Starting Chemo in November 2017
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I bought some gel polish but haven't used it yet. I was thinking it might keep my fingernails from peeling andsplitting.
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hi everyone, just dropping in to say a quick happy easter weekend! 🙂
i haven’t been online in a while and i’ve been keeping busy with lego sets. i took all of March off from work to focus on recovery and ended up with a child’s schedule: eat, sleep, read books, play legos, watch tv (okay... netflix).
proooobably not the best idea to be doing arm raises on my right arm while watching WW2 documentaries. 😅
it’s been almost 2 months PFC and i tried looking for things my head looks like:
🤣
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Isn't it strange that some of us are losing our brow and eye lashes 2 months after last chemo? My nails however, are doing better than before. I have a gap of missing lashes on my right eye, lost all my lower lashes, and just patches off my brows. But I see new hairs on the brows coming in, but they look the same in color and texture.
Kat - I was thinking about you the other day wondering how you have been recovering. Sounds good so far. My hair is coming in weirdly. I look like Johnny Carson did when he turned all grey and had no hair on the top of his head. Or that character eagle from the muffets that had just the feathers around his head.
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^ Blair, I read the delayed eyebrow/eyelash loss has something to do with hair growth cycles. I suppose that's what it is.
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star, i started going to manicurist and i told her my problem, lord my nails were splitting and a mess. The gal i have is great, she said she had worked with cancer folks in the past and promised to help. She uses a gel polish and soaks the old polish off, my nails are better and when she takes polish off the almost look normal
But careful who you use
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thanks, proudtospin. The place I go is very professional and I’ll let them know about the chemo etc.
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good luck, i get compliments om my nails which honestly gives me an upper!
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I see this when I look in the mirror.
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Hi, all -
I too am rapidly losing brows and lashes - almost 3 weeks PFC. Very excited for the microblading I have scheduled in a couple of weeks to address the former.
I also have ridges on my fingernails and a bit of orange-y discoloration - no lifting so far. My MO gave the okay for me to get a mani/pedi so I went in for one yesterday. (I had not been to my neighborhood salon since starting chemo because my skin was so fragile.) It felt so nice to have my ladies take care of me and sit in that massage chair! I did my "usual": short nails with apple red on my toes and sheer pink on my fingers. I left feeling relaxed and just a little bit prettier, which is a small miracle and an absolute bargain at only $30.
Still dealing with left shoulder/neck pain which my physical therapist believes is a reaction to my port "backing up." I have a bulging vein in my neck and the upper incision has been darker than usual since my labs were drawn last week. Feels like a pinched nerve; very uncomfortable. Will definitely be discussing this with my MO when I go in for my first Heceptin/Perjeta infusion on Monday.
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are you guys getting your ports removed? I have my prophylactic mastectomy and reconstruction of both coming up and the doctors said they could remove the port then.
I love the penguin and ostrich photos! Makes me feel a lot cuter.
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I see this when I look in the mirror.
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Magari...Be careful with the bulge in your neck. That happened to me with my first port and they did a CT scan and I had a blood clot. Be sure to bring it to your onco's attention. I had to go on a blood thinner for 3 months.
Hope
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Nonahope - Thank you for the advice about a potential blot clot! Not something that had occurred to me and I will certainly be discussing this with my MO when I go in for my infusion on Monday. Will ask if I should get a scan and/or a prescription.
Star - Since I will be having Herceptin/Perjeta infusions every 3 weeks for 8 more months, my port is unfortunately still in use for quite a while. If you're done with infusions and don't need it any longer, it sounds like a great idea to have it removed while you are already having your breast surgery.
I am having side effects now that are more pronounced than during chemo: watery, twitchy eyes. Also swollen ankles that I never had at all before. Sigh....
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okay ladies not only do I have hair envy....now it’s mani-pedi envy. My MO said no mani pedi yet. I am 6 weeks PFC, she said my nails couldn’t take it yet. I think they would be fine putting it on, but it would trash them if I had to remove it. I’m waiting patiently...
Star- I also still have to get herceptin every 3 weeks so no port removal any time soon, a lot of people leave their ports in, just in case. The downfall with that is they have to be flushed every 6 weeks. Which would be annoying after a while. Mine used to feel deeper than it is now. Now it feels like it’s barely under the skin.
Still have all the same lingering side effects. Swollen feet, tingling toes and fingers. The toes are way worse after being on my feet for 12 hours at work. I hate that I can’t go barefoot anywhere. I am off the Prilosec completely and today was my first day where I didn’t need tums as backup. So I am down to vitamins, biotin and lasix (my best friend these days). I have some dark hair on the back of my head, it’s very promising! Unfortunately like blair2 it’s a dark haired version of her Johnny Carson. Nothing on top!! I should go get that spray on hair!!! Lol.
Hope everyone has an amazing Easter tomorrow!! Cooking has commenced at my house! Love to just do something normal again without worrying how I am going I feel. Our whole holiday season from thanksgiving through New Years was overshadowed by the things going on to each of us, this is the holiday to rejoice and give thanks that we made it through (for the most part) to the other side!!
Tina
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You girls are CRACKING ME UP!!! And, Kat, that's a decent amount of growth you've got there, girl!
Nonahope-regarding the blood clot, were you on tamoxifen when that happened? I have read that a potential side effect could be blood clots. I'm not too thrilled about that as I start tamoxifen next week.
Margari-my eyebrows thinned sooooo much after chemo and then about two weeks ago around 8 weeks PFC, my eyelashes all went. It took me by surprise and really discouraged me. It was one more reminder from the lingering chemo still in my system. But, I've got some stubby lashes coming back in.
Tina~I got a mani-pedi at 8 weeks PFC, so far so good!
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I’m only ten days PFC, but I did get the mani pedi today. All went well and did feel nice. One of my ridges has begun lifting and the nail broke. The nail tech tried to trim it neatly and then paint, but since the mani I’ve had to take that portion off so that nail is messy, but the rest look nice.
Also got some strip lashes applied today bc I was attending an event. Between those and the wig I rarely wear and the make up i worried I looked overdone, but my husband said it looked nice (what else could he say?
). Felt nice to dress up and not look sick today.Tina, that’s a good point about the holidays. Hope everyone has a good one
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Wishing all a very blessed and HAPPY EASTER!
Magari...The best way I can describe the symptoms when I had the clot is that my vein was bulged, like you say. And, I had a "tight" feeling in the neck area. My clot was in the carotid artery. My onco sent me immediately to have a CT scan when I told him and he felt the area of concern. Sorry your having new side effects. Hang in there.
Tina...My nails feel like they've been slammed with a hammer. They are full of ridges. It doesn't look like I might lose any, but they are painful.
Lizabeth...When I developed the blood clot, I was on the Ibrance/Femara combination. In all honesty, at the time it happened, there was a new nurse who flushed my port and I think she wasn't thorough doing the job. I remember that something just felt "off". I kept my port in for several years after my breast cancer surgery.
Star....Isn't is amazing what hair, makeup etc. can do!?? Glad you felt nice for the occasion.
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happy easter and hope all are enjoying the day.
I am back from lunch at olive garden with neighbors, i gave up driving holiday traffic to family years ago, much easier walking across the street. Course one year i feel while walking but i am doing bettermthis year
So far next week looks lite with out a bunch of appt, but that tends to change. Hope to make it to gym
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Hi Everyone
Its day 21 PFC - due for my Herceptin only tomorrow (I will ask about Perjeta) My hair is starting to grow - about 1/4'' with one WILEY HAIR from the top - about 1" curly and dark color.
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Iris...It's such a nice feeling having few appointments. My next scheduled appointment isn't until April 12th -- a nice break before I start on the new regimen.
rljes...Hooray for hair!
Hope
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hope, my house was looking like a hurricane hit it! Tidied up a bit, cleaning person not due til next week and do not want her to think i am a complete slob!,
Woke to a scattering of snow but all pretty much melted now
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Hello my lovlies warm hugs from the Caribbean as per usual. Tomorrow is Taxol#7 for me and I must say the tiredness is a bitch. It is cumulative so I guess the tiredness is going to get worse. I am having trouble sleeping and have been taking Xantax (not sure I spelt it correctly). I am also taking demax(the steriod) as my pre treatment medicine. The headaches are awful. Day3/4 after the treatment are my worst days. Hot flashes too chemo_pause is real I am so hot whew🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. I am not taking any vitamins yet but plan to start the B12 soon. I also noticed that my hands has started trembling/shaking no tingling yet thank God not sure what that is about. My doctor told me I need to try and get as much sleep as possible but i'm struggling. Drinking tons of water have improved my skin somewhat in the face area but my feet are dry as chips and peeling the soles turned black they look horrendous. I am not icing just moisturing and soaking them weekly.
The upside is there is no nausea, no metal mouth and I can eat basically anything. I try to exercise 5/6 times a week for 1/2hr I have found that this has helped with my general well being. My hair has started growing back and its completely gray I don't know what happened to the black either way I am going with the flow. I had my hair platinum b4 so its no biggie i'm a free spirit when it comes to hair I switch it up all the time. Eyebrows still sparse but the pencil works.lol. I have not gained any weight even though I feel like i'm eating more my appetite is insatiable.
Update-I am feeling some symptoms of neuropathy today I couldn't feel my toes it felt so strange. Lol.. and the tiredness I tried sweeping my porch and after that I was tuckered out took me a full 3hrs to regain my strength I just had to lie down.. Another strange thing my hair on my head is growi g back but I wiped my face and ny brows were gone....what a riot I couldn't stop laughing.
Well ladies the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. The journey still has Some ways to go but we are almost there. STAY STRONG, STAY POSITIVE, WE CAN DO THIS, ONE TREATMENT AT A TIME, LET'S KICK CANCER'S BUTT TO THE CURB.
You are all in my prayers have a blessed weekend.
Dark13
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Hi, all! Good to hear from some of you who haven't checked in for a while. Sounds like most of us are doing fairly well.
I had my first Herceptin/Perjeta only infusion today - 3 weeks PFC. How amazing to have my entire infusion time be only an hour! (Instead of the 5.5 hours it was taking for premeds and TCHP infusions.) Since I'd cold capped through chemo and dealt with the timer going off for cap changes every 15 minutes, it was also a real change to be able to relax and read my library book this time!
Nonahope - Thanks again for the tip re the potential blood clot causing the bulging neck vein leading to my port. My MO agreed that I should get an ultrasound, so the front office is getting the insurance approval and scheduling that in the next day or two.
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Iris...My house is always a mess. I don't have a cleaning person. She would probably run away. I try to keep things picked up, but I need a complete overhaul - paint, carpet etc. It takes me forever to do anything with these feet. I was up and down again all night long.
Dark...I'm surprised your hair is growing with the Taxol. Mine is totally gone! Along with the brows and lashes.
Magari...I'm so glad your onco didn't blow you off about the bulge in your neck. Please keep us posted. Praying it's nothing, but best to be on the safe side.
Have a good day, ladies!
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well i tidied up my house some, i hate when it gets messy and thinking of having my monthly cleaning gal come twice a month. My physical therapist told me to avoid all things BLT......as in bending lifting twisting, this due to the tumors on my back. So try emptying the dishwasher without bending! Actually they are good at showing ways to minimize the bending. She gave me a good plan for changing bed sheets, I put two fitted sheets on the bed, or rather i have cleaning person make the bed with 2 fitted sheets, that way i can just remove one fitted sheet and switch out the top sheet which is not as much bending ot twisting. Nifty plan!
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# 2 of my herceptin only treatment today. Hopefully I remember to tell them to order my meds ASAP so I’m not waiting in the chair for an hour or more for pharmacy to bring them. Appt with MO at 820, then infusion and then appt with RO at 11. I hate having to squeeze everything into my only day off, and I feel so guilty actually having a day off. We are so short staffed at work it is borderline unsafe for the patients. Luckily we have about 100 years experience combined with the staff we have which makes it easier. Put in 30 hours Monday and Tuesday combined. No wonder my feet are still swollen. On the plus side my pool is up to 78 degrees yesterday so that’s means swimming temps today. Bout dang time. I am usually in that pool a month by now, but the weather has no taste cooperated.
Started getting the “ridges” on my nails, it’s only at the bottom half where the new nail has grown in. It’s more of a normal color where the top half is kind of discolored. So once all the discolored part is gone I am heading to get a mani pedi. That’s my sign that the new nail will be fully attached and grown in. Numb feet are making me crazy and it’s worse at the end of the day. Being on them for 14hours probably isn’t helping any.
My laugh of the day yesterday, so I spent all day at work, I got home about 630p and jumped in the shower. When I took off my cap to get in, I looked in the mirror and did a double take. Holy hell, there is a large patch of hair in the front that wasn’t there in the morning. Kinda shocked me that it grew that much in half a day. The back seems to moving along, the front not so much.
I am waiting on the leg shaving. There is some fuzz there, but I am thinking back to when we were 12 and we were told “ don’t shave your legs or it will come back darker and thicker” maybe those rules apply now. I may look into a good electric razor and no blades. Might keep it down. No pit hair or jay-jay hair yet. If I had a man in my life, they would be oh so pleased. Lmao. It does help make bathing suit dressing much easier! I haven’t braved the beach yet, hoping for a little more head growth before I do that. Maybe next weekend.
Hope everyone has a great week and had an awesome Easter.
Tina
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Rljes, Nonahope, Proudtospin, Magari, Dark13 and Tina,
Hope those of you still taking Herceptin, Taxol treatments will go smoothly. I so admire you all going through these long going treatments with your determination and stamina putting up with the side effects. Kudos to all!
I got through my morning radiation treatment (9 to go) and the PET scan, but was starved and exhausted by the time I got home. That machine scooted me up and down and at one point this twirling band of light was going around me - kind of felt I was in a washing machine! So - I hope there’s nothing seriously wrong with my back, but the pain just won’t go away. The tech had to pull me up off the platform. She asked me about my pain and I told her that I thought it was caused from the chemo. She agreed that chemo can cause back pain because how it effects good cells in your body. I hope that’s it. I see my RO tomorrow- might have results then.
I laugh at my hair too. It is beginning to show some darker gray in the back, sides still very white, and the top so very thin. It doesn’t seem to want to grow at the top. The white being so fine just makes the scalp show through, so I will look bald for a long time. I like my wigs and are fun, but by summer they will probably bug me because of the FL heat. I got this blondish one for a messy updo. I look stupid in it when it’s worn long, as it’s too long for an old lady. I do not want to look like a Polk Co. redneck!
My ankles/feet quit swelling, but I don’t know what was going on there for a while. I’m so sick of medical crap. My daughter and her husband are in the process of moving to Tampa from Austin, but will be living with me for a while. Violet their cat, will be here too. I have a ton of cat proof preparation to do! I call her Violence as she can be a burger. My daughter had her claws capped - I can see that not lasting long!
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Iris...I love the idea of the double sheets! It brings back memories of when my kids were little and they had to make their own bed and change their sheets. Well, my younger of the two would put a clean sheet on top of the dirty sheet. At one time, there were 4 sheets on her bed! if there was a way around anything she had to do, she found it.
Tina...that is a hoot about your patch of hair!
Blair...I hope your scan gives an answer to your back pain. You have a lot to look forward to and I hope that Violet doesn't become Violent..LOL My grandkids "surprised" me many years ago with a kitten. I named him Chance because chances were he wouldn't be staying...but, he did. He was with me for a long time until he got ill and had to be put to sleep. He was a loveable cat, but I didn't have him declawed...big mistake!
Hope
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afternoon all! Made it to the gym, saw several folks that ki had missed seeing for some time, means we did some good jaw exercising! Always great to see pals, my gym has a lot ok shaw we say vintage folks! So it was a nice morning. Only doing the bike for now, i am cleared for pool but did not do that.
Did a self pedicure this morning, i had 2 ingrown toenails, one on each foot! Got new tools yesterday, hope was successful as my poor feet were not happy last night!
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good evening ladies!
Saw my onco this morning, don’t have to see her again for 6 weeks, had my herceptin fat 9 and I was out of there by 1015 so that was awesome! Then when to radiation onco at 11 and got measured and tattooed for radiation starting next Tuesday. 3 tattoos l!! On hurt like hell the other two not so bad. Still trying to do this but we shall see how it goes. It’s only 4 weeks and it’s all preventative since everything was clear post op. So I am going I give it my best effort, unfortunately mynpatients come first so it will be whatever it will be.
Tina
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