**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009

jdeking

I'm right there with you Annette! I am so sick of my cancer center I could scream (I have done 22 of 34 rads).  Hope rads treats you well, I have found it to be not too bad so far.

 Nadine - hope your thyroid is ok! I have 2 friends with that cancer, and you are right, it is fairly easily controlled. Good luck!

Reeny - I agree with Diane. My counts have been low since last chemo on 6/4... but onc says it is nothing to worry about, and they will regulate eventually. Good luck with surgery!

Deb - thinking of you and sending healing vibes your way!

kim40

Hi Ladies

Nadine - I hope your thyroid is o.k.  From what I heard too, it is easily controlled.  Keeping my fingers crossed for B-9 results.

Deb - I'm also thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way as well.

 I know what you mean Annette about being so sick of the cancer center. The girls there know my name now as well and just wave me through - I don't even have to talk to them anymore!  How sad is that!!

 (((Hugs))) to all. 

Dawnmrn1

Hi Ladies!  I know what you mean!  Next week I have 3 MD appts, and 5 rads, then the next week I only have 2 MD appts, and 5 rads, and I can't go any further!!! sorry I am complaining!  I'm just sick of being sick, for one year!  Nadine , and Deb you are in my prayers!  Hugs, Dawn

crusader1

Hi,

I had reconstruction early in July and all my numbers were fine. Eight weeks PFC.Never asked exactly but they would not have given me an Ok for surgery ifthey were bad.  But this week I went back to the oncologist and she said my numbers were not good. She thought it was due to the antibiotic I was taking due to the MRSA infection I got during the reconstruction. I do think our numbers should get back to normal. But everyones body is different.

Nana I too have visited so many doctors I wonder if there are other things to do in life. I do try at times to get out and do something nice with my husband and my lady friends. I do need changes of scenery. nana your attitude sounds good.

Hugs to all,

Francine

pinkdove10

Hey All

DEB- Be Positive. 

I have started my rads.. 2 down, 28 to go.  sounds like a long way but i hope it passes fast. the last leg of this journey...i hope.

Love to all

Uma

kim40

Uma

You will be done with rads before you know it.  Going back and forth to the hospital every single day is the worst part of it all.  Good luck with it and hopefully your skin will hold up.

(((Hugs))) to all.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

sakura73

Did anyone have problems with blood noses on chemo? I never did before but all this week I have had little ones and tonight it is just gushing and won't stop. Blood all over the sheets - nice.

 I've officially pushed my body too far and it has rebelled against me. The bad cold has stayed, and today my voice has totally disappeared. I can't even whisper. So I am home alone with my nose streaming blood and I can't call anyone for advice because I can't make myself heard on the phone. Yes, I am certainly over this cancer crap.

Sorry to post such a whinge - hope all the rads and surgery warriors are doing well. And everyone else too, especially Nadine - thinking of you.

bethr

Hi All,

Sakura - I had some tiny issues with a little blood whenever I blew my nose.  Unfortunately, nothing as bad as what you're experiencing.  I'm a big help, aren't I.  I hope you are able to find someone close to you who can help.  My heart goes out to you right now.  I live alone too and sometimes it was more difficult than I had expected.  Hang in there.

 All -  I agree with the recent posts.  I'm tired of being sick!  Before this BC thing, I was spoiled in that respect.  I never had anything wrong with me.  Now I'm more annoyed with this than anything else. 

 NYDeb -You're still in my thought and prayers.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I hope all who are dealing with the lousy SE's get some relief SOON!!!

My best!

Beth

Dawnmrn1

Sakura!  You probably are getting the bloody nose from your cold everything is inflammed and the tissue is delicate from the chemo. If it doesn't stop call an ambulance, the best thing to do is to try to stop it with ice and pressure!  Sorry you are alone, I'd love to help!

Hope everyone is doing well!  Hugs, Dawn

chick717

NYDeb: I haven't posted in a while, but just want you to know that we're all hanging in there with you!  It has been such a strange year (I know everyone reading this feels the SAME).  Keep on keeping on!  

ps my last tx was ac and I did fine with the red devil..never got sick once 

sakura73

Beth and Dawn - thank you. Ice and pressure seem to have done the trick. I am so grateful for your responses. I don't know what I would do without this thread sometimes.

Dawnmrn1

sakura!  glad to help, hope you get over that cold!  Take care! Dawn

kduling

Hi Ladies:

Sorry it's been so long since I posted!   Was busy with my daughter home from college for the month of July  -- had a great time with her!

Then we did vacation in Chicago and the Wisconsin Dells....too fun!

Got home Sunday and had surgery on Thursday -- a "touch up" -- doc lifted (and slightly reduced) the real boob and kind of "coned up" the tram flap boob and made a nipple.  (I haven't seen it cuz it's under a bandage!).   Doesn't hurt too much....(Of course, I do have good drugs if I need them!)

I too just have a tiny bit of hair (peach fuzz)....Been just over 2 months since I had my last chemo.  I'm ready for hair!!!   My eyelashes have pretty much all fallen out.  UGH.  I tried to do fake lashes, but they looked fake!

Tamoxifen isn't too bad...just a litle achey joints (but I had those somewhat already cuz of arthritis).   I definitely have hot flashes too.    But...I'm 45 so I wasn't too many years away from getting them anyway!   

Good to hear from everyone!

Hugs

Karen

MichelleinSJ

I've been missing you guys, keeping up with a few of you on facebook, and then tonight I started to panic thinking something bad might've happened here.  It looks like we're all still having our trials and tribulations, but everything is under control?  Deb, what surgery will you have after the AC?  I had the surgery first, and they told me the margins were clear.  Now there's no way to tell if the chemo helped, and I hope it did.  Good luck with your new treatment.  It sounds like everyone has good advice for you.

My last chemo was May 11, and I've got enough hair that I went to a fancy restaurant yesterday with nothing on my head.  My hair has always been extremely thick, and it always grows faster during the summer.  We went out yesterday to celebrate my last rads.  I'm now officially done being a cancer patient, at least in my mind, although of course I have a million follow-ups, the nipple surgery, and five years of tamoxifen.  Very happy about feeling done, though.  Celebrated, and then ended up at the ER a few hours later with my 6-year-old, who cracked his head open on his headboard shelf at bedtime.  Now he has four staples in his head.

I loved my rads treatment center.  Everyone there was just amazing, and it was nice to be in Center City in the summer without having to pay to park.  I took some really nice walks there, had great lunches with friends and family, just nice.  I hated the driving, drove like a maniac most days, but otherwise it was fine.  I had my daughter bake cookies for the staff for my last treatment.  She's a wonderful baker, and she's bored because she's grounded with no phone.  Oy. 

My marriage is improving.  Maybe it was just all the cancer stress and he handled it badly.  He's been much calmer since I told him I wanted him out.  I guess I struck a nerve, and he's really been completely better. I'm starting to trust him.

Still looking for a job.  Really hard.  Sigh.

I'm glad I'm back and can read how you're all doing.

Michelle

pinkdove10

Kim- Thanks.  Its true... i want it all over and i can move ahead .

Sakura - Sorry about that. never had nose bleeds though i did have some clotting when i had a cold during the chemo.  This was due to constant blowing. Take care.

Going out for a good dinner, but still with the wig.  Alas!

Hope this hair grows fast. I hate that wig....it being so hot and all.  I wish i had the nerve to go 'topless' in fancy places.  Congrats to all thoes who have got their 'head' back.

Hugs to all and have a gr8 weekend.

 Uma

Alyad

Well my eyebrows are officially all gone. There were a few stragglers that I decided looked worse than none at all so I just pulled them out with my fingers easily (no tweezers). There is a tiny hint of regrowth if you look very closely. I also thought when they did come back in it'd look better if they were all the same and not a few lonely sentinels- like when then mostly clear cut a forest but leave a few lonely trees.

The head is fairly fuzzy tho for consulation. Of course I's back to shaving my legs as much as normal! The brazilian will soon be history as well. eyelashes are totally gone on the bottom lids, just a few left on the top!

a pic of my head taken last night

" m

bethr

Hi All,

Sakura - I'm so glad Dawn's suggestion helped and you're feeling better.

Michelle - It sounds like everything is getting better and better!  I'm happy to hear it and hope it continues.

Uma - I agree about the wig..  I'm soooo tired of it!! 

Alyad - I'm a week behind you and hope I see the same kind of sprouting on my head soon.  I find that lately I'm constantly looking for it while at the same time trying to remind myself about a 'watched pot'  lol...  But I think something's going on up there and am hoping to see hair soon....

I, thankfully, still have most of my lashes and eyebrows and am hoping that continues.

And I'm still stuggling with swollen feet and legs...  I have started taking Lasics so hopefully that will help....

 If any of you get the chance, read the 'Please forgive me post'.  It's really touching.

I hope you all have a great day!

Beth

Anonymous

Sakura: glad you are feeling better.  I always hate that question people ask " did they catch it early".  I always answer, I certainly hope so.

Nadine :  Thyroid or not, we never want to hear the "c" word associated with us.

thanks to all for your prayers and good thoughts.  My re-incision surgery was a breeze and my BS called me at 7pm Friday ( from his home) to tell me the pathology  came back all clear, no cancer at all left in what he took out.

Alyad  Love your hair pic.  Noticed that you only had one lymph node taken out.   My BS also only took one and it initially tested negative.  Later they found it had a micromet, or as my BS said really a nano met, barely a speck.  My onco wants a full ALND and my BS says no way, totally unnecessary.  Did you run into any of that?

I am actually going to see another onco  in a breast clinic at a teaching hospital.  My onco and I have had an uncomfortable relationship always and I decided I will have to deal with this person for years to come.  Why not switch to a place that deals specifically with my issue.

pinkdove10

 Hi All,

Alyad- looking at yr pic , i feel like i am seeing the mirror.  i have exactly the same growth as yours. 

Did i mention to u guys, I got swelling in my arms . This was due to some blockage in my veins because of the chem. Had to go f or doppler test.  Now i am on blood thinner to clear these blockages. (as if having BC was not enough!).  The doc said it will take about 6 months to clear this too.

Uma

PattiB

Michelle - So glad to hear things are looking up.  I will be at Rena Rowen on 8/19 for follow-ups with BS & onc.  Are you attending the one day conference on 9/11.on City Line Ave.  I did register and school will have just started, but my principal thinks it would be good to go to.  So as of today I am planning on it.  If you are going we will have to meet.  My chemo was done 5/13 and I am now going topless all the time.  Can't really do any "style" to my hair but it's comfortable.  Hope you son heals quickly!!!

Deb - Good luck with everything.  I go to a Breast Center affiliated with a teching hospital. My BS and onc. are both specific to BC and I am very happy with them.  My onc mentioned at my 1st consultation that this will be a long relationship with follow-ups, etc.  possible 10 years.  That was really my deciding factor when choosing her over the general hemotoligist/onc. who was much closer and easier to get to.  I definitely felt more comfortable with her anyway.  jAgain, good luck !

Alyad

Beth, I had the same "watched pot will not boil" thought. I have been taking a pic almost everyday in hopes of making a cool time lapse video of my hair growing. From day to day it doesn't seem like much is happening, but I go back and look at pics a couple weeks ago it does. I think I am still a few weeks or more away from going topless.

Pink Dove- hope your blockages clear up- that sounds painful. I remember them using the doppler on me when I was in the hospital after my TRAM to make sure there was blood flow in the transplanted flap.

NYDeb I had the same thing as you- a false negative on the lymph node during surgery. Mine was just a bit above a micromet (2.4mm). The 'official" recomendation was to have a full dissection. BUT my BS also told me had it been less than 2mm it wasn't necessary and that if I did have it my chances of getting lymphedema were good. With the TRAM recon I had, first choice site for blood supply hookup is near the sternum. My vein there was too fragile, so they used the second choice which is over in my armpit. So, if I had had the dissection then my PS would have had to been involved as well to make sure that blood supply to the flap wasn't compromised as well. And since I already had some damage to the area from the previous surgery and going in and digging around again- getting LE was a good possibility.

all of things they tell you to avoid to avoid getting LE- scratches, bug bites, sunburn , are really hard to avoid if you like go backpacking for months at a time like I do. And the thought of getting LE scares me as much a recurrence cause it would really inhibite me from doing the things I like to do. So considering all those things- my BS said the only purpose of the dissection is diagnostic-so they can "stage" me and consequently know whether I would need radiation or not.

 If you have 4 or more nodes positive, radiation is standard of care after a masectomy. If you have 1-3 , then you its more on a case by case basis where they look at the pathology and your age and other factors. Pre-menopausal women have been shown to derive a higher benefit from rads.

in my mind, the short term se's of doing rads seemed like a better option than possibly getting  LE and having potential complications with the blood supply to my TRAM. So I started rads last week.

I went and got a second opinion on doing rads from a breast radiation specialist at a teaching hospital and I was really glad I did just for peace of mind. ccbaby is going up to see the same doc tuesday as her case is in the grey area too. She had one node out of 13 but it was large and her grade was high. I think oncs wanting full dissections are more focused on making THEIR job easier- or being more comfortable with hard calls. There was a trial trying to look at whether ANLD was really necessary but was cancelled due to lack of enrollment as most oncs aren't comfortable not doing it.

ChrisC433

I just got back from my cruise to Bermuda and was catching up on the posts.

Deb:  I am sorry to hear that you have to return for more chemo.  You are a very strong woman with a great outlook and will do just fine.  I too had chemo first.  It did not shrink the entire tumor (so I thought chemo was a waste of time), but it made it look like swiss cheese.  The path report said there was a lot of dead tissue throughout.  You attacked your whole system first, so you got some added protection.  I had one positive node prior to surgery...that's all we knew about.  The nodes came back negative while on the table, but my BS did not feel comfortable leaving them.  I had a full dissection.  The path report came back with micromets in 2 nodes, however since I had chemo first, there is not way to tell if I had more than that at the beginning.  My PS did not feel comfortable leaving the nodes.  He said there are 2 new studies on how many nodes should be taken during surgery.  The report came up with opposite results....so he took mine.

I had AC x 4 then Taxol x 4 DD.  The A will not take long.  You will get your usual premeds, steroids, anti nausea, etc.  The A goes in by hand, the nurse uses 2 big syringes to inject it into your IV tubing.  You will pee red for a little while.  I got sick on my first 3 treatments.  I finally got Emend in my premeds and then took 1 pill for the next 2 days.  I did not get sick at all on the last treatment.  Push for what works for you!!

I go for rad simulation and markings tomorrow.  My arm is still very sore and hard to hold over my head for any length of time.  I'm going to take percocet before I go to relax....don't want to reschedule!!

I met 3 fellow breast cancer gals on the ship.  One is 21 years out..no recurrance, and other is getting her third AC tomorrow.  It was so nice to sit and talk with others that have been through this.  I guess I was meant to be on that ship!

You are all in my thoughts and prayers.  Take care,

Chris

Anonymous

Chris :   So, besides meeting fellow BC gals, how was your trip.  Did you go snorkeling like you wanted?  I know we both had neoadjuvant chemo, but my tumor showed absolutely no necrosis at all.  So, I'm pretty confident that the micromet in my lymph node was all there ever was also.

Dayla:  Thanks so much for your very descriptive answer.  My BS said the same thing, taking out lymph nodes is a diagnostic tool , not a therapuetic one.  LE scares the crap out of me.  I am totally an outdoor person and very physical in all I do.  My BS said that there is less than a 5% chance of anything more and I WILL have radiation anyways.  It would not change my treatment at all.  I talked to a rad onc last week and she told me the same thing.  " it would be good info to have , but wouldn't change anyhting". 

Gotta run, DH has the boat running and the lake is like glass, hurry before I miss it!

ccbaby

Just as Dayla said, I am going to the same rad onc who is a breast specialist on Tuesday  in St Louis for a second opinion that she went to.  The rad onc I went to last Friday left it all up to me to decide what to do. He told me to 'strongly consider' it, but could not tell me that it would actually benefit me. He couldn't really tell a percentage of recurrence for me if I did the radiation either.  Thinking of all of the possible side effects is a little scary too. But when I see the specialist on Tuesday and she tells me that I need it, then of course I will do it. I have a lot to think about.

lindany

Thank you so much for the purple martini..and good wishes.  .sorry i haven't gone onto the site until now. IT's all so hard and seeing the light at the proverbial end of the tunnel..well you know how it is...

Anyway,  I'm Finished with TCH and surgery last week..and now on only herceptin. Hair is beginning to grow back...i feel a little fuzz.

How are others doing who started in March??

Best,

Linda  

moborn63

I started rads this last week. I will be getting it 5 times a week for 6 weeks. So far no major side effects.

Mom_of_boys

Still following along daily... I still hurt when I hear of some of your setbacks/pains and smile when I hear of your trips/triumphs!

Any of you on Femara at this point?

~Jan~

bethr

HI All...

Alyad - In regards to your attempt at a cool time lapse..  A friend of mine suggested something similar for me but his was a little different...  He wanted it to be similar to the chia pet commercials...  lol  We laughed so hard.

 I hope your time lapse turns out the way you want it to.  If I do follow through with the 'chia pet' copy, I'll be sure to post it.   smile

 Have a great day all!

Beth

kim40

Sakura - I had the same thing happened to me while I was on Taxotere.  I mentioned to my onc and he said it wasn't a side effect.  I could be outside going for a walk and all of a sudden, I would get a lot of heavy bleeding from my nose.  I had this with my #1 and #2 of Taxotere, but nothing on #3

Mom of Boys - I'm due to start taking Femara on Thursday.  Just trying to figure out when is the best time to take it!

I had my second dose of Herceptin today.  Should feel the chills later tonight.

Hang in there Ladies! 

sakura73

Taxol #8 of 12 yesterday and I got a new side effect - a weird twitching down one side of my body. Not painful, just sufficiently odd to disturb me. It meant I didn't sleep through the infusion as I usually do and had to have an hour's nap at home to revive me. Poor BF was very stoic - he had the day off for illness himself but came  with me to the hospital and tucked me into bed afterwards. I feel that I am reaching the end of  his tether, though, and badly want to be through all this so I can stop being a  burden to him.

Kim 40 thank you for your feedback - glad I am not the only one, and that yours resolved itself!

Love to everyone - hope you are all enjoying the lazy days of summer. Here in Melbourne it's cold and a little damp. We really need a month of serious rain!