Finished chemo, have a few questions

Christine Mary · 02-11-2011, 06:03 PM

Had my last chemo (FED-D) treatment three weeks ago. Still having some side effects from the doxetaxel. I have a few questions that maybe some of you maybe able to help with.

1. I have real issues with my eyes. Excessive tearing mixed with dry eye,scratchy eyes and twitching. I am using reolacement tears now. Are any other drops helpful, and how long do these symptoms last!

2. I had a mastectomy on my left side. I don't have an appointment with the plastic surgeon until Nov for reconstruction. I am trying to decide if I should have a prophylactic Mx on right side before recontruction as they don't like to combine the surgeries here. I understand that IDC is not likely to reoccur in othernbreast, but I was wondering how likely it is to get another primary BC in other breast.

3. I still had periods during my "FEC" portion of chemo but they stopped withnthe doxetaxel. I am 45 and had not begun menopause at all at diagnosis. I am Er neg so no tamoxefen for me. I was wondering if it is likely that my periods will start again. Chemo was like instant menopause....kind of like " rapid detox". Wondering if my body will kick start again.

Well thanks in advance if anyone can help. I live in Canada where FEC-D is more common so I'm not sure if there are many on this board who had this chemo.

Christine

Becky · 02-12-2011, 03:14 PM

I had AC (Adriamycin + Cytoxan) followed by Taxol. The AC is very much like the EC portion of your chemo. Adriamycin and (E) epirubicin are in the same family of drugs (just like Taxol and Taxotere are in the same family of drugs but a different family than A and E).

The A and E family of drugs cause a lot of dryness (skin and eyes). I had issues with my eyes while on the AC portion of my chemo and my skin was dry and I had to moisturize (I normally have very oily skin). During the AC portion of chemo, I could not read well as my eyes got tired. I could watch TV or do crossword puzzels but reading was very, very trying due to eye dryness. This improved over time (6-12 months).

I was also your age when I got cancer (6+ yrs out now) and my periods stopped at the end of the AC portion. My period returned less than 6 months after my last chemo. My last chemo was Feb 1 of that particular year and I got my period in July sometime. Because I was also ER+ and wanted to take Arimidex instead of Tamoxifen, I had my ovaries removed so (duh) my periods did stop then.

Are you also getting Herceptin?

tricia keegan · 02-12-2011, 05:19 PM

I also had the teary eyes which cleared up a few months after chemo.

I'm sorry I can't help with your other questions though!

Paty · 02-12-2011, 07:41 PM

Dear Christine,

I received FAC and Herceptin, I did not have Taxol (wonder why?). Re. Periods, I was 43 at time of diagnosis and when received my treatment I stopped having periods on and off, at one point they stopped completly, but after a year I had another period again. I wonder if this is normal for a pre-menopausal age. My doctors say this could be normal for my age and treatments.

pibikay · 02-12-2011, 09:53 PM

when Hema started her Tykerb she had dry eyes and reddishness to.During her Sep infustion of zoletec she developed allergy in the eyes and the eyes became blood shot the chemo nurse stopped the infusion and called both the onc and a opthomologist .The onc asked her to continue the infusion the optholmogist after examining her eyes gave some drops to stop the reddening

Jackie07 · 02-13-2011, 02:16 AM

I was told to use a particular brand of artificial tears for my dry eyes during chemo. It worked quite well.

My period vanished after the 3rd infusion of FEC for my first bout of BC in November 2003, three months before I turned 44. It never came back. Theoretically it should have been completely 'gone' after the chemotherapy in 2007, but I did feel 'better' (eg. the skin on my lips no longer peeling) after the oophorectomy in 2010 - even though the surgeon told me after the surgery that they looked fine.