August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
Comments
-
Onemonga: I have a cold, too. Am going to take a nice, hot shower in a few minutes and then lay down (my favorite!). About the spinal issue, when they thought it spread to my head and skull, which bc does like to do btw, they said they almost NEVER see bc going to the brain and/or skull without also spreading to the spine. Well, now every time I bend over and come up, my neck/back cracks...never happened before chemo. Also, when I go for my check-up before I get txs, they always check my spine and this does scare me a bit. Do they check anyone else's spine as a normal part of pre-tx check-ups? In any case, I am sure I am going to be scheduled for all those scans again and I, too, will be on some sort of a sidetrack just as you are. I am not convinced I want these docs scanning my body for more cancers/spreading into perpetuity. My feeling is if you give me enough of these damn scans I am going to get SOME form of cancer again pretty quick. In long, I feel your pain. I think you should take a nap also! It is good for the soul!
TSA scanners: they just released a report that fair-skinned, children in particular, should not go through as the amount of radiation eminating from these scanners is sufficient to cause skin cancer. Great.
Calamtykel: Ruby Lane is cool. How did you find out about that site? It is like an E-mall for VIntage wares. That is great. I do a lot of NYC based art...black and whites, some water colors, stock exchange stuff, WTC site and subway/gritty items. I wish there was a site that like for more modern art and wares. Cool stuff. I hope your day is going better than yesterday.
Alas my Christmas music and a hot shower are on the menu!
0 -
one -- So sorry to hear of your stressful incident! However, if your oncologist didn't think it deserved a red flag, it probably does not! But I TOTALLY understand exactly how you feel. That is what happened to me yesterday at the PS office. Thought I was just going for a routine check and she makes a big thing about the two moles on my chest - I go from calm to panic. I was so keyed up I didn't sleep more than five hours last night. You're right - it's ridiculous how you're just sort of chugging along the BC track and then you get derailed without warning!
BUT hang in there! I would not think an MRI would be the most accurate test for searching for mets. I've never heard of it being used in testing for mets.....Did they order a bone scan or CT at any point? I think those are what are usually done.Lizzy - I knew about Ruby Lane from Ebay. Started doing Ebay back in 1997 when it was in its infancy ( we didn't even have photos back the in our listings--nobody did-digital cameras were almost unheard of for sellers!) Anyway, Ebay has gone in a downward spiral for sellers - it's become more and more expensive with Ebay tightening the reins tighter and tighter on the seller. Get a certain number of star ratings and you get a warning - blah blah. Neutral feedback began to count against sellers as negative. I had people leaving ridiculous feedback -one woman left me a neutral feedback because her dog sniffed the package when she brought it into the house...etc., etc. Anyway, I made the break in 2008 and opened a Ruby Lane shop. The "rent" isn't cheap but I think buyers feel comfortable there. It doesn't get the traffic that Ebay does but it works out cheaper monthly and there isn't the stress, lying awake nights wondering if you're going to go on probation because some idiot buyer complains about the size of the dollhouse furniture she bought even though you put the measurements right in the listing.......
Ecrater is a site I've been on for about five years now. It is totally free to list and sell there. The listings get caught in Google searches so it's good placement and I sell mosltly video games and stuff on there.
DH just bought a huge collection of vintate 1970's Fisher Price sets from a friend of ours and that will be our weekend project -getting that stuff listed.
Well, I did the shower and a nap and Christmas music thing too! HOW funny! The house is so quiet with the kids at my parents. This is the first time I've been alone in weeks. I needed it. I fell asleep, got up and went back again 15 minutes later and slept a long time. I'm still feeling overwhelmed but going to sit down and try to plan the next two days for schoolwork with the kids and whatever fun Christmas things we can do.
0 -
Calamtykel: I am sooo glad you have some time to yourself to just relax and regroup. This is such an awful and funny story about a client I had from NJ! She was approached by *BOTH* reps from Ebay and Amazon looking for SEED money! She REFUSED both! She wanted to chew her arm off!
I am going to check out ECrater. I love the old Fisher Price toys and Gillette Castle and all those old toys! The airplane with the string on the nose and the telephone on wheels with a string for pulling! I had them all!
0 -
onemonga- curl up with a good movie/book and tell everyone else to go away. This is how I cure the common cold.:)
Cal and Lizzy- I hadn't heard of either of those sites but will check them both out tonight. Do they ship to Canada too? A couple of years ago I bought up every last piece of vintage Fisher Price Little People stuff I could. My kids loved, loved, loved it. My husband and I too, it brought back so many fond memories.
Cancer spreading- my onco said beware of your mind playing tricks on you in these first few months, your brain will interpret every ache, every tone from a doctor, every detail as possible new cancer. She said this is entirely normal and in 99% of cases never accurate. I'm trying to remember this as I go forward. I only mention it in case it helps anyone else. It's normal that we're not trusting our bodies yet, but she said that in time we'll regain a sense of trust. Although I think maybe not fully. So anyway, for any of us that are going through this right now- my first small prayer tonight will be to put our minds at ease.
Wondergoblins- So remember I was telling y'all about the little woollen creatures I was making? Wondergoblins? Well now 2 of the cutesy, chic boutiques in town are carrying them. Last week a reporter from the local paper came and asked if they could do a story on me/them and the route from cancer to creativity. I said yes, and I just found out that tomorrow it comes out as the front page article/photo. I'll post it here if I can. Also, I just wanted to tell you that I decided to give 25% of the profits to breastcancer.org. This is completely because of you guys. Just wanted you to know that.
0 -
sweeney - I definitely feel as if my body's betrayed me! I'm totally prepared to panic at every ache and pain - but I'm also prepared to refuse to live that way. If it gets to be too much for me, I know it's okay to ask for anti-anxiety or anti-depressants now. I refuse to live that way! I've been thru hell these past few months, as we all have, and I really don't want to always be living it in my mind......UGH!
Most sellers on Ruby Lane mail to Canada. Don't know about Ecrater. I always send internationally; I get nervous with customs (rifling and opening packages, etc.) but I rely on my international customers, especially Europe. They seem to be buying more than the US buyers sometimes it seems!
0 -
p.s Just checked out ecrater.com. WOW. Cool. Thanks for the heads up.
0 -
My surgery is December 13... Pre- surgery appointment is tomorrow...
0 -
Good luck tomorrow Sohard, I'll be thinking of you!
0 -
WOW i have a lot of catch up reading to do! I am only on page 110-
AN update! We got the keys for our apartment today (but turns out they didnt fit/work) so we'll get the real ones tomorrow. I will be busy moving starting the 7th
I will be off line only for a week- my internet gets hooked up on the 13th (i think lol)My 6th tx went well it was the 1st time i didnt fall asleep through the whole thing (i was busy working on this silly court thingy...) Anyhow besides some numbness in my toes and some hot flashes which are new i am doing well.... i will prob catch up on reading everything tomorrow!
BTW- someone asked if i am finding good deals on WII games, um not really cuz its christmas time and everyone is trying to get them, ebay is crazy because sometimes the price and shipping exceed what the games cost new! GO FIGURE!!!
Night all!!!!!
0 -
Nose bleeds: I can't remember who was talking about this, but I had a nose bleed this afternoon. That never happens to me, so I vote for them being chemo related.
Sweeney: Cool on the newspaper story. I hope you can post it so we can see it. Or does the newspaper have a site we can go to? (and btw, I got my mojo back last night too
Cal and others having pain or other problems: Hang in there ladies. We are getting closer to being finished with this part of all this.
Sohard: Praying for you girl.
0 -
texas: I sent you a PM in response to your message from a long time ago - sorry about that; I never saw it!
You can use Gamecube games in a Wii, you know. And Gamecube games are cheap.
Check amazon or Ebay. Some really good Gamecube games: Mario Sunshine (A must have and it is cheap since it came bundled with the Gamecube system and they are in abundance!) Animal Crossing (essentially the same as the Wii version but cheaper), Harvest Moon; any of the Mario games. . The only thing is, that you need to save the data from the Gamecube games to a memory card that you buy seperately. There is a memory card slot in the Wii. Just asked DS, 12, to confirm.
Well, the lovely hospital sent my bill to collections even though we were paying them small amounts. DH sent them $100 on it and they still did it. I can't believe it- they want payment in full immediately! What is WRONG with our healthcare system!?? UGH! Doesn't matter because it's not happening!!
0 -
Sweeney and Lizzy - remember this one? Sorry the picture is so huge - I pulled it from my Ruby Lane shop and the sizing was automatic! =:O
0 -
Omg I LOVED that castle. The PINK dragon!!! And the turret. Just for interests sake Cal, how much will you end up selling this for???
LadyinBama- Woooo Hooooo!!!
0 -
Sweeney: Wondergobblins!!!! That is so cool that you are going to be on the front page and what a great story! This is truly a positive bc story! The more I think about it, the more I think bc is a catalyst designed to move us in other directions. I know, there should be an easier way! What a great story. Good for you
Texas: that shipping business costing more than the item is the reason why I only place HUGE orders on Amazon and only buy *from* Amazon. I am sorry, however, that you are not finding success but keep trying, woman! I am surprised you did not blame your kitten for shipping costs! Good luck moving and congratulations on finally getting the (real) keys tomorrow!
Calamtykel: THAT IS IT!!! I loved that thing! I also had Holiday Inn which I would bring with me when we traveled! Also had McDonalds and a whole boat load of things. I call that castle Gillette Castle because that is an old castle here in CT. That is so cool...what a flashback! I loved that stuff. I had a biotch-bag stepmother that wanted me to "grow up" like her kid I guess and get prego at 15! In any case, they were trying to get me into boys and make-up and all this other junk when I was like 10 and 11 years old and I was still clinging to my TOYS! She started giving away my toys when she thought it was time and there went the Barbie Camper and the Barbie high rise and all my Fisher Price toys. WITCH! In any case, thank you for the walk down memory lane!
On the medical bill, I can't believe they turned it over. Is that even legal especially b/c you were paying them? I know, you could very well expire before proving illegality but I would call the State's Attorney General and find out if what they did is legal. I don't think so. I don't think anything can be turned over if you are paying. What a shame. Yes, our healthcare system totally sucks.
Sohard: good luck tomorrow. Don't forget to make notes as you will have 100 questions after you leave the office!
Ladyinbama: if I call my onc people they will definitely stell me the nose bleeds have *nothing* to do with chemo! Sorry you are having that issue as well. It is all coincidence that a number of us on chemo are also having blood coming out of our nose! It is all coincidence and NOTHING to do with chemo! JOKERS!
Nets and Oklahoma: TRIPLE OVERTIME and the Nets lost
It was a really good game. 0 -
remember how the staircase swings open for a hiding spot behind it?
I remember getting the castle when I was 6. I don't know how my parents afforded it- it was an expensive set at the time! There are many "exclusive" pieces to it (such as the dragon) that make it desirable to collectors today.
Sweeney - I put it out for $175. Complete on Ebay they seem to be doing between $125 and $235 with no rhyme or reason. So if it doesn't go, I just reduce until it does. They issued the set in the mid 1970's and then discontinued it and reissued it once more in 1988. The 1988 version doens't have the "dangerous to children" flag on top! Lizzy - how emotionally scarring! I played with Barbies until I was like 13. Then when I was too "old" to play with dolls (I remember my grandmother - "this is the last baby doll I'm getting you - you're too old for dolls! LOL!!) then I "collected" them. When I was 14, my mom took me to a dollhouse and miniature show. One dealer there had a doll hospital and had a couple of dolls on her table and one was a 1930's Shirley Temple. She wasn't in the best of shape but I absolutely had to have it. I paid her $95 (a good price at the time) --all my 8th graduation money and she came home with me. I was SO excited. I felt like I had a treasure from yester-year or something. That began my passion for collecting not only dolls, but old dolls and various other antiques. I met DH in an antique shop where he rented a room. He needed help doing a show and his help had copped out on him and i just happened to be there at the shop and i ended up helping him.
0 -
My avatar is the Christmas tree in New Haven adjacent to the Yale Campus. It was decorated with blue lights last year and looked sooo pretty! In any case, I wish it was a better photo but it is a seasonal photo nonetheless!
0 -
Calamtykel: Ecrater is GREAT! Thanks so much for letting me know about that. What a wonderful place. When I was really doing a lot of trading on Wall St there was a company called CMGI and one of their spinoffs was "Chemdex" which was a market for chemical industrials. It was sooo cool at that time to have a marketplace, online, for the that industry. In any case, I did not know about the "Ruby Lanes" and "Ecraters" of the world so thank you so much for introducing me to those venues. Now I think you should get a job in adult education in your town on "Ecommerce: how to do it." You can teach others! On the step biotch, she was some kind of wonderful. Thankfully when my father died so did my requirement to speak to and/or deal with her at all! YEAH!
0 -
Cal: When will you hear back about the biopsie? I am so sorry that you have to be fearful once again. My prayers are with you.
LadyinBama: I had my 3rd taxol today and yesterday my nose started bleeding. Onc said to use a non perscription spray called: ocean spray nose spray not related to the juice. lol. He said it was from chemo. Will try to get some tomorrow and let you know.
Sweeny: cool pic.
Hyper on steroids have to try for sleep night all
0 -
Cal and Onemonga - Prayers and positive thoughts going out to both of you.
Sweeney - Love your new avitar with your man
Sohard - thinking of you and hoping for a quick recovery from surgery.
Too much to catech up on. I have about an hour before mom comes over to take the kids. Last TCH today. Happy to be finishing (mom is bringing them in to ring the bell when I am done), nervous about not being on chemo, and absolutely dreading the weekend. Lord, please let this be my last crappy chemo weekend.
Everyone take care and my thought and prayers are going out to you all!
Michelle
0 -
calamtykel sorry about the hospital sending you to collections. This is pretty standard and stupid since you were paying something. A collection agency will take 1/2 of what ever you pay. Since you were paying anyway (although small amounts) the hospital will lose in the end. Don't know why they don't work out payment plans. I actually had a hospital send my bill to a collection agency 8 years after I was there for a "guest meal". I never even had a guest. The collection agency found me in another state. At the time it was for $25 so I didn't even what to bother to fight it. Just seemed easier to pay it and make it go away.0
-
lago - will it ruin our credit later if we eventually pay it while it's in collections? Going to call them today. Annoyyyyed.....we would have paid on it earlier if the breast cancer fund hadn't told us that we were eligible for help, (I was waiting) but then told us we weren't and that the fund closed!
Onward - I guess I'll hear sometime early next week. She said five days, but the weekend is in between. UGH! I'm pushing it out of my head. Too much else going on!
Lizzy - have you done Bonanza? (It used to be Bonanzle - they changed the name.)
That's a fun place to shop to! I also have a store on there, but a small one. I'm not as crazy about it since they have a small fee to sellers and you can only add four photos. But the setup is fun.0 -
Calamtykel I'm not sure if it will ruin your credit. I would talk to the collection agency. Chances are if you pay up it might not affect your credit that much if at all. I think that it has to be reported to the credit agencies. Not sure if that was done yet. I would also explain your story to them. Remember that collection agencies only make money if they collect. If you are willing to pay they become much more cooperative.0
-
Sohard: Good luck today! I agree, bring a notepad and take notes. You will probably have a lot of information thrown at you, so be ready.
Sweeney: I would love to see the article and your Wondergobblins. It is so nice that something so positive has come out of this experience for you. Maybe you should take some advice from Calam and put them online for sale.
Calam: I hope your biopsies come out fine. I had a mole removed from my face and biopsied prior to starting chemo, everything was fine and I am sure yours will be too.
On recurrence: I have begun to experience these fears already, like Calam. I have had spotting throughout my chemo and still to this day, so the onco told me to go to the GYN. I did and had a saline sonogram, which revealed uterine polyps. These are probably benign, or they could be evidence of uterine or endometrial cancer, so they must be removed and biopsied. I will have a D&C on December 29, because it is best not to have surgery while doing rads, so we have to wait. In the meantime I am pushing that fear back with the reasoning that these developed during chemo, because I never had spotting before. And what are the chances that a new cancer would grow while on Chemo, not likely right? Also, when I initially found my lump I went to my GYN and I will tell you, if that man could have driven me to the breast surgeon right then and there he would have. There was a definite sense of urgency on his part regarding my lump. This time, with the polyps, he is much more relaxed, so I believe him when he says it is probably nothing. But, in the back of my mind lingers that... What if?? Oh well, I try not to think about it like Calam, and refuse to play the What If Game. I will deal with whatever it is when there is a definite answer. But I have to tell you, it does suck not to trust that nothing really bad would ever happen to you like I used to.
I have now finished 21 of 35 rads. I have three areas of skin that are starting to get really red, actually purple at this point. One is under my arm and it hurts to wear a bra because it rubs against it. However I must wear a bra because I have to go to the office every day, so that is getting uncomfortable. The worst area is my supraclavicular area, it doesn't hurt, but looks really purple and the skin is peeling. No blisters yet, so that is good. And the rads on that area stop at 25 treatments, so I will get relief there soon. All in all, not so bad. Certainly nothing compared to the chemo!
Okay, have to get back to work. Have a great day guys!
Debbi
0 -
Sweeny, i want to see the wondergobblins...
0 -
Texas: Glad to hear about the keys. Good luck with your move. Don't overdo it! We will miss your positive attitude, come back on soon!0
-
Does anyone else find themselves surprised at how weak they still are after chemo. I have done professional Christmas Caroling for the past 5 years. I decided that since I'm finished with the chemo, I would be able to do it again this year. But I had my first gig last night - just an hour and a half - and I am still recovering this morning. My arm hurts from holding the music folder and my back hurts for standing so long. And I just feel generally crappy. I have about 10 of these scheduled before Christmas. I hope I can make it through. It is so frustrating, when this used to be something I just LOVED. Now, it seems like a chore because it is so hard.
I have my first rads on Monday. I will have 31 treatments and will be finished January 19.
I found a brochure at the cancer center for a program put on by Stanford and the YMCA called "Living Stong/Living Well: A Strength/Fitness Program for Cancer Patients and Survivors". They have a program at the Y where you go 2x per week for 75 minutes with a personal trainer for 12 weeks. And it is no cost to cancer patients/survivors. I really need some help getting my body back into shape. I haven't gained much weight, but I'm just SO much weaker than I was. This program seems like exactly what I'm looking for.
0 -
Onemonga Sorry to hear they are sending you for extra scans but hopefully they are just being cautious. If they are saying it looks like a cyst that is probably good because cysts are generally benign. It is sort of frustrating that they didn't look into this more closely back in July when you were originally being scanned but hopefully it is all ok.
Lizzy They have never checked my spine and I have not had a bone scan either. All I had was a PET scan (other than the mammo and breast MRI pre-surgery).
Sweeney That is so great that you were interviewed for the paper! Definitely post a link for us if they put the story online. And I still want to see pictures of your Wondergoblins! That is so generous of you to donate part of your profits to breastcancer.org.
Sohard Good luck on your pre-surgery appointment today! I'm thinking of you!
Texas Glad to hear you are doing well. Are you done with chemo now or are you doing 8 treatments, I can't remember. And yay for moving into your new apartment!
mommichelle Congrats on your last treatment! The bell ringing tradition at your onc's office sounds really fun!
sptmm62 I hope the polyps turn out to be benign. I have had that same thought, that it just doesn't seem possible to develop another cancer while on chemo. Good for you on trying to keep it out of your mind, these next few weeks will pass quickly with the holidays and before you know it you'll be having the biopsy results. I'll be sending good thoughts your way.
calamtykel That seems unfair that your hospital sent your bill to collections even though you've been paying for it. A call to the collections agency is a good idea and maybe also try to call the hospital and speak to whoever is the boss of the billing department? I hope you are able to get it resolved without too much difficulty. Honestly, sending a patient's bill to collections when they are actively making payments, especially right before the holidays, just seems cruel.
Oh, this week I discovered another little "perk" of chemo - it gets you out of jury duty! I got a jury summons in the mail over the weekend for a couple of weeks from now. I actually wouldn't mind going, I think it might be kind of interesting to be on a jury, but I was just worried about how I would be feeling and if it would interfere with my treatment schedule. So I filled out a little form online asking to be excused because I am currently in chemo. The website said that I would need a doctor's note but didn't specify how/where to submit one so I figured they would just contact me to get it. Well the next day I got a letter in the mail saying that I have been excused. I guess they figured that chemo is something that people wouldn't lie about!
Tommorrow I go in for my first Abraxane treatment, I'm hoping that I'm not allergic to it like I was to Taxotere and that it doesn't make me feel as crappy as AC did!
0 -
Good day chemosabes and radicals!
Mommichelle: congrats on your last TCH! Good for you.
Collection Agencies: the best thing to do if you get a notice for any bill that seems very old (especially beyond 7 years) and ridiculous is NOTHING. As soon as you respond, call, pay or do any of these things it gives them the right to open a NEW FILE on you credit bureau report which gives them another 7 years to harass you.
Calamtykel: I will checking out bonanza today! Thanks, pal. I hope the results of your biopsy are fine. I am sure they will be. A very small portion of moles turn malignant. Don't worry, be happy!
Onward: I hope you got some sleep on those roids! BTW, nice avatar! You look ready to whip something up!
Sptmm: we ALL will be worried about recurrence into perpetuity. I was listening to NPR the other night and they were talking about living with bc after all the txs are done and you are left with your own thoughts on the whole matter. They said eventually you come to terms with the precarious nature of your existence and put it into perspective. Their voices are sooo soothing on NPR, I immediately felt at ease! 21 of 35 rads down?! Wow, you are truckin' along! Bras suck btw! I hate them...I sincerely more of my desire to get a bmx was predicated on the very idea I would NOT have to wear bras anymore! Get one of those large wound patches and put it over the area with something the rad onc allows you to apply for comfort. Sounds to me like aloe vera might be nice. Whatever just to get the bra away from the burned area.
Lisasinglem: I am not exactly the focus subject you wanted to hear from because I am not done yet but everything is a tiring struggle just the same and #5 is next week. Last night my arms hurt holding Joe Torre's book that I am now reading. Just this morning went to the basement and came up and was winded. Then I put the garbage out and recycling = tired again. Had to sit at my little bistro table in the kitchen. Then I rolled the hose roller into the garage= tired again. I am secretly scared about the fatigue and being winded. I have more stuff to do today like bloodwork, go to CVS, Lowe's etc.. and surely I will have to take a nap when I get home! If I were you I wouldn't walk but I would race to the program at the YMCA.
JSW: GETTING OUT OF JURY DUTY!!!!!!! A definite perk of luscious chemo!!!! Good for you! I was so petrified because we had that big home invasion murder trial in CT and I, so far, have not had jury duty. I was worried that my ticket would be up during this trial. To be quite frank, and because I am on chemo, I would have given some crazy answers just to get disqualified should I have had the dubious call to be on that jury. GOOD LUCK on your first Abraxane tomorrow. I wish you lots of fun and success!!!!
Hair: I think Kel was saying how she has little whispers of fur here and there and then 1" long pieces...me too! I never totally lost all of my hair....at least not yet. #5 is next week and then #6 at the end of the month. We shall see. The 1" pieces are mainly over my ears and the back of my head. The ones over my ears are like an awning! I might stick with a short style for a while after all of this. I have gotten way comfortable with a quick shower and no "do my hair" fuss! I have had long hair almost my entire life. In fact, I was a total Tom boy and my mother always wanted to cut my hair because I was like an aborigine with it the way it was after a day in the woods of tree-climbing and fort-traversing and then swimming and bike riding...every night was a struggle for her to comb through my hair after my bath. The first thing she did after the divorce was get my hair cut as she knew my father would not be maintaining it! In any case, I grew it out again as I went through my teen years. I am rather looking forward to a somewhat simple, shorter style!
0 -
Calamtykel: DON'T pay the collection agency. Just continue to remit your payments to the original creditor. When you pay the bill off in full, the agency collection notices should stop. I would never pay a collection agency a dime if I were you. I would continue to send small payments to the creditor of origin and send your receipts from the monthly payments you were making, the collection notice from the outside agency and your continued receipts from payments to the State's Attorney General's office. Handing over an account that you were making consistent payments on, especially when you have bc and are on chemo, is egregious. They have run afoul of the law in some way. I would definitely contact the State's Attorney General. Don't waste your breath with either one of the entities pursuing you for money. Just continue to make ULTRA small payments to the creditor of origin to show consistency and then hand it over to the state. You should get some sort of assistance from the state office.0
-
LISASINGLEM - thank you for the info on the living strong/living well program. I went to the website and found there is a program in a city near me so i signed up for more info. I would really like to do this once i'm done with chemo. It takes awhile to recover from the last tx. They scheduled my hysterectomy for about 4 weeks after last tx. #3 of 4 today and i'm awake due to steroids!
0
