Weight Loss after Chemo and Radiation: My Breast Cancer Story

Ten Pounds in Ten Weeks
MY GOAL!

Ten months ago, if you asked me what a cancer patient looked like, I would have answered you with two words: emaciated & bald.

Here’s what I have learned:

• Cancer patients who just get radiation do not go bald
• Chemo triggers hair loss- all over the body (source)
• Each cancer patient can be on different medications – both intravenous and oral
• Chemo can be coupled with steroids to help patients feel better (aka less symptomatic) after treatment
• Steroids can lead to (wait for it…..) weight gain

Weight Loss after Chemo and Radiation: My Breast Cancer Story

In a nutshell, I am ALIVE.

Today is October 9, 2018 almost a year after my Stage 3 Lobular Carcinoma diagnosis.

I have been thru 8 weeks of Adriamycin “Red Devil” chemo and 12 weeks of Taxol chemo.

(That’s 5 months of chemo, if you are counting, and I sure as heck did!)

I have had 24 rounds of aggressive radiation. Today is MY LAST RADIATION TREATMENT! WHOOP WHOOP!

Do I care about my figure at this point?

Yes and no.

No, because my upper body has more scars than a pimento cheese sandwich has pimentos. These will fade, as I had expert surgeons. And next fall I will get nipples, so there’s that.

And no, because the morning I checked into the hospital for my double mastectomy I was down to 128 pounds.

Yes, because……I gained weight during chemo. Pounds + zero muscle due to being literally bedridden for months.

Why I Need to Loose Weight After Chemo & Radiation

• My breast cancer is hormone driven, meaning when my body makes hormones, it could also make cancer.
• Hormone levels drop when obese women loose weight, according to BreastCancer.org.
• I am not obese, but I gained weight during 12 weeks of Taxol. I have zero muscle due to months of being bedridden, and lots of fat.
• If I loose these extra 10-15 pounds, it could help taper the amounts of estrogen being made by my body.

Because I am so ER/PG+ (estrogen & progesterone positive), my oncologist is putting me on Tamifloxin until my ovaries are removed on December 5.

I want to shed pounds and increase muscle mass from now until December 5.

Why I Gained Weight During Chemo

In March, my introduction to chemotherapy began. Adriamycin is hard on our hearts, so I had a preliminary EKG to make sure my heart could stand the dosage of AC I was about to be given. You can have 6 doses in your lifetime before it effects your heart; I had four.

AC took my hair, my memory, my hearing & vision (temporarily) and my appetite.

I never became physically ill, but I did loose 6 pounds after that first dose.

The only foods I really could eat were peanut butter toast, apples, and…….at the end of the two weeks….Pizza Hut Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizzas! Keep in mind that I could eat an ENTIRE medium pizza all by myself and I still did not gain weight!

Here’s why: for the first week and a half after an AC infusion, I could barely eat. Then, on Thursdays, my appetite tolerance returned! I would eat what I could (hey there, Pizza Hut!) and then would taper off heavy foods 48 hours prior to my next infusion. (I got AC infusions every other Monday for eight weeks.)

After AC, I immediately began my 12 weeks of Taxol. This was a kinder, gentler chemo for sure. I began eating again….

ENTER THE STEROIDS.

Oh yes.

They made me feel better but boy did they do a number on my appetite! Suddenly, everything sounded good! My oncology team warned about restricting calories during this time.

If your body is hungry during chemo, and you withhold food,

it focuses on sustaining itself instead of fighting the cancer.

I was not to loose weight during this time.

So I ate.

And I gained.

But I WAS ALIVE.

At my last chemo infusion appointment, my weight had skyrocketed to the low 150’s.

I felt completely defeated in a way……

Aren’t all cancer patients THIN?!?!

I was planning to return to work on August 22 and I was concerned about clothes fitting this newly expanded and distorted body.

Still, my cancer team warned against weight loss until AFTER radiation.

NOTE: Heather is not a medical doctor OR a trained medical professional. Totally Tailgates is not a medical advice website. Information shared on this site is her personal story and is not to be construed as medical advice.