Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

TPPJ

Bella's adorable, Rebecca. Sorry she's got "issues". I'm sure it'll sort itself out. Your vet story reminds me that I need to make sure Snowball is up to date on shots or they won't kennnel him next week when we go to Myrtle Beach.

Pat, all good info. regarding the nurse. This woman could kill someone some day. Focus on that Viddie. You could be saving a life. It blows my mind that some of these scatterbrained types can get through nursing school, let alone chemo nursing.

Caya, your suggestion about throwing a few good points out there to soften the blow reminded me of my daughter, Jaclyn, telling a girl she thought was mean that her "shirt was really beautiful"... so the girl would be nice to her. She came home, told me what she said and proclaimed it a wonderful day of playing. Six years old and she's a schmoozer. I'm so not (If I tell you I like your shirt, I really like it). My DH can be (when he wants to be), so she must have picked it up from him.

meliaanne

Hi All,
Taxol 11 yesterday, one more to go!!

Viddie, I agree with the advice to speak with the head nurse. My group has 5 nurses and they tend to just take whichever patient they can as they are free; I like them all so never care which one I get. But if I did, I would want to gather the wherewithal to speak to Charlene, the head nurse. And they always explain to me what they are doing, show me each bag, check it against the id bracelet that I am issued each time, etc. They always ask if they can use whichever vein they select, are very caring and gentle. I bought keihls (my fav) lotion for all of them and am going to give them each a note and a tube of lotion next week in these cute gift bags I found. I do think that there are blessings for me in all of this, and I would count the nurses in the chemo room as five of those blessings. I wish you had that also.

Skye, good for you for speaking up. Paws are paws in or out of the rad treatment room.

Rebecca, I had to giggle about the kitten. I am sorry you have so many treatments to handle for her, but just look at her little face! I think God maybe sent her to the most compassionate mommy He could find. Many people would return her, but here you are nursing her back to health. Bless you for that.

Nancy, glad the port is out. I never had to have one, was a little surprised, but pleased. Not crazy about med procedures at this point.

Caya, I hope the next herceptin is easier for you. I keep looking at your fam photo, such lovely women, all three.

Tina, I cannot imagine, can only hope, to have your kind of energy again! Good for you. Right now walking into work is my main achievement! and falling onto the couch when I get home.

Thank God for all of you.

Best,
Melia

Anonymous

Rebecca – that picture of Bella is way too cute! I think adopted pets are the best – she’ll need lots of work and love, but you already know it will be worth it. She sounds fantastic. I’m sure she’ll be grateful (in her cat way) for all of the care you give her. And you needed something to keep you busy anyway, right? (just kidding!)

Viddie – this thing with the nurse is really getting to me. I think you have to say something – if for no other reason then to protect other patients who might not be able to catch her errors. Let us know what happens. Sending lots of good thoughts your way.

My DD is at the zoo today with her summer camp. It’s a long bus drive and it makes me so nervous to have her running around without MY supervision. Her teachers are great – but I always worry so much. I gave her the ‘what do you do if you get lost’ quiz at least twice this morning. Ugh. She won’t get back until after 5 today – I can’t wait. If she’s not too exhausted we are going to go to a nearby horse show. Both of my girls are horse crazy (what is it with little girls and horses?) The show is outside in a woodsy/shady park so it should be really nice if we can keep the bugs away.

viddie

Hi,
Thanks everybody for your advice. I WILL say something to the charge nurse tomorrow when I get my tx. Thanks for pointing out that ruffling feathers should be the least of my concerns. I didn’t even think about the safety of the other patients. Pat, your experience both as a nurse and a patient sure gave me the goose bumps- if that were the wrong chemo instead of lasix, yikes!! I promise I will speak up. Thanks everyone once again for helping me think clearly.
Caya,
Thanks for your suggestion as how to approach the topic. She is very nice, so I will start with that and suggest that I think she needs more supervision. I hope your infusion goes well today. The first herceptin is always the worst. This one hopefully will be better.
Pat,
I also feel good the next day after tx, and I crash on days 3 & 4. We are almost done!!! That was interesting that your oncologist said most patients have problems finishing the taxol. When I told my oncologist about my swelling, she gave me lasix, but didn’t mention lowering the taxol dosage. I will not be seeing her again until September. She probably thinks I will call her if I have any more problems. At this point, I wouldn’t mind skipping a week. Do you have any joint pain or neuropathy? How is your swelling today? I hope the lasix helps. It took me around 2 days before the bloating went away, and now I feel better. My oncologist told me to only take the lasix every other day and only if I have bloating. They are all so different.
Melia,
Only one more!!! Will you be taking tomaxofin or arimiden after you are done? We can celebrate next weekend!!!
Rebecca,
Poor Bella. I feel for both Bella and you.. She is so cute. It is a huge responsibility to care for a sick cat. Melia is right- many people would return her- only someone as special and caring as you, would nurse her back to health again. Hopefully she is on the amends now. Good luck today with your radiation appointment.
Viddie

dkmaustx

That is so scary about getting the wrong meds. All the nurses in the chemo room at my center seem to be extra carefull about showing me my name on the label and telling what the med is. It pays to keep track of this sort of thing.

NOLONGERREADINGORPOSTING

Jan, Love your new wig!!! The short one!!! It's looks so natural and pretty. I think one of the serendipities of BC is losing your hair and finding out you look better in short hair. I cut my hair short right before chemo and I loved it!!! Caya, I'm dying to see what you're gonna look like in short hair too. Now, if those 5 wigs I ordered would just arrive. Paula Young certainly is slow when it comes to shipping.

Rebecca, you kitty is very, very sweet and it is kind of you to adopt her. It's a big job now (and I wonder how you can even handle it) but she'll repay you with endless love and gratitude. Can your girls help with this?

Today is a Big Day in my corner, over here with Puppy & Mena. We find out if Mena's tykerb has been working. She had her scans on Tuesday; she has mets to her lungs that were in progression before the tykerb, so this test is pretty important. Puppy in the meantime has a brain aneurysm and a big bulge on her head that hurts, and a brain cath scheduled for July 9 which isn't soon enough in my book!!! Hopefully we'll get some good news today.

Viddie, a bad nurse was the bane of my existence in chemo. You need to be your own best advocate. I ended up having to write a letter to the department about her; I didn't like "tattling" on her but my health and the health of other patients was in serious jeopardy!!!

Battery's dying, got to quit. I'll check in later!!!

Mizsissy

dkmaustx

Rebecca, when I first saw that lateest pic of her I thought you'd done a halo effect around her head. I was wondering how you did it. Then I read your post, saw her poor paw in the pic and figured out it was a protective collar. I hope she's on the mend and will be all better soon.

wayover20

Hi Viddie and yea to our run down the finish line!! Today is thursday and I still feel great (I think the aranesp gets me that way for a few days). After one dose of the lasix the swelling is down to nothing and that' probably another reason i'm buzzing around the house cleaning out closets and stuff. I hope your feeling as well.

It's raining like CRAZY here and there's only indoor stuff to do so I thought I'd clean and get rid of stuff as I'm trying to "simplify my life" by dumping things I have no use for anymore.

The day after my last taxol my family and I are heading to the gulf coast to watch them shoot fireworks off the USS Lexington on the Corpus Christi bay the night of the 4th. It's been a long time family tradition and always was my mom's "getaway place" when she started her cancer journey. Now 11 years after her death we still get together to reminisce and enjoy.

Hugs to all
Pat

skyedivine

Rebecca, Bella is an enchanting little creature and I'm sure your tlc is just what she needs to heal.
Pat, fireworks sound like the best last-Taxol celebration ever. What a great idea.
Viddie, all my thoughts and encouragement on that nurse hassle. You seem so innately kind that I'm sure whatever you say will be exactly right. I'm anxious to know how that turns out.
As for me, the xray machine broke down today so I get the day off! I'm so happpy not to have to see Mr. Paw.
I can't remember who said they were now going topless around the house but I am too, and every time I glimpse myself in the mirror I think I resemble a religious ascetic, like I should be wearing a saffron robe or burlap cowl. It isn't pretty but at least it feels distinguished.
Are we chatting tonight? - Skye

IowaCindy

Pat is absolutely right. Please speak up, Viddie! As a friend says "you're the only you we've got!" We don't want anything to go wrong.

Cindy

IowaCindy

Ahhh, Rebecca - that is the sweetest photo. I love that. Hope all goes well with her treatment.

Everyone has been so busy. We are approaching new phases of this journey, aren't we?

I've just got to holler for a moment to someone(s) who will understand I'M DONE WITH RADS!!!!!!!!

And I don't have any kind of doctor's appointment for 3 weeks. That is the longest break since the end of September.

I alternate from tears and giggles.

So I'm going away for a little while - a day or two - to let myself absorb this and then I'll be back.

Y'all continue on the road to the other side.

Cindy

Rebecca

WooooHooooo cindy! Celebrate!!!!

Bella is doing well today, she seems to have found her kittenish spunk (apparently it was at the bottom of her food bowl) She does NOT like having her paw soaked, and as a result I often wind up wearing the antiseptic.

We had a good day today running around, and I qualified for my zap! The onc said "well, it is not perfect, but it will do" and he sent me down to the machine. What fun! Each zap is one zap closer to the last one.....

wayover20

Hey it seems like we're feelin' good today betwen Skye going topless and Cindy done with rads! TGIF!

Viddie, I forgot to say no other meds for me after the chemo, tumor was triple neg.

skyedivine

Cindy, so proud of you and happy for you. You deserve some time to yourself for whatever! Just don't forget to come back to us!
Guess I'll go check the chatzy site to see if anyone's on.
Skye

Nancyab

Skye-Love your name for feely meely - Mr. Paw LOL
I woke up this morning at 4 am with a fever, body aches and nausea. I took some motrin and went back to sleep. by 7 I had to go to rads and I felt so crappy. I was crying and had Jeff drive me there. They saw I was not myself, I showed them my incision for the port removal and already it is red and hot. Geezy!!! So now on antibiotics, again!!
I went ahead with treatment and then came home slept a bit then went into work to get payroll done ( afraid the staff would not understand not getting paid) I came home took a pain killer and slept until 7:30, guess I'll be up all night. I really wish I could get my body clock normalized. I could sleep my life away and still not feel rested.
I'm going to get Jeff to get my bike ready for some serious riding. I've got to quit this napping stuff! I want my energy back!!!!
Get well wishes to Bella, she needs to be our group mascot!!

TPPJ

Congrats on the end of rads, Cindy! Great news. Nancy, sorry you are still having a time of it all. Rebecca, glad you got your zap. My Herceptin was fine today...uneventful except for two sticks to get the vein. We are now onto the inside of my wrist. Bloodwork was all good. Had a babysitter here for the kids so took advantage and ran into Trader Joe's and Hobby Lobby afterward for some ME time. Came home to discover Paul had a baseball game at 5:30...found out at 5:15. Hung there til it was rained out at 7:30. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.

trumpkin46

Quote:

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God, all the flip flopping is annoying. I guess not nearly as bad as the flip/flop on A/C...

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what's the flip flop? My daughter had AC. I had FEC.

Alice

Rebecca

Good morning everyone. The swelling in Bella's paw is noticeably less now, so she is officially on the mend. WHEW! Like my poor kids have not been through enough with me being sick, the last thing they needed was to have something happen to this kitten. The worst problem i am having is keeping her from licking her paw...she seems to have figure out how to get her tongue around the silly collar.

As for me, my (un)boob has officially gone PAST toast...I have blisters in my armpit and down my side now. I started to be in pain last night, and today I have a horrible ache all down my side. I have a baaaaad feeling about this I just hope that I do not have more delays because of my skin. I am going to keep my lips sealed and hope for the best....8 more to go......

Quote:

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what's the flip flop? My daughter had AC. I had FEC.

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Alice, the flip flop had to do with that study that showed that Adriamycin was only effective in a very small percentage of patients.

meliaanne

Cindy, congratulations on finishing rads! what a great feeling it must be. enjoy your time away.

Nancy, so sorry about the port site problem. These setbacks are so distressing.

Rebecca, glad Bella is doing well, but I am sorry to hear about the burn and discomfort. Rads do not sound like an easy trip.

I have a busy day today, have to go a couple of hours for a meeting but was able to figure out how to justify having someone come along to help. It involves making about 15 trips upstairs with merchandise to show, so now I have someone young and healthy to help with that. Yea!

I am facing a dilemna on Sunday. My father, who is elderly, has a multitude of ailments, is in perhaps early dementia, and to whom news of my cancer is always a new shock since his memory goes, is having legal issues with his county. My brother and I feel we should go see him on Sunday and explain what is going on. That involves a 90 min flight for me, and a long day. I am worried about this as my swelling is not any better, my toes and fingers are painful, and I have blood work and a dr appt Tues before my last chemo on Thurs. I am afraid this trip will have a bad effect on me physically, but my brother is so dear and has been so stalwart (and terrified) during my battle that I hate to leave yet one more unsavory task for him. What do you think? What I am really weighing here is a possible delay in treatment, not important over the long run, vs helping my brother ... seems like a clear choice to me?

Melia

TPPJ

Melia, I don't think it's a good idea to force yourself to make add'l flights at this time. Couldn't your brother put you on speaker phone? Or can't it wait until, say August? That's not that far off. You've got your work trip to contend with and even though most intra-Calif. flights are under an hour or so, you still have to deal w/all the airport check in stuff, sitting on the tarmac if the runways are jammed... the whole experience can be draining. Everyone tells you that this is the time to think of your needs first.

Rebecca, that s*cks about your burns... even reading about it is painful. God...... hope that turns around for you.

TPPJ

Rebecca, Bichons get what they call "hotspots" and they lick their skin so much, the fur disappears. I googled it and sure enough, the pet store had an oil called "Hot Spot" tx. Bought it and it tasted so nasty, he immed. stopped licking. Maybe there's something similar for cats?

tlc60

Good Morning gals!
Rebecca- glad teh kitty is on the mend, and Cindy Whoo Hoo! on finishing rads!
I had my last radiation yesterday too. I can't believe I have transitioned from cancer patient to cancer survivor just like, in a few seconds. My tech's (who were awesome) tossed confetti and gave me "diploma" to celebrate.
Being a triple neg, this is it for me - we've done everything we can, now it's just monitoring for any pains or aches (I'm feeling pretty old, so I have those!) and having a mammogram every 6 months.
This weekend I am chairing a CAST For Kids event, where we take special needs kids on the lake for a morning of fishing. We've been planning for months, and it's finally here! We have 50 special needs kids (several with cancer) and 3 bass clubs coming out to fish tomorrow. It is going to be so much fun. This is my 7th annual event, and I look forward to it every year.
Have a great day ladies!
tlc

Rebecca

Melia, I think you should either skip this one or put it off until later in the summer. I am afraid of the change in pressure and what it might do to your swelling...not to mention the stress of it all. You need to take it easy so that you can finish treatment smoothly.

Tina, thanks for the tip...not sure if that would be ok for Bella since it is an open wound, but my border collie does a LOT of licking, and he too licks his fur away. I wonder if that would help him?

TPPJ

Oh, I'm sure it would work on the collie, Rebecca. It's about $8 for the bottle. Previously when the dog had it I took him to the vet. I googled hot spots and found a site where a bichon breeder recommended this stuff and it worked after the first application. Saved me a big vet bill. Speaking of which, I need to make sure his shots are up to date so I can board him next week. I know he's up to date on the imperative ones, but I think there are a few optional ones he's not...

skyedivine

Melia sounds like too much for you! It would be for me. Think how bad your brother would feel if you did this and then got an infection or something. And delay in treatment really is not a good thing. I'd think it over some more.

Nancy, that now makes two just in this little group with infections from port removal. I'm wondering if it's more common than they like to admit. Hope that clears up real fast.

And Rebecca, your skin, I wince to think of it. Mine is doing ok so far but the boob itself is already hardening some. I wonder that there isn't something better to treat that kind of burn with. Or will they give you a longer break? Total sympathy here.

TLC congrats on the last rads! That is so cool that they did the confetti thing for you, makes it feel truly celebratory. I feel a sense of relief every time one of us finishes something. Lots of little victories add up to a feeling of a big win.

My dear departed Lhasa, Tundra, used to have hot spots, especially the older she got. One got infected something nasty, wish I had had that stuff to put on them. I'll know better for next dog(s). Hoping to get a Lhasa or shi tzu or two, perhaps early fall.

Hoping they got the rads machine fixed so I don't miss another treatment today. Happy weekend everyone, - Skye

Anonymous

Nancy – sorry to hear about the infection, I hope the antibiotics clear it up very quickly.

Rebecca – blisters, ouch! I hope there’s some improvement over the weekend so that you don’t have another delay. Glad to hear Ms. Bella is doing better.

Melia – I think you should ask your doctor’s opinion before such a long flight. I would worry more about the possibilities of blood clots and such from the flight more than the tx delay.

TLC – congrats on finishing treatment! The CAST event sounds like a great time. I hope you enjoy it.

Skye – I hope the machine is fixed and that all goes well.

meliaanne

Thanks for all the advice. I called my brother and told him I just can't. He is the best guy in the world and said no worries, but I feel badly. He has had so much to handle this year. He keeps telling me, though, that he would rather handle what he has had to do than what I have had to do. What a blessing he is in my life.

Tina, congrats! Hopefully we will all be done soooooon. All these poor burned ladies. I wish I could hug all of you, but it would just hurt you!
Melia

TPPJ

CONGRATS to you, TLC! Have fun at your event. Sounds like a good time. Skye, I can't imagine they'd allow the machine to go unrepaired for more than a day... seems like patient neglect. No other centers you could go to? Jan, you're back from camping so soon? That went by so fast. Or did it? I am running Romper Room here today. Anyone know what that is? Four kids over plus my two... Calgon.....

Anonymous

I haven't gone camping yet - we are leaving Sat. morning. Keeping that trip as short as I can. We're taking the kiddos to a play tonight - should be fun.

Caya

Hi gals,

Well I am surfacing from Herceptin infusion #2. The infusion was fine - I get a 30 minute infusion (after a bag of saline), which is 1/2 the dose of the original loading dose, then they watch me for 1/2 hour for any reaction ( nothing) and then I'm on my way. This will be the rest of the story for 15 more infusions, once every 3 weeks. I talked to the onc. about my nausea, (my reg. onc. is in Barcelona at a conference) - she suggested for the first 3 -4 days after the infusion to take the anti-nausea meds every 6 hours, whether or not I think I need them. So I will do this through Sunday. Very tired today, took a long nap.
Only you my chemo sisters could appreciate this little story - On our way home from the hospital my mom and I stopped for lunch. At the cash register on the way out the cashier was staring at me ( I was worried the wig was crooked) - She finally says to me - "Wow, your hair is so nice - it's so smooth and perfect." I just smiled and said thank you. But she just can't get over how good it looks - finally asks me "Is it real?" So I told her, as nicely as possible, not to make her feel bad, that no, it is not real - it's a wig because I am cancer patient undergoing treatment and my hair is just starting to grow back. I think the poor girl ( I'd say maybe 20 years old) was going to shrink to the floor - I hastily told her not to worry about it, but she was so shocked. Kind of like commenting to someone about "when is the baby due?" and the answer can be " There is no baby."
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about my DDs prom pictures.
Jan- enjoy your camping trip and the play tonight. I have Camelot tomorrow night, I am really looking forward to it. It got good reviews in the local press here.
Mizsissy - I hope you got good news from Mena.
Tina -cute story about your little shmoozer Jaclyn - a veteran of how to work the room at age 6...
Rebecca, your little Bella looks adorable, I hope she is feeling better...
Melia, I am glad you decided not to travel to see your father. I know it's hard, but the trip physically AND emotinally would have been draining on you now. Your brother sounds like a doll.
We're off to my mom's shortly for Friday night dinner - she does this almost every week from April - October when she and my stepfather Harry are in Toronto.
catch you all later
caya