Chemo starting April 2018
Comments
-
Deb, sorry to hear of ur loss prayers to you and her family. Its shocking to hear that after 25 years she pasted from bc. Sending u hugs..
Gawarrior/ Life, Im doing well on Xeloda and its every other week til( unknow time.) My guess is June'ish..
Duffy, omg, u were an hour away from me..where are u?..Im n Battle Creek. Forgive me if uve said before, its my memory and yes Im blaming on Chemo brain.
Ingerp, I read somewhere about that. Didnt sign up bcuz it was during last fall. Glad u went and can share the experience.
Frog, how are u doing on Xeloda ? When is ur last cycle?
Flowers are blooming and weather is much warmer. Im grateful to enjoy the outdoors again..And feel the sun on my face!!
0 -
<urdrago--I knew you were in MI but not sure I knew it was Battle Creek? I was born in Jackson (my parents were living with my grandparents) but we moved to Battle Creek when I was 10 months old and lived there until moving to Northern Virginia when I was eight. Went to Beadle Lake Elementary School if it's even still there?>
<and speaking of chemo brain, I don't think I noticed it too much back when I was getting chemo but the last week or so I feel particularly stupid--like one morning I almost forgot to feed the dog, I forgot to clean the silverware out of the dishwasher, I'm losing words. Are we thinking this could be the AI?>
0 -
Urdrago - our Michigan house is in Ortonville (near Clarkston). Daughter is living in Lansing so I'm there a lot. My cancer center is in Flint. For some reason I thought you were closer to Ann Arbor (maybe because UofM is where you have treatment.) And totally with you all on still dealing with chemo brain. I felt like I was doing so well but recently hubby has said those dreaded words (Honey, you already told me that) way to much.
GAWarrior - I'm a member of of group of Facebook (Grown Up Runner Girls) and I put out a request for suggestions of great Half Marathons in the Fall. Here are some that looked good.
Wineglass Half (Corning New York) Oct 6
Myrtle Beach Mini Oct 20
Rock n Roll Half Las Vegas Nov 17
Philadelphia Half Nov 23
SpaceCoast Half Marathon Dec1
Unfortunately, Hubby and I's goal to travel somewhere every month this year has knocked out some good races for me. I hear great things about the Divas but we are in Sedona/Grand Canyon when that race is near you. (Which is also wine&dine) and Princess weekend next year we have a cruise booked. And I loved the idea of the BAA half in Boston because it supports Dana Farber but my daughters best friend is getting married that weekend.
0 -
So ladies and Gent have I ever mentioned how much I absolutely hate shoveling!!? LOL. Well looks like I get to shovel again this week as we're supposed to get yet another blizzard to hit our little town. Good Gravy. 🙄
Well I haven't heard a peep out of my doctor after my tumour marker blood test last Friday. I would say that's probably good news, wouldn't you all agree?
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.
Huggs!
0 -
Sorry about the shoveling, Life. Almost hate to tell you we're having a pretty gorgeous spring week here in Central VA.
0 -
LIFE - Sorry you are going to get hit with winter again. Awful that spring can't get a firm grasp. And I agree if the Dr hasn't called it is probably a good thing. Do you know what markers they look for? I know our tumors were complete opposites I'm HR- Her2+ but no one has ever mentioned blood tumor markers to me.
0 -
I hope the weather gets better for everyone. It's warming up here slowly but surely.
I have tumor marker tests every 3 to 4 months (for now) along with the regular bloodwork: CEA; CA 15.3 and CA 125. Each one is supposed to be an indicator for a group of cancer types (ovarian, liver, breast, etc). I'm not sure how reliable they are because mine were normal when I was stage 3. The docs still keep asking for them though
0 -
Life, thanks for the tip on hair comments. I should have asked you sooner.
I've used your "paying around with a new style" a couple of times this week. I think I was just stuck in a "poor hairless me" rut back when I was getting ticked off at people for pushing it. I have an 80s fro right along with you - I also debated not coloring it, but decided that I REALLY couldn't handle those comments, lol. Hoping your blood tests turn out well. Good luck with the shoveling, I shouldn't tell you that it was 82 and sunny today while you were freezing, should I?IngerP, I truly hope this is your very last last next month! Your weekend with the cancer survivors sounded great - only people who have been there truly get it. And, if you or Duffy find that cancer-refusing paperwork my sister seems to think exists, let me know. I sure wish she had forwarded it to me last year..<SMH> Oh - re chemo brain - I have it in spades (can't find the words on the tip of my tongue) but I can't blame it on AI, just on chemo. I'm milking that for as long as I can, too.
Urdrago I am glad to hear you have finally found the right Xeloda dose!
Duffy, great race suggestions, thanks! Okay, I'm going to say I probably need to do a Saturday race because I would have to work on Monday and don't want to run 3 hours, then try to catch a plane immediately afterward on a Sunday (but we can see, I can be flexible if I have to - Myrtle Beach mini would be scenic and flat, yay!). Saturday races mean the Space Coast half or the Philadelphia half would work, but both are on the weekends surrounding Thanksgiving (11/28), so I don't know if they would fly. What about the Air Force Half in Dayton, OH on 9/21? I was hoping we could find something close to a couple of people in the group so maybe several of us could meet? Any thoughts from the group (if any of you are interested in trying to meet for a weekend...)?
Batata, I'll have to ask about blood tests at my next visit. They just said I wouldn't get any tests unless I had symptoms (like the racing heart I've had on occasion, so I'm seeing a cardiologist tomorrow).
0 -
GAW--from the couch potato crowd, if you guys pick a half marathon date, let the rest of us know and we'll do a little extra time at the gym that day.
0 -
P. S. I wanted to share something with my peeps. SpecialK posted a couple of recurrence calculator links on another thread but it had been a while since I’d used one so I re-ran my numbers. It shows what I’ve seen others post on various threads—that the AI is more important than chemo or Herceptin for preventing recurrence in my case. For those on Tamoxifen or an AI, please keep taking it.
0 -
GAW - I love the idea of Dayton, unfortunately that's my daughters best friends bachelorette weekend up in Traverse City and since she was like a second daughter to me I've been invited to participate. So I'll be biking, kayaking and visiting breweries.
Ingerp - you're brave to visit the recurrence calculator. I've avoided them like crazy because honestly my MO reminds me every visited that my tumor type makes me more likely for recurrence. Speaking of which I've been doing full blown birthday week here. Only my favorite foods for dinner each night. I even browned up some ground turkey today so I can have sloppy joes for lunch tomorrow without cooking on my bday and yesterday I even splurged and bought Captain Crunch (my favorite childhood cereal). Yum Yum Yum still the delicious unnatural flavour I remembered. ;-)
0 -
duffy that sounds wonderful!! I might steal that idea. Can't remember the last time I had cereal (and this from a gal who did her younger years in Battle Creek!).
0 -
Duffy, enjoy your special Day..Happy Birthday..
0 -
WOO HOO! My birthday hottie ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thanks Urdrago.
For the other superhero fans, we loved Shazam!
0 -
Happy birthday Duffy! I think it's wonderful that you're eating whatever you want and enjoying your life.
Urdrago strikes again!! I am enjoying your birthday too!!
0 -
Duffy—happy happy birthday!!! (And thanks for the tip on Shazam. Taking hubs to see Captain Marvel tonight—he was out of town when I saw it—I’ve heard Shazam is pretty cute.)
0 -
Happy Birthday Duffy!! Cap'n Crunch was my favorite cereal growing up too! I'm craving it now
That and Cocoa Pebbles, lol. It's going to be nearly impossible to find that in Egypt lol.0 -
Hi everyone, hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm a bit behind on everything but urdrago I noticed your pic. Total badass. You look great. I'm now in the headband stage..you know "the let's get physical- olivia newton john phase" lol. Thankful its growing. I love seeing everyone's hair pics.
My friend that made it 25 years did chemo, triple neg, and had her diep this year. Shes walking the neighborhood and doing great. A true inspiration. I dont think we were informed 25 years ago as we are now. She never worried for 25 years. Never a thought of recurrence so this was an absolute blow to her. She was never waiting for the other shoe to drop. There is a blessing in that in a way. 25 years of living your life and never giving it a thought. it was a family friend that was not as fortunate.
Happy birthday duffy! Not sure a 13 mile is in order on this arimidex. But never say never. I've been on the treadmill until last weekend. Ventured outside on the first nice day not knowing what to expect. 10:30 mile for a 5k no stopping!!. I was in shock lol. I really felt like forrest gump. It was so nice to feel like the old me. GAW, keep me posted. We are traveling alot this year too. Those of you who know who flat stanley is..I just may show up!
Moved my daughter this weekend so officially empty nesters. She stuck around these last 9 months after graduating nursing school to pay her student loans off but it certainly help me to have her around. Bittersweet.
I think of all of you often and hope everyone is feeling well. What a great group we have. Hugs to all. Deb
0 -
Duffy, happy birthday! I'm glad you had a fun birthday weekend and treated yourself. I'm also glad we got to enjoy your birthday hottie (thanks, Urdrago!). Maybe the physical race idea won't work, but we might be able to find a virtual race to run together...
DebAL, sorry to hear your daughter is out of the house now. I know you'll miss her, but the empty nest thing is kinda nice, too (once you get used to it). So awesome that you got out and ran and felt so good this past week! I need to get my lazy butt on the treadmill, which is why I thought a race would be motivating for me....It's hard to hear that your neighbor with the recurrence is (was?) triple negative since that's my status. I'm guessing the tnbc is her new/recurrence diagnosis since I don't think they knew to check for hormone receptors 25 years ago? (I have a friend who went through bc 24 years ago and has no idea what type she was...she's also been fine all these years, with no rads or chemo - just surgery back then). If I can go 25 years without recurrence, I will be grateful.
Batata, I'm with you on the Captain Crunch and Cocoa Pebbles. Before bc, I used to treat myself to Cocoa Pebbles or chocolate pop tarts (worse probably) on my Friday days off. Now I'm trying to be healthy so I don't keep them around. But I miss them! We splurged and had a Little Debbie choc cupcake this weekend, such a treat, lol.
0 -
Happy Birthday, Duffy, from the sunny Cancun!
0 -
Sooo I think it is time to post updated pictures again! I noticed the other day that my hair looks exactly like my boyfriend's 79 year old mother's. You can't really tell in the picture but I am salt and pepper. The exact style and color! Umm......
0 -
Just have to say InnaB. I am sooo jealous!! Have a wonderful time!
DebAl that is pretty amazing that your friend could go all those years and just live her life. My mom keeps telling me that. She is eight years out. Her's never hit her lymphnoids. She's pretty good at it as well. Me, I am the girl that's going to think, what's going to happen in 5 years?! I really need to just chill.
Kudos to you runners out there! I never really could get into that sport. My go-to was volleyball. Played for 20+ years. I finally gave up the sport when the doctor told me on my last knee surgery, back when I was 45, that the next one would be a replacement. My thoughts were, I'm not a professional and I'm not making money at this so I'm out. I probably feel the achiness and pain more in my hands, knees and right shoulder since taking anastrozole. However it could just be the fact that I'm 56 and my body is paying me back for all those years of playing.
So we are having the most bizarre weather right now. We were supposed to get a big winter blizzard. It didn't really snow that long or that hard. But then the last five days it just keeps snowing, however not leaving anything on the ground. It's so bizarre! You look outside and the sun is shining and you think yeah it has stop snowing! Less than a half hour to an hour later you look outside and it's snowing! I wish mother nature would make up her mind whether she's ready for spring or not. LOL
Well I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great week ahead!
0 -
You look great, Life - love that beautiful smile! Your hair looks much longer than mine, but I think you're about 3 months ahead of me. Good luck with spring, I hope it comes soon for you!
I took this photo last week at 7 mo PFC. Let's see some more hair pics, y'all!
InnaB, enjoy your Cancun trip!
0 -
my new pic..
0 -
Life, GAWarrior, Urdrago, you guys are beautiful! I’ll reciprocate. I have chemo curls! All my life I wanted two things: thicker curlier hair and smaller perkier breasts. I was 34DDD before my diagnosis and was seriously considering a breast reduction surgery. There’s nothing good I can say about my hair. It was thin and flat. How ironic is that now I somehow have what I always wanted, but with a huge sword of cancer hanging right above my head? Here’s my Jewfro in Mexican humidity. Will post a pic of my face when my hubby makes it.
0 -
You all are looking lovely! I'll post the next time I have reason to put makeup on, but heads up that I keep cutting mine off (damn you chemo curl!). But I'm pretty sure I announced here a few weeks ago that <knock on wood> I think my hair is straightening out. I'm definitely planning on letting it grow for a while (and am now really anxious for it to do so!).
0 -
Here—I just remembered I had one from this weekend (cropped myself out).
0 -
Thanks all for the birthday greetings! It truly was a great weekend and yesterday my stern-strips finally came off from surgery so there is also that to celebrate.
I love all the updated photos. Since I'm sticking with short hair for awhile really no big changes with my hair.
0 -
You rock that short hair, duffy!!
0 -
Happy belated birthday, Duffy! I hope it was a great one.
It is nice to catch up with everyone. All is well here. Janice had an onco appointment two weeks ago, Her counts were fine and the doctor was happy with her progress. Janice needs to schedule an annual mammo for her other breast, but that's it. Her hair is still very thin on top. We're not sure it is ever going to come back much more than it has. It didn't come back as full after her chemo for leukemia in 2002, and now it is much less this time. She has two really great wigs, though.
0
