CMF Question
Comments
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Curveball: Sorry you have had so much trouble with your iv's. I did not have a port and I found that there was a big difference in the nurses who did the IVs. Have you asked to have the head of the phlebotomy team do your IV? Since all they do is blood tests, phlebotomists are better at getting IVs in than chemo nurses who perform a variet of things. Like Lisa I would drink alot of fluids in the hours before the chemo and that did seem to plump up my veins. And like others I found that there were one or two nurses who could never get the IV going, so I would ask for another nurse. In any event, good luck with whatever you decide--port or no port.
Timbuktu: So glad that you are feeling better. I don't recall when I started feeling better--you are so right, you remember when you don't feel well but don't necessarily remember when the symptom disappears. Like you I gained alot of weight during chemo and have not been able to lose it all.
Dianarose: Happy dance for you!!!
And hugs to all of my CMFers.
Mandy
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@Mandy1313, I didn't ask for a different nurse. The nurses are the same ones who got my IV in with no problems for the first half of the treatment course. I haven't changed anything...if the problem was caused by lack of hydration or some other factor, it would have happened before now. It just doesn't make sense to me that the nurses have suddenly become incompetent or I've suddenly gotten dehydrated even though I drink the same amount as always. It does make sense that after three-plus months of chemicals, my veins might be affected. And after the last two weeks, I'm not in the mood for any more dinking around with my arm. I really don't care if the nurses like ports because it is easier for them to get the IV in. ISTM turning down the port because it makes the nurse's job easier would be cutting off my nose to spite my own face. Who benefits if the nurse's job is easier? Both of us. Who suffers if the nurse's job is hard? Me. I'm not implying they would mess up on purpose because they are angry at a patient who decides against a port--just that the patient is the one who gets to be a human pincushion if it is hard to start the IV.
I wish interventional radiology (they put the ports in) would call. I still don't actually have an appointment to have it done, and I'm not looking forward to next week. Also, the phlebotomists never have a problem getting blood from veins in my elbow area, including during the last week. To me that supports my theory that the veins in my forearm, which have been used for chemo, have been affected by the drugs, but the ones in my elbow, which have only been used for blood draws, are affected less or not at all.
On a happier note, since chemo is going according to schedule, I plan today to call the PS' office and ask for a re-review of my consult, with a view to getting on the schedule for DIEP reconstruction sometime next spring. Assuming no delays, I finish chemo in January (right before my birthday, hooray!), the PS likes to wait at least two months before doing surgery, which would be right before next Easter and also my niece's graduation in early April, so I would like to see if they have openings about the middle of April. I hope they aren't already booked up until summer! There is just one team of microsurgeons in my network who do the microsurgical flap reconstructions. My guess is they can do at most two a week, and still do the pre-surgical consults, follow-up appointments and all their other work.
**edited to add, the office called. Port installation scheduled for next Wednesday, just in time for my next infusion.
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Curveball, it won't be long until you have your port and another treatment marked off your calendar. Hope all goes well with this. Please let us know!
I have enjoyed a perfectly lazy day today......lunch with a friend, a trip to the library where I browsed and browsed, and a time to catch up with emails and other computer topics. I have to admit that it's been pretty nice. I don't even have to cook tonight because I made soup yesterday and we're having it for dinner.
I hope everyone is doing well. Hugs to all of you.
Rita
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/@ Rita, always so nice to see your smiling face!
I went to a luncheon for wives of retired Navy Officers today..so nice
To see ladies I haven't seen since 1983...lots of happenings since then for
All of us.
@ Curve...hope all goes smoothly for you..senging hugs..
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Curveball: I had a port and was really happy that I did. My veins were difficult to get to even before chemo. I'm really glad that I had a port. It just made everything much simpler and I did't have the fear of the chemo drugs leaking under the skin. I do have a scar where it was removed, but it's hidden by my clothing so I don't care.
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Oh Lisa! How beautiful!
That picture made my day! Thanks for sharing!0 -
+1, and right now is the time to plant those bulbs so there will be beautiful flowers like this next spring.
Where was the photo taken? Is that the Keukenhof display gardens in the Netherlands?
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Yes Curveball, we went on a Holland/Belgium tulip cruise..it was wonderful..I loved that garden..we hit it on Easter..so lots of people there...
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Port was put in and no problems so far. I had my chemo today too. That was #17.
Nine to go.
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Yea curveball! So glad your port is in and you finished #17. Just keep marking them off your calendar!
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teeheehee I have sticky notes on the back of my bedroom door, each with a number on it. Last night I pulled off the "10" and crumpled it up. I'm still a little sore this morning but taking care of that with extra-strength ibuprofen left over from my MX. I think most of the reason I felt pretty rotten yesterday was from going without food for so long. That always gives me a headache.
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Love your sticky note idea, curveball! I wasn't that creative. I used the good o' calendar! Going without food can create lots of yucky feelings. Hopefully you'll get back into an eating routine that's right for you. Hugs!
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@ritajean, I'm eating normally again. The only reason I hadn't eaten yesterday was because the port was put in under conscious sedation, so I had to stop eating 8 hours beforehand. Fortunately my chemo has not caused any nausea or appetite loss at all, just a bit of queasiness. I take a Tums when I feel that and it's bye-bye to butterflies in the tummy. I am glad I haven't lost my appetite, I need all the donor tissue I can get for DIEP. Last Tuesday I talked to the PS again and had myself put on the calendar for next April 30.
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curveball-How many infusions do you have to have? I can't tell you how glad I am to be done. I do feel really depressed though. My doc said it is a lot to rid your body of all the crap plus coming off from the steroids is interesting.
I have little hairs coming in around my forhead that are like wires. I hope it changes.
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@dianarose, I have nine weekly infusions left out of a total of 26. I'm not surprised you have the blues, I think you have had a tougher time than I have, maybe because you got a different "recipe" of CMF. I also have been told it takes a long time to get chemo really out of your system and recover your pre-treatment energy level. I am not taking steroids with my treatment, so at least I won't have that to deal with.
From what I hear the first hair that comes in after chemo is often a different color and/or texture from pre-chemo hair, but I believe eventually it reverts to normal (whatever normal is for you).
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You're so right, curveball. It does take some time for our bodies to "regroup and restore themselves" once the chemo is finished. We expect to be back to our normal energy level as soon as that last treatment ends but it doesn't work that way. It takes awhile for all the chemo to get through the body and it takes our bodies time to rebuild from the whammy that we've had. Believe me, though, there is good life after chemo!
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Well, I went topless to work for the first time today. My hair is really funky, sort of like electrified pubic hair. I have had enough of the wig. After 5 months I just decided I had had enough. My head itches like crazy in the spots where new hair is coming in. I am lucky that everyone where I work is very supportive. Sleeping is still an issue. I hope that gets better soon. I meet with the RO on Friday. Not looking forward to rads.
I hope everyone is doing ok and thanks for all the support.
Curveball- are you doing radiation after chemo?
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@Dianarose, for some reason I find the idea of radiation treatment absolutely terrifying, and that fear was a large part of the reason I opted for MX rather than LX. My surgeon told me ahead of time that if the tumor had grown into either the skin or muscle fascia I would have to have rads even with MX, but the margins were clear on both sides, so no rads for me >>>happy dance<<<
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Diana, thanks for the laugh. I haven't been on this thread for awhile, and reading your "electrified pubic hair" comment cracked me up! I am still peeling but healed up enough to start round 2 of CMF on Friday. woop.
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Dianarose...I found the rads to be much easier than the chemo. I hope it is the same for you. It was just an inconvenience to have to go everyday for them. Actually, it almost took more time to get your clothes changed than it did for the actual rads.
Jeannie...good to hear from you again. I'll be thinking about you tomorrow as you start you second round. Let us know how it goes!
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18 down, 8 more to go.
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Way to go, curveball! You're on the downhill slide now!
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One more down, seven more to go. A couple of days ago I was helping my mother make up the bed. She's just turned 86 and has heart disease, but I was as out of breath as she was, just from that minimal exertion. Today I moved some boxes out of the basement to make way for dealing with a leak down there. I should have let the guy who was here to do the demolition work carry them up. My bounce-back doesn't bounce like it used to. Now I'm tired out, and I didn't have enough energy to run an errand I wanted to get out of the way today. I am going out to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow but I think I will take my own car too, so I can come home earlier if I poop out. My mom is much more sociable than I am, I don't want to spoil her evening.
Boooo-hooooo! Can I have some cheese with my whine? I am so ready to be finished with chemo! Too bad chemo isn't ready to be finished with me.
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but Happy Thanksgiving to everyone nevertheless.
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Well, I had a very pleasant time at Thanksgiving dinner last week and hope you all did too. And now there are only 6 to go.
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Curveball....so glad that you enjoyed Thanksgiving! Those 6 will be over before you know it! Keep up your positive attitude and try to be as active as you can without wearing yourself out!
I'm really looking forward to Christmas and I'm hoping that you'll be able to enjoy it, too!
Hang in there! Hugs!
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I had another infusion today. Last Monday for some reason I was feeling really spry and energetic. I am looking forward to feeling that way again most of the time, once I get finished with chemo. Hope I don't have severe side effects from hormone meds.
I think I will make an appointment to have my port taken out on my birthday, which is two days after my last infusion. It itches! I can feel the tube under my skin and for some reason I have an urge to check it repeatedly as if to make sure it is still there. That's crazy, where else could it possibly be?! But in spite of itches and odd urges, I am still glad I got the port and avoided having multiple pokes every week for the last 9 of my treatments.
Only five more!
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- Just bumping up our thread and wishing everyone a good week! It gets a little crazy this time of year, doesn't it?
- Hope everyone is doing well!
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