Chemo in Sept 08
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Nose bleeds sem to be more common now that nose hairs are growing back and the cold air has hit. I actually was not too achy and did sleep after shoveling. Dogs kept me awake last nigh tho! Doing something for me today and getting a massage. Feel as if I deserve it!
D
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Denise, YOU DO DESERVE IT!!! Imagine the cabanna boy while in massage! LOL!!!
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hi girls, sorry I have been MIA....just not feeling up to snuff. Yes, I get blood when I blow my nose. Yes, my nails still hurt....it keeps getting worse. The L Glutamine doesn't seem to be helpling with my toes. I too, feel like Jane, tired, my legs ache, I feel dizzy and just plain not good on my feet UGH!!!! I have done #7 of Taxol and #8 is tomorrow !!!!! YUCK!!!
I also asked my nurse about the blurry vision, it is from chemo or should I see my eye dr....she told me to see the eye dr.....what a bunch of crap!!! I know from all of you it is the chemo, what the heck is an eye dr going to do but charge me more money!!!! The onc staff is stupid !!!
Ok I belong at the bitch and moan site !!! I will stop now. Good news, only 4 to go after tomorrow Yeah!!!!
Hope all of you are doing better !!
Trude
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Denise....good for you girl......get that massage!!!
Thanks Spring.....you give me so much encouragement.....you have no idea sweet lady!
And Trude....don't worry sweetie.....this has become the bitch moan/ chemo thread combo!!!! Hope you feel better soon.....and yes that blurry vision is from the chemo. I wish I had waited to get my glasses til after I was done. Cause I know they are gonna be different once this is over!
Let's all say a big HOORAH for the bloody noses......lol.......just kidding.....don't smack me!
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I WIN!!!! I am scheduled for transfusion at 8:30 AM tomorrow
But I do have some good news. I submitted an article to a local on-line magazine (tricountywoman.com) whose editor is also a member of this forum and she thought it was good enough to publish in an upcoming issue. I had a previous article published in 2 magazines in 2007, so I am thrilled. I am hoping that I feel better after my 6-hour transfusion tomorrow.Genia and I also figured out last night that we both will be having our LAST chemo on the same day - next Monday. We're going to have to figure out how to have a group celebration.
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Well bless your heart Jane......I TRULY wish this is one battle you hadn't won. But....look at it this way......you may feel soooo much better after that transfusion!!! I sure do hope so......don't make me come up there woman......I will......if you don't straighten your act up sister!!! lolol love ya
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jane i hope that transfusion will perk you up and congratulations on the article.
Denise- i hope you got that massage!!!
Jane and Genia i KNOW you are gonna find a way to celebrate that last TX
Went for the rads consult today. Will have CT friday then next week off and start rads on the 26th for 28 treatments. I was very impressed with the place and everyone was super there. They were a great group of people. They introduced you to everyone.
Have a great evening.
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Hi everyone,
I miss my visits here so much. My hip injury kept me down for a while, with trips to doc ending with injections of steroids...as if I haven't had enough already and no more crutches since last Thursday. I was able to walk with my son's able assistance yesterday to my new Oncologist's office.
Genia, I'm happy you received your Medicare SSDI benefits..:) I would not be able to survive and take care of my son without those bene's... since my career was cut short.
I am still trying to catch up since 12/30...A belated Happy New Year to all
...I have some concerns and would love to hear about any Taxol treatments that sound premedication etc like my treatment.
My doc wants to give me 20 mgm of Decadron the night before my Taxol, 20mgm Decadron IV the day of my Taxol infusion, and 20 mgm the day after. I am also to receive Benadryl IV mgm during my Taxol infusion. All the premeds are given, to prevent an unexpected severe anaphylactic reaction in her office, which did happen once and she vowed never again.
She looked nervous when she told me what happened to her when that happened in her office. I am Diabetic--which makes both of us nervous, but I'm well controlled, so she and I both hope I will tolerate my blood sugar swings.
I did tell her I'm awake for 24 hours on 11 mgm; she could care less. NO Bad reaction is all she cares about.
I hope I can catch up and join the conversation again. I can say I am with everyone trying to temperature regulate.
It was good to hear my doc's opinion about my being nauseous and regurgitating all of which that caused my meltdown with my old doc when he didn't call me back for three days..She says I wasn't post medicated properly and that it wasn't the Neupogen. Good news:)
That's just one it's more reason why I'm glad I don't have that Onc any longer, not to mention her opinion that Taxol may be more effective for triple negs. My Medicare Advantage plan wouldn't buy Taxol...I pray no more problems like that...plus I am using my Healthwell foundation letter. I think I've had enough trials and tribulations with insurance companies to put my moldy license to work if I can work again and help other confused Medicare HMO/PPO patients.
hugs and more hugs to everyone here,
mina
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Nosebleeds! I asked today and they think it is weather related. They didn't mention it, but I also think the steroids we have to take prior to taxol also contributes. I learned from my son's treatment, that steroids can thin the skin. So that may be why those of us that are getting high does steroids every week with the taxol are seeing this side effect more. I didn't share that thought with my dr. Anyway, they said what a lot of the women are doing is using aquaphor or vaseline in their noses to keep the skin moist and it seems to be helping. Sounds gooey, but maybe it will work. I'm not sure it is worth it to me just yet, since it is just light pink when I blow my nose in the AM.
Mina - For my taxol/herceptin cocktail, I take 20 mg dexadron the night before, and the morning of. I do not take any afterwards. I take zofran about an hour before treatment. I also get Pepcid and Benadryl IV as premeds before the taxol.
Much love and hugs to all!
Colleen
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Hey Mina! So good to see you! My Taxol tx's haven't been anything spectacular...I'm just finished #7 out of 12. I get an Aloxi syringe injected into my line, and all of my decadron in my IV along with my Benadryl, which puts me to sleep about 15 minutes after it's infused. I asked if I needed that much, and they said that I do, and it's to prevent allergic reactions...which you said. So, take a blanket and a pillow...and enjoy the 3 hour nap!
I don't have any nail problems, and I've kept all the hair that's grown back in...and the only neuropathy I've had is slight twinges in my ring and little finger on my left hand.
Today, I teased/threatened to poke a hole in both decadron/Benadryl bags, just so I didn't have to have them. I'm not sure they knew whether to take me seriously or not. HA!
During my exam today, my onc said that I've developed "beta blocker asthma" due to the Lopressor that I'm taking to keep my heart stable. FUN! (not) I have to get in touch with my OTHER doc to get the dosage reduced, and then when I'm two chemo's away from done, we can start weaning me off of it, and then my breathing will be back to normal.
Other than that... I'm just dandy!
My nosebleeds (I think) are because it's so freakin' dry here...Once I got a humidifier next to my bed, they pretty much stopped. I just read somewhere that you shouldn't ever use Vaseline in your nose because that will harbor the flu virus...triple antibiotic or KY Jelly is the preferred method of preventing nosebleeds...I never would have guessed that KY could be used for anything other than sex...
Speaking of which... has everyone/anyone kept HAVING sex since chemo started, or is it just me that has absolutely no drive whatsoever? I figure that we all talk about everything else... why not sex? I hope it's not against the TOS....
I DID meet a really nice guy, though... which has kindasorta gotten my wheels turning in my head again... but that's in the wrong area, huh...
Robin
~~** edited because my brain is mush**~~
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Who's deciding if they're gonna do the hormone therapy or if they're getting their ovaries/uterus removed?
I'm leaning toward getting the pink bits out...I'm tired of taking pills. Srsly.
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Robin - when you have no energy, your fingers are numb, you feel bloated all the time... what is the last thing on my mind??? I warned my b/f before he got here (for his 6 month stay from Canada) that I wasn't going to be any fun!
Mina - I took 20 mg of Devadron before my 1st Taxol, but the onc let me go down to 8 mg for the rest. I don't know how much I get in my IV.
Jane - Good luck with the transfusion. How long does it take?
My nosebleeds are NOT weather related. They started with the 1st Taxol and it's been in the 80's here... sorry, don't mean to rub it in for those of you in the snow.
Trude - If we lived a little closer, we could B & M over lunch! Can't wait for this Taxol to be over too!
Hugs to all!
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Hi Girls,
Trude, good luck for tomorrow, you are 2/3 of the way there!
Genia, what makes you think I would know where to source a whole batch of cabana boys! I will keep my eyes open though
Jane, hope all goes well for the transfusion, It must be the right thing to do and I am sure you will feel so much better afterwards.
Take care everyone! Singapore Chris
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Good to see you again Mina.......I wanted to let you know the Dr. prescribed me 16mg Decadon the day before chemo.....then I get my IV dose the day of chemo then 16mg the day after. He did that because I was having some swelling from the taxotere. It did help.......
Robin....no sex here either. I have the "desire" just not the energy.......lolol. Guess I just need a new body to go with the mind and spirit!!! Sorry to hear about your asthma. Hope that gets better for you......soon. Glad you said something about the vasaline in the nose.....I would have tried it!!! Makes sense to not do it tho.......thanks
LOL....Chris.....thanks for keepin your eyes open for the Cabana boy. He is in hot demand around here tho.....so we may have to have more than one. haha
hugsssss to you all........
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Sex? What's that? LOL. My DH wants to touch my new boobs and every time I go "ouch!!" I am no fun!!! You are not alone Jules!
Wow, next Monday will be a big day - Genia and Jane, LAST CHEMO. WOW!!! Yes we need to CELEBRATE!!! Jane, let us know how the transfusion goes. Sorry you "won".
Mina, hang in there woman! You have a lot going on there...I think you are also on the medal podium for having a lot of "bad stuff" during chemo!!! You will have to fight it out with Genia and Jane! (But not the contenst you want to win!)
Chris, I had my first radiation treatment yesterday and kept thinking about Radiation Angels in the room, making sure that the zapping was buzzing any cancer cells floating around. It was good. And it was so fast! over before I knew it! Quicker than getting Xrays at the dentist, and hurt less too, since you don't need to bit down on those cardboard things in your mouth! I just hope the implant makes it through.
Bettys: I also will get 28 treatments and then may have some "Boosts" at the end. (not quite sure about that yet). But should be done either way by end of Feb.
Trude, The blurry vision thing is TOTALLY CHEMO. (what idiots! sorry!!).
Prettiest: if you get your ovaries out, will you also need to take an AI? I am having another appt at end of month to discuss: (1) Tamox vs (2) AI with shots to induce monopause vs (3)AI with ovaries out.
Love you ladies! You ROCK!!!
xoxoxoxxoThere are going to be layoffs at work. Somehow though, lay offs are not as scary after you've had CANCER!!!! I mean, it really does put things in perspective. However, health care benefits are now critical. Sheesh. it never ends...
Spring (Beverly)
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Hey girls! Massage was fabulous! She even did some Reiki at the end. It was kinda funy. She asked before we started if there was any particular problem I had or area to concentrate on. I stood there with my bald head and said no. She caught on with my pink ribbon panties and my scars!
SEX??!?? What is that? I wish, but....
My onc wants me to take the Tamox for "awhile" and then do the oophorectomy. She said that "learning about menopause with drugs is easier than getting everything out. You would be miserable". So I am on Tamox and 'learning' all about menopause
(That's me having a hot flash!)Hope your transfusion goes well and you get LOTS of energy!
I am nervous abt the PET scan tomorrow. Mainly bcs I did not do well in the MRI. I am hoping if I freak out, they can just ask my onc (who is in the same building) for some Ativan or something. Then the waiting game-AGAIN!
Spring-Layoffs! Heck, I'm just hoping to return to work shortly!
D
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Well, all our oncs are different. My taxol tx....no meds except with infusion. I get Benadryl, Zantec (for tummy) Decadron (10 mg ) then the chemo.
Oh, I did call my eye doctor (dd works for him)...he said, most chemo pts he has seen have very dry eyes.....this causes eyes to water excessively to try to keep them moisturised.....(I have very watery eyes). He gave me 3 types of drops to try.....moisturising drops, non prescription....told me this would probably help. I will get them today and try, then let you know.
I am in the chair now, they have internet so I brought my laptop. I told them again about my numb toes.....seems to not be an issue unless it moves further down into my foot !!!!
Juli - wish you were closer too.....but we are about a 10 hour drive apart. I really want to come down there in the summer, will have to see if we can meet up. It would be fun to all meet.
Mina - my onc also recommended the Taxol. She said the little bit of estrogen that showed was probably due to the hormones I was taking at the time....now with all stopped, they are pinning me as triple neg ...... but since I haven't had surgery yet, all the info is base of a core bx....not as accurate as slice of tumer after removal.
Can't get an appt with my onc to discuss my surgery. Surgeon requested a call back, first of Dec to get surgery on books for end of Jan......onc did not respond!!!! I do have an appt before my chemo next week and plan to tell her to get off her butt and call my surgeon !!!
Sick of being treated like crap by the oncs office. They will get one heck of a letter about all this when I am done. I don't want this to happen to anyone else.
HUGGS to all Trude
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The way my surgeon put it, was that it's easier to take Tamoxifen and deal with potential side effects and alter the dosage or change the meds altogether than it is to remove the ovaries and find that you're having a hard time with menopause because he can't put the ovaries back.
Makes sense, but I've been reading on the boards here about how Tamoxifen does great things when it comes to ER+ breast cancer, but it's horrible when it comes to uterine cancer...extremely bad if you've ever had abnormal pap smears or dysphagia (sp?), like HPV or any other pre-cancerous cells. Aside from the fact that I hate hate hate taking meds, I just want the goods removed so that the chance of cancer returning is reduced to less than 2%.
We'll discuss it more in depth when radiation is close to being done.
What other tests are done after chemo and rads besides the PET scan and more mammograms?
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Hey there,
Good news, I think. The eye drops, called Soothe XP by Bausch&Lomb seem to work. My eyes have stopped watering and are so much less blurry. Maybe he was right and my eyes were just dry. This stuff works for 8 hrs !!!! YEAH!!! Hope this helps someone else too. He did give me 2 other kinds to try but this was the first one......seems good so far. He did say it needs to be a moisturizing drop to work well. Made it thru Taxol #8......They didn't seem to worried about the numbness.....the nurse told me they will only stop it if it travels further up your foot beyond the toes !!!! Great....I can have numb feet and not just numb toes !!!! UGH!!! These people are crazy.
Happy Thursday
Trude
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Jane - hope the transfusion helped !!! Thinking good thoughts for you
Trude
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The transfusion took about 7 hours all together but I think I feel a little stronger. I'm not as achy as I was. I told my MIL that I hoped it was a nice person's blood, but, if they donated blood, they're probably nice, right? If I get a sudden urge to go out and work in the garage, I'll know it was a guy's. I'm hoping to at least be strong enough to get through my in-laws anniversary party on Saturday without collapsing or passing out. I want it to be memorable for them, but not because of me. I took tomorrow off from work so I can get the W2s done for the restaurant I work for (my 2nd job), so I can sleep in and go in later and I'm off Monday for my last chemo, so I don't have to go to work again at my regular job until Tuesday. Let the count-down begin...right, Genia?
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That's right Jane....if they donated they were nice. You will be fine sweetie.......
Yep....the countdown has began! Lookin forward to gettin this one over with!!!! And no NEUBLASTA shot!!!! Yaaaaay!!!
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Trude - Mapquest says you are 8 hours and 13 minutes north of me. Funny thing... this whole time I was thinking Redding was Redlands, which is south of me. Chemo brain fart, I guess!
Jane - Wow! 7 hours! Glad you're ok.
Spring - Congrats on getting through the 1st rads! I can't wait to be in rads instead of chemo.
Robin - I was told I need an echo-cardiogram in Feb, to see if the AC caused any heart muscle damage (I think that's what it is for).
Genia - Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Dear Sweet Geniaaaaa, Happy Birthday to you! and many moreeeeee!!!! (I think when you read this it will be 1/16!) Hope you have a great day!
Hugs to all!
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Well, two items of good news. The eyedrops are fantastic. My eyess aren't 100% but they are so much better. All this time I had dry eyes and tearing to try to make them better...the tearing caused alot of the blurriness. Second, I found the L-glutamine at Walmart for only $10.00...thats half the price at GNC. The label says Glutamine but when you read the ingredients it says L-Glutamine....it was in the pharmacy stuff with the body building powders.
Bad news.....the taxol made my toes even more numb. The toes and balls of my feet are now numb. I have upped my glutamine to 3 times a day from 2. It's really hard to walk with the balls numb. My hubby said it's a good thing it's not his balls that are numb !!! LOL.
Juli - I am so excited....you are so close. Redding is about half way from Sacramento to Oregon. I am glad you got the transfusion, you will be better tomorrow. My hubby is a huge blood donor and he is a very nice guy, all the people at the blood bank are super. Hope that makes you feel better.
Happy Birthday Genia !!! Too many more !!!
Trude
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Trude - That was Jane that got the infusion...oops! not me.
I think I will try to take the L-Glutamine 3 times a day too.
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Hi Girls,
Priz, if you think you can't manage the PET scan, why not ask to be sedated. Generally they don't do it, but if you think it will help you, just insist. You have gone through enough, as far as I am concerned the easier it is for us the better!
Jane, so glad your transfusion went well, even though it did take ages.
Trude, it's awful the way no one seems to care about the numb feet, they should try it sometime and see how they like it. Make sure you write that letter of complaint, it might be an idea to write it now and then send it when you are ready, so everything is still fresh in your mind. I would ring the oncol's office every day until they do something, it's not good enough. Give me the number and I will ring them for you and wake them up in the middle of the night.
Genia, Happy Birthday!
All is good with me. 8 rads down 22 go to. Singapore Chris
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Chris
Did you have the implants done at surger??? How is the Rad going, any SE ??? How often do you have to go??? I have surgery in a few weeks ,,,,after chemo done (4 left) then start Rads
I think I have 20 or something.....I didn't pay too much attention...only to the immediate stuff as there was just too much to think about. Seems to be going good, hope it stays that way.
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Happy Birthday Genia!!
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Off for my PET scan. I have a Xanax to take so I hope it helps. Wish me luck!
D
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Good luck, Priz!
I'm not feeling 100%, but I am feeling much better. I probably won't feel 100% until spring, if ever. But I'll tkae what I can get for now.
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