NEED ANSWER ON MUGA

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lolad
lolad Member Posts: 670
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I just got back from my onc appt. I have to do chemo, then hormonal therapy. They said i need to do a muga before i start my chemo next week. I understand it has to do with making sure your heart beats regularly, but how do they do the test? Also, my chemo will be with Adramycin? Anyone done it? How has it affected you?

laura

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  • Aortus
    Aortus Member Posts: 967
    #2
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    MUGA is no big deal
    I just asked the Moopster (who is doing some housework), and the MUGA is no big deal. You just lie still on an open table for 30 minutes to see if your heart is strong enough to handle the chemo that has been prescribed.

    The only thing that really stood out to Moopy about the whole experience was this weird lady in the waiting room who told us a big long shaggy dog (literally) story about how her pooch detected a fire in the middle of the night and when her head caught fire, he pushed her head into a conveniently located 55 gallon drum full of water to put it out.

    Of course, Moopy doesn't have enough hair to catch fire just yet. But now we keep a 55 gallon drum of water next to the bed just in case. We just hope Eefy or Yongy or Nubi will know what to do.
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #3
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    Laura..........
    I agree with Moopy. The MUGA scan is no big deal. First an injection of some radioactive tracer & then lie on a table for awhile.

    I had Adriamycin, along with Cytoxan. I of course, lost hair with chemo, had some bone pain, no nausea though. Although, I know that many have the nausea.

    CR
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #4
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    Aortus said:

    MUGA is no big deal
    I just asked the Moopster (who is doing some housework), and the MUGA is no big deal. You just lie still on an open table for 30 minutes to see if your heart is strong enough to handle the chemo that has been prescribed.

    The only thing that really stood out to Moopy about the whole experience was this weird lady in the waiting room who told us a big long shaggy dog (literally) story about how her pooch detected a fire in the middle of the night and when her head caught fire, he pushed her head into a conveniently located 55 gallon drum full of water to put it out.

    Of course, Moopy doesn't have enough hair to catch fire just yet. But now we keep a 55 gallon drum of water next to the bed just in case. We just hope Eefy or Yongy or Nubi will know what to do.

    HAHA
    you just never know what kind of person you will run into. Thank goodness for shaggy!!
    hehe. Thanks

    laura
  • faithandprayer
    faithandprayer Member Posts: 177
    #5
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    Muga
    Hi Laura,
    I'm with the others, the MUGA is no big deal. They will get a baseline for your heart function and will monitor this at checkpoints throughout your treatment. The test itself is pretty basic with no worries about food or drink prior. They pull your blood, send you away for awhile then bring you back & reinject it. You lay in a machine (kind of like an MRI) and they take a series of pictures with your heart beating.

    I just wrapped my Adramycin rounds a few weeks ago. I slept a lot. There are really good antinausea meds prescribed with it...be sure to use them. With the meds, I never got sick. I lost my hair somewhere around the 2nd week of chemo - it was a relief to me because I felt like it was working. The biggest thing for me was the fatigue, fatigue, fatigue. Be sure to drink lots of water.

    Wishing the best for you as you begin,
    KC
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #6
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    faithandprayer said:

    Muga
    Hi Laura,
    I'm with the others, the MUGA is no big deal. They will get a baseline for your heart function and will monitor this at checkpoints throughout your treatment. The test itself is pretty basic with no worries about food or drink prior. They pull your blood, send you away for awhile then bring you back & reinject it. You lay in a machine (kind of like an MRI) and they take a series of pictures with your heart beating.

    I just wrapped my Adramycin rounds a few weeks ago. I slept a lot. There are really good antinausea meds prescribed with it...be sure to use them. With the meds, I never got sick. I lost my hair somewhere around the 2nd week of chemo - it was a relief to me because I felt like it was working. The biggest thing for me was the fatigue, fatigue, fatigue. Be sure to drink lots of water.

    Wishing the best for you as you begin,
    KC

    You will be fine with the
    You will be fine with the MUGA!

    Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!
  • jojo elizapest
    jojo elizapest Member Posts: 122
    #7
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    MUGA
    They take a little of
    MUGA
    They take a little of your blood. Add a radioactive tracer and give you back the blood. Then you lay very still, and in my case in a darkened room with a warmed blanket, for 30 minutes so that the tracer can work its way through the valves and ventricles of your heart.

    They then disconnect tubes and lines and take you to a machine much like MRI. This machine takes pictures of three different angles of your heart with the outcome a functionality score.

    Adriamiacin has a lifetime maximum dosage. I reached it after 7 sessions. It is also hard on the heart and so they take the MUGA along the way to monitor your score. My 7 sessions were spread out between Feb. and July and just had my 3rd MUGA...no change since the beginning.

    Good luck!

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