Starting chemo July 2014
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yay Mags!!
So I need to go back for more surgery next week - I have a bit of skin which opened up post exchange (a sorry side effect of that infection all those months ago). I'm sad about more surgery (I feel like the general anesthesia eats brain cells even worse than chemo), but really want this hole closed (pretty icky), so there you go.
I also had a bone density scan ordered by my primary - osteopenia at 39. Hooray chemo.
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Yes! Raggedy Ann doll arm... that's exactly how I'd describe it... mine incision scar is so deep it kind of makes it look like I have two armpits. Guess I'd rather that than have cancer cells growing!
Rain, so sorry you are having to have another surgery. I think I need to have one of those bone density tests done too my bones have never stopped aching - kind of like the achy feeling caused by neulasta shots but never goes away.
I also had a tooth just break off the other day, speaking to a dentist I found out that chemo also weakens your teeth... wonder if SEs will ever stop popping up
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RainDew, why did the primary want a bone scan? Sorry it turned up with osteopenia.
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OMG - what is wrong with me - Mags - woo hooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks, Knmtwins! And everyone. RainDew, about your osteopenia. It is reversible. I was dxed with it many years ago, and began taking a good calcium supplement every night (bones rebuild at night). A year later osteopenia was gone, and hasn't returned. I don't know if it matters which one, but I found one that works and I've stuck with it.
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thanks for that inspiration Mags. I was totally bummed about the bone density. I am so happy to hear it can be reversed. I am now on heavy duty calcium and vit D. I hope to do as well as you!
Knm - combo of chemo, my diet (I am lactose intolerant) and ovarian suppression made him want a baseline. The scan was very quick. And I guess better to find out now than once it progresses to osteoporosis.
Still, like chaos I kind of feel like chemo is the gift that keeps on giving...
Chaos, btw, meant to say yaaaaay on fat necrosis (haha, how messed up is that sentence??)
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raindew so sorry you have to go back for surgery. That stinks. Hope it goes smoothly for you. And phooey on the bone density scan, but glad you caught it early before it became an issue. I wonder if I should ask about a bone density scan. My sister does them as she has osteopenia.
Chaos - not a broken. The dentist will fix it perfect and you won't even notice.
Three more rads for me hooray
Nancy
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OMG - chemo brain... not funny, but funny. So, we put the dog to sleep on Feb. 20. After my herceptin treatment last Wed. I went and got her ashes, as the vet is 2 blocks away from the chemo center. My husband's birthday was the next day, so I didn't want to say we had her till after that. I put her 'somewhere' and now have NO CLUE where. I have done a cursory look (30 min) and cannot find her. The trash went out today (yep they picked it up already) and I'm terrified I hid her under something someone thought was trash. Odd memories say, in the 4wd Escape we use for snow, or in the dining room, which is currently my pay cancer bills space. Nope --- I'm thinking I need to get dressed and do a better hunt.
So, do any of you, who ended chemo in late October, still have 'missing' spots in your memory? I may be blaming this on chemo because we watched The Judge last night. This may just be normal forgetting.... but you'd think for something like the dog's remains in a wooden box, covered in a blue velvet pouch, I'd remember. YIKES Oh, and my MIL arrived Wed, so there was harried cleaning and a guest in the house. YIKES YIKES YIKES
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kmntwins -- that is VERY funny for an unfunny event. If the dog's remains are in a wooden box, covered in blue velvet, there may be a very good chance that they were not considered garbage. A cardboard box? More likely.
Chemo brain? Could be. I can't say that I've forgotten anything that major lately. Sometimes, I'll be teaching class, and my mind will be searching for a name or something. It's a good thing I have typed out some serious notes for my classes.
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Woo Hoo - found!!!!! So, I finally looked at the passenger's floor of the car, in the front.... YEA! Seems I didn't hide her so well, only well enough for me to not be able to find without a 45 minute search. I have now placed it in the folded rag box, under some rags. With 3 little kids, I want it to be a 'family event' when I bring it out for them, so I can gauge their reactions and be prepared for questions and conversation. Now, what night is my husband home this week. Thanks ladies!!!!
BTW- is anyone no longer getting notifications? I used to get emails everytime someone updated this, or some of my other 'Favorite Topics'. I no longer get that, and I have added this email to my address book, thinking maybe it was my email server... hum...
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Knmtwins ~ there is a box on the favorites page that says to send or not send messages when the topic is update. There was a time when your email must have been hoppin'.
Yes, I do forget things. I think it is mostly when I put my brain on automatic and don't think about what I am doing. I don't count misplacing stuff because I have done that for 25 years! Don't you know that putting something in a "safe" place is almost a guarantee that you won't be able to find it?
Hope all are doing well.
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knmtwins oh my gosh so glad you found the box. I do stuff like that all the time - so annoying. I can't even blame the chemo because I've done it for years.
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Twins, glad u found it!
I forget vocabulary like crazy. I have to start describing the word I want to say like a dictionary.
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Dancingdiva, DH and I have a word for that. The word is balloon. Of course there's a story.
We were sitting in a lounge area at church, waiting for a friend. We were having a pleasant conversation when someone walked by carrying a bunch of helium balloons. A propos nothing, in the middle of the conversation, out of my mouth pops "balloon!" Ever since then, balloon is code for "I can't think of the word."
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lol, that's funny mags! I balloon all the time it's insane
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knmtwins - funny dog story. Sad but understandable, and at least you found the box! I'm constantly forgetting stuff, like you, that I know I put somewhere important, but it turns up days later. I just roll my eyes and try to have patience.
Raindw - sorry you have to go back, but it sounds like something that's easily fixable, so fingers crossed.
I had my DIEP reconstruction not quite two weeks ago, so I've just been sitting at home for the last 9 days trying to heal and not do too much. Very pleased with the results. My left boob is a little more sensitive and has a small area the docs are watching, but overall I was a textbook case. So phew! Boobs are back! Not ready for prime time for a long time, but I at least look "normal" in a shirt, despite all my Frankenstein stitches.I'm relieved I'm still moving forward!
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WalleGator -- Congrats on your successful surgery! Did you get a tummy tuck out of the deal? If I ever got DIEP, I'd have plenty of subcutaneous fat to contribute to the process.
I'm a month into my AI (Aromasin), and starting to feel depressed. It's like being PMSsed all the time, minus the cramps. MO just prescribed me Celexa; it's an SSRI, so I won't know if it works for me for 3 -- 4 weeks.
I'm almost through three weeks of rads -- my boob is pink but not peeling yet. RO says you can't overdose from the recovery cream, so I'm slathering, slathering, slathering.
Hope everyone else is doing well!
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ElaineTherese - thanks! I did get a tummy tuck! When I'm able to stand straight again I can't wait to see what it looks like! I was taking Arimidex, and was waking up with claw hands, they just hurt so bad. Onc put me on something else, same family, can't remember the name - begins with an L. (Too lazy to get up to look) and that's a little bit better on my hands. No other side effects that I've noticed...Glad your rads are going well. How many more weeks do you have?
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Three more weeks of rads! They are pretty boring -- the radiation therapists have become more efficient at positioning me, so I'm usually in and out of there in 15 minutes. I just have my fingers crossed that I don't end up with skin peeling.
By the way, I retired my wig! My real hair is long enough that I didn't need it anymore. My undergrads didn't recognize me at first (some thought I was a substitute!), but they got over it.
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wallegator glad to hear your boobs are back lol. Glad you're pleased with them. That's most important.
Elaine glad rads are going well. The three weeks will go by fast. I did develop a few blisters that were kind of gross but they healed quickly and I am pretty much good to go. You mentioned Celexa. I think you will really find that helpful. I'm on lexapro and tamoxifen. I have no side effects from the tamoxifen except for some minor hot flashes but the antidepressants make them less severe. I'm also a lot happier and more positive too.
I'm jealous you've retired your wig. Though I have hair it's ugly as sin! I wouldn't be caught dead. My hairdresser comes back next month so I will be in to see her on her first day back lol. I just took my two wigs in to be defrizzed. Wow what a difference. They look like new. I don't mind wearing them except it's 90 degrees here right now yuck
Cheers everyone
Nancy
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Nancy -- My hair doesn't look THAT good. It's "Jamie Lee Curtis" hair that I spike in the front with product to give it a contemporary feel. You can get away with anything when you're a college professor; trying to look like the students is quite common.
I didn't realize that you can get your wig defrizzed! The ends of my wig have been looking a little scruffy for a few months. Where did you go to get it done? Maybe, I should call my wig lady and see if she does it.
Hoping the Celexa does the trick! My son just flunked Prozac for the second time; we know that SSRIs don't work for everyone.
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Elaine lol my daughter said I should spike my hair. She's says my hair makes me look cool. Sure, I just need my Harley Davidson and a leather jacket ha ha NOT.
Is your wig synthetic? They can steam them to defrizz. I had my done at the wig shop where I bought them.
It's true some antidepressants don't work for everyone. I asked for lexapro because my daughter was on it for a few years and she did well with it. Sorry the Prozac didn't work for your son. Are they going to try any others?
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Yes, my wig is synthetic -- I will definitely give my wig lady a call. I'm hoping that I'll never need it again, but there are plenty of Stage IV ladies who've lost their hair multiple times. Best to be prepared!
We are going to wait until all of the Prozac is out of my son's system and see what he looks like (should be another week). He still looks anxious and depressed to us so far. We'll call the physician's assistant and see if she has further suggestions. So far, my son has flunked Risperdal, Abilify, Focalin, Prozac (10 grams) and Prozac (5 grams). He's still on something called Guancafine, which has reduced his aggressive behavior but done nothing for his anxiety and depression.
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ElaineTherese, my husband went through many of those meds too. He's on clozapine now and that seems to be working for him. Glad to hear you are doing better.
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Wallegator- do you mind if i ask why your onc put you on arimedex? Is there a benefit for tnbc? I thought it was only for postmenopausal hormone positive so am curious...
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Veruka - My right breast cancer came back 95% negative, and my left 100%. The Arimidex is for the very small 5% chance to fight that positive result.
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Walle - how are you??? I still think of how nice it was for you to mail me that stuff for neoropathy during chemo. I don't think I have %, I just have an Allred score of 8, the highest. Are your %'s from a core biopsy or surgery? My cancer was killed by the pre surgery chemo, so the only info we have is from that core biopsy.
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Happy Easter, Passover, Spring, etc. Hope everyone is doing well with there recovery. How is the baby???
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Happy Easter to you too knmtwins. So far so good at my end. Hope you are doing well!
Nancy
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knmtwins - my %s were from my biopsies. You should have a percent. Unless maybe you're fully positive so then they don't do a percent? The surgeon mistakenly told us I was positive, which was such a relief! But then we found out it was only 5% positive, and the other breast was all negative. Because the negative is a bear to deal with, they treated me just like I was all Triple Neg to fight the cancer the hardest.
I'm feeling good! My family celebrated having me back on Easter Sunday - finally feeling more like myself after having reconstruction. I'm on those boards, too, but I think we all have a much stronger bond on these boards. You're welcome for the neuropathy meds! Happy to help!
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