Starting chemo January 2018
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No he does not know if they are cancerous yet fingers crossed there not but then what the heck is it??? I’m scared to say the least but ready to deal with whatever it May be head on
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Fingers crossed with you, @WorriedMe77! You will absolutely be able to do whatever is in front of you. What a terrible ride this breast cancer thing is.
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Oh WorriedMe77 that does sound scary. I was going to write something silly about crying during my buzz cut today but as I read your message it really hit home how serious this is. My heart goes out to you and everyone else going through emotional and physical pain
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Cry when you need to cry my friend Losing our hair is MAJOR emotional 😭 roller coaster.... This cancer shit sucks and I feel kinda helpless right now ugggggg think I’m gonna smoke a lil joint 😳😇🙃 and try to process this new info
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My thoughts are with you, @worriedme77. Don't get ahead of yourself though. I ran into a co-worker who had bc many years ago, also Her2+ like yours, with an impacted lymph node. She had a simikar scare - they saw something on her liver, but what they told her is that spots come and go. When she had another scan it was gone. She's been cancer free for almost 10 years.
So don't panic just yet! Go smoke a joint. Heck you inspired me to have a glass of wine tonight. This healthy living is sooo boring
Take care, everyone.
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@garifalia, I'd be interested to hear about your buzz cut. Hope you are ok now. I'm counting down the days.....
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I’d be interested in hearing too....
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Well OK, here it is. I brought along my dear friend Janet to the hair salon for support. Since I haven’t seen her for a while I showed her my port and then I gave a demonstration of pulling a wad of hair effortlessly from my head. We laughed and were enjoying catching up. Then Megan the hairdresser brought us back to her chair. She had cut my hair short in December so she knew I planned to go back sometime during chemo when I started to lose hair. She was great, very caring and gentle. She turned the chair to the side and started buzzing away. I mostly kept my eyes downward until she was done. Then I looked up into the mirror and for a split second I didn’t recognize myself. A second later I thought Oh boy I look sick, I look like a cancer patient! Then this deep involuntary sob came forth followed by tears. Janet and Megan hugged me and told me I have a beautiful head. I pulled myself together quickly because I didn’t want to be a spectacle in the busy salon. Megan washed my head and the shaped up the wig I brought along. It ended up looking cute, and 4 ladies I didn’t know complimented me too. Megan would not take any money and was happy with more hugs. Then Janet & I went to lunch and she gave me a lovely soft black hat, skin care products and a pair of socks that say “Fuck Cancer” on the soles. It turned out to be a good day & I’m sitting here feeling happy & relieved
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Thanks for sharing your touching story! *gotta get me some of those socks*
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@worriedme - I'm praying for you! Tuesday will come shortly and you'll get the answers, the waiting, I know, is debilitating.
hugs xx
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Thank you.... I had a hard sleeping last night and was up at 4am just sitting in the dark “thinking”..... Kinda wish the MO had saved his phone call till Monday let me enjoy my weekend sighs..... How can I feel so HEALTHY other than the minor pain and discomfort from the MEDICAL professionals and their procedures to help me??? I DONT FEEL LIKE IM SICK I DONT FEEL LIKE IM SICK
and how the heck did “spots” come up on my lungs, pelvis, and clavicle??? I’m only 40 with so much living left to do
Trying to remain calm and not over react but the way my personality is set up that’s so hard for me!!! I keep jumping to the what if’s....
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Wrapping my arms around you and giving you a big ole virtual hug!!!! I know buzzing your hair had to be super hard for you today thank God is sounds like you had some loving friends with you... Look at it like your just that much closer to winning your fight with Cance
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WorriedMe77 - That is really scary and I would imagine that is everyone's fear to. Keep us informed on the results and I agree feel whatever you feel.
Lynnzrose - Yes my infusions are every three weeks. He actually said at the beginning, first week is hard, second one you will be really tired. He said since mine is on Wednesdays the Sat-Tue right before the next cycle are my feel good days to do what I want or need to do during those 4 days. He did tell me not to go anywhere with crowds right now. Might be because of the flu outbreak, because my counts are low but not extremely low.
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I just had my port put in yesterday. Very sore today. Start chemo next week and am a mess. I couldnt decide whether to do chemo or not. My breast cancer was dx as stage 1 0/2 nodes grade3. I had lumpectomy and was told just radiation but then they did a mamoprint and it came back high risk so now chemo. I dont like even taking aspirin now i will be infused with toxic chemicals😱
The side effects are really freakin me out. Im afraid i will not be able to handle it esp when my hair goes. Im going to be doing taxotere and praying my hair comes back. I also have to work. My income is all commission based with no vacations or sick days. Im so afraid of catching something esp with how bad the flu is here. I just want to hole up in my house until its over.😞
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Karheim like you I was originally told just radiation and then after my surgery found out that I had lymph node involvement so that put chemo on the table. I know that it's hard and scary just hearing acancer diagnosis and then when you start hearing about chemo and radiation side effects It can easily become overwhelming. I'm still pretty new to this cancer stuff But my best advice would be to make sure that you take care of you physically and emotionally make sure that you have a treatment team you trust and have confidence in. And take each day as it comes.
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Karheim- I was just like you, told a lumpectomy and radiation. When I had the surgery it came back triple negative which meant chemo and I'm also stage 1A grade 3, 0/3 nodes. I have always been the type of person who rarely took any OTC meds. The chemo terrified me knowing what it was and it still does but not doing chemo terrified me more. I'm just at the point where the hair is starting to shed. I've always had longer hair so I totally understand your fear. I've been wanting to get it cut short but haven't been able to do that yet. I think this weekend I'm going to have to get some cut off.
Right now I am just trying to take it a day at a time. The port makes it so much easier, but mine still bothers me and I'm hoping over time it will get better. They say you can leave it in for years but unless mine starts feeling better I'm going to have it removed after this is over. I'm also doing the taxotere and asked my MO about the hair. He said he has never had anyone it happened to and he uses it a lot. Just have to hope for the best. Sorry you have to work through this but not all days are bad. Just make sure you relax and take a nap during the day if possible. That seems to help me.
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I'm obsessing over what to eat and what not to eat. It's no joke that some medications do have less efficacy with certain foods. Was anyone told to exclude something from their diet? I sure wasn't.
I'm just going to copy and past this piece found via the wonders of the www (which I'm starting to hate). What to say??? Don't order the szechuan orange chicken.
Foods and other products that should not be used while on Adriamycin
The following foods and supplements have been found to interfere with the effectiveness of Adriamycin:
- Açaí berries
- Alcohol
- Apigenin supplements
- Beef
- Caffeine, any source
- Clementine juice
- Genistein supplements
- Goldenseal supplements
- Green tea, caffeinated
- Grapefruit
- Iron supplements (unless medically necessary)
- Lamb
- Liver, any type
- Multivitamins & antioxidant supplements
- Palm oil
- Pineapple
- Partially-hydrogenated soybean oil and other sources of trans fats
- Pork
- Quercetin supplements
- Reishi mushroom products
- Sage
- Shellfish
- Yerba maté
Please note that while salmon and the closely-related Arctic char are recommended for consumption during Adriamycin chemotherapy, recent research suggests that herring, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, lake trout, other fatty fish, and fish oil supplements, should not be consumed the day before through the day after a chemotherapy treatment.
Citrus flavonoid hesperidin could reduce effectiveness of cyclophosphamide
Hesperidin, a flavonoid found in oranges, tangerines, kumquats, lemons, limes and grapefruit, has the potential to interfere with chemotherapy regimens containing cyclophosphamide, such as TAC (Taxotere, Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide). Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent frequently used in combination with anthracyclines (Adriamycin, epirubicin) and/or taxanes (Taxol, Taxotere). Hesperidin is found most abundantly in the peel, pith and membranous parts of oranges and other citrus fruits. Prepared food sources include orange tea, unfiltered orange juice, orange marmalade, and dishes that incorporate citrus peel such as Szechuan Orange Chicken.
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I was never given a list of foods to avoid, but a long list of prescription meds- diflucan, a few antibiotics, St. John’s wort, a few heart meds, to name a few, but it did also state grapefruit juice and star fruit as well. I’m just going to try and eat as healthy as possible.
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Hello all- so glad to find this site and these groups. I start my chemo on January 29, so am a late bloomer, as it were.
I found my lump in November, then in quick succession went through 2 mammograms, a biopsy, and a mastectomy (left breast) on the day after Christmas (after having 10 people for dinner, ha!). Diagnosed IBC Stage 3 (not sure of A-B-C yet), HER2+++. Sentinel nodes all filled, so an axillary node dissection found 9 of 9 also filled with cancer. Ugh. But then a PET scan on Jan 12 showed no metastasis, which greatly helped me to sleep at night and warded off the 3am heebie jeebies. You all know what I am talking about...
I have an amazing and supportive husband, a great team at the Teton Cancer Institute, an army of friends, and a new puppy. Whew. Ready to start chemo on Jan 29, as every step is one step closer to being done with this. I am a mountain guide by trade, really fit, 57 years old, and luckily our house is paid off so I can choose to only do my editing job.
Not sure of my chemo mix yet, but am certain that it will include Herceptin and some other biologicals. Every two weeks for 18 weeks, then 5x week for radiation for 5 weeks.
Go girls!
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Homemadesalsa, I’m glad you’ve found our group. I’m the resident cynic and questioner of all things I don’t like to read (medical journals) or hear.
I’m up there with the nodes but on a good note it is no longer thought that number of nodes is a predictor of anything. And when they scoop them all out and a PET is clear well then for all intents and purposes we are NED, right!
The chemo is just an insurance policy, so I’ve been told (that part I heard and took note of in bold print).
I hope your new puppy is a therapy pet
I have an a**hole cat who bites me.
Xx
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Welcome Homemadesalsa! Sorry you have to be here, but really glad you found us. You're sure to find great support here!
Come back often, ask lots of questions, engage fully -- we're all here for you!
--The Mods
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Hi worriedme77, I was waiting for my scan results last weekend. I totally understand the overwhelming anxiety. I’m not sure what kind of scan you had. Was it a PET scan? I have heard they have a high rate of false positives. So don’t lose hope. Just like we have all handled what we have been dealt sofar, we will handle what lies ahead. Sending nothing but love and prayers your way.
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I'm really nervous, waiting on biopsy results
On lymph nodes to see if I start chemo in two weeks or have my mastectomy first. Don't know what to expect.
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it was a cat scan with contrast
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Hi, everyone! So, my hair was coming out in clumps over the past few days, and this morning I just got so upset about it. Would I hate seeing myself in the mirror for the next months? Would my partner find me attractive anymore? How would I deal with all the Sad Eyes when out in public?
So I just shaved it off in the bathroom, and my wife came in and finished it off, and we both feel so, so much better. Dang, that was hard, but it turned out to be doable. Sending love to you all tonight, especially @WorriedMe77 and @Ellieanthony--waiting is the hardest part.
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Thanks for the hearty welcome and all the support. Incredible what a network this is, and what a positive difference it makes.
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Worriedme77......like you I wonder WHY do they test so you have to worry all week-end.....bless your heart. I would do whatever it takes to get some relief from the tension. I don't smoke and haven't had a drink in 5 years, just because, but I think I am going to take my stylist's offer of a glass or TWO! of champagne during my buzzz cut which will probably happen next wk. And when I do I am going to say “cheers" to all of us in this group for how strong and determined we are...not to let this CANCER get the best of us. I have found hot baths along with a cup of hot peppermint tea and candles and bath salts helps to relax me some. My heart seems to be racing all the time now, I am pretty sure it is anxiety induced and I am staying up til 4 or 5am or all night some nights. My husband is still being nasty and I am thinking of leaving him soon.....don't need his drama on top of everything else. I am a “young" 66 who enjoys life so much and I have a lot more living and enjoying to do so I will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens. Thanks to all of you for being so encouraging and helpful during our battle. Nite nite
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I really enjoy reading each of your posts! It’s reassuring!
I start Chemo on Jan. 25. Today I walked into the wig shop looked around got totally freaked out and left - running! I thought I was ready to start this journey but my strong reaction to seeing those wigs has me a little scared.
I know I will be very anxious going into my first chemo session but it is incredibly reassuring to be here with others who are in the same boat.
Here is to positive thoughts and favourable outcomes
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Thank you all for sharing your stories!
@okkate, when I met my husband, he used to shave his head every once in a while and I found that very attractive. I know it's not the same, but ...
I, like all of you, am absolutely dreading losing my hair. More than having the double mx. At least I left the hospital with new boobs! I bought a nice wig, and I went for a blonde slick bob for fun (my hair is dark). I always wanted a bob like Cate Blanchett's. It's part of my coping mechanisms to find something fun in each of these horrific steps in the treatment process.
And now I'm off skiing!
Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!
XO
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Okkate75- I too am dreading the shaving part. Getting up every morning looking to see if anything is on the pillow is starting to stress me out. Sounds like you have a wonderful partner standing by you.
Beckyt23 - that sounds like a good idea having a few drinks while doing this. Sorry to hear you don't have support. Hang in there.
Coach1216 - I do understand what you are saying about the wig shop. Been there done that.
Roxy13- I agree the hair loss is major for me to. I keep thinking once it happens it might get better. Looking in the mirror everyday still seeing it I feel is really hard knowing it's just a matter of days.
My MO said on my last visit well you are 25% done now and smiled. I just kind of looked at him and said I know. He was trying to make it more comforting I'm sure. I have to take blood pressure readings everyday now. It's fine at home but as soon as I walk into that office it goes through the roof. I told him it's this office but he just wants to make sure. These days seem to pass quickly now for the next cycle to arrive.I just have to have faith with the changes he is making it will be a better one.
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