upcoming treatment

rinaina · 05-19-2006, 05:09 AM

Saw my oncologist today and following a MUGA SCAN, (providing the results are favorable), I will begin my chemo next Thursday which will consist of 4 tx 3wks apart of Cytoxen and Adriamyacin. Has anyone had this regiment and if so, how was it tolerated? My dr said that I may have a sore mouth 3rd day following tx and the 10th day is when the fatigue hits and by the 17-19th day I will loose my hair. Other than that he said they will give me great meds to counter-act any nausea. I asked about other pre-treatment testing such as a bone scan, ct scan etc and he said it isn't necessary for me. As a reminder...I am stage 1, 1.4cm tumor, estrogen/progestine negative, her2 positive, grade 3 because of the her2+, node negative and clean margins. Thanks for your input and continued support.
Rina

SherryS · 05-19-2006, 05:25 AM

That's what I had 4 doses of AC, 1 each, 3 weeks apart. I then had 4 doses of taxol, then rads and now I'm on herceptin. The AC wasn't too hard for me -- they tell you all the possible side effects but all or none or a combination can happen to you -- each person reacts differently. I had pre-meds and benedryl before they did the AC (The "A" was given in a push with a syringe, the "C" is a drip). I lost my hair by day 14 -- it started to go at that point and then I shaved the rest to spare myself the agony of it coming out. Went to my hairdresser and she did it for me -- we'd prearranged that. I wanted to feel that I had some control over my body while going through all this treatment. No nausea for me -- I had great meds to take after chemo which helped as well. The "after" meds seems to be standard. I lost my sense of taste - my taste buds were flat/dead, but had no mouth sores. Fatigue is common and seems to last even after treatment. I found as the cycle went on that my pattern was, I was tired into the second week after the dose and then the third week was my "good" week where I had energy and felt like doing things; a little more like myself. For nausea, someone suggested to me ginger -- a small piece to suck if you like it that way, or ginger tea/ginger snap cookies. I was also told that gripping the flap of skin between my thumb and index finger (either hand) and rubbing that when I'd feel my stomach go a bit off, right away, would ease the feeling and it worked. I was never "sick" with chemo, but I did have some queasieness the first few days -- sporadic. There were foods I couldn't get enough of and some I didn't want to go near -- trying to find something that would just taste "right" -- everything tasted like metal. Remember, everyone is different, everyone responds differently to the drugs. I went in expecting to have "no" side effects -- didn't really think about them and just waited to see how I was going to feel. A little "mind over matter". Sometimes, even with the best will in the world of mind over matter, you can't escape everything. My best "advice" is to be good to yourself. If you feel the need to sleep then do it -- that's your body telling you it needs time to repair and don't make excuses for being tired or unable to do the things you might normally do. For right now, the only thing you "do" is chemo!!! I'll be thinking of you next Thursday -- hopefully your body's response to this will be "good".

tousled1 · 05-19-2006, 08:41 AM

I had 4 round of A/C and my oncologist told me that I would loose my hair in 2 weeks. Darned if she wasn't right on the money!!! I was extremely fortunate that I did not have any serious side effects with the A/C. Some trush in the mouth which was treated with a mouthwash presription, and low blood counts. Received procrit every week and neulasta the day after chemo.

After the A/C I had 4 rounds of Taxatore -- another story all together. A lot of bone/joint pain but I attribute a lot of that to my lumbar fusion surgery in 2004.

I had remarkable results with the chemo and am now scheduled for surgery June 8th. Good luck to you.

Lauriemn · 05-19-2006, 09:01 AM

I also did 4 AC, but did them dose dense, so did them every two weeks. I had alot of nausea, even with taking the meds. I couldn't sleep, because of the decadron they give you. I had severe headaches, almost like sinus headaches. I also had alot of fatigue. Make sure you drink alot of fluids the day of chemo and the next couple of days, it can really help.

Laurie

cherylynnie · 05-19-2006, 10:07 AM

Rina,

Be prepared for your white count to go down with the A/C. I had dense dose A/C every two weeks. My hair started to fall out quite a bit around day 18. My mother and daughter cut my hair and then my husband clipped it. Then what hadn't fallen out did so later. Losing my hair was a very difficult thing. I refused to put anything on my head for a couple of days. I guess I had to go through the grieving process.

Constipation was a problem with me as well, I took Senekot. If you think it may be a problem take something the night before and then everynight at least the first week. I finally figured it out by the third and fourth treatment which were much easier than the first two. But by that time I was taking neulasta and arenesp shots. Fatique also lasted about 10 days for me. I only felt better acouple days before they hit me again.

I had soars in my mouth with the second treatment only, which was because my white count was so low, .7, when they gave me that treatment. They take your blood the day of treatment and the week after, so didn't know it was that low until the next day when the results came back. I went in the next day for my first neulasta shot. If they would have known my white count was that low I don't think they would have given me the second dose, they would have waited.

Couldn't eat anything sugary. I went out for chinese with my husband one time and the sweet and sour sauce seemed to peel a layer off my tongue. And sometimes the toothpaste burns your mouth. I think alot depends on your blood counts. The chemo does effect your tastebuds I will agree with that. So as long as they can keep your white and red counts in control you will have less side effects.

YOu will make it through. And if you feel like resting that is what you need to do. I couldn't sleep the whole first month of treatment, then I finally told them. I tried to take benedryl which didn't work so then they had me take ativan. If you don't seem to be getting your sleep don't wait as long as I did to tell them.

I had more side effects but can't remember all of them right now.

Good luck!

SherryS · 05-19-2006, 02:19 PM

Cheryl, you're right about the cell counts going down...it's something that is checked before each treatment. I didn't do dose dense, I was on the 3 week cycle and I was blessed that my cell counts were always up and sometimes higher than the nurses expected. You mentioned that people with higher cell counts have fewer side effects..that was something I didn't know but it explains why I didn't find chemo too daunting. I know a few people who did dose dense and they had fluctuating cell counts so that was a good thing to mention.
Toothpaste...I got to the point where I couldn't STAND the taste of toothpaste -- forget that "minty freshness"!!!! I had to switch to one that was cinnamon flavoured...
What I have noticed post chemo is that with my taste buds back? I crave hot spicy food and I would never have liked that before chemo...lots of little gifts after going through that.

MCS · 05-19-2006, 09:37 PM

Hi cheryl,

I had 4 doses of AC.

You get a series of premeds. Mine was decadron, ativan.

I was also given zofran for nausea. A pil that you take at the first symptom of it and continue. I took four pills each treatment. I tend to have a strong stomack so this was not a big problem for me.

I was extremely tired on the 2nd day following treatment. Just spent the day watching tv. I slowly would recover and felt ok till the next infusion.

The adryamycis is red, manually pumped in with this huge syringe ( almost comical!) and you will pee red that day. don't be alarmed.

if constipated, I took a tablespoon of milk of magnesia and it worked for me.

a metallic taste in your mouth. all taste like sucking on stainless steel.

i became very sensitive to smells. I could not stand the smell of chinese food, which I love. A neighbor brought us dinner one night and I could barely look at the containers. i would spray lysol or whatever to get the smells away from me aaafter each meal. i could not stand the smell of the closet and i washed all sweaters at once. I would get sick when I put them on- would wash before would wear, that's clean pajamas, towels. crazy. others in my family could not smell this.

hair started to thin out on the 10th day as i was told. my crazy family was "happy" to see this- the medicine is working . i would put my hands thru and i would pull strands. i had very thick hair and short - i shaved my own hair within two weeks. i had some much hair falling during a shower that it took me forever to get rid it off my body and then clean the shower later.

be strong girl, just think of the medicine is getting you well and that others are with you and have gone before you thru this. cry all you want

XOXO

MCS ( maria)

MCS · 05-19-2006, 10:06 PM

I'm sorry I forgot to mention that I had high sensitivity to acidic foods such as tomato sauce. i limited my oj take and no tomato based sauces at all. if I felt a little heartburn, i was allowed to take over the counter zantac

XOXO Again

MCS ( maria)

rinaina · 05-20-2006, 08:20 AM

thank you to everyone for helping to prepare me for what's to come. i know this sounds silly, but i am almost looking forward to my treatment starting because i know that i am doing something to rid myself of this cancer. perhaps i will feel differently once i am actually getting the treatments but then i will just keep reminding myself over and over again that each treatment brings me closer to a cure. hope i can handle the side effects if i get them.

thanks again for all you input, knowledge and for sharing your experiences.
Rina

SherryS · 05-20-2006, 09:31 AM

Hey, you don't sound silly at all for looking forward to getting the ball rolling!!! With that attitude Rinaina, you are going to go far with this. I looked forward to my treatments and when the nurse would sit down with me to "push" the Adriamycin into my tube, I would think to myself (either with my eyes closed) or while we chatted, that my "red army" was marching in to attack the enemy. I did similar visualization w/my rads -- as the "beeping" was happening and the rays were going in, I pictured machine guns blasting all over the place inside my breast & under my arm. Made me feel somehow like "I" was doing something as well. And you WILL handle whatever side effects you might experience. Because you are strong and you have the will do to it. We'll be looking forward to hearing from you at the end of the week to let us know how it went for you. ((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))

rinaina · 05-20-2006, 09:51 AM

Thank you so much for the continued support and caring. I liked your approach to both the Adriamycin push and the rads and I think I will follow your lead. I am so ready to start my pro-active fight against my breast cancer. As I have stated before, I don't know what I would have done without this forum and the wonderful caring people who have been so helpful. Family and friends are great but it is sharing with others who have gone through this too that has really made me more comfortable with all of this as well as more educated and knowledgable. Thank you thank you thank you!

Rina

Sheila · 05-20-2006, 05:27 PM

Rinaina
Where are you going for your chemo in Chicago? I go to Rush every 3 weeks, just thought if you were going there, we may meet in the chemo lab. I live about 80 miles south of Chicago.

rinaina · 05-21-2006, 02:09 PM

I will be getting my treatments at my oncologists office which has a great set-up. There are private tx rooms as well as community tx rooms...your choice. He is located in the suburbs and practices out of Lutheran General Hospital. So sorry we are at different locations...would have been nice to meet a forum member. By your picture, you resemble a cousin of ours.
Best of luck to you and G-d bless.
Rina

cherylynnie · 05-22-2006, 07:08 AM

Rina,
Someone mentioned pre-meds. I was prescribed Emmends, to be taken 1 hour before chemo then on the second and third day decadron - one in morining and one at night, as well as the 2nd and 3rd emmends to be taken on the 2nd and 3rd day. Before the chemo they gave me ativan in the iv and decadron as well before they started the A/C. They recommended not to eat anything spicey 3-4 days after chemo as it may upset your stomache. So like somone else mentioned, I didn't have anything citrus or have any tomato products. Of course my family ordered pizza a couple of days after my first chemo, I just ate the crust for fear of the tomato sauce. After a month or so I ventured to try some pizza and I was fine. But things don't taste right, except chocolate seem to taste mostly like it is supposed to.
Your body will have more of a rest having it every three weeks than dense dose. My third treatment was delayed because of pain I was having in my lower abdomen, and my hair seemed to have grow the tiniest bit only to fall out again after my third dose. I found that interesting that that week off produced hair growth.
Anyway... You will do fine. Just make sure you rest.