about enjoying our cocktails, I am so looking forward to the time I can enjoy a real one requiring only a valid ID.  HunkyD

I'm poking my head in from May 2008 to say "How are you doing?" I have been thinking of my June "sisters" and thought I'd drop you a quick line.

I just finished 4 dd A/C.  If Chemo was Day #1, then Days 3 & 4 were the hardest for me in terms of queasiness and fatigue -- but by Day 5 I was feeling human again and up and about. The 4th A/C was emotionally and physically more difficult for me (and for others) than I'd anticipated. I was "already" halfway done, but at the same time I was "only" halfway done (i.e., we still have 4 Taxol). Plus, I had just gotten the hang of A/C and I think I'm a little anxious about changing to another drug (better the devil you know...)

Honestly, though, the first two months have flown by and I hope it does for all of you, too.  Take good care!  I'm cheering for you! Cheering for all of us from just a little farther (further?) on down the road!

Hi all,

Chemo #2 today did NOT go well at all. From the very start I had a feeling that something was going to be off. First, I had a different person put my IV in. It was uncomfortable and that feeling did not go away at all as time went on. I was not given enough time for my veins to "warm up" and I think the pain I experienced was a direct result of that (despite telling the nurse that one of the other nurses had JUST put a different warming pad on me). The nurse even noticed swelling in the hand, but all she suggested was putting amother heat pack on it, Then the pre-meds were not dripping properly. She had me "reposition my hand" and then the drugs started to flow. Once this was done, I got up to use the bathroom, looked down, and there was blood in the tubing. she flushed it. She was going to remove it and look for another vein but then showed me how I had "good flow" and then said I was "not easy," which I took as meaning that it would not be an easy task to find another good vein (we are limited to one hand). So, against my better judgement, I agreed to keep it in. What I should have done was insist that she remove it and that she find someone else to do it. G-d only knows why I didn't. It's so unlike me not to speak up.

Finally, the Taxotere was administered. Five minutes into it, I started to hiccup, then got this terrible heartburn feeling, and the next thing I knew, my face started to swell and tighten and then I could not breathe. I was able to call for help (respond time was excellent) and was given Benadryl through the IV and then oxygen. It cleared up in less than 5 minutes, but, of course, we were all completely freaked out, and, of course, I did not receive any more treatment today.

We met with my oncologist afterwards to discuss other options and he gave us three:

1) We could try the drug again but in a hospital setting, as I would have a 50/50 chance of having another reaction. Uhh, DONT THINK SO.

2) He could give me the drug Adriamycin along with the Cytoxan. Adriamycin is the drug that I told him I originally did NOT want, due to it possibly causing heart complications (my father died 2 years ago of heart-related complications from chronic heart disease). It also may cause "chemo-induced leukemia."

3) We could try the drug Abraxane in combo with Cytoxan. However, Abraxene is normally used for women with metastatic disease (this is not me), and so the likelihood of my insurance accepting this combo would be slim to none. This drug costs THOUSANDS.

So I chose option #2, which NOW means going back to my radiology group to have a MUGA. As long as my heart functions normally and the blood flow is good, I can take the drug. Unfortunately, this means more radioactive material injected into me and more pics taken (I had a bone scan less two weeks ago). Fortunately, the office was able to get me in for a scan tomorrow morning (after pulling strings with my insurance co. to get "emergency precertification)."

SO...my chemo regimen and schedule has changed YET again. I will be getting "AC" instead of "TC" and we are BACK to every TWO weeks, not three. The downside of this is I will have little to no recovery time so I cannot schedule my plastic surgery appts. in between (this slows down my fills and exchange surgery).

The BIGGEST thing is that the Adriamycin may seriously irritate my veins, and because I opted NOT to put in a port, I may run into problems. My onco and my favorite nurse said they would try the IV/vein next time (they are limited to one hand bc of my lymph node surgery on the other side) but if they had difficulty "getting a good vein," I would need to compromise and get the port or a "PICC line" put in for the next 2 treatments. This disturbs me, as it would mean having yet ANOTHER thing I did not want, and for only two more sessions, it just doesn't seem right or worth the trouble, pain and/or discomfort.

The only GOOD thing about this change is that chemo will now end even EARLIER than before as I will receive the three treatments all within the month of July. This leaves August to recuperate, and will hopefully enable us to make a trip down to Virginia in August to see family. Maybe I'll have some hair by the time my son starts school?!

Any thoughts on what happened here? A friend of mine would like me to believe that this was all the nurse's fault as she "misjudged the vein" and that's why my hand initially swelled up. She went on to say that "the liquid (aka meds) was going into the wrong place. She says if the needle was positioned correctly maybe this wouldn't have happened today. Does this make any sense?

Hi all,

Chemo #2 today did NOT go well at all. From the very start I had a feeling that something was going to be off. First, I had a different person put my IV in. It was uncomfortable and that feeling did not go away at all as time went on. I was not given enough time for my veins to "warm up" and I think the pain I experienced was a direct result of that (despite telling the nurse that one of the other nurses had JUST put a different warming pad on me). The nurse even noticed swelling in the hand, but all she suggested was putting amother heat pack on it, Then the pre-meds were not dripping properly. She had me "reposition my hand" and then the drugs started to flow. Once this was done, I got up to use the bathroom, looked down, and there was blood in the tubing. she flushed it. She was going to remove it and look for another vein but then showed me how I had "good flow" and then said I was "not easy," which I took as meaning that it would not be an easy task to find another good vein (we are limited to one hand). So, against my better judgement, I agreed to keep it in. What I should have done was insist that she remove it and that she find someone else to do it. G-d only knows why I didn't. It's so unlike me not to speak up.

Finally, the Taxotere was administered. Five minutes into it, I started to hiccup, then got this terrible heartburn feeling, and the next thing I knew, my face started to swell and tighten and then I could not breathe. I was able to call for help (respond time was excellent) and was given Benadryl through the IV and then oxygen. It cleared up in less than 5 minutes, but, of course, we were all completely freaked out, and, of course, I did not receive any more treatment today.

We met with my oncologist afterwards to discuss other options and he gave us three:

1) We could try the drug again but in a hospital setting, as I would have a 50/50 chance of having another reaction. Uhh, DONT THINK SO.

2) He could give me the drug Adriamycin along with the Cytoxan. Adriamycin is the drug that I told him I originally did NOT want, due to it possibly causing heart complications (my father died 2 years ago of heart-related complications from chronic heart disease). It also may cause "chemo-induced leukemia."

3) We could try the drug Abraxane in combo with Cytoxan. However, Abraxene is normally used for women with metastatic disease (this is not me), and so the likelihood of my insurance accepting this combo would be slim to none. This drug costs THOUSANDS.

So I chose option #2, which NOW means going back to my radiology group to have a MUGA. As long as my heart functions normally and the blood flow is good, I can take the drug. Unfortunately, this means more radioactive material injected into me and more pics taken (I had a bone scan less two weeks ago). Fortunately, the office was able to get me in for a scan tomorrow morning (after pulling strings with my insurance co. to get "emergency precertification)."

SO...my chemo regimen and schedule has changed YET again. I will be getting "AC" instead of "TC" and we are BACK to every TWO weeks, not three. The downside of this is I will have little to no recovery time so I cannot schedule my plastic surgery appts. in between (this slows down my fills and exchange surgery).

The BIGGEST thing is that the Adriamycin may seriously irritate my veins, and because I opted NOT to put in a port, I may run into problems. My onco and my favorite nurse said they would try the IV/vein next time (they are limited to one hand bc of my lymph node surgery on the other side) but if they had difficulty "getting a good vein," I would need to compromise and get the port or a "PICC line" put in for the next 2 treatments. This disturbs me, as it would mean having yet ANOTHER thing I did not want, and for only two more sessions, it just doesn't seem right or worth the trouble, pain and/or discomfort.

The only GOOD thing about this change is that chemo will now end even EARLIER than before as I will receive the three treatments all within the month of July. This leaves August to recuperate, and will hopefully enable us to make a trip down to Virginia in August to see family. Maybe I'll have some hair by the time my son starts school?!

Any thoughts on what happened here? A friend of mine would like me to believe that this was all the nurse's fault as she "misjudged the vein" and that's why my hand initially swelled up. She went on to say that "the liquid (aka meds) was going into the wrong place. She says if the needle was positioned correctly maybe this wouldn't have happened today. Does this make any sense?

Hi all,

Chemo #2 today did NOT go well at all. From the very start I had a feeling that something was going to be off. First, I had a different person put my IV in. It was uncomfortable and that feeling did not go away at all as time went on. I was not given enough time for my veins to "warm up" and I think the pain I experienced was a direct result of that (despite telling the nurse that one of the other nurses had JUST put a different warming pad on me). The nurse even noticed swelling in the hand, but all she suggested was putting amother heat pack on it, Then the pre-meds were not dripping properly. She had me "reposition my hand" and then the drugs started to flow. Once this was done, I got up to use the bathroom, looked down, and there was blood in the tubing. she flushed it. She was going to remove it and look for another vein but then showed me how I had "good flow" and then said I was "not easy," which I took as meaning that it would not be an easy task to find another good vein (we are limited to one hand). So, against my better judgement, I agreed to keep it in. What I should have done was insist that she remove it and that she find someone else to do it. G-d only knows why I didn't. It's so unlike me not to speak up.

Finally, the Taxotere was administered. Five minutes into it, I started to hiccup, then got this terrible heartburn feeling, and the next thing I knew, my face started to swell and tighten and then I could not breathe. I was able to call for help (respond time was excellent) and was given Benadryl through the IV and then oxygen. It cleared up in less than 5 minutes, but, of course, we were all completely freaked out, and, of course, I did not receive any more treatment today.

We met with my oncologist afterwards to discuss other options and he gave us three:

1) We could try the drug again but in a hospital setting, as I would have a 50/50 chance of having another reaction. Uhh, DONT THINK SO.

2) He could give me the drug Adriamycin along with the Cytoxan. Adriamycin is the drug that I told him I originally did NOT want, due to it possibly causing heart complications (my father died 2 years ago of heart-related complications from chronic heart disease). It also may cause "chemo-induced leukemia."

3) We could try the drug Abraxane in combo with Cytoxan. However, Abraxene is normally used for women with metastatic disease (this is not me), and so the likelihood of my insurance accepting this combo would be slim to none. This drug costs THOUSANDS.

So I chose option #2, which NOW means going back to my radiology group to have a MUGA. As long as my heart functions normally and the blood flow is good, I can take the drug. Unfortunately, this means more radioactive material injected into me and more pics taken (I had a bone scan less two weeks ago). Fortunately, the office was able to get me in for a scan tomorrow morning (after pulling strings with my insurance co. to get "emergency precertification)."

SO...my chemo regimen and schedule has changed YET again. I will be getting "AC" instead of "TC" and we are BACK to every TWO weeks, not three. The downside of this is I will have little to no recovery time so I cannot schedule my plastic surgery appts. in between (this slows down my fills and exchange surgery).

The BIGGEST thing is that the Adriamycin may seriously irritate my veins, and because I opted NOT to put in a port, I may run into problems. My onco and my favorite nurse said they would try the IV/vein next time (they are limited to one hand bc of my lymph node surgery on the other side) but if they had difficulty "getting a good vein," I would need to compromise and get the port or a "PICC line" put in for the next 2 treatments. This disturbs me, as it would mean having yet ANOTHER thing I did not want, and for only two more sessions, it just doesn't seem right or worth the trouble, pain and/or discomfort.

The only GOOD thing about this change is that chemo will now end even EARLIER than before as I will receive the three treatments all within the month of July. This leaves August to recuperate, and will hopefully enable us to make a trip down to Virginia in August to see family. Maybe I'll have some hair by the time my son starts school?!

Any thoughts on what happened here? A friend of mine would like me to believe that this was all the nurse's fault as she "misjudged the vein" and that's why my hand initially swelled up. She went on to say that "the liquid (aka meds) was going into the wrong place. She says if the needle was positioned correctly maybe this wouldn't have happened today. Does this make any sense?

Day 6 and I'm feeling pretty normal, a little tired but not sleepy. Took a walk which helped a lot. My next treatment is July 10th. Sounds like we all have our own side effects to deal with, but with all the tips it helps those of us starting out. Takes the fear away a little. I'm a little apprehensive about second treatment but should be better as my onco has prescribed something for vomitting.

Keep up the spirits and try to enjoy as much as the summer as possible.

Wyoming

 TMI? Probably. 

I too am on day 6 from tx #1.  The last three days have been interesting.  As of having only two visits from Aunt Flow in the past year....I found she decided to saddle up with me for my 1st TAC tx.  Cramps like i was 30 years old again.  I was in pain from that, neulasta shot side effects, big A_ _  headache or neckache, and all the rest.  Don't really want to complain though as things are easing up now.  Plus, there are sisters here going through a heck of a lot more than that with family, etc.  I will tell my onco at my appt. this Friday.  Really kind of scared me for a while.  Hope all the rest of you find yourself with a good nights sleep.  Sorry for venting!  HunkyD