I am starting chemo in July 07. Anyone else?

LottaQuilts

We're all quiet out here.....

No news is good news?  Hope everyone's doing well. 

My news of the day.... I actually shaved my legs this morning.  I have lots of very short hairs on my head (about 1/8" long), no bald spots.  I'm starting to look like a "normal" person again.  I sure am looking forward to the day when I won't have to wear a scarf.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.  We're going to take the kids to Colonial Williamsburg since I had to skip that week of chemo. Should be fun, but I expect I'll be VERY tired by the time the weekend is over.

Abbi

figsgirls

Hi everyone. Abbey and Jane, hopefully you got through conferences OK. They sure do make for a long day, don't they! I lost my job as a school counselor just around the time I started tx, so I vividly remember conference days and I'm glad to not be doing that right now! And Abbey, I hope you're feeling OK this week after your AC.

I had to stay off the forum for a bit because I started to freak myself out a bit, worrying about a recurrence. Probably due to the fact that I am trying to make a decision about whether there is a big enough benefit to me to do rads. The rad dr. we met with on Friday said "with a tumor your size, you have a 25% chance of recurrence to the chest wall". I have never heard that before- always heard/read that my risk is 5-10% because of the mast. We are going to get a 2nd opinion. So I eventually had to give myself a mental slap and make myself stop brooding. Put the leashes on the dogs and got my butt to the park for a lovely, long walk. I felt much better.

Mary Jo, you are so right about not wasting time worrying and instead enjoying life. I am going to remind myself often of what you wrote. P.S. hubby was out all weekend but no venison in our freezer yet.

So everyone, enjoy your Thanksgiving. I feel I have much to be thankful for, even as I've spent most of this year battling the BC beast. Abbi, you certainly sound great these days. I'm very happy for you! Enjoy Williamsburg. Sorry you had to shave (I KWYM - I just noticed my underarm hair is growing back!).

And thanks to you ladies who are done and check in with us. Your posts add to my excitement as I anticipate my last Taxol next week! I must say I hope I don't have to join you on the rads board, though...

Donna

mmcp

I've been MIA for a while in posting but have kept up to date on your updates ladies.  Sounds like we're all doing well, and SO close to being done chemo!!!  I had my last one today - WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!  Now I'm waiting on the surgeon to call with my surgery date.  I can't wait to get that over & done.

Are most of you planning on posting here when you're done chemo?  I'd love for us all to stay in touch.  You've helped me get through some of the toughest times of this journey.  Hugs ladies!

LottaQuilts

Congrats on your last chemo!!!!!   Doing the happy dance for you.

I won't be done until Dec 20.... but that's only a month away.  Seems like I've been doing this forever.

Yes, let's keep in touch.  You've all helped me through some rough patches as well.  It's been my place to truly find others who understand!

Abbi

liven42day

Hi Ladies,

I third that motion, we have gotten each other thru some very tough times. I know you helped me get thru, when I wanted to give up. Tomorrow we will give thanks, I am so much more of a different person, since going thru all of this tx. I am sure all of us have changed for the better even if in a tiny way. I would enjoy keeping in touch with you wonderful ladies.

Abbi, so cool kiddo, you are almost there!

 Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Charlene

figsgirls

CONGRATULATIONS MARGIE! And I hope your surgery goes well.

I agree....I would like to keep in touch. My last Taxol is Monday and I can't wait! But it HAS been a long road and I often took comfort in coming here to read and share. You ladies have all been a lifeline through some pretty scary, dark times.

The other day I was thinking that I have a lot to be thankful for this year, and this group is one of them.

Enjoy tomorrow, all!!!

Donna

jbw3843

I agree. I'd like to keep posting. My last Taxol is Dec. 27th and then I'll start rads 3 weeks later. It's been a blessing having this board to vent on and know that whoever is reading your posts understands what you are saying.

I'm tired today even though I didn't cook Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. I guess the cumulative effects of the chemo have caught up along with the conferences at school. It was great to see the family and give thanks. I enjoyed the day and hope you did too.

Congrats to all the ladies who have finished or are anticipating their last treatment. It's been a long haul.

Jane 

rspayne

Hello to All!!!

I finished my last TAC three weeks ago.  The last one was a killer.  I am slowly getting back to a liveable state.  I will be seeing a radiation oncologist on Tuesday to set up my treatment.  I can feel the stubble on my head, but can't really see it yet.

I will start taking Femara, next week.  I'm scared, but my doctor assures me that I will be well monitored.  I guess I'm moving forward.

My best to everyone.     Rose

goldenpony

Only 3 more to go....WHOO HOOO! Then getting to take a 3 week break through Christmas and surgery the 1st week of January. Been a long road but seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I even have managed to start growing hair..look like an early growth chia-pet but hey I like chia-pets...lol

I can't wait to see us all posting on our new ventures down our paths. I hope we all will stay strong and keep posting our progress...every day is a success and a blessing 

brst26

Marige...congrats on being done!!  When is your surgery?  I still have two more AC's left to go...but I'm def. starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I should be having surgery sometime in January, then radiation. 

I hope that everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving...I sure did!  It fell perfectly too...on a good week.  I go for another poisoning on Thursday.  I too hope that we all are able to stay in touch on this site.  I love hearing how everybody is doing.  It's for sure a journey!

LottaQuilts

We took the kids to Colonial Williamsburg for Thanksgiving weekend.  Had a great time.  Walked lots and lots..... I'm really tired tonight.  Luckily, the kids have tomorrow off as well, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in!

The only bad part of our vacation was that, from spending all that time outside in the cold, I got a stupid urinary tract infection that showed up yesterday evening.  Called the onc. when we got home today and he called me in an antibiotic.   Been taking Uristat, cranberry juice and lots and lots of water and the burning is starting to subside, but GEEZ......  been years since I've had one of these things.  No fun.

Other than that, I'm feeling great and looking forward to Taxol #9 on Thursday.

Looks like a lot of us will be heading on over to the rads in January..... we'll have to start a thread over there.  Not sure when my rads will "officially" start, but they mentioned 3-4 weeks after chemo, so I'm guessing end January.  I'd like to go to Florida during my kid's Spring break, which is mid-March..... we'll be cutting it close I think.

Hope everybody else had a great holiday.

Abbi

figsgirls

OK I just wrote a post proclaiming how excited I am to be FINISHED and then accidentally deleted the entire thing! So here I go again. I'M FINISHED!!! Taxol #12 was today!!! HOORAY! I have never looked forward to anything so much in my whole life! I nearly began to cry when the nurse put up that last bag of Taxol! I practically skipped out to the car - my daughter was laughing at me. We opened a bottle of champage with dinner and I drank some!

Since it was my last tx, I had to see the NP first. She said I have done "phenomenally well" through chemo. Cool. So I asked her about getting the port out, and she did say they like to keep it in a year because the risk of recurrence is highest in the first year. But she said if I want it out they would write a script for the PS to take it out in January when he does my swap surgery (taking out the tissue expanders and putting in the silicone implants). I gladly took her up on that! I really feel like it will be emotionally damaging to have to look at that port in me every day for a year. Not that I can ever forget this horrid experience, but the port is just one more reminder I don't need. So add me to the list of those having surgery in January.

But I won't be joining you all on the rads board. I decided not to do rads because I am in that "maybe, maybe not category" and the potential benefit is too small, I decided, to go through with rads. I will just count on the Tamoxifen, which I'll start in January, to do what it's supposed to do.

So now it's time for me to start working on overcoming what BC treatment has done to my body and mind - getting my strength back and thinking positive thoughts every day. I plan to start running again (in whatever form it takes, and it will probably be u-g-l-y) next Monday, in honor of the fact that I don't have a tx!! I'll report back on it, unless of course I keel over on the road because I am so out of shape..................

I started to visit the "Moving On" boards, but I will continue to see you all on this board until we all cross the finish line!!

Donna

P.S. Speaking of "seeing", I am going to have my daughter take my picture and will try to post it.

LottaQuilts

WAHOO DONNA!!!!

I'm looking forward to that last one and often think about what it'll be like to see her hang that last bag of Taxol and then walk out of that chemo suite for the last time!  I'll probably be skipping out as well.

I have a great book called After Cancer Treatment by Julie K. Silver.  She's a physical therapist and BC survivor.  Her book talks about that stage after treatment when you are faced with getting your life in order and moving forward.  You might find something useful out of it.  I've read a lot of it already...... even though I'm still quite a few months away from done.

Congrats again!!!!

Abbi

figsgirls

Thanks for the suggestion on that book, Abbi. I think I will pick it up.

mmcp

I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday to discuss the surgery & when it will happen.  The date is January 15, she said she waits at least 6 weeks after last chemo before operating.  Does anyone else have to wait this long (anyone doing neo chemo)?  The good side of it is I won't be recovering over the holidays.  I start Herceptin on Dec 11, and I have a cat scan Dec. 5 to check how the chemo worked.  I'm really scared about the scan.  The onc thinks chemo worked very well but still, scary!!!  I will get the results when I see him on the 10th.

brst26

Margie...best of luck with the scan.  I'm sure it will turn out just fine.  I am feeling pretty lousy today from chemo on Thursday.  I just keep telling myself, only one more to go.  I can do it.  Anybody out there ever feel like packing your suitcase and running away though so you didn't have to go to your last chemo?  That's kinda how I feel right now.  I don't want to do this one more time...the whole feeling bad stuff gets to be old.  I just want to feel half-way ok for Christmas (I have my last chemo on the 20th).  Hope you all have a good weekend!

mmcp

Abbey, I think I thought about running away before every treatment!  Try to focus on the fact that you only have 1 more to go.  Think of how many you've already completed!!! 

Do you have a surgery date yet Abbey?

jackiebrown

Hi Donna, I recently joined breastcancer.org and missed out on the support of this group thru chemo but have been checking out some of the other boards for post-chemo questions. I'm 41yrs old, had a bilat and tissue expanders then silicone implants.



I had 2 of 8 nodes affected and also decided to skip rads, agree that ac/taxol plus tamox is hopefully enough! I used to run regularly before all of this but haven't managed to get started yet, hope your attempt monday goes well! I had my port removed with my exchange surgery and it was so liberating. Check out the recon boards. Congrats on being done and best of luck, after surgery and some hair regrowth I felt like a new person



xJackie

jackiebrown

Hi Donna, I recently joined breastcancer.org and missed out on the support of this group thru chemo but have been checking out some of the other boards for post-chemo questions. I'm 41yrs old, had a bilat and tissue expanders then silicone implants.



I had 2 of 8 nodes affected and also decided to skip rads, agree that ac/taxol plus tamox is hopefully enough! I used to run regularly before all of this but haven't managed to get started yet, hope your attempt monday goes well! I had my port removed with my exchange surgery and it was so liberating. Check out the recon boards. Congrats on being done and best of luck, after surgery and some hair regrowth I felt like a new person



xJackie

brst26

Thanks Margie...I know that I can do this.  It's just mentally taxing at times.  No, I do not have a surgery date yet.  They have to wait until I have another MRI 2-4 wks after my last chemo...then they will schedule surgery.  I'm thinking that it will end up being sometime towards the end of January.  How about you?

Did everybody else have surgery first?

figsgirls

ABBEY, YOU CAN DO THIS! Margie is right - think of how far you've already come! It sure is mentally taxing, though, feeling like crap, knowing you are going to feel like crap for a couple of days, trying to be positive anyway....... but you are sooooooooo close to being done..........

I had surgery first. Actually two surgeries. First a lumpectomy because we all thought the tumor was around 1.5 to 2cm. But then it turned out to be 4cm and my margins were not clean so I had a mast. because I had small breasts so there wouldn't have been much left by the time they were done. Chose bilateral because my BC was lobular and hadn't shown up on my mammos. so I worried about safely keeping the other breast.

Looking back I wonder, if they'd known my tumor was 4cm, they would probably have done chemo first. Oh well.

Today is the one week anniversary of my last chemo and I was soooooo happy all day long. That will be you soon!

Margie - for my swap surgery my PS said he likes to wait 3 months after chemo before doing the surgery. He agreed to do it at the end of January (8 1/2 weeks) as long as my blood counts are OK.

Jackie - welcome and sorry you didn't join us sooner. I didn't run today. But I did pick up an extra Pilates class so I did that today instead.

Donna

jbw3843

Yes Abbey, I dreaded the AC. I think by the 4th one you know what to expect and the dread sets in. I would get down in the dumps the day before, knowing I'd have a lousy week ahead of me. But hang in there. It gets so much better when you are done with those treatments! I still get tired, but there is no comparison to the side effects I'd get with the AC. Only one more, you are almost there!

I stopped by the radiologists office to ask when I should schedule my first appointment (it's in the same building as my oncologist) and they told me they like at least a 3 week break after chemo so that the chemo drugs can clear your system.

I look forward to moving to the next phase. I'm thankful that July is but a distant memory. It seems like a long time ago, but in other ways time has gone fast. I'm so happy to be getting some stubble on my head. 

Jane 

LottaQuilts

OH YES!!!!  10 Taxol down, 2 to go.  That's 14 days.  2 little weeks!!!!  I'm going to make it.  There's very bright light at the end of this l-o-n-g tunnel.

Then it's on to Rads and Tamoxifin, but at least the worst stuff is behind me.

Feeling GREAT!  Hope everyone else is as well.

Abbi

rspayne

I started Radiation this Monday...so, I have four treatments under my belt.  So far, so good....I'll let you know as things progress....I will be finished the third week in January...can't wait.   rose

brst26

I'm really excited...talked to my surgeon and asked about getting my port removed...she said she could take it out the same time as my surgery!!  No waiting for me  

Thanks for all of the encouragement and support...one chemo left!  Hope all is well with everybody.  Have a great rest of the week ladies!

LottaQuilts

It's so great to see us all getting to the end and talking about ports coming out, one more to go, etc.

I have 2 more Taxols to go in the next 9 DAYS!!!!  I can hardly believe I'm down to 9 days to done.  Seems like I've been doing this FOREVER.  

Hair's coming in nice and thick, just really short.  If it were summer, I might be brave enough to go w/o a scarf.  I look just as odd with the scarf as "topless" at this point.  It's just too cold.  Hoping that, by the end of radiation the hair will be ready, too.

I'm calling my surgeon after chemo on Thursday to schedule my port removal for any time after the 20th.  Hoping to get that done before I start rads.

Doesn't it feel sooooo good to be near the end?

Abbi

brst26

Yes, it sure does feel good to be near the end, Abbie! 

mmcp

Abbi & Abbey, I totally agree with how great it feels to have chemo done/almost done! 

I started Herceptin today, it was fine.  No side effects so far.  I got the results of my cat scan yesterday.  There hasn't been any spread & the lump and suspicious chest node shrunk, yay!  It still shows a lump but the onc said we won't know how much of it is cancer & how much is dead cancer cells until it comes out.  Part of me can't wait to have the surgery and part of me dreads it, if that makes sense.  I can't wait to not have to feel the lump anymore, but it's very sad to say goodbye to my breasts.

figsgirls

YAY!! Every one of us is done or almost done with chemo!!

That's good news about your scan, Margie. I think I had a delayed reaction to mourning my breasts. Back in June, I couldn't wait for them to be gone because that's where the cancer was. But now I kind of miss them. I can't wait until Jan. 31 to get my silicone ones!!

I had a funny experience last weekend. My friend and I went to a local cosmetology school and I had a seaweed body wrap. Well, you have to take off everything but your underwear. So there I am with my naked self - I have the expanders in so I have boobs, but with big scars and no nipples. Plus my port bump is very noticeable. I told the student who was going to do the wrap that I hoped I wasn't freaking her out, and briefly explained what it all was. She was very interested!

So she slathers on the seaweed stuff and while she's doing it she says something about not wanting to get any in my hair. So I say, "It's just a wig - I can take it off if you want." She said "It is??" She swore she didn't know because it looked so natural. So I took it off so as not to get seaweed gunk in it. Well then I'm all wrapped up and she offers to give me a scalp massage while the wrap is doing its thing. So I'm lying there and she's massaging my scalp and forehead and she starts to move toward my eyebrows to massage them. So then I had to say "My eyebrows are drawn on and I don't want to smudge them." That poor student!! When the wrap was finished, she confessed that mine was the first she had done on a client. And there I was, surprising her at every turn! She was great, though. Never acted uncomfortable.

So then I went out to the front area to pay, and there was another customer paying for her hair cut. She looked at me and said "Wow! Your haircut turned out great!" It was, of course my wig, but I just smiled and said thank you. My friend and I got a huge giggle out of the whole event.

I find I'm wearing my wig almost all the time in public now. Since I'm done treating, I want to look normal again.

Have a great week everyone.

Donna

LottaQuilts

Great story, Donna. I think it's fantastic that you are so comfortable with your new body that you'd go naked like that. You rock, girl!



Just got home from Taxol #11. One more to go!!!! That's one week from today and I am off this train! Can't wait to see Mary (one of the nurses) do her dance. The girls were all telling me today that Mary does a special dance when you're done. They were all teasing her about bringing her dance shoes next week. They've been great.



Did you all take your nurses a gift on your last day? I was thinking a box of chocolates or something...



Took DD for a haircut yesterday and showed our stylist my hair growth. She was trying to convince me to go w/o scarf....she's thinks I look "hot". If it were summertime I might, but right now I need the scarf for warmth! But it is coming in nice and think and salt-and-pepper. I'll definitely need a color job!



We're almost to the finish line, gals (well, some of you are already there)..... WE DID IT!!!



Abbi