Chemo and Herceptin

Hi Jude

I am now on Day 9 of TCH chemo and have been keeping a journal of what I am experiencing. I know everyone is different but I am pleasantly surprised and overall am really doing ok. I will PM you with some of the info, hopefully it will reassure you or at least let you know of some of the tips I have picked up to manage minor things.

Nadine

 

Hi Jude, I thought the ice gloves were more about protecting fingernails. Not too sure about neuropathy prevention. The other thing to protect nails is to wear dark nail polish, fingers & toes. It,s something to do with protecting them from the light. My chemo was through the colder months, so my toe nails were always covered by shoes, & have survived very well compared to my fingernails. 

Hope you've had a lovely Christmas, with lots of family, love & laughter.

Take care, Lyn

Hi Nadine thanks very much for the info you sent and I hope your treatment is going ok and the first chemo was not too bad. I just had my meeting with the oncologist and have to have pretty similar treatment starting mid Jan doxetaxel and cyclophosphamide with herceptin followed by radiation not sure how much yet.

I wondered if you did anything to protect your hands and feet for neuropathy? I heard you can wear cold gloves but I'm not sure Ballarat has any. Someone told me you can make your own with frozen plastic gloves taken in an esky which sounds like it could work.

I hope you're managing to have some time with family and friends over this christmas break and I wish you all the very best for the next few months - you'll get through it.

warm wishes

Jude

Hi Jude

I too had HER 2+ grade 3 tumours and had 6 TCH chemo, 33 radiotherapy and 12 months of herceptin. I finished active treatment in June this year. Everyone reacts differently to treatment and you may even find that you react differently to each individual treatment. I was dreadfully ill after my 1st chemo treatment and ended up hospitalised for 5 days. If you are really sick, don't do as I did and leave it thinking that this is the way it is meant to be. Don't go on for more than 24 hours. I spent 4 days on the toilet with a bucket in my lap thinking this was just the way it was meant to be.  Don't be afraid to call the hospital and ask for advice and tell the oncologist every single side effect as they will be able to do things to help. Have some lemonade icy poles in the freezer. They were my best friend and were the only things I could keep down. Herceptin made me woosy for a couple of days after each treatment. I would go downhill as I was having the treatment where as many others are fine for a few days and a lot of people have no problems at all with the herceptin. If you can manage it, get someone to go with you. If nothing else, it won't be as boring.  And above all else, remember that you will get through this. Short term pain for long term gain. Good luck with it all. Karen xox

Thank you very much for all this information. I'm gradually working my way through it and putting together a list of questions for my meeting with the oncologist next week. It is overwhelming and am trying hard not to get too much into the 'suppose if this happens or that happens' state of mind.

I'll watch out for my fingers!

Thanks again it has really helped to hear from you.

All the best

Jude

Dear Lyn, Nadine, Doll and Jane

I can't thank you enough for your straight-forward information and care. Yes this is a steep learning curve and I will keep asking questions but will try to take it one day at a time.

I'm making a list of questions for my meeting with the medical oncologist next week and your posts have really helped with that.

Thank you so much for your kind responses and advice and for taking me into the fold.

All best wishes to you

Jude xx

- See more at: https://www.bcna.org.au/online-network/members/Jude%20Walton/blog/chemo-and-herceptin?cmt_id=68f0dc31-c58c-4650-ad92-68381b423764#sthash.WrNjcMWU.dpuf

Dear Lyn, Nadine, Doll and Jane

I can't thank you enough for your straight-forward information and care. Yes this is a steep learning curve and I will keep asking questions but will try to take it one day at a time.

I'm making a list of questions for my meeting with the medical oncologist next week and your posts have really helped with that.

Thank you so much for your kind responses and advice and for taking me into the fold.

All best wishes to you

Jude xx

- See more at: https://www.bcna.org.au/online-network/members/Jude%20Walton/blog/chemo-and-herceptin?cmt_id=68f0dc31-c58c-4650-ad92-68381b423764#sthash.WrNjcMWU.dpuf

Dear Lyn, Nadine, Doll and Jane

I can't thank you enough for your straight-forward information and care. Yes this is a steep learning curve and I will keep asking questions but will try to take it one day at a time.

I'm making a list of questions for my meeting with the medical oncologist next week and your posts have really helped with that.

 Thank you so much for your kind responses and advice and for taking me into the fold.

All best wishes to you

Jude xx

Dear Jude

I had six months of chemo ( A/C and Taxol, 3 months each,) and 12 months of Herceptin. Your chemo will depend very much on your oncologist's assessment of what will work best. As I am sure you will have been told, reactions vary immensely and I can't honestly say I know of any particular reason why. Some will say attitude is everything but I don't think it is as simple as that.

I had virtually no side effects from the A/C - no fatigue, no nausea. I got peripheral neuropathy, a blood nose and lost my tastebuds from the Taxol. Watch your fingertips and toes, if tingling occurs ask for advice on dealing with it straightaway. Iced water and Vitamin B may help. The blood nose was annoying, but Vaseline helped. Tastebuds were also annoying but as a colleague ended up with everything tasting burnt, not tasting very much at all wasn't so bad. All these got better after my treatment was complete. And my hair started growing back while I was still on Taxol which was unexpected.

I did get an arrhythmia, possibly A/C accelerated it, no-one quite sure. But it is manageable and I am fine. I also got lymphoedema, due to an axillary clearance. Also manageable. Best advice I can give is don't try to overthink these things, some may never happen. If some do, you will find ways of managing them as and if they arise. If you worry about them all, you will drive yourself silly and impede your recovery. Curiously, cancer is a really good time to live in the moment as far as possible.

I chose to work throughout, it kept my sense of humour and proportion intact, but every one reacts differently, give yourself space to take time out if you can and want to.

Herceptin was a  doddle by comparison, I have had no negative side effects.

Three years on from diagnosis, I look well, I feel well and appreciate every benefit from my treatment. Yes there have been some costs, but looking back they fade, and can't compare to the likely alternative of not having treatment. 

Very best wishes

 

 

 

 

Hi Jude, welcome to the network, I hope you find the support and information you're after. The ladies have already given you some great information, and I'd definitely agree about having a portacath inserted, if possible, mine really helped as I only have a few viable veins in my left arm for needles / cannula access.

I had 6 cycles of chemo (Taxotere & Carboplatin) and 12 months of Herceptin in 2012. The Herceptin was given every 3 weeks and started at the same time as the chemo. The first cycle of TCH was administered very slowly as the nurses keep a close eye on how you go and it took me about 6 or more hours to complete, so it's good to be prepared with lots of distractions; reading, music, ipads etc. Chemo days were all pretty non-eventful as they give you anti-nausea and allergy suppressors, so often any side-effects kick in a few days later. Everyone seems to react differently, so hopefully if you get any side-effects they will be minimal :-) You do need to make sure you keep an eye on your temperature / feeling unwell, particularly a week to 10 days after chemo as that's when your white blood cell count can drop really low and you can be at risk of developing an infection. This did happen to me after the first chemo and I had to go to hospital for antibiotics for about 5 days but was then given neulasta injections (a white blood cell booster) after each subsequent chemo which stopped any further infection issues.

Herceptin tends to be tolerated well by most people and Doll has given a good description of how they monitor your heart throughout the 12 month treatment. I did get some lowering of my heart function towards the end of treatment but this was managed well (low doses of heart drugs) and was only temporary as my heart function was back in the normal range within 6 months. As always, talk to your team about anything you might be concerned about, even if it seems small or insignificant.

Best of luck with it all and feel free to keep asking questions! Cheers, Jane xx