MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

jenn3

Neece - love the dog w/the wig.  Our animals are always so supportive.

Elimar - love your sense of humor

Jo - Ugh to the Fibroid, but glad they can do the surgery right away and get it over with (((hugs)))

mjb/sherry - Sorry to hear that you both are having back pain.  As an arthritis sufferer (AS) for many years I can sympathize.  I learned a really easy stretch at PT that helps.  Lay on the bed with your shoulders on the bed, but let one leg hang off the side for 3 minutes, repeat on the other side.  If you're really tight bring the leg on the bed bent with knee out up to you and hold.  It's really simple, but stretches the muscles in the hip area and gives relief. Good luck.

I am getting neupogen shots for week one of the cycle and neulasta for week two, it didn't help. I'm glad the transfusion was offered because I was going to beg.........I was so tired.  I am still sluggish, but not nearly as bad as I was prior to the transfusions.  I'll get more labs next week and see where I am.

Jenn

Eph3_12

neecee-love the avatar.

I had a wig that I got from american cancer society.  It's still in a bag hanging on my bedroom doorknob.  I loved scarves & hats & since it was summer time the wig was too hot.  I've never liked myself in hats & scarves before chemo & now that my hair is back - my jury is out on whether I should still wear them, but LOVED that freedom when I was hairless to pick & chose what to wear! (once I got over the initial shock of being shaved.  I used to threaten to do that & said I would just have a variety of wigs to wear for whatever mood struck-then it happened & I never once wore the wig-go figure!)   

lynniea

Hi all Saw my OD today and all is about the same.  I have only 2 chemo left.  We are heading to the beach next week the 18th -25th I either hurt at home or at the beach.  I say the beach I can always sit on the screened in porch and read and relax.  EPH3 I felt the same way about wigs I just stick a hat or scarf on my head and call it a day and sometimes nothing at all.  After the initial shock of not having hair I feel ok about it now.  My family calls it my party wig so far no party yet.  I hope everyone has a good night.

elimar86861

Chemo gals, when you had (or are having) treatment, do the docs say anything about bug bites?  We were kind of mentioning them as far as keeping an LE arm free of bites, but I was wondering if there is any extra danger of bites during chemo (or any extra danger using a chemical spray to keep them off?)

elimar86861

lynniea, the finish line is in sight!  Have a great time at the beach.  Relax and enjoy!

reesie

Elimar, I never even thought of it - I should probably ask since it's summer time in Jersey so the mosquitos will be rampant and I spend a lot of time outside (I hate air conditioning air so I sit outside and read in the evenings when the air is on - even though it's on for me ).

reesie

Okay, got a call today at work from my BS - She says hi, how are you feeling?  I say well I thought I was fine but then you're calling me so why don't you tell me.  So now I'm not fine, I'm having a small heart attack getting this kind of unexpected call when I have a normal follow up appointment already next week with her.

Turns out she was just calling because my MO discussed my scan results with her and wants her to remove my right breast now (he told me he was going to be discussing further options with her yesterday). She didn't realize I already had an appt next week and was calling to let me know this was the plan and to set up an appt (she didn't tell me to set it up, her partner did when she was out on medical leave).  

Well, at least I wasn't the only one to have the small heart attack.  Turns out she called my DH and left a message on his cell phone to call her (his cell was the main contact # in the beginning of my DX) before she called my work #.

elimar86861

Do chemo gals get fewer mosquito bites?  Hmmmm???

Eph3_12

Reesie-nice of your surgeon to jump start everyone on a perfectly good Thursday!!!!!!!

E-I'm pretty sure I was given no instruction re: being careful about bug bites during my chemo & our area does have skeeters, just not the 747s, thank goodness.  I don't think I went anywhere that would have been a major bite zone while I was undergoing my treatment tho so not sure I had the thought to even wonder or worry.  

elimar86861

reesie, did you say you had a mass (masses) in the right?  Why the surgery?  Was it something not responding to the chemo?

reesie

Elimar - several small masses that resolved and one remaining dominant mass smaller but still there. But I do also have an open wound (healed - but taking forever to "fill in") that would be taken care of too.  Initially he said that the local treatment would be radiation but since there has been such good response I think the idea is that surgery would solve all the remaining issues with the breast. 

Actually she wouldn't be removing much at this point - apparently my breast was almost all tumor at the beginning and now it looks like I already had surgery it's so much smaller (I'm lopsided now).

Joni - I thought the same thing.  Especially since when I was on AC everytime the nurse called and said how are you it meant that I was supposed to be having symptons and needed a transfusion.  I got used to saying I thought I was fine but why don't you tell me.

heartnsoul76

reesie - oh, man! I hate it when a doctor calls me! I freak out, but sometimes they really are calling just to be nice and see how you are. So funny, they think they're being nice and we're about to vomit!

I'm so sorry it was crappy news, though. I wish she had just waited until you were there in person! I guess she didn't know you were coming in next week, but still, it's so aggravating! She had your chart, she could have looked...I'm sorry, I'm just aggravated, too now! I hate it when they call me.

Elimar - I wasn't warned about bug bites (but it was fall and winter and we get relief from the bugs then). However, another question came up about chemo and cancer with me the other day. I cut my hand pretty bad on a rusty piece of metal, and it's been about 8 years since my last tetanus shot. That raised so many questions for me - is my tetanus vaccine weakened? would a tetanus shot make me sick?

My onc is out of town and nobody there knows what I should do. I did a google search on something like cancer and vaccinations - there are a lot of vaccinations none of us should get. According to my amateur research, tetanus wasn't one of them. So, I'm just waiting to see if my jaw locks up on me. It's probably not that important, but things like this do make you wonder. 

elimar86861

Didn't I read that chemo patients could get flu' shots, just not the "live" virus ones?  Not sure how that works for tetanus. 

Here's yet another question that someone here must have the answer to.  If you have allergies (and let's say to pollen,) do they generally get worse, better or stay the same during chemo?  Would it depend on RBC count, seeing as that's how the histamines travel around in your body?  I do have seasonal allergies, but never did the chemo, myself, to put that to the test. 

Where's NativeMainer with her medical background?

heartnsoul76

Elimar - when my onc told me to get a flu shot, I was surprised, thinking that my immune system was so weak. I expressed my surprise to her and she just said, "yes". She didn't say anything about a live virus or not so I just got the regular ol' shot!

Only time any allergies spring up for me are in the spring (ha), and I was through by then. But I did read something about WBCs being stronger once you've had chemo. Theoretically, the WBCs that survive chemo are super WBCs and then they multiply and divide as usual, so it seems that many chemo patients are not as susceptible to things like colds and viruses as they used to be. I've just read this on these boards - I should ask my onc about it, but she doesn't like all my questions.

reesie

Heartnsoul - Thanks. Actually I kind of understood her calling - she thought she was letting me know she wanted me to come in for an appointment and why.  I think even with my chart she might not have known about the appointment - it was just a regular follow up to talk about how treatment has been going so far and her partner suggested I make it . And I appreciated that she didn't have a staff member just call and set up an appointment leaving me to wonder why, etc. I wasn't aggravated just thown for a loop getting the call lol (I mean I just got what I though was  really good scan results from my MO so what could be wrong with me that my BS would be calling - it's funny how quickly so much can run through your mind).

It wasn't bad news actually because I was hoping for surgery instead of rads and wasn't sure my MO would recommend I go that way.  Also since he was the one who suggested it I feel better as to my status - he wouldn't have recommended what will be major surgery unless he thought I was improved enough to handle it. And since I'm now considering an oophorectomy and have an appt with my gyn on Wed I'm gonna see if there's a way to "combine" the surgeries (either same day or within a couple days of each other) so I only have one recovery time.  Now I can go in on Wed with this info.

Hope you don't get lockjaw

Elimar - my allergies have been pretty much the same (which isn't that good since I have so many lol)

heartnsoul76

LOL, reesie - I should have known you had it all sorted out, and it sounds like a really good plan. I'm so glad your MO went your way of thinking on it; now you don't have to wonder if you twisted their arm in the least. I still regret some things I should have just gone with the MO's opinion about. Yes, I totally appreciate them calling - it just scares me! I like it and I hate it!

NativeMainer

The flu shot is not a live-virus vaccine, it is a killed virus, so safe for people on chemo.  The FluMist nasal spray is a live but weakened virus, so people getting chemo should not get it or be around anyone who has had it for 21 days.  The MMR is a live, weakened virus vaccine, too, so people on chemo should avoid contact with children after MMR vaccination for 21 days.  21 days is the time that the person who got a live virus vaccine will be "shedding" the virus.  Someone coming down with the flu "sheds" the virus for several days before symptoms start, we call that being contagious. 

Tetanus is not a live virus vaccine and is safe for people on chemo.  Tetanus vaccine is also good for 10 years, even if someone is getting or has gotten chemo.  

About allergies, the answer is "that depends."  Most allergy responses work through the histamine pathway, not the WBC pathway. That's why antihistamines like benadryl help with allergy symptoms.  Most chemo drugs depress WBC production, and have little effect on allergy symptoms, but many other drugs are given with chemo drugs--steroids, for instance, which can either make allergy symtoms worse or block them.  Chemo drugs that cause runny nose often decrease allergy symptoms, especially nasal allergy symptoms because allergens don't have a chance to 'stick' in the nose but get washed out.  BUT--everybody reacts differently to the drug cocktails and the stress the drugs put on the body, and to the emotional and physchological stresses of having a cancer diagnosis and being in treatment.  This kind of stress can either suppress or heighten a person's reaction to allergens.  Also, people getting chemo generally avoid places where there are a lot of allergens because of the precautions required by chemo--avoiding sun exposure means less time outdoors, hot flashes/sweats mean staying in air conditioned areas which also decreases exposure to pollens and outdoor allergens.  Staying away from malls and other croweded places also reduces exposure to smoke, perfumes, animal dander, and such that are found where there are large number of people gathered.  

The best thing to do when it concerns allergy symptoms is to ask your onc who knows exactly waht drugs you are getting and how they affect your system. 

neecee

Eph3_12 - Thanks.  I wore my wig to work yesterday because I didn't have viable hat/scarf options, and it was well received.  I can already tell, though, that I will be more of a hat/scarf person.  I ordered some BeauBeaus, and they came yesterday, so I will be practicing with them so I can begin wearing them right away!

elimar86861

NM, Once again thank you for for the knowledge and helping to make this a Renaissance thread of art, beauty and enlightenment.

                                             

barbe1958

I pity the poor mosquito that sucks the stuffing out of one of you ladies on chemo!!!!!

Meece

to address your questions, E.

During my chemo experience, I was given high doses of benedryl in my IV.  That suppressed any symptoms for several days each cycle.  I also spent a lot less time outdoors and I was extremely careful with the cleanliness of my home and office.  Because of this, my allergies were less of a problem than usual.  I have a problem with insect bites.  i seem to attract mosquitoes and other biting insects and their anticoagulents/venoms stay in my systems for days/weeks.  During chemo, i  don't think I had many bites, but those I did get took a loooooooooooong time to heal.  I wonder if the chemo in my system made it less attractive to bugs?

NativeMainer

Chemotherapy drug depress the bone marrow's ability to make platelets as well as RBCs and WBCs, so the anticoagulant effect of bug bites can last longer.  Platelets are a major player in the clotting process.  Also, chemo is rough on the liver so it isn't as effecient making other proteins needed for the clotting process, adding to the problem. 

The problem with bug bites is infection, for either chemo or lymphedema.  A bug bite that gets infected while on chemo can end up being a systemic infection fairly easily, and an infection in the arm on the affected side can trigger lymphedema at any point after surgery.  

elimar86861

Too sum up then, we might say that chemo blood is not as appealing to the average blood-sucking or sting-happy insects, but if any decide to go kamikaze and attack, a chemo gal's body cannot deal quite as well with the foreign protein/enzyme/bacteria a bug may carry.

O.K., NM, should the chemo gals be coating their bodies with the bug sprays then?  Are those chemicals more harmful than normal during chemo?  (Lately, I have switched to the most plant-based, natural bug spray I can find, but have not fully converted to "natural girl" yet.)

Eph3_12

Wow-TONS of information today!  Thanks girlfriends!  My friend Julee who has just been diagnosed will be receipent of some of this today.

jo1955

Eph - This is for your friend.  (((Julee)))  Hope she will join us.

blondiex46

Well got the results and there is progression in the lungs and lymph nodes, the liver is the same....going on xelota next week....slowly it is taking me!!

BarbaraA

{{{{BLONDIE}}}} Gentle hugs for you, sister. You are in my prayers.

blondiex46

thanks!!!

Kay_G

Hugs and prayers Blondie.  Sending all good thoughts and wishes to you.

reesie

Blondie, so sorry to hear this.  Hope xeloda does the job!