[Mary Jo]

Hello,

I, like you, handled A/C pretty well. A few fatiqued days - appetite wasn't the greatest BUT over all handled it well. I worked pretty much through out it (I work part-time - 20 hours per week) and was able to work MOST days. I had chemo every other Wednesday so would take off the Thurs., Fri and sometimes the Monday after but then worked right up until the next one. I will admit though, I wasn't sad to see A/C end as I thought Taxol was much easier. Although I did have body pain with the Taxol.

I had a hysterectomy at age 39 - ovaries left intact so a period wasn't an issue. However, I do remember the WICKED hot flashes that I experienced. Man, they were bad. But, again, a small price to pay. Honestly, I thought the hot flahses were worse than many of the symptoms I experienced on chemo.

I did not have a port. I received all chemo's, herceptins and blood draws in my left arm only. Right arm couldn't be used because that was my breast cancer side and I had 2 lymph nodes removed. Thankfully, my arm held out throughout. Rarely any trouble finding a vein.

And finally, yes to the Neulasta. I received that the day after a chemo treatment. I did experience bone pain the day after the shot. Usually my shoulders and upper back felt the worse. However, once again, a small price to pay for being healthy throughout chemo. My blood work was always "perfect" according to my onc.

Good luck to you.

Mary Jo