Illinois ladies facing bc
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Ladies, I had my last taxol on Tuesday. I have not been able to stay awake all weekend. Just exhausted all the time. How long is this going to last? There will be no steroid high this week. I go in wednesday to get herceptin but nothing else. I don't know If I can manage to work if i feel like this. Every time my husband turns around I have fallen asleep again. How long is it going to take to start feeling normal again? Annette
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Hoping everyone is enjoying their weekend with their families and friends. Still trying to get the yard/deck in good shape for the upcoming grad. party.
Blackjack-so glad to see your good news. Hope you continue to feel better each day.
Rita-hoping you are having a wonderful time.
Laura-would love to try to make it out this summer to see you race, maybe in June?
Thanks for sharing the picture from the dinner. It is so nice to see all those smiling faces.
Ladies going through tx now -may each day get better for you.
Take care everyone!
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Laura..............I did not know you raced. Wow thats so cool.
I hope everyone is enjoying this weekend.
Love Buddy
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Hi ladies -
Back from Florida. Sounds like you all had great weather here. If you hadn't heard, it was miserable in Fl. Rain every day for hours. 27 inches of rain in the past month. But, we made the best of it, pulled out the ponchos and had a good time with our friends.
I just skimmed through the 5 pages of posts I missed so I am sure I missed some.
Laura - sorry about your friend. She will be in my prayers.
You lunch bunch gals look awesome. Love your hair Lisa - it's so straight - mine is still a curly mop.
Glad to hear the good news blackjack.
Annette - congrats on your last chemo. Now that you have finished, you will start to slowly get your energy back. It takes a few weeks/months, but it will come.
Enjoy the day everyone!
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Today is not yesterday: we ourselves change; how can our works and thoughts, if they are always to be the fittest, continue always the same? Change, indeed is painful; yet ever needful; and if memory have its force and worth, so also has hope.
Thomas Carlyle0 -
Good Morning everyone. Wish we had sun here but we don't. I am only hoping to avoid much for moisture. We had rain ( though it was sparse and gentle ) yesterday starting in the early afternoon. More today and maybe tomorrow too. I am hoping that report changes a bit. Early tomorrow we will be driving to Marion for Dh colon test ( scope ) and though the idea of getting on the road that early seems rotten....at least we will be done sooner. Had hoped to stop at Sams....but we will see how the time issues are and how groggy or not my better half may be after the procedure.
Hope you all have a good day ( dry if possible ) and I will check back later as I'm home and Dh is at work. See you later.
Hugs,
Jackie
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Thanks Laura for the Union Grove drag race homepage. I know absolutely nothing about any of this but my nephew is 10 and loves this stuff. I will send the link to my brother who can show him. They are here the 17-18-19 of June. Do you have any opinion on which one would be fun for a kid? Meanwhile, on the 19th I am taking my niece to the American Girl Cafe for lunch! So quite a difference in interest. The little boy in my DH is now activated as he is all excited about Union Grove races. Is the GTO on for any race on these days? Thanks again!
Susan
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Just ran in the house to check in girls... we are bbqing today and relaxing on our deck... I wish it was sunny - but at least it's not raining - yet! lol I would have liked to have soaked up some vit. D today... but maybe tomorrow. Hope you're all enjoying the day...
MAMAQ - You're in a tough situation with the chemo... it's hard to say what you should or shouldn't do. Although... with a positive Sent node... I'd probably want to do chemo. Can you post your tumor info again? Stage, grade, size, what type of bc, etc. We would be better able to help you out with this.
zap - Union Grove's schedule is:
June 17 Wed Wacky Wednesday Race for $20 5pm-10pm
June 18 Thurs Bike Nite - Harley Shooutout 5pm-10pm
June 19 Fri Real Street Drags 4pm-11pmAny night would be good... there's always a variety of things going on each night. Bring your ear plugs! lol And it gets a little chilly there at night... bring a sweater too.
Annette - Give it a couple of weeks. Drink lots of water. Hang in there...I'm glad you're done! From what most of the girls here have written, Herceptin will be a slam dunk.
Michele - The Goat is back in the shop... but I'm sure we'll be racing in June... I will let you know when we're going. I like to go on Tuesday nights - it's ladies night and we race against each other for trophies.
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Yup... that's me - burning rubber! Actually... that's how I heat up the tires... I get better traction that way. lol And...TRACTION is a very good thing! lol Especially at 130 miles per hour! lol
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Buddy these are for you:
It's so much fun chewing on Mama's flip flop...yummy!
Oh no - Mama's here! I'm busted!
Mama, you can have your flip flop back... but you have to catch me first!
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Laura- Your pictures are adorable! Yes, let me know which tues. you'll be going.
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Laura- First, the racing thing is soooo cool! Talk about adventure. You'll have to let us know when your going again. I know my kids would love it. My two girls love those things as much as my two boys. My older one rides quads and motorcycles with her brothers and dad. And my little one thinks she should.
Your pics are the best. I bet you can never get mad at that face.
The chemo thing is really confusing me, in some ways. More so, the type of chemo is what I am trying to figure out. My info is this: stage: is either 1 or 2a, grade 3, microinvasion in DCIS, the SLN had a micrometastisis of 1.9mm., 4 more nodes neg., er+, pr+ (but only 50%) and her2/neu -, Some of the oncologists consider the node negative but dr. T. says to treat it like its positive. At tumor board though, Dr. W. and Dr. S. didn't even think that chemo is necessary. I just want to make sure that I do everything that I can. I dont want to have any regrets.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
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MamaQ -Here again...a bit of a dilemma as you have two Dr'.s saying that they don't believe you would benefit from chemo. They apparently came up with this based on all the factors in your pathology report. Here again comes the fact that some people could just have a lumpectomy and do nothing else and be just fine....forever. There is no way to tell. And this truly is the bad part.....there is no test to predict.....what will happen to you 3,5, 7, or 20 years away, no matter what your path report and no matter what you do about it. Still, if you are willing and want to do chemo.....your Dr. with your input should be able to come up with something ( seems like with two Dr.'s saying you don't even need chemo ) mild enough not to do too much in the way of bodily damage and be somewhat easy for you since you do have children in the household.
It really is the pits that there is no way to predict who actually needs chemo and who doesn't. I feel like they will find a cure before they find an answer for predicting need for chemo. Jmho though.
Laura - Course, we knew from the first that there was a really spoiled dog in the making and I see Paulie is coming along quite well in that department. Talk about someone being able to melt your heart right down to a puddle in no time. I think Paulie is already a pro at it. Give him an extra hug from me, please.
See ya'll. Probably won't hear from me till afternoon some time or early evening tomorrow. Going to be a very loooooong day.
Hugs,
Jackie
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Hi gals! Wow! We've seen some neat things here in Colorado....Pike's Peak, Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs (hey, I'm healthy now that I've been tasting all these spring waters), wineries, and waterfalls. Tomorrow we're heading out to the Royal Gorge and The Great Sand Dunes. Then on to Vegas.
MamaQ....I had your same decision to make. I went with CMF chemo which has fewer side effects. Six CMF treatments are equally as affective as 4 of the AC or TAC. You do not lose your hair and usually have a much easier time with them. You might want to ask your onc about a CMF regiment. One of my other friends faced the same decision....chemo or no chemo for early stage cancer. She chose to have a lumpectomy followed only by radiation. She was diagnosed a few months before me and so far (knock on wood) we are both fine, so who really knows?????? I knew that I'd always wonder "What if I would have done chemo???" if it came back. This way I know that I did everything I could to keep it away. You are the only one who can make your decision and I'm sure you'll make one that's right for you. I just wanted to throw out the idea of CMF. Hugs to you as you struggle with these choices.
Laura, I liked you Paulie pictures! That shoe is nearly as big as he is....and I'm not trying to imply that you have big feet! LOL
Well, I'm heading down the hall to the hot tub and work out a few more kinks in my back.
Hugs to all of you!
Rita
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Morning girls....I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend in spite of the weather. I had a very sad weekend as my dear boating friend passed away on Sunday at the lake..It was very unexpected and sudden. He died before our eyes as we tried to revive him. Please keep him and his family in your prayers as he leaves behind 2 young boys. Life is a gift which we should not take for granted. We should hug the ones we love...live life to the fullest and enjoy the time we have here on earth.
I am sorry to be so down, but my heart is aching over this. Thank you for listen to me. Sending you all a big hug for being here for me.
Blackjack
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Black jack.. Cannot imagine. what a tragedy!!The kind that brings you to your knees as thoughgoin thru BC as we have, we do know how fragile life is, but this is true trauma to the heart. The boys, that is the hardest part. Prayers are goin!!!! You being a friend for the widow will be a gift and it will help you.
Mama...To be on the fence like they have you placed is hard and can imagine what the best thing to do is? What does your heart and gut say? That is what i do and did for when i decided to have a bil/mx. You go by your gut and what you can and cannot live with or will be anixety ridden over for the days ahead. I had cancer in one breast, but I knew i would wake up each day worried on the other breast and always wonder ,did it come back? Do you have BC in your family?
Laura...That Paulie, is such a doll i could sake head to tail! KISS him 50 times on each side of his cute face.
Treatment 3 is tough.. had a 103 fever after my Neulasta shot and we were on the phone with DR. for a few hours as i had no other symptoms to go to the hosptial. My DH was so nervous he decides to go fix the mirror i broke on the Freestyle!!!Anyway, if you cannot find the humor with some of this....of all times, he has to fix something!!!I was on Tylenol for about 24 hrs and it broke the fever. I am worn out emotiionally and done with this! There is not much to this that is helping me, as sleep is not easy for some reason. I take ambien and wake up around 3ish and then finally get to sleep. Some neuprathy comes and goes in hands and feet.
Buddy....WED is your start date and know that together we will get thru this. Do rest enough before this starts.And you know aobut plenty of water before ,during and after, as you tell me!
Hope all enjoyed the holiday and weather when it was nice!
Hugs,
Donna
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Blackjack- I am so sorry about your friend. My prayers are with his family and with you, of course.
IllinoisLady- I think your right about the chemo. I am counting on that cure, though. Just in case, I passed the gene on to my kids. My hope is that my husbands genes won out there.
Rita- I will ask him about a the CMF. I haven't talked to any of them because of the holiday weekend. But I'm sure that all that will change today. As I only have two days left before I start.
Thanks
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Blackjack, I am so sorry. This is something you will carry with you for the rest of your life. I just cannot imagine!
The friend I have had since fourth grade is leaving after a wonderful stay. It is hard saying good-bye as we all know that time and space gives us surprises. She lives in Los Angeles but grew up less than a mile from where I live now.
Have a peaceful day.
Susan
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Blackjack - so sorry about your friend. You and his family are in my thoughts.
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Blackjack.. My heart goes out to you. I cant imagine the pain you are feeling. I am so very sorry.
Donna. You are a real trooper. You are my roll model now.
Laura. That little puppy is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I bet he rules the house. Can he do any little tricks yet? What is his favorite thing to do besides get your flip flop, which is probably high on the list.
I get my lymphedema glove today. My hand is very swollen. I am having pain in my thumb joint from it. Its getting hard to pick up a drinking glass, or cut with a steak knife. So I hope it helps.
Love Buddy
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blackjack - OMG - what happened? It's so scary to think that at any time, we can leave our homes and never return. You must still be shaking your head and in shock. So sad...
MAMAQ - I'm confused... I thought that DCIS never goes to the nodes - in fact, I thought it never leaves the ducts. Is the node invasion IDC? Just a suggestion... why don't you start a thread in the DCIS forum here? Asking about chemo or no chemo? Those girls all have a similar dx as you and they can share their stories with you. After you click on the DCIS forum, on the right side near the top, there's a pink bar that says START A TOPIC... You should name the topic something like - Should I do chemo? And then type in your stats, etc. (Call me if you need help with it) Best wishes... I know this is a tough situation for you...
Rita - Wow.... lots of fun. You sure are getting around!
Annette - Hope you're feeling better today.
Donna - So sorry you have to deal with all that. I hope you're feeling better soon. It's awful... I totally understand. Hang in there.
Buddy - Good thing you're getting that glove today... I hope it works real fast.
Paulie doesn't do tricks YET... my dh wants to teach him to play dead when you pretend shoot him like the Maltese named Tobi in this video.
This is so cute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URWB7_kIO6k
Yes, Paulie is a doll! And yes... a very spoiled one at that! dh and I were slightly teary eyed this morning... he just left to drop Paulie off at the vet - he's being neutered today. It was so hard to kiss him goodbye... I'll be on pins and needles all day until I get the call - saying I can pick him up.
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Morning!
Blackjack....what can I say? What can anyone really say at a time like this? I am so sorry for your friend and his family, and for your loss as well. But he went, doing what he loved with those he loved. What more can we wish for.....
Laura.....Paulie is a cutie for sure!
Jo....hard decisions for you but Ithiink asking re: CMF is a great idea. I hate to use the term"Chemo Lite" but it is often referred to as that. I too am confused...I always thought that DCIS was strictly INSIDE the duct and never left...if it is found anywhere outside the duct, it is considered invasive...right????? Since you can't do the oncotype and with one node and some microinvasion AND with kids, NOW, knowing what I do, I would not hesitate for one second to do chemo as this where you do have the ability to "cure" your cancer. If it spreads later, you can be treated but never cured. BUT.....I fought very hard against any chemo until I found about I was Her2+...and truthfully, it was ONLY because I didn't want to lose my hair. Looking back on it....it wasn't pretty for sure, but I would do it again. I really would.
Donna....so sorry about the temp but that does happen with chemo quite often. Glad you could stay home. Only one more, and then you as soooooo done with this!
Buddy....good luck on your first chemo! It's "doable" and boy, will you ever come to hate that word! But it really is....
Just sitting here, thinking about Blackjack's friend. You know.....we go thru life, always thinking that we have more time, that I'll do it tomorrow, that I will finally pick up that phone and call that friend...when I get a chance. And sometimes, we never get that chance as for some of us, we don't get that "tomorrow". How sad it would be to be sitting with regret, wishing for "tomorrow" when we always had "today". Hugs to all....you are all very special to me....all of you!
Sunny days!
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Laura- Thanks for the suggestion. I just put one on there, hopefully will get some help over there.
Wendy- I appreciate your help. I think I'm leaning that way. However, the idea of doing it, for possibly no reason, is making it a little harder to swallow. But I'm sure a lot of it is nerves. And a little of it is, I don't want to lose my hair either. I hate to be the center of attention and I know there is no avoiding that with a bald head. But I'll just have to work on getting thicker skin.
Thanks for your help.
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Blackjack - I am so sorry to hear of your friends passing. What a tragedy; my prayers & thoughts are with you & everyone close to him.
Hugs, Juliet
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Hi girls!
I have a question for the HER2+ girls - did any of you have extreme joint pain? This is something new that has started. First I thought it had to do with the tennis I played last week. But instead of getting better, it continues to get worse. Last night I had to use pain meds to go to sleep. Just wondering if any of you have had similar issues. I'm struggling to figure out what is going on with my body. Sorry for the complaining! I just hurt so bad and nothing seems to help.
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WendyTY - That's awful... I hope you get some relief soon. How long has it been since your last tx? AND... I'm sure some of the her+ girls here will chime in, but in the meantime, you may want to start a topic adressing this in the her+ forum.... no doubt, you'll get lots of responses. Hang in there!
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Laura.....Paulie Boy will be back in your loving arms soon!!!
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Thanks Donna! I can guarantee you, Paulie's feet won't be touching the floor atleast until tomorrow morning! lol How are you feeling?
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WendyTY.....I did get horrible joint/muscle pain about 6 weeks after I started arimidex, and I was still on Herceptin at that time....8 months into it. We attributed it to the arimidex and I started on Magnesium 500mg daily and the pain pretty much disappeared except when I get up in the am and lasts about 5-10 minutes. Maybe it was the Herceptin! But Mag made a huge difference and if I don't take it, I still get the joint pain 16 months AFTER ending the H soooooo.......
I guess I didn't get the pain from the H! That probably didn't help you much but....maybe some mag. would help you! It really makes a difference for me and a bottle of 100 costs a whole $5.99 at Walgreens and I get it on sale, 2 for 1. So for $3. I feel great -m except for those 10 min. every morning.
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Blackjack - so sorry to hear about your friend. I had a co-worker pass away this past weekend. She had lymphoma and fought it so bravely. She was 51. She will also be missed. It is so hard to say goodbye. My thoughts are with you and the families they leave behind.
MamaQ - I was also diagnosed with DCIS and DCIS can become invasive if not caught early enough. They caught mine before it became invasive. The margins on my original lumpectomy were clear and that was what kept me from having to do chemo. If there is any suspicion with it being invasive, the doctors typically say to do chemo. Even with clear margins, they wanted me to do radiation on that breast and take tamoxifen. I would do whatever you can to keep it from coming back. Research out all your options. I decided later to do a bilateral mastectomy. Mine were so dense it was hard to do any scans on them, etc. It was a difficult decision to make but one that I am glad I did make. You may want to get a second opinion if you feel you need one. The discussion boards were also helpful to me.
Donna - Hope you get feeling better soon. You have really been through some rough water lately.
Laura - Your Paulie is such a sweetie. He looks like the perfect lap dog.
~ Jennifer
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Oh my goodness everyone...one day away and so much going on. First of all Bj - how wonderful that you a nurse was there to try and make a difference. It is a very, very sad thing....for life to end in this way -- yet as one of he girls said....he was doing something he loved with all the people he loved. Also, I think too.....when it is truly time....nothing or no one will save us. We may not understand but I know there are answers to all of the questions about life and death that come up.....generally, there is almost always too much pain and upset and far too deep a sense of loss for us to "get" the answers. I have not had fear of death for a long time.....but I do still fear having to suffer the loss.....the longing for someone who always seemed to make my path brighter and happier and gave me a sense of being what they needed too. You and your friend's whole family will be in my thoughts and prayers and I am hoping that peace will be with all of you as soon as possible.
And.....Wendy....we do sometimes forget that we don't have forever and maybe not even tomorrow. It's hard I think to even think in those terms TOO much. I guess we just have to try to slow down and remind ourselves to make at least one persons day special....a good friend, a favorite Aunt, a little nephew. We are sure to miss someone....but if we tried almost everyday....then at least we are AWARE.
Laura....thought of you with this quote. I did not know that there were any ( probably actually a lot...I just don't know it ---- of Gilda Radner's. ) I liked this one when I saw it.
Hugs,
Jackie
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