January 2017 Surgery Group
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yay to Shellybeans and Vargadoll! Celebrate all victories! ❤️💪
3bears, I have done that scrolling back, lose post thing. It sucks. Sorry I was the reason. Lol. I start March 3rd with Taxotere and Carboplatin. Four rounds every three weeks. With that will be Herceptin every three weeks for a full year. (Because I'm HER2). A few weeks after I finish with the TC I start radiation. 30 sessions. And also will start Tamoxifen then too.
Pugsmama, I feel the same. I need to do absolutely everything I can now or my mind will never be at rest. If it comes back, I won't blame myself. We got this!
My treatment plan totally screwed up our big vacation with our families. Boo. Tried to schedule around it, but no go. Oh well. Husband will just have to take my bald head to Hawaii when it's all done. 😁 I need that cabana for real!
Pyrrh, I think your right about the fact that it wasn't the size alone. He actually explained it very well in that my cancer may be gone from the lumpectomy, and my nodes are clear..but there may still be little ugly abnormal cancer cells floating around in my body that can start growing and cause cancer anywhere else. Being triple positive, there is a lot that can cause the cancer to grow (being premenopausal adds to it). But being triple positive, I have proven effective treatments I can do to stop it from come back. So that's what I'll do. 💪 And yay for not having to board the chemo train! 👍
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Just got back from physical therapy and have a little victory myself today..they were able to snap one of my cords! Only 3 treatments and I have one snapped cord, less pain, and better range of motion! As much as I'll be getting in and out of my shirts for all these dr appts coming up, this makes me happy! I was driving home singing at the top of my lungs...it's been awhile since I've done that!
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Yay Fightingirl! Celebrate all those victories, my friend!!! Will be sending prayers you won't find out that you're joining us on the chemo train! Good luck at your appt tomorrow. xoxo
Dani,Your first regimen is what I'm getting (TC 4x3). 3Bears is going a day before me (She's Feb. 14 & I'm Feb. 15) so you'll have a couple of pioneer sisters guiding the way!! I'll be cruising with my bald head! LOL
Shelleybeans: Was I right? Did you do a happy dance when those drains came out!!! What a great day! It's great when you've had your first fill & you get your teenage foobs!
Yay Vargadoll! See you in the cabana!
Pyrrh: Cribiform is the slowest growing, most non-aggressive cancer there is. I'd be really surprised if you end up on the chemo train!
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thanks pugsmama! No offense but I hope I don't have to board the train but if I do, I will have the best people to take the journey with! I was also told my tumor was luminal a so we shall see if that still holds true tomorrow.
First radiation treatment at 8am tomorrow... 2nd one at 2pm and then to oncologist at 3pm. Now I wish I had short sleeve button up shirts...Phoenix has been waring up! I think in the 80's tomorrow so I'm pretty much going to look like a moron in my flannel!!!
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wow! So much news from everyone. I, too, kind of took a little "cancer break". Sorry to hear from those of you who are boarding the chemo train, but like many have said, anything we can do to not board the cancer train again is worth it in the end. And we have great ladies on this board who have been on the train who can guide you all along the path to victory!
As far as accepting help; DO IT!! I was the same way. Didn't want to burden anyone. But I will tell you that the meals that were delivered were invaluable to both me and especially my family! It was suggested to me (and I heeded the advice) to have a cooler outside that people could put the mals in. That way if I wasn't up to visitors, I didn't have to. People want to help - let them!!
Sending love and prayers to everyone moving forward. I hope people will continue to stay on this board even if they're joining other ones. Xoxo 😘
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oh and for some humor, here is the "recovery shirt" my husband got for me! Don't mind my double chin - yikes!!
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DCISinAZ - that is the best! I do the lean-in-shoulder-tap-don't-you-even-think-about-it hug.
Pugsmamma - so sorry you are on the train but at least it's a relatively short ride with a long-term outcome goal.
My chemo is Andriamycin, cytoxan 4 cycles - once every two weeks with Nuelesata Injections. Then Taxol once a week for 12 weeks. Officially starts on 2/28 so 4/11 is my last day of AC and 7/11 is my last day of Taxol. Start rads around the week of 8/7 and final around the week ending 9/22. Just in time for college football season. My son will be home from college during Taxol and rads - I'm sort of glad because I think it will be a help to my daughter having him there. Having it end as he's going back will be really good too.
Got to stay positive though it's hard at times. Staying with this group as long as it's around. And yes - we need a reunion. I'll host at Walt Disney World. We've earned it.
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Shelley beans- I didn't get the Neulasta shot, but when I thought I might I read where it was suggested that you take Claritin acoupke dats before and after to help lessen the bone pain.
I'm totally in for WDW! We can do WDW, then catch a cruise to the beautiful beach!
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BeachbabyK -I'm doing the claritin. My MO's PA said some people just take it the whole time. Being in FL I can certainly do that. We always have something in the air that's causing allergies so it's something I can take all the time.
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Shelly, I read that about the Claritin as well. Also read to get the Neulast shot in your stomach. Believe it or not they said it hurts a lot less than in the arm?
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Yes - that's what I'm planning to do. I understand it's because of the fatty area of the stomach versus so close to the bone in the arm. I mentioned it to my MO and he said he's heard all types of SE and some have none no matter where it is, others have pain in both places. I'm still going to go with the belly.
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I'm going with the belly too for the Neulasta shot! Lord knows there's enough fatty padding there LOL. I'll do Claritin the whole time too!
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my fellow chemo ladies, did you or do you have a port? Was it painful or troublesome
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DaniCalifornia, I have a port. I've had it in since the end of August; it was inserted about 3 days before my first chemo treatment. It felt strange at first, but very little pain and the procedure to insert it was not a big deal. After my BMX almost 5 weeks ago (hard for me to believe) it feels strange, as if there isn't a lot of subcutaneous fat left around it, so now i'm more aware of it vs before the BMX. They will insert it on the opposite side of where you had your lumpectomy I believe. It's not a big deal, and it's nice to have them draw all those tubes of blood from it. Ask your MO to give you a script for Emla or numbing cream and put it on before you leave the house for your treatments. I put a big band-aid over it and that works out great, although the stick for the chemo catheter doesn't really hurt that much either without it but it's nice to have.
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Thanks docmama - I get mine on 2/20 and I was surprised that it's completely under the skin - I thought there would be an external part - nope. They rx emla but said after the second or third round I probably wouldn't need it - I guess the little bit of scar tissue toughens it up.
I'm considering putting together something to track my countdown. I have a countdown calendar I used for my last cruise and when I was going through my MBA (and I thought THAT was the longest and most painful thing I had been through - HA!) I love seeing those days tick off - it just seems to help me to have something to look forward to.
I was talking to my daughter yesterday about where we want to go to celebrate when this is over - we are leaning towards Hawaii or Bermuda. Living in FL we have lots of beautiful beaches but I want this to be a real get-away - not one where I can get back home in a matter of hours. I also want to do a yoga and horseback riding retreat. I've seen some in Big Sky, Montana that are women-only weekend retreats. One of my good friends and I were talking about doing it this year - doesn't look like it's going to happen.
I bought tickets to see U2 in June, Greenday in September, and I want to take my daughter to see Lady Gaga on Dec. 1. I love concerts and having them to look forward to helps. My MO knows about U2 and he thinks it will be doable - it's June 11 and a month before my chemo ends. I don't want to do anything to risk my health so we are going to just wait and see.
Geez - I'm a chatty kathy today. I don't know who said it was around day 9 post-BMX you start feeling more "normal" but you were right. It's been 10 days and I've started feeling like "me" again. Me with big TE's, back pain from back sleeping, a numb and oddly painful at times right arm - but me nonetheless.
Gentle shoulder hugs to all.
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my dear husband is amazing he's taking great care of me . I tried to read all the post but I get lost he's keeping me pretty loaded with pain meds just to keep me still . Overall I feel like I've done good . Slept really well in the bed last night . I had been sleeping best on the couch but my poor husband was sleeping in the floor next to me and it was breaking my heart . So it felt good to get in the bed last night . I smell need a shower and I really don't care LOL
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Wow, interesting about the port - I haven't researched those yet, but I had assumed there was something that poked out of the skin like when you have an IV.
docmama, they used that Emla cream on me prior to the SNB injections - good stuff! Nice to hear they give prescriptions of it out for discomfort related to ports!
Shelleybeans, I love your idea of a countdown calendar! Plus getaways to look forward to and especially a big one at the end. We still need to plan our big getaway, but my doctor keeps postponing my release from the waiting room. I still don't know if I'm done, or have many months of treatment.
Vargadoll! pain meds are good, your husband is a good man for keeping you all hopped up. Stay ahead of the pain, it's very hard to catch after it sets in. Glad to hear you are sleeping well, in my ever-so-expert-opinion (lol! not an expert!) sleep is the best thing when you are recovering.
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vargadoll... welcome back!! the image of your husband on the floor is such a loving one, albeit an uncomfortable one!! glad the bed felt good!! I don't think i showered for at least a week -- 10 days? -- after my surgery... Just rest until you feel up to it... meds and sleep ar eyoure frliend!!! XO
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thanks for the info Docmama! I'm still on the fence about a port, bu the thought of getting stuck that many times for a year is not appealing either.
Vargadoll, so glad to hear from you! I was sleeping on the couch for a while too. My hubs was a little more fortunate than ours, he was sleeping in a recliner. 😂 Aren't they the sweetest? So glad you are sleeping comfortably in your bed now.
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The port is GREAT for chemo! Saves your veins. The surgery to put it in was quick and mostly painless (I used a some ice for the soreness after and NOTHING compared to our surgeries! Here's a pic of mine... and what it actually looks like.
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Concerts! Yes, I love them and having them to look forward to. Hubby and I went to see Robert Cray and Boz Scaggs last weekend - I even put on one of my wigs! Fun show, it was a pretty old crowd though, lol. In April we'll see Red Hot Chili Peppers in Miami, and I just got word of a tour coming in July with Steve Miller and Peter Frampton - love those guys!! Last year we flew all the way to Montreal to see Sting and Peter Gabriel, that was a great show.
Funny story: a year ago I was reading my emails and I saw a ticketmaster presale for the Red Hot Chili Peppers - or so I thought. My brother in law is a huge fan, so I called him and my sisters and told them about the concert and how cheap the tickets were. Everyone got all excited, and in no time I had all my sisters and their husbands all jazzed up about the concert, so I bought 8 tickets. The next day, I looked more closely at the email confirmation I got back. The concert was actually for the Red Hot Chili PIPERS - a bagpipe band that does covers of rock music. I don't think I'll ever live that down!
PS - We had a blast at the Pipers concert!
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Vargadoll - that is the sweetest thing I have heard. Seriously, makes me want to cry. You have a good one there!!
I didn't shower for quite some time, either. But what I did do was sit in the bathtub up to my waist. Felt so nice to be in the warm water. Not the same as a shower, but at least the "nether regions" are getting some cleaning
DocMama - oh.my.gosh. That is HILARIOUS!! I love that story. I will definitely be telling my husband that one tonight. He will love it.
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Here you go docmoma - a little RHC"P" video for us all, to remind us to focus on the positives today
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docmama that is hilarious!! True story... I went to college in Ohio, and was friends with a few local bands... one weekend we had a party and our friends brought members of a third band they knew from the area... the red hot chili peppers..... not lying, partied with them in college... flea wanted to sleep in my bed and I was like, NO wAY... he slept on the floor. how is that for a circular day, vargadoll?! Yours did it out of love... flea did it out of combo of lust and drunkedness... not endearing, but makes for a good story, and my kids think I'm a wonder.
That port is amazing! I hate this. Disease, but am amazed at the continuous progress in treating it... last time I had a loved one in chemo the port looked like an IV port in her chest.... that looks like a wonder
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I'm am so thankful for the laughs and stories and big hugs for the lol!!!
1 radiation dose down and 9 to go! They just called and moved my oncologist appt to before my 2nd dose of rads today so at 1:15 I'll be finding out if I got a ticket for the chemo train. I'm not thrilled that right after I will have to go lay still for 30 minutes while they pump me with radiation seeds. I'm either going to want to happy dance or I will lay there letting chemo sink into my brain. I now wish I'd kept the appts as they were. But no, I had to be the accommodating patient so the doc can probably jet off to Hawaii after my appt! Just kidding, I say that because the RO who did my catheter procedure was leaving for Hawaii at 6 the morning after. How rude to tell me that!! Good thing I really like him.
Well, gotta dry my sink washed hair and do my own jetting to the next 2 docs today!
Hope everyone is doing well today! Much love
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The Pipers covering Happy!! That and the tix story made my morning 😂
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DCBC, where did you go to school in Ohio? I live outside of Columbus.
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I went to Miami... we were friends with the liquid hippos and the afghan whigs... only met the chili peppers the one time... before they were big
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Dcbc, love that story!! How cool is that!
Docmama, totally sounds like something I would do. Hysterical 😭 and I love that we all have the same taste in music!
Fightngirl, I'm praying that you are denied access to the train.
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Vargadoll. Your husband sounds like a keeper.
My husband just signed up for his 3rd Pelononia. It is a huge cancer research bike ride that raises money for the James Cancer Hospital. Like thousands of bicyclists ride anywhere from 25-180 miles. My husband started with 25 the 1st year, did 100 last year and wants to do 180 this year. I Just saw on my MOs bio that she received funds from it for a study. Who would have thought that the money he raised would help benefit me
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