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Anyone starting Chemo in Feb?
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Karen, I want all of those massages you describes done to me now!!! Spent the whole day in the yard, digging, mixing dirt, planting all kinds of goodies... I am dead!!! I will pay for it, I can already tell... but it was a blast... I'll post pictures... before and after...
Alyson, I have to find out what a Daphne bush is all about???
Till tomorrow...
Sweet dreams to all,
Catherine0 -
I must work out how to post pictures.
Catherine - daphne is daphne odora rosacea belonging to the thymelaeaceae family. It is a shrubby bush which in late Winter/early Spring is covered in the most fragrant clumps of tiny pink flowers.
I need to spend all day in the garden as the weeds are beginning to raise their heads. Its raining at present so will be good for the plants.
Alyson0 -
Leah, I am sending warm, healing thoughts your way. I hope you are feeling better.
Alyson, hoping you are healing by today. Happy Anniversary. What a wonderful thing to have your marriage last. I have put together 47 year with two husbands. LOL 28 with # 1 and 19 with # 2. I am so impressed with those of you who make it with one.
It is very late. I am on call this weekend and had to go in tonight. From the grocery store to the hospital.
I am going to Houston tomorrow to M.D. Anderson to see Dr.Booser, the oncologist who prescribed my chemo, for a follow up post-chemo.
I will catch up on all your posts tomorrow when I get home.
You are all on my mind and in my thoughts and prayers.
Until tomorrow, love and hugs to everyone of you.
Caryn, I sent a PM for the SP game. Let me know if you did receive it.
Love to all, Sammie Kay0 -
Leah; I hate to hear that you are in pain. You have had such a rough road to travel. I hope your dreams consist mainly of visions of Italy and the wonderful time you will have there.
Carynn; Sorry that I was late in PMing my info to you. I have been off the computer all weekend. I, too think the SP will quickly become the NSP. Mine will probably figure me out pretty quick! But I will try to remember my lessons from 007 class.
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LEAH>ow ow ow...I hate that you are in such pain and not good to hear you fell and hurt yourself. Prayers for some comfort for you. If you have your prescription for your glasses, this website has been recommended a few times to me as the price is amazing... http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php I haven't tried them yet but wow am thinking of using them for some prescription sunglasses the next time I need new glasses.
Its been such a crappy week last week for DH and me that we "spaced out" to get our minds elsewhere. Er...that is we watched a couple of seasons of Stargate SG-1!
CARYNN>I just sent you my info, sorry I didn't do it sooner had been off the computer for the weekend.
SAMMIE KAY>hope all went well with Dr. Booser's apt.0 -
Hi all!
Just waiting on the info from a few of our game players before we get started. For those of you who havent signed up yet, it's still not too late to join in the fun; just PM me and we'll add you to the list.
(Jan, I did get yours today)
We have company tonite, so I'll finalize the list tomorrow, and off we go!
Carynn0 -
Enjoy your evening, Carynn... hope you are feeling OK.
Thank you for organizing the fun...
Hugs to all and a nice evening,
Catherine0 -
I have not posted in a while. I have been putting in a lot of hours at work since I finished my chemo in June. But really go to bed early because I am exhausted. I will have the 2nd part of my reconstruction in september. I can not wait and will have my port removed at the same time. Seems some of us are having some set backs and some moving on. My hair is growing back very slowly. Parole officer who comes to the office did give me a compliment today though. Told me my hair was now longer then his. He is bald. Had to laugh though.
Marsha good luck on your surgery and Leah hope you are feeling better now.
Every one take care.
Linda0 -
Caryn,
O.K. I am officially the computer dork of the group. I sent the PM, but my PM site says I haven't sent any PMs. I sent it to CommandoBarbie. Did you get it? Please let me know and I will try again. SammieKay0 -
Good evening to all my fellow cruisers,
Went to MD Anderson today and all is well. He only did a very thorough hands on physical exam. I will return every 6 months. No scans or blood work. My genetic testing was negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2. Thank goodness.
Twilah, I love you new avitar, what beautiful thick hair.
I agree with you about the "wrecked body". I feel like I am 100 yrs old sometimes. Especially if I sit for awhile. When I get up it takes a few steps to get going. I believe the Arimidex SE have kicked in. I am having some edema in my feet and ankles. I started on CoQ10 and Biotin. I am not sure if either one of these could cause the edema. Dr. Booser didn't think the Arimidex is causing it. Twilah, I hope you continue to do well on the chemo. It will be overwith before you know it. Remember when I started FAC after all of you finished AC. You were all so supportive and generous to me. We will all be here for you, as well.
Jan, your curls are adorable. How long after your last chemo did it take for significant hair growth?
My husband and I did one of those seasons of the TV show 24 on a weekend. It was cold and rainy. We watched it until wee hours and then slept awhile and got up and watched some more all weekend. It was fun.
Hillary, I love your picture. Nice to put a face with a name. How are you doing back at work? How was your son's first day of school?
Phyl and Carynn, I am in the same class as you with the animal hair. I have 3 indoor cats and one outside cat. The o.c. gets hair on me when I go outside and he like to be picked up and held. Does the Roomba really work? I need something for cat hair.
Marsha, I was fasting before I had my blood drawn. My onc at MD Anderson didn't seem to think the chemo caused it, so go figure. I am going to ask the internist to hold off until it has been 60 days post chemo, to have my blood drawn again. Cute bench dance. You go girl! Hooray about your surgery. I was doing a dance of joy after reading that post. Thank God. I was so worried for you, being a lobular girl myself, I feel very strongly that both breasts need to be removed. I am surprised it is a Day Surgery procedure. However, mine was bil. mastectomies with lymph node dissection. I am sure if I had only had the simple mastectomy alone it wouldn't have been such a big deal. Actually, I prefer to go home as soon as possible. Wish I was close by to be your private nurse. I have two friends that are RN's and they always come home and stay with me after surgery. The sooner the better. Don't want any hospital acquired infections. LOL...but seriously you don't want one of those.
Terry, what a horrible experience you had with your port.
Your friend and her mother are in my thoughts and prayers. God bless them. About the cholesterol and triglyserides, I agree with you about the steroids. They have wrecked havoc on me. The weight gain 12 lbs. and the lipids. I wished I had refused them, but I was afraid of nausea. Of course, nausea might have helped with the weight. LOL. But it is so yuck. I just wanted to avoid nausea at all costs.
MelanieW, I am so glad they could fix up you DH. What a scary thing. Thank goodness for medical technology.
Catherine, How were the brain scans for you and your husband? Be sure and let us know. Hmmm, strawberries and shrimp. You do cook some wonderful sounding meals.
I wish it wasn't so hot here. And it has been raining off and on everyday. I really need to put new bark in all my beds, but I want to spray weeds with weed killer first and can't catch a day without rain to wash it off before it works. Yes, we were very fortunate to dodge the "bullet", so to speak with the Hurricane Dean. Even a category I or II storm does alot of damage. We had one 3 years ago and some folks were without electricity for a week. Dreadful.
Karen, I was post menopausal before breast cancer, so has dealt with urgency incontenance, which HRT helped. The testosterone I was on helped libido, but caused increased facial hair. Can't win. Now with the "extinction" of estrogen in my body, some of the problems are back. Oh joy. About the facial hair, I just shave it off. It does not come back thicker or coarser. And not so painful as waxing, tweezing or electrolysis. I bought something like Nioxin, but double strenght to put on my fuzzy head, hoping some real hair will come in.
Leah and Alyson, hope you are both healing and feeling more comfortable. You remain on my mind and in my prayers. Keep us posted on your progress.
Well, sorry this is so long. Been awhile since I posted. Got behind. Thanks to Vegas and all of you with information about port removal. Sure made me less anxious about how red and angry mine was looking. It is fine now.
Hugs and warm thoughts to all. Sammie Kay
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Hi girls...wasn't on all weekend and just getting caught up. Just PMed Carynn my info...did you get it?
SammieKaye, I too was post menopausal on HRT. I am now having bladder leakage and joint pain. I am guessing it is lack of estrogen. Had a bladder lift about 9 years ago after I helped DH lift a washing machine....hint, girls...Don't do that! I wonder if all the chemo consitpation caused me to "undo" something??
Leah...hope by now you are feeling much better...rest and take the advice of everyone here...listen to restful music, have a massage, eat bon bons...you deserve it!
Well...got to run...off to rads, #30 of 33....yippee! My armpit is very burned and under the breast, but fortunately I am done with those areas and am doing the boosts now. So I can begin to heal up.
Love to you all,0 -
SAMMIE KAY>my hair was just long enough to go topless the last week of June. I lost all my hair in Feburary. My hair has always been slow growing so expect my hubby to pass me up in length pretty quickly, he just started letting his grow back about 2 weeks ago and its already looking like a longer crew cut. I'm debating on getting a trim because my sides look a bit wild like I forgot to comb it where as the top does nicely running a comb through it. Sides probably could use a closer up cut for now but then I wonder if I should just wait a bit to see how it does as it gets longer.
TERRY>whooo hoo almost done with rads!0 -
Hello all!
I just had my three month post-chemo checkup with my oncologist. My onc doesn't do tumor markers, but does do general blood work and that looked fine, with my chemo-induced anemia gone. Both he and his NP did thorough CBEs and everything was fine. As he put, no palpable lumps! I'm going to have MRIs and mammo/US every year, six months apart. I'm very pleased, as this seems to cover me pretty well. I found the lump myself, and it was seen clearly by US and MRI, but less so by mammo. I'll have my first post-treatment bilateral MRI in September.
I did let them know about the joint pain. As I had thought, it could either be from chemopause or from taxol, but they both thought it was most likely a remnant of taxol treatment. Not anything to worry about, especially as it's not severe enough to limit my activity. At least this explains the "wrecked body" syndrome we all seem to be having!
I realized that I wasn't too worked up about this checkup, as I was fairly certain that I wouldn't have any problems. After all, I only finished rads on the 9th. I don't know whether my anxiety levels will increase with the MRI or next checkup. (end of Thanksgiving).
Jan -- Have you tried spiking your hair with a little hair gel or hair wax? It really makes a difference in my hair between looking like a bad short haircut and a deliberate edgy cut. When I got my hair colored, my stylist did a minimal amount of trimming, just to shape and even things up. It's funny that your dh's hair is growing faster than yours -- is that always the case, or do you think that the lingering chemicals are slowing it down? My hair normally grows fast, but I think that it is growing a bit slower than normal ... I should be able to compare my hair growth to my sons. Right now, his hair is only a bit longer than mine!!
Terry -- Congrats on almost being done -- if my finger counting is right, you'll be finished by Friday! Don't panic if you continue to "cook" after rads are done. I got pinker and pinker for at least another week ...
SammieKay -- Wonderful news about the BRCA1/2 testing! My son starts school next Tuesday (our school district starts on the first day after Labor Day). He's very excited to be starting first grade ... we bought him a "big boy's" desk so he can look forward to having a place to do homework.
Linda -- Wow, glad that you're doing well. Let us know about the reconstruction dates, so we can send out virtual hugs!
Kim -- Somewhere in my notes I had down that you had nipple reconstruction on the 24th. How did it go?
Leah -- How are you doing? Is the pain abating? When do you go for a post-RFA checkup?
Melanie -- LOL about 007! You got me thinking about how to "disguise" my gifts!
Carynn -- At the end, do we get to make a guess as to our SP?
Hugs to all,
Hillary0 -
Had my port out today. Told them that when it was put in I was wide awake the whole time despite meds and it was horrible. So this time I was nicely sedated and the it all went smoothly. Slept for four hours after. Feels good (mentally) to have it out. Had 2 nurses who were 13 and 15 years post br cancer with no problems or reoccurrence. They said nine nurses at same hospital went through br cancer together. Not sure why so many. But she said all nine are fine with no reoccurrence among all of them. It was so uplifting. I asked them all kinds of questions. I really needed that. Ladies this too shall be us!!!
karen0 -
Hey Karen -- I think that we were posting at the same time! Glad to hear that port removal was a snap, but still take it easy for a bit. Pamper yourself!
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Great news Hillary... And Karen, heal well... 2 months later, mine is not quite-quite healed, yet (due to avastin), it's a pain...
DH's blood work came back OK (from what he was told on the phone by the doc's assistant). B12 may be too low, but no mention of high cholesterol or sugar. His MRI was yesterday morning at 7am and he won't hear about it for a few days. Mine went fine, but it is not a diagnostic MRI: they measure brain areas to see if any changes before and after chemo. This morning I had the cognitive tests: they are fun to do. I do not think my immediate memory has been impaired at all, turns out, and I am as upbeat as ever (they test a lot to find out whether you are depressed). I believe I did not do as well as prior chemo for placing pegs in holes on a board (small steel pegs hard to grab with "taxol fingertips"... My nails and fingertips are still funny feeling). This agility exercise was designed in the 30's to evaluate potential candidates to work on assembly lines for precision work... you do it with your right hand only first, 3 times in a row, then the left hand, then both at the same time...
The third and last MRI+tests will be 6 months from now.
Tomorrow morning, onc, bloodwork, avastin IV and Friday, heart ultrasound... I am starting to wonder when I can find the time to clean up the house for my sister's visit (in 4 days!!!)... oh well... we'll play outside...
A nice afternoon to all...
Hugs,
Catherine0 -
Hi all -
Almost everyone should now have their secret pal info. If you signed up and havent sent me your info yet, please do. It's also still not too late to join.
If you see anything that looks like an error in what I sent you, let me know right away. I did a lot of copying and pasting, so all should be fine....Just double checking.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Have fun!0 -
Hillary,
Yes, I am expecting to "cook" for another 2 weeks. Someone else told me that. I am quite red now and sore under my arm and breast. They told me not to wear a bra...now that would be a sight!
So glad everyone is getting good reports.
DD is starting her volleyball season. Had a scrimmage game tonite. Not sure how the season will go, they got a new coach last year who rode the coattails of the previous, wonderful coach. This year they are without about 1/2 the team that worked with the previous coach. The new one is not quite the coach the old one was...so we will see. This is her senior year and I just want her to have fun. We picked out her Sr. pics last week...they were just beautiful. Of course, I am a bit partial!
Hope you all have a wonderful evening.0 -
Thought it's about time for another update on my situation. (I use that word way too much lately, code for BC I think)
I have my 2nd chemo next Wednesday. Frankly, I've been feeling well enough to wonder whether dose dense would've been an option with any benefit.
I scheduled an appointment with the rads onc for the 5th as well. I'm almost positive he's going to recommend rads. I read a few of his research articles and an interview with him and he's definitely a proponent of local and regional therapy for women in my situation. (there I go again) I saw my PS today (more on that later) and he said, 'Yes, well, how does that saying go? To a carpenter, every tool is a hammer.' Radiation oncologist will recommend radiation therapy.
Today's appointment was to have been the consult for my new nipples (erk). That's delayed now, by at least three months. I won't see the PS again until the first week in December. He did say that he should be able to correct much of the radiation inflicted damage when he does the nips (haha), and, that it was fortunate I'd already had the implants done because if the radiation had come first he more than likely wouldn't have been able to do the implants. Sheesh, here, all along, I've been thinking I'm doing everything backwards. Chemo then surgery. Implants then radiation. Sigh.
Glad to hear the ports are coming out okay. Listening to you all, I am doubly glad that I didn't get one.
Catherine, will yours heal up properly once you stop the Avastin?
I have a splitting headache so it's off to bed for me. This may be a Carboplatin SE as I seem to have had a headache most evenings lately. On the other hand, maybe it's just my life that's making my head hurt.
Night girls. Hugs.
Twilah
P.S. Carynn, Got my SP info (thank you) and sent you a PM with a question.0 -
Carynn, I received my sp info, thanks so much. I do need an email address. I pm'd you that, Did I send my email address when I sent my info? Just let me know. SammieKay
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Morning SammieKay!
You should have everything you need now:)
Carynn0 -
Waving, Here I am Farrah.... I had my 2nd Lung biopsy yesterday, I am home today to rest. I cant lift anything for at least 24 hrs (I work in daycare, I lift kids all day lol) So now we wait yet again for 3-5 days.. to find out if its lung or breast cancer... Stage I Lung, I need surgery to remove half of the upper lobe...hopefully NO chemo. depends if they find positive lymph nodes, and if its Breast, Stage IV more chemo and surgery... But I am doing ok. So happy to hear how well you are doing hun... For all of you ladies, KEEP FIGHTING!
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CRAP CRAP CRAP I had a loooooong post and zap it is invalid. Now I am out of time this morning. Love to all will be back to do it again later!!! Marsha
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Farrah... wishing you the least involved diagnosis and all the energy and strength to keep fighting... You sound like a very brave woman. Take care,
CatherineH0 -
Twilah, thanks for the update... I like the way you confront every step of this journey, head on...
As for my port incision, it is closed, now, not bleeding nor oosing anymore, not pretty, but that's secondary. The onc looked at it this morning and thinks I am overall doing "superbly" whatever that means... I do feel really good (apart from old age aches and pains). He offered neurontin to alleviate hot flashes, but I politely declined. He also told me that phytooestrogens (soy products, for instance) are not a bad thing even for oestrogen positive tumors: the vegetal one is milder than the oestradiol produced by our body and compete with those, taking their place... that would explain the low rate of bc among japanese women and low rate of reoccurrences since they keep with their soy based diet... So, I may go back to soy milk, which I like... go figure... I may read some more about it (research results are updated everyday looks like...).
The avastin (#13 out of 18) session lasted a while (full house this morning in there... quite a few younger men, I felt sorry for them and their families).
Well, I have tons of things to do, so I go now...
Till soon, dear friends... Have a nice one.
Catherine0 -
Catherine:
Don't know what you know about this movie and book, but the author will be in Denver on 9/7 for a book signing at the Tattered Cover at 7:30 p.m.
Maybe something you and your sister might enjoy?
Here is the link to the book signing...http://globepequot.com/special/crazysexytour.html
there are other parts of the web site to show you what it is about. It is on TLC tonight at 9.
Regards.0 -
Hey, leah... thanks for the thoughts: I adore the Tattered Cover and plan to take my sister there since it is a great bookstore... I'll check the link... I read about this young woman and saw the videos... so brave...
How are you feeling yourself today? Better I hope... sending you warm wishes,
Catherine0 -
Hi everyone.
Any questions on the secret pal stuff? There were a few people who signed up but haven't PM'd me their info. No worries; if you fall into that category, and still want to play, just send me a PM and we'll match you up! By the same token, if you signed up and cant play this time around, let me know that too.
Leah / Catherine - the documentary comes on at 9pm here as well. Bummer, a lot of times we'll get stuff at 6pm Pacific rather than having to wait until 9:00. Since that's my bedtime, I'm all over early! But I'm working from home tomorrow, so since I dont have to get up so early, I'll stay up to watch. I stumbled upon the Crazy, Sexy website a while back. Has anyone here read the book? I have not. I've heard mixed reviews, but I find it intriguing.
Had my last regular rad tx today. Starting with boosts tomorrow. My Techs think I'm going to avoid any blistering (still just pink), so keep your fingers crossed for me!
Wont go into it now, but I got a bill this afternoon that absolutely sent me into orbit! I've been relatively lucky so far, and actually the insurance company is on my side on this one. but it just incenses me that we have to fight cancer, and fight the system too. I'm so ready to give someone a piece of my mind. Too bad the billing department was closed already today!
That's it for now. Have a great nite everyone. Talk to you tomorrow.
Carynn0 -
Carynn/Catherine,
I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary. I think I was kind of embarking on the stage she is now- looking at the complementary types of stuff- and I have to laugh because I have the same reaction to lots of it. I ordered the bok, too!
Feel a little better everyday! I am looking forward to the weekend... Start my new contract position next Wednesday! I am feeling very happy about being out of the other environment (since my boss Jeff died, it has been very toxic for me since I was "allied" with him and the new regime didn't like me for that reason). So onwards and upwards! Working for a medical device company called GyrusAcmi, so at least I believe it what they are doing!!!!
Much love.0 -
Leah / Catherine -
I really did too. I stayed up the whole 2 hrs past bedtime to watch since I didnt know if TLC would run it again. I was also thinking of getting the book today.
I wish they would have given more info about Oni. I assume since she's had bc for 13 years that it was mets she is dealing with. But all of their stories were great!
Have a great day. Will check in later.
Carynn0
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