AC Chemo Done!

I think I was pretty lucky in terms of side effects because I didn't have many with this portion of the chemo. It's gross and not many people want to talk about it but the main issue was with constipation. If you are pro-active and start taking Colaise and Senekot as directed 1-2 days before each treatment, it should prevent any issues. Obviously the nurses keep telling me to eat lots of fibre and fruit but that doesn't always work!

Like many others doing dose dense AC which is every 2 weeks instead of every 3, I had a Neulasta shot 24 hours after chemo to boost my white blood cells. I was told that this shot is $3,000 so many people take the alternative which is Neupogen. The main difference is cost and that Neupogen is given daily as opposed to one shot. I was glad that my employer covered 60% and the remainder was paid by the Victory Program. If you are in Canada, the Victory Program may be worth looking into. The nurse that administered the shot said most people take it in their arm but I found my stomach was much less painful. Another tip to reduce the stinging of the medicine going in is to take the Neulasta out of the fridge at least one hour before the injection. I got some pain in my shoulders and neck for about 1-2 days following the shot but other than that, the side effects were minimal. Many people experience much worse than this so again, being younger probably worked in my favour.

All through AC, my white blood cell count remained pretty low so I can only imagine what it would have been without the Neulasta. Even though your count might be below the "normal" range, they can usually still go ahead with chemo unless it is really low. I ask for all of my blood test results and put them into a spreadsheet so I can track them. I have found that this can be helpful and may spark some questions when meeting with your Oncologist depending on how things are tracking. 

Now, on to Taxol...