Starting Chemo May 2019
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Sorry Kimmh012, I was distracted by the good news. I will contact the United Way. I hadn't thought of that. Congrats on the clean scan! That is wonderful! I take 10mg of melatonin. Hope you have minimal SE.
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Yay HappyAnyway!! That is great news!
I've been having to deal with my parents' questions lately about my care. My tumor is aggressive and required neoadjuvant treatment. One of the questions they had was "if it was soo important for me to start chemo immediately, why did it take 6 weeks between my first onc appointment and treatment start?" The answer, of course, was insurance. My doctor had submitted the treatment plan, but it was a beast getting insurance to approve it. I'm glad your carbo battle is won and done.
Keep slaying, warriors. My thoughts and prayers are always with you!!
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Yay! So happy for you!
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good news!!
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Thanks everyone. I appreciate each and every one of you.
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HappyAnyway - Good news! How many cycles of taxol and Carboplatin?
palmetto - I was asked the same question too. The long wait from First onco appointment to the start of the treatment.
Tomorrow is my 3rd cycle of chemo. Tough game this time with existing bleeding.
Sending positive vibes to all.
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Lacombattant- thanks for the update, Glad you are holding your own. Yes, terrible that doctors have to do so much justification to ins companies. Seems like such a waste of time.
Happyanyway-yippee, you got carbo approval, what a relief for you. Wish you didn't have to go through that waiting game for it. One less thing for you to have to think about. I know that you will do a fine job in negotiating your bill payments.They should work with you, not against you. I got mine reduced by 20% . Every little bit helps.
Kim- loved the pic. Glad you are dealing with an MO who you like and trust. Been thinking about you and how you were doing. Thanks for the great tips too.
Jrom-hoping Nat's counts stay in normal range. Sounds like the reduction really helped. So happy for her.
I am fighting much fatigue yesterday and today. I will be one week past final C/T tomorrow. Hopefully will get better. Hope everyone is having a good day.
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neeli- good luck with your 3rd cycle tomorrow. Hope the bleeding issue is resolved. Prayers being said for you. :-)
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UpstateNYer praying for your fatigue!! Hang tough and keep us posted.
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Thanks Upstater, I am just doing day by day. My problem with fatiguele is low Iron, so I was put on OTC iron pill to see if it helps, also dehydration, outshine watermelon is my go to this week, water tastes so bad no matter how I doctor it up, fruits burns my mouth, which makes me sad because banans and pears where my go to all day long pre BCB. And today ,doc said I may be sleep but not getting rest so ni am going to try Melatonin and read the trials that were done, positive results with lower estrogen, reoccurrence and few other this he mentioned, still looking for integrative/naturopath near me, only found 1 so far...
Happy, that's Great!
Wow, sorry everyone, I didn't realize I wrote so much, must of been all my pre meds .... this DD AC wipes me out , I chewed and sucked on ice for 2 hours, no energy, wanted to sleep but had to stay in my ice and I still eating popsicles, fingers crossed no mouth sores ... Night All ... praying everyone has manageable SEs this week!
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Today was my 6/8 day in the chair. My mom is in town and normally takes me. I called her phone and my sister claimed she forgot it. When my husband was leaving for work I heard him talking to somebody in the garage. In walks my three best friends. Today they all took me to chemo. I have no words ❤️❤️❤️😩.
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more insurance help for HP recipients like me..
Co-pay help.
BioOncology Co-pay Card, which may reduce your co-pays for your PERJETA + Herceptin treatment to as little as $5.
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G1973, that is the sweetest!! That's one thing this whole cancer journey has taught me- is that friends have our backs and would do anything for us in our time of need. I am so grateful for mine. I'm happy yours were there for you!
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Neeli, thank you! I am getting my fourth of twelve Taxol today and the first of four or six Carboplatin (hasn't been determined yet).
UpstateNYer, thank you! Hopefully the fatigue subsides soon.
Kimmh012, I hope your mouth heals quickly. Melatonin should be a good addition to help you sleep.
G1973, what a sweet surprise!
How's everyone feeling today?
I'm in the chair now receiving Taxol. Super sleepy from the Benadryl. 30 minutes of carbo next. I have minor cramps during Taxol, sort of like menstrual cramps. It has happened each time. I mentioned it to my infusion nurses. No big deal, just thought it may be helpful to mention for those of you who are /will be on Taxol.
Have a great day everyone!
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Hey Everybody ♥️ I haven’t posted in a while so I just wanted to pop in and say hi and that I’m thinking of you all. Seems like we’re making our way through this after all...
My boyfriend and I are headed out on an impromptu camping trip at my urging. We have extreme heat and thunderstorm warnings in my area of southern Ontario right now though so it shall be ever the adventure 😄.
Sending my love to all of you.
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Happyanyway. Praying right now for you and your infusion. Keep us posted!!
UpstateNYer how is the fatigue?
Palmetto everything ok with you today?
Praying for everyone!!
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jrominger- getting ready to leave work in a few minutes to head to Taxol infusion #2... I'm ready! Thank you for checking in on me. Saw you're visiting the grands... HAVE FUN!
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Happyanyway- Thinking of you during your infusion today. Praying that your cramping subsides soon. ((Hugs))
Jrom- My fatigue has gotten so much better, thanks for asking. How is Nat feeling these days?
Britt- Have a great time on your camping trip. Glad to hear that things are going well for you too. Hope those storms are kept at bay.
Palmetto- Hope that your Taxol infusion goes well for you with a minimal se weekend.
Have a great weekend everyone, you are all in my thoughts and prayers daily. 💞
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Brittandherboobs, good to hear from you! I'm going to tell you what I tell my girls, have fun and be safe.
Thanks jrominger!
Palmetto, prayers for Taxol #2.
Thank you, UpstateNYer. The cramps subside once Taxol is over. I'm thankful!
Treatment went well! No complaints so far.
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HappyAnyway: congrats on the first carbo AND on having one third of Taxol done! Pray you continue to tolerate the treatment well, with no / minimal SEs.
Britt: Enjoy your outing! We have heat wave coming too, I am contemplating a hike this weekend before the weather gets too crazy.
Palmetto:hope today's treatment went well. I have a bit of GI discomfort on day 3 and 4 after the 2nd Taxol, but not too much of a bother. Occasional antacid is all I need.
UpStateNYer: glad that fatigue is getting better
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How is everybody's doing? I hope that you are enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend, with no / minimal SEs.
HappyAnyway:how are you feeling after the 1st carbo?
Palmetto: how are you feeling after Friday's treatment?
Jrominger: I am sure that Nat and you had a fantastic family time. I will be thinking about her tomorrow, praying for easy time on Taxol.
Hubby and I have had a sporty weekend. We did get to the mountains yesterday, to our favorite hiking area and ended up going all the way to the summit. It was a 3.5 hour hike with 350 m elevation gain. My first summit on chemo. I was painfully slow, clearly my stamina is very far from what it used to be, but we made it to the top. I really had to do it, to feel like my old self... I actually told my husband, who was concerned that I was pushing myself too hard, that stopping was not an option. This morning we decided not to push it, but still managed a nice 2,5 hour walk.
Sending positive vibes to all!
PS. Few pics form our hikes
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Lacombattant-beautiful pics, enjoyed them. Glad you found the stamina to hike/walk. Keep it up. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
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lacombattante what a fantastic hike!!! Where did this hike take place? We did a 3.2 mi hike today at an extremely brisk pace. I like, your husband, don’t want Nat pushing too hard but know better than to say so 😳. She feels almost 100% just a tad more tired. I hope we keep up the hikes during Taxol. A bit nervous for our 1st one tomorrow but we need to get them done!! Thank you so much for your prayers!!! I pray constantly for this group of amazing women!! We also had a marvelous time in Sedona with our daughter’s family!!
Happyanyway how are things??? Looking forward to hearing how well your this last chemo went for you. I ran into a classmate yesterday who is a 9 year TNBC survivor!! Good stuff.
Palmetto and Britt how are things? Camping update please!
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Nat hiking and our grandkids near Sedona!! God bless everyone!!0 -
jrominger: thank you for sharing the photos, they are so beautiful!
Those Sedona red rocks - my husband spent a weekend in Sedona back in the 80-ies, he loved it there and we certainly have it on our bucket list.
We live in the French part of Switzerland, on foothills of Jura mountains range, which is a hiking paradise; this is where we hiked yesterday and today.
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well when you come to see the red rocks of Sedona you have a place to stay. We are 35 min from there and an a little over an hour from the Grand Canyon!! Your area sound amazing. Nat and I did a little touring in Switzerland in 2012!
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LaCombattante and jrominger, looks like you both had an adventurous weekend. Thanks for posting the photos. Beautiful!
LaCombattante, forgive my memory, what day is your treatment?
Jrominger, I like it when you share good news about others with TNBC. Is Nat ready for tomorrow?
Hi UpstateNYer!
I was tired yesterday. Didn't really do much. I woke up today with some energy. I made breakfast and threw some food on the grill for lunch. Everyone else cleaned up. I think I'm done for the day.
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Happyanyway SO glad to hear from you!! I have been saying extra prayers today. Very Glad to know you are well!! Nat is totally ready. Myself on the other hand is a tad nervous!! You women are just so much tougher than us pansy men. I did 25+ yrs in SWAT and as a violent crime investigator and I’m still a sissy compared to you ladies!!
I’ll fill you in tomorrow. We have our cold socks!!!
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HappyAnyway: great to hear that you are doing well! Lack of energy is inevitable, unfortunately, hopefully it will improve in coming days. In my case, day 3 seems to be the worst; last week, maintaining a simple conversation already felt as an effort. It does get better afterwards, so while on Taxol I decided to mark my Thursday's as my hermit days, esp. afternoons.
. My treatment day is now Tuesday. I am back to work (half time) and Mondays are usually quite demanding. Also, my MO has more flexibility on Tuesday, hence the change was a win-win.
Jrominger: praying for Nat and you. First treatment always comes with some anxiety, they will monitor Nat very closely to assure that she doesn't have an allergic reaction (a key concern with the first Taxol, I was told). Nurses also told me that if the first infusion goes well, usually there will be no surprises down the road. They still stay on alert during the 2nd one, but this is more of a protocol thing-y according to them.
As a fellow hiker
- my MO reminded me recently about sun sensitivity on Taxol and importance of strong sunscreen + coverups. UpStateNYer: good to hear from you too - how are you doing?
Positive vibes and best wishes to all!
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I found this article this morning on recovering hemoglobin counts after blood donation
We aren't donating blood, obviously, but our blood production is impaired, hence the Neulasta for WBC. My RBC and hemoglobin are low and I'm wimpy and out of breath with anemia. I called in to the clinic about it on Thursday and was told a) they wouldn't order a new blood test because it wouldn't change the plan and b) there is no plan, other than for me to wait it out. I asked about using iron supplements and was told that wouldn't help.
But I just can't wait several more weeks to recover some vitality. So today if I can grab enough energy to go out for a bit, I'll buy a good multi-vitamin with iron, a separate low-dose iron supplement, and a carton of orange juice, among a few other things. I don't think it will hurt anything, and if it helps, it's a win.
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