Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

skyedivine

Tina, I forgot to mention I did see Housewives and loved it. I was so afraid Lynette's family would get killed off so they could put her in a dating situation or something dumb like that.



Caya, my hair is also dark with less gray than before and I'm also asked if I'm coloring it. Thank heaven for the little perks. I think it needs some shaping soon though. The curls behind my ears look like two brillo pads if I don't gel them.



Mary I'd stop those care packages yesterday! And I'd say go blonde if you want. It would look great on you.



Jan LOL I would love to have you call Kim the Non-Scheduler and say you are from the Bodacious Ta Ta Sisterhood. Imagine if we could sic our whole gang on these people, LOL! Thanks and I will stay on their case! - Skye

viddie

Hi all,

Joni,

I am glad Sue helped you and you are back in the game. You are our world traveler and our inspiration. I was amazed how much you traveled this past year and enjoyed life -while I was home brooding. You can do it and we are with you all the way.

Mary,

I call it the ying and the yang. Somehow they instinctly know when the other one is bothering us, and other is as nice as can be. I don't get it, but it works. I have had that"over-mothering" lecture many many times. You are right- they do not know how lucky they are.

Nancy,

I also have had my hair shaped twice and it is much more manageable.

Skye,

I agree with Jan. I also would love to call them on your behalf. I would not get off the phone until they did their part, and if they promised to call back, I would also call, call and call until they would not have a choice but do it now!! Actually I love pestering doctors offices. I get my adrenaline flowing and I am off. Just say the word, and both Jan and I can take turns pestering them until they do something.

viddie

Jan,

Thanks. I also ordered Cure magazine.

I did get caught up in setting up some chairs, but I was very careful. We had over 110 people last night and we had 28 new people join. That was almost a record!! In January and February we usually have very large crowds. Even though we are running around crazy trying to service and weigh everyone, I love the energy.

I am also working tomorrow morning and also expect a big crowd then too. Luckily tomorrow morning's meeting does not require us moving chairs, just many boxes of materials and scales. I do not like watching them set up, so I end up carrying things I should not carry. Maybe I will walk in a little late tomorrow morning to avoid the setting up situation. I know they will understand.

Skye,

Just say the word, and we will be on them....

Viddie

Rebecca

Skye I am glad to hear that you are keeping busy…I think that is probably best as you wait for your insurance woes to sort out-or are they Drs office woes?  Hmmmm hard to tell the difference in this case.  I agree with Jan.  Haul your cookies down there and breathe down their necks.  Offer to dial the phone if you need to!  You might call your ins co beforehand and get the info you need and go in there with it.  Be bossy, be assertive, and tell them that the January Ta-tas will be there shortly to squash them into jelly if this is not resolved!

Nancy a trim would probably help you a lot…that and some nice gel!  My hair is now finally to the point that I can get away with no gel if I am just knocking around.  My curls more or less behave themselves, and I just roll with the slightly messy look.

Caya I am so glad that you are happy with your new crop of hair!  How about a new pic? (I can say that now that I have posted some of my own).  Sorry to hear about the bridesmaid dress…shame on the salesgirl for letting you select a dress that did not come in the desired color!  Duh!  Isn’t that their job?

Ummmm….well we have had our dog Joy for about 4 years.  I am pretty sure that I told you guys a story about Bella chasing the dog’s tail at one point….but maybe I was not clear that it was MY dog she was stalking.

Anyway, She is a crazy beagle-terrier mix, about 50 lbs with short hair.  She is VERY terrier….picture a 50lb dog jumping 5 feet straight up into the air and THAT is my girl.  She could easily jump the fence in our yard, but either has not figured that out yet, or has no desire to run off.  We adopted her from a local animal shelter when she was about 1 year old, and she truly lives up to her name.  She is a very happy, (obviously) bouncy girl who thinks that she is a lapdog.  The downside of her loving nature is that it involves a LOT of dog saliva.  Her favorite trick is to stand next to Matt on Saturday AM (the earlier the better) and gently lick whatever portion of him she can reach (fingers, toes, face).  Poor Matt tries to burrow under the covers to hide, and she follows him. 

Bella loves her, although she still is somewhat afraid.  I think that she knows that Joy would NEVER hurt her, but the size difference is still a bit much for her little kitten brain.

On another topic, I had an exciting development today….I was talking to the mother of one of my girl scouts today, and when I mentioned my educational background she suddenly said that they are ALWAYS looking for people like me at her work to run training workshops for Social Workers.  Long story short, if they hire me, I would only have to teach 3 workshops PER MONTH to make more than I am making now.  WOW.  I am dusting off my CV and sending it in!  Cross your fingers….more info to follow.

Ok, got to go now.  Good night everyone!

 

Rebecca

Here are some pics of my pooch.

IowaCindy

Joni, I'm so glad that you can both share your fears and your inspirations with us. We all need to hear these things to know we're not alone and that we do best when we go forward together. Fists up, Joni! No sense in being prissy about this at all.

Rebecca, Joy is a cutie. We rescued a beagle from the pound. Sneakers other  name was Goatdog. She ate anything she could grab. What a strong willed little dog. I loved her. I'll never have another beagle.

Skye, your art is wonderful. Maybe we should have a group art experience at the gathering. You could lead us into creating our own collages.

I'd told my family that I wanted to sing this year. I don't know where, I don't know what. My voice (which seemed to be adversely affected by the radiation) is now back to it's normal abilities - average but willing. But I want to sing this year. Since I can't decide what TO sing, I'm working on a list of what NOT to sing. That includes Mandy by Barry Manilow, Mcarthurs Park as sung by either Donna Sommer or Richard Harris, and rodent songs such as Ben and Muskrat Love.

This list is amusing my daughters to no end. Me,too. I'm so glad the cancer and treatment didn't take my humor. 

I'm going to soak in the tub now. I've fresh sheets on the bed and I want to just slide in later, all clean and soft and lotioned. It makes the housework worthwhile. 

Happy Wednesday, all!

Cindy

PS My youngest daughter is a bartender two nights a week. I stopped in tonight and one of the bosses, a very friendly, alcoholic gay man gave me several hugs, studied me intently and pronounced me to be 'gorgeous, you look great!" It was enough to make me strut as I left the bar!

luckymel

Joni, I'm glad you got a kick in the butt if that's what you needed, but like everyone else, I believe you have been totalliy appropriate in your reactions, and we all love you no matter whether you're up or down. And we know you're strong, even when you don't feel strong.

Skye, I agree with Jan. You canNOT let them "not get around to" scheduling your tests. I remember that Kim from before...she has done this before. Go sit in the office until they take care of it, if you can. Or call hourly, but they will work more quickly if you are there. There's no excuse for this, and you just thought I was pissed before. I'll call them, too. Maybe we could all call them - that'll make Kim know who she's messing with! Love the image of Grendel watching the geese in amazement - priceless!

Nancy, even I, with my impossible hair, could tell a difference after I had a little trim. I vote yes, get yours trimmed. Mine definitely looked less like bed hair afterward.

Tina, you're turning into an environmentalist - YAY! Who know's what's next. Were you trying to say you think I just need to take an Ativan and quit complaining? I would agree with that...but don't have any ativan, never have had.

Rebecca, hope your class doesn't get cancelled. Do you teach others, or just that one? I do remember you mentioning Joy before. Glad you make your dh deal with the dog poop - I'm sure you've done your share. I do all the litterboxes, and am the one who bags the poop on dog walks and carries it home. Call me the poop queen. I am kind of a gadget lover, and I like the way my poop bags are designed, so I don't even mind using them. I think I must be nuts.

Night everyone.

luckymel

Oh, a flurry of posts while I was doing mine.  Rebecca, Joy is adorable - she really does look like a happy dog.  Also, great news about your new job opportunity.  Keep us posted.  They'd have to be crazy not to hire you, and it sounds like a great opportunity. 

Cindy, I love your "what not to sing" list!!  Please keep it going.  We could probably even help you with it.  Congrats on the compliment from the gay guy - we know they have a good eye for gorgeous. 

My silent little dog has gone for walks with his friend Muddy three nights this week (our pet sitter's dog) and has learned some vocalizations.  He never makes a sound (four barks in five months) but has started making the same sounds as Muddy makes, not a bark but sort of a talking sound.  He just talks when Mud's here, but it's very cute. 

Ok, I really am going to bed now.

Mel
Dx 10/10/2006, IDC, 3cm, Stage II, Grade 2, 4/17 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2-

tanmaree

Hi All

I am 37yr old mother of two (2 and 4 years) starting Chemo on 23rd January.  (Australia)  FEC and taxotere.  New to this and not sure if I am in the right place???

Rebecca

Tanmaree the women here on this thread started chemo last year in January 2007.  Although you are welcome here any time, there is a new thread that has formed for women starting chemo in 2008...it is called "January 2008 aint it great?" or something like that.  Do join it!  Having a group of women to do this with makes all the difference in the world. 

keep your head high, smile and be well 

TPPJ

OK, I'm chiming in on getting a trim.  I  say don't.  I have bedhead central too and just this week, it lays flat if I use a wide headband.  Prior to that it stuck up behind the headband.  You need the length to get it to sit.  Caya, I'm so jealous of the nice, straight hair.  Mine is much thinner (it was a BUSH!) so it's easier to dry out straight, which is nice.  But so slow to grow long.  Just grows out.

I went back on 37.5 effexor two weeks ago.  No palpitations at all.  Considering upping it to the 75 I was on, but don't want to push it...  we'll see.

Thanks, guys for all the nice comments about my kids.  Forgot to say that. 

Caya, unreal about the blue being discontinued.  Always the way!

TPPJ

Mel, I would never tell you or anyone to take an ativan and quit complaining.  I need to go back and see what I wrote!  Yikes.  Sometimes things come out weird in writing.

sharon56

ok i just lost my psot and I am at work and now the gang is in i i gotta go .

Joni cry and get it over with ..... its good for ya I did both colon and breast and still here ... ps i luv the rockies how can ya tell ?

Skye be a pain in the butt and your art I luv !

I am off today to get an mri to confirm meneire's oh goody here I go again ............ check this link out

yikes anothe chemo leftover  

http://www.earsurgery.org/meniere.html

I am sure when i get this done there may be more in store for me .

 Will check in later dudettes !

Anonymous

Rebecca - I remember your dog stories. Good luck with the job - that sounds great.

Skye - for Grendel, remember a tired puppy = a good puppy. If you don't feel like a walk ouside teach him to fetch or get someone to play "doggie hide and seek" with you. My kids love that game. Two people take turns calling the dog to come - while moving further apart into differnt rooms of the house. 1 person holds the dog until the other calls. You can use treats for motivation. Once he gets the hang of it you can really make him run back and forth through the house - and as an added plus he'll learn the "come" command.

Sharon - I hope everything goes OK with the MRI today. 

skyedivine

Hey Ladies,

Cindy, here's some Muskrat Love for you. I Ben thinking about you Mandy, Tuesday, Wednesday and today. And hmmm...I can't think of a way to work MacArthur Park in, although the landscape here does look like someone left the cake out in the rain. Until tonight, when we get four inches of snow.



You all are giving me courage to call Kim again. It's such a small place and I have to go there so often, it's hard to work up the nerve to keep bugging. But I will tell them they've been reported to the Ta Ta's and will be hearing from all of them soon, LOL!



Rebecca, that is a beautiful dog with a kind and happy face, probably reflecting those of her owners. Five feet straight up, I'd like to see that. And the new job sounds fabulous plus no papers to grade! Go for it!



Viddie I am so glad you took it easy, don't be guilted into doing more than you should. They WILL understand if you avoid the set-up.



Mel, sure you sound nuts wanting to be Poop Queen but that's why we love you.



Jan thanks for the dog game tips. Right now he is trying to chew a metal eyelet out of the tarp we have under his playpen. And he's not IN the playpen. I'm trying to interest him in his giraffe chew toy but the plastic tarp is so much tastier. Yuk! He goes to the vet later today for boosters.

Have a good one, my sisters! - Skye

skyedivine

PS: More songs NOT to sing....Windy, Wildfire, and Honey I Miss You (See the tree how big it's grown...)

skyedivine

PPS Cindy, I rejoined my church choir this year and found my upper vocal range demolished and it has not come back. I'm guessing chemo did it.

Rebecca

Tina I am so happy you found your inner tree hugger .  It is really not so bad being an environmental freak....my mom rolls her eyes at me but my kids have been thoroughly brainwashed so they do not think I am crazy.  The plus side of using green principles to guide my families consumption is that we save a lot of money on bottled water (I use nalgene bottles, and refill them with filtered water) and we generate about half the amount of garbage that our next door neighbors do (and they do not have any  kids!). Actually, most of the garbage that we DO generate is organic, and we are right now looking into building a rotating drum composter.  If sucessful, we will barely make any garbage at all!  If you need any pointers on granola buying, I would be glad to help .

Cindy...songs NOT to sing?!?! you absolutely KILL me.  May add to your list ANYTHING  by Britanny Spears?  Continuing on the singing thread...glad to hear that you joined the choir Skye, but rather sad to hear that you lost your upper register.  My voice seems to have bounced back a bit although I do not think it is as pure as it used to be, and I can not hit notes as high as I used to.  Not that it matters much since  I only sing in the car and in private venues when a bit tipsy.  

Jan, that sounds like a great game to play with a dog!  I wonder if it would work on Owen? 

Good luck on your MRI today Sharon...keep us posted!

OK, back to the grind. 

meliaanne

I am home from my trip, and the first thing I did when I got home was check out our thread to see how everyone is.  Skye, you wanna just pm us that phone #?  We will all call your dr office!  Joni, so glad you are feeling a bit better. It's scary, but you can do it, and we will be there with you. Everyone else, you make me smile, laugh, and  just be thankful for all of you. 

My husband is terrible about doctor visits. He is a marathoner, finally went in a couple of weeks ago b/c his ankles hurt so much he can't run. Well, it had been so long, there was no record of his last visit. His blood pressure is verrrrry high, so they put him on meds, but the scary thing is that his psa (prostate marker) is very high too. He has to have a biopsy on Monday. I am terrified. I cannot lose him. I know I am jumping ahead to worst case scenarios, but it's really high, and I am really scared. Please say a prayer for him.

We did win our court case so our dad is "ours" legally. We are happy about that, but it will require lots and lots of time. And he lives 500 miles away from me. I am going to do a good job though, and I am going to make sure his care improves and he gets what he needs, starting with new eyeglasses, such a basic need that the county just ignored.

I am glad to read the posts and hear that everyone seems on track. Stay tough, Joni and Skye. And everyone else.

Mel, why did you never get ativan?  I haven't taken it for about three weeks, but I bet I break it back out while we wait for Steve's test results!

Melia 

mer1957

You guys crack me up.  This is the most entertaining venue there is, except when we are in the middle of a crisis.  Joni, praying for you.  Skye, keep at them, grrrr.., melia, glad the court battle was victorious, I'll be praying for your husband.

I have a funeral this weekend, my DS#2's friend's dad lost his battle with a brain tumor.  It's gonna be a hard one, leaves devoted wife and two sons, 19 and 14. 

Viddie, that is so funny about how the other kid knows how to ying and yang.  Good cop, bad cop.  I'm trying to tame down my mothering but it's a sad thing.  I really could use a dog to mother ... when will they ever make a non-allergenic one?  Hugs

viddie

Melia,

I am hoping your dh's psa test is a false positive. I read that PSA tests are notorious for producing false positives. My dh had a false positive read on a PSA test around 5 years ago. It has been low every since. An ativan sounds like a good idea while you wait for the results- they do help. We are all here for you.

I am so glad you won the case. Now your father will get the care he deserves.

Rebecca,

Joy sounds and looks like a joy. That job prospect sounds very promising. i am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Skye,

Any success today?

Joni,

How are you today?

Lynn,

How are you feeling? Better yet, how are your girls looking??



I hope everyone had a great day.

Catch you all later,

Viddie

Rebecca

AAAARRRGGGHHHHHH

the belt on my dryer split last night WITH a load of laundry in it (still wet) AND a full washer of wet clothes as well.  New belt is on order, hope it gets here soon, or my house is going to be festooned with socks and underwear dripping dry.  Add to that the fact that one of the full time faculty grabbed two of my classes for next semester, and I had to scramble to replace them.  I went from having a great schedule to an absolutely miserable one.  This is when I hate being an adjunct...I have just been reminded that I am at the bottom of the heap and made to feel like all of the work I do to develop my courses is meaningless and unappreciated.  Makes me wonder why I busted my hump last spring working through chemo.  Maybe it is time to move on.  sigh.

Melia I am glad that you got custodianship of your dad...I know you will take better care of him than some county worker would have.  He is blessed to have a daughter like you to help him in his time of need.

Mary, sorry your friend lost his battle, that is very sad.  Much sympathy. 

Caya

Melia - glad you got conservatorship of your Dad back - too bad this stupidity took place at all.  As for the PSA, yes they are notorious for having false positives.  Good luck, know that we are praying for good results for Steve.

Mary - sorry about your friend.  It is really tough.  I feel for them, my DH Allan had his aneurysm 2 years ago at the end of January, and we almost lost him, so I can empathize.

Rebecca - I just had my washer fixed - what a pain until we figured out that it was the timer.  I was going to buy a new W/D, but decided we would gamble on a $150 timer, instead of laying out $1500 or so on the new W/D.  So far, so good.  I hope you get your belt fixed soon.

Cindy - I would add "Tie a Yellow Ribbon on the Old Oak Tree" and "Feelings" of songs not to sing.

Skye - Camp out at the dr.'s office tomorrow.  I mean it's been a week, and you don't even have an appointment - let us know.

xoxo gals

skyedivine

Melia, big yay on winning conservatorship! Score a big one for your dad, I hope he is able to improve now under your care.



My DH had a high PSA and biopsy two years ago and had laser robot-arm surgery, and has not had a single bit of evidence of any cancer since...his PSAs are perfect and he is back to perfect health so even if it's positive the odds for that these days are very very good.



Mary, they DO make a hypo-allergenic dog. It's the Lhasa Apso. I am allergice to every other dog and all cats. I got my first Lhasa from my pharmacist, who was allergic to every substance and animal on earth but not Lhasas. They are very different dogs, with hair that is more like human and they don't shed. I would check it out. They are also wonderful companions and guard dogs ... ask Nancy!



Guess I must call that onc office again, and then I'm sicking the Ta ta's on them! Big Packers playoff tomorrow to keep DH happy while I write. Have a great weekend everyone, - Skye

skyedivine

Rebecca a big AAARRGGH on the dryer. Mine is 15 years old and SO close to terminal. When I think of how my grandmother used to hang clothes on lines in her basement during the winter...

Caya, I second the ban on Feelings and Yellow Ribbon, LOL.

TPPJ

OK, who sings "Feeling"?  It came on the radio the other night in FL at dinner at my parents friends house and we were laughing at how it used to be on this 8 track of greatest hits that my father had.  I thought it was Morris something or other.  My father said Lou Rawls.  I said no way...

LOL, Rebecca on "inner tree hugger".  Good for you and all your conservation efforts.  You remind me more of my friend Kim now more than ever.  She is totally into all of that stuff.  Meant to say congrats yesterday on the possible new job opp.  Sounds great!

Mary, my bichon is hypoallergenic.  Want him?  Sorry about the funeral you are going to.  You are right...it WILL be hard w/kids that age.

Melia, glad your fathers legal stuff is settled.  I cannot believe that not even a week has passed and now you have this other stuff to deal with.  I had not heard about false high scores on PSA's.  Interesting.  My friend in Boston just called my yesterday for the name of the surgeon who did my father at Dana Farber ten years ago as her friend had a high PSA too and ordered in for an immed. biopsy.  And Skye, I didn't know your DH had it too.  Boy, is that common.  Melia, has Steve had his checked regularly?  Is this a sudden jump?  I'll be thinking of you and sending positive thoughts.

Wildfire...  totally forgot about that one.  How about Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves or Undercover Angel?

Nancyab

What is it about appliances? I swear they have a self destruct timer on them from the factory. At a certain point they up and die!

Right now for us it the cars, My DD's needed a battery last week and now it keeps stalling on her at traffic lights. My brakes are grinding on my car, and Jeff's starter is going out. Hellooooo, black cloud... move on now, would ya? Jeezy!

Speaking of DD, she approached me last night about moving out, evidently a friend of hers is getting a house and asked Laura to join her. I am not thrilled.. I know she can leave anytime because she is almost 20, but I don't think she is mentally prepared. And she takes great offense to that, which to me just confirms my feelings. Jeff does not think she is ready either, Laura is a very emotional girl and seriously has trouble controlling them. I just feel like until she gets a grip on that, she is not mature enough. But maybe I am sheltering her, she is my baby and she stayed home instead of going away to college. Maybe I should let her go...Maybe? I don't know. This is so hard.

I agree with Skye on doggies, Lhasa's are very loyal to their owners. Matter-of-fact I never mentioned how I got Lizzie but it is a long story. I saw an ad for a 1 yr old Lhasa and I called, I had to leave a message and I never heard back from the people. So I chalked it up to being too late. Well, 2 weeks later I saw the ad again, except a line was added, it said "Nancy pls call back we lost your #". I was laughing my butt off, when I saw this. So I called, and the (elderly) couple asked me to pay them a visit. I went there and spent 2 hours with these folks. They wanted to move into a senior complex and could not have dogs.They decided they wanted me to have Clhoe. So their Lhasa and I left with all her belongings and a 150.00 transaction.

10 days later, they called me and said they needed to see me, and they missed the dog. I was uh oh!! They were on their way, and I was so distraught I left with the dog and Jeff was there to "greet" them. Soon, he called me and told me to come back with the dog, I was crying and asking him how he could do this to me, knowing that he was going to make me give it back. Well, when I saw how that dog reacted to her owners, I could not in anyway keep her from them. The bond was unbreakable. They had missed her so much, that they decided not to move and wanted their girl back. I was crying for my own selfish reasons, when they went to their car and brought me an 8 week old Lhasa apso with papers that I named Dizzy Miss Lizzie. Isn't that a crazy story. They wouldn't even take more money for her and I know darn well she cost a lot. So in the end everyone was happy and I have a Lhasa that is totally bonded to me. That's the way it should be. So 5 years later me and Lizzie are pals for life! She is sweet, stubborn, pushy, and I really love that dog! She makes me laugh everyday.

Ok, sorry to bore you, but you never know what will happen day to day. LOL! Have a great one!

Caya

Okay Tina I just googled Feelings - You win - it was Morris Albert - yes quite the pathetic song now , although I'm sure we all thought it was very mellow in the day.

And yes Rebecca I also forgot to add that the new job. opp. sounds great - more moola, less work, sounds good to me. 

meliaanne

Thanks for the good wishes and info re the prostate stuff. I just panicked when they said the word biopsy. I have been with him since I was 18, married since I was 19, cannot imagine being without him. But he is a healthy guy, great genetics!

The dog stories make me laugh. If I were home more, I would have one, but I do think dogs need company.

Rebecca, congrats on the job opp. I hope it works out!

Rebecca

Nancy that is such a sweet story about your dog!

Melia, my dad has had elevated PSAs several times, and is going in for his second biopsy next week.  They have never found anything remotely wrong with his prostate, despite the blood tests.  He thinks that the readings might be an artifact of some cholesterol medication that he takes.  In any case, keep us posted.

need to write syllabi...I gave up on working on material for my developmental writing class because I am now pretty sure they are going to cancel it.  Sigh...it is looking like a rough semester, and it has not even started yet.

I really hope this other job pans out, because I think I need to move on...I am sick of being kicked around like this.