August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Good morning chemosabes and radicals...and the BELIEVERS in the powers of DOGS!
I am with you all...I think dogs are amazing and the very word is an anagram for...! In any case, as for the egregious capitalists trying to line their pockets like they are taking it with them meanwhile exposing us to radiation treats, they are out there but I don't know how dogs would be managed, en masse, in an airport setting? They do have their business to do and the palatial setting of airports, and the potential for widespread odors etc.... I think it might be difficult to manage but a fantastic idea. Why can't we have a hybrid approach?
Dorothy Hamill: She also had a battle with cancer and she has started a "Love, Health and Hope" diamond collection. It is being advertised at Helzberg.com. In any case, the signature piece is very attractive and I think we should all TREAT ourselves and get it! We deserve it and it stands for all we have been through.
Healthcare: my concern is employers and healthcare companies alike are going to start profiling us for all sorts of maladies, weight, illness, disease and eventually it might be hard to get a job at an employer who has benefits because you have been surreptitiously profiled. For instance, with all of us who are not working: explaining a gap in employment might land us on a suspicious list if we are not forthcoming. Also, if a medical bill gets reported to your credit that will be another profiling red-flag for employers and healthcare companies. I am telling you, I see the American workforce becoming a lean, mean, disease-free machine until one of those machines gets a disease and then they will join the rest of us in the sub-par, government healthcare plans which are not even in existence yet, of course! The entire topic is nerve-wracking.
Wherria: glad you had a productive day and got some of the office cleaned up. Sounds like you had some extra energy and good for you...energy is such a HUGE gift these days!
Adey: 2010...2011....only a few days difference to be done! I know you did not want to spoil your WILD NYE plans!
Texas: I have been meaning to thank you for teaching me something! I had NO CLUE tastebuds last on average 10 days!!!!!! How do you know this stuff?!?
Omaz: scrapbooking is fun. I learned some cool tricks from DIY but then I got tired of that as well!
Speaking of pictures, I have some scanning to do now! Good day all-
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I would trust what a pharmacist say over what I think. To be sure call another pharmacist. If you live in the US Walgreens, CVS, Walmart etc. all have pharmacists on staff. Just call.
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Lizzy - It isn't scrap booking exactly. It's through costco mypublisher and you build an actual book of photos and text (if you want) and then they publish it, coffee table type. It isn't very expensive for the non-delux model. Mine alread has about 30 pages of 1-6 photos per page and is running about 40 bucks. I don't have any patience so this goes really fast with the scanner, I just put the year as text.0
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Omaz- ok...I understand now. That sounds like a nice gift idea. I have so many pics not scanned, laying around. I am a bit of an organizational freak so I will have to get them all sorted out and ready to go one of these days. Perhaps that is a early 2011 project! My latest gig is organizing my tools, screws, bolts, drills, bits etc...! Yes, I have tools! I like everything organized even down to the size of the screws!0
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I spoke with the doctor on call at the cancer center - everything's fine; as long as it's not a liquid, and it's not.
Happy day...not happy day. Happy because I just sold my newest custom doll for $359 on Ebay along with two antique dolls that I listed, so I'm doing a happy money dance.
NOT a good day cause my brother was in a car accident - woman hit him from behind and it's totaled. But he's okay..............
Getting ready for the decadron tonight............
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TWICE i've typed (the first time took me over an hour to type- going back and forth between the posts and my response) and my freaking ktty stepped on the key board and deleted it!!!! I told my daughter if he gets on my keyboard one more time i am putting him outside LOL
Lzzy I actually know a lot of useless facts LOL apparently that one wasnt as useless as i thought!
Calamity- Congrats on the $ earned and praise to God that your brother is okay, cars can be replaced people cant.
Not sure when we get the keys and can start moving, the manager gave us a call today but we were in church so we didnt answer. SHe wasnt in her office when we tried to call back. I am hoping it was to pick up the keys!!!
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calamtykel I call those my green crazy pills. My girls laugh at how much they make me TALK. Congrats on your lucrative retail transaction.
DH off to grocery store to preorder turkey day dinner.
omaz yarn store are you a knitter.
School is out Wednesday and fully plan on a thrift store/retail therapy intervention. It is desperately needed.
Happy Dance In march I completed 300 hours of grad level work for my National Board Certification. However, with all of the excitement of BC it has been the last thing on my mind. 5 of us at my school did this and scores were released Friday at 9:00 am. I just couldn't look. About 10:00 I logged on and what the heck I PASSED. This will mean some much needed green in my paycheck as no one has had an increase in 2 years because of budget cuts. Hope I will still have a job next year and am not cut along with other personnel deemed as "unnecessary".
Neulasta/Neupogen I know a lot of you have Neulasta shots after each chemo. I have only had 3 Neupogen injections, which they describe as a "bee sting". The first one burned like &*. Anyone else think they hurt? 2nd one I took a tip from a discussion bd and asked for it in the stomach fat. Could not even feel it. Also the tech told me it needs to stay out and warm up for a bit before injecting it. Figured she wouldn't lie since she was traumatized by having to view my stomach fat anyway.
LIzzy: much impressed that you can eat Chinese food. The smell from Taipai South does not make me happy. Maybe later.
A lovely turkey day to all of you.
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calamtykel: congratulations on the SALE! Yes...happy money dance!!!!!! Glad your decadron is ok to take also. I would hate to have my chemo schedule interrupted.
Libraylil: congratulations on passing...another happy money dance!!!! Good for you! BTW, I "pick up" Chinese food but I don't eat it! There is a wooded area next to my house and the animals are eating pretty well these days as I buy stuff, don't eat it and put it out for the animals! I have a few bites and off to the woods it goes! As for your stomach fat, with 50% of the country obese, this tech has seen a LOT of belly fat!
Texas: blaming that little kitten for your keyboard issues?! Sooo sad!
Do I dare go to a store?! I kind of have to....perhaps I will wait a few hours! The crowds should start to clear around 7 I hope!
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HAHAHA Lizzy you sound lke my husband, when I say the kids did something he says "still blamin the kids" LOL
Okay to everyone i have a question- Gradually I've had a numbness/pain travel from my port to under my chin, when i say gradually i mean from the day i had my port placement 8/2 til right now (or sometime in the last couple of days)
It started off as slight numbness right above my neck where the tube and incision is which my dr said was prob residual numbness from the port placement it V E R Y S L O W L Y has moved from the side of my neck to the front of the neck now to where if i were to have an adams apple whewre i'd be.... I know taxotere causes numbenss is certian places but the neck?
I only ask because it seems less port related than when i spoke to my dr about it.
Also i say numbenss/pain because it sorta feels like if you hold something cold for a long time and it feels like a burn but its numb too- am i makin any sense?
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Texas: about a month ago I was petrified to go to chemo and report I was having FACIAL numbness. I was so afraid they were going to stop txs and tell me that was a really bad sign but no....they squarely blamed taxoterrible! All I could think was 'great, now I can't let them kill the cancer cells b/c I am getting stroke-like symptoms!' In the end, they totally agreed it was taxo. I would say don't be nervous. When they put the port in they cut through and I am sure mess with some nerves. Taxo probably found a port-sponsored playground for it to wreak some havoc! Please call your doc tomorrow, however. Do not forget the potential for clotting exists with these ports.
Good night all and sweet dreams...alas my search for winter boots drags on! My shopping trip was mediocre....!
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texasrose I agree to call your doctor but lizzymack sounds right. I'm on taxotere and I find that the numbess in my arms from node dissection gets worse right after treatment then a week later slowly gets better. I also have the numb heel from taxotere that pretty much does the same thing with each treatment. I'm almost 1 week out from tx 3. My onc so far is not too concerned. She says the numbness will go away once off the chemo.0
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hi everyone! Hope the weekend was somewhat SE free for all. Okay, I'm a little confused- Thanksgiving is this coming weekend in the States right? So is Friday the actual day or Thurs?
Ann97- Yes, the reason I knew my hair was starting to grow back was b/c my scalp became itchy. Not bad itchy, but enough that it felt different. I realized that it hadn't been itchy in months- so the feeling was new. Not unpleasant though. Are you having that right now??
Healthcare- I had no idea how Obama's healthcare reforms worked- I thought you were going to end up more like us here in Socialized Med World. But really, from the explanations I've read through your tales, it sounds more like Ins Co's just get to charge you what they want now.
I know it sounds like we have this candy store of free care in front of us (and we do, sort of) but we pay some of the highest taxes in the world. I'm somewhere around 44% of my total income. I've travelled through the States a lot for work, and I'm always slightly awed by the wealth that see in the US. I think there are more wealthy ppl in the States than in Canada for sure. But the fllip side is I think there's also more poverty. We're more socialized across the board- waaay more middle class. So there's ups and downs to both I'm sure, but I feel like now I know why some were critical of Obama's plan, in that it really was providing care but still at increased prices to the most vulnerable consumers.
Night sweats- is anyone else having these? I"m having crazy, crazy night sweats and I'm going to ask my onco about it tomorrow. It's really worrying me. Like maybe I have some sort of underlying infection or undetected cancer? I wake up soaking wet and freezing! To the point where I need to get up and change pyjamas.
Dogs Vs Cats- Just a quick story...the day that I got diagnosed I was (by accident) home alone and heard the news over the phone. AWFUL. I hung up the phone called my DH and told him to come home. Then I was alone in the house and cried like I have never, ever, ever cried in my entire life. The dog, who was 6 feet away from me and sleeping, NEVER EVEN LOOKED UP!! But my cat came racing down the stairs, inserted herself on my lap and licked my hand. No joke. So when ppl say that cats "just aren't the same as dogs" in terms of emotional connection, I tell them this story. I love my dog, but my cat saved my life that day.
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Sweeny Yup those are night sweats. If they are that bad do discuss with your doctor. So far my night sweats have been minimal. I mean I get them every morning but I just kick off the blanket and go back to bed. Only last for a minute and I don't get soaked.
I do hear that spicy food and alcholol will make them worse. I guess I should stop eating spicy food. Made some guacamole with salsa & Tabasco in it yesterday. Also for lunch I had Vietnamese Pho soup and put some Sriracha hot chili sauce in it. Iove spicy food.
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Sorry this is a repost for a few but I must share:
Here are a few stress relievers for the holiday:
http://fun.from.hell.pl/2003-11-24/bubblewrap.swf
(manic mode is especially fun)http://snowdays.popularfront.com/
create your own & send it to friends. (Be careful this site is like crack... very addicting)
Note that depending on the time of day you visit the daylight changes.0 -
Stop eating spicy foods... gasp! No way. (c:
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Ok... so now I want some spicy food! LOL
Libraylil: Congrats on passing National Boards! I'm Certified also ... thinking my time to recertify is not too far away and I'm NOT looking forward to all that work again
Sweeney: Yes, I'm four weeks out from my last tx now and I've been itchy for at least a week and a half. It seems worse when I have a scarf/hat on - maybe because I notice it more then since it is harder to scratch? Not sure. It is also hard to tell if I've got any hair growth since I did not lose all of my hair. There is an even sprinkling of 1/8th of an inch or so hair left.
Night sweats - yep. I have that too. And from what I have heard it will get worse most likely when I start on tamoxifen. I know someone who had to temporarily take Paxil for the night sweats and she said it helped a lot.
Cats - I'm completely a cat person too. And yes, they are there for you when you are upset.
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Hair stuff---I am just about to head into my last chemo on Wed and have noticed that my hair is growing back over the last week or so. At first, I didn't notice but then my husband noticed. Sadly, it doesn't look to be growing back brown but more white--hoping that it may turn or it may need a helping hand later! Every day it is growing more. My eyebrows -- I didn't lose them all, about half of them--don't seem to be growing right now.
Have my last Taxotere on Wed--not looking forward to the post-chemo crappy feeling and mouth taste/lack of tastebuds---but am excited to think that I am heading into my last chemo ever (God willing!). Have doc appointment this afternoon to check blood counts etc and meet with Oncologist--lots of questions because I'm not sure what happens next--do you have regular appointments? Do they do scans on regular basis to check for mets? I still have radiation but that is with separate doctor. Anyone else done chemo and have ideas of what to ask Medical Oncologist of what to expect post-chemo?
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Hello gals, there is so much to catch up on after being offline for a few days! Yay for Sue that your lump was just fatty tissue and Ginger I'm sorry your treatment got cancelled. Unfortunately my chemo that was supposed to be last Friday got cancelled as well. On Wednesday afternoon I went to get a flu shot and then just a few hours later I got sick. I either had a bad reaction to the shot or I was already getting sick, there is no way to tell. I had a slight fever and my stomach was upset. I'm inclined to believe that I was just getting sick, my stomach felt a little off earlier that day before I got the shot but I thought I was just getting nervous about Friday's chemo. So I felt yucky all day Thursday and went in to see my onc on Friday morning. Since I had still been having a slight fever on Thursday night (above normal but below 100.5) he decided not to give me the Abraxane but we did get the Herceptin started. He also said that he thought I was having anticipatory nausea and gave me a prescription for Xanax (anti-anxiety like Ativan). I have been getting really anxious pre-treatment so I'm hoping that will help me to relax before my last few chemos. Anyway, he is giving me a 2 week break and I will go back on Dec 3 to start the Abraxane. This means I won't be done now until February, which I'm upset about, but it does mean that I'll be feeling ok this week when our families visit for Thanksgiving. I still had a temperature Friday night but since Saturday I've had normal temperatures and my stomach has settled down. Yesterday I was feeling mostly normal so I spent the day doing laundry and cleaning the house and was very productive.
All in all, I'm still glad that I got the flu shot because I do believe it is important. And it does include the H1N1 vaccine in it.
Hot flashes - I have been getting them for a while, I'm taking Lupron shots monthly to protect my ovaries so between that and the chemo I have been in chemically induced menopause since late July. But the last couple of weeks the hot flashes seem even worse, I feel like I am getting one every 5 minutes! Yesterday felt like one giant hot flash though that might have been partly because I was being so active cleaning the house plus the tempatures here are still in the 70s to low 80s.
Cats - I am also a cat person and I agree that they can be so comforting by just sitting in your lap when you are not feeling well.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even our Canadian friends! And Sweeney Thanksgiving day is Thursday and then Friday is often given as a holiday as well. That is the day we call Black Friday when everyone goes out Christmas shopping. Stores have huge sales and open ridiculously early (like 4am). I always stay home that day, the idea of shopping in a hugely crowded store is not at all fun to me, no matter how good the sale prices are!
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Rachel - me too. I'm sitting having the last taxol! I was late getting started, but it's going now.....Look like I have about another hour or so left!
I too am wondering what to ask the oncologlist- she went to pick up her daughter at school and is coming back and then will stop in............kinda nervous moving ahead!
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Rachel - check the Johns Hopkins website for coping "after" chemo for breast cancer.
They specifically say that they DO NOT recommend routine scans - they do not change your prognosis of mets. This is of course, with absence of symptoms. They said it's just a matter of weeks before a scan can pick up something and symptoms begin, so it doesn't change the outcome or protocol. Plus it's a boatload of extra radiation entering your body..........They will watch our breast much more carefully though, and probably mammos and MRI's. I'll post what she says.............
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LAST TAXOL CAL - WOW, GREAT!
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Hot flashes, night sweats: Me too. I told my onc this morning that the Effexor doesn't seem to be helping. He had no real remedy, I got the impression I just have to tough it out until we start Tamoxifen in January because the tamox will present it's own set of SEs and he said will probably worsen the hot flashes. Great ...
Hair question: My hair started coming back while I was on my chemo break (`in the hospital and off chemo for about 5 weeks). I'm wondering if it's all going to fall out again. I just had my 2nd taxotere this morning, one more to go. I forgot to ask the onco this. Any ideas?
Congrats to Lil. Happy dance that Cal's brother is ok and you're on last Taxol. Iago, I need to introduce you to my husband. I had never heard of pho soup or sirachi when we married but I sure know what they are now, he loves that stuff! Too hot for me to handle. Sweeney, Thanksgiving here is always last Thurs of Nov and the day after, Fri., is usually given as a holiday too. Like someone said, it's a huge shopping day here in the U.S. I wouldn't be caught dead in a store the day after Thanksgiving. I hate to shop under normal conditions. And this year the GAME of the year is that day, Auburn (War Eagle!) vs. Alabama. JSW, you have your big game this weekend too don't you? I know I'm missing some others, congrats to all finishing up chemos and moving on to the next stage. I've actually been hesitant to ask what comes next? It's like I've been in a safety net with the chemo (cancer cells wouldn't dare grow while you're actually taking chemo would they
) so I'm thinking it's going to be kind of hard to adjust to not having as much attention and treatment being given to the beast. Like everything else though, I guess we adjust.0 -
Lady - I just had 4 weeks since my last TCH and I noticed little tiny leg hairs coming back in. I'll get rid of them tomorrow with treatment 5!0
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Okay this hair grow/regrowth issue is so interesting to me. My hair started to regrow just before my 4th and last tx. Weird huh? Still have hairless legs though. And my armpits have done NOTHING in five months. I'm actually planning on using one of those hair rinse colour things tomorrow. I think I have enough hair to colour it now, just a little bit of fuzz but with some colour on it maybe it will look fuller.
When it started to grow back in, it came up completely colourless. It's now starting to go brown. My natural colour. But the two look pretty weird/wispy together.
I have two onco appts tomorrow and I am going to grill them on hormones, tamoxifen and the ensuing side effects. My night sweats are beyond bearable. But I don't want to go on low level antidepressants b/c I've had some SEs from those too that I don't like.
Congrats on the last Taxol Cal and Rachel too (I think?). Sorry memory loss is still a SE for me!
American Thanksgiving- I've actually always LOVED your Thanksgiving. I watch the football, the parades and it's definitely the start of the Xmas season for me. It's kind of great that we have two different Thanksgivings, it's my fave holiday and 2 rounds of it are fantastic.
This year I'll do all the Thanksing I can do!0 -
p.s. Lago- that is some seriously spicy food you like!! If I was eating that right now I'd be a sweaty puddle in seconds...
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I'm home from my last chemo!
This is the protocol:Bloodwork next Tuesday (I have to be home cyber Monday incase there are any really good deals online!
Follow up with doctor with a visit in 3 weeks. No scans, just bloodwork. Call about any odd symptoms.
Port flushed every 6 weeks - takes about 10 minutes I'm told in an infusion room. Then we talk about port removal in the next couple of months -she said I didn't have to wait a year.
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sweeney I'm making chili right now. The banana peppers I bough were supposed to be sweet. Just cut them up and had to walk away for a while because I started tearing and coughing. I like it hot but I really wish the supermarket would mark these properly. Guess I won't be adding anymore hot in this batch.0
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Congratulations to Kel and Rachel for having your last treatments! I had my last TCH last week, and when I went in for Herceptin today, the onc. told me that he was giving me a 3-week dose of Herceptin, so that I don't have to come back for 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS! For some reason, I thought I was going to have 3 weeks of weekly Herceptin after the last big chemo, but I will not step foot in that office until December 13. I almost started to cry tears of joy.
I had said that last week was a little anti-climactic, because I still had to endure all the side effects. But today felt like the end of something - the end of something I really want to end. So Happy! And I feel like I have so much to feel thankful for now! :-)
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Lisa, so glad you are done!!! It will all seem small stuff I hope from here on out!!0
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I just returned from my last appointment with Oncologist before last chemo. I asked him about scans etc. He said that isn't the protocol (like Cal mentioned). Only if you have some sort of symptoms etc. It feels weird to just be done....strange feeling. He mentioned that I will see him again when I start Tamoxifen to see how I am doing with side effects. I had rad hyst back in May so I am already in menopause--so I have been having night sweats etc for a few months. Even though they took my ovaries--he is keeping me on Tamoxifen due to my young age and the chance of Osteoperosis (sp?). As I had rad hyst before 40--chances of that increase and Tamoxifen can help. Other than that he said, follow up every 4 months with Mammogram in 6 months. It feels good to ALMOST be done...but weird at the same time. Granted, I still have radiation to go through. Congrats to all the others who are finishing.
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