Starting Chemo in February 2013: February Valentines

Hi Valentines
warning typing on my phone so excuse spellings.
Im sitting in chemo chair right now just had my 1st herceptin. I was quite nervous but all went well with no SEs though i need to stick arouns oranother 4 hours in hospital justbin case.
TAX I wanted to share with you all my tax experience as I am on a different regime from most of you TC . My experience of tax has been fine. NO sickness , NO tiredness SAMEappetite as ever NO funny taste in mouth. I had a few days feeling slightly fluey and did ens up in hospital with 0 neuts but overall have felt my normal self. AT one point i was questioning if they had given the correct dose but they had. PLease dont worry it afects everyone diffrently but i really have been fine. If I didn’t work in a school I would probablybeworking for most of the cycle.

Angie havea fantastic relaxing time xx
Really glad you all like my idea of a weekend meet up next Feb like Karen said what a party that will be!!!
BBig hugs
Jackie xx

TCH x 4, cycle 2, day 15
Hello All Valentines! Have posted on other threads but not on Valentines for a while, tho’ I read all the posts.
Elaine, Taxotere has been vastly better than FEC for me - no nausea!! Only SE’s that are troublesome are very dry skin (thanks for Blisteze tip, Allison) and mouth ulcers/grainy mouth, which goes after a few days. I bought Robinson’s Orange barley water, which isn’t sharp and it’s very soothing on sore mouth.
Chris, Louise - I’m a cat lover too. Sadly, we had to have our old cat put to sleep 2 days ago, as she’d been ill for some time. I still automatically leave the kitchen door ajar, as I did before so she could walk through. We’ve still got our guinea-pig to look after and all the garden-birds to feed. Chris, you mentioned seeing a chaffinch when out walking - I would really like to see those in our garden. My mother only lives about 2 miles away yet they come into her garden.
I am getting really bad at remembering where I’ve put things, or that I’ve just done something! Yesterday I put some paper bills on work surface intending to pay by card over the 'phone. I couldn’t find the debit card, so after searching everywhere I cancelled the card, then later on I found it UNDER the bills! I’d already taken the card out of my purse ready to 'phone - no memory of it at all!
Love to all
Jen x

Think we finally cracked the upload of the picture!

Our cottage was part of a huge farm that was broken up 35 years ago. Apparantly there were hundreds of barn cats who were mostly culled by the local game keepers but some escaped and when we moved here the woods behind us were full of them. Over the last 20 years we have hauled dozens of them off to the Vet to be neuteured and three lots have moved in with us. The latest is named Havoc because he arrived while we still had a Mother and twin ginger toms in residence, and his presence created havoc! Now that they are buried in the garden Havoc is fully in charge and the next applicant is being fed at the door. (That one is a hard nut, we have fed him for 2 years and still not been able to touch him!)

It took us about a year to tame Havoc, but once we had him snipped he became the most affectionate cat we have ever owned. I have no idea what he did living in the woods because he shows no interest in hunting or cat-like prowling and just cuddles all the time and talks a blue strike. Anyway, very good company at a time like this in my life.

Louise

Louise - I love Havoc! But have you been giving him too much wine? He seems to have fallen over drunk!

Our pets give us so much pleasure and comfort, and I know Lola will be a wonderful companion during my coming ordeal. Sorry Jen about losing your cat 2 days ago - you must be devastated. I get a couple of chaffinches in my garden - but mostly goldfinches and a few redpolls during the winter months. My main visitors are house sparrows - dozens of them chirping away happily in the evergreens. Then starlings - dozens of those too - noisy and greedy little blighters, but so beautiful to look at.

Angie - have a fantastic holiday. We had 3 cottage holidays already booked when I was dx. As I had no idea what stage I would be at we have cancelled all of them. I’m going to wait now till chemo is over with.

Jackie - glad your first Herceptin went well. I am already dreading mine.

Good luck everyone with treatments, side effects, assessments xxxxx

Hi
With regards ‘T’ side effects, friends and relatives of mine who had the FEC-T regimen found the ‘T’ more manageable than the FEC - no nausea/sickness, only fatigue.
My list of side effects is quite unusual according to the oncologist although he did say say my dose was very strong - bad in the short term but good in the long term - hopefully…
Diane xx

FEC-T 2nd FEC day 2. Abandoned CC

Afternoon Ladies!
No SE to report today other than I didnt get much sleep last night due to Steroids but I have caught up today by having a few cat naps. I actually feel better than I did prior to yesterdays chemo when the antibiotics were making me feel like cr*p. I’m hoping this is due to steroids and will continue as I stop the steroids the same day I stop the antibiotics :slight_smile:

Making the most of a SE free day but dreading starting the injections and all the joys they bring on Saturday.
Thinking of you all and hope all your SE are minimal

Funki x

Linda, it was really hard to make the decision to have Fern put to sleep - she was a really sweet, affectionate little thing. But we didn’t want her suffering anymore. Jackie and I had no problems after all with the herceptin treatment, so I hope it’ll go well for you too.
Jen x

Hi Jo Hope tomorrow goes OK for you.xxx
Mandy watch out for day 18 trigger day for hair loss.My sister losing her job,redundancy,as seen on the new yesterday Thomas Cook manager.xxx
Jenanne I used to breed guinea pigs,loved to see what colours they would produce.I used to lend them to neighbours ,in a run on their lawns as they cropped the grass beautifully.One had babies on a neighbours lawn one day
Louise your fat cat looks so laid back,what a character.We have had cats move in over the years,don’t know where from,but as soon as a vacancy came up so a cat would turn up.Our third cat we have with us should live over the road with his sister Jack and Jill,but he decided to move in with us,our two are still not happy with the arrangement,he has to go out at night,sleeps in garage and greenhouse.
Hubby saw female Black Cap on fat balls today,very exciting,never had in garden before,now a pair.
Funki enjoy days before injections,necessary evil xxx
Keep well everyone love Chris Still waiting for new appt FEC 2 xxxx

Fec T
Fec 2, day 7

Feeling much better today, eating normally again, just tired really.

Chris, I know we’re not supposed to Google, but found this on a US site. “There aren’t any specific foods that are proven to improve blood counts. However, good nutrition overall absolutely is proven to help your body heal and help your blood counts recover as quickly as possible during cancer treatment. Getting good nutrition during treatment is proven to improve quality of life, decrease fatigue, decrease the risk and severity of mucositis (mouth sores) and hand foot syndrome (plantar-palmar toxicity or peeling, itching hands and feet), decrease treatment breaks, and ensure that you are able to receive your prescribed cancer treatments on schedule” Absolutely no help whatsoever really. I take a multi-vitamin pill, Vitamin B (all) etc. Check with chemo nurse first though. I had it on my meds list before starting, so they knew about it. Also take Omega 3 fish oils. Beetroot sounds good Lavendersun, I eat a lot of that.

Gill, no I didn’t have palpitations. Just the odd dizzy spell in mornings due to tiredness. I try to get at least one nap in per day - hopefully two.

granny p, glad things don’t seem to be too bad at moment. Hope it stays that way.

Mandy and granny p, you make me feel so old. Got a grandson of 23, youngest son almost 30, eldest daughter is 42!!

Sandra, love your new photo in your little hat - lovely.

Karen, Sjogren’s syndrome gives me dry eyes among other things. I use Hypromellose preservative free, but get them on prescription. gritty eyes are nasty. I can’t believe you are already heading up for Fec 3!!

Elaine, glad you are a bit better today.

Louise, what a lovely cuddly cat.

Jo, keeping fingers crossed for Fec 2 tomorrow, good luck.

Also for ciprofloxicin, watch your achilles tendons. I got tendonitis because of it a couple of years ago.

Mandy, wish you were pregnant and not having chemo!!

Chris asked for a funny poem to cheer you up. I have several, but as most of you are gardeners, thought this would be suitable. It’s called Gardener’s Lament.

We cleared out the garden today:
it really was time
as the weather was fine
and the grass was looking like hay.

The Roses were all overgrown:
while the Dandelion weeds
had spread all their seeds
among the Potatoes we’d sown.

The Slugs and Snails had a rave:
they all gobbled through
every plant they could chew.
There wasn’t that much left to save.

And so we built a bonfire:
chucked everything on,
our gardens now gone.
One allotment, half acre, for hire!

Will sort out some more for another time - unless you’d rather I didn’t.

Sending love and hugs, take care Valentines.

Kath xxx

Hi Diane,
Thanks for replying. I was sure my Onc was wrong when he said FEC x 6. I really did and still do expect a TAX because of the Herceptin and was totally thrown when he told me they don’t give TAX to node-clear patients. I should have queried this because of the Herceptin involvement. Not to worry, all will be revealed at my next meeting with him.

So you aren’t having any F or E? I wish there were some websites explaining which drug is best for which dx. LOL. I can see from your profile you have probably lost all confidence in medical opinions.

Linda xxx

Evening All.
Linda, I am completely baffled myself now with all the different types of chemo given out. I was changed onto mine (I think T&C!) because they have managed to remove all the cancer with surgery - isn’t this the case with most of us who have had surgery??? As mine had spread to the nipple my worry is ‘is it enough?!’
Some totally useless information I just had to share…I HAVE BATHED whoop whoop I feel all squeaky clean now Definitely allergic to plasters as more blisters, but I’ve had a bath that’s the main thing…I think I need to get a life!!

Ah but Lisa - if they have removed all the cancer with surgery, why do we need any chemo at all? That is something I cannot get my head round, with node-clear and no vascular invasion people.
Chemo attacks and hopefully kills cancer cells, but if there aren’t any … ?

A very good point Linda - I’m even more baffled, would it be a case of illuminating any chance of cancer cells re-growing? I honestly haven’t got a clue, but agree wish there was a website explaining lol. Do you know when your Onc wants to see you again?

Dear Lisa and Linda - my understanding of this issue you are discussing is this – the decision to order chemo for you two and for me (I had a Grade 2 invasive lobular tumour with node involvement) is a belt and braces operation. The assumption is that the cancerous material is gone, but there is no way of telling if some odd cells have escaped and are elsewhere in the body. We know from all the other tests and scans that we had that there are no actual tumours elsewhere, but there could be some cells floating around that might attach if not killed off.

I believe that in making the decision for chemo, the threshold is EITHER lymph-node involvement along with a Grade 2 tumour or less, OR a Grade 3 tumour or higher with or without lymph node involment. Originally, with my Grade 2 I was only scheduled for Radiotherapy, but when all the lymph nodes were found to be hot, the Chemo came into the picture. I see from your profiles that both of you are Grade 3.

What I don’t know however, is why different combinations of chemo drugs are chosen. This seems to be an area not much covered in any of the helpful booklets. I can only think that it is because of the experience of the Chemo team and what has worked well with other patients.

Hope this is correct! Louise

As I understand it, if the tumour was grade 3, with or without nodal involvement, you would be offered chemo. If the cancer was classed as invasive (mine was invasive ductal) that word invasive says it all really, they can’t be sure, so as Louise says, the chemo is belt and braces. As far as the types of drug used, Most have Fec or as Linda explained, Fec T if nodes are affected. And, as many of you know Herceptin has to be taken with chemo and triple negative has to be treated with chemo as there are no other treatments yet. Other chemo drugs seem to come into play if you have had the usual chemo previously - phew, it’s a minefield. Do the oncologists even know sometimes I wonder. Sorry if I’ve just repeated what you said Louise.

Day 14 FEC-T cycle 2
Hi there I haven’t posted for a while but have been reading all of your posts
Side effects this time round were not too bad apart from really bad indigestion and acid reflux, but my GP gave me some Omeprazole to take three times a day which have worked wonders. I went for a scan today and there has been a subtle change so I guess the chemo is working to shrink the blighter! I see the oncologist on Wednesday so I guess I will find out more then. I really confused now reading about different types of chemo I am on 4 times FEC then 4 x Tax and as far as I am aware there are no nodes affected. I was graded grade 2 I asked again today whilst having my scan and the Scan lady (not what the correct name for her is ) that looking at the scan the nodes look clear but the scan doesn’t necessarily show everything up.
Have a great time in Cornwall Angie.
Annabelle x

I know this is stupid but my cursor wont go to bottom of page. Have a good night all, sorry if i left anyone out. big hugs. xxxxxx Hi lovely valentines, i am feeling good just tired. They finally let me out on tuesday evening. I tried posting twice but keep loosing them. Dont know whats going on with it. Bloods up to safe level but have to continue for another week with antibiotics to make sure infection kicked into to touch. Fingers crossed blood ok monday for 2nd round tuesday.
kath, a good diet has got to help, hospital said cutting out
dairy and yoghurts gives a low bacteria diet and less chance of yeast infes5ctionsgives a
sandra, i really feel for you hun, lets hope tomorrow is a better day. xgranny p , my hands were dry from too much cleansing with gels and washing. x angie, have a lovely break.karen, chicken and leekie pie sounds lush.chris, my mine was coming out like water so got very sore got my oh to cut it, much better, just a bit cold.elaine, that a girl, stay with it hun.
jo, good luck, hopefully for your 2nd tomorrow.millymolly, my head really started itching around on 9th day and by 12th had started to come out . better when its cut thouh.
jackie, my tax more than dooable also, .jenanne, ulcers were the worst for me too.diane, same here, reducing dose for round 2,
lola, any doubts ask your onc to clarify, its your body.

Kath… seems we had the same… Grade 3 invasive ductual…no nodes involved… i was told at one point whether I would be having chemo but when results came back as Grade 3 there was no option… as in my oncologists words " we got all the cancer out but we cant be sure that any stray cells will attach themselves elsewhere… while breast cancer is curative it will not be if it attaches anywhere else" that was enough to scare me into well I have to do everything possible to help myself etc and make sure that any damm cells floating about got a blasting!!!..not that im enjoying this journey very well… shouldnt realy use the word enjoying…as round 2 knocking me about a bit more than I thought it would…if it wasnt for this site and the questions asked which make me think about my treatment to how others are feeling…i cant fault the oncologist, nurses etc…

god blimey… been having problems posting and it comes up twice now…grrr sorry ladies

great poem Kath :slight_smile:
have a lovely time away Angie xx
good luck for tomorrow Jo xx
feeling less fatigued this evening, we are on same day Louise so hopefully you’ll pick up soon too! Love your cat and chuckled at Linda’s comment, he does look like he’s been indulging :slight_smile: xxx
I have a cat and a dog as well as a bearded dragon and they certanainly are a help to get me through this, loving all the pet stories :slight_smile:
Thank you Jen and Diane for the positive feed back on Tax, make me feel a lot better xx
Hope all ok for Friday Chris xxx
Hope everyone managing SEs and not at the mercy of mood swings this evening
Off to shave what’s left of my hair now even though head is a bit sore, the mess is driving me to distraction!
Wishing you all a peaceful night
hugs
Elaine x