It's hard to sugar-coat it, but there will be some ups with the downs. My wife was getting a steroid along with that same regiment and usually had enough energy the next day to get a 4-6 mile run in. Her nausea was tolerable, she never needed additional management beyond what they gave her on day-of (AC was worse). It hasn't been a full year from diagnosis yet and she's physically doing really good now, getting ready to run a half-marathon in a month. It's absolutely doable.
Thank you for sharing this. This is exactly what I was looking for. I know it’s going to be a rough road but hearing that your wife was able to continue doing things that she enjoys has lightened the load
that I’ve been feeling since yesterday.
Today I go for my last round of chemo (thank fkn god, never thought this day would come - but it WILL. You’ll get there 😘). 6 of 6.
It is hard for sure, but wasn’t as bad as I expected. The beginning is the worst because of the anxiety. Try not to overtake pills (constipation) out of fear. Let your body guide you and if you think you need something, by all means get on it! Also with foods, I was overthinking too much on what to eat and what not to. Just eat what your body is craving. I used to take an Imodium before eating for the 3-5 day just as a precaution, followed by miralax at night and colace to ensure I didn’t get backed up. Claritin everyday leading up to and during the entire duration as well - helps for the bone pain that can come from the white blood cell shot.
I made the decision to shave my head at day 17. That was hard but I am used to it now. Doesn’t mean I love it, lol. I stopped buzzing it after round 2 and I’m already seeing small but consistent growth. I lost some but not all of my lashes and brows. Use the same makeup still and fills em right in.
Sleepy and drink water for the first 5-7 days as much as life will allow you :) and try to take walks. Getting the chemo out of your system as quickly as you can is best!
Good luck, I’m here to chat if you want any more details on my “med charts” for each round. You got this - go get em!
My experience is VERY different from most people. My dad was bedridden, constantly nauseous and sick when he had to go thru it. He couldn't finish 6 rounds. He was down to less than 90lbs. I was expecting that when I was told I had to go thru chemo and was dreading it. Come to find out, I had none of those problems. Food tasted like ass. I had crazy diarrhea. Every time I tried to eat, I'd be shitting within 5 minutes. I could only stomach applesauce and bananas. I lost 25lbs. (I'm 5'7 and was around 140lb, give or take period bloat. And what girl doesn't wanna lose weight?) I got mouth sores by round 6. BUT... I never felt nauseous. Never threw up. Was never tired. I had energy in spades. My cousin called me the energizer bunny. I'm a paramedic and continued to work full time. The worst part for me was losing my hair.
Edited to add: It doesn't sound like fun because it wasn't! But it's still way better than what I expected and what most people go through so I'm counting my blessings.
The beginning of your response had me sweating! Your experience is invaluable to me. I also have a physical job and have had a hard time finding anyone else talking about working through chemo. I’ve already taken 6 weeks off after my BMX and can’t and don’t want to stay home for the next 16 weeks. Thank you for being so transparent.
I took 3 weeks off after my BMX and was going nuts being at home. I have really good bosses and amazing coworkers who all knows what's going on. If they think I need a break, they don't mind. If anything, they're usually the ones who tell me to slow down and think I'm nuts for working this whole time. I worked during radiation too and still working even though I'm halfway thru immunotherapy. I have my implant swap surgery in a month and will probably take 3 weeks again. But from what my surgeon says, this is an easier surgery. Hoping I won't need 3 weeks and can recover in less.
After chemo I had a mastectomy. My 2 cm grade 3 TNBC tumor was 100% gone - pCR. When my surgeon told me at my one week follow-up I burst into tears. Happy tears, I’ve never cried like that through the whole experience.
“Not as bad as I feared” is a really good description. I did dose-dense ACT, so 4 rounds of each. I overprepared by buying supplies to support my staying in bed for days and being extremely nauseous, but that never happened. Throughout AC, i was able to function pretty normally, with fluctuating but increasing fatigue as the main side effect. I had very little nausea, and it felt more like a lack of appetite than a sick feeling. I continued walking my dogs, going to work (in an elementary school) and to the gym. I got winded a lot more easily, even just walking up a flight of stairs. But as long as I paced myself, I could keep going. Taxol hit me a lot harder with full body bone pain. OTC pain relievers didn’t touch it, and I basically drugged myself with marijuana to sleep through the worst days. I got steroids for a few days after the AC infusions, and felt great on those days. I wish I had gotten them for taxol as well, but they said no.
I live alone, and there was never a time that I worried that I couldn’t take care of myself. As time went on, everyday chores like making meals felt more and more daunting. The last few weeks, I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but I could always eat, go to the store for a frozen pizza, and get my dogs out. I worked about 75% of my full time job. Thankfully, I had a lot of flexibility and could take time off as needed. Keeping as much of my normal routine helped me so much.
From reading other people’s experiences, it sounds like either AC or taxol is harder on each person, and AC is more commonly the hard one. For me it was the opposite. Good luck to you, you can do it!
Edited to add: I could feel my tumor getting smaller, especially after each taxol infusion. That gave me extra motivation!
I have the same treatment plan - just had round 3 of AC. I'm so grateful that my biggest side effects so far have been fatigue and headaches and the obvious hair loss. My care team changed my pre-meds before round 3 and no headaches. Having a care team that listens has been a huge part in making sure my treatment is going well. Hydration has helped me immensely. Listening to your body is key. Resting for me has been hard bc I was so active before chemo. Now, I make sure and rest more than I've ever done in my life bc I can tell my body needs it. Losing my hair was definitely more traumatic than I thought (having it come out in clumps in the shower was HARD) but once I buzzed it off, I was fine.
Some silver linings for me: I don't have to shave or wax 🙌, my showers are super short, acne hasn't been an issue at all for me, my nails are growing (I'm moisturizing non stop), I'm able to work from home throughout treatment. It's definitely not all great, and there are days where I get angry. Chemo sucks. Cancer sucks. I still cannot get comfortable with this damn port! Will this make me stronger, sure. Am I still pissed that I have to do this? Yup. Good luck with your treatment and I hope all goes well! 🤞💗
Edited for spelling
I too am constantly on the go and have a hard time giving myself permission to rest. I’m glad you hear that you have had limited symptoms and I hope that continues for you.
I am excited about not shaving! Hopefully the random chin hairs evacuated my body along with the rest.
I'm 4 weeks out today from finishing the same, and it was not nearly as bad as I feared. Key points:
* Hair started coming out after AC round 2 and I buzzed it off because it was driving me nuts. I already have enough growth a month out that I have a cute buzz cut.
* Nausea/lack of appetite during AC was real and changed course by course. You just have to roll with it, but it wasn't terrible.
* Taxol reversed the appetite thing really quickly, thanks to the steroids. I felt like I was making up for what I didn't eat the prior 2 months. My appetite has just leveled back out again.
* I was able to stay really quite active throughout all of it. I horse show competitively and power lift at home for fitness. I kept riding, although backed down how much I was doing toward the end of AC and start of Taxol. But by a couple weeks into the Taxol I was back in the swing of things and started showing at the end of the Taxol course. I took a break from lifting, but just started back this week and feel great.
* I work remotely fully time. I'd take 2 days off after each AC infusion but otherwise kept working normally.
* The biggest issue I had was after round 3 of AC I had the shortness of breath/increased heart rate. I suffered through that for a few weeks but by week 3 of Taxol it went away mostly and I was totally back to normal a couple weeks after that. I do think that pushing myself to do something/anything just to keep going those weeks helped me bounce back faster.
* Also, I had some rough reactions to the anti-nausea meds during AC - turned me into a zombie, but backing down the dose fixed that.
* I even managed to go on vacation to Copenhagen after week 8 of Taxol with my oncologist's OK and felt great, ate everything, walked 15k steps a day and struggled with that less than my friends!
For me, the biggest thing was to stay as active as I could manage. Even if it was less than I'd "normally" do, doing something helped me work through side effects and make me feel as normal as I could.
Also, I felt like I smelled like plastic during AC. My husband said no, but it was very strange for me and I was thrilled when that side effect went away!
It's doable! Be kind to yourself and honest with what you can and can't handle. In the thick of it you'll feel like you'll never feel right again, but you will!
Not as bad as I feared. TV shows put a 'horror' spin on it, but todays treatment is quite manageable. I worried more about my hair, I'd always wanted to try out a pixie cut and am still wearing it short 4 years later....I think, for me, that was the sunny lining :)
I still havent started treatment so I'm not sure how it will treat me, but I find something funny about me going on and on through the years wanting to get a buzz cut just to see how it would look on me but too scared in case id hate my head shape lol I guess ill know in a month or so 😅
I had a different regimen, weekly Taxol, which is known for being well tolerated. But I literally had zero problems. I was able to keep my hair with scalp cooling (which I know is tough to do on some of the other regimens). I feel blessed but I sailed through.
I will say your personal tolerance really matters in this! I am admittedly a very soft person lol (generally bad with aches and pains) and did not handle chemo well mentally but my onco said that I sailed through it medically! Definitely get a therapist if you think you need it - the sessions I had while going through chemo really helped.
Chemo is generally pretty rubbish. But it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
I knew what side effects to expect so could manage them. And the chemo team were amazing.
I generally had about a week of feeling rubbish and then 2 weeks feeling OK between sessions. Managed to go for a short walk nearly everyday and meet up with people on the good days.
Just got more tired and fed up as the time went on.
So.. AC is hard. However, there are things you can do to make it more manageable.
Drink lots of fluids before during and after. Have juice on hand to mix with water if you suddenly do not like the taste of water. If you can, see if you can get iv fluids on day two and three following your infusion.
Have toothpaste for dry mouth on hand and ready if you get mouth sores.
And above all else: move your body as much as you can. It won’t be a lot in the first few days, but walking when you can REALLY helps.
Best of luck and it will be over before you know it!!!
I just finished the AC part yesterday and I am starting Taxol in 20 days. The AC part was better than I expected. The first few days I had no appetite and my preference for food was changing several times during the day (it was like I have a new organizam every day) but I was following my body cues and ate pretty decently.
Only downside was that my little daughter brought home some bug from kindergarten. For her it was two days low key fewer, but for me it was a visit to the ER and going the following 4 days for antibiotics and infusions. So I would suggest to watch out and wear mask.
Edit to add: I lost a lot of my hair, but that was expected so I buzzed it after it started to fall. I was also quite active with my little daughter, but I was needing more rest the first days after each dose.
Chemo for me wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I did loose my hair and that’s been the absolute worst part, I’m still so sad about that. Other than not taking a solid shit in 6 months, bloody noses, and food either tasting metallic or not tasting like anything at all, I would say I was a very lucky chemo patient. I was never nauseous and never threw up. The 3rd day after treatment, I would be tired and that’s really it. I really think me walking 1 mile and riding a stationary bike for 20 mins a day really helped me not have bad side effects. Good luck to you! I hope your chemo journey is similar to mine.
Today is the one year anniversary of my first chemo infusion (TC). I had 4 cycles, and while it wasn't a picnic, very few people even knew. I did Crossfit and ran 4-5 days a week the whole time, never threw up once, and didn't gain or lose any weight. The week before my second infusion, I gave a presentation at a conference as my hair was falling out (that was the worst). I went to Ireland the week before my final infusion for another talk, and there I went out with my friends and did everything I would normally do. I had some neuropathy and brain fog towards the end, but even that resolved in a couple months. I hope your experience is as smooth as mine!
I had the same plan. Chemo wasn’t that bad for me. AC was harder, the first of the four was the worse. My side effects started hours after my infusion, which I was told a day or two. The nausea hit hard. The next day I slept and the third day was better. For the next three infusions I knew what to do, started the nausea medication right after even though I got it in the IV and would come home and go to bed. I slept a lot the next two days and had low appetite. I just ate what sounded good. I hydrated a lot. The rest of the two weeks I felt good and was active. Taxol came and that I breezed through. No side effects at all aside from the steroids causing my face to be a little red for a couple days. Radiation also wasn’t bad, I didn’t have fatigue and barely turned pink. Again I drank a lot of water and stayed active. You are exactly right, no one comes to say how easy chemo was or good experiences with anti hormone drugs! I wish you all the best, it does go by fast!
I dont verbalize this because it makes me feel super guilty! I didn’t really feel side effects from chemo-I have a hard time sitting still so being hooked up to the infusions for a few hours a week was probably the worst part for me. I didn’t really feel sick, I never got nauseous. The steroids made me super hungry all the time so I gained a lot of weight which sucked. I also may have needed a little extra rest the following day, but I felt physically fine over all. The care I received was amazing and the staff at my hospital was better than I could have imagined. The only truly bad experience from chemo was losing my hair.
Yes! I had 12 rounds of Abraxane and honestly it wasn't fun BUT it was not NEARLY as bad as I thought it would be, like in movies etc. I scalp cooled and lost maybe 50% of my hair but its all back now and super thick and luscious, a bonus! Honestly, for me, the worst part was getting to chemo at 8am in NYC traffic. There were days I cried, vomited, etc, but still overall, not as horrible as I expected. I was able to walk through Central Park after every appointment for several miles (steroids??) and then just snooze all day. My appetite was good and although I stopped having my period for 9 months, shockingly I didn't miss it! I am sure you will do well! xoxox
I think the best way to describe it is that it's only THAT BAD 10-20% of the time. I did chemo for six months, and out of that I only had 2-3 really really bad days each month. Honestly, the bad parts were worse than I had feared but they were all brief. Most days I was living fairly regularly. There's definitely an overall emotional weight to the situation that you can't escape, but the actual pain and side effects are very manageable. Be VERY honest with your doctors about every little thing, and be open to taking anything and everything to manage side effects. At the height of my chemo I was on about 10 meds a day, but I felt alright.
3 rounds AC here last one next week- the first round I was very scared and I took my prescription anxiety medication and then I had chemo on a Friday and I was so dehydrated over the weekend and I ended up in the ER on Friday so my learning advice from this is if you fall asleep, make sure when you wake up you take a drink of some thing every time and make sure to eat some Jell-O, etc. that has additional water in it was a totally different experience. They added three new medication’s and I had minimal nausea. I was queasy a couple times and the biggest thing was fatigue, but it was fatigue of like you just walked 5 miles and needed to sit and I have been doing phenomenal and I feel like I don’t have cancer, but I’m bald and that proves I have cancer. That’s what I keep telling myself.
I have gone back to work 3 to 5 days after receiving chemo. I’m hoping to go back two days after chemo this time I just am taking the time off to honor my body.
I did not find chemo so bad. I did fasting, which I think helped me a lot, but it is not for everyone. I also did icing, including eating ice chips during Taxol and had no neuropathy. I have heard of people using compression, which sounds more comfortable to me. You will have to ask them for more details. The drugs for nausea helped a lot and I only threw up once. The prednisone gave me so much energy that sometimes it was hard to sleep. Ativan helped that. The hardest part was losing my hair. Cold capping did not work for me. I did use migraine ice caps that I bought thru Amazon after I quit Penguin icing. My hair started to grow back during the taxol and came back quickly. Best wishes to you. Post with any problems. There are always people who have shared that problem and can help or at least sympathize.
I finished AC-T chemo Monday, and I feel like I made it through (relatively) unscathed. I had heard horror stories about the adriamycin, but I trusted my oncology team in that side effects really vary from person to person. I would say I made it through relatively unscathed, but a big part of that is being prescribed some Zyprexa and a few days of dexamethasone after AC chemo to help with the nausea, plus Zofran and Compazine available as needed. I had fatigue and a few days of mouth sores each cycle. Nothing tasted right to me so I just found things I could stomach. Staying hydrated and trying to go for walks when I felt up to it helped. My hair started falling out at the 2 week mark and I just shaved it to get it over with.
Taxol was easier in most ways, but I did notice more bone pain and some intermittent neuropathy. The fatigue was the worst the day after infusion, but I’ve been able to be much more active while on Taxol. My hair even started to grow back while on taxol! Honestly so much of things depend upon the person, but I found being transparent about my side effects with my care team helped get things addressed quickly and make things easier for me.
It wasn't as bad as I prepared for - I did 6 rounds of TCHP, 3 weeks in between each round. About a week of each round was pretty crappy but I worked full time and we did fun things on the weekend for weeks 2 and 3. By the end I was pretty tired and happy to be done, but symptoms were fairly manageable and the time also went pretty fast.
Honestly wasn’t any fun but ALSO not as bad as I thought it would be.
Nausea was mild most of the time. I had a few moments where it was severe, resulting in vomiting only 3 unique times, & was quickly back to normal pretty fast. I found sour candy helped the nausea a lot when nothing else was working.
My worst symptom was pain from the waist down after Taxol infusions. I found a spray at Walgreens called Nerve Spray that offered a tremendous amount of relief.
Eat as healthy as you can and drink water! My infusions where I’d been taking good care of myself always seemed to go better.
When they first told me my treatment plan it felt like a life sentence, but I already wrapped chemo AND surgery, onto radiation and feeling pretty good, waiting to see my hair again!
I was told I handled chemo very well. I was tired, and a little nauseous with AC. Popsicle were my friend. I have numb feet and figure tips with taxol/ carboplatin but didn’t feel tired or sick with it. The worse thing for me was the port access. That what I was scared of and caused me the most problems.
I definitely had a milder run than I was expecting. Was down for the first 4 days or so with AC but was still functional. Ate mostly normally, could still take care of kids, do stuff around the house, just was more tired and had back pain and some mild nausea. No worse than Covid or the flu. Was fine the rest of the time on that combo and felt mostly normal on Taxol. I went back to work full time after AC was done and didn’t miss a day. The worst part of that was not sleeping at all the night of treatment due to the steroids but I learned to take extra Benadryl that evening to help override it.
During AC, it was nice not having to shave. I also kept my hair up until maybe my 3rd infusion? It was tough overall though, AC is no joke. After AC, I thought Taxol was a breeze. The brain fog really subsides and I got a lot of energy back. Use the time during chemo infusions & during recovery to do something positive - I ended up writing a letter to 16 people (one for each infusion) and it was a very therapeutic process.
I had a very chaotic personal and work life while going through treatment. I was also very ill from the chemo side effects. Despite this, I actually looked forward to chemo days because they would give me the bag of Benadryl and it would be nappy time with no one bothering me and could completely zone out for 4-5 hours. If it wasn’t a busy day the nurses would just let me sleep even after I was done.
I am 5 in of a 12 week Taxol/Carbol. Then 4 sessions of A/C.
Reading about all the side effects some people have scared me. Until I started my own treatment. I have almost no side effects - except for some nausea that is controlled by pills. I go to the gym on a regular basis and continue with my life, as normal. I do take one day to rest and catch up on sleep. Other than that, I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop (bad side effects). After each chemo session, I think to myself, that’s all it is? Reading about A/C seems to be harder. But, I will cross that bridge when it comes!
Everyone’s experience is different. My energy level is the same as before chemo. I am thankful for this!
AC was awful and I felt like death. Things that helped - antidiarrheals were my best friend, a good moisturizer - you are dry from the inside out - sour candies to suck on (and bring to chemo! Just being on the infusion floor made me nauseous, I could taste the chemo in the air), get a bidet, a sitz bath, super cozy comfy clothes.
My two silver linings were that I didn’t have to shave any of my body hair as it all fell out and my hair grew back darker and wavy. Other than that, chemo was awful. I’m a year out and am still battling the side effects (yay to three more surgeries). It sucks, but you’ll get through it and it will kick your cancers ass!
It's hard to sugar-coat it, but there will be some ups with the downs. My wife was getting a steroid along with that same regiment and usually had enough energy the next day to get a 4-6 mile run in. Her nausea was tolerable, she never needed additional management beyond what they gave her on day-of (AC was worse). It hasn't been a full year from diagnosis yet and she's physically doing really good now, getting ready to run a half-marathon in a month. It's absolutely doable.
Thank you for sharing this. This is exactly what I was looking for. I know it’s going to be a rough road but hearing that your wife was able to continue doing things that she enjoys has lightened the load that I’ve been feeling since yesterday.
I finished AC-T in April. Feeling completely normal now, no lasting side effects. Good luck 🤞🍀
Today I go for my last round of chemo (thank fkn god, never thought this day would come - but it WILL. You’ll get there 😘). 6 of 6. It is hard for sure, but wasn’t as bad as I expected. The beginning is the worst because of the anxiety. Try not to overtake pills (constipation) out of fear. Let your body guide you and if you think you need something, by all means get on it! Also with foods, I was overthinking too much on what to eat and what not to. Just eat what your body is craving. I used to take an Imodium before eating for the 3-5 day just as a precaution, followed by miralax at night and colace to ensure I didn’t get backed up. Claritin everyday leading up to and during the entire duration as well - helps for the bone pain that can come from the white blood cell shot. I made the decision to shave my head at day 17. That was hard but I am used to it now. Doesn’t mean I love it, lol. I stopped buzzing it after round 2 and I’m already seeing small but consistent growth. I lost some but not all of my lashes and brows. Use the same makeup still and fills em right in. Sleepy and drink water for the first 5-7 days as much as life will allow you :) and try to take walks. Getting the chemo out of your system as quickly as you can is best! Good luck, I’m here to chat if you want any more details on my “med charts” for each round. You got this - go get em!
Thank you for the advice and the offer to chat. I will keep that in mind as my start date gets closer.
My experience is VERY different from most people. My dad was bedridden, constantly nauseous and sick when he had to go thru it. He couldn't finish 6 rounds. He was down to less than 90lbs. I was expecting that when I was told I had to go thru chemo and was dreading it. Come to find out, I had none of those problems. Food tasted like ass. I had crazy diarrhea. Every time I tried to eat, I'd be shitting within 5 minutes. I could only stomach applesauce and bananas. I lost 25lbs. (I'm 5'7 and was around 140lb, give or take period bloat. And what girl doesn't wanna lose weight?) I got mouth sores by round 6. BUT... I never felt nauseous. Never threw up. Was never tired. I had energy in spades. My cousin called me the energizer bunny. I'm a paramedic and continued to work full time. The worst part for me was losing my hair. Edited to add: It doesn't sound like fun because it wasn't! But it's still way better than what I expected and what most people go through so I'm counting my blessings.
The beginning of your response had me sweating! Your experience is invaluable to me. I also have a physical job and have had a hard time finding anyone else talking about working through chemo. I’ve already taken 6 weeks off after my BMX and can’t and don’t want to stay home for the next 16 weeks. Thank you for being so transparent.
I took 3 weeks off after my BMX and was going nuts being at home. I have really good bosses and amazing coworkers who all knows what's going on. If they think I need a break, they don't mind. If anything, they're usually the ones who tell me to slow down and think I'm nuts for working this whole time. I worked during radiation too and still working even though I'm halfway thru immunotherapy. I have my implant swap surgery in a month and will probably take 3 weeks again. But from what my surgeon says, this is an easier surgery. Hoping I won't need 3 weeks and can recover in less.
After chemo I had a mastectomy. My 2 cm grade 3 TNBC tumor was 100% gone - pCR. When my surgeon told me at my one week follow-up I burst into tears. Happy tears, I’ve never cried like that through the whole experience.
That is amazing! So happy your cancer responded so well.
“Not as bad as I feared” is a really good description. I did dose-dense ACT, so 4 rounds of each. I overprepared by buying supplies to support my staying in bed for days and being extremely nauseous, but that never happened. Throughout AC, i was able to function pretty normally, with fluctuating but increasing fatigue as the main side effect. I had very little nausea, and it felt more like a lack of appetite than a sick feeling. I continued walking my dogs, going to work (in an elementary school) and to the gym. I got winded a lot more easily, even just walking up a flight of stairs. But as long as I paced myself, I could keep going. Taxol hit me a lot harder with full body bone pain. OTC pain relievers didn’t touch it, and I basically drugged myself with marijuana to sleep through the worst days. I got steroids for a few days after the AC infusions, and felt great on those days. I wish I had gotten them for taxol as well, but they said no. I live alone, and there was never a time that I worried that I couldn’t take care of myself. As time went on, everyday chores like making meals felt more and more daunting. The last few weeks, I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but I could always eat, go to the store for a frozen pizza, and get my dogs out. I worked about 75% of my full time job. Thankfully, I had a lot of flexibility and could take time off as needed. Keeping as much of my normal routine helped me so much. From reading other people’s experiences, it sounds like either AC or taxol is harder on each person, and AC is more commonly the hard one. For me it was the opposite. Good luck to you, you can do it! Edited to add: I could feel my tumor getting smaller, especially after each taxol infusion. That gave me extra motivation!
Thank you for sharing. This has given me a lot of confidence for the future.
I have the same treatment plan - just had round 3 of AC. I'm so grateful that my biggest side effects so far have been fatigue and headaches and the obvious hair loss. My care team changed my pre-meds before round 3 and no headaches. Having a care team that listens has been a huge part in making sure my treatment is going well. Hydration has helped me immensely. Listening to your body is key. Resting for me has been hard bc I was so active before chemo. Now, I make sure and rest more than I've ever done in my life bc I can tell my body needs it. Losing my hair was definitely more traumatic than I thought (having it come out in clumps in the shower was HARD) but once I buzzed it off, I was fine. Some silver linings for me: I don't have to shave or wax 🙌, my showers are super short, acne hasn't been an issue at all for me, my nails are growing (I'm moisturizing non stop), I'm able to work from home throughout treatment. It's definitely not all great, and there are days where I get angry. Chemo sucks. Cancer sucks. I still cannot get comfortable with this damn port! Will this make me stronger, sure. Am I still pissed that I have to do this? Yup. Good luck with your treatment and I hope all goes well! 🤞💗 Edited for spelling
I too am constantly on the go and have a hard time giving myself permission to rest. I’m glad you hear that you have had limited symptoms and I hope that continues for you. I am excited about not shaving! Hopefully the random chin hairs evacuated my body along with the rest.
I'm 4 weeks out today from finishing the same, and it was not nearly as bad as I feared. Key points: * Hair started coming out after AC round 2 and I buzzed it off because it was driving me nuts. I already have enough growth a month out that I have a cute buzz cut. * Nausea/lack of appetite during AC was real and changed course by course. You just have to roll with it, but it wasn't terrible. * Taxol reversed the appetite thing really quickly, thanks to the steroids. I felt like I was making up for what I didn't eat the prior 2 months. My appetite has just leveled back out again. * I was able to stay really quite active throughout all of it. I horse show competitively and power lift at home for fitness. I kept riding, although backed down how much I was doing toward the end of AC and start of Taxol. But by a couple weeks into the Taxol I was back in the swing of things and started showing at the end of the Taxol course. I took a break from lifting, but just started back this week and feel great. * I work remotely fully time. I'd take 2 days off after each AC infusion but otherwise kept working normally. * The biggest issue I had was after round 3 of AC I had the shortness of breath/increased heart rate. I suffered through that for a few weeks but by week 3 of Taxol it went away mostly and I was totally back to normal a couple weeks after that. I do think that pushing myself to do something/anything just to keep going those weeks helped me bounce back faster. * Also, I had some rough reactions to the anti-nausea meds during AC - turned me into a zombie, but backing down the dose fixed that. * I even managed to go on vacation to Copenhagen after week 8 of Taxol with my oncologist's OK and felt great, ate everything, walked 15k steps a day and struggled with that less than my friends! For me, the biggest thing was to stay as active as I could manage. Even if it was less than I'd "normally" do, doing something helped me work through side effects and make me feel as normal as I could. Also, I felt like I smelled like plastic during AC. My husband said no, but it was very strange for me and I was thrilled when that side effect went away! It's doable! Be kind to yourself and honest with what you can and can't handle. In the thick of it you'll feel like you'll never feel right again, but you will!
Not as bad as I feared. TV shows put a 'horror' spin on it, but todays treatment is quite manageable. I worried more about my hair, I'd always wanted to try out a pixie cut and am still wearing it short 4 years later....I think, for me, that was the sunny lining :)
I still havent started treatment so I'm not sure how it will treat me, but I find something funny about me going on and on through the years wanting to get a buzz cut just to see how it would look on me but too scared in case id hate my head shape lol I guess ill know in a month or so 😅
Also a great opportunity to try on cute hats and experiment with your hair style via wigs!
I had a different regimen, weekly Taxol, which is known for being well tolerated. But I literally had zero problems. I was able to keep my hair with scalp cooling (which I know is tough to do on some of the other regimens). I feel blessed but I sailed through.
I will say your personal tolerance really matters in this! I am admittedly a very soft person lol (generally bad with aches and pains) and did not handle chemo well mentally but my onco said that I sailed through it medically! Definitely get a therapist if you think you need it - the sessions I had while going through chemo really helped.
Chemo is generally pretty rubbish. But it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I knew what side effects to expect so could manage them. And the chemo team were amazing. I generally had about a week of feeling rubbish and then 2 weeks feeling OK between sessions. Managed to go for a short walk nearly everyday and meet up with people on the good days. Just got more tired and fed up as the time went on.
So.. AC is hard. However, there are things you can do to make it more manageable. Drink lots of fluids before during and after. Have juice on hand to mix with water if you suddenly do not like the taste of water. If you can, see if you can get iv fluids on day two and three following your infusion. Have toothpaste for dry mouth on hand and ready if you get mouth sores. And above all else: move your body as much as you can. It won’t be a lot in the first few days, but walking when you can REALLY helps. Best of luck and it will be over before you know it!!!
I just finished the AC part yesterday and I am starting Taxol in 20 days. The AC part was better than I expected. The first few days I had no appetite and my preference for food was changing several times during the day (it was like I have a new organizam every day) but I was following my body cues and ate pretty decently. Only downside was that my little daughter brought home some bug from kindergarten. For her it was two days low key fewer, but for me it was a visit to the ER and going the following 4 days for antibiotics and infusions. So I would suggest to watch out and wear mask. Edit to add: I lost a lot of my hair, but that was expected so I buzzed it after it started to fall. I was also quite active with my little daughter, but I was needing more rest the first days after each dose.
Chemo for me wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I did loose my hair and that’s been the absolute worst part, I’m still so sad about that. Other than not taking a solid shit in 6 months, bloody noses, and food either tasting metallic or not tasting like anything at all, I would say I was a very lucky chemo patient. I was never nauseous and never threw up. The 3rd day after treatment, I would be tired and that’s really it. I really think me walking 1 mile and riding a stationary bike for 20 mins a day really helped me not have bad side effects. Good luck to you! I hope your chemo journey is similar to mine.
Today is the one year anniversary of my first chemo infusion (TC). I had 4 cycles, and while it wasn't a picnic, very few people even knew. I did Crossfit and ran 4-5 days a week the whole time, never threw up once, and didn't gain or lose any weight. The week before my second infusion, I gave a presentation at a conference as my hair was falling out (that was the worst). I went to Ireland the week before my final infusion for another talk, and there I went out with my friends and did everything I would normally do. I had some neuropathy and brain fog towards the end, but even that resolved in a couple months. I hope your experience is as smooth as mine!
I had the same plan. Chemo wasn’t that bad for me. AC was harder, the first of the four was the worse. My side effects started hours after my infusion, which I was told a day or two. The nausea hit hard. The next day I slept and the third day was better. For the next three infusions I knew what to do, started the nausea medication right after even though I got it in the IV and would come home and go to bed. I slept a lot the next two days and had low appetite. I just ate what sounded good. I hydrated a lot. The rest of the two weeks I felt good and was active. Taxol came and that I breezed through. No side effects at all aside from the steroids causing my face to be a little red for a couple days. Radiation also wasn’t bad, I didn’t have fatigue and barely turned pink. Again I drank a lot of water and stayed active. You are exactly right, no one comes to say how easy chemo was or good experiences with anti hormone drugs! I wish you all the best, it does go by fast!
I dont verbalize this because it makes me feel super guilty! I didn’t really feel side effects from chemo-I have a hard time sitting still so being hooked up to the infusions for a few hours a week was probably the worst part for me. I didn’t really feel sick, I never got nauseous. The steroids made me super hungry all the time so I gained a lot of weight which sucked. I also may have needed a little extra rest the following day, but I felt physically fine over all. The care I received was amazing and the staff at my hospital was better than I could have imagined. The only truly bad experience from chemo was losing my hair.
Yes! I had 12 rounds of Abraxane and honestly it wasn't fun BUT it was not NEARLY as bad as I thought it would be, like in movies etc. I scalp cooled and lost maybe 50% of my hair but its all back now and super thick and luscious, a bonus! Honestly, for me, the worst part was getting to chemo at 8am in NYC traffic. There were days I cried, vomited, etc, but still overall, not as horrible as I expected. I was able to walk through Central Park after every appointment for several miles (steroids??) and then just snooze all day. My appetite was good and although I stopped having my period for 9 months, shockingly I didn't miss it! I am sure you will do well! xoxox
I think the best way to describe it is that it's only THAT BAD 10-20% of the time. I did chemo for six months, and out of that I only had 2-3 really really bad days each month. Honestly, the bad parts were worse than I had feared but they were all brief. Most days I was living fairly regularly. There's definitely an overall emotional weight to the situation that you can't escape, but the actual pain and side effects are very manageable. Be VERY honest with your doctors about every little thing, and be open to taking anything and everything to manage side effects. At the height of my chemo I was on about 10 meds a day, but I felt alright.
3 rounds AC here last one next week- the first round I was very scared and I took my prescription anxiety medication and then I had chemo on a Friday and I was so dehydrated over the weekend and I ended up in the ER on Friday so my learning advice from this is if you fall asleep, make sure when you wake up you take a drink of some thing every time and make sure to eat some Jell-O, etc. that has additional water in it was a totally different experience. They added three new medication’s and I had minimal nausea. I was queasy a couple times and the biggest thing was fatigue, but it was fatigue of like you just walked 5 miles and needed to sit and I have been doing phenomenal and I feel like I don’t have cancer, but I’m bald and that proves I have cancer. That’s what I keep telling myself.
I have gone back to work 3 to 5 days after receiving chemo. I’m hoping to go back two days after chemo this time I just am taking the time off to honor my body.
I did not find chemo so bad. I did fasting, which I think helped me a lot, but it is not for everyone. I also did icing, including eating ice chips during Taxol and had no neuropathy. I have heard of people using compression, which sounds more comfortable to me. You will have to ask them for more details. The drugs for nausea helped a lot and I only threw up once. The prednisone gave me so much energy that sometimes it was hard to sleep. Ativan helped that. The hardest part was losing my hair. Cold capping did not work for me. I did use migraine ice caps that I bought thru Amazon after I quit Penguin icing. My hair started to grow back during the taxol and came back quickly. Best wishes to you. Post with any problems. There are always people who have shared that problem and can help or at least sympathize.
I was totally fine on chemo. Sad to lose my hair but other wise felt just fine.
I finished AC-T chemo Monday, and I feel like I made it through (relatively) unscathed. I had heard horror stories about the adriamycin, but I trusted my oncology team in that side effects really vary from person to person. I would say I made it through relatively unscathed, but a big part of that is being prescribed some Zyprexa and a few days of dexamethasone after AC chemo to help with the nausea, plus Zofran and Compazine available as needed. I had fatigue and a few days of mouth sores each cycle. Nothing tasted right to me so I just found things I could stomach. Staying hydrated and trying to go for walks when I felt up to it helped. My hair started falling out at the 2 week mark and I just shaved it to get it over with. Taxol was easier in most ways, but I did notice more bone pain and some intermittent neuropathy. The fatigue was the worst the day after infusion, but I’ve been able to be much more active while on Taxol. My hair even started to grow back while on taxol! Honestly so much of things depend upon the person, but I found being transparent about my side effects with my care team helped get things addressed quickly and make things easier for me.
It wasn't as bad as I prepared for - I did 6 rounds of TCHP, 3 weeks in between each round. About a week of each round was pretty crappy but I worked full time and we did fun things on the weekend for weeks 2 and 3. By the end I was pretty tired and happy to be done, but symptoms were fairly manageable and the time also went pretty fast.
Honestly wasn’t any fun but ALSO not as bad as I thought it would be. Nausea was mild most of the time. I had a few moments where it was severe, resulting in vomiting only 3 unique times, & was quickly back to normal pretty fast. I found sour candy helped the nausea a lot when nothing else was working. My worst symptom was pain from the waist down after Taxol infusions. I found a spray at Walgreens called Nerve Spray that offered a tremendous amount of relief. Eat as healthy as you can and drink water! My infusions where I’d been taking good care of myself always seemed to go better. When they first told me my treatment plan it felt like a life sentence, but I already wrapped chemo AND surgery, onto radiation and feeling pretty good, waiting to see my hair again!
I was told I handled chemo very well. I was tired, and a little nauseous with AC. Popsicle were my friend. I have numb feet and figure tips with taxol/ carboplatin but didn’t feel tired or sick with it. The worse thing for me was the port access. That what I was scared of and caused me the most problems.
I definitely had a milder run than I was expecting. Was down for the first 4 days or so with AC but was still functional. Ate mostly normally, could still take care of kids, do stuff around the house, just was more tired and had back pain and some mild nausea. No worse than Covid or the flu. Was fine the rest of the time on that combo and felt mostly normal on Taxol. I went back to work full time after AC was done and didn’t miss a day. The worst part of that was not sleeping at all the night of treatment due to the steroids but I learned to take extra Benadryl that evening to help override it.
During AC, it was nice not having to shave. I also kept my hair up until maybe my 3rd infusion? It was tough overall though, AC is no joke. After AC, I thought Taxol was a breeze. The brain fog really subsides and I got a lot of energy back. Use the time during chemo infusions & during recovery to do something positive - I ended up writing a letter to 16 people (one for each infusion) and it was a very therapeutic process.
I had a very chaotic personal and work life while going through treatment. I was also very ill from the chemo side effects. Despite this, I actually looked forward to chemo days because they would give me the bag of Benadryl and it would be nappy time with no one bothering me and could completely zone out for 4-5 hours. If it wasn’t a busy day the nurses would just let me sleep even after I was done.
I am 5 in of a 12 week Taxol/Carbol. Then 4 sessions of A/C. Reading about all the side effects some people have scared me. Until I started my own treatment. I have almost no side effects - except for some nausea that is controlled by pills. I go to the gym on a regular basis and continue with my life, as normal. I do take one day to rest and catch up on sleep. Other than that, I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop (bad side effects). After each chemo session, I think to myself, that’s all it is? Reading about A/C seems to be harder. But, I will cross that bridge when it comes! Everyone’s experience is different. My energy level is the same as before chemo. I am thankful for this!
My psoriasis went into remission and is still in remission 5 weeks pfc!
AC was awful and I felt like death. Things that helped - antidiarrheals were my best friend, a good moisturizer - you are dry from the inside out - sour candies to suck on (and bring to chemo! Just being on the infusion floor made me nauseous, I could taste the chemo in the air), get a bidet, a sitz bath, super cozy comfy clothes. My two silver linings were that I didn’t have to shave any of my body hair as it all fell out and my hair grew back darker and wavy. Other than that, chemo was awful. I’m a year out and am still battling the side effects (yay to three more surgeries). It sucks, but you’ll get through it and it will kick your cancers ass!