Starting Chemotherapy March 2018
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Just re: the tightness, I keep thinking a little bit of yoga might help. I mean every single down dog really opens up the armpit area. (One rads session the tech said, "You have great shoulder mobility!" Weird thing to get complimented on but I'll take it. . .)
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Becky--I have all kinds of body aches basically all the time since the chemo. They are saying its myalgia from the taxanes. Its worst in my lower back and legs (biggest muscle groups), I get relief from acupuncture and keeping up with my yoga stretches (along with meds of course). I have been doing yoga and acupuncture for years for pain (mostly in my neck prechemo) and the issues I have now are much worse. I have also been told you I could have tightness and edema in area that is radiated for long time afterwards and its super important to stretch and move my RO said the best exercise in addition to yoga stretches is swimming (freestyle). They told me to hang in there give myself at least a year to get back to "normal" before freaking out. I totally get it, super f**k*ng annoyed with everything myself, --- and not even done with rads yet!
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Sidalee-- I am so happy for you, you are done with rads and are getting a puppy! Moving forward to happy events! So funny because I was browsing at puppies online (for fun)with my daughter, and then ended up bringing one home a few days later, totally and unusually impulsive of me! I always wanted a standard poodle but felt guilty buying purebred --almost all our dogs have been rescues. Happened to find our dream dog and he was ready to go to new home and we were lucky cause he was the last male. I just figured after what I've been through this year, what the heck--no deprivation --just needed this fur baby for personal therapy
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Aww, thanks MLghtn, I feel slightly less crazy hearing that you did it too! Puppies are awesome! I hope the remainder of your rads treatments are over quickly and recovery is easy.
Bec-ky, sorry to hear that you are having so much pain still. Other than my super tight chest because of my expanders and a sore rib on the radiated side, I can't really complain about how I feel. I'm just tired of course, always tired. I managed to increase the length of my morning walk by about 10 minutes today so I'm counting the win. I am 19 weeks PFC today...hard to believe it's already been that long.
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We got a dog about a week PFC. Not a puppy though, we got a seven year old Lab rescue that had been a breeder dog at a puppy mill. He's super sweet, but was kept outside most of his life, in the middle of the Arizona desert no less, and so adapting to city life as a house pet has been a challenge for him. And for us. Mostly because he won't pee in the yard, so we have to walk him four times a day. He seems to have fewer qualms about peeing in the living room. Eh, we're working on it.
I love how his tail is blurry in all his pictures because he wags every time I get near him.
The entire camera roll on my phone these days is just pictures of my hair (or lack thereof), pictures of my tits, and pictures of my dog. If I go back far enough there's a picture of a rash I got during chemo, but otherwise...hair, dog, dog, hair, hair, tits tits, hair, hair, hair, hair, tits, tits, hair, hair, dog, dog, dog, tits, tits, hair, dog, hair, tits...for months.
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I am loving the puppen pics!! And hapa—I’m with you except for the hooter pics. ;-)
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Hair, hair, tits, dog...😂 cracked me up! Thanks for the laugh Hapa! Beautiful dog!
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Happy Friday Ladies!
hapa, I love that you rescued that sweet boy and gave him a great home, he's so cute! Your camera roll sounds hilarious, mine is similar except I delete the foobs pictures after I take them. I really can't imagine anyone besides by doctors and husband seeing my rock hard, half-burned foobies with the 3 inch scars where my nipples used to be. How are you doing with the radiation? I've been thinking about you, I hope it's going by as quickly as possible.
Hugs and prayers and good thoughts to all of you, hope you have a great weekend
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Omg.... Hapa! 😂😂😂😂😂
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Hapa - He looks so happy that you saved him! Unconditional love. I am sure he will bring you joy.
Quick update...here I sit in reconstruction limbo, still have my expander and several alternatives for recon but no clear winner and no clear decision. I only had a uni but am wondering if I should have bi. If so, then I have to go the implant route. My new plastic surgeon (first one went on extended maternity leave) could do DIEP. Problem is I only have enough extra in the abdomen for one. One foob created from my own tissue. So options are go bi with implants, stay uni with DIEP - a more involved surgery (bonus here is a tummy tuck of sorts), or just have a simple implant exchange for my uni, quick and easy. Also, under or over with the implants. The TE is under now, but I have some distortion and shoulder problems. There is no clear winner. Sadly, my cancer was not clear cut from the beginning. In the original surgery we could have saved more, but we did not know this until AFTER the breast was sliced and diced by pathology. I am trying to avoid a repeat of regrets this go round. Decisions, decisions.
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Hapa- he is very handsome lab, that is so awesome that you rescued a 7 yr old dog, it’s like he won the lottery for dogs! We also have a 3yr old pit mix (chocolate) she is a rescue too.Your comments about camera roll made me laugh🤣
Becca- Those are tough decisions. I had lx but was considering unimx to avoid rads and the surgical options were overwhelming. I was told very difficult to match implant recon to real breast. If u can have the diep I’ve heard people say they are very happy with it feeling and looking like their original breast.
In the end I was told I was very high risk for complications since I already had reconstruction. Also I have very thin upper body and thin skin so they said I would need lat dorsi flap for it to even look decent. At the time I wished I could’ve had the diep. It’s hard, I went through a phase where I wished I had known more about rads and that I would have anxiety about keeping my breast and wished I had mx to begin with. Now I've finally accepted my course with rads and am pretty happy with my decisions. There never seem to be any great choices with this disease. Wishing you well
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There is nothing easy about this journey. It is good to read your thoughts, symptoms and laugh with you all. What's with cancer and dogs? I've been thinking of getting one too! But I've raised my kids and don't want to give up the freedom of being gone for hours at a time or making last minute weekend plans. So far freedom is winning, but I enjoy your doggie pics
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We just make our last minute plans include our dog. A lot of hotels nowadays allow dogs, and ditto for restaurant patios (though I guess this is less of an option in the colder parts of the country) so we just bring him along. We haven't taken him camping yet but I bet he'd love sleeping in a tent with his humans. For trips where we can't take him my mom will come to dog sit. She's coming next week when my husband comes to visit me in Houston. She lives in DC and we live in Phoenix, but as a family we've always been ridiculous about our dogs.
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We're the same way with our dog, she pretty much goes where we go. She's pretty well-behaved and we just frequent dog-friendly hotels and restaurants with patios. She's part of the family and I'm sure her little sister will be too
I peeled the Mepitel Film off of my radiated side on Saturday--a week after the end of rads. My very top layer of skin has flaked off now, but other than a little itching, I am very pleased with the condition of my skin. Unfortunately, it is pretty obvious that I have had some tightening over my expander--the radiated side is smaller, tighter and a little higher than the right. I'm going to see my PS on Wednesday to survey the damage and see if he thinks we need to look at other options or if we can proceed with the plan to exchange for implants in the spring. I am definitely a little lopsided at the moment
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Becca - I had a uni MX and simultaneous DIEP in February, there are good threads if you want to read more about other people's experiences (I've posted to the Feb 2018 one). Overall I'm happy with it. I agree it's best to shut off all regrets. This process is so complicated, all we can do is make the best possible decision in the moment based on the knowledge we have at the time, there's no way to control the future completely when you have cancer. (Can you tell I've been telling myself this story?
mLghtn - thank you for sharing your story about acupuncture and your rotator cuff. I was diagnosed with tendonitis in my shoulder 15 years ago, did PT, and largely forgot about it unless it flared up, usually from too much yoga (down dog, sadly), then I stopped doing whatever it was for a while and it went away. Before diagnosis I was quite regular with weight lifting. Between stress, two surgeries, chemo, and now I'm 7/30 radiation treatments, my shoulder pain was so bad it was all I could think about. Got an injection from the pain mgt doc before starting radiation which helped but didn't make it go away completely, and he said I need to do PT after radiation, which I'm on board with. I also still have nerve pain in my arm from surgery, which is controlled mostly but not always by Lyrica. I'd love to hear more about any acupuncture advice! I'm thinking I may do that too to address my shoulder pain and also the joint and body aches I'm getting from hormone therapy (Lupron so far, AI to come soon). Thank you!
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hapa,
I have to applaud your response and posted puppy picture. Your comments made me laugh out loud. So, I thank you for spreading lots of laughter and cheer. Awesome !! Very much appreciated.
😉 Giveityourall
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Hello Girls,
Been a while.. I finished Rad's October 18 taking tamoxifen now. Just want to ask questions thats it give you hot flashes? Coz been days now that i feel like I'm burning i thought i have fever but thermometer says Nothing. I used Novadex but after taking 20 pcs it was not available at the pharmacy they have another brand thats when this burning feeling came.. I'm 34 is this going to make me menopause early??
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Ladies, just wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving! A lot has changed for so many of us in the past year, and feeling grateful the treatment is done (save for all the hormone therapy!) and being able to spend the holidays with family and friends.
Yang, congratulations on finishing rads! I think any kind of hormone therapy can cause the hot flashes.
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Hi All,
I have not been active on this thread for a while, but wanted to say thanks to each and everyone of you for your courage and willingness to share so much to help make us all stronger. I have finished Chemo and Radiation and and am currently on Tamoxifen dealing with a new slew of side effects. It's just so nice to see that I am not alone and that it can and will get better for us! God Bless!!
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Hi, GBT1lady
Glad to hear you have finished chemo and rads. That's a big milestone.
We have a thread on Starting Hormone therapy in the Fall 2018, so feel free to join us and exchange tips for dealing with SE from Tamoxifen or AI.
I find the first two weeks were the worst, and now a bit better or I am just more used to it.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics...
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Hello Everyone,
Greetings wishing you all a Happy Holidays and we are blessed to finished treatment.
I just want to ask you girls im on tamoxifen now since october my period didn't for Nov came just last week it wasn't like the usuall almost lasted just 4 days then started to fade a way but then since yesterday it seems like coming back like I'm having period again.. I'm freaking up right now..
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Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and bright New Year! Thanks to all for the support over the past year. Here's to 2019!!!
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YoungSanist
Have you talked to your MO? I havent had period since chemo shut it down. I have been on Tamoxifen since early Sep. But start to feel some minor ovulation pain like before this whole thing from time to time. I also went to see my Gynecologist at the beginning of tamoxifen to set a baseline. One thing he mentioned is the uterus lining will start to get thicken.
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Hi everyone!
It has been a while since I have checked in - so good to catch up on how everyone is doing. Hapa - your camera roll completely cracked me up!
So glad we are all making our way through this. I finished rads the first week in August. I developed some redness and swelling in the breast, and I just figured it was post radiation, but at my last appt with my MO, she said I had lymphedema and sent me to OT. The 2 appts prior I saw midlevels, and they never looked at my breasts. My OT is awesome. After a couple treatments, my breast was softer and I had better range of motion. I had to say good bye to my underwire bras. They have me wearing an insert in my bra called a swell spot. It is kind of like egg crate foam with a fan of ridges sewn in - it helps your body recreate lymphatic channels. I look lopsided, but it helps. BecKy - if you haven't tried it, you should!
My hair is about an inch and a half long, and curly. It is very silvery, I have not colored it. I actually really like it, and it is thicker than it was before. Hell of a drastic way to get better hair!
My lashes started shedding again - I was freaking out - glad to find out this isn't uncommon. They are super short, but I still have some. My brows are filling in. No period x 9 months. 3 more herceptin tx to go. Echo's are OK so far. Hot flashes are a bitch on tamoxifen - taking Vitamin E, and I started a NAD supplement - Basis - from Elysium. I think I have been feeling better and sleeping better since I started taking it. Probably placebo effect.
Take care, you fabulous ladies.
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persnickety your hair looks great! And that glass of wine looks yummy. I think I'm going through another round of losing lashes but I don't think they're all going to come out (fingers crossed).
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Hi Ladies, Happy New Year, I hope it's a huge improvement over last year for most of us.
I saw my MO last week on 1/2 and he believes the Zoladex shot is causing the rare SE "flu-like syndrome" and my blood work showed that my immune system has taken a significant dive in the past month. I spent two days in bed within 48 hours of receiving the shot in both November and December. I ended up with not one, but FIVE cold sores all over my mouth for the holiday season (really fun seeing family and friends looking like that). I also contracted a staph infection for which I am now on antibiotics. My MO is switching me to the Lupron shot beginning 1/22 to see if I do better with that one. I am not convinced at this point that I want the suggested oophorectomy, but I may have no choice if I can't deal with the ovarian suppression injections. I'm more afraid of Tamoxifen than the AI.
My MO and I discussed the option of switching to Kadcyla since I didn't have PCR after neoadjuvant TCHP, but being that I did have a good response (80%) and I only have 4/13 HP rounds left he didn't recommend switching for me. According to him, the Katherine Trial compared Herceptin to Kadcyla, but it did not compare Herceptin + Perjeta to Kadcyla and HP is still a match made in heaven for someone strongly Her2+. Plus, the SE's from Kadcyla can be quite a bit tougher than HP he says.
I saw my PS yesterday and he said my damage from radiation isn't too bad and he can definitely work with it. I got to feel the implants he is suggesting and we talked through all of the details of my exchange surgery. Looks like 3/8 is going to be New Boobies Day! I'm not thrilled about another surgery, but this one is outpatient and NO DRAINS so I'm starting to get excited. It will be really nice to get these rock-hard TE's out.
I can't believe it has been almost a year since my diagnosis. There's no way I could have gotten through this year without all of you and your support. So grateful for this community
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Hey ladies! I am checking in! I still have some swelling/lymphedema of my r breast but I just massage it when I remember and try not to wear my underwrire bras... It's not really bothersome but I would like it to go away... Lol
Tamoxifen has so far been fine. No side effects.... No hot flashes... And I still get my period. It is irregular but I keep getting one.
I did a low carb diet... And quit all my junk I was eating and lost 15# so thank God!
Good to hear from everyone! I attached a pic cuz I cut my own hair the day of this pic.... Lol just said forget it and went and got a clipper buzzer thing and watched YouTube and.... Bam. Need a color tho.... And I'll go Friday... 😂
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Bec-Ky You look amazing, haircut suits you well! Great to hear you have like no SE's on tamoxifen--even lost weight when many complain of weight gain on tamoxifen.
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Bec-KY you are beautiful!! I really think the shorter hair shows off your face--are you thinking about keeping it short for a while? I'm going to keep mine very short until something more normal starts growing out. The chemo curl makes me look like a poodle if it gets longer than about half an inch and I hate that. I think I'll be in super-short mode for quite a while. . .
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