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Anyone starting Chemo in Feb?
Comments
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Marsha, hi... I think this afghan project/circle is wonderful... I like the idea... I may even join when I figure out where my knitting needles are (I love knitting, used to do a lot of it when I was young, in Paris, sweaters, etc. then I moved to baby things for friends and relatives...) maybe now is the time for contributing to the afghans...
I've got to go... getting hot...
Phyl, yes, Denver is great because you can exercise on fairly flat grounds... with just enough grades to increase your effort but not explode your heart... Enjoy your jogging (I can't run...)
A nice day to all,
Catherine0 -
Good morning all. Just stopping by before getting ready for my first Rads (duck & cover practice)appointmet.
Marsha- do please post a pix of the afgan! The ones I have seen are out of this world! I'm soo glad you got one! I admit, I'm just a bit envious!
Catherine - your neighboorhood does sound great! DH and I havent walked in a long time, but our neighboorhood is perfect for walking/hiking since were at the bottom of a mountain. Phyl, maybe you should bring your bike to AZ. Of course you'll want to wait until July is over. July/August can be tough. Usually 110 or above and high humidity. Perfect for swimming laps in the backyard pool. If the Rads techs will let me swim, I hope to do just that!
Gotta run. Will check in later after Rads.
Carynn0 -
Good luck, Carynn... I'll be thinking of you... what kind of machines are used? Linear accelerator (Clinac?)... these are the systems for which I translate user doc, user interface of software, on-line help if any and safety manuals...
Hugs,
CatherineH0 -
Phyl -- I'm posting here, hoping that Twilah will see it. You said in a post under the rads thread that you were going to be in Philly on Tuesday. Is there anyway we could get together? I'm in Philly everyday for my rads appointment. Twilah -- could you make it? Also, if you need a place to stay, we have a guest room on the third floor with its own bathroom and internet connection!
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Oh crap Hillary - I'm heading down a week from Tuesday (July 31st) at noon but I'll have 3 others with me (for whom I must cover all expenses - hotel, dinner, etc.), then business 16 hours Wednesday and heading home early Thursday morning, so I won't be able to get together for this trip but I'm more than willing to drive down anytime you and Twink are available to meet. We'll get a head start on the FCC reunion The only other time I couldn't make it would be August 20th thru August 31st. 0
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Phyl...my baby gets car sick! So haven't tried her on a bike, figure the noise alone will make her scared.
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Picture of my hugaghan the Circle gave me. It is so beautiful and when I think of the all the different sisters who put time and or money into this it humbles me.
Sorry, hubby took these and no one ever called him a photographer!0 -
Thanks, Marsha, nice present, isn't that sweet?
Well I am heading for my chaise longue to read... after starting a wash load... and having logged 8.8 miles on my bike...
I'd better enjoy it, because more work is coming my way (updates of Clinac Operator's Guide and safety manual I just mentioned this morning... I did not know they already had a new version out...)... so, while you are under the grill, remember I know exactly where you're at...
Till next time,
Hugs all around,
Catherine
ps I think our hair is exactly on the same page..., you look cute and cheerful... the way to go, girl... 0 -
ok, guys! TA-DA! HAIR!
Never owned a dog, but this hair is marvelous. Feels like puppy fur! It is extremely curly, can't do anything with it. But I love it, and it is my own!
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Wow Leah its really coming in for you! You go girl! Looks great! I look more like Twink hair wise. Mine is still straight looking, am hoping for curls since I have always had straight unmanagable hair!
Marsha, lots of love in that afghan! I have one my Mom made after my Dad died. I suggested to her to make all of us kids/grandkids our own afghans and by gosh she had them all made in 6 months for xmas gifts! Lots of love and memories in my afghan from Mom.0 -
Leah, I was going along feeling pretty good about my hair growth, but you and Twilah have me green with envy! Seriously, I'm hoping to lose the wig in 2-3 weeks. Considering I brought up the tail end of the cruise chemo-wise, it really is comming in quickly. I do swear by the Nixon tho. Anyway, Leah and Twilah, your hair looks beautiful!
Marsha, looks like you got another work of art. Enjoy, it's really beautiful.
Hillary, keep us posted if there is a Philly reunion. We want pictures!
Catherine - I want a chaise lounge to read in!
Well, duck and cover practice went well today. It only took about 45 minutes, but I was gone for almost 2 hours.
I got there about 20-30 minutes early as I had some insurance questions. Unfortunately, they were running late today. Once I finally got in, it went pretty fast. I'm probably going to get two more tatoos and get rid of the stickers. I use my hot tub nightly (sometimes more than once a day) for therapy. Especially not being on RA meds right now, I really cant give it up. So, were going to see how the stickers hold up. If they move or come off, more tats. I dont think it's a big deal tho, that has been probably the easiest part of this journey!
Anyway, hopefully my boss will continue to be cool about this. The last appointment of the day is 2:30; that means I have to leave work at 1:45 (I work about 25 miles from home) everyday for 2 months. I'm not too stressed; I can still take short term disability if I have to.
Well, gotta go see if my hair's grown since this morning.
Have a nice weekend everyone. 0 -
Leah -- I'm so jealous of your hair. Mine's even shorter than Twinks ... And greyer! You don't need to do anything to your hair -- it looks gorgeous as it is. I'm enjoying the maintenance freedom that comes with wigs and I figure that the short hair will be similarly easy!
Marsha -- I'm so jealous of your afghan! When my mom was first diagnosed with bc, I left graduate school for a month to come home and be with her and help my father cope. My youngest sister was still at home and pretty freaked. I needed something to do each day sitting with my mom at the hospital, so I started an afghan. Because I was sitting in the same chair, and crocheting about six hours a day, the rows were very even and it turned out to be one of the nicest things I ever made! It's been a long time since I crocheted ...
Hugs,
Hillary0 -
To the PA girls
I should know by the end of next week if DH and I will be able to make our big trip. One place we intend visiting is a little town called Pottsville, in PA. My aunt lives there and as she is now in her 80s it is important that we get to see her. Depending on direction we go it will be early September or late October. I will email you when I know as I would love to say hi to you.
Leah, the hair is beautiful. Mine is dreadful - it is absolutely white, I am not impressed at all. I have real hair envy.
Catherine, like you my face is quite rough in patches.
Phyl, first few days on Femara all fine but I am not sure what to attribute SEs to. I am tired from the rads and I have been in the habit of waking in the night, previously it was with aches and pains from the RA, though this has been one thing I haven't missed whilst on chemo. I have to keep a daily diary of SEs and what I am doing.
I must get some lunch ready.
Alyson0 -
I'm in...Hillary and Phyll...I would be there in a heartbeat. Philly is just a litle over an hour away. Next Tuesday is an easy day for me at work ... aka for 'I could ditch it easily'. I'd love to meet face-to-face. Lunch or dinner or even coffee. Tell me when and where.
Twilah0 -
Alyson,
We are 20 minutes from Pottsville. We have a guest room and would love the company (this offer is not made lightly). Please consider staying with us if your aunt doesn't have the room. In any case, we should plan a little get together with the Pa girls. How exciting!
Twilah0 -
Marsha,
That is beautiful...and so special. I'm speechless.0 -
Wow Leah, you really have hair! I thought I was doing so well but I'm humbled. You look spectacular!
Twilah0 -
I saw my BS and onc this week. The BS doesn't want to see until the new year, as I said earlier. The onc and I agreed (with some pressure on my part) that a second opinion is warranted. He's referred me to somebody at U Penn. Neither are recommending further treatment at this point..it's 'wait and see' mode. Because the micromets were there after chemo that concerns me and the onc, although he understood, was insistent that there was no 'evidence' to support to efficacy of further treatment. When I asked about recurrence risk % he said there's no data for those women with my sequence of treatment (neoadjuvant chemo, surgery, AND....in that order). Ack....so off for another opinion. Also, got the 2nd path report back from Johns Hopkins today...looks like the micromets may be more than that but I haven't had any time to pour over their report yet. That's for tomorrow...maybe....
Night all, hugs for everybody.
Twilah0 -
Carynn - LOL ("Well, gotta go see if my hair's grown since this morning." ) I DO check my hair every morning and every evening (with a magnifying mirror no less)!
Marsha - what a beautiful afghan!
Catherine - the door to my rads room does say 'Linear Accelerator'.
Leah - OMG, I love it! I'm still quite a bit behind you. Just told DH I was going to wait about a month and put a temporary rinse on my hair and he said he likes it the color it is (argh)! Now, I'm 55 and he's 44 so I have tried my best to cover the gray for the past 15 years just so I don't look like an old lady Guess we'll see what it looks like in a month.
Alyson - it will be so cool if we can meet you. I'm pretty open (except for another business trip to Phila September 19th-21st) in September and October.
Better get busy this morning or I'll lose my motivation. Have a super Saturday. Alyson - sleep well!
Hugs to all!
Phyl0 -
For all the rough face crowd:
I actually saw my dermatologist right after chemo because I could not believe what had happened to my (super sensitive) skin. He didn't recommend much, but I remembered someone on this board recommended a series of products made by a company called "LindiSkin". They are just for chemo and rads patients. I bought the Face Serum at the MGH cancer boutique a while ago, and it has made all the difference. Though it appears pricey, you use so little because it spreads so well that it actually goes a long way. It made my face totally like a baby's bum!
Here is there site: http://www.lindiskin.com/index.html?camp...CFSWQGgodfX9tLw
Have a good day you all! And BTW, my hair color is courtesy of Nice and Easy! I didn't wait to see what color it was going to be!0 -
Thanks for the link Leah.
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What is RA?
I had forgotten that a lot of our local biker friends hadn't seen me "topless" before as I wore my wigs or hats at our monthly meeting for biker's rights. So last night at the meeting a couple commented that I had my hair back and I realized I had gotten so used to going "topless" since the trip that they hadn't seen my real hair til now! The gal that took me to rads for the last two weeks touched it and said it felt so soft to her and she said she could see curls in the back. She said it must be nice to just wash and go without having to style it. I told her the one thing I did notice with my helmet on is that I could really feel the air flowing through the vents with my hair this short.
Jan0 -
Alyson -- I'm pretty close to the Philly airport, and I can also offer a guest room, with private bath and internet connection! Let us know as soon as you've got an itinerary.
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Good afternoon everyone!
Twink While I do understand your comment about no data for those who did treatment in the order you mentioned; after thinking about it, I thought it a bit odd. NO data? Is it that the AND was done last that throws them off? It would seem that there would be at least some preliminary data. Will you be asking your second opinion guy about that? Anyway, once youve had time to tackle it, wishing you nothing but good news in that pathology report.
Phyl I dont use a magnifying mirror, but I think I check every time I walk by a mirror! The funny thing tho is that even my husband has said to me, on occasion, in all seriousness, I think your hair has grown since this morning!
Leah Thanks for the link. I love my Philosophy and Origin skin care products swear by them! But, Im intrigued by a couple of products mentioned on that site. Specifically, the cooling sheets for Rads and hot flashes, and the starter kit. I just may have to try them.
Jan RA is rheumatoid arthritis. It is very different from regular (osteoarthritis) arthritis. It is an auto immune disease where your body attacks itself. In this case the immune system attacks the joints and surrounding fluid, causing pain, stiffness, and deformities of the effected joints. Many RA patients receive infusions, monthly or so, along with daily and weekly meds depending on the severity of the disease, which are very similar to chemo (in fact my insurance bill for my infusions states chemo). These drugs will slow the progression of the disease and in my case, allow me, for the most part to be symptom free. Unfortunately, people tend to build anti bodies against the treatment, making it useless. Thats where Im at now, and why we are changing drugs. The drugs used for treatment are generally cancer drugs in much lower doses, which is why I was in remission all during chemo. Unfortunately, being in a major flare right now, I have to admit to having a bit of a pity party for myself (only a little one, I promise ), after being symptom free for almost 7 months. Still no news on the meds front from my Rheumatologist, this really is getting ridiculous. Probably more info than you wanted.
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Not doing much here, but enjoying it nonetheless! 0 -
Hello everyone...
Sorry I haven't been around, but I have checked in to see what was going on.
I don't think I can make a trip to FL in Feb. That is right around the time we travel to DD dance competitions etc. And we will be doing college visits with her too...Will be with you in spirit .
If you read the rads board you know I have been very busy. Have 3 rad tx in so far. So I am finally started. Get a Herceptin this Thursday.
Carynn...sorry to hear your RA is acting up. Hope you can get your meds regulated and get into remission asap.
Alyson and PA girls...seems like I am the only one not over in the Phila area. I am in Altoona, so closer to Pittsburgh.
Love seeing everyone's hair...mine never really fell completely out. Just got patchy bald spots, so I have kept is shaved. Stopped shaving it right after my last chemo, so it is about 1/4 inch long now, although it is thin and still a partially bald spot in the front. I really don't like the gray that is coming in, so will have to have a bottle of Clairol as soon as it is long enough to show in public.
Just got home from a wedding this evening, so thinking of going to bed early...have had a really busy week. Another day out and about tomorrow. DH family reunion. Will get up in am and make a big tossed salad. Fresh cukes from my garden...no tomatoes yet...picked some zucchini and yellow squash yesterday.
Mother duck hatched 8 baby ducklings 2 days ago. They are sooo cute...but now I can weed and clean up the flower bed. She wouldn't let me near her nest. Sparrows in the rose bush have hatched 2 broods so far this summer. The 2nd set just left the nest this week.
Well...love to all of you...talk to you soon!0 -
Carynn thank you for the RA info, I guess having chemo for BC actually help get you some relief! What a bummer though the point you are at. I wonder if having allergies could start something like that as I'm highly allergic to many things?
Well I can't stay her long this morning if I'm going to get the trike cleaned up before it gets too hot to be outside.0 -
Carynn - thank you for the description. I knew what the acronym meant but didn't know what it was. My heart goes out to you. I laid in bed last night with a pain (or maybe an ache) in my arm and was unable to get to sleep until sometime afte 2:30 so I can't even imagine living with that constantly.
Went to a caberet with DH and another couple last night - I went topless!
Terry - we'll burn a CD for you with lots of pix.
Phyl0 -
Phyl...congrats on going topless! I haven't worked up the courage yet.
Family reunion was nice and relaxing today...it was perfect weather. In fact, just a little cool with the wind blowing. Of course, everyone ate too much. So we are vegging out this evening.
think I might just start reading the next to last Harry Potter book, so I will be ready when my DD is finished with the new one. She gave it to me to read last year and I never got into it, before I started reading about BC. And that is all I have read about since December. Someone else here said they had lost interest in reading except about BC. It has been about the same for me. I think it is time to start up again.
Hope everyone has a great week....see you at the grill!0 -
Leah and Twilah; Love the hair pics! I think I am about 2 weeks out from going topless. I still wear my denim bucket hat almost everywhere. We will be headed to Hawaii on August 28th and I am hoping that the hair is long enough to look sort of cute. I might color it.
Caryn; My brother developed severe RA in his mid 20's and has battled it for about 20 years now. He continues to do research and takes the shots to help control his symptoms. My mother also has suffered from it since her mid 20's. It's another area that needs more research dollars spent. So many suffer. I am thinking of you.
Marsha; The afghan is adorable! Homemade presents are the best!
How wonderful that all you PA gals might get to meet each other. I bet a stay at the "Hillary Hotel" would be a most gracious and enjoyable visit.
I am finally home now and so pleased with my decision. I just didn't like traveling for surgery, even though we did take a couple of days to enjoy the sights.
How is the Florida get together progressing? Is this to be a long weekend? Florida beaches in February can be iffy as I am sure Marsha will tell you. Just being on the beach in any kind of weather always lifts me.0 -
Hey Melanie -- Glad to see that things went well!
For this week,
Tuesday -- SammieKay (last FAC!)
Friday -- Belinda (taxol/herceptin)
Hugs,
Hillary0
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