Is there a July 2011 group?

misswim

Being smart and staying home to rest today. My body has been in overdrive and I just need to give myself a break. Hate to miss work but have to listen to my body.

rabbit

Sandy, keep up updated on your allergic reaction...the good news is, if you were going to have a life threatening reaction, closing of the throat etc, you would know by now. I have broken out in hives for no apparent reason prior to dx, so I keep having fears of that happening, I sure hope it's past you now!

misswim, please listen to your body, sounds like you really need to slow down. Even my onco told me  in the beginning "don't push yourself, even on the days you feel great, don't do too much.." I think we get a false sense of feeling good from the steroids, meds, and really our bodies are in overdrive without all that extra stress of work, trying to do too much.... hope you get some R&R today!

hugs all xoxoxo 

misswim

Thanks Rabbit, you are right. Waiting for a call from the onc right now. Felt better on Monday but hit a major bump yesterday and today I can barely get out of bed. It's about the time my counts go down and my hemoglobin has been iffy all along. I am wondering if my rbc's are low and the borderline anemia that has been lurking is hitting. This is 6 days post treatment and usually its four days and I am fine. Not today.....

khs113

Hi Paintingmyway---So sorry to hear you're struggling with mouth sores. Have you seen your dentist about it? He/She may have something that will help. Prior to BC I've struggled with mouth sores because I have something called Lichen Planus. My Oral Med Dr. gave me a steroid gel that clears them up in a couple of days. It's weird but my Onc said that chemo may clear up the Lichen Planus and in some ways it has. But after the first infusion I had mouth sores and used the steroid gel. It helped. Hope you can get this resolved.

ellenquilt

It's amazing what a good night's sleep can accomplish.  Yesterday, after not sleeping much since Saturday, I got through work on pure adrenaline and then when I finally got home could not move to do a damned thing.  Also I was nauseous, which hasn't happened with me too much.  And heartburn and my feet were acting funny.  I finally gave up the ghost, took a compazine and went to bed really early and even though I got up every two hours to pee all night, I was able to fall right back asleep.  So today I feel almost 'normal'.  

I hate mouth sores Rabbit etal.  And as soon as I feel that little "buzz" in my mouth I take a Lysine and hit the Biotene.  My onc is okay with my taking acidophilus for my stomach, OMega 3 for my eyes and Lysine for my mouth. So I'm doing all of that plus calcium+D and a multi.

It's hard not to go into overdrive when we feel good, but Misswim, you are right on the money to slow down when your body tells you too.  

Heading off to the allergist after work today to see what he can recommend so I can continue taking the Taxol which is tossing me nasty SE's lately.  

Looking forward to tomorrow -- no work, but extended hairdresser time to get my wigs styled in a way that I like.  

Hope all have a good day today.  The weather is rockin here! 

bcisnofun

Hi friends going through this journey at the same time.  I have my last DD AC next Thursday (if all goes as planned).  Embarrassing question but who else can I ask???  has anyone had difficulty with bowel movements?  Not constipation, but in hurting when you go.  I think I must have torn something a few days back and now even when I'm taking stool softeners, and bowel movements are soft, it still hurts.  The pain stops pretty quickly after going, but wow, it makes me want to stop eating so I can avoid the inevitable.  Any ideas?

ANA_424

misswim - I found after the second treatment that my fatigue lasted a lot longer. Plus, I expected to feel better so probably pushed myself on days that I should not have. Perhaps you've done the same. Hope you get some good rest and feel better.

Paintingmywaythru - Hope you get some helpful answers from your onc. I know that mine told me if I had neuropathy then they might decrease or stop treatment. I haven't had that yet (fingers crossed - no pun intended!), so it has not been an issue. But it is possible that it is a reflection of your onc's confidence in your good prognosis that she feels comfortable in cutting the dose. Hope that is the case. Keep us posted.

Sandy - how are you today?

Anyone else having hot flashes/night sweats? The last few nights I've been woken up at around 3 am, then every hour or so until it's time to get up. Not horrible from the sweating standpoint. I just get really hot, have to throw off all the covers, then cool off, get cold, and have to get under covers again. Really disrupts sleep when it happens over and over again. I am (or was?) pre-menopausal, so have not really had to deal with this before. Am going to mention it to the onc when I go in tomorrow for #3.

About dreams - I've never had strange dreams on Ambien, but have heard that Melatonin can cause interesting dreams. Did not take any sleep aid last night and I dreamt that I came to work with no wig on and the receptionist said I look great. Funny :-)

ANA_424

bcisnofun - Just saw your post. Have you ever had hemorrhoids? Those can be really painful. If you've had any constipation, it can cause them. You would feel pain while going, but stops pretty soon after. There are some OTC meds that can help, but if it is really bad, you should ask your Dr. If it feels more like cramps, there are also some meds your Dr. can give you to help. Mine gave me Bentyl for that. Hope this helps!

bcisnofun

Thanks so much ANA_424.  As I read your post, I thought...of course, that's what it is.  Hemorrhoids.  I'm sitting here laughing at myself that with all we've all been through, I'm worried about hemorrhoids.  I've never had them before and will look for some OTC.  Meanwhile, I'll try to find some cure for the chemo fog I have that made me think it was some terrible chemo/cancer thing.  What would I do without you guys!

dexxy

ladies - thinking of all of you here's a new video that will make you smile and cry all at the same time.  Its uplifting

http://www.cmt.com/videos/martina-mcbride/682633/im-gonna-love-you-through-it.jhtml  

misswim

Well ladies, I am home now but spent my whole day at the oncology dept, first two bags of fluid, then some lovely blood. Low rbc and hemoglobin. Feeling a bit better, finally home.  Had a hard time sitting between patients much older than me who are suffereing so much worse..........but I realized I need to take care of myself and chemo has kicked my ass and I just have to deal with that.

My wbc count was great........but I figured that since the damn Neulasta has been reminding me that it is doing its job.

Snoopy73

OMG Dexxy THANK YOU for sending this link, I was looking everytwhere for this song... abt a month ago, (actually the day before my 2nd chemo) i was watching the Today show with KLG & Hoda Kotb on NBC (Hoda is a BC survivor) and Hoda mentioned that she went to a CMT award or something and that she is inlove with coutnry music now esp this song and she started singing it and showing the song BUT somehow i missed the title or even the singer's name, sooo i went on the internet and googled my fingers off trying to find the song and couldnt find it... Sooo THANK YOU... Love it !!! All the best for tomorrow:-) went to get my blood work today, nothing to report:-) Hugs to you!!

ellenquilt

misswim: Glad you are feeling a bit better.  This is quite a process.

Has anyone here been switched from Taxol to Taxotere?  I just saw the allergist and he was going to suggest this to my onc since I had such a nasty reaction to the Taxol last week.  He said there is a stabilizing chemical in the Taxol that is particularly problematic and that a lot of women react to it. He also said it might be better if the infusions were kept really slow to avoid any more problems.  I guess I'll be moving into the chemo spa for more hours on Fridays.

As good as I felt this morning, I feel like I was hit by a truck now.  Seems to be the afternoon -- I'm also finidng that I get queasy in the afternoon while I feel fine all morning.  Took a compazine and I'm going to try to take a nap. At least I don't have work tomorrow so I can sleep a little later. If I can sleep that it.

ANA_424

Thanks for the link dexxy! I have a friend who was actually there for the filming of the video (although only her back is in one of the shots) and I was able to send her the link - she had not even seen it yet!

dexxy

ladies pass the song around!  if you are on other boards please get it out there, and show you're team of love ones.  Here's to the big chair day tomorrow, wish me luck

paulamati

Hi ladies today i had my third round of TCH..3 more to go yeahhhhh!!!!!.

I havent post to much here lately as Im being very busy with my kids, dog and hubby plus after the second round my enerly level  was very low, i was very tired and lazy , but other than that i have been pretty good.ohh something new..my nails are turning black ..oh well thats nothing .

Hope everyone is feeling better today ..wish you a day without SEs

Izzy325

Misswim- that is one of my worries- needing to get blood. So sorry that happened to you. But glad it is making you feel better.



This is supposed to be my good week with #3 next week... Had my counts done and hanging on with Neupogen but fatigue is lingering longer than last time.



Congrats to those 1 infusion closer to being done! Wishing everyone the best possible week

ellenquilt

dexxy; Thanks so much for posting the video. It was wonderful!

rabbit

thanks a lot dexxy you made me cry my eyes out LOL. I had never even heard of that song and I love Martina McBride....

good luck to all in the chair tomorrow, misswim glad you are feeling better!

I posted on my caring bridge site the following (easier to copy and paste, I'm too tired to sift through it all and edit!)

Had a crown put on in Dec. and the area around it keeps flaring up a few days or week after each chemo. My dentist thought it was best to take the crown off until I'm done with treatments, then decide on what to do with it, so that's what we did, it has a root canal under it so I can't feel the tooth.

Then today, on the way home from the oncologist, a crown on the opposite side popped off! AND an hour or so later sitting in bed chatting on the phone, I felt a chunk missing out of a bottom filling....AND some bonding on a bottom tooth had come off a week or less ago. Yes, my mouth is worth a mint

Waiting for the dentist to call me back to see what we can do with all this, I swear the chemo must eat up adhesives in the mouth or something, I mean if it kills cancer, can't it kill bonding, fillings and adhesives?!

Ok, today, oncologist appointment, my liver enzymes were back to normal WOOOHOOO not taking tylenol for a week put them right back, amazing! In fact, Brooke, the Physicians Assistant said my bloodwork was "perfect" she was happier about it than me!

And to make this visit even better. She tried to feel the tumor and after at least 5 minutes of trying to find it, we thought we found it and it was the size of her finger tip, which, if that's what she found and it wasn't just a part of my normal cystic breast, the tumor has already shrunk quite a bit.
So very good news at the oncologist today.

Nite all xoxo

Anonymous

Rabbit - yeah - great news!!!

rabbit

thanks PhillyBird, and I woke up with major energy! 

Ok, I think we need to get a list together of everyones treatment plans, maybe I can get everyone to PM me the following:

alias on forum:

treatment plan, (for instance for me):

FEC: 
6/29/11
7/20/11
8/10/11
8/31/11

Taxatore:
9/21/11
10/12/11
11/2/11
11/23/11 

once I get the full list, I'll Pm it to yardley yardley, the one that started this thread...and hope she can edit her first post and put it up...this way on each page we will see exactly who has treatments when, I think it's a great idea  

rabbit

or is it em0909 that started the thread, chemo fog, so confused! 

Lindaqs

Hello everyone.  My name is Linda.  I am a 41 year old single mom of three daughters (18, 14 & 11).  I was diagnosed with IDC on April 29th.  Had unilateral mastectomy on May 19, 2 nodes were positive.  Had 5 additional lymph nodes removed on 5/17/11 and two more nodes were positive. At med onc's suggestion I agreed to AC 4x every other week, followed by Tax 4x every other week and finishing off with radiation would be the best option.  So, to say the least, I'm in for the long haul.  Yesterday was the 4th treatment of AC and I will start the tax in two weeks. I was working full-time at a trauma center expecting to return to work following my April 29th sx recoup, but I am now on disability. After hearing so many stories from others, I had expected to work through chemo, but it just wasn't possible with my side effects, both physical and emotional. I work in a high-stress atmosphere and am 100% sure I would overwork myself and end up doing more damage to my body.  I feel I have to focus on my treatment and recovery, although it's taking a major toll financially of course. I read a lot of posts over the last 8 weeks but didn't post because I felt ignoring it would make it all not seem so real.  Pretty unrealistic, I know.  I found this board and felt like I belong here.  As my treatments go along I find that I do not have ANY energy and sleep alot until at least day 8 and then the Neulasta kicks in, so excercise has been zero and that makes me very nervous.  Fortunately, so far I have not had mouth sores and have been able to eat somewhat normaly on most days.  Once my hair loss started around 2nd treatment, I cut it short and a week later shaved it all off.  Bandanas and hats it is. Possibly a wig when I return to work, but for now it's too damn hot and I'm just fine with leaving my house with my funky bandanas.  According to my daughters, I look kinda cool. lol.   It's finally time for me to accept that I do have Cancer and I found a place where everyone is going through the same thing and understand what it's like. I know my initial post is lengthy but I had a lot to get out.  Here's to kicking cancer's A$$ and not letting it define who I am.  Heading off for my Neulasta shot.  Looking forward to checking back to see how everyone is doing.  Linda

ANA_424

Linda - welcome, although I'm sorry for the reason. This is a great group and I think/hope you will find lots of suppport here.

dexxy and snoopy - Best of luck today and in the coming days! I'm off to the ChemoSpa - will report later.

rabbit

hi Linda, glad you decided to finally get it out and post! We all know how you feel....it sucks but it's part of our lives now so we have to deal with it as best possible and this forum has been nothing but good for me, and hopefull you.

good luck to all that had chemo this week and are experience the horrible SEs at times, and good luck to Ana and others going today!  One more under the belt!!

don't forget to send me your infusion dates (past and present) with types of chemo so we can get it more organized and know easier who is in the big chair when!!

hugs to all 

4honey

Welcome Linda. I too read the posts for many weeks before posting. You'll love it here. We're all sisters! :-)



Alright, here's my report. I told you my 2 nd chemo this past Friday would also include the neulasta shot for the 1 st time, so I could compare notes w/ the 1 st chemo. I took claratin the day before the shot, as ya'll suggested. The evening of my shot, I started getting the flu like feeling. I took claratin & 3 advil. I didn't get permission to take advil, but was desperate. I need to ask him about advil. Anyway, I went go sleep & felt just tired the next day. Then the evening of day 2 after shot I felt flu like again & took 3 advil again at bedtime w/o claratin. Day 3 & 4 feel fine, just a little sleepy & no more otc drugs. I feel like I've been lucky w/ SE so far & I'm waiting for the bomb to drop. i do take my melatonin everynight...no dreams at all. When I feel like my throat is getting sore, I take a strong liquid acidophilis. So far no mouth sores. Lord I hope my crowns don't start falling out or I'm likely to choke to death with all the crap filled in my teeth! Lol :-)



The only reason my SE may not be so bad is that my onc refuses to do dose dense. He sticks to every 3 weeks and won't budge on this issue. Although it's frustrating since i just had my 2 nd chemo, so far I can't complain.



Someome asked about taxol vs. Taxatere. My onc is putting me on taxotere w/ herceptin after the a/c. He said they are just as effective, but people have a tendancy to not have as many SE or reactions w/ the taxotere.



Have an awesome weekend everyone! May chemo spa go well for those you this week who are in the chair!



Xoxo honey. This is my bald head signature 0:-) haha



Ps, we could use more sisters if there are some of you who are still just reading posts! :-). You'll feel better!

4honey

Whats Gerd? Im new to all this techno language?

4honey

Dexxy thanks for the video, cried like a baby!

Anonymous

4Honey - GERD is gastro-esophageal reflux disease/disorder (like acid-reflux; you take stuff like Maalox and Nexium for it).

Regarding Txaotere - it is supposed to be just as effective, but less nasty to your constitution than straight taxol.  It is a derivative of taxol. 

Welcome Linda!  You are in good company here; lots of support, shoulders to cry on, and teammates to cheer you on.  Good luck with your continued treatment schedule.  Don't forget to rinse your mouth a lot with Biotene.  The gum version is good too, for in-beween brushing.

khs113

Hi all---

Linda--Welcome to our group. Glad you're looking out for and taking good care of yourself. Sounds like you have a good attitude about the whole BC thing.

Ana-424 --Hope you had a relaxing session at the Chemo Spa today. Enjoy the steroids while they last. Hey, I have a question. Why don't we get a small dose of steroid every day? Seems like it would help with the fatigue factor.

Rabbit --Weird about the crowns. Most of my molars are crowns so let us know what your dentist has to say. Glad your enzymes are back to normal and the tumor is shrinking. My treatment plan is as follows:

Taxotere/Clytoxan

7/13/11,8/3/11,8/24/11,9/14/11     Followed by 6 weeks of radiation beginning mid-October.

4Honey --Sounds like you bypassed the dreaded Nulasta SE's. I love the bald head signature.

BTW--I passed along a site to my friends and family today. It's a blog www.butdoctorihatepink.com She writes a piece in the middle column called "Things people say to breast cancer patients" Wise and funny at the same time.