MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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MO just called and is ok with my choice of CMF chemo verses the AC/T. He said the difference in the long term outcome are pretty much the same. The CMF doesn't do so much damage to your heart. He hasn't figured out if he wants me to have it every 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or weekly, but would have an answer to that on Monday and we will start the beginning of June. As they say, Get her done. He also said I would not need a port. I am ok with that too. I just want this to be behind me. I have learned so much from all of you on this site and would be lost with out you.
I can't thank you all enough.
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I am new here and am enjoying reading the posts. Such camaraderie! I just got a port and will start CMF on May 25th. I'm feeling strong and ready.
Dianarose, so glad you have some answers! It feels so much better to have some kind of treatment plan. When you know how often you'll get chemo, you'll feel even better.
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Diana, I am so glad to hear that you have sorted out your treatment situation in a way that you are comfortable with and that your doc is comfortable with.
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Hello all, I finished 6 rounds of chemo six weeks ago, I am her2+ and am now receiving radiation. Can anyone tell me how long it took for them to get their hair back?
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Diana so glad you have made your decision. No onward you go. Get her done.
Jeannie-welcome this is a great place to hang for fun and support.
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beachbum mine started coming in 2 months after chemo. I didn't think it would happen but once it did, it took off like wild fire. It also came back very curly. That part I wasn't too crazy about, but I had hair so I was ok. It comes back so soft as well.
diana its good to see you are getting a plan put together. Chemo is doable and you will see that in the end. The SE are different for everyone but hang in there.
Welcome Jeannie! Thats my sissys name as well. The gals around her are great!
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Jeannie58, welcome! You will be a week ahead of Dianarose on the CMF, so you will have a buddy doing it with you here. You can probably find a thread for that particular chemo as well, where everyone compares notes. No the best way to spend a summer, but in the big picture it hopefully leads to many, many more summers to come.
Hello, beachbum22! I won't say the rads time goes by quickly, but is IS a lot shorter than chemo. Keep your rads skin moisturized (I used the 100% aloe gel) and keep yourself hydrated. Eat lots of protein to build yourself up after chemo and rads. Glad Paula66 left you a hair comment since I don't know about the hair myself.
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I worry/wonder about anyone who has had a BMX and will get chemo. How do they (the Drs.) decide which arm to use for the infusion? I have lymphedema and so.........I worry/wonder.
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Welcome to the new gals, ladies or whatever we women go by these days! Dianarose, glad you have a tx plan you are comfortable with. We're with you on this! Jeannie, you're lucky to have Diana as a chemo buddy. Beachbum22, everyone is different with their hair coming back. I had taxol first and then AC, and it actually started to grow a little, and I mean a little while I was going thru AC. I finished in December, and by the following June I had a thick head of hair, long enough for a cute short style. Don't worry, it'll grow, and that baldness will be but a distant memory. Marple, are you asking if they took nodes out of both arms??? That's not that common, so don't know about that one. Maybe a port is the answer. That's what I had. Sounds like a question for Binney4.
I do believe I am thirsty for an afterdinner adult beverage.Hmmmm. . . lets see what I can whip together. . .
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Diana, the National Lymphedema Network position papers on breast cancer-related lymphedema recommend seeing a well qualified lymphedema therapist before treatment for baseline arm measurements, personalized risk reduction guidelines, learning a gentle self-massage routine to help your compromised lymph system cope, and helping you decide how best to use your arms for chemo infusion. If this hasn't been suggested to you, do bring it up. Any doctor on your team (even your GP) can give you a referral. Here's information about finding a well-trained lymphedema therapist near you:
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/Finding_a_Qualified_Lymphedema_Therapist.htmI know it's hard when you're facing cancer treatment to think about this apparent "side issue" of treatment, and our doctors are often not well informed about it, but lymphedema is for life, and it could limit you in your career on-going. Your call, of course, but like Marple I too have lymphedema, and I worry about these things.
Be well!
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Marple, I got my chemo thru a port. I think that's the preferred method with adjuvant chemo. I don't know what they do if nodes are removed bilaterally but I thinmost BMX's don't have node removal on the non cancer side.
Of course I could be talking out the side of my mouth since I had no nodes removed with my BMX (although I did have the supraclavicular and axilla nodes radiated on my cancer side - no more blood draws, bp, etc on that side for me).0 -
I had a segmental MX and 16 nodes removed. i wasn't given the option of a port and as a result of the chemo and all the blood draws associated, I have very poor veins left in the one arm they can use. I didn't even know what a port was! I made it through anyway, but speaking as someone who went through it without the port, I would request it know what I knwo now. I have heard how uncomfortable the ports are and how you look forward to their removal, but the alternative is not so bright either.
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Binney4- I have been seeing an LE therapist since my lx and have continued to see her since my bmx. She is great. She took all of my arm measurements too. I had a lot of cording under the bmx arm where the nodes were removed and now 5 weeks later I am at 90% full range and only one cord left to deal with. I also had cording on my side by my ribs. I had been having a lot of pain there and thought cording was just under the arm. She really worked it and you could hear them pop back into place. It feels so much better now. I would be a mess without her.
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When I had my BMX, cancer was on the left and they took 3 nodes. The BS was concerned that about the right even though it was the non cancer side. I only had one removed. He had told me nothing done at all on the left side even with 3 removed. The right was safer then the left because it was only 1 removed. I choose to go ahead and do a port just to be on the safe side. It also made it easier when I got put in the hospital for nutrapena. They just put the antibotic thru the port so I could just sleeep right thru it. All the vein blowing kinda freaked me out.
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With the chemo I had after the BMX, they used my left arm, where they had only removed the sentinel node. However, the chemo itself can do a number on your veins and lymph vessels, due to stress, inflammation etc.
All through chemo and rads, I wore a sleeve and gauntlet on the affected arm. I had a brief scare with some swelling on the "good" side as well, in the armpit, but it resolved once the inflammation from the chemo lifted. I also saw my PT weekly for lymph drainage and as simple TLC.
I am now 5 months PFC and 3 months past the rads and am able to go without the compression sleeve a lot of the time.
I would highly recommend PT and also doing the stretches every single day. It also helps, in my experience, to get some light exercise every day. When it was very sunny and I was doing chemo, I would get up at 7 and take a walk in the park, where it was shady, with a big hat on for 40 minutes to an hour.
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I cannot tell you how many veins have been blown. I got to a point that I would only let one particular nurse start my IV. Everyone thinks THEY wil be the one who can get it in. My last MRI it took four people to get a line in. Well three because you can't really count the tech who backed off and said she would not even make an attempt at it.
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My"good" arm is trashed due to my many years of donating blood. My last MRI was a nightmare. Dare say I miss my port!
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These port stories are good, and importantly let others know that it is to be welcomed and not feared if you are getting one. My mom took chemo weekly for 6 mos. without a port. She must have had good nurses with pediatric sized needles, because she had those little veins and I never heard her complain (not about the IV's anyway.) However, when she did get her port, she liked the convenience of that, and no more bruising on the arm. She had her port in for a year and she was thin enough that I could distinctly see the whole shape of it thru the skin (weird!) but it never hurt her. She said it itched sometimes.
Dianarose, Think of what an assest you are becoming to BCO...you are going thru'so much and will have so many answers for others. (Oh yay, right?)
I have to give a last minute haircut today, otherwise the mortarboard won't even stay on my son's head. He could care less, but I want him to have nice, photo op hair for tomorrow. My older son is graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude, with Honors. Brageddy, brag, brag. He has been turned down by four graduate schools and is jobless. Important to keep it real.
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Congrats to the Grad! And welcome to the world of working.
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Congrats Eli!
My son graduated this past weekend and he's now joining the ranks of job searchers. He had a double major (English and History) and a minor in Political Science, graduated Cum Laude with High Honors. If he wasn't working on his 178 page thesis, jhe probably would have made the deadlines to apply to grad school.
I'm hoping that he finds something soon and not get frustrated if nothing comes his way. He does tend to get a little moody when that happens.
prayrv
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Congrats to all the Mom's whose kids are graduating. Hope they are able to find jobs soon.
I have a busy weekend planned. Tomorrow morning I go for another fill and then off to see old friends for the weekend in the town we used to live in. Have to work everyone in or someone gets their feelings hurt. Will eat good though because everyone wants us for lunch or dinner.
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SherryC
Enjoy being spoiled this weekend
Congrats to all who have kids graduating, big milestone
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WAY behind with family issues, so just wishing good thoughts and healing to those who need it. Glad to hear so many are doing well!
Congratulations to those with graduates. Mine is finishing 7th grade and going into her last year of middle school - ack!
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What, no posts yesterday? Tell me no news is good news, no new B/C drama.
Commencement nutshell: I don't know if "one" really enjoys these things. I don't even know if that is possible at a state school where "Pomp and Circumstance" has to be played at least six times during the entrance of the many students (and this was only the first of three commencement times that day.) It does give one plenty of time to doze while waiting for the presentation of your own child's college, except one can't because one dressed for a very warm morning and inside the A/C was a nippy 15 degrees coolerand one was carrying cameras, so decided not to also carry a sweater. That is one's own fault, isn't it? One can always laugh the next day when one's son mentions that he was boiling in the grad gown for two hours. Commencement address? Great, but only if one really wanted to know that the speaker had the lowest LSAT ever to be accepted into a certain Law School. What is that about? That perhaps the grad will be lucky and squeak by somewhere, so counter to the parental message for the last four years? Why not go more inspiring, or at least something entertaining, like Ellen Degeneres at Tulane? Anyway, the band did a nice job on a jumpin' jazz standard, a few photos recorded the milestone event, and the celebratory lunch included homemade blueberry cobbler. Overall, not too bad.
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I had my first "haircut" yesterday.. It was very hard to do, but it was growing out of control (curly but straight out and up). Had the hairdresser shape my hair, hoping it will grow out nicer now.. Did not like seeing the little bits of hair on the cape.. been waiting so long for my hair to come back..
Going to enjoy another day of gorgeous weather here..
Feeling so much better only a bit of heaviness where my new foob is. Getting used to it though.. My new girls are much smaller then my old ones.. Did not realize the difference between a B and a D .. Oh well they are perky ( can no longer tuck then in my waistband
)Enjoy your day everyone
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Ossa my first haircut was a bit of a misty eye moment for me. I was so ready to have the wild thing tamed. I had held on to the chemo curls for so long. I don't know really why I did, but I did. For some strange reason it brought a flood of memories up for me. Kinda weird how a haircut can do something like that.
I completely forgot that it was my turn for the MP so here it is girls.
Congrats Eli on your sons graduation. You have every right to be one proud mama!
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MP: marbles!
Listening to everyone talk about chemo curls - my hair is super curly. If I had had chemo, wonder if it would have grown in straight? Hmmm.
Too nice outside to be in so I'm going out to pot my tomatoes.
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I think peacock got it right with marbles!
Eli, I am super envious of your cruise - I'd love to do that but it will have to be with someone other than hub. He's not a traveler. I've been so lucky that I've gone on a few trips with women I met through the chat room on BCO. He doesn't mind me travelling, but it ain't gonna be a joint venture! I've known many who did the Alaska cruise and everyone loved it. Glad you liked my perspective of the rear view mirror...I have to confess I didn't make that up, I read it somewhere talking about something else and it hit a cord with me.
LE - glad for those who are being proactive before symptoms. I'm in the category of one who asked my docs about it a lot, because it seemed I saw brochures everywhere I turned and I didn't understand it. Unfortunately they would just look at my arm and say "no, you're okay" without ever giving preventative measures. I am firm believer that with the right care, LE can be avoided. I am still lucky because I caught mine early, being on the watch/scared all the time for it, so I'm able to treat with just a sleeve daily, nothing needed at nighttime. But I will wear that sleeve every day for the rest of my life, and I'd love to see others avoid that if possible. Please feel free to PM me with questions, or to find out some of the things you can do to try and prevent LE from taking hold in the first place.
Graduations - what milestones for our children, and for us, 'cause let's face it - we got them there!!! So congrats to all of you who fall into that category this season.
Love and hugs kids ... love and hugs.
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Just a note to add that LE cannot always be avoided, I didn't mean to make it sound like it could. But a certain percentage of cases can be avoided with good preventative measures.
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madpeacock, I was born with straight hair, I had straight hair my whole life, and went bald as a cueball on chemo. when it came back, it was ... yup ... straight! for maybe a month, there were a few hairs that thought about turning a little, but no one could have called it a curl!!! I will say that my hair is nicer looking and healthier than at any time in my life, and for about a year it was thicker, but never anything but straight
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