2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

sherryhaire

Tracy have a wonderful weekend along with the rest of you October Ladies!!!

RoseMarie

Hello everyone!! My parents came to visit with my 91 year old grandmother so I've not been able to get to the computer at all!! It was a great visit. Now I hope to get down to Tallahassee for Memorial Day weekend.

Glad to hear all the good news! Brenda, I hope you get to feeling better!! My hair is nuts too. I have a lot more brown than I initially did but it's still very gray and curly. It's finally starting to look like a real hair do -my parents kept telling me how stylish I looked...but aren't parents supposed to make you feel good??!!
Debbie, I'm glad you're able to "face the date" and move on. I was dx on August 17...
Amy, still keeping you in my thoughts for the boards!! I'm so sorry you had to go through another scare btw.
Mary Anne-ditto - so sorry you're having to play the waiting game!
I guess I need to get a gynocologist here now. I really hadn't thought about a pap at all - busy thinking about everything else I guess.
Well, have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

debbie444

Ok - have been racking my brains, what on earth is a pap???

Just as i was on top, my consultant rang today and gave me a date - 12 June - for my ovary removal. I know its only being done for preventative reasons but after all of the problems i had with my last surgery it has shook me a little. I feel like a hamster - back on the wheel again!

Hope you all have a good weekend

DEbbie

sherryhaire

Finally have an appt withPlastic surgeon on June 13th hope to be able to make a decision on Breast reconstruction, mine is not cut and dry as no fat/skin on top and not much belly fat Wish me luck Debby I'll be thinking of you on June 12th I know you will do just fine

Anonymous

Hi Debbie -
Pap is short for Pap Smear - it's a gyne exam that collects cells from the Cervix to screen for pre-cancer/cancer, infections and inflamation.

I had an Ovary removed 2 years ago. It was done Laproscopically and wasn't very painful at all. I hope it's not too bad for you.
Laura

ravdeb

well, that took a while to get through all the entries I have missed!!!

Amy...SOOOOOOOOOO glad it was NOTHING!!! Great news!! Now you really CAN concentrate on the boards. Thinking of you as you do this "normal" thing :-)

Terynsmom... you did good!! Glad to hear he will be on the other side of the line and may he stay there so that you and your daughter can be safe and happy.

Debbie...good luck with that ovary removal! If it's not one thing it's another!

Maryanne... hope that thing you found is just a thing and nothing worth talking about! Fingers crossed for you!!!

Rosemarie...I'm sure you DO look stylish. They say that to me too (not my parents as they've only seen a picture of me) and I just say, Yea..sure :-)

Brenda...I've had 8 rads so far and I'm very tired, too. Don't know why. could be just the drag of driving there (am an hour and a half from the center) every day or it's the rads or both or just ME! Could hardly get up this morning. But I don't feel like it's a virus. I heard that sometimes rads can make you feel like you have the flu. Maybe this is what you are going through? I have a cousin who didn't get hit with the fatigue from rads ( she didn't do chemo) until a couple of months later.
At any rate...hope you feel better soon...

Feel good everybody!...oh and Graycie...you crack me up...can't even remember what you said or where it was on this thread but I was laughing out loud and thinking about how cute you are!!!

Smile everybody.
Love you all.
ravdeb

ake

had my first haircut the other day...my stylist actually has gone through breast cancer herself, so she knew what to do. she shaped it and textured it with funky scissors and evened it out...it looks so great....like a real, truly truly real hairdo i'm so happy!!!

sherryhaire

Wow a first haircut!!! I am looking so forward to getting to that point Hopefully in another month or so I can get rid of some fuzz and have a really great summer cut

Anonymous

I feel so stupid because I could have prevented this, but I'm sharing something with you, my friends, in the hopes that you do not go through something similar:

If you are on disability or going on disability you need to know that once your sick leave runs out your insurance coverage stops!!!

Unless you elect COBRA coverage that is. Or if you have a husband who will cover you until you go back to "paid service".
I do have a husband who could have covered me, but stupid me, I did not think ahead. He could have enrolled me in March and, as we all know, March has come and gone.
So I am looking forward to paying around $1000 a month to cover me and my family for the next 5 months. This is money I don't have!!
I could pray that we don't get sick between now and September but that is risking a lot.
So there you are. Hope you are learning from my mistakes. Hopefully the rules in Canada, Israel and the UK are different.

Anonymous

Oh God Brenda! Why can't you sign up with COBRA right now or is that your price for COBRA??

For me and Teryn, I pay $418 everymonth and that's just for 2 of us. I chose not to sign up with my employer's insurance because I never wanted to be dependant on that. If you quit work, your insurance runs out at the end of that month. And your new insurance won't cover you for 3 months, so I never wanted to go down that route.

Maybe your husband's employer can help you out somehow???

Anonymous

For those of us over 40 and on Tamoxifen:

ravdeb

Brenda...OMG that's awful!!! Our insurance here is very different and one of the reasons that I feel most comfortable living here. Health and medical costs are very very low and I know I'm very lucky. If they change it to the way it is in the States, we'll be in big trouble!!! We hardly pay anything a month for all of our coverage.

Terynsmom...Love the above one on the hotflashes!!! Had three private vacations in the tropics this evening!

ravdeb

sherryhaire

Brenda--So sorry to hear about your troubles, I guess this why I forced myself to continue working all thru surgery and chemo, I knew I could not afford it otherwise. I will pray that something good comes along.

debbie444

Sherry - I will be thinking of you - in fact i will even volunteer to donate some of my excess skin and fat to you - theres plenty to go around!!
Laura - that is how they will be doing my op - hopefully. Before I had my two kids I had a miscarriage and an ectopic for which i had to have surgery. Until they actually start they are not sure if (as they delicately put it ) stuff may be stuck together and complicate things. With my track record so far i am not writing anything off!!
Brenda - sorry to see you in a mess. Luckily over here all health care is free, you just pay a small amount of National Insurance out of your wages - i pay about £5 a month! The only thing i fell foul of was sickness pay. Because i hadnt been with my employer long i qualified for 2 months full salary and 2 months half pay. Then the state gives you 6 months sick pay at around£60 a week, then you go onto incapacity benefit of about the same amount indef. Unfortunately because i work short hours to cover child care, the powers that be decided i hadnt paid enough National Insurance and didnt qualify when my sick pay ran out. If i had been unemployed they would have paid that and my mortgage and allsorts!! Cant quite get my head round that one!
I am still having no probs with the tamoxifen but will admit to not looking forwards to side effects after the op. At work we call them 'tropical moments' or 'blonde moments'.
I am woiting to see an updated photo of this new haircut - i need something doing with mine, i keep flattening it down and tucking it down behind my ears and hoping for the best!
Mary is quiet - are you still there??
Debbie x

MERAW

POPPY, YOU SOUND LIKE SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN THROUGH THIS - MY SISTER IS GOING THROUGH IT NOW AND I POSTED A SIMILAR MESSAGE TODAY TO ANOTHER PERSON HOPE TO GET SOME HELP - MY SISTER IS SO SICK AFTER CHEMO - 4-8 DAYS - IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP HER? SHE SAYS SHE CAN'T DESCRIBE HOW SHE FEELS - SHE JUST LAYS ON THE COUCH, EATS VERY LITTLE, DRINKS VERY LITTLE, TAKES MEDS IF SHE HAS TO - LET ME KNOW IF YOU ALL FELT THIS WAY TOO.

Anonymous

Debbie, you must have a lot of hair if you can tuck it behind your ears!!
I will be interested to see how your oopherectomy goes since I will be having one as well.

I went to the ps again on Friday and am still hurting from the expansion he did. I only have one more expansion to go and then I have to wait for 3 months for the skin to be stretched and comfortable. Then he will do the exchange. I will hopefully be as excited as our tda!!

---------
Rawly, yes we all felt that way and you are so sweet to want to help your sister. I would recommend going into the forum "Helping Me Through Treatment" and starting there. I remember there were some topics about what a person can do to help another.

debbie444

Kelly - if only it was long all over - it seems to be growing fastest where it looks untidy - over and in front of my ears! When are you having the oopherectomy do you know yet?
Debbie

TracyNY

Quote:

---

I went to the ps again on Friday and am still hurting from the expansion he did. I only have one more expansion to go and then I have to wait for 3 months for the skin to be stretched and comfortable. Then he will do the exchange. I will hopefully be as excited as our tda!!

---

I hope it is humanly possible for anyone to be even half as excited as me!! I am still loving my new tetas and my hair is growing back nicely. I'm waiting for the swelling from the lipo to go down to see the full effects of my surgery.

Those fills can be a bit of sufferation but stay focused on the goal, my sister. By the way, I hope you are getting some peace of mind from your new restraining order.

ake

debbie...i went to my stylist and told her to shape my hair and make it look like it was deliberate...she took these cool textured scissors and made it all choppy and then trimmed it around my ears and neck....i've gotten sooo many compliments.


i can't seem to get a picture to post...don't know why it's working...maybe you can tell by my updated picture. this picture really doesn't show it well because everytime the flash goes off on my camera, the thinner area of my hair at the crown of my head looks crazy bald (it doesn't look like that at all in person!) i don't know if you can even tell what it looks like. all i know is getting my haircut was the happiest i've been in a while

love,
amy

maryannecb

Hi'

Brenda I am very tired too. Can do my day but fall into bed at 9-10 and have a grand sleep.

Debbie good luck with your oopherectomy, love that word. Usually pretty simple surgery.

Rosemarie, got my needle biopsy back of lump in incision area. Inflammatory cells only-so yeah. Have no worries at the moment. First time in a long time.

Sherryhaire, lucky you with not much belly fat. You can have some of mine too. How did you escape the weight gain? Hope you can have implants if that is what you want. I am still convinced thatthe devi,l I know, my scar ,is what I will be most happy with. Perhaps that will change with time.

Amy, I am still pulling at my new hair checking for it to fall out. I am not used to it yet.No sign of eyebrows yet. When do they come back? I am still using the stencils you sent.Thanks.

Brenda, how awful about your insurance. In Canada chemo drugs are covered, but not others. I have a drug plan through my job, continued when I was disabled and now I am back to work. Hope you can sort it out.

Kelly I love your hotflash signs, still hoping for a period.

I spent the weekend at the cottage with my family. It was so peaceful. Had some long walks on the beach and fished a little. Weeded my flower beds so they are all set to plant. I went to the local nursery and picked out my plants, it is too early to plant though as risk of frost goes until mid june. Back home this evening. I work tomorrow intil 2, then have rads and see oncologist. Herceptin on tuesday.

Amy can't wit till I have enough hair to cut.

Fists up!

ake

maryanne...my eyebrows and eyelashes came back completely about a month after my last chemo. they will come back...hang in there. they're just taking their time so they can be as spectacular as ever

Anonymous

Tda, he has already gotten himself in trouble! He was supposed to have a monitor with him and my daughter at all times. According to my daughter, they dropped the monitor off at the monitor's house, went out to the beach and then picked the monitor back up before dropping her back off at my house.

I called the police this morning and they had a little private interview with my daughter and now even if he is not arrested, it is documented that he violated the terms of the visitation!

He just can't seem to control himself!!

debbie444

Well a strange day at school today. spoke to the head and head of spec needs to explain why i would be needing more time off. No probs there , i was in control thought back a year to when i was having to explain last time and i was in peices and felt very strong etc. Then one of my daughters 10 year old friends stopped me in the corridor and reduced me to tears by telling me that at the weekend she had taken part in The Race for Life and had run with a sign on her back saying she was doing it in celebration for 'My friends Mum - Mrs Ward'. It made me realise how many people have been affected by this and also how i seem to have lived the last 12 months in full view of everyone. It also made me realise what a massive support system my family have been lucky enough to have in that time.
Felt abit of a fool as i shot off into the staff toilets to wipe eyeliner off of my cheeks tho. I can tell its that time of the month approaching , i cry at the Waltons and Extreme house makeover at the drop of a hat!!

Amy - have squinted at the little pic - cant really see your hair but it must be good as your smile is enormous!!
Debbie

Anonymous

tda -
Congrats on your new "tetas"! So happy for you...and quite envious!

Amy -
You look great! Hope the studying is going well.

Everyone -
I am absolutely miserable w/hot flashes and even more often and intense are night sweats. The Tamoxifen has made them worse. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Laura

chumfry

I had a bit of a meltdown last week and it kind of surprised me. I have been doing so well and feeling so good. But I was writing a sympathy card to a friend whose mom had died of Alzheimer's and I just started thinking about the stats my oncologist had given me for my own prognosis.

Now I know we're not statistics and I usually don't think about it much. But my onc said I've got a 1 in 4 chance of being dead in five years, even after chemo. And for some reason I just got fixated on it and cried all night.

I think my meltdown might have been partly prompted by everyone around me saying, "Now you can put that cancer behind you and go on with your life!" In fact, *I* even say that to myself! But it's like I've got this big weight I'm carrying around that no one else can see.

I guess this is pretty normal but I was still kind of surprised by it. My exchange surgery is in two weeks, so maybe that's making me think more about it. Sigh.

Anonymous

I started using mangosteen for the hot flashes. I got some from a friend because she wanted to help me start using it since it supposed to have so much more anti-oxidents in it than other fruits. But .... guess what, the hot flashes have started decreasing and the intensity has reduced, too. Instead of waking up at night 3 or 4 times, maybe I will wake up once!! Or not at all!!

marymelodi

Hello to everyone:
Debbie, thanks for noticing I've been quiet here. Last week every time I wanted to write a bit, something else got in the way and I had trouble viewing the website. I take it there was some difficulty.

I am glad to know everyone is getting along. I have no advice on what to do for the hot flashes or night sweats. Haven't had the "pleasure" yet. My current state is that I have developed a slow-to-heal, open wound where I had the booster radiation treatments. It is about 1 inch by 4 inches, right along the lumpectomy scar. That is where they gave me extra treatment, to reach the tumor "bed." So, the skin there must have been just "fried." It came off leaving very tender, unprotected tissue beneath. They have me cleaning if a couple of time a day and applying silver sulfadiaziene cream, which has an antibiotic action. It hurts a bit, but I can manage. I cannot let it dry out because then it cracks and bleeds. Kind of annoying, but I have hope that it will improve during this next week.

This wound has me discouraged. I thought with the last treatment, my focus on BC was over. But no, it still continues and I have been kind of feeling how very tired I am of having to worry about this. I hope to find that fading away after awhile.

Hope everyone had a very nice weekend. Tracy - going away with your friends should have been great! Maryanne - your time at the beach sounded very nice. Amy - good luck with your studies. I believe you will do very well on the boards.
Best wishes to all,

Anonymous

Cindy, why would your doctor tell you that you have a 1 in 4 chance of being dead?? Your nodes were negative, right? But I know how you feel. Sometimes, I keep thinking how much bad luck I have had: getting cancer, being her2+++, having the herceptin prove toxic to my heart, etc ..... ugh, but I gotta try to stay positive.

chumfry

I think it's because of the size of my tumor (4.6 cm) and my triple negative status. Perhaps I'm remembering the statistics wrong. Maybe the onc only said I have a 1 in 4 chance of recurrence, not death. She dropped this info on me right before my second chemo, way back in October, so I had a serious case of chemo brain.

I'm back to feeling OK about it now. It was really just one weepy night. It just kind of surprised me, since I have been doing so well, and I wondered if anybody else at this stage of recovery was hitting this wall.

Friends: "Oh, you look so great! Cancer's behind you now!"
Me: "Ummm...not really."

daydream

Hello!

It's nice to read the messages and catch up on everyone. I was done with AC in December, and started Herceptin in January--few side effects, thank goodness!

I have enough hair to go without a wig, etc., and I have gained 10 badly needed pounds. Sooo...I was slowly getting my strength back and ...My husband broke his leg, badly! So, I had to develop some physical and emotional strength very quickly. I think it actually helped my get stronger--I had to do everything! He's better, but it's going to be a long recovery for him.

I am due for exchange in two weeks. Yay! I can't wait to get this hockey puck out of my chest. I'm down-sizing, and will soon have perky, small boobs. Tank tops, here I come!

I haven't had time to read all the thread, but it is great to hear from people and see how their journey is going.

I'm not here often, but it's been a great help.

Take care, everyone.

Susan