Chemo Starting August 2018
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Hi my beautiful friends! Sorry I’ve been away so long. I had a couple of trips and just got sidetracked! Congratulations Benji on finishing rads! SB was so kind to check on me and I gave her the scoop that I was neutropenic. I found out that I had a WBC count of 2.8 and on re-draw I was 2.5. I had my mastectomy surgery cancelled less than 20 hours before I was supposed to hit the table. Needless to say I did not handle that news well. The four letter words flew and so did the tears. I was a depressed mess for a couple of days. The surgeon said to re-draw my CBC in two weeks then he contacted my old onc who said to give me another Neulasta. 🤬
I did some searching and found a herb that boosts WBCs. They can take their Neulasta and shove it. Omg that stuff hurt me BAD. So I started taking that supplement, went to one acupuncture session and on my 2 week redraw my WBCs went from 2.5 to 11.3. They were HIGH. Surgeon just called me to ask if I had Neulasta. Ha. No, dude. Then he thought I might have a raging infection somewhere. Nope. I’m good. Mastectomy set for June 12. I wish I could have wrapped this up by 6/6, my diagnosis date but nope.
I, too, have hedge hair. It’s ridiculous. I just cut it short again as it is insane. Sticks up and is absolutely unmanageable. I will try to grow it out in the winter when I can shove it in a hat. My pubes go to my ankles, seriously. I look like Sasquatch. My eyebrows and eyelashes keep falling out over and over. It’s kinda a bummer. I heard that can happen after Taxol.
Everyone who posted pics looks so amazing
Love you all! XOXO
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Hi Moongirl - Do you recall the name of the “Magic Mouthwash”?
Thank you for your help.
Bridget
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MGJ, glad to hear from you but wish things were going better. As usual your witty descriptions gave me a good belly laugh. Take care and hope all goes well with your upcom8ng surgery
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MGJ, glad to hear from you but wish things were going better. As usual your witty descriptions gave me a good belly laugh. Take care and hope all goes well with your upcoming surgery
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Hey all, just thought I would let you know about a great app called “About Herbs”. All kinds of info on supplements and herbs. Take care.
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I saw my integrative care doctor for a follow up today. We were mostly working on nutrition and I am on a whole foods/pescatarian diet. He has me eating a sheet of nori (seaweed) every day to lower estrogen. I take 10 mg of melatonin at night, along with a baby aspirin, both to increase effectiveness of tamoxifen. I’m not taking any other supplements or meds for the cancer. I’m focusing on dietary management - 2 T flaxseed daily, wholengrains, mushrooms, cruciferous vegetables, fatty cold-water fish.
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Wanderweg, did your OC recommend your integrative care dr, to be honest I have only seen this mentioned on this site so not sure if part of healthcare or outside of healthcare. I would love to stop taking so many supplements but am seeing some help, I think.. :
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MACTAZ - the integrative guy was recommended by my breast surgeon, and his office is at the cancer center (they also have massage, acupuncture and other complementary medicine things there). I know he has supplements he sometimes recommends but I told him I wanted to minimize how many pills I’m taking and he was agreeable to just doing it through food sources
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I rely on a lot of supplements because I cant eat enough volume to be certain of getting enough. I try to eat an excellent veggie rainbow and I favor all the best anti-cancer foods but take about 25 pills! But nothing bothers me as it's mostly distilled food (like EGCG - from Green tea.) I feel really good and am back to full energy so I am going to stick with it-- I'm used to it now...
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msmann63–Hello! The Magic Mouthwash was compounded for me by a compounding pharmacy. My onc office sent over the order and the pharmacy made it up. I literally have a whole bottle of it sitting in my fridge. I probably used it twice. I hate to throw it out as it was $80–I will go home and check the ingredients.
Today is my diagnosis day, 6/6. Many less tears today then a year ago 😄
I’m taking Mushroom Wisdom supplements (2 different ones), drinking green tea by the tanker truck, ASA 81 mg, melatonin 20 mg, and tamoxifen 20 mg. Gabapentin 600 mg for the volcanic night sweats. And the supplement to boost my WBCs. I read somewhere where mushrooms and green tea decrease breast cancer big time when taken together but I don’t remember where I read that. I’m back to mostly a plant based and gluten free diet. But then sometimes I attack a charcuterie plate and cheese pizza. I had to relinquish my vegan diet. Oh, well.
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Seems weird to say but congrats on your one yr anniversary. Just means continuing to move towards a more normal, or new normal, life. Take care.
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Hard to believe my 6 month post-surgery appointment is this week! WOW. I am psyched to hug my BS, thank her again, and show her her beautiful work.
I have some happy and unexpected news-- I have re-connected with a man I dated briefly 10 years ago (and liked a great deal) when I was first divorced. He lived in another city, and at the time, I had a 12 year old. So it never "launched" due to competing obligations and distance, but I definitely liked him, and we remained friendly and in touch on a regular basis of emails and some phone calls since then. He's a very sweet man; he has remembered my birthday for a decade. So he was on my group-of-friends email updates, as I got treatment.
He had told me he had met someone special, about 6 years ago, and I assumed she was still his girlfriend... last week we had a meal together when I went to visit my parents who live near him, and I found out, she is in end-stage of early-onset alzheimers, which hit her about 2 years ago. He cared for her at home until that became unsafe and she had to have more medical support. Which was roughly a year ago, about when we were all diagnosed. She is not able to do or say anything anymore, cant walk, can't interact, but can still eat. He has arranged all her care and finances and doctors; he visits her and holds her hand and wonders if she knows who he is. He is accepting reality, and emotionally moving on, but still showing up for her, which to me is a very admirable and 'golden rule' way to behave.
So: this nice steady friend for a decade, who (now I see) has behaved with extreme decency and empathy and caregiving in a disastrous situation, who I already know I am attracted to and enjoy.... And he basically said, I never could have predicted a 2nd chance to open the door to a relationship with you but here we are, and I am very happy to have the second chance. We're not getting any younger.
After what he has been through, I give him huge credit for GUTS, hitting on a recently treated-cancer patient (and all that that implies). He's a kind of a catch, and it's also sort of remarkable he is into women his own age, even with a few dings on them!
I have to say it is very melancholy, too, for the sake of this woman I have never met but who must be a wonderful person if he fell for her, and whose loss is incalculable. But yet it is very life affirming that he sees himself living, and becoming coupled again, and that he never forgot the connection we had.
Very nice to have this coincide with feeling normal and good again! I feel so LUCKY.
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Hello Everyone, Sorry Its been so long! I have had a lot going on Tattooing last Friday and now a vary red and unhappy boob. It looks pretty good if I can see past the red. I have to have another surgery on the 12th of July, I questioned another lump on the mastectomy side and now my plastic surgeon wants to go back in and remove it. He believes it is fat necrosis which could be a lump of dead or damaged breast tissue from the breast implant and liposuction. I will see, just has me stressed out a little right now. I hope everyone is doing well, I will go back through the post and try and catch up on whats been going on with everyone.
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santabarbarian, do you mind my asking, did you end up trying doxycycline and/or mebendazole? How did it go? Was your MO open to the idea?
Congrats on reconnecting with someone special to you.
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I have not done so yet. I thought I would suggest it at my next appointment, which will be Aug, 1 year past beginning chemo. I am not feeling rushed as I am already doing a lot with the supplements I take.
My MO is exceedingly risk/benefit based. He'll probably have a risk of doxycycline to announce. OTOH he's previously been willing to prescribe other stuff off label. I don't see the harm in it.
It's funny I have never re-dated anyone so it is a new experience!
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Santabarbarian - that’s really wonderful news about reconnecting with the old boyfriend!He’s sounds like truly good guy.
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SB—I love it! Reconnecting after all this time.
Mastectomy went well on Wednesday. After I refused one anesthesiologist, who is a total ass, and I finally got a decent one. Now I’m FLAT! I have a Prevena wound vac over my incision but I’m feeling great. Probably too good! I took 4 pain pills total and that was it. No arm pain. I also have a JP drain.
Hope everyone is doing well!
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mamann63–
Tetracycline nystatin hydrocortisone diphenhydramine
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SB, how exciting for you, you go girl.
hughope1, glad to hear you are doing well.
MGJ, another step accomplished, congrats. I hope you heal quickly and don’t have any complications.
Hugs to all.
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Well, we had a great 3 day weekend... so nice to feel feminine and future oriented. very fun!
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oops ... not quite done but accidentally hit submit...
we went to Napa for a long weekend. He was incredibly sweet and solicitous, and he clearly wanted to show me a really good time. He made dinners each night and we went out for lunches. He'd made sure to ask about all my foods etc and planned around that. It was relaxing, easy and fun. Weird to date a 10 year friend.... when there is love and trust in place already. Kind of scary, and yet also not scary, at the same time. I'm psyched to see him again and he's coming on the weekend to visit me here. To Life!
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SB—that’s so freaking awesome! He sounds amazing. Perhaps he fancies your hedge hair? 🤣
My husband says I look like Beavis from Beavis and Butthead. Really nice, dude.
I’m ready to have my JP out but the output is still too high. This wound vac of mine has grown tiresome. It’s like I’m carrying around a heavy purse I can’t put down. And I’m stinky.
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He said it was punk.
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SB - Ahhhhh, ain't that sweet.
MGJ -
To life indeed!
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SB，so happy for you!!
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My husband called me Mrs. Heat Miser the other day. It’s pretty close!
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wanderweg, clearly we were both issued the same post chemo hair! Mine is a little geryer but otherwise very similar and mine is also multi-directional/ wavy. Just happy it's back!
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Hello Girls, I am joining the same hair group. Pretty wild looking, I don't know if I should cut it or leave it alone? I just know there is no styling to it, the more I try the worse it looks. "so I just mess it up."
SB, take care girl and have fun, we are not getting any younger here. LOL
Mactaz, I hope things are going well. I am traveling every weekend with my grandson. My daughter went to Las Vegas with her boyfriend 7 weeks ago, and what happens in Vegas did not stay in Vegas. We are having a baby. I really thought we were past those days, already has a 12 and 13 year old. So she is going to stay near me till the baby is about born then move to Illinois where her boyfriend is. They are planning on getting married the end of the year. She is due around the 29th of Jan.
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Hope you are healing and get rid of those drains soon MGJ...
I happen to love Beavis and Butt Head...
Sending wellness-wishes to all the chemo Aug 18 sisters out there!
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SB—I love that! Freaking hilarious! Beavis on the couch! I'm glad your new BF loves your punk hair.
I took the wound vac off yesterday. I look really good. Nice and symmetrical, which is what I wanted. No pain. No tightness. I can’t wait to do yoga! Still have my JP in. That's coming out Monday, I'm hoping.
Happy Friday!!!
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