February 2012 Chemo
Comments
-
Welcome, Julia, but sorry you had to join us. Please feel free to jump in anytime. As Ali said, we are all mad as hatters and love to chat. (Just try skipping reading posts for a day, LOL)
0 -
Hi Julia
I concur with the other ladies! Shame you have to join us but this is a great place for information and support and nothing is TMI! We've all been there done that and leaned on eachother even if it's just to vent!
0 -
Ali - this might be a dumb question but what color does the henna make your hair? Is it red?
Julia - welcome! And good luck on your surgery July 24th. That is not far at all. What kind of surgery are you having?
DH and I agree that my hair is definitely growing. Although it is still nothing to speak of. I've had off and on pain since having my new port put in on Friday. Sometimes it is fine and then OW it will hurt like the dickens. But it is really no big deal. I have an awful looking bruise on my arm where they tried to do the IV; blew a vein. DH says it looks like someone beat me up. lol A/C went out and I am sweating like mad. Maybe I will weigh a little less tomorrow...
I hope everyone has had a great weekend!
0 -
Oh, Christina. Too bad about the AC. No fun. I am enjoying mine since I've only had it for a week! LOL. I hope your port settles down for you too. Much love
0 -
we finally are getting a slight break from the sweltering heat..yay!
ok- the thing that i really hate the MOST i think -truly--is this losing -AGAIN of my eyelashes and brows....
nuff said....
0 -
Julia: welcome to the group. this is a good place to just talk and get it all out.
lumpy: are you having a second round of chemo?
susan
0 -
i'm sorry- i hope that didn't sound bitchy--but i guess, in reality, it was meant to be.....i think i'm just tired of this- and i don't feel like i have a place to ocmplain cuz i certainly i have not had many of the SE's that so many of you have had...
i don't know if any of you remember taht i was a full time college student in michigan before we moved here to ohio in january- i'm half way thru my associate's in human services with the goal of working toward my masters- well- i did a buncha looking thurs/fri last week to get self enrolled here to go back this fall--yesterday i think that i decided it would be bestter to wait til january --that way i get thru my rads and don't have to worry about being so friggin tired all of the time...am i being unrealistic? or .....otherwise classes start end of august thru beginning of december--my rads should start about mid august and end by end of sept? also, kindof thinking of having teh fall holidays off to enjoy with my grands and my new house...
gosh--i was positive of my decision until i started typing here....now i am unsure.....i used to be so determined about everything--is this the cancer?
well- back to work- btw i still have yet to hook up home computer and we are now there two full weeks! but i DID buy and plant some flowers and unpack about 18 more boxes yesterday!
0 -
susan-yes- have had 3 taxotere/cytoxans----last one will be july 20
0 -
lumpy, sorry to hear about the lashes.
0 -
Oh, Lumpy, I didn't know you had another round of chemo and then RADS! Wow, no wonder you are tired of this stuff. You will make the right decision for you about school. Much love
0 -
Lumpy
11 more days that your last TC TX!!! I know you are then moving on to rads but mabey you should consider waiting until the Winter semester? I'm sure if anyone could use a break its you. Take some time to enjoy your new place.
My eyelashes are still crap but trying to grow and I have most of my right eyebrow back now. Weird how the left stayed intact but the right didn't and it didn't really fall out until I was done TX.
0 -
MLB; i really am thinking that i am going to wait til winter-after Christmas-to start school back again- i think i need the rest and i am worried about taking on too much in aug/sept during rads...i just do not want to push myself too hard right now....also i want to spend some time with my grands doing gramma type stuff since i have missed the last few years!!!!i guess this morning i was feeling like a whiny slacker to think that i should take a longer break! realistically i know that i have lots of tasks at home that i would love to finish up -lil things- and i wanna decorate and enjoy and rest and blah blah...plus the full time work as well as my sweetie may have to have hip surgery- well he does have to--so no time for starting back to school just yet....
with sweetie's diminshed abilities i am doing more and more around the house and it is tiring tho i cannot let him know that! he had a sh*& fit that i bought flowers to plant this past weekend- more work--however; i am determined to live in a pleasing surrounding and have things around me that make me smile-so -suck it up, bud!
i have decided to host an open house type picnic in about a month to show off the new place and entertain while we can be out in the back yard; muchos work for me-but i wanna!!!!! so--these are things that i want and i am willing to work for them....i am reclaiming life that i have not lived for years due to lacka monyet and his health issues and now my cancer crapola- so-look out world- margo's come back!!!!
i had a pretty fair regrow of my lashes and brows but they decided to fall out again- not sure if it's the taxotere or just the nature of growing! but i am bummed by it--minor i know but still!!!
0 -
Lumpy - I completely agree with you about the lashes and brows. Today is my first day back at work from my surgery (I worked from home last week) and my friend was amazed at my eye lashes. I told her if I as given the choice between 2-3 more months of a bald head and to have NEVER have lost my lashes I would have taken it. It absolutely sucks.
0 -
lumpy - that sucks about your lashes.
I hate how much this affects our bodies and our appearances. So sick of looking ... not myself. For what my opinion is worth, I think it's completely reasonable to wait until January to start classes again. I am going part time and making it work...but if I had the option of taking a couple of semesters off to get through this, I would have. Sometimes it's just too much...and I've only had one class this past spring and now a summer class.My lashes are not coming back in yet (although I kept about half of them through it all) but the hair on my head officially looks like a kiwi. I am so proud of my kiwi hair!
0 -
Haha I'm a kiwi too!! Love it.
0 -
Lumpy, I love that you bought flowers and are building a nest that makes you happy inside. I have to think that's a huge restorative all by itself. I always find that I have much more energy fir stuff I want to do--funny how that works, huh....
Christina, hope the port settles down, and welcome to Julia!
My brows and lashes fell out right at the end of chemo--it took a couple weeks to achieve that coveted baby reptile look, but boy, I WENT for it and achieved the Full Monty on the facial hair front! Then everything started roaring back, and I'm actually contemplating getting my brows waxed this week. (which is so exciting, I can't tell you.) However, from reading the HAIR thread, apparently since everythging grew in at the same time, brows and lashes ca also can fall out at the same time--it can take a few cycles for the hairs to get so they aren't all falling out at once. I hope that doesn't happen.
My head hair is much slower, and is coming in the color of a vole, which isn't that attractive. But then again, it's hair!
Lumpy, on the rads discussion-- for what it is worth, my last day of them is tomorrow, and I didn't really feel any fatigue until yesterday. I hear it can last a couple weeks afterwards, too, but (for me, at any rate) the radiation portion was far easier than chemo. But as we know, it's a crap shoot as to who gets what SE. Fun for all!
0 -
Hi all,
I have been lurking and reading but not saying anything for awhile, no reason other then I have been so damn tired. I completed my radiation treatment on July 3rd.....16 regular teatments and then 5 boosts. Thank god I was able to talk my doctor into the Canadian protocal. I am now recovering from the burns (slight but very annoying) and the bumpy rash above my boobs where i have had sun damage in the past.
Lumpy - take another semester to relax before you try to go back to school. While rads was definetely easier then chemo, it is still exhausting. More importantly, when you finally finish all the active treatments, you need time to process all that has happened to you. I spoke with my boss today, I am taking off the next month to recuperate. I am tired, I still don't sleep properly and most importantly I need to remember what it is like to not be sick. I have my first mammo since diagnosis scheduled for August 14th and I need to wrap my brain around it all.
anyway kisses and hugs to all - I have no idea how I could have gotten this far without all of you and the endless support you have given me.
0 -
Mthrdee, missed you. Glad you are doing a bit better. Much love
0 -
mthrdee-so glad you are back! you have been missed...i agree about needing time to process and ithink that is part of what i am hoping to accomplish in taking the semester off-doing things around the house and "gramma" type stuff and just chilling....enjoying the fall smells and flavors and etc that make it my fave season...
kiwi hair..um...nope mine isn't quit ethere. but i love it christina!
hildy- the biz about the lashes and brows and the cycles is i think where mine are stuck! i don't actually think it's the taxotere-more the "cycle" of life!
also- about rads--i have had many many tell me it's easier-after all -i had the red devil
! however;and not to get cocky here--i had very very minimal SE's thru BOTH of my sets of chemo so i don't want to push self about the rads--i am paying student loans for all of my classes- only got one grant from my former school so i am very conscious of the cost of my schooling AND i have set extremely high standards for self about my grades-(was extremely devastated at the concept of dropping a class even tho it's entire being was dragging down another class which i was never able to fully recover my grades from!)--(as it is i may have to repeat some courses if the credits do not transfer so not sure how much money/time wasted in the last year--ouch!)i'm deep into psych classes and sociology etc toward my degree and i cannot afford to not be on top! and this full time job (while it is easy it is full time) along with ALL of the housework etc (since my sweetie is declining and he is MY caregiver!!!) well- i think you get my drift!so-today is one of thos edays i shoulda stayed in bed! just got off to a rough start but it's gonna be a good one!
sending hugs and prayers to all of you!!!!!!!
0 -
If you google henna hair dye it will tell you about it. They have different shades like normal hair dyes.
I had two glasses of wine while watching the tennis final and boy I wish I hadn't. I was in bed for 24 hrs and couldn't stop being sick, so now I will give up wine.
Going out with my friend for the day tomorrow so looking forward to that.
Puppy is sleeping through the night but have a problem, when she wants to play she bites and it bloody hurts. I tell her no and move her away but sometimes she chases us around the garden.
My eyebrows are back to normal so ten weeks post chemo, lashes still not very long.
Love to everyone0 -
Hi everyone,
I haven't been on in awhile. I've been so busy at work, I guess that's a good thing to have energy again. Plus being in the hospital for 5 days took a toll on me mentally being in the cancer ward. I'm glad everyone is doing well. My hair is also growing back but all grey. I'm a bit concerned that there isnt much growing on the top. Anyone finding this happening? I'm afraid I'll look like Mr. Magoo!
Ali- I'm going to try that Henna. What length is your hair at?
Is anyone scheduled for exchange surgery? I go in this Tuesday the 17th. I'm not looking forward to another bout of drains and sleepless nights.
0 -
Hi Dipad
My top is growing more slowly that the sides and back too. I see a mullet in my future LOL! I basically have full coverage but alot of gray as well. I was thinking now about Henna which might make it look like better if the gray had colour. I would say the length is abou 3/4 of an inch. I am now just past 11 weeks PFC.
Being in the cancer ward must have really taken its toll OMG I can't imageine. Haven't started any reconstruction yet. Likely not until I'm done Herceptin. Can't deal with it right now.
0 -
welcome back mthrdee and dipad.
ali, puppies are not for me. too much work. found a nice article on training puppies to not be mouthy.
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/biting-puppy-how-train-puppy-bites?page=2
i have a 6 year old miniature schnauzer who i adopted a couple years ago. she can be a bit mouthy. i should try this stuff too. :-)
0 -
mtherdee
I really should learn to read back sometimes. Nice to see you back and YAY for being done RADS. Let the recovery begin!
0 -
Mthrdee, congrats on putting rads in the rear view mirror! Are you finding that your energy level has bounced back at all?
Dipad, I may have missed it so apologies for making you repeat info, but did you ever figure out what to do about rads? Are you getting to skip them?
MLB and Dipad, if we combined our hair, we'd get a full head, as I've got the opposite problem--more hair up top than on the sides--kind of looks like a Mohawk, which is always the hair style a middle-aged suburban mom wants to go for.
So I just visited my oncologist yesterday to talk about tamoxifen, where she very specifically laid out post-treatment rules--exercise and healthy eating, and no more than one glass of wine, on average, a day. I'm not prone to drinking more than that on a regular basis, but there are times (such as upcoming Springsteen concert) where I would run a little amok. I've got no more vices left to give up at this point....
0 -
Mthrdee -- I sooo agree, I miss easy, comfy great sleep. It's been since November at this point. It's not as bad for me as it was w Taxol. But now I have bmx healing and hot flashes. Next will be hot flashes and bulky brava bar. I wonder what tamoxifen will do.
Hope everyone is doing well0 -
Hildy - did she say why no more than one glass of wine?? What exactly is this no drinking thing that they want us to do??
0 -
Hildy910- I'm going to get a second opinion on RADS. My onc said to go outside if memorial sloan for that. If the second opinion says have RADS than I guess teh decision is in my hands. My case was presented to all doctors at the meeting and they feel because the cancer was in my left breast it could do heart damage. I still feel that at least my lymph nodes should have RADS since i had one positive. It's all so confusing. Right now I'm just focusing on surgery next week.
so do you think we can store up that one glass of wine per day and dring 7 at one sitting? LOL.
mthrdee- congrats on completing RADS. One less ting to deal with. Hope your energy comes back soon.
0 -
Dipad, good luck with the second opinion. I know I've rambled about this before, but maybe findoing an RO who has the equipment to support the inspiration breath hold method would make a difference; I did it and it got my heart completely out of the radiation field.LOL on the idea of saving up drinks for one big party--must admit the thought crossed my mind regarding the Springsteen concert.Sadly, the alcohol thing is a real risk, especially if you have a hormone receptor positive cancer:I also found that having a glass of wine triggers hot flashes, so abstaining cuts down on those buggers, too.So who here will be climbing aboard the Tamoxifen Express? I'm going to start in August...0
-
Hi everyone! I just cannot keep up with all of you and your posts ... but welcome to the new gals (I'll get your names down eventually) and welcome back to some of the originals :-)
Moonflwr - loved you calling us "mad as hatters" .... isn't that the truth ... and even if I read everything every day ... I feel I get so behind in posting. My brain has lost some serious processing function on the Taxol ... hoping it truly is temporary. I'm too young to be be senile ;-)
Ali - dear child the lack of pain meds and such with your docs just made me madder than a wet hen. If I could teleport over there I would go with you to the docs and let them know what for ... and if I could round you up some meds and send them I would.
The henna sounds intriguing. I'm not ready to dye or color at this point mainly because I don't want to do anything to lose this incredibly SOFT hair that I have now. It truly is addictive to touch it - it is soooo soft. My favorite part of my hair that has grown back is just on the sides around my face. It is blondish/greyish on the ends and then gets darker and I can style it forward with just my hands and it curls forward on my face. I don't know if that description makes sense to anyone - one of these days I'll try to post pics. gritgirl - pic of you growing hair is great - I love that downy coverage and your beautiful smile! Hope your break is going well! Are you coming this way? I thought you might be going to WI some time which is not too far from me here in IL. MLB - Was it your eyebrows that came in sticking straight out or your eyelashes? My eyebrows came in blonder than before and definitely not all there - especially on the outer edges - and some are definitely sticking out straight ahead and others in different directions. I find if I put some lotion on them and smooth to the outside then it's kind of like training them to do the right thing - lol. I've also tried some of my son's 'surf hair' hair stuff that he used to use a LONG time ago. It's not harsh and seems to tame them for the day. Christina - I think I saw that you got another port or a port for the first time ... I'm telling you I read and read but some days things do not stick in my memory. I think it's a good move for you to take a step back and research your options for reconstruction since you are not ready. Most of mine was an all-in-one back in January when I had my UMX and DIEP reconstruction, but since you had neoadjuvant chemo you might want to let your body recover a bit from the chemo before all the other stuff. lumpy - your picnic open house type party sounds like fun! I understand your need to vent on here and also the guilt at not wanting to say things because others have gone through much worse. Still it is what it is and those side effects that you are experiencing are real and hard for you -- eyelashes twice now. I think mine might go again because I was having that water eye thing .... out of the outer corners of my eyes a lot ... that happened after my DD AC ended and it has been occurring the last few weeks or so of this Taxol. I figure if nothing else the salt would do them in. faithhopenlove - I can sympathize with you saying you would have taken 2-3 more months of a bald head over losing your eyelashes. For some reason that was a hard hit for me too. Not certain I'm ready to say I would have taken 2-3 more months .. but actually the hair was easier for me than most things. I never wore scarves or wigs and only a cap for a chilly area a couple times and when I ran when it was cold. Otherwise it was just me. Not to say that I didn't have a major vent on here once about the hair stuff ... but overall, that was a blip on my radar when I look back over the 4 months since my hair started going. mthrdee - yay for you completing rads. Interesting that you wanted to go with the Canadian protocol. I don't remember what your reasoning was for that - do you mind resharing? Hope I didn't miss too many of you crazy madcap lovely February gals!!! I have one other announcement which I'll put in a separate post!! HUGS!!!
0
