2010 Sisters
Comments
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Aw dianemoe, your DH is back out of the doghouse. Big (((HUGS))) for you, I am keeping you in my prayers!
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BarbaraA.... Thanks..... DH was working on computer while I was in shower balling like a two year old having a temper tantrum. He came in to console me. There was nothing that he or anyone could do at that point. I am Happy he knew where to go and what to post. I love this man and am very sorry this hair thing affects me the way it does. I'm not gonna have to worry about it much longer IT IS ALMOST ALL GONE........0
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Diane--soon--no more bad hair days!! The up side of having no hair is you only need a tiny dot of shampoo, no salon appointments, you can get ready quickly in the morning (so your DH isn't left waiting for you for an hour), and you get to wear colorful scarves or gorgeous wigs! Buy yourself some really cute earrings! I used to have thick hair so no one ever knew I had my ears pierced twice--now I make sure I wear 2 cute earrings in each ear every day! I even thought about getting them pierced a third time!
Showers are a good place to cry! Hang in there girl, it will get easier, I promise!
Your DH is truly a "dear", you are blessed!
(((hugs)) for you!
Tina
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I love wearing scarves. I had beautiful thick, shiny hair just above my shoulders… that took 20-25 minutes of my life everyday to style etc. Now I can do it in less that 30 seconds!
I'm actually enjoying the convenience right now. Who has the energy to deal with hair on chemo!
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Thanks ladies. Hope all is going ok with everyone.
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Iago, me too on the hair. Once I got over the initial shock, I love not having hair. Mine was curly/frizzy, and I spent 20/30 minutes blowing it straight. What a pain in the butt, especially in Alabama where it is so humid that any hairdo is history 5 minutes after you step outside. And if I do say so myself, I look cute in my hats. Hats have been my thing. I don't like my wigs, and I haven't taken the time to learn to do the scarves.
The thing that has gotten me is the eyelashes and eyebrows. But, Diane, you have some time to get used to being bald before your brows & lashes fall out. Mine didn't start coming out until chemo #5.
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Paula66 - The waiting is the hardest part and there is so much of it at some many place on this journey through BC. Know that we are all here waiting with you. Keep us posted on how you are doing with this waiting game we all play.
Joy and blessings, Amy Jo
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Diane- Good for your DH to hijack the computer and come here! Go ahead, have a good cry! You have every reason to! I think it's healthier than being "strong" all the time. I had a good boo hoo today for the first time in a long time. I adore my own DH, but he was being his own yearly Scrooge. He doesn't like the commercialism of Christmas. My son and I are used to him and just go about our merry, festive way and drag him along. Today I told him that it was really different when one doesn't know if we will have many Christmases to enjoy. He looked at me in disbelief and said "Of course you are going to enjoy many, many more Christmases". I think he was truly shocked. It never occurred to him that cancer could shorten my life. I guess he needs to stay in deep denial. Unless someone has heard those words "you have cancer", they will never know how truly precious every day is.
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I think that nutrition and exercise are a big part of keeping the cancer at bay.....but oncs don't discuss this very much as they are not trained in it and they are all about 'studies and trials'.
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I also think nutrition, exercise and lifesyle play a part in how we do but it is so difficult to guess what might be the best choices. Organic, no sugar, no alcohol, no meat/dairy, who knows. I drink alcohol very seldom now but enjoy eating out sometimes and find it hard to convince myself that being over the top strict with food is the way to go. Has anyone found a particular book they use as a guide on diet? I keep reading different things from different sources.
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Good morning ladies. Its gonna be another cold one out there today. I just wanna stay in and lay around under a warm blanket today. Thats not going to happen though. Gotta go do a few things and then later me and my sissys are going shopping, yahoo! O why didnt I just say no, lol. I dont mind the shopping part, its the cold that I dont like. BRRRRRRR! Everyone have a blessed day!
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Lindy123- Most people doing research about nutrition and lifestyle things that help prevent recurrence and cancer pretty much agree on many things. Antiinflammatory diet (no white, flour, rice, potatoes, sugar) like the Mediterranean diet, loads of veggies and fruits, especially cruciferous ones like brocolli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, green tea, spices like turmeric, cinnamon, ginger. Exercise like walking 30 minutes 6 days a week. The book I like best is Anticancer-A New Way of Life by Servan-Schreiber (thanks BarbaraA!). It is written by a doctor who had a brain tumor twice. After the recurrence, he started researching why his body was allowing/encouraging cancer to grow. It is very readable with loads of scientific evidence. Now that I have completed all the medical treatments, it gives me a feeling of empowerment to work on the other areas that I feel will keep me healthy.
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Lindy137 & Cat123 - I have 2 cookbooks that have some good recipes one it What to Eat During Cancer Treatments published by the American Cancer Society and the other on I like the best is a Betty Crocker one titled Living with Cancer. You can get both of them at Barns & Noble or at least that is where I got them.
I have always tried to eat healthy, but I don't ever go overboard with it. Somethings I eat even though they may not be very good for me. Like Pecan Pie and Carrot Cake. I just cannot resist those things. And sometimes I just have to have real mashed potatoes complete with butter and sour cream. Comfort food when I am really down. I think everything in moderation works best for me. I don't drink alcohol that often, maybe once a year.
Everyone stay warm and well.
Joy and blessings, Amy Jo
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Hi all, went for my 3 month follow-up with my rad onc on Thursday. Just love, love, love that guy. He takes so much time and explains things to me. I did the MRI he wanted but didn't do the mamo, so promised to that before the end of the year. Had some problems he wants to check out. Also, he's going to do the oncotype test for me! My onc wouldn't even hear of it. I told the rad onc that it would help me with decision making and he totally understood that.
So, I'm not happy about it but will get the mamo before the end of the year - I've still got issues with the scar and surrounding tissues and the thought of the mamo just had me cringing.
Also talked with the rad nurse and she said the hair falling out and thinning with the rads is normal. I though it would only come out if I had chemo, but she said it happens with rads too. My shower drain would clog up and I would have to clean it out all the time during and after treatment. It's been nearly 5 months since I was finished - and only the last month has been better. I did read someplace that the thyroid is effected by the rads and I switched from Synthroid to Armour in the last month. Could be the reason for the improvement.
It's raining here in S. FL - and a burrrr day tomorrow is planned.
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Good evening ladies....Today is so much better than yesterday. I must say from reading we all seem better. I agree with the healthy life style probably do not follow it. I will look into the books mentioned above. I MISS MY WINE. I love the red wine asked about it last week. They say one glass once or twice a week. I guess that is better than not having it at all. TMarina and DesignerMom .. Thanks for the shout out about DH he truly is a keeper...........
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I really enjoyed beer with lime but gave it up because I was estrogen receptor positive. I found that o'douls amber with lime tastes great and I actually don't miss the 'buzz'.
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hello my sistas
i did 3 tx. of rads.30 to go.ha.so far so good.when i asked the rad onc.about the hair loss he told me the only place i MIGHT lose my hair is under the arm that is getting the tx. so i told him I GOT THIS SHORT HAIRCUT FOR NOTHIN..he said yes.he better be right.ill keep you posted.
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Grannydukes - I've missed you! Good to hear your voice!0
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grannydukes from what I have read about rads you will only lose your hair in the area you are having rads. If they were giving you radiation to your head then you would lose it there.
So yes you got that short haircut for nothing but it will grow back.
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Yes, GD, I lost the hair in the bottom half of my armpit. BUT NOT THE TOP!!!! So I still have to shave. Grrrrr. He could have made sure the whole pit got nuked!
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Just checking in.... I gave in and shaved my head last night. I just figured I "had" to look better bald than like a sickly cancer patient. And eh, it looks ok for a bald chick I guess.
I had the worst time yesterday, went to Target to finish up shopping, the boyfriend has trouble walking from a neck injury so was going extremely slow, the store was packed, and here I am, with the scarf tied on my head feeling so self conscious about it. I kept asking him for ideas for his mother (she was the only gift we had to buy) and he had No clue. Im walking with my head down, going insane inside, totally having a major panic attack, and I look up and see my old landlord. Did the duck and cover so I wouldnt have to pretend to be happy to see her, or ex plane why I had a scarf tied on my head. I finally grabbed a book and said LETS GO! once I got in the car, the tears started flowing. As understanding as my boyfriend tries to be, I just dont think anyone who isnt going through this, gets it. I came "this" close to buying a pack of cigarettes last night. Between the whole shopping fiasco and fighting with my kids, I would have ripped my hair out if I had any.
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sweetaerobabe sorry you had to go through that. Funny but Friday & yesterday were the first times I wore my wig. I look like an F-en Beatle in it. (Someone said George but I think more like Paul in his younger days). The first thing I did when I got in the car to go home yesterday is do the exchange… yes right in the parking lot I pulled off the wig and put on a scarf. I so prefer scarfs. The trick is to wear cool ear rings and make up those nice eyes you have.
If you get the right scarves you will learn to love them. I purchased several from: http://www.anokhiusa.com/ and they are having a sale till dec 25.
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grannydukes- Welcome back! You decided to do the rads! You are going to see it goes very quickly. It's just a bother that you have to go every day. You usually don't loose your hair. Enjoy your short haircut anyway. Less to have to wash and fix!
sweet- Sorry for your blue shopping trip. I find this holiday period stressful in the best of years. This year I am so emotional (just can't stop wondering how many more Christmases I will enjoy) that I find myself tearing up at anything.
The best anti-blue strategy for me is to cook and turn up the stereo. Last night I made Indian chicken curry and subjected everyone to my favorite Hillbilly Holiday cd. "Ho, ho, ho, we were po, po, po" by Bill Anderson and "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa" by Brenda Lee. Hard to stay blue listening to those lyrics!
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Hi ladies. I hope all is going well today. My friend had told me about taking a combo of vitamin C, E, And Zinc to help in the healing after surgery. I am curios to see if any of you gals had tried that. Thanks Paula
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Hi Paula, I take a passel of supplements: D3, B12, curcumin, grape seed extract, DIM, NAC, a multi vitamin, myomin, querticin, milk thistle and turmeric. Not all at the same time, though. My DH laughs at my 'pharmacy'. I healed great.
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Hi Ladies - Took me awhile to catch up on all the posts as I haven't been on for a week. I've made it thru all the SE's of another T tx. Still feeling the fatigue but things are getting better. Just one more!
Sweet- I'm so used to not having hair I may (almost) hate to have it back to look after again. I also do not worry about what others think. If I'm wearing my wig I don't think anyone would know but if I'm wearing a "headcovering" its very obvious I'm a cancer patient. I went in to my yearly eye doctor visit and my Dr. said "So whats going on with you"? I told him and he said "I figured that with the headcovering". He said his mother went thru it many years ago and the tx's back then gave her another 15 years. He was very encouraging. People sometimes don't know what to say and sometimes say the wrong thing but remember we should not have to hide. We have done nothing wrong to have to explain anything. I find most are great about it - give them a chance.
Merry Christmas to everyone and have a great holiday!
Cathy
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Merry Christmas Cathy! I am going back into the office starting in January and am planning to just wear my cap. My hair is coming in mostly on the sides and back, real fine. I have older tufts left from before chemo so I am a mess. Once I get in to see my stylist (Jan) I am going to ask her to cut it all one short short length and then I will just take off my cap whenever. I am not shy about it. I don't know how I got breast cancer but I am proud of myself for doing all these treatments!
Does anyone know if the top fills in with hair slower than the rest of the head?
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((((CATHY))) and (((OMAZ)))) big Christmas hugs for you both!!! So glad you are feeling somewhat better, Cathy and Omaz, you go girl! Back to work!
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Omaz: The top of my head is still pretty bare, but the sides are coming in nicely and the back is doing pretty good. Don't know if that's "normal" or not, but mine is doing the same as yours.
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cat123-when I was diag my BS told me after finishing my treatments my best defence against not getting bc again was exercise and nutritition. When I went to my Rad Onc and Med Onc I asked them both the same question and they both said the same thing. So I am now a maniac on exercise (as I did none before). Nutrition was always pretty good for me but I have improved it even more.
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