August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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I'm sorry Kimmie - it is a horrible feeling. I didn't eat much four days post chemo. Suddenly I found that I desperately wanted cottage cheese and I ate a whole container of it. :0) the appetite will come and when it does, it will be sort of sudden. Don't worry about eating too much - even a spoonful or two of yogurt every half hour will help your tummy not be empty and will feel a little better. Just be sure if you're doing liquids and no foods to get your electrolytes in there somehow - plain Pedialyte or some such thing. Hang in there!
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Hi dear chemosabes! (Now why doesn't the spell check recognize that word?)
Just have to vent. Best friend calls to check in. Best friend knows from earlier conversation how sick I feel, how depressed I am, how lonely I am because my dh hasn't been around in days (working) and I'm running a fever so staying away from people, and that I've been crying for a week straight over my dog's untimely and sudden death.
Best friend: "How's your day been?"
Whitney: "About what you'd expect I guess. Sad. Lonely. Feeling like crap. Depressed."
Best friend: "Why?! What's the matter?!" (emphasis not added)
Internal Whitney voice: "Oh, nothing much. I'm just having a really hard time with CHEMOTHERAPY. I can't go anywhere because of CHEMOTHERAPY. I've been alone for most of three days because my Bubba is away, and because of CHEMOTHERAPY. And, oh yeah, MY DOG JUST DIED!"
Is it me? Am I being unreasonable? Or can the people who are supposed to understand the most just really be that clueless?
I just said, "I'm very sad, and feeling very sick."
Best friend: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
UUURRGGGHH!
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WHITNEY: Let that internal voice turn external. Tell her why you feel the way you do and let her deal with your realities not hers. Remember she doesn't know what's on this blog and doesn't realize how much your suffering, tell her what you've told all of us here and let her take it from there. Best of luck to you and hope that you feel more at peace soon.
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I had a really sucky day - just have to vent. I went out to some garage sales with my 4 kids. We pulled onto a street that had cars parked on both sides and the large van in front of me pulled over on the side of the road at the garage sale. I went to pass him to take the next spot a carlength up. He instead pulls out just as my nose is at about the back door of his car. I honked him figuring he didn't see me. He continued to pull out - there wasn't room for him to get out and I passed him. I was going to take the next parking spot until I realized he was honking his horn like crazy and screaming -so the rational person in me said "We're getting out of here." and I continued on the road with him RIGHT on my tail, screaming, in this residential neighborhood with tons of people at the garage sale witnessing this fiasco.
He ran right up to my bumper and then PASSES Me somehow - I don't even know how since there were cars on boths sides, gets in front of me and slams on his brakes. I had to stop fast - we were only going 25 or so. and he blocks us. Mind you, I'm a chemo mom with four kids in a mini van....how antagnoizing could I POSSIBLY be??
So he pulls over on the side of the road - and I pass him and he starts this whole scene over again - gets on my bumper, tries to run me OFF the road by getting parallel to me and pulling his nose to block me and finally gets in front of me and slams on his brakes. I was getting REALLY scared - I was almost in tears by now. Meanwhile he's screaming and yelling -he was a BIG guy and obviously a BAD bully.
We finally got parallel to each other and I stopped. I yelled out my window "What ARE you doing??" He starts on this tirade - screaming that I should have STOPPED and let him out -that HE was being a good driver and pulling over to let other cars through. There WERE no cars to let through - the one car that had been coming the other way had pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road and gone to the garage sale.
He continued to yell and scream - meanwhile he had two children in the car who were screaming and crying - they must have been absolutely terrified. I pulled away and he continued to scream and then he screeched into a driveway (his?) and almost hit the car in the driveway. And we left.
I can't tell you how pissed off I am that this major piece of scum pulled this. I really can't believe he jeopardized the lives of his children and of mine as well. I guess I"m lucky he didn't pull a gun - the way he was screaming with his window down at me, I was waiting for him to get out of the car and pull me onto the street. And he did this in his own neighborhood in front of tons of witnesses at the garage sale - there was a second sale farther down, so they witnessed it also.
Part of me wishes I'd called the police then and there, but on the other hand I just wanted to get AWAY from this piece of scum of the earth. I've pretty much been upset about this ever since-I absolutely cannot understand what in the world he was so insane about as to try to run us into parked cars or onto someone's lawn. It was SO dangerous and he could tell I was upset and clearly didn't give a crap.
I think there should be an written cosmic rule that if we are dealing with BC we shouldn't have to deal this kind of crap that comes up from everyday life!
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Calamtykel - thanks for the greats words, I am starting to feel nausous again. I think the smell of dinner is doing it, suppose to have tacos, sigh and it was my idea. Now I dont know if I should even try to eat anything. I would take the aches to being nausous, I hate it so. I wonder if I can take the compazene the dr gave me for when I was on the trial. LoL I keep sneezing too, and everytime I sneeze the nausea lessons, then about 10 min later starts to come back, how silly is that.
Wherria - I am sorry to hear you are feeling so down. Im sure your BF meant well, I just dont think all people understand unless they have gone through it themselves. And Onemonga is right, maybe you need to be alittle more explicit with her. I hope that things work out, I am sorry about your dog, on top of everything else, definitely something you did not need. Hugs
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Calamtykel - WOW... im just not sure what else to say. I dont know how you held it together, but you did and you and your children are safe. WOW... what a jerk he was, and I found ironic that he says he was being a good driver... hahahaha..... he sure did prove how wrong he was. Im glad you and your children are safe. HUGS
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It just goes to show how incredibly self-absorbed and closed off some people are - all 3 of these stories: The woman watching porn while driving, Wherria's best friend, Calamtykel's crazy driver. I guess all we can do is be as present and loving in our own selves and in our own lives.
Taking a deep breath now. Acupuncture was really good today.
I do think that Oprah's pledge should add a "No Porn while Driving" aspect to it. :-)
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Kimmie: I found that story quite humorous!!!! I think this economy is making people weird and bored!
Calamtykel: speaking of weird, that guy was in full road rage. I think it is best you did not contact the police because people that run that HOT are lunatics and, please I have police officers in my family, they all seem to know a cop and can get your information based on your plate like where you live. I am just glad you were unharmed. I remember being on this awful bridge in New Haven CT called the "Q" bridge. It is a legendary span that takes 95 out to Rhode Island and shore points northeast. It is very, very busy. I had a similar situation and because I am a good driver and had a sports car at that time, I was able to lose him by almost flipping my car getting off an exit last minute. I was shaking. I was never so scared since a tractor trailer chased me on I95 in Bridgeport when I was in college. In any case, I cut off the exit at the last second and he stopped, screaching his tires and put the pick up in reverse, on the highway access lane but could not do it and get far enough back to get off the exit. Now, personally, I think he would have tried to harm me physically. I am just glad you are ok and he was a very sick person as he jeopardized your kid's lives. I am so sorry that happened to you.
Wherria: It is sad to say but even best friends usually don't want the real answer to how are you. I am sorry they even had to ask why you were not having such a good day. How foolish. Do you think she might have been preoccupied while talking to you? It happened to me the other day and my friend Rich caught me off guard because, at an obvious point in the conversation when my reaction should have been all but certain, I came out with something stupid and off-topic which infuriated him. I did not mean it and although I wanted to give him some time and talk with him, I did get distracted for a minute. Just my little story of a similiar situation this week
Rich later apologized stating he knows how much I have on my mind etc... which leads me to this...MY BONE SCAN...not so good. The skull, which is where bc likes to go 25% of the time, shows several area of uptake on both sides. My onc's PA asked if I had head trauma ever= yes, once when I was sled riding, about 12 years old, was flying down a double black diamond of a hill, replete with excellent dips (!) and, belly down on my little red flyer sled, smashed into a steel pole, head first. It was one of those old steel poles, like 6" in diameter, that ran behind a condo complex where people could set up a rope to hang out clothes. I was unfamiliar with the area as I was visiting a friend and, because of the trees in the background, that dark gray steel pole just blended in with the trees behind it. It was far too late to stop and I was screaming in pain. I ran home, crying, dragging my sled with a few friends running behind me. When I finally got home both of my eyes had filled with blood and my father raced me to the ER. My head swelled up and, besides the bloody eyes, I think I was ok. I don't know if because of my age that my skull was not through growing and perhaps I set a series of little fractures many years ago? I dont' know. I was also in a car accident where my friend Julia, in her old sleek camaro, broadsided an old lady at a blind spot intersection and when we crashed, as we were going so fast, my head hit the roof of the car as we had hit so hard the back of the car left the ground for a few seconds. Aside from all of this, I have no clue if I have mets. My onc is going to talk to the radiologist next week and they will get back to me Monday or Tuesday. I asked his PA if they would move toward a biopsy and she said it is all too preliminary to tell but that she had not witnessed a situation like this turning into a biopsy? Who knows?!?!?
and I am still.....
Your FEARLESS Leader!!!!!!
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Hi Liz,
I am a faithful reader but have yet to post.
I had activity in between my 8th and 9th rib during my bone scan. It turned out to be nothing. I had surgery when I was 18 months old to remove a tumour in the same location. The dr said it was probably from that. Having said that your sled accident is definetly a possibility.
My thoughts are with you (and all the other women who share their feelings...thank you)
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Momtomy: I have no idea...it could be mets or it could be the sled ride. All I can say is I am really not worried about it, either way. What is the sense?! Not like I have any control over it! The PA said there were several areas on both sides that showed uptake.Personally I think it would be really odd of cancer to spread in an equal type of pattern on both sides of my head but then again, I never met cancer....it just rents my body!!!!!
Liz
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Okay so there is A LOT OF READING ahead for me! I am only on page 8 of 33 so I just wanted to fill everyone in while i take a moment (or week) to catch up!
Okay so my treatment so far- Had chemo on the 6th... mild nausea first few days... bones and especially hip ACHED after my nuelasta (sp) shot... Didnt have internet for almost a month @ home at a few weeks on my cell (had to cut hte fat so to speak)
tried getting on line at the library about a week after chemo- ended up getting sick- felt like the flu, ran a fever- ALMOST had to go to the ER but luckily it went away!
Been feeling GREAT this last week- i actually walked a mile in 110 degree weather (long story)
My hair started falling out in major clumps the past week, so i shaved it- The mowhawk that i planned didnt quite work out! Anyhow its about 1/4 an inch to 1/2 and inch long, and even thats just falling out- thinking of shaving it bald to not have to clean up ANY hair!... I feel like a mangy dog lol
Next round of chemo on Monday!
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Wherria- yeah some people are so self absorbed!!!!
OH YEAH FORGOT ONE REALLY IMPORT PART! ALL OF MY TUMORS (THOSE THAT CAN BE FELT BY DR) HAVE SHRUNK A LITTLE!!!! WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT!
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Lizzy - worrying definitely doesnt help, but I know its sometimes difficult not to. You seem to have good attitude about it, and I am thinking positive thoughts for you.
I have been sucking down lots of water, hoping to keep the nausous away, it seems to be working, but Im getting kinda a bloated feeling... blah.
Oh well, hope I sleep through the night.
Texas - that is wonderful, keep up the great progress.
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Kimmie - are you on any antinausea meds?? You should be on at least compazine around the clock. I found that out the hard way! =:O Once you are nausous it's really hard to get it back under control. Even if you're a bit queasy, taking the comp can take away that edge.
I took the comp for the first four days and then Friday, the nausea reared its ugly head before I was supposed to have a day with a friend. I kicked its behind with just 1/2 of a comp and we had a good day and pizza for dinner.
The comp will help bring your appetite back.I went slow on the comp just because I found it was constipating. Once I went off of it, that resolved. But ANYTHING is better than that feeling. ANd yes, food smells - ACK! Just like first trimester pregnancy!
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texas - that is AWESOME news! Shrinking after just one chemo!!
lizzy -- I'm sorry you're trapped in that waiting game again - it sounds like you had some major head trauma at one point and that may very well be what's lighting up. Remember there ARE false positives with bone scans! hang in there - I know, easier said than done!
Thanks for being my sounding board for my vent about the piece of scum that tried to kill us all. I'm feeling better about it now - I'm letting it go. I went running which calmed me down a bit and put things into perspective. I feel sorry for his wife and children - seriously and I found myself going from very angry when I began running to praying for his family and even for him by the time I was done-- and that he doesn't harm anybody going around with that kind of rage. Who knows what goes on with people -maybe he had lost his job or something. Not that its an excuse but I think BC has taught me that the best thing to do is just to try to let things go as much as possible instead of chewing on them. I'm still learning..................:)
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Calamtykel - they didnt give me compazene around the clock. They have giving me Emend 80mg for the next 2 days and then decadron 4mg 2x/day for the next 3 days, and of course the neulasta shot for tomorrow. Im thinking, im just gonna take the compazene I have regardless, and make sure I keep taking my colace so I dont get constipated. Thanks for being so helpful, I hate feeling like I am complaining. I guess I just wasnt expecting to feel the nausea with the 3 meds they gave me today before the treatment, and it happened so fast afterwards (only a couple hours).
As a matter a fact, I stopped typing this just to go take it. I did eat alittle bit of the tacoes, took me like 30 min and ate little bites while drinking water after.
And yes smells just killed me in my 1st trimester of pregnancy... ugh
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kimmie
Have they gievn you zofran (ondansetron is the generic) ? Along with the decadron and emend they had me taking that every 8 hrs the first 3 days. I really felt like I had round the clock morning sickness until today (day 7), even wound up in the ER for cramps and hydration the other night. They told me to take the zofran every 8 no matter what. It's more expensive unfortunately but the compazine makes me really foggy and I have little ones at home. It really helps though, I take it at night on top of the zofran once my husband's home and I feel best then. I hope you feel better soon. This feels so much like pregnancy sometimes it's eery; I'd forgotten about chugging mylanta from my night table at 2am while I was pregnant with my son but I've got that same heartburn again too
Carolyn
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I know my friend means well. But I have been extrememly open and explicit with her about everything, down to the joys of constipation and other like matters, and certainly about my dog's death. She and I talk every day at least once, and usually twice. I'm sure I just caught her in an off moment, or she wasn't thinking. It just hit me wrong coming from the person I tell everything! Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.
Best to all for a nice weekend!
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Lizzie---Sending you good vibes and hoping that it is just something showing up from your accident as a kid.
I have my bone scan on Monday and am TERRIFIED--I don't really know why---just TERRIFIED. I have had such a bad 2010---my friends and family just say that it can't get worse--but we all know it could.
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Lizzie: ((HUGS)). They thought they saw something on my liver but it turned out to be nothing serious. Then they thought they saw something in my lungs, which also turned out to be nothing serious. But all this scares the shit out of you while it's going on. Hang in there woman, which I know you will since you are FEARLESS
Calamtykel: I just watched a Dateline last night where a couple of neighbors had been feuding over stupid crap and one of them finally freaked and killed the other two. I'm so glad you and your kids are ok; there are some seriously deranged folks out in the streets!
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Texas: sooo glad you have got some shrinkage!!!! That is like Christmas in August!
Everyone: thank you so much. I will be ok either way. I would prefer it is not skull mets but what can I do?! OMG..again that hot bio professor in college...I could not even concentrate! I looked up pics of the skull and it really is like a football helmet protecting our brain. It is interesting!
Lady: how did they find out your lung and rib marks were nothing? I was just wondering.
Calamtykel: I am so not focusing today! What I meant to say about that Q Bridge is it 3 lanes north and south with no access lanes and that is where I got on the highway. What I did was inadvertently drove into the middle of this guy's road rage event and, because he was using the right lane for passing, he was mad I got in front of him because I had to GET ON the highway! He was very scary and I even got his plate wrong I was so nervous. He did that same slam on the brakes deal ON that overly-used, small bridge. Bottom line is you did the right thing: let it go, he was acting crazy. I am just so glad nothing happened to you. One thing about the hot temper types is when they coold down they normally feel bad;surely, if he is not totally bananas, he is feeling bad right now for scaring a woman and her children.
Wherria: give your friend a pass! I gave Rich one! We all, us bc girls, have a lot on our minds these days and the longer we have bc, the less those around us think of it as a mentally and physically compromising disease and they start to consider it as part of the fabric of our lives. I hope you have a good weekend.
Kimmie: I hope, hope, hope you feel better this weekend. I will be joining you all on the SE train sometime next week after they are through studying my skull!
Rachel: don't worry about your scan. Look at Ladyinbama where they were curious about 2 different areas and they both turned out fine. I forget who said it but there are false positives on bone scans all the time. Don't worry as even if something shows, there is a good chance it is nothing anyway
Don't worry, be happy!!!!!!!I hope you all have a good, worry-free weekend!
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Lizzy--I was told to take Tylenol or my pain meds only. I do have quite a few pain meds left over from surgery and the nurse told me if I ran out they would get me a refill.
Stlcardsfan--If I remember right I was told by my tubing went under my collarbone.
Rachel--At risk of sounding stupid, what is MAC?
Kimmie--Sorry to hear you weren't getting good response elsewhere. This is a great group and you will get plenty of feedback here. Welcome to the group too.
Ginger--Loved reading your thoughts on hair. thanks.
JSW--Hope your 2nd start attempt went well.
YoungMom--at $50 a tube, I think I will be passing on the Brian Josephs lash and brow...lol.
Wherria--I have a friend who is kind of like that. I can be in the middle of telling her something I am going thru and she will interupt me to tell me about her problems. Sometimes she will realize it later and ask me what I was saying and sometimes not. I have just learned that is how she is and I overlook it, even though it really hurts my feelings sometimes. I also have friends that are very tuned in and always there for me, and guess who I turn to when I really need support. I am sorry your friend was so insensitive, but I am sure it is just how she is and she doesn't mean to be like that. And you have us, we will never make light of what you are going thru. Hugs.
Lizzy--I hope the spots on your skull on the bone scan turn out to be nothing serious. I will be praying for a good outcome for you.
Thanks to all who wished me well on my first chemo. Your well wishes, prayers, thoughts and whatever else you may have sent my way must have helped. My first chemo went off without a hitch. No real side effects afterward and nothing bad during the chemo. She did have to stick me twice because my surgeon put my port a bit deeper than usual and so when she put the first needle in it wouldn't reach so she had to get a longer needle. Used the lidocaine cream though and felt no pain. Had Neulasta shot today. It was no big deal either except now I am having some back pain (don't know for sure if it is a SE or just regular backache) so i am going to take some med for pain. Also getting a slight headache. I have been drinking water water water and think it is probably helping.
Hugs to all time for a pill and bed. Deb
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Keepingthefaith: thanks so much for your well wishes and it is nice to hear from you again! When you have a chance, and if you have not already, email me your chemo regimen and I will add you to the list so everyone knows the type of chemo you are having and vice versa. BTW, MAC is a high-end cosmetic, sort of like Lancome and Clinique but their colors, IMO, are rich! They had a lipstick color I LOVED! I would leave my office in Stamford, CT and walk over to the nearby mall that had NIRVANA...I mean a MAC store! Then they discontinued one of my favorite colors and I protested! MAC is good stuff.
Liz
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Wherria,
I was on my way to have the steriotactic biopsy with a friend for support. She has some problems in her life that I have been very supportive about both during and ongoing. On this day I was really scared, the proceedure sounded scary to me and I was already just running on fumes with all the mamograms, ultrasound and previous biopsy. My friend, for some reason started retelling, almost compulsively her problems over and over. I finally said, Karen, I have Cancer and I am scared to death. Could we please talk about me? I was glad I told her because she was then able to refocus and be a great help that day. I guess it took me being very clear about what I needed for her to be able to respond.
I have sometimes not been clear about my needs and that doesn't work out well. It is hard to be assertive about my needs, much easier to do it on anothers behalf. I am learning though and glad of it.
GInger
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I've been reading the posts here several times a day and thinking about you all. Just not feeling up to posting much myself. Today I feel (so far) much better than yesterday. Day 4 (yesterday) seems like it will be my bad day. The steroids caused me to lose 3 nights of sleep and that just aggravates all of the SE. I read here that someone said to take them earlier in the day instead of the evening and I may try that next time. I might go ahead and call the onc though to see if I can do anything else. The bone pain yesterday had me on the couch feeling miserable all day. My back and legs were just throbbing. I can't remember who posted that the first Neulasta shot is supposed to cause the most bone pain, but you gave me hope!!!! Has anyone who has had two of them so far had that experience?
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Ann97: My second Neulasta shot has definitely been easier than the first. The first time my legs, especially my shin bones, my jaw, and my entire rib cage hurt like nothing I'd ever felt before. On top of that I was having muscle spasms up and down my back, also like no muscle pain I'd ever felt before. My onc told me that the muscle pain is from the taxotere though, not the Neulasta. Either way, I have had bone pain with the second shot, but not nearly as bad. The muscle pain and spasms have returned, but they're a lot easier to take without the bone pain at the same time.
Thanks to everyone for your support about my best friend's slip-up. I feel bad about posting it now because I think I sounded ungrateful and unfair. This is a very good friend, and she has been very supportive. She loves me and wants to help, and I am extremely grateful to have her. This was just one of those moments of being off the mark and sounding a little callous, but I know she didn't mean to. And we are very clear with each other about what we need. Just, at that moment, with as lousy as I felt, and her comment not being on exactly the right page for me, it just hit me wrong, ya know? I chose not to say anything at that moment, because I knew that I was just not up for it, and needed to just take whatever she had to give, and do my best in return. I just needed to vent I suppose.
Lizzy: I'm glad to hear you're not feeling too scared or overwhelmed about the bone scan. Still, I'm sure the concern is there, and I am keeping you in my thoughts!
calamty: I'm so sorry that happened, but glad you and your kids are ok, and that you managed to turn the day around for yourself. Do you live in TX, because that guy sure sounds like my ex-brother-in-law!?!? Sorry. Kidding. Sort of.
Good weekend to everyone. I hereby declare this weekend a SE-FREE WEEKEND!
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Ann97 I had bad back pain with my first neulasta shot. kept me in bed or chair all day on day 3. Today is day 3 of my second round and i have no pain. I took claritin this time yesterday before the shot and this AM. I am not getting steroids except for with the infusion. I take ambien cr to sleep and i sleep good. LIZZYMACK1 - you were so supportive when I was freaking about my rib spot and two radiologists reported back it was probably an old fracture but there is no getting around the worrying - just stay off the stage IV blogs and you'll be OK. We all know waiting over a weekend is horrendous!!. I ordered the micro bead prosthetics from TLC and a bra. they are great! The company that i have to use with my insurance doesn't have them and it's going to be 2 weeks before i get the bras and prosthetics that are 100% covered by my insurance. I am saving the insurance co so much money by not doing recon they should be paying me!!!
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Hi ladies, I'm here reporting from the front lines of chemo take two! I actually tried to post last night but my iPad for some reason refuses to acknowledge that there is a box here to type into. So I could read but not post. Finally this morning I pulled out my slow old laptop so I could come say hello. Anyway, my second attempt at chemo (AC instead of TCH) went really well. The only snag was that I got super nervous once the premeds were in and the nurse was getting ready to start the Adriamycin. My heart was pounding so I told the nurse and told her that I really thought it was just anxiety, so she gave me an Ativan. We got the Adriamycin started and after a few minutes I started feeling back to normal. Then I got the Cytoxan and to my surprise the whole thing was done in just over 2 hours. Husband picked me up and we went to get sandwiches for lunch and then back home to relax the afternoon away. I dozed off briefly but mostly just relaxed and watched tv. I have been obsessively monitoring my stomach but so far seems ok. I've been eating small snacks in beween my meals to keep something in there at all times. I took an Emend yesterday morning plus got a ton of Zofran in my pre-meds (24mg, the dose of pills they gave me is only 8mg). My Zofran bottle says to take every 8 hours as needed but my nurse said to take every 12 so I'm not really sure about that. I've still got my Emend for today and tomorrow, I'm going to eat a bagel now to get some food in then take the Emend and the Zofran and we'll see how I feel in 8 hours, if I feel like I need another Zofran or not. I drank like mad yesterday, water, Sprite, and Vitamin Water and ended up having to get up twice during the night to pee. My onc does not do Neulasta regularly and said I don't need to come in for any blood tests, they will just check my blood the day of the next treatment and of course postpone if necessary. From what the rest of you are saying this seems out of the norm to me but given all I have heard about Neulasta I'm not really chomping at the bit to get it!
Kimmie, I'm sorry you have had a rougher start with the AC. Definitely talk to your onc about it, they say that there are great meds available these days to combat nausea but that they don't all work equally well for every person. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to get the right mix to do the trick.
Wherria, I'm sorry your friend wasn't very sympathetic, but I'm glad to hear that she usually is. She must have just been having an off day yesterday. We need good friends to help us get through this!
Calamtykel, Your story freaked me out! I would have been shaking an a total mess if that had happened to me. I'm glad you and your kids got away safely.
Lizzie, I hope your bone scan results just turn out to be residual scarring from your earlier traumas. Waiting for these results is so difficult. My onc never ordered a bone scan, just a PET scan. Now wondering if I should ask for a bone scan? Sounds like just about everybody has had one.
TexasRose, KeepingtheFaith, and Ann97, It is good to see you ladies back here again! TexasRose, that is GREAT news that your tumors are shrinking! Go Chemo Go! KeepingtheFaith, I'm so glad to hear you have been relatively side-effect free. Ann, I recommend checking with your onc about the sleep problems following the steroids. At my onc's office I routinely hear the nurses say that you can take some benadryl at night to help with sleep after the steroids (benadryl makes most people sleepy). I have been having problems sleeping for about a month (even before treatment got started) so my onc prescribed me Ambien and that did help me with sleep last night after the steroids in my pre-meds. I agree with you that not sleeping well those first few days will not help with your SEs.
KatherineNaomi, I know you started yesterday too so I hope you get a chance to check in with us and tell us how you are!
Hugs to all and I hope everyone has a nice relaxing weekend with minimal side effects!
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Hi all,
I was reading a book last night called I Am NOT My Breast Cancer and I loved the title and concept. It's sometimes so overwhelming to my life that I begin thinking about myself with the BC right now. I think that's normal, but in an effort to begin thinking more of myself as just my plain old self, I began thinking about YOU!
So here's my question....who and what are you other than your breast cancer? Tell us about you, not the wonky cell cluster in your boob. I'll offer myself up as the guinea pig-
- - I'm a funny mom, I try to make my kids laugh a lot. I find it makes everything easier.
- - I'm my husband's best friend. We were university roomates for 4 years w/o anything romantic ever happening between us. 7 years later we kissed for the first time.
- - I read romance novels but don't admit it.
- - I love raisins, butter chicken and diet coke.
- - I appear extroverted to people, but I know I'm introverted.
- - I'm deeply Canadian and from a huge Irish family.
- - I've lived in 6 different countries and travelled to 6 different continents.
- - I get to meet the most amazing people through my job.
- - I like to drive fast.
- - I'm way too curious. And I ask too many questions.:)
So that's me. Sorry if this is out in left field, but this book struck a chord with me. It's just that last point getting to me- I'm CURIOUS- who are you other than that cluster of wonky cells that brought us all together? Again, apologies if this seems crazy. I told you I was the one who asks too many questions!:)
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Ann- I'll let you know how my second shot goes on tuesday- Yeah the bone pain kept me up after the first shot, it was mostly in my HIPS and shoulders...
GINGER I really try my hardest to not complain to my friends bout my problems because i dont want to be seen as whining lol- i actually ask my friends "whats new with you" and they'll start in on their bad day, but quickly stop and say well its not as bad as what you're going through! I say "TELL ME!" i want normalcy in my life. I am the go to friend when it comes to a shoulder to cry on when life gives you a brick wall! Its so ard for me to NOT help them out. Although a few ppl have turned my DX into THEIR problem- woe is them lol- to that i just quietly say (to my self of course) if you want to act like you're the one dying (i def dont feel like i am dying though) then go off into a corner and leave me the heck alone LOL
My sister in law had "pre-cancerous" cells on her cervix because of an STD (HPV) she had them removed (painfully yes- my sister also had that done) But she acted like she was dying and blah blah blah- this was over 5 years ago, she's better now. I just love how she's telling me how when she went through her cancer fight (in my head i keep thinking STD STD STD lol) this and that happened. She actually made me promise that i wouldnt give up! (WTH! you really think i am about to say "lets lay down to die... lifes not worht living..." FIGHT is an understatement!) Anyhow she is a compulsive liar. She's constantly cheating on her idiot-man-child husband, and she wants to compare her "cancer" with mine.... WOW THAT VENT JUST POPPED OUT OF NO WHERE LOL
calamtykel & kimmie anti nausea meds round the clock? I have compozine but only take it for the first 3 days after chemo- then as needed (havent needed it) The smells kill me the first few days but then I get that part of me back to normal. I have not been constipated but have had diahrrea for first few days...
Funny you went running- I have this URGE to run, i just feel so damned good- I did do a mile walk (had the kiddos) Its the last few days before chemo so i know this feling of euphoria isnt gonna last forever. Running makes me feel so clean and fresh!
ckptry the comp makes me foggy as well and its harder with the kids being home (or me picking up DD from school) the first few days after chemo is lie around together looking at books or watching movies... i make up for it as soon as the nuasea is gone. I took them to the tennis court to run around for at least 2 hours!
Rachel- Sorry you're feeling terrified. I've had a terrible '08-'10 lol its been one thing after another starting with my husband losing his job.... just remember al the things you've faced and overcome! This will turn out to be nothing!!! ((HUGS)) Keep us updated! And you're in my tohughts and prayers!
Keepingthefaith- my only suggestion is be aware of neutropenia after about day 4 or so I felt GREAT! So i went out into public and ended up getting sick really quick! I am glad you havent had any real SE! thats awesome hopefully all your other chemo treatments follow suit!
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