Chemo and Sun

[LindaC]

I am having a difficult time doing my garden 20 mins.in the sun and I am sick,Is anyone else having this problem?I also find that I don't have the strenght that I used to and can't understand why I can't start my lawn mower dont have the strenght to pull the cord.In the eveninings my thighs kill me with pain no Idea whats going on.Please some advice.
This is a little update I was taken off of taxol for six weeks due to neouraphty in the feet I am going for herceptin and taxol on May 4 on may 16 a pet scan on May 17 a muga scan back to doctor on May 25
Half the foot is numb now where two weeks ago it was only toes I thought it would get better any advice anyone??to improve my toes and feet??

[chrisy]

Hi linda,

i think that staying out of the sun is specifically listed on the "fact sheet" I received for Taxol. So gardening at high noon probably is not the best idea. As for the lawn mowing - my gosh, you must be superwoman to be doing all that! I never could get the lawnmower to start! Please don't forget, the medicine you are getting is kicking butt on your cancer (yay!) and at the same time, for the taxol and carbo at least, kicking butt on the rest of your system as well. The effect of this and the related fatigue is cumulative - although you will feel better once you are off chemo for a while. Longer than 6 weeks. I was on weekly T/C/H and in the beginning I was walking 1-2 miles daily but by the end I really didn't have any interest in that at all. Be gentle with yourself as far as the fatigue goes. Do as much as you can to stay active, but not more - you want to reserve your strength to fight the cancer!

I also had some neuropathy, mine did stop at the toes but that may have been because I pounded it with all sorts of supplements (recommended by my onc) at the first sign. I can't believe I threw the list away - so many people have asked me what this was! I know I took B-complex plus extra B6 and B12, l-glutamine, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-l carnitine, folic acid, and vitamin e (on non chemo weeks). Maybe CoQ 10. Have you asked your doctor for help on this?

In the meantime, I'll keep everything crossed that after you go through your next battery of tests you will get more good news!

Hugs,
Chris

[Jean]

Linda,

How lucky you are to live half the time at beautiful Cape May!

The neuropathy should decrease and reverse in time can take months.
Chrisy is correct that Vit. B 6 complex is the source along with
Folic Acid. I took the Vit. b 6 100 complex with all the B vit.
Neuropathy has improved about 1/3...it has been 6 months, dr. told me
it will take a good 9 mo. to reverse. I also take CoQ-10 but I do not
know if that is geared for the neuropathy? I take that for my heart
since herceptin.

Wishing you the best.
Jean

[Catherine]

Hi Linda,

Your strength will eventually come back. I finished Chemo Aug 06. I am feeling stronger every month. I used to walk an hour at a time. During chemo, I was lucky to get outside and walk a block. Now I am up to about 30 minutes and sometimes stretch it to 40 minutes. I am very cautious in the sun. I tried mowing the lawn and only lasted 5 minutes. My high school helper did the rest.So take it easy and listen to your body.

My neuropathy was not fun, but it did not proceed past by hands and feet. I was not told about Vitamin B or CO q 10. What is CO q10? My hands and feet are fine now.

I still need to know a whole lot more about this disease and my body. Keep gathering information and keep the faith.

All the best, Catherine

[LindaC]

Good Morning Ladies,
I want to thank all of you for the info.I don't remember reading on the fact sheet about the sun,I guess I will try to adjust to the sun.I love my fishing so I will fish from under the canopy.As for my garden I guess myy husband will have to do it for me there is no shade unless I do it at night.As for vitimans my dr. don't want me on them I have to find natural things to help me.
LindaC

[harrie]

I know with many medications it is advisable to stay out of the sun. My thighs were also bothering me. Even to squat down, I could feel some discomfort. I started eating more bananas and it seems to have improved.

[hutchibk]

I know when I was on Herc/Taxol that my "integrative" naturopathic doc firmly suggested L-glutamine - which helps protect and restore muscular tissue and supports the immune system. I put 1 tsp (2 gms) in a small shot of juice 3 times a day. And all of the supportive things that Chrisy says can also be very helpful.

I need to get back on my "healthy support" routine ASAP. I have become very lazy. I have only been doing the glutamine 3 x a day, 3 tblsp of EVOO a day, and my cuppa apple cider tea am and pm. (hot water, 2-3 tblsp organic apple cider vinegar, 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon, and honey or stevia to sweeten).

I plan to call my integrative doc (Dr. Labriola) tomorrow AM since I am changing chemo.

[LindaC]

Dear Brenda
Thanks for the Info

[Bev]

Hi.

Brenda, my onc nurse recommended B6 before I started taxol and I never developed nueropathy. Could be dumb luck, but I know she wouldn't have recommended it if it interfered with T & H.

Catherine, CoQ10 stands for Co enzyme Q10. It's an antioxidant. I don't know how it works. Learned about it here. It does interfere with chemo so I would wait until you're on H only. In my case it brought up my left ventricle function above the baseline score before chemo, and even more above what it had dropped during AC.

Good luck all, Bev

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Dear Linda, I agree with everything that Chrisy, Jean, Catherine and Brenda have said. My onc nutritional/BC expert had me on everything during my chemo, to lessen side effects for heart, immune system, muscle pain, neuropathy, liver, etc. He feels that during chemo your body is being challenged as the drugs are hammering away at your cancer. Co Enzyme Q10 -- he had me on 200 a day, then upped it to 300. I am now on 100. GREEN TEA SHRINKS TUMORS. He wants me to keep drinking 3 cups a day. Others have mentioned this. I was buying Arizona Green Tea. Doc likes tea bags, but others take drops or capsules. He has me on a bunch of anti-cancer supplements that fight free radicals, boost energy levels and help my incessant hot flashes. He recommends high dosages, so when I read about a study that showed this or that is ineffective, I think but that's at the minimum dosage. Dx at age 50 in '95 w/invasive lobular carcinoma + 2 out of 18 nodes involved. Then dx w/multiple mets into the liver in '98 + found HER2+ 80% (that's the way the report read back in the day). I had a highly aggressive cancer and a very poor prognosis. BUT I ALSO HAD A GREAT ATTITUDE, THE LOVE OF MY HUSBAND AND TWO DAUGHTERS AND FRIENDS, MY SPIRITUAL CONNECTION, which evolved from '95 into a transforming experience. All that, plus my nutritional supplements and green tea have brought me to this day. I feed my mind thoughts full of love, compassion, generosity and gratitude for the gift of each day. I see the world so differently. Life is beautiful. No matter what I had to endure to get through a hellish experience. I have lived to see 5 grandchildren born (the oldest being 10, the youngest 10 mnths old)! I feel joyful, serene and full of LOVE.

This is precisely what I wish for all you remarkable women fighting through tough times. It is doable. You too can be a miracle. Daily meditation, weeding out the noxious thoughs and images, experiencing them (as we must) and then tossing them away like a live grenade. Nourishing your thoughts with all those positive emotions means that is what you are TRANSMITTING out into the Universe. The energy of your thoughts is sensed and responded to IN KIND by the Universe. It's a Universal Law! LIVE BY IT. WHAT YOU THINK ALL DAY WILL BECOME YOUR DESTINY!

Sending you loving, healing energy and hugs, ANDI

[LindaC]

Andrea,
Thank you so much for your input.I do think like you and we will all fight this monster.
LindaC