Breast Cancer Chemo Drugs

Chemotherapy is a scary word for most of our hearts. We have seen movies and heard such horrible stories about undergoing this difficult treatment for a disease that could kill us. I underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer and know that in some cases, cancer is not difficult ... it is not painful ... it does not make us sick. This is the case for most of us who have breast cancer, but no distant metastases. But then they say we need to do chemo and we know we'll feel it.

Although chemo drugs have not changed that much, and they are still terribly hard on our bodies, the management drugs have changed much. Chemotherapy, for many of us, not the show-stopper we thought it would. Of course, each of us is different and the chemo drugs affect each of us in different ways, but for the most part, the chemo is definitely doable.

My breast cancer was stage IIIA, with a 5.8 cm tumor, 8 of 10 lymph nodes positive, and I was only 39 years. It bought me a ticket for the chemo round. And I was afraid of my mind. But I found a support group for breast cancer online to WebMD, and these women told me everything to expect and more. Am gone through four rounds of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide. Both are some pretty heavy drugs breast cancer chemotherapy. After that, I did a controversial treatment that involved extremely high doses of cyclophosphamide, cisplatin and taxol, so I learned a lot about the survival of chemotherapy.

Firstly, I strongly recommend you do a port. This is a line that goes into a vein in the chest, the entrance is located just under the skin, just below the collarbone. It requires a quick surgery to put in but if you have a mastectomy for your breast, you can get the chemo port put together. If you choose not to do so, you will get your chemo treatments in the veins and the chemo is really hard on your veins. This means you probably have to endure multiple attempts for them to find a vein, over time. With the port, it is already in a vein, all they have to do is stick the needle into the port for access. If you find this uncomfortable, there is a cream they can give you called EMLA. One of the first things I learned was to tell them the moment I was uncomfortable. That's all fixable. You put EMLA cream on a bit before you have your port accessed and it will numb the skin.

Most drugs breast cancer chemotherapy because of your hair loss. This is because the chemo kills the rapidly dividing cells in your body. Your mucous membranes and hair follicles are affected for this reason. Therefore you may have nausea or develop mouth or throat sores. Again, all this sounds scary, but is totally manageable. As you'll probably lose your hair, which can be very traumatic, I recommend going wig or hat shopping before you even get your first chemotherapy. Take a girlfriend with you and be adventurous. Try different styles and even colors. If you've always wanted to be a blonde, here's your chance! Make a day of it and having fun with it. God knows you have to look for that Silver Lining every chance you get. Also, make sure you have your prescription filled nausea med before you go so you will have for you if you need it at home. You can be very tired after, do not wait till then to get these drugs.

The first day of chemotherapy, they will probably give you some steroids, intravenously or by the port to help the nausea. This can make you hungry, you did for me! But I recommend you do not eat your favorite food, the day of chemo. Chemo is manageable, but once you're finished, you may find that you have associations. For example, I used to love the cucumber melon fragrance when.