Starting Chemo September 2015; join us!
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hazel & Katie good to hear from you.
sailor I have my sim Jan 5th, the week after port films, then I start rads after that.
And Scotland sorry for the numb lips and tongue. I sometimes have numb chin/mouth in the am when I get up. It's like a slept weird on my face. It goes away. B 6 & 12 Are helping manage neuropathy And yup everything tastes bad on taxol; sorry no cardboard here sailor.
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hi Katie! Sisters on chemo beginning date
. My tumor was 1.9cm and I had a lumpectomy. I have D breasts and the breast looks contoured. Does it look the same? No. But it doesn't look deformed just different. Such a personal decision but I wanted to share since we are close in size of tumor and big boobed 0 -
I think it's smarter to talk to live doctors before anyone starts freaking themselves out with bloated statistics and Internet horror stories. None of that is healthy and shouldn't influence you in negative ways. Only your doctor knows your body and your cancer. It's scary enough without the Internet.
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Sound advice Annie..
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Annie, what do you mean that the failure rate is 50% with a TE?
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I believe that question should be directed at Exercise since she threw out the 50% statistic .
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you're right, I revise my question.
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Hi there. I am beginning to think if I had no bad luck, I'd have no luck at all! I spend three days in the hospital under neutropenic protection. I got out on Thanksgiving. I felt washed out and didn't get to enjoy any Thanksgiving. My aunt came to the hospital to make sure my cremation results are ready and to make sure I was not coming to Thanksgiving. Picked up my dog on Friday. He had a good time. I was exhausted but wasn't paying attention to what was going on. Now I have a DVT- a big one. And was almost hospitalized again. I can't bring myself to give myself injections. They may have to authorize a very expensive drug that is not as effective but I can't bring myself to shooting myself up. I overdid the emotional stuff today- was nauseated. Just tired of being sick. I missed my chemo because I was in the hospital and again this week because of kidney issues. Just tired of feeling sick and being in pain.0 -
Hello Beautiful Warriors!!
Im checking in... Haven been here in a couple of weeks. 2 more Taxol treatments and Ill be done with chemo
. Im meeting with surgeon next week to go over the type of surgery. So far so good the lump has responded really well to the chemo and its hard to feel anything. I met with RO and it looks like I have 30 daily treatments!
I think we are all in about similar stages in our journeys, Im happy that I found you all!
Wishing everyone a great Friday (tomorrow)!!
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I have TEs and I'm not worried about radiation. My ps is going to overfill me 100 cc in each to compensate for any shrinkage that will happen. He has great success rates this route as well.
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I probably shouldn't have typed that and Annie is right I think much of success with all of this is getting a good surgeon/ RO/MO
Neither of my plastic surgeons would have let me have immediate reconstruction( TE) if I had radiation. They were both very conservative and told me that statistic more times than I would like to count. That being said I ask them " so what if I am node positive and you have already done reconstruction? Where does this leave me if My BS and My MO say I need radiation"
The response was that it happens but its not ideal. Keep in mind I live in idaho .. not a lot of boob jobs here. My surgeon is good ( actually very good) but I don't have access to the big research hospitals. Many women who want natural reconstruction leave the state to have other reconstruction options. There is only two or three highly qualified BS and two good PS near me. It probably changes how they look at reconstruction and radiation etc. I know it made it challenging for me to get second opinions.
Its worth asking your PS/RO/MO about to make sure that you have the information you need.
Hopefully that adds some clarification regarding TE and radiation.
I read lindy's post below. I had the same reconstruction ( TE --- Fill- then implant exchange) Probably because of where I live the PS would not have done this if I had reconstruction. Maybe I didn't find the right PS if I had reconstruction. I really like mine but he is very conservative. He would have insisted I wait until after reconstruction and then start the process. Yes a pain as I would have had two more surgeries instead of one. Keep in mind Large Hospitals who do Reconstruction probably have done 1000's of them and have very different ways to compensate for radiation. Like I said it could very well be that where I live they are very conservative and "behind the times".
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My nurse got the chemo iv into my vein on the first try! Yippee!!!! Epirubicin is already in, saline flushing a bit before the next drugs.
Wishing everybody getting chemo today an easy access stick, and NO SEs
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staykarlastrong thanks for checking in.
Grey feel better
Tessu yay on a good IV
Happy Friday ladies. Another week almost done and closer to being finished.
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Exercise...there is some confusion as to what is considered reconstruction. TE's are in place behind my pec muscles after my BMX (no breast tissue left) to be filled to stretch the pec muscles for when the implants are inserted (usually 6 month or later after rads). I am understanding you to mean reconstruction as the TE's but that's not the case. It a middle step to reconstruction. My PS filled mine to accommodate any skin thickening and tightening that may occur plus I have lots of exta skin (thank you breastfeeding 4 kid). If one chooses to wait to have the TE's surgically in place after rads are done, that would mean an additional surgery. The BMX last summer and my upcoming implant reconstruction later next year is enough for me.
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Tessu - Good reasons to smile today - congrats! Hope you are home and snugged in by the time you read this.
Grey - I threw a clot and am on Lovenox for the duration (about the next four months). I am most sympathetic about the injections, but confident you can figure out a way to get through them.
The key to minimizing pain (for me anyway) is to pinch the fat pad you're injecting really hard. If you can pinch hard with your non-dominant hand and inject slowly with the other hand, you can achieve a low/no pain stick. Please give these techniques a try - I want your DVT clot GONE and your treatment to continue. sending lots of love and confidence in you east xoxo
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I seem to have a sizable patch of new hair on the back of my head. Trying not to get too attached with two more DD Taxols this month.
Ah, reconstruction. I'm tired of having a uniboob, but glad I don't have to think about reconstruction for a few months.
Happy Friday!
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Lisa, yes! I want to play.
On the first week of Taxol, my cancer gave to me... A bell that I'm waiting to ring!
On the second week of Taxol, my cancer gave to me... the brca2 gene and a bell that I'm waiting to ring!
On the third week of Taxol, my cancer gave to me.... 3 blood draws, the brca2 gene, and a bell that I'm waiting to ring!
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I was just wondering what to do with the 20% of my hair that is growing back, lol it looks even stranger being bald.
El Tigre and tessu, I'm thinking of you!!!! Big hugs for today's infusion. Taxol DD #1... Ready, set, go!
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Good luck with your infusions today, cajunqueen and El Tigre! And of course anyone else getting any kind of treatment today.The nurse got my iv in on thre first shot; that made the rest of the day so much more bearable. Home and exhausted now, trying to stay awake to drink enough to flush my body clean --- because I have feeling that when I allow myself to go to sleep tonight, I'll probably be out for ages.
Because of the super awful Big C plus the odd rash I got after my first CEF cycle, they tweaked my nausea meds (no Aloxi just Dexamethasone, Zofran an Ivemend) so will have my hurl,bucket next to me at all times over the weekend
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just walked into my apt like a boss! Ready for DD Taxol #2! Just got told hospital staff is 50% today. Might be a long apt, but worth it!
Tessu & Cajun happy infusion day, hope both of yours go smoothly
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thanks, ladies, I'm moving along. 2 hours to go, already feel pregnant and weird from the steroids.
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Minnesota- I am not doing the shots! No way! They are going to try Xarelto but everything else is falling apart. Luckily my kidney function is getting better but other things are getting worse. Life is not fair. Tired of being sick. Just trying to find a direction to run away. Giving up on cancer tx and all the layers of residents and doctors who just don't give a damn.
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Coming along on my infusion. Craving a hot toddy
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After chemo anyone planning on doing any kind of detox? If so what kind?
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Arista 928. ... I was very concerned with ACT. My oncologist gave me the option of a CT a standard of care And TC. He wouldn't tell me which I should choose I was basically given the choice. I read a lot about ACT and the damage it can do the heart. I of course panicked and had a very difficult time choosing. I didn't have a navigator to help me so I had to see a counselor at the breast Center to help me make my decision. Since I have high blood pressure and some family members have had heart attacks I chose tc. my cardiologist told me that there are more people that have heart problems that are notreported
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Grey - Sincere good wishes on the Xarelto - I'm glad there are alternatives for you. Hang in there - you can make it through this.
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grey, ugh!!!!! That's completely awful but please hold your head high and perservere. We are all rooting for you!
for those of you on DD Taxol, when dud the neuropathy start?
ANC 4.4 today, woo hoo!
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Cajun, my neopuropathy started the day after chemo. It mostly went away before the next dose.
Aga, I'm not thinking of doing a cleanse other than lots of water and hopefully healthy eating. I want to flush the drugs out and get my poor body what it needs to heal and be strong again. I'd be afraid to do a cleanse before I was certain that my stomach, intestines, etc. were totally healed.
Southern, I'm so done with everything that's going to give me cancer and kill me. Right now, it seems that the stuff they're giving me to kill the cancer is worse for me than plastic. I did four rounds of AC. If I can handle the Red Devil and Cytaxon (a derivative of mustard gas, I kid you not), I can eat food from a can.
I'm going to hobble around the block before it gets dark. My joints hurt, but sitting doesn't seem to make it any better
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I feel your pain Southern, I need to stay away from certain soy ingredients and everything had soy! SMH
Anyone getting freckles on your face? I'm in portland and it's not that sunny.
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ugh, so true southern. i do what I can and ignore the rest. Better diet, change soaps, lotions, deodorant. Less dairy, less meat, more organic. Exercise. Alkaline. Teetotaler. Other than that, I can't! I live in the real world, with 3 normal kids, a mortgage, a job, and a budget!!!!
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