Starting Chemo September 2015; join us!
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Happy new year beautiful warriors!!!
Stopping by to check on all of you, congratulations on being done with chemo!!!
I'm 2 weeks past chemo meeting a new surgeon and having double mastectomy this month follow by 30 radiation treatments and reconstruction.
Im a bit nervous about the surgery as the only surgery i had is port placement so I just want to get it done.
Stay strong! keep the fight!!
May God bless you all and heal you in 2016!!!
Hugs
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Lindy - hooray no lymphadem! What a relief. Are you having hot flashes? My acupuncturist says she can help with those, too. I will have a hysterectomy in Feb then Femara si I expect the hot flashes to increase dramatically then.
CarolinaAmy- I had the diep procedure. I'm so happy with my result. I would do it again in a heart beat. I only had one side done and the PS matched it with the other beautifully. It was a tough recovery - with a scar hip to hip but thankfully I had no complications and it healed beautifully. If you have the extra healing time and patience to manage the pain of the first two weeks, I would consider it.
Exercise- yay! What a big hurdle for you to get over. It sounds like your surgery was a success. So happy for you. Enjoy your time with your Mom. My Mom provides a lot of comfort and support to me, too, and she is 83 yrs old. Funny -- I am also loving salsa. And balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing.
Shopgal and others stroking their heads while watching TV - I have hair envy. No sign of re-entry for me. Maybe it's like a watched pot never boils?
Cajun - I hope you are doing well and feeling strong. Keep up the good fight. Your positive attitude has inspired me more than once. 😊
Hugs to all you other fine women. 2016 is our year!
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Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and new years!!! So happy for the ones finishing Chemo!
Week of Christmas I wasn't able to take treatment because of white blood count, I was pretty upset because I had the finish date set. But I guess everything happens for a reason and my blood count was back up week of new years so I was able to take Taxol # 5.
I don't want to jinx it, but it seems my hair is starting to grow back on taxol. Is this possible or am I crazy? Iam really hoping since I have 7 more treatments, it doesn't fall out again!!!! Anyone else start to grow back while on taxol?
Cajun- so sorry to hear about the reaction!!! hope they figure it out!!!
El Tigre- Great that your done!!! Excited for you!!!!
SouthernCharm- Great that your done with chemo........hope surgery goes well! Will be praying for you.....
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Completed weekly Taxol infusion #8 out of 12 today.
Although L-Glutamine and B6 may be slowing it down, neuropathy has progressed. Doc reduced my dosage by 15% - hoping I can make it through all 12 treatments.
Chemo Completers - Congratulations! The rest of us are eager to join you at the finish line.
Shelly - No hair growth for me either. Maybe if we ignore it, it will sneak up on us....
Tkemp - My PA said to expect hair growth by around week 9 of Taxol - from that and others' reports here, sounds like it's normal!
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Yay for me, I'm 3 hours PFC! I guess I'm counting a little soon, but I am glad this part is over. Now Herceptin every three weeks until September. I have an MRI scheduled for Friday morning, then lumpectomy at the end of the month. My BS freaked me out when he told me they'll have to insert a wire into my breast before surgery to locate the clip if the tumor is gone. I hope I don't have to sit too long with that thing poking out of me. My MO is telling me a wire is a good thing because that means the chemo worked. I'm still nervous.
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Yay for final chemo, fidget! Shelly52, thank you for sharing your DIEP experience. I'm over the surprise of finding out it's an option, and I met with another of the plastic surgeons this morning and feel MUCH more at peace with the options. This surgeon was much calmer, slower, and a much better listener. I'm so glad my BS scheduled me to meet with him instead; he's a much better fit for me and I'm leaning towards the DIEP now.
I was shocked that my hair started growing back. It surprised me and started a couple of weeks ago... incidentally when I started taking a B complex for the neuropathy. Again, it's patchy and uneven and weird, but at least there are signs of life. I hate the duck fuzz all over my face, though! LOL
Taxol #7 in the books, and only 5 more to go! Woot!
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yay fidget!!! You did it!!!!woohooo🎉🎉🎉
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I love this every 3 weeks Taxotere. No real side effects after round 1 and 2 weeks of no doc appts/infusion to go!
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So exciting to read about all of you who have finished chemo! Yay! It took me awhile to catch up on all the posts and only wish I could comment on every one.
My MO postponed Taxol today, #8, as my Neuropathy had gotten worse. She said if it had not improved by next week she would stop Taxol completely which would not break my heart! I've been taking B 6, 100, 12 and L-Glutomine so had hoped this would help. Maybe it has and could be worse.
I too have the terrible neck and shoulder pain. Lindy C are you finding relief with the acupuncture? I've had a herniated disc and now have moderate arthritis in my neck so it seems the Taxol and Neulasta just aggravates the heck out of this area. I need to do something once chemo is finished.
Love the hair growth stories and can't wait for mine to start.
Wishing all of you facing surgery a quick healing process. So glad we are all almost at the end of our journey. May 2016 bring everyone better health, strength and peace
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I've only had the one treatment of acupuncture so I can't say how effective it is yet. I've had this condition for quite awhile and it flares up every now and again. It's a disc thing for me too. In the past, I'd had to have several appointments for active release and massage treatments before I had relief. This time, I needed to try something else that may hurry it up. Timing for this flare up isn't great as I have to keep my arm in position for radiation starting Thursday and it will be extra uncomfortable for me.
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Fidget - Good for you!! Thanks for mentioning the wire, I wasn't aware of that surgical option. At last manual exam, MO said my tumor was so shrunk that the breasts felt "almost indistinguishable." So I'm hoping I'll eventually join you in "wearing a wire"!
Carolina - Congrats on getting #7 in the books and hoping you will be making the full 12 treatments.
Artista - Virtually no side effects - woo hoo! That's got to be straight-up wonderful.
Lila - Thanks for sharing your story - I had Taxol #8 yesterday at a 15% reduction due to creeping neuropathy. Like you, I'm beginning to suspect I won't be able to go the full 12 treatment distance. I too have been taking B6 and L-G daily and will be interested to see if the neuropathy stops where it is or progresses on this lower dose.
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Lilaclaire and Minnesota sorry about the neuropathy but glad you were able to get reduced doses. They helped physically and emotionally. Arista good for no taxotere SE's. CarolinaAmy glad you had a positive ps experience and are leaning towards diep. I think if I ever decide on mx I'd go that route too.
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had my sim yesterday and learned how to use the active breathing machine to expand my chest cavity to better protect my heart and lungs during rads. It was a little weird having my nose closed off with a clip and breathing thru a tube I had in my mouth. I had to take a deep breath and hold my breath for 20 seconds intervals several times. Oh yea and I can connect the dots on my chest from my dot tattoos. Good news was that I lost 4 lbs since final chemo weigh in. I am within a lb. of my starting chemo weight. Now to lose the old other half of me. I am a size 16 and started changing my eating habits last year (fruits, veg, chicken) , and restarted again after chemo. I do feel better eating foods that are good for me and not the comfort stuff I ate on chemo. I actually feel fuller now eating better, I definitely have more energy. I am 4 weeks pfc today and love reading every time one of us graduate from chemo.
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ShopGal2 - Your sim sounds interesting. I hope I get tattoos instead of ink markers and tape. Was the tube connected to anything? I wonder what the purpose of the tubing was. Great job on being so close to starting chemo wieght. I'm working on mine
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My last 2 DD Taxols were reduced by 10% due to neuropathy. I've been taking a B multivitamin the whole time. As my MO said, not everyone gets neuropathy and it's hard to know if the B is helping, but it sure can't hurt. Eight days PFC, and it's starting to resolve. The Taxol pain is mostly gone. Fatigue is improving. I'm eager for the runny nose and watery eyes to go away. And I dream of eyebrows, eyelashes and hair. There's definite duck fuzz on the big shiny spot on my head! But I'm down to three eyelashes, and have lost about 75% of my eyebrows. Drawing eyebrows is not a particular talent of mine.
Did anyone make it through Taxol without having the dose reduced?
Congrats, Fidget!
Hazel, I had surgery in August and have noticed tightening in the past few weeks. I did PT for cording last fall. Mine doesn't feel like cording, and the area around the drain scars also feels tight. I've started stretching again, but I need to get serious as I start rads in a couple of weeks. Another mountain to climb
Exercise: yay on putting surgery behind you!
To all of you facing delayed/reduced treatments: hang in there. Every one of you will cross the finish line, even if it isn't when and where you thought it would be.
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Scotland - I was on dense dose taxol and developed a neurpathic itch but my doc had me finish out the doses anyways (4 DD). I don't have the numbness in my hands or feet but just an itchiness over my thighs (it's awesome) and my back and hand sometimes. She prescribed steroids to get rid of the itchies but I am waiting until it's in full blown itchy hell before I take the roids. I did lack on taking Glutamine ( I took 10g per day instead of 30g) and just now started taking b6.
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ElTigre the tube was connected to a machine that monitored my breaths and the expansion of my lungs. Before I took the deep breath I had a trigger button in my right hand that I pushed when the sim team told me to and shut off the air flow in the tube. After 20 seconds they said to release the button and breathe. Then the air flow returned. Trick is not to panic, breathe normally, and listen to what the team is telling you to do. Thankfully I was clear headed and no chemo brain yesterday. Also I was worried I'd get stickers instead of tattoos. But ro did draw in pen ink in a few areas on my boobs and chest for rad marking positioning. Thankfully I had a black bra and shirt on unless I'd have pen ink all over those too!
Scotland I just got baby fine eyelashes, so cute. And the brow hairs are coming back quick.
Annie did you start rads? Southern how are ya? Canjun I miss your posts, hope you are ok. Octo how's your skin holding up in rads? Anyone else I missed?
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For those of you dealing with PS I hope you find good surgeons. Coming out of the other side of TE swap I am still looking at swollen knockers. I hope I like them in a few weeks when things settle down. I found the visits to the PS to be the hardest on my body image. I know my breasts won't ever look like before but hopefully I can be happy with them.
Lilaclaire,Minnesota scotland, and those of you dealing with neuropathy. Big Yuck I hope it is very temporary. Now that I have finished Chemo I still have a bit of needle feeling every so often in my fingers and right arm. Also still drop things even though I have feeling in my fingertips. Its weird but I continue the glutamine, juven and will up my vitamin B .
I am finding it takes awhile to get on track after Chemo. Here I sit here bald all bandaged up with all these inconvenient side effects bothering me like mosquitos but I am hoping all of this is temporary and we can keep moving forward.
Heres my list of woes and aches PFC
I did have this heavy leg feeling for awhile but its gone. Still have the wheepies and crying emotional moments but I suspect some of that will continue now that I am permanently in menopause. Also as a little gift right after chemo ended I lost most of my eyebrows and lashes AND for some inexplicable reason the week after chemo the poop fairy has graced me with hemorrhoids . AND post surgery I have a white throat the doctor thinks is Thrush so he prescribed me the mouthwash with nystatin in it.
It will get better I keep telling myself so we just carry on and push forward am so ready to feel normal with new hair and energy to get on my bike but spring will be here soon enough.
Keep Hiking out ladies. We are getting there.
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Exercise - Thanks for your good wishes AND for your report from post-chemo land. It's important to go into that period with realistic expectations (as much as I like to fantasize about the paradise that will be NO MOAR CHEMO!), and I appreciate your sharing the real deets.
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Thanks Minnesota sorry for my downer post. I think during chemo there are more down days than up days but as we get farther out with treatment the up days start catching up and outnumbering the down ones. I guess we all have to take this cancer thing in steps and gratefully my friends haven't started asking " Aren't you done with this cancer thing yet?"
I am going back and reading everyones updates over the last 10 days. Lots happened. I will have to go back and read a bit each day
Minnesota and you ladies with neuropathy and taxol. Is there not any response from the MO or is it " Well that sucks?" Really I wonder. I mean that is a disconcerting do they think the taxol nueropathy is temporary? OH and I want to say I am so glad that they think you tumor is shrinking significantly. That is most excellent news.
Scotland I have read a lot of stories of different women finishing Chemo with reduce dose. I think it is factored in even in the studies. Ofcourse it just gives one more worry in our minds like somehow that extra 20% or whatever was critical. so happy you crossed the finish line. I hope that whatever pain or "cording" resolves itself. nice to not have one more thing.
tessu : I have been married 20 years. I get it. Hope you had a nice new years. I know our loved ones don't always understand the sacrifices and acts we put on to keep things around us from falling into ruin. It is hard to keep things going with all this I guess we can't expect them to be understanding but it sure does help.
Cajun: Holy smokes what a mess. I hope they can switch you and that improves your situation. You probably feel like "crap what else at this point"
El_ tigre love the view and the cape and the wig!!! Made me have a big smile. I think your husband when he first posted. I hope he is doing ok under the strain. This sure is a long road.
Annie: I bet you are running after kids and trying to figure out what happened to your house the last few months Congrats on getting done and doing rads: Are you starting to feel "normal"
Some of you remember my " hiking out" story from a few months ago. At this point I am like "Where is the F%#$%#$ car already." Then I go to bed and get up the next day.
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El Tigre, the itch sounds ghastly. I have the more typical numbness and tingling. After my MX, the back of my arm was numb and I developed a horrible itch for a few days. You can't scratch a numb arm.
Shopgal, I eagerly await some bouncing baby eyelashes.
Exercise, when we hike out of our backpacking site (generally there's 15 to 30 of us, with more kids that adults) it's all uphill. We leave coolers full of sodas and beer, plus loads of junk food as a reward for the 90 minute uphill hike with heavy packs. I am about ready to get to the trailhead and my car of guilty pleasures. This is the point where every turn in the trail HAS to be the last one, and somehow isn't
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Exercise, sorry to hear that you might have thrush. I hope it goes away soon. Sounds like the poop fairy needs a butt whooping. I'm happy your surgry went well. I hope you like your new perkies!
My hubby is doing ok. He told me he has his moments. He never missed a chemo day. We both are happy to be done with chemo. I hit the lottery with him.
Scotland, I hate the itch that's never satisfied. I hope yours and everyone who is suffering from neuropathy that it is temporary and fades fast.
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Exercise - Both my wonderful Physician's Assistant and MO have been monitoring my neuropathy since it started Dec 15. At first it was minor and fleeting.
This past Tuesday, I reported it was worse and the PA gave me a detailed assessment. She immediately went to the MO who reduced the Tuesday dosage by 15%. I'm happy to report less neuropathy this morning than yesterday. I hope everyone's team is as keen to monitor and minimize damage - you're right, it needs to be watched every visit.
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That may be why I'm to do Taxotere every 3 weeks, the possibility of bad neuropathy. I guess I'd rather be on the loooong schedule of Taxotere of every 3 weeks than to reduce a dose. We'll see I guess.
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Hi all. Haven't managed to keep up lately since I've been so tired all the time.
Had dose 11 of 12 of Taxol on Monday, so it seemed like I was cruising toward to end of this chemo ordeal. Tuesday had to go back to see the physical therapist for lymphedema management and massage training. That was all well and good. My compression sleeve had arrived so it was great to get out of the bandage! (Unfortunately, she said I should keep wearing the bandage at night for another week or so.
Then we had to take a dog to the vet. Mind you, the hospital is 35 miles north of us and the vet is 25 miles south, so a LOT of driving on Tuesday. After the vet, we stopped at the drug store since I needed epsom salt to soak my poor nails that are falling off! While we were in the drug store, I suddenly developed chills so bad that my teeth were chattering. I was freezing cold down to my core. Blasted the heat on the way home and warmed up a bit. Didn't feel feverish but decided to check my temperature anyway. 102.9 degrees! Oh no! The last thing I wanted to do was drive back to the damn hospital. I call the caver center and fortunately they say I could wait until the next morning. I took a couple of ibuprofens and my temp went down a couple of degrees by bedtime. I called them back and told them my fever was much better.
They called the next morning and said they'd called in an antibiotic to my local pharmacy so am hoping that will take care of things by Monday. I'd hate for my final dose to be postponed. Meanwhile, my temp goes up & down throughout the day and I have a bit of a cough as well. Apparently, this all may have come via my "boyfriend's" grandchildren. Damn little kid germs. They're deadly! We tried to be careful. He wore a mask and wiped down the phone and remote and all that. He feels terrible about making me sick.
So I'm just feeling like crap this week and don't even have the energy to deal with the lymphedema massage and switching between the bandage and the sleeve.
Looking forward to getting this over with but then must move on to rads. What a long haul this has become. I'm so worn out!
Congratulations to all of you who have passed this stage!
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Hi ladies!!!! I'm going to try to read all these posts and reply in better detail. Sending love and hugs to all of you and God's comfort and protection.
It took 9 hours, but I finished Taxol DD#3. I am in a world of non-stop pain. I am finally in bed, I can't walk. Nothing even touches the pain. I can't sleep or eat and am back down to a too low weight. But I'm grateful to be alive. This will end.
Someone asked about finishing without a reduced dose. I'm scheduled to finish 1/18, 4 full DD and 1 extra (weekly) Taxol. But it's nothing I did. I haven't had any neuropathy (no idea why - that seems to be totally random) and I'm going to ride out this pain. Whomever said Taxol was easier, I would like to meet him or her. I've had nothing but problems, so I'll be damned if I don't get through it. I have to finish, I can't afford a reduced dose due my ki67 score. The pain is so bad, I feel like I'm losing my mind, but I WILL perservere.
I hit a very real spiritual bottom over the weekend and thankfully God pulled me up by His grace and mercy to try again. Love to you all. Xoxo.
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Cajun, I'm so, so sorry you're having such a rough time. I hope the pain lets up soon.
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Cajun I am so sad that is just suckity suck suck suck. If you are in that kind of pain then your MO hopefully can give you something for it. I remember that you have little ones and jobs and responsibility. Hold on to whatever sanity you can.
Sending Big Cry hugs to you
luzeelu I hope your temperature can come down and that you can get through what you need to . I was really wiped for a good while after my last Chemo but it felt DANG GOOD to flip it the bird in the rear view mirror.
I had a bit of a breakdown today but got to get back up and keep going. My MO really wants me on arimidex so I think now I rushed this surgery. Its ok I will make it but I am having such crap that I am having hard time pulling the big girl panties up and pressing on.
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exercise, I'm so glad to hear from you!!! I know these lingering effects suck so badly, but I'm praising God that you made it through. Did you have the hyster to take tamoxifen instead of AIs? I think you said, but my chemo brain can't recall.
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I need ideas for what to mix with the l-glutamine powder. I have had it sitting on my counter for a couple weeks. I'm a week and a half PFC and my neuropathy is still increasing. It's not bad but I'd like to keep it that way.
Exercise, how long did it take to feel better after your last round. I still feel like crap. Eyes and nose running like a faucet and a miserable cough. I'm am so tired of feeling poorly.
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