Does chemotherapy get harder?
 

My sister is nearly finished with her chemotherapy. She is receiving the TCH chemo and also neulasta.

She doesn't really get many side effects from the TCH therapy. She'll get a little nauseated, tired but that's about it from the chemotherapy. The next few hours after the neulasta she is completely wiped out. She experiences loss of appetite, bone pain, serious mood swings, depression and anxiety. My sister suffers from agoraphobia and general panic disorder prior to her diagnosis. So these new anxieties send her over the edge.

Her irrationality really sets in with not wanting to even drink or eat anything. She's lost about 40 pounds in 3 months since she started chemotherapy. She starts to recover about a week after the neulasta. She will start being more rational and eating normally and her old self a week prior to chemotherapy.

Her doctor told us that she will still receive herceptin every 3 weeks for a year. She will have surgery approximately 6 weeks after the final chemo ends which is about July 2. She's nearly done. The tumor has shrunk which is why the surgery is following chemo.

Her white blood counts and completely normal. She was a very healthy person prior to her diagnosis.

She is on round 4 of chemotherapy. She will do 6 rounds total. Will it get harder or easier?
Thanks

She is stage 2b with 1 lymph node maybe affected.

Re: Does chemotherapy get harder?
 

For me, each round of chemo got harder (but I was not on the same regime as your sister because after 9+ years, standards changed).

I think the hit on your body is cumulative and there is just not enough time to recover. But it will be over soon and she will be on her way to total healing.

Re: Does chemotherapy get harder?
 

Though I didn't get sick during chemo just a little nausea the fatigue got worse after each treatment. The bone pain for the neulasta seemed to get better after the 3rd shot. The herceptin was much easier after the chemo didn't have any trouble with that except a runny nose.

Re: Does chemotherapy get harder?
 

My chemo got harder...and I also experienced terrible bone pain with the Neulasta. The good news is...the chemo side effects ( other than hairless) subsided almost immediately. The bone pain took longer. Herceptin was a breeze. I too suffer from panic attacks and debilitating anxiety... ativan helped.

Re: Does chemotherapy get harder?
 

I started chemo in 2010. 2011, 2012, 2013 and now 2014, with virtually no breaks, except for a seven-month stint on Herceptin and Perjeta, which only opened the window for progression. It is harder. I find I get more side effects. Unbelievably, they say I have a low burden of disease and my blood work was optimal, even my white counts, just last week. I must have been one strong body before starting all these chemicals.
I am holding out hope that the new immunotherapies will be our deliverance.
Karen