May 2012 radiation

sbelizabeth

I just swallowed #1 Femara.  With water.  And chased it with three Oreos.  Like putting your dog's pill in some cheese.

It better NOT make me constipated.  I have some dynamite and I know how to use it. 

Help!  I'm growing feathers!  Extra toes!  It's all getting dark...hold me...

STLmom

You guys are cracking me up. I am waiting to see if I start sprouting any extra parts. I hope it is not an extra boob. I am already mad at the ones I have.

sbelizabeth

STL, if you grow an extra boob, give me a call.  I'll take it off your hands.  It better be a perky one though.

Spokanellie

Go to bed, all of you! I'm laughing so hard, I'll never get to sleep. :-)

schatzi14

jeeze....just luv you girls!!! ROFLMAO

mckenna

It did for me Susannah. I started taking doc-q-lace in the am and pm and haven't had a problem since

SusannahW

Thanks McKenna, forewarned is forearmed! A friend had suffered terrible pain from constipation after starting arimidex, and I wondered if it was common. I should be starting in about a month.

mckenna

missed the feathers and extra boobs you all need help!!!!

congrats sb for taking the plunge!!  hope all is still well, how did chemo #1 go for kane?

schatzi14

Susannah...I am into my 6th month on Arimidex...no constipation at all and that is surprising cause I am that type of girl (usually) but the bone pain in both hips is totally getting to me. Can't walk very far or stand for any length of time. I am taking Claritin too but this time, it's not working. Oh I miss shopping and just talking walks with my DH. I feel like an invalid! Friggin HATE IT!

SusannahW

Shatzi, thanks for your response, but so sorry to hear about the painful side effects you're having. It must be very disheartening...is there nothing your MO can do for the pain? I don't know if I'd be able to tolerate it.

Spokanellie

Shatzi - I've been on the Femara generic for about 7 weeks now (since June 1). Do you remember when the bone pain started for you? I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ellen

BLinthedesert

yikes you guys ... I am crossing my fingers for no SEs for you.  

Schatzi, is there an alternative for you?  Femara?  I am so sorry.

nancyjac

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....yet another pedometer bit the dust today.  Anybody have a recommendation for a decent one?  Don't need anything fancy but would like one that is more reliable and durable and doesn't crap out on me after a few weeks.

Neeners815

schatzi - so sorry for the bone pain; it sounds horrible

sbelizabeth

Schatzi, sorry about the bone pain!  Maybe you need to switch AIs? 

Nancyjac, I would love to have recommendations for a pedometer, but I cycle more than I walk.  Good luck with this, it must be a useful tool.

Mckenna, Kane's chemo was uneventful.  We chatted several times on Wednesday, the day of her infusion.  She went to work afterward, and worked yesterday.  She stayed home today to sleep, which was exactly the timeline I experience with my own chemo.  Next big event is the hair loss, so be sending happy vibes to Colorado Springs for her.  She already has her wig, but it's summer and a wig is hot.

BL, are you not venturing forth on the tamoxifen/AI plan?  How great if you can avoid it! 

I'm very pleased to announce that after my first generic Femara yesterday, I pooped today.  Too much information?

nancyjac

sb.  I use to cycle more than walk too, but both onc and orthopedist recommended more walking and less cycling.  The onc because walking is weight bearing (better for retaining bone density) and the orthopedist because walking requires less repetitive bending of my osteo-arthritic knee.  I still ride occassionally but mostly just for fun these days.

KaSA

schatzi14...... Thankyou for that. My rads were no problem at all and you were right - after chemo they were a breeze!!!

sbelizabeth

Nancyjac, that makes sense, and I'm glad you're able to walk for exercise even with the bum knee.  I have one, too.  It seems to feel better when I cycle than when I walk, though, and I think it's the weight-bearing aspect of walking that makes it flare up.  Don't you just love the trade-offs we make? 

My sister's IBC is triple-positive too, and she's on the same chemo drugs as you.  She'll be on herceptin every three weeks for a year.  I noticed your mx on the left was listed more than once; did they re-do for better margins?

nancyjac

sb....yeah, I think it may depend on where in the knee the cartilage breakdown is occurring.  In my case it is right at the kneecap so putting weight on it doesn't hurt but bending it too far does.  I had a cortisone shot a couple of weeks ago and that has really, really helped though.

You are exactly right about my surgery.  They don't have an option for re-excision and medically necessary plastic surgery for your profile page so I had to list the MX 3 times.  After the original bilateral mastectomy, the path report indicated no margins at the skin level, so surgeon re-opened it and took more skin.  By that point, there wasn't enough skin left to close the wound, so a plastic surgeon took the right side of my lower abdomen (including my belly button) and reattached it to cover the wound on the left side of my chest.  He used both skin and tissue rather than just skin because just a skin graft wouldn't have held up to the radiation.  If I had it to do again, the only thing I would have done differently might have been to hold off on the prophylactic removal of the other breast.  Had I still had it when they did the re-excision and flap transplant, they could have done the other breast at that time and used part of it for the flap instead of my abdomen.  So as it turns out in my case, I have a very lumpy and uneven torso now and the whole point of the bilateral MX was for symmetry.   

sbelizabeth

Nancyjac, my goodness.  You have certainly been through it.  Thanks for sharing your experience! 

No belly button, huh?  Where do you put your gum when you want to keep chewing it later?!

When I was planning my mx I was going to have both removed for symmetry as well, along with the fact that I just don't want to worry about righty getting any ideas from lefty.  The plastic surgeon who will do my reconstruction next year asked me not remove the healthy breast, since it will give him more skin to work with later.

I'm off for a Saturday morning ride--happy weekend!

BLinthedesert

Nancyjac -- what a nightmare.  We are happy you are around and survived it ... lumps and bumps can't take away your spirit!

Ha ha ha sb -- I put my gum behind my ear ...  Have a great ride!! (I am not taking hormone therapy because I am ER-  ... I am both grateful - that I don't have to decide to take it or not, and worried - as it does take away a little "extra" treatment that reduces chance of recurrence).  

I am working a lot this week - and weekend (big grant due) - I am grateful I have enough energy -- I haven't needed a nap in about 8 days now ;-)

Have a wonderful Saturday ladies! 

sbelizabeth

Hi, BL.  Too bad you're stuck behind your computer on a weekend, but I can relate.  I'm on the other end of the grant process right now.  A grant just funded me a slave for an enormous project which will finally get finished, only because I'll have some help. 

It's probably so hot over there you're not too disappointed at staying inside with the AC!

Nancyjac, I second BL's thoughts.  I'm glad you took the steps you needed to take to save your life, and a lumpy torso is NOT who you are.  Our spirits shine through our surgerized, radiated bodies, and yours is glowing.

The bike ride this morning was hot.  Even the snakes stayed in the shade.  I've had an annoying cough since the third week of rads, and woke myself up coughing this morning at 0430.  I thought, "I'll never get back to sleep now," but I took the dogs out to pee and climbed back into bed.  Amazingly, I woke up again at 0830, so I didn't get out on the bike as early as I wanted, but I got some great sleep.  Sometimes there's just nothing better than some zzzzz's.

If I put my gum behind my ear right now, it would get stuck in my post-chemo curls!  My hair is just amazing.  It's been stick-straight all my life, and now it's wavy curly everywhere.  I look remarkably like Halle Berry.  Really.  We could be twins. 

Hope everyone's having a great Saturday!

nancyjac

LOL....OMG SB.....I've never been a gum chewer and with thoughts of stashing it in my chest high belly button in my head now, I don't think I'll be chewing gum any time soon....LOL

 And the hair thing.......mine started growing back right away after chemo but really really slowly for about 3 months and then just the last couple of weeks it's really growing fast all of a sudden.  It's not really curly but it sure is unruly....growing in every different direction and I have these stupid cowlicks everywhere.....sure hope that and some time when it gets long enough it will lay down and mind instead of having this mind of its own!

SusannahW

Bs, I rode my bike today for the first time since my surgery in April-amazing and wonderful. Now I'm going to try to ride again a few times a week. I don't think I would have climbed back on yet were it not for your posts and the photo of u in your helmet...thanks!!

SusannahW

Sorry, I meant Sb!

Mini1

Surgery in April, rads in May, and now just 2 rads left.

sbelizabeth

Welcome, Mini1!  Glad you could join us!  Is your last rad on Tuesday?  Mckenna, you need to put Mini1 on our list so she can have sunglasses with the whold crowd.

Nancyjac, surely they didn't just move your belly button, intact, to your chest.  I'm trying to picture this.  They can do some amazing plastic surgery, but no matter what, your actual belly button doesn't belong anywhere north.

When I was planning my reconstruction I asked my son, who is a brand-new physician, if he thought they could put my nipple higher on my boob to make it perkier.  He said, "Mom, we can put your nipple on your forehead if that's what you want."

Susannah, you made my day.  You go, girl!  There isn't much that a bike ride and some sunshine can't fix, and getting out there has been a huge stress reliever for me.  I'm thrilled you're joining me, and wish you lived next door so we could ride together.  Thanks for letting me know!

nancyjac

Yep, SB, that is exactly what they did.  The whole patch was rotated so that at least the belly button remained reletively centered, but it now centered where my boobs use to be rather than where my belly is.....so I gues now it is a boob button rather than a belly button. Could be worse.....I could be an outtie instead of an innie.

Goodie

OMG - you gals are cracking me up!  Bellly buttons are now boob buttons!  Nancy I can't believe they did that to you.  Did they even ask you to keep it? 

SB - your bike rides with your husband give us all hope.  My DH and I walk most days with our Reiley (golden - not much of a retriever) for about 2 miles.  It is "our" time.  It is good to just get out and "it" not being about our situation. 

I feel such a new sense of me since radiation ended.  It's like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I can live again.  Even with my new "hair."  I know SB loves her curls but it's so not me.  Not "my" color and certainly not the curls.  But it is amazing that people that don't know me think it's my hair cut choice (really?)  I can't even imagine putting that wig on ever again!

schatzi14

Hi Gals...thanks for all the replies. My hip pain started about the 4th month of Arimidex. My MO had called me re: a change in nurses, just to inform me and at that time it wasn't too bad. I see him in October for follow up so am hoping to wait until then to ask for a change in meds. Right now I have 3 months worth of meds and they are so expensive I hate not to take them. The thing is, I am not in dire pain as long as I do short errands and sit most of the time. It's just shopping that really does me in! I have always had a sore hip occasionally on the right side that I was able to deal with but now it's on both sides. I am turning into a sissy for sure. I just try to do what I can, when I can, and rest the other times. If it gets unbearable, I will call my MO. Thanks for you concern