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New round of chemo


dahknee

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Starting my next round of chemo today, carbo / alimta. Hopefully I'll tolerate it well and my cancer cells won't. On a better note I read in our local paper today that our oncology center here is honoring survivors / patients next week with a day of celebration. Barbeque, festivities, etc. One of the oncology nurses will be getting her hair cut by one of the patients for Locks of Love. Sounds like a nice affair. I feel very blessed to live in this small town. Our oncology staff genuinely care about every patient and treat everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion. I go in with questions and information that I've learned here and no one poo poos me and makes me feel stupid or like it isn't important. Praise GOD..

Donny in Way West

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Hi Donny!!! I hope you do great and your cancer cells don't as well! Good luck with it. And how wonderful to hear of such a nice thing your oncology group is putting on. Nothing like that EVER happening here. Sounds like a great group you have on your team. Have a great time.

Kasey

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Hey, Donny, good luck with the Carbo/Alimta. I started that combo in late April, and it seems to be working better than anything I've had recently. Last scan was stable, and side effects are very tolerable. A good bit of fatigue for a week or so, some edema (a stronger diuretic has helped), but that's about it. The whole story is in the link below. Aloha,

Ned

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Donny, good luck with the new treatment plan. It's great to be on one that someone else on the board is doing also. And you probably know by now that Ned is a great resource for dealing with most side effects if you have any.

They put on a little survivor outdoor party affair in Key West a couple of months ago with a finger-food buffet and mimosas. It was nice. Glad you'll get to go to yours. The "hair donation" is a nice touch.

Judy in Key West

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I've been reeling since halfway thru my carbo today. Wail of a headache, shakes, chills, nausea, and can't sleep. I wanna sleep till my next appt. waaaaaaa. I'm just glad to have a place to spend time and see that I've really got it good, I'm just a big baby. My chemo seems to interact with the other meds I take and I get some fun side effects, like the dizziness of a carnival ride, wheeeee. I keep having to reread my post and other posts to try to make sense of them. I am really looking forward to being through with all this and maybe getting off the oxygen and getting a little life back..... thanks for the ears...

Donny

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Donny,

Sorry it's a rough ride! Maybe you'll adjust to the chemo? That's what the doc's would tell me, of course I was thinking "bulls***"! Keep an eye on your blood pressure! That's when I would feel totally dingy! It was the steroids! Sending a prayers for strength!

Dana

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Chemo is really tough on a lot of us. I had days where I just wasn't able to function. And one of the drugs they gave me for nausea made me so dizzy and loopy that I never took it again after the first round. Hang in there!

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Donny-

Sorry you are having bad side effects from the chemo. I was on Alimta for quite a while with no side effects other than fatigue but probably mixed with Carbo its harder on your body.

Hoping and praying that this new combo kicks the sh*t out of the cancer!!!

Hugs - Patti B.

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Hey Donny. Sorry to hear you are having a rough go with the chemo. I hope you start to feel better soon and that it is doing it's job. Hang in there.

Oncology staff at our clinic are also the best. Everyone of them is so caring. I often leave there feeling in better spirits than when I arrived. So thank goodness for those folks. I am glad you have had good experiences as well. It sure helps.

Take care

Sandra

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  • 3 weeks later...

Slept through two appts. in the last 2 days. By that I mean I didn't go. Missed an appt. with my onc. asst., 2 hrs after being there for blood work. Then forgot/ slept thru/ spaced out my chemo appt. I dunno whats going on with me. Sleeping prolly 20 - 22 hrs a day now. Chemo is rescheduled for monday, someone please wake me at 7;30 am.

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My fatigue on Carbo/Alimta seems to be cumulative. I'm now in the 3rd week of the cycle and still taking naps, whereas when I first started Alimta the major fatigue lasted "only" 7-10 days. But aside from that and the expected constipation (now handled with reasonably effective countermeasures) and some edema, there are no other side effects. No skin problems, muscle aches, drainage, SOB, lightheaded feeling, neuropathy, vision problems, etc. that were getting real old real fast on some of the other treatments. I'm sure the fatigue would get to me also if there was a lot of stuff I really had to do, but so far I've been able to adjust my schedule to accommodate it.

Ned

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Ned, I forgot you are on Carbo AND Alimta like Donny. The fatigue factor on Alimta alone according to my experience doesn't seem to be a major factor yet. I do recall one of the doctors on cancergrace, however, saying it is cumulative for some people. I'm not looking forward to it and am hoping to avoid it altogether.

I was bragging about how well I was doing yesterday but things aren't going as well today lol. But, like you, I'll deal with what I have now over some of the things I was dealing with on my other treatments (carbol/taxol/avastin and even avastin alone). The big difference for me is taking proably 1/4 of the bp meds and every time I go to the hospital for treatments, my bp is normal instead of to the ceiling!

Judy in Key West

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