My 1st Chemo

Your 1st Chemo
Well, your journey has begun. I finished chemo on August 4th after 16 rounds. While I imagine everyone is different, I personally was never at the infusion center more than 4 hours - not even the 1st time. Wonder why they gave you such a long estimate. I would inquire just out of curiosity if I were you. I completely understand being ready and scared at the same time. You want to start chemo so you can begin fighting this dreadful disease and you are scared of the unknown/side effects at the same time. This is certainly a helluva a way to end 2010 and begin 2011! I wish you all the best. We have all been there.

First Chemo

I had 6 treatments of TCH and it usually lasted about 3 1/2 hours. However, I never started on time due to over booking I guess, so I was at the hospital longer!

Good luck to you!

Some advise... drink LOTS of water- it really does help with the side effects!!

I'm going to be thinking of
I'm going to be thinking of you, too. Please let us know how it goes... I start in a couple months and hearing others' experiences is helpful.

Yes, the first chemo is always the longest
I was there probably about 7-8 hours the first time. First they did my blood work and I had to wait for that to come back. If you have it done before that day, you can avoid that wait. Then all the pre-meds, etc. Then they started my chemo drugs T/C, followed by Herceptin. They do them all very slow at first, just to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. The next treatments were only about 3 hours, and my Herceptin alone is less than 1 hour. Good luck. We'll be thinking about you. Make sure to hydrate yourself the day before, the day of, and the day after. Hugs, Jean

Hi,
My first chemo took much
Hi,
My first chemo took much longer than the rest - the nurses really took the time to exlplain every step in the process to my husband & myself, and like someone else said, they administer the drugs much slower the first time in case of any allergic reactions. I think they told me (before my first chemo) to expect to be there about 6 hours but it wasn't that long. It is scary, starting chemo. Luckily, they now have drugs to cunteract many of the uncomfortable side effects that may occur. I hope your chemo is as gentle as possible on you, and side effect free
Mostly I had fatigue. I never got sick from chemo, the anti nausea meds kept the nausea at bay. Of course losing my hair was the hardest for me (even harder than losing my breasts) but once it started falling out, we shaved my head, and that was much better than seeing it fall out in clumps. I had long hair at diagnosis, and actually got 3 haircuts before it started falling out, to help me get used to short hair then no hair! Of course if I had known how cute my hair would look in a short cut I would have gotten it cut short MUCH earlier! I had 4 rounds of AC (andriamycin & cytoxan) every 2 weeks, followed by 2 rounds of Taxotere, also every 2 weeks. I was on chemo for 3 months. Been off it for 2. My energy and strength are coming back. My hair is growing like crazy. Chemo sucks, and it's not fun. But, you can get through it, and you'll realize that you're stronger than you thought you were
I'll be thinking of you on Friday, best wishes to you!
*hugs*
Heather

kjhbrteam said:

I will have to find out why
I will have to find out why so long. But I have to go every Friday...for one drug and then every 3 weeks for the other...

You will probably be
You will probably be receiving herceptin every week for the duration of your chemo, with your other chemicals every third week. Then they do herceptin every third week for a year, or that is how my regime went. Herceptin is very doable. Not hardly any side effects with that.

I had 6 rounds of TAC every
I had 6 rounds of TAC every 3 weeks. And like everyone else the first was a little longer, my treatments were about 4 hours. I had a separate two hour class the week before starting chemo. I always brought things to read, but never got much reading done. But do bring some snacks, I liked crackers, trail mix, fruit.

Someone already said it, but it makes a huge difference so I'll say it again. Drink LOTS of water...I started two days before treatment and kept with it for at least 3 days after. I drank lots of Smart Water because it has electrolytes. I also like Vitamin Water. The other thing I kept on hand was the Carnation Instant Breakfast...I put it in smoothies or just drank it with milk. In my chemo class they said to focus on proteins and calories in my diet, that's something you should ask your docs about.

My last treatment was Dec 9th, and I'm still finding the water very important. On days I don't get enough I wake the next morning with extremely puffy eyes, swollen hands, feet and ankles.

You'll be in my thoughts on Friday, I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

Hugs,

Linda

joannstar said:

my first was 7 hours
because there was an educational tape, an appointment with the doctor, waiting in between, pre-meds and then the Taxotere and Cytoxan. The next few were only 3-4 hours. I was switched to Taxol & Cytoxan and it took 6.5 hours.
Make sure that you eat breakfast, not too heavy and take snacks, blanket, reading materials and lots of water with you.
I was very scared the first time--it wasn't necessary. The nurses at my onc's office are great and do everything they can to help you. My onc told me that he can help with all the side effects as long as I tell him. I've called at 8pm on a Saturday night and gotten a call right back.
You'll make it through--we all have. Not pleasant but "do-able".
Good luck. Let us know how it went.
JoAnn

I am wishing you good luck
I am wishing you good luck with your chemo this Friday. Not a great way to spend New Year's Eve, I know, but, Happy New Year's to you.


Hugs, Debby

Findingout said:

I'm going to be thinking of
I'm going to be thinking of you, too. Please let us know how it goes... I start in a couple months and hearing others' experiences is helpful.

Sending you good luck with
Sending you good luck with your chemo. Your sisters here will be with you in spirit.


Post to let us know how it goes.


Hugs, Leeza