**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009
Comments
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MichelleinSJ- I am sorry you are still having problems in your family- I have gained some weight too- but I don't think that is what causes the tightness. Mine is mainly when I get up after sitting for a long time. It was feeling better before chemo than it does now. I felt like mine got worse after tx 3-4. I have one more to go- june 18. all those cells in your abdomen are trying to heal and taking chemo kills dividing cells so I feel like my healing process is just sort of frozen in place. Not getting worse, not getting better. My left arm and side also feel tight and I don't think that would be affected by gaining weight.
For anyone considering TRAM or DIEP recon down the line somewhere- it is a major process, and the recovery is long- esp so if you started chemo 6 weeks afterwards- I think I would have been almost back to normal in 4 mos or so without the chemo. I had left TRAM- it is much larger than the real one. I kinda wish there had been a discussion with the PS before the surgery about my feelings on correcting symmetry. His preferred method is to add an implant to good one which flabbergasted me- like if I wanted implants I would have had the less invasive surgery! So i sorta feel like he erred on the larger side with that in mind and there is absolutely no way I am getting an implant. So I'm lopsided for now. It will be fixed down the line- i will probably get a reduction and lift.
I really liked my breasts before- I only choose a mx bc of the tumor location- otherwise I would have been all about doing everything I could to keep it.So anyone considering a TRAM- see if you can find someone experienced to do a DIEP- uses less/no muscle- but a free TRAM is also a good option. I didn't have anyone locally who could do a DIEP. my recon breast feels like the real thing- the tummy tuck is a nice bonus. Was the recovery rough? yes, but I would do it again. Other than the symmetery issue which will be resolved- I am happy with the result.
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Michelle - to find those boards you go the the top of this page (right side) use the drop down where it says jump to a forum - the rads board is under Radiation before during & after. Same choices for joining like chemo, I am in the Radiation starting in June Board. The Hair Hair Hair board is under Chemotherapy before during after just like this one. Once you have posted to any board, your home page shows the last 4 on the right side then you can just click on them to go to the page. The rads and hair boards are very similar to this with a lot of feedback, info, and gals that are just trying to help each other out.
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Hello Everyone!
The pictures from Italy are beautiful! I was watching HGTV the other night and the couple was on the Amalfi Coast looking for a place to live! What a coincidence!
Welcome to the newbies!
Hugs to all who are going thru various SEs and congrats to those who are moving to their next phase of tx.
I've tried to read all the posts, but nausea and exhaustion keep catching up with me. Will be doing my second Taxol this coming Friday and my hair is still growing. Eyebrows and lashes are about the same. Somehow I lost 2 inches off my waist (??), cause heaven knows I haven't been excercising (LOL)! Trying to get up the energy to run some errands today and hopefully attend Church in the morning.
Wishing everyone a good weekend and minimal SEs!
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Michelle! What kind of reconstruction did you have? My PS said some thing about injecting abd. fat into my radiated breast. I am not interested in a flap and I thought I'd look into it, any feedback anyone has would be appreciated.
Hi to all of the new gals! Welcome and enjoy!
Nice to hear from you Luv2sing and Allyad! We miss you and hope your SE are minimal this weekend!
Have a great weekend! Dawn
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Kduling and Pinkdove : welcome. Let me know if you want me to add you to the roll list! I'd be happy too...just want your ok first.
Pickle : hahaha!! Love the list. I could use some re-upholstery!!
Diane : ooh, jealous! You got your port removed. Plz update us when you are up to it.
Janet: I was thinking the same thing regarding nipples. I am not planning to start recon until the fall so I still have time to noodle the whole situation.
Dayla : thanks for sharing about your reconstruction. I've only had one PS consult so far and he told me that the tummy option wouldn't be a good option for me (despite the salami diet I have been on for the last 4 months)! Symmetry would be a big deal for me as well. Think I will get another opinion before I start all this in September. -
Port removal easy peezy. Nice to see it go, too. Took 10 minutes. The worst of it for me is I had a slight reaction (which I was prepared for after the biopsy) to the lidocaine that wears off in 30 minutes but is none the less annoying.
Plastic Surgery.....
My girlfriend had a relatively new procedure at Johns Hopkins where instead of taking the tummy fat and shoving it up to her boob area... ARRGG.. of which they said she didn't have enough of....we sure thought she did though, they take if from her behind....it is a bit painful I hear but once she has her exchange surgery she should be done forever. She didn't want implants because they had to be replaced every 7 or so years.
My MIL who is a 20 year survivor has had a time of it with many, many surgeries and has had symmetry issues with her "good" breast over the years.
I still need to explore all my options but plan on keeping it on the back burner until mid fall sometime. I want my summer and I don't mind the prosthesis really. I just haven't figured out what to do about the pool yet. I am going to look online to see if I can't find a bathing suit with a waterproof prostheis in it.
hugs to all have a great weekend, minimal SE's!
Diane
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Why can't we edit our posts anymore?? I still have chemo brain and don't see my mistakes until I submit my posts
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Diane - since we all have chemo brain I don't even notice the mistakes, and if I do I forget about them within 2 seconds of reading them. Glad your port surgery went well.!!!
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Diane - glad port removal went well. I look forward to loosing this hardware as well!!
Re; editing...isn't there an [edit][delete] at the bottom of your post? It should be there for you if you are logged in.
hugs all. have a good weekend.
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Diane! Congrats on port removal, I never even thought of that! I just thought I'd keep mine! Every 6 weeks you have to have it flushed!I am wondering what the options are for reconstruction after rads, I hate the thoughts of a flap, way too involved! Did your friend have the fat injection, that sounds good to me,after the fat expansion do they put in an implant?? Or does the fat make up the breast? Too much to think about my PS is very good and I trust him, I'll see him in Aug, and I just want to be educated on my options! Thanks, Dawn
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Gina, thanks....they moved the edit button to the bottom, I thought that was to edit signature....good lord. I was afraid to click it
Patii, thanks for the chuckle! Hope you are doing great!
Dawn, yes, the surgery my girlfriend is having gives her a butt tuck if you will...they take the tissue from her behind and use that instead of implants. She had a double mastectomy and with the recon the tissue expanders were placed in front of the muscle which is less painful than behind the muscle. So far her fills have gone well. I am a bit nervous for her surgery in July but she is doing great and can't wait for her new breasts! -
Good afternoon ladies,
Well, I go in for my last Taxol tomorrow....yeah! This has been easier than the AC, however the lingering effects on my hands and feet are quite annoying. Surgery is set for 7/7. I am actually looking forward to my MRI at the end of June...I need to see the NEW picture! I should start rads in mid August.
My hair looks like it WANTS to grow....have some white stubbles all over. I'm hoping once I stop hitting it with more drugs that it will just take off!
I have been reading posts and you girls sure do make me laugh!! Hope all is going as well as it can and you are enjoying your weekend.
Hugs to all,
Chris
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Diane...Congrats on having the port removed! I am jealous because of having to keep mine until after Herceptin is done. which will be next March. I hate mine, I have a power port and have never had trouble with it, it just sticks out from under my skin so much. have lost a little more weight since chemo started, so it really sticks out now. I can feel the whole thing with my finger and it gets in the way of my bra strap.
Chris...My hair has been wanting to grow too! I actually had to shave my legs last week because there were so many stray long hairs all over. And I can tell what little bit of stray hairs on my head have grown too. I am hoping mine will take off too, but since I am on Herceptin, that will probably slow it down some.
I have TCH #5 tomorrow and am dreading it, but yet looking forward to getting closer to being done with chemo.
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Ladies... so very happy to see everyone's pictures. Italy is still my dream vacation. Maybe some day.
Diane... the neurontin is either helping me sleep OR in combination with my sleeping pill, I am now sleeping thru the hot flashes/night flashes. Either way, I'm getting more rest now.
Finished rads #18 on Friday, so I'm half way done. Not exactly fun BUT it is way easier (so far) than chemo.
Keep posting those pics. I love 'em!
~Jan~
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Hey everyone check out this video- LMAO everytime I watch it! Its short 30 seconds or so- the pole dancing bear is awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmpdxfAxGzc
T minus 4 days til the last chemo!
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Hi everyone!
I'm still so new at this, I went to write to you all on Friday and it said I had already done 5 posts within 24 hours! OOPS! Now I know why you all write all your messages in one post! DUH!
Let me start with "personal" responses then I have some questions (at the end) for everyone:
CCBaby: Glad your hair is growing! YEAH! I'm watching mine every day! (I know it's too early, but one can hope, huh?)
GinaGina: YES, you can add me to the "roll" list. THANKS! :-)
Alyad: - I had Tram Flap - but my PS was the opposite. I was a size 16 (double D) and he kept mentioning that he'd do a slight reduction in my "real" one. At first I didn't want that (I'm used to what I have) but since the tummy is flatter -- he was right and the fake one looks good. He did a good job. I'll probalby have the surgery to "lift" & slightly reduce the real one in August. I see him on Wed. to get a definite date.
Pickle: Sounds like we are on about the same path. My mom had a mastectomy (R side only)a couple years ago and you can see when she's wearing a nighty (at Christmas, etc.) that she's "lopsided". I never liked that, so I chose reconstruction at the same time as mastectomy. I also like it for when I'm wearing a tank top or swimsuit or something where a little cleavage shows. I look really naturally right now. I even wore a tank top (that criss crossed) on Friday and a gal I work with saw a bit of cleavage showing and asked me which one was fake! I took that as a compliment! I start Tamaxofin on Wed, so I'll let everyone know if I have any SE.
Kim40: I'm a SUPER positive (bubbly) person, so most people wouldn't think I would think about it, but I am worried to death about the cancer coming back! I've heard if it comes back, it's WORSE the 2nd time. I saw info on the Today show this week about cancer and it showed people who had cancer and the dates they had it. It seems like a bunch of people had TWO dates. That was horrible. Tell me what your Oncologist tells you as far as being checked. Mine said scans aren't that effective because you have to have so many cells "bunched together' before they show up on a scan. She said the best way is for me to "know" my body. If I get headaches, it could have gone to brain, if I get nausea it means it could have gone to liver or kidney (I forget which)....etc. Great....so I get to be paranoid about every headache I get? UGH!
Questions for all:
Looks like hardly anyone had the same chemo I had. I had ACT -- sounds like most of you had the "T" seperate? Why?
Did you all get the Neulasta shot? If not, why not? I loved it. OC didn't give it to me final chemo (#4) and I think it slowed me down from getting over SE.
Think that's it for today. I think my taste is FINALLY starting to get better. Not 100% yet, but better. I read on one web site that some people NEVER get their taste back normal! UGH!Hugs
Karen
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Alyad: I loved the video....I have a huge smile on my face thanks.
Countdown is on for you......that's great! I think we have a couple gals finishing chemo this week.
Best wishes to all of you having chemo/rads this week and a big thanks to everyone that responded regarding reconstruction.
Karen: I think the number of posts is limited to 5 when you first sign up then it's unlimited. My long posts are ....well....just long! I have always been told that I'm longwinded when I tell a story...lol
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Morning all!
Congrats ChrisC433 on finishing up! I bet you are super excited!
Dayla - thanks for the bear video, that was hilarious!
Karen - quite a few of us had TAC (or ACT) altogether - me, Dayla (Alyad), Dawn, Bethr. It just depends on how your onc decides to do it, and your pathology. Personally, I was in a research study where you could either get TAC or TC, and wound up with the TAC. It wasn't too bad, and I hope the results of the study help future generations of women going through this.
I think most of us who got Adriamycin got the neulasta shot. It was good for helping with those WBC's, but caused me some bad back pain! Totally worth it though, as I never caught any illnesses throughout chemo, and I worked the whole time (in a lab, handling blood samples none-the-less!)
Pickle - I love your posts, and never think of you as "long-winded"! You bring so much cheer to the board!
I met with the rad onc Friday, and have simulation 7/1 and start 32-34 zaps 7/6. I get my port out 6/26 (still upset that I have to be admitted and have it done under general anesthesia, but I will be happy to get it out, so will stop whining. Soon.)
Good luck to all today going through tx's of all kind (surgeries, rads, chemo)!!!!!
Edited to add- Oh yeah, welcome back Francine, looks like you had a fantastic time! Those pics were gorgeous!
Welcome back Raymon too! Hang in there!
Congrats kim on almost being done! Woohoo!
Ok, I think I am done now. Darn chemo brain!
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Hi everyone, have tried to read back as much as possible as I've been a bit quiet for a few weeks. pickle you gave me a big laugh! Lovely photos Francine and I am very jealous!
Sounds like a lot of us are going through some body image issues about now. I know I am! Extra weight, wispy eyebrows, bald (although I do have some fresh growth sprouting through!), lopsided 'girls'...it's not a pretty picture and like Rachel and Gina I'm also avoiding the mirror. I've been getting really lazy about wearing my wig or putting on make up. I think I have maybe 3 eyelashes left on each eye and they all seem to point at crazy angles so mascara isn't really doing what it's supposed to! Everyone says 'wow you look so great!' Liars! Anyhoo....
My last chemo (6 of 6) is on Wednesday. Time flies huh! I'm not sure how I should feel about it but right now I'm really tired. I don't tolerate the Taxotere well so I'm feeling a bit psychosomatically icky already I think. Then radiotherapy begins in a few weeks. My sister and I will be going to radiotherapy at the same time! (She had a spinal tumour removed 2 weeks ago and is recuperating well despite having some fibreglass and bolts and things propping her neck up!). Then I get cut loose...being triple negative there is no tamoxifen or whatever available for me. I know for most of us taking these drugs for years is going to be a pain but I kinda wish I had the option ya know?
Oh well...will report back after Wednesday when I'm 'done'!
R xo
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Hi Gals
Ricki: Wishing you well for your last chemo. Sorry to hear about your sister. Will you be getting rads at the same place?
Yes it does sound like a lot of us are struggling with body issues. I have gained about 7 pounds....too many mashed and baked potatoes I guess. Taste buds are almost back to normal so I don't have any excuse to keep chowing down on comfort food...aka Junk!
My hair is sprouting a little. I look like a Chia Pet that isn't getting enough water to grow much...lol
Laugh of the day: Women's Ass Size Study
There is s new study on how women feel about their "ass" and the results are quite interesting.
30% of women think their ass is "too fat"
10% of women think their ass is "too skinny"
The remaining 60% say they don't care, they love "him" anyway, he's a good man and wouldn't trade him for the world!
Have a good day and positive thoughts are being sent your way.
Beth P
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Pickle - haha!! too funny.
Anyone having nail issues? I think mine are going to hang on, but I have recently noticed white ridges across the middle of each nail (probably the last time I had Tax/Abrax) and they also feel sometimes (umm, right now) like I have a clothes peg on the end of each finger....there is pressure on each nail. Doesn't hurt, just annoying.
I get the 1st infusion of my last cycle of CMF this Thursday!! yeah. I know I am jinxing myself just by typing this. There has been a delay almost every time for one reason or another. This week, I am pigging out on strawberries (thanks Rachel!). Fingers (with clothes pegs) crossed.
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Gina: Ouch....clothespins. I haven't had nail issues but I think a few gals have so I'm sure someone will chime in.
I will keep everything crossed for you that all goes well on Thursday. I am having a hard time typing with my eyes crossed though!
What do the strawberries do? I must have missed the post.
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Done!!!
Home from last Taxol. I took muffins in for onco depart. They went over well...
I read on Hair board about taking Biotin and using Nioxin on head to stimulate hair follicles. Anyone else doing anything to help the hair regrow??
Congrats to all those finishing up. I know there are a lot of us crossing the finish line...we all get there in time.
My fingers and toes feel weird too. During the day it is like they are numb, but at night they drive ;me nuts....just want to kick stuff to feel them! (hubby is usually close by for a target..lol)
Hugs....
Chris
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Chris: Congratulations.....a milestone for sure!
I have been using Nioxin ever since my head shave...not sure if it really helps but it makes me feel like I'm doing something to conquer my baldness!
I get some tingling in my hands but not everyday. I think others have had more of it....just another one of the SE's I guess.
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Glad everyone liked the bear video- I never get tired of it.
Welcome to our new members.
Jdeking- you have to go under general to get the port out? My surgeon said he could do it with a local in the office.How long after last chemo do you have to wait? I want it out.
Congrats to Chris!!! I hope your SE's are non existant last round!
I've been lucky with my nails so far- no numbness or tingling- they do seem somewhat ridged vertically. I've been surrpised my nails have kept growing probably just as fast as before- I'd think it would be like hair and stop growing.
I'm still managing to hang on to lashes- tho my right eye inner bottom is bare about halfway over. The edges of the brows are mostly gone, but the center is hanging on for now. I was shaving what little hair I had growing, I stopped a couple weeks ago- I have the whitish fuzz. I can't wait to have hair again. I'm with the mirror avoiding crowd.
I have an appt with rads onc friday the day after my last chemo - hopefully will feel coherent enough for that. The onc was going on vacation the following week and I wanted to get in so I know whether I'm doing rads or not. I had one positive node but didn't let them look at any others, so there may have been more.
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Hello, all!
For anyone interested, I read a wonderful book this past weekend: A Dietician's Cancer Story, by Diana Dyer. The author also has a website at http://www.cancerrd.com/
Summary: Diana Dyer is a registered dietitican who had a childhood cancer, radiation treatment for it, and then two separate instances of BC later in her life. After her second BC diagnosis, she decided to implement a well-researched diet and wellness plan, and is now 10 years disease-free past her last diagnosis. I appreciate the fact that she incorporates many different modalities into her healing plan, and that her dietary choices are, again, very well-researched.
It's a quick but powerful read!
Peace,
Nadine
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Another interesting aspect of Diana Dyer's healing plan is that, despite being ER+ and pre-menopausal at the time she started her plan, she uses 1-3 servings per day of soy products. I personally don't feel ready to test that theory, but it's good to see some anecdotal success with doing so.
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Hello all, It's been awhile since I posted. Hope everyone is doing great. I finished AC two Fridays ago, getting ready to start Taxol for 12x weekly. My last week of AC was tough. Just drained all week. I hope that Taxol has minimal SE's. I keep hearing that the body aches are horrible. I am going to have Taxol weekly for 12 weeks. Would love any imput on Taxol. Wendy
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Hi pickle...yes my sister and I are getting rads at the same hospital and in fact we're seeing the same rads oncologist as her previous doc recently retired. she's an old hand unfortunately and this will be her third rads. at least having seen her go through it I have an idea of what to expect!
Gina....my first Taxotere I had the clothes pegs on the fingers too. It was really painful! Second time, not so bad I think because they extended and increased my Dex dosage. Now my nails are kind of yellowish and soft...most of the time I have dark polish on them. Hoping they stay in for now!
R xo
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Hi All,
Once again glad all enjoyed my photos.
Beth--Your comments are always great. It is our pleasure to have you on our board.
Alyad- Cute video
Glad to hear so many are nearing the end of their tunnel.
I go to see my PS tomorrow re my lat flap surgery.on July 1st.
Hugs.
Francine
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