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See signature for history; currently on q 3 wk herceptin only. 3 treatments to go, I think. Have night lower leg/foot cramps, getting worse, although calcium/magnesium supplements do help a lot. Crusty nose at night. Fingertips split, skin rash, and acne after every treatment. Clears up and recurs every time. Nails are brittle for the first time in my life. Hair is OK. Near vision went bad when started chemo and has improved maybe a little.Weight stable, but I have become a VERY disciplined eater.
Fatigue just came on a couple of weeks ago and it's bad. I never was tired, even while working full time thru taxotere/carboplatin and radiation. Occasional mild diarrhea. Had bad gastric reflux while on chemo but none since.
Here's my question: when I complain about these side effects to chemo nurses they assure me that the worse the side effects are, the better the meds are working. Is this just bull**** or is there some science to back up that contention?
I complain only so they are aware of the side effects; I fully understand and appreciate that these treatments have at least given me the opportunity to live a normal lifespan. Thjat's a pretty good tradeoff.
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IDC 6 mm l.b. 3/08 age 49; ER <1%+; PR -; KI67 40%; HER2 +++by FISH; lumpectomy/snb 4/08; extensive dcis found at surgery (didn't show in bx or mammo); micromet in sn; MRI breasts and chest 4/08-NED; re-excision l.b. 5/08; refused axillary node dissection; no ca found in re-excision tissue. TCH q 3 wk x 6 finished 10/08; whole breast rad x 7 wk finished 12/08; refused axillary and supraclavicular rad. Herceptin thru 6/09. Refused tamoxifen & aromatase inhibitors.
1/13 so far so good:-) have vestibular hypofunction from chemo but its all good since now officially on borrowed time!
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