Chemo in Sept 08
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Jules, have a wonderful vacation!
Chris, sounds great, a cottage by the sea, and with an internet connection too!
Genia, I've had hot flashes since chemo when I went through menopause... Same with Tamoxifen. I have heard if you have hot flashes with Tam it is a good sign, as it means the med is working. FYI...
We drive back home tomorrow ....
Spring.
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I'm home!
Surgery went off without a hitch, pathology will be back sometime next week. I've already popped a staple, and on Monday, the rest of them will come out. I tried to talk him into doing a tummy tuck, but he said he couldn't do it. Bummer! I was seriously hoping that my uterus, tubes, cervix & ovaries would have weighed at LEAST 20 pounds...no such luck. 1/2 a pound, tops. I was supposed to go home either Sunday or Monday, but since I was off of all IV meds and eating solids, and up walking on my own, I got to come home after lunch.
Who'da thunk that granny panties would feel so good against my sore belly!
LOL
Genia... you and I need to do some catching up. I've got two weeks of no driving, so you say when, and I'll holler at you.
Love you all!
Robin
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Glad you are doing so well Robin.......will look forward to talking to you. Been a while......
Got a busy week coming up. Four days of therapy for my lymphedema....and Herceptin tomorrow. I feel like I'm doin radiation again with all this running. Still have a lot of pain in my arm, under my arm, in my chest and back. If this therapy doesn't work to make the pain go away.....then I guess more tests are in my future. My Onco doesn't do scans on a normal basis unless there is a problem. He is leaving at the end of the month to go back to NYC. So I'm not sure how the new one feels about scans. I never really got to talk to him very much last week.
Hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was peaceful and quite.....and filled with pain pills. Hate taking them....but hate the pain even more and advil just isn't cutting it.
love ya'll
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Robin- glad to hear you are doing well. I admire your sense of humor...I was hoping my breasts would weigh more also!!!! Granny panties were the thing with my c-sections..they do feel good when you have surgery. Hang in there and know i've been thinking about you.
Genia- More hugs to you. I am so sorry you are having more to deal with. You have had one more tough year. I pray that things turn for the better for you (and soon!!!) LOVE YOU!!!
Juli- have a great time
Chris- that cottage by the sea sounds so great...i hope you have a wonderful time.
Spring- I have also heard that the flashes are a good sign while on tamox...if it is a sign it is working i know that the tamoxifen goes into overtime only at night!! LOL I sat in church this am with my three layers of shirts and froze to death. Hubby had brought my blanket in after SS cause our room is an icebox. Didn't think i'd need it but before church was over my nose was cold again and i was wrapped up. Can't seem to conjur up a flash during the day or when it i convenient. When i am not flashing i am as cold natured as ever.
Genia- I know it seems unlikely but i thought that the tamoxifen SE's were quick in coming also. The mood swings were beginning in two days and the flashes about that fast.Who knows my onco said i tested to be a super metabolizer of tamox...maybe that it why
I read on another post that Hannah was taken to the hospital this weekend with fever- please pray for her. She is supposed to have her last chemo the first week in Aug.
Calli will be having her surgery on the 3rd. They still have not found nausea drugs that will last for any length of time. I have to also wonder if it isn't a lot of the pain meds causing the nausea also..
Have a great week ladies.
BG
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I know there was a discussion earlier on tamoxifen and Femara, and I thought there was an article that someone had that said one was better since it made bones stronger, and hence help guard against bone mets. I know I could read back, but there are 123 pages now!! Can someone refresh my memory and maybe repost the article?
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Colleen,
Tamoxifen is better for bones. There is also a genetic test you can get to see how well you metabolize Tamoxifen. You should do that to help you decide. ZOMETA is an infusion you can get to help you build bone or prevent loss, once every 6 months. This is the thing that has been proven to prevent bone mets...
Genia, hang in there. Let us know what the LE specialist says....
Lisa, I have hot flashes and cold flashes. It's like my bodie's temperature guage is all goofed up!!! I hope this is a good sign, because it's a pain in the butt!!
Robin, Glad you are up and about already, and home early. Good for you. Enjoy the "granny panties" LOL!!!!
Back from vacation after a 9 hour drive yesterday. We left before 5 AM to avoid traffic around DC, and still today I feel sort of zombie like!!!
Spring...
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I'm having some pain/fullness/heaviness on my mast side. The fullness/heaviness is in the axillary area. The pain is on my side and it has been progressively worsening for about a week. There is no discernable swelling. Any ideas?
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Thanks, Spring! You are right, it was Zometa. Thanks for remembering/translating! My doctor didn't really give me a choice. He just said let's try Femara since it has a better response with BC. When I mentioned the bones, he just said he would rather treat the bones if that comes up than compromise care with a different med. So I tried one today. So far, so good. :_
Another thing. My red blood cells are always off the chart low. I mentioned that I'm trying to take iron, and exercising, but the count won't budge. He said that won't help as my RBC is low because of treatment, not a deficiency. He says it takes about a year past your last chemo for everything to recover....sigh... I think that is the reason I'm so tired all the time.
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Colleen, Both my counts, Red and White, are lower than the normal range. Nobody says anything about this, so I assumed it was "normal". I hate it though. Don't you just want to be all regular and healthy again? I mean, I feel okay, but it just nuts me out a little to see my blood counts still so lower than the "low" normal range. I'm glad to hear, in a way, that iron doesn't help, as it makes me CONSTIPATED !!!! LOL...
Jane, Hmmm. If you didn't do anything to strain it. I'd keep a close "eye" on it. If it does not resolve, I'd go in for an LE check. Just in case.
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Bonjour from Quebec! My b/f's 2 yr old grandson only speaks French so I smiled and said "Oui!" a lot! LOL We had a great time playing "cache'", which is his word for "hide and seek". Now I am at my b/f's house, which is a 5 hour drive from his daughter's. I will be here till Friday, then we go back to his daughter's for birthday celebrations (mine and his - they are 3 days apart). The weather is sooo much cooler here, so not much stinging going on.
Extra big hugs to Jane, Genia and Robin! Big hugs to the rest of you!
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Hi Ladies...I haven't chimed in a while but I keep up with you all daily...I just haven't had much to add. I have been doing well since finishing chemo despite the lovely hot flashes and mood swings from the tamoxifen. Well, I had a bone density test done last week...strong family history of osteoporosis so have been having them done since I was 40 years old (I'm 47) and now with a history of breast cancer treated with chemo, radiation and tamoxifen it was even more necessary. My last 2 were fine but got a call yesterday that this one was awful...basically osteoporotic! I did some research and found that significant bone loss was noted in women as early as 6 months post-chemo. I eat well, take calcium and vit. D, lift weights, and walk 3-5 miles a day so I really thought it would be fine. What more can I do for goodness sakes! I have to see a rheumatologist tomorrow to see what he thinks and if I should be on one of the IV drugs for osteoporosis. So ladies, if you haven't had a bone density test since finishing chemo you may want to ask your doctor to order one. Just one more wonderful side effect from this journey.
Spring, do you get the Zometa infusion and if so, any side effects?
On a positive note, I'm training for the Breast Cancer 3-day in Philadelphia in October. I'm walking with a woman I met during radiation and her team. I will be thinking of all of you as I walk. I'll also be hoping that the walking helps my pathetic bones!
L
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lili- good to hear from you. Sorry to hear that the chemo has had bad SE's to your bones...you know what they say chemo...the gift that keeps on giving. I hope that the 3 day is a lot of fun.
Tamoxifen is a whole different ballgame huh??? While chemo physically kicks your butt the tamox is the emotional equivilent!!! Add to that all the other stuff that comes with it...eyes, joints, HORRIBLE hot flashes... I have also been so much more emotional since the tamox began.
I know that people mean well but if i hear ONE MORE TIME that my hairstyle is "so chic" I think I'm, going to PUKE!!!
Calli was admitted to the hospital for iv nutrition as she lost about 17 lbs last week due to the horrible nausea. She also has mouth sores that they are having to address and if they can build her strength back up surgery next week.
Juli- I hope you enjoy your trip and I am so glad the stinging stayed at home.
Genia- hope you are feeling better.
Jane- I have had the same sensation since vacation.more in the mast area not the axilla..not sure if the scar tissue is changing or if maybe it could be truncal lymphadema. Guess i'll have to put it on my list of things to ask when i go back. Mine started after vacation and just has not gotten better. I have also been crawling around on the floors at work helping to connect all these new computers. I guess i need to learn to say i can't do some of these things.
Robin- hope you are better every day.
Mina- Hope you are doing okay
Wink- if you are lurking - Hello and hasn't it gotten hot again???UGH
Love you all
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Julie, Glad you checked in as I was just thinking last night, I have to check Juli's last update to make sure she is not in the hospital or something!!!! LOL!!!! "oui" is so cute!!!
Have a lovely time. Sounds like you are meant for cooler weather! Lili, hello!!! Yes, I had a bone scan and was found to be osteopenic (but I was before all this, a little, as well). I heard ZOMETA prevents bone mets. I get it every 6 months now, had my first one in May. Next one will be Nov. 15 minute infusion, no SE's. Easy as pie. You are in and out of there in no time. That was my experience.
Lisa, good to hear from you.
Genia, report back on how the LE massage goes??
Spring.
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Good morning ladies- almost to the weekend.
I was up late/early yesterday and went back to the beginning of the thread to look at all those who have moved outta here...I was struck by one thing...I was not a good poster in the beginning and there seemed to be a recurring theme....all i ever seem to do is B&M! Ladies, it was sobering and to all of you I offer my apologies. I am beginning to see that I am a glass half empty kind of person and I know it gets old to those that have to be around me! So today I am promising that I will TRY to do better.
Genia- I know your plate has been full and you have been busy but we'd love to hear from you.
Juli- I hope you are learning a little French and having a great time.
I guess I was just fortunate- (please, I am not bragging) but my counts never took a hard dive with the exception of the very first and very last chemo. The only thing I have trouble keeping up is my potassium.
MIL and family are in Myrtle Beach in the place we stayed last year right before I was diagnosed. She was reading what i had written in the guest book, and she said she was sooo sorry we weren't able to be there. I don't know what the heck I'd WEAR but I sure do wish I was sitting in my beach chair with a good book feeling the beach breeze!!! Maybe next year!!
Our church is having a benefit BBQ for Callie's family this weekend. The last I heard they had sold over 700 tickets. I had hoped to be able to go and help them put plates together but guess who is babysitting???? Anyway, all the food was donated so all money raised from ticket sales will go to the family. It will be a great blessing. I don't know if it will keep the house out of foreclosure but maybe it will help a little. There is another fund in town that is designated to hlep with medical expenses and they have a foundation that is helping with all the meds she gets locally. They have been blessed. Callie is having such a tough time with all of this and is so sick.
I hope all of you have a great day!!!
HUGS and love to all!!!
Lisa/BG
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Hi Lisa,
Wondering how things are going for Genia???
Please post....
Spring.
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howdy everyone,
If Bone Density hangs up on me one more time I will......say something awful 390750459730970 times!
I miss hanging here this week but it seems my last 8 blasts were a mother...they showed me the treatment sheet...I'd been getting 180 whatever they called the rad tx 26 days, then it was increased to 200 the last 8 days. We just had to laugh at each other...all us old-timers as we called ourselves those last weeks, propped up but still nearly falling out of our chairs asleep...then bitching cause we didn't get a bye-bye present.... then reminding ourselves we live in NYC...arrgh....oh well.
THEY didn't hang up this time... Bone Density scheduled August 25th... no calcium... no vitamins 24 hours before hand. doing my happy dance.
Lilli, sorry to hear you are osteoporotic but thank God we have all these new meds...My ONC told me Zometa is not her first drug of choice...but if I am in need of a bone builder I will ask for it...maybe from my rheumatologist...my Onc talked about bone pain...she knows how much feel about it with my RA dx...Taxol exacted enuf bone pain from me for a long long time..., hips are still pissed of at me for taking it:)
bettysgirl, don't beat yourself up another minute...we're all traveling this road together....{{{{{ to ya}}}}} NO more crawling on floor PULeeze until next year.:)
Callie is always in my thoughts...her family, church and community... all of us are pulling for her...
Genia, hope your doctor and therapist help you and soon. Please.take your pain pills with no guilt...and feel better.
Juli, your grandson is adorable...oui? have fun...you sound happy hanging up there..Maybe you need a cooler climate. I feel better in NYC than in TX...love TX but 100 degrees is a bit much for me...I lived in Palmdale for a while...it's hot for nearly 9 months but the winter temps are near 32 degrees for 3 months...its 2500 feet up and windy.
I wanted to go to Atlantic City but wow are the hotel rooms expensive ...I could stay in Vegas and have money left to eat...maybe I will...
Robin...up and about and doing well...love the granny panties.... good news all round.
Spring, glad you are exhausted from having a fantastic vacation.
back soon...
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GROUP HUG!
xoxo
mina
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Don't panic....I'm here.......
I'm having very good results with my lymphedema specialist. She knows here stuff and almost all the swelling has gone down. She tried for two days straight to bandage my arm all the way from my fingertips up to my shoulder.....but my wierd skin doesn't like the bandage and it broke out in hives. So today we left it off after the massage. She is measuring for a compression sleeve tomorrow...... Next week she will teach me how to do the massages and then I will be done going to her unless I have a problem. My insurance has approved 30 treatments per rolling year.....so she doesn't wanna use more than we have to.....just in case. My hubby is watching her and he said he will do them.......
I'll be praying for Callie....bless her heart....I would rather go through this over and over than have my child sick. I feel so sorry for her and her family.
Mina glad you are finished........I know how happy you are! Just watch closely for lymphedema.....mine hit about a week after I was finished with my RADS.
I love you all.......I'll be back. It's just been hard to type with my arm hurting.
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Genia- so good to hear from you and glad that you are feeling a little better. I hope that this specialist gets you straightened out.
We finally got some rain today. We needed it so badly. Hubby is working a retreat this weekend so think of me while i wrangle the rug rats alone....
I go to the eye doctor tomorrow afternoon at four. Hope new glasses are the trick.
Mina- glad the rads are over and I hope you heal quickly. I know that the last week for me was killer. BUT i recovered fairly quickly. I used Domoboro soak on my burns and it really helped.
We have to pack up some old monitors to send back at work and these things are like huge TVS. Boss let us now today that she was expecting me and the other lady in the office that is also a BC survivor to pack them up. THIS time I plan to stand up for myself and tell her that she is going to have to find someone else to do her heavy lifting. The guy I talked to last week was not worried about how we wrap and package them because they are so old and big the will probably be trashed once they get them back.
Juli- here's a little wish for you:
passer un bon moment
je t'aime, bon ami
I hope all of you have a great Friday. The weekend is coming!! I hope all of you have a great one, and again I am thankful for each one of you.
Lisa/BG
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Genia,
So glad to hear from you. I am also thrilled your LE specialist knows here stuff. Your skin is so sensitive!!! But maybe you can get the results from massage. I have one of those compression sleves ... it is hard to get that sucker ON!!! and OFF!!!
Back to work, TGIF to all! Hugs to all! Kisses to all!!!
You beauties!
Spring.
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Genia- i hope you are feeling better and that the pin is subsiding.
Girls i hope that by the few posts that are here that it means everyone is out having a good time.
We had the BBQ for Calli's family today. We sold 800 chicken BBQ plates and about 15 cakes and had a lot of donations. The family should get quite a benefit from all of the proceeds. Please pray for Calli as she has surgery on Monday. The will check in at 5:30 am Monday. The whole family will be there and we are all praying that this will be a start in the right direction.
Have a great evening.
Lisa
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Where is everyone?
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Just hanging out...not feeling 100% and trying to ignore it so it will go away.
Edited for spelling
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Here.....hope everyone is ok. Not feeling a 100% either Jane.....not sure I ever will! I see these ladies on other threads that say they feel almost as good as they did before cancer.....and I just shake my head. I don't feel 1/3 as good as I did........
Love you all...
Where's Juli?
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Hey there girls,
I'm so so sleepy but feeling stronger each week;. back to bed...I have not felt this tired since forever,
love you all...coming back to chat and set a spell.
xoxo
Mina
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I wonder what's up - I feel rather snarky myself; like I could just chew someone up and spit them out and grind them into the sidewalk - wow - wonder where that came from? I feel sorry for the folks I have to work with tonight
. Oh, I know, I'm trying to diet - always turns me into an evil, fire breathing, teeth grinding b#t$h.....I want my groceries!!!! I lost 15 lbs and then turned around and gained 7 back (I wonder how much these expanders weigh?). It's such a constant battle, it's just exhausting.....sorry - just needed to vent 
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Hey everyone.
I went to see my RAD Onco today and got some very good news. She told me I'm in complete remission! Those words were so sweet to me I can't even begin to tell you how it made me feel. I told her about my Med Onco telling me I had an 80% chance of recurrence. She said if I can make it to the two year mark without a recurrence, I would have a 90% chance of survival. After 5 years it will go up to 99%. So my goal is to make it to that two year mark!!! I'll be getting another PET scan in 3 months.....SHE wants it done. Then it will go to 6 months. She made me feel so much more hopeful than my Med Onco did. But I'm sure he was just trying to prepare me for what could happen......but boy did he shoot my mood down that day. He said I didn't need routine scans done.....they really didn't help detect anything any sooner than symptoms would appear. I disagreed with him. I feel more confident with her decisions right now. Plus he has moved.......God put him there for me when I needed him and now he has gone.
In all reality.....it's God's call. I just need to turn it all over to him and let him work it out the way he wants.
Hang in there Donna.....This too shall pass!!!
Lotsa love to all
Hi Mina....hugs sweetie. Rest up...your body must need it!
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Bonjour! I am home! Got back late last night. I missed you all so much!
Lisa - Thank you for your little message in French. I think I understand it.
I learned a lot of French words from a very smart 2 yr old! He would take my hand and lead me to his room to play with him and his cars and trucks. I haven't laughed so much in my life! He is such a happy little guy! Practically every thing I did made him laugh!
Mina - Palmdale is about 60 miles from here. Yes, it is very hot and windy there most of the time. yuck!
How is Callie doing? She just had surgery, right? Breaks my heart!
Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Tomorrow night we are celebrating my b-day, my sister's b-day (Aug 4th) and my oldest son's b-day (he will be 26 on Monday). When I got home last night, my 21 yr old son had put up streamers and balloons for me and gave me a big box of Junior Mints (my fav!). What a sweetie!
Now I have to go type a report... back to the grind.
Big hugs!
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Happy B-day Juli! Glad you had a good time.
Calli's surgery was put off as she started running fever the day before. Tested positive for staph and strep. She has been on IV antibiotics and is now home until the surgery on the 11th. They have changed some meds and it SEEMS she is turning a corner on the nausea. Keep her in your thoughts as she begins the surgery process next week.
Genia- REMISSION!!!!!!! HAPPY DANCE TO YOU!!
Mina- catch some good ZZZZ;s
Hope everybody is well and has a good weekend.
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Hi all, I was away at a Yoga at the beach retreat for BC survivors -- missed you all!!
Genia, go for the hope!!! I love it!!! What great numbers! At this reatreat, there were women there who had BC 16 years ago, 22 years ago!!! It was wonderful to see "examples" of the cure.
Wink, sometimes I feel like I want to chew someone up and spit out. I am wondering if it's the Tamox. I've been on 5 months now nearly, and I've noted other women saying this. hmmm!!! Not often, just something to keep an eye on!!
Spring.
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