Fuck Cancer

[jono]

I got the hand-foot syndrome a couple of times. Directly after overheating either hands or feet (the mildest of sweaty hands, for instance) I would start losing skin. Each time I counted 7 layers and then it was over, like my sweat had just attacked my skin. Not comfortable, obviously, but it probably sounds worse than it felt. Still, at the worst stages of that I found some cotton gloves and held ice cubes so the gloves were damp and cold, which helped. I never thought about using that preventatively, but anything to avoid sweating hands and feet is good, and cold seems like it would help neuropathy (non-medical person speculating).

[berko]

Whoo boy. This last page really brought the existential mind fuck of cancer right back into my thoughts in a big way.

Big love for everyone enmeshed in this wretched process.

[cspringsposer]

Thanks TH! Thanks Jono! We appreciate the love Berko!

I am adding the information on cold and mouth rinse to my book and ordering clothe gloves asap.

I really appreciate everything and my wife has said to make sure you know how grateful she is for the information you are sharing.

We are still waiting to find out what type of chemo she will have, but if it is relevant, she is HER2 3+ positive, estrogen positive (weak 10%) and progesterone negative. Once we know what the cocktail will be I will start researching those specific drugs and asking more specific questions.

Thank you to everyone!

[Rideski]

My brother's prostate just joined the club.

[cspringsposer]

Sorry to hear that Ride. Hopefully he can beat it and recovery quickly. I am just starting this journey with my wife, but the folks here have genuinely provided incredible insight and advice that is helping us prepare. Will definitely say a prayer for your brother tonight.

[TBS]

My brother's prostate just joined the club.

Hopefully it’s the slow growing variety and he caught it early.

The two I know who got theirs removed are no worse for wear. No fun but not a long treatment.

My grandfather was diagnosed with it when he was 55. He didn’t get treatment.
He died at 96 - of pneumonia.
I don’t recommend this course of action…

[Mazderati]

The old trope is more people die with it than from it.

[Rideski]

Thanks guys. He did catch it early and appears to be the non aggressive type, but prognosis is still chemo or surgery. Sounds like technology has come a long way since my dad got it in the 90's. Still doesn't sound fun though.

[schwerty]

I Have a love-hate of this thread. Love seeing some success stories.

Cancer really fucking sucks! Sorry to all of those of us it has affected.

I lost my Dad to Covid in 2020 after her got a neuroendocrin tumor removed from his lung, (non smoker and super fit at close to 80). Caught Covid in the Hospital...terrible story. fast forward 2.5 years and I find out after 2.5 months of scans, tests and a major biopsy surgery with stuff sent all over the country that my mom has stage 4/metastatic cancer. After one treatment we got the news today, she has hepatic bile duct cancer. Spread to the lungs, liver and maybe other spots. Not curable but there is a course of action with chemo, immunotherapy + targeted pill therapy to buy her some time. Maybe months. Maybe years.

At least she has lived a "full", wonderful life. So many are lost to this shit way to early.

[Meadow Skipper]

JFC schwerty, that’s hard. I hope you all get the best possible turnouts for all this, but it’s gotta be rough. Best of luck to you and yours.

I feel so lame sometimes trying to send good vibes here, but maybe it helps to know that someone gives a shit.

[cspringsposer]

Really sorry to hear that brother. I can't even imagine. Fuck Cancer!

[Trackhead]

The old trope is more people die with it than from it.

Yup, all men who have the luck to have "too many birthdays" pretty much die with it, or woulda died with it if they lived long enough. Then others get it early.......

[cspringsposer]

Wife gets her port implanted today and starts chemo next week. I think going from diagnoses to treatment in a month is really good, but I still wish it could go faster! Currently she has a 4cm HER2+ tumor. Scans of the rest of the body look pretty good but there is a small spot on each lung. Onco says this is usually nothing but she will do CT Scans every 6 months to monitor.

The NCI is starting a trial for women with 3cm+ tumors that are HER2-positive. Our oncologist thinks it is a good trial and recommended she participate. We should find out today or tomorrow if she is accepted into the trial. Normal treatment is TCHP every three weeks for 18 weeks followed by surgery. The trial is nab-paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab. This treatment is weekly for 12 weeks followed by surgery. Genetic testing will determine the surgery.

Anybody else or your spouse do a trial? I really worry about her being a test case but a previous trial of women with tumors smaller than 3cm was successful and this trial is supposed to be much easier on the body than TCHP. My wife really wants to do the trial to help women coming behind her who might not be able to handle TCHP have a fighting chance against this type of cancer. I'm just terrified either way she goes.

[CantDog]

Wife gets her port implanted today and starts chemo next week. I think going from diagnoses to treatment in a month is really good, but I still wish it could go faster! Currently she has a 4cm HER2+ tumor. Scans of the rest of the body look pretty good but there is a small spot on each lung. Onco says this is usually nothing but she will do CT Scans every 6 months to monitor.

The NCI is starting a trial for women with 3cm+ tumors that are HER2-positive. Our oncologist thinks it is a good trial and recommended she participate. We should find out today or tomorrow if she is accepted into the trial. Normal treatment is TCHP every three weeks for 18 weeks followed by surgery. The trial is nab-paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab. This treatment is weekly for 12 weeks followed by surgery. Genetic testing will determine the surgery.

Anybody else or your spouse do a trial? I really worry about her being a test case but a previous trial of women with tumors smaller than 3cm was successful and this trial is supposed to be much easier on the body than TCHP. My wife really wants to do the trial to help women coming behind her who might not be able to handle TCHP have a fighting chance against this type of cancer. I'm just terrified either way she goes.

It’s a terrifying process having your spouse go through this and there is so many unknowns, and entering into clinical trials can be a frightening thing. Having your oncologist recommend it speaks volumes I think. I work in a major cancer center and see patients in trials all the time, and am a investigator in some trials as well, so while I can’t speak from the patient/spouse side I can talk about the other.

The big thing with trials is it is a lot of extra monitoring. Some folks really like this, for others it can feel overwhelming and just takes so much more time. You’ll want to ask about flexibility in the trial—how they handle protocol deviations, how much wiggle room there is to make sure your wife gets the care she needs. Depending on which phase the trial is the monitoring is different—and also have more/less chances of success. If you are traveling to NCI for the trial you’re in good hands—it’s a well oiled machine there.

If you have a link to the clinical trial info I’m happy to read through it and give you my thoughts on what the day to day aspect of it might look like.

[cspringsposer]

Thanks for the reply CantDog! For this trial, she would be treated in Denver at the Cannon Cancer Center, but according to the oncologist, the trial is being run by the NCI. Not sure how that works but that is what we were told.

I don't have the trial details yet as my wife had to do a pregnancy test today and they were also finalizing review of her echocardiogram, bone and CT scans. I know this treatment has resulted in heart complications so I definitely wanted to make sure her heart is good to go, which the oncologist confirmed last night.

I have a fairly decent background in quarantine analysis, and from what I could determine, both treatments have a PCR of 64%.and similar DFS. The variable between trials is obviously tumor size. The previous trial was under 3cm and this one is for tumors over 3cm. Here is a link to what I am almost certain was the previous trial.

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wi...002/cncr.34589

I will post up the information on this trial as soon as I have it and assuming she is accepted.

I definitely appreciate someone that works in this field double checking my homework as this is all just so scary!

I really appreciate all the information and words of support from this thread. I never knew dentists were so compassionate and well versed in so many other medical specialties!

[cspringsposer]

Here is the trial:

https://ecog-acrin.org/clinical-tria...breast-cancer/

She has been accepted to the trial and starts treatment next week. The trial started a couple of years ago but I can't find any early assessments of efficacy. I am going to ask our oncologist if she can try to get the info. Would really like to know pCR.

[TBS]

Hopin for the best mang

[mcski]

Dr Robb put up a new post today. Send some good vibes his way and wish him luck getting into a new trial

FuckCancer

[cspringsposer]

How is Mrs TBS doing? Hoping and praying the chemo isn't too horrible and that it is doing it's job!

[huckbucket]

How is Mrs TBS doing? Hoping and praying the chemo isn't too horrible and that it is doing it's job!

Joining this discussion late ... sorry cs ... maybe send me a PM. I know a lot about the HER2+ BC space.

[TBS]

How is Mrs TBS doing? Hoping and praying the chemo isn't too horrible and that it is doing it's job!

This round has kicked her ass. The kind of emotional stuff Trackhead described. But she’s coming out of it.
One more round after this and then she gets irradiated for three weeks.

[cspringsposer]

This round has kicked her ass. The kind of emotional stuff Trackhead described. But she’s coming out of it.
One more round after this and then she gets irradiated for three weeks.

Really sorry it is so hard on her right now. This is such a horrible disease with a treatment that is not that much better. Let her know there are at least two people in CO saying a prayer and sending good vibes her way.

[TBS]

Thanks mang. It’s amazing what a difference two days make. She’s her usual tough upbeat self again.

When we talk about cancer survivors, I think it’s more like they’re cancer TREATMENT survivors

[TBS]

Bump - Ms TBS got her last chemo infusion today. Will see how she handles this round better than the last. That one was tough.

She also got inked today for the radiation alignment marks. It’s just five little dots.
When I asked if they used a wired or wireless tattoo machine she said “Neither - it was like a prison tat with just a little needle and some bic pen ink”.

Her radiologist just bought a Moonbike electric snow bike for backcountry access. we spent a bunch of time talking about that. https://moonbikes.com/

[Trackhead]

Thanks mang. It’s amazing what a difference two days make. She’s her usual tough upbeat self again.

When we talk about cancer survivors, I think it’s more like they’re cancer TREATMENT survivors

Yup, like a prisoner of war called a hero but the real answer is he just survived it.

Glad you're at the end of chemo. Hope the recovery is quick.

How many infusions did your wife do? Every two or three weeks?