anyone NOT finished the six chemos usually prescribed?

firstsister

I've had three rounds of carbo/taxol, then 28 external radiation and now have had one chemo of the second round (4 total). Having a really hard time with fatigue, no energy, little appetite, etc. Diagnosed in Sept. 2010 with stage III-C with 3 of 21 lymph nodes showing cancer cells. Quality of life is getting to be very important.

kkstef

I didn't Graduate with honors!
First Sister....
I had lots of trouble with my counts....just couldn't keep them up in spite of Neulasta injections 24 hours after chemo. Plus my neuropathy in my feet was getting worse...The Dr. felt that my body had all it could handle and that quality of life was important so chemo ended. (I was Adenocarcinoma, Grade 2/3, Stage 3A.) I had pelvic radiation prior to chemo and I was told that it would be more difficult to keep my counts up after that much radiation, but they thought that was the best path to follow.

I am happy to tell you that I have been NED since...I was diagnosed 3 years ago and finished treatment in Dec. of 2008. It took me 6 months to get my energy level back but I feel GREAT today.

Just sharing my experience....

Big Hugs to you....Karen

bots

Quit after three
I stopped after three chemo sessions because neuropathy was hitting hard. However, I am lucky that even though I am (was?) Grade 3, I was staged at 1b (now at 1a with the new guidelines). My last chemo was in September of 2009. So far, so good.

Bots (Lori)

denyingarea

Can your doc recommend anything to help with side effects?
Though my mother did not have the intervening radiation to also deal with, we approached the doc after a somewhat difficult first chemo infusion with things she could do to mitigate the symptoms that were dragging down her daily living. He approved them all, and they very much helped, so you may want to check them out with your doc:

- water, water, water (64 ounces of fluid, 32 of which are pure water)

- Protein, protein, protein. For protein, we were following the divide your weight by 2 and that's how many grams of protein you need rule. She wasn't eating very robustly, so we invested in some Ensure and some G3 Recover (new fancy gatorade which has 16g of protein, as well as magnesium and potassium). This also helped meet the daily fluid intake.

- L-Glutamine powder for the neuropathy, wasting, and no appetite. (Dropped into the G3, because we were really trying to multitask when she had no appetite)

- A multivitamin with a super B complex for fatigue. (I think SuperNutrition Simply Women 50+ multivitamin, to give you an idea about the B level. It also had iron in it, which she needed at the time, but a lot of people just take a B Complex-only vitamin)

- Also, she was taking 12-hour regular claritin for the first few days of chemo to help with aches and pains

- And then we basically brought home restaurant food everyday because sometimes just the smell of it would give her a little appetite back in a way our cooking could not.

jazzy1

denyingarea said:

Can your doc recommend anything to help with side effects?
Though my mother did not have the intervening radiation to also deal with, we approached the doc after a somewhat difficult first chemo infusion with things she could do to mitigate the symptoms that were dragging down her daily living. He approved them all, and they very much helped, so you may want to check them out with your doc:

- water, water, water (64 ounces of fluid, 32 of which are pure water)

- Protein, protein, protein. For protein, we were following the divide your weight by 2 and that's how many grams of protein you need rule. She wasn't eating very robustly, so we invested in some Ensure and some G3 Recover (new fancy gatorade which has 16g of protein, as well as magnesium and potassium). This also helped meet the daily fluid intake.

- L-Glutamine powder for the neuropathy, wasting, and no appetite. (Dropped into the G3, because we were really trying to multitask when she had no appetite)

- A multivitamin with a super B complex for fatigue. (I think SuperNutrition Simply Women 50+ multivitamin, to give you an idea about the B level. It also had iron in it, which she needed at the time, but a lot of people just take a B Complex-only vitamin)

- Also, she was taking 12-hour regular claritin for the first few days of chemo to help with aches and pains

- And then we basically brought home restaurant food everyday because sometimes just the smell of it would give her a little appetite back in a way our cooking could not.

Chemo
I had a similar protocol and when I was going into my last 3 rounds of chemo, my doc suggested to add on the Neulasta shot. Apparently my blood numbers were a bit low after 3rd chemo and he didn't want to stop these last 3 rounds due to low blood numbers. So I had the shot within 24 hours after my chemo the prior day. Did help me.

What someone else mentioned here to keep our immune systems up and running --- water, protein and some good foods. Our bodies need a boost to continue on and I know when we're down and out, who cares about food. In the end, it's what keeps our engines in proper gear and working.

I had external pelvic radiation (think this is what you had), and wow in many ways think it was worse on me vs. the chemo. It just wiped out my bowels and energy, so that could be what is affecting you as well.

Also, I was told chemo is cumulative...be why you feel not such great qualify of life.

Hang in there, this soon shall pass~
Jan
((( hugs )))

nicolegarza

I didnt finish all 6 only
I didnt finish all 6 only had to do three and also didnt have to do radiation either, I am very lucky! but I was pretty sick and had quiet a few side affects! (carbol/taxol) Good luck! keep fighting!!!

Northwoodsgirl

Chemo hits hard
I didn't have trouble with my counts until my last infusion. I begged them to give me the chemo because I wanted to start out the new year without chemo. Let me tell you the last chemo was challenging for me. Listen to your body and your intuition about your quality of life...We are all individuals and can't all tolerate the same protocols. It is your decision and you will know best when it is time to stop the chemo. Also the advice that the others have given in terms of what you can do to try to make it through is spot on.(((HUG)))
Lori

firstsister

Northwoodsgirl said:

Chemo hits hard
I didn't have trouble with my counts until my last infusion. I begged them to give me the chemo because I wanted to start out the new year without chemo. Let me tell you the last chemo was challenging for me. Listen to your body and your intuition about your quality of life...We are all individuals and can't all tolerate the same protocols. It is your decision and you will know best when it is time to stop the chemo. Also the advice that the others have given in terms of what you can do to try to make it through is spot on.(((HUG)))
Lori

Thanks to all.
Thanks to everyone for the great advice and encouraging words. Just before the second chemo which I had on Tues. my CA125 was 10. And doctor had reduced the carbo/taxol dose by 25%. Really considering not doing the third chemo.