Chemo starting April 2018
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Undrago Lovin you hair! What an adorable style. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I'm going to go short or stay my shoulder length or grow it out further. But I've decided if I start curling it and styling it maybe I will like it the length it is right now.
Interg You look like you're having a blast! I love it when you put out pictures with a big smile!
Beta Hello. Happy New Yearvto you as well. Hope your doing well and not working too hard.
Gawarrier actually the skin doctor did not know what it is either. She was going to put me on an antibiotic that the possible side effects were just too much for me to go there. However I was given steroid cream and I started putting that on the rash and it is starting to go away on its own. I'm so glad I chose not to take that antibiotic. I don't really particularly care to take antibiotic if I don't have to have one. I figured if the rash didn't go away after one week with steroid cream then I would start the antibiotic. I do plan on telling my OC about it as well.
InnaB Any big decisions about job yet. Also when is your lymphedema surgery. I've been having pain in my shoulder. A lot of pain. I don't know if it's the Anastrozole is irritating the joints, or the lymphedema or just wear and tear from too many years of playing volleyball and cleaning at night. Just wondering if that is what you have going on or if you just have swelling.
Deb, Frog, Engine, Duffy, Linda Hope you all are doing well. Just thought I would say howdy just in case your checkin in soon. Sorry if I missed anyone!
Okay here is a quick question. My nails were looking so nice, they were growing out, they were strong and they were back to normal. Now within the last 2 weeks they have started peeling, chip easily and I have deep ridges in them. Just like they looked when I was going through chemo. Anybody else out there starting to have issues with their nails. It's just bizarre that it would just start up like that again.
Well I'm off to bed. Everybody have a wonderful week and I will check back in very soon.
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Looking good, Ingerp! I'm glad you had fun, despite the curls, lol.
Life, my nails are mostly fine, but still growing out from the chemo so 2 of them are still affected (and my big toes are a mess). I have noticed that my SEs are still coming and going so maybe yours are, too, and it's showing up in your nails? Example: I have noticed the slow blink in one eye again the past few weeks and it had been gone. A month ago, my hair was coming out and now that seems to have settled down. I'm glad the steroid cream is working for you!
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Just re: nails, I’ve been using DermaNail (OTC but recommended by my dermatologist) for about three months now. I think the lower 2/3-3/4 of my nails are looking better. It seemed like it was about a year PFC that they were cracking/ridge-y. Life I don’t know why you’d be seeing this now but as weird things creep up I pretty much throw my hands up and think whatever.
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Hi, everyone! Just started my new job last week! More $, but I now have to commute to Manhattan everyday. It’s quite a change for me, because I was working from home for the past three years. Before that I commuted, thought, so I think I will get used to that soon. Bad news: didn’t manage to carve the time for exercises when I get home in the evening. Good news: now I am walking up to 5.5 miles every day!
I scheduled my lymphedema surgery for August, but now I am thinking about moving it to June. Just can’t deal with this shit any longer.
Hope everyone is doing well!
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Congrats, Inna, although sorry about the commute. I work mostly out of my kitchen—it’d be really hard to take up commuting again, although I am really old. And on the work front, due to a set of odd occurrences last week, I think I have a definite retirement date in mind. A little scary to think about but also super exciting. I’ve told my boss that, barring anything weird like a market crash, my plan is to retire 12/31/22, and then hope to be accepted for a rehired annuitant gig. That would allow me to work half-time for two more years. At some point I just gotta do it, right?
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Just popping in to say Hello and Happy New Year!
Sorry I've been MIA but all for good reasons. We had an amazing Christmas with all our family and then headed to Florida for sun and fun for a couple of weeks. I can honestly say I'm really feeling almost back to normal. Only complaint has been an on again off again issue with my lower back. I've added it to my list to discuss with MO at the end of February - I'm trying not to think bone mets but you know how that goes. I did have a bone density scan in the summer so I'm sure if there was anything going on it would have shown up then.
I'm loving the hair pictures. Y'all look sooooo good. I'm sticking with really short reddish hair for the time being. My hair still seems very thin. I've added Biotin and I'm hoping with time it will get a little thicker. Although my eyebrows haven't returned so who knows.
Here's to a great 2020 for all of us.
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Congrats on the new job, InnaB! But boooo on the commute... I hope you can get the surgery done sooner and get some relief.
Yay on a retirement date, Ingerp! I am aiming for 1.5 - 3 years but would cheerfully retire tomorrow if I came into a windfall. Or maybe will just work part time in 1.5 years. At least it is nice to have it in sight.
Duffy, great to hear from you! I am glad you are feeling almost normal, but sorry about the thinner hair. With you there...but I have been taking Biotin since I stopped the chemo. Hoping it helps you! I want to cut my hair a little shorter but am wondering how thin it will be if I cut off some of the curls. I'm glad you are doing the red color, I remember the pic from before you lost your hair to chemo, when you tried the red. It was very pretty on you! As for your back, I have had a hard time with mine again lately and all I can think about is mets. I'm sure mine is due to my job, but I see the MO on Monday and think I will ask for a scan just for peace of mind (they keep offering and I keep refusing because I think it's just from my job). Good luck with yours, keep us posted.
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So, I had a bone scan last Friday - everything is normal (well, except for arthritis in my neck and lower back). Yay! I've gotta say, it's a huge relief to know there is no problem. Also, I'm now on MO check ups every 4 months (instead of every 3 months. Progress!
Duffy, I love your new profile pic!
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That’s great news, GAW!! I have a bunch of appts in late April—bone scan, mammo, gyn, then have appts with both MO and RO on May 1st. I’ve taken a March-ish vacation the last couple of years out to my CA kids but decided this year I think I’ll wait until I have all of that behind me.
I thought about y’all last night. Got together with some friends and they were complimenting me on my hair. Still not back to normal but my TimeHop app reminded me I have made progress. From a year ago and at a movie last week:
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Looking good, Ingerp! Your hair has come a long way. Good luck with all your appointments.
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Ingerp, you hair looks marvoles ..I cant beleive how fast the year flew by.. I've got appts in April as well. CT, mammogram and general follow up. We got this!!
and to think cancer treatment began in 2018..my hair is not important but nice to keep my head warm..I've noticed not all the little things bother me any more. I cant make everyone happy, and to always remember to care for myself first.
Meanwhile, I decided to buy a house and they accepted my offer..ive been looking for a month.. now lots of packing and all that which comes with moving forward..
On a personal note my oldest two kids are going thru cancer dx with their grandmom/dads side. She has lung cancer, I feel just aweful for them..
Prayers to all, wishing you have a beautiful weekend..sending cyber hugs
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Oh Urdrago—congrats on the house but so sorry about the lung cancer dx. A friend’s mother just died last week from it. Cancer really does suck, doesn’t it?
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Yes, and I dont know much about lung cancer.. she has surgery next week. I'm unclear of all the details since I'm not hearing directly thru the source.
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Urdrago, congrats on your new house! It's a fun, but sometimes exhausting road to ownership. You'll enjoy knowing you have your own space.
Soooo sorry about the lung cancer diagnosis for your kid's grandmother, though. My MIL died of lung cancer, but she waited far too long to seek initial treatment (was stage 4 at diagnosis). On the other hand, my cousin's wife is a 4 year lung cancer survivor (stage 2, I think?). Wishing Grandma strength for the journey ahead.
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Happy Friday everybody. ! I have been catching up on all the reading this morning. I have been super busy between both my jobs. Been trying to get a promotion and learning a whole bunch of new jobs. Another gal in the office is trying to get the same promotion. So it's been pretty stressful. It will be at least another two months before the positions even opened.
Interg Your hair is looking so cute. Along with that smile of yours. I've had some Facebook pictures pop up to showing events that occurred during cancer treatment. I don't remember if I shared with you all, but when my hair was falling out I decided to shave it. I had it shaved into a mohawk And my sister and I took a picture. Well the goober shared it on Facebook! That one resurface the other day.
Undrego So sorry to hear about the lung cancer. While I was going through cancer myself my own dad was fighting lung cancer as well. He's doing wonderful! He is 85 years old and was out shoveling snow the other day. If I lived closer that wouldn't be happening, but you know he seems to be enjoying it. Also, one my peep's husband came down with lung cancer. He went through the treatment and he seems to be doing it doing well too.
Congrades on the house!!! That is way exciting news! Right now my house appraises for almost double what it is when I bought it. I thought about selling it and moving into a bigger one, but that house also appraises for double. I think I'll stick with my little one.
I still think we should all get together and go see Frog's house. She probably needs some help with all those beautiful flowers!
Duffy. So nice to hear from you. Sounds like you have been having all sorts of fun!
Innab How's the new job treating you? Are you getting used to your commute? You know everytime I proofread my stuff I think about you and think you probably cringe when you read my stuff out here. LOL
Gawarrier Glad you finally went and got your scan done and have some peace of mind.
Okay. First of all, I just want to tell everyone who is talking about retirement. I am so jealous!!!
I too am now up to six months visit. I was excited to hear the news and kind of weary at the same time. You know you get used to being checked all the time, and it gives you a little peace of mind and now all of a sudden you're going twice a year. They also talked to me about doing another test for genetics. Apparently when I first did my genetic test they only tested 75 genes. Now they can test up to 85 to determine if there's a possibility of not just breast cancer, but other cancers surfacing. I was very emotional after leaving my appointment the other day. My boyfriend just does not understand and got really upset with me about it. I got so mad at him. I told him, you get f****** cancer and see how you deal with it. I feel really bad saying those words to him. You know you seem to be doing fine and going about your life and then all the sudden that thought hits you. It sucks!!
Okay, I feel it's time to have everybody send an updated picture! Here is mine!
Huggs to you all!
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Life your hair looks so normal!! Fingers crossed for the promotion and congrats on having that check-in behind you. As to the genetic testing—I think mine last summer was for around 40 genetic mutations. Up to you as to whether or not you want the information.
I will post an updated pic on 3/20–another hair appt and this one *should* include at least a trim. I’m wondering if she’ll want to cut a chunk off—I have a feeling the ends are in worse shape than closer to the roots. In the meantime I’m using all kinds of masques and oils but it still seems super dry to me.
Happy Valentines Day to all of you lovely ladies!! I had bought tickets to Trevor Noah months ago and it turns out hubs is out of town so I’m going with a gal pal. Hoping I’ll stay awake! (Not sure if it’s the weather but I’ve been really droopy this week. I’ve been sleeping like nine hours at night. Yikes!!)
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Hello, lovely ladies! Everyone is looking great! Life, Ingerp, love your hair. Life, love your proofreading comment.
Urdrago, sorry about the lung cancer! I personally know 3 people who had it and are doing great now. Yay to the new house!Well, I've got some good news: not only I was converted from consultant to employee already, I was offered my manager's job, since she's moving to another team. My consulting career lasted all of 1.5 months
. Getting used to the commute. In other news, we've booked the venue for my daughter's wedding! June 27, 2021 can't come soon enough. Excited about planning and shopping!
My son got accepted to all colleges he'd applied to and now is mulling his decision. I hope it's Rutgers. It's a very good school for computer science, reasonably priced and close to home.
My nephew just let me know yesterday that he is coming to visit us for two weeks with his wife and two daughters, aged 6 and 4 NEXT WEEK. He lives in Russia. I was gobsmacked! Thanks for the advanced warning. Now we are in a fine tailspin. Of course they will be staying at my house
. Oh, and my mother had an emergency surgery a week ago: she got a pacemaker and is doing reasonably well.
I think that's all that happened in my life for the past month. What a beginning of a year!
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Oy, Inna—wonderful on the job front but I get how annoying it can be to have houseguests, particularly without much warning. The only upside is that it forces you to clean your house.
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oh wow Inna, uve been busy.. congrats to you on the new job.. and ur son has a big choice ahead, congrats to him on all the future has to offer. enjoy ur nephew and family..
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Thought I’d check in for a quick hair update. I’ve had an appt on the calendar for months to get my first real haircut in two years today. About a year ago was the last time I buzzed it (could not stand the chemo curl) and have not cut it since. The salon called me earlier this week and said my gal was out of the country and didn’t know when she could get back in. Aargh!! Just called a random place in town who had an opening today. I kinda like the results! (Hope everyone is staying safe and washing your hands. :-) )
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Ingerp. Girl. That hairstyle and color looks absolutely adorable on you! I love it!! Yes it's pretty crazy I can't believe how the toilet paper is completely disappeared in the stores and now the food is starting to get hoarded. Pretty crazy!
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On my last post I said I was trying to get a new job, promotion within my department. Meanwhile I have been applying for different departments throughout the state. I was offered a position with a different department and after being in the department I worked for for 18 years I accepted a position somewhere else. It's not as high a promotion as what I hoped for, it is a slight raise. What is a tough decision to make. However. I'm looking forward to the change and new adventure!
Undrago how is your house going? Are you getting all settled in?
GAWarrior what are you up to? I'm used to seeing you surface more often. How are you feeling from your surgery?
Innab How's that new job going? If I remember correctly I read that you were going to have a house full of people pretty soon. How exciting! You were part of the reason why I decided to seek employment elsewhere. I figured if you can start over after all those years, so can I. :-)
I'm kind of scared right now. My dad who went through lung cancer while I was going through breast cancer has come down with pneumonia. He's still at home and the doctors have given him antibiotics. He's been a real go-getter since his surgery. Bebop's around the house doing projects and shovels when it snows. He had a CAT scan and they did not find any cancer but did discover that he had an infection in his lungs. It's actually got me even more scared because of what's going on right now around the world. He is 85 and I am not ready. I want to go down and see him but both my parents have said at this point in time it's probably a better idea if I don't come to Colorado. I know they're right because I work out in the public and there's so much crap going around. It just sucks!
Deb, Linda, Betta, Frog and Duffy hope you all are doing well! Deb, I bet you're busier than a bumblebee right now being in the medical field. Stay safe!
I do miss when we could chit and chat more often. But I do get it. We're all starting to get so much more involved in our lives and further away from what brought us together. I think it's pretty dang good that two years later we're still surfacing once in awhile just to check on each other. 🤗
Hope everyone is feeling good and staying safe in this crazy pandemic time!
Huggs!!
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Life, I finally got the close date Tuesday at 5pm.. packed all the big stuff today in uhaul left over it's all these dang boxes. Im on airmatress til I move in..life, Can you drive to see him verses flying?? Just a thought..Anyone coming this way ur welcome to stay with me. Wld love to get together still and see everyone.
And to summarize how I feel about the coronavirus " everyone now knows what it's like to be a chemo patient, protecting ourselves for everyones else" .I'm not scared becuz we've done this and gone thru chemo, wiped down handle, phones, used tissues to open doors, covered our faces in mask, and much more to protect ourselves..the last thing we worried about was toilet paper.
Ingerp, ur hair came out beautifully, lovely color and style. I'd keep that hairdresser!!
I'm doing well, going this month for mammogram, ultrasound, and CT scan end of March.. then April 1st I'm having them remove scaring in the right breast, and dimpling for the lymphnodes removal.I miss our chats as well..
Keep sending good vibes !!
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Life congrats on the new job!! And yes I get that less frequent is a good thing but I miss you guys too. I’m still on BCO every day, mostly keeping up with research and what-not.
I’m sure a bunch of us have annual testing coming up so here’s to great results for all of us!!
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I miss our chit chats, too, but I am glad our diagnoses aren't consuming us as much any more.
Life, you're looking awesome! Congrats on your promotion, and good luck! Yes, it's probably better not to visit your dad, just in case, but I totally understand how badly you want to. Maybe Skype, Facetime, etc? Hoping he gets better quickly!
IngerP, love the new look! The color and style are great.
InnaB, hoping you've enjoyed your nephew's visit and also congrats on the job! Hoping your mom is doing well. What college did your son decide on? Fingers cross that Covid-19 won't put a damper on your daughter's upcoming wedding...
Urdrago, congrats again and good luck with your moving! It's exciting and stressful, at the same time. Hoping your kid's grandma is doing well with her treatment.
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have actually been checking this thread almost every day for new posts, but just didn't have anything new to add, so I haven't posted.
I'm doing great after the 11/2019 surgery. I'm back to running (not as often as I'd like -too busy). I'm coming up on my 2 year diagnosis date on 3/22 (hard to believe - 2 YEARS??). Like you are all saying, I am kind of thinking that everyone is overreacting about coronavirus...wiping down things and avoiding germs was what we all did while on chemo - and what everyone should already be doing during flu season. Remember, I went on that cruise after my first chemo and never had a problem with all those germs?
This hoarding thing is out of control. Let me tell you, people, if I don't have toilet paper because YOU hoarded it, you might be exposed to some of my germs that you REALLY don't want, LOL!
Sending you all good wishes for any annual scans, etc, that you are getting right now. I saw the MO at the end of January and don't go again until 6/1/20, so I get to relax a little 'til then. Stay well and healthy, keep washing those hands!
Here's my 18 month PFC photo (my hair is now long enough to be both unruly and obnoxious - I love it!):
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That’s a great pic, GAW. How does it compare with your pre-chemo hair?
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Hello, lovely ladies! Ingerp, GAW, great hair pics. My hair is still wavy and rather thick. I do a ton of work with it to minimize the absence of estrogen, though. IRestore helmet, rosemary oil, biotin shampoo and biotin capsules, you name it, I do it!
Life, happy to hear you decided to move to a different department. Sometimes we just need a push in the right direction
My job is good, although a little hectic. I brought my friend in as a consultant as well. I hope she'll make a good impression and will be offered a permanent position. Will be working from home because of coronavirus next week. What a horrible time!My nephew and his family went home last Saturday. The girls are adorable! I fell in love with them immediately, but they are a handful! Both of them got sick here and gleefully infected myself, my husband and my mom with sniffles and sore throat. Well, it could’ve been worse.
That’s me and the girls
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What a sweet picture, Inna!! Sounds like life is challenging but good. 😊
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Great picture, InnaB! I'm sure you had fun with the girls despite them being a handful.
Good luck to your friend (work).Ingerp, you asked about my hair - it's thinner than before and curlier than before. It does seem to be settling down on top (not as curly), but that could just because it's longer and the weight is dragging it down. Sorry it looks so messy in the photo - when I put water on it, it is SUPER curly! Still taking daily Biotin...
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Love and all those pictures ladies! Hope you are all doing well.
Undrago my parents only live an hour and a half away . But they asked us kids to stay away because my dad has pneumonia and they are older and do not want any of us to but bring something home to them. They basically have quarantine themselves.
I don't know about you all but I haven't been quarantined. Still working at my job. Still cleaning medical facility. Shout out to let us all know you're still safe and sound!
Huggs!!
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