Coping with Intense Chemotherapy Side Effects

Make sure you let your team know about the chest pain. If you are also receiving paclitaxol that will usually cause the neuropathy and make you immunocompromised. Herceptin only targets the Her2 not all cells. Make sure when you get your infusion you ask for an extra large bag of fluids. The small one they use for your infusion isn’t enough. You want another of the large size. It will help with the side effects. That was a tip from my infusion nurse. Also, ask your Onc about taking Claritin after. That also helped me. You can do this. I did the full calendar year. Your team can help you with your S.E. Best wishes.

Absolutely ask for large saline solution . Some nurses try to speed up process or shorten the solution . I literally demanded slow infusion of meds then to finish bag of fluids completely .

Ask about steroids infusions or shots after chemotherapy 🎄

Make sure your oncologist is aware of your neuropathy! If it is increasing they may stop or reduce dose, depends on you dx. It can be permanent and painful!

hi,, im done with lumpectomy, stage 2 BC. radition done. now taking tamoxifen pill and lupron shot once a month.when i talk to my oncologist she told me that no pet scan or pet scan is not recommended for early stage, only mammogram and maybe ct scan. any comments? thank you.Happy New year all

That is the standard of care 😞

I was told by an oncologist that a pet scan is not reliable for tumors smaller than 1 cm.

Julia K - I was told that too so my ONC does MRIs and CTs

I took dexamethasone before each treatment. I was incredibly ill from my chemo(carboplatin, pertuzamab,trastuzamab, and paclitaxel). With one treatment(my first treatment) my potassium was knocked down to dangerous levels and I had to have a potassium drip. I also had two units of blood. They continued on with two more treatments- but stop because it caused fatty liver. I also lost handfuls of hair only four days after my first treatment. I didn’t know any better to tell them no more of this. I was then switched to weekly taxol which wasn’t bad. But when I developed a “sore” and showed my PA she said not to worry. Turns out she has no onco background and did t report my “sore” to my onco. Very quickly I developed fungating tumors. It was terrible. They smell awful and weeped. When I figured out what was going on I switched cancer centers and doctors. Within 4 days of my initial exam I was getting a mastectomy. I wanted a double but due to the fungating tumors I had an infection on my entire front torso and the surgeon didn’t want me to chance another avenue of infection. After that I did 25 radiation treatments. They were horrible. And started kadcyla until I told my onco that I was going to cut off my feet due to horrible neuropathy. I was told NED but there were no tests done. So I dunno. 🤷‍♀️

HER2+ treatments are indeed known for being intense, and managing multiple side effects at once takes real courage and determination. Many in this community have found that staying in close contact with the care team about side effects like these can help with symptom management strategies, and connecting with others here who understand this specific treatment journey can provide valuable support and practical tips.