For those starting chemo in June

Odalys

Paula and Janie44 - Thanks for the reply. Yes, I do have hand and foot syndrome. It could be part of it but Onc is not sure. Boy is it painful!!!

Good luck on your journey ladies. God bless you all.

mary1220

Girls, the kleenex thing reminds me of a funny one, I sent my hubby to the store for a couple things and I said "pick up some kleenex" and he did and he got chewed out for not buying wallmart brand. He picked up 5 so we wouldn't run out. I make a list and write the exact thing I want now. He don't like to go for me cause he still remembers the butt chewing and I brought it up several times through the next wk. so he would never make that mistake again. Gotta run, well I don't do run but gotta go. Later Ladies, Mary

janie44

Poor ol Tim == Gets into trouble without even trying.

I just read the last few Stupid Things Folks have Said over at the Treatment place. A couple still have me in stitches.

mary1220

HI Girls, Hey P.J. I sure hope those fires aren't anywhere close to you. I have treatment tomorrow. I guess I have until May or June. I don't know. I guess I will go buy some work-out clothes and get a Y.M.C.A. pass and work out and start running and get into shape. I will eat healthy and cut out fat. That will all start the first of the year. Well I thought if I said it I would feel like doing it.....Ha, Ha, Ha, I bet you guys thought I was serious huh? Wow, thats pretty scary just saying it. I might think about it. I could walk up my steps oh say 20 times and that would help. Ahh heck, I can hardly make up the steps to go pee. If I start the crap I have to keep it up. Well, I got some candy (chocolates) half price at Wally and now I have to eat them. I eat one or 2 a day. I did figure up my calories and yesterday I ate 1200. I have to have a late night snack. I don't want my sugar levels to drop too low. We all know how bad that can be. Well better scadadle. I like to watch lost, the guys on there aren't hard on the eyes. Rene, aren't the temps. great? We are low 40's. Later girls. Hugs, Mary

janie44

PJ, Do you still have a house full of company? How's the ol hand/foot syndrome?

Mary, Good luck with your treatment tomorrow. How big of a dose do they give you on that regimen? It is written on the bag. I don't even want to know how many calories I have consumed this week.

Hi Nancy, Renee and Odalys.

It is mild but raining here. It's a Rainy Night in Georgia........hmmm...maybe I'm on to something.

PJB

It was 85 here yesterday, 70s today. one sister leaving tomorrow and another coming back for one day before heading home. it's been a lot of fun.

hands are ok. they're swollen and the skin's weird, but NOTHING like the last time. got the old fluid retention, so my arm is all swollen (hoping it goes away and is not lymphadema) and where my socks go around my legs, it looks all fat and yukky. but after tomorrow, i'm off xeloda for a week and have a week til taxotere. so it'll be smooooth sailing.

so all's well here. glad to hear you guys are doing well, too. mary, if you start exercising and getting all buff, we'll all feel obligated....

paula

mary1220

Good morning Girls. P.J., I want to be a good friend to all you girls so in the honor of friendship I will not start to work out.I just can't do it to my friends and make everyone feel like they have too. That idea is stored with the things to think about at a later date. Maybe a good thing for 2007. 06 looks pretty busy right now. Janie I will check on the dose today. I think they double it. Later, Mary

mary1220

Janie, I am getting a lot of numbness in my left hand now. It is mostly at night. The swelling seems a little worse in my hands and feet.The chemo nurse told me when I mentioned getting queezy sometimes and tired a lot to another chemo pt. that she knows a gal who is going on 2 years on Herceptin and she has no side affects. She then said there are no side affects. Next time she says that I am going to tell her to try a dose or 2. I said good for her. *i*#h. Hugs, Mary

rlswkndr

Oh I miss that warm Texas sun! but like Mary said 40's aren't to bad. Except the snow looks like piles of dirt and the roads freeze every night.
I'm trying to get lots of clutter out of here. So now I have piles for goodwill, garbage, garage sale, etc. Of course, I move from room to room at will so each room has stacks! Maybe I'll just go out for lunch today instead of 'cleaning' more.
Can't wait for all the holiday goodies to be gone. I think I need to eat them for every meal and snack. Good thing Ry and Jess love the cookies.. they should be gone by the end of today.
Anyone have some fun plans for New Year's Eve yet?
Renee

janie44

PJ - 85 ! We are not even close to that! I do hope that you don’t have lymphedema. It is not fun. My right foot is still puffy, but I can get into some of my shoes now. I couldn’t get into 99% of them while on treatment.

Mary – I really appreciate your exercise sacrifice. What a gal! I think most people in the medical field, look at Herceptin scientifically. It doesn’t work the same way chemo does so they think it cannot have side effects like chemo does. DUHHH! Anything that can cause heart failure may just cause a few side effects. I did have one nurse who said she had seen nausea etc. several times. Strange that I no longer have to have Kytril etc. like I did. It must have been in my head. And what about poor Nancy – she ended up hospitalized. In the beginning, one of the nurses and I watched my rash and swelling progress as I was being infused. The rash did eventually stop – I think it was the lasting effects of Taxol along with Herceptin – but I definitely developed a rash for the first few months of Herceptin, and the swelling never went away.

Renee, you can come and organize my mess anytime. I did not do anywhere near what I had planned to do and vacation is almost over.

mary1220

Well I am usually getting treatment now but they are running late today so they called and I don't go until 1:30. I walked up my steps (to 2nd. floor) 6 times in a row and boy, that kinda wore me out. I got a little outta breath. I will try to keep increasing it. Listen to me I will forget tomorrow what I did today and my exercising will be over. I thought this would be like a stair stepper but real stairs. My legs kinda hurt and my muscles felt tired. Gosh, maybe its not good for me. What if I have a heart attack trying to get into shape? What if I fall down the steps? Man, theres a lot of possible "bad" things that could happen to me. I better just be careful and take it kinda easy. I better get going I have to get my thyroid checked today at my Dr. office. Later girls, Mary

janie44

Wow Mary! All that climbling may deplete your energy level. Maybe some chocolate would help. Did you finally get your treatment?

I can't remember. Did anyone else get a lumpectomy? Do you have breast soreness or pain?

Have a good day Ladies.

PJB

i had lumpectomy first time around and did have some pain in it sometimes, but not a constant kind of thing.

so, one of our sisters on these boards is in a bad way. her name is kathy and she and i have met for lunch. she lives here in town. she's in her 50s, homeschools/ed her four kids, the youngest i think is 13. she got diagnosed with mets six weeks or so ago, and has been in and out of hte hospital since and is too sick to do chemo. she's apparently coming home from the hospital today and is going to hospice. it's very sad. another woman on the boards and i are going to try to go see her monday. i can't say i really want to because it frightens me, but i will....

i'm doing fine. a little peely and my arm and ankles are swollen, but i think that's just a side effect from this mix of drugs. lovely...

paula

NancyLee13

Hi everyone from the Arctic Circle!!!--It sounds like everyone survived Christmas and it's on to New Year's Eve tomorrow. So the last time I checked in was the 22nd. Here's why------That night the water went off in our house. I walked back behind the shelterbelt (trees around our house) and tried to get the lid off the well house pit so I could climb in there and see what was going on. AS IF I would even know, but I did take a little meter with me to check the power, but it was all for naught because I couldn't get the lid off. So I called the guy that works on the wells and he said he could come out the 23rd and see what was up. We have bottled water so drinking was no problem and I can walk out to the outhouse just like the old days. But my Mom had to use the inside toilet so I got a milk bucket and hauled water from the rain tanks outside (the part of them that was thawed out) and kept filling the back of the toilet for her. So he came out on the 23rd and got it to trickle into the house, but not enuf pressure to fill the toilet, washer, or take a shower. We had enough that I could boil water and use that to wash dishes and fill the back of the toilet with pans if you waited a long time. It was doable. I had a friend from Michigan who teaches in Jordan come down for Christmas. She helped me haul water for Mom. Also on the 23rd one of my good friends passed away of an inoperable brain tumor. She had been sick for 8 months. It was not a shock, but very sad right before Christmas. She had 2 young children. At the ranch, we had a pretty good Christmas with the water issues aside, but my mom started not feeling all that well. She has blood pressure and heart issues and is suffering from a bit of dementia. So on Monday the 26th the well guys came with a big crane thingy and pulled my well and put in a new pump and it started working just fine. We all cleaned up our acts and I called the hospital and took my mom to town. Once they got a hold of her--they kept her. She's having tests run and has had lots of water removed from her feet and legs. She has had heart problems for years, but it's been very hard to get her to go see a doctor. She's pretty stubborn. Anyway, I may be able to bring her back home this afternoon. It's been snowing and blowing for the past two days and is right now a blizzard. I just heard on the radio that they're thinking of closing the highway due to visibility. When I came home from the hospital last night, my renter and a guy from the road department stopped me on the highway and told me that I couldn't go back to my ranch because the crossing over the dam on my ranch road had collapsed. I told them that I could drive down into the creek and go across the lower crossing. They didn't believe me and actually followed me to the top of the hill that goes down to the crossings to see if I made it. They actually put "road closed" signs on my road. They are supposed to come out today with some equipment and rebuild my crossing over the dam, but I don't know if they'll come and do it with all this snow coming down. I probably won't be able to rescue my mom for a little bit. Ah, the joys of daughterhood. Mary, I love exercise--I could sit and watch other people do it for hours!! In fact I do--The Amazing Race is one of my favorite shows. Those people run all over the place. Janie, someday all my stacked up boxes are gonna fall over on me and that's how I'll probably go. Either that or one of my numerous bookshelves. On the Herceptin front, I looked back over my journals and I was remarking on nausea and diarrhea from the very first treatment, but they all said it was just left over from the Taxol. They kept blaming the Taxol for my rashes and all my digestive problems too. Four months into the Herceptin I was writing in my journals that I was getting pretty sure it was the Herceptin. I had my gall bladder removed in Feb and they thought that maybe that had been causing all my problems. Well, by April I was still having problems and the doctor in Baker actually told me that he thought it was cumulative effects of the Herceptin. My oncologist laughed. HMMM. Then in May I was hospitalized in Glendive for 2 days, June 3 days, July 4 days and August 13 days. In August my PCP jumped on the bandwagon with me after 6 million tests and decided that it had to be the Herceptin. And my oncologist after that marathon reluctantly agreed that H seemed to be causing me H in the gastointestonal department. YA THINK???? So they did cut down the dose because they finally noticed that I didn't weigh 180 pounds anymore and hadn't for a long time. They actually started weighing me each time near the end. BUT bottom line is that I did the whole year and a half of chemo and am still here to talk about it. I'm ER/PR---and HER2++++ also so we shall work through this together as the little guinea pigs that we are--HUH? I also would like to Thank You all for being here for me. I know I tend to ramble. This got longer than I plannned. Well, I'm all alone in the house except for Mom's psycho cat and my looney border collie and they both are wandering up here staring at me so I think I'd better see what's up. Happy 2006 everyone. On my part I think it could be a little less eventful and I'd be happy. Life is Good--Smiles--NancyLee

mary1220

Gosh Nancy Lee, I don't know how you do it. I think our bad weather is bad and I live in town. P.J. and Janie I had a lumpectony too and I wasn't big chested but with the extra 11 pounds I do have a bit of a boob on the left side. My right however was only half the size as the other boob so I had to buy padded bras that wouldn't push in and I couldn't wear tight shirts becausse you could tell a difference. I was a size in a half smaller on the right side. I also had a bad crease at the top from the fat and tissue being removed. Well, they fixed it and it looks completely normal and insurance paid for all of it. I am a little bit bigger but there is still some swelling I am sure. They put implants in both sides so that wt. gain wouldn't make them uneven and they can be added to. I didn't want one perky and the other saggy but my Dr. decreased his pay so as to make it so I could get both. I had no pain for the first wk. I do have some now, tenderness and stretching pain but I love the end results. I would do it again and they look and feel pretty real. I have the silicon around the outside and saline pocket in the middle. I am in a study for silicon and I think they pay for Dr. visits. You have to be in the study to get the silicon, it feels softer and more like real. There is a bit of a weight I notice but I can deal with that. When all the pain is gone I will love them. I also got the tummy tuck as they took fat to replace the big dimple in the top of my boob from the lumpectomy scar and my tummy looks great. I can see my public area again when I look down in the shower. No granny belly....P.J. sorry to hear about the friend. Your right it is scary to see what we may go through. Thats just very sad. Its very nice of you to care. Glad your still plugging along. We will all be free of treatments some day. Later, Mary

janie44

I'm with you Nancy Lee. Regardless of the side effects (which they will eventually recognize and acknowledge), I am so thankful that Herceptin came along when it did and we are all here to talk about it.

PJ, That is so sad about Kathy (Bluekitten). I know her from the Stage III forum. She is such a nice lady. Thank you for the information. She will be in my thoughts and prayers. It has not been that long that she was writing about being cancer free. Everything can happen so fast.

Mary, I had a double breast reduction and right breast lumpectomy. I asked about the pain because I have been experiencing it in my left breast and under arm for a few days. I cannot feel a lump. I am just wondering if this is normal stuff.

janie44

Just wanted to stop by and wish everyone here a very

........................... !!! HAPPY NEW YEAR !!! ....................


A toast to our friendship, our all being here another year and here's to the coming year filled with good news for all of us!

PJB

I'll toast to that! Have a great 2006! (and 7, and 8 and 9 and 10, ad infinitum)

mary1220

Happy New Year Girls. Cooking today and kids are coming over so I will be back later. A toast to another year with my good friends and many more to come. Hugs, Mary

janie44

ARGGHHH! Have to get up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow and get back in the groove. The good news is -- only 12 more weeks until Spring Break!

PJB

Poor Janie. I have another week to revel in sleeping late. School starts again the 10th. I'm loving it.

87 degrees today....

mary1220

Good Morn Girls, It is 52 this morn. WOW! there is a bad storm rolling in at this time and tornado watches but those are pretty common. It is going to drop down to 40 this eve. Jan and Feb. are usually the coldest so we are probably in for it. Rene, isn't this great? You have to be in the 40's. The old below zero is no doubt around the corner. A friend of mine had cancer of the uterus and surgery, no treatment, and this was just before my dx. and her cancer is back in her hip. I am going to call her because I know she is scared. She has no ins. and they took up donations last time for her surg. Our country sucks in health care. We are too busy giving free care, eye glasses and dental work to other countries and thats o.k. but lets take care of our own first. We don't even take care of our Vets. O.K. I will jump off the soap box. Sorry. I hope everyone had a good New Year day. We went to see I Walk The Line New Years Eve and we went at 4:50 and had dinner resv. at 7:30. We went to Springfield. My hubby looked at his phone to see the time it was and it was 7 so he went to ask what time the movie got over as we needed to leave by 7:20 to get to the other side of town. The ding bat girl told him the movie was 5 hours so we left at 7:05. We tell some friends what happened and the movie was 5 hours and laughed at how we could go back tomorrow at 7 and pick up where we left off. Well my hubby looked the movie up on the computer and it got over at 7:20. The girl musta misplpaced her brain temporarily. I bet everyone we told about the 5 hour movie thinks we are NUTS! We were telling everyone and just laughing about it. What we saw was good. We can rent it for the last 10 mins. I had lobster so my meal was excellent. We came home and fell asleep by 10:30. Hubby started his truck driving school today. We use to have ski boats so he and I could both drive a semi. Backing is the hardest part cause the trailer goes opposite of the direction you turn but once you get use to it, it's not hard. Will I have to listen to country music now? Maybe we will buy our own "Big Rig". I wont even mention that cause hubby would jump on that. He just thinks I am going to travel with him all the time. UHHHHH not that much. Oh Lordy girls it will be so nice just to have him outta my way for a while. Yea, he worked in his shed a lot and has been doing things around the house and some actually were good but he has just been under foot. Wanting to go places with me and wondering where I was going and when I would be back. He left an hour ago and called to say he got there and it was storming bad in Springfield. He said he would call on his break. We have to cut the apron strings ya know? Oh well, he is nervous because he is 55 and starting over. He will do fine if his neck and back can take it. Well the medical deductable went up. Gee, I haven't even got last years medical bills paid yet. Better get busy around here. School starts tomorrow and I have to take mothehr-in-law to find out where her cancer is back and what they are going to do for her after I take kids to school then be home to pick them all up. It all starts again. I will be going to visit P.J. when our temps. drop. WOW, I thought our weather was good at 52. Hugs Girls, Mary

janie44

PJ, I just read about Kathy's passing. I know this has to have hit you pretty hard, especially since you and Cowgirl were planning to visit her today. This really happened so fast, it seems so surreal. My prayers are with her family and her friends.

janie44

Mary, We had storm/tornado warning here too. They are pretty common here. Some day I will be so used to the warnings, immunity to being concerned will take over and I will be blown away.

I am sorry about your friend. Sickness seems to be at its worst around the holidays. Kathy's death really upset me along with many others. I had only talked to her a few times, but I did get to know her a little bit. I think she is the lst (hopefully only) person to lose her battle from the Stage III board. It was so fast it blew everybody away.

Did I miss something? Did hubby decide to take the trucking job?

Let's not even talk insurance. Mine changed managers and some woman called me saying I would probably have to change oncs. I found out I don't, but I didn't need that kind of grief. She should have been more sure of what she was talking about.

RIFLMAO at the Walk the Line fiasco. I saw it in Oregon. You missed some of the best scenes! It was not five hours long! That would have been a mini series all rolled into one! The Carter fold is only a few miles from where I was born. I saw Johnny, June and the rest perform many years ago. Even back then, they had a fantastic sound system and a very good show. June was right (in movie). Anita did have the best pipes.

mary1220

Well hello girls, Janie hubby isn't driving yet, he is learning how. He said a couple from here in town are going to school so they can partner drive or what ever it is called. I did not offer. I couldn't do it. I took mother-in-law to the Dr. in Springfield to see where her cancer was. She had a full body pet scan. The ear, nose and throat Oncologist-surgeon as he called himself said there is no cancer they can see so he wanted to do a Cat scan of her lungs. I said maybe it is breast cancer. He said why would you think that? I said because she had it. Oh she did when? She said 25 years ago. He said no it wont come back. What the *#*%? We were there 2 hours waiting to see where it was and what treatments she would get and nothing!!!!! The Dr. is a nut....Iam getting her into my Onk. tomorrow. I was so mad at that quack!!!! Her path report said cells found in lymph node are the kind found in B.C. mets. That dumb *#s. She has waited since before X-mas for this apt. Then the so-called Dr. said it will take a wk. to get the C.T. scan back even though she was getting it done right there right now. I said you could look at it as soon as we get done and tell her something, he said I am leaving in a few mins. We left and came home. What a jerk to make her worry so long and then put her off. He told her before x-mas he was sure it was cancer of the tongue and throat and it isn't. How could he be so cruel? Oh well, we will get her fixed per say. Poor thing. Hope everyone is doing fine. O.K.P.J.? Janie I could kick my hubby's butt about the movie. How could he think 5 hours? Man! and the people we told that we wont see for a time, they will think we are nuts!!! I should of known better than to send him to find out something, and he is going to drive a truck, out of town yet. I know; how can I let him leave the house alone, I guess I just want to see if he can find his way back. Well I better get going. I have to watch the 4 year old grandson tomorrow a.m. so I better get things done tonight because he will want me to play all morning. I keep him on Tuesdays until 1:30. Hi Rene,Nancy Lee,my Little Southern Belle Janie and P.J.

PJB

Mary, what do you play with the 4-year-old? Sounds like fun. Nathan's growing up so fast, I don't even remember what he did (outside of the everlasting, painful legos) 4 years ago.

And, hey, if your husband happens to be trucking through Texas anytime, will you warn me he's coming?

That doc does sound like a quack. Glad you're getting her in to your doc.

Everything is OK here. Looks like I'll be in chemo during the memorial service for Kathy (bluekitten). I'm sort of relieved in a way. It's sort of got me freaked out. Told the onc's nurse today (when I called to get my excellent blood test results) that I've got a little swelling in my arm and legs. (only the right arm;i'm hoping it's not lymphadema) I told her I also had swelling in my tummy, but that that's just because I ate 42 pounds of sweets in the last two weeks.

So, we've had record high temps 5 of the last 8 days, and the fires are still going around the state. The farmers are out of hay because of the drought. It's been a freaky weather year around the world. Hope you all will stay warm! If not, head down here.

Paula

janie44

Hi All,

It is turning cold and will turn colder before morning -- around 20. How is the treatment going folks? Mayo called and my follow-up and MUGA are in February down there. Hope everyone is fine. Later.

rlswkndr

I might have to take another trip to Texas just to see some SUN!!! It's been well over 2 weeks now with not one sigh of it. I think I have the lack of sun disorder! Maybe a peak of it tomorrow, then for sure (yeah right) by NEXT THURSDAY?!! We don't even have any snow left, so it is dreary and cold. So I'll shop today, which I don't usually like to do, but it is for yarn. I taught Ry's girl how to last year and she is going to town. She brought lots with her, but ran out. I am finishing up a second baby blanket for some friends and need to have another project ready to go. I need to scrapbook too, but Jess stays in that room where all my junk is.
Mary, If you traveled with your hubby in the truck, you could write a book on your travels. It would be in the 'comedy' section- a sure best seller based on your postings here. No more money worries then!
Janie- no Dr's till February- what a nice break
Paula- thinking of you during your treatment on the day of Bluekitten's memorial. Stay strong.
Nancy Lee- hope your not to buried in snow!
Renee

PJB

yep, renee, while it's a little coolish today, i think it's suppose to be near 80 again tomorrow. weird. and of course sunny. of course, we've got grass fires that kind of bring it all home. my inlaws live out in the "country" and are always worried they'll be next...

5th of 6th taxotere yesterday, started 4th round of xeloda. doc says since my hands are only peeling and not painful, we're sticking with the dose i'm on. i swear, since i started all this crap, my appearance standards (never really high) have plummeted. i don't care anymore if cashiers have to look at my peely hands and wonder if they'll catch it...

tired, got the red face starting from the steroid, yuk mouth. but soon, it'll be done with. get a pet the week after chemo's over to see if it worked. already nervous...

anyway, probably going home (at work for a bit) to nap this afternoon. hope you all are well and stay warm... or come on down to texas for a dose of heat.

mary1220

HI Girls, Rene I hear you on the sun never shinning and it makes me feel crappy!!! I hate this cold dreary, muddy and damp weather. Hope everyone is fine. I have had a sinus headach thanks to the weather for 2 days now. I have been really tired and I guess its the treatments. I have to get something done to my hair it is just crappy. There is still some curl here and there and it does it's own thing and looks pretty crappy like I have bed head all the time. I just go with it cause with the crappy weather I feel like I could sleep all the time anyway. This no working is a little boring with the hubby gone now. I could at least crab at him for something every couple hours when he was here.I could Keep busy trying to keep him from destructing the house. I will find something eventually part time. I have been getting a lot done when I actually do something. Better get busy and do some ironing. I don't have an excuse of no time to iron now so I can't take it to the cleaners, I do it myself. Now thats a real good time. Later girls, Mary