Taxotere/Cytoxan & teaching

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tcat
tcat Member Posts: 4
in Breast Cancer #1
I'll be starting Taxotere & Cytoxan chemotherapy in a couple of weeks - 4 rounds, three weeks apart. Also Herceptin for a year.

What I'm most worried about is work as I teach middle school Monday-Friday and I'm wondering if it will be fair on the kids to have a teacher who is feeling lousy for days at a time.

On the other hand I can't really afford to take off the entire 12 weeks. My school is very understanding & supportive, I just don't know how this all will work out in terms of determining what will be best for myself & the kids.

Does anyone have any suggestions / advice? Also, did you notice any patterns in how you were feeling after each treatment, to help you predict which days you would need to take off work after your next round of chemo? Thanks so much for any help.

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  • tcat
    tcat Member Posts: 4
    #2
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    P.S.
    P.S. Thank you wonderful gals on the Taxotere & Cytoxan discussion board for sharing your stories and experiences. It really helps to take away some of the anxiety and fear, having some idea what to expect. I'm still kind of nervous, but reading about how strong you all were through your treatments is inspiring.
  • joannstar
    joannstar Member Posts: 403 Member
    #3
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    I worked
    (as a bookkeeper) the entire time on chemo (and 33 rads). I also had 4 rounds of cytoxan/taxotere. I would have the infusion on Friday then go back on Sunday morning for the neulasta shot. I would sleep all Sunday, go to work on Monday but needed to take Tuesday off--felt too achy to stand and walk so I would spend that day in bed. The rest of the week I would go to work and be dragging (join pain) but it is doable. I only experienced nausea once and the meds they gave took care of that. Constipation/diarreah was a problem the first week each round so I started taking miralax upon my oncs recommendation. My hair fell out about day 14-17, so I wore wigs and scarves while away from home. I had lots of side effects, but they were all manageable. I also did 2 rounds of cytoxan/taxol because after the 4th round of taxotere, my ankles swelled so I was switched.
    You'll need to be careful around the kids because your immune system will be surpressed.
    I found working good for me (I also didn't have any choice needing the income and the health benefits), it helped to keep my mind off of cancer for a while.
    good luck,
    JoAnn

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