Starting chemo August 2014
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Welcome new comers. Sorry you are here,but so are we all. Great group of women.
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cassie cat Love that news.
Justamy+ Yeah for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4th round today. 2 more to go. My MO told me I look like the poster child for chemo. He said I really look great. He was not concerned about the swelling. Told me it would go away. Did not suggest any medications or compression socks. Also.said I had plenty of time to get ready for the Macy's Day parade if the bloating got worse. My MO has a killer sense of humor.
Hope everyone is doing well.
WE CAN DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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blessed Bianca, the waiting game is the killer here. I waited over a month once diagnosed to get into the surgeon. Waited 3 weeks to have a sentinal biopsy and lumpectomy. Waited a month to start chemo. It's a good thing breast cancer is slow growing. I don't know anything of hyperthermia and radiation. I won't start radiation til February. Good luck looking through the boards here to find your info. Welcome here by the way.
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Hello Blessed Bianca, I don't have any knowledge of hyperthermia and radiation. There is a radiation thread on bc.org and someone there may be able to assist if no one on this thread can help you. Please copy this URL and it will take you directly to list of groups << https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/70>>.>>. You can also go to the SEARCH section of the discussion boards, which I did, and do a quick search on hyperthermia. I hope you find your answers or someone that can assist.
Welcome to this group and hope to virtually get to know you as you walk through this journey.
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BlessedBianca, I just reread your post that you are awaiting surgery and chemo since dx. What has occurred in terms of treatment, speaking with Oncologist, Breast Surgeon or other medical team members since your dx? Was your dx in May? Hopefully you are in touch with your medical team.
Please let us know.
Regards,
Angie
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kellya= Sorry you waited so long. I had my biopsy on the call back (Wed). Met the surgeon the following Monday and had surgery that Friday. They advised me to start chemo in 5 weeks from surgery with I did. Still,the waiting seemed like forever for results of biopsy and path report. Maybe it is because I went to a super big hospital with a huge cancer section.
Had a hard time getting appt in FL when I moved here for the winter. Found another MO highly recommended and it has been smooth sailing ever since. Start radiation right after chemo. That is only 10 minute drive from my house. Which is great 6 weeks for 5 days a week.
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cassiecat, Hell to the Yes! My onco said Perjeta and Herceptin work like magic to shrink thise suckers. i am so happy for you and hope I get a similar report! I guess they will do another MRI before surgery on me soon too...will ask onco this week.
Justamy, woohoo, glad you are okay with my friend Taxotere. I was worried about you. Glad no SE!
I am wondering if they gave me a placebo, as I continue to feel so good! Got a silly costume ready for Halloween chemo, if I am feelin it. havin fun with my silly Etsy thing, learning how to do some social media that I never did before. If you are bored, check me out on Etsy at bippysbits, not to buy anything but maybe you can 'like' me, i think it helps me to get more views.
I found an excellent charity here, all volunteer and give financial assistance to all women in need of medical bill assistance. No CEO overhead! I decided to donate a portion of my sales there and when I get back to work, make it my new charity to contribute more to! The founder had IDC breast cancer but they give funds for any medical needs, such as copays and balances not covered by insurance. Women helping women.....we are awesome!
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Had my last A/C yesterday. Woohoo! More details on the September 14 chemo board. Love, Jean
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had consult with breast and plastic surgeon yesterday. Planning double mastectomy for early February after taxol is done. It was rough day, I knew they were coming off but feels more reAl now....
My surgeon said skin/nipple sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction (no tissue expander) direct to permanent implant was an option. I have to do more research but I trust her opinion.I have to have radiation after but she said this is okay she'd rather put the permanent one before radiation rather than do an exchange on irradiated skin....
Anybody have surgery plans yet ?
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nurseshark, I hope to do exactly what you are, but have not had consult yet. Already is too real for me too, even though I know both are going! I will ask for a referral thursday, since i am done with chemo on Nov 21. Sounds better to me, less troubles and no TEs? They suck, I do not want them!
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nurseshark and Bippy. I had double masectomy with immediate implants before starting chemo. I was very happy not to have to do tissue expanders and just be done with it. My plastic surgeon has been awesome and he did a great job. Happy to try and answer any questions you might have.
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woot woot cassiecat !!! I'm so happy for you!!!
I'm happy for you too Amy you get through this infusion Ok.
Getting my 4th round today. I asked my MO about Perjeta last time . I'm going to have that lady P with my usual Taxotere Carboplatin and Herceptin for the next 3 rounds. Woohoo....
Everything was done so quickly when I was diagnosed, most probably because of my aggressive HER2+. I saw my MO for the first time on Thursday, had scan on the same day. Had pre port placement lab on Friday . Echo ECG and port placement on Monday and Tuesday first chemo. All within 6 days minus the weekend. I recalled my first appointment time when I told my MO,' the sooner the better. If you could give me the chemo today let's do it'.
Nursesharq, my surgery plan/schedule will be done 2 weeks after my last chemo. Last chemo will be on dec2 if everything goes well.
Going to the chemo today feels like dragging myself to guillotine after the zombie days I had last time. Lol. I hope it will be better this time.
Have a great day ladies. Hope everybody has minimum SE.
Stay strong, hugs to you all
Shirley
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off topic, but here is what I did today:
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kellya, glad you said something about the back pain and got some relief! Funny that fluids can help so much with so many things. I am sorry you had to wait so long to get things going between diagnosis and finally getting treated.
Cathie, thanks for the book suggestion.
Hope, hang in there! I hope today is a better day for you.
Eileen, way to go on #4! I'll be there next week. Your MO sounds awesome - so glad to hear how well you're doing.
Bippy, love hearing how good you're feeling, especially since we're on the same protocol.
I feel great today too! That charity you found sounds awesome, and I am going to go find you on Etsy. Have fun cooking today!Jean, way to go on finishing AC. Yahoo!!!
NurseShark, I meet with my surgeon tomorrow. I'm currently trying to find out if my genetic testing results are back yet. They ought to be, but I haven't heard anything. I called the nurse navigator to help find out. That's going to help inform my ultimate decision. I've also been doing some reading on my own, trying to get informed.
Shirley, good luck with #4 today!
Thank you all for cheering about my ultrasound results yesterday. It was amazing to hear them say things like, "I just can't find it. I just don't see anything." Music to my ears.
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Just heard back - negative for my genetic testing! Two pieces of good news in two days! I can hardly believe it. I'm so glad to know that I could not have passed those gene mutations on to my daughter. My husband had an aunt with ovarian cancer and later breast cancer, but that's the only relative on either side that we know of I think, so he likely isn't carrying it either. Big sigh of relief...
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cassiecat, what a relief! Sleep well tonight!!
Bippy, what did you make, looks right up my alley!
Pangtidor, hope this chemo went well and you handle it well!
Jean, congrats on finishing AC!!
Eileen, we only have 2 breast surgeons, both are excellent but this isn't a small town and they get so booked! I'm glad it is a relatively slow growing Cancer, but the waiting is awful!
For all going through mastectomies, etc, good luck with all you must endure! Right now my lumpectomy is all I have to do, or I sure pray so.
I feel great again today. Did laundry, ran errands, worked in the yard for about an hour and grilled burgers. Now going to relax the rest of the night. Hope everyone's SE's are getting more manageable!!!
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CASSIE CAT=YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don't have to get gutted!!!!!!
I started to cry on the phone when I got the news.
WOW that is one less worry!!!!!!
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thank you cassiecat and Kellya.
Congrats cassiecat!! Another great news !!!! Woohoo. My sister had breast ca and BRCA 2+. She had to remove her ovaries. So I'm really anxious with my genetic test.
Bippy, do you like Asian/Chinese food? We are HER2+, be careful with soy. I'm triple positive and the diet, the food restrictions make me insane. I talk to many people at the cancer center and google them, the diet still confuses me. Many say no soy, few say soy is ok. Not to mention the estrogenic food alkalizing, non alkalizing food. Anyway, my MO just told me to eat anything during chemo just stay away from 'herbal alternatives' a week after and before chemo.
My infusion was 6.5 hours yesterday, straight to sleep on the way home until 0200am. Lol.
Stay strong ladies...
Hugs to you all
Shirley
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Yay, Cassiecat! Congrats again.
Bippy, looks like my type of dinner yum, yum!
Jean, congrats on finishing AC!
Kellya, glad all went well with the infusion and you got relief for back pain. Good advice on telling nurse about any symptoms during Taxol. I will remember that for my first tx next week.
Shirley, how are you doing?
I am enjoying my uptime.
Hugs,
Angie
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ladyb, so glad to hear that you are on the upswing now! My chemo nurse always goes through a list of questions about my side effects from Taxol but I keep notes about things to report, too. I hope it will be easy on you!
Cassie cat, I'm so happy to hear about all of the good news you've received!
Nurse shark, Bippy, and all who still have to make decisions about surgery, my thoughts are with you. I try not to second guess myself about the decision I made for lumpectomy only but it does cross my mind that maybe it would have been safer to do more.
Blessedbiance, I was diagnosed in June, had to wait a few weeks for biopsy, surgeries in July and early August, and chemo in early August. The waiting for results and treatment decisions was the absolute worst part of this for me. Once the pan was in place it got better.
Eileenpg, glad you are doing well. I guess I'm a fellow poster girl for chemo. Several of the nurses and staff came up to me during chemo this week to say they were talking about me at their meeting that morning and how well I've done on Taxol. I I also had some swelling that the docs haven't been too worried about but stay tuned. I may meet you at the Macy's parade.
I can't wait to celebrate my last weekly chemo session next week. There is no bell to ring at the center I go to. But I did tell my nurse that I will expect the nurses to sing or do a little line dance for me! I'll bring treats I for them and will probably break out my hot pink wig for the occasion.
Hugs to all of you. We're getting through this!
Sandy
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Hi Shirley, I LOVE thai food! My onco said NO soy at all...including unprocessed. I read an interesting post here about it really being the processed soy, and that natural sources are safe... So no protein shakes made with soy, etc. I also have the ph diet chart, which makes lots of sense to me....after chemo, I am doing fresh, raw food! I did use a tad of soy sauce in my dish yesterday. Had been craving that soup for months and it is beyond delicious, but....too spicy and creamy and it turned on me. Oh well, into the freezer it goes for now...will have it after chemo to celebrate!
Be well all that are having SE! We are nearly there, now the end is in sight. Onto new challenges soon, Encouraged to see a post from a lady that had a bmx, and was just using tylenol the day after. I am all over the surgery boards, learning and asking questions. Wonderful, supportive, sassy and smart women all over there too to help us!
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I'm having my last AC today and then start Tacol in three weeks. Had acupuncture yesterday, but had to take a cab back home, up the hill, since I'm still very tired. Maybe it's the twins? I'm 25.5 weeks today, and had my girls at 35.5 weeks, so I'm thinking there may be only 10 weeks to go! That seems short to me, shorter than chemo at least !
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Gatomal, good luck today! Am I reading correctly that you have another set of twins already? Exciting times in your house!
Sandy, glad to hear you're almost done too. One more week!
Kellya and Angie, I'm enjoying my uptime too. I'm so glad to have this time where I feel pretty good in between those bad weeks.
Shirley, 6.5 hours is a long time in that chair! Mine are at about 5-5.5 now, from start to finish, and that feels long.
Regarding soy: at this point, I am avoiding soy protein isolates, and having my daughter do the same. I'm not convinced that they are safe anymore, either before or during BC. As for tofu, soy milk, etc. I've read it can be safe. It's all very confusing. I try to eat whole, unprocessed foods as much as I can.
I meet with my surgeon this morning for a check-in. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'll post an update. I am sure he will be very pleased to see the results of the chemo and my last ultrasound, as well as the BRCA testing.
Thinking of you all, even those reading but not posting. We're getting through this!
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How do you ladies stay away from the other more severe case on this discussion board?I have a recurrence and I went over there to the recurrence page to find some scary scenarios of all the possible things that can come back again and again. I did not know how to navigate these posts and was left quite numb and depressed. Doing chemo is not enough it seems. What are you planning for lifestyle changes to make sure you are cancer free?
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SueBe, that is a tough one. We want all the info we can get, but it can be hard to determine what actually applies to our situation.
One thing that helps me is to remember that the posts here don't reflect an accurate sample of anything; women with success stories don't often post. What we see here, usually, are women with problems or concerns. You can see a lot of scary recurrence stories, and forget the many, many women who don't have recurrences.
After my latest dx, I was digging all over the place here, and scared myself. I had to stop. So I set up a few Favorite Topics that are truly useful to me (like this one
) and just avoid everything else. I also truly trust my onc and have a great rapport with her. She knows ME and my situation. I am doing my best to stick with what she tells me.
{{hugs}}
Angela
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Yup, I have girl twins who are 2.5 yrs and expecting boy twins soon. Praying that they do okay through chemo.
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Thanks Angela. That is a great strategy. I trust my new MO as well. I felt the previous one was not as careful with me, hence the recurrence.
God bless you!
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SueBe, like Tabbygirl I have three conversations currently marked as "favorites", and those are really the only 3 threads that I ever visit.
As for what to do to try to remain cancer-free... that is the million dollar question, eh? There are things that are good just generally speaking, like plenty of exercise, eating whole foods, etc. I'm trying to learn what I can about soy, soy protein isolates, and hot button food issues. I'm starting to look into what I put on my skin and am moving away from parabens and learning about other skin product ingredients. I use a glass water bottle and don't heat anything in plastic. But at some point, I don't know how much we can control this.
Gatomal, your house is going to be so much fun.
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Thanks CassieCat. I think exercise and stress management are key, as well as a good diet. My last year at work was the worst. I lost sleep and was always on edge. I let my exercise slip. I am sure the tumor was already there but I didn't do anything to make it grow slower.
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SueBe, that's exactly how I feel about my last couple of years, too.
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I'm glad to read the positive outcomes/results from the direct to implant one step surgery. It's sounds like the best option for me I worry that I'm basing that decision more on that I just want one surgery and be done with it and not long term what they will look like. I just want this to be over with and not dragged out for multiple surgeries. .
Tolerating 4th dose AC much better than the last one not feeling as run down as 3rd round, but I think I'm just to excited/nervous about getting ready for baby to sleep much.
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