Side effects

Hi pink sister no I have not. I have not started yet. I do remember visiting my family out in Santa Fe New Mexico getting several nose bleeds my brother had me take a little bit of Vaseline petroleum jelly put it just inside not deep, but just inside in my nose Helped immensely . please don’t give up there’s gonna be good days and bad days. Take a deep breath and if you don’t mind, I’m going to stop and pray for you your pink sister, wendy

Hello Narisha23,

It sounds like I your treatment plan is very similar to mine. I was diagnosed with HER2+ HR- invasive ductal carcinoma and extensive DCIS in my right breast. I had bilateral mastectomies in July 2022 and starter my Taxol (Abraxane)and Herceptin (trastuzumab)weekly treatments in August 2022. It took me longer than the 12 weeks to get my first stage of treatments due to neutropenia causing delays several times. I finished this round of chemo in Dec. 2022. I too had frequent nose bleeds but it never was a lot of bleeding. It did stop when I finished the Abraxane.

I feel for you at this stage knowing what you're facing as your treatment progresses. I did start losing my hair at about 3 weeks in. It is difficult to see how much chemo can change our outward appearance but rememer you are the same person on the inside and that's the person you need to be concerned about and take care of. Make sure to get all the rest you need, even if that means sleeping til noon! I honestly could sleep from the time I'd get home from my treatments, through the night and til about lunchtime the next day. Fatigue was one of my biggest issues, but when I allowed myself the rest my body needed, I found that I did much better the rest of the time.

Please talk to your providers with anything that is physically or mentally breaking you down, they will do their best to help you deal with not only the physical side effects but the mental drain that dealing with cancer and its treatments have on you. I am hoping you have a support system of family and/or friends that you can turn to when you get to feeling frustrated and beat.

I do want you to know that although it is a long and arduous journey, you will become more adept at dealing with this mess as time goes on. Also, I know 12 weeks seems like forever right now but try and look at each treatment as one step closer to the finish. Because of your HER2+ status, will you be having continued Herceptin treatments every 3 weeks after the first 12 weeks? If so, take heart that these treatments have seemed much more tolerable to me that the taxane combo. I mostly deal with tiredness after Heceptin treatments but not as profoundly as with the Abraxane/herceptin combo.

Please take care and don't lose hope.

Chris

Hello Narisha23,

I completely understand why you see doctor's being somewhat impersonal. To us, this diagnosis was like a giant slap to the head, we were taken off guard by such disturbing news. Until someone else has stood in those shoes, regardless of how helpful and caring they try to be, they just will not understand what it feels like. Please know that the majority of oncologist and PA's truly do care about you and your disease. It is their life's mission to help those of us who've had the unfortunate circumstance of having cancer. I had an issue with my first onc and felt she was not listening to my concerns and we had an unfortunate conversation that lead me to seek a second opinion from a fellow oncologist. That was a very difficult thing to do, but I was glad I did. They certainly are not perfect, but we are better off seeking out caring, concerned friends and relatives for the emotional support that we crave.

As far as being intimidated by the "c" word.. don't allow it to have that power over you. Start calling it what it is, cancer, and share your diagnosis with those you feel safe with. Yes, there will be tears and fear from those you tell, but if they don't know you will be going through this alone.

Yes, I had nosebleeds on and off throughout my taxane treatment, but when I finished that the nosebleeds cleared up completely. I also had very achy legs, fluid retention, dry eyes and some mouth sores. These all cleared up as well. My biggest issue has been my vision, and I am seeing an ophthalmologist for this. I did not consider wearing a cold cap as the price was exorbitant. But, back in 1981, I had very good results from hospital provided cold head wear while being treated for non-hodgkins lymphoma. They discontinued that practice some years after that.

I know this is a difficult and intimidating disease to deal with, but try not to allow fear to take over. You are strong and will be able to do this. Enlist the help of friends and/or family whenever you may need help. They won't know what to do to help you, so tell them what you need... but please share what is going on with your family and friends.

Blessings,

Chris

Hi Nakisha,

I m doing the same chemio with the same diagnosis as yours, did 7 infusions and my nose is bleeding, but not that much to create a real problem, for me the hands is the issue, the nerve pain is really bad, hang in there, you are not alone, we can do this :) I m considering stopping the chemio short for the nerve pain, and my oncologist is ok with that, talk to your doctor, see if there are alternatives for you as well.

Keep the updates coming :)