Should I stop chemo?

I had a pretty lousy time
I had a pretty lousy time with chemo too, I did not want to go either. My docs were astounded that I was so sick.. hmmm I am also an R.N. anyway, I crawled acrosds that finish line but in retrospect am glad I did it. So i can feel I did everything. I am so sorry you are going through this. You will come out the other side !!

tjohnson2310 said:

Sorry
I am so sorry you are going through this.Is there any way they can make changes to your treatment regimen. I know chemo has side effects but you seem to be having adverse reactions to the medication.

Oh, honey I feel so bad that you are having to go through this
You are really having some wicked side effects. I can't understand what you said about the doctor not really giving you much for all of your issues. Mine did tell me that whatever I was experiencing to call the office and they would have something that could help me--maybe not take it away entirely, but certainly help. Stopping chemo is such a personal decision. I can't tell you yes or no. I just hope that if you continue to call your doctor and speak with him or her, you can get some relief for your side effects.

Try to hang in there and you'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

Hugs, Renee

Rague said:

Only you can decide -
what is right for you AND your family.

I was given the option to stop Taxol before I had the 10th weekly dose as I had been completely and UTTERLY EXHAUSTED the entire time on it (A/C hadn't been bad) so that I existed only on the couch or in bed. Dr. T. told me that the Taxol had done about 90% of what it could do so he wrote orders that I could quite if I wanted to. It didn't take me but a second to see Hubby's, Son's and G'daughter's faces and knew that there was no way that I could face them IF I didn't do everything I could to beat the Monster so I managed to make it through the last 3 weekly doses of it.

None of us can tell you what you should do - we can only give our personal experiences and thoughts for you to mull over and make the decision that you know is the best decision for you AND your family.

Thoughts and prayers.

Susan

I'm going to my second treatment
tomorrow and im dreading it...my first treatment was terrible and was out of commission for about a week... at that time I wanted to quit but i thought about my husband and my two girls ( 16 and 13) and how much they need me around so I told myself i would do 5 more treatment(16weeks)of hell for years with them...Not to mention that I wrote on this board about it and these wonderful women help me get through it..

Take Care
Eva

sorry you are feeling so bad
I remember feeling the same way about wanting to just stop the chemo so I coul feel better but I just forced myself to do it. I kept thinking of my 3 kids and husband and told myself I would keep going until it was unbearable. I had the Adriamycin and Cytoxan for 4 cycles and the Taxotere alone for 4 months. The I had Herceptin for a year. For me, the first 3 chemos were the worst, and they seemed to get easier after that so maybe that will happen for you also. We will all be praying for you to have the strength to get through your treatment but just know that you are in charge and can stop it if it becomes too much to hande. Hugs,

missrenee said:

Oh, honey I feel so bad that you are having to go through this
You are really having some wicked side effects. I can't understand what you said about the doctor not really giving you much for all of your issues. Mine did tell me that whatever I was experiencing to call the office and they would have something that could help me--maybe not take it away entirely, but certainly help. Stopping chemo is such a personal decision. I can't tell you yes or no. I just hope that if you continue to call your doctor and speak with him or her, you can get some relief for your side effects.

Try to hang in there and you'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

Hugs, Renee

I am so very sorry that you
I am so very sorry that you are having such a terrible time with chemo. I can't tell you whether you should stop or not. That is only your choice, and, yours alone. I will put you in my prayers.


♠♣ Love, Susie ♠♣

Chemo is one of the hardest
Chemo is one of the hardest things I have ever done. To continue or not continue has to be your individual choice. Whatever you choose, you will have our support.

If you choose to continue, please come here when you have a specific side effect, we'll be happy to give you our input on each and every one of them. Here's my input on some of what you mentioned...

stomach/GI pain, is this chemo related heartburn? I took omeprazole (the prescription version of pepcid I think)in the am and pm for that.

nausea...did your doc prescribe Zofran? If so, take it proactively don't wait for the nausea to hit and then take it. I took it 3xday for the first 3 days after treatment, as needed after that. If you have Zofran, and it's not working ask for something else. I was told there are about 9 different anti-nausea meds they can prescribe.

mouth pain...I didn't have too much trouble with this. But others here suggest chewing on ice chips during treatment to minimize sores. I do recommend biotene toothpaste and/or mouthwash. You should be able to find it in the dental isle at your local store.

chest pain...could be the bone pain associated with the Neulasta? I had neupogin (a cousin) and took claratin (not Claratin D) to relieve the bone pain. It worked like a charm! I took 1 per day for the nine days surrounding the neupogin injections.

all these meds can cause severe constipation. I took Senna and Colace (sp?) for the first three days after treatment. After that I had to switch to immodium for the diarrhea.

private area sores...if this is from constipation/diarrhea try a diaper rash ointment.

Please be sure to check with your oncologist before trying any of these. It is really important that he/she be aware of everything you take.

Best wishes, and please let us know what you decide.

Hugs,

Linda

I had same drugs...
Corinna,
I had the same drugs -Taxotere and Cytoxan. I got steroids IV before the infusion (Prednisone, I think) and Zofran for my nausea. I also got a Neulasta injection after each tx. I didn't have near the side effects you are having. While I know that everyone is different, I agree with one of the sisters who said you might be having adverse reactions to the meds...I wonder if you need a different type? I don't think your onc is responsive enough, but that is just my opinion...I am so, so, so sorry you are having so much difficulty...You are in my prayers.
Hugs and best wishes as you decide your next move,
Sybil

CAchick said:

I had same drugs...
Corinna,
I had the same drugs -Taxotere and Cytoxan. I got steroids IV before the infusion (Prednisone, I think) and Zofran for my nausea. I also got a Neulasta injection after each tx. I didn't have near the side effects you are having. While I know that everyone is different, I agree with one of the sisters who said you might be having adverse reactions to the meds...I wonder if you need a different type? I don't think your onc is responsive enough, but that is just my opinion...I am so, so, so sorry you are having so much difficulty...You are in my prayers.
Hugs and best wishes as you decide your next move,
Sybil

I had such severe reactions
I had such severe reactions that they did decrease the dose of adriamycin on my last one, also would taxol be better? prior to taxol I received pepcid IV. some people chew ice during their infusion and they swear they dont get mouth sores. sometimes if you post your specific problems, people have some great and unique answers.
Not trying to dismiss your symptoms, they are pretty horific and I have had the experience of them looking at me like there is somethihg wrong with me. I posted on here when I was going through it that I felt like a chemo failure, and really felt they couldnt help me. It was an awful helpless feeling. Being a nurse I felt that I should be able to somehow find a solution, but for me the only solution was the end of chemo. There are others here you have also had 'experience not typical" in not a good way, blown away, sunrae, cave diver to name a few. If there could be some solution to even a few of your symptoms, then perhaps the last one could be doable. Because I was in such a weakend condition, I didnt have the where with all to jump up and down and scream, but thats what you should do. MAKE THEM help you and pay attention. I finally did that at the end.
I cant tell youwhat to do, I hope people will post especially the ones who decided to stop before treatment was done, this could give you some other perspective. I was given the option of not finishing the last taxol as I had severe neuropathy but in the end i did it, and now am glad I did.

Corinna11 said:

Now that I feel better (I'm
Now that I feel better (I'm due for another tx next Tues) I'm thinking I need to do it again. My kids are afraid the CA will come back if I dont (had it in a lymph node). I have to be here for them (bad marriage) either way. Im just so freaked out by all the pain I had last week that I'm making myself sick thinking about it in anticipation.

Slowing my infusion helped so much
My first Taxol nearly did me in. I had done epirubicin and cytoxan 4 treatments 3 weeks apart. The Taxol was done the same way, but instead of a 4 hour drip we had to slow to 5 1/2 or 6 hours. Talk about a huge difference! I got steroids, benadryl and antinausea meds before the drip and then took benadryl for the bone pain. It was night and day difference and I never would have believed that slowing it down would have changed it so much. (It did make a reallllly long day) The Taxol did give me an elevated heart rate, no fun.

I am hoping and praying that you have been through the worst of it,

Jennifer