Starting Chemo June 2017

Hap B, there is an interesting thread called Moving Beyond Cancer/Eyebrows Months After Chemo Has Ended on this forum.

I am thinking of having my eyebrows tattoed.  I am getting tired of painting them on.  If I do I will report and show before and after photos.

peachy, love the Lauren Bacall voice 😂, I’ve had it for 2 weeks now. Had a cold last week and tons of snot and a cough. I’ve pulled my back out coughing. Now everything has cleared up except the voice. I’ll start calling it my Lauren Bacall voice, my kids won’t know who that is. I call their dramatic penciled in eyebrows, their mommy dearest eyebrows.

No headaches from Herceptin but I always get the runny nose and food tastes change for a week after infusion.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, 1 more day of Springs Break

Just checking in with everyone. Seemed to be doing pretty well. I went ice skating last Friday and took a hard fall. Lucky I didn't break anything. My wrist and coccyx bone are still sore. I am done with ice skating!

I start PT tomorrow to try and get this range of motion back in my right arm. It improved 20 degrees since late December, but I need another 40 to go to get to match my left.

Peachy, I hope your father does well. Glad they seemed to have caught your aunt's lung cancer early. There is just too much. I hope you will continue to stay strong with your continued treatment. Big hugs!

Hello lovely ladies - I just got fitted for my compression sleeves for flying to prevent lymphedema.  I foolishly forgot to get them before my last flight and had some swelling that only lasted a day.  That was my wake up call I guess.  There is lots of controversy about whether these things even work but I am going to give them a try. Not covered by medicare.

They just measure your arms in about 10 places.  Sometimes they have one in stock or in some cases they have to order a custom one.

LTWJ: I'm finally getting my hair. Still not enough to cut but it is starting to grow. I've actually been brave enough lately to go out without a hat on.

Hello all....it's been a few weeks. I went to FL and happy to say dad was released from the hospital the day I arrived. With congestive heart failure, it will always be a challenge. His heart is too weak to prevent fluid build up and they have to be careful with diuretics because his kidneys are not good. His potassium level was nil so they immediately got him taking potassium pills. He lost a lot of the fluid and now needs physical therapy and to MOVE. He was not motivated. He was depressed because of cataracts limiting his eyesight. He had both eyes done last week and sight is much better. This lifted his spirits. Now he says he will do the walking/therapy because he feels more confident now that he can see better. I said I understood why he was hesitant to walk when he couldn't see, but now there is no excuse. There are plenty of things that are out of his control. Physical therapy is in his control and he needs to do it. A little bit of role reversal but somebody had to give him the talk. Ha.

I had my 4th infusion Thursday before Easter. That was the last one that included the CMF chemo. Going forward it'll be Herceptin and Perjeta only. Should mean much less time in the chair and no side effects from steroids and anti-nausea meds and no more Neulasta shots. Yay!! Every other time I don't even need to see the doctor or nurse-just infusion so even less time overall. I'll start Tamoxifen again in a couple of weeks and start thinking about the exchange surgery.

I need to go for my 3 month echo cardiogram. I do not seem to have any signs of heart issues so not too worried about that.

So I pretty much know what I'll be feeling after each infusion but had a weird day last Saturday. I felt very sore. Not bone pain, but anything "soft" was super tender. My belly felt as if I did a thousand crunches (trust me, I did not!) and just under my armpits and back were tender to touch. Felt like I was beaten. It only lasted that one day but it was a new thing and a little freaky.

Nowadays I deal mostly with loose stools, runny nose, hot flashes and leg cramps. Lost a bunch of eyelashes and eyebrows again. Boo. Hair on my head continues to grow in....a little slowly, but hey it's coming. Below was taken 03-04-18. Sorry for the size.

I hope all are doing well and are starting to get some Spring. Mother Nature is holding back on warmer temps here in NY but I think I'm going to escape snow this weekend at least.

glad to see we are all hanging in there for the most part..I have had a whirlwind of a week or so..tons of family coming into town to see my Dad..he had had prostrate cancer which had spread to his bones for the last 7 years and also suffered from COPD..unfortunately my Dad passed away last Thursday from the COPD..he had gotten pneumonia and his poor body just couldn't handle it anymore. He lived about 10 minutes from me and I was so happy I was able to see him the day before ..I just knew by the way he looked it wouldn't be long..luckily I was able to give him gentle hugs and tell him how much I loved him and how sorry I was to see him hurting..his last words to me were "shit happens"..ha! He had me laughing right up to the end..then last Monday I had my gallbladder out because what they thought was a polyp turned out to be two stones.i feel like i did a million sit ups...now more family and I'm in a wedding on Saturday..ahhhh I can't wait until I don't have to do anything at all..no commitments..I'm a exhausted...other then all this I'm still doing herceptin every 3 weeks with joint pain almost like the flu but after tomorrow I'll only have 5 left..on a lighter note my hair is growing in good and my brother actually cut it for me the other day..I hope everyone has a wonderful week and we all have a better summer then last year. .I consider this my summer redo

thank you ladies..hapb I'm just on the Herceptin and you are correct that it is no picnic..my new hobbies are walks in a newfound park, the occasional beach outing and a lounge on my couch with the heating pad

Susie, I am praying for your speedy recovery. I'm so very sorry to read about the EKG findings. Chemo is so aggressive and one never knows the long-term complications. I pray the EKG results have no bearing on your long, healthy and happy life.

Spring cannot arrive soon enough. I had planned to visit family in the Midwest last week but ended up rescheduling the trip for May. My hometown received over 14 inches of snow! In one day! Whatever happened to April showers?!?

Hello June ladies!

hhuey so sorry for your loss. I smiled at your dad's last words to you. He's right. Shit happens! It sounds like he knew how to roll with it when it does. May he be at peace and may his memory keep you laughing.

susie Hope you are all recovered from the ovary removal. Sorry to read about your EKG results. I have to get an echo every 3 months to check my heart. It's a reminder that besides the cancer - the cure could get me. ugh.

I had lunch with a friend today at one of our favorite lunch spots. A year ago this Friday, we sat in the same place after I had my first biopsy. I was still hanging on to hope that it would come back negative while secretly "knowing" the image on the ultra-sound was far too funky to be benign. It was strange to try and have normal conversation over lunch while my brain spun crazy scenarios! The beginning of many strange days to come. Flash forward a year and I'm still checking boxes.

The 2nd short course of chemo has ended and I'm down to Herceptin and Perjeta for the next 8 months or so.

I am scheduled for my exchange surgery on June 4. Finished my last chemo 4 weeks ago so I got the thumb's up for surgery. Happy to get the expander out and move on to what will hopefully be a little more comfortable. It hasn't been terrible with the expander, but there is definitely room for improvement in the comfort category.

I don't know if I want to start retaking Tamoxifen now or wait. I'll have to stop 2 weeks before surgery so would be 3 weeks on, 2 weeks off, then back on after surgery. I wonder if that may be too much of a roller coaster. I have a message in for my oncologist to weigh in and give me her recommendation.

All in all I feel good. Every 3 weeks I am reminded I am battling cancer when I sit in the infusion chair. Other than that, I can get on with every day life.

My heart is aching, though, for my beau's grandson. At 12, he has been diagnosed with a very rare cancer (desmoplastic small round cell tumor) that has a very poor prognosis. 4 weeks ago he was fine. Felt a lump under his rib on a Sunday. Monday he went to the dr and scans revealed the mass. Originally called a neuroblastoma that has gotten entwined in his aortic artery. The DSRCT research I have done is depressing and heartbreaking. Currently in a holding pattern. He may come up to NY to go to Memorial Sloan Kettering or to Houston to MD Anderson. St Jude's rejected him saying it was too rare, they don't have an open study or the personnel to treat properly. Apparently, only 200 cases have been reported since 1989. If you are so inclined, please send up a special prayer for Brody. Cancer sucks. Cancer in kids is beyond comprehension.

Hello to all! It is has been too long. I had a wonderful 11-night cruise vacation to the Panama Canal. I felt great and was out later than my DH most nights. Woke up last Friday with bacterial pink eye! It's still with me but slowly getting better. I guess it feels good to get something "normal?"

hhuey, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your father (so grateful you were able to say goodbye).

Peachy, your hair is looking great. It seems like you are doing well! Glad your chemo is over!! Such difficult news about Brody. I cannot fathom your family's pain, and I pray peace and a miraculous healing for him.

Susie, I hope the heart issues will resolve. Stay on top of it. Are you having any issues from your ovary removal?

Julia, I wore my compression sleeve on my flights and had no issues. My PT measured me when I got back, and I was a tad bigger. I did get some slight sun, which she said could have caused that. I will remain in PT for another six weeks. We are making great strides to get me with a more normal range of motion. She said a lot of the pain I feel in the ribs was caused by the radiation. She's an amazing PT. I am so glad I agreed to this. She has taught me a lot! Stretching is essential to get through this. I guess I will stretch forever...lol

Friday will be my one-year diagnosis - May 4th -- when the force wasn't with me. This year, I will be seeing my Gyno on that day -- the one who called and told me the news. I am going to ask if I need to consider having my ovaries removed.

I seem to be doing ok on the Letrozole. The joints don't hurt like they did in the early weeks. I forgot to take it for the first time last week. Woke panicked and just took in the morning. If I have to take this for 10 years, I am sure it won't be the first time I forget. I have learned to relax about some things. My first post-treatment mammo is May 16th. DH is going with me. It may be an anxiety-filled day, but I choose to just enjoy today for what it is. (Pink eye and all)

I was happy to get out and do SUP in the Bahamas. I love doing this. I feel for the first time but was able to get back on the board. My PT wasn't sure I would have the core strength. This was the first picture I showed her upon my return. I give her credit!

Haven't posted much but do drop in once a week to see how everyone is doing.

Looking good Kim. I've forgotten at least two times that I can remember to take my Letrozol. I'm thinking there's probably enough in my system day over day that one day wouldn't matter.

I'm really trying to put this whole BC behind me. I got a little emotional last week as that was the one year anniversary of my operation. Funny, my diagnosis day came and went without any problems. Now, I'm not looking forward to my first mamo in two weeks. I also saw a report that says Mammos do more harm than good.

Oh, and I finally have some hair although my gosh it's taking forever to come back. It's at the sticking straight out stage. The only positive thing about all this is that the 8 lbs of weight I lost on chemo is still off.

Fingers and toes crossed that we all stay cancer free for the rest of our lives.

Pink and Moody, Well, I can't blame you for not worrying about missing a pill or two. This is a precaution, and we are doing the best we can in all this.

Pink, Glad you are getting some hair and have kept 8 pounds off. I have kept off about 3. I am ok with that. I have heard stories of 30-40 lb weight gains on this meds, so I am hoping that is not the case for everyone!

I have a follow-up with my radiologist today. I am sure it will last 2 minutes or less. What can she say? No redness or such, and thankfully I did well throughout. I do have some tenderness in my right rib cage I will mention to her. My PT says it's Rads related. PT wouldn't do therapy on me this week because I am battling a really bad cold. Crazy how I could have done so well all throughout my treatment then this is just a bugger-bear. I can tell today is looking up. I have coughed my throat raw. 'Tis the season for such!

So proud of how far we have come, ladies. Troopers all!

Happy mothers day to all moms and daughters. My mom just celebrated her 92nd birthday.  My dad has settled in to memory care so that makes it easier for us when we go to visit him every afternoon. I am blessed to have them both.  I had a nice call from my son.  We saw him and his wife last weekend and will go to see them again this weekend. He called me today and put a sweet post on facebook about how he is grateful for modern cancer medicine.  Love to all my sisters here online.