TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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Ditto Lago and Kelloggs on my nails...used to be great now it's a struggle to keep them from chipping but it's no big deal as far as I'm concerned.
On what I hope is a postive note for those who follow...I have a appointment next week f or my first haircut post treatment! 9 mos PFC! And I was late losing it and very, very slow coming back. Since my last herceptin last month it has definitely speeded up.
Have no idea what to ask or except to make it look neater . Right no it's very much like Halle Berry's hair style but uneven. It grew in all different lengths and very, very wavy. It was stick straight before! If you pull out the curls it's probably about 4 inches in some spots.
I clipped lots of pics for months..I like Jenna Elfman's short razor cut last year... but I've got curls!
Any suggestions?
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Aww. The nails issue is lasting forever it seems. I'm 18 months out from last chemo and the nails are still brittle but they are getting much better. No problems at all with the toes, just the fingernails. I think I was better about the pea packs on my feet than hands. Darn taxotere.
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My nails are terrible also. They keep chipping and peeling and getting shorter and shorter. Yuk...
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Thinking of Pbrain-- ((((Hugs))))
My nails are the same brittle I was hoping to get fake nails with my daughter never done that before but she thinks my real nails wound not take that.
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Ashla- straight irons are great! And not too time consuming with a good brand. I have the Chi and love it. Congrats on first haircut! Yay! All of you are an encouragement for me. Thanks for staying around and being here and sharing.
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Ang, I think that the glue and that smelly acrylic that they use with fake nails might really damage your nail bed and also might cause an infection . Just my thoughts..
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Ha! My nails have always been UGLY! I garden...nuff said. Maybe they'll grow back beautiful, strong and lovely? har! NOT!
So my MO came in to talk with me before we started today. I'm on taxol and herceptin for 12 weeks. He said I really bottomed out way more than he expected on the TCH and he doesn't want to keep doing that to me. So here I am, feeling ok so far. I'm taking zofran tonight, just in case, and a pepcid. I'm also drinking lots of water. My potassium is super low again and I have no idea why. They called in a prescription for me that I'll pick up tomorrow.
I didn't take the oral steroids, I couldn't sleep last time and I love sleep. Should I take the stool softener tonight? In other words, is there something about the chemo that stops the poop? Or is it the steroids?
I just love our conversations...
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After another chest x-ray this morning, docs saw a slight improvement in the lung issue and decided to go ahead with my first chemo. Benedryl first, then saline and maybe something else. Herceptin 90 minutes, Aloxi and Emend 30 mins, Taxotere, with a side of frozen peas, 90 mins, Carboplatin 45 mins, saline flush 30 mins.
We decided not to schlep all the stuff in this time until we knew they were actually doing the chemo today. Again we were the only ones with all that extra stuff!
So far so good, just exhausted from the last 2 days at the hospital. I need to go lay down.
Pbrain - I hope your tx went well and your SE's are minimal this time!
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Pbrain Pot--?? I remember women getting low Pot/I would go in the next day for a bag of it. They''ll warch it so that's good-- and I can't help u on the constipation thingy but do whatever anyone who had it tells u. Now keeping fingers crossed.
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BTW--My nails have always been weak and split all the time--They ar so strong now it's hard to cut them altho I'm lossing one again and my one foot my nails grew back sidways LOL
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PBrain, the nurses told me that it was the anti-nausea stuff that stopped the poop.
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Bren, I like that you had 30 minutes with Emend and Aloxi! Nice! I didn't get that. I got the taxotere in 45 minutes and the carboplatin in 30. I'm kind of wondering if that is why it hit me so hard.
Today I got herceptin in 30 minutes. I think I'm going to request that they slow it down a bit. If I need 12 in a row, I want it slow. Patin, thanks for the info. I just remember the Saturday after my first chemo, I worked and worked and worked to give birth to 3 little tiny turdlettes. I was hurting for days after that!! ;-)
Again, let me state that I love our conversations. Feel like I'm back in med school....tee hee...
Cami, did pot help? My NP today said to me today "um, I wouldn't, um...I guess, talk you out of it if you were to find some...um, it helps with nausea, but most importantly, it makes you eat!" She is worried because I've lost 30 lbs....
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Pbrain I started the softener the night of chemo. Had to take it for 4 days including the night of chemo. It really did help things move along. First chemo I gave birth on day 4 when I finally figured out that Metamucil was best for me. Ended with hemorrhoids too. After that no issues. I didn't take any anti-nausea stuff except for the Emmend.
Bren58 that's great news.
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PBrain, yes, I seem to deliver rabbit turds at first...until whatever I'm taking kicks in. I have done OK until taxol + Herceptin #10. I ended up with 3 days of diarrhea and missed a bunch of work this week. Had #11 yesterday and am trying to figure out which and how much of my many anti-constipation things to take so that I am OK for a Christmas event tomorrow at 11 a.m. and for my first radiation oncologist appointment early Monday morning.
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"rabbit turds"
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Har! I love it! They were definitely rabbit turds, and I was so proud of them!
Bren, my boss called her MO years ago when she was getting chemo. She had massive big D going on and she is a vice president in our company, so tons of holiday functions where she'd have to appear, speak, be gregarious, and she had to travel to EU a bunch of times before Christmas in the middle of her chemo. Her MO told her immodium, as many as she wanted to take. No holds barred. I've never taken more than one at a time in my life, but my 5'2" boss was taking 4-5 at once before work functions. And it worked for her. You'll still go when you have to, but none of that extraneous, gratuitious stuff.
Ah yes, I love our conversations!
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PBrain - did they give you Emend this time? You're naughty for not taking the dex - hope you are OK.
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PBrain, I did 12 weekly taxols with 3 weekly herceptin and I found taxol very tolerable and didn't require any oral anti nausea medication. After AC chemo I found it a breeze, just tiredness towards the end of 12 weeks.
I didn't take the dex either as I didn't like the SE's and did just fine, my Onc knew and said I was up to me, I did have an IV steroid in my premed.
I had lots of diarrhoea with taxol, was ok till about week 4 then it became a problem, Imodium did the trick. Hope you do better on taxol, Lou0 -
Pbrain I wouldn't know I tried it a couple of times but I wasn't doing something right hahaha-
I remember when my Onc. told me to take immodium--as many as I wanted-I was like oh no it says and she said I'm telling u so I did--it didn't work for me but I was surprised about how many---then she wrote me a script but it helps a little more but no lots. And of course all of u know I still have it.
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Relda, interesting. Do you have any idea whether the herceptin alone did anything re your tumor? Sucks that you had to deal with a recurrence. I think the trip makes sense! Chemo is no picnic, might as well have a little fun before you start.
Ashla, curls work better the longer your hair is. Layers do not work with curls. Unless you want to straighten your hair, then you can do whatever – I’m too lazy for that.
Pbrain, I think it’s the antinausea stuff that gives you constipation. I could be wrong … I never had any until the nurse forced me to take some immodium. (It was probably a good idea though I think I would have been fine with peptol bismol.) Do they know you didn’t take the oral steroids? I just took sleeping pills those nights. IT seems like you’re super sensitive to all this stuff though so just b/c it worked for me…. OMG you lost 30 pounds in 3 weeks??? That’s horrifying. You poor thing. Still, I think it’s a lame excuse for those dirty dishes. Priorities, P! I think the pot is a good idea if the other stuff isn’t working for you. Even if smoking it isn’t so great for your lungs, it’s not a whole lot and it’s only for a short time period. I hope this one goes well for you. Oh also nagging you about probiotics.
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Well, I lost 10 lbs on Weight Watchers, and then got the diagnosis. I was holding steady at about a 12 lbs loss after that, but with my lovely first round of chemo, I lost another 18. I just couldn't keep anything down and food was absolutely disgusting. But now my doc is concerned. It wasn't like I was boney thin. I have gained about 40 lbs from quitting smoking 13 years ago, so I had some to lose. But the loss was fast and not good. I know that. I'm eating now, finally hungry as heck and food tastes good! It was totally grodey for awhile.
Ashia, have fun with your hair and enjoy the curl. I think a graduated, curly cut could be pretty! I was a curly gal, and my hairdresser always said asymetric wouldn't work for me. She said with curls, you need to do something very balanced, but you can have fun. Just don't go too short because short can get berserk really fast.
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Hi everyone.
I'm just getting caught up on the day's posts.
The things that stand out are:
Rabbit turds, plain old "turdlettes," curls, fingernails, the Big D and the Big H.
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I had my first post-op fills today. Now my breasts look like Burger King whopper buns versus the dollar menu sandwich buns. The surgical tape is off and it's a sad looking battlefield that's been left behind. Oh, and the drains. The drains remain. I always knew I was full of sh*t (or turdlettes, thanks PBrain) but I'm apparently full of an abundance of lymphatic fluid as well.
From 7:00 am until 7:00 pm I was out driving around on freeways (five of them to be exact) and although I felt more physically able than I have in ages I also felt the dark cloud lurking in my peripheral vision. That's code for the Big D (epression) but not THE big D(iarrhea). I think this will pass and I'm guessing it's a by-product of getting very anxious about the first infusion. My husband says all will be well since the infusions will be administered at the second happiest place on earth. He has a point. From one of the examining rooms you can see the Walt Disney Studios water tower. Cancer seems doable (?) when you look out the window and see Mickey Mouse in the distance - waving a clapperboard in your direction.
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Relda, I was really glad to see your post! Especially the vacation part because my husband's already scheduled our 2013 vacation (I may have mentioned this the day we met).
When I read Relda's glowing comments about her oncologist here on BCO.org I was sold but his practice was closed so I had to get all crafty
about getting in. He is so pleasant and really does a grand job of puting my weary OCD mind at ease - plus, I actually feel good (mentally) when I leave there (caveat - I've not had a treatement yet, so there's that). Relda says her friends are alway surprised when she says she's looking forward to seeing her oncologist and I now understand what she means. In keeping with the spirt of impending chemo I bought a wig today. I met a woman there who was shopping for a wig for fun versus hair loss. She said "I want to tell you something...I had breast cancer 31 years ago and then I had it again seven years ago and I'm okay." She looks great and she's in good spirits.
I knew the wig buying experience would be a one of the hurdles to get over and now it's finished (shaving will be the bigger hurdle).
I kept it (the wig) on to pick up my husband from work and didn't tell him where I had been (or what I had bought). As he came out of building I hopped out of the car to change drivers and he yelled "hey, nice wig!" Ha ha! I wore it to our favorite Indian restaurant and one thing I noticed is this: chewing dislodges wigs. Of course, I still have a fullish head of hair underneath which probably contributed to what I can only call wig ride. And now I have the song Jane Says in my head "Jane says - have you seen my wig around."
I think I've seen this mentioned before on this thread but cancer really keeps a person/former hermit busy.
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PBrain, I hope this treatment will go 1000% better than the last. Also, you're the third person I've read about who got a diagnosis soon after losing weight. Actually, I'm one of the three or maybe it's a total of four I've read about. A second opinion breast surgeon told me the other day that losing weight may have helped save my life because that's when I saw my tumor.
Bren58, I'm glad you got started this week (!), with or without the picnic gear.
ashla, I want to go back and read more about your hair. I'm fascinated with post-chemo hair. The woman I met at the wig shop said one of her friend's hair had grown back much thicker and wavier than before chemo.
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Pbrain, couple things. I had low potassium (K+)
I had to take k+ 2x day. The big D led to low magnesium as well. Taking magnesium pills led to D. Guess what kind of food is good for low magnesium? Let's see, nuts, broccoli, beans, etc. Oh, BTW, those are the foods you Don't want when you have D. Um, see the dilemma? IV magnesium is easier than trying to eat the stuff. But it is also not as good for you and you walk a fine line. One thing that did help was staying for a full bag of fluids. Make them give you all of it in the bag when the meds are done. It helps. Also. Eat well the day before cause the taste buds seem to go earlier every tx. At least for me they did. Been at least you got tx 1 done, yay.
LeeA there is a roll on glue that helps keep the wig from riding up. Also after you shave your head, take the wig back and ask them to fit it again. My fitter took an hour and actually cut the inside and sewed it to fit better.
And to all with the big D, they gave me a script for Lomotil, which is Diphen something atropine. It stops it better than immodium. I took 8 of those in a day, I only had to take 4 Lomotil. Also, plan your thing Before you eat. About 1/2 to 3/4 hours after you eat the big D starts.
To all much love.0 -
LeeA, re losing weight before being diagnosed- - also Pbrain, did you see TonLee’s post about how cancer burns off calories so it’s not uncommon to lose a bunch of weight prior to being diagnosed? Even with effort, but it’s just that the effort paid off. Her hypothesis not mine, but seems logical. Anyway P I’m glad you had some to lose but that’s a pretty nasty way to lose it. I hope everything goes smoothly, ish, going forward – and minimal SEs!
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Moonflwer, thanks for the wig tips!
cypher, yes I remember the mention re: tumors burning 10x the calories as muscle.
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Adding hormonal therapy to chemotherapy and trastuzumab improves prognosis in patients with hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive primary breast cancer
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I hope this link works. A young high school student whose mother had breast cancer is doing a science project on the relationship between psychological stress and breast cancer. It is anonymous and she actually asks many of the questions we've discussed in this forum.
Her high school has had Siemens Science winners in the past.
There is a pdf file that explains her project and has links to her teacher etc but I can't find a way to post it. Deadline Dec 15.
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Lee Ask your surgeon when you can use this stuff but it really works. My port surgeon recommended this. I started using it on my old 1 & 2 year old scars and they really flattened out and got a bit lighter: It's called Scaraway (silicone strips or sheets). I get mine at Walgreens but they seem to sell them at all pharmacies. I wasn't impressed with Mederma.
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