Has anyone started a Dec 2011 group?

tammie

Well ladies first A/C down yesterday!! So far the nasea has been the only real problem ive had..I've just been keepin up on the meds and its actually been very tolerable..I'm also pretty tired today but hopin to rest up for tomorrow..Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday!!

darlam

Had port placement today. Went well. Was totally out since we were checking on the ovary too Surgeon sent ovarian cyst for biopsy but is almost certain it's benign. Stomach sore and moving a bit slow from that but port site not sore at all. Sooo ....thought all was well. Now back in Er with DH. He is having chest pain. Tried to tell me it was the banana he ate. Um. No. FAIL!

rachelvk

Tammie - good to hear that the SEs are sort of at bay.

Darlam - I'll cross my fingers for a benign result, and I hope your husband is doing better.

darlam

Thanks Rachel. Tammie, hope u are able to enjoy your holiday and not too many other SE's

darlam

DH has gallstones. Needs surgery soon. Yeesh. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Gator65

darlam - When it rains it pours! My hubby had a physical and now he needs a consult with a cardiologist. Something in his EKG did not look good to his doc. Yippee!

 Happy Turkey Day everyone! 

darlam

We could never have just one crisis at once, now could we....? Good luck to your DH also, Gator.

tammie

Dar glad port went well i got my fingers crossed for good news on that ovary..So sorry to hear about your DH i swear it does all fly at once..My SE's today seem to still be nausea a bit worse than yesterday but dinner went great and the whole family seems happy!! Big hugs to you to Gator tell these hubbie no falling apart right now...Thanks Rach so far doable been keeping my chin up holidays been a great disraction..Much love to you all.

rachelvk

Darlam and Gator - Hope everything turns out okay with your husbands.

tammie

Soo that crappy metal taste from chemo creeped its way i tonight feel like im sucking on a penny!! OO well at least it waited till after dinner..Popsicles here i come

Mardibra

Had my port placed the afternoon before thanksgiving. It was no problem at all. Easy. So easy that I went out for dinner and margaritas after! I have only experienced some mild soreness since. Nothing that a couple of aspirin can't handle. First chemo is next Thursday and I'm starting to get a little nervous now. To date my BC has been hidden...but there is nothing like a bald head to scream cancer! Now I'm going to look like a cancer patient. I hate that. Also need to have a conversation with my mother Sunday. Have not told her about BC yet. My sister died of cancer several years ago and my dad died last year so this news is going to send her over the edge. I'm dreading this conversation. Tips anyone? I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and enjoys the rest of their weekend.

rachelvk

Mardibra - I wish I had some wise advice about talking with your mom. You must be pretty strong to have gotten through this far without your mom knowing and being able to offer you additional support. The only thing I could think of is when you talk with her, let her know you understand she may need help and support, too, and you'll do what you can so you can both get through this helping each other. I know my parents have felt so helpless in all of this (and my dad's an ob/gyn, my mom a nurse, so they feel like they 'should' be able to do something). Sending you both my thoughts.

darlam

Oooh Tammie. Sounds icky. What else helps besides popsicles? Sorry.

Mardibra, I start chemo same day as you and I am getting nervous too. Less than a week away sounds like it is really happening. I also wish I had words of wisdom about talking with your mom. I understand why you have wanted to protect her from this information, but I hope there are others in your life that you can and do lean on. We all need that. I told my mom right away, that was probably the hardest conversation I had. I started to wait till I knew more, but decided that if it was my daughter, I would be hurt that she didn't tell me. Her mother died from breast cancer and I knew it would be hard for her to hear. Like Rachel's family, she is a nurse and I am a nurse midwife, so we kind of think we should be able to somehow fix this, but it doesn't work that way. 

I think your mom will need to hear that you waited to tell her because you knew how hard it would be for her, not because you didn't love/trust/want her support. You and I understand that, but it's a mom thing....you feel like you should always be all that your children need, even if that's impossible. If you are comfortable with it, maybe it would help her to be involved or accompany you to treatments or appointments so that she feels she knows what is happening and is "helping" in any ways that she can. Then her need to be your mom is being fulfilled. I don't know if you have children, but I am trying to think about this as a mom, instead of as the person with the cancer diagnosis. Good luck...I'm sure this will be tough for both of you. 

Look forward to comparing notes next week.....!

Mardibra

Thank you darlam and rachelvk. I don't have kids so I can't relate to being a mom and hearing this news. But darlam I understand your points and you are right - she will want to try and "fix" it for me. . I've had to keep my "news" to a very small group of people for fear that my mom would find out from someone else. That would have been the worst possible situation. So I'm recruiting my brothers to join me in this conversation. They have known from the start and I can't keep this a secret any longer. As one of my brothers has said many times, it's time for us all to buck up and deal including my mom.



Darlam - looking forward to comparing notes. I'm doing dose dense AC every two weeks for two months and then T every two weeks for the following two months. Here we go!



Thanks again

Christine

tammie

So glad your port went well..As for talking to the family its soo hard and seems no matter whatapproach we take they still are devestated and feel totally helpless..All i can offer is big hugs and hope it all goes well..Idk whos goin on /ac here but i can say the nausea is wearing on me somthing awful..I hoped today would be a bit better but instead i seem to be vomiting now and am almost out of the stomach meds which help ease it so keepin fingers crossed it gets better today..I realised last night that iveonly got a few weeks of hair left:( ive tried to be chin up  about it as ive done it beforebut hav to confess for some reason today its got me down and scared, as much like one of you stated once  its gone theres no hiding the fact im sick

Sorry to be a winer today hoping my mood brightens as the day wears on big hugs and love to ll of you..Tammie

Gator65

Mardibra & Darlam - I start Thursday, Dec 1st as well. 8 doses of AC followed by 4 doses of Taxol. I don't know about ya'll but I am freaked out. My biggest fear is throwing up. I am not a good puker, I bust all the blood vessels in my face and it looks like someone hit me with a baseball bat. I know I will have these anti nausea meds and all, but it still gives me willies.

Tammie, I feel for you. I hope the nausea goes away soon. Hugs to you.

Thanks ladies for the support on my hubby, I appreciate it. If it is not one thing, then it is another, LOL! 

Mardibra

I'm also freaked out. I am a big baby when it comes to puking. I immediately start crying and I'm not a cryer! Just an automatic reaction and, usually i end up losing a contact lens in the process! I'm hoping that my anxiety/fears are because I don't know what to expect. The surgeries didn't bother me but the chemo scares the crap out of me. I'm doing 8 doses of AC every two weeks and 8 doses of T every two weeks (dose dense). I'm just hoping they get the anti nausea drugs right the first go around for all of us.

darlam

Tammie, I am so sorry this is a miserable day. It is so hard to anticipate all that is coming. We will all be there with you very shortly.

Gator, how's your DH? Mine is eating verrry carefully and feeling better for the moment. Have to call the surgeon on Monday to make an appointment for him; they were closed yesterday.Also going to see his family doctor on Monday to try and get his BP under better control before he strokes out on me! 

Sounds like we all have the same fears. I hate to throw up also. Have had trouble with motion sickness, terrible "all-day" sickness with pregnancies, and also after any anesthesia. Seems reasonable to expect that this is a side effect I'm likely to have.....:) My onc center uses Aloxi as the pre-med for this, I have been reading that Emend is better. The pharmacist at the center said not to say she said so, but if I ask for Emend, I will probably get it. Once again, ya gotta speak up for yourself....why is that anyway????

Have also bought OTC SeaBands to wear and going to have weekly acupuncture treatments which my insurance actually pays 80% of. Who knew? No one told me that either; I researched it for myself. Had the first one this morning, and it didn't hurt at all....actually kind of relaxing and pleasant. I will say it helped with the soreness from the port placement. The acupuncturist also asked me if I have been eating well. (No!) I have gained about 10 lbs. since diagnosis just from less activity and stress eating. He said, well, we will try to relieve some of those junk food cravings also. Hmmm. I thought, "this I gotta see." Don't know if it's all power of suggestion or what...but had lunch at Subway, and no munching all afternoon. Interesting stuff! I guess we'll see how much it helps with the nausea once we get there. 

Mardibra

Tammie - hoping your feeling a bit better today.

Mardibra

Well, I had "the" conversation with my mother.  Didnt go horribly, but it wasnt great either.  Obviously she was very upset and because of that I left out some of the details of what is upcoming.  The slow drip method will work better with her.  So glad that is behind me!  Now, onto chemo 12/1.

 Hope everying is feeling as fine as possible and wishing all a SE free week.

rachelvk

mardibra - It sounds like you took the right course with your mother. I hope she'll be a source of some support once she gets her mind around things. And I hope the nausea doesn't hit you as bad as you fear. I'd hate to lose contact lenses in the middle of that!

I'm glad I brought the bucket home from the hospital. I'll have to find a strategic location for it, or chain it around my ankle. At least my office is across the hall from the women's room at work - at least if the SEs kick in while I'm there.

Tammie - I hope you're feeling better. You're allowed to whine from time to time. That's why we're all here. A few whines, a lot of laughts and tons of support.

Gator and Darlam - Hoping your husbands are in full recovery mode and wishing them good health.

I found out my last pap smear came back abnormal. I had a string of abnormals but they cleared up in July - right before I found my lump. I'm waiting to hear back from my onc because my test also came back positive for hpv, and I'm not sure what that means in terms of chemo. Does that mean that w/o my immune system, there's going to be a higher risk of developing cervical cancer because the virus will be completely unchecked? I'm thinking an ooph/hysterectomy is coming sooner than later.

I have my muga Tues, CT scans and bone scan Thursday and port placement on Wednesday. 

Good luck to everyone starting this week. 

darlam

Christine; I'm sure it feels better to have things out in the open between you and your mom. Sounds like you know her well enough to decide how much to share at one time, and you will find your way through that in a way that feels best to you. Every person and every relationship has its' own dynamic; you know yours best. 

Spent the afternoon taking outdoor autumn photos with all the kids, grandkids, and significant others. One of my stepdaughters is studying photography, and does a terrific job. Families are amazing things. As my daughter said, we are elastic. You can pull us pretty far apart, but we don't break! Every family has its' problems and imperfections, but if you are very lucky, you come together when it really matters. When everything else is in question, love is really all you had anyway. Feeling pretty emotional today, nervous as Thursday approaches, feeling like nothing will ever really be the same again, and I am saying goodbye to life as I knew it before. Have never liked the "survivor" terminology, but starting to understand it a bit better. Trying to pull myself out of the melancholies, and move forward with an acceptance of doing what must be done. Not easy right now, but we will get there!  

Mardibra

I should be feeling like a basket case by now, but im not.  Feeling a little slap happy actually!  I think if the Patriots win today, I will be skipping to the chemo chair!  However, tomorrow is another day closer so who knows, i might need a shrink by then.  BC is a funny thing when it comes to the emotions.  One day up, one day down, totally manic.

Darlam - sounds like you have a great family and im sure the pictures turned out great! 

Rachel - too funny....I had the same thought about how far my office is from the ladies room.  Too far if I need to puke so ive decided to use my office bucket!  Told my coworkers that if my door was shut they may not want to enter because there could be something nasty on the other side.

rachelvk

I have a question on port placement - I'm going in on Wed. Can I drive myself back and forth, or will they be sedating me, meaning I can't drive after...?

Whatashocker3

Count me in for Dec chemo. I am Cdn and am doing 3fec and 3 taxotere every 3 wks. Pic line goes in tomorrow. I choose not to do the Penquin caps but I do figure they will be in all the clinics in a couple of yrs. I am scared and anxious to get it all started. The sooner we begin the sooner we are done.



Take care everyone. I must add that it is amazing on whom you can count on through this ride and who surprisingly you cannot. My sister is in the 2nd category and I am a little devastated by this.

Mardibra

Rachel - they dont put you out....more like concious sedation.  However, they wont let you drive home.  I was up and dressed and out of there within 45 minutes of the end of the procedure.  I felt like I could have driven but I had a friend drive me and we went out for dinner and drinks after.  Because its general and not local, they wont let you drive.  At least thats what they told me.

rachelvk

Shoot... That's the down side of having chemo an hour away. If I had realized, I could have asked my boyfriend to switch shifts so he'd be around. I'll have to figure this one out... Thanks.

3girls

Hi-  I thought I would be in the Nov. group but now looking at Dec. still waiting for a date.  Dr. office was supposed to call last week to give me a date for echo and port placement and hopefully start thisweek. They never called-when I called this AM they said they never got the order.  I just want to get started!  The sooner it starts the sooner it ends:)  I will be getting ACX4, taxol and herceptin every week for12 weeks and herceptin to total a year.

susanella

Hi,

I am joining the Dec. 2011 group.  I was dxed with IDC and DCIS on 9/26, had a right lumpectomy on 10/12, and a re-excision with clear margins on 10/28.  I am Stage IIa with 1/3 nodes with 1mm microscopic.  I will be getting dose dense ACT.  I heard a lot of you plan on continuing to work.  I also plan to work.  I work from home but have very deadline intensive work.  I am trying to cut back.  Is it realistic to think that we can work?  Does someone have a master list of OTC meds and aids to help us through this? 

Susanella

susanella

As a follow up, I am starting chemo this Wednesday, Nov. 30.  I am terrified.

Susanella