Calling all TNs
Comments
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Lovelyface: awwwwh what a touching post. My prayers are over you too. May GOD bless us all.
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Friend: I am so sorry for your loss. Just to know how hard it has been for my mom since I have been diagnosed, I can only imagine your pain right now. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Isabelle
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Fighter: I DO love my new and improved breasts. I only had one side done and I have a pre-op appointment on the 28th for the nipple replacement.
slcst: I drank lots of peppermint tea and I would let your Onc know as they don't want you throwing up and getting dehydrated. Also, get yourself the Rebecca Katz cookbook the Cancer Fighting Kitchen as she has wonderful tips and recipes to get you through chemo. I never had any appetite through chemo yet I ate everything (although not all of it) my husband put in front of me. It's lie my mouth didn't want it but my body did. Weird. Also, one of the tips in the cook book to make things taste better through chemo: add either citrus, salt or sweet (she recommends maple syrup) to foods to make them taste better and to battle the cardboard, metalic taste of foods. I found my first treatment was the worse and the rest were much easier. Hang in there and we are all here for you. Hugs!
Kittycat: You are a fighter and that's why I like you! We must stand up for ourselves and get the best possible care so that we have the best possible outcome!
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MoniaV: I will go to the picture forum later to see--thanks for letting me know!
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kadorazio: I had a complete panic attack when they did my MRI. No one warned me that I would be trapped in that machine for an hour! Let us know what they tell you on Monday.
Michelle67: Your post made me cry today.
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slcst- I discovered that if I let myself get hungry at all, it made the nausea sooo much worse. So make yourself eat little bits all day. That is the worst feeling in my book! I really had to stay on top of it. I hope you get some relief soon! yuk
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Michelle- we have basically the same diagnosis. I had 4 tx of TC. I actually had very few problems with it. Never threw up- just felt kind of icky. Was tired and physically worn out. 5 days after my last treatment (12/30) my port catheter became infected (not very common-so don't let that scare you!). I have had 11 days of IV antibiotics, an ultrasound, now on oral antibiotics- still won't go away. I do see some improvement. What I'm getting at is- this whole infection/ open incision (from removing the port) has been way more painful and has affected my sleep and everday activities way more than chemo ever did. The most traumatic thing for me was losing my hair. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. BTW- I am 3% ER+ and my onc. treats this as negative.
Tiffany
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Thanks to all of you for your kind and beautifull words,I have some good memories of Yvette,like on Boxing day I took her shopping for a handbag she was tired and could only walk 2 or 3 steps,I got a wheelchair at the shopping mall and pushed her in that, she kept telling me to slow down in case I ran over people.....they soon moved when they saw us coming....we had lots of fun and she got the bag she wanted.
Joanne 0 -
Friends, I am so sorry for your loss...im sending prayers your way, feel free to pm if you need anything or just want to chat or vent...Cancer does SUCK!
Yesterday I had my 4th taxol/avastin treatment...Liver levels went down from 445 to 149 so I got treatment...Yea! More good news, because of last weeks liver levels i saw my oncon and she did another breast exam and to her surprise my tumor has reduced again..It started at 2.5 and now is about the size of a bb or 2...Is this normal to see reduction so fast...and after missing a dose...
Also she asked me if i was taking Atvian, I haven't been and not even sure what its for. Can anyone give me any info about it...I do take ambiem for sleep and occasionally take meds for nausea..
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Moe - Ativan is an anti-anxiety medication. I was given that and ambien shortly after diagnosis because I was so upset and was not sleeping. I loved the ambien at first. It completely knocked me out at night. However, after a couple of weeks it started causing daytime drowsiness and dizziness, so I stopped.
I never took the ativan for anxiety, but switched to it for sleep. I love it!!! It does not knock you out. It just calms your brain down, which is great for people like me who tend to have racing brains that keep us up at night. I have had that problem for years and long before cancer - I commented about it to my onco and she wrote me a prescription with a ton of refills. Yeah!! I am not much of a pill pusher, but I love this one.
It also has an anti-nausea effect which helps with chemo.
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Joanne: I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter, Yvette. There are no words I can say to help ease the pain, but you are in my thoughts.
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Joanne (Friends):
My heart is broken for you. There is no greater loss than that of a mother who must bury a child. I have a sickly daughter who is in and out of the hospital (non-cancer), and I am never NOT by her side. My greatest fear is that she goes before I do. That goes against the laws of nature. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers and I wish for you for strength and eventually, peace, that she is at rest and no longer being terrorized by this beast of a disease. I feel your pain and I am so sorry for you both, she was much too young. Be strong and know she will remain with you always, death cannot take that away from you.
Gentle hugs to you and your family,
Linda
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IRR:
Thanks so much for the info on Piedmont. That sounds great - now if I can only find the time between raising a 15 yr. old grand-daughter, working full time, fitting in the myriad of doctors appts. I have, and juggling her schedule as well, maybe I can fit some of it in! Sure would like to!
Linda
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Joanne- My deepest sympathy to you and your family.Just the thought of ever losing my daughter (she's 5) makes my heart ache- I can't even imagine the pain you are going through. My thoughts are with you- may you take some comfort in your memories of her!
Fondly,
Tiffany
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I too am so sorry for your daughter Joanne...we aren't supposed to have our children die b-4 us....My son had a friend die in a horrible car accident several years ago...he was only 15...we are good friends with his parents..it has been a struggle for all of us dealing with this...all we can do is support YOU and have you know how much we care.....take our thoughts and love with you in the next few days ok?
I
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Friends (Joanne) so sorry to hear about your daughter's passing. She was a fighter and is in a better place. One thing cancer can't take is your memories of her. My heart goes out to you. Please know we are here for you.
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friends - I'm so glad you have those great memories of your daughter. Hold onto them. That's what helped me when I lost my dad. I love the shopping mall story and almost running people over!
I was given Emend, Compazine, Zofran and Ativan for the nausea (by my onco's partner). He was very concerned that I had nausea. I ate little bits of food every few hours (like a mango, yogurt, some chicken, etc). That really helped with the nausea! I wasn't allowed to have fruit or veggies unless they were peeled or cooked. After a while, I would get apples and wash them very well. my DH got really tired of peeling mangos! LOL! My mom would get us rotisserie chicken from Costco or the grocery store. That could easily be made into a sandwich, tacos, soup or eaten alone. I overdid it with asparagus and still have trouble eating the stuff!
Speaking of constipation... LOL (inside joke here)... I ate prunes and that helped with constipation, which was a TERRIBLE side effect I had with chemo!
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Friends (Joann) my thoughts and prayers go out to you. I cannot nor do I want to imagine life without my daughter. It is good to embrace the good moments you did get to share. It would be nice if Life was so much easier but as we all have realize it is not. I hope you can find peace comfort as you are grieveing the loss of Yvette. I know she is a precious angel to you. We must move forward and make the best of each day even when there are moments we do not feel like. Know that you can always come on here and express how you are feeling. There are a lot of wonderful women who care and have become very attached to others on here. Many blessings to you and my prayers and thoughts are truly with you.0
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Good morning all.
MBJ: didn't mean to make you cry (!) but Joanne's post got to me - well, many posts get to me. It's so frustrating and sad and maddening that we, and our loved ones, have to be going through this. I know I'm not alone in getting angry that so many people out there don't know that women are still passing away from this. If I had a nickel for every person who's told me since my dx 2 months ago that "this is just a bump in the road" and "you will be fine, my sister/neighbor/co-worker had bc and she's great now" - well, I'd have too many damned nickels...and would still want to scream at them! *cheesy smile*
slcst: Sorry to hear you're feeling icky - I had that too during both pregnancies and it is awful. You have a right to be pissy. I was wondering if it could go that way. I hope you're feeling better today, maybe they gave you something when you went for the shot. My only saving grace during the first trimester all-day sickness I had with my last baby was pretzel sticks. I had to nibble them like a hamster pretty much all day. Don't know if that'll help but thought I'd pass it along. At least you can take off one of those pink bracelets - one down - yay!
TifJ: thanks for sharing your story with me, I am very interested because I may travel your same road of tx. Glad to hear you did ok with it - I go back to my onc on 1/31 so I guess I may be starting chemo by Feb. 1. Trying to look at the bright side: got my driver's license renewal form in the mail, so I can go get my new picture taken before my hair comes out. I'll take what I can get, I guess.
Titan: Thanks for liking the hair! Actually since that photo was taken, the black stripe has migrated from the top-front to the left side. The rest is platinum - my DH calls it the reverse skunk! One plus of having people (my neighbors and soccer moms at my kids' bus stop) always do double takes at what "crazy" things Michelle is doing to her hair is that when it's gone, they'll probably think I did it on purpose! Which is ok with me 'cuz I don't think I want to become their charity case...I'm feeling weird about people I barely know wanting to "help" because I know some will only be doing it to be nosy and poke in my business...um, no thanks.
Hope everyone's feeling good today - I'm off for my bone scan and chest x-ray in an hour. Nervous-ish...and gettin' really sick of needles and medical appts....and I haven't even started actual treatment yet! Argh!
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Hi everyone. Off to my last chemo today. Yeah!!!!!!!!!! Last of 12 weekly Taxol (did 4 DD AC before). When I first started, I thought this day would never come. But it's here. Yeah!!!!!! So to everyone who is going through chemo right now, hang in there, stay strong. You will get through this. I got my date for my surgery too. It will be february 22.
A wonderful day to you all.
Isabelle
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Way to go Isabelle, you made it!!!!! You get to ring the bell, isn't it a great feeling???? Are you going to celebrate???
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Joanne: Our hearts go out to you for your tragic loss of your daughter, Yvette. Thank you for keeping her memory alive and sharing your last moments with her here with us. Please feel free to come and share here anytime you feel the need. We are honored. Big hugs!
Michelle: I don't mind crying--sometimes I just need the release. I so agree with you. So many people brushed off my diagnosis as "not a big deal" and here I am, over a year since my diagnosis, still have a couple of surgeries to do, such severe neuropathy in my right hand from chemo that I wake up in the middle of the night thinking my hand is on fire, and now I can barely walk on my right foot because I no longer have any collagen to support my right ankle. And yes, women die every day from this horrible disease. Don't even get me started how angry this makes me and how ignorant people are about breast cancer. On an up note: You will do fine with chemo. Ask your Onc about a cold cap and ice for your fingernails--I have heard many women have success in not losing hair or nails from this and get yourself some L-Glutaminne 1000 mg so maybe you don't have to deal with the neuropathy.
Isabelle: Congratulations on making it to the other side! WAHOOO!!!! It's a great feeling, isn't it?
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Hi, kind of new to all of this. No family hx, out of the blue routine mammo, another mammo,then ultrasound,then biopsy, then surgery, bilateral. Didn't know what triple negative was. Seems more common than I knew about. I am one week out from first Chemo of Taxotere and Cytoxan, then follow up with a shot of Neulasta. SE all last weekend were really bad, didn't know what to take, seems the Zofran doesn't do much, and it tastes terrilbe. I had headache, bone pain, felt like scratching with each swallow down my esophagous for a while, then bouts of the dreaded diarrhea. Any ideas, I see the staff later today and get labs done. I have 5 more rounds to go seems like forever.0 -
PPor101- so sorry you're joining us here, but welcome! Are you getting any anti nausea meds before your treatment? If Zofrand isn't working, ask for Emend. I was prescribed an Emend patch to put behind my ear the day before and for 3 days total. I also received a bag of Aloxi in my pre-meds on treatment day. I was never really nauseated or threw up, just felt kind of icky. Immodium for diarrhea. Several of us use either Aleve or Claritin for the bone pain (don't know why Claritin works, but it does for alot of us). You shouldn't ever feel "really bad". Let your onc know- they will get you something to ease your side effects.
I does seem forever, but it goes by quicker than you would think! I had 4 x TC started the end of Oct. and was done the end of Dec.
I know it sucks, but hang in there!!!
Tiffany
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Fighter_34 - thanks for your prayers, yes, May the Almighty God bless us all who are going through this horrible disease. All we have is each other and love to share during these really hard times.
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friends: my thoughts are with you also, so very sorry for your loss. I lost my mother this past year and I try to focus on the good memories. Take care.
Congrats Isabelle for finishing chemo.
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Congrats Isabelle - it is surprising how fast it ends up going by when it seemed so far away at the beginning. Hopefully the worst is over for you!
PPOR - hang in there. It will go much faster than you think. I agree with tiffany's advice. Talk to you onco about the SEs. Most are manageable with medications, particularly any nausea.
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PPOR- your diagnosis reads:
Diagnosis: 11/12/2011, IDC, 1cm, Stage I, 0/6 nodes, mets, ER-/PR-, HER2-
I'm confused... mets? What's going on? Did you start out with this Dx and then progress?
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Kelben, MBJ: Just came back from my chemo. It's a super great feeling to be finished with that! My parents were here to babysit my little boy while me and my DH were at chemo so we celebrated with them when I got home. But we didn't celebrate long because we called our friend Mona because today she got her results for her biopsie for calcifications in her breast and it' s cancer. It's insitu so they caught it in time. She will have surgery and 5 weeks of radiations. But she is very scared and very sad righ now. I can sooo understand how she feels.Me and my husband tried to console her and it did her good. I know she has a great DH and 3 girls that will love and support her through this. And lots of good friends too. I can't believe how many women are dealing with this terrible beast..... it's awful......
Isabelle
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Isabelle- Congratulations on finsihing chemo! Such a good feeling. Please give your friend Mona my best. I know she must be terrified right now- she's lucky she has a friend who completely understands.0
