August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Good evening, warriors!
I just love the Emmys! It is my fav and I do so enjoy seeing what everyone is wearing, men and women, and what designers etc...! It is a guilty pleasure but not as bad as my newly-acquired, guiltiest of pleasures, "Honey Boo Boo!!!!" I watch about 5 minutes of it and I almost feel embarrassed, like it is not on a cable TV and like I am looking through a key hole! Just startling!
In any case, I wanted to pass along this link to a very promising development in bc research that I found in the NY Times today, as follows: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/health/study-finds-variations-of-breast-cancer.html?_r=0
Remember, right click and select "open in new tab/window" to get to the article. This is a pretty big deal. I hope there is breakthrough soon.
Felisa: wow! You certainly do have a lot going on. Honestly, though, if you did not before bc, you most likely would have after anyway!
Hope your nails are doing better.
Hope everyone had a good weekend-
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Good evening, warriors!
I just love the Emmys! It is my fav and I do so enjoy seeing what everyone is wearing, men and women, and what designers etc...! It is a guilty pleasure but not as bad as my newly-acquired, guiltiest of pleasures, "Honey Boo Boo!!!!" I watch about 5 minutes of it and I almost feel embarrassed, like it is not on a cable TV and like I am looking through a key hole! Just startling!
In any case, I wanted to pass along this link to a very promising development in bc research that I found in the NY Times today, as follows: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/health/study-finds-variations-of-breast-cancer.html?_r=0
Remember, right click and select "open in new tab/window" to get to the article. This is a pretty big deal. I hope there is breakthrough soon.
Felisa: wow! You certainly do have a lot going on. Honestly, though, if you did not before bc, you most likely would have after anyway!
Hope your nails are doing better.
Hope everyone had a good weekend-
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There must be a problem with this site as I don't know why else posts are showing up 2 and 3 times?!0
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That happened to me a day ago. I thought it was me fat fingering the controls.
I have recorded the opening for the Emmys and have no idea what I didn't record the Emmys. I am an old musical theatre girl. One of my theatre kids opened yesterday in Mama Mia on Broadway. I am so proud of her.
I will see Wicked for time 4 or 5 in November and then Book of Mormon in January. Obviously tour shows so we will lose so much scenery and usually some cast too. I will still be happy to see them. There are SO many shows on Broadway that I would love to see but can't imagine I will get there.
Laters
Ginger
Hugs Ginger
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That happened to me a day ago. I thought it was me fat fingering the controls.
I have recorded the opening for the Emmys and have no idea what I didn't record the Emmys. I am an old musical theatre girl. One of my theatre kids opened yesterday in Mama Mia on Broadway. I am so proud of her.
I will see Wicked for time 4 or 5 in November and then Book of Mormon in January. Obviously tour shows so we will lose so much scenery and usually some cast too. I will still be happy to see them. There are SO many shows on Broadway that I would love to see but can't imagine I will get there.
Laters
Ginger
Hugs Ginger
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girl i have caught a cold i just feel awful. my nails is doing ok. just keep me in your prayers.
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Sorry to hear you have a cold. I kept my finger nails but all my toe nails came off. It didn't hurt so at least that is good to know.
I don't know why I had the Emmy's mixed u p with the Tony's ??????
Terrible sleep, I have been ahving lots of migraines when I usually only have them maybe 2 times a month or less. These past couple weeks now I have been having them every other day! The only change I can see is that it is dark earlier and I see the TV reflected off the front window and in the past flickering reflections have been a trigger for me. We put a piece of cardboard in the window to block the reflection I hope it works. Back in Illinois we would have closed the drapes, here it is so dark that many if not most people don't even use draperies, just blinds.
Laters
Ginger
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i have been having bad headaches also and my blood pressure has been up. i havent lost my toe nails or finger nails yet i hope i dont. i have never lost them. im taking robitussin for my cold and vitamins.
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Hope everyone is doing well. I had my gyne oncologist checkup today and got the all clear---still have to wait for test results but Doc said she thinks all is good. I have had some abdominal pain lately but it seems as though it is just that...a pain...nothing more. I get a reprieve from Oncologists until February. I have to get my blood checked again this week to see how my thyroid medication is/is not working. Work is crazy busy, hockey has started for the kids, fall is here. We are heading to Rochester for a hockey tournament on the Canadian Thanksgiving...get some cross border shopping done!
Happy Tuesday.
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Good day, warriors!
I sure hope we don't have to go to war because I am down quite a few of you all!! I hope everyone is doing well and thinking about cancer less and less every day.
I was at the hospital today and there was a young woman next to me who recently had a bmx. She was so miserable and petrified, it was scary. I was never that dark. I never took this disease too seriously nor did I take it to heart. For me the issue came down to a very definitive point: why would I? It is 100% out of my control and we have no idea from where it comes or where it goes (yes, this is "Aerosmith"-ish!!!) so I filed it in the "whatever" category. I was trying to talk to her and cheer her up and a few minutes in I realized I am pretty much reaching burn out on all things cancer. I am really tired of the whole damn thing!! This thread, however, is about chemo "before, during and after" so I hope we all still stop by to share updates on our "after" lives!!******Sweeney******: any updates??!! I am very concerned and wondering what is going on with you. I would like to know how things are going and what, if any, conclusions they have drawn re: your bone scan hot spot. I hope things are going well.
Rachel: have fun with that cross-border shopping! Reminds me of when I was 18, on my first "no-parent" vacation to Los Angeles. Well, of course it was very difficult to find a rental car agency for 18 year olds but we found it, drove to San Diego and then decided we wanted to go to Mexico. We remembered the rental joker telling us "you can't take it to Mexico" so we parked in border parking and walked across. One friend took a cab to Tijuana (whacko!) and my other friend and I stayed and did some "cross-border" shopping which fast turned to running across the pedestrian bridge at the border as we were being chased by about 5 Mexican men! Once we were on the other side, close to customs, we did a bit of border shopping off the pavement of the highway!!!! I hope your shopping is less risky and more fulfilling!!!!! It is just when you mentioned "cross border" it reminded me of my Mexican venture!
I am sure your abdominal pains are nothing at all. It is so hard for me to remember that pre-bc I had tons of aches and pains that surely had nothing to do with crappy bc! I hope your thyroid med is working. It is a tricky thing to regulate. I met the loveliest woman walking to the parking garage at Yale a few weeks back who, at 71 (she looked *fab!*), got it removed b/c it was chock full of nodules. She was talking about coming up on the med and how she was feeling so much better. I hope you, too, are feeling better
Ginger: "Wicked" is the best!!!!! I am tempted to go to the Shubert to see "Jersey Boys" next week. I am more for repertory theater and off-Broadway but occasionally there are Bway shows that catch my attention. Right now friends in NYC are working on an off-Broadway production and, as I owe my friend a favor and he called it in, I have been doing a sound project for them. It is an intensely urban theme and so I have been using my "rap" collection to capture samples for them for the past few months. It is a fun project. I worked in theater for a few years when I was in college. It was fun and I met so many actors (Pacino, Robards, saw Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn do "Love Letters," Berenger etc..) and I must say I enjoyed what were experimental stage productions of Michael Henry Brown at that time. Good stuff. My all time favorite was seeing Jessica and Hume do Love Letters, however! I had front row seats also! It was like I was on stage with them! Such good stuff!
I hope your migraines go the heck away soon. One of my nurses, who is such a nice lady, suffers from those. A few weeks ago she was here and was so sick , I was worried about her making the ½ hour ride home. I hope you are feeling better.Felisa: be careful if you have a "cold." You really need to let your onc know. There is some wicked respiratory/bronchitis going around here in the Northeast. When on chemo you have to take everything much more seriously. Glad you still have your nails
They might not go but rather will just turn a darker color. That happened with a few of mine. Hope you are feeling ok today.It is so hard for me to focus on typing AND Jeopardy!!!!!!! I absolutely love Jeopardy! Alas I am trying to build up my ambidexterous coffers once again!!
Happy trails, girls!
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I tell Onc about the Migraines today at check up. had about 9 in the last couple weeks. Way too many for my history. I have Dexa Scan this AM. Blood work too. I really don't want to go to the Doc's anymore. I am glad they are there but I too am tired of it, don't want to think about it anymore and you know, I am so damn lucky I don't actually HAVE TOO just now.
Love you all, Ginger
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Ginger: I am very, very tired of heading off to the docs. You are correct in that you are lucky you don't "have to" right now. Unfortunately I still have to but soon, I am hoping, I will be able to stop having doc appts for a while.
Good luck with your migraines; I feel for you.
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Morning ladies!
Ginger - thoughts going out to you on your migraines. I know they are not fun! Did the doctor have any suggestions?
Sweeney - It is good to hear that the doctor is going to check again in a few months. You would certainly think if they were super worried, they would be investigating further right now. I am sure, like so many other stories you hear, that it will be nothing. I want to tell you to try to keep your mind off of it, but I know how difficult that can be. Prayers and hugs!
Rachel - Glad to hear that the doctor is giving the all clear. The abdominal pain thing stinks though. It is always unsettling when you have random pains. It is amazing though, how many people have pain all the time without having cancer. Hope you are feeling better.
Felis - Hang in there! It is a tough road but you can do it. Hope you are feeling better and your cold is going away. So many people have all kinds of colds right now in our area.
Debbi - When is your surgery scheduled for? Do you have a date? I had plenty of abdominal area for them to use. My replacements are a little larger than the originals. Not necessarily what I would have chosen, but they are only slighly larger. The doctor told me he went a little bigger because you can always go back and decrease the size, harder to increase. I just do not want any other surgeries!
Hope everyone has a great day!
Michelle
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Onc appt went well. I return in 6 mo maybe less after that. I go for mammo in Jan. I couldn't do my Dexa scan because I forgot and took calcium, so I go for that on Oct 9. I have a new rx for migraine, the worst part is not having my old meds because they stopped making it. That medicine worked for me since I was about 20. The onc told me that brain mets present differently than my increased migraines. I was glad to hear that. I actually got a migraine right in the Oncs examining room.
I am still on Aromasin. The joint pain was so bad a couple weeks ago that I was going to sak for a vacation from Aromasin andnow the pain is pretty well gone. Miracle. I wonder if it could be involved in my migraine? Hm.
We may have rain today for the first time in months. The trees seem okay but I am sure they would like a drink. The forest fires could do with lots of rain.
Take care of yourselves and have a good weekend.
Love Ginger
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i was admitted in the hospital on thursday so they could give me antibiotics through my port. they gave me two options and thats to wear a sports bra which i have been wearing or get my breast removed. i still have a lot of fluid in my left breast and it still hurts bad. we got some rain today.
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Hi ladies! I did chemo with u guys,lurked and learned a lot. I remember in particular texasrose coz both of us were diagnosed at an early part of our lyf. I will come on some more to share experiences!!!
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Hi rae!
felis - I am sorry to hear that you had to go to the hospital. I hope the antibiotics are helpful.
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Hi omaz... How has your health been since treatment? I hav been doing good. I did 6 rounds of tac chemo. I had a mastectomy. Rads was next. I am on tamoxifen for 22 months. Still a long way to go on that! I do zolodex injections every 3months. Have 2 more injections left!!
What treatments r u girls still on? Any suppliments?0 -
yes the antibiotics is helping i have to continue takin them because the fluid in my breast is not going out like it should, but my breast is going down some i been using ice for the swelling
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Good evening, warriors-
Sorry I have been gone for a few days. I hope everyone is doing well.
A few days ago at the hospital I met a woman who was a Stage II also. She said everything "they" need to know shows up in bloodwork. She is getting treated at the same hospital I am and they don't use tumor markers. Does anyone understand that statement? What shows in bloodwork? I thought it was an odd thing to say but I did not explore that comment. I think us bc girls are going through too much without being questioned by other bc patients about their comments!!!!
Rae786: welcome, our friendly ghost!!! Nice of you to hop on and post!!! Texasrose is doing fine although she now has 4 children she is caring for and we hear from her much less now. I am so glad to hear you are doing well! Good news.
Omaz: how are you? How are you feeling these days? I hope all is well and your dd is enjoying having her license
Rachel: how was the border shopping? I remembered you can get pretty cheap booze!!! Yeah, that is where my head is at!!
Sptmm: how are you, woman? The final countdown!!! Just a few weeks away! I hope everything is going well with you. I was thinking of you this afternoon and was reminded what a great choice it was to do that lengthy, and scary for just that reason, surgery. I promise you, the symmetry is all but perfect *and* I look just about as I did before bmx. I think you are going to be very happy with your choice.
Sweeney: I did not lose my mind! I know you have the check-up in 2 mos but I just want you to talk about it. Perhaps you are in Ecuador! Oh, another story (very colorful) about Ecuador: a lady was a venture capitalist and had millions, if not billions. She had developed some properties on the "Gold Coast" in CT. In any case, she had a lot of work crews. She sent a crew, with some workers from Ecuador, to Ecuador to work on a development project there. One of the women on her crew was 54 with a pacemaker. She got hooked up with some 20 year old guy and MARRIED him when they got back to the states!!!! Not joking when I tell you I just saw her about a year ago and they are still married, 5 years and counting!!!!! On that note, I hope you are having a good time there!!! He he he!!
Calamtykel: I stopped at my friend's "farm" a few days ago and she had some chicks and I thought of you immediately! They are so cute! She is trying to convince me, and herself, that she will one day use them for food....I doubt it! She is loving those little jokers! Hope you are well.
Ckptry: I hope this school year is going better for you than the past few. Of course, as you are stronger and healthier this year, surely the drama has died down now that you would be better able to handle it! I hope you are doing well.
Ladyinbama: I was, you guessed it (!!!), at the hospital today and there was a nurse that went to Auburn!! She and another patient were fervently discussing football season and I thought of you immediately! I would later tell her you were a huge fan as well! She gave me a myopic view into "Auburn Mania" and that certain "corner" that is decorated I think? I forget. Just wanted to let you know you were squarely on my mind today
Texas: miss you, girl! Hope you are doing well
Ginger: I am glad to hear your onc appt went well. It is such a great sign when we have to go less and less!!! Good times, woman! The mammo in Jan is a little scary but I am sure you will be fine. Best of luck with the new migraine med and your upcoming dexa scan.
You must have been wicked relieved to be told brain mets would present differently. I would have been a wreck so, on that note, I am very happy you got that news. How long have you been on aromasin? Just wondering. It very well could be involved with your migraine. Don't forget, it takes us 3-6 months to come up on these meds. I would check back as to when you started it.I hope you had a good weekend, too.
Mommichelle: so funny about your foobs as I also ended up with slightly larger! I think mine will still go down a bit but I am not complaining about that tummy tuck!!!! Not at all! I am so happy with the results, it is just amazing what they can do for us. Like I was telling Deb in a previous post, it is one of the best decisions I have made in a long time.
So how are you doing? How are your follow-ups? Any scans? Just wondering what your annual stuff looks like.
Felisa: I think it was serendipitous you came to our thread as you and I are starting to sound like we are writing the same story about our bc experience!!!!! You poor thing, I am sorry to hear you were hospitalized although what I am starting to appreciate is that someone was watching you close enough to catch it and get you in that hospital.
What you should ask them for is Furosemide to help you move the fluid in your breast pocket. It is a water pill although I don't know if they will give it to you on chemo. Also the sports bra is for compression. Wear it as much as you can possibly tolerate because it may very well force that fluid out of your breast area and help your body to reabsorb that fluid. If I were you, and I could tolerate 2 sports bras, I would wear 2. That is really maximum compression. They have to be a decent quality. After 20 years in gyms, I can safely say Champion makes one of the best sports bras. My breasts were big before bc and a friend and I, when we would run, had to wear 2 sports bras so I know it can be uncomfortable but I am only pretty sure it will help you.
Ok, well it is time for to give all my attn to "The Voice!!!!" I am addicted...or is it Adam...or is it Blake....oh, I just don't know!??!!
Happy trails, all-
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Lizzie..I am also a Voice fan...lately, I haven't been watching much TV but try to make time for that! We are heading away this coming weekend to the US for hockey tournament...this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving so we should make it home in time for Thanksgiving dinner with the family on Monday.
Hope everyone is well. The weather has really turned into Fall here..I love this time of the year and after the sweltering heat of the summer, I am happy for a change.
Sadly, my MIL has taken a turn for the worse. Not sure if anyone remembers but my MIL was diagnosed with colon cancer about 4 years ago and around the time that I was diagnosed with breast cancer--she was diagnosed with mets from colon cancer...she had part of her lung removed and has been on palliative chemo for the last year. She took a break from chemo for a couple of months and suddenly had much weezing...her CT scan has showed progression and tomorrow she will find out what the next steps may be. She has been battling these damn mets for two years---firstly in peritoneal and then lungs then liver. Damn cancer...everyday I turn around and I hear about someone else.
If anyone hasn't watched it yet...I highly recommend the documentary Pink Ribbons....shows where all this money raised is actually spent....I'm trying to remind all my friends to "Think before they Pink"....put the money where it will be useful..not buying pink ribbon yoghurt etc.
Have a great week.
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Rachel: I will definitely watch the documentary "Pink Ribbons." I am very concerned about where all this money goes.
As for "The Voice," you have to watch! Not sure if you are aware but Christina and CeeLo are not going to be on next season but rather Usher and Shakira are in their place. Both have said it is b/c of wanting to work on solo projects and that is possible but I just wonder! They will be back for season 4. Christina picked up tonight a 16 year old that has the potential to win this competition! I was happy for her. I own everything Christina ever did and I think I know every lyric to every song on "Stripped." What a voice on that woman.
I am so sorry to hear about your MIL. I feel the same way you do about learning every day someone else has cancer. Just today, I was in the hospital and an elderly couple was talking to me. She was telling me how she and her husband had skin cancer. They were really distraught and so upset. I did not even have the heart (nor the interest) in telling them I am in a cancer battle as well. At times like that I like to remember we were born with 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason! I don't know, this disease is just ubiquitous.
More to this point, years ago I went to an astrology event in NYC with a friend who was really into it. He felt the stars guided us and I should go along with him! It was a Tuesday night so I gave in!! I was fairly impressed with her and as a result I periodically read my monthly scope on her site. Today when I went to her site I found a message about her beloved mother having passed on. She had written such a beautiful tribute to her mother and one excerpt I wanted to share with you all:
"....don't you know you were hand picked by God to have this painful illness? What If I told you that your pain might take away someone else's pain in the world?" I was so surprised at this new idea that she had just offered me - that my pain could actually be used for a good and noble purpose. It was so intriguing, that I was momentarily stunned...."
I really thought this was very poignant. This was her mother, to her, when she was a 9 year old child, bed-ridden for the entire summer with a leg problem. In any case, I often reflect on the very notion. I just thought it was well-written and as we travel on down this road, perhaps this will offer some solace at some point.
Now for some entertainment!!! A guy I have known for years and years who is a bit of a loser (I am being nice!) had the audacity to call me this weekend to find out if I was going to be eligible for the new "medical marijuana" program in Connecticut b/c of my cancer!!!!! I have no interest in such a program, even on my death bed, and certainly find such questions appalling! I hung up! People are just insane! Although I do fully understand why it was made medically legal in CT and that some people really need it and find it comforting. It certainly has its place for people who are suffering, in pain and now have that option.
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That loser has some balls! (c:
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Ginger: meant to tell you I met a guy a few days ago who told me he was having success controlling his migraines using biofeedback. You might want to.check into it.
Yankees just tied Boston in the 9th!!!! Good times!
Sweeney and Rachel: Happy Thanksgiving0 -
what is biofeedback
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Good day, warriors!
There has been a study done at UConn Medical Center connecting iron levels to breast cancer development or proliferation. They mentioned in particular one type of iron, feroportin, as potentially being the culprit. Still it was hard for me to discern if we should have more or less iron and they remarked repeatedly taking "supplements" will not have any effect on a person's ability to avoid this or head this off. I was unable to unearth more info. I know from the first oncologic surgeon who delivered the bc news to me and how she told me cancer starts. In laymens terms she basically said either the cell did not (for reasons completely unknown) call for the protein delivery or the truck showed up and the cell would not answer the door!! I know it sounds silly but protein is terribly involved in the catalyst for cancer starting.
This development does not mean much today but alas it is a step in the right direction. Sometimes I find it frustrating they just can't isolate what is going on with these cells. And then I take a deep breath..!
Felisa: it is a machine that is sent to your home and I think the guy said he clips it on his finger etc.. and when the migraine comes on, it gives information about what is going on in your body. Somehow or another they are able to regulate migraines based on this feedback. That is all I know!
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ok ty. well off to get my chemo fri, then try to celebrate my birthday this weekend sunday is my birthday but im going to celebrate it on sat.
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Hope everyone is doing well. We were away in Rochester for a hockey tournament all weekend and got back today--just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow at my in-laws. The weather has gone from warm to freezing in a matter of days...time to start digging out the winter clothes!
Have a great week.
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Hi rachel! It's starting to cool off here too. My daughter and I were out walking this evening and that was a slight chill to the air - very nice. You guys didn't get much of a fall!0
