Dawn- the ice thing
 

The ice thing is to protect the nail beds by reducing blood flow to that area. Taxotere can cause damage to the nails including losing your nails. The risk of getting mets to your toes and fingertips is pretty low so it's "safe". At my onc's office people bring in frozen peas. They put the peas on their fingers and toes during the taxotere infusion and then the chemo angels put them in the freezer for next time! One really lucky lady brought her husband to treatments and when she was done with her peas he always rubbed her feet...now that's support!
It did always make me wonder if you draped bags of frozen peas on your head during the infusion, would that keep you from losing your hair or just give you the mother of all ice-cream headaches???

chelee, I feel for you in your quest to get answers from your onc. my first one told me what treatment I would be doing and when i tried to ask questions he usually wouldn't answer them. or if he did and i didn't understand it and tried asking a different way to see if i'd get a different answer that i could understand he always answered in the same way. he never told me anything positive about the percentages, just how many people die, and that really scared the you know what out of me. i did 2 cycles tac and was very violently ill. i even threw up all over his office and he did nothing to try and keep me from being so sick. it turns out part of that with the second cycle could have been avoided because the nurse didn't give me the premed of aloxi (i think that was what it's called). when i decided enough was enough after the 2 treatments and told him i wanted to quit the treatments he made me feel like i was going to be dying in the very near future. (i'm stage 1, grade 3) I cried for days, until i saw the rad onc and he talked to me more about it all and told me my outlook was very good having caught it so early. i refused to go back to that first onc and my surgeon recommended the one i currently have, who is very great. (the first was in my family doc's network). i was making a notebook of copies of all of my records and tests and when i got the ones from the first onc he had written in my file that i refused to consider any other treatment options. bull! i was never offered any! i didn't even realize till i first saw my current onc that there were other options. with him i did 6 cycles cmf. and should be getting ready to finish my one year of herceptin. so hang in there. i have my fingers crossed for you that you will be as lucky in finding someone who cares for you as much as my onc does now.

Chrisy, Thanks for the GOOD laugh. I lol...and I still am laughing at your comment about how your wonder if you put bags of frozen peas on your head during the infusion if it would save you from losing your hair or give you the Mother of all headaches. Oh my gosh...TOO FUNNY.

I did that Taxotere...wish I would of tried that. LMAO I would of loved to save my hair. It would of been hilarious to be sitting in my infusion chair with bags of peas or ice on my head and watch the STARES & strange looks from all the people that would walk in there for their infusion. I would of never been able to keep a straight face. (I would be a big conversation piece in there if I had done that.) I HAVE to quit thinking about this....my brain must be fried today...because I CAN'T quit laughing about this. I LOVE your sense of humor.

Now on the serious side of this. I had heard mention of putting ice or something cold on the finger nails. I never did this and my nails ARE a nice purple/black color. (Oh so very pretty.) LOL Only the last three fingers on each hand for some reason? The thumb and index finger nail is fine? Plus my toe nails on the left side are purple...but NOT on the right side? Guess the chemo didn't make it that far? (Strange?)

My nails are a bit sensitive and I have been waiting for the three on each hand to fall off...but so far they haven't? (Knock on wood.) I never did see anyone put anything cold on their finger nails or I might of tried it. Well...to late for me.

But I do know the taxotere WILL take a toll on your nails...mine are proof of that. I just don't know why only some of them...and not all?

Chelee

Juanita, I am so sorry you had to go through that with your first oncologist. Sounds like you can really relate to what I have been going through. Isn't it just awful to have them TELL you what your going to do and when you ask a question you don't get a straight answer. My onc talks and doesn't say anything if you know what I mean. (I would think it was just me...but my husband has been in there every time with me...they don't tell me anything!)

And like your doctor put in your medical notes that you flat out refused other options. I went through something just like that. I got my notes that were SENT to this OTHER cancer center I was going to for my 2nd opinion...and the LIES in there were unreal. I was beyond PISSED! My onco doc made up things that just were NOT true to make herself look good. But I fixed that when I got to my 2nd opinion. :)

Your first onc doctor sounds just like the one I was dealing with. Isn't it awful when they won't say anything positive at all. They make you feel like your going to be lucky to be alive in a WEEK. Thats what mine did. This second one hasn't said anything either to make me feel any better.

I am SO GLAD you ended up finding a doctor that cares. Thats all I want. I have NEVER had this problem in my life...and of all the times to have it is when I have cancer. :( All my doctors have always been good about explaining things to me and making sure I have no questions.

Even with my chemo..I was NEVER giving my tx options..I was told I would take TCH...nothing else..period. Now I find out by LAW they are suppose to give you all your options. They didn't give me any.

At least you got to throw up all over HIS office. :) I feel sorry for you and that it happened...but that serves HIM right. But with the meds they have today...shame on him. He just didn't care it sounds like.

Juanita, I wasn't quite done with that last post to you...it got away from me? Don't know what happened...but it sent itself? Or my fingers hit something?

But thanks for your post...at least I don't feel like I am the ONLY one to get a onc doctor like I did. Yours could of been the brother to the one I first had. This second one I have...she has been a LITTLE better...but still not enough to make me happy. I just don't know WHY they won't answer a simple question for me or my husband. Do they really like stressing me out and having me worried all the time thinking they are hiding things from me?

Its cruel. When I see things on my PET scan that don't sound good and she can't take the time to anwser my questions about it...there is no excuse for it. I have had TWO PET/CT scans since this started. The first onc doc did NOT go over my scan with me...nor show it to me. And now this second onc I changed to did that same thing. Never discussed it with me or showed it to me. I have copies of it...but when I put it in my laptop...I need a doctor to go over with me. And soon I will FIND one. :) Even if I have to pay out of pocket.

Thanks so much for your post Junita. I am seriously happy that you landed in good hands finally. I know how frustrating it is to have a doctor like the one you mentioned. Thats just awful. Hang in there...

Chelee

Did not know that about the nails. Only developed one black streak on thumb. Chemo cleared my toenails up. The new growth is clear and white where the old is yellowed and bumpy. hope this isn't too much info but at least something positive happened. BB

Ice on head
 

An ice cap on the head is done in some places and someone on another list said that she did not lose her hair due to the ice cap. I believe she lives in Europe and it was supplied by her infusion center.
However, I have read that a study was done and the fear is that the chemo would not be reaching areas in brain with an ice cap, thus allowing brain mets. Since I didn't know if this was true or not, I skipped the ice cap but did go with the frozen peas on my nails when I had Taxotere. My nails were fine, in fact, they seemed to grown in faster and stronger. But the Herceptin makes them very thin and weak but I only have one more Herceptin treatment to finish the year--weak nails are nothing if Herceptin stops reoccurance.!
Janet