Chemotherapy

Linda727

Had a left mastectomy & reconstructive surgery(free tram flap) on 10/7/03. No lymph nodes involved. 0.3 millileters in size(area removed)ER and PR negative with Her-2 overexpression of 3+.
11/7/03 I started chemotherapy. 6 treatments of Adriamycin, Cytoxan, Taxotere. Had so much tighness and pain at surgery sites that I could hardly move these last 3 months. I was so bad after the 4th treatment that I had to postpone treatment. The oncologist said that 4 treatments were enough considering how small the tumor was. I'm so depressed because I wanted to finish the treatments but in too much pain. Pain medicines just did not work. It's been 2 weeks now since I was supposed to have treatment. I'm a little better but the neuropathy is still pretty intense.At least I can move around better. I would have suffered through the last 2 treatments if I could have had some pain relief. I feel so upset for not finishing. Can anyone help? Thanks.

inkblot

Hi Linda:

Six treatments seems like a lot for your particular dx. Different docs have different approaches though.

I'd say that if your doc feels that you had an adequate amount and you disagree, then go for a 2nd opinion. Did your docs say why so much pain and what was suggested to help relieve it?

Good luck and hang in there. Don't let the doc blow you off re this kind of pain. It must be taken seriously and addressed.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

Linda727

inkblot said:

Hi Linda:

Six treatments seems like a lot for your particular dx. Different docs have different approaches though.

I'd say that if your doc feels that you had an adequate amount and you disagree, then go for a 2nd opinion. Did your docs say why so much pain and what was suggested to help relieve it?

Good luck and hang in there. Don't let the doc blow you off re this kind of pain. It must be taken seriously and addressed.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

Thanks for your response. The pain is caused from the taxotere affecting my surgery sites--lower stomach(long incision)and reconstructed breast.She said after I had finished the 1st treatment that I would be set back. Wish I had known. After the 4th treatment I got worse.I almost think I got the full treatment of drugs instead of the 10% reduction I was receiving. Could a mistake like that be made? I was afraid to ask. Anyway, the oncologist said that I needed to see a psychiatrist!(spelling?) I just needed some support and pain relief! I'm going to get a 2nd opinion.Thanks again for your response. This is my 1st time at this site. Wish I would have known about it earlier.

MsKaren

Linda, all cases are so different, so it's hard to compare our situations. In my case, 24 years ago when I had my mastectomy, they allowed 2 months for me to recoup before starting treatments. They said the chemo would interfer with the healing process. And because I was "cancer-free" after the surgery, they weren't worried about starting emediately.

Ok, now about the 4 treatments versus the 6: I had a reoccurance here 5 years ago and had to do chemo and radiation. They waited to do the chemo after the rad. And I was suppose to get 6 treatments too. But after 4 treatments, Doc said that my scans looked really good--the cancer had regressed nicely, so he was going to stop at 4 treatments. He felt that with this success, it would be counterproductive to go on with the treatments. (Hard on some people's hearts to take longer)
So don't be afraid. Sounds like your cancer wasn't as serious as mine.

hummingbyrd

Linda727 said:

Thanks for your response. The pain is caused from the taxotere affecting my surgery sites--lower stomach(long incision)and reconstructed breast.She said after I had finished the 1st treatment that I would be set back. Wish I had known. After the 4th treatment I got worse.I almost think I got the full treatment of drugs instead of the 10% reduction I was receiving. Could a mistake like that be made? I was afraid to ask. Anyway, the oncologist said that I needed to see a psychiatrist!(spelling?) I just needed some support and pain relief! I'm going to get a 2nd opinion.Thanks again for your response. This is my 1st time at this site. Wish I would have known about it earlier.

Mistakes are made. I almost died after 2nd chemo from overdosage. When I FINALLY went back, they reduced the dose by 10%. Made a tremendous difference, but mine was very aggressive, so I figure I must of needed to be hit hard initially.
After this battle, I'm surprised at the one's who don't need a psychiatrist!
(((HUGS))) hummer

Linda727

hummingbyrd said:

Mistakes are made. I almost died after 2nd chemo from overdosage. When I FINALLY went back, they reduced the dose by 10%. Made a tremendous difference, but mine was very aggressive, so I figure I must of needed to be hit hard initially.
After this battle, I'm surprised at the one's who don't need a psychiatrist!
(((HUGS))) hummer

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciated it!

Linda727

MsKaren said:

Linda, all cases are so different, so it's hard to compare our situations. In my case, 24 years ago when I had my mastectomy, they allowed 2 months for me to recoup before starting treatments. They said the chemo would interfer with the healing process. And because I was "cancer-free" after the surgery, they weren't worried about starting emediately.

Ok, now about the 4 treatments versus the 6: I had a reoccurance here 5 years ago and had to do chemo and radiation. They waited to do the chemo after the rad. And I was suppose to get 6 treatments too. But after 4 treatments, Doc said that my scans looked really good--the cancer had regressed nicely, so he was going to stop at 4 treatments. He felt that with this success, it would be counterproductive to go on with the treatments. (Hard on some people's hearts to take longer)
So don't be afraid. Sounds like your cancer wasn't as serious as mine.

Thanks for your reply! Appreciated it!

kit_katt58

I also had a left mastectomy and underwent combination therapy Taxotere and Herceptin a year ago. The recovery from the surgury was very painful. I would describe the pain as a deep, sore brusing of the entire left half of my body. I couldn't move without tears and found it hard to make it day to day. I told my surgeon about the discomfort and he gave me a Naproxen perscription and I forced myself to move my arm and my torso. When the time came for treatments, the Taxotere caused pain at the surgery site but I forced myself to deal with it. Don't feel bad about missing a few treatments...you can always continue with the treatment plan when your feeling better. Best of Luck....Kit