Any ladies from WISCONSIN??
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Thanks Pebee. I'm still in enough pain to require narcotics 9 days post op. I don't need as much or as often, but advil doesn't cut it alone. I'm finding it hard to move for any extended period of time. My sadness is heavy over me like a black cloud. To top it all off I lost another friend to this disease last night. I hate cancer.
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Oh Barbie, I'm so sorry to hear that you are in so much pain, both physically and emotionally. It seems when it rains, it pours.
Your picture looks so happy and healthy...I truly hope you can get back to a place like that very soon. Please take good care of yourself and heal one day at a time.
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{{Barbie}}
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Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering if any of you have watched the " Five" movie ? Its about five different women with breast cancer. I have it recorded on my DVR and want to watch it, but dont want to watch it alone and get all emotional . Hoping my girl friend will watch it with me when she gets home from work on Wednesday.
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Hi everyone. Thanks for the well wishes and online hugs. I'm doing much better, but still requiring ice and minimal use of Oxycodone and I'm now 5 weeks post-op. I have very little stamina, but it is building. I went to work for the first time in 5 weeks yesterday and weeped, no cried, for the first 2 hours. I only worked about 3 hours and I was flat out exhausted. I'm resting today, and will try again tomorrow. Baby steps.
BlueWillow - I watched the movie. It was just OK in my mind.
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hey ladies, did anyone catch the Northern Lights earlier this week? Unfortunately, I missed it.
Was in Minneapolis last weekend with some BCO sisters. Went to the Mall of America, saw a live theater production of La Cage Aux Folles, and ate at several wonderful restaurants. Good thing we walked 20 miles over the course of the weekend!
Lisa, I have not seen Five but want to see 50/50. Has anyone seen that yet?
Hope everyone is doing OK. Baby steps are good, Barbie! {{hugs}} to all
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I haven't seen either of them.... Hope you get much better this weekend Barbie....
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I missed them, too. But I did get up and go to watch sunrise over Lake Michigan this morning!
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Anyone here in the West Bend or north of Milwaukee area? I have Dr. Zukowski for oncology, Dr. Jewett for surgeon and Dr. Kinney for plastic surgeon.
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Hi J-Bug - Nice to see you here..... I am south of you.....
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Hi J-Bug, I'm in Milwaukee and had my treatment (Diep flap) at Froedtert. Although, I have a friend who came down from Upper Michigan to have Dr Kinney do her reconstruction. She showed me the finished product and I was totally amazed. His work was fabulous.
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zogo: That is good to hear good things on Dr. Kinney. I am at the point where I have finished chemo and am waiting for bmx. Then I have radiation. Reconstruction is after all of that, so it is pretty far away still. However, I have met with Dr. Kinney and did a lot of research on him and it all looks really good so far. I am planning a DIEP flap as well. He said he has done very close to 700 of these and there are no students working with him on these. (I was glad to hear that one. Most of the time I am okay with students, but not with this one. This is too serious of an operation to feel comfortable with that and my daughter had open heart surgery and had an experienced surgeon make a mistake.)
pebee: Hi! And thank you for the welcome.
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J-Bug, any surgeon can make a mistake and that's where the experience helps. And any surgery can have unexpected complications. I had to have a skin graft shortly after my initial surgery. But, all is well and I can't wait until my final revision. I'm working on losing weight so that I can get that "lift" with the final surgery. Still haven't decided on what to do for nipples.
I absolutely ADORE my PS and trust him completely, which is what really matters.
Going to the Badgers game on Saturday with my DH and kids!
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go Badgers!
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Hi there,
I am so happy to see this post. I don't live in the boondocks, I live in a small town. We have no groups here. I drive to downtown Chicago to see doctor, don't feel like driving that far to be in a group. But a friend of mine told me a group would help me alot.
I have been doing pretty well emotionally. Kind of living in absolute denial. Cancer lesions have redeveloped in my liver . Its set me into a tailspin of worry.
YOu and most of the women I've met on this road have such good attitudes. Hoping that will rub off here. I've been pretty lucky so far, I had surgery on my liver 7 months ago. Ive been on armidex since then. Until just now, I was doing oikay. Now the doctors are talking about chemo and I'm getting scared. I'm single, live alone, run 2 businesses. Now, I'm not sure how I'm going to cope.Seems like cancer takes away everything a person has a little at a time.
So, I'll be checking in here alot.
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soleil505: The groups do help, but these boards are very helpful too. I think the thing that is missing with these boards is that eye to eye contact and getting to know a few people really well over time. We try here, but there are so many and we are all in different places with our commitment, emotions, treatments, etc.
I have a friend who was diagnosed from the start with cancer in her liver and spine, as well as breast. She did chemo, bmx with reconstruction and I believe now is on the same med that you are and is having a lot of success with that. Check into the boards that are for the stage IV ladies and they will take your hand and guide you. They have been going through this for years and are very kind and welcoming to any new stage iv person. Just look them up in the "Forum Index" tab at the top.
I am glad you jumped in here. It is important to do anything you can to keep raising your spirit. There is such a strong link to those who have strong support around them, having better outcomes with their health. Welcome!
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hi ladies and Happy Thanksgiving. welcome soleil505 to BCO, sorry you find yourself here.
Got out for a walk this afternoon, wasn't the 56 they were promising but I'll take 48 and sunny!
Had my six-month onc visit last week and I'm doing well, I see him again in six more months.
Take care everyone!
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Hello Wisco Women!!! Just started TCx4 this past week and feel lousy but managing. Would like to find suggestions for getting through a Wisconsin winter on top of already feeling like hell. Does anyone have any information on semi-permanent wig providers in the area? I 've heard they can stay on for 4-6 weeks at a time. I have found these boards to be very helpful for the multitude of questions that have arisen. Nice to have stumbled on the Wisconsin one. Also, I have asked about further testing to see if the "C" has spread anywhere else. My onc says he doesn't go looking for it but waits for symptoms. Has anyone else had this kind of a response?
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anniebell: My oncologist offered me the choice of considering a PET scan because I had such a large tumor (8.6 cm). I chose to do it because I just didn't want to always wonder and I have two children with special needs to think about. I don't know how I would answer my onco on that comment if you are wondering and wanting to get it done.
They are extremely expensive and I have a friend who has had stage iv bladder cancer for over 10 years and he has never had a PET. I did learn that PET scans can bring up some false negatives that can cause more worry and concern. Mine brought up three additional biopsies that all came back negative.
I have never heard of the semi-permanent wigs. I LOVE being able to take mine off after work because it gets pretty warm and I get so used to not having it on at home. You may just find that the time goes so much faster than you ever thought that it would and soon you have adjusted to a whole new lifestyle.
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hi anniebell, I'm in the SW part of the state but work in Madison. Did TCx6 Mar-Jun 2010. Chemo sucks, so just know you're one down and three to go.
If you haven't already, I suggest you join a group here going through chemo at the same time so you're not alone. I haven't had any scans done. My onc is like yours and will wait for symptoms. I didn't wear a wig so no advice there.
I get through the winter by thinking of the tulip bulbs sleeping under the snow. Try to get some exercise every day, even if you feel crappy. I started a walking program when I started chemo. Some days I just went around the block, but it helped tremendously, and now I've logged 1,820 miles. Winter weekends, I walk laps at a local school gym; weekdays, I go for a 30-minute walk at lunchtime, to clear my head and stretch my legs. If it's crappy weather, I walk inside the Capitol.
Sorry you find yourself here but glad you found us. PM me if you want to meet for lunch.
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J-bug and Badger...thank you so much for the responses!! My onc. pretty much said the same thing about false negatives and PET/CT scans which is why he doesn't feel they are the routine route to go. Nice to hear a confirmation on that. J-Bug, you might be right about the wig thing and wanting to take it off. My 17 year old son ,though ,has expressed concerns about seeing me bald and how much that scares him so I'm trying to be sensitive but at the same time he is old enough to realize that hair loss is a part of this recovery process. I told him that I wasn't looking forward to seeing me bald anymore than he was. In a time when appearances shouldn't matter, I find that for myself, the hair loss has been a struggle. Badger....way to go Badgers!!! nice win last night from what I hear!! I'm affraid that my interest in sports right now is low on the totem pole but was glad to wake up and see that they won! Good idea visualizing the tulip bulbs sleeping. I will use that. I have heard over and over how exercise helps but the last 3 days I've been lucky to exercise my way to the mailbox. I feel good today but I usually start out that way and nose dive as the day progressess. Did anyone get the Neulasta injection? I did and think it was a big contributor to the overall flu-like crud I felt Friday and Saturday. Here's to a better day today. Thanks for the local support. Ann
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Hi Ann, I didn't watch the Badgers game either but sounds like I should have. I didn't get the Neulasta shots as my bloodwork was good enough not to need it. There's some trick about Claritin helping with the neulasta SE but I forget what it is. Posts on BCO are searchable, so maybe search for the keywords claritin and neulasta in the chemo forum.
I had shoulder-length hair that I donated to locks of love and liked the resulting bob. Had that for a few weeks until it started coming out. Then my hairdresser clipped it down to a half-inch, she said not to shave my head so I didn't. My hair started coming back in around Labor Day, which was three months PFC, so I was bald most of the summer. I went commando at work and at home, wore a Milwaukee Brewers baseball cap when I went to the store or for walks.
I never went completely bald, there was always a fine fuzzy down on my head, like a newborn baby. I washed my "hair" with Nioxin shampoo and since it's expensive, I used it until it was gone. If you can swing it, a satin pillowcase (ten bucks) is a nice treat.
My infusion day was a Tues so I was buzzed on steroids thru Weds. Thurs & Fri were my worst days but usually by Sat I turned the corner to feeling better. I drank a lot of water to flush the chem out (esp the cytoxan- it's hard on the bladder). Cold water tasted good to me, it doesn't to everyone. Weak tea with milk & honey was good, so were lemon ice bars.
Hope you're feeling better today!
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Anniebell - Welcome to the boards. I see you found December support group. That's great and I think you will find it extremely helpful. I just finished TCx4 in mid-November and had day after Neulasta injections. Days 4-5-6 were the worst after chemo when the steroids wear off and Neulasta side effects kicked in. If you have any leftover pain meds from surgery or whatever, don't be afraid to use them for pain during worst days. I think I made myself an emotional mess by day 6-7 from struggling too much through the worst pain days without pain meds. In retrospect, wish I hadn't done that.
Like Badger, I didn't do the wig, but I work at home. Check out the Hair, hair, hair site. If your hair is not alread cut off, I thought it was interesting that "Lago" had link to a site where you could cut your hair and send it to make an attachment for around 200 that peaks out from under hats. I will look it up and try to send an edit to this post. Ok, going to look for link.
http://www.hatswithhair.com/Wig%20Made%20With%20My%20Own%20Hair.aspx
I can't tell from your picture if you have short hair or it is pulled back.
And I would like PET/CT but my MO is not on board with that either. Personally, I think it is baloney, because you should be informed. It's expensive and it's all about the money, cost, insurance. They may give other reasons. I think we should know if it has spread or not to better guide our decisions....and they will give us a host of reasons....but it boils down to it is expensive and insurance balks. Sigh.
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Badger...I have heard about the Claritan trick but when I asked the nurse who gave me the injection about it she looked at me like I was speaking Greek. I am going to definitely try it for the next round because it certainly can't make me feel any worse than I did the last 2 days. Kimberly, thanks for the welcome! It's good to hear from someone who is newly done to know that there is an end in site. I still feel good today(knock on wood) and other than some constipation(ok too much info but I never dreamed that this could be such a contributing factor), I am hopeful. It sound, Kimberly, like I have the same MO as you. My infusions are on Wed. Thursday I was fine. Friday started to feel like the flu. Yesterday...I was ready to not do the next infusions. What a roller coaster this is and I have never been a fan of those. Thanks for the hair info. I do have a wig on order and am going to try to make that work. I have never looked good in hats. Blessings to all of you for sharing your strength and knowledge. It's wonderful how women band together in times of crisis and help each other out. I am continuously amazed by all of the support with these discussion boards.
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Hi Anniebell - I am in Kenosha - and I did the 4xTC. It is doable and yes, you can exercise in your good week.
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Thanks pebee...I do exercise over lunch breaks at work and will continue to keep that up thanks to good co-workers who will make me even if it's just a little bit.
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I understand what you are saying about your 17 year old, but I think that he will adjust as you demonstrate that he needs to. My kids are 14 and 15, girl and boy respectively. I asked my kids how they felt about it several times. My son and I agreed that I would wear a wig to some of his bigger events like parents night for soccer and his IEP meeting at school.
I always wore a wig to work because I was working a contract job as a designer and knew that I needed to continue to appear very well and employable. That position ended right as I was finishing chemo. I knew that I had surgery coming up after so I have been home for about two months now. I want to get back into the job search as soon as they will let me wear prostheses. I am three weeks out of bmx.
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I had my BMX prior to starting chemo along with tissue expanders for reconstruction. Frankly that whole process has been the highlight of this because I like my plastics guy and you see continuous progress. I started wearing a bra around 5 weeks post op and because my old ones had so much padding in them...they worked out just fine but I could have add prosthesis had I needed to.
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I am going to do the DIEP surgery after radiation. Because of the tumor size that I had (8.6 cm) I had to do 4 AC/ 4 Taxol, bmx, and radiation. I was not a candidate for TE's and implants because of how much was being removed. That is good to hear a number as far as when people were able to start wearing a bra again. My surgeon didn't give a clear answer on that one, so thank you for that one.
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Went to the UW yesterday to get checked out for the nerve pain and swelling i have had the past couple months in my right breast and chest and arm. Apparently i have some mild lymphadema and something else that I cant pronounce...dr. said it had something to do with the radiation and how it affected my tissue,muscles and nerves...also possibly caused by the Tamox.. They set me up with pain meds and physical therapy because the pain and tightness has caused me a loss of range of motion in my arm. I wish i could spell the word that she told me....should have had her write it down... it started with a C and had the word steroid/steroidal in it. Does this ring a bell with anyone ?
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