Calling all TNs
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CC - I was really uncomfortable with my TE's like you and would not let the ps put more than 30cc's in at a time, adding to the 250cc's put in during the MX. After 7 painful weeks I demanded they do the exchange and get the dang te's out now! They rushed to expand me and put in 90cc's a time, and it felt much better! The surgery was then a few days away, so I went ahead with the transfer. Rather than have that flat, hard thing scraping your chest wall and its rough edges, see if they will increase your cc's so its more like a rounded balloon. Good Luck.
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Thinking of you Laurajane. Sending you a big {{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}
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Monsich - hi, I did TC regimen with Taxotere being my main chemo drug. Were you given the Neulasta shot the day after chemo? If so, that could potentially be causing you bone pain. I took Claritin along with my Neulasta shot and for the next four days and all I needed was Tylenol for the aches and it was never a problem. Taxotere can make a person achy and the Neulasta can cause bone pain, so it's hard to tell which of them caused me some discomfort. You might want to consider trying Claritin if your Onc is onside. Mine didn't have an issue with me taking it.
Laurajane - I'm sending healing vibes your way for a speedy recovery.
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Mitymuffin - Congrats!! That is awesome that you are done - yeah!
Laurajane - thinking about you today!! ((HUGS))
So talking about hair - does it ever go back to a normal color other than white?
I go to my PS today to discuss my transfer surgery! Can't wait for that to be done! Have a really bad pain in the TE breast - same one where the tumor was found - don't think it's that just the TE poking me!
Gosh! I have to get on a health kick again - just not into it! Last night I finally really cried about losing both breasts .... hmmmm it's been 6 months!
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Monisch: I was on taxotere and love it. I had hardly any side effects thanks to the "cocktail" that my doctor prescribed. Day after chemo I had to take 1 tylenol 325mg, 1claritin, 1 benadryl at the same time. And then would do the cocktail for two days. Ask your doctor if that is an option for you.0
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Good news for metestatic triple negatives: http://hormonenegative.blogspot.com/2010/10/two-new-treatments-for-metastatic-tnbc.html
News from the 35th annual ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) Congress in Milan:
• Adding the PARP inhibitor iniparib to chemotherapy added five months to overall survival of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. What’s even better is that complete or partial response or stable disease was achieved in 55.7 percent of the women, compared with chemotherapy alone. (Complete response: the disease has completely disappeared—no disease is evident on examination, scans or other tests; Partial response:some disease remains in the body, but it has decreased by 30 percent or more in size or number of lesions. Stable disease: the disease has remained unchanged in size and number of lesions.A less than 50 percent decrease or a slight increase in size is generally considered stable disease.) Two phase III studies on iniparib and triple-negative are ongoing. The study was presented by John Pippen, MD, of Texas Oncology, Dallas.
• Adding cetuximab to cisplatin chemotherapy doubled the response rate in women with metastatic triple-negative. Cetuximab targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The results come from a phase II randomized trial of 173 women and included researchers from Spain, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, the UK and Israel.
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MBJ-- I went to my vitamin/organic food store and asked about vitamin K to go with my 50,000 iu of Vit D that I take once a week. I was told to take K-2, not K-1. And I can't remember why (darn chemo-brain). Also, I didn't get an answer to my question about how often to take the vitamin K since I only take the vitamin D once a week.
Do you have any insight?
Thanks,
Colleen
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laurajane - good luck tomorrow and don't listen to your surgeon and the stupid expiration date! I mean really??? Surgeons typically don't have a good bedside manner anyway. You should be getting the info from your onco (who we really question). Maybe it is a good idea to seek another opinion and/or treatment out of town.
Michele S - good luck to you too!
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thanks ladies for your kind thoughts and for those who understand what im going thru. Im still fighting this taxotere sysmtoms..... just feel ill all around. Mouth is completely swollen and throat too..makes swallowing and eating horrible. I sleep an awefull lot, and my legs have periodically spasms of pain shooting through them. The other chemo treatments were so simple and i thought ..hey i can do this ..its easy. No way.. Taxotere is horrible and wouldnt wish it on ym enemy. I just hope this doesnt last the next 6 weeks. I have 2 more treatments and in between each treatment there is 3 weeks. After that its on to Radiation. They did give me something injected before i got the taxotere.. have no idea what it was though.. have to ask at the next sitting.
Hope everyone is doing well... catch up to yal soon with hopefully a better mood from me.
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Hello Ladies,
Finally got the second drain out yesterday...Port will go in within the next 2 weeks. My first appointment with my oncologist is Nov. 15. Surgeon feels I should be all healed up by then. Getting a little scared of the Chemo but I know at the end all will be good....
Going back to work as a teacher on Monday...YEAH I really miss my students....they make me laugh and I really need some laughter right now....Just really sick of dealing with this sh**t and I know my journey is just beginning....
Did get to take a shower for the first time since Sept. 24....It was the longest shower I think I have ever taken....
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Tatasista: Ah yes, I remember that first shower post-surgery. Felt soooo good. Enjoy!0
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Can't believe how stressed I can become - instantly... with a phone call 5 minutes ago that they need to do another mammo on me. Had gone for my first annual follow-up Friday, now they want more images on my diseased side..... I know it may be nothing, but I just feel like my world plummeted.
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Luah - I can totally relate. Remember I had the same thing happen after my first mammogram but on my good side. It's very stressful, especially since everything is still so raw for us. You had chemo and rads so really try to keep that in mind when your mind starts to wander. That's what helped me through my recent ordeal. I'm sending you good vibes.
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Time for a little photo pick-me-up:
Some of you may have already seen this. It's some of the foxes I rehabbed last summer.
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Heidi - I always love your "wild" photos!!
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thanks Heidi.
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They look so sweet (And well cared for).
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monish - I am so sorry you are struggling with pain. I struggled with a lot of lower back and leg pain while on Taxol (in the same family as the one you're taking). Day one I was fine, but by day 3 I couldn't stand to be touched and the pain in my legs was terrible. I can't remember who told you this, but they said to stay on top of the pain with medication and it's true. I really didn't want pain medication, but when I didn't take it regularly for those few days I was miserable. And....not that this makes the pain go away, but sometimes a nice soak in the tub helps reduce the stress of the pain and can take your mind off of the pain for a little while - that or a brainless movie. (((hugs)))
A belated Happy Thanksgiving wish to those of you in Canada. I apologize for missing it - I've been offline for a few days.
heidi - LOVE your pictures - the foxes are so cute. Where did you release them? Or..did they stay in a zoo or wildlife refuge.
Laurajane - thinking of you........
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jenn - lol...that's okay about the belated Thanksgiving message. We're still eating our turkey leftovers!
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Heidi:
They are beautiful - did you really rehab them??? Wow!
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Heidi, what amazing little creatures. How old were they when you got them and did they become domesticated? I mean did they become affectionate like a cat or a dog?
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I would LOVE to rehab red foxes!! I had a pet rescue for about a year from 2005 to 2006. I had to stop because my mom was hit by a petroleum truck and I had to care for my grandma... was guardian over 2 gma's at once! We took literally everything (snakes, chinchillas, ferrets, literally everything), and had raccoon babies at one point, as well as a baby squirrel. We had to find a rehabber for the coons. Those red foxes are absolutely gorgeous!
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Hi Guys,
I'm a licensed Animal Rehabilitator in my state. You have to have been vaccinated yourself for rabies in order to be able to rehab any species that has a high incidence of the disease (bats, coons, fox mostly). Ideally, they should be released back into the same general area as they were found. This is done to help keep any potential disease issues localized, though it is not always practical (as in being found under someone's house, etc.). So, one must then make the best choice in a release location for the animal's best chance of a successful reintroduction to the wild.
There are "soft" releases (where you let the animal go directly from your property) and "hard" releases (where you transport them to a suitable habitat). Though I love doing the former, I live in proximity to a busy rural road and lost two adorable raccoons within several months of their release so I try not to do that anymore. Of course, there are those occasional animals who self release... aka escaping. For them I just have to hope for the best and not see them in the road soon thereafter.
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Heidi - you are amazing, truly amazing. I wish I lived near you. I would so love to really, really know you!
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Aw shucks... taint nothin' mam...
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I must live close to you Heidi, the coincidence is we both live on Earth, as opposed to..........
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I might look into becoming a rehabber... maybe... eventually. We chose to hard release the baby squirrel for several reasons. It was difficult to do... that squirrel was ADORABLE! But it was best for the squirrel to live out its life naturally. I've always loved animals. We chose to release the squirrel in a protected wildlife area. I considered at that time to become a rehabber, but didn't live in a suitable location. Now I do... so maybe after I kick this cancer I'll look into it again.
Has anyone heard from Laurajane? She's been on my mind and anxious to hear how she's doing.
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I agree, we need to hear from Laurajane.
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Hi Everyone! So sorry I have been out of reach and on a much needed vacation with my DH.
Best thing that haopened today: Waking up in my own bed with my two cats keeping our feet warm, cooking an amazing, healthy, meal for my DH and myself, being home!
((((Laurajane)))): I just read through all of the posts and you must not believe any dr that gives you how much time before you die. It's not in their hands and not for them to say. I fired my first surgeon who tried to tll me I would die if I didn't do what he said--I got two more opinions and I am so glad that I did. I hope you are being well cared for after your surgery. The ladies here are correct: there are so many other options when it comes to chemo and AC isn't the only medicine available to you. Go to a bigger hospital that specializes in BC if you can for the remaining care. This will be the fight of your life and I only wish I lived closer so I could be of more help. In this short time you have come to feel like the sister that I never had and always wanted to me. There isn't any reason you can't continue to have a long, wonderful life. Big, big hugs!!!
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Sugar: OMG: Your hair and picture are so cute!!!
hfhfheidi: Love the pictures! Keep them coming. BTW: My hair came in steel grey and now it is back to black with pepper, so bring on the hair dye!!
RE: Vitamin D3: There is a very informative vitamin D site with more information than I could ever remember, but if you go on line I am sure you can purchase this. I pay $15 a bottle for 120. "Designs for Health: vitamin D Synergy with vitamin K1: each tablet has 2000 IU of Vit D3 and 200 mkg of Vit K1. This is given to me by my dr.
RE: Citrus Pectin and other supplements: I took this after my surgery for 3 months and my dr also has me take 5 tablets of Wobenzym N with 1 vit C 1000 mg tablet 3 times a day on an empty stomach and this is also supposed to help with recurrence. Also great for inflamation and the joints. In Germany they use Mistletoe Extract intraveniously for long term prevention, but it isn't available here in the states. "Native Remedies" makes a great product called Immunity Plus which has Echinachea and Misteltoe Extract which I take 2 x a day 10 drops for extra insurance.
Does any of this work? Don't know but I would like to think that if it has some scientific clinical evidence to support the use of some of these things and also makes me feel that I am doing something, then it certainly can't hurt and who knows, maybe it will help. BTW: None of these things will work without the chemo, surgery, rads. We need it all.
MonicaV: I just saw your post a few pages back: Where does your friend live? If she is in California, MediCal pays 100% for women with either BC or Ovarian Cancer. that's what I have. Other states all have some kind of program to help pay, but it took me over a month to find out this was available to me. In New York some of the major hospitals have grants. Sometimes it just takes writing a letter. I know of a woman who got free care doing this. If you are resourceful, there is help out there even the American Cancer Society couldn't tell me about. Tell your friend not to be discouraged.
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