chemo question

HELLO LADIES,I HAVE A QUESTION..MY MOM IS GETTING READY TO START THERAPY ON 4-EPIRUBICIN AND CYTOXAN FOLLOWED BY 4-TAXATORE....ANY ONE FAMILAR WITH THIS THERAPY....ANY IDEAS TO HELP MAKE THINGS AS BEARABLE AS POSSIBLE...BEEN TRYING TO GET HER A TRIAL SPOT USING HERCEPTIN BUT CANT FIND ONE IN OUR AREA....SHE IS ER-PR NEG WITH HER2 OVER EXPRESSING..JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS SOMETHING I CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR HER....THANK YOU....

Jag,
I have not been on that combo. What I was told was to drink a lot of water the day before or as I did, the day of. I drank the whole 64 oz required in one day. My Dr. told me it doesn't matter how long the chemo is in your body, it won't make a difference, so wash it out and you'll feel better.

I was just talking to my cousin about it, because her sister (my cousin) just got dx last week and she said she never got sick but she made herself go in with a solid meal. light, like a sandwich. Me, I ate while I was there. You hate to tell anyone something and then if it doesn't work, you feel bad.

The pre-meds they give now are pretty good. I never got sick, felt sick once, but never lost it. Best of Luck, it's scary but with you there helping out, you can always change things as they go along to fit her needs. Take Care, K

Jag,

"4'-Epirubicin is an anthracycline analog of doxorubicin which has been shown to be similar to doxorubicin in its anti-tumor activity but significantly lower in its cardiotoxicity." This is what I found when I googled "4-Epirubicin". Doxorubicin is another name for Adrimyicin. Adrimiycin is what I took in conjuction with Cytoxan. The A/C combo made me lose my hair (not a big deal, it grew back within about 4 months after finishin chemo). The A/C combo also affected my white cell counts. Hopefully, your Mom's onc will start her out right away with a shot of Neulasta or shots of Nuepogen, to avoid the white cell count problem and not delay any of her treatments. I had a small bit of nausea, but it was controlled by Kytril. They probably have even better anti-nausea meds now. Make SURE that your mother is sent home with something more that the very old, compazine! Kytril did the trick for me. No vomitting at all.

After my A/C I had 3 months of Taxol (cousin to Taxotere). Everyone is different in their side effects, for me, my appetite improved (the A/C affected my taste buds), but I did have some neuropathy in my hands...very minor.

One thing to always keep in mind is that your Mom should NOT be in severe distress or have severe side effects. The onc has meds that can treat most all of the nasty side effects (if your Mom even has any of them). But, you must or she must be her own advocate...the doctor won't know the severity of the side effect, unless you call and ask for another medication! In todays day and age of chemotherapy, the protocol is to allow the patient to enjoy his/her every day living. There should be NO reason to suffer!

Also regarding Clinical trials and Herceptin, if you find a clinical trial that will work for your Mom, she must be enrolled in it PRIOR to starting her planned chemo treatments of 4-EPIRUBICIN AND CYTOXAN. If she has already started her treaments, she may not be eligible for too many trials.
Check with your onc, he/she is the best starting point.

God Bless you and your Mom as you begin this journey. There are many, many cancer survivors out here! Your Mom is in good company.

Cindi.

[Lolly]

James, along with Cindi's advice to be sure your mom gets supportive therapy for low white blood cell counts, I would highly recommend pushing for red blood cell supportive therapy also. They will want to wait and see how your mom's blood counts respond to the first several treatments.

I have had chemo off and on since '99, and this year received Arenesp for the first time, for low red blood cell counts. I was amazed at what a difference it made in my energy levels and sense of well being. Greatly improved my quality of life. There has also been some discussion on the board lately regarding "chemo brain", and AlaskaAngel has a very intriguing theory about the possibility of low oxygenation (low hemoglobin levels mean less oxygen) being a primary contributing factor in this side effect. I don't know if there's any data out there about this, but I plan to start researching it, as I believe I've come through this latest regimen in very good shape, cognitively speaking.

I think sometimes insurance companies are sticky about covering these support therapies, so make sure the billing office has all their ducks in a row.

Love and Best Wishes to Your Mom,
Lolly

Some things to keep in mind.
Get some kind of nice, decorative box to put all the meds and new parapernalia in so that your Mom does not have to look at it all the time. This helped me.
Do NOT treat her like a "sick" person. We go into this feeling quite well and it seems weird to be treated like we are sick. We WILL get tired, but that is another story.
Let her eat what her mouth can take. With the Adria and such, I could not tolerate citric foods or things too high in acidity. Probably was also my stomach talking!
Biotene toothpast ($6.50 at my local druggist) and mouthwash were good as we are told not to floss our teeth, but to keep out mouth extra clean.
Decide soon on what to do about the hair loss. Find a good person to do the buzz cut when the hair falling out gets to be too much. Get a couple of cute hats and look into inexpensive wigs - some of these look quite natural.
Her feet may start to bother her, so make sure she has some very comfy shoes and sturdy "house shoes" for home.
Keep smiling and always tell her she is beautiful.
There are just a few tips, and you are wonderful to care so much.

Hi-this is my first time posting, tho I've been following the board for a few weeks now.

Jag, I completed chemo in August, 4 infusions of AC and 4 of taxotere and found the anticipation of it was far worse than the reality.

I had only very slight nausea and when I was feeling a bit off, if I ate something light and that settled my stomach and anyway the nausea only lasted for a day at the most. I drank peppermint tea and also drank a lot of fresh vegetable juices with fresh ginger in as well.

While I was having the chemo I also sucked ice cubes or icy poles (Australian term! I'm sure you know what I mean!) amd I had no trouble with mouth ulcers. Also used the Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash which others have mentioned.

The hair thing also was better when it was over! Once it started coming out, I just got it all shaved off and felt much better when it was gone. After all I knew it was going to happen and I had a wig all ready to put on! For winter time I had some beanies (is that Australian as well?) to wear at night as my head was cold and I imagine it's pretty cold in the States right now.

This may not be for everyone but I had acupuncture weekly while I was on chemo. I had read somewhere it can elevate the energy levels and I really feel it helped me. I kept working all thru, taking just 1 or 2 days off after treatment and even tho I did get tired , I found that if I just went with the flow and paced myself, it was OK. If I was tired I just had a nap!!

I found that women can have all sorts of individual reactions to chemo. I had a problem with fluid retention around my ankles for a couple of days after every treatment. I guess my point is that when your mum starts her treatment, take note of every little side effect and mention it to her oncologist because just about everything along the way seems to be manageable.

All the very best to you and your mum- here's to a great 2005 for all of us.

And thanks to everyone else for your posts. This board is just so full of information and inspiration, not to mention the humour (loved the story from Lola of the Cancun T-shirt!). I'm not sure how I discovered it but I'm so glad I did!

happy days one and all!!

Love
Pauline