CMF Question
Comments
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patty- My Onc had the chemo nurses look at my veins. I'll never forget my relief when the lovely Irish nurse looked and exclaimed "their brilliant!". I only had one arm they could use because of node removal on the other side. Chemo nurses are the best at finding veins. They can get blood out of a rock! Early on they blew one vein and then never again. I was glad I didn't need a port. That's another benefit on CMF, it isn't so hard on your veins so sometimes they can use the same ones again. I'd ask your chemo nurses. They really know better than the doctors when it comes to veins. Good luck!
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Patty - I did not have a port and had a total of 12 IV treatments. It was always an adventure finding a nurse who knew how to put in an IV. There were a few nurses who were really good at it and could do it first try every time...then there were others...I think the max was 4 pokes a few times, mostly it took 2 tries. They did it in my hand a few times, but there is a risk that the chemicals can mess with your joints. It's preferable to use a vein that isn't near your joints, as I understand. Anyway, somehow I got through the 12 treatments. They will probably want to switch veins. Seems to me they kind of rotated and my hand was a last resort when we were all getting frustrated.
Be sure to drink a lot of fluids...then have them do a heat wrap to draw the veins out...sometimes they had to ask me to hold my arm down so gravity helped.
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TooManyCoctails, Welcome to our thread and I am so sorry to hear about your sister. That would be so hard to have to battle the same beast. I can't really add anything to what everyone else has said and I did the 3 week intervals for 6 times. I also live in Wichita, KS....small world and I will tell you that I did NOT use the cancer center that's here. I had a very bad experience and chose a different onc. I ended up going to Newton but they have opened an office here and my onc is there now. I use the lady and she is AWESOME
! I will happily share any information that you might like on my experiences. If you have any misgivings about your treatment.....PLEASE get a 2nd opinion. It is YOUR body and you have a right to ask anything you want. DesignerMom, hope you're doing great
!Beanius, great to see you on here and congrats on your 1 year....celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!!! All my tests are next week too and I always dread them. Had blood work done yesterday, then mammos next Monday, followed by surgeon followup, Tuesday will include complete physical by gyn/ob, and then finally my followup with onc. Needless to say....my nerves are shot
but I know it will all be okay. I'm feeling great and finally starting to lose all this extra chemo weight ....YEAH!!!golfergrandma, I so hope you are feeling better from the shot and that you get to play golf on Thursday, ALWAYS makes me feel better to be on the course.
Ritajean, so nice to hear that you're in your garden and enjoying the sunshine. It is HOT here. I played golf 6 times last week and think I might have gotten a little burned out but now I'm ready to go again. Played this morning and am playing in a golf horserace this afternoon....should be lots of fun.
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Hi Patty....welcome to the thread. These ladies are wonderful
! I was so thankful to have their support through my journey. My hair thinned as well but I didn't lose it all. I could tell but noone else could. Also, I didn't have a port either and I did just fine and don't have good veins. Will be sending positive thoughts your way. 0 -
Patty - I don't have a port and they are using the same vein in my hand for the last 5 tx, plus another hand vein for my blood work. Since I'm bilateral, I need them to use the one side. It has worked out quite well.
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Thank you all ! For making me feel so welcomed. I feel like I belong.
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Patty - I'm so sorry you have joined this club that no one wants to be a member of, but I sure hope we make you feel welcome and that we can support you through! These wonderful ladies pulled me through and if I could do it anyone can...big hugs to you!!! ~Beans
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I didn't have a port either. They used my same hand for all 6 treatments with no trouble.
Hey cabmom...that golf horserace sounds like fun. I really think that they should call it a filly race for you ladies instead of of a horserace! LOL0 -
Patty: I didn't have a port and they were able to give me 8 treatments IV without difficulty. There was one nurse who never could get the IV going (I had her twice). All of the others did it on the first try.
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Rita, it really was so much fun! Have you played in one before? First time for me and I loved it. Pretty challenging and lots of pressure to get a great shot but still FUN! My partner and I were actually 1 under par after three holes
! Can't tell you how nice it feels to finally be living life to the fullest again. I remember feeling like treatments would never end but they did . I feel better for knowing I did all I could do to beat this and now......I finally feel like I'm living a NORMAL life again (well, as NORMAL as NORMAL gets for me). For me, it was really hard to see past all the surgeries, treatments, meds, feelings, etc. and see the BIG picture. I think I finally do, there is life after we get through all of this....and now, I'm finally starting to LIVE again and trying to just let go of all the doubts that I sometimes still get. You know ladies, as bad as this journey is for all of us......We are all fighting this beast together with everything that we've got and I think that's something that all of us should feel really, really proud of
! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! (Sorry just felt like sharing 
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Cabmom's philosophy rings true, but those of us in treatment really need to keep the big picture in mind too. Try to live as normally as possible between tx when feeling good. I am so grateful for those days when I can do things that I did before tx. Maybe it's because I'm older, but life is so precious we need to make the most of every day! For me, those good days strengthen my resolve to make it through tx.
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golfergrandma, that is so very true and you have such a great attitude. I didn't always through my treatment and wish now that I had tried harder to be more positive (not always possible but on a personal note, I just wish I had tried harder). All of our situations are difficult but just in general.....LIFE is so PRECIOUS!!!
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Life is so precious!!! Hurray!
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Hey we do all agree on one thing: LIFE IS PRECIOUS!!!! Live each day to its fullest. I golfed today and had a really bad round for me. Once I would have been so upset with myself. Today I just told myself that it's only a game and that I am actually on the golf course doing something that I like. That is a privilege!
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Hi ladies, do you bring snacks with you to chemo? If so can you give me some ideas. Also, I was told to drink lots of water the night before the first treatment i drank about two qts. The day of i must have had about 23oz in the am and while waiting for dr. I drank a qt and during chemo a qt . And ss much as i could when i got home. Tuesday i go at 9am so any input would be helpful. Thanks patty.
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Ritajean - Hey, I played 9 yesterday with a friend and 9 today with DH and tomorrow am playing 18 with the league! Sorry you had a bad round, but onward and upward! So glad to be on the course too!
Patty - it's good to drink lots of liquids, but if I drank that much, I would be on the john constantly!
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Hi ladies, do you bring snacks with you to chemo? If so can you give me some ideas. Also, I was told to drink lots of water the night before the first treatment i drank about two qts. The day of i must have had about 23oz in the am and while waiting for dr. I drank a qt and during chemo a qt . And ss much as i could when i got home. Tuesday i go at 9am so any input would be helpful. Thanks patty.
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Patty, I took some crackers with me to chemo and munched on them. Ritz crackers just tasted good during all that. Then I always asked for ice chips to suck on during chemo as CMF chemo can cause mouth sores and the "cold" temperature of the ice helps to prevent them. It is important to drink lots of water to help wash the chemicals out of the urinary system. I'd say that you drank MORE than enough. I could never get that much down and finally went to eating popsicles and drinking Crystal Light to get in the fluids.
Golfergrandma....Good for you! I hope you do well in league tomorrow. I'm going over tomorrow afternoon all by myself to the golf course and just work on my game. Sometimes that helps me. If I hit a bad shot, I just put down another ball and try it again. I don't even keep score. Hopefully, I can regroup from today.
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ritajean- I can guarantee one thing...you sure do golf better than I do! Golf just never grabbed me. I grew up riding horses. I guess I need a little more speed, guess that's why I ended up in NYC! The main thing is you are enjoying yourself, don't worry about your score.
Patty- Water didn't taste good to me during chemo, sort of tasted metallic. As my Onc had no restrictions on fresh fruit, I took cut up cantaloupe and watermelon to chemo and nibbled on it.
Okay, I have a question. I have been having a weird kind of cramp in the back of my calf near my knee on and off for a few weeks. It almost feels like a muscle pull, but I didn't do anything. Please tell me I don't need to check this out. It's not a blood clot or anything, right??
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I had that when we were in Florida this winter and I was afraid of a blood clot, too, but I iced it a couple of times and it went away. I finally decided that it was from walking on the beach because I had't walked very much in January before we went. It went away by itself. You might try some ice packs on it before going to have it checked out.
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Designer Mom - Don't think you have DVT. Usually there is swelling, redness and a feel of heat with that. There is something called a Baker's Cyst behind the knee that results from too much walking. Is there swelling? The cyst contains fluid. Ritajean's suggestion to use ice might do the trick.0 -
ritajean and golfer- Thanks for the reassurance. Dang! Seems like every little ache and pain gets me wondering now! Right now I am just too busy to even worry, much less look into it. Guess that's a good thing!
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Unfortunately, every ache and pain from now on might give you second thoughts. It's just the way our minds work. I have the same problem all the time. Some grow out of this "alarm" reaction to aches and pains and some, like me, still experience the anxiety. If you do try the ice for a couple of days and it is still sore, then it might be a good idea to have it checked out for your own peace of mind. Hopefully the ice will do the trick. Hugs!
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DesignerMom - Every little itch, twinge, ache or whatever gets my mind going. I sure hope it's nothing to worry about, but I think the advice the others have given you is good. I've decided for myself not to let myself worry too long about all these things so even if the docs think I'm nuts when I'm worried I'm getting in right away to check it out. Last month I had a stupid rash that freaked me out and so I went to see my doc and it was nothing serious and now it's gone. Really calmed me down without wondering for too many days. Love and hugs to you...BTW did I do okay on your windows? And where are my peanuts?
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Designer Mom: I hate to change the diagnosis but I think we don't have enough information about your calf ache to tell you what to do. Not every DVT has redness, swelling or heat. When I was 23, I had a DVT which turned into a pulmonary embolism....prior to the embolism, my only symptom was a dull pain in the calf. I'm sending you an email so we can chat about this. Of course it probably is nothing or the way you are walking in a particular pair of shoes or a baker's cyst or just a minor strain of your muscle.
Hugs to everyone,
Mandy
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Designer Mom - Thanks to Mandy, our diagnosis doesn't mean beans! Maybe you should have the pain checked out by an MD. Besides, why worry needlessly when you can get peace of mind? Hugs and make an appt.!
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Patty - How are you feeling? Let us know how it's going. Hope you've been able to handle the SE's without too much misery! Thinking of you. Hugs.
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Hi, I'm doing good. I go for my second treatment on Tuesday, is this crazy but I can't wait to go and get one more under my belt. I went out last night and bought my bottled water. I go early in the morning so will have the rest of the day to relax. My son has a prom on Thursday and Friday morning we are leaving for RI for the weekend. The Dr. Gave me compazine and antivan, the nurse tod me not to take it until I feel nausea coming on. I was OK until the next am when I went to brush my teeth, and then I got sick and then felt better. I went out and bought new toothpaste, then no problem. This week if I feel queesy I will take the compazine right away. Thanks for checking in on me. Have a good weekend. Patty
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Patty- Glad you have another one under your belt! In this day and age there are loads of excellent anti nausea meds. Please do not put up with nausea. If compazine isn't keeping you totally nausea-free, ask your Onc for a different med. I took Kytril during infusion and Ondonestron (sorry, can't remember) for two days after infusion. I only suffered from nausea once andthat was my own fault because I ate a huge Mexican dinner! I may be wrong, but I don't think Compazine is the most popular choice. Maybe some of the others can chime in.
I went up to the Adirondacks for a couple days to help an elderly friend pack up his home. He sold it after living there for 48 years. Imagine! Other than the ^%$& chipmunks galloping in the attick and keeping me awake all night, it was a lovely visit. Thanks everyone for the feedback on my calf pain. If it continues, I will try to get in with my doctor next week.
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Hi Everyone- Good to read up on how everyone is doing. I love the Chipmonks galloping in the attic, DesignerMom, you made me laugh. We used to have 100's of them when I was a kid in Vermont.Good memories.....
Just wanted to check in and let you know that my 3rd round went much better, yeah! I went back to the total IV rather than the dang pills. So, I'm one week out from it and feelin' good. Thanks to all of you for pulling me through the rough patch when I was ready to quit. I'm 1/2 way now...and somehow that makes a huge difference....
Patty- Glad you found everyone here, these ladies are the BEST. Compazine will help, but it can knock you out, so if you want something that is a little lighter weight, ask for Zofran. Good luck with your 2nd treatment!
((Hugs)) to all.
If you're going through hell, keep going.
~ Winston Churchill0
