Anyone starting chemo August 2016?
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Hi everyone. I wanted to wish everyone a blessed holiday season, so glad jandjimom and Kelly you made it through the last chemo. I'm onto radiaton in Jan 30 treatments but so thankful to be out of the chemo chair. Still feeling a little tired but i guess it takes. Maybe more emotional than physical, I'm not sure. Merry Christmas everyone!
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Karey- funny you post this, I just cried in the car- random (xmas song came on), but think the emotions are definitely hitting. Then the song Titanium by Sia then came on, which made me cry as I thought of all of us and really how strong this has made us:
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
fire away, fire away
You shoot me down, but I won't fall,
I am titanium
You shoot me down, but I won't fall,
I am titanium0 -
Kelly love this verse (and I'm extra titanium with my hips and knee! lol) Just 4 more rads to make 36!
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus, etc. I hope your holiday is filled with love, calm, and all things happy! We are all so fortunate to have love and support, even from each other here on this site. Enjoy your family, friends, and above all else, those little ones in your life. Thank you for all the support you've given to me over the last 5 months. This chemo group truly saved my sanity. Love you all!
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Hello everyone! I hope you all are finding moments to enjoy yourselves and loved ones during these busy pre- Christmas days.
Dara- I am indeed on winter break and am enjoying the time off immensely. I feel like I'm running on fumes most days I'm teaching and it's wonderful to be able to nap and spend time with my family.
Cali- What an incredible surprise! I had never heard of that before. So cool!
Kelly- Love those lyrics. I'm so impressed by everyone's strength and encouragement here and that song is just perfect.
Karey - my doc told me on Monday that it takes about 6 weeks from last treatment to completely metabolize all the chemo gunk and to expect fatigue for some time. But it will get better!So so glad chemo is behind you and so many others! I will join your ranks today after my last infusion at 8:30am! Yes, I should be asleep right now and I am totally exhausted but my brain won't shut off. I think I'm too antsy for my last chemo!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve Eve! I expect to sleep most of it away after chemo but hope to have enough energy to do some Christmas cookies with my kids after a good nap!
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Dara- great picture!!!
Thinking of you Wonderwoman as you get to cross off that last chemo today!!!!
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Wishing you all the best for 2017.
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Well, this stupid computer dumped my post! Does anyone have a proven remedy to canker sores? Baking soda/water are not helping. One more infusion and I'm done, but these meds are wearing me down. I was doing so well, then WHAM! exhaustion set in, canker sore, acid, irritability. Forget Christmas.
All that said, I am going to wish you all a very Merry Healthy Christmas and go to bed. LOL
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Hi Sweetrain! I so get where you are....hang in there. I've had a lot of mouth sores, thrush, tongue cut. My taste buds are fried. I was using the Bioten, but a while ago the NP prescribed "Magic Mouthwash". It has a mix of stuff, one is lydocain which seems to help. I know it's not something you can get/do now. They also recommended salt water swishing too. My best to you....sleep some of it off lol!!
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Kelly...glad you get to move on to surgery ....another step down. Take time to heal now Goodbye chemo!
Karey...I understand those firestorms of emotion hit ...my tear fest was on the radiation table during my dry run ...I wasn't very dry and with my arms up over my head grabbing those handles I could only let them flow.
Dara... I couldn't have made it without y'all ...still need the support. Love the picture.
Wonderwoman... Yay last chemo!
SweetRain...my last treatment I got cold sores down my throat and the magic mouthwash maker was out sick...I spent a painful night rinsing my mouth with Chloriseptic... my daughter uses oragel on her cold sores she gets them in her mouth a lot so she put on a Qtip and dabs it on. Hope you rested well.
Happy Christmas Eve ladies 🎄 We have everyone coming over for tamale dinner tonight. Thankful I will be up to it and thankful for y'all
Hugs
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Thinking of you all.....Merry Christmas!
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Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in and wish you all a merry Christmas and happy holidays. Work has been keeping me busy and tired. I lurk often but don't post.
Dara-thank you for sharing your pic with us. I just posted another. Out of nowhere my hair has started to really grow. The first pic was taken Dec 6th and the other today. Everyone tells me I have soft baby fuzz.
Hope to catch up on the other posts in the next day or two. I work tomorrow and then head to my sisters to celebrate!
Goodnight all
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Merry Christmas to all 🎄🎄. May you find some joy in the day...these 3 are my joy 🎄❤️🎄
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Brandi and Cali- great xmas cards!!!!
Merry Christmas ladies! Brandi- my hair is looking like your first pick! Keep thinking I'm rubbing the few strands off with my beanies.
It's been a good Christmas- spoiled our 13 year old and ourselves...been a rough year.....thanks to all of you for helping me get through it!
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Sorry, been off the grid for a couple of days. Hope everyone had a lovely Chirstmas and that aches, pains, and mouth sores are feeling a bit better. I was at my sons house at 7:30 am to watch his 2 sons open gifts, then went to my daughters to watch her 3 open, then went o my brother-in-laws for dinner with 24. It was more than a full day.
The last couple of days before Xmas was a little rough. My skin finally broke down completely from radiation and it was pretty painful. Had tried wearing a bra with a soft piece of flannel under it. Unfortunately, the under side of breast was liquid on the surface so the flannel stuck to the skin (YUCK!) Came home and stretched out on my bed topless with a cold washcloth on it and that felt the best!. Rads really isn't so bad and don't want to scare anyone. I only had problems the last couple of weeks, and some people have not problems at all. Only 3 more to go!!!!!! I can do this, and you all can also. I finish #36 on Thursday and plan to celebrate.
SweetRain, like Kelly, I got the terrible mouth sores and thrush right from my first treatment. I got two prescription mouth washes, one for thrush (thick white coating on tongue) and also the canker sores. They both were horrible tasting, but did work some. I also found hourly rinses with salt and warm water helped almost the most.
Brandi, I love the pictures. I've gone back and looked at the last three pics and can finally tell things are growing! It doesn't look it in the pics, but my hair is coming in much darker that it was pre-bc.
Hope you all have a good week.
10-17-16
12-9-16
12-26-16It sure grows at a snails pace though!
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My hair is growing in at a snails pace too and very dark. But at least it's growing
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Thank you all for your canker sore remedies. I've been trying the baking soda/water and that hasn't helped.
Well, I am going to have my last infusion this Thursday. Not looking forward to it. I was doing really good till this last one which made me so tired all I had to do was bend over, pick up something, and I was ready for bed. LOL I have never felt so tired. Nausea has picked up a bit and acid stomach. I still have some neuropathy from the taxol. My toes and fingers are still somewhat numb. My doctor said a month ago that the feelings should start returning, then last week he said in another few weeks.....I'm like, wait..you keep adding more time on!!!! At least I don't have tingling and burning that others have had. I'm scared, but will so glad when this last infusion is over! Then there will be 6 weeks of radiation. Is that normal for radiation treatment, 6 weeks, 5 days a week? Thank you all again and hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Hello everyone. Trust your Christmas' were wonderful. Sorry, haven't been on in a while - life.
Treatment 6 was a LOT better than 5 for me. It was a long treatment day (13 days ago), but my MO listened to all my concerns and adjusted my meds accordingly even lowering my chemo due to my weight loss. I had been at max legal strength up to now because of weight (obesity). Therefore, I had minimal/manageable nausea with a total of SEVEN meds (old and new ones) and didn't vomit once! However, they meds made me t-i-r-e-d. Like sleeping 18 hours a day and resting the others, tired. That lasted about 10 days with a gradual reduction in hours of sleep/rest needed per day. Now, I can manage with a regular 8-9 hour night with maybe a lie-down with TV for an hour in the afternoon. Stamina is shot - most activity tires me easily. I still have my nails with no discoloration, half of my eyebrows/eyelashes. Have about 40% of hair still on my head which is about 1/4 inch long. Fingers have mild numbness on the pads - annoying but not debilitating. That has been off and on all during treatment. The eye twitch is almost gone - got really annoying last treatment. Big D is alive and well especially since adding solids. Must stay close to toilet, but at least I haven't soiled myself this time (4 times last cycle). Taste issues were bad this time - liquid ensure diet for the first week as usual. Water tasted decent day 10 (early), but bread products and proteins are still yuck. Lost a total of 42 pounds since diagnosis (could stand to lose another 40). Managed to make it through entire treatment without getting a single infection. Needed 2 magnesium infusions, though, compared to 1 last treatment. But then, I also needed the 4 hour potassium drip last time, too. Mentally knowing that this is IT - the last one has been liberating. All 3 of my Drs (MO, Rad, and Surgeon) all can't feel the tumor anymore - YAY! All-in-all, a much better experience than 5.
Lumpectomy surgery should be in about 2 weeks followed by 7 weeks of Rads. Looking forward to it.
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Dara- so sorry these last rads are getting to you!! I love your attitude and that you just run with it. I know you can't always be positive
--- but I'm guessing from how inspirational you are here for us- that you are with your friends and family that surround you. Love the hair pics! I took my first (Dr ok'd) Biotin this am.
Sweetrain- I feel like I have energy but that's because I'm sitting on my rear lol. I took a couple loads of laundry downstairs yesterday and it felt like I just ran 5 miles in a sprint haha. I did get out on a walk yesterday. It's not fast, on a track but it does feel better after I've moved. I'm trying to get strength back before surgery knocks me out again. Hang in there with the last one....I totally understand that uneasy feeling. I still have it and think I will until I get that pathology report back and I hear my MO say "ok- no more".
JandJmom- sounds like you're doing better! So glad- if you haven't seen it yet already- there's a Jan surgery board!
Have a great week my friends! Oh- here's a picture of me horrifying my daughter by using her hair on my head xmas eve.
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Kelly ...cute picture...I know it doesn't take a lot to horrify our children but she looks like a good sport. I get worn out so easy ...I would get tired walking in the extra bedroom to ride my stationary bike
SweetRain .. I still have numbness in my toes and my last fusion was on October. My radiation is for 6 weeks 5 days a week too
jandjmom...glad this one has been easier than the last one.
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Kelly, such a darling picture! And you and your daughter have the same smile! She just looks so cute, and I think it's important to still keep things lite with younger ones. My grandsons were chuckling Christmas morning (oldest is 10) because I was playing with their cat who always used to attack my hair for some reason. Grayson said "well at least now she can't attack your hair, grandma!" I had my wig on and said "No, but she could grab it and run around the house with it!" We all laughed and it was good because I know they feel comfortable enough with the issue to laugh and talk about it.
Cali, so sorry your toes are still numb! I know it can take quite a while for everything to return to "normal." Hope rads is going smoothly. Yesterday I went and was so disappointed because the whole computer system was down and I thought I'd be delayed another day. Luckily they called me back a few hours later so I got my treatment. I REALLY did not want to delay my last tx even by one day!
JandJ, so hope things ease up a bit. I know it's so good to be seeing progress in the near future with the lumpectomy and then rads. Just hard that the fatigue still last and will linger even with the surgery and rads. I think we all just want to move toward the finish line with treatments.
I'm also still doing super well with the Arimidex. No symptoms of SEs at all. It's such a tiny pill, it seems hard to imagine that it can be as powerful as it is.
SweetRain, how's your mouth feeling? Those sores really are so bad and affect so much with food.
Take care all, and when you see the fireworks tomorrow, you'll know I'm done! :-) Dara
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Dara- so nice to know you're not having SE's on the pill. One of my future worries lol!!
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Rang the bell (or hit the gong!) And as my sister said, "And that's a wrap!"
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!!!!!!!!!! congrats dara !!!!!!!!!!
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Dara .... Woohoo! So happy for you 💪❤️💪 Amen & halilulja girlfriend ..
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So who is left that has chemo to do?
Congratulations to everyone of us who have graduated on to Rads or Surgery. You guys have been a real blessing while I have traveled this road.
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Elizabeth, the feeling is mutual, and I plan to still check in on everyone. You're all like family now!
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Hi! Feels like the crowd has thinned lol. KZ1966 still has taxol through January basically. She's back working so I'll speak for her lol. I know she still reads though.
I had bruising at my last infusion site (vein on inside of forearm). Then it got tender and sore yesterday (I'm about 15 days out)- and now my elbow has swelled and turning pink. Oncologist got me in this afternoon....doesn't think it's related, but got me on an antibiotic. I just hate the timing- Dr's offices will close for the holidays- so looked up urgent cares just in case this doesn't get better. So annoying.....why we can't just have the crap, but we have to deal with more crap on top of the crap lol.
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Fabulous, Dara!
Lyn
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Oh, Kelly, it seems like Murphy's law is alive and well with cancer treatment doesn't it? It sure sounds like the two would be related. Sometimes I think they just don't want to admit that something they are in charge of can cause a problem. Be super careful with that arm. You don't want infection, especially with the lowered immune system.
Thanks Lyn! Today is my New Year's Day! So nice not to have to go for rads this morning!
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Kelly...so sorry you had to add this new crap to your old crap! Hope it's doing better each day.
I agree I don't know how I would of made it this far without y'all
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