Any 40-ish survivors?
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Thanks heaps for that offer Sue. Very kind of you.
Sometimes when I find sites that will ship here, the $40 shipping charge puts me off.
I have started buying a few things from Shopbop.com. They will ship for free and you get it in 3 days. Very good service.
Wow msphil - 17 years!! That will be me and I'll pay it forward by coming back and posting on here for others.
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Kim - on the the Taxotere toes...I still have neuropathy in my toes and feet. Also muscle weakness in my legs. I really think that the Taxotere did a number on my legs and feet
It is not too bad now but I do have extreme sensitivity to heat and cold which makes pedicures painful, hot showers out of the question and dipping my feet in the cold water after a long hot hike a little daunting...I hope yours improves soon.I think with the thermogram it is more important on WHO reads the scan the who is performing the scan... My full body scan was $400 as well, the recent Breast and Lower limbs scan was $250 (I was having pain issues in my legs).
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Hi to All,
Hi KiwiMum....I hate to say what everyone else says because what else can you do but "HANG IN THERE" I found that toward the end of chemo I was tired...I do believe it builds over time. The good thing is you do get that pep back. I am no expert with vitamins and so on ,but I do wonder if they are more helpful to us because of what the chemo takes?? I really don't know though. I will be thinking of you.
msphil...... I love you long timers!! Thank you for sharing that. I'm with you KiwiMum...when I can say it has been 17 years ...I will be here to share as well. Very motivating. I wish many many more years for you.
Michelle- Thank you for sharing this info about Taxotere. I am on Fareston for now and I knew it could cause blood clots...but I had no swelling...but it feels like swelling. Very strange feeling. My last Taxotere was late August so thought that delay was strange too??Anyway. I am going to contact my BS today...really like her and I think she would be very honest with me.
Sue- so glad to hear you made it through that storm. Sounds like it turned out to be not as bad as they thought. We could use the rain here but we have nothing on the way. Hopefully Christine is ok too as I think she is in NC?
Since my brain only holds onto something for about two minutes these days...I think it was Gina that said how hot it is and I don't know how to write this and go back to the previous page.....It has been very hot here too. So much so that I have been mostly inside. I used to love the heat of summer,but it is not good for my LE arm...I have been stretching that arm out and it is getting better though.
I hope all of you have a good day!!
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My brain also struggles to hold onto things. I used to read lots of books but can't seem to concentrate long enough at the moment. I hope that returns.
Another chemo done today. Hip hip hooray. My onc didn't really like the look of my chemo rash and is sending me to a dermatologist. I hope she can give me something.
It was quite fun during infusion today. I was in a room with a great bunch of ladies and we chatted and laughed. It's great when that happens and passes the time. I think your support group sounds great Kim. Having people who can relate and offer support is much needed. That's what I love about this group.
I'm sitting on the couch while DH makes dinner. I used to do most of the cooking but DH does most now. It's great! One of the perks.0 -
Hi Everyone,
KiwiMum, So funny you say that about the infusion room. I also sat in a big room and each time met someone new. Met one BC girl there and we still keep in contact. ( Most of us) tried to have some fun. I thought one elderly woman was so funny. She was speaking about a son-in-law who apparently was lazy and she said " Why, He wouldn't work in a pie factory" I will never forget that phrase and it was funny with a thick Kentucky accent added to it. More like Pi with a long i. She was very funny.... it helps to pass the time when you get a good group.
I just recently read my first book,post chemo. It felt so good to do this. I found that I had to re-read sometimes,but it was great. I seem to struggle with many details when a plot is building and characters are added. I forget who is who....I also forget things that I have known for a long time like street names close to where we used to live. I am going to start a new book because my brain really needs to work .
I hope they can take care of the rash. Do they think this is from the Taxol? You are just so close now . Thinking of you.
Good Day to everyone,
Kim
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Glad folks on the east coast of the US are doing well between the earthquake and the hurricane.
KiwiMum - did you get the Neulasta shot? The reason I am asking is because I broke out in a rash about 7-10 days after each infusion, would start taking benedryl and then it would start to clear up just before my next infusion. Then while doing the Taxol, my doctor had me skip a Neulasta shot (my WBC counts were high and she didn't want them to get to high), and low and behold, no rash. Turns out I was allergic to something in the shot. Even though I needed the shot for my last two Taxol infusions she had me take either benadryl or Claritin (depending on whether or not I wanted to be drowsy). It didn't prevent the rash, but it definitely made it more manageble. Hope this helps.
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Hi girls just wanting to touch base. I am now 18 out of 33 rads in. Feeling pretty fatigued and have a rash and some raw areas under my breast but managable. Hair is definelty growing had my hubby trim the back last night so it wasnt soooo well cancer looking. Think I am getting close to loosing the scarves and just going with it maybe on my last rad I will do that. ON the home front my DD started grade 4 today and my DS hit high school cant beleive he is in Grade 10 how is it they keep getting older and I dont ???
Hope everything is going well with you girls and everyone who was in the path of Irene made it out with any damage
Hugs Kymn
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Hey Kymn - good to hear rads are going okay. You had such a hard time with chemo. Hopefully rads are a breeze. I was the reverse. Rads were far worse for me, although not horrible. And yeah for hair!!
Michelle - I too have the taxotere muscle problems. My muscle fatigue so much more easily than before. I am sure part of it is conditioning. I slipped into total laziness on the exercise front during treatment and have yet to rebound. But I don't doubt some of it is chemo related. My thighs were where I felt the most muscle aches turning chemo and now they tire sooooo easily. Is has gotten better of time, but when I first tried to do exercise after rads finished, my thighs gave out after 10 minutes.
I hope everyone else is doing well. I have been busy as usual. Ready for fall. Some 80 degree weather is going to be heavenly after this summer.
Trying to book a last vacation for the year. Beach trip. I had to cancel a beach trip this summer because of a work conflict. Hopefully this will go better if I can get it booked. I am trying this website I was told about (jetsetter.com) - discounted rooms at top resorts. The hotel I want, which I have been debating for days, is now only available on standby, so I may not get the deal. I was feeling guilty about spending the money which is why I waited and now I can only go if a room opens up. This way I figure if I get it, it was meant to be and if not, no big deal. LOL. I can rationalize any expense. It is a dangerous talent.
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Hello to all my 40ish friends, I have been reading but not posting as much. Kids back to school and seem so busy and worn out. Sure hope energy starts to improve more now 4 months PFC. Back to my onc next week, and seeing PS at the end of this week. I am fairly happy with my new silicone girls, but think I could benifit from some fat graft around the clevage area, and would love to have some under my arm where they took the 17 nodes. Anyone have any fat grafting post exchange??
Kim, I see you are having some additional surgery on Sept 6th, what are you having done? I secretly hope you are having fat grafting and nipples, then you can tell me what to expect.
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Hi all on here!
Lots of activity on here - brilliant! Thanks, Kim, for remembering my news - I never got to the BCC (Breast Cancer Care) meet-up in Cardiff a couple of weeks ago - I felt too ill with flu and pain under my arm and it's quite a long trip. I was quite annoyed, but hoping to meet up with the other "girls" mid Sept. I've actually been to the GP again today as I had a throat full of pus (nice!) on the week-end and couldn't move again with my arm/chest pain when we met my brother and his family - lovely to see the kids again, though. GP sent me for a chest x-ray as she thinks I've got some sort of lung damage, exacerbated by rads last year, which may have become infected. I already had anti-biotics a couple of weeks ago, which don't seem to have worked since I still have a nasty cough. I am, obviously, hoping I don't have secondary lung spread, but did have a clear ct 6 weeks ago, so trying to be positive. That toe thing you mention, Kim, does seem possibly, like taxane damage - neuropathy - I've had a bit of it for over a year. Though there isn't usually swelling with it - best you speak to someone about it. Hope it's nothing and you can carry on with your surgery next month. I reckon that you will find the support group a good idea - you seem like the sort of person people will talk to and open up to. Good luck with it!
Kiwimum - another one bites the dust - chemo-wise! Have you got 4 left? - can't check back in case I lose what I'm writing! Not long now - well done! I don't envy you - chemo is really draining. Funny you said about QPR reaching the Premier League - I'm no sort of football/soccer fan, but know that my local club, Swansea, have just been promoted to the Premier - first Welsh team EVER to do so - so quite exciting! Take that, English! Actually, I'm English myself, adopted at birth by my Welsh mum and dad and brought up in N.of England. Lived in Wales since '82, though. Thinking of tracing my birth mother, but still unsure about the whole"can of worms" it may open up! Not a decision to be taken lightly!
Kymn - good luck with the rest of your rads - they are exhausting, though. Over half way there now! My son is about to start Year 8/Grade 7 - he's about an inch taller than me at 5 foot.6 and has a little baby moustache - normal, I know, but also mind-blowing in a way! Hope the extreme weather over there hasn't affected any of you ladies too much.
All the best, Sarah xxx
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Hi Christine....That IS what I am having done. I will be having some fat grafting . I am also having the nipple surgery as well. So far what I know ...is that the nipples will be done using a skin graft taken from around the bikini line. The fat will be taken from above the rear area. It was explained to me that the fat grafting is done slowly and may require more than one procedure as it has to establish blood supply. If too much fat too quickly little hard nodules can form and can be seen through the skin....This is how I understood it??? I will let you know how it goes. I understand this surgery may leave me a bit more sore than the exchange.
Hope you did ok with the storm. Had been thinking of you.
I hope everyone else is doing ok. At first it sounded as if the storm was not as bad,but now just seeing all of the flooding...just sad to see. Anyway...hope everyone is well.
Have a good night,
Kim
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kmur, just checked computer and saw your response (studied vocab and spelling with my 7th grader, I am getting so smart). So glad you are going to blaze the trail for me! I see my PS on friday, I need some grafting in the area of the cleavage, we have not discussed yet, so I am hoping he is game. I do know I am having a c-v flap, which is a local flap, and then tatoos later. My PS did mention when I asked about grafting under my arm that it might take several sessions, I have lots to donate, so I am game. I had my implant exchange almost 7 weeks ago, and this week I am sore, kind of down deep, so hard to explain, sometimes a jagging pain, did not have any significant discomfort initally. I am not sure what my PS will say, he is very young (35-37 years old), I am in health care and when I ask questions I think I make him nervous. He probably will not have an answer for my discomfort.
I am in NC and we did not have any trouble at all from Irene, we are 3 hours from the coast, the Outer Banks look rough, we were hoping to go this weekend, but not sure they will be cleaned up in time.
hello to all again!
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Hi All again,
Sarah, sorry I missed your post. I hope you get to feeling better and thank you for the info about Taxanes. I also think that is what I have. I did see my BS today and she thinks the same. Back to your lungs though, I hope also that you will find just an infection of some kind and maybe some stronger antibiotics are needed. Do let us know how you are. Sorry you missed that get-together. My little group will start in Sept. so I will let you know....
Christine...I will keep you posted...I am hoping the fat grafting will correct the rippling and add a little something to that area ( can't think of how to put it) I do have what I would call a pulling feeling only on the radiated side. Under the implant... Still tighter on that side. It is not too bad though.
Take care all,
Kim
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Hi everyone
Sarah, yes only 4 Taxol left. Funny you mention Swansea. My DH did mention they had gone up too. Sorry you missed your get together and are unwell. Nothing can have changed so quickly after a clear CT 6 weeks ago. I hope they find what's wrong and sort it pronto.
Kymn - that's quick hair growth! I hope I can go hatless by the end of rads.
ProudMom - I haven't been getting Neulasta shots. I'm on weekly Taxol and my WBC hasn't been low so onc sees no need.
I've had a good day. Very busy at work and then had a nice afternoon with my girls. Someone gave us a recipe for homemade banana ice cream so we have attempted it. It's in the freeze now ... here's hoping it turns out ok?
Bye for now.
Kiwi0 -
Sorry I haven't been around girls! If my chemo brain could remember what I've been doing over the last couple of weeks, I would surely share with you.
WELCOME to the new girls! It's so nice to see us still growing. Love it.
So here's what I do remember. Had the PET scan about 6 weeks ago but just got the results last week. No cancer, which I obviously knew because his office hadn't called me..but get this. I have a cyst in my sinuses, a kidney stone, and fluid in my pelvis. WTH. You just have to laugh, right? So I have to see an ENT, I have an appointment with my GYN in a couple weeks, and I'm just going to leave the stone alone. Fun.
While I'm there he feels a tiny lump in my left breast, and feels some thickening (?) in my right breast toward my armpit. Holy hell, panic mode. He orders a breast MRI asap, and I had that done late Friday. His office hasn't called me, so I'm sure everything is ok. I seriously think it was just scar tissue. But there's that awful feeling in your stomach until 4-5 days has passed.
Still seeing a PT for the pain in my arm and shoulder, but I think that's coming to an end. It seemed to be improving for a couple of weeks, but now I'm back in pain. Back to Aleve every morning for me. He's going to send a report back to my Onc, and then I may need an Xray or MRI to see if there's a bone spur or something.
But everything else is fine! Seriously. Lol. We're leaving early Friday for 4 days of camping, so I've been buying the groceries and supplies over the last 3 days. Tonight starts the packing. It seriously is so damn hot here I need to do it after the sun goes down.
I have been following the flooding and power outages on the East coast and I'm just heartbroken about it. I'm glad to hear that a few of you survived quiet well, but am worried about others we haven't heard from. I hope everyone gives us a quick check in soon.
Thanks for keeping the group alive, ladies. HUGS to every one of you!
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Back from Hurricane Irene. During all the heavy rain we had a leak develop in our kitchen right over the table. Turns out it was a leak in the bay window roof. DH figured out that he could reach the roof from our daughter's room window on the 2nd floor, so he was leaning out the window, after breaking the screen, and did a quick fix. Luckily it worked so the damage wasn't too bad. We lost a few shingles and the power was out for about 17 hours, but other than that it wasn't bad for us. We were fortunate. My mother never lost power so she made out the best. My 4 year old niece is staying with us for a week (I'm exhausted already) and DD has volleyball practice 4 days a week. Luckily DD (15) is great with her cousin!!! DD also has her learner's permit and has been begging to drive everywhere. We are doing well but I still haven't let her get on the interstate. I told DH that was going to be his job. Traffic is pretty heavy here which makes it more challenging. Hope everyone is well and I am sending good wishes for everyone's treatment.
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Hi Ladies,
Hope everyone is doing well! I saw the PS today and he said that I am not infected (yay) and I am swollen, and we have to get my pain under control before he fills me. He says I will probably only need one fill since I am pretty good sized right now (350 on the left, 400 on the right!). He doesn't want to hurt me and says he is probably going to have to dig around for the ports (ow!). He also says I have to bring my PCP into the picture. I have an appointment with her on Friday, but she is the one that "forgot" to tell me I had a bad mammo until I happened to ask about it when I was in for a sore throat 4 months after the fact, so I really don't want her to have any say in my life. She also never called after my biopsy or lumpectomy. Maybe I'm being too hard on her, but I want to tell her to her face that had I had a different type of cancer, 4 months could be critical, says my MO.
But the good news is I am healing and will be able to get filled in a couple weeks, and maybe even get some nipples before October, when I'll go for the ooph and hyst. Kmur, the come from WHERE? I thought he was just going to twist up the skin on my new boob. Now I have to find out how I'm getting nips! PS said something very funny-- they are not mechanical, so he doesnt make them too protruding or I will have permanent THOs! Learn something new every day!
I'm going to eat some chocolate PB Haagen Dqz. Be well, everyone!
Xoxox
Eema0 -
Hi to all,
Eema....I know sounds crazy. In my situation...I could do the twisty thing on one side,but my BC side was radiated and is tighter with not much extra skin so, my PS wanted them to be alike so that's why I will have a skin graft. I imagine each person would be different. I don't know if TE's are different for each of us..but my PS had a little magnet she used to find the port for fills so I never had any pain other than after fills and I kind of thought that was a feeling of heaviness or hard to breathe kinda??
Mom2one- So good to know you made it ok. It is so sad to see those that have lost everything. This is so crazy the weather. We have not had rain in forever. I know our friends in Texas are suffering with the drought. Thinking of all of you.
Kim- I hope camping will be just the thing you need right now. I know you enjoy that. I do think if there had been something of concern you would have heard by now. I'm going with scar tissue as well. I do hope they get the pain under control for you.
KiwiMum- Sounds like so much fun making ice cream with your girls. I bet they are so much fun. I really love to cook and have a couple of ice cream recipes we like ..one is coffee the other is key lime pie. I have not made them in a long time though...maybe I will do that this weekend.
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Hi everyone
Kim - our ice-cream turned out great. Your recipes sound yummy.
Eema - I love Haagen Daz! I am actually sitting on my bed in the sun, with my iPad, eating nougat and drinking a cup of tea. Bliss! Both girls have friends over to play so are totally not interested in me. I not had one "muuuuuum, can you get me ...." for at least 45 minutes.
It's Friday afternoon here. Happy its the weekend. Back for chemo again Tuesday. It comes around so fast.
Hugs
Kiwi0 -
Hi To All,
Hope everyone is feeling good today.
Happy Labor Day Weekend to all, can not believe the "end " of summer is here. Still feels like summer as our temps today and this weekend should be record breakers and we are hearing about maybe strong storms for Sunday??
Surgery for me on Tuesday. Hopefully this will be the last of the major stuff. I am ready to be done.
Take Care Everyone,
Kim
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Kim - yesterday was the first day of spring here. We are all excited about upcoming summer as you wind down for autumn. It's not Labour Weekend here until the end of October.
Good luck for Tuesday and being "done".0 -
Ugh,I asked my doctor for a bone scan,figuring at 40 how bad can it be. Well, my onc is asking me to call her on her cell, that's not a good sign. Will report, but totally demoralized this morning. Early menopause has lots of ugly ramifications....
Burley, if it helps at all, a friend told me think about it: with all the testing we are subject to, how is it possible to have everything be perfect? I think they simply uncover a lot of stuff in us with all these tests, not all of which matter per se.
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Hi all,
Just a short one to wish Kim All the Best for your surgery next week. Enjoy Labor Day/Weekend. We don't get that here - but we do have a Bank Holiday ( last Monday) which is kind of the end of summer too. Love September - my favourite month! The weather is always quite warm and the trees are so pretty. My son goes back to school on Monday, back to normality!
Sarah x
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Hi Everyone,
KiwiMum,
I sometimes forget your seasons are opposite ours. Happy Spring!! Spring and Fall are my favorites.Thank you for the well wishes. I will let you know how it goes.
Sarah, Thank you for the best wishes as well. Good luck with the first day of school. Even though my son is almost 14, the first day of school for me is so quiet around the house and I miss all the fun Summer activity. I also love the trees in Fall. I hope you are feeling better.
Today my husband had the day off and we took our canoe out. Was very pretty on the water and we saw lots of wild life turtles,deer and owls. Very fun and so thankful to have the time with him.
Happy weekend everyone!
Kim
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I hope everyone is have good holiday weekend. First full weekend of college football, so I am in heaven. It is my favorite time of year. Any other football fans here?
We are expecting rain here for the next three days from the tropical storm. We really need it. And the temps are supposed to stay in the low 80s for at least a week, with lows in the 60s. Sounds like fall is trying to arrive . . . yeah!!! this summer has been brutal.
I finally got back to working out this weekend. I have gotten so lazy. I feel so much better when I do work out. I really need to keep it up. Going to try to get back to that hour each day.
Got my period again. Normal cycle so it seems like I am officially out of chemopause. The down side is I am now back to what I call PMS boobs - achey sore breasts. They are killing me right now. Of course, a year ago I would have just chalked this up to PMS; now it scares the hell out of me. I have my 3 mo follow up tuesday so everything will get checked out soon.
Well, better run. Gotta work tomorrow, so I need to finish my weekend stuff tonight.
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Lisa, Not a football fan, but I do love the thought of fall, it has been one hot summer. Sorry about the PMS boob pain. I go back for my 3 months check on Wednesday, it has been tough not seeing my Onc every week.
Kim, I will be thinking of you on Tues and your surgery. Post as soon as you have the chance and let us know how things went. Sending happy foob thoughts your way!
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Kim - I missed your post about the surgery. Good luck!! I know you are glad to be almost done.
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Good Morning Everyone,
Lisa sorry you are dealing with the pms kind of issues. I have not had periods return so I'm thinking they will not at this point,But....the good news is that I did not turn evil with the menopause situation. I was so scared of menopause...I could remember stories my mom would tell me about her friends "goin' crazy" so ....I'm glad I'm not crazy.....AND I love college football. I am a southern fan and have a hard time picking a team. Like Florida,Alabama....Thank you for the good luck with surgery. I hope to be done with all this stuff.
Good luck to both Christine and Lisa with your appointments. I find the follow ups to be kind of quick. So weird I think to go from having this life threatening cancer and appointments all the time to done. (well every 3 months) Each time I would go I would feel a little nervous,but that is getting better with time.
My husband and son are home today for the holiday so we will do something. I will check in with you all when surgery is done and let you know how it was.
Have a great day all,
Kim
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Glad to hear you are a football fan kim! I went to undergrad at Florida State and grew up in Tallahassee, so I am a near life long Seminole. My family have been season ticket holders since I was 5. Thanks to BC and chemo, last year was the first year in 35 years that I did not go to a game. I decided the trips to Tallahassee were too much on top of everything else that was going on. Will be headed down for the Oklahoma game in two weeks - top 5 match up at night in Doak - cannot wait!!! But I also follow college football in general. I will watch just about any game as long as it is at least halfway interesting. An ex boyfriend once described me as the perfect girlfriend because I completely understand the desire to sit and watch football all day. LOL. The SEC games are usually fun, but unlike you, I have no trouble cheering against Florida. In fact, the only thing that is as fun as an FSU win is a UF loss!!
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Kim, I am hoping your surgery is scheduled early in the morning, nothing worse than being hungry and thirsty waiting for surgery.
Not expecting much from my Onc appt this week, he will probably just look at me and tell me I look good. Get labs, which should be normal and send me on my way. Somehow this has all been quite anticlimactic, you finish chemo and you are all well?? Most days I do feel good, but not me yet.
Getting ready to go to a friends for end of summer/Labor day party. I have made 3 fattening appetizers to take, and am sure I will go off the diet today with all the food and dirinks. Seems like loosing weight on the Tamox and memopause is tougher. I am going to try and loose 5-7 pounds before my surgery at the end of the month, starting again tomorrow.
Have a great Labor Day all!
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