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Starting Chemo May 2019

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Comments

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    Lacombattante what fantastic pictures!! Thank you for sharing. It is fun to put a lovely face with a name!! Natalie also gets those periodic sharp joint pains especially while hiking. Over 9 miles, you two are animals. Love it. We’ll have to plan out some amazing Sedona and Grand Canyon hikes. There are tons of them. Oh Nat is getting little duck fuzz on her head Photo: Celebrating what would have been my parents 67 wedding anniversary image

    Santabarbarian your workout regimen is fun! I’ve added that into my gym time. Nat adds the speed walk to get her heart rate up. She is anxious to get back to the gym but a tad worried about germs for now.

    Looking forward to hearing how everyone’s week goes. We’ll be glad to get one more done.

    J

  • UpstateNYer
    UpstateNYer Member Posts: 331

    Loved the pics Lacombattant and Jrom. Physical activity is so very important. Keep up the good work.

    Jrom- Today (Aug. 18th) would have been my parents' 68th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, lost my dad in 2003 and mom in 2012. Memories are wonderful ones, however. Hope yours are too. 😊

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    UpstateNYer no wonder we have such long marriages. Between your marriage and ours we have 78 yrs of marriage!! We come from a long line of them!! My father passed 3 yrs ago. So it’s a hard day for my mom. Good to be in the woods with her, her kids, grandkids and great grandkids !

    Blessings to all.

  • UpstateNYer
    UpstateNYer Member Posts: 331

    Jrom- So happy to hear you still have your mother. What a blessing. I miss mine every day. Nice that your mother had family around her today. Good to have that support on days like this. Yes, our parents had long marriages and so do we. 😀

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Hi palmetto, jrominger and UpstateNYer and everyone else.

    LaCombattante, I love the picture of you and your husband! Just beautiful.

    Not much going on here. Just wanted to say hello.

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    Hi Happyanyway!!! Hope you had a great weekend. We r off for # 5 tomorrow!! It’s supposed to be 112 down in Phoenix 😩. I may ice my hands and feet along with Natalie

  • palmetto
    palmetto Member Posts: 88

    I'm loving all the pics from everyone! They help me put faces and places to names. :) It looks like you all have amazing families and scenery. That kind of thing is good for the soul.

    Not much going on in my world; just wanted to say hello and that you all are on my mind... Jrom, LaCombattante, Happy, UpstateNYer... you all especially as you face the next round of chemo this week or treatment for other physical ailments (how's your shoulder, UpstateNYer?).

  • lacombattante
    lacombattante Member Posts: 178

    Hi everyone!

    Today has been totally crazy work-wise so not much to report either. I am getting ready for tomorrow visit with my MO and (if blood counts hold steady) Taxol No 7.

    Jrominger: what a beautiful photo of your family, on such a special day. Thank you so much for sharing. How is Nat doing today? How was Taxol?

    HappyAnyway, good to hear from you! Hope you had a relaxing weekend.

    Palmetto, how are you feeling after No 6?

    UpStateNYer, how is your shoulder?

    You are all in my thoughts and prayers, sending positive vibes from across the pond

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    Lacombattante. Thank you for thinking of us. We are in the chair as we speak. 20 more min then the 2.5 hr ride home. Thank goodness for audiobooks!! The blood work dropped a tad. Hemoglobin was at 9.7. So hanging tough

    Happyanyway UpstateNYer Palmetto ivy60 G1973 santabarbarian thinking and praying for all of you Sure appreciate this group!!

  • UpstateNYer
    UpstateNYer Member Posts: 331

    hi all, Shoulder is much better, thanks. Wonder if the prednisone and muscle relaxers are working.

    Jrom- praying that Nat has minimal se's this time and also a safe trip home.

    Lacombattant-will be praying that blood counts are normal so you can have taxol #7 tomorrow.

    Happyanyway- how are you doing today?

    Palmetto- hello to you too.

    Thinking of all of the terrific warriors in this group. Warm hugs of healing to all.💝

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Hi UpstateNYer. I'm alright, a little tired. I believe much of that is due to the girl's school schedule.

    I'm glad that your shoulder is feeling better.

    Thinking of and praying for you all!

  • lacombattante
    lacombattante Member Posts: 178

    hi all and Happy Tuesday! Hope you are having a nice day with no SEs!

    Thank you for the prayers and best wishes; they certainly helped!

    My blood counts were quite OK and I bagged the No 7.

    Now, a bit of a rant... I have been on Prolia for 2 years because of progressive spine osteopenia (side effect of Femara). My MO decided to change Prolia to Zometa, since Zometa has been shown to prevent bone metastasis and I am considered high risk.

    I am supposed to get my 1st infusion next week, BUT... The d*mn insurance pushed back saying that we should start with an older biphosponate and only if I fail, then Zometa could be my next line of treatment. Risk of metastatic spread was completely ignored, they just focused on osteopenia & osteoporosis.

    My MO was livid and so was I. We had a lively discussion about the whole insurance situation. It's insane, really! I think I mentioned that insurance here is insanely expensive and it is mandatory for everyone. In my case I have a very, very good coverage and still got this unexpected pushback just one week before the treatment. As my MO put it ''patients and doctors are harassed by insurance companies, nearly every line of treatment is being questioned, medical expertise is discarded and, instead, it all becomes a matter of writing endless requests and explanations...' To her credit, she is not the one to back off; she is fighting my insurance provider, insisting on Zometa for me and she is quite certain that she will succeed. I will know the outcome next week.

    Jrominger, HappyAnyway, UpStateNYer, Palmetto and the rest of our wonderful May group, I am thinking and praying for you daily. Please be well

  • UpstateNYer
    UpstateNYer Member Posts: 331

    Lacombattant- Congrats on bagging # 7. Hoping for minimal se's. You are very fortunate to have a doctor who is willing to challenge the insurance company for your Zometa. I will pray that he is successful in getting that approved for you. What a pain these ins. companies can be. I have been very fortunate in that regard. However, my deductible was terribly high. If anything good can be said about this diagnosis, at least I had my diagnosis early in the year, deductible was quickly met, and treatments are now covered in full. Wishing you all the best.

    Jrom- how is Nat feeling today?

    Hope everyone is doing well today. You are all in my prayers.

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    Lacombattante. Very happy to hear your blood counts were where they needed to be!!! 5 to go! A blink of the eye! Dang insurance Such an ordeal for everyone! Your MO sounds fantastic We’ll add this to our prayers as well Keep us posted

    We did a 3.1 mi speed hike today I just feel so blessed to be hiking with Nat the day after chemo!! We did a stroll after the 5 hr round trip last night, mainly to get the kinks out!

    Blessings to everyone on this page!



  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Preach it, LaCombattante! Insurance Companies rule the medical field. I'm grateful for our coverage, but it is a battle and expensive.

    Hi UpstateNYer!

    How's everyone feeling today?

    Counting down the days to my final chemo and looking forward to the consult with the PS.

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    Hi all. I just read an encouraging number from Cedars Sinai Oncology Dept. There over 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the US!! That’s going to be all of you and Natalie as well!!! Let’s keep up the good fight!!!

  • mightlybird01
    mightlybird01 Member Posts: 161

    Hello everyone,

    this is my first post but I have been following this thread for some time, finding a lot of encouragement and information from reading it. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this thread!

    My stats are below and I will have Taxol #5 tomorrow. So far it has been ok with side effects. I usually have a pretty slow Saturday, Sunday I get a bit more out of breath than I am used to, by Monday I am back to "normal" and ready to have my next treatment on Wednesday. I feel I am living some sort of parallel life to some of you, as I also do a lot of hiking (20-25 miles per week) with my dog and some of which with hubby, who cannot always come. I am also the sole caretaker of 4 horses and 9 chickens on our little hobby farm. I have been able to keep up my daily stable chores, with the occasional help from hubby doing the heavy lifting.


    I am so looking forward to this being over, but unfortunately, it will be a little longer.



  • April0315
    April0315 Member Posts: 167

    Hello everyone!

    I've been gone for a while bc that AC kicked my butt and the nausea and abd pain was ruthless. I started getting associative nausea (just talking about treatment made me gag).

    But here I am, all done with ac and just had 7/12 Taxol yesterday. I have had no nausea with the Taxol, my labs are fine and no terrible side effects, Fatigue and very thirsty is about it. I have gone back to work full time (I'm a nurse in a hospital) Those 12 hour shifts are hard on me, but I just go right to bed when I'm done, and I know this isn't forever. Obviously I lost all my hair, but now I've lost my lashes and brows too. Looking a little alien-ish! As for exercise, I've been doing laps in the pool, it's way too hot in Phoenix for walking outside, I don't have the tolerence for the heat as I usually do.

    Looks like everyone is doing ok, I'm still catching up. Much love to you all.



  • UpstateNYer
    UpstateNYer Member Posts: 331

    welcome Mightlybird01. Good luck with your Taxol #5.

    April0315- good to hear from you. Glad you are doing better on Taxol and the A/C is behind you. You are over half way through Taxol, that is great. Good for you to be able to stay working as a nurse.

    I had my rads consult today. I will need 16 treatments. I will start in September. Really not looking forward to it, but was told it is necessary. I was told by RO that my chemo does not penetrate to the scar tissue of lumpectomies.

    Jrom- how is Nat feeling today?

    Hello to Happyanyway, Lacombattant, Palmetto, also thinking of you all. How are you doing today?

  • jrominger
    jrominger Member Posts: 342

    UpstateNYer well the 16 treatments of radiation will seal the deal for you!!! Is that going to take place every day? Natalie had a rough night last night. Kind of unusual for her. A little nausea and a lot of upper GI burning so very little sleep. She hates taking any medications at all but tried a pepsid this am. She felt better and is taking a nap. Also unusual for her. Hopefully right as rain when she wakes up. Hope to do another 3 miles this evening.

    April0315. Welcome back. Our experience has been similar to yours until last night but hopefully this will pass. Much easier to hike in Flagstaff than Phoenix 😜. We will do Taxol #6 in Goodyear next Monday. Stay cool and you rock doing the. 3 twelve hr shifts!! Our daughter is a LAD nurse at FMC.

    Happyanyway Lacombattante Palmetto mightlybird01, etc how is everyone doing today?

    We continue to pray for everyone here!!

    J

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Hi there everyone!

    I'm alright, kind of blah. I'm feeling impatient and ready to finish chemo. I know I don't have many left, but still...

    My energy level is higher than it was with AC, but I am tired.

    I may check out the American Cancer Society tomorrow. I need to renew my driver's license in October and am considering a wig. So not me.

    Sorry. Guess I'm grumpy.

    I hope you all are well. It's good to hear from everyone.


  • palmetto
    palmetto Member Posts: 88

    Welcome mightlybird01 and welcome back april0315. Glad to have your voices added along with our May group that's chugging along and kicking cancer's butt! Jrom- I had to smile at your statistic last night. So many survivors... and yes, you are right. Natalie and the rest of us will join that crowd. I'm glad she's getting some rest today. Hopefully more miles tonight. :)

    UpstateNYer, 16 rads. Wow. I don't know much about rads, other than what I've heard from people getting it. They say you take more time taking off your clothes than you actually do for treatment. I admit my knowledge is sparse because as of now, my dr doesn't think rads will be part of my tx plan.

    As for me, not much is going on. I made my appointment for my reconstruction consult (9/19) yesterday. I go in for Taxol #7 tomorrow, if counts are good. Say a prayer! I'd love to be able to stay on schedule. Thinking of you all and sending lots of good vibes and love.

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Palmetto, we're close to being on the same schedule. Forgive me if you have already said, but what kind of surgery are you thinking of having?

  • palmetto
    palmetto Member Posts: 88

    Happy, I'm not sure just yet. At first I was thinking dMx with DIEP flap reconstruction. I still may go that way, but I'm up in the air over single vs double. And flap type. The place where I've been referred specializes in nipple sparing mastectomy/ reconstruction, so my hope is to save the shells and pad with whatever fat they can find. :P

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Palmetto, my PS visit is on the 9th. It will be nice to compare notes.

  • palmetto
    palmetto Member Posts: 88

    Indeed, HappyAnyway. Are you also looking at the DIEP?

  • mightlybird01
    mightlybird01 Member Posts: 161

    Thanks everyone for the welcome!

    Taxol 5 is done, but man, someone said it, the sadness after is real! I came back at 2pm and first thing I did is eat and then sleep. At 4pm, the barn chores and animals wait so no more time for sadness, and thankfully it is much better.

    I am also thinking a lot about surgery, leaning towards unilateral mastectomy without reconstruction. I have small breasts and I'd rather avoid any additional surgery. Hubby is full on board with respect to the no reconstruction part. I also want to keep my good breast as I am BRCA negative. My case is more complicated though, because my tumor was removed by an excitional biopsy, rather than fine needle (long story short, basically Dr misdiagnosed it for fibroadenoma, which for the medullary type is not uncommon to be mistaken). But then it was still cancer, I had to have a re-excition that still had one small area of positive margin. I did not want another re-excision and was advised to have mastectomy instead after chemo, simply also because not very much of my breast would be left after breast surgeon is done". But now I am having second thoughts. My breast has healed so well, I may want to keep it and have a re-excition after chemo, even if it gets a little smaller still. Not sure if this is even possible. I have to still discuss everything with the breast surgeon, who is very nice and very experienced. We will see. It is definitely not a cookie-cutter case this case of mine.


    Jrominger, sorry to hear about Natalie's GI tract issues. I am drinking kefir (also add 3000 IU liquid Vitamin D) every morning (or better pour it over my oats, nuts and fruit breakfast) and I have not had any GI problems. Maybe this would help her? The kefir is full of good gut bacteria.

  • mountainmia
    mountainmia Member Posts: 857

    HappyAnyway, I get your issue with the drivers license and thinking about a wig. I need to renew my passport before the end of the year. I should have some hair by the time I need a picture, but I probably won't have a lot. Weird to think about.

    It's always good to check in here and see how well people are doing, and progressing along. I'm always impressed by your strength and endurance. It's such a hard thing to do, all of it. We are NOT sissies!

    I started radiation yesterday, had my 2nd of 20 today, so I am 10% done. :) Also my eyelashes and brows are starting to grow back, which is exciting, and I think I have hair coming in on my head!! Just a bit of fine, white, very short stubble that seems new. I'll be able to tell more in a few days. Even though the first hair is often pale and fuzzy for many people and looks like it might be that for me, you have to get through this stage to get to the next one. One step at a time, my friends!

    This morning I went to my English class, where my husband and I volunteer once a week. It's a free class for foreign-born adults from all over the world. Today we had a small group, only about 14, and we had several countries represented -- Brazil, China, Russia, Syria, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Spain, DRC... I didn't name them all, I don't think. It's a very loose class, no formal lesson plan. Today we talked about what we did last week (there was no class because all the teachers were out of town,) what we'll do this week with nice weather, Dave's trip to Colorado to see family, family relationships like "sibling," "cousin," "second cousin" and so on. The students are so lovely, so smart and funny. They have been cheering me on through my treatment. I won't see them for the next 3 weeks as I go through the rest of radiation, so I was especially glad to be able to go today.

  • HappyAnyway
    HappyAnyway Member Posts: 380

    Yes, palmetto, DIEP.

    Mightlybird01, the weekly Taxol treatments are daunting to me at this point. I have my 8th infusion on Friday. I have more treatment after chemo, but I am going to ring the heck out of the chemo bell upon completion.

    MountainMia, sounds like we have matching hair. It is so incredibly soft. Little bit loves to run her hands through it and kisses me on the head every night.

    Thinking of you all. Much love to each of you.

  • April0315
    April0315 Member Posts: 167

    Thanks for the warm welcome back. I too am getting impatient, this chemo feels like it's taking forever. And I guess it sort of is, I mean it's going on for 20 weeks, and that's almost half a year. I'm powering thru the fatigue but I can't wait to feel normal at least for a few weeks till the next surgery.

    I purchased a wig thinking I'd wear it. I have worn it once. It's itchy and I'm always worried it's going to fall off. Mostly I just go around bald, but toss a scarf on when I'll be out for a long time, or at work. I had one patient last week, she was not very pleasant to say the least, but she asked if my scarf was for religious reasons. I told her, no, I'm bald bc I'm going thru chemo for breast cancer. She was a lot nicer after that :)

    Got my youngest daughter moved in to her dorm on Sunday and went to visit her today to get her books and some groceries. Those kinds of chores take more out of me than working, I think it's the heat though.

    Oddly enough, there are 3 of us in my department at work that all got diagnosed with BC within a few weeks of each other. It's amazing how different all the treatment plans are. I'm glad they have fine tuned treatment so well to accommodate all the different stages and types.

    Me with my oncologist Tues and confirmed I won't need rads. That was a relief.

    Hope everyone had a lovely day!

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