[vlcarr]

Hi Rosa and Rosa's mother,

I wanted to share my story with you with hope it will bring you some peace of mind. You can read my information below but it seems we have some things in common.

I also had no breast cancer in my family and was in shock when I found out I not only had breast cancer, but it was HER2. I also have a wonderful daughter who has been with me as I take this journey and fight this battle.

I am currently on chemo (Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin). I was diagnosed in May of 09 and will have my 6th and final chemo next Thursday. In the beginning I experienced some of the same side effects you have mentioned.

Although I've never thrown up I have struggled with nausea each time and each time my onc added an additional drug to help with that along with medications for the extreme abdominal pain I experienced.

Currently, I take Emend-you take one of these an hour before your chemo, and then one a day for the next 2 days. I also have patches I wear behind my ear, Ondansetron (which you mentioned) and also have a script for Dronabinol. The last drug I listed was given to me after my 4th treatment because I will still having some problems with nausea. When I have chemo I take all of these as prescribed.

It is so important to take them even if you don't feel like you need them. I had a physical therapy appt this week and had stopped taking my nausea meds because I thought I was "out of the woods" by this time. Boy was I wrong. I came so close to getting sick on my way to PT that my husband had to go in and tell them I was not able to come in. I went straight home, put the patch behind my ear and started back on my nausea meds.

After my 1st treatment I started running a fever and had to have the antibiotics by IV and had a mild reaction to the drug. I insisted they continue so they gave me a lot of Benadryl and slowed how fast the drug went in and I was able to finish the IV. They determined that the sutures from my mastectomy did not dissolve properly, and after they removed those I didn't have a problem with the fever any longer.

This has not been an easy journey but I'm still here and kicking. The chemo did not kill me. We all respond to it differently but I wanted you to know that I completely understand what you are going through. I was so afraid in the beginning but the fear has subsided over time.

I started taking an anti-depressant early in my treatment and have found it to be very helpful. There is no shame in asking for this. Dealing with bc causes so much anxiety and there is no need to suffer with that too when there are drugs that can help. Of course that is a personal choice, but wanted you to know that I opted to do that.

I have a port and like Jackie, I have a cream that I rub on the area before I go for chemo and barely feel the needle stick. I put the cream on really thick and use Glad cling wrap (cut off the amount you need) to put over the area so it does not rub off or get on my clothes. That stuff sticks to your skin really well just like it does when you put it over a bowl.

Everyone has given you wonderful advice and I hope sharing my experiences with you and the fact that I'm almost done will give you the inspiration you need. You CAN do this.

Make sure you contact your onc with any new side effects--don't wait until you go back to the doctor. Even though I don't need all of the medication I have each time I have something on hand that I can take if I need it.

I don't have any hair either but you know what? It's kind of a relief for me to not have to deal with hair right now! I have wigs, hats and scarves if I choose to wear them. My hair is already growing back and looks kind of like peach fuzz at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I want my hair back and it will come back. I don't miss shaving my legs either!

Keep the faith and don't give up. This is the best place you can be. The folks here are the best and they've helped me in so many ways during my treatment.

Come back and ask any questions you have. Don't give up--you are obviously a strong woman and you can beat this

As a fellow survivor tells me all the time, "I'm sending warm fuzzies your way".