Australian Sisters
Comments
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Jezza, please don't feel inadequate on my account. I am fairly active on this forum and have gotten to know quite a few lovely women and we converse often so besides the games I am posting constantly. It really doesn't take that long to build up....lol
Hi to everyone else, I hope you've had a great day and that all your treatments are going well.
Peace, strength, love n hugs. Chrissyb
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Welcome Helena - nice to see another Aussie girl :-)
Sue - I was up very late last night, I did take the steroids earlyish - well around 6 - the onc said they had to be 12 hours apart.
Felt ok this morning, but starting to feel like crap today - taste is just awful, and very shaky and out of sorts. Just want to go to bed and sleep for a week, and then hopefully wake up and this part of it will be all over. No pain though - just very crappy.
Trish
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(((((((hugs))))))) Trish, hang in there. Just remember, hydrate well and rest when possible.
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Trish, take care of yourself, this will pass. Try to rest and drink lots of water. xx
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Hi girls just popping in quickly. I found ice cold chocolate sustagen, twisties and cold sausages helped me through chemo.
BTW i'm in Brisbane northside
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Trish - glad you don't have leg pain but it sounds like you are experiencing the steroid crash. I got very high on them so the crash was a big one.
Sue
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Jane - I'm on the Northside in Brissie too.0
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Hello to everyone
Jane welcome - i'm in Brissie (southside) too.
Trisha - I'm thinking of you - that's one more chemo that you won't have to do again. Sounds like you have a very supportive DH
Hugs to all
xx
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Hi Girls
Well this Taxotere certainly is awful - in some ways worse than the FEC. I crashed big time last night Sue - cried for hours. Feeling very shaky today - have been in bed all morning. No pain, but feel like I'm getting the flu. Have also gone from constipation back to sitting on the loo - at least it's all out now I think :-( Some of my taste is coming back though - so that's sort of good.Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day - back to more water and bed.
Trish
xoxo
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Oh - forgot to add - yes Pirategirl - one more I don't need to do - just two more to go. Hopefully when the next cycle is due, I'll have forgotten how this one felt and turn up at the onc ward again. Did you all find that you put it out of your mind so that you almost forgot how bad it was so you could do it again?
T
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Tricia, there is a saying that is common to a lot of the threads here and that is, .......you don't have to like it, you just need to turn up!.........The words sound harsh but they are oh so true!!!! Sorry that you are feeling so bad, treat yourself gently until you begin to feel better again.
Peace, strength, love n hugs. Chrissyb
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yes it's very easy to forget once you start to feel 'well' again by the end of the 3 weeks. I find now that I've forgotten (or blocked!) many of the SEs I went through - it's when people ask did you have this or that, that I then remember Oh yes I did!
Chemo will soon be but a distant memory Trish - hang in there :-)
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Tricia I agree with DancerMel28 in that you do forget and by week 3 you feel almost normal. If you feel lousy, can you imagine how crook any little stray cancer cells are feeling in your body?? Just wipe those little critters out of your body. Just keep reminding yourself why you're doing this. You are an amazing woman and you will get through this.
I finished chemo in Oct and rads on Dec 30th. Started Tamoxifen a week later and had a bit of an ache in my left knee and the middle finger of my right hand but it went again. I thought I was going to breeze through but today my legs are aching so badly. I don't want to take paracetamol - don't want any more meds in my body than I have to but today was really sore. I read on the Tamoxifen thread that this is a common side effect. Anyone else had this? Has it continued or come and gone? Also ..just wondering..my hair now looks almost like a really short crop but it's so grey. I bought some hair dye but haven't used it because I thought you had to wait 6months but I'm in my forties and look in my sixties. Anyone else prepared to share what they've done? I read on another thread that the organic colourants don't work so well.....
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Trish - Sorry you feel so bad - only 2 to go. You will probably forget in between. The third week is good.
Pirategirl - I finally got my hair streaked blonde again maybe 7 or 8 months post chemo. I did research it and everything I read said to wait for 6 months. I went to the hairdresser and discussed it with them first. They said a rinse wouldn't cover the grey. Unfortunately I look like I have a bad 80's perm. The colour might be good again, but I can't wait for the crazy curls to go.
Sue
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Hi Marie-Edith,
Hope you are feeling better by now before your next AC. I had the same as you AC x 4 then weekly Taxol X 12. The AC was hard but the Taxol was easy except towards the end I developed pins and needles in my fingers and feet and my balance was affected, so I was not given my last Taxol treatment. Everybody reacts differently but do tell your oncologist if this starts to occur as I still have the problems even though I finished chemo 5 months ago. I live just north of Adelaide so I was able to go to the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Elizabeth for radiation. They were great there, very flexible, informative and supplied you with any creams and dressings you might need . If you do have private cover and go to one of the private centres it costs quite a lot to have radiation but there is no cost at the RAH or LMHS.
Hang in there because it does finish. Best of luck. Vicky
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Trisha-Anne: I'm sending you hugs. It's just bloody awful. The last 2 chemos knocked my socks off, but what kept me going was that light at the end of the tunnel.. you are nearly there and you will get there no matter what. Chemo destroys more than your cells, it messes with your soul, your mind, your spirit.. But the soul/spirit/mind is much stronger than the chemo and can recover and overcome. So hang in there and lean on us, your cheer squad is all around you. xoxoxox
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Hello Vicky,
Thank you for the information. I was wondering what the weekly taxol will do to me. I had my last A/C yesterday, managed a walk in the botanic gardens afterwards, got home went to bed had sweats and chills all night. I am drinking lots of water. I felt sick yesterday just sitting in the chair and looking at the drip. I think it is becoming more psychological !! I go to the Royal Adelaide, spend a lot of time in the waiting room, but i don't have private insurance. At least it's free, One of the nurse told me that a neulasta shot cost over $2000, i certainly couldn't afford that! People are nice there. So i'm fine with it.
I do have one question though, when my treatment is finished how often MUST i have a mammogram, I don't rely on doctors to answer this question !!
I live in the Adelaide Hills, Mount Barker. Where do you live?
Thanks again for your encouragement, it helps!! and good luck to all the ladies going through chemo, i know it sucks !!
xoxo
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Marie Edith - I've been told that I will have yearly mammogram and ultrasound starting one year from diagnosis (which for me is feb), but I have a check-up every three months with one of my team between the medical and radiation oncologists and my surgeon.
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Trish, one light in the taxotere tunnel for me was vanilla bean rice pudding (there's a simple recipe on epicurious) - yum, easy to snack on, and comfort food. I too piled on the kgs. Pirate girl, I'm 6 mths PFC, and my local salon has put a nice warm brown colour through my grays - lifted my spirits so much. I too have been told I'll have yearly mammo/Ultrasound, and mine is due too in Feb -can't wait to have that millstone gone, then I'll probably release the big intake of breath I took 11 months ago.. Good luck dancermel with yours.
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Hi Marie-Edith, I live in Bibaringa (near Gawler). Glad you have had the last AC. They really are tough although looking back I would have had more AC instead of Taxol as once you started to feel OK there were no lingering side effecfts. The Taxol was easy with no nausea and didn't take as long to have. I had my chemo at a private hospital in the northern suburbs. The AC used to take at least 4 hours by the time I had treatment and saw the doctor. Now I have 3 weekly Herceptin as I am HER2+ve. I also needed a shot of neulasta but I didn't need to pay for it so it must be on the PBS list as is Herceptin which costs $50,000 for the year. I had to do to the RAH before radiation to see the radiotherapist and for a Ct planning scan and I thought the it was a really good service. It was good to hear the others commenting on how often we need to have a mammogram as I didn't know but I see my surgeon on Monday.Do hope you have lots of support from your family as you need it. Thinking of you. Vicky
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Hello Girls
I'm still miserable. Probably not quite so bad as yesterday - but not great. Now developing a mouth ulcer despite all the rinsing and being careful. Can't keep anything in either - as soon as I eat I'm on the loo and it's out the other end - but that was normal for me on the FEC too. Everything just tastes so bloody awful! Even water. I'm liking the idea of the rice pudding - will try to make some of that up for next time. I have a craving for potato salad!
These cancer cells better be dying off - I feel like I am too, but your hugs and thoughts are with me and helping
Trish
xox
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Hi Trisha, sorry to hear you're getting an ulcer.......they are really painful. Do have any SM33? It's available at any pharmacy and you paint the ulcer with it using a cotton bud. Stings like the dickens to start but within a minute it numbs the ulcer. I have always got mouth ulcers no matter what I do but the SM33 gives a little relief from their pain and the good thing is you can use as often as needed. I hope you feel better soon. ((((((((hugs))))))))) to you girl.
xox chrissy
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Deleted, sorry I didn't notice this was in the chemo forum, just saw the Australian sisters bit at the top.
will re-locate.
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Hi again everybody,
Trish ; Sorry that you're not well. Sounds really bad but i hope it won't last too long. When i had ulcers after the first chemo, i used a bit of warm water in a glass mixed with lots of salt. Then i dip a cotton bud in it and applied several times to the ulcer. Keep dipping the cotton bud in the salty water. It stings at first, but keep re-applying heaps of times during the day. It was better within a day and gone 3 days later. I don't know what to say about the rest, except for patience.
Vicky : The doctor warned me about the pins and needles. I don't look forward to that. He didn't say anything with balance but i will keep it in mind. I've read that some efffect of chemo can last for years afterwards. I don't know what the solution is. If I had known better i would have tried harder not to get sick. I am reading an excellent book called "anti-cancer, a new way of life" by David Servan-Schreiber. It's very interesting and easy to understand.It really opened my eyes, and will help me to continue the fight when my treatment is over.
Dancer-Mel : Thanks for your reply, it's really good to know about the mammogram
Take care everyone xoxo
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2010
Please post in this section! I know you are on the Aussie forum. Even though I didn't start this thread I think it is a meeting place for all Australians on this site and I know you have a lot of concerns.
Trish
Hoping you feel better tomorrow and get some sleep tonight...
hugs
jezza
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2010 I agree with Jezza that you should post here anyway. I've finished chemo and rads. Am now 3 weeks into tamoxifen and there are others here who really "get" what you're going through.
Trish hope you're "bottoming out" . You'll soon be on the up and up. Did you get a starter kit from chemo daycare with some Biotene toothpaste etc in it? I think there's a tube of Biotenen mouth cream in there for mouth ulcers.
Suepen thanks for the advice about the hair ...I've got 3 months to go before I can colour it. I'm using wax to try and overcome the cow licks and odd curls. Back in the 80's I spent a small fortune on long permed curly hair - if only I'd known that I'd have curly hair one day haha.
VickyC10 I was told that the chemo I had (TCH) was about $50k and that the Herceptin was a further $50k too. Thank heavens we're here in Oz compared with our sisters in the USA who seem to have some horror stories of battling with insurance companies on top of dealing with the diagnosis and treatment. I was refused coverage with chemo & rads by my private health company HCF but I can't fault the public system - they've been amazing.
Hugs to all
xx
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Hello
Well i can't beleive how much it costs for all these treatments. Surely the pharmaceutical companies are making a lot of money !!!!
xoxo
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Herceptin is $75,000 for the year.
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Hello Girls
I think I'm back in the land of the living. I have never been so miserable in all my life - but at least I slept for most of it.
Feeling a lot better today - and have been able to keep my breakfast in so far - which is good. Only good thing about all this is the weight I'm loosing. Put on a bit at the beginning of the week because of the steroids - but as of this morning have lost 5kg! In a week.Hope you are all going ok - I'm planning on having a very quiet day today - and hopefully some of my taste will come back a bit - it's still not great, and I'm so looking forward to being able to enjoy a cup of tea :-)
Trish
xoxo
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Trisha - glad you're feeling a bit better. I was glad of the weight loss
Sue
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