What should I expect when going through chemotherapy (TAC)?!
Question: I am a 22 year old girl that was diagnosed with breast cancer on 2/6/2008, bilateral mastectomy with tissue expanders on 2/21/2008. Sentinal node biopsy was negative, the tumor was 4.5 cm and was ER (-), PR (+) HER2 (-). As a precaution and because of the size of my tumor they have decided to start me on TAC (I can't remember what that is the acronym for). I have opted to have it in what they call dense doses where I will get it every other Thursday for 8 cycles instead of every third Thursday for 6. It will cut the total time by 2 months. So my main question is has anyone every done this dense dose thing with the same type of drugs they will be giving me? What side efects did you experience? I realize that everyones are different, and I figure that with me only being 22 and healthy I will have an easier time with it. I am very positive, I just honestly feel like it is not going to be that bad.
Answers: I am a 22 year old girl that was diagnosed with breast cancer on 2/6/2008, bilateral mastectomy with tissue expanders on 2/21/2008. Sentinal node biopsy was negative, the tumor was 4.5 cm and was ER (-), PR (+) HER2 (-). As a precaution and because of the size of my tumor they have decided to start me on TAC (I can't remember what that is the acronym for). I have opted to have it in what they call dense doses where I will get it every other Thursday for 8 cycles instead of every third Thursday for 6. It will cut the total time by 2 months. So my main question is has anyone every done this dense dose thing with the same type of drugs they will be giving me? What side efects did you experience? I realize that everyones are different, and I figure that with me only being 22 and healthy I will have an easier time with it. I am very positive, I just honestly feel like it is not going to be that bad.
www.breastcancer.org is a site with a lot of info.
I did AC for 4 rounds and then taxol (related to taxotere) for 4 rounds, both dose dense. The AC made my hair fall out but while the thought of it horrified me, actually it wasn't so bad. You will want to get some soft cap to wear because your head will get cold at night. I got a wig, but rarely used it, scarves and hats were much better.
Some people have nausea, but there are good drugs to deal with it. Take them exactly as prescribed - you can prevent the nausea more easily that cure it. You will need to drink a lot of water after chemo to flush the drugs out of your system. Also rinse off your privates after you urinate. Your mouth may be sensitive as chemo is hard on mucous membranes, Biotene mouthwash and toothpaste might help. I really didn't have a lot of trouble with the AC.
They will likely give you neulasta or neupogen to keep your white blood cells from tanking. The neulasta gave me bone pain, I found the neupogen easier even though it takes more injections.
For most people taxotere/taxol is easier, for me it was harder. Lots of bone and muscle pain and neuropathy in my hands and fingers, which is getting better - but slowly.
Try to keep moderately active but not to the point of exhaustion. Try to eat well although you may lose your appetite, eat little meals more often. I did a lot of beef broth, yogurt, fruit, veggies. Anything highly seasoned just didn't sit well.
Good luck, it's no picnic but you'll likely do fine.
aww thats sad but you have to know that when my older brother was little he had cancer and he survived i hope you get better
I'm happy to read that there is no sentinel node involvement and that the HER2 is neg. I agree that your odds are good.
TAC stands for the chemo meds used. T is docetaxel (Taxotere), A is Adriamycin (doxorubicin) and C is cyclophosamide.
Below is a link you can click on for a walk-through of what to expect. Best of luck, I believe you can beat this!
http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatment...
I am 26 years old and was just diagnosed also with breast cancer this past December. I will be starting chemotherapy this Friday and I am a little afraid because I don't know what to expect, but my doctors have said because i am still young It may not be so bad for me. I wish that I could be as positive as you are. Getting breast cancer at such a young age is very difficult for me deal with.
i am very sorry to hear that you have breast cancer. You are only 6 years younger than I am. It must be hard going through something like this at such a young age. My grandma had breast cancer , but beat it with surgery about 28 years ago.
As you already know, everyone's reaction to the chemo drugs are different. My 21-month-old son is undergoing chemo right now for a rare form of cancer (actually in the hospital for his treatment as I type this), but he is on 5 different drugs that alternate. This round he is on Vincristine (aka Oncovin), Cyclophosphamide (aka Cytoxan), and Doxirubicin (aka Adriamycin)...he didn't have any side effects to these drugs the first time around, this is the second time he has received them. The next round he will receive Etoposide (aka VP16) and Ifosfamide (aka Ifex)...now these drugs he was sick the week following the treatment but was find 2 weeks after that medicine. He gets a medicine called Zofran for nausea that helps him feel better and Mesna to help protect the bladder from the cyclophosphamide and VP16. He comes in every 3 weeks for treatments. I have been told that a lot of the sickness is all in the mind. What I mean is, when you think of chemo, you think of "I'm going to be sick all the time" therefore, you do end up being sick because you get yourself pysched up that it is going to happen. Know what I mean? However, if you don't think of it that way, you may not be as sick. you are bound to be sick from time to time I'm sure...but keep an open mind. Good Luck with your treatment, hope all goes well for you!
I didn't have it that way so I can't answer. I got my treatment at a cancer center and they had a nurse who could discuss all this, besides the doctor. This is a good question. Call the doctor's office and ask about it.