TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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Mommyof3 and anyone else beginning chemo - be sure to go to the "Chemotherapy - Before, During and After" section and find the thread for your starting month. Of course we are here for you 24/7, but I found it enormously helpful to have the support of the ladies who were in the trenches at the same time. I could whine, vent, ask questions, compare notes and laugh with them. Honestly, it is such great support. It allowed me to take some pressure off hubby, who was trying to be everything to everyone. Also, don't be afraid to ask for something for anxiety. I have ativan - I didn't use it often, but it was a huge relief on the days when I couldn't pull myself together.
Regarding Valentine's Day. I went to Hallmark and read nearly every card. I could not find one that said, "Thank you for shaving my head when my hair was falling out in clumps. For telling me I was beautiful when I was bald and scarred. For keeping fresh watermelon cut up in bite-sized chunks in the fridge for those days when I wouldn't or couldn't drink. For keeping the kitchen spotless and for policing the incoming food for my neutropenic days. For running my business when I was down. For visiting me at the hospital every day. For making the bed. For cooking. For doing laundry. For vacuuming. For peeking in on me when I was sleeping when you didn't know I saw you. For covering me when I am napping. For listening to me vent, whine, moan, and cry. For loving me through this." Since no card could ever come close to my feelings, I didn't buy one. No card, no bouquet of flowers, no piece of jewelry or box of chocolate will ever say how much he loves me. Actions speak louder than words.
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Vballmom......
Just beautiful vballmom....show it to him and to everyone else .0 -
pbrain when the nail goes it goes. One of my large toenails almost fell off but was so lifted and painful when I walked that I had to have it removed. Actually felt much better when it was gone. It grew back. I did loose a few other little toenails but they fell off on their own. Didn't even notice those were gone till my podiatrist pointed it out. All my fingernails lifted too but for some reason I never lost any. One came close though.
LeeA I still think that article talks about sugar for those who are obese/diabetic and don't metabolize it properly. Those of us that exercise and have a proper weight and are not diabetic probably won't have an issue with metabolizing surgar in out diet. All cells needs some sugar we just cant over due it.
"Sustained high levels of sugars, as is found in diabetics, damages our cells and now is shown that can also increase our chance to get cancer…the diabetic population has up to double chances to suffer pancreatic or colon cancer among others"and
"At least 1 in 3 of the main cancers (27-39%) can be prevented by improving diet, physical activity and body composition."0 -
Vballmom---thst was so beautiful and so true actions are always louder than words.
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Vballmom - love what you wrote, definitely show it to your DH, you said it so well I think I may steal the idea for showing my own DH how much I appreciate him. You could start it with 'How do I love thee, let me count the ways ...'
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vballmom, you said it so well! What a wonderful way to show him how much you love and appreciate all he does. I hope you show it to him.
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vballmom
That was beutiful.
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Vballmom,
That was very nice..0 -
Very well said Vballmom.
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Love it Vballmom! I couldn't have said it any better!
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Regarding nails: I lost a couple of toenails but I've had a cyclic thing with my fingernails where every couple of months starting at the top they will lift in the middle, sometimes halfway down and then reattach. And the really weird thing is it will be both fingers, for example, both of my index fingers did it at the same time, then a couple of months later both of my pinky fingers did it and now I've been noticing my middle fingers are doing it. Has anybody else had that happen? It doesn't hurt and always seems to resolve...(Finished Taxol/Herceptin last April, finished Herceptin a while back)....Also my eyelashes still fall out/thin out every few months too!
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Thank you ladies! I have a keeper and I did tell him when I got home from the card store. He will buy me candy when it hits 75% off though!
I think we need to remember how much they are hurting. As awful as all of this is, I would rather it be me than watch my husband or my daughters go through this.
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dechi it can take some people up to 2 years for their eyebrows/lashes to get out of sync. What happens is normally those hairs are not growing all at the same time. Then chemo does it's thing and they can all start growing again at the same time. So you just happen to still be in sync
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N Sync - Ha, ha Lago! Two years....good grief!
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Delhi,
I had the same problem with the eyelashes for awhile..better now0 -
Beautifully written, vballmom! I hope you show it to him as well! I read it aloud to my husband while we were in the car coming home from breakfast/errand-running.
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Dr Susan B Love..tireless advocate in the breast cancer cause..had her own life and death struggle recently . Read her interesting take on the side effects of treatments and her familiar new focus and outlook on life.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/susan-loves-illness-gives-new-focus-to-her-cause/?smid=tw-nytimeswell&seid=auto0 -
To all the recent additions to this thread....my cancer center puts out these guided meditation cds to help with surgery, chemo and general relaxation. I have uploaded them to a dropbox account and can send you the link so you can download them. I found them helpful in dealing with the stress of all this.
If you are interested, PM me your email addresses and I will happily share them.
PS I've gotten better at using dropbox. When I first offered to share, I couldn't figure out how to use dropbox. Now, thanks to my tech support system, otherwise known as my 21 year old daughter, I can work it!
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ashla, great article - thanks for posting it. She is a woman to be admired on so many levels.
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Ashla thanks for the article
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I go for my first radiation appointment tomorrow. Any thougts on what to expect? I hear I get tattoos...
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I had my CT Sim for radiation a week and a half ago. I have a friend who is a radiation therapist who told me before hand what to expect.
First, they have you change into gown and housecoat - I was told to have gown close at back - the housecoat comes off in the CT room
Brought into CT room where I was told to lie down on table, there was a frame for my arms over my head, with handle to hold with each hand - my RT friend told me that it was important for me to be as relaxed as possible when I lay down, to make sure that there were no wrinkles from the gown under me. I was told they would place a cushion under my knees and that I should relax down into the arm and under knee supports and make sure I was very comfortable with the positioning as it will be replicated for each radiation session. Once they felt I was positioned properly, three of them started marking me, I have a mastectomy incision and they placed a sort of tape over it, I'm not sure what they do for lumpectomies.
When satisfied with how everything lined up they did a CT, 30 sec and one minute. Following the CT they placed black tattoos (size of a freckle) left side, approx. bottom of sternum and right side. They said they will place the top tattoo at my next visit which for me will be my first actual radiation. The CT is used to help them map and program my radiation. Everything has to line up each time.
I am not sure if this is everyone's experience so hope others will contribute.
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Pbrain, my experience at the first appointment was similar to web sister's. CT scans, lots of time with my arms clasped over my head (no handles to hold at my facility), marks made with sharpie and covered with clear round tapes. No tattoos until first actual radiation day. They did my scans in two ways - holding my breath and breathing normally, because they wanted to see which way worked best to avoid radiating my heart. With the scans they devise the plan and then I got the tattoos based on my plan. My tattoos are on the right side and left side of the torso, and one at about the top of my cleavage. They also made a form that my head and arms fit into for each treatment. I met with the dosimetrist who devises the plans and she showed me my scans with the radiation beams overlaid - very interesting and reassuring that they really know what they're doing.
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Well done websister, I had a lumpectomy And it's pretty much the same as you said.
P.S you can not move when they leave you in the room and your getting ready to do radiation.. Not even your arms, head anything until they come back in ... I wanted to move so bad that big machine intimidated me but I got over it quickly I hated even to here the machine so I put ear plugs in my ears until I was done. It is over each day quickly.. I also had to close my eyes as the machine goes right over me and you can see yourself it flipped me out. lol gosh I sound like a real pansy...
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Oh, I am almost finished with rads - have 3 more boosts to go. It's gone well - was tired early on but seem to have gotten over that. Red boob but no skin breaks or sores.
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the member omaz has a great skin care regime for those about to start rads. If you PM her she can send it to you. I have it in my PMs because I passed it on to a friend (I did not have rads) so if you need it let me know. Her doc said her skin was really great, and same for my friend who used the regime also.
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Mine was red but actually got worse when on my last week and after I was done.
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Thank you Websister! It helps so much to know what the next step is. Did you have to get into a tube for the CT scan? If so, I might need to take a xanax
The MUGA scan I had last week freaked me out a tid bit when the film came down over my face. I'm a raging claustrophobe! Saw too many mad-for-TV movies of people buried alive when I was a kid...0 -
Patin and Ang, thanks for the advice/thoughts. I love how no one tells you what your next appointment will entail. I hate being so clueless! K, can you PM me Omaz's treatment when you have time? I'm about 3 weeks away from the first radiation, so no rush. I just have the most sensitive of skin, so I doubt this part is going to be easy-breezy.
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Hi Pbrain,
Websister and the other ladies have described the radiation process well. I had a lumpectomy done to my left breast so the CT scan was done with me using a snorkel-like device to enable me to breathe as I had to hold my breath for 25-30 seconds (holding your breath, they told me, causes your heart to drop lower in the chest cavity, moving it away from the lumpectomy scar, so your heart is not radiated). Radiation was a breeze when you compare it with chemo. I had four weeks of radiation, in total, three regular weeks, and a "boost" week. My skin held up beautifully throughout the whole process as I (1) did not shower for the 21 days, as showers dry out your skin (I like long, warm-hot showers, and knew I would not have the discipline NOT to have such showers!!); (2) I put 100% organic Argan oil on the areas radiated three times per day, morning, afternoon and night; (3) I never put soap on the radiated breast,and always patted it dry, never rubbed the area; (4) I wore a cotton bra, when I did wear one, but I often wore no bra. Hope this info., helps you. Good luck tomorrow
!On a different note, here is another "be wary of alcohol" article that was posted on the Science Daily website today. Read its contents and choose to do as you wish. Just want to share the info., am making no judgments at all: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130214194103.htm
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