Starting Chemo in May 07

lizzzy

Kara, Isn't it great when putting on a wig makes you too hot and not putting it on makes you too cold?  My body temperature is never right anymore.  I'm either sweating because I'm too hot or I'm freezing and clammy.  Yuck!

Virginia,  Thanks!  You're a doll for saying that.  I'll look forward to seeing your Vegas pic.

LeeAnne & Mandy,  I too want to say thanks for going out and doing the fundraising. 

Anonymous

Kara - I forgot about your surgery date - I am SOOO sorry but I am glad to hear that everything went well!  I go for my re-excision on October 10th.  It's encourageing to hear that the recovery is not too hard.  Do you know how long the procedure was?  I think my surgeon mentioned that it would be about a 15 minute procedure but I dont' know if she was exaggerating or if she really meant it would be a 15 min. procedure?  I hope your pathology report comes back CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!

LeeAnne - way to go with the fundraising!  I think my team (which is now up to 20) has only raised about $1500 - but I stressed it wasn't to be a hardcore fundraiser- not because I don't believe in the cause or that I don't benefit from it - it's why I'm alive today! But my family has been big supporters of this cause even before I was diagnosed and they also do the Weekend to End Breast Cancer so there have been thousands donated this year even before the walk!  I am looking forward to it though - 20 of us dressed like idiots and honking - should be fun!  I'm treating my entire team to brunch after the race.  I feel as though I've been on the receiving end of kindness so much this year - I just want to give a little bit back.

Liz - I'm with you on the whacky body temperature - it really sucks being bald (or having very short hair) because it's either freeze or fry!  Having a cold and clammy head is very uncomfortable but then when you go to bundle up, you get all sweaty - which isn't pleasant either!  Oh well - my silver hair is really starting to come in - I've got a LONG ways to go before I can go topless but I am so happy to feel fuzz on my head!!!

Mandy

lizzzy

Mandy,  post a picture already!

Anonymous

I dont' know how.....I've tried but I can't seem to shrink my photo without it just taking a small top left square of the photo - I have spent hours on this and I am so frustrated...I feel like such a technotard!

Anonymous

Hey look!  I uploaded my avatar---too bad you need a magnifying glass to see it (this is me pre-chemo by the way)  I will try to make it bigger (easier to see)  I'm still trying...

Anonymous

Okay - that's better!  If any of you were on for the past 5 minutes you'd see how I looked before chemo but that photo was really tiny - so this is a picture of me the day before I started chemo and I got my hair cut super short (I though it looked hideous and now I can't wait for my hair to get that LONG!!)

Geez, now that I know how to do this - I'll be changing my avatar every day...just another reason to keep visiting this thread

So, Liz - am I as beautiful as you pictured??? (ha ha ha)

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Mandy

lizzzy

You're quite beautiful Mandy.

KaraInLA

Mandy,

I asked before I went in and they said 20 minutes.  All I know is that it was a bit more than an hour between when I went into surgery and when I woke up.  Another piece of good news, they didn't need to use a breathing tube, so no sore throat afterwards.  I do have that bizarre sloshing sound in my breast, though, just like I had after the lumpectomy-I hate it, but I know it will go away.  My left breast is looking a bit perky, but even smaller than it did before the re-excision, not sure what to do about the lopsidedness, anyone else have that issue?  And I did go out to lunch today and am headed to a family dinner now.  There is pain, but it is very manageable, good luck to you in a few weeks, hope it is as easy as mine.

Kara

lizzzy

Kara, I had fluid collecting in my breast after my mastectomy.  Did you have drains?  I think this is pretty normal after surgery.

lizzzy

The Brighton Collectibles stores are having special events tomorrow to kick off Breast cancer awareness month.  They are selling a beautiful collection to benefit breast cancer charities and they're having speakers and breakfasts at a bunch of stores.  I'm going in the morning to check it out. There's more information at their website if you're interested.  I'm not a big jewelry girl but I think they're unique so I may buy the whole collection!

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend! 

VirginiaNJ

Liz, I have a few of the Brighton Breast Cancer bracelets...they are BEAUTIFUL!  I'm not a huge Brighton fan...but they are really pretty...

Mandy- YAY!  A picture!!  I love being able to associate faces with names.  I hate the way I look now too.  My new thing now is to put my fingers in my hair and see if it's longer or higher than my fingers...  I also try and "grab" it and pull it.  Woulldn't it be crazy if I went a little nuts and started pulling my hair out?  (I should make fun...it's my sick sense of humor).

Well, I am in vacation mode!  I have to go to the dentist...had to cancel my 6 month check up b/c I was on chemo and the onc said --- no way.  Then it's off to get my nails done...a nice little bit of pampering.  My girl said that my nails were a mess from the chemo...  But, good thing is the black lines are growing out.  And, I see signs of big toe nails!  (I'm going to look so pretty at the pool in Vegas.  I'll be the dork with socks and sandals like the geezers.  LOL  (I have crocs...those should do it...)

Ok, I am rambling...

Hope everyone who has had surgery feels better real soon and those heading off for more sail through it!!

I'll miss you all, but will post when I get back...

Virginia 

cinrae123

Hey girlies,,,,,,,,,,,omg you all look so cute with short hair.  I am 4 weeks,,,,,well almost 5 weeks post chemo,,,,,,,and I am not sure if I see new growth or not.   I keep asking the family and they say they think they see something coming in............its just not fast enough for me........I really want to be able to see it instead of my scalp,,,,,,,which I see a lot of.  lol

Vegas?  omg,,,,,,,,I love that place.  Hubby wants to take me somewhere for a weekend and I keep hinting at Vegas,,,,,,,,,I am in Cali so its only a 45 min flight from me,,,,,,,,,easier to fly than to drive,,,,,,get there quicker to do some gambling,,,,,,,which I totally looooooooove to do.  Have a great time there,,,,,,,and win big.

Have a great weekend everyone,,,,,,,,,and do something fun.

Take care,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Cindy

Traci-----TripNeg

Hey girls,

Is it just me or is Virginia freaking hilarious?

Her talking about grabbing her hair and pulling it had me laughing so hard I was almost crying. Of course, Kara started it by her comment about hot flashes being fun. LMAO!!!

Mandy....love being able to see your picture. So glad you figured that out! I'm getting older so I can barely see you but, from what I can see....you look awesome.

Kara, your turn to put a picture up!!

I hope you guys have a great weekend and I hope the Cowboys keep winning!

Hugs, Traci

Anonymous

Therre - I managed to make my picture a close up.  As I said before, this was taken just before chemo started, after I'd gotten my hair buzzed in prep for hair loss.  I still look the same only bald (ish) - I kind of look an old man (hair wise).

Liz - thanks for the compliment...you know what?  I actually feel kind of beautiful these days - I am so happy to see hair growth, I am liking the shape of my body more (especially as I continue to lose weight very gradually on this low, low fat diet)  I'm wearing funky hats and getting tons of compliments...I look more like "me" again - not the bloated bald woman from summer!  I also ran 4km today -no stopping!!  I went to the gym last night and tried running on the treadmill and did just fine (no pain) so tried outside today ( I ran with the team I'm coaching and it was great!!!)  I also played volleyball on Wednesday and did great too!  I feel so good right now - also very happy and positive (I think I finally left the dark place that I found when I was in the hospital!!)  Even walking tomorrow's Run for the Cure will be okay since I know I cold run it!  (My lazy team would NOT be happy with me if we ran now!!)

Kara - Thank you for the detailed account of your procedure (which will of course be my procedure in a couple of weeks!)  I'm disappointed to hear about the sloshy boob again...I was not expecting that!  It probably wouldn't be wise to book a golf tee time for 2 days after the surgery would it??  Guess I'll have to say no to that round of golf!

Virginia - have a great time in Vegas!  Can't wait to hear your stories when you get back.

Cindy - sounds like you're doing well!  I think we should all plan to meet in Vegas in the late spring - wouldn't that be a blast?  I think we're all pretty similar in age/personality/snese of humour - I think we are a fun group - can only imagine what we'd do to Vegas!!!

Traci- I see you're in Florida - so how come such a Cowboys fan?  Are you originally from Dallas?  My team plays in the CFL (Canadian Football League) so naturally I am cheering for Edmonton and last night during a crucial game to try to keep us in the playoffs - our star quarterback took a hard hit and seperated his shoulder!!  Looks like it may be a short season!

Well, hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Take care,

Mandy

susieloutoo

Hi....

I just found this conversation....Nice to meet you all. I just started to lose my eyelashes and I am not handling it well. Hair is coming back though. I look forward to conversations with you all.

Take care and be strong - Susielou

lizzzy

Hi Susielou,

I love your scarf.  Very cute.  Don't worry too much about the eyelashes.  Mine came back really fast. 

cinrae123

hey girls,,,,,,,,,,,,ok seriously?  How long before the hair comes back?  its been 5 weeks since my final chemo and all I see is scalp, scalp and more scalp.  I have a few stragglies on the head but where is the rest?  omg,,,,,,,,,,,wouldnt that be awful if my hair never grows back?  My eyelashes started coming out after my last treatment,,,,,,,,,I no sooner said "Gee,,,,,,i havent lost hardly any eyelashes" then they all started falling out like crazy. No underarm or leg or "down there hair",,,,,,,which I could care less if that ever comes back,,,,,,,,,but omg

I need the hair on my head and eyelashes back.  Somebody tell me it takes a while,,,,,,,,,so I dont get all bummed out and crazy.  lmao

Cindy

cinrae123

Welcome to the May club Susilou,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

PDXLeeAnne

Mandy, LOVE your avatar! You are adorable!!   Putting a face to a name is awesome.

Welcome Susielou! My eyelashes and eyebrows are almost entirely gone (and it is NOT a good look), but I am finally seeing tiny stubs coming in their place.  Everyone says they come in quickly... I'm hoping for that too!

So the other night I caught myself at this: I ran my finger down the side of my face and then hooked it behind my ear. LOL - total muscle memory of all those years of putting my long hair behind my ears!

I've finished 2 weeks of radiation and I'm struggling with fatigue again. My brain is fuzzy; I lack focus, I feel faint and weak - I told work I needed more time off. It frustrates me, but I have to listen to myself. As much as I feel like I should be able to tough it out and be back to "normal" (ha) I am not.

Virginia, have a blast in Vegas baby! And you're a Croc girl too - me too. Yesterday the weather was finally cold enough for Crocs and polar fleece socks. Yes, a very feminine combination (esp. with my Univ. of Oregon Ducks hoodie and no make up - hard to tell I was a women!) but oh so comfy! New Springsteen album out on Tuesday...

I think a get-together next spring would kick major bootay! It will be easy to spot each other - we're the ones with the really short hair, LOL. 

Hugs,

LeeAnne 

Anonymous

Susielou - Welcome to our great group of wonderful, brave and beautiful women!!  I am embarassed that it has taken me 5 months to figure out how to post my avatar and you do so on the first post!!!!!  However, now that I know how - I will change mine all the time - you'll get to see my cats, my family, etc.

Cindy - Don't fret about your hair (I know how easy it is to SAY that) but I read on some other post a while back that some women just take longer for their hair to come back - but it will come!!  One lady was posting that she was 5 moinths out from chemo and it was just long enough to go topless and another one wrote that at 5 months out, she had gone for a haircut already!!  It's just so hard to be patient!!

LeeAnne how's the love life?  You know you've involved us all now right and must keep us updated as things progress.

I just got home from the Race for the Cure.  My team of 22 (!) walked 5kms then we all went out for brunch after.  It was great!  Quite overwhelming to see 11,000 people all in this run/walk who have been affected somehow by this disease!  Staggering!  It's funny, the survivors wear pink shirts and we all get the blank card that you pin on your shirt that says "I'm walking for..."  Well, mine said "I'm walking for... all of us!"  Almost every survior that I saw had something quite generic on theirs too like:  all women, my daughter and all women, everyone, etc.  Not one of the survivors had someone specific on it - whereas everyone else's had names or lists of names!  Interesting!

Anyways, I am in the middle of cooking dinner for 14 people tonight in honour of my hubby's birthday - so I'd better get my butt back to the kitchen!

Take care,

Mandy

(I wonder what Virginia is doing in Vegas right now????)

KaraInLA

OK, I'll rise to the challenge (at least kind of), I've uploaded a self portrait that I painted a few years ago.  I'm not very good at taking photos, but I'll try to get someone to take one in the next few days of me with my 7 weeks of hair growth (not that much). 

Just came in from the bike store walking around with my naked head and a woman with wonderful short silver hair was picking up a bike for her daughter(?), she had a sleeve on her arm (I immediately assumed for lymphodema), and we struck up the breast cancer conversation.  She was a year out from dx, and looked great.

I'm just waiting for the pathology results from my re-excision, not feeling too positive about it, but still thinking about buying a bike.

LeeAnn, I hope you feel better on rads, it scares me a bit to hear about your trouble, I am so ready to try to rebuild my business, even though I feel like I'll be starting from scratch after 6 months off.  Best of luck to you, I'm hoping that with rads it'll just feel much faster than chemo, but I know that in the midst of things when they're bad it just feels long.

Kara

Anonymous

Kara - awesome painting!  What kind of business do you have?  (Forgie me if you've already addressed thia in a previous post...)

cinrae123

Wow Kara,,,,,,,,awesome painting.  Such talent,,,,,,,thats wonderful. 

omg,,,,,,,,,,5 months out from chemo and just going topless.  Good lord,,,,,,,I dont know if I can be that patient,,,,,,,but guess I will have to be.  Typically my hair grows very fast,,,,,,but whats the deal now.....  I need some new growth,,,,,,,,I'm tired of looking at a white scalp,,,,,,,,,,,lol

I had a dream the other night that when I woke up I had 3 inches of hair,,,,,,,of course reality set in and I looked in the mirror,,,,,,,,,lmao

Good night all,,,,,,,,,have a wonderful week.........

Cindy

cinrae123

OK,,,,,,,,so I'm obsessed with the hair growth,,,,,,,lol 

Traci-----TripNeg

Hey Ladies,

I'm with you Cindy. I want my hair back. I've been pulling at mine like Virginia said. : ) Mine is about a 1/4 inch long but.....it isn't all over. I've got plenty of bald spots still. Of course, my last treatment was just 8/19 but, I'm so ready for hair.

Kara, that is an awesome painting. Very talented.

Mandy, I'm glad you had fun at the race. We have one here next Saturday. I'm going to take an Ambien the night before so I will be wide awake at 5:00 am in order to get there on time!!

I was born and raised in Texas. Not Dallas but...my sister lives there now. I've always loved the Cowboys. My brothers used to make me watch the game with them when I was very little. It stuck.

They had an awesome game today. 4 and 0 baby!! If we can just keep Tony Romo's head from swelling..........

LeeAnne, I'm sorry your having a bad time. I was wondering why we hadn't heard from you. Don't worry, this too shall pass!!!! And....my eyelashes are just starting to come in...I have like 5 on each eye but..I swear, my eyebrows are still getting thinner! I agree with you, not a good look. I hate looking at myself in the mirror in the morning. I look so sick. No hair.....I look way better with make-up on.

Of course.....the hair on my legs is back with a vengance. Damn it. Back to shaving daily.

Susielou, did you have Taxotere? Welcome to the club. I like your scarf too. I've got a ton of them but not one....animal print.

I bet Virginia is laughing her a*! off at a black jack table right now as we speak! I hope she's winning!!

Have a good night girls.

Tomorrow is Monday.......

Hugs, Traci

PDXLeeAnne

Here's a new avatar but its too small to see the silvery hair I have on the sides of my head. One of these days I'll figure out how to post a regular picture. My eyebrows are really gone now. Makes me feel like I really look cancerish - ironic that it would take until nearly the end of treatment.

The boyfriend (thank you Mandy for asking) is FANTASTIC! The other night he told me that I was wrong about why people look/stare at me when I'm out in public with my bald head. He said that they look at me because they admire my courage to show who I really am, and that I am beautiful, and they are in awe. Not that I look like a freak, which has been my usual thought process. Just having those words in my mind makes it easier for me to hold my head up high. What a guy. I have never experienced this kind of connection... and I am grateful for it every day.

Here's one thing about rad fatigue - you can't totally give in to it like chemo fatigue because you have to GO to rads every single day. At the very least that means showering, getting dressed and driving. It's less isolating than chemo which makes it far less depressing. I could probably bust my butt and try harder not to give in to the fatigue but seriously, I would rather conserve my energy and give it to my kids (who take quite a lot) than wear myself out at work.

Happy Monday everyone. Hope we all have a great week!

Hugs,

LeeAnne 

lizzzy

LeeAnne, The boyfriend sounds very cool...and insightful.

susieloutoo

Glad to be here with you ladies....thank you for the warm welcomes!!

Mandy  - I too just went to a great event. The Susan G Komen 3 day walk for Breast Cancer...2300 walkers raised 5.2 Million this weekend. My family and I went for the closing ceremony - OMG how inspiring!!! Just what I needed.

Hugs

Susieloutoo

lizzzy

I'm so frustrated right now.  I went in for my fill today and thought that I would be able to schedule surgery to exchange the implants in early December.  PS says it probably won't be until early January.  Exactly NOT what I wanted to hear.  He probably thinks I'm going to want 1 or 2 more fills.  He seems to think all women want big breasts.  I think I'll be perfectly happy with 1 more fill. 

I just can't stand the idea of going through Christmas and New Year's with these expanders.  I was practically in tears on the ride home.   I so much want to start running by the end of the year too.  OK.  Thanks for listening to my rant.  I'm going to go call the scheduler at the PS office and see if she can help me.

All I want for Christmas is my two new breasts (and a new pair of running shoes . 

Traci-----TripNeg

LeeAnne,

I wish I was more like you.

 Traci