Skip to main content

Visit With Oncologist / More Aggressive Treatment Plan

With the original treatment plan I was supposed to receive infusions of Taxol and Herceptin once per week for 12 weeks after the lumpectomy. Because there were two tumors that measured larger than 2 centimeters, my oncologist suggested a more aggressive treatment plan when I saw her on September 11.


My heart sunk. Although I suspected this was going to happen because of the results from the MRI, it was not what I wanted to hear. It was difficult to focus on what the doctor said after that. This is why it is so important to bring someone with you to your appointments. Maybe one of you will remember what was said. 


I don’t know that Craig was able to pay more attention than I was, but my wonderful oncologist has a practice of writing down all the important information so I can look at it when I am ready. That is one of the many things I like about my doctor.


Now, rather than removing the tumors first and then have chemotherapy, I would begin with the treatments in order to shrink them. The plan was now to get treated every three weeks with a total of six cycles of Taxotere (more aggressive and more serious side effects than Taxol), Carboplatin, and Herceptin (TCH). Herceptin was mentioned in the original treatment plan post. 


Taxotere and Carboplatin are both chemotherapy drugs and the side effects from both are quite similar. They kill not only the cancer cells, but other things that your body needs as well. It will kill your white blood cells that keep your immune system healthy. Because of this I would need to go back to the hospital about 24 hours after the chemo infusions and be given an injection of Neulasta.


The Neulasta is given to push your bone marrow to produce white blood cells quickly. It hurts quite a bit while the nurse administers it, and it takes several minutes to get all of the drug into your arm. I found that when the nurse is not rushed, it does not hurt quite as much. 


Because the bone marrow now works overtime to produce extra white blood cells, your bones will complain and most likely hurt. How much it hurts depends on the individual. I have a fairly high threshold for pain, so the discomfort was minimal. Some women have severe bone pain.


My doctor strongly suggested I take the allergy drug Claritin to help with the bone pain. It is supposed to help. I don’t know if it helped me or not, but I took it as she prescribed, and did not have a lot of pain.


The side effects of Taxotere and Carboplatin are also lessened by taking oral steroids, Dexamethasone, for three days - the day before, day of, and day after the chemo infusions. I realized taking the steroid was very important when I accidentally halved the dosage for one of my treatments. Will talk about this later. 



My oncologist’s note about the drugs and some of the potential side effects.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Second Post-Treatment Checkup - still NED!

My last cancer treatment was December 17, 2024. It was a relief to be finished and not have to go to the cancer center every three weeks. Three months later, March 17, 2025, I had my first post-treatment appointment with the oncologist. At that point it had not been enough time for me to process everything yet, and my brain was not back to functioning completely (it is still not fully normal), so I was happy to see my wonderful doctor and have my blood drawn without having to stay for an infusion. The tests all looked good. Craig retired in February and we had been thinking about what to do. Our children are grown and have their own families. They all live a few hours from us. We love them enormously and love spending time with them, but felt we needed some time to ease into retirement. We had been talking about serving a mission for our church and thought this would be a perfect time. My oncologist gave her approval, so in the beginning of May we got off an airplane in Vientiane, Lao ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Long Tail of Chemo

Eleven weeks after my last infusion of Kadcyla my body still seems to think I am still receiving treatments. Some of the side effects still occur about the same time they did when I was getting treatments. They are not as severe, and do not last as long, but they happen almost like clockwork. My energy level is pretty much back to how it was pre-cancer. Sleeping has never been one of my superpowers, but it got worse when I started getting the infusions. It is sometimes difficult to fall asleep, and sleeping beyond 6:30 in the morning is late for me. Even though I try hard, my body very rarely lets me nap.  The brain fog is almost gone. It feels terrific to be almost back to my normal self. Not having so much brain fog so nice, but it also means my obnoxious self comes out more frequently. Now Craig must deal with me not agreeing with him all the time again. On the good side, I am better able to control my temper. It is easier to keep myself from getting angry and frustrated. The mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mental Health

Chemotherapy is not the only source of forgetfulness and overall decline in mental health. Pretty much everything related to cancer can cause stress and poor mental health, from suspicion or diagnosis to life after treatment. I am still in the treatment phase, but hear from those who have completed theirs, that the potential of cancer returning is stressful. Especially when it is time for a checkup with the doctor. During treatments you depend on others for your physical as well as mental needs. This is not easy. Most of us want to be independent, and when you are not, it is difficult mentally. You feel very much out of control. Children who are abused learn to distance themselves psychologically to protect themselves. It is something I am familiar with. Getting treated for cancer is not abuse, but you feel out of control in both instances. I am not able to use the same technique to distance myself from the cancer. It is always with me. I cannot remove myself from it, even temporarily....
Post a Comment
Read more