CommaWitch's Journey:
- 1 Procedure or Surgery Icon Procedure or Surgery
- 2 Drug or Chemo Therapy Icon Drug or Chemo Therapy
- 3 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 4 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 5 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 6 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 7 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 8 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 9 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 10 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
- 11 Side Effects Icon Side Effects
Survivor: Breast Cancer > Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
Patient Info: Currently in active treatment (initial surgery, receiving chemo rounds/radiation), Diagnosed: almost 11 years ago, Female, Age: 56, Stage IIA, HER2 Positive: Yes, ER Positive: No, PR Positive: No
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Procedure: Drag this icon to show a procedure.
Radiation: Drag this icon to show a specific radiation therapy experience.
Drug Therapy: Drag this icon to show a specific drug therapy experience.
Clinical Trial: Drag this icon to show a clinical trial experience.
Side Effect: Drag this icon to show experience with a specific side effect.
Oh No: Drag this icon to show when something bad happened (e.g., cancer’s back, lost job).
Celebration: Drag this icon to show when something good happened (e.g., last treatment, hair is back).
Loss: Drag this icon to show a time of loss (e.g., lost hair, lost loved one).
Decision Point: Drag this icon to show a time when you had to make a tough decision.
Other Care: Draft this icon to show a time when you needed other care (e.g., hospice, psychotherapy).
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Double Mastectomy
Procedure or Surgery
This person has yet to add any details about this experience.
Chemotherapy
Drug or Chemo Therapy
This person has yet to add any details about this experience.
Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
Side Effects
I was anemic before I started treatment. The chemo just exacerbated the problem. I could have had shots of Procrit, but I didn't like the side effects and I was close enough to the end of my traditional chemo treatments that my oncologist just watched my counts and we agreed to forego the shot.
Chemo brain
Side Effects
This is real. It has also been one of the most frustrating parts of treatment for me. I've always considered myself pretty articulate and to not be able to complete a sentence or forget a word I need to finish a sentence is so frustrating I want to scream.
Fatigue (tiredness)
Side Effects
I received my treatments on Thursday. By Saturday night I was asleep and I slept most of the time until Tuesday. Three days was all I'd allow myself and then I was up, whether I was still exhausted or not.
Lymphedema
Side Effects
I has lymph nodes removed from my left arm. Luckily, I'm a righty, but I still wear my sleeve and gauntlet if I'm working out or if I know my left arm is going to be hanging by my side for a good portion of the day.
Hair loss (alopecia)
Side Effects
Just like they said, my hair began falling out within two weeks of my first treatment. I had hair down to my bottom, so we cut it and donated it, before treatment started. Once my hair started falling out, we let our 4 year old son shave my head. Making him part of the process made the transition less shocking for all of us. Mine's growing back now. It's darker and much curlier, but chemo doesn't cure gray hair. =)
Swelling (edema)
Side Effects
My legs swelled from my hips to my toes after each chemo treatment and basically stayed that way for a week to the whole time after chemo. I took a medication, whose name I can't recall now, to help with the swelling, but the side effects sucked, so I just dealt with the swelling.
Taste change/loss
Side Effects
I ate with plastic utensils. Metal utensils were all I could taste when I used them. For me, the taste of things got more intense. If something was mildly spicy, it was very spicy to me.
Weight gain
Side Effects
*sigh* Between the steroids and not feeling well enough or having enough energy, I sat around a lot. I gained nearly 30 pounds during treatment.
Sexual side effects
Side Effects
At my age, 45 at diagnosis, I had not yet entered menopause. They did tell me that chemo would throw me into menopause, but almost a year later, I don't seem to have any of the side effects other than no period. I did however lose all sexual desire. I contacted my OBGYN and he sent me to a specialist (I call her the "sex" doctor). She added a medication to the ones I was already taking and within a week, my husband was a happy man! :D