YouDeserveIt Blog

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January, 2009. I have been tracking my side effects from chemo and posting them to help others that are in the same position as me. The unknown is very scary and so is cancer and chemo. Hopefully reading about my experience will make it less scary.

Treatment #1

Day 1: Full of Energy, Hiccups at night before bed, lasted about 45 minutes.

Day 2: Woke Up Full of Energy, Sleepy by 8 PM, but feel good otherwise.

Day 3: Feel good, head a little foggy

Day 4: Woke up feeling good, energetic, head a little foggy, feeling tired as day goes on.

Day 5: Very tired. Food doesn’t have much flavor.

Day 6: Tired. Achy Body, Food doesn’t have much flavor.

Day 7: Stomach pains after eating, itchy scalp, itchy back, stomach/back pain at night

Day 8: Stomach pain after eating – but not as bad as yesterday, itchy scalp, itchy back

Day 9: Feel Good 

Day 10: Feel Good, started getting sore on tongue. Feels like when you eat too much sugar.

Day 11: Feel Good, tongue still sore. Bought Dr. Katz TheraBreath Oral Rinse & started using 3 times a day

Day 12: Feel Good but woke up with mouth/jaw pain – like I’m wearing a retainer, hair starting to come out?�
Tongue feels better.

Day 13: Feel Good, Woke up with mouth/jaw pain again, I’m pretty sure I’m losing more hair than usual.�
Tongue sore gone. 

Day 14: Feel Good, Hair comes out when I brush it. 

Day 15: Feel Good, Hair comes out when I wash it. Received a Nuepogen shot today because of low white�
blood cell count 

Day 16: Feel OK, throat started hurting in the afternoon, possibly from the shot. Temp of 99.9, Hair is very thin now. 

Day 17: Very tired, sore throat, high temp of 101.9, low temp of 99.0 all day. Hair coming out a LOT. Cut it shoulder
length.

Day 18: Temperature back to normal but now have a cough. Looks like I got a minor cold. Hair even thinner today. 

Day 19: Still coughing but don’t feel too bad. Hair falling out without help of a hand or brush
.
Day 20: Coughing but feel OK. Hair is soooooo thin. I’m starting to feel self-conscious about it.

Day 21: Coughing but feel OK. The part in my hair is larger than normal. I have a bald spot in the top back of my head.

Treatment #2

Day 22: Full of Energy, have cough from last weeks cold, but feel very good. Shaved my head because
I had big bald spots.

Day 23: Feel Good

Day 24: Feel Good

Day 25: Woke up with a sore throat from acid reflux. Sleepy during the day. Soda tastes different.

Day 26: Tired. Acid reflux – started taking prilosec. Food doesn’t have much flavor.

Day 27: Tired, itchy skin & scalp.

Day 28: Feel good, itchy scalp.

Day 29: Insomnia, itchy scalp

Day 30: Feel Good, big appetite

Day 31: Feel Good, Big appetite.

Day 32: Feel Good, dry nose, dry mouth

Day 33: Feel Good, dry nose, dry mouth

Day 34: Feel good, runny nose off/on throughout the day.

Day 35: Feel Good. 

Day 36: Feel Good, acid reflux 

Day 37: Feel Good, I’ve noticed I’ve lost some of my eyelashes but still have all my eye brows.

Day 38: Feel Good

Day 39: Feel Good

Day 40: Feel Good
.
Day 41: Feel Good

Treatment #3

Day 42: Feel Good, had blood test & it came back great! Had 3rd chemo treatment

Day 43: Feel good after chemo, make spaghetti & meatballs for dinner.

Day 44: Feel good, full of energy.

Day 45: Woke up feeling good. Very tired by 6PM. Feel a little nauseous after eating but I haven’t gotten sick.�
Soda tastes funny. Took my first nausea pill since starting chemo.

Day 46: Woke up feeling good. Chest is red, scalp & arms are itchy. Tired later in day.

Day 47: Felt tired one hour after getting to work. Should have slept in. Heartburn at noon, felt better after eating. Drinking�
lemonade is better tasting than soda. Arms are still itchy – Don’t scratch! Makes it worse. 

Day 48: itchy skin & scalp. Hair hurts, like rubbing the wrong way. Feel full & bloated.

Day 49: Feel more like myself today. Could not sleep. Tossed and turned most the night.

Day 50: Feel good

Day 51: Feel good

Day 52: Feel good, runny nose at times during the day

Day 53: Feel good

Day 54: Feel good

Day 55: Feel good

Day 56: Feel good

Day 57: Feel good

Day 58: Feel good, 

Day 59: Feel good, hands are very dry.

Day 60: Feel good, hands are still very dry & cracking. Must put lotion on frequently.

Day 61: Feel good, hands are still dry but seem to be improving.
.
Day 62: Feel good, off & on runny nose through-out the day, hads are better.

Day 63: Feel Good, insomnia (I think from the steriods)

Treatment #4

Day 64: First day of my last round of chemo. I started getting stomach pains every 20 minutes. Lasted about 4 hours, until I had a bowel movement. Then the pain eased but did not go completely away. The few hairs I have on my head hurt when you touch them. Like when you rub hair the wrong way.

Day 65: Had stomach pains in the morning but it only lasted about an hour. The hair on my head still hurts to the touch. I feel a little bloated but it could be because I had a big lunch today.

Day 66: I slept in an extra hour today and it seemed to help. I woke up feeling good and was full of energy for about seven hours. After that I seemed to need a half hour nap. I do not have any more stomach pains and my hair feels better today. Today I am having a hard time quenching my thirst. I wish I would have taken my own advice and purchased some lemonade. I’ve been drinking gatorade and orange juice and they don’t seem to be doing the trick.

Day 67: I felt good today.

Day 68: I felt good, again. I notice my taste is starting to go. I have dry mouth and feel like I need to brush my teeth five minutes after I brush them.

Day 69: Woke up feeling good today, but got tired rather easily. My head felt very cloudy throughout the day. I often felt detached. I also feel very bloated after eating or drinking anything.

Day 70: Today I feel a lot better than yesterday. I am feeling more like myself and the cloudiness has gone away. I have a very big appetite and am eating everything on my plate (which is rare for me).

Day 71: Started having stomach pains about an hour after waking up. The pain lasted about an hour and then went away. It wasn’t terrible pain but more of a discomfort. I felt very good and full of energy during the rest of the day.

Day 72: Felt good all day

Day 73: Felt good all day

Day 74: Felt good all day

Day 75: Felt good all day.

Day 76: Felt good all day today but noticed that my nose has been running a lot.

Day 77: Feel good today

Day 78: Feel good today

Day 79: Feel good today

Day 80: Feel good today

Day 81: Feel good today

Day 82: Feel good today

Day 83: Feel good today

Day 84: Feel good today
I was so happy to make it to this day! The time actually went by pretty fast. I feel so lucky that I didn’t have any major side effects from the chemo. The next step in my journey is radiation. I will write again soon to let you know how that goes.