Chemo Starting Sep 09

jadams1264

Hello SOSisters... isn't it something that even after a year we all have side effects of some sort?  Just goes to show this darn chemo must have killed every last cancer cell that was ever in our bodies!  My nails crack and split but never had them come off.  My cousin is just past txt two and is breaking out in blisters.  Hadn't heard of that one.

Neece - so good to hear from you and glad the weather missed your spot of the world.  It seems so strange that fall is coming to you when I'm looking forward to warm summer heat.  Remind I said that in July!  A Nook is like a Kindle, I have friends that have the Kindle, I have a Nook.  Either one is pretty neat, no waiting for your books, just download and start reading.  I like my husbands Nook the best, it's in color.

Patty - so glad to hear the pests are gone and your house is back in order.  Guess this is getting around your busy time with all the spring weddings.  Are you ready for Vegas?  I got my ticket, the prices kept going up!  Question, arrive on 29th or 30th?

ChinaBlue - I remember you posting how bad your nails were and I felt so bad for you!  My daughter lost a big toe nail, it took forever to grow back in.  I tried the glucocamine for bone pain, didn't help a bit but when you want something to work you'll try anything.  

Hope this finds everyone else doing well.  I'm off today and have many errands, laundry - all that fun stuff to do.  Take care.

Thoughts and prayers are with you!

Jane

msmpatty

I bought a Kindle about nine months ago and absolutely love it.  It is so easy to carry around so I can always have a book at hand and when I'm done with one I can download another one in less than a minute.  The only bad thing about it is the horrible guilt I feel when I see independent booksellers going out of business and Borders in bankruptcy. 

Patty

BarbAnne41

Hi ladies I am just checking in. I am glad a few of you seem to be able to make the Vegas thing work. Jane glad you are on the mend. Patty congrats on being (hopefully) termite free. Vicki I may have missed it, but is the lump thing all squared away?

I have just been going through a really bad time, physically, financially, and emotionally lately, too much dram, too much fighting, money super tight...I am probably at my lowest. and my DH is not speaking to me or our daughter right now. The tension in the house is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

I am a wreck. I have work today, have to go fix a deposit at the bank, and pray they cover the check that deposited yesterday, lord it has been a good 15 years since I have made that kind of mistake. I also hope I can fix all that before the DH finds out...what a mess..I really don't need that kind of fuel on the fire .My DH's 45th birthday is this Friday, and I am really not sure if he will be speaking to me by then....did I tell you I still itch, yea my skin is a mess....I took two weeks off from Tamoxifen and about the second week my skin started healing, then I started back up and in about a week the itch was back. I see my onc March 14th, so I am going to ask him if he thinks I could switch to something else, And maybe have a 4 week break.

I really need some good luck and major prayers ladies, If you could pray for me I would really appreciate it, I am at the end of my rope...

Love and thanks

Barbara

BarbAnne41

PS Patty, Don't feel to bad about Borders they are based in Ann Arbor, where I live and work, and some of that was major mismanagement, not so much ereaders.

chinablue

Sending positive thoughts, good luck and lots of hugs BarbAnne41.

I just had scar revision on my foob. It turned out great!!!! I am so so happy.  Now, I will continue with fills for the tissue expander under my diep foob.  Oh, I can't wait until Sept. when I will FINALLY be done with revision.

vickilynn

Oh Barbara... I am so sorry to read about your personal life struggles.  It's sort of like I want to say, "She had BC - what more do you ask from the woman?"  Praying for you.

vickilynn

A cyst --- not cancer --- no surgery!   Yay!

BarbAnne41

Thanks for the hugs and prayers...things are on the mend, but lordy I just feel shell-shocked if that makes sense?

Vicki--I am soooooo happy it is a cyst!!!!! Big hugs for you.

China-- I am also happy things are swimming along, it is a long road. Hugs to you to girl!

jadams1264

Hello SOSisters... I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday.  Have weekend off and I'm so glad!

BarbAnne41 -- I'm so sorry that you are having a bad time.  Teenage drama at our house caused numerous fights between my DH and daughter.  I was the in-between.  Don't miss those days at all.  I can so understand what you are going through.  To put job worries on top must really be tough.  Keep up your spirits, you are a strong woman and this too shall pass!  When I went off Famera the first time, all my bone pain disappeared, went back on and it returned!  Each drug has it's own set of side effects.  I keep wondering if the Famera contributed to my heart problems, will never know.  I'm praying for sunnier days ahead for you!

ChinaBlue - you sound happy.  Glad you are moving along with your reconstruction.  What a long road it has been, I'm sure it must feel great to see the end in sight!

VickiLynn - YEAH!  I'm so happy it was just a cyst.  Will there ever be a time we don't go into panic mode for anything?  Know you are so relieved and so are your sisters!

Thoughts and prayers are with you.  Take care.

Jane

RonnieKay

Good Thursday afternoon Sisters...

So happy for good news on the homefront ~ a cyst, pretty boobies, healthy heart, dead bugs, better weather....can never have enough good news!!!!

Oh BarbAnne: My heart goes out to you.  I remember a bit of chaos when we were raising our kids, but in today's world...I feel for you!  I'm blown away at what it takes to keep teenagers "engaged" now days. Not so long ago we didn't have cell phones, computers, ipads, ipods, on & on...I'm not saying it's bad, it just has to put a burden on home budgets...and omg, if they're driving and gas is $3.60 a gallon...holy crap!  I know you're hoping for a different job & that's pressure packed. PLUS..you still itch...darn it!  That just makes everything worse. When you don't feel good, it's hard to put a smile on your face & put up with the little stuff that hits each day. I just know that the silent treatment can be a killer...my husband told me so (I'm an expert at the silent treatment!)...and think of the good things you're not talking about (I know there's something!). Hoping DH opens up so that the air can clear.  AND...we're glad you can talk about it...we're here to listen & add our little tidbits of love & advice (wanted and unwanted!).  

I had forgotten how badly chemo had treated our nails...and continues to treat them!  Thanks for the suggestions for my friend...although she doesn't seem to want to do anything "out of the ordinary" to change the outcome...and I need to respect that.  It's just that I want to try to fix things for her....it's that bossy part of me! 

Off to fix dinner...oh how I hate it, but every now and then, I guess it's my job

Love all of you!

msmpatty

VickiLynn - I've been worrying about your lump.  I'm soooo relieved to hear the good news! Happy dancing for you.

Barbara - When it rains, it pours...right?   It definitely sounds like Tamox is the culprit in the itch.  I'm hoping your Onc has something else up his sleeve for you.   Strife in the house is just horrible.  I remember the bad 'ol days when my son (and some major behavioral problems) came to live here and I was so stressed and so exhausted that I'd wake up thinking 'how am I going to make it through today?'.   Keep the faith!   As long as you want things to get better and keep that as your goal, they will get better.  Cuddle up with Mr. Pumpkin Pants and take a break!

China - Hooray for a successful scar reduction.  Now on to the new "girls"!

Patty

PS - Barbara...I have one Ativan left that I've been hoarding for an emergency.  Shall I send it to you?

Neece

BarbAnne I am so sorry to hear of your family trouble and strife. I remember close to this time last year when my little family was imploding over some issues that seemed tiny but caused so much grief. It was a horrible time and seemed doubly hard to bear as I felt I had just climbed an enormous mountain of bc treatment, only to be hit by that when all I wanted to do was recover and regain my life. I am happy to report that things are so much better on the family front now. I really hope that you can get through all this relatively unscathed. Keep your spirits up and remember "Never push a woman who has had breast cancer!!!"

So glad to read Vickilynn's news.

I have my 3 monthly review with oncologist tomorrow. Feel a little anxious though not too much. As my DH gives me a daily lymphatic drainage massage, which involves the neck, chest and armpit areas along with back, tummy and of course arm and hand, I kind of feel that if there are any lumps that develop, he will find them first.Got to be some positives about having got lymphodema, right?

BarbAnne41

Thanks for all the love support and words of encouragement. Things are going okay, but tenuous...I am keeping my fingers crossed they find a peaceful groove. Of course I have to remind myself that having a teenager in the house things will not be calm for a while, but some peace would be nice.

Neece- Thank you and I will think good thoughts about your appointment. I am sure your hubby would of found something, if there was anything to find. I am glad things in your life are soo much more settled than last year.

Patty- Thanks for the words and Ativan offer. You are too good to me. I never could stand the Ativan...made me feel weird..I will have to stick with other libations. But you are right Mister Pumpkin Pants helps, although he is not a big snuggler. I hope your son is doing well and the termites are staying away.

Ronnie- Thanks for the words and support. Yes I think money and technology have an influence on all this teen crap...remember the good old days when daughters or sons had fights with friends and they slammed the phone, a rotary probably, or ran in the house upset? Well with cell phones, texting, Skype, Facebook, your kid can have a whole load of crud going on and never know...the parents just get the angry teen who doesn't want to talk..And gas, lordy, I think I mentioned our daughter is duel enrolled in High School and Cosmetology abbreviated as coz) school, so she has a car, and she has to drive into Ann Arbor for coz, and to the high school for classes, gas money, along with keeping gas in my DH and my car is quite the feat!! Thanks again, and I hope dinner was good.

Jane, Thanks for the lovely words and thoughts. I know what you mean about side effects..I am sure this itch has to do with the Tamoxifen. Thanks again and I hope your weekend was great.

My itch really settled down late last week, I had a few moments of flair, and my skins is still a mess...that will take a while to heal. But I was wondering if now that I hit the one year mark, of taking Tamoxifen, maybe my skin had gotten used to it, maybe I am grasping at straws, but it was A LOT less itchy, so who knows. After spending a year itching...anything is possible. I will talk to my onc next Monday at my one year. See what he says.

Thanks for listening, and all the thoughts, prayers and hugs.

Love and hugs

Barbara

RonnieKay

Well...a friend just emailed me and asked if I could tell her how to get on the blog that I always talk about because one of her good friends was just diagnosed with bc....so, I had to log on to see exactly how to LOG ON....since you're all my "FAVORITES!"  SO....just popped in to say "hi" and love ya!

jadams1264

Hello SOSisters.... as you can see I actually changed my picture - only to show off the two latest additions to the household.  Meet Mac & PC, two sweet Maltese puppies who came home with us on Sunday.  We only went to look - ha!

RonnieKay - so sorry to hear about another friend with BC.  My cousin went for her 3rd of 4 txts yesterday.  No herceptin so she is defintely on the down side, followed by radiation.  I told her after chemo, radiation was a breeze!

Patty - isn't it something that we can all relate to BarbAnne's woes - my daughter is 35 and I can still remember (not fondly) the teenage years.  Glad you got your house back and all was well.  Getting busy with all the brides?

BarbAnne - had to go for a checkup with onc today.  I have been off Famera due to my heart problems.  He isn't going to put me on anything for the next 6 weeks, then it will probably be Tomoxifen.  Oh joy - you may have to send me a list of things you have tried for itching.  Hope things are settling down for you!

Neece - I remember you having family woes last year.  At the time these things are going on you don't think they will ever get better - but they do.  How did your checkup go?  Bet you were just fine!

Take care.  Thoughts and prayers are with you!

Jane

vickilynn

JANE  - Awwwwwwwwwwww... are they as fun as they look?  Is that your hair???  looks great.

BARB - glad to hear from you again.  Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. 

RONNIE KAY - good of you to pop in!

NEECE - didn't realize how much massaging your DH does for you. What a sweet thing to do.  Any results from the dr. visit?

PATTY - thanks for the Happy Dance! 

CHINA - glad you're happy with your Foob.

Neece

My onc has pronounced me 'looking good for another three months'. Isn't that the best feeling? I am signing up for a clinical trial to look at the different rates that patients metabolise Tamoxifen. It will involve several blood tests and a survey. If they find I have low levels of the enzyme (or whatever it is that the body makes from Tamoxifen), then I will go into the next stage of the trial where they increase the dose for a couple of months to see what happens. All quite interesting.

positiveme

Hello Ladies

I am still alive. It has been forever since I have been on this board. Just alot of life going on. Spent an hour reading and trying to get caught up. Health wise doing just fine. No complaints. I will try to keep up with everyone but got a promotion and it just adds to everything else.

THINK POSITIVE

Catherine

vickilynn

CATHERINE - so good to hear from you!  Congrats on the promotion... keep in touch, it's way too hard to "catch up"!

NEECE - great news! 

TO ALL - Read this on another's post and I really like it - my new favorite quote:  "Life is not just about surviving the storm... it's learning how to dance in the rain."

Let's all learn to dance.  And, I might add, Gene Kelly did it without a raincoat.

vickilynn

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/34/topic/764104?page=11#idx_321

Check the above for info on Vegas hotel (the Mirage).  Need to pay deposit in July!

BarbAnne41

Ronnie Hi!! We love you too!

Jane what cute new babies!! Give them a kiss from me, I just love animals. I am glad your friend is doing okay, yes rads will be easier. I hope the Tamoxifen doesn't make you itch too, egads. I tell you the best cream has been vagisil, yes I know its not meant for skin, but it seems to be the one cream that moisturizers and soothe the itch and pain. Is it spring down there yet?

Vicki- Love that quote. Thanks for the link, I will go look at it and fantasize about a trip

Catherine- Congrats on the promotion, sorry about the excess work! Glad you checked in and are well.

Neece Yea for good reports. Big hugs, and keep us posted on the trial sounds very interesting.

See my onc Monday, can't wait to hear what he says about my skin...I will let you know what his proclamation is.

My prayers go out to of course all of you, my sisters, and those effected by the awful earthquake and tsunami, lord it just looks awful...prayers, prayers, prayers.

Love to all of you and enjoy you weekends....I would if it would ever stop snowing!

Barbara

msmpatty

Jane - Mac and PC are just too cute!   I like their names too...hope they get along better than "Mac" and "PC" in the Mac ads.  I have two cats who are brother and sister and they just love each other.   Your hair looks GREAT!   Did you see that the official TATA hotel is the Mirage?  That worked out good, huh?

Neece - Happy news on the all clear.  I'm jealous of your daily massages.  Does your husband make house calls in the US?

Catherine - Hi!   Good to hear from you!

Now for some not-so-good, but definitely-not-horrible news.  I developed this crazy looking growth near my ankle.  It started out so tiny that I kept shaving it off when I did my legs, but then it got a real head of steam and rapidly grew into this incredibly ugly 1/2" growth. So off to the dermatologist who biopsied it.  Got the path report this morning and it is skin cancer ... "minimally invasive squamous cell carcinoma".   Not sure what the full treatment is yet but I think it pretty much involves excising the tissue around it.  Oh boy, another scar.  I'm beginning to look like I'm a street brawler.  Anyway, it's not related to breast cancer (relief!), just the result of being fair skinned and getting way too much sun in my youth.  After a BC diagnosis, this one seems like no big deal.

Patty

vickilynn

Oh Patty, so sorry!  Any cancer is a big deal --- though I know it's all relative, isn't it?  Hope it will all be taken care of soon and fully.    Just reading about the waves and damage on the coast in No. Calif.  Didn't hear anything about San Diego though.

Barbara - I hadn't even turned the TV on so wasn't aware of the earthquake and tsunami.  I'm aware now!!!  devastating.

jadams1264

Good morning SOSisters... a beautiful day in NC and I'm getting ready to go to work  

VickiLynn - yes it is my hair and the photo is far enough away that you can't see the frizz!  I'm still hunting for the perfect thing to make it smooth.  Anyone need some used only once hair products?  The puppies are keeping us entertained and are training us a little bit everyday!

Neece - congratulations on the great report!  I know it's a relief every time that happens.  Keep us posted on the trial - I suspect I'll be taking Tamoxifen in about 6 more weeks.  Is it getting cool there?

Catherine - so good to hear that you are doing well and so busy.  Yes life does move on and for most of us in a positive direction.  Congrats on your promotion.

BarbAnne - the weather in NC is very fickle.  We had a warm spell a few weeks ago, the Bradford Pear trees bloomed and then another cold spell.  Now we are expecting 70's today and during the week back down in the 50's.  However, if you are getting snow I guess that sounds great   Thanks for the info on the cream, I will definitely keep  it in mind!

Patty - I am so sorry to hear your news.  I think anytime we have to worry about something else it is just too much.  We have all gone through enough that we should never have to worry about anything else.  This from the person who spent 20 days in cardiac ICU.  Even though it will be fine it is still a worry in the back of your head.  Keep us posted on what they are going to do.  Can we do anything for you besides pray and send positive thoughts?  Yes, Mac and PC are are the sweetest babies and we are having so much fun with them.  I was delighted to see about the Mirage, we will be so convenient to so many sights and the Beatles Love show!  Have you stayed at the Mirage?

Isn't it terrible about the earthquake and tsunami?  I can't wrap my head around so much devastation and loss.  A lady I work with has a son in Okinawa and she didn't hear he was ok until yesterday morning.  

Hope all of you have a great Sunday!  Take care.

Thoughts and prayers are with you!

Jane

BarbAnne41

Patty-- OMG, I am glad it isn't from BC, but what a pain in the neck, or maybe I should say ankle? I am glad you got it checked out and cleared up, lets hope for no more.

Jane- Sorry you have to work, but the weather does sound better if not a bit like Michigan's, only our forties are the warm spell, I am soooo tired of snow and ice, we are 25 plus inches over what we normally get during a winter and it is exhausting, can't wait for spring!

Vicki I know awful huh? I guess the only saving grace is Japan is a much more economically stable place than say Haiti so their recovery might be better, one can only hope.

Love and hugs

Barbara

msmpatty

The Japan disaster is just awful!   Our "tsunami" here in San Diego amounted to a less than a 2-foot wave, undetectable from all the other waves coming in.   People were lined up along the coast at 8:40am (the time our "tsunami" was predicted to hit) and there was nothing to see.  Kinda' funny actually, but counting our blessings all the same.  

I had to eat crow a bit with my son.  He was pretty young when that huge tsunami hit Indonesia and he was very worried that we could also be washed out to sea.  To comfort him I told him that we don't get tsunami's here. (I know we can get them but the possibly seemed so remote that I just stretched the truth a bit.)   Unfortunately, he remembered my lie!!  Now he's insisting that I  correct all the other false information I gave him when he was younger.  Guess I'll start with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy....HA!

Thanks for your support on the skin cancer thing.  I think it will be fine.  We got it early and although it has been known to spread,  there's a 95% chance it won't.  Think of all we had to do to improve our chances with BC!  95% sounds good to me.

Jayne - The best thing I've found for the frizzies is an Olive Oil product you can find at WalMart in the section of haircare products for African Americans .   I get the cream version and put it on at night.  It is kind of greasy (but doesn't noticeably mess up my pillow) and you definitely have to wash it out the next morning, but it seems more effective than all the fancy pricey stuff I've tried.  (Now that I think about it, maybe regular old olive oil would do the same thing?)

 Patty

Neece

Jane go kick - ass of that skin cancer! What a drag for you. I know that if you can beat bc you can beat anything. But still... like you say, more scars.

Catherine how wonderful to hear from you!!!

And Jane i love your pic.

RonnieKay

Oh Patty...I'm sick that you're having to deal with skin cancer. The ankle seems like such an odd place to have it, but we all know nothing about cancer makes sense.  Have they said when you'll go in for surgery?  Will be thinking and praying that they get clear margins and that's the extent of treatment!!  Thanks for the hotel info!  We were at our other place last weekend for my aunt's 90th bday and cousins were talking about the reunion being the same weekend...gasp!  I told them about my plans so hopefully we'll find a different weekend!

Jane...Great picture of YOU and the Kids!  I can imagine you're loving the energy those two darlings bring! 

Vicki...I'm with BarbAnne...our weather stinks too...I have dreams of being with you in Arizona!  We've had twice the amount of rain that we usually have....and as I type this, I feel awful, knowing what sooooo many people around the world are going through.  We were watching tv as the first reports of the Japanese tragedy were being reported...omg...unimaginable.  The water did some damage on the Washington coast, minimal, but still so evident of the power of nature.  Now the talk of radiation...egads. 

Congrats Catherine, on your promotion! 

Neece...Happy and Healthy...yeah!!!   Next week are my appts with med onc & rad onc.  My center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, is celebrating their 10th year so they have a website that many...TOO MANY... of us have contributed our thoughts/experiences on.  Love those people!

Better get to sleep   XOXO

Neece

 I too am finding the Japanese tragedy upon tragedy unbelievable. Sometimes it feels like the planet is trying to shrug us off lately.

vickilynn

Heard last night that because of the quake, our day is actually 1.8 milliseconds (?) shorter every day.  Doesn't seem like much, but to think the earth shifted enough to change time? 

It shows just how small our planet really is...