Chemo starting April 2018
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Hi, everybody. A question: for those who had an exchange surgery, how soon after it did you start exercising again? My doctor told me I have to wait 8 weeks, and I was hoping for 6. Somehow I gained 10 lb in two weeks since my surgery. Is this even possible?
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hey innaB!,
I think it was 6 weeks for me. I would think lower body would be fine. Wear a good sports bra. I remember being cautious with stretching arm movements, lifting for about 8 weeks. I'm sure GAW will chime in too. I think 10lbs can happen pretty quickly. I was fasting for 13 hrs and doing well. Since vacation I've not been doing it and gained a few. I hope you are doing well! Deb
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InnaB, what DebAL said, wear a good sports bra or you'll be uncomfortable... Geez, it's easy to put on the weight...a weekend cruise and a few days eating out since then and <gasp> I need to get my treadmill working again (it's stuck in an upload and I can't figure out how to reset it). Anyhow, my PS said I could do anything I wanted with no restrictions starting on week 6.
FYI, I have prepec implants - if yours are behind the pectoral muscle, they may want you to wait for 8 weeks?? I would think walking would be fine now, though, (or stair climbing at the gym).
Ingerp, I had to measure my hair...2.50 inches...hang in there!
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GAW--I think my medical appointment calendar has finally cleared enough to start to fret a little about insignificant things. I got it in my head that my hair has stopped growing, but it's more my increasing impatience. I think I told y'all I'd buzzed it down to about 1/2" in early March, and I looked at a few pics of myself around then and my hair is *definitely* longer (much!), but I really feel like I'm waiting to turn some corner where it has enough length/weight to kind of fall over, if you get my drift. I also have my first big cut/color appointment at the end of the month and I'm guessing she won't cut much/any off--I think when I made the appt I was hoping I'd come out with some kind of. . . ya know. . . actual haircut. I'm trying to project how much hair I'll have for upcoming events (birthday/holidays/. . .) at 1/2" per month. Seems like I'm still quite a ways away from having hair that's long enough that I don't look like a recent cancer patient. My bday is late October--I'm guessing I'll have another 2-2.5" by then? I actually took the tape measure, pinched it off at 4", and held it around my head to try to get a sense of what my hair would look like around late October. I can be such an idiot.
Quick update on me: tomorrow I go back to the ophthalmologist to have some kind of super pictures taken of my left eye, which had increased pressure over my last eye exam. And last Friday I met with the genetic counselor at my treatment center and we sent the blood sample off for analysis. On the bright side, two of my kids got golden puppies last week!! Not litter mates even though they both live in the SF area and they picked them up within about 12 hours of each other. I am *drowning* in cute puppy pics/videos. (Okay and yes I spent my weekend looking at pups/contacting a few breeders. As hubs expected, I've kind of gotten puppy fever. I may or may not have some news in a few days/weeks/months. Trying to be very deliberate about this decision.)
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I I haven't been super active here, but I always read. You ladies inspire me. I'm so excited because I'm having my TE exchange in a couple of weeks! Woohoo!
I had my ovaries out and started femara/leteozole, but really had some major joint pain so I have 2 weeks off or meds and then I'll start exemestane as an alternative.
My biggest problem is my psoriosis. Prior to my cancer diagnosis, I was part of a phase 3 trial and my skin was CLEAR!!!!! Then I got diagnosed and dropped from the study. During chemo and radiation, it stayed dormant. Now I look like I have crusty chicken pox and its painful. I cant wait until my final surgery is done and I can finally restart my psoriosis meds!
I guess its little things at this point!
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Just wanted to stop by and wish Engine a Happy Father's Day. Summer has yet to arrive in Canada but it is helping me continue to get outside for runs. GAW smart registering for a race. Daughter and I are considering one in November. Right now my pace is so slow I'm not sure if that will even be doable but baby steps.
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Happy Father's Day Engine!
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Hi - just joined but started chemo in April, so just trying to catch up. I am finding the personal experience is more valuable than just basic articles so trying to stay in the mix a bit.
Stage 2B, left Breast, HER2 and PR positive, 1 axillary lymph affected. I'm on TCHP, Herceptin for the remainder of 12 months, and have finished 4 out of 6 treatments so far (almost done....). Then i chose bilateral mastectomy afterwards, scheduled for August. Praying for no radiation and honestly considering rejecting it if recommended.
This is also my 2nd bout with cancer - 5 1/2 yrs ago I was dx'd with colon cancer, surgery and chemo for that. Totally unrelated to this and genetic testing was all negative.
Look forward to joining you all!
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Happy Father's Day, Engine!
Duffy, I'm super slow, but I don't care - just completing a race will be a boost to my soul. Hoping you get summer soon.
Ingerp, how are those puppies? Did you end up getting one? Hoping everything went well with your eye exam.
Heatherautumn, nice to see you. Good luck with your exchange surgery - it's a piece of cake compared to the MX. Yes, it is the little things that count.
Like you, I had some skin issues that were clear from the beginning of chemo until this month. I was hoping the chemo had killed it, as well, but no such luck for us, hmmm...It sure would have been nice to get a good SE, ya know?0 -
GAW—thanks for asking! The kids’ pups are keeping them busy but everyone seems to be settling in nicely. As to us—not quite ready to announce anything yet. We got a rescue pup last summer that. . . just didn’t work out. I still feel pretty guilty about it. Let me just say I need a little “you can do it!” encouragement. Life was just so easy with our one older dog. But easier isn’t necessarily better, right?? I’ll get something in the mail about the eye test. Also waiting to hear the results of the genetic testing in the next week or two.
Hope everyone with daddies in their lives hasan excellent day!!
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Hi everybody! Vegas was a blast! It was a hundred and two degrees, little hot. Got to hang out at the pool so that was nice. Still not a beach! Anywho, before I went to Vegas I got an estimate to get to trees taken down. The estimate was $2,200. I actually won $1,300 on a penny slot machine! I was so excited and so shocked I actually started to cry. Good gravy! There's no crying in Vegas!
After going through some stuff today I came across all my chemo caps. My year date PFC is June 28th. I have decided to take all my chemo caps to the cancer center in hopes of helping out someone who needs them. I did noticed some anxiety kicking in when the decision was made. However I feel that it is a good move and it can help someone out. So I'm doing it!
Interg I get the guilty feeling that you had regarding the little dog you talk about. When I purchased my house years ago someone had left a little white dog in my backyard. I tried so hard to keep that dog for a couple of months but it just was not working out. I too felt guilty. However, don't beat yourself up too bad you had a lot going on last year. When the time is right your fur baby will pick you. You will not have any choice but to fall in love, and everything will fall right into place.
So I noticed after I got my hair highlighted for y trip to Vegas that a lot of my curls went away. I now have just kind of a wave going on. One side still likes to stick out and curl up a little but for the most part everything is just kind of wavy now. With a huge cowlick in back. I'm constantly doing the comb over. Lol. I have always had long hair, but I'm really enjoying the easiness of my shortcut. I'm just going to go with it until after the summer is over and then decide if I'm going to grow it out again or not. Here is what I am looking like these days just in case any of you should see me out and about. 😉
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Life--so happy you had a great trip! And winning some $$ is just the icing on the cake. You look wonderful!! You've definitely joined the no-longer-look-like-I'm-growing-out-chemo-hair club. That is just a cute haircut--not even that short! And I like hearing that your curls calmed down after the highlighting. We'll see how mine do at the end of the month (but my hair is not nearly as long as yours :-( ).
And just an FYI re: a bunch of chemo stuff I had, including a whole bag full of hats from my husband's co-worker that I never used. I put a note on the April and May 2019 chemo threads and within a day or two had been contacted by someone who was very happy to get them. If your cancer center doesn't take them, you could post on the June/July/August chemo threads.
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Life, thats awesome news on some extra cash.. question is did u spend it on seeing shows in vegas. So much to do there!! Love your highlights.. and I can related to a cowlick that I never realized I had and its driving me crazy..current style wash and go!! 😜
Engine belated Father Days !!
Hope everyone is staying busy and enjoying summer.
I took a break from everything. A friend from here passed on we chated thru text outside of here. She was dx after me , I struggle thinking it was unfair..
On the otherside.. Ive choose to get outdoors and start camping again, hooping it will untangling my mind. Im starting to get back into shape, by choice..down 10lbs.
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Good for you urdrago on the weight loss!! I am not really getting on the scale these days. I know I'm still up from pre-dx, but trying not to let that get me down. I'm hitting the gym really consistently (just read some bit of research this week about higher muscle mass leading to lower BC recurrence rates), eating okay (still need more veggies but doing well on low carbs and sugar), so telling myself this is about long-term health, not weight. I had a general physical with my PCP last month--my resting heart rate was 68. I think it used to be in the 90s. And my LVEF increased through Herceptin when I had the quarterly echos--I feel like I'm in better shape now than I have been in a couple of decades.
I had the Optical Coherence Tomography test a couple of weeks ago and was told I'd be getting a letter in the mail with results. My online BC/BS personal health record popped up with "Open Angle With Borderline Findings, Low Risk, Left Eye" overnight. I've spent the morning reading about chemo/AI impacts on eyes. Ugh.
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Ingerp, Good for u healthier life style..I did change my food habits. And snacking...Im eating lots of vegan foods and vegs with protein shakes/ bars to support my daily intake. I might eat meat once a week. But love vegan meatless foods, and tofu..
Did the doctors office called with those results that popped up? Im sure if u called the doctors office they could talk to u about it or schedule an appt to discuss findings. Where u having symptoms before u went to ur eye exam? Lets keep positive as our bodies are still healing from treatments.
For the first time ever my cholesterol was a bit high. Hoping that's straightens out after Im off of chemo. And Im bruising a lot easier now than before or during chemo. Almost similar to when I was a teenager.
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They were very clear they’d send a letter and then set up an appt if necessary. I was just in for a routine eye check-up. I’m not concerned. No symptoms and I’m sure it’ll just be a check in in XX months. But I’m positive it’s related to chemo and/or the AI. ::eyeroll::
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Good morning - playing catch up with you a'll!
Ingerp, don't feel guilty about the rescue dog, especially if you got it last summer when going through all of this. Maybe you need to find a rescue senior dog instead of a puppy? Puppies are a LOT of work. We had to put down both our senior cats last year and there's no way I'd adopt a kitten after having them. I want calm, not chaos, lol. Great idea about getting rid of the chemo stuff on this site. Like Life, I've had a bit of anxiety about letting everything go "just in case", although I am firmly telling myself that this was a one time thing. (And, I'm in the I-don't-think-my-hair-is-growing-anymore Club, too. I just ordered more biotin because it seems to have hit a roadblock.)
Life, you are rocking that new hair style - awesome! I love it on you. It's so good to know this poodle-cut of mine will calm down a little (fingers crossed). Congrats on your winning in Vegas (but sorry you'll be spending the money to take down a tree instead of on something more fun).
Urdrago, I am so sorry for your loss. That would be a particularly tough one for you, too, after all you've gone through. This disease sure isn't fair, I don't understand why some of us get "lucky" and do well and others pass away, but I'm grateful to be doing well and moving on with my life. As far as cholesterol goes, mine was up this time, too. Dr didn't say anything, so it must be expected, but it sorta floored me. I'm hoping it's a chemo SE
Hoping you all have a great weekend!
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On my CT scan the radiologist saw sclerotic bone lesions in my right humerus. They are unchanged from the last CT, but this time they wanted me to do a bone scan. Went yesterday. Well, that was a disaster. It took the tech 5 times to inject the radioactive liquid. Somewhere between the second and the third time the blood started gushing from one of the holes and I fainted. They wanted to reschedule the test, but I said I won’t live through more waiting and made them try again. To make the story short, it was done. Waiting for the results. Panicking like crazy.
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GAW--so what I'm whispering but not shouting is that we got a new pupper last week. Did I post the pics of the goldens two of my kids got? Within 24 hours of each other? I kinda got puppy fever, contacted a bunch of golden breeders (we've never had one but hubs has mentioned getting one in retirement), *almost* made a mistake (the internet is wonderful for researching breeders!), over the course of a weekend realized maybe we should go small again (we lost our corgi late last year), started contacting corgi breeders, and came across one who had a five-month-old. I just haven't wanted to do the big friends-and-family-and-social-media LOOK AT OUR NEW PUPPY announcement after last year. Kinda wanted to wait to make sure this one stuck. He's a good little fella, easier than an eight-week-old, but I am still occasionally thinking how totally easy life with just our 10-year-old lab mix has been. I mean really a non-event in terms of trouble. But I am trying to stay focused on the benefits, which all dog owners are well aware of. Yes he's a complication but so are most worthwhile things, right? We're all settling in well nine days in, and my only what I'd call "worry" is about upcoming short bits of travel. We'll need to board him for a couple of short trips in July and early August, and somehow that makes me fret. Anyway--I really like your idea of adopting an older dog. I *am* quite sure this will be our last puppy. (Another thing that gives me pause is I'll probably be in my mid-late 70s when this new guy goes. That's so old!!)
And I just heard from the ophthalmologist--no glaucoma (hooray? never thought I did have it!), but higher eye pressure on the left so we'll re-check in six months (how much fun to think that's December!!). Still waiting on the call from the genetic counselor and I have the colposcopy next Thursday. It just never ends. . .
We're having a lovely day here in the mid-Atlantic. Our big plan is to take the new guy out to dinner with us tonight. (Yikes!) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!
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on the bright side, this is the link to my story performed on stage with some sound issues, of course...
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Wow, Inna. That is so impressive. I had to look up the program. Thanks so much for sharing.
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Congrats Ingerp! I hope the new puppy sticks. They're so adorable (and so much work, lol). I keep going back and forth on getting new cats. I really want them, but am sort of happy with the freedom of not having to worry about them when we travel, etc. Yay for no glaucoma! Good luck with the colposcopy next week.
InnaB, your play was very cool, thanks for sharing! It's amazing to think of the struggles women went through back then (why can't you both cook AND learn something?). Good grief, so sorry about what you went through for the bone scan. I would have told them to get it over with and not worry about the fainting, too. Hoping everything comes back negative and quickly!
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Hello everyone,
I am back. Well, I have been back for a few weeks now but have severe eye issues so am avoiding screens.
Anyways, trip was amazing. Had lots of fun. Ingerp, I believe you finished Herceptin sometime in the last few weeks.
Belated happy Birthday Robin.
I need to read up from where I left. I will post once I am all updated. Hope you girls have been doing great. I am doing okay, except for severely dry eyes... nothing serious. ( I got it checked) was getting very wary.
I will write a bigger post. Off to pick kid from school
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Hello Frog!! Yes I'll be six weeks after my last Herceptin tomorrow. I've been whining on another thread about the super runny nose that continues--I've heard it can take 4-6 months to clear up, even with the Flonase I've been using. Other than that things are going well. I had a follow-up with my ophthalmologist after they found increased pressure in my left eye (which I'm sure is AI-related) but no glaucoma and they'll look again in six months. I also got the results of genetic testing and no problems there. I'm sorry about your eye issues, but I totally sympathize. How are you treating it?
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Hi Frog, u shld be done with Xeloda now? How are u feeling? Ive noticed Ive got bruises all over and it doesnt take much for a new one to appear.
Hows everyones white count? Does it bounce back and if so how long did it take?
Ingerp, cld the eye pressure be from all the sinus drainage? Hope both side effects clear up sooner than later.
Summer is here, have a marvelous weekend!
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Hi Frog! It's good to hear from you, I've been wondering about you (thanks for the birthday wishes). I'm sorry to hear about your eyes. That Vita-Pos stopped working, huh? It helps me a lot, but I've noticed that it irritates my eyelids so I only use it every couple of days.
Urdrago, my WBC was still low 6 weeks after finishing chemo, when I had my surgery. I know it's higher now, but I couldn't find a more recent document in my patient portal to tell me how high. The PA mentioned at my last visit that they would check it next time, along with my D3 count, which was low from the get-go (they have me taking OTC supplements, but will put me on RX D3 if it hasn't come up by then). Forgive me for forgetting (that happens a lot lately), but you finished Xeloda last month, right? I would think your WBC would come up pretty well by summer's end...
In other news, I had a revelation yesterday -.something was in my eye and rubbing it gently didn't help to dislodge it. I ended up swiping my fingers across my eye and low and behold, it was HAIR in my eyes! Woohoo! My hair is now long enough to get IN MY EYES!
It never crossed my mind that was my problem, since it hasn't happened for more than a year, lol.Have a great weekend, everyone!
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My bone scan was negative! Woot woot!
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Woohoo, InnaB, congrats!!
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InnaB, Im doing the Happy Dance for yiu!!!
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urdrago--I'm pretty ignorant about eye stuff. Can it be related to the super runny nose? People told me on another thread that it could be 4-6 months before it clears up. I've had a cough for several weeks that I'm attributing to a combination of allergies and post-nasal drip from the nose stuff.
GAW--jelly!! I am headed to the Big Hair Appt this afternoon (taking my phone to try to keep tabs on the WWC game--bad planning on my part) but there really isn't much to cut (I buzzed it to about 1/2" back in March but am determined to let it grow no matter how silly it looks). I do hope to come out lighter, though.
Inna--AWESOME!!
So I had a colposcopy yesterday. I'm looking at a minimum of a LEEP procedure for those who have been down this road (getting rid of the outer layer of skin on the cervix). They have to check for cancer first. Whatever. . .
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