First Chemo Treatment Toady

simmonsg · May 2003

Hi, my name is Sharon and Well, I had my first chemo treatment today. I was so scared, but I have been on this message board and read that the fear was going to be worse that the actual treatment - and that proved right. Now I just wait for the side effects. I will be doing 3 courses of Adriamycin/Cytoxan every two week followed by 3 courses of Taxol every two weeks. I welcome any advise for what it to follow and all positive vibes and prayers sent my way. I have a great oncologist group and a kicking support system of co-workers and friends - but none have gone through this. So I welcome any help and support from this group.

Thanks

mc2001 · May 2003

Hi there Rookie!
Just kidding. Welcome to the website. My name is Michael and I am 29yrs old. 6yrs remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I know I did not have the same cancer as you, but I have been through chemo and radiation. If you feel sick, there are meds to help you. These are the ones I took: Ativan, Benadryl, Marinol, Zofran, Kytril. Some are pills and some are iv. Be sure to ask your Dr about them if you are not taking them. And I will say a prayer for you. Good luck and God bless.

slamaj · May 2003

Hi Sharon, Congrats on getting through your first chemo! It can be scary! I did the A/C also, 4 rounds, and the two things that got me were the nausea and the fatigue. I agree that asking your onc for nausea meds is a must! Kytril worked for me, Compazine did not. The nausea for me usually hit the day after chemo and lasted about 3-4 days but was milder each day. The fatigue is still here but since I started the Taxotere, it is less than it was with the A/C. I learned to listen to my body and rest when I needed to. Good luck to you, hope all goes well! Julene

rainyday · May 2003

Hi Sharon, I had my first chemo last Friday (I am doing 4 x AC). My only side effect has been the nausea. The compazine didn't work for me and because it was late Friday evening when it was the worst there were no pharmacies open out here in the boondocks and the only way I could get something else was to go to the emergency room. I didn't because after violent vomiting for hours I finally fell asleep. BIG ADVICE - make sure you have the anti-nausea meds on hand and take them whenever you need them don't wait. I got some Zofran and that worked fine. Other than that I was tired for the first few days. Got back on my treadmill yesterday and the walking really pushes away the fuzziness in my head. Feel pretty normal today. Good luck and stay away from sick people. Love and laughter.

bullfrog13 · May 2003

Dear Simmon-Hi and welcome - come chat with us one day. WE will all walk you thur the next couple of months. HUGS and God Bless you , Jerilyn

rainyday · May 2003

Hi Sharon, I had my first chemo last Friday (I am doing 4 x AC). My only side effect has been the nausea. The compazine didn't work for me and because it was late Friday evening when it was the worst there were no pharmacies open out here in the boondocks and the only way I could get something else was to go to the emergency room. I didn't because after violent vomiting for hours I finally fell asleep. BIG ADVICE - make sure you have the anti-nausea meds on hand and take them whenever you need them don't wait. I got some Zofran and that worked fine. Other than that I was tired for the first few days. Got back on my treadmill yesterday and the walking really pushes away the fuzziness in my head. Feel pretty normal today. Good luck and stay away from sick people. Love and laughter.

rizzo15 · May 2003

rainyday said:
Hi Sharon, I had my first chemo last Friday (I am doing 4 x AC). My only side effect has been the nausea. The compazine didn't work for me and because it was late Friday evening when it was the worst there were no pharmacies open out here in the boondocks and the only way I could get something else was to go to the emergency room. I didn't because after violent vomiting for hours I finally fell asleep. BIG ADVICE - make sure you have the anti-nausea meds on hand and take them whenever you need them don't wait. I got some Zofran and that worked fine. Other than that I was tired for the first few days. Got back on my treadmill yesterday and the walking really pushes away the fuzziness in my head. Feel pretty normal today. Good luck and stay away from sick people. Love and laughter.

Good for you!! Not so bad compared with a lot of other things, don't you think? A bad case of stomach flu is worse than chemo. I agree with rainyday. Follow your doctor's instructions for taking the anti-nausea drugs, as it will vary depending on how much anti-nausea ingredients they already put in your IV during chemo. If your doctor is like mine, he wouldn't even start my IVs until he confirmed that I had my Zofran refill in hand already. I've met a few women who claimed they didn't want to pay the price for Zofran because their insurance wasn't paying much toward it. But they really regreted it. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 6 pills cost about $192 if you don't have insurance, so a prescription with only a $10 insurance copay is quite a bargain. I remember thinking after my first chemo that if this was as bad as it got, I was going to be OK. And I was right. The first chemo was the worst because of apprehension about what would happen. Also because I didn't realize that if I didn't take a little nap in the first 4-5 afternoons when the fatigue set in, then it would progress to a more sick-like condition. Fatigue is a warning signal for me to take it easy.

JKAlley · May 2003

rainyday said:
Hi Sharon, I had my first chemo last Friday (I am doing 4 x AC). My only side effect has been the nausea. The compazine didn't work for me and because it was late Friday evening when it was the worst there were no pharmacies open out here in the boondocks and the only way I could get something else was to go to the emergency room. I didn't because after violent vomiting for hours I finally fell asleep. BIG ADVICE - make sure you have the anti-nausea meds on hand and take them whenever you need them don't wait. I got some Zofran and that worked fine. Other than that I was tired for the first few days. Got back on my treadmill yesterday and the walking really pushes away the fuzziness in my head. Feel pretty normal today. Good luck and stay away from sick people. Love and laughter.

Hi Sharon, I just finished 4 rounds of ac, I start taxol/herceptin on Fri. My advice is to take the nausea drugs before you need them, don't wait untill you feel sick. It's pretty obvious to me that compazine doesn't work real well because it didn't work for me either, zofran did. Otherwise, listen to your body and do what it's telling you, and eat what sounds good. I have no problem eating as long as I take zofran, I just want spicey food to break past the horible taste in my mouth. Good luck and God bless, you have all the positive thoughts I can muster up going your way. Judy

squeeboo · May 2003

Hi Sharon,
I had four rounds each of A/C and taxol. After the first treatment of A/C, I was very slightly nauseous. After that, no problems. The anti-nausea drugs they have now are amazing. If you do have nausea on one, let your oncologist know and they will switch you. I did not find the fatigue to be bad. It was sort of cumulative, but never got bad enough to keep me from playing on my ice hockey team. Taxol was even easier.
I think keeping a positive attitude is important. if you expect to feel sick and fatigued, you may. But, keep in mind that a lot of people get through chemo without many side effects.
Good luck to you!
-Susie

banker · May 2003

Hi there, good, you made it thru the first one, it will be easier now. Make sure you have anti nausea meds on hand. Compazine did not work for me, ZOFRAN did . Also I received Decadron and Zofran in the IV before the chemo, which helped. Was nauseated and very tired 4-5 days, each day getting better. God bless you. emmi

rainyday · May 2003

Sharon, I know you said you are working but take a nap if you need to and don't fight it. I ran on the treadmill yesterday, felt sooooo.... good. Whoever said it didn't keep them from their ice hockey? Awesome - that's how I feel too.

ladies and michael: Is this the worst or does each treatment get worse? My friend who is also going through this (but is one treatment ahead) has had ALL sorts of side effects including getting a serious infection and is now on anti-biotics, has mouth sores, low white cell counts etc. I am actually feeling guilty for not feeling sick. She tells me that with each treatment the side effects get worse - is that true?

simmonsg · May 2003

rainyday said:
Hi Sharon, I had my first chemo last Friday (I am doing 4 x AC). My only side effect has been the nausea. The compazine didn't work for me and because it was late Friday evening when it was the worst there were no pharmacies open out here in the boondocks and the only way I could get something else was to go to the emergency room. I didn't because after violent vomiting for hours I finally fell asleep. BIG ADVICE - make sure you have the anti-nausea meds on hand and take them whenever you need them don't wait. I got some Zofran and that worked fine. Other than that I was tired for the first few days. Got back on my treadmill yesterday and the walking really pushes away the fuzziness in my head. Feel pretty normal today. Good luck and stay away from sick people. Love and laughter.

I am taking Compazine and other than first thing in the morning - I an not feeling sick. It feels like morning sickness the last two mornings. I still have a slight hangover feeling from taking the Ativan from the night before. Other than that I'm feeling okay. Better than I expected. Not very hungry, but I do try to keep drinking water or some other type of fluid.

rizzo15 · May 2003

rainyday said:
Sharon, I know you said you are working but take a nap if you need to and don't fight it. I ran on the treadmill yesterday, felt sooooo.... good. Whoever said it didn't keep them from their ice hockey? Awesome - that's how I feel too.

ladies and michael: Is this the worst or does each treatment get worse? My friend who is also going through this (but is one treatment ahead) has had ALL sorts of side effects including getting a serious infection and is now on anti-biotics, has mouth sores, low white cell counts etc. I am actually feeling guilty for not feeling sick. She tells me that with each treatment the side effects get worse - is that true?

rainyday, I'm also in the "feels guilty" club as I never had real side effects except for a little extra fatigue those first 4-5 days on A/C. I had 4 rounds of A/C prior to mastectomy and my current taxotere chemo. Most of my hair fell out and I got a wig, but I hear that sometimes the hair only thins and the wig is never necessary. For me, the white cell count went down and I had a Procrit and Neupogen injections a few times...but over the past 7 months the oncologist told me he wasn't going to "fight" a low white cell count on me any more because I never had anemia symptoms and never had any problem with colds or infections. My fingernails turned black/brown-ish like a creature from the Black Lagoon while on A/C--again, this doesn't happen to everyone. The nails only looked creepy, they never hurt or separated. I started wearing fingernail polish for the first time in my life...the nails are growing back healthy now that I'm only on Taxotere.

I don't think the side effects get worse. In all the BC people I've done chemo therapy alongside...it seems like there are the people who have most of really yucky and painful side effects or the people who have very few or none. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I'd like to know if this is the observation that most people have!

squeeboo · May 2003

rainyday said:
Sharon, I know you said you are working but take a nap if you need to and don't fight it. I ran on the treadmill yesterday, felt sooooo.... good. Whoever said it didn't keep them from their ice hockey? Awesome - that's how I feel too.

ladies and michael: Is this the worst or does each treatment get worse? My friend who is also going through this (but is one treatment ahead) has had ALL sorts of side effects including getting a serious infection and is now on anti-biotics, has mouth sores, low white cell counts etc. I am actually feeling guilty for not feeling sick. She tells me that with each treatment the side effects get worse - is that true?

For me, the first treatment was the worst. There was a little bit of cumulative fatigue, but I only noticed it in that my exercise endurance was a little less. If you're not having problems early on, you won't later. No guilt!

JKAlley · May 2003

squeeboo said:
For me, the first treatment was the worst. There was a little bit of cumulative fatigue, but I only noticed it in that my exercise endurance was a little less. If you're not having problems early on, you won't later. No guilt!

Ladies, to those of you who feel guilty for not having side effects, please don't, I wish I was one of you but don't feel guilty. I say good for you. I think the only constant with chemo is that there is no constant. Everyone is different. After 4 rounds of ac I found that it got harder each time for my body to recover. I was always in bed for the 1st 3 days, it was just a matter of taking longer to feel strong again. To those of you that play hockey -WOW- thats great. I have always considered myself a strong person both physically and emotionally - I'm a single mom, I have to be - but right now I don't feel either. What I do still have is a positive attitude, that's the one thing I have control of. I agree that attitude is everything. I may cry when someone so much as hugs me, but I can laugh about it. Being bald is something else you just have to laugh at, there's nothing else you can do about it. I shaved my head at the first sign of it falling out, but you could always tell where it was shaved and where it was falling out, you scalp gets real smooth, and it's really hard to get it smooth shaving. I thought at first it wasn't going to all fall out, but eventually it all did except this mohawk kind of thing on top. The stubbles ar like natural velcro. Help keep scarves and wig on. I also can set the record now on getting ready in the morning. Nothing to do in the shower but lather, and no makeup anymore because I have no eyelashes and mascara is about all I ever wore. No hair to mess with. Wig/hat/scarf on, brush teeth and out the door. This really helps in the fatigue factor because you haven't spent much energy yet, save it for the rest of the day. Sorry, I'm rambling. Positive thoughts to all. Judy

rainyday · May 2003

JKAlley said:
Ladies, to those of you who feel guilty for not having side effects, please don't, I wish I was one of you but don't feel guilty. I say good for you. I think the only constant with chemo is that there is no constant. Everyone is different. After 4 rounds of ac I found that it got harder each time for my body to recover. I was always in bed for the 1st 3 days, it was just a matter of taking longer to feel strong again. To those of you that play hockey -WOW- thats great. I have always considered myself a strong person both physically and emotionally - I'm a single mom, I have to be - but right now I don't feel either. What I do still have is a positive attitude, that's the one thing I have control of. I agree that attitude is everything. I may cry when someone so much as hugs me, but I can laugh about it. Being bald is something else you just have to laugh at, there's nothing else you can do about it. I shaved my head at the first sign of it falling out, but you could always tell where it was shaved and where it was falling out, you scalp gets real smooth, and it's really hard to get it smooth shaving. I thought at first it wasn't going to all fall out, but eventually it all did except this mohawk kind of thing on top. The stubbles ar like natural velcro. Help keep scarves and wig on. I also can set the record now on getting ready in the morning. Nothing to do in the shower but lather, and no makeup anymore because I have no eyelashes and mascara is about all I ever wore. No hair to mess with. Wig/hat/scarf on, brush teeth and out the door. This really helps in the fatigue factor because you haven't spent much energy yet, save it for the rest of the day. Sorry, I'm rambling. Positive thoughts to all. Judy

Rizzo and Judy: for some reason that image of the creature from the black lagoon and the Mohican haircut had me laughing my sides off. I have told my seven year old that he can paint my head next week, he is very worried about the hair loss and wants me to wear the wig all the time. I doubt it, I hate things on my head. My scalp is starting to tingle so I assume that its starting to fall out. The problem of the hair falling out is that for the first time everybody in this little village will know and I have not told many people. I did try to time the chemo so that the hair will fall out just as the hubby and kids are finishing school for the summer so that we can all get used to it without the boys having to explain it to their friends right off. I am kind of curious to see what I look like bald as Judy said there is nothing I can do about it anyway. Judy, I am a very strong person too but sometimes I can't stop the tears when I am talking with close friends, its a bizarre mixture of elation, knowing that this is not likely to kill me anytime soon, confusion about why this is happening and what it is all supposed to mean, and excitement because I know that this experience has already changed my life forever. I don't play ice hockey but I run and swim on alterate days. Running has been difficult because of the lumpectomy. Rizzo, my close friend who is going through this is also a single mom and I can't tell you how much I admire her (and your)courage and strength, I hope that you have a great support network of family and friends. I know that we do what we have to but its how you do it that matters. I have a card game scheduled for my next chemo session - we are playing Egyptian Rummy whatever that is. Everybody have a great memorial day weekend even it it does rain. Thank you all for being out there. Love and laughter.

JKAlley · May 2003

rainyday said:
Rizzo and Judy: for some reason that image of the creature from the black lagoon and the Mohican haircut had me laughing my sides off. I have told my seven year old that he can paint my head next week, he is very worried about the hair loss and wants me to wear the wig all the time. I doubt it, I hate things on my head. My scalp is starting to tingle so I assume that its starting to fall out. The problem of the hair falling out is that for the first time everybody in this little village will know and I have not told many people. I did try to time the chemo so that the hair will fall out just as the hubby and kids are finishing school for the summer so that we can all get used to it without the boys having to explain it to their friends right off. I am kind of curious to see what I look like bald as Judy said there is nothing I can do about it anyway. Judy, I am a very strong person too but sometimes I can't stop the tears when I am talking with close friends, its a bizarre mixture of elation, knowing that this is not likely to kill me anytime soon, confusion about why this is happening and what it is all supposed to mean, and excitement because I know that this experience has already changed my life forever. I don't play ice hockey but I run and swim on alterate days. Running has been difficult because of the lumpectomy. Rizzo, my close friend who is going through this is also a single mom and I can't tell you how much I admire her (and your)courage and strength, I hope that you have a great support network of family and friends. I know that we do what we have to but its how you do it that matters. I have a card game scheduled for my next chemo session - we are playing Egyptian Rummy whatever that is. Everybody have a great memorial day weekend even it it does rain. Thank you all for being out there. Love and laughter.

Rainyday, my daughter is 17, so a whole different look at all this. She thought it was kinda cool when her mom shaved her head and she could care less if I wear a wig or not. She wanted me to tatoo my head as long as I'm bald. I have to admit I thought about it for a while, all sorts of vissions of what I could do that no one could see came to mind! And then vissions of how much that would hurt also came to mind (I have one on my shoulder that wasn't too bad, but my head, owwww). I also decided that a tatoo parlor would be about the last place my onc dr would want me to be, so wiser minds prevailed. I'm like you, I hate things on my head, but I'm learning. I go bald as much as possible, but I'm not ballsy enough to go out bald. I will were a baseball hat & it's pretty obvioius, but at least it's not glaring. I used to wear alot of scarfs, but as it get's warmer, they're kind of hot. I wear my wig as seldom as possible. Good luck to all, and ladies be proud of that bald head! Judy

Klady · May 2003

JKAlley said:
Rainyday, my daughter is 17, so a whole different look at all this. She thought it was kinda cool when her mom shaved her head and she could care less if I wear a wig or not. She wanted me to tatoo my head as long as I'm bald. I have to admit I thought about it for a while, all sorts of vissions of what I could do that no one could see came to mind! And then vissions of how much that would hurt also came to mind (I have one on my shoulder that wasn't too bad, but my head, owwww). I also decided that a tatoo parlor would be about the last place my onc dr would want me to be, so wiser minds prevailed. I'm like you, I hate things on my head, but I'm learning. I go bald as much as possible, but I'm not ballsy enough to go out bald. I will were a baseball hat & it's pretty obvioius, but at least it's not glaring. I used to wear alot of scarfs, but as it get's warmer, they're kind of hot. I wear my wig as seldom as possible. Good luck to all, and ladies be proud of that bald head! Judy

Hi...I was on chemo last year for breast cancer and my first treatment was no big deal but my second was so bad I had to go to the hospital for near dehydration...too much nausea! Zofran helped after that and ativan in my IV. I would get sick with anxiety for just stepping in the treatment room. When my hair fell out it was very tramatic because I saw my brother in the mirror staring at me. (He was already naturally bald) My best friend took the afternoon off work and took me to buy a wig. My sister made me hats and my six year-old daughter helped pick out bandanas. With a lot of support and a whole lot of prayers, I survived. You are all in my prayers...Good luck and Have a Blessed Day! Klady

sinders3 · May 2003

Klady said:
Hi...I was on chemo last year for breast cancer and my first treatment was no big deal but my second was so bad I had to go to the hospital for near dehydration...too much nausea! Zofran helped after that and ativan in my IV. I would get sick with anxiety for just stepping in the treatment room. When my hair fell out it was very tramatic because I saw my brother in the mirror staring at me. (He was already naturally bald) My best friend took the afternoon off work and took me to buy a wig. My sister made me hats and my six year-old daughter helped pick out bandanas. With a lot of support and a whole lot of prayers, I survived. You are all in my prayers...Good luck and Have a Blessed Day! Klady

Hi, I am going for my first treatment thursday May 29. I was scared because I feel fine and the doctors are saying I am not. I have had a guadrantectomy and a port a cath put in and my trip just began on April 18. I have a six year old daughter. I wonder if the chemo is the answer. All the signs indicate it is I just wish I didnt feel so well. I am looking for people like me who have just begun their journey and are close to my feelings. I believe like the one e-mail said its the fear of the unknown and hopefully I will cope after I experience the first chemo.

First Chemo Treatment Toady

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