**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009
Comments
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Christy..glad all went well. So happy that you got some sight seeig in before surgery! Take care and keep us updated.
Happy Chanakah to all and patience and perserverance to all those Xmas shoppers!
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Christy.Glad to hear all went well with your surgery. We were all thinking of you. NO is a great city to visit. Glad you did some tourist stuff too.
Hope you keep up the great progress. How long will you be there ..in the hospital..in NO.
Kim- great to hear that you are getting a haircut. I think I will get my second next week. We all seem to have this salt and pepper hair. Have fun ..enjoy your hair.How is the weather in Halifax. I know you are now a Haligonian..
Isn't it funny how this stuff makes us so excited. Who would have thought. I think this cancer crap makes us appreciate these smaller things more. especially anything to do with hair..
Hugs,
Francine
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Hi Ladies,
A holiday story that's funny and meaningful for all of us.
Each year my friends and I (about 12 of us) go out for a Chanakkah celebration to a nice restaurant. All are retired teachers. Well in the past some of the women were never happy with the gift which they picked from a grab bag. Last year we bought gift cards ,still some complained. Well this year I said we will bring a few dollar gifts and contribute to a charity. This year they will all contribute to Breast Cancer .org. My charity. Next year another women will pick a charity.
Tomorrow I will report back as to how much money I have collected for our board. I know this is a great charity to give to. As we have all found out this past year.
Hope all are doing well and managing with all your jobs and families and shopping.
Hugs,
Francine
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I found a hair product I like!
my hair is getting out of hand! I didn't think it had changed texture,but its denser, somewhat thicker and thus sticks straight up mostly- its about 1.5 inches long. Everyone says its come back darker brown than before. I'm not sure.
Anyway I thought I'd go with the funky spiky look- I am not a girly girl at all- hair products are mostly a mystery to me. I had a couple people suggest Bedhead products- so I tried it- I didn't feel like I was having much luck with it getting to look like I wanted. I went and got my eyebrows waxed for the second time after chemo (and second time ever) and my friend's friend who was doing it gave me a tub of this stuff Redken Electric Wax 11- I like its consistency a lot better- less sticky. And I can roll out of bed and refresh it with a little water and fingers and good as new. I might just have to start wearing makeup or something!
Francine, that is awesome your group of friends is giving to bc.org!
I have thought of making my hike a fundraiser for something. bc.org is most certainly one of the benefactors if I do that.
I have got laid off two weeks ago and it has been an adjustment. I struggle with staying focused since I started tamoxifen. I have so much I want to do projects wise and I never seem to get anything done. It has been freezing here, makes it hard to want to do much besides curl up somewhere warm!
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Kim, I may be ready for my first haircut soon as well...very excited! It feels like people have been staring at me less and less lately, so I'll take that as a good sign
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Well, I did it! Got my hair cut and colored and I love it! Feels great! My hairdresser was very empathic to my situation when it came to cutting my hair. I was really nervous about it as it's been a year since my last hair cut. She only took the ends off and straightened it up a bit. It looks really good. Hopefully it will grow faster now that the split ends are gone.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Kim,Glad you had a good experience. Hair looks real cute.
5Timewinner--You look real pretty. We are ready to have you join the haircut club..
Well yesterday was my annual Chankkah luncheon . I collected and mailed checks to BC.org for 282 dollars. I enclosed a nice note about how meaningful this board has been to me.
Here are a few photos taken yesterday.
" 
"Have a fun weekend all,
Hugs,
Francine
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5Timewinner: You look wonderful and isn't it nice that people don't stare anymore.
Kim: Glad your hairdresser was kind and helpful It's so refreshing to get the first trim.
Francine: Wow....you have a lot of hair and you look great. That is so terrific that you donated to BC.org. Lovely idea.
Christy: How are you doing? Hope you are healing well
Hugs
Beth P
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Wow Francine- You do have a lot of hair! It looks great!!
Christy - Hope you are doing well? When do you head back?
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Hi All,
Francine - Great pics of your friends and HAIR!! It looks fantastic. And what a wonderful donation!!! I must say thank you!!!
Kim - Your hair looks great too!!! Oh Hell, all of the hair on all of your heads looks great!!!!! Since most of you are a couple of weeks to a month ahead of me in recovery I consider this something to look forward to!!! So January should be good!!!!!!!
Ladies, I'm in Southern Maryland and the snow is coming down like crazy!!! I absolutely love it!!! it totally screws up my day and I may not get to a party tonight, but it's so beautiful!!!!!!! I'd post pics, but I forgot my camera in PA at Thanksgiving!! bummer....
Chris.. hope you're healing well.
I hope you all have a great weekend!!!
Beth
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Kim and Nadine I love your hair styles!
Francine lovely pictures as always.
I am back from Singapore and feeling nervous about appointment with fertility doctor tomorrow. She will yell at me over Tamoxifen, I have no doubt.
Dayla like you I find hair products a mystery, though for me it is because I always had long daggy hair which I just pulled back without any real styling. I have found a wax thing which prevents me looking too like a poodle. Damian says I look like a koala bear. He thinks it is cute but I can't wait fr my hair to be a bit longer!
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Rachel,Hope you had a fun time in Singapore. Did you do any shopping. Sounds so exotic for us here in the US an Canada. Are you not taking Tamoxifin? What does the fertility doctor have to do with this stuff. Have you gotten your period after chemo.
My hair looks like a poodle and I just love it . I get many compliments too.I got my second hair trim today.Maybe a little too short but it will grow,.
Hugs,
Francine
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Francine: My hair definitely looks like a poodle too. I think I'm almost ready for another trim!
Rachel: Singapore sounds lovely. How was it? Did you shop, dine, sightsee? How did the fertility doc react to not taking tamoxifen.? I think I mentioned to you earlier that my son works in a fertility clinic and they use tamoxifen for women. Do they do that in Australia?
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Hi Girls! I am doing great and feel great!! I really think that everything that I have been through this year has really 'toughened' me up, So, in comparison, this has been a breeze for me! So far anyway. We left NOLA this afternoon after my follow up visit and are halfway home now. (12 hour drive)
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Kristy,Great to hear you are doing well. You have said it so right. After all we have all been through we have emerged into tougher and stronger women. Let's hear it for the March Warrior Princesses.
Keep improving and keep us informed.
Beth..I am curious as to the effect of Tamoxifin on fertility. I would assume taking it decreases your chances of getting pregnant. Why do they prescribe it in your son's clinic?
Hugs,
Francine
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The next few days are going to be a blur so I thought I would wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season. Here is to 2010! May it bring blessings to us all!
Chris
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Christy: Yeah!!! On your way home for the holidays. So glad to hear that you are doing well. You are a tough cookie and yes....cheers to the March warrior Princesses
Francine: I asked my son about it and this was his reply
"They use it for cycle down regulation. We stop the body from making / using the hormones it produces so we can control their cycle with drugs. Tamoxifen is an estrogen inhibitor so it works well."
That's all I got from him so I just emailed him for further info.
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Beth,
I assume that Tamoxifin decreases the amount of estrogen. I guess the fertility people give it so they can artifically regulate the amount of estrogen in your body. I would assume that women who take tamoxifin will have difficulty getting pregnant on their own. I realize that your son uses it for an entirely different reason. I always thought the chemo messed up your ability to get pregnant. But many have gotten their period after chemo. I guess it is all complictaed as many cancers are estrogen fed. I do feel for those young women who are in the child bearing years and want to have children. This is all complicated and the ansers are not really that important.
Thks for asking your son.
Hugs,
Francine
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I know that AI block the body's ability to produce estrogen. But I thought Tamoxifin was used to block the cancer receptors from taking in estrogen?? I didn't think it blocked the production. That is why some premeno. women have ovaries removed when on Tamox.
Don't mean to muddy the water!!! Just my thoughts!
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Chris..you may be right. I am definitely not an expert on this field at all.
Ladies I had my third fill yesterday. No pain at all. Today I am wearing my premastectomy bra and it looks real nice. One more fill should do the trick. I am so excited.
Also I really do like my curly hair. I am told it does not stay. Does everyone have this very curly hair.I had my hair trimmed again yesterday. The beautician said that my hair is so soft and healthy. I said it should be as it is all new. She knew that I had had chemo.
Hugs,
Francine
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I wish I had some chemo curls! My hair is straight as before but is denser- i don't know if its just because all the hairs are the same age? or if the texture of the hairs themselves is thicker. My hair was very fine before and it is still pretty fine but maybe a little thicker. The hair south of the border is most definitely coarser- I hope that goes away with time.
Christy so glad your surgery went well and that you're home safe by now!
Sakura, before I had long hair too- wore it pulled back 90% of the time. I wore it out done up with product the other night and got TONS of compliments- it was such a different look for me people were taken aback, many of them hadn't seen me since I was doo-raggin it either- so quite a contrast.
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Well, I underestimated the fertility doctor. She was really calm and non-accusatory about my Tamoxifen decision. She is my doctor for fertility preservation and also gave me the Zoladex shots during chemo to keep my ovaries shut down. Back in the middle of the year she was scathing about my not wanting to take Tamoxifen, but yesterday when I explained to her that I wanted to help my body balance hormones naturally rather than artificially block excess estrogen, she understood, and said that was fine. I see her in March for blood tests and an ultra sound to see if the ovaries are waking up. No period for me since March.
Francine - apparently Tamoxifen does actually increase fertility but it can also cause birth defects so conceiving when on it is a no-no. Beth - yes, they do use Tamoxifen in the beginning stages of IVF here. The many ways these drugs can work is one of the reasons I decided to avoid it.Who knows what else it is doing to us all?
Christmas eve is the first anniversary of the finding of the lump, and I am wondering whether i will feel blue tomorrow in consequence. I doubt it. Damian and I began the long process of moving house today - we'll stagger it over the next 2 weeks. But the idea of moving in with him is so exciting that I doubt I will have time for weepiness over what is now in the past.
I wish you all a very very happy festive season and a joyful New Year. You've all been indescribably important to me this year and I really could not have got through without you. May 2010 be a year of health and fulfillment for us all.
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Oh Rachel,What beautiful thoughts you have written to all of us.
May 2010 bring you and Damian much happiness which you so much deserve.
You will be fine on Christmas Eve being with Damian and looking ahead to the new year .
It's been fun talking with someone from around the world. I always enjoyed seeing how your comments were often made in the middle of the night. (our night at least)
Fellow Princesses...Hopefully in 2010 we will all continue in these conversations but mostly about good things in our lives.. trips, engagements, weddings, our children, births in our family, and most importantly GOOD HEALTH.
Who else do you think enjoys seeing my photos. LOL
Hugs,
Frncine
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sakura73- I opted out of Tamoxifen as well and am balancing my hormones with natural progsterone. Then, when I confessed this to my oncologist he said that when women have had chemo induced amenoria (periods stopped), that I do not have to take Tamoxifen because studies show that women such as myself have the same reduction in recurrence rates as the women who took the Tamoxifen. I also pointed out that women who took Tamoxifen may or may not have had the same success with reduced recurrence rates for other various other reasons which they do not seem to study or track because those things can't be measured in milligrams (things like lifestyle changes), or the fact their periods stopped and they weren't getting a monthly surge of estrogen, but now we will never know because they DID take it, all the while placing themsleves at high risk for uterine cancer. No thank you. I firmly and without a doubt believe that my breast cancer was caused by 13 years on the birth control pill. I am not taking that anymore, of course, and what little estrogen I am still producing is being balanced. I read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer, a very eye opening book about the effect of hormones on breast tissue AND the dangers of Tamoxifen! I, too, anticipate a very healthy and happy New Year and wish you all the same!
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Dayla: Straight hair eh! Mine used to be straight as a poker but this post chemo hair is quite poodle-like. As far as down south goes....oh to have a free brazillian again....lol
Rachel: I am so glad that your appointment went well. That must be such a huge relief. I don't know anything about the process of IVF (that's my son's field) and I don't even understand half of what he tells me....lol. My Dad asked my son what he does for a living and my son replied "I make babies for a living" My Dad says..."Jeesh I wish I could have had a job like that when I was your age! "...lol
You are such an intelligent, well written woman that I know you have done your research and are doing what is best. I too worry about the effects of Tamoxifen but probably not for the same reasons as you. I am past child bearing years and I still find it difficult to figure what is best for my situation. I can't imagine having to also think about everything else including ensuring fertility. My heart goes out to all of you younger ladies that are having to ponder and research it all.
Christmas Eve will probably bring some mixed emotions but you will be in the arms of your Damian, who will lead you into the new year with great promise of a bright future. I wish you a wonderful and inspiring holiday season. May you find yourself surrounded by love and great joy.
Francine: Thank you for all of your thoughtful, wonderful contributions here. I always look forward to your uplifting spirit. I am so thankful that you fills are going well and you are in your premastectomy bra....that must feel great. I admire how you have been able to keep your chin up and you are able to put all of this behind you. I look forward to many future conversations about all the things that you mentioned. We have much to be thankful for.
Cheers to all the March Princesses! May we all have a future filled with good health, an abundance of love and may we all find something in each day that brings us joy and makes our spirit soar.
Blessings and hugs
Beth P
Edited for spelling
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Happy Holidays!!!
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Hi To All of the March 2009 Princesses! We have weathered a year and made it to the otherside! Thanks for all of the support and friendship! You all are such brave and strong women and I am grateful to call you friends, my best wishes for a healthy 2010! Love you all! Dawn
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Hi ladies,
I hope all of you had a very merry and happy Christmas with your families.
Hugs,
Francine
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Hello lovely March Warrior Princesses!!! Wishing you all a wonderful New Year. I know we all must be looking forward to 2010. I know I am!
I am having my exchange surgery for implants on 2/19. I can't wait to put the recon behind me. I had some issues with the fills on one side in the beginning but the last few were less uncomfortable.
Worrying less and less about SFBC which is nice. I still have my moments but I think that we all will. Had my MIL here for Christmas and marvel at her being a 21 year survivor who had node involvement, mastectomy but flat out refused chemo, radiation and tamoxifen.
Hugs to all!
Diane
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Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year. May 2010 bring love, joy and peace to us all. Thank you all so much for the wonderful support and friendship this past year.
Love and hugs to all
Beth P
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