Starting chemo July 2014
Comments
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Maiden: what a scary ordeal for you, hope the worst is behind you, think I'd consider a new PS
I have my MO follow up Wednesday. So far I'm doing pretty well on my anastrozole, sleep is improving, some new pains here and there but then they go away. Hair is coming back with some curls, have never had a curl in my life, wondering how long they'll last.
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Maiden -- what a nightmare! I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hope that you're feeling better now and that you're resting comfortably. Ugh.
Raindew -- hope your surgery goes better than Maiden's! It looks like I will be doing OS + AI soon as well.
I will also be resuming Herceptin infusions and visiting RO next week. I am five weeks out from my lumpectomy, but MO was somewhat concerned about the fluid buildup in my lumpectomy boob. I wonder if RO will want the surgeon to drain some of it before I begin rads. The incisions look good and all but there is a part of the lumpectomy boob that is pink (though not painful or hot to the touch).
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omg, Maidentired, what an awful experience! I wish I had advice, but I just hope you're ok and there are no more surprises. Rain, good luck next week and may your surgery be textbook and uneventful. And I hope everyone else who is recovering from surgery is doing ok.
I finished rads on Friday, and I'm so glad - it was fine for the first 3 weeks but the last weeks my skin got really uncomfortable and itchy. And I'm very glad not to have to get up at 5:30 anymore. Now I am hopefully done with treatments and just have to start Tamoxifen. I'm nervous about the side effects.0 -
hey boxofrockstar - how's your little man?
Hooray for finishing rads! I've found tami pretty painless if that helps. Been on it for nearly 4 months without incident. I don't think it's unusual to tolerate it fairly well.
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That's good to hear. I'm mostly nervous about the weight gain - I haven't been in the best shape since I had my first son, and I'm afraid I'll never get there again. Little guy is doing great! Still huge, very happy and sweet. Here he is with his big brother.
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Oh Boxofrockstar, your boys are adorable! I have 2 boys too but I sure miss when they were little. They grow up too fast.
Feeling a little better today. Still sore and on pain meds and I have a sore throat from the breathing tube but I'm up and around. It will be interesting how the "girls" will look after all this.
Hope everyone is doing ok.
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oh boxofrockstar your boys are so cute. Love that picture. You must be so proud! Just wanted to add I have been on tamoxifen for 3 weeks now. No side effects and no weight gain. Hoping that doesn't happen either. Glad you are finished with rads. I am still doing them bleh. Yep I was started on tamoxifen and rads at the same time.
Maiden OMG what a horrible thing to have happen. I am glad you are feeling better today. Wow that is just scary.
Raindew good luck with your surgery. Hope it all goes well.
Hugs
Nancy
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Slappy-Squirrel - where are you??? I linked to this page, from an email, but wasn't logged in, so it brought me to the first page, where we had all your wonderful hats. I hope you still lurk some.
Box - LOVE the picture. Glad rads are over. BTW - if you want to get back in shape, you will, YOU have proven to all of us you can do ANYTHING - chemo while pg, rads with a newborn. Sister - nothing will ever stop you!
Rain - I watched a co-worker die from Ovarian. We had a wonderful boss who would let us go to her house and 'telework' from there, so we could be there to help take care of her, bring her tea, change her ostomy bag, etc. She fought so hard, but they caught it too late, as they do with so many people. No mammogram for the ovaries, just your doctor, PA, nurse midwife, palpitating them. Fortunatley, my MO says, once I go on tamoxifen, he will order an internal ultrasound every year for my ovaries. As to BRCA, it came back negative, but I'm adopted, so who knows what my family history is.
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knmtwins,
I'm still here lurking most every day, just not posting as much. Still making a few chemo caps including a few for a neighbor recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Been meaning to offer a few more caps to the ladies here.
Shirley
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thanks Nancy!
Boxofrockstar - I didn't put on any weight on tami - been on it for 4mo. I think most people do well on it, but you hear more horror stories because, well, not much to say if it's a non-event, right?
I've been working out with a trainer since finishing chemo. Expensive, but feels like a so-worth-it gift to myself. I was horribly out of shape and weak like a baby kitten. It's slow going, but good.
Knm - I am so sorry about your colleague. That's so sad. !@$&'ing cancer. I get mad a lot more now.
Maiden - please keep us updated when you can.
I hope east coast july ladies are keeping warm! Wonderful to hear from so many of you last few days.
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box!!! i LOVE that picture. sooooooo adorable
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Thanks, everyone! I can't resist sharing photos of him, it's been so much fun watching him grow and find his little place in the family. Especially after all this scary stuff. Knm, I hope you're right!
Very encouraging to hear about positive/not negative experiences with tamox. I've been putting off making the appointment with my MO because I haven't felt ready to start it.
I feel like everyone has cancer all of a sudden! No one in my immediate circle, but tons of friends of friends, and most of them are relatively young. Maybe I just pay more attention now, but it seems like a lot.0 -
Hi friends... I hope everyone is feeling well and coming close to the end of radiation/treatments...I had my 18th radiation treatment today, I have 8 left then an additionl 7 boost. I attached a picture from today which is 12 weeks post chemo.. my hair is coming in pretty nice
I have my eye lashes and eyebrows back which makes me very excited I have been free from side effects so far
always thinking of you girls
wishing you all health and happiness always xoxo 0 -
Oh my what wonderful photos. Cute, cute little boys looking oh so happy!Leave it to you Joeysmom to have all that beautiful hair... your avatar was a pretty good hint that it would come back like that, all silky and black with coordinated eyelashes. Oh, to be young and beautiful!
Tomorrow I start my check ups rounds with my surgeon and get the port flushed. I'll be glad when they tell me that can go. I guess they want to be certain all is well, so it sticks around until May when I have my scans.
Take care all you eastern snow bunnies. It's beautiful here now, but we will pay for it in July!
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Coyote - hope all is well
Joeysmom - can I say B_tch. Dag, wow, man... all that hair. I'm 16 weeks and have a lot of hair but only baby length. Also, how old are you, 20? It is all dark. Mine is white and black patches. I look like a cat. Mind you, my first gray was at 25, and I've been dying it since I was 30, so who knew what color it was at 49 when I started chemo, but the hairs that 'hung on' were brown. They have all fallen out, since chemo ended, an I just noticed, so have most of my bottom eyelashes...
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JoeysMommy, you look great! Glad rads are coming to an end for you. Take care!
Today I see the PS that botched my exchange surgery. I'm so nervous. I'm hoping that I don't look like frankenstein (boobs) when this is all over.
Hope everyone is doing good and moving forward.
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Good luck, maidentired. I have to go back to my surgeon tomorrow, too. As is the case with most lumpectomies, when the surgeon removed tissue from my boob, fluid rushed in to fill the hole left by the surgery. Unfortunately, too much fluid rushed in and I have an enormous seroma! So, tomorrow, the surgeon will take a syringe, poke it through my incision, and suck out some of the fluid. Fun times, but my radiation oncologist won't begin radiation until he does this.
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ElaineTherese, I had a huge seroma from my lumpectomy too but ended up with the mastectomy so I got rid of it that way. They noted in the pathology report that there were cancer cells floating around in my seroma as they hadn't gotten clean margins with the lumpectomy. I imagine that's how the tumor cells got in my lymph node. Oh well. I hope all goes well with your appointment and it takes the pressure and pain away.
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Thanks, maidentired.... I'm not actually in any pain, but it is odd to have the lumpectomy boob BIGGER than my presumably normal boob. I just hope I don't have an infection. The skin toward the bottom of my lumpectomy boob is pinkish and freaked out my MO and RO.
Hope you don't feel like frankenstein either; you deserve better!
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wow wee Joeysmommy. How do you spell jealous? Like this - N A N C Y ha ha. Seriously you look great. I am beginning to wonder if my eyebrows and lashes are ever coming back.
Coyote good luck with the rounds tomorrow.
Maiden - curious to know what PS will have to say.
Elaine - a seroma? Not fun but seems to be common. I had a small one still 4 months after lumpie. I hope it gets better so you can get started with rads.
Speaking of rads guess who is starting to have a difficult time? Yep that would be me. I have developed a yucky rash. It's even on the outter part of my nipple and the nipple is twice as big as the other *sigh*. It's oozy too. My RO is surprised I am reacting at this point. I have done 14 treatments and still have 19 to go. If this gets worse my RO is going to do the 5 boosts now instead of later to give the affected area a break. Luckily the rash doesn't really hurt just itches like crazy. Fun - not
Glad to hear from so many of you
Hugs
Nancy
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hello girls! i got my drains out today and it felt like tentacles being ripped from my body. horriible!!! i thought it would go down better than that. was not expecting that kind of pain.
maiden....good luck
love the hair! mine is coming in but very fine and peppery. BUT today i put on mascara for the first time even thought they are only half way there. it felt awesome!!!
DD
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Had my 5 month post chemo followup with MO yesterday. Everything good.
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Hair looks great, joeysmom! Coyote, hope it all went well yesterday.
Nancy, did you get anything for the rash? My nipple was in pretty bad shape by the end and I got a prescription for a cream - basically aquaphor mixed with lidocaine - to numb the area. I didn't end up needing it because I was almost done, but I couldn't wear a bra or have anything touch my boob for a little while.
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DD ~ The drains are weird aren't they. I was surprised to see how much drain is on the inside. It's all gone now and it will heal fast.
Puffin ~ Hooray for you! I had a check up with my surgeon yesterday. He's my hero! He's the one who discovered the recurrence in the lymph node that the previous MO missed and said "See you in six months." He didn't find anything that shouldn't have been there this time. Hooray for me!
Maiden ~ We need news about the appointment with the PS. Please.
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Nancy -- ugh about the rash! Does your RO have any ideas about how you might control the itchiness?
Joeysmom -- awesome hair! Much longer than mine, which doesn't look too bad. (I look like I have a pixie haircut a la Mia Farrow in the movie "Rosemary's Baby.")
boxofrockstar -- thanks for sharing the pix of your two sweeties! They are so cute.
Puffin and Coyote -- great news that you guys are all clear!
maiden -- hope everything is OK with you!
I got my seroma drained this morning; I didn't feel a thing. They tried to wrap me up in the hopes that no new fluid would rush in to fill the hole....
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Ladies - any clue how they remove calcifications via mammography??? A friend's mammo was 'curious' and they used ultrasound to remove the cysts, but she says they will be using mammography to remove the calcifications. HOW do they remove something with your breast squished between two plates???
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Coyote & Puffin - So glad you got an AOK. Nothing better than that.
DancingDiva - When I got my MX drains removed one was stuck in there pretty good. It took me a second to realize that the drain he was pulling was causing the horrid pain near my heart! Ugh! They are disgusting and I tried not to look. The right one was fine to pull out, thankfully.
Now I get to do drains all over again with my DIEP surgery next month. Boobs! Or at least FOOBS! I'm only 43 so really want something there. Not looking for double Ds.
Also, I am that person whose hair is coming back curly! Never had curly hair so this is a big challenge. Getting tips from my 13 year old son since I have "boy hair"!
So good to see you guys are doing well!
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Walle: what tips is your son giving you for your curly hair? I've never had curls either. MO said they could last a year.
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Mine was really curly, and I was hoping it would come in straight! At first it was, but as it gets longer it's starting to curl up again. Short curly hair is tough. My tips for curls in general - don't wash too often (I use a non-lathering shampoo when I do wash), leave a bit of conditioner in when you rinse, dry with an old T-shirt instead of a towel, and never ever brush it! Finger comb only. I'm keeping the pixie for a while so I got a trim and asked my stylist what I should use to style. She recommended something called Flexwax, by Osis. It's kind of expensive but a little goes a long way.
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Hi all! The day of my follow-up with the PS I started bleeding again...another section of the incision opened up! Good grief and I was trying to be so careful. PS said there was a one inch opening just past where the ER Dr stopped his stitches. So I ended up getting more stitches put in. This was on my left side, the cancer side. My right side he says is healing nicely and looks really good. He put me on another week of antibiotics since I opened up again. It's so frustrating! But he did apologize and so did his staff. They gave us some gas cards because we had to make an extra trip when the first surgery got cancelled, which was nice. PS explained that when he trimmed off some excess skin it was pulled tight when he stitched it. Apparently after I got up and walked around the tension pulled the incision open. The discharge nurse should have checked it better before I left. And just riding in a car shouldn't have caused a 6 inch opening! Oh well, I'm pretty sore now but I'm ok and will be taking my first shower since surgery....a little scared to see what it looks like.
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