**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009
Comments
-
Hello all - very envious of all your talk of cruises! I went on one as a child, but never since. I must check to see how cheap they are on this side of the world.
Well done Pickle and Maid Marion for finishing up. I'm envious! My final AC went well yesterday, though it was a long day because I had to have a CT procedure to check that the port was in the right place after 3 nurses were unable to get blood out of it. Everything was fine, though, and I MUCH prefer coming home rather than staying overnight in hospital. Had a pizza dinner with DBF and DB (brother) who is down to keep an eye on me. Not much sleep thanks to fiendish night sweats, but otherwise feeling really well and soooooo glad to be through AC.
I'll be around for a while though, doing Taxol, so Nadine and others - we'll get there soon!
-
Hi Guys! I guess we all have something in common besidesBC! I had my 5th Tac today, one more left! I ate during the whole TX and feel fine! The nurses told me that is the secret to not feeling awful afterward, I don't know about you all, but sometimes I just feel full of fluid not nausea, but over full! I feel good this time, no SE as of yet! In fact I am cooking supper.I had a long day 8:30 to 3:15 in the chemo chair! Glad it is over!
We are taking a cruise in July from Boston to Bermuda on Norwegian. We went to the Bahama last spring and had a blast! Our 14 yo loved it and can't wait to go again! To all enjoy enjoy!
dawn
-
I have been on several cruises. We went on one in the spring. DH and I had balcony room and one adult and 3 kids had inside. We paid 1000 total for kids room. Costa and MSC offer kids sail free most of the time. They were both very nice ships! I usually check Vacationstogo.com or Directlinecruises.com or Cruise.com. They seem to have the best deals and promotions.
Thinking of anything besides BC is great!!!!
Take care....thanks for the info post lump. I should be fine...just worry about putting the money upfront and then feeling like crap!
Chris
-
Hi Everyone! Just caught up reading. So glad there's not much drama going on. I'm so behind. I had my final taxotere tx three weeks and one day ago, and I still haven't met with a radiation oncologist. I HAVE to get on that! I want to be done before August.
Did I ever tell you the bit of good news I got two weeks ago? There's a fantastic day camp here, I could never afford to send my kids to it. But they offer scholarships, and I thought this would be the year to try, for my youngest. He got an excellent scholarship because of our financial and my health problems, so he's going! It's 8 weeks, full-day. He'll go on a school bus. Instead of going with me everyday to radiation treatments, he'll be fishing and boating and swimming and playing hockey and other sports and performing in plays and jumping on a trampoline on a lake and about a million other things. I am so excited for him!
Even better news, I hope: my daughter is going back to school tomorrow. I think she's okay, or at least she seems much more stable. She's talking to me a bit, but more than anything, she doesn't seem very miserable. My mom babysat on Saturday night while my daughter was out, and when my daughter came home she immediately started complaining to my mom about the party she'd attended. Complaining is great, at least she's talking!
So that's it from here, and wow, would I love to take a cruise!
Michelle
-
Michelle! Hooray! Good News from you! Hope good luck continues! Dawn
-
Chris....thanks for that info on the kids sail free....mine are, 4, 3 and 18 months....why should I have to pay so much for them....I could see if they were teenagers. I am going to check out the websites now. Our family is definitely due for a nice vacation............
-
Marshall2000 - I had convinced myself that Taxol would be WAY better than A/C - way to set myself up for utter disappointment and failure! It is better, but it still SUCKS. The night of my first treatment the hot flashes started nonstop - with ovary pain. It's thrown me into to total, instant menapause. The bone pain is awful for days, between the pain and the flashes I have about 4 or 5 nights after each treatment of lousy sleep. My hands, feet and face went numb as well.
My onc had me put my hands in an ice bath for Taxol number two for the entire 3 plus hours of the infusion - and it worked! My feet & face continue to get numb and tingly, but the hands don't.
I only have ONE MORE CHEMO. I can't wait until I can so NO MORE CHEMO.
My doc put me on the anti-depressant Effexor for my "mood", which got dark after the first Taxol, and also to help the hot flashes. It definately helped lift the black cloud that had decended after about 2 weeks - not so much the hot flashes, tho.
-
Hello everyone.....so glad to be done! thanks for all the messages. The day went off without a hitch, just the usual hunt the vein. Dawn...I usually take something to eat too, but this last two times I have struggled, I have had this weird swallowing problem going on and then today i just felt full like you said.
Marshall2000 ........ I had a lumpectomy in Feb. then ten days later I had mammosite radiation therapy for 5 days, so glad I was lucky to be a candidate to have this procedure, it is so quick and relatively easy. I am going for a Bone density scan on the 11th of this month so my Onc can decide which Meds she will put me on, I don't see her until the 29th. There was talk of Arimidex last time we spoke, that or Tamoxifen, I am hoping it will be the first one, I would sooner take my chances with bone thinning, I understand there is something that you can have every six months to help with that anyway, name escapes me just now. I understand you wanting to get on with it...I wish you all the best on the rest of your journey, keep posting on here let us now how you are doing.
Michelle .....So glad to hear of your good news, your son is going to have a blast I'm sure. Its great that your your Daughter seems to be turning a corner, talking is definitely good..I hope it continues.
Sakura....Glad to hear your last AC went well and hope you continue to feel good!
Diane... Thanks for the message on Facebook...yes just so happy to be done..just need to get past this next few days and find some semblance again. Hope you manage to sort out a Holiday for the Family, you definetly deserve it!
In fact I echo Dawn's sentiments to all those planning trips enjoy, y'all deserve it!
As for cruises I have a morbid fear of all that water...my good friend back in the UK who has a fear of flying has been trying to convince me to go on one for years, but not as yet. I am planning on a trip on July 11th though to my partners Nieces wedding in Port St. Lucie FL.
K. signing off for now I actually feel like I might get some sleep...decadron had me up at 4.00 am this morning!
wishing everyone that have just had Tx's a minimum Se time!
Julie
-
Hi all, I've been keeping up just not posting much. I'm 2 weeks post last chemo and feeling pretty darn good. Even back to golfing! Loving it! Still have to go thru exchange surgery in about a month so I'm not done yet. Are we ever?
My daughter and her husband (of 2 weeks) both graduate from medical school tomorrow A huge milestone in their lives. She told me she was going to be a doctor when she was 6! My advice to them was to always treat with compassion as well as knowledge. They will be a great addition to the medical community. But I may be bias.
Congrats to all who have finished but really good thoughts to all still on this part of the journey. We will all be here till the last are finished.
I loved the only cruise (Carribean) I have been on. Everyone enjoy!
Kathy
-
Kathy, Congrats to your daughter and son in law! What a great accomplishment. I could only get through nursing school. Glad to hear you are getting back to your old self! I still haven't figured out what to do with reconstruction....I am kind of afraid of it all.
Everyone getting TX's today, good luck to you all. We are all way past the half way point so that has to feel GOOD.Hugs.
-
So nice to hear about everyones vacation plans. We did the cruise thing for our 10th anniversary many moons ago. Years later we went to Playa Del Carmen for an all inclusive. We enjoyed that much more. We preferred the activities, kayaking on the ocean, windsurfing, sailing, walking the beach. Most of all, not being on a schedule.
I'm on day 6 after #5 tx and as usual the chemo fog is fading. Only one more to go. This one was definitely easier than the #4. I think I was having a big pity party last time and it really dragged me down.
Marshall2000, ChrisC433 : I'm on that train with you and will be looking at lumpectomy in July, then rads. I can't wait to get everything scheduled and just keep going.
-
Morning all!
It is the eve of my LAST CHEMO! I am so excited! I am also very scared, since the last one was such a doozie, but I am going into this one knowing that I will not have to do this anymore. Yay!
Kathy - thanks for checking in, and what great news that you are feeling good enough to golf! Woohoo, I hope in about 3 weeks I can post that I am back to the gym and back on my bike!
Julie - Congrats again on being done! Time for a cocktail! For all who have finished recently:
What better than drinks on the beach to celebrate?!?!?
And another, a nice fuzzy navel:
Deb - glad you're feeling better this time around. Only one more to go!
Everyone - have a great day and good luck to all getting treatments and experiencing SE's.
-
I"m feeling the exact same way as jdeking! trying to go into this not having expectations and knowing that it can't possibly be as bad as #3. and it's the last one!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm not exactly feeling relieved though and am getting kinda annoyed that people are all expecting me to feel that way. i think i'm just annoyed with and anxious about the fact that i have to take the tamoxifen now. i wanna be DONE.
-
I am with you Reeney.......I go in on Monday to talk to the onc about Tamox and am also looking into the trial to add the bone drugs with another onc since mine does not participate.....TOO much information, I feel like I am back in college with so much research to do. I wonder if I would get an "A" lol...probably not. After getting on tamox and hopefully no issues I need to look into reconstruction since I just had the mastectomy. Although now I wish I had figured that out before chemo because I don't think we can take the tamox and have all the surgeries.....oh well I will get it all figured out one day.
Pre congrats to you and Janine for almost being done.....24 hours!!! -
LOTS of good news on the board this week. This makes me very happy!!!
I think we're all kinda in the same place as far as wanting to get away for a while. A cruise, a weekend away, even a night away... I'm just wanting to escape from all of "this" for a bit!
AND... to you Yankees fans... we'll get you next time!
-
Good luck for final treatments, Reeney and Janine! May the infusion be easy and the side effects minimal.
-
Deb,
I guess us 3 are in the same boat. The closer I get to my lumpectomy the more worried I get. I really DON'T want to ever go through this again. I keep thinking maybe a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction would be a better choice. I don't know if lump. leaves me with higher risk or reoccurance or keeping the other breast increases risk of new cancer. If I get them both off...doesn't that mean I will never have to deal with this again?? My doc says lump. with rads is what he recommends. My tumor is small and hopefully chemo knocked it out!
The farther along I get...the more questions I seem to have.
Hugs to all,
Chris
-
Chris: so, the big question, can you feel the tumor anymore or do they think they have just about obliterated it? Mine is still at about 2 cm. I wonder if I will need additional chemo after surgery? What an ugly thought.
My Drs still keep saying lumpectomy also. I'm still uncertain. Like you said...... more questions.
-
Deb,
I can still feel where the tumor is . I think it is a lot smaller, but still there. I see surgeon on Friday. I was hoping for some tests to give me a better picture of what the chemo did. I can't imagine doing chemo after surgery too....
I'll keep you up to date~
Chris
-
Reeney and Janine!!Good Luck! No SE please!
To those of you trying to decide between a lumpectomy vs a mastectomy, there is no right or wrong answer the stats are the same for both. Sue Love, my former college suggests breast conservation and rads! I however had a mastectomy for my first CA, I needed to have it off, because I would have been a nut case if it came back, so I was Dx in the other breast 6 months later with no choice but a mastectomy, chemo and rads, and then who knows! reconstruction is another delemma, my first mastectomy I had a expander with an implant, and I like it ok, but it feels too big andhard, of course I have nothing but a prosthesis on the other side and I don't know what to do about that!!! My PS talked about a fat expansion , but I have to get thru rads first. I don't like the flaps much, have assisted in Sx with those, they are a huge Sx and I 've had enough of that! Good luck with what you choose, You will do the right thing!!! Dawn
-
Hi Grils. I hope you are all well. Its day 7 after tx, and I am still not myself. I do have some exciting news. I ordered a few mascetomy bras. They are very comfortable. The inner pocket will hold different types of prothesis. I ordered a new silicone one that is suppose to help massage the chest wall to help with the lymphedema drainage. It also came with the old stand by fiber fill one. I hope it helps. I am having a lot of swelling in the right arm and hand. My sugeon said he did not care how uncomfortable I was this summer. That I needed to keep the sleeves on. I guess I had better listen. Ok, its kinda sad that I am so excited about a fake breast. You would think it was christmas. I got them from Remco medical supply. They measured my hand for the lymphedema glove, I am not very happy with the fit. So I hope this works out better.
-
buddy! You have been thru so much, I hear you with the prosthesis, I was thrilled when mine came ir, at least you feel balanced! I hope the lymph edema will go down with the glove! Keep it up! Love, Dawn
-
Chris and others regarding lumpectomy vs. mastectomy stats - I hope I'm not remembering this wrong as it's been some time since I've looked through these things in detail, but I believe the percentage chance of a *local* recurrence is indeed higher for lumpectomy/radiation than it is for mastectomy. This difference seems to be downplayed, because the thought is that lumpectomy patients will be monitored closely, and should a local recurrence happen, they could then be sucessfully treated by mastectomy at a later date. Hmmm. I decided to have a mastectomy in large part because of this, and also because it meant I would not need radation if I was node negative, which fortunately is what happened to be the case (of course I didn't know until *after* the surgery). Now that I've found out I'm BRCA-2 positive, a second mastectomy is in my near future - my only regret is not having done bilateral to begin with. Of course many women choose lumpectomy and that is absoluely fine if you fully understand the implications and make that choice - please do thorough research and ask very pointed questions of your doctors about the different statistics.
-
I was told that in Europe most women opt for lumpectomy......I was also told that recurrence rates are the same for lumps or masts. I did the mast because of my age and the fact that I didn't want to revisit this disease again in the same breast (I know there is still a small chance of recurrence on the skin).....as for as getting my "good" breast removed, initially this is what I wanted but am glad that I decided to just start with the bad one first. That was my general surgeons recommendation. Healing was easy from the surgery for me as I only had my sentinal node removed. I am now on the fence about getting my second breast removed. I had the MRI and mammo and there are no areas suspicious. If they even flinch on a future mammo or MRI I will demand the breast be removed. I don't want chemo again thank you very much! Different doctors have different opinions on what we should do as far as breast conservation, removal, etc......even though I was sure I wanted a mastectomy I am glad I heard others views on lumpectomy vs mastectomy. What I find interesting now is that a lot of women are getting chemo first before having surgery. I wonder what the thinking is there. Maybe in the future that will be the protocol?
Diane
-
I can't edit my post.......I was going to add that 20 years ago most of us node negative women wouldn't even be getting chemo even after lumpectomoy or mastectomy.
-
MichelleinSJ - So glad things are going well. Your son will have a great time at camp and glad your daughter is doing better. I finished TCX4 3 weeks ago on 5/13 and started rads last Wednesday. I believe you go to UofP for Surg/chemo like I do. I am from the burbs about an hour drive each way so I chose to have radiation at Bryn Mawr Hospital due to going 5x/week for the next 6 weeks. I have had my 6th treatment, started last Wed. and so far so good. As much as I like the Perelman Center, I am glad I only have a 20 minute drive each way and everyone is very nice and professional there. I will be back at UofP on 6/24 for an appointment to get the script for Tamoxifin to start within a week of finishing rads. Then I will have a 6 week follow-up appointment after start of Tamox to check on SE's. I supposed to get checked by my surgeon after rads too. I am on the June rads board too. Since chemo is over I've been reading the HAIR boards too. Both have good info.
-
Diane! I think some women with large tumors have chemo to shrink their tumors befor e lumpectomy. I think I read that somewhere. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong!
Patti! glad to hear your Tx is progressing! Good Luck! Dawn
-
Ah, Dawn, that makes sense....I guess if you are getting a mastectomy that would be done before chemo. I am curious about the effectiveness of the chemo on those that got lumpectomies......would definitely be nice to know the chemo was doing its job.
kudos to all you gals starting rads......wishing you the best.
hugs
Diane
-
Diane - The Chemo is to lower the recurrance rate and also get any microscopic cells that may have stayed around.
-
Diane,
That's one of the frustrating things about chemo *after* surgery...you go through all of these SEs and never really know for sure (ie actual physical evidence) that the chemo has *done* anything in particular...because the tumor has already been removed with surgery. It probably does wipe out any rogue cancer cells hanging around after surgery, but we never really know for sure.
Chemo is, in many ways, a great leap of faith
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team