Starting Chemo in July 2017
Comments
-
Hang in there. After chemo finishes it does get better. Give yourself time to heal.
I'm 4 1/2 weeks past my final chemo and just this week I got some real energy back. My nails look weird. There's three lines of bumps on each nail from the treatments. Big toenail looks bruised and thumbnails look yellowy red. They seem to be staying on which is a good thing. Hair seems to be taking it's time coming back. The only other thing is the annoying watering of the eyes. Taste buds are 90% back. Sugary things taste bitter. Appetite is back so I expect any weight I lost will be coming back on faster than it left.
0 -
i am cheap, delivery cheaper at early time, sides now i got stuff for soup making!
0 -
proud, Lol, I'd have definitely been caught in bed at 7:30, I'm afraid I've become a sleep in kind of person. They'd of found a lopsided chested, bald woman, with funky colored toenails at the door in her nightgown. The thing nightmares are made of. However it is Halloween.
Paulette, yes a warm soak is perfect this time of year, and may just help my tender toes. It's time for afternoon walks, I'm thinking. You couldn't drag me out there on a cold morning. However I don't mind bundling up in the afternoon sun. I'm afraid I'm becoming a wimp. Oh well!
Went for my mapping session at the radiation ctr. Went fine, in and out in 45 min. They made a mold I'll lay on so everything is in the same pace each time. I was in the mold for 20 min and she said the treatment is only 15, so no issues with cramping or discomfort. Now I have 4 weeks till it starts.
It's gorgeous outside, don't you just love fall?
Hugs and prayers
Theresa
0 -
I’m cheap also Proud, I was complaining how much we spent after we have BC. Amazon definitely got most of my money since I don’t go out shopping that much.
Teese - you’re so funny, we all fit into Halloween. 😂😂😂 I did a little time on my treadmill this morning maybe I can go outside after lunch. I didn’t sleep that well last night so my energy kinda limited today.
0 -
Hi All,
Thanks for the encouragement regarding going back on full time leave, but it's starting to look like that won't happen. I got kind of a terse email from HR saying I will lose my job and benefits if I do that, and to let them know when I've made my decision.Nice. I asked if I can keep my insurance through COBRA, and of course they didn't answer that question. I'm considering going to HR sans headscarf and prosthesis and talking to them about this, ala Teese.
L.
0 -
Leatherette - under federal law they have to offer COBRA, unless your company have very few employees, I can’t remember the number. If your doctor stated that you aren’t ready to go back to work, I don’t think your HR and push you.
I’m very fatigue the last couple days after #7 taxol, I’m going to a doctor appointment at 4 pm I hope I have the energy.
0 -
Thanks Paulette-I work for the school district, which has thousands of employees. I know we have COBRA, and it's possible that the person who does leaves needs to communicate with people who do benefits.
As one of my co-workers said, "Really, the school district has never worked with an employee with breast cancer?".
Anyway, I hope you had the energy for your appointment and that it went well. Fatigue bites!
0 -
leatherette, i worked fotr a tiny company and basically quit just before i turned 65, couldnt hake it any more. I got cobra, i was not under bc treatment but even though they hated to give me ccobra, they had no choice
Course one of my pals had me get a lawyer, he helped
0 -
Leatherette - they can’t treat you that way, that’s ridiculous. I will seek for legal actions on school board. Yes they better cover their behinds to offer cobra.
0 -
Thanks for being fierce for me, ladies! I am pretty sure I won't have to resort to a lawyer to get COBRA. I should know more tomorrow.
0 -
leatherette, what a pain .... hang in there.
Pink is my coulor... thanks for checking in!! I'm really forward to feeling more normal... may not happen for a while, but I can see that light at the end of the tunnel!
I felt like a brat today at my infusion (#8/12!). I wasn't even in my seat and the woman in the chair next to me was all, "hi there!" And she didn't stop talking until she left 90 minutes later..... I didn't want to be rude, but I was so bummed at not having my "quiet time"'!! I go straight from work (it's literally two buildings away from my office) and look forward to just chilling out and chatting with the nurse when she comes by. I was exhausted when I left!!!
We handed out candy tonight... I started out bald but one of the little ones just stared and stared, so I put a cap on.... poor guy, didn't know what to make of me!!! I love seeing all the kids. We had maybe 75-100, and I just get a kick out of them. My 13-year-old son went out, so I'll raid his bag later
0 -
Jen - pray for you on minimal SE, I’m going to follow you for #8 this Friday. My infusion center informed me last week, they will be closed on thanksgiving day and that Friday also, so I will be bumped a week. Still will finish before Christmas but I hope I would have energy by Christmas.
0 -
heading friday for number 12, yikes but no end
I have tons of scarfs and hats, many courtesy of on line pals! But gonna break down and get a dang wig, dang but since i am stage 4, not likely to bre getting my hair back
0 -
Iris .... hugs!!!
0 -
Pink, your SE's sound just like mine. I'm 2 weeks out from my last Taxotere so I'm a bit behind you, but I also have the ridges on my fingernails and the watering eyes, which I didn't realize is a SE. My taste buds are slowly recovering but I'm nowhere near 90 percent - maybe half way there? My toenails are sore but haven't started changing colour or anything like that. Fingernails are not bothering me yet, although my cell phone no longer recognizes my finger print. Perhaps there's some very subtle reshaping going on???
0 -
pingpong, I still have days when I need to take it easy. I also have days where things don’t taste quite right. Had pizza last night and tasted off to me. Need to keep asking hubby if the food tastes right to him. I think the muscle fatigue is the SE that surprises me the most. Though I’d be further along at this point. The watery eyes are starting to ease up, at least it’s mostly one eye now. No hair yet either.
It’s taking longer than I expected to recover. A slow process for sure. Need to be patient which I’m not good at.
0 -
Hello ladies, just want to say thanks for all the messages regarding the 5K. It was so much fun and so heartwarming to have friends & family joining/supporting me. But I think the walk took its toll on me. I was tired the following day, then got a sore throat on Monday and still battling this cold. The upside to all this? I get to wear scarves again! And I don't mean on my head... hahaha Fall has finally arrived to Northern Cali!
I will be 4 weeks PFC tomorrow, and still have many of the same side effects:
Neuropathy: I still have soreness in my toes and balls of my feet, and sometimes tingling when I'm on my feet for a long time. My nails are still purple, but I think it's growing out. And I have indentations as my nails are growing out, but no lifting or cracking. I have been using Nail Envy since I started chemo but usually changed the polish every 2 weeks. I was spoiled getting a gel manicure every couple of weeks pre-diagnosis since I'm so bad at doing my own nails. I get polish at the edge of my fingers, and my nails would always get smudged because I'm impatient waiting for it to dry... But I have to say I am getting better at this! LOL I'll keep using Nail envy until my nails are back to normal. My cuticles used to be so dry but in the last week they aren't as dry, and I don't need to moisturize as often.
Eyesight: My eyesight has always been bad, but I did notice it got worse during chemo. I didn't think it was related, until you all mentioned it. I wear contacts for astigmatism, and notice that my near vision is really bad. I have a pair of drugstore reading glasses and I find myself using them more often. This is usually the time of year I see my optometrist, so I'll be scheduling an appointment towards the end of the month to give my eyes time to get adjusted.
Taste: My taste buds are slowly coming back. What I'm worried about is my lack of taste for salty things. I have high blood pressure, so I really need to watch my salt intake. It's just tough when I eat out or eat someone else's cooking and I can't tell if it's salty or not. I have been noticing that my ankles swell at the end of the day, so I think it's due to water retention and having too much salt plays into this. Putting my feet up helps.
In other news, I got my radiation simulation done a couple of days ago, and I start rads next week. My experience was similar to yours, Teese. Did you also have to do a breathing simulation? My technician guided me to take a breath to raise my chest, and hold it for about 10 seconds. This was hard for me, since I'm so used to diaphragm breathing. I sing in choirs and chest breathing is a no-no. I was told that since they are radiating my left side, where my heart is, the machine will use my breathing as a guide when radiating the area near my heart.
Leatherette, that really sucks that HR is giving you the run around. Have you used up your FMLA?
Sorry for the long-ish post, but since I don't get on here as often I'm updating as much as I can when I can. Cheers!
0 -
Glad to see sunnyjay..... 👋🏻!
I’m reading your radiation part and I don’t think I’m ready for radiation until January. I will be radiating my left size also. I was kind of worry it is so close to my heart also.
I’m so looking forward to finish my chemo, it’s tough to be at the end.
0 -
Hi Everyone!
sunnyjay - very cool on the 5K! I look forward to getting back to my hiking trails and mountains soon. So far, I'm still on mostly flat land, but building up my distance. Love to see that you did, and had fun at, the 5K!
All - I'm starting to get hair back (actually had the head shaved three weeks ago to let everything start growing back together and more evenly - I did keep some hair through chemo). Today is the first day I went out in public with no hat or scarf and it felt totally liberating! It is probably about .25 inches or so (it does seem to be growing at a decent rate), but still thin so my scalp can be seen through it. But, it was so awesome to just go out with nothing covering it!
Tomorrow will mark 6 weeks PFC, which is hard to believe! Still have some chemo brain going on (can't read a book and really get into it, and have a hard time with more technical writing). I think it is getting better... I keep doing things like crosswords to force my brain to work. I'm also working and am forced to do some writing, etc., which I think is actually good, as well. My eyesight was definitely affected. I'll give it a full year before I see my eye doctor, given they say the eyesight thing can stick around for a bit.
Radiation is going well... had round 23 today, only 5 more left!! My skin is showing it now, but still feels generally okay. A little tight and a little itching near the port and under arm where it rubs more. But not painful and not blistering or anything. I'm done with it next Wednesday (what!?) and then I have until the week after Thanksgiving with no appointments, no drugs to take, no treatment. I will get my port removed the week after thanksgiving and will start Tamoxifen then, as well. So I'm going to enjoy my 'off' time!!
I will keep popping in here. I am following the thread, but don't comment nearly as much.
Here's to minima SE's this week!
-LoJo
0 -
LoJo - so glad to hear from you and you are one of the lucky one got your hair back so quickly. It’s always good to hear the good positive sides gives us something to look forward to.
0 -
proud, I've read where many ladies see fuzz start to grow while on Taxol, sigh, not me though. Have you read about any stage 4 ladies having that happen?
Pink, I'm just 1 week PFC and I'm just too impatient, I woke up this morning with all these plans. Straightened the house in the morning. Then we set out, went to Mass, lunch, travel agency, then my acupuncture appt. and finally the grocery store.
When we got home I crawled into the house and collapsed. I was so disappointed to be so tired. So it was good to read that it takes time. I'm just rushing things. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in.
LoJo and sunny, I can't thank you enough for posting your progress. It gives me hope and something to look forward too, plus also to keep my expectations realistic. I was so annoyed when I became so exhausted today but I sat down and read your posts I felt so much better.
Have a good night ladies
0 -
Nice to hear from so many people who are PFC! Teese, I can't believe you did that much one week PFC! I'll probably be in bed moaning on my day 7 PFC.
I ended up deciding not to go on full time leave - too much trouble and loss of income when I only have one infusion left. I am getting so much support from my department and my school-they are taking things off my plate, so I can manage.
So now, I have been working two days a week. My FMLA ends Jan.2. I found out that once that ends, I can stop working altogether, continue towork two days a week, or be full time for the rest of the school year. I am not allowed to increase my hours to anything but full time (I wanted to go to four days a week starting in January). This is what HR says, though. My principal said that there are ways around that.....we'll see. Pretty dumb rules when there is a shortage of school psychologists.
0 -
morning all, hanging in my recliner and waiting on my unreliable cleaning gal, sort of thinking of getting a new one or certainly having a conversation with her. Tomorrow is chemo day, ended up with 2 rides! Man but i,am lucky to have great pals. I was sort of worried they would get tired of taking me but guess they havent!
Plan is to pick up script for wig, since hair growth is going to be a iffie thing gonna bite the bullet as it is getting colder and while i havre bunches of hats, think it is wig time
I am impressed to hear folks doing 5 ks, wahoo for you
0 -
Hi guys,
Totally over did yesterday and feeling it today. Got my walk in then I've been working on making meatballs for the freezer to go with the marinara sauce. Doing it in stages, just chopped the onion and garlic.
Proud, you are blessed with good friends, wishing you an uneventful infusion, this week is #12 and your doing so well with SE and of course it's working. No one knows what the future holds and seeing you do so well gives me such hope and comfort. I'm so glad you joined our group and decided to share with us. As far as your cleaning lady, good luck with that, I've had a few through the years and I've always ended up letting them go.
I would do the dumbest stuff. Like I always straightened up before they'd come so they'd have less clutter and could do a better clean. (Yes, that's what I told myself) However I'd always go a little overboard and find I'm actually cleaning before they come to clean. Dumb! But I just didn't want anyone to see my house dirty. (I'm vain in that way, sigh) So I decided that was dumb dumb dumb and stopped it. Save the money and spend it on something fun. Now I've never actually confessed this to anyone besides my sister, she knows my OCDness and still loves me. My husband never knew, he thought I was just trying to be more frugal and I've let him believe that.
Paulette, you too, tomorrow is #8, woo hoo, you're getting there. Next week you're 75% of the way through Taxol!
Jen you're heading into the final few also, isn't this week 9?
Runnermum, travelhound,and leatherette I think you're all finishing up this week, right?
Pink, pingpong, sunny, LoJo, your updates are so appreciated, it's the part of BC.org that is the best and does me the most good. Thank you and please keep popping in
Praying everyone's labs are good and neuropathy symptoms are few so that you can stay on track and finish up on time.
Hoping you are all having a good day, you are always in my prayers.
Theresa
0 -
well cleaning gal finally got here so least i will have clean house, i do not think i could keep up with this place without help, hey have not been doing travel lately so this is my treat
0 -
Proud - my cleaning person is my hubby now I asked him should we get a cleaning person but he said he can do it himself. Best of luck to your infusion tomorrow prayers for uneventful infusion for you and me.
Good news Met with my MO and he told me next week will be my last taxol chemo. Maybe he really gets tired of my bitching and send me to the radiology. Cried and thanks the Lord who answered my prayers. I finally getting close to see the tunnel
0 -
paulettek-- best of luck tomorrow with your 2nd to last Taxol!!!!
0 -
Great news Paulette!
0 -
paulette....will think of you while got the old iv hooked up, think we should celebrate with a lovely nap
0 -
Proud - have a good nap, thank you for thinking of me. You will be on my prayers.
DodgersGirl- will check on your radiation thread soon, for now, I just focus on my last two chemo.
Tpralph- thank you so much ....
hope tomorrow will be an uneventful infusion.
0
