Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer: Who to prepare for first chemo?

I used ice packs for taxol infusions. I purchased them through Amazon.

TNBC Stage III survivor here. Last treatment was May 2023, followed by DMX and then radiation. Finished everything September 2023.
Stay positive. Get those ice packs for your hands and feet. Bring snacks, your support person or a book, a blanket. I found infusion nurses to be of a complete next level - you will be in great hands.

Here are a couple of related discussions started by @roch and @brighterdays that you may also find helpful:
- Preparing for Chemotherapy: What are your tips https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/preparing-for-chemotherapy/

- How did you prepare for chemo? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-did-you-prepare-for-chemo/vvv

@mrsorozco831, have you had your first infusion? How did it go? How are you doing?

I was diagnosed with triple negative breast April 2024. I was nervous also. My nurse was great and made us feel welcomed and assured quickly. Your infusion oncology nurse is one of your best resources. Tell them you are nervous.
I did not sleep the night before and dozed off after my infusion started as my pre-meds made me a little drowsy. The other comments are right on.
I did shave my head before treatment started as I did not want to watch my longer hair come out. Obviously a personal decision. Not a decision you need to make.
You will develop a routine as you go. What works for you. You are in my thoughts. Sending you many positive thoughts.

All of these comments are so helpful. I am reading this the day after your 1st treatment, so I hope it went well and you feel a little more at ease. I am also triple negative with a grade 2b metaplastic tumor, another HER 2 + tumor and a HER 2- lymph node…so all over the place. I am receiving TCHP infusions, so it is possible we might be getting the same treatment.
I have had 2 out of 6 treatments and @sschafer70 described very well the same symptoms I have had. The first 10 days after treatment have been the time with the most side effects (mostly just tired) and the rest of the time leading up to the next treatment, I have felt great. The first round I experienced very tender gums and a short lived rash on my face. The doc prescribed a gel for the rash and it helped tremendously for the 2nd round. My hair did start falling out after the first few weeks but I took that as a time to experiment with cutting it short. 8 weeks in, I went ahead and shaved it because it was messy so doing it in stages helped it not be so hard to deal with emotionally. I have not had nausea but the nurse told me that try not to let yourself get to the point where you feel hungry because nausea sometimes will follow that feeling. What has helped me most is napping when I’m tired and drinking liquids. I found nutritional shakes help if you don’t feel like eating. It is all very scary but it is good you reached out for support. I learning that we don’t have to do this alone.

I agree with you, I sat there under the warm blanket sipping apple juice.

@mrsorozco831 - two things I did when I started this journey was to start a notebook of what I was told and I'd make sure to repeat back to the individual to make sure I wrote the information in terms I would understand. In some cases this took away the fear of what they were saying because I focused on what was said and not what it meant to me so I was detached from the information. The second thing I did was take someone with me to some of those initial scary appointments so someone else could focus on what was being said. Keeping the journal helped in several ways - the main one is - now that I'm beyond my treatment I can see what I've gone through and reached the other side stronger.

I was fortunate that all my physicians were patient with me in making sure I understood what was going to happen. I still take that notebook with me to follow-up appointments, so if I have any additional questions I have questions and answers all in one place.

One other thing that I would say, listen to your body, if it says it needs to sleep allow it to. I had triple negative as well, and sounds like your going through very similar to what I did with the chemo and immunotherapy. I know that the day of the treatments they gave me a mixture of drugs to stop as many of the side effects as possible and that worked for me pretty well, but 2 days later your body basically crashes after the treatment.

They did tell me but I don’t remember exactly I do know it’s 2 chemos and 1 immunotherapy Thank you for your feedback it’s so helpful

I too am TNBC and BRCA2+, I made a chemo bag that had snacks, candied ginger in case I felt nausea, a bottle of water with an electrolyte added, my iPad and iPod and knitting came too. I never knew what I'd be in the mood for. The other thing is I changed my diet to a very high protein one so my work always came back high enough for my next treatment. I was fortunate and worked throughout my treatment. I'd have my infusion on a Thursday afternoon was OK Friday, really rested and relaxed on Saturday and started to feel better on Sunday. I researched what were they possible side effects of my treatment infusions and prepared my infusion bag for those possibilities. Some side effects I had others I didn't, I was also fortunate to have had mild side effects. I think for me my attitude and outlook toward the journey helped me weather each phase. Use this site to ask questions, learn and vent when you need to - know you are not alone, many of us have traveled a similar road.