MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Eph & LIta, I might just LOL my way thru' January!
Dianarose, I am sure the cumulative effect feels pretty butt-kicking at this point, but we are with you for the 3-2-1 countdown. Did you go thru' it all on maximum dosage so far, Ironwoman?
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Bad day ! No light in my tunnel! MO says she is keeping me on Taxol until it doesn't work or I just can't take it. So depressed. F'n cancer
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Oh Diana, this is devastating! Taxol is a very effective drug, but it's very tough to handle on a long term basis. As stage 4 women, we already know in the back of our heads what we're up against and it ain't pretty.
Will keep you in prayer that this line of treatment will keep Mr. Cancer at bay for a long while and that there is something else out there when taxol stops working for you.
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{{{{Diana}}}}
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Diana - sending hugs and keeping you in my thoughts.
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I understand the MO's reasoning keeping me on Chemo just don't like it. She did say maybe we can change it to 2 weeks on and two weeks off. Sounds doable, I think. Have a Ct scan and bone scan first week of February so I guess that will tell the true story. They still haven't figured out if my Her2 is positive or negative yet. Tests don't agree with each other. So craz
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Dianarose, ANYONE would have a hard time coping. You mentioned a shrink?. Psychiatrist? Are you going on antidepressants and, if so, which one? In general, with drugs, I usually feel that less is more but, following along with your saga, I can understand how getting some chemical help to deal with everything is probably a good idea. I am glad to hear you are getting good support from your husband and family.
For you, as for my BFF who has gone thru' several ineffective chemos over the past two years, I am always hoping that some new & better treatments are approved...ones that are effective and not as hard to tolerate. And, as always, hoping for a CURE.
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El- I started taking Mirtazapine. She said it can take 2-4 weeks to kick in. I also started my first violin 🎻 lesson today. It was hard to stay focused and relaxed but it's something to work on. I have been talking to the ladies on the peritoneal thread. Sadly I think I need to stop. Since November two have passed away and a third just went into hospice. I hope it doesn't offend anyone but it just brings me to a darker place then I am already at. Can't handle so much anymore.
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Diana, you have to do whatever you need to do to get thru this.
I had to get off the "Worried about Obama care" thread because it was really getting me down...especially now that it looks like the Republicans are really moving forward with repealing it. I worry about all the sisters here whose insurance will be compromised. I hate to think about what might happen to them.
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Dianarose, I can say it now, we were all very worried for you last year. Everything was going wrong, and no one was helping you, and there was nothing for you to eat. They threw the word hospice at you, but HA; you decided to rebound instead, and do holiday baking!!! That a girl! As nasty as the Taxol is, if it keep those mets under control, then I hope you can stay on it a long time. What is the word about getting your kidney tube taken out?
You asked about my parathyroid scar some time ago. It's o.k., nowhere near invisible yet, but I think that might take a year or more. I have to say my body feels more like its old self since having that surgery. My shin pain did go away.
p.s. I am hurting from doing that Tamilee workout DVD I mentioned earlier. It was the side stretches that got to me. Pulled something, right around my waist/midsection. My cancer PTSD automatically reasoned it was kidney cancer, but it's probably just stretched a ligament. Maybe at my age, I should only prance.
p.p.s. Where's Barbe? Did she give up this thread as a New Year's resolution?
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Just checking in with you all, after a few weeks doing holidays and having company over Christmas week. I love hearing from Eph again, but sorry you had to deal with melanoma. Yikes. Please keep us posted as the wound heals. Diana, you asked about Taxol, and yep, I was on it weekly for almost 5 months. I was pretty sick from it, but it got easier as time went on. It was the first time in my life in which I took so many meds to ameliorate side effects. Nausea, stuff, heartburn stuff, constipation stuff... god, I felt decrepit! Taxol really whacked things back, however, which made it worth the hassle. You cannot imagine how much I wish for your response to to be positive!
I have settled down after a rocky few weeks after Thanksgiving, am taking Aromasin and adjusting to it fairly well. Its keeping me in a remission, not yet ned, but more like nrd, or "no rowdiness detected." I'll take it. 💃💃💃
Wishing you all some peace, quiet and as much fun as you can stand
xo Mame
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Dianarose, those are beautiful scarves you made! Got any Dusky/smoky purplish/gray? Is purplish a word? I am sorry to hear about continuous taxol,,yuck, that one did kick my butt. If your tests of her 2 are equivocal, can't they just DO Herceptin for you? I was equivocal by all three different types of test for it, but they decided to give it to me. I guess I am alright now, but I am freaked out about tests coming up. I quit tamoxifen in august or september, I couldn't prance anymore...that lady must live where no one can see her, but she IS weirdly compelling to watch. Even in my 40's, I was still brave enough that I would sometimes spontaneously break out into skipping, if I was out for a walk. Now that is fun. But I really love to dance, altho I barely do it anymore, now why is that? I need to let myself have more fun.
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Tomboy, Tomboy, Tomboy, I know you don't go far enough back to have seen my post(s) regarding my love of skipping, so that makes your post above even more precious to me. You have proven yourself to be a kindred spirit in not just BC. Way back when, on my last day of rads, I had a full blown skipping outbreak of joyful skipping in the lobby of my Cancer Center. Now that was mindful, even pre-planned skipping, but I have since skipped numerous times just for fun. It is so much more low-impact than running, which I really cannot handle anymore, and so much more FUN. You are absolutely correct about that. I have, in the last year, held hands with my husband and skipped...down the street of my subdivision. (After that day, I am sure our identities switched from "the Mid-Age biking couple" to "that weird, old skipping couple" but only from my more repressed and jealous neighbors. Skip haters gonna hate.)
Picture me with one of Dianarose's long scarves trailing behind me as I reach top speed.
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Oh. Elimar. You just now made me so happy. Skipping! It's true, you just can't help smiling if you skip, even if only for a couple yards! It's good with your man, or best ever with a woman friend. Guaranteed to brighten an already good moment! Because sharing a walk is great, but sharing a skip? Oh, my. Thanks elimar , you made my heart so happy just now
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Your skipping posts are wonderful. One of my favorite things - post BC - is skipping in the swimming pool. That's some good exercise on top of the fun.
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I got the paperwork for my bone and Ct scan. Both the same day. They want me to drink 24 oz of the clear contrast over 15 minutes. Seriously! My stomach can't handle that plus last time I threw it up after three swallows. This is really stressing me out! To some it probably seems silly but I hate scans and all the crap they put in your body to do them.
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Tell them that DR! I drink a ton of stuff in a day, but 24 oz in 15 min is pushing it for anyone!
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Dianarose, What day are you having the scans? I don't think the drink has anything to do with your bone scan. For that, they like you to drink a lot afterward so that you will pee out the radioactive material used for the scan. So, you must be talking about contrast for the CT. I looked it up and while the amount is not unusual (I read that 3-4 cups of drink/contrast is called for,) it does seem that the 15 minute time period is not exactly the norm. I am sure it depends on exactly what they are giving you for contrast, but why not ask if you can have a bigger window for getting it all in? If they are asking you to drink what you cannot possibly drink so quickly without trowing it up, it sounds like the scan could wind up less than successful, possibly a waste of time and money. Speak up about that. Through communication with the docs/techs, maybe you can come up with a better plan to ensure that you get all the contrast in for a good result. Maybe if they give you 30 minutes to drink it all, it won't even make a difference. Check it out.
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El- I don't think it's the amount or time to drink it but that my body rejects it. I drank 3 sips last time and started vomiting. Sometimes I wonder why I am putting myself through all of this. After 12 1/2 years I am way beyond over this cancer crap along with chemo. Just so tired.
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For my CT, they gave me the contrast thru' an IV, and I am sure it was to look at all the usual organs. Wonder why you are getting the drink instead of the injection?
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oh Diana, I feel for you!!! ((((hugs)))) yes drinking that contrast sounds horrible for you! Is there a nurse navigator or social worker at the center that could help you thru the scan day? A good friend or hubby that could be an advocate for you? When you are tired and sick everything feels like too much!
I've been MIA for about 3 weeks with an awful cold that settled right in my lungs. Was in the hospital for a day and night. Then dxed with asthmatic bronchitis. So had to do the week of prednisone (which I hate with a passion) nebulizers, and now an inhaler. All of which conspired to give me thrush. Which I also hate with a passion. I think I just got so knocked down emotionally and infected with some germ, that it grabbed hold of me and doesn't want to let go. Of course, having a horribly compromised immune system doesn't help at all. Anyway I am starting to get a little energy back. That ate up a lot of my January.
I have a couple of exercise DVDs. They are QIGONG. Which is about all I can handle. Even then the Crane walk is to much, ha ha. Anyway, one is called Dynamic Woman and talks all about the Uterine Place, but the instructor has such a camel toe I get really distracted. Don't they screen these things before they make them into a DVD that will last forever. It says on the cover
Be Strong Supple Sexy (well, I am none of those things) The other one is Wise Woman "Build Bones, Balance, Beauty" Needless to say I have not even looked at these on the shelf for 3 weeks. Maybe tomorrow............
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e, I have had a CT both ways. The one that I had to drink the drink was for my digestive system.
by the way, I love the picture up top!
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macatacmy- makes sense where I have mets in my abdomen. Going to ask today if there is something else I can take. Going today for chemo round ten. Would much rather stay home lol.
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Drose, oh man I would want to stay home, too!
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so I asked about the contrast for the Ct scan and told them it makes me vomit almost instantly. She said I can just drink water . If that is the case why do the have anyone drink the crap to begin with? Had the nausea shot again yesterday and it felt like a puncture wound. Asked the nurse the gauge of the needle and it's a 16. That explains it, ouch😢. First two weeks of February I have the bone and Ct scan, naphostomy tube exchange and two more rounds of chemo and then all the results. Looking forward to second half. DH is taking me on a mini vacation to Pennsylvania for our anniversary 💕. Got tickets to see Brad Paisley while we are there.
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Great anniversary plans to look forward to!
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Diana...Happy Anniversary, enjoy the concert you deserve it.........
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D-rose, I kind of figured they must have a "plan B" about the drink. Not like you would be the only one who would barf up that crap drink, so they had to have a few other ways to get the job done, didn't they? Agree with NM...it's nice to have something good waiting at the end of the scans and chemo, and you sure deserve it.
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Dianarose I don't understand why anyone would need to drink the others if they can do it just without. The things you learn as you start questioning medical standards. Elimar I love your skipping idea. Even if we can't literally skip we should skip in our hearts. Wondering if anyone has been prescribed Prolia (twice a year injection). 8% bone loss in my spine, so oncologist wants me to start. Insurance has a waiting period, which gave me a chance to do a bit of research and scare myself to death. But then I did a search of the side effects for Boniva and they are the same. Just wondering if anyone here has taken.
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I just joined this web site and was scanning the topics when I found this one. I'm 54 and was diagnosed at the end of November last year and had a double mastectomy two days before Christmas, and I am waiting to start chemo in about a week. To say I feel cheated about all of this would be an understatement! I am the person who never smoked, never drank, eats spinach and drinks carrot juice and does workouts every day. I have been a health/exercise nut most of my life. How did I end up here? I have worked 25 years at a job I really don't like that is male dominated, but can't quit because I am single and pay all the bills myself. I was just seeing light at the end of the tunnel as I could retire in about 4 years, but now not sure as I will need my medical coverage more than ever. I've yet to decide on reconstruction as I don't want to put my body through even more torture, and I can't help thinking that at my age reconstruction probably isn't important. But, the way I look right now really bothers me. I was planning a trip to Greece this year, but that's on hold now, too. I'm hoping that as time passes, and I get past the treatment, that the anger will fade and I will have a different outlook, but right now I'm struggling with everything.
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