Pat,
Good luck with TAX 1. Low wcc does delay chemo. I scraped through on the day of second chemo at second test on chemo day. My third was delayed as wcc was still way too low at repeat test. Hence injections ever since.
As Sophie says, dark nail varnish is supposed to help. Some of us have tried keeping hands and feet cold - I used frozen peas. It’s supposed to help with nails and neuropathy. Hope you don’t need too many meds. Be prepared for feeling OK, for the first couple of days and then for SEs to hit later.
LiF - your rad session sounds very interesting.
Good luck all. Stella xx
have already painted nails dark purple. have already got ridges in them from ?FEC ? surgery. Isn’t it strange what upsets you most, hee I am left breastless and hairless and pah not that upset, have gain weight am heavier than ever been, have given up smoking and really upset by that feel I’ve lost myself. Now face is round and pale eyes are red rimmed I look like uncle Fester really don’t like it and was no oil painting before. sod this b&**dy thing I don’t like it and I didn’t ask for it very very bad words and more wine needed. not er++ so alchol not a causative factor! so nerr!!
Am er+++++++ but already have bc so am going to drink alcyhol anyhow. neeerrrr back at ya!!! BC is a bitch for this, I am totally with you on the whole uncle fester thing, and nails are just the final insult. Maybe you could try the frozen peas thing? It does seem to have helped those who have been brave enough to do it. (I couldn’t even face the cold cap).
Cheers m’dear. here’s to a more beautiful 2012
Sophie xxxxxxxxxxxx
patty - well prepared - i am on TAX2 tomorrow and can fully appreciate your fears. my side effects which were pretty yuk kicked in on the sunday night - pains in bones and sore mouth for about a week but i have started to feel better before TAX2. i did have to inject neuralsta??? on the friday post TAX1 to bring white blood cells up and i think that may have been responsible for some of my side effects
thinking of you and anyone else getting zapped this week too
claire
so many posts to read on here wow, thank you all for your comments about my delayed tax and herceptin, i was glad really as it was better than hanging around for hours.
HOpe all goes well for all you ladies. Cant believe how many of us on tax.
Morning ladies.
I’m on day 3 or 4 of my first Tax and Avastin. Do you count the day as the day you actually had the Tax or the day after? Not sure. Anyway, have lost all sense of taste - couldn’t even taste my toast with REAL butter this morning. Have a permanent headache, a backache and intermittent joint pains but I’m sort of used to it now and I’ve realised, after yesterday, not to try to do too much in a day. I was exhausted by tea-time, had a doze then felt grumpy and irritable with everyone for the rest of the evening. I’m taking it much easier today.
When I go back for my second cycle of Tax they will check bloods and then I might get to have the injections. (Are they the ones to help stimulate cell growth?). Me nor hubby are confident enough to do them - how easy are they to do and which sort do you recommend, if I need them? From what I’ve read some of you have one and some have 5?
Hope you’re all having a good day.
Flapjack x
LiF you’re story really made me laugh - thanks for sharing - so much for dignity bc is worse than childbirth!!
Day 6 and feeling more energy - but mouth still foul - must redo polish on nails; mine flakes of so easily I have to do a touch-up every day or so but having read Sophie’s idea of hardener first and on top of the polish I think I’ll give that a try (thanks for the tip) - all these hours spent on looking after my nails but it feels really important to try to do what I can because, like Pattymi I need some part of my visible body that looks ok. About frozen peas - my evidence is that it is helping a bit since my left fingers are losing sensation and right hand is not and because of canula I only use the peas on right hand - nurses are great about it and ask why and I just say “like cold cap but for nails and some hospitals do provide ice mits and slippers…” - need to mention it to my Onc since I’ve just “done it” and might press of why ice mits and slippers are not provided - am feeling more assertive as time goes on…!
Hope all goes well today Hatty at the hospital and that you did not have to wait too long.
Fran
xxx
The single one is called Neulasta-mine was given by the district nurse the day after chemo each time.The difference is the single one is fiendishly expensive[I was lucky enough to be covered by insurance].I dont see why the nurse couldnt do the 5 for you if you asked.
Vx
hi everyone, day 8 after tax 1 now, have such a sore mouth and tongue, never had thrush so how do I know if I have it? A bit sore down below too, is it worth contacting my gp or the hospital? everything tastes horrible, except the watsits, they were ok! achey legs a bit better today, hope everyone else is doing ok xx Ness xx
Ness, if you were given a phone number to call re chemo side effects, or your ward number, I’d give them a shout. They will either do the prescription for you, or tell you what to ask your gp for. It does sound like thrush - particulary if you have any white coating your tongue?
TAX can also cause itching down below… so just call them and ask for help, and you’ll soon be sorted. Don’t suffer!
Flapjack - I had seven gcsf jabs - my OH had never given an injection before, but it was very, very easy. The needle is superfine and very sharp, I honestly didn’t feel it go in. You inject straight into stomach flab, if you can pinch an inch (!), then just inject into that - you don’t have to search for a vein or anything like that!
Sophie x
I went in for my rads planning today, and saw another of the breast cancer oncologists (mine is away for a month). I was waiting around for ages beforehand, which I thought a bit odd as my appointment was at nine o’clock, but all was explained when the staff nurse I saw yesterday came to fetch me… she’d been in, updated the onc. on all my woes, and they’d figured out the best course of action for me…
Which is to revert to FEC for #5 and #6! This oncologist explained that as I only had one node involved, she felt that TAX was a little overkill in any case, and that having had one, there would be no change in my survival stats if I were to revert to FEC. I did quiz her quite carefully on this, but am satisfied that this is a good choice, for me… and left the hospital feeling like ten stone had been lifted from my shoulders.
So, back in on 14th for FEC. Phew. Do have slight niggle of ‘failure’ hanging over my head, which is silly, but I don’t like giving up on things! However… this is one battle I will concede.
Rads will start approx four or five weeks post final chemo, so I’m looking at May, and I will have three weeks to chest wall, nothing under arm as just the one node involved. Onc also told me where to park and how to get my ticket stamped so I didn’t pay more than a pound a day… so a very worthwhile meeting! As an added bonus, since I have discussed next chemo with her, I don’t need to go in next Thursday for pre-chemo, but can just turn up at 9am on 14th and do bloods then. She told me that as I’d had the gcsf this time, she had absolutely no doubt that my blood counts would be fine!
Sophie xx
Oh what a relief Sophie…and no one is a filure…I felt a bit like that when having to have dose reduced twice! I only had one node with micro bits in it…so am quite happy its not affected chances. If fec suits you go with it!
You’re definitely not a failure Sophie. You’ve negotiated the best path for you - well done. Why suffer unnecessarily, if it’s not going to up your odds. One will have zapped those little b****rs.
Stella xx
Flapjack - don’t worry about the injections. They show you what to do. They are preloaded and just have to be injected into the fleshy bit of the stomach . It’s easy to do and you can hardly feel it. The worst bit for me was psyching myself up the for the first one. OH did them for me. Haven’t worried about them since.
Good luck. Stella xx
Ditto what Stella says Flapjack. Injections are ok and I’m a real needle hater and I do them myself. They do make me feel better when I’ve done them - not sure if this is psychological or not, but it makes me want to do the injection in the first place!
Triphazard - I hated FEC and have been ‘better’ on Tax1. How different we all are … it amazes me how SEs differ from person to person. Don’t be feeling a failure - goodness me, failures we are not! Survivors and strong women we are! Role on 4 April!!
Rachel.
hi everyone, i am 3 into a 6 course of docetaxel, i never thought i could feel so ill, the fact that i am so fatigued is the most worrying i have gone from running around without a thought, to dropping out of bed and crawling to the bathroom on all fours, my body aches from top to bottom, my mouth is raw, i carnt taste anything, but i am eating for england and piling on weight!!!I find the feeling of being vunerable very difficult to cope with, a lot of this i am sure is down to the drugs i am taking having an impact on my head, i am usually a very positive outgoing person, i carnt think straight, i feel as if i am picking up one minute and then i have to sit down before my legs give way, sorry to go on, but you know what, the side effects were given to me in a matter of fact way, i feel although its probably not a good thing to go on too much about it, people should be better informed and made realise that they arent on their own in this misery i actually felt that something had gone very wrong before i got on here and found out that it is actually quite normal and run of the mill to be in this state omg i know i have to see this regime through and i will not let it beat me, but isnt it the hardest thing we may ever have to physically endure
hiya, well went to the Dr’s in the end and yep have thrush in my mouth and down below. Dr asked me how I was and burst into tears, did blame lack of sleep the last few nights and fed up with the side effects of the tax, she gave me a prescription for sleeping tablets but dont really want to go down that route. Then started crying in the chemist! god what an unstable person I looked. Ness xx
Thank you for answering about the injections, ladies. You’ve put my mind at rest. I thought they were arm injections but I’ve had one in my stomach before (a blood thinning agent) and didn’t feel a thing. Must be all that padding.
Sorry to hear you’re having a tough time of it Elizabethtracey. From what I’ve read here there are those that have it tough, like you, and those who get off a bit lighter, lucky blighters. Just remember, it will end, it’s doing you good and then you’ll soon start to feel better.
Nessp, I think I might be getting thrush in my mouth. It feels odd, my tongue tip is very sensitive and it all looks a bit sore. I’ll see what happens.
Elizabethtracey, Your post sounds very like the first post on this thread, so you are certainly not alone in feeling like that - it will pass but that’s not much comfort when everything is so miserable.
Please contact the chemo unit and tell them how bad your SEs are/ They should be able to prescribe stronger painkillers. Also it is possible they may reduce the dose next time. The first poster has now finished her chemo, but did have reduced doses.
I feel I was only warned about the SEs properly by others on this site. I’ve had two TAX now. Not as bad as you, horrid mouth, bit achy and very very tired.
Hope you start to improve soon.
Ness - Hope you feel a bit better now. I take sleeping tablets on steroid days or I don’t get any sleep, so worth it for then. Also if you have a run of bad nights , it’s nice to know they are there.
The tiredness is hard to explain to others isn’t it.
Good luck all. Stella xx
Hi ladies - I agree if I hadn’t found this site and you lot then I would be in a right old mess with these side effects. My oncologist said my legs might feel a bit achey so take paracetamol, and that was only when I asked him if there was any side effects! Some people must really suffer with getting help and support from others going through the same thing. I suffered much more on fec than tax (so far) but I can’t seem to shake off my feelings of bring miserable. If anyone else says to me only 2 more to go, I will lose the plot and that is sooo not like me.
Rachelx