Starting Chemo September 2019
Comments
-
Tracy! Look at all that hair! 😍
0 -
Tmh, beautiful head of hair
0 -
Congratulations to everyone! I was so terrified before starting and we all survived. Actually, I have been scared pretty much since I received the diagnosis...
My eyes finally stopped watering and my hair is growing in, all grey. It was 99% brown before, but at least it is growing! This week my eyelashes fell out. I feel like such a science experiment. One thing grows and another falls out.
Started Tamoxifen. It's ok. My hips hurt, but manageable.
BMX with DIEP in 3 weeks, yikes! I am nervous about that now. But I survived chemo, so I got this. (Right?)
Best wishes all and thank you for your posts!
0 -
My hair 9 weeks PFC
0 -
Dottiebird,,nice head of hair,,I can't wait for all of mine to come in
0 -
I haven't stayed as active as I had planned on these boards during my treatments - but am so excited to say I am done! I finished my 6 Taxotere/Carboplatin treatments last week on Thursday. I am still suffering extreme fatigue, where getting up to get water is difficult. But knowing I am done is finally setting in and I am allowing myself to be 'just a little bit' happy.
Looking forward to next weeks Oncology appointment to schedule my port removal and determine with AI will be be prescribed. Then I am off to Mexico on Feb 7 for a week long Pilates retreat and then leave again on Feb 19 for skiing in Steamboat Springs. At this point both of those weeks seem impossible - given my current state of exhaustion - but I know I will feel better. Usually (almost like clockwork) I turn the corner later today and go from barely being able to get around to feeling almost human! Maybe this time will take another day — we will see.
Here is to continued healing!
0 -
Lschaak, congrats on finishing chemo!!!! Both trips sound fantastic.
0 -
Congrats Eveldon and Lschaack on finishing chemo!
Dottybird - Your hair is really growing in! Looks great!
Tracy - Your hair looks great, too! I'm still wearing hats and snoods out, too. My hair is still too short, my head gets cold!
0 -
I had my rads mapping on Tuesday. I got my Zoladex implant about an hour ago.
Here's my latest hair growth pic. 11 weeks PFC.
0 -
LMS, great head of hair!!! I looked in a magnifying mirror and seen my eyebrows and eyelashes are starting to return...lol 5 wks pfc, sweet, now if only all those years of plucking would be void, I could have thicker eyebrows...lol
0 -
Hello to all, and especially to those who are done with chemo! I had my last Taxotere and Carboplatin on 12/23, and the first time with just Herceptin and Perjeta on 1/13. I’ve missed checking in with this group; your postings really helped me through chemo.
On 12/23 an employee at the oncology center said, “Ring the bell! You are done!” I said, “No! I’ll ring it gladly in September when I am really finished and done with you people for good!” One of the chemo nurses said, “I knew you’d say that.”
Chemo has been a rough road, but now I’m just on the targeted therapy and - like so many of you - I’m already seeing improvement. I put off starting AI pills until I saw what life with just HP is like. I’ll start them on 2/1. I cannot wait for February so Ican work in the yard for the first real time since June. Here in SC I can start pruning then and get ready for spring.
Meanwhile, my taste and appetite are slowly recovering and my energy is coming back. I lost 44 lbs, and I am determined that all of it will not return. My knee replacement surgery was put off because of the cancer, so that is coming first in late March. Then the plan is DIEP reconstruction down in June, with a little adjustment to finish up in the fall. 2020 is going to be exciting!
Happy New Year!
0 -
Congrats Turkeypoult!!! No matter where we are in this journey, it's great to hear of one of us crossing a goal line.
0 -
Leah and dottiebird - Hair growth is looking good!
Turkeypoult - Congratulations on finishing chemo! 🎉🎉🎉
0 -
Congrats turkeypoult!!
Please keep the hair pics coming folks. You all look amazing and it helps remind us that this is temporary. I have had some growth since around Christmas. Mostly the back and sides. Hoping the top will start coming in.
0 -
Congratulations Turkeypoult!!! You may not be totally done, but it's a big step to move on to just targeted therapy!
I will keep the hair pictures coming as long as y'all want to see them. Looking at other threads with pictures always gave me hope, too. I had such a fear that Taxotere would make me permanently bald, so I'm really excited to have my hair coming back. I'm glad it gives hope to everyone else, too!
0 -
Congratulations Turkeypoult, Eveldon and Lschaack!
Hair lookin good Dotty and Leah!
Friday update! 9 weeks PFC: 4 days post hysterectomy/oophorectomy: I'm getting around better every day. Getting up and down is less painful. I finally had a bowl movement but I was constipated early this morning so I took a laxative. This afternoon should be interesting. 😂 I had a small opening on my mastectomy incision scar that my plastic surgeon says looks like a dissolvable stitch that didn't absorb and worked its way out. Have a wonderful weekend ladies!
0 -
Bridget - glad your feeling better each day, hair growth looks great.
everyone - I agree we should keep the hair pictures coming as long as we can. I know I spent a lot of time going through other threads trying to find hair growth pictures when on chemo. I think they give not only us hope, but others who are earlier in the process as well.Hugs everyone and have a great weekend
Tracy
0 -
Brilee, hair is looking great!!! Glad to hear you are doing great. Girl power baby!!!!....lol
0 -
Just wanted to pop in and say "thank you ladies" from someone who is starting chemo next week. I appreciate you guys have kept updating your journey. It helps to see what is to come!
0 -
Good luck, dysonsphere! It seems scary at the beginning, and some days are difficult, but you WILL get through it.
0 -
Good luck dysonsphere! 🙏 Cheering you on from SC!
0 -
Good luck dysonsphere. I agree with Leah, it’s scary at the beginning but doable. Take it one day at a time, allow yourself to rest when needed.
Hugs
Tracy
0 -
Whoo hooo Turkeypoult and Lschaack!!!
I love the hair growth pics! Something to look forward to!
I hope you all are doing well and having a great weekend!
0 -
I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
I had an interesting morning. My breast surgeon held a free "clean eating" cooking class for her patients. There were a bunch of us there. One of the surgical PA's taught the class. It was fun to taste some new recipes and get nutrition questions answered. She's going to do either a nutrition or exercise class each month for her patients. She wants us to eat healthy and keep moving. Drink 2 liters of water a day, exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, and stay away from processed foods as much as possible. I'm still not there yet, but working on it! We are all a work in progress, right?
Enjoy the rest of your weekend....tomorrow, we are finally taking down our Christmas trees! LOL!
0 -
Leah - thanks for the info from your clean eating class! I’m not quite there either but baby steps.
I laughed out loud about the Christmas tree! If mine hadn’t been real, it would probably still be up!
0 -
Congrats to everyone who has finished chemo! I had my last TC 1/20 and have my first herceptin/perjeta only infusion this Monday. I hope to ring the bell in October. My worst SEs were terrible diarrhea and neuropathy. I think my fingertips will come back but a little worried about my feet/toes. I wish I had been able to post more, feel like I’ve had major chemo brain for months now. Next up is bilateral mastectomy 3/2. Was going to be 2/24 but conflict with PS and BS schedules. I hate waiting the extra week but I guess I’ll just feel stronger at least.
The hair pics are amazing, you all look so good. I REALLY miss my eyebrows. Anyone using a growth serum or anything else that you’d recommend?
Brilee, hoping for an easy recovery from your last surgery for you.
Leah, interesting about the clean eating. I went from being a pretty healthy eater to downing Kraft mac n cheese, ramen noodles and Gatoradeas my main food groups during chemo! Need to get back to real food now I guess.
Lshack I love Pilates, your retreat sounds amazing. I can’t wait to get back into it. Have a great time there and skiing.
0 -
Hi everyone! I have surgery Tuesday 1/28. I'm getting a bilateral mastectomy with placement of tissue expanders. I never asked why they do the tissue expanders when the implants I'm getting will be the same size as my breasts already are lol. I'm just doing what they told me! The implants will go in in about 10-12 weeks.
I have had an excellent response to chemo - I had an MRI 2 weeks ago, which was 2 weeks PFC, and it showed my main tumor is essentially non-existent (and it was nearly 4 cm), and there isn't anything showing in the lymph nodes. They biopsied one node that was positive for cancer back in August when I was diagnosed, so I'm hoping the MRI results are accurate and they won't have to take many lymph nodes.
I still have diarrhea. I had Herceptin 1 week ago and I think it may have been what was causing me diarrhea all along. I've had diarrhea for 4 months straight and I don't know if I can't take it until September.
My taste buds are returning and food tastes so close to normal now. I ate something the other day and thought I must have done something different when fixing it because it tasted so good - then I realized it was probably just what it always tasted like but I had forgotten because my taste buds were so messed up!
My hair isn't growing at all yet that I can tell. I'm starting to panic. I really thought I'd be seeing growth by now. I never lost all of it, I still had little stubble all over, and at one point was growing some wispies on top but they fell out and now I just have stubble all over still. I'm 4 wks 2 days PFC. My hair fell out starting Day 13 after my first chemo.
I won't know until after surgery if I have to have radiation. Apparently if I do it will be about 3 mo after surgery if I understood correctly.
Today I'm having one of those days where I just feel down and tired of having to deal with all this, and mad that it ever happened.
I did 15 min on the treadmill the other night and I was pretty excited by that. I haven't been able to do that since before chemo. During chemo I couldn't walk from the living room to the kitchen without getting out of breath and needing to sit down immediately when I reached the kitchen. I can't believe some women still work out the whole time. I was just depleted of everything the whole time. The constant diarrhea dehydrated me severely and caused my electrolytes to drop and drop and drop. I spent so many hours at the oncology office getting potassium. 2 hours per bag and usually 2 bags. I'm glad I'm done with THAT at least.
I'll stop whining now! We're going to eat at Cracker Barrel for my daughter's birthday tonight! She'll be 17 on 2/3 but we're celebrating today since I doubt I'll be feeling up to it on her actual birthday since I'll only be 6 days post-op. So I'm looking forward to that.
Editing to add that another positive is that the muscle twitching has improved. It’s still happening but much less! That’s nice because it was really nothersome
0 -
KV99, thanks! 😊 I've been taking Nature's Bounty hair skin and nails soft gels for the last couple of months. I just noticed my eyebrows are returning this past week which was 9 weeks PFC. Congrats on your last TC!!
BlueCoconut, they're probably going with expanders because you can't have radiation with implants or at least that's what I was told. Good luck with your surgery!! 🙏
0 -
KV99 - Congratulations on being done with TC! I hope your chemo brain and neuropathy get better. For hair, I'm just taking Biotin and I occasionally put castor oil on my head. Also, my husband washes my hair a few times a week and gives me a long scalp massage. As for healthy eating, I'm getting back into it after not doing as well during chemo either. I ate a lot of ice cream! But, my MO said to just eat whatever you can to keep your strength up during chemo and then get back to a healthier diet once you feel better. So, no guilt!!!! We all did what we did to get through it.
BlueCoconut - Wishing you a successful surgery and speedy recovery! Congrats on a good response to chemo!!! Such awesome news. Don't panic yet about your hair. I only saw a little new stubble around 6 weeks PFC and decent growth beginning at 7 weeks PFC. My eyebrows and eyelashes just started growing again recently (11 weeks PFC). I didn't exercise as much as I had planned during chemo either because my energy was gone. But, you just get through it the best you can. I had lots of muscle twitching, too. It still happens occasionally now, but maybe once or twice a day. Sooo much better. I try to take magnesium every day and I eat a banana every other day to help with that. I hope you enjoyed your dinner at Cracker Barrel! Yum!
0 -
Brilee76, you’re probably right about that. I got so much info at once, even in a follow up appointment, that I couldn’t keep it all straight.
LMS458412, thanks, and I’m glad to know that about the hair growth. I hate not having hair. It bothers me more than I even thought it would.
I’m off to check the surgery packing list and make sure I know what all I need to pack tomorrow. I’ll only be there overnight one night so I don’t think I need much.
0
