Taxtorre/Cytoxan...did you have a port?

Hi Tina
I just finished 4 cycles of C/T on Dec 11 and I lost 30 lbs. A port is put in by your surgeon and I have one because I just practically have no veins. It's used for chemo, blood draws, when I was in the hospital my IV. It's wonderful, you don't feel a thing. You put Emla cream on your port an hour before they use it and you feel nothing.

Taxotere makes food taste funny and I was limited to what I could eat. Dill pickles and fruit were my favs. What have you taken that made you gain weight? That's a bummer. I'm sure your onc will give you all kinds of good things to help with any side effects. Everyone is different so there's no set rule. Just drink lots of water, get plenty of rest and don't try to overdue. Let others do the housework, cooking, shopping etc. You will feel tired. Rest and try and get lots of sleep.

You can do this and everyone here is ready with hugs and encouragment.

Hugs, Judy :-)

Hi Tina, I had 4 rounds of
Hi Tina, I had 4 rounds of Adriamycin with Cytoxan and 4 rounds of Taxol. I had a port. I don't know if I would have opted for the port for 4 treatments or not. The adriamycin is very harsh on veins and can leak out of small veins and burn surrounding tissue. So they usually recommend a port so the chemical can be diluted in a large amount of blood. I would talk w/your onc.

teresa41 said:

hi
i had 4 rounds of the same cocktail no port and i gained weight from the steroids before during and after each chemo but everyone is different.

best of luck to you.

:0) teresa

Port
I had four rounds of Taxotere and Cytoxan and had a port. I loved it! I have very bad veins so it was a no brainer for me. I never used any creams or anything to numb it before the poke and I have never felt the poke. Just lucky I guess! I still have it and hope to have it out in the next few months as my chemo ended October 9th.

Good luck...you will do fine! All the advice given here is right on!

Skeezie said:

I only took steroids the day before, the day of and the
the day after chemo and in a couple of days I was not eating much so the steroids didn't bother me at all. But I felt pretty good and food tasted great for those three days! I think it helped when I wasn't able to eat much for the next couple of weeks...hence the 30 lb weight loss (which I was thrilled about)! Now I want to continue on and lose more. Don't worry about weight gain, you'll be fine. Keep us posted on your progress.

Hugs, Judy :-)

Port?
I had 4 treatments of taxotere/cytoxan and experienced a bad burn (leak?) following the third treatment. My veins were in such bad shape following the last treatment that it was difficult to get blood drawn, etc. Not trying to scare anyone here, but a port would have made the treatments easier-- if I had to do it over again, I'd have a port.

Good luck with your treatments- they will be over with before you know it! Jane

lovelylola said:

No Port
Just finished my 4th and last round of Taxotere/Cytoxan on this past Thursday. I didn't do the port, although the onco initially recommended it. Just didn't want another surgery and my son had difficulty with his during his cancer battle. The onco dr had the infusion center nurse check my veins and she said they were great and we could get 4 out of them. They also said that if there was any difficulty I could still get the port. I actually had all 4 in the back of my hand with only slight bruising with this last one.
As for the weight - gained 18 pounds total (but could be this last 4 will go quickly from the steroids (night before and day of chemo) I never lost my sense of taste so really craved my comfort foods - Yep I'm a stress eater. Now it's back to the weight loss regime and eating healthier.
Good luck with your decision. It sucks to get chemo but it is doable. Lola

Hi, Tina
I also did 4 rounds of Taxotere/Cytoxan, and I'm fortunate that I have good veins, so my oncologist said I didn't need a port for only 4 rounds. Like Lola, I also had each infusion in the back of my hand.

I was lucky that I didn't have any problems with the infusions or my veins -- but, you'll also have blood drawn a lot, at least once between each infusion. While I think it was the right decision for me not to have a port, it might have been nice to have one because of all the blood draws.

Traci

hairmary said:

Port
You actually have to get the port before you go to your first chemo session or they do an IV which means you have to go to the lab to get your blood drawn. And if you are getting those two drugs they are using other drugs with them as well which will be anything between 5 or eight bags that you will be receiving. I also get adryiamycin which they push through. I get my port on Monday at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. I didn't know it is better to have one..This stuff hurts your veins and over time it is better to have the port. You live and learn. I hope you haven't gone yet and get this before you do because you have to call the oncologist for a prescription. It is treated like surgery as you have to arrive at 8:30 in the mornng but the procedure only takes 10 minutes from what I hear.

good luck!

Mary

every center is different.
every center is different. My local hospital would not think about giving adriamycin without a port. I go into the city and they do not have a preference. We willmake it through without and i have had alot of extra IV's and blood draws. It also may make a difference that I will not have herceptin. Everyone and every facility does it diffently. I know when the nurse pushed the adriamycin she was slow and vigilant constantly checking.