Chemo & Your Heart Are You Aware of Side Effects?

 Lets see I began this roller coaster ride nearly 7 years ago starting out with Stage 3 Grade 3  Breast Cancer,, did the chemo skipped radiation began the other crappy drugs they tell you are good for you....stayed on them for well over a year and some but decided I could no longer tolerate the horrendous side effects.  I still wanted to walk not limp but can't have everything can we my cane is always right there...

This has been a bad year for me in terms of not feeling great shortness of breath my inability to sleep without feeling as though I'm  suffocating.  Fluid in my lungs  Hospitalized 3 times within 4 months..  Dr.'s change my meds play around with  scheduling  release me I'm good for 2 weeks,  I begin to tank out. Retaining fluid like I'm a storage  container..   The same old breathlessness can't walk half a block without feeling I was going to pass out.. Did I mention I'm not nearing 100 in fact there are some who are in better health.  ..

The Heart Specialist  told me  I have Malignant Hypertension and Congestive Heart Failure each episode I have is now considered a Hypertensive emergency  ..my blood pressure is so out of control it's difficult to stabilize, I start out well  within days or sometimes hours my b/p is all over the map again.  I was admitted to hospital over a week ago with a reading of 238/125 put in ICCU for 3 days. Transferred to the Telemetry  to be monitored 24/7
did I mention that I was told I also have a "Tortuous Aorta" ?

 When you meet  your Oncologists for the first time  told you need Chemotherapy, your entire faith and trust is put into their hands. They know what you need . You are given different protocols of treatment often more than one kind of chemo is used. I had FEC  the second chemo I had was Taxotere. I was told my fingernails may come off, but this one wasn't as bad for side effects  as FEC.. really? Up  few years  serious side effects start developing . I had severe neuropathy I could barely walk the pain was so debilitating. I often need my cane to get across the room.

I haven't come to terms with any of this yet I am still trying to understand what I don't understand. Why aren't we told there could be the potential of serious heart damage  or failure  if we do these chemo treatments?  Somehow I don't remember "that talk" with my Oncologist.. pretty obvious if we were told it would certainly throw a wrench into the Pharma companies selling their poisons how many would actually go through with it or would it compel the companies  to  find less damaging alternatives?  Isn't this supposed to be part of all fund raising millions of dollars in donations. Is it just  all about early detection..? the remainder  left out in the cold?  I know I'm not the only one dealing with all this crap.  I'm so  sad, upset but have to keep my stress level low.  I have not had any new  cancers or recurrences but I end up with something just as life threatening if not worse . I am now taking 20  pills a day to keep my b/p in check that never stays that way for long..  . Add to a   Renal Diet.. Having b/p reading over the 200 level  consistently will have a negative effect on your kidneys..  also trying to adjust to a fluid restriction. I am allowed 1.5 liters of fluid a day.  A Nutritionist  will be helping me with the adjustments. The fluid restriction I expect will be difficult to stick with 100% No more huge cups of coffee or tea everything  measured.

This isn't exactly the "Quality of Life" I expected nearly 7 years after  Cancer treatment.......

Let's be better informed....
Alli.......