August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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hah hah. I just read lizzie's post....no not an extra week. But I got in last night at 4:30 am and haven't slept since Sunday night! I am one tired mama!
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Ginger- Yeah for one down!
Cal- What a bummer! Fingers crossed for the results tomorrow
Lizzy- My appointment isnt until Thursday so 2 more days. I wil ldef update and share what they say! Also watching Jersey Shore and caught a bit of Skins- its the same as the BBC program. Lots of teen sex and rebellion. Now I am out of my teens i dont care for that. Lots of adult hookin up i'll waytch LOL (just joking about JerseyShore!)
The sun finally broer throuh after a few days of cold rain. Sending some your way my North East friends! (or just east coast i guess y'all are really getting hammered!)
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Okay third post in a row-
Rachel and Kel- am thinking of you both and said a prayer for each of you. It's not fair to have to go through that worry. I'm hoping and praying for a bit of peace and good news for each of you.
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BENIGN LYMPH NODE!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!
I GOTTA GO MAKE PHONE CALLS!
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Yay Cal!!0
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So very glad for you Kel. I'm sitting here smiling for you.
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Great news CAL!!!!!!!
Lizzie: That is a really good question Lizzie. I guess the same symptoms that you would have gone to the doctor for before, pain, constipation, headaches, etc. I am not really sure, and to tell you the truth I am feeling really lost as far as what symptoms I should worry about.
Texas: Send that sun our way.....and warmth too please!!!!
Sweeney: Oh I am soooo jealous, I can feel the warmth as I read your post! Sounds like a great vacation. But seriously, there have to be more juicy details when a group of women go to a tropical island, without men, for a week! Glad to hear you had fun.
I got the Tamoxifen prescription at my oncologist appointment. Not happy with the oncologist...but that is another story I don't have time to tell right now. So, I guess I will fill it and start. Nobody has noticed any side effects so far right? When do you guys take it, morning or night?
TTYL--Debbi
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CAL - What wonderful news! I was having a pretty crappy day and came home to see how you made out, felt sad that you probably wouldn't get your results due to the weather and just checked again and saw the news. Praise God is right! Thank you....your news has made my day much better too. I can't tell you how very happy I am for you, for all of us. Great news!
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mommichelle- I made my husband call. His office closed due to the storm so he was home and at 4, I coudln't stand it anymore. I told him that he would have to call - I was literally paralyzed. So he did and was told that the results were in but that she was in with a patient and would call as soon as she got out.
We sat and prayed and then the phone rang - I'm so thankful. I can only say this has been MORE awful than the original diagnosis! I'm so thankful - if it wasn't ice storming we'd go out to dinner............but as it is, kale and beef stew is on the stove and I can finally eat after not eating most of the day!
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Great news Cal. So happy for you especially after all this waiting!
Debbi--I take my Tamoxifen in the AM. I really haven't noticed any side effects that I can really nail down that may belong to Tamoxifen. I have some aches but who knows. I had hot flashes already from my rad hyst back in May but they are not that bad now. Perhaps I can blame some weight gain on it? I really haven't noticed anything else of any note. Hopefully you also have limited side effects also.
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Yea Cal!!! Great news.
Rachel: I'll be praying for you.
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Welcome back to reality Sweeney, glad you had an awesome time!!! As far as work, I have worked right on through tx only missed 1 day. It was what I wanted to do, I could have taken off and gotten disability but I was bound and determined to keep my life as normal as could be, granted if I didn't have the job I have I probably wouldn't have been able to. Good luck to those of you headding back to work after tx.
I had my last radiation today !!! I am very excited to be done!!!
Another cold day in Iowa 4 above.
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Cal - I know what you mean about that crippling fear. So happy for you! Celebrate!!!
Rachel - Good luck tomorrow with your bone scan. Prayers out to you and looking forward to celebrating your good news!
Sweeney - Welcome back!
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Sue,
Congrats! So happy tp hear you are finished. Now look forward to your vacation!
Hugs,
Michelle
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calm happy dance! Great news.0
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Cal-I am so happy to hear that it was B9!!!!!!!!!!!! (i so understand the fear- now that you're better i'll share this stat- only 1 in 4 women with metastatic b/c lives beyond 5 years!) When I heard you might have had a spread I cried.
Honestly every night when i hold my kids (we co-sleep) i cry for myself. I do hear all the positive "i am here 10 years later" stories but i am not delusional and know stats wise my time may be limited
ANYHOW I AM FREAKIN OVER JOYED TO HEAR THAT IT WAS JUST A LYMPH NODE!!!!!!!
you made my day!
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IowaSue: Congrats!
Rachel: Still praying that all goes well on your test.
I'm 6 weeks PFC and just now starting to feel "normal" again. SEs are pretty much gone (except I'm still bald, of course). But the joint/muscle pain is a lot better, my eye is clearing up with the eyedrops, my taste is back; all in all, I feel pretty good. No stamina yet, but I'm sure that will come as I do a little more each day. I see my onc on Monday to discuss our next steps. I'm looking forward to moving on!
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Cal YAY! So glad to hear that you got your results yesterday and the lymph node was benign. I had been thinking about you a lot and I'm so relieved for you.
Rachel I hope all goes well with your scans, I'm sending good thoughts your way.
IowaSue Yay for being done with radiation!
Symptoms and recurrence I am still not finished with chemo yet so I'm not sure what my onc has planned for follow-up in terms of scans or no scans. But I think (as we have seen a little bit already) we are in general going to be much more aware of any little symptoms or oddities and report those to the doctor. So maybe that is why a lot of docs now don't do full scanning unless you are reporting some symptoms. I think we would still get regular mammos but the full body scans are maybe overkill?
Work I have also worked throughout treatment. My boss has been awesome and let me take off whatever time I need so while I was on AC I would generally be off for about a week following each treatment because I felt so crappy. But the Abraxane has been much better and I only take off the treatment day now. For me getting out of the house and working has helped me to feel more normal and kept me in better spirits overall than if I had not worked these last few months. I think if you have not been working it will be a bit of an adjustment to get back to work but hopefully it will not be too stressful and will help you feel like things are returning to normal.
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Texas: I can't begin to imagine what is like to be in your shoes. I sometimes feel bad for worrying and complaining, knowing that there are many women out there who have already realized those fears, and like you, face them straight up, everyday. You have been an amazing friend to all of us, while we worry about metastasis, even while facing it yourself. I pray each and every day for all of us, and especially you who face a much tougher journey than we do. And I know, statistics aside, that based on your positive attitude and the way you continue to live your life normally (I remember specifically walking in the rain to get your daughter from school while on chemo...amazing!) you are going to be the 1 in 4. For every four women there is one who lives many years with this disease...and it will be you!
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Welcome back, Sweeney!
Congrats on finishing, Sue!
Rachel, I'm thinking about you today.
Texas, lots of hugs for you. I'm always so impressed by your positive attitude. Your kids are lucky to have you.
Lady, glad you are feeling back to normal pretty much.
I met with my onc yesterday and took my first tamoxifen today. He did have my blood drawn and there is some kind of test they do on it that has to do with a reocurrence. So even with no scans, they are still really watching us.
I think I mentioned that my RO put me on antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory since I was still red after 3 weeks post rads. Today is my last day on both and it seems to be getting better. Not sure if it is due to the meds or just time. My fingers in the hand on the side of the cancer have been going numb for the past 3 weeks or so. I thought it was a side effect of the chemo but apparently it is from the radiation and something to do with the nerves in my shoulder/neck. It will go away eventually and I said no to any meds since the onc. said that they come with their own set of side effects. It really isn't that bothersome. It normally just bothers me when I'm sleeping and wakes me up a couple of times a night.
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Hello all. I am two weeks out from last TAC and had my port removed yesterday. Woohoo. Now I am contemplating rads. My third rad onc appt is tomorrow. Looks like I'll be going down that path. Warm wishes everyone.
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Congrats Adey!!!!
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Thanks omaz. I will probably be joining you on the Jan Rad group.
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Its a lively group.
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Cal- WOOOOOO HOOOOOO! that made my day.:) (now we've just got to get Rachel squared away...)
Rachel- hope tomorrow isn't too trying. I'll be thinking of you and will say another prayer.
Tex- SPTMM said it. YOU"RE incredible. Your daily approach to this always blows me away. And when you talk about your kids and holding them tight, it reminds me to never, ever take anything for granted. You're teaching me alot. A very big hug out to you, as always.
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Thanks all! I DO BELIEVE i'll be one of the 1 in 4. But i've lost people who fought just has hard so I know no matter how hard you fight, if cancer wants you it will take you.
I can't help who I am and if its strong spirited the more power to me
Its like I am set in my ways and thats one thing cancer cant change!I am looking forward to my appointment tomorrow
Breast surgeon here I come!0 -
CHEMOSABES!!!
Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I've been away so long without posting. I have a few excuses -- some combination of being very busy, having a steady stream of house guests since early December, and, not to be too obscure, some other "stuff" to deal with. But things have settled down a lot now and I'm ready to be back in the fold!
I still have a lot of catching up to do to know what's been going on with each of you, but I'll at least give you a little update on what's been going on for me, cancer-wise. I guess I can't complain. Finished chemo in late Nov. and only recently beginning to feel like the side effects are really wearing off. Except the fatigue; I think that's gonna take a long time. As I said, I haven't read all the posts I missed, but have y'all experienced more muscle pain after chemo than you did during? That's how it's been for me. It started with my last treatment, but it actually seemed to get worse for weeks and weeks after that. There were times when I could barely walk. Anyway, just in the past week have I started to notice the muscle pain getting better. I've had chronic bronchitis since a few days before my last Tx, and you know how bronchitis can be -- it lingers, goes away, comes back... It's definitely better, but it's still hanging on a bit, but it's really not a big deal. It's great to be able to taste food again. It's great not to be nauseous anymore. I don't walk around with tears running down my face nearly as much. I still have weepy eyes once in a while but not like before! The mouth sores were memorable, that's for sure, but we have a way of forgetting pain, and I'm happy to say that the horribleness of it is fading into the past. My hair is starting to come back in, though it's still pretty patchy. I'd say it's about 1/8th of an inch long, at least at it's longest. It's very soft and fluffy, and, strangely, darker on one side of my head than the other!? I have exactly three baby eyebrow hairs! And my eyelashes are coming in a little too, but the weird thing is that the new eyelashes are blonde, and I mean yellow blonde!
My main battle, that just keeps getting worse is with the lymphedema. I'm still seeing an occupational therapist at least three times a week -- that's since Sept.; we've tried several types of compression, taping and bandaging; and now I am waiting for my spankin' new, in-home, $6,000 pneumatic pump to help keep the swelling down, and maybe, hopefully, don't-want-to-expect-too-much-or-too-little, actually improve my situation. It's a very new kind of pump, made specifically for LE. Theoretically it's supposed to do more than just temporarily push fluid out of the affected areas, only for them to fill back up again. It's supposed to mimic what the therapist does, Lymphatic Drainage Massage. A rep from the company that makes these things came to one of my OT sessions and hooked me up to the pump (there are these wide straps connected to the machine by four big hoses that go around my left leg, around my waist, my chest, up over my left shoulder, and down to my fingertips) and gave me the hour-long treatment. It doesn't hurt; it's kind of relaxing. My arm volume did go down a little by the time the hour was up, but by the next day it was just as swollen as before. BUT I was clothed when she did it. She said it didn't matter, but my OT said she thinks it will work much better when I use it on bare skin. I hope she's right.
My dh and I are on the verge of getting a new puppy! We're working with the same breeder who sold us our dog, Marlow. In fact, the mom of the litter we're waiting on is actually Marlow's sister! But there are show people who are interested in these puppies, and they get first priority. So what we're waiting on is for the pups to reach about 8 weeks old, at which time they'll be evaluated for show quality. If one of the pups does not go to a show home, then we'll get him/her. In the meantime, the breeder keeps sending me pictures of the puppies as they're getting older, and I fall in love with them more and more each time. I'm gonna be so upset if we don't get one. I know of a few other breeders somewhat close to us who are expecting litters soon, but we're tired of waiting.
Anyway, that's a not-so-brief update on me. I love you guys and have missed you, and can't wait to read more about how you all have been and are.
Thanks for being patient with me.
Whitney
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Texas: YOU GO GIRL!!! Good luck tomorrow with the breast surgeon. I will be praying that you get your surgery date....SOON!!
Adey: YIPPEEE!!
Sweeney: I worked throughout treatment and all my coworkers were great. Gave me privacy but showed their concern. The funny thing is, some of the ones that were the nicest were the last people you would imagine, go figure! I am sure it will be awkward at first, but like I said everyone will probably be great, so once you get past the "elephant in the room" it will be like old times. I was very upfront and honest with everyone, had nothing I felt I needed to hide, and I think that made it easier. As for the physical aspect, I am not going to lie, it is tiring...but it is also distracting for your mind which I think helps. Keep it busy so it doesn't over think every little thing!
Ann: You are growing some serious hair there...looking great!
Rachel: I think you had the scan today (but I could be wrong...chemo brain). Hope everything went well.
So, I took the Tamoxifen this morning and I didn't blow up or anything, so I guess I am good.
Hope everyone had a great day- Debbi
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Had my scan and now have to wait for results. The scan tech said that results would be ready in a few hours so I left my onc office a message to call me ASAP. As we all know, the waiting is the worst. I will keep you posted. Thanks for the support...this is so hard.
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Ann: I'm jealous of your hair. I have NOTHING on top. How far out from chemo are you?
Rachel: ((((HUGS))))
Wherria: Same as you, my muscle pains didn't start until the last treatment (taxotere) and have lasted several weeks. They are just now starting to ease up (6 weeks PFC). I was given steriod eyedrops for the weepy eyes.
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