Starting Chemo February 2009?

apple

yum....

i make a spinach loaf that is supreme - tons of spinach (frozen or fresh) mozarella cheese and eggs basically.. you can add all sorts of things (particularly mushrooms and different cheeses)

have a great day.. i have to go to a boyscout thing.. the weather is great tho.

KerryMac

Spinach loaf sounds great too....all those phytochemicals!!

have fun with the boyscouts!

Bethie1

Hey Kerry--Sounds yummy!!! I bet hubby and the kids devour that quickly!!! Of course, my sweet tooth kicks in now!!

Gramof3

Bethie     Hope you are feeling better...

Thought maybe Elsie needed a playmate!

KerryMac    Thanks for the recipe--do you use portabella mushrooms?

gcpommom

Kerry:  I just now saw the baby fish for the first time, and he is still alive!!!  For now, he will live in there alone.  Might get goldfish instead, they don't get big.  We tried to keep them alive by using a bicycle pump, but it was hopeless, and tiring.  Love your pictures....you'll be flipping your hair around again before you know it!

Cheryl:  It would be lovely to meet you....Bloomfield is about 25 miles from here, I think....let me know.  Love your pic (both of them)!  I was going to buy that same shirt, but without the ribbon on it.  You have a great smile!

Living4today; Congratulations on finishing!!!  Woohoo!!!!

Jaimie: I'm sorry the meds make you sick....how often do you have to take them?  Love the pic, you look great!  I'm sure your hair will grow in and look just as lovely as it does in your pic.  You look cute in your bikini....I have one just like it....we have the same body, really, except I have no boobies yet!

Michele:  Love the pic, I like your hair in that pic, it's a bit longer than in your avatar.  How are you doing now that you are done?  You asked how I might feel afterward, and I am finding myself a bit depressed at times.  I just want to feel normal again.  I don't miss going to chemo, and that part is getting more 'normal', not having to go.  

I wake up every day with "asleep" arms that lasts for at least an hour, and now I also get 2 fingers that feel like they are on fire for a while after I get up.  I hate the neuropathy, it makes me achy, my hands feel like I have arthritis.....I feel like I'm 80.  I am glad I stopped the Taxol when I did.

Artemis:  you look so pretty and young!  I had pictured you as older and with shorter hair.....it's good to know what everyone looks like!  What a handsome son!  Is he your only child?

Apple:  great pic!  I don't think our DH's will ever tire of s*e*x*!!!  You're nicer than I am....I took a long hiatus during chemo, it was the last thing on my mind.  Honestly though, I sobbed *afterward* last week....felt so self conscious and sad about my lost breasts....it was just so emotional for me.  Poor hubby was so confused... 

Web:  what a beautiful picture, we haven't had a family pic in such a long time....as soon as I have hair again, I swear we're getting one done.

Bethie:  Hi!  How are you doing?  I hope you are over the pneumonia...I had it back in March, and it stinks!

Ok, well I have to run...my DS and his friends (girls, lol) are swimming in the pool, and I need to keep an eye on them.  I have to get into my old computer to find some before pics, and I'll post them later on.

Hugs

Judy

living4today

Hi everyone--the pics and postings are awesome!

Judy--thank you for sharing that you sobbed afterward--I still do that too...I think that is one of the times, I hate the "c" the most--it has robbed me...

I have a nail question: mine are white and lifting, but also have a yellow, sticky substance that leaks out from under them and it stinks.  Last week I kept taking showers trying to get rid of an odor I kept smelling, duh...yesterday, I finally figured it out that it was coming from under my nails....gross and yuck! 

Hope everyone is having a great day!

gcpommom

Kim:  maybe they are infected???  I've seen other women mention this before....mine just turned white and fell off.  My onc wanted to see it afterward to make sure there was no infection.  Hope it gets better...that sounds icky!

Hugs

Judy

MRSROCKYTOP55

Judy, so sorry to hear about the storm and your fish.  On a happy note, congratulations on your anniversary!!!!!  I pray you have 25 more.  Kathy

MicheleS

Judy and Kim~I thought I was the only person out there who can't deal with sex... I just hate my body...

Jaimieh

Add me to the list of people who have a hard time dealing with the deed.  Yup I have cried and then laughed which made my DH feel just great.  Poor Man I am hoping that one day I can be semi-normal again.  In my defense he kept making fun of my legs last time so I handled it by laughing....  So I am claiming that it is his fault  

I'm back home until tomorrow and then I will hopefully get to head south if the Dr. gives me the go-ahead. 

apple

i've never liked it... to tell you the truth.  all a bunch of hullabaloo.. i'd much rather play the electric organ.

gcpommom

Apple, lol, ....I know what you're saying....definitely overrated! 

Michele, Jaimie, and Kim:  I'm glad I shared, I almost didn't (didn't want to offend anyone), but I feel better now knowing that it's not just me.  bc just affects every part of our lives, I guess, in so many ways.  I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable in my body again, even when I do get my foobs.

Kathy:  Hi!  Thanks, I can't believe it's been 25 years.  My fish were awesome, the biggest one was about 12" long and would eat from my hand.  Got them when they were about 4" long...they grow really fast!  From now on, no more than 2 fish in that pond.

I'm still up.....don't wanna go to bed and wake up with that awful tingling crap.  I sent an email to my onc, I'll see what she thinks.

My cable co. blocked my outgoing mail....said I either have a virus in my computer or am spamming people (????)  They must be kidding.... we've checked every computer in the house, and no viruses.  I'll be calling them in the a.m. and getting this resolved. 

Hugs

Judy

KerryMac

Just a quick hi - am off to Rads in a minute and will be late and rushed if I don't get a move on. Just wanted to say good morning to everyone. Judy - hope your arm gets better - do you think you have pinched a nerve or something, or is it just a lovely Chemo Souvenir??

 Sex is a prob for me too....oh, our poor husbands. 

Anyhow, will write more soon!

Jaimieh

Sitting in the infusion room getting ready for the H   Onc. checked out my lump and it's the expander....whoooo....  So I got the one go ahead for going on vacation and I see my nephrologist (kidney doctor) @ 12:30 and will hopefully get #2 go ahead.  Then we will be making the 16 hour car ride down south.  I trying hard not to get excited until I get the go ahead from my next doctor but it's hard.  After all of these treatments I just want to get away and go on a vacation. 

I am 6 weeks out today and my energy is slowly returning.  My hardest part after my surgery is remembering that I just had surgery and not to over do it.  I weeded the garden the other day and over did it   I was then sore all weekend long because of weeding..  On a positive note my garden looks a lot better  

gcpommom

Jaimie, well, at least your garden looks better, lol....you sound like me!  I just want to do 'normal' things so much that i forget that I will pay for it later!  Good luck with doc #2, and enjoy your vacation!

KerryMac

Yep, I am great at overdoing things and then hurting afterward. My husband says i am a gardening addict, I just can't leave it alone.

Hope you get 2 'go aheads' from your Dr's Jaimie and get a vacation. I would love one myself about now. 

Bathroom guy rang earlier and is starting tomorrow. It should take 2 weeks - ugg, noise and mess. 

Went to Rads topless today. whoohoo. Just thought I had to bite the bullet at some point. My wig was getting too hot.  Got a few stares, especially as we stopped off to look at bathroom stiuff on our way home. But it was OK.

Just started raining here. Think we are in store for a Thunderstorm. 

gcpommom

Kerry:  Good for you for going topless!  My hair is getting longer, and more coverage, but with it being so much white (although I have more dark hairs coming in), I still look bald-ish.  I'm guessing that by the end of July I might be able to try it.

It's been so long since I've worn a wig (I use the long head scarfs, the 'gypsy' look), that on Saturday when we were going out for our anniversary dinner, I never even thought about it.  I was so unhappy about how I looked in a dress with the scarf, when my DH said something that reminded me...oh yeah, I have a wig!  So I wore it....and I looked nice.  But too hot and itchy!  It was off as soon as we got into the car!

Here are some pics from the storm that hit our neighborhood:

See the man standing next to the uprooted tree?  It is like 10 ft of roots he's next to, it was a huge willow tree! 

This was a smaller tree, what got me mad was kids were riding their bikes under the tilted tree, where are those parents???

Hugs

Judy

apple

looks like my neighborhood Judy (but not as nice - we kind of live in the ghetto as my kids say.  fortunately all plants on our property survived unscathed.

Artemis

Feh.  I think I caught Bethie1's pneumonia.  (Actually, it's probably bronchitis.)  I've been coughing my head off since Saturday night, and I started running a fever today.  Mr Artemis has gone to the drugstore to pick up my antibiotics.  Woohoo.


I didn't get to start rads today due to the death of Mr Artemis' sister.  I will start tomorrow; nurse said it's ok unless I get really really REALLY sick tonight/tomorrow morning.

Judy ~ aww, so sad about your fish.  I lost a betta fish during a power outage in January, and I cried and cried.  I felt like a very bad fish mommy.  Yes, my son is my only child.  We love going to sports things together; husband and other family members go sometimes, but that game was a special one to which he wanted to take just me.  I'm so glad we got to have that time together before BC hit us.  I hope your arm SE goes away soon!!

KerryMac ~ Thanks for the recipe!  I'm glad you went topless to rads; I'm considering it, and you've given me courage!

living4today ~ My nails are wanting to turn white, too.  I'll be quite distressed if they start coming off.  I agree with Judy that maybe you have an infection in your nails?!

Hugs to all,
Artemis

KerryMac

Artemis - be brave, be bald!! Actually, I just decided I had to go out sometime, it may as well be now. I had a good laugh with my neighbour about it - I now have the same haircut as him!! Sorry to hear your husbands sister - was it sudden? My condolences....Hope your cough clears up, sounds like no fun.

Judy - great photos! Wow, I cannot imagine a storm like that here. 

Artemis

KerryMac ~ Thank you, and no it wasn't sudden.  She was 82* and had been in bad health for about 2 years.  We honestly didn't think she would live as long as she did.  I will miss her, though; she was soooooo funny and sweet.

*Mr Artemis is 20 years older than I am plus he is the baby of his family, so yes, I have sisters-in-law who are quite elderly!

KerryMac

Well, my husband is 4 years younger than me!!

Here are my kids having a picnic in the backyard yesterday....

KerryMac

And my current hair - I am getting my eyebrows back!

living4today

Kerry....I am officially jealose!!  Love your hair!

Also, love the pics of your kids...your picnic looks like so much fun! 

Artemis...so sorry about your cough, hope it clears up soon!  Also, hope you get do to rads tomorrow.  If my PET scan is clear, I get to start rads on the 20th.

Judy...loved those tree pics!

I have a call and email into oncologist about nails, decided to start soaking them in peroxide--seems to be helping a bit.

 Hope everyone is having a great evening!

Kim

Artemis

Kerry ~ Aw, your kidlets are so cute!  I love the stuffed animals at the picnic.  You have a lot of hair!!  (Compared to me, that is, heh...)

Thank you, living4today.  I hope your PET is clear, clear, clear!!! 

Hugs to all,
Artemis

gcpommom

Artemis:  So sorry about your SIL.   It is nice that you and your son go on those outings....I hope I will be close to my son when he is older; right now, he's just starting with that pre-teen attitude, such fun!  Sorry to hear that you are sick....hope the anitbiotics kick in quickly. 

Kerry:  great pics, your kids are so cute!    Your hair is doing great, and it is so nice and dark that you can see it.  Didn't you get the fuzzy white hairs?  I want eyebrows, durnit!  Mine were so light to begin with that you could hardly see them, but it was still better than no eyebrows!     We don't get too many bad storms here in Michigan, but we usually get one or two each spring/summer that are scary.

Kim:  Hope your nails clear up, I would think you may need antibiotics if they are infected.....hydrogen peroxide is a good idea in the meantime.  Yea, those straight line winds are scary....we lucked out that they missed our street by a block or two.  There is a HUGE tree in my neighbor's yard behind me that makes me very nervous every time we get high winds.  It would land on my house for sure.

I made an awesome dinner for our anniversary, a new recipe for Jerk Chicken, it was really good!  I already make a Carribean rice (with pineapple, mandarin oranges, macadamia nuts, coconut and green pepper, yum) that I serve with it, and baked my Applesauce cake for dessert.  My other DD came over (she lives on fast food), and had a good meal, which makes me feel good to know that she actually ate some real food. 

Gramof3

(((HUGS)) to All Furies!

  

KerryMac:  Great hair--"Gimme some kind of hair, long beautiful hairrr, Shining brightly,..." O.k. I'm old, remember.  The kids are beautiful--thanks for the pics.

Judy, I admire you for cooking such a wonderful meal...where do you get the energy? 

Living4today, my onc nurse told me to soak my toe nails (so far finger nails are o.k.) in a basin of 1:1 white vinegar and water.  It's helping.

Artemis, Hope you feel better soon, and I'm sorry to hear about your SIL.  No matter how old, it's still a loss for you and your husband. 

We haven't heard from Denali for a while--she was under the weather, along with Bethie. 

Those trees remind me of what happened down here in Jan. 07 only it was ice that wrecked entire neighborhoods and some places were without power for over 2 weeks.  I was lucky--mine was only out for a few hours.  A friend of mine and her husband moved into my apartment until power was restored--said she was tired of "THIS PIONEER S__T!"  She was trying to cook in their fireplace and they were sleeping in sleeping bags. (And she teaches American History--ROTFL)

Helen 

Denali

I'm here!  I still read 2-3 times per day.  Not much has been happening as I'm achy every other day so still trying to recover from the pneumonia. 

Kerry - I LOVE your hair!  If mine looked that good, I'd be passing my scarves, wigs and caps on to a chemo sister.  And do you realize how many smiles you bring all of us every time you post photos of your kids? Keep it up!

Judy - those photos after the storm were amazing--and scary!  I felt soooooo badly about your fish!  They sounded beautiful  The fish in my pond would last over the winters too here in CO.  But eventually I got tired of providing lunch for the critters, so I got a pondless waterfall and don't have to worry about the fish.

Here's a photo of my babies at my DD & SIL's mountain house last wkend.

Artemis

Thanks, Furies, for all your thoughts for my family and me.  I truly appreciate all of you.  

Judy ~ that meal sounds awesome, and I'm glad your daughter was able to join you.

Gramof3 ~ Haha!  Last week, I was singing this to my nephew who wears very long bangs:  "Oh say can you see my eyes through my hair if you can then my hair's too short!"  

Denali ~ feel better soon!  Your babies are just lovely, and just look at those mountains behind them!

Hugs to all,
Artemis

apple

i love all the pics..  but most of all I love everyone's growing in hairs.