August 2015 Chemo Group
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Vicki - The tea tree oil is to help with fingernai/toenail issues. The nurse said it will help prevent fungus infections. My nails are getting more and more bruised with each treatment.
Anyone on Taxol getting their hair back at all? My MO said some people get some growth while on Taxol. Nothing here yet.
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I don't post much, but I've been keeping up everyday with the boards. Yesterday was my 6th Taxol (half-way done!) My eyebrows are really thinning - one more than the other, but I wear glasses so I think that makes it less noticeable. No hair growth on my head yet, but I've started to have to shave my legs again and noticed that my pubic hair is starting to grow back in.
I think I got this tip on here, VickiRides - If you hold your breath whiled they are doing the flushes, you don't taste or smell anything. I don't know why but it works great! The smell of rubbing alcohol makes my stomach turn tho...
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Stll have brows/lashes, but they're thin to begin with. What's getting me is a constantly watery right eye. Left eye good. The right side is my cancer side, and the eye lids on that side are always puffy, red, and droopy too. That eye waters nonstop now, very frustrating at work; people keep thinking I'm crying or hurt...but am in a very good mood. I just don't look it! Hrumph!
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No hair growth on my head yet (Taxol #5 is tomorrow), but I noticed some hair on my legs. Pubes are still thinning though.
I've tried holding my breath and sucking on mints but I still get that awful taste when they flush my port. I may try a mouthful of Altoids tomorrow to try to overpower it!
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This thread is the funniest thing on my timeline right now. You ladies are a hoot! Love the little stories and cartoons.
Sorry to hear about abject side effects for some. Musogirl you are sure going through it.
Things I won't miss: needles.
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So.... I'm stucked at home.. because, well... my mom used the "cancer card" to get out of thanksgiving travel to my uncle's house in los angeles. & so my uncle & aunt decided to come down to SD to visit today. EXCEPT! he hasn't drive down here for more than 10yr. & they just go lost & almost hitting the Mexican border.. (we are mid town near la jolla, 30min north of border). So I have to take a couple hours off work to wait for them to come visit... Good intention but what a waste of time!
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Lemon drops have worked for me during flushes, but I am with buzz, the alcohol rub is enough to make me almost pass out!
Birdysmom, so that's where they all go!
Long day today. My eldest and I are done! Early bedtime and lots of meds for the two of us. Little guy is doing much better so I should feel well again in about 10 days.0 -
Birdysmom, I have the watery eye thing too, along with a constant runny nose that just started the other day (I'm not sick in any other way, so I blame the chemo). Today I told my students to ignore me wiping my eyes and nose all through class--and they did. Bless them.
Musosgirl, lemon drops are a great idea! I hate the smell of the whole thing. . . the iodine/medical tape thing is enough to make me gag. Even thinking about it pushes me over the edge.
I just thought of a silver lining: my last TCP is the day before Thanksgiving, so maybe I'll be less of an unabashed glutton this year! But everyone else will be drinking wine. . . Good thing I can play the cancer card and wear comfy clothes and go to bed while everyone is still here if they get out of hand (if I want to). We're doing Thanksgiving at our house, so I can do whatever the hell I want!
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We are having Thanksgiving at my house this year also, and I absolutely plan to let my husband and my mom handle most of the food prep and I am definitely wearing comfy clothes and when I feel tired I can disappear upstairs. I was so glad when my family was willing to travel the 500 miles to my house this year, we usually go to them.
I got my second FEC on Monday and was very worried because the first one resulted in kind of massive side effects and a fever and severe anemia and a transfusion. Well, so far so good. One change this round is that instead of zofran I am taking kytril, and so far no nausea. I am starting to feel a decline, which is probably my red blood cells going away... But I can still walk up the stairs without too much trouble! Tomorrow I get the 5FU boost and (fingers crossed) the neulasta auto injector. The other change I made is that i have been taking half of my dexamethasone in the morning and then waiting a couple of hours to take the other half (eating something with each dose). This seems to take the edge off the big steroid blast I was getting last time.
I have also had some puffy runny eye days, which they say is just a side effect of the chemo. It comes and goes. I am now taking claritin in preparation for the neulasta and I haven't had the eye issues, so that may help others.
Hope everyone is doing well, especially those who don't check in as often!
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Notdoneyet - I don't know what a 5FU booster is, but I like the name! Not one FU to this crazy cancer shit, but FIVE FUs!!!
I have treatment 5 of 6 tomorrow. I guess I am seeing the light at the end of tunnel, but still doing the math and figuring 9 more weeks until I feel myself again. I am marking Jan 21 on my calendar!
I think I have a lot to learn about the whole hormone thing. I was reading one of the other boards and it seems pretty scary for some people! I don't even know if I am menopausal. I'm 52, so you'd think so! I was on the pill a few years continuously because of some GI issues I was having (who knew this was feeding a tumor like feeding skittles to a 5 year old!), so I haven't had a period in years. I guess they have blood tests to figure this out.
I am desperately hanging onto my lashes and thinning brows! Someone said they can fall out after we are all done? Anyone else hear this horror?
Constantly runny eyes...bruised finger nails...lead for legs...swamp water taste buds...breathlessness...baldy staring back at me from my mirror (still surprises me sometimes!)... Thank you for giving me a place to feel normal!! Nobody else gets it!
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I figure it's one FU for every weekday and maybe I can take the weekend off. Last time I was sick as a dog all weekend so this theory didn't pan out but maybe this time. FU to cancer
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Maybe you can ask for a 7FU booster?
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Cheri: bwahahaha! Very nice. I need a 365/24/7 FU booster.
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FU boosters for everyone! You get an FU booster and you get an FU booster... I know I could use some. I flunked my blood test yesterday, so no chemo for me today. I already had my 3 Neupogen shots and now he wants me to get 3 more and try again on Monday. I hope it works. I don't want anymore delays.
Lemon drops have worked pretty well for me and so have Jolly Ranchers. I haven't tried holding my breath. I may try that next time.
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Tam-iam, sorry about your nails.
I am just 1+ weeks past the end of taxol+carboplatin, but I've already seen some improvement in the hair situation - my scalp no longer hurts, and much less hair is coming out in my fingers. So there is hope!
mama-bear, I also will not miss the bloody noses, which unlike my hair loss have barely let up.
I will miss my chemo buddies, though. (And the four-day work weeks, LOL! And sleeping half the day on Fridays!) Fortunately, I will still see them every three weeks for the next year when I go in for Herceptin. By the way both of them are on 5FU (apparently it passes the blood/brain barrier, and they both had brain mets). They are both musicians so our running joke is that they're going to start a band when this is all over and call it 5FU.
Birdysmom, that cartoon made me laugh out loud!
I am trying to figure out what it is that my clinic does differently with the preparation. The port prep doesn't involve any iodine, I don't know exactly what they're using but it doesn't smell bad or make me feel like gagging. The port flush is just a momentary "whoosh" of a funny taste, kind of odd and a little bit, I don't know what the word is, acrid? but it's not horrible, I just know when I taste it that the connection is right. Sometimes I wish I could just export my clinic to all of you!
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Well, I just scheduled my prophylactic mastectomy and revision to the left incision. It's tentative, because we need to see how quickly I can bounce back from the last infusion next week, but . . . December 30! Maybe I can leave this s*** in 2015!
My hope (of course) is that I'll be able to go back to teaching when the spring semester begins on January 11. I think it's doable.
So many unknowns, aren't there? Here's one thing I do know: it's a beautiful, crisp fall day here in the Midwest, and I can't complain too much. I hope all of you are doing well.
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KateB, yay, good for you for getting it "all done in 2015"! I hope for a speedy recovery so you can go back to teaching as soon as possible in the new year.
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Kate-I am glad you will be able to have your surgery in 2015. I think I want to forget this last year.
I have a couple of FU's
1st one is to old man winter....you can take your snow and ice back. I don't want it here anymore. We had rain and then snow on top of that. The roads are like skating rinks. Thank goodness for AWD and winter tires.
2nd one goes to this whole cancer crap. I am putting my foot down. I am not going to be tired and wimpy anymore. I put on a pair of jeans today that I hadn't worn in awhile. Yeah well it was like a flesh explosion. I have gained weight from eating crap and not exercising. At the moment I am cooking chicken breasts. I cut up a whole bunch of veggies and have everything ready in my fridge. I see many salads, chicken breasts and egg whites in my future. I am sick of feeling lousy and lumpy. Time to take my life back. I just want to be back where I was pre cancer, pre BMX, pre chemo....I am also going to be going to the gym shortly. I am going to do what I can do. Just plain old fed up.
Sorry to rant, but I'm having one of those days....Oh and a girl from my gym just had a mammogram and they found 3 lumps. She is 40 and in excellent shape....my 3rd FU...FU CANCER....she now gets to go for her biopsy. I am praying they are benign.
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DeeRatz, I hear you about the pants. Seriously. What the actual hell happened? I know I haven't really exercised in about five months, but MAN. First of the year, I'm back to my old ways: clean eating, as much exercise as I can tolerate. The end.
One of my former colleagues just contacted me the other day, on Facebook, to ask me some questions. . . because her mammogram came back sketchy. They found a "central mass" in one of her breasts, and "stippled masses" in the other breast. I hope to everything holy that it all comes back benign. I found myself reassuring her (80% of biopsies come back negative, etc.), but then I realized that everyone reassured me, too. I was one of the 20%.
You couldn't pay me any amount of money in the world to go back and repeat that period of not knowing what was going on. I swear I have minor PTSD from the whole ordeal. I'm not sure what it'll be like to go back into the surgeon's office, since that's where he said, and I quote, "we found a little bit of cancer."
That's exactly why I'm having righty lopped off. I have really mixed emotions about it--I guess I never thought about my own breasts before, and I'm SAD about losing one, and then the other, to a scalpel. But, hell, they're only breasts. And I'm imagining how much better running will be without them.
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Cancer made my pants, too. Another, "FU cancer!"
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Well I did it....it wasn't pretty and I feel like I am 80, but I managed a whole workout. Cardio, back and biceps. I am absolutely exhausted. But I did more today that I did yesterday. I got my butt to the gym. Baby steps....
Kate I understand you wanting to have righty lopped off. That's how I felt when lefty was trying to kill me. I said I wanted them both gone. That I only wanted to deal with this whole thing once. My BS was hesitant to do that. They did an MRI and I had 3 lumps in my left and 2 in my right. The 2 in my right were benign and I ended up having 7 foci in my left breast. I was so glad to have had both removed. I had reconstruction done at the same time. I still have to have my expanders swapped out for softer implants. I am just glad I made the choice I did. No regrets and hopefully no reoccurrence down the road either.
Today when I found out about the girl at the gym, all those terrible memories flashed back. The feelings I had when I found out...I'm sure it is PTSD.0 -
So I have been baring all, above the waist, for quite awhile now but it was consulting with the PS that made me feel self-conscious. My OB/GYN is a man, and so is my MO--and DH has been with me when the MO has done my exams. So I can't blame it on gender or hubby being there. And the PS was great! I really like him and feel good about him as a surgeon--he was careful about keeping one side covered while examing the other. Maybe it was the picture taking? That IS really odd. I understand why they do that, but it is odd to go to a doctor and have booby pictures taken. I did tell DH after we left that these men must have thought in medical school how great it would be to play with boobies. And surprisingly I find that comforting. A boob man should be more concerned with how the finished product looks. Right? Oh, and DH assured me he was watching how much body was in the picture--the PS assured no faces but DH was making sure! That made me laugh!
Well, it happened. I got sick. Little man is doing great and I don't even think I got it from him. I think big guy picked it up and somehow snuck it to me because I am only a couple days behind him in symptoms. My fever broke 101 around 3:00 am. I called in and started the anti-biotic and the nurse said not to come in for my infusion today. Well, we called after the office opened to reschedule and that nurse said I should definitely come in. My blood work came back JUST good enough, and my fever was down to 99.2, for my MO to say go ahead and get the Herceptin/Perjeta. I am glad becuase who wants to reschedule after you are already in the office?, but I have never felt so awful during an infusion.
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DeeRatz, you go girl! I am so far away from the point I think I could go to the gym, I must live vicariously through you for now. I have set up a bike on a trainer in my living room so I will be trying to move more, but not enough to get into my old jeans just yet I think.
I am sure you are right about the PTSD. I have PTSD already (Soldier for 23 years) ad the things I experienced at the beginning of this (FU cancer) ordeal were definitely the same kinds of reactions. At first the xanax helped, and now effexor is helping a lot (no more xanax for me, that stuff gives me headaches). Self care is important, and not feeling bad for having these reactions is good, none of us chose this.
Musogirl, I hope you and your guys all get healthy soon, take it easy and watch your symptoms.
Kate, I am getting both off, and I am looking forward to running without that distraction, always had at least DD's and it's always been a challenge, so there's something to look forward to (my spring plan).
Got my 5FU boost (a second push of 5FU 4 days after the first to bring it up to "therapeutic levels") and here's my neulasta auto injector, so tomorrow evening, if all goes well, I should be getting that to help my WBCs not be so stupid low this round!
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So last night my fever got up to 101. Started the anti-biotic and have been alternating acetaminaphin and ibuprofen and this evening my fever reached 102. Trying to figure out if I just stay the course and see how it goes tomorrow or if I need to call the on-call nurse. Counts were good enough to receive Herceptin today... I RARELY go above 99 so 102 makes me nervous.0
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I have never been good carrying or checking my cell phone, always forgetting it at home when I went to work. So in the past few months, I had to keep it close, etc, in case MO or nurse calling etc, or if I needing to call.
TODAY, I forgot to take my phone with me when I left home for work, & I didn't freak out (omg, what if the MO calls? What if I don't feel good??) Amusingly felt good about that!!
You ladies are the only ones who would understand. 
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musogirl, I think you need to call. That's a real fever for anyone and while your counts may have been good enough, they still weren't "normal" I am sure. Just call and see what they say! Worried about you
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Yeah, musosgirl, you should definitely call! I hope you did! Even if your counts are good (and yay that they are), I wouldn't mess around with 102. Hell, I wouldn't mess around with 102 even if chemo wasn't in the equation.
Sending you good vibes. I hope you're on the mend.
notdoneyet, I keep thinking about the FUs of cancer. . . How are you feeling after your boost?
superius, I left my phone in the car the other day and had no idea what to do. I got to my car and had one missed call . . . from my mom.
DeeRatz, you inspire me. I can't wait to get back to working out. I'm thinking I won't be quite the lifter I once was (honestly, my knees were starting to protest even before DX), but physical activity is the best anti-depressant for me. Soon!
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I ended up going to bed. With both my boys their fevers would spike at night so I know I have whatever they had--which is most likely viral (little guy just managed to develop it into pneumonia). Temp has been around 99.5 all day today.
I can't leave my phone anywhere. It is my brain. If it's not in my phone I don't know it.
Had my 2nd echo today. The tech told me she thinks I will be pleased with the result. I thanked her for saying that since I don't see my MO for 4 weeks. I didn't find out till yesterday that my first one came back at 73%. i am sure it on the online portal but I have not bothered to set that up...0 -
I hope you sick people are feeling better (musogirl?) today. My neulasta injector thingy totally worked despite the fact that on thursday night I bumped it on the bathroom door in the middle of the night and it sort of came loose on the front of the adhesive! I was freaked that I had ruined it. But it was fine, and it did its thing last evening and WOW I had some pain last night, bones ache, not fun. Today just feeling like the flu or something, not terrible, hoping for a mild day all around (ooh, there goes my knee in a knot of pain, this stuff is so weird).
Got a foot of snow here in Chicagoland, I guess it is winter. Cheers all.
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Hope you are feeling better Musogirl!
Kate, glad you got your Mx date before the end of the year!
Dee, good for you on the fitness/health plan. I'm looking forward to going to the gym again.
Notdoneyet, glad the injector worked. That bone pain isn't fun.
Have a good weekend everyone!
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