vegasbaby

Lanihardage -

Well, to be perfectly honest, I would think with a score of 28 you would be getting some chemo.  Of course every onc has different opinions on this and it ultimately is up to you.  I can tell you that I had IDC, 1.4 cm, Stage 1, no nodes, estrogen and progesterone positive, her2nue negative, grade 2 tumor.  My oncotype score came back at 29.  I had lumpectomy, snb, four rounds of dose dense AC, four rounds of dose dense Taxol, 37 rads, and am on Tamoxifen for five years.  Again, this is a very personal decision, but for me, I wanted to be as agressive as I could right up front so that in the future if I ever faced a recurrance, I would know that I had done everything I possibly could the first time around.  I would definitely get a second opinion...good luck and let us know.  Keep in mind that chemo is most definitely not a pleasant experience, but some how, some way, we all make it through.  It is doable.

Gayanne

Hi Bonnielv -

Don't have anything for you so far as the PE goes, but wanted to say Hi!  I left you a note under the "get together" thread.  We need to meet up with other Las Vegans sometime!

Hope you get the answer you need soon from your onc -

Gayanne

NativeMainer -

I get mine right at the onc's office.  I really think the Lupron and Tamox is the right call for me.  Haven't had a period in almost two years, no mood swings, no monthly cravings, etc.  The worst side effect of Tamox and Lupron is the hot flashes.  I don't even think the ob/gyn would want to get involved in the Lupron.  They would probably refer you right back to the onc for monitoring!  Wouldn't that just be the pickle that takes the cake!  Maybe an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) would do it since they use it very frequently for IVF.  Things that make you go hmmm...!

Peacechild -

I was 35 at dx in May of '06.  After lumpectomy, 8 rounds of chemo, and rads, I started on Tamoxifen.  I have taken it every single day since.  I take the full 20 mg at night before bed.  I also started on Lupron injections as well only a month after starting Tamox.  For me, it really is quite tolerable.  Yes, I have wicked hot flashes, about every half hour or so.  They are much worse at night from about 6 pm on.  I struggle to maintain my weight.  Don't really have body aches or pains to report.  The meds certainly don't keep me from doing anything I didn't do before.  Mood is good, sex life is great, energy is good, appetite is good (dang it!), all is well.  I did have the test done to determine how well I metabolize the tamox and it turned out that my body metabolizes it very well so I will definitely stay on it for the full five years.  Still have about 3 years to go, then will move on to hysterectomy.  As of right now, I still have my ovaries.  Having the Lupron injections is an alternative to having an ooph done.  The injections are once a month done in the buttock.  Not a big deal really. Can't even feel it.

Hope that helps...good luck with whatever you decide!

Hi, sorry to hear of the dang hemorroids.  I got them too on A/C and it happened darn near day one.  I talked with my onc about it and she suggested I take Senekot S.  I started that right away and it helped immensely.  I took it every day for four months.  She assured me it was okay considering the situation.  Check with your onc on her opinion but for me it worked great.  I also used a Tucks butt wipe every day and that was awesome!  Very refreshing.  They have witchhazel on them and it is very calming.  Don't know if you have to move on to any other chemo's but once I got on Taxol that problem went away.  Plenty of others came, but at least not that one!  Also, drink lots of water and eat as much fresh fruit as you can tolerate.  Prunes helped too, they have some really yummy ones out now.  Good luck and may the gentle force be with you!

gayanne

Otter,  I know you're probably already in bed but thought I'd add my two cents.

I wore my contacts during all six treatments.  Never had a problem with them.

Wig.  Well, I bought one but think I only wore it twice.  I hated it.  It's hot, sweaty, itchy and it looks like a wig.  I felt like I had no reason to be ashamed of having a bald head so I wore baseball caps when out in public.  At home, I went completely topless.

As for the big shave, after I did it I still had the little stubbles.  A word of warning...it hurts your scalp when your hair is falling out.  I never knew that but it really does ache.  To get the little stubbles out, I literally duct taped my head and pulled them all out.  Them I rubbed aloe gel into my chrome dome and had instant relief.  It felt so good physically to be completely bald!  Pure relief.  Really.  I didn't have any fuzz type hair growing in at all until at least two months after chemo was done.  Once that started, I let it grow right on in.  After about a month of hair growth, I went completely topless in public too.  Just didn't care anymore!

Neulasta.  I did my shots the day after my tx's as well.  It was in the upper arm, but on the outside near the tripcep, but not into the muscle, just the skin (SQ)

Sex.  Well, let's just say this wasn't going to happen for me during tx's.  My dh was very uncomfortable simply being near me, much less holding or loving on me.  He just couldn't cope with my being sick.  We literally went months and months without even touching.  I am happy to report, we have definitely made up for the lost time!

As for flossing - I was told not to.  Too high of a risk for infection.  No dental cleaning, etc. 

Now for some tips...

Warm thick socks and shoes that are easy to remove.  You will be much more comfortable this way.  The first thing I did was take my shoes off and put on some thick extra soft socks.

Chapstick.  Eyedrops. Crackers.  Books, mags, etc.  A favorite blanket.  Your favorite pillow.  Bottle of water.  Jolly ranchers, or something to help keep your whistle wet.  Thick hand cream.  Kleenex. Baby wipes, for the unsanitary toilet area.  Ask your onc for some ativan.  It helps relax you for the tx's and allows you to fall asleep too.  You may also need something to help you sleep in the evenings as well.  Ipod is a neccessity!. 

You will be going pee several times during each infusion. 

Stock up on stool softeners.  Chemo drugs completely stop the intestines from working.  I was taking Colace and a softener every single day. Take the anti nausea meds no matter how you feel.  It is very hard to stop nausea once it starts but much easier to never get it at all if you take them as prescribed.

The bad SE's don't show up until about day 2 or three after each tx so enjoy the day after.  Oh yeah, and I kept crackers at my bedside table because I would often wake up during the night and in the morning very nauseous.  Much like morning sickness if you've ever been pg.  Having a couple crackers before getting out of bed helped me alot.

Get ready for weird food cravings and things you've always loved you will not even be able to think about eating! 

I hope all goes well for you tomorrow and let us know how you're feeling.  Keep the questions coming, that's how we learn!  It's certainly not fun, but you can do this.  One day at a time.

The first one is the worst one.  It will get better after this!

Gayanne

Dear Lynn, Paul, and SLH -

Just happened to see the Big Bear Lake post and had to take a look.  I live in Vegas but we have a house in BBL as well.  In fact, as I type this, I am in BBL in front of my fireplace!  What a beautiful day it was today!  I would love to hear back from you, and Lynn, hope the rest of treatment goes well for you.  Cheers,

Gayanne

dx 5/06, stage 1, lumpectomy, snb, chemo, rads, tamox for five years

So bummed!  Haven't checked this site for so many months that I completely missed the last vegas get together!  Since I live here, if any of you come this way again give me a shout out!  Hope you all had a good time and I'm sorry I missed it!

Gayanne

Hi Barb -

Well, I just turned 37 years old and have been on Tamox for a little more than a year, and I also do shots of Lupron once a month.  With these two things combined, I should have no bleeding of any kind and was told to report any.  On August 25 at about midnight I went to pee and when I wiped there was one small "dot" of light pink on the toilet paper.  I did the responsible thing and reported it to my onc a few days later.  Well, they freaked out over one little spot.  Long story short, I was in my OBGYN's office quite quickly, and just this Tuesday, they did a hysteroscopy and D&C under general anesthesia in the hospital.  It seems because of the Tamox they knew that uterine cancer was a risk.  The initial reports say I have what appears to be a fibroid cyst but they did biopsy it just to be sure.  I will be hearing those results any day now.  So...not to worry you needlessly, but with that much bleeding I agree...you need to be seen sooner and with a more agressive diagnostic test.  Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Gayanne