August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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BTW, if you all want to a really good, bladder testing laugh, check this out:
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/hartford_cty/man-calls-911-with-pot-law-inquiry
To tap into the audio, click the pic of the 2 newscasters on the upper left hand corner.
It is beyond laughable and so hard to believe! What a moron!
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Lady--good luck in Monday. Hoping that recovery will go well. I had my ovaries removed as part of rad hyst and they used the Davinci robotic system and recovery was really good. I wish you the same! Keep us posted.
So I now truly believe there is such a thing as chemo brain.....my memory is shot to s****! I have conversations and can't remember facts, names etc....eeeeek!
I went to class at my support centre on alternative therapies and they reviewed all kinds of thing like natural remedies, homeopathy, hydrotherapy etc.....once rads are done I am going to try a couple of things. It was so interesting...so many options out there that can help with any lasting problems or just to increase health. I will keep you all posted about what I may try!0 -
Lizzy - Didn't have any stories today, it was just phone calls and appointments. The sleepover is tomorrow night, 5 girls coming over. My DD and I wrote a little skit for them to do. DD will film it. Should be an interesting evening, I'll let you know.0
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another day of being snowed in! We have tons of snow here with a crust over it - you try to walk and you fall through, but the kids can walk on top of it. now it's more ice today--UGH! DD and I were going to go to my brother's church tonight but now we can't. I am sure this isn't helping any of us pull out of this slump around here! I had my packages all set to go to the post office but there's no way I'm touching the roads now. I guess I'm just really sick of winter!
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Cal - How old is your DD? Mine is in 9th grade (only child).0
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Lizzy - To answer your question on rads. They did tell me several times that it would heal - that all this is temporary. Actually, they were the ones who had to warn me that it might take a few days to improve. I was pretty convinced that the day I finished was going to be the worst. It got a little worse before it got better, though. Still, it was about 14 days of discomfort total, and really, compared to chemo, it was nothing. I was very, very fortunate that the hospital where I received my treatments was close by, and the whole thing was kind of a non-event for me.
DH is in Brazil now. He says he thinks I will like it a lot. He says the women are gorgeous. (Hmmmmm....) He also says he misses me like crazy. Serves him right. ;-)
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Good day chemosabes and radicals-
Thankfully no fevers last night but it also concerns me as to where the heck that one came from the other night. Oh well....not worrying about that right now. Trying to figure out if I can make it to Macy's before the storm starts! Another storm.
Omaz: I hope it is a very successful sleepover! May you catch up on sleep next week
Calamtykel: you, sptmm and I all have reason to complain as we have *never* had a winter like this and if this is what winter was like in CT normally, I would not be living here. I know what you mean about the crusty snow and when I did my monthly reconciling I realized I am out $280 in plow services for January alone. I am sure you are inundated with collapsing-roof stories on the nightly news as we are so I decided to explore getting the roof shoveled. The quote was $250 and when I asked about their insurance they said they had it but when I pressed for details like perhaps a policy# etc... I find that the wall was paper and the 5 or 6 calls I made about such services were contractors wanting to make the money and then sue when one of their workers hits the ground. There was a special on the news about the lack of insurance of these "roof" shovelers. Bottom line is if they are shoveling your roof and even though they claimed they had insurance, if they fall you will get sued for damages. I said forget it and I am going to try to get a roof rake myself. So Kel, you are not alone....I am fed up with winter AND the gargantuan out-of-pocket costs. I even my own small snowblower. It would not have been too useful this year but I was not too useful this year! Between chemo, the infection and subsequent hospitalization, I had no choice but I promise you this: if I am feeling better in February, a snowblowing I will go! What is our solace? The groundhog did not see it's shadow!!!!
Lisasinglem: Brazil and men.....yikes! Not such a good combination!
I am going to steam my face with lemons. Good times!
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Lizzy: I hope you wore red to Macy's... I heard you get a discount for Healthy Heart weekend or something.
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Ginger - How is your numbness?0
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Hi All...
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DD and her friends are downstairs talking, laughing, listening to music, being goofy. What a fun group of kids!
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Hi Sohard! How are you doing?0
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Good morning - I just joined weight watchers online. Chemo and all her friends left me with a belly that is not so good-looking. I have been eating well but maintaining and not losing. I need to lose about 20 pounds, 10 pounds from treatment and 10 pounds from before. I need some pointers so my onc office recommended weight watchers as the most effective way they see patients lose weight and maintain the loss!0
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Good morning Omaz, glad to see you survived the gaggle of teenage girls! Did you get any sleep?
Lisa: Brazil sounds sooo warm!! And Sunny!!! I am jealous.
Lizzy: Glad to hear you have been feeling okay. Just think, it is over now!!! You will never go back into the chemo sludge!! And you will begin to feel better every day. Just try not to push too hard, although with your Type A personality that might be difficult.
As I have said before, I am overweight and could probably stand to lose about 30 pounds. However, I am not ready to sacrifice yet, so no Weight Watchers for me. But my diet isn't horrible to begin with so for now I am staying put. I did however decide to add exercise into my day as I told you guys before. My goal right now is to exercise 5 times a week and I will worry about the food intake later. I have also completely sworn off all alcohol intake, I don't like the studies I have read about recurrence and even 2-3 drinks per week. So, I have been walking on the treadmill for 1/2 hour at the gym three days this week and 15 minutes on the bike. Today, I worked up the nerve to go to my first aerobics class. OMG Guys!! I did not realize how out of shape I was. There were time where you were supposed to lift one leg and support yourself with the other, and I swear I thought my leg was going to collapse and I was going to fall on the floor..Good thing I had that balance bar to support me...LOL. But I made it through the whole hour long class and I feel like I really accomplished something. And it was fun! The instructor said we burned like 800 calories....so I thing I will treat myself to a donut..just kidding!
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing okay today. I am going grocery shopping, church, and then another COLD outdoor hockey game! But I told my son if he scores a goal it is all worth it.
Have a great day everyone!
Debbi
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sptmm62 - The good news is that I was so tired I fell sound asleep at 11 while they were watching a movie and when I woke up with a hot flash at 1am they were all sound asleep! I also swore off alcohol when I was diagnosed. I really enjoy beer, but I just do non-alcoholic now and it's fine. I do want to slowly lose weight. I have noticed since all this started that my weight has redistributed in an unflattering way and I think that is my main motivation!0
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Weight- I have gained around 15-20 lb since last June. Only to be told by the PS not to lose any before I have DIEP in Oct. I am really struggling with having to hang on to it that long so that I have enough fat to reconstruct breast. She said I have just enough for a B maybe small Cs. Next onc. appointment I am going to ask if I can move it up to Apr. and just have the port out then and do the rest of my hercp. in veins. I have never been over weight, and really want to start getting in shape.
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Sptmm: good for you on the gym action! I love aerobics. I used to teach. I actually taught at NY Sports on Wall St for a while. If you have ever been there, you know it is one of the oldest banks that was made into a gym and there is a humongous escalator that is OFF, of course, because it is now a gym! Also, the aerobics room is on the 3rd floor and what a great class it was....5AM, sister! I loved step. That was 10 years ago that I taught there. I have a treadmill, recumbent bike, upright bike, gazelle, a number of ab machines, a weider double pro with 2 stack weights totalling 450lbs and a flat bench as well as bosu ball, a number of yoga and medicine balls and rebounder in my home gym. The only piece I want to add this year is an ellipitical and next year I would love to add an Arc trainer but those are $4500 but I do love them so I will make the investment. So, in long, I have a pretty good home gym but I do like heading to a gym for classes on occassion.
In any case, I am sure glad you got back. Mind you, I have this gym but this past year I have not used it nearly as much as I wanted. Also timing: it was February last year when I put the finishing touches on it and this bc business started on St. Pat's, or 3 days after my 40th birthday. Keep up the good work, woman! The most important thing about working out is you feel better. May you have continue and feel better each day
It is a balmy 41 degrees in CT so heading out to do a few things before I come home to watch the beginning of the Super Bowl. I actually really want to hear Christina Aguilera sing the National Anthem. She has some serious pipes and if she never got married, thereby halting her career, I think she would be far more successful today than all those others she started out with like Brittany!
Good day-
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BTW, chemo left me 2 presents: first it took my hair again and I have neuropathy in my left hand. So much fun...so, so much fun!0
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We're finally having a little bit of a meltdown here! A balmy 39 or 40..... think I'm gonna head out for the hammock with my Ipod!
This morning was a sheet of ice all over the whole world here - getting down to the chicken coop was nearly impossible! Still getting that weird dizzy feeling at night - but fine during the day today. I'm finally able to drink a little decaf without going through the ceiling~!
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Hi all,
Just wanted to check in quickly. I've been reading the posts kel - glad you're feeling better. jsw- congrats on finishing chemo!!! lizzy - hope your wound is healing well and that we get a break form all this snow/ice for a while! septmm that is awesome that you are going to the gym!IowaSueMy first ps grabbed my stomach without telling me why and then said I only had enough belly fat for one small b or two small a cups so I wasn't a candidate for a flap. Would have eaten more snickers bars had I known! Try not to worry about the weight, you'll have a tummy tuck with the surgery and then plenty of time to work on things after you heal. I know it's hard though, bc really wreaks havoc on our looks.texas hope you are recuperating well
I'm 4 weeks post chemo and feeling pretty breathless. Hoping it is my asthma and this cold. We switched inhalers so that should help. I was starting to worry I was going into heart failure from chemo. Trying not to get frightened with every symptom but glad I have an echo (for the herceptin) tomorrow to reassure me.
Hope everyone is feeling well. Also hope I'll be able to stay up past 9 again some day:-)
Carolyn
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Good evening chemosabes and radicals-
You all must be resting from your superbowl festivities!
Lady: I hope all went well today and we hear from you again soon. I was just talking about getting a hysterectomy today to try to get rid of the estrogen factory that I no longer need! In any case, hope that ooph went well. Keep us posted.
Ckptry: did you ask for the echo or did they offer because herceptin might have a deleterious effect on your heart? Reason I ask is to even qualify for TAC, and I think you know this from your MSK days, one has to go for a muga scan to make sure the heart is healthy enough to tolerate TAC. At my last chemo meeting with my onc I asked about a post-chemo muga to be sure my heart was relatively unaffected by all of it and he said they usually only do a post-chemo muga if there is suspicion. I told him I want to get back into working out and if this means I have to do 1.5 hours on the treadmill at 2.0 instead of 45 minutes at 4.2 then I *need* to know this. They said they were going to set me up for a muga and apparently that has not happened yet. I made a call about it today and no one got back to me. I want my muga and if they don't order, I will find someone that will. I would think it would be protocol to have a post tx muga. In fact, from what I understood from others who had TAC, a mid-way muga was usually ordered to be sure the heart was still in the range it was upon starting. In any case, let me know if the echo was your idea or their's.
As for feeling breathless, that sucks. It is probably the awful weather and perhaps an asthma flare-up but I would still mention it to your onc or GP. Check to see if a test is in order. Good luck with that. I am so glad that is over. I mean I am in now way back to pre-bc shape but my breathing is no where near as labored as it was on chemo.
JSW: How are you? I hope the last chemo was uneventful and you are feeling well. Let me know how you are.
Texas: where are you?! I know your company is still there but I really hope you are doing well and recovering from surgery. Stop in and let us know what is going on!
Calamtykel: hope you are feeling well and enjoy that decaf!
Sweeney: hope work is well.
Rachel: I completely agree that chemo brain is alive and kicking! I can't stand having conversations where I have to recall details and I stall or the train completely goes off the tracks and I forget what the hell I was talking about!
Keep me posted on the alternative therapies as my joints are killing me. Hydrotherapy sounds really good. I have to seek out some support groups. You seem to be in an area where there is some good support.
Finally, to my 2 Canadian friends on this thread, pop tart and buttertail (!): I totally forget to give credit regarding the best movie ever made that was to have taken place in Canada = "The Whole Nine Yards!!!!" I caught it again over the weekend and remembered something else wonderful about Canada besides the healthcare...don't' get me started....!!!!!!!
I am going to watch some Conan and then go to sleep dreaming of having my own massive, jetted tub and 2 cabana boys to do massages whenever I need! Dreams! Ugh...this chemo left me at the bar, laying on the floor, trampled!
When will Japan make a massaging Assimo?!?!?Goodnight all-
You all must be resting from your superbowl festivities!
Lady: I hope all went well today and we hear from you again soon. I was just talking about getting a hysterectomy today to try to get rid of the estrogen factory that I no longer need! In any case, hope that ooph went well. Keep us posted.
Ckptry: did you ask for the echo or did they offer because herceptin might have a deleterious effect on your heart? Reason I ask is to even qualify for TAC, and I think you know this from your MSK days, one has to go for a muga scan to make sure the heart is healthy enough to tolerate TAC. At my last chemo meeting with my onc I asked about a post-chemo muga to be sure my heart was relatively unaffected by all of it and he said they usually only do a post-chemo muga if there is suspicion. I told him I want to get back into working out and if this means I have to do 1.5 hours on the treadmill at 2.0 instead of 45 minutes at 4.2 then I *need* to know this. They said they were going to set me up for a muga and apparently that has not happened yet. I made a call about it today and no one got back to me. I want my muga and if they don't order, I will find someone that will. I would think it would be protocol to have a post tx muga. In fact, from what I understood from others who had TAC, a mid-way muga was usually ordered to be sure the heart was still in the range it was upon starting. In any case, let me know if the echo was your idea or their's.
As for feeling breathless, that sucks. It is probably the awful weather and perhaps an asthma flare-up but I would still mention it to your onc or GP. Check to see if a test is in order. Good luck with that. I am so glad that is over. I mean I am in now way back to pre-bc shape but my breathing is no where near as labored as it was on chemo.
JSW: How are you? I hope the last chemo was uneventful and you are feeling well. Let me know how you are.
Texas: where are you?! I know your company is still there but I really hope you are doing well and recovering from surgery. Stop in and let us know what is going on!
Calamtykel: hope you are feeling well and enjoy that decaf!
Sweeney: hope work is well.
Rachel: I completely agree that chemo brain is alive and kicking! I can't stand having conversations where I have to recall details and I stall or the train completely goes off the tracks and I forget what the hell I was talking about!
Keep me posted on the alternative therapies as my joints are killing me. Hydrotherapy sounds really good. I have to seek out some support groups. You seem to be in an area where there is some good support.
Finally, to my 2 Canadian friends on this thread, pop tart and buttertail (!): I totally forget to give credit regarding the best movie ever made that was to have taken place in Canada = "The Whole Nine Yards!!!!" I caught it again over the weekend and remembered something else wonderful about Canada besides the healthcare...don't' get me started....!!!!!!!
I am going to watch some Conan and then go to sleep dreaming of having my own massive, jetted tub and 2 cabana boys to do massages whenever I need! Dreams! Ugh...this chemo left me at the bar, laying on the floor, trampled!
When will Japan make a massaging Assimo?!?!?0 -
My stomach/belly has always been the place I gain weight the most, so last June I was tickled pink when the PS said I had "barely" enough stomach to make breasts. Of course now, after chemo and no exercise for 6 months, I could contribute enough fat for all of us to have some nice sized boobs!
My laproscopic ooph yesterday went well. I was in and out in 4 hours, they don't waste any time! They make 3 small incisions, the largest is through the belly button, which is where they pull your ovaries out. I slept all day yesterday after getting home. Last night I had some fairly bad shoulder pain, which the doc said was common with the type of anesthetic they used. I still haven't figured out how you get shoulder pain from ovary surgery. I've been awake now since 3 a.m., I guess from sleeping so much yesterday. My shoulder pain is gone, and my belly button is hurting this morning, which makes more sense to me! I'm going to take a pain pill and go back to bed as soon as DH gets up at 6 and leaves. Hope you all are doing well and thanks for all the prayers and good wishes on my surgery. You ladies are the best!
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Hi everyone!
Lady: Glad everything went well. Rest is a good idea. You will be up and about In no time. As for borrowing some bellyfat, thanks for the offer, but I have at least two C's worth myself if I ever need it, LOL!
Texas: Hope you are doing good!
Lizzy: Definitely insist on the MUGA. I did not receive Adriamycin because of a history of rheumatoid arthritis, which put me at risk for heart trouble, and a prior bout with pericarditis. Even after that, chemo left me with an "unexplained abnormal EKG". The onco swears it couldn't be the Taxotere or Cytoxan but I find it very odd that I had two perfectly normal EKGs before chemo and two definitely abnormal EKGs after chemo! Anyway, nothing too serious just needs to be monitored. I passed my stress test so they say I do not have to limit my activities in any way. Still, I would rather have a normal EKG. On the neuropathy, I had it in my hands and feet when I finished chemo. It is gone from my hands, but I still have a kind of "falling asleep feeling" in the bottoms of my feet. But all in all, time has improved it.
Omaz: Glad to hear that the party went well. I know teenagers often get a bad rap, but in dealing with my kids and their friends, I am often amazed at what great kids they are.
Ckptry: Hope you start to feel better soon! It is very hard not to panic with every symptom, something we are all struggling to manage.
Calam: Glad to hear you are feeling better!
Rachel: On the chemo brain..it is very frustrating! I used to have an amazing memory, and I am incredibly frustrated at its loss! The good news is that I have noticed over the past week or so, that it is improving...so I am hopeful.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Debbi
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Hello ladies! I am recovering well from my last chemo on Friday. Fortunately the Abraxane treats me pretty well so I am feeling good. Yesterday I went for a follow-up with my surgeon (an all-day event because I had my surgery done at a major medical center 2.5 hours away) and he thought everything looked good. I had a lumpectomy and a re-excision back in May & June and at the re-excision they still saw a few cancer cells. But the surgeon says they were in the epithelial layer (I probably spelled that wrong), which is the layer just below the skin. Apparently that is where the cells travel from the tumor site to the lymph nodes. Anyway, he felt like the few cells that may have been left behind there after the re-excision would have been killed/will be killed by the chemo & radiation combo so he does not feel that I need another re-excision at this point. He is going to discuss it with the "tumor board" at that hospital (including med onc and rad onc) and let me know for sure next week but he feels like no more surgery. So that is good news and means I can get moving on to rads.
Lady Glad to hear you are doing well post-surgery!
Texas Hope you are also doing well post-surgery, I hope you are recuperating and enjoying having family around to take care of you!
Cal Glad to hear you are doing better!
Debbi Good for you for getting to the gym! I'm impressed!
Carolyn I hope your heart scan goes well and that you are feeling better soon. I'm still trying to kick the remnants of a cold from a couple of weeks ago and it is annoying!
Rachel I am totally having chemo brain too, it takes me longer to remember things than usual and overall I am more forgetful. I am hopeful that it will improve as I get farther away from chemo.
Lizzy You should definitely insist on a heart scan. My onc prefers MUGA scans to EKGs so that is what I have been getting. When you are on herceptin it is standard to do one every 3 months but my onc also did one after the AC before getting the herceptin going (due to heart risks from both herceptin and A, they don't give both at the same time). I am due for another MUGA this month, my onc's office is supposed to be scheduling it but I haven't heard anything yet.
I hope everyone is having a good day!
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Hi everyone--I am in the home stretch of rads--3 more full breast rads to go along with 5 boosters next week. My skin has held up extremely well--I have put so much cream on it -- I think that I am on my fourth LARGE TUB of cream. I do feel a little tired but nothing major. Hoping that my skin will hang in there. I have my checkup next week for my 1st cancer and after that, I think that I will be free of Docs for a while.
Lady--Glad surgery went well. I remember I had shoulder pain from my rad hyst and they said it was due to the surgery as they used some robot on me and in that surgery you are harnessed in and turned upside down. My one shoulder was hurting afterwards. When they explained the surgery to me, I thought it sounded more like an amusement park ride. Good thing I was out cold.
I was reading another post on another thread from someone indicating that the doc told them they were "cancer free" after finishing rads/chemo. My Doc did not say anything like that to me..When I asked him--he said that the cancer tumour is gone and that the treatment will help to reduce recurrance from any pesky cells that may have escaped but not until certain timeframe will they say NED (no evidence of disease). Just curious what others have experienced? Maybe my Doc is conservative??
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Good afternoon Ladies, my onc told me bc is different than other cancer in that most cancers after treatment declare you out of the woods or cancer free if it doesn't reoccur in 5 years. With bc cancer they don't consider you out of the woods ever because woman have had recurrence 20 + years. Anyone else been told this? I think once you have it there is always a slight risk of it coming back. Hopefully for the her2neu gals herceptin changes all this. Hopefully they come up with something for all others. I know a lady in the town where I live just had reoccurance after 13 years she is her2neu only but 13 years ago they didn't have herceptin to give her now she is getting it. It came back right next to a large vein in her neck and they can't operate on it because it is to close to that vein. For me I will be doing a lot of hope and praying for the rest of my life.
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Rachel: this topic of NED/Cancer-free has come up quite a bit for me lately. I see cancer as a lifelong disease and I feel that now that I have had it, I am sort of a card carrying member of cancer country. I would never even want a doctor to speculate about me being cancer-free etc... because they have absolutely no clue. They can't see every cell, the scans don't pick the cells up until they have clustered into tumors large enough to show and that is about where we stand in our worldwide fight against cancer. I don't think we are ever in or out of it but it is of us. Our bodies makes the cells every day so all we can do is try to eat right, avoid ingesting carcinogenics (!), get some exercise and hope for the best. I would not ever get wound up about if I was cancer-free or not but just that I am feeling better.
The RO I saw at Yale summed it up quite nicely in regards to chemo and rads: chemo is the blanket and rads is mop up! The 2 together should give us all a pretty good chance to stay healthy and that is about all we can hope for. The rest is semantics!
Iowa: I heard the 20 year thing also and for that reason bc patients are never considered "cured."
Good day-
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Lizzie--Love that saying from your RO--sums it up pretty good.
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Hi all,
Had echo and it's normal! Lizzy- they're doing it because I'm getting herceptin - there's a risk of heart failure with Adriamycin as well as Herceptin, so they do echocardiograms periodically if you're getting both b/c the risk is higher. This was my third so far - the onc told me it was time for another, first once since finishing chemo.
Carolyn
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Carolyn - Glad the echo was normal. I had another MUGA last week. I haven't heard anything yet, but since the last one was normal, I'm not too worried. I get my next Herceptin infusion next Tuesday, so I suppose I'll get the results then.
I'm heading off EARLY in the morning to see my parents and their new house for the first time. They moved last summer, and I was supposed to go visit them the week after I was diagnosed, but put it off so I could be here for dr. appointments. It should be a nice weekend in Durango!
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