Starting chemo July 2014
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Pink Ninja - Very cute! Mine came in curly, too, which i've never had, so I don't know how to manage it. It's adorable on you. I'm going to have to invest in more hair product!
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Ninja, u have so much hair! Nice!!
Happy Mommy's day to everyone
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Happy Mother's Day to all!0 -
My hair came back curly too, though I had curly hair when I was little up until BC I'd always had long hair and its length and weight pulled the curls down
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That is a wonderful hair style for you. It shows off your beautiful eyes. Stay well.Jana
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oh you ladies look beautiful!!!!! My hair is coming back and I had it colored, but I still hate it!!! It's not the color - it's the shortness. I had short hair one time in my life in 8th grade and I disliked it so much I wouldn't come out of my room. LOL.
Hope everyone is feeling well
Nancy
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Hello All ~ It's about that time for most of us that we will be going through the first big post chemo exam. Today I am getting a PET scan and next week a visit with my Oncologist. Last week, I saw my regular doctor after having blood tests. It was an interesting visit. She is a woman who lots of people think is a bit bi-polar. She'll hug you one day and take your face off another - depending on how well you are living up to her expectations. She was very kind on this visit.... perhaps too much so. It was... a "You need to enjoy your life" talk. My kidneys went to H... and because I'm diabetic there is really nothing much left for me to eat that I like. Even my favorite low carb vegies are off the list. Interestingly enough, two friends here in my little town who are also post bc/chemo/rads got the same news recently. We are all over 50 years old, diabetic, marginally over weight, and post cancer treatment. Each of us were told that chemo really hits kidneys hard if they are at all compromised in the first place, which diabetes does. We were not actually told this, but were told to drink plenty of water, and stay hydrated. We'll see where all of this goes.
Take care all.
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Coyote - love that you get a PET scan. That's got to take some fear off your shoulders, I would think. I would hope, for you! I see my oncologist every three months and he just feels my liver and listens to my lungs. I'm not feeling very secure with that! Not much he can do. I am getting the blood test but I hear that's not very reliable. Oh well - I keep saying we've got to keep moving forward!
Chaos - love the hair! Mine is curly too but doesn't look that good! It's 3 inches long (I measured) and I feel like i've got a mini afro! I don't want to come out of the house either! When I can escape with a hat, I do. Hoping it pulls straighter as it gets longer. I've NEVER had curly. Can't stop touching it, such an interesting texture! On the plus side it's super soft and came back super thick! I do have to color it though.
Nancy - read above!
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chaos, I love the hair. U really look good in it.
Mine is slowly coming in and not as thick as I would hope. Tomorrow is my last rads!
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The last week has been heavy on emotions. It's been a week since we had to put my precious Sunny cat to sleep. His kidneys finally gave out. That's about all I am capable of saying about that right now. Adding to that, the fact that my GP has said that I am in Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease, my coping skills have been rather taxed. What does a diabetic with S3CKD eat anyway? Answer: Not much.
Today I went to my MO to hear about the results of last Wednesday's scans. I am clear. No evidence of disease. There is rejoicing in the streets. She was also very surprised to hear about what my GP had told me, and said that she wanted to see it for herself and had more blood drawn for tests. We'll know more about that tomorrow. Tonight we aren't worried about it.
WalleGator ~ I think I got the scans because I'm a 2 timer already and my MO wanted a baseline. Yes, I feel much much better about things.
Hugs to you all.
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Coyote big hugs to you. I am sorry you had to say goodbye to Sunny. It's never easy. May he forever rest in peace.
I am also sorry to hear about the stage 3 kidney disease. What can they do to help you out? Please know I am thinking of you.
So happy to hear your tests came back clear. Whew! I go see my ob/gyn tomorrow and will be discussing the tamoxifen I'm on. I have a diagnostic mammo and ultrasound next month.
Nancy
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Coyote,
Sorry to hear about your cat and kidney issues! But, glad to hear about NED. I still see MO pretty frequently as I'm still doing Herceptin every three weeks and I have to get my Zoladex shots every month. In fact, I just did a MUGA heart scan last week to see whether or not the Herceptin is negatively affecting my heart. But, no other scans. MO just does her usual stuff.
Puffin, WalleGator, PinkNinja, and ChaosRains -- Nice to see your new hair! Mine looks sort-of like that of ChaosRains, only it's light brown. Still sparse with the eyelashes, though.
Dancingdiva -- congrats on finishing rads! I finished about four weeks ago, and my skin is S-L-O-W-L-Y returning to normal. Last week, I began to wear bras again.
Hope Kmntwins' exchange surgery went well... Haven't seen her around the boards lately.
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Thank you all for the hugs and kind thoughts about Sunny. We love them and when we lose them, it breaks our hearts.
The NED really is great news, but (yes, there it is.) we all know that as wonderful as it is, there is a reason we have ongoing check ups with the MO. I promise that I do embrace the moment with gratefulness and wish the same for all of us.
According to the new tests, the CKD is apparently real. The pre/post chemo numbers indicate a substantial but not life threatening change. Who knew? My MO seemed surprised. What I can eat seems to get more challenging all the time. Evil tomatoes... who would have ever thought? Oh yes...they made a movie about that one..."The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."
Hugs and good thoughts to all.
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Coyote, I am sorry to hear about your cat.
I hope u get some clear guidance on the kidney issue.Did the chemo change things?
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dancingd~ Thank you. I appreciate your thoughts. I didn't expect it to rip me up as much as it has.Apparently chemo had a hand in it somewhere - so says the GP. It was too big of a bump in numbers for it to be "just life". There are 2 other post chemo women that I know that are in the same situation. This is a very small town. It could be a strange coincidence, I suppose. The MO has ordered an ultrasound for Friday to see what can be seen.
Stay well.
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Coyote - Interesting about the kidney. We didn't have the same chemo treatment, but I'll keep my eyes out. What were your symptoms? Wonder if it was related the the TN? I love my big chocolate lab everyday because I know one day I'm going to be bawling like a baby when he goes. We put our cat down a few years ago, too. It really sucked, but the memories are wonderful! Think of the good times. And rejoice in the scans that give you peace of mind!
I wore my first real bra today, 10 weeks after my DIEP surgery. Boobs again! Feels great! I'm really happy with the outcome.
I'll have to update my pic. The pixie was really cute, but now it's about 3 inches long (I measured, dorky, I know) and crazy curly and unmanageable. But I'll count my blessings!
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Lew and I just got back from a week's cruise to the inside passage of Alaska (stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and spent 2 hours at the Tracy Arm Fjord), our first cruise. Who'd have thought we'd be going to Alaska for the warm weather. While it rained and snowed in Fargo the whole time we were gone, we had sunny skies and temps that reached 68 on the trip. Mornings would start out cooler, but dressed in layers and by 10 am the layers were coming off. We took Princess and were totally pleased with the cabin, the friendly crew, the FOOD, scenery was breathtaking. Even added 2 new birds to my list.
I had my baseline 3D mammogram last week after we got back, waiting for the results. Will see oncologist next month.
Coyote, so sorry your kidneys took such a hit, great news though that your scans were clean, hope you can take your doctor's advice and "enjoy your life", this summer has to be a better one than last year!
Walle: I know exactly what you mean about never having had curly hair and the soft texture, and I often find myself patting mine too in amazement
Chaos: you're looking so GOOD
dancingdiva: congrats on the end of rads, hope your skin held up0 -
I am a bit envious of all you girls with hair. Mine grew enough to cover my head and stopped. I went to the hairdresser to have I shaped and he barely took off a smidgeon, and it hasn't grown any more since. On the bright side, I have only one or two armpit hairs and shave my legs every few weeks. Used to be a jungle. But really, the longest hair on my head is barely an inch long.
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Mags!
Sorry to hear that your head-hair growth has been slow. Could it be the Arimidex? I've read that some of the AIs contribute to hair thinning. Some of the ladies on my Aromasin thread have complained of bad hair.
As far as other body hair goes, I never shave my legs. Never. There is still no hair there. And, yes, I have only a small amount of armpit hair, and it's in my right armpit. That's the armpit that was radiated! But, there's no armpit hair at all in my left armpit. Go figure!
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Funny about the hair. I was thinking that I wasn't getting much hair regrowth either, though the hair on my head is now three inches long. So I got out my glasses and my close up mirror...come to find out with my last surgery my armpit wasn't in quite the same spot that I'm used to shaving, and there was plenty of hair there if I had looked sooner! Dying of embarrassment at where I may have had my pits showing!!
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puffin , ur cruise sounds awesome!!!
For me, it seems the started growing on my face and legs....I've shaved it once on my legs.....I even had to trim the sides of my face cuz it was getting ridiculous, but now it seems to have stopped. Barely any on legs and arm pits. Heads slow too.
My armpit is really burning up after rads. I have to say I'm enjoying the no bra thing with the TEs in
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My mammogram results were waiting for me on the internet this morning, first one since treatment - all clean, YEAH!
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Congrats Puffin! What a relief! I've had two blood tests, so far so good. I know they're not 100% fool proof, but it feels good looking at the numbers.
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Congrats, Puffin!
I'll be getting a mammo soon, too.
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congrats Puffin!!! Always good to hear. I have my diagnostic mammo and an ultrasound on June 10th. Blood work too!!
Nancy
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My MO tells me that due to BMX I won't ever need another mammogram. I will get a PET scan annually for a while, but when I got the notice that my mammogram was due I was like WHAAAAAAAAT?????0
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Mags, our BMX gals here are complaining about the same thing and our center is trying to get the computer programmers to fix it so that the annual reminders won't be sent to people who don't have breasts.
I saw my interventional radiologist today for my follow up CT scan for my kidney issue (good report). He put in my port, now that I have the good mammogram report I asked his opinion about what I should do with the port and he said it could come out. So I sent my onc a message and asked her to write the order.
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Never getting rid of my port. I have such bad veins I even changed PCP to the new family clinic upstairs at my cancer clinic so I would be assured of port access for blood draws. Added bonus, I get to see my chemo nurses from time to time.
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Congratulations on the good reports Puffin. Last week I had an ultrasound of my kidneys and should get that report this week.
Mags ~ Interesting that you will keep the port. I have cruddy veins too, but I don't know if I could stand keeping the port forever. You are a stronger person than I am. Also, my hair is growing very slowly too. It is a couple fingers wide long. I remember someone saying that it happens with certain chemo drugs. Guess we are lucky to have hair at all.
WalleGator ~ That's good news for you too. Hooray!
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I still use my port because I'm still getting Herceptin infusions. I'm torn about what to do with it once I'm finished. I'm getting Zoladex shots in the infusion room once a month; I could just ask the nurses to flush it then. But, leaving it in seems to suggest that I'm not really "finished" with treatment.
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