whichwayisup Posted November 8, 2007 Posted November 8, 2007 I will receive 6 rounds of chemo, 1 every three weeks. For 8-10 days after each treatment, I will be getting daily shots of a medicine (Neupogen) that will boost my bone marrow and help to make white blood cells so that I won't be so vulnerable to infections. This will not stop infections, but certainly will reduce the chance of it. Stock up on Purell, keep it at your front door. Any visitors that come and see you MUST wash their hands or use that hand sanitizer! When my friend was going through her treatments, the rules were clear, especially with her boys, handwashing, handwashing handwashing! Also, anyone sick couldn't come near her as the immune system is not there to fight infections. Rest as much as you can during your chemo treatments, in my friends situation it would hit her that night into the next day, then she'd sleep for 2 days, then the next 4 days she was feeling better, drained but not as sick. Each round of chemo (I think she had 3 different types, the 1st one was very strong, made her very ill, the next type wasn't as potient and the 3rd one made her feel very dopey and sleepy). The anti-nausea drugs helped her alot as well, though during her 2nd and 3rd type of treatments she wasn't throwing up anymore, it was only with the 1st batch she did. LB... Don't know what else to say, but you're in my thoughts daily.
Fun2BMe Posted November 8, 2007 Posted November 8, 2007 The oncologist told me that I would definitely be losing my hair with this treatment, and that I can expect mouth sores, nausea, GI problems, and probably some nerve damage. What does GI stand for and what type of nerve damage?
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 8, 2007 Author Posted November 8, 2007 Gastro intestinal, and problems with my hands and feet.
underpants Posted November 9, 2007 Posted November 9, 2007 LB, You are very brave. I admire how you rise above things and take them out...even those demons inside of you. You are a very wise warrior. Do you have family that can come and stay/support you through the Chemo? This is just another tunnel, albeit a deep and dark one. I have complete faith that you will find yourself on higher ground in the end. I do know several others that have stood that ground and are still here to testify to it's amazing view.
DazedandConfused66 Posted November 9, 2007 Posted November 9, 2007 Hi LB, Well, after all this time, you finally know your treatment plan. This is one of those milestones in life you'd rather not likely have, but it is cause for morbid celebration. This is the day you tell the Enemy that it's place in your body is short lived and that you are gonna make IT sick and take away ITS life instead of it taking away YOURS. I can only offer you one thing in the way of support now that you know your date. Each day you go in, for the duration of your visit, my wife and I will be circling the dates on our own calendar and sending you our warmest regards that the day knocks down one more treatment until it's over. Chemo is harsh, I can't and won't kid you about that. But it's better now than it was just a decade or so ago. The anti-nausea drugs actually cause many cancer patients to GAIN weight believe it or not....not because they cause it directly, but between being tired and able to eat, people just hold their own or gain a little weight. You've got a tough battle ahead of you...but I KNOW you'll make it. Hang in there....you'll kick it's a$$.
White Flower Posted November 9, 2007 Posted November 9, 2007 Hi LB, Well, after all this time, you finally know your treatment plan. This is one of those milestones in life you'd rather not likely have, but it is cause for morbid celebration. This is the day you tell the Enemy that it's place in your body is short lived and that you are gonna make IT sick and take away ITS life instead of it taking away YOURS. I can only offer you one thing in the way of support now that you know your date. Each day you go in, for the duration of your visit, my wife and I will be circling the dates on our own calendar and sending you our warmest regards that the day knocks down one more treatment until it's over. Chemo is harsh, I can't and won't kid you about that. But it's better now than it was just a decade or so ago. The anti-nausea drugs actually cause many cancer patients to GAIN weight believe it or not....not because they cause it directly, but between being tired and able to eat, people just hold their own or gain a little weight. You've got a tough battle ahead of you...but I KNOW you'll make it. Hang in there....you'll kick it's a$$. My family members did not gain weight, but they did not have the same chemo cocktail as you, so I don't know. I wish you could PM me to let me know what city you're in, but I still don't have that option. I'd offer to take care of your daughter while you are at the hospital or sleeping and resting. Does the PM option become available to new members? This question goes to anyone.
RecordProducer Posted November 9, 2007 Posted November 9, 2007 1. Physically I am ok. I am having a reaction to the stitches under my arm, so that is sore a good deal of the time. Some sharp jabbing little pains that shoot out a few inches from where the nerves were cut around the incision site. That is normal though. Lots of people react to the internal stitches, and it goes away as they dissolve. My breast is healing nicely, no pain there. Just some aching when I go out in the cold. My port in my chest doesn't hurt, but it feels strange when I lay on my side. I can feel it in there. It looks ok too. The incision sites for that are healed over, and the only evidence of it is a visible lump under my skin. My shirts covers it, so its all good. I am glad you're physically OK and you sound much better emotionally, too. I read all your posts. I spend my days something like this: wake, turn on computer, make coffee goof off online for a few minutes wake up daughter for school (if she is with me that night) get daughter ready: breakfast, etc take daughter to school come back, finish coffee, goof off online call exH and see what he is up to, or he calls me leave the house to hang out with him, or run errands come home, read, watch TV, more online goofing off pick up daughter from school (if she is with me) homework time, play with daughter time if I don't have daughter, more reading/tv/goofing off online bedtime Nice that your ex-husband is there for you. I will be getting the anti nausea drugs just prior to the chemo drip, so that will be helpful indeed. The oncologist told me that I would definitely be losing my hair with this treatment, and that I can expect mouth sores, nausea, GI problems, and probably some nerve damage. That I can handle. The alternative? Let's just say I would rather have the side effects.Are the side effects like nerve damage permanent? LB, I think of you every day. I know you will be fine. Just stay relaxed. Don't worry about financial issues right now. You'll get through this and your ex-H will help you if necessary. Take good care of yourself and try to find comfort in your daughter as much as you can.
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 9, 2007 Author Posted November 9, 2007 Nice that your ex-husband is there for you. Are the side effects like nerve damage permanent? Yeah, I feel lucky to have him in my corner. He stayed over here last night on the couch. His heat is not working in his place and there is no way I would have him stay in a cold place. It was funny to come downstairs and see him crashed out on the couch. It was like the good old days... Nerve damage can be permanent. I am really hoping it is not in my case.
Alexandra Posted November 9, 2007 Posted November 9, 2007 As I said in the other thread I do believe you are amazing. But yet another compliment is not all you need. I was telling my mother about you the other day and she replied with a wishful sigh "yeah but she's so young and strong..." which happens to be the truth. You are those things. And more.
RecordProducer Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Yeah, I feel lucky to have him in my corner ... no way I would have him stay in a cold place. I am glad to hear that HE isn't leaving YOU in a cold place. Nerve damage can be permanent. I am really hoping it is not in my case. Sigh. I hope you will be fine and if there is some nerve damage, it will be minor. I've never heard of anyone complaining about nerve damage from chemo. Just recover. We are here cheering for you.
DazedandConfused66 Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 One week out from the start of chemo LB. Can I ask if you've made any plans for how you'll keep yourself occupied during the treatments? Will you be there by yourself or take a friend along for the ride? Sleeping is a pretty common option for many....they give you some drugs that usually make you a bit drowsy. No way to make this "fun" and I'm not trying to kid you about it. But pulling together your treatment bag of things to keep you occupied will help you. Thoughts?
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 12, 2007 Author Posted November 12, 2007 One week out from the start of chemo LB. Can I ask if you've made any plans for how you'll keep yourself occupied during the treatments? Will you be there by yourself or take a friend along for the ride? Hey D&C Hope all is good on your end! ExH will be taking me in the for 8am appointment with the doctor, and the 9am appointment at the hospital for the chemo. He will sit there with me. He is bringing his Ipod, and I will be bringing along books/magazines and a nice comfy blanket. His mother works at the hospital, so she'll be peeking in as well. I'm really hoping that some of that time will include some sleep. I am way nervous about this TAC. Its some serious stuff from what my doctor tells me. I'll get through it one way or the other though. I'm in a much better place mentally now than I was even a week ago. The Lexapro is working very well, I guess.
DazedandConfused66 Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 My wife was on a dose-dense which meant every 2 weeks versus 3 week intervals. Her combo was Adriamycin and Cytoxan followed by Taxol. She had almost weekly doses of Neulasta and Procrit to keep her immune system up there. By fourth interval (8 weeks end...about first week in Jan), it was getting pretty hard for her to keep her energy levels up there. Hey, one thing you may have heard before...chemo does impact your taste buds. Usually not right away, but by second or third treatment you'll find food starting to taste different. It doesn't impact everyone the same, but for us, we stocked up on Mrs. Dash flavorings...they make like a dozen different kinds. Also, things like sweet pickles, hot peppers....anything spicy. What we found was she could counter the "non taste" with spices and it would let her taste things normally again. Really weird actually....she'd have to put seasoning on chocolate cake to taste the chocolate at our kids bday parties. But it worked. And I'm happy you'll have someone to sit there with you. At least at first, just having someone to talk to help pass the time is very helpful. And your first one may be a bit scary. The cancer/wellness center where my wife had hers was always busy so over time I'd sit by my wife and talk to all the other patients' spouses while the patients themselves gabbed or whatever. As I said before...it's a bit like joining a new family. Even if you didn't choose to be PART of this family. But sometimes...families choose us and not the other way around. I've circled the date on our calendar...will be thinking of you. I'm proud of how you are facing this LB. Really....you are doing very well and should be proud of yourself as well. Good luck! PS: My wife now has 2 of her original 3 drains out. The last one should be ready to come out next weekend. She's getting better everyday...still tired but happy with the results of her reconstruction choice. This past Sat morning, we went for her checkup to get the drain removed. While there, she met 5 other women who also had this same procedure done (DEIP or Free-flap recon). One lady there had a recurrence of cancer (different type in other breast) and so had a second reconstruction done...this time the extra tissue came from her butt. The surgeon we are using is apparently only one of a handful in the nation doing this. Anyways, she was a RIOT. Telling everyone that she went into cancer 50lbs overweight and with saddlebags, but came out with a nice rack and the butt of an 18 year old. She was 58...and rode to the docs office on the back of a Harley with her hubby of 35 years. So many great people with so many great stories. You'll be another one....I'm sure of it.
whichwayisup Posted November 14, 2007 Posted November 14, 2007 ExH will be taking me in the for 8am appointment with the doctor, and the 9am appointment at the hospital for the chemo. He will sit there with me. He is bringing his Ipod, and I will be bringing along books/magazines and a nice comfy blanket. His mother works at the hospital, so she'll be peeking in as well. I'm really hoping that some of that time will include some sleep. You're going to be well looked after! Hey, one thing you may have heard before...chemo does impact your taste buds. Usually not right away, but by second or third treatment you'll find food starting to taste different. It doesn't impact everyone the same, but for us, we stocked up on Mrs. Dash flavorings...they make like a dozen different kinds. Also, things like sweet pickles, hot peppers....anything spicy Once the nausea passes, try some Thai food! Nibbling on french fries actually can help kick in an appetite. When my father was going through his chemo treatments, he had fries atleast 2 times a day.
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 14, 2007 Author Posted November 14, 2007 Its getting closer by the hour. I went and got my flu shot earlier today and now I feel like ass. I laid down for a nap when I got home, and woke up with a sore throat and a dry cough. I have heard that sometimes people will get mild side effects like this. I'm hoping it will pass in a day or two.
whichwayisup Posted November 14, 2007 Posted November 14, 2007 Geezus, you're the 5th person I've heard of getting mild symptoms of the flu after having the flu shot...And 'they' say ya can't get sick from the flu shot, that it's a dead virus. Yeah, right. I hope you feel better LB. Drink some tea, eat some chicken noodle soup and cuddle up on the couch, watch some TV..Rest and tomorrow hopefully will be better.
Star Gazer Posted November 16, 2007 Posted November 16, 2007 WWIU - I got the flu shot last Thursday and woke up Friday night with 103 degree fever and night sweats. Not sure if it was related, but most likely. LB... I've been following this thread and your most recent one. I don't have any great words of wisdom or advice, as what you're going through scares the sh*t out of me for reasons I won't go into here. But I'd just like you to know that I think of you every time I log on to LS...which is often multiple times per day . In essence, although I don't know-you-know-you, I understand, and you're always in my thoughts and prayers. If living humans can be guardian angels, consider yourself to have another one.
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 16, 2007 Author Posted November 16, 2007 I feel much better today. I have spoken to quite a few people who also reacted poorly to the shot. I can't help but to wonder why. Today I got my ECG. I got to see an ultrasound of my heart beating, and heard the sound of it working. It reminded me of a much slower version of the first time I heard my daughter's heartbeat inside me. The tech told me everything looked great. My heart is healthy and ready to take this on. What worries me is this cough I've had. Last night I dragged out some old cough medicine that was prescribed to me in February. I had chest pains, and some coughing but no fever. The doctor did a chest xray back in February and said that something was in there, and it was probably just a pneumonia. Well.... here I am a few months later, with a cough again - one that has just been a dry cough on and off for a couple of months. I called the doctor's office this morning, and told them about the Xray and they looked up my chart and there was my old Xray. My doctor looked at it and ordered me an Xray today. I am hoping that the "probably just a pneumonia" wasn't actually a part of this cancer. The PA assured me that even if it is - the chemo will take care of it. I am just sort of wigged out by the idea of metastasis. I'm hoping it isn't the case, but it wouldn't surprise me. Years ago, my grandmother was told the exact same thing. Oh, its probably just scarring from pneumonia. Less than a year later, that lung cancer had spread to every organ including her brain and she died. That haunts me. It really does. I'll know on Monday. I have the appointment with the oncologist at 8, and I have to go the hospital at 9. Probably will be home after 2 and will update.
DazedandConfused66 Posted November 16, 2007 Posted November 16, 2007 When my wife had an irregular pap smear a few months ago...we knew it was cancer. It wasn't. When she went in for reconstructive surgery and they found an abnormality in the section of tissue they removed from her belly to make her a new breast....we just KNEW it was cancer. It wasn't. When she found a lump up near her collarbone about 2 months into chemo, we thought it was cancer. It wasn't. THIS is what makes cancer something to despise. It scares the sh** out of you every single time you so much as discover a small, minor pain. It robs you of your optimism and sense of carefree spirit. It's insidious really....always there, like some boogeyman waiting to jump out and say AH-HA!!!! I CAN INFECT ANY PART OF YOU AND YOU ARE POWERLESS!!!! Blue Oyster Cult said it best I think. Don't fear the reaper. Just like the boogeyman of your childhood years, Cancer feeds on your fear. Chemo WILL kill or slow almost any cancer in your body down to a gasping crawl. Chemo works by "faking" cancer cells into thinking it's ok and safe to continue multiplying like crazy. Many people don't realize this, but cancer is really just a chaotic, out-of-control cell that is growing like crazy relative to surrounding cells. But chemo drugs are specifically designed to go after fast-replicating cells like cancer. Chemo steals the LIFE from tumors, robbing it of important proteins and nutrients it needs to grow, or in some cases actually FOOLING the cancer cells into thinking that it's OK to divide and replicate...when in fact, the chemo has subbed in it's own toxins to kill the cells when they replicate and are at their most vulnerable. I take a perverse sense of glee in knowing how Chemo works. Each time I took my wife to one of her sessions, I told myself "Woot! Today we get to f*** around with the Cancer cells and kill off some of THEM for a change!" My wife thought I was crazy for awhile, but I was so angry at the Cancer inside of her that it just about gave me a sense of victory with each and every Chemo treatment she had. Over time, she got used to my little chemo 'victory dances' we'd have after each session (yes, I literally did end-zone dances to make her laugh on a few occasions). My point of all this LB is simple. These fears you have for all other body maladies are normal and understandable. However, even if you DO have cancer somewhere else in your body that's gone undetected for some time already, you know you've got it in your breast NOW. And Chemo is gonna KICK ITS AZZ and rob ALL cancer cells in your body of the abilty to flourish. Time to turn the tables and fight back. Every 3 weeks, it's not YOU who are getting whipped down further...it's the CANCER that's getting beaten to a pulp. Think about that....you just lie there, lose some hair and can't taste how AWFUL liver and onions will be....but the Chemo kills off the cancer and there is NOTHING it can do to fight back. But trust me....I know the feeling of "OMG not again." Unfortunately, that's life now that you've been diagnosed with cancer. But...and here's the sliver lining....you KNOW you've got cancer and at a fairly young age are going to fight back and try and kill it. There are millions of people dying with cancer right now and don't even have a clue they have it, nor are they dosing themselves with chemo to kill it. THOSE are the ones who need be scared....they have cancer and don't know it yet. You do...but are doing something about it. OK, no more wine for me tonight. Always thinking about you LB...keep your strength up.
sb129 Posted November 16, 2007 Posted November 16, 2007 I am thinking about you too LB. All the best...
Author LucreziaBorgia Posted November 17, 2007 Author Posted November 17, 2007 I got my ring today. If you google for "Alex Woo" and "Pink Ribbon Ring" you'll see what it looks like. It really is pretty on my hand. I have mixed feelings about it, of course. I love what it represents, and I love the person who gave it to me. I just don't love where we ended up as a couple.
Girlsbestfriend1 Posted November 17, 2007 Posted November 17, 2007 LB I was pretty amazed at the comments you made on my thread (What to Give?) and had to take look at other comments you made. I am sorry to see of your fight with breast cancer. It hits a nerve with me as I lost my mother at an early age to cancer - it started with breast cancer. I don't know you of course but you come across as an amazing person and I'm sure you have the right attitude to get over this and look forward to the rest of your life. I'll think of you in my prayers and look forward to hearing great news from you in the future. People here on LS benefit greatly from people like you. I have learnt so much from everyone here and it has taught me to no to take my own relationship for granted. GBF1
BlueEyedGirl Posted November 17, 2007 Posted November 17, 2007 There are millions of people dying with cancer right now and don't even have a clue they have it, nor are they dosing themselves with chemo to kill it. THOSE are the ones who need be scared....they have cancer and don't know it yet. Now you have just scared the **** out of me. I know that you are trying to make OP feel better but that comment was pretty insensitive.
elaina Posted November 18, 2007 Posted November 18, 2007 LucreziaBorgia, I'm sorry about that. You are really brave. Cancer is scary and there's nothing I can really say to make it better. Anyways, I don't know you but I'm rooting for you. For all us women, hang in there!!! (My Mamaw had breast cancer but she recovered after it was taken out and with chemo, Most women do recover if they catch it soon enough, and it sounds like you did find it before it could spread worse.) All the best to you and your daughter and your family! P.S. Is your daughter scared about getting breast cancer? I am a little bit cause I take after my Mamaw...
DazedandConfused66 Posted November 18, 2007 Posted November 18, 2007 Now you have just scared the **** out of me. I know that you are trying to make OP feel better but that comment was pretty insensitive. I apologize if my comment made you think i was being insensitive. But there is factual, and there is insensitive. I was being factual. The average person diagnosed with breast cancer has had it for 3.5 years prior to diagnosis. All the more reason to get a mammogram regularly. If you are scared...get a mammogram. Please. No reason to be scared.
Recommended Posts