sudden anxiety attack

[Johanna Johannsdottir]

Hello to all of you wonderful and brave

I have never opened a new thread only answered some. I was dx. jan. 2002 in l.b. had mastactomy 25 lymphnodes all cancerous. Clear after surgery with er+ and ,,rather modest tumor“, chemo and rad. 25 times and then tamoxifen.

All clear until july 2005. Then dx. with bone mets in ribs left.side. HER++.
CA 15.3 was 260 and CEA 125. Treated 14 times with Navelbine/Zometa till december and then Femara. Tumor markers down; CA 125 and CEA 25. So far so good.

CA went suddenly up in februar CA 235 and CEA still 25. CAT+Pet scan showed progression in bones same place and small spots in liver. My onc said the spots in liver ar so minor that month earlier the scanner would have detected them.

Started Taxotere/Zometa and Herceptin in mid februar. After 4 times the CA was down to 128 and CEA to 11. I was so optimistic (have always been and still am, but...). After five times my CA was 125 and CEA still the same. TOO SLOW and I worry weather the effect is not good enough. But I always want to do things very quickly and this can be normal.

I guess I got down because I wanted things to move fast like in the beginning. Now I think I can feel something in liver, not a pain but picking. It can be something else because I also feel picks in left side, not bones though, because they feel like healed!!!. I will have another CAT april 5.th. and see my onc. on the 6th. The schedule is 6x then two weeks off (Im off now) and again 6x with TAxotere/Herceptin/ Zometa and Herceptin/Zometa for least a year and Femara added then but not while on chemo, acc. to my onc.

Has anyone experienced similir with TM?
Is anyone taking Femara while on chemo?

I read this site every day, sometimes twice a day, both in work and at home.

I eat lot of fish and veg. Take 1 tbls. fish oil (lysi) daily + 2 tabl. calcium. Eat no milk product and only use olve oil in food and veg. oil for cooking. My husband bakes the bread and cookies with spelt-flour and oil and makes almond-spread for bread etc. etc.

I will be 49 next may, have husband and a 8 yo son. I'm a journalist and go to work daily. I seem to tolerate chemo wery well and have not lost my hair because of Taxotere. By the way I wear frozen gloves on while taking Taxotere because it prohibit nail fractures.

I look as good as any women at my age and some are surprised that I am like this and on chemo. The spirit is also great (specially after reading this website) and I know I can fight this, but....I live my daily life like usual and like nothing has changed.

Maybe this picks are just something in my mind but not in body.

Can someone advice?,

Best regards

Jóhanna in Iceland( with frozen gloves)

[Lolly]

Hi Johanna in Iceland With Frozen Gloves
I don't have any experience with Taxotere or liver mets, but know that some of the others do and will share their experiences with you. But I do know about anxiety! It's a normal part of this experience, and it's hard not to worry about every "ping". Sometimes response isn't as quick as we'd like to see, but that doesn't mean you're not going to have good results, it may just take a little more time.
About the tumor markers; have you been following the information provided here on the Bayer Serum Test? There's a thread above with very good contact info for your onc on how to go about ordering this test, if you and your oncologist think it's appropriate for you at this time.
Hope the frozen glove strategy works!

<3 Lolly

[TriciaK]

Dear Johanna, I love your posts! My great grandmother's name was Cajsa Nilsdottir, (born in Sweden). Are you Swedish, too? From your post it appears to me that you are doing the right things. Your diet sounds good and you are very much aware in your treatment. One of the biggest thing this BC teaches us is PATIENCE, and it is hard when you've been a person who gets things done and likes things to move along quickly. Patience is a good virtue---I have finally learned it at age 76--so my advice is to take a deep breath and relax your tightened jaw and practice being patient. You have heard of "fight or flight", well instead of fighting or fleeing, we have to learn to flow! It is hard, I know. I've learned to sit quietly and breathe in and out slowly, thinking "Breathe in peace and breathe out stress." It will gradually help the anxiety attacks. You asked if anyone has taken femara with chemo: My oncologist immediately put me on femara, navelbine and herceptin for the first sixmonths, then just herceptin and femara until my ejection fraction got so low (30%) that I had to go off the herceptin. I was on it altogethr about 15 months, which must have been enough because I am NED from lung mets (third BC in 21 years). I am still on femara and expect to be for some time. After my second mets I was on tamoxifen for 5 years and stayed NED for 15 years. I think (and I've said before) that fear is our greatest enemy. It can only be overcome with faith. One of the positive things we do on this board is pray for each other, and I know it helps. I like the frozen gloves idea! I remember some years ago some nurses here in Arizona invented a hat which would keep the head very cold during chemo. They claimed it would avoid hair loss. I don't know what ever came of it, but frozen gloves and maybe a frozen hat might work! You sound like a very strong, positve person;I think you will make it! I will be watching for your posts. Hugs, Tricia

[Cathya]

Johanna;

Here is Canada you put your hands in dishes of ice water when on Taxotere! I haven't been through your experience but also "feel the picks". I have been noticing these lately around my stomach and wondering about it just like you......but just saw my onc who checked me out and it doesn't seem to be anything. I do know all about the panic attacks. Every now and then I would feel this panic taking me over.....Tricka is right.....slow breathing really helps (as an aside.....it also helps with pain as I found out during the birth process with my son). However, I needed more than that and at that time I had a friend who I would call and she seemed always to know how to calm me down. Now I am more independent.....I can come here to the Her2support site and talk and listen to all the wise advice these ladies supply. It is wonderful....like belonging to a club where you know you really belong....perhaps it would be better if it were a sports club or something but what can you do....lol.

I'll look forward to hearing more.... best regards,

Cathya

If diet is important to you and it looks like it is you might want to think about your omega three six balance. You said you are eating lots of fish and take a supplement, but see the posts on the level of omega six in olive and other oils. Controversial but a little butter may help you alleviate oil usage if you need the fats for cooking, or you may want to push up fish oil intake or add flax seed/oil to your diet.

I simply raise it for your to think about. These things are not absolutely proven and are a judgement call at the end of the day.

Please excuse the post if you are ahead of me.

RB

[Johanna Johannsdottir]

Thank you all for responding,

No I'm not Swedish but Icelandic. Anyway both are Scandinavian.
I am learning much from this thread but I still get mixed up in this omega-3 omega-6 balance. Prabably because fish oil (lysi) as an supplement has been used here in Iceland for decades, it was even forced (nearly) in our mouth in pramary and secondary schools when I was young. I am though learning and my husband is Morrocan so we have mediterrian diet whith fresh fish and wild grown lamb.


Thank you all,

regards

jóhanna

[storyteller]

I have just finished talking with my husband about anxiety experienced as a result of cancer experience. I wish there were a medicine that kept us from playing the "what if" game and helped us with the whole "peace of mind" attitude. But as it seems, this must be a huge part of my lesson, and I'm trying.

This morning I was experiencing anxiety and asked myself, "Do I want to spend this precious day worrying or spend it enjoying my life?" That helps me get clear on my focus.

I kept my fingers in ice during chemo treatment as advised by onc nurses and it worked for me! You feel somewhat foolish, but then so does a lot of this.

Who would have thought we'd all be connected like this?

[Johanna Johannsdottir]

Hello again,


I went for my 7th. Taxotere/Herceptin treatment yesterday. My Onc. was very pleased because the CT-scanner showed good results for my liver mets. They were minor in beginning and have decreased very much and hopes are high.
Did bloodtest also but he even said it wasn't necessery at this stage because the scanner was good and I'm usually high in bloodcounts.
YESSSS it's working.
I thanked my onc, he thanked my attidude and said it's helps him ,,this is team work“. he said. I immideatly thanked you all and gave him an my nurse the name of this website in order to help other women in same situation that can read english (and they are many here in Iceland, for english is our secondary language after Icelandic). My nurse thanked my husband (he brings them homemade morrocan Healthy cookies). And my husband thanked me again because he says my good spirit helps him to cope with the situation.
We are thankful and my husband reads this website also to be able to understand.
Thank you all wise and brave!!!!!
I will keep you updated

Yesssssssssssssssssssssss

Jóhanna

[storyteller]

Yippee!!!! Your news is so encouraging. With each good report, we are all encouraged to keep our spirits high. From Texas to Iceland, our ground is common.

Thanks for sharing.

Jeanne

[Toril]

Dear Jóhanna!
A very warm "hello" here from Oslo, Norway! I am so happy for you and your good CT-scan. It is also very encouraging for me, as I had my 2nd treatment of Taxoterre / Herceptin one week ago. I have been dealing with liver-mets since Feb. 2005. First threated with Navelbine / herceptin (working very well for about one year), then it started to crow again - and well - here we go.
i will also try the frozen cloves next time, and they say at my hospital they do have this problem with the nails under control now.
I have lost my hair, well most of it. But will try a new "ice-hat" (or whatever its called), to try to get it back during treatment. I think you wrote that you didnt loose your hair, but didn't mention such "ice-hat"?? Maybe just lucky!
I am very glad to see other women from Scandinavia on this wonderful web-site, as it has been such an inspirational place to come for me.

Looking forward to your posting.
And again: Enjoy your wonderful news!!

Love Toril

[juanita]

My onc, Dr. Oskarson, is from Iceland. He's been in the US for awhile though.