February 2012 Chemo
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gritgirl - that is wonderful news that the chemo is doing its job. Hang in there. I agree - your real friends will not feel overburdened.
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((((Gritgirl))))) so sorry you will have more chemo. Sucky. Glad its working, but I can understand the disappointment. Msbelle, glad you are done. Ali hang in there. Jen, enjoy that salad. I had my tx #4 today. Then went out for a pizza and movie. Haven't had a pizza in months, but really wanted it when it wouldn't bother me and I could taste it. My taste bud will disseapet tomorrow, but for now, Yum. Crust so thin it cracks, my favorite. My sugars are way up due to steroids, doesn't seem to matter what I eat. Hence, pizza. LOL to everyone in the chair this week, small SEs, I had better SEs last tx because they changed my dose. I am glad we kept the new dose this time, I fan handle it much better. For everyone,Much love to all.
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gritgirl......no special words from me..nothing that would HELP anyhow-just know that i care ....we all do here-
AEM--i was washing my face and the eyebrows fell off in the washcloth...crud!!!! so i need to practice with the pencil!!!! they have been thinning i just wasn't expecting mass exodus!!!
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Lumpynme...I'm horrified !! I have a feeling mine will be doing the same quite shortly. Yesterday I was in the mirror trying to figure out why I looked 10 yrs older overnite..then it hit me that the brows had obviously spent the nite flying the coop. I tried to darken/pencil them today and as I was blending...they were coming out. I'm not good at trying to manufacture brows...I looked like a 2 yr, old that got a hold of mommy's eye makeup !!0
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Hi everyone, I'm looking a lot better because I've slapped on loads of fake tan.
Also feeling better and no pain so that's great.
I think I need to slap on tan and do more make-up.
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Ali
That's a great idea with the fake tan. I'm sure along with the fact your feeling better you must look good. I know I feel alot better when I take the time to put on a bit of make up and fix up my wig LOL!
One of the girls I was annoyed with a couple of weeks ago dropped by yesterday with her daughter. Before she came she called and said we won't stay long. Anyway, they get here and she threw her arms around me and said "You don't look sick at all!!!"LOL! We ended up chatting for a couple of hours over coffee and had a great giggle. She was really impressed with my wig and the fact my eyebrows and lashes looked OK. She lost her Mom to colon cancer 4 years ago as well a good friend of ours a couple of years ago and I think she thought I would look much the same somehow and it terrified her. Her daughter told me about a local wig shop where all the 20 somethings go to for extensions etc and how the prices are great and the selection is huge. Going to have to check that out for sure. Mine (I think) is too long so I'd like at least like to get one more that's nearer to my own cut (chin length bob) for the summer. I have a feeling I won't be going topless for quite some time yet.
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I bought some fake bangs to wear under hats and scarves. The velcro in. I don't worry about my brows wearing this. My hair dresser cut them to fit. Much more comfy then a full wig for me.
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I can do my eyebrows now it is so weird having none and i mean none.
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Gritgirl, I am glad to hear that the scans showed shrinkage (must admit I can never hear that word without flashing back to that Seinfeld episode.) But at the same time, bah humbug that more chemo is coming. It's difficult to have the goalposts shifted farther downfield right when you thought you were nearly there. Is there anything we can do to help?I'm known to research inventive new insults to hurl at my situation, which sometimes helps.Bone aches for Tx #3 are out in full force. Yuck. We hates them, we do. They are mangled, half-faced miscreants, those bone aches are. (Thank you, Shakespeare Insult Generator!)My fingernails seem to have calmed down, however, and the vit B6 has definitely helped with neuropathy.Ali, I wish you were around here to show me how to do my brows--they are definitely thinning, and I am like a kindergartener with a big fat crayon when it comes to things like applying eye makeup. It's not going to be pretty around here.0
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tomorrow my daughter and i are on a road trip so i will have to practice with the brow pencil--my wig is kinda long in the bang department which is good!
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Lumps, enjoy the trip. Hildy, is your bone pain from the tx or a nuelasta type shot? If from a shot, try the claritan. MLB, hope you keep your brows for a while yet. Mine are real thin. Much love to all.
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Moonflwer
While sparse, my brows have hung in there. I do my best to pencil them in using really short strokes and then use a bit of brown eyeshadow on top of that. They look OK. Whats bugging me a bit now is I'm getting a little bit of eyelash growth and they are curling in toward my eyeball which is totally irritating so I end up plucking them out.
I had my first client meeting post TX tonight and it felt so good. Super nice couple too. This is the part of my job I love, meeting nice people. She's an artist and I think I might treat myself if I close a deal. Nothing super expensive but really cool. Having myself a nice glass of red wine right now too to celebrate.
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Quiet on the boards today. Hope everybody is doing well. Much love.
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Had a CT scan of my chest yesterday. Onc called me today and said 3 small cyst less than 1 inch in size showed up on my liver. He thinks it is calcifications or benign dense areas but is scheduling another CT of just my liver. Now I am so stressed. Had to have the first CT to check into my heart issues. See a cardiologist next week too. What next?? My onc said a lot of cyst have been there since birth and just show up while checking other things. Anyone else had to deal with this??
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Msbelle: Me, of course. First of all benign hemagiomas are very common on an older, adult liver. Your doctor is just wanting to make sure that these are indeed benign. After they CT, they probably will schedule a liver biopsy. In fact, talk seriously to your doctor about this if it's not brought up since breast cancer on the liver looks benign until tested, i found out. The odds are in your favor, most are benign, but better safe than sorry. Also when they do the liver biopsy, ask you doctor if you can have conscious sedation. It is a minor procedure, but does involve taking samples from your liver and can be painful. Ain't no harm in checking out of that. It'll be over before you know it and you'll have reassurance that you have just a regular old lumpy liver like so many people do.
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Thanks gritgirl!
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Msbelle, fingers crossed for you! They are probably benign, but I know it's hard to remember that once you've had one not-benign finding. (Well, it is for me at least.)
Moonflwr, the bone pain is from Taxol, that was a very vague post, sorry. It was my third Taxol treatment out of four, having already done the AC portion of this fun little obstacle course.
So we live on a pond and I was just looking out the back window and a male wood duck swam by. So cool! They are beautiful birds, but very shy, so we don't see them often, what with the loud offspring racketting around in the back yard and all....
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Msbelle, keeping you in my thoughts.
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Haven't been on in several days, so I'm catching up. Gritgirl, I'm glad the tumors are shrinking but my heart broke for you, that you need more chemo. That SUCKS. I know you'll get through it though, you have gotten so far already.
I've been feeling good this week. My "biggest" issue is one of my fingers. It is getting more and more sore every day under the nail. Starting to get a little discolored too. I'll show it to the P.A. tomorrow when I go in for my herceptin. My brows and lashes are getting noticeably thin. Fortunately they were thick to start with. I've been wearing a halo hairpiece with hats at work, and the bangs on it are gone because I tried to trim them myself and did a bad job.
So I bought a new one and will get the bangs cut by a pro this week, to help hide my brows.Looking forward to TCH #5 a week from tomorrow. I can't wait until I only have one more treatment left...I can't wait to be done.
The cost of all this is getting overwhelming. Our savings is pretty well depleted. They gave me a fundraiser at work (I work with some very awesome, compassionate people) and it went really well and that will be a big help. We have been keeping up with ithe bills but I forgot that I would be getting a bill from the second opinion I got, which was out of network from my insurance. My insurance company is slow and they are still processing it; I probably won't have it until the end of May, but I think it's going to be around $6k - $7k. I hope they are willing to take payments.
On a happier note, this weekend I have to finish a paper for school, and then I have no more work left for the semester other than attending a couple of classes. I am so relieved to have gotten through the semester successfully while dealing with chemo.
I can't believe so many of you are done with chemo or so close to it! Can't wait for my turn, just one more month!
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Christina, glad things are going better. I am two thirds done, 4/6. I of course got on the big D train again. Couple more days of this to go..... Hildy, hope the pain goes away soon. Gritgirl, is it another 6 for you or do they not know yet? You will get through it. Much love.
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just checking in. nothing new-
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Me too...Must mean everyone's doing well. I'm just coming around really from the last TX energy wise. Hoping to continue each day. My head is starting to resemble a chia pet. Little white fuzzies everywhere and stubble is beginning in the really bald areas along my hairline.
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seems like the weekend is quiet. Hope everyone is well. I too am gradually improving.
The hair - I didnt shave my head, and lost about 80% of hair. wear it shorter - about 1 1/2 inches. pretty thin. don't see much new growth there. Eyebrows....started out with pretty heavy brows, and now they are more normal. Chest hair is growing back. That was shaved for my surgeries. Only have to shave occasionally-bonus, used to be at least daily. Not much arm hair, but still a little leg hair. So it will be interesting to see how that progresses.
Everyone who is having treatment this week, be sure to check in.
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Hi everyone, I had good weekend and feeling good but tired.
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Hi Everyone,
Well this last tx really hit me hard. I was in bed almost all weekend. Still cant eat or drink well and trying to dodge the D train as Moonflwr says
Tried to work today but only got in a few hours before the aches and pains got to me too much. I really hope this gets better soon!Thursday I go in for an echo to see how the heart is handling the Herceptin.
Glad everyone did well this weekend. Here's hoping this ends soon.
Hugs and Sunbeams to all!
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Jen poor you, I know it will get better I should know haha,.my GP called me today to see how I was and he said "I'm like a hunny pot" meaning I attract all the bad SE. Take it easy I found if you try and do things too soon it backfires.
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I have 7 more chemos coming up. Pretty scared about this. Afraid SE's will get worse.
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Gritgirl, I know it's hard having more chemo but just keep thinking the Cancer will go.
I'm sure you will get very good results as you have already. How long do yours last and what will it be?0 -
ali, do you mean how long am i in the chair? about 4 hours. one of the bigger challenges is that i had it all set up for friends to come and spend the night the night of chemo and the next night just in case i have a reaction. i'm not sure folks will be up for doing more. i know i'll get through this, just feel a bit discouraged, scared and alone right now.
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Have you told your friends and what have they said? I'm sure they will.
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