Starting Chemo February 2009?

KerryMac

Hey there New Vomit Queen!! - so happy to hear you are home. I have been thinking of you all week, wondering how you are. OMG, I cannot believe how much you puked! I remember coming home from Surgery (I had day surgery, they chopped my boob off 8:00, sent me home at 11:00!) with a plastic bag for my puke, then I got up our front steps and puked again in the garden! It is the anesthetic I think. Anyhow, glad you hear all went well. Hope you don't have too much pain. The hardest thing I found were those jolly drains, my poor husband had to empty them. I also had a nurse come to the house every day to change the dressing on the wound. I remember being desperate for them to come out so I could have a shower and wash my hair - at least you won't have that worry! LOL! Anyhow, keep getting better, let us know how you are doing!!

gcpommom

Terri:  Glad to hear I'm not the only paranoid mom out there!  I feel so overprotective of him, because 11 yrs old or not, he's still my baby.  Plus, I'm so not used to this 'boy' stuff!  My other kids are girls.

Apple:  wow, I had no idea those organs cost so much!  And they look so confusing to play, all those buttons and pedals!  Good luck in your search.  Hope the mouth sores get better....mine flare up between tx's, then get just better enough to get the next tx, thank goodness.

Michele:  My docs never tell me to avoid crowds or stay home....no shots either....they pretty much like to act like everything is fine and dandy, even with these low counts.  Until I read your post, I forgot that I should probably avoid crowds, and the day after chemo I went food shopping at 4 different stores (I was really out of food), then went garage sailing the next 2 days.  Then I read your post and thought....hmmm, so much for avoiding crowds and germs!  Wish my docs would remind me of these things, since this is the first time my counts have dropped so low.

Artemis:  I'm glad to hear that you made it through your surgery ok, even though the puking part sounds just terrible ;(  I do hope you are feeling better, and that you aren't having any pain or anything!  Take it easy, rest, let the boys take care of you!

Kerry:  Good morning you early riser!  Hope you are feeling well today, and have some nice warm weather to enjoy up there in Canada!  How's the hair growin' in for ya???  Mine is doing ok, getting more dark hairs in with those white.  I've even showed my family my head, finally!  I was so chicken to do that. 

One thing I learned yesterday.....no hair = bare neck = sunburn.  Never had to think about the back of my neck before with my long hair, but it has never really seen much sun until yesterday, when I went out with just a head scarf, no wig hanging down to protect it.  It's the only place I burned.    

Hugs

Judy

KerryMac

Hey Judy - I'm getting dark hair too, I think the "real" stuff is starting to come in. My three year old even said this morning "Mummy has hair", that is a bit of an exaggeration, but there is certainly something going on up there. Think we are in for a sunny day today, rain tomorrow. So, yard work today, errands and chores tomorrow. Rads are going fine, only had 4 but so far so good.

Have a great day everyone. 

webwriter

Still here, still with ya'll...just had to speak up and say thanx to Jaimieh. This unruly mop of sparsity was getting me down more than I thought. I went over the whole thing with a #1 before Little Monkey's Birthday party today...and felt like a new woman! Just having it look a little more uniform and a little less unkept did a world of good for me. Thanx for the thought. Worked like a charm!

KerryMac

Just wishing everyone a good day. Hugs.

We'll have to start posting photos of our fuzz! I certainly don't have enough to buzz!

apple

another busy day.. our city has hosted a 3-4 day carnival and my husband's knights of columbus council has a booth.. It's just blocks from our house.. today tho, we go to Osceola to boyscout camp visitor's day... not my favorite thing but i should get some hiking miles in and the weather is excellent.

baby daughter apple (10) got her hair chopped off by a licensed hair dresser.. next time i will do it myself.

gcpommom

Kerry, I don't have enough to buzz either!  But what I do have doesn't photograph well yet.

Well, I had decided I was tired of crashing each weekend, had some leftover steroid pills from AC, and took one steroid pill for 3 days after chemo (like I was when on AC).  Not only did it help, I got so much cleaning/work done yesterday.  Of course, I'm sore and achy as heck now, and I am  crashing this morning, but still.....it helped.   I only have 3 steroid pills left, and I doubt she will give me more....she doesn't seem to understand how it tapers you off so you don't crash so hard.

Anyway, rainy day here, which is fine, we need some rain.  Unfortunately, rain again tomorrow for DS's River Boat field trip, that's a shame.  Well, gotta go start breakfast. 

Hugs

Judy

gcpommom

Morning Apple... sounds like a busy day for you.  Was your DD's haircut poorly done?  Or do you just prefer to cut it yourself?  I used to cut my daughters' hair, but my son....way too hard!  Enjoy your day at your son's camp!

KerryMac

Judy - I have some extra steroids left, I wish I could give them to you. I've thought of hanging out at the gym, see if I can get any takers!!

Apple - i wouldn't even go near my kids hair. I am too scared I would mess it up. I used to have bangs many moons ago,  and the number of times I thought I would just trim them a bit, and ended up with none at all!

Raining here too. Just off shopping....have a great day!

Bethie1

Hey gang!!  I'm starting to get my fuzz, not enough to photograph yet.  but have I got great news!!! I'm a mom to a 2 month old kitten, she's got more hair than me!! LOL Got her yesterday at PetSmart!! She's TOO CUTE!!!

Well, gonna run gang!!

MicheleS

OK... trying to post a fuzzy head picture:

MicheleS

and a wig picture (we took DS to camp today had he wanted me to wear it):

edited to add that the pic in my avatar is my real hair.  I bought my wig to look like it but didn't realize how close they look until the pics were next to each other. LOL!

Jaimieh

Webbie~ sometime  I think of something good.  Not very often but once in a while..lol...  I go at the end of the month.

Michele~ I love the hair picture. 

Tomorrow I got for herceptin only (normally it would have been my chemo day) and let me tell you I didn't miss taking decadron today at all.  I am a little nervous about herceptin only and going by myself but I am sure I will be okay.  We went away this weekend again and I felt much better about being hours away from the hospital that I go to .  Tomorrow I am starting my clean a-thon because I don't have long until my exchange surgery and I would like to be prepared. 

I have been struggling to trust my body again, each ache has been worrying me but I just keep reminding myself that I still have chemo. effects in my body.  It stinks that I still have nerve pain going on along with neuropathy but each day I feel a little better. 

Does anyone else have skin discoloration ?  It's starting to peel off but my skin looks like I have dirt on it right now in someplaces...it's gross. 

Off too clean...

apple

good hair Michelle.

it is so exciting to have it come back in.  I curse myself for having complained about my hair's curliness - that will teach me.  i promise to never complain again,.

gcpommom

Michele:  wow, your hair is filling in much better than mine is.  What a lovely picture, your daughter is a redhead, what a cutie!

Bethie:  congrats on becoming a 'mom' to your little kitty! 

I am having a tough day.....my skin actually hurts to touch from my neck down my arms and back....I have a headache and random numbness in feet/legs/hands.  My throat hurts, too, and the mouth sores are killing me.  I am feeling rather depressed today, and have been terribly sad and crabby.  *sigh*  I hope I feel better in the morning.  I hate the crash days.

Well, I'm gonna go rinse this nasty taste out of my mouth....yuck.

Hugs

Judy

apple

i'm glad you've described your symptoms gcpmmom.. this is exactly what i am feeling.. it feels like cancer of the neck and head.. so yucky.  (i am really loving cottage cheese)

xpectmiracles

Michelle, that is a beautiful picture of you and your daughter!

Judy and Apple, I hope you both feel better soon.

Jaimieh, my skin has patchy dark spots from chemo, too. I hope they go away.

My hair is mostly baby bird fluff. On the sides I see some darker hairs, but they are all pretty thin and wispy.

suzmarks

Hi all, just wanted to chime in after being silent for so long. I'm still keeping up with everyone just haven't had a chance to read messages on a daily basis like I was doing before. So much going on at home, including some construction in my house, and the installation of a  gas burning stove. Also my daughter graduating high school just came down with mono 5 days before her senior prom. Additionally we moved another daughter off to her new apartment off campus about an hour away. I've been watching a colleague/friend I work with go through a stem cell transplant for his bone cancer. His cancer came back after being in remission. Boy did he go through a lot. They removed and put back 80 million cells in his body. It's going to take him about 6 months before he's feeling normal again. It sure gives me  a prospective to what I've gone through, which is to say not too much in comparison. Anyhow I wish the best to you all. I'm so impressed with the positive attitude that so many have with their surgeries. I can't imagine thinking about surgery after going through the chemo, you're such troopers. Sorry to hear about the depression and struggles because of the cancer. I feel so bad for you beautiful women in your 30s and 40s who are parenting young children and who have to deal with this as well. I made it to 50 before having this part of my life. I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from my last chemo. I'm feeling good aside from some neuropathy in my toes and running eyes and nose. It's a pretty nice thought that I don't have to undergo infusions anymore. I'm trying to get a date to have my port removed, can't wait. My oncologists said it could come out but my radiation oncologist made a comment about keeping it in for awhile until there's more certainty that the cancer is gone.That didn't sound too positive to me. Neither of them believe in doing any testing for reoccurance. Just keeping up with mammograms is what they recommend. They will do blood work but mostly I think  to assess  The WBC and RBC. I keep staying up way too late at night (12:43 AM) and then don't get enough sleep. Must put myself to bed now. Wishing everyone a pleasant and SE-free week.

MicheleS

Apple and Judy~ I have the sore mouth too.  Plus, I have a few actual mouth ulcers... ouch.  My neck pain is pretty constant now.  It used to go away by Monday but no such luck anymore.

Jaimeih~ You hit the nail on the head regarding not trusting your body anymore.  I feel like mine betrayed me (along with God but that's a whole 'nother post) and I can't trust it anymore.  

I have 2 more neuopen (sp??) shots left!  Thank goodness that's almost over.  I have to go in for one at 8am.  I'm going to try to work for a few hrs after that but I doubt I'll even make it a 1/2 day today.

{{hugs}}

Jaimieh

Michele~ I hope your neuopen shot is not as bad as you fear. 

I go in in 4 hours for my herceptin only and I couldn't sleep last night at all.  This is not a great way to start a week that I need to get things done.  It's gonna be busy, busy and I have a feeling I am gonna be dragging.  I sure hope they take me back quickly I have to get home to pick up my daughter who gets out early this week.  Sometimes the best laid plans are shot to hell......

KerryMac

Michelle - lovely photos! We have about the same amount of hair, I should get a photo too. Your wig is nicer than mine. I really dislike the style mine is now. Your daughter is so cute!!

Judy - Ohh, I had that exact same soreness. I found it almost worse than the Muscle aches, as no body could touch me.  Sorry you have been feeling low, sending you a big hug.

Suzanne - great to hear from you. You have certainly been busy!  I would just get the port removed - really, if you ever need more Chemo, getting another one installed would be the last of your worries. My Onc doesn't do any scans either, not sure what her check-ups will be like. I know i will be very nervous!!

Jaimie - hope it goes well today. 

I am with you on every ache and pain. I got a sore spot on my lower rib that I got all freaked out about (feels like a bruise) until I figured out it is where I rest the laundry basket when carrying it up and down the stairs.... Nothing is going to be "nothing" anymore.

Anyhow, i have a day off Rads today (the centre is closed) It is still a bit rainy here, but next weekend is looking good. Wishing everyone a good day. 

gcpommom

What a difference a week can make...I was up all night, first because the numbness was driving me nuts, then the pain started in the middle of the night through the rest of my body...legs, hips.....it really hurts.  Usually Mondays are good days for me, too, Michele, but not any more I guess. 

I am supposed to have a garage sale this weekend....have a lot of stuff to get rid of, but absolutely no energy to get started with the sorting and pricing.....love going to garage sales, hate having one though.

Well, I'm going back to bed for a while.

Hugs

Judy

living4today

Hi Everyone....I thought I posted a post on Saturday, but can't seem to find it in the listing, so I will start over....

 I am a GRANDMA!!!!  We welcomed our first grandson into the world at 342am on Saturday morning.  My independant daughter decided she wanted her mom to hold her hand through labor although it was a long night and a bit of a challenge for me to push through as I had #9 Abraxene on Thursday....it was such a blessing!  I truely felt that I was given a wonderful gift to experience this birth.  We spent most of the weekend at the hospital holding our little guy...but, boy am I hurting and exhausted today.  Kind of frustrating that I can't help out more through this time, but this little guy is giving me the energy to push a little harder to be a WARRIOR!!!

Thanks for whoever mentioned the skin tenderness....any one have any face numbness? predominantely on one side?

 Thanks for letting me share this journey with you all....

Jaimieh

Congrats~ living4today   Glad you where able to be there for the birth.

I made it thru my first herceptin only treatment.  I sure wish we could completely give up the benedryl because even with 25mg I was loopy.  I don't like the way benedryl makes me feel I had an appt. with PA before hand and everything looks great with me.  After my appt. I had my blood drawn and learned that I have to go back Wednesday for a blood transfusion.  I am not happy about it but it's to make sure that my blood counts look good for next week for my surgery.  So I have to go sit for 6 hours on Wednesday and I need to make sure that I take my laptop on Wednesday. 

I am 3 weeks out of chemo today and I can't begin to tell you how nice it was to go to the infusion center today and just get Herceptin.  It's still not fun but a whole lot better than preparing for the chemo. hole.   Off to T-ball

gcpommom

living4today:  Congratulations!!!  How wonderful to have a new baby around to hold and love!  On the numbness, my tongue also gets numb, and my chin feels numb sometimes, but not just one side....did you ask your doctor about that?

I soooo crashed today....DS went on his school field trip, and I slept from 10 til 3.  Could've kept sleeping, but wanted to get up and look halfway human before he got home. 

Still having pain and tired, but slightly better.  My onc now wants to see me tomorrow, so had to change my appts... honestly I am ready to quit right now, don't want to go through this again.  I am so scared that the neuropathy will be permanent.  I've read other women whose neuropathic symptoms don't even get bad until AFTER they're done with chemo....so even stopping chemo doesn't mean it won't get worse!  Not good.

I'm sorry...don't wanna be a whiner...

Hugs

Judy

webwriter

Michelle, I too am going to give you a run for your money on your title. Bleh.

Eight weeks out of chemo and NOW I start puking? WHA!!!??!?!?!?

apple

aaawww.. sorry about the nausea Webbie et al.

tomorrow is my 4th to the least chemo.. this will be a bad week for my mouth.. ouchy.

if any of you ladies wax poetic occasionally, join the poetry thread under HELP ME GET THROUGH TREATMENT.

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topic/734703?page=3#idx_74

you might have to copy and paste the address into your browzer

suzmarks

Webbie, 8 weeks out and getting sick, is this chemo related? That's suckith. It sounds like Judy is saying the same thing with neuopathy striking worse after chemo ends. Living4today, how exciting about your first grandchild. You certainly don't look old enough to grandparent. Enjoy that little baby. I also felt numbness in my left check, face cheek that is. Apple, thanks for the website, I look forward to checking it out when I have some more time. KerryMac, thanks for your response. I really do want this 3 pronged apparatus out of me. I can't help it but I sometimes get these crazy thoughts like if something were to happen, something like a Katrina disaster I don't want to be stuck with this thing in me that needs to be cleaned out every so often. Jaimieh, are you saying your blood transfusion takes 6 whole hours? Sorry to hear it's so long. Good luck.  Bethie1, can't believe we haven't connected yet. We're neighbors and our connection is online. Let me know if you want to meet for coffee (I don't drink the stuff) or something. Congrats on your little kitty, I have two cats myself. Michele, it is amazing how much your wig really does look like your real hair. Everyone, How have you all dealt with compliments on your wig when people don't know it's not your real hair? Sometimes I politely say thanks and sometimes I fess up to it being a wig. Lots of time I want to yank the wig off and show my shiny baldness. I feel like the wig is starting to show signs of age or something. I'll catch a look in the mirror and I can tell where the elastic is and I'll have to smooth down the hair. This morning I almost forgot to put my wig on before I went into school, I always wear my wig in school. I had a hat on and had left my car when I remembered. I ducked down between cars and quickly swapped my wig for my hat. I can't believe none of the students have caught me wigless yet. I ride my scooter to school many days now with the nice weather. I ride bald with my helmet on. After I park and get my bags I have to get my helmet off and get my wig on. It's kind of funny to see. I'm in the parking lot so as I did this morning I do a super quick changing of head wear. Sure hope by Sept. I'll be done with the wig. Realistically I don't think 3 months will be enough time. Well another late night and another start to a work day sleep deprived. Oh well. My best to all.

Gramof3

My grands' artwork:

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Gramof3

My grands' artwork: