Details about Chemotherapy

I thought it might be a good idea to give you all a little more detail on the upcoming treatments. My treatment plan is T A C, which is Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cytoxan, once every three weeks with a Neulasta shot the day after. I am doing six rounds of TAC over the next 4 1/2-5 months if my white blood counts do not drop too low. I love the verbiage on the drug sheet handouts, "may make you feel generally unwell". This is the nice way to say you are going to feel like crap.

T=Taxotere. Nasty side effects, too many to list, but complete hair loss on your entire body is mentioned and the other is changes in nail color (I am hoping for a pink sparkle but I bet that is not what they mean). This one may cause an allergic reaction so I am also on Decadron, which is a steroid to help decrease this issue.

A=Adriamycin. More of the same nasty side effects, along with a few others. My finger nails may never be the same again. This one causes your urine to turn very red, nickname is "Red Devil"....nice. I had a heart ultrasound done before treatment because this one can cause heart damage. Care giver should not come in contact with patient's body fluids for five days after treatment....what in the world?! Is kissing okay?

C=Cytoxan. I love this one. On the "Drugs that may interact with Cytoxan" cocaine is listed along with products that contain St John's wort (there are also others but I found those two funny). Isn't cocaine cheaper than gasoline now?

Neulasta. The header on the drug sheet says "for patients on strong chemotherapy". Neulasta is a white blood cell booster and will help protect me against chemotherapy-related infection. The most common side effect is mild to moderate bone pain. No where on the drug sheet does it say "may make you feel generally unwell" but I bet that is what they mean.

All three drugs decrease the body's ability to fight infection with Neulasta trying to help fight infection. It is going to be the cold and flu season for me starting in June. I need to avoid crowds for the next few months. Rules of engagement for visits, if you feel like you are coming down with something or one of your family members is ill, please don't come over. Your little cold or flu can make me very ill.

Another issue beyond infections are food borne illnesses. All fruits and vegetables need to be well washed. If you can't scrub the surface, don't eat it (no berries). Melons, pears, apples, etc need to scrubbed prior to eating. Lots of hand washing and washing of food prep surfaces. Meats thawed in the refrigerator and cooked thoroughly. No raw shellfish or sushi.

Another side effect from the chemotherapy treatment is menopause. After I am through with treatment, we will have to see if I am still pre-menopausal or if the chemo put me into permanent menopause. I will feel "generally unwell" from the chemo with hot flashes and the rest of the menopause side effects too.

The oncologist says I will start to feel the chemo on the day after or possibly the second day and will most likely be in bed for a few days. Treatments are cumulative so the more I have the longer it is going to take to recover.

I hope that wasn't too much information for everyone.
Cheryl

Komen 3 Day Walk San Francisco & other stuff

Hi everyone,
Donna from Valley Oak Vet in Scotts Valley is doing the Susan G Komen 3 day walk for breast cancer in San Francisco at the beginning of September (60 miles!!!). You can connect to her blog http://www.sanfrancisco3daywalker.blogspot.com/ for more details and how to donate, if you are interested. There is a link on Donna's blog to the Susan G Komen website, which has a great deal of information about the walks, what Susan G Komen is all about, etc. I visit the Susan G Komen message boards daily to get information from other breast cancer survivors, great stuff from people who are going through what you are going through (all across the United States).

Tuesday I am going wig shopping with Eddy and my hairdresser/friend, Lauren (Main St Annex in Los Gatos....great salon, just remodeled) and getting my "chemo" cut. Going for the short do Sharon Stone sports, I think www.short-hairstyles.com/short/s191.htm. I want to have a no fuss hair style for the next couple of weeks until my hair comes out all the way, less to mess with, less to lose....I am taking control! Not sure how I am going to feel about being bald, but I can tell you right now I am very excited to get my hair cut short!

That is all for today.
Cheryl

Photos

Good evening!
If you click this link.... http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246109 it takes you to BARF (Bay Area Riders Forum). You can view photos of the race bikes with the sticker.
Cheryl

Race Weekend A Success!

Good morning,
The race weekend went well except for the rain that interrupted practice on Saturday. Eddy finished 6th in Open Twins on Sunday, which is his favorite race. I can't remember the outcome of the other two races since Open Twins was so exciting. GO EDDY!!!

We celebrated two birthdays at the track, Zip's and Dave's. There was cake, cake and more cake! Yummy. We did have hamburgers and hot dogs, but I was much more interested in having cake, with my favorite being the rum cake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZIP AND DAVE!

For the motorcycle racers reading my blog, THANK YOU FOR RUNNING THE PINK RIBBON CHERYL STICKERS ON YOUR BIKES! I can't thank everyone enough for the support, it means so much to me knowing I have a "team" of people behind me. Even though all of you have your own individual race teams, I am looking at it as "Team Pink" and it is inspiring.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day.
Cheryl

*&^%#%)*^ poop

This is going to be short....starting chemotherapy on June 5th. I'll be on a chemo cocktail of three lovely drugs with some crazy side effects, hair loss being one of them. The chemotherapy schedule is once every three weeks for about the next 4 and 1/2 months, then radiation starts a couple of weeks after. My goal is to have my last treatment by the end of the year, which is pushing it.

I usually make my posts filtering my emotions because I don't want to scare my family and friends.....you may not see this in upcoming posts. I am very, very upset and having a hard time dealing with what is happening to me and to us. Yes, a positive attitude is great, but right now I am not there or anywhere close.

Update & a bunch of other "stuff"

The pathology test from the surgery changed the stage of the cancer from Stage I to Stage II. The stage is based on the size of the tumors and lymph node involvement. I was okay with the information at the doctor's office but as the evening went on I spiraled downward until I had a sob fest yesterday afternoon. Doing okay today.

Green light for exercising since it has been a full two weeks since surgery. The doctor also gave me some exercises to do with my arm for mobility and if those don't work, I can get a referral to a physical therapist.

I'd like to thank those of you that did go out and donate blood. THANK YOU. It is so important we have a good supply of blood, you never know when you might be in need of a transfusion. Donating blood is so easy, it is free, you get cookies and jucie when finished and you can do it every 56 days (you do have to weigh at least 115 pounds to donate)!

I LOVE EDDY GONZALES! I realized how much Eddy loves me when I was recovering. Eddy made me a poncho (more like a bolero jacket) out of plastic garbage bag and masking tape so I could shower while I still had the drain in. He washed my hair, soaped me up, dried me off and dressed me. Eddy emptied my drain every few hours, measured the contents and recorded the amounts (made me woozy when we did this). Multiple trips up and down the stairs to make sure I had what I needed and he never complained. I am so thankful to have Eddy in my life, now and forever.

Have a great day!

Monday Morning Ramblings

Good Morning Cancer Support Team!
Eddy and I had a busy weekend. Friday afternoon friends dropped off dinner and dessert, which was absolutely delicious!!! Our neighbors came by to the check the possible sprinkler system leak near our property line and we did some visiting, then our friends came by with their daughter for a little more visiting. I had a glass of wine, finally! On Saturday morning Eddy and I headed over the hill to San Jose for a few hours, then back to Santa Cruz for bra shopping. I have to say Eddy is one of the best shoppers, he will help pick sizes/styles and even hold my purse without complaining (people would be stupid to give him a hard time about a purse, he is big and he can do this really scary thing with his eyes when he is mad). Three cheers for Eddy!!! I was able to do Mother's Day with my mom this year since they haven't returned to Oregon yet. Mom's daughter-in-law, Dana, put together a wonderful Sunday brunch for all of us.

Tomorrow is my post-op appointment with Dr Rose. I am hoping to get a physical therapy "prescription" from the doctor since I want full use of my right arm sooner rather than later (can only lift it to shoulder level and I REALLY want to shave my underarm!). It would also be nice to get the green light to begin exercising again.

The next appointment is on 5/20 with the medical oncologist, Dr Andrea Edwards, who is kind of the treatment "coordinator". We will go over all of my options for treatment, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, etc. The surgeon, Dr Rose, felt I would need chemotherapy due to the two tumors on the right and the positive lymph node, but we will wait to see what Dr Edwards says. I do know that radiation is part of the treatment since that is the "standard of care" for patients that have a lumpectomy.

I will keep everyone abreast (thought that was kind of funny!) on the outcome of all the appointments.
Cheryl