Starting Chemo July 2012

Moonwillow1010

Boobzilla...I am also using the Aveeno Baby Shampoo that seems to work wonderfully!

mamabr

Hang in the Ann. Whatever fluids you can get down, keep trying and just rest. Don't feel badly about sleeping all day. If you can't eat, you can't eat, but keep on drinking. If you feel too badly, call your MO, they are on 24/7. Or, call first thing tomorrow if you can't get anything down. Maybe listen to the radio, keep your eyes closed.

SusanHG123

Ahh Boobzilla. Your posts are always bittersweet. Make me cry then laugh! The one breasted archery post---excellent. You might want to post on a Hunger Games site

My hair is holding--but first chemo July 26th so only 10 days out. Second this Thursday the 9th. Am going to Google hair halo from own hair.

It is hot hot hot is SE NM. And dry as a bone. Need to work on fall classess but going to play with quilt fabric instead. More fun. 

Taking my rescue dogs to be groomed (shaved) this week. The English lab leaves enough hair every day---if dogs needed hair donation Tripp is the perfect donor. But--the rescue lab/rot/who know what but is severely MR going for nail trim under sedation. Otherwise he will eat your face off. Have had him 11 years. Rescued as a pup. He still forgets who I am occasionally. But he is loved. As are all the members on this list

Susan in Hot and Dry NM 

SusanHG123

Ann. I am not a pro @ chemo and neulesta--have my 2nd on the 9th. But i am a nurse (this is NOT medical advise). Are you hydrated? Am betting not. I got really dry--and probably should have gone in for fluid support (my chemo nurses call it holy water). Might call your chemo group. During my 1st all i could drink was diet limeaide with extra lime from  Sonic of a mix of a dab of light OJ and diet Sierra Mist. 

I hope you feel better soon.  

SusanHG123

Ann. I am not a pro @ chemo and neulesta--have my 2nd on the 9th. But i am a nurse (this is NOT medical advise). Are you hydrated? Am betting not. I got really dry--and probably should have gone in for fluid support (my chemo nurses call it holy water). Might call your chemo group. During my 1st all i could drink was diet limeaide with extra lime from  Sonic of a mix of a dab of light OJ and diet Sierra Mist. 

I hope you feel better soon.  

Melrosemelrose

Here is a link on the BCO forum for making your own hair halo:

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/784615?page=1#idx_22

I kept some of my hair thinking I would make one and so far, I haven't.  The idea of having hair right now with the hot summer temperatures somehow just doesn't appeal to me.  I guess I've gotten to my fuzzy head.  Lol.... Good luck to those decide to make the hair halo and/or decide to have one made or purchase one.

invisible2

Okay...day 14 my scalp started to tingle and itch.  After a few days of pretty rapid hair loss I asked my neighbor to buzz it for me.  The reality of the hair loss was much easier than the weeks I spent worrying and dreading it.  I have been a passenger on the BC bus for most of the last 6 months, rarely getting to drive.  I drove this week.  Now I just need to learn how to tie these stupid scarves. 

I am having my second round on Tues 8/7.  I did really well after the first round.  I had minor SE, the worst of which was the lack of sleep due to the steroids.  I started practicing Yoga in the past couple of months as a way to gain movement back in my arms.  What I discovered is that Yoga helped my body and my mind.  I walk away from each session feeling 'lighter' and more at peace and it did help me gain more movement in my arms.

I thank each and every one of you for sharing here.  Your posts are like bright lights in a very dark hallway. I wish you all minimal SE as we take this journey together.

woodstockcathy

Ann - I have to say that my second round of A/C didn't go well for me either. I am having a hard time even reading a book. I got sick on the second day after the first infusion, and also got sick on the second day after the second. I tried different things the second time, and it didn't matter. I've just told myself that one morning of nastiness is to be expected on the second day after chemo. I only have two more times with the A/C cocktail, so I'm hoping with Taxol the nausea will be a little better. I found sipping Sierra Mist worked OK for me as well as sucking on popsicles. Other than that, not much food neared my mouth on the second day. Hope you are feeling better soon!

woodstockcathy

Invisible - I, too, decided to "drive" and had my neighbor shave my head the afternoon after my second chemo. It felt good to be in charge of something for a change! Good for you! I have heard that yoga is very helpful. I may have to find a group by me and try it myself. Although walking in the morning has been my mode of exercise for years, I need something else to center myself at this time. Sounds like a plan!

MaddyMac

Hey Y'all - It's Day 9 for me since 1st AC infusion, and things are finally settling down: no more yurking and hallucinating. I had my labs checked yesterday and everything had plummeted. Doc says that is likely why I felt so perfectly hideous. She told me she has a nausea cocktail she believes will tame the beast when I have my 2nd infusion on Friday, and I feel weak and shaky, but so very grateful for the respite, and for the fact that #2 may not feel so bad.



Invisible, and everyone else going through the jungle, I wish you the same respite. I found that on days when I could tolerate food, sorbets were very light and gentle on the tummy (but avoid lemon sorbet, lots of acid.) I also felt much better when I avoided any form of meat.



Hair drama: I got out a box with all my old hiking stuff and found my buffs. For folks who might not know, these are very soft, and it's quite easy to deploy them in various styles; as others have said, they come in pretty colors and patterns. For me, they are totally worth the money. I'm kind of in between with the hair loss right now, and I've had a lot of itching. My pharmacist recommended a little witch hazel on a cotton ball for spot-soothing, and it's helped.



SusanHG, it's great to know you know what I'm going through, and it pisses me off that you are having to go through it too with the hallucinating/nightmares. Does the little fox show up in subsequent dreams? I found, to my bemusement, that certain creatures are making cameo appearances as special guest stars on an ongoing basis!



A peaceful goodnight to you all, and minimal SEs.

emilybrooke

Going for my second round of AC tomorrow at noon. Hoping that the SEs are similar if not better than I experienced in round one. My scalp is starting to feel a little different in some places but no major changes as of yet. I just keeping waiting for it to happen. I hope everyone had a good weekend and I wish minimal SEs for everyone this week.

Melrosemelrose

Wishing those in the BGC this week an easy time in the chair and minimal side effects!!!!!  Each of you has come so very far since the first round!!!

Tuesday will be my #6 and last round of chemo!!!!  I'll be doing the happy dance to celebrate this week for two very big reasons--- one is for being PFC and also for finding out that I will get to bypass Camp RADS on my journey!!!!   I will continue to sit in the BGC every 3 weeks to continue to receive Herceptin through the clinical trial so I will be thinking about those still having chemo and wishing for minimal side effects for all.

virginiab

Melrosemelrose--

Congratulations on your "graduation day" Tuesday. What a relief to leave the CT behind and get on with the next step in the journey. And congratulations on not needing radiation, too. The combination of finishing TC and not needing rads must make you feel great!

natL12

Melrose - NO RADS! Wow, that is very good news.  Nat

Lifeonitsside

Melrosemelrose - Yay! Glad you're moving on!

Melrosemelrose

Thanks ladies for the kind words and encouragement!!!!!!  You are each doing well and handling with the many changes and transformations in your lives.  You should each be proud of yourselves for persevering each new phase of treatment.  Before you know it, your time in chemoland will come to an end with great celebration and a few happy tears.  I've always believed that each has been preparing for this time in her life but one never knows it at the time one is learning.  I'm not the most religious person but I do believe God has been prepared us to take on the challenges in our lives and when we need that self confidence and strength to move forward, we find it and keep going through fear and anxiety. 

Hope everyone has a great week and minimal side effects!!!!!

invisible2

Hey Melrose!  Big HOORAY for your last visit to the BGC for chemo.  You have been such a big help to those of us just starting.  You are giving us all such a positive outlook.  It's contagious.  

Wishing you minimal SE. 

boobzilla

Susan, haha-I can only imagine how hot it is there! I am glad that my posts are helpful somehow. Good to take care of the rest of the fam (your doggies). How kind of you to give them a loving home! For the first time last week I outshed my cats....and I suspect my head will tickle them more now, than their whiskers have always tickled me, ha!

I think we're all fortunate to share advice, tears and laughter with each other in this thread. Some days are definitely easier/harder than others. I'll be on my way shortly to watch the USA women hopefully kick some butt on Women's Soccer against Canada (yesterday, before I cut all my hair off, my wife and I decided to go outside and have some laughs kicking our soccer ball around...and today my feet and legs hurt a bit from not having done that in...ehem, a few years). But for once, in a while, 'pain' from living and laughing and not from any #^&**(@ meds:) And that made me smile. Funny (or not so funny) thing was....the last time there was a big match in soccer, I jumped up from the couch and in my cheering ecstasy broke my pinky toe on the bottom of our livingroom table. At the time, THAT was a pain in the a@@....today I think  back at that, and just shake my head. Perspective is a funny thing...but also makes you stronger, if you let it. Wishin' you all a manageable week, ladies (and gents, if you're here!).

 Thanks everyone for your hair/scalp tips, too *hugs*!

teeballmom

Melrosemelrose:  Congratulations on finishing up and not needing rads!  Yay!!!!!!!

Boobzilla:  You are so right about perspective being a funny thing.

Well.... this Wednesday is AC #3 for me.  I can hardly wait to get AC over with.  It'll be 3 down and 1 to go after Wednesday and I've already been scheduled for my 12 Taxol & Herceptin and my tentative graduation date for that is Nov 21, 2012.  I will continue Herceptin every 3 weeks after that for a year, but at least the weekly stuff will be over by then. I already see that faint light in the distance having that date now (and hopefully I don't have any infusion dates pushed back during that time), and hopefully during Christmas, I will be able to eat a tasty dinner.  Hoping that is the case with Thanksgiving, but since the 12th infusion is the day before, well....... you know.

I am not going to miss the nasty taste in my mouth. DH went and purchased me some ginger ale last night because I just couldn't drink any more water.  So right now, it's all kinds of iced tea, ginger ale and the occassional snatch of grape juice from the 2 little guys in my life.  

The hair is gone in patches on my head, and what's left is the little bit of fuzz from when my DH shaved my head again a couple of weeks ago.  Being Asian I have that coarse hair and it's like little needles on my head when I run my fingers over it.  My two little ones said that my hair was cutting them the other day when I rubbed it against their cheeks by accident. Ouch!!!

Hoping everyone who is getting a treatment this week has minimal or non-existent SE's.  Take care everyone!!!

Melrosemelrose

Thanks teeballmom!!!! BTW:  I'm also Asian and know exactly what you mean about the hair.  I didn't buzz/shave my head after I did the short short boy cut.  Most of my hair fell out except there still remains pre-chemo hair at my hair line and scattered all over my head.  Some of that pre-chemo hair on the top of my head just stands straight up like a porcupine.  It's pretty funny.  I started getting new peach fuzz after my 4th chemo and some new stubbies.  I have lost some of my eyebrows but I see there is new brows trying to grow.  It has been a relief to me to know that my hair follicles are making a valiant effort to overcome and grow despite the chemo.  I tell my DH and 18 yr old son to rub my head for good luck these days.  Got to find a little humor and laugh everyday.  So much better than the alternative.

SusanHG123

Thursday is second chemo day. Today--I started losing more hair. Not big chunks--but lots and lots of strands and then lots more I am very shallow. Do not like this at all.

One of the incoming nursing students where I teach brought me a bright purple (think Helen Hunt in Pay it Forward--hers was blue though). Going to wear it the first day of classes. Will be my first day as Dean of Health with classes on progress. Hope it sets the tone for a bit of fun.

Those of you with bone pain SE from neulesta. How long did it last?

A good nights sleep to all.  

mamabr

Ann - Are you feeling any better? Did you have to go to the doctor today? Treatment #3 is on Wed. for me. I am dreading the downtime.

I stopped into my office today. I thought I would look at my desk and break the ice with my new hair (not) style.  I understand that at first people might not know quite what to say, so I am very understanding at work. One of the gals had a new hair style, so I complemented her on her hair. It really did look cute. She said thanks and rattled on about how she changed her color. I commented that I was sporting a new style myself, trying to make light of the situation and hopefully making her feel a little at ease. Her comment, Oh, is your hair falling out all over the place??  Inside I was just shaking my head, thinking, NO, my hair isn't falling out, my hair is GONE, hence the scarf and hat. I know I opened the door for her to make a comment. Then she launched into her taking care of her mom during her last days. That was comforting too! I'm overly sensitive. Everyone else was very nice and supportive. Just another day. 

Lifeonitsside

I'm actually digging the reaction to my newly bald head. Went to Disneyland on Friday and no one really even looked twice. My friend told me how proud she was of me that I went out without a hat and just didn't seem to care. Then I went to a film festival with my amazing guy on Saturday. Bought a cute little fedora as I wasn't sure how I'd feel about going bald at an event like this or how he would feel. I lasted about an hour before I took the hat off because my head was itchy and the hat got very hot. Everyone raved about how great I looked with my shaved head. It was so gratifying. I'm kind of digging the bald thing now and only wearing hats to protect my head - it's over 100 degrees out here in LA and too much sun. And my boyfriend just can't seem to stop running his hands over my head. He thinks it's very sexy. And when I told him I need to really shave it down to bald for a henna tattoo photo shoot this weekend, he immediately offered to do it for me. Like I said, I think he's finding this whole part weirdly sexy. I'll take it because I'm not feeling so sexy right now.



So I say embrace the bald, and say screw you to anyone who doesn't get it.

PinkyWI

Life -- Congratulations on coming to terms with your hair!  Please, post pictures of your henna tattoo.  That sounds like a lot of fun.  It's like when my kids had their braces, I told them to have fun with them and get all the funky colored bands that they could -- it was only temporary.   Maybe I should take my own advice with my hair loss.

I am getting mine cut/shaved on Wednesday.  I get my 2nd AC treatment on Thursday and am afraid that I will be too tired or sick to go get it cut when it falls out, plus I really don't want to clean up my hair from all over the place so, I am taking the plunge.  I feel stronger about it today after my LGFG session...I was the only one who still had hair and the ladies all looked so cute in their scarves and wigs.

So, I will do my best to embrace the bald and hope those who don;t get it son;t say really stupid things to me.

Enjoy the day!

natL12

mamabr - you're right on about people not knowing what to say.  So we just accept that they mean well (or hope they do ) and go on with it. Maybe their comments will come back to haunt them later.

_Ann_

mamabar, thanks for checking up on me, I started to come to life again yesterday afternoon.  Managed a slow walk around the neighborhood, quite a bit of food, and stayed up most of the evening.   I'm off the anti-nausea meds finally so I should be able to take in more food and fluids today.  Hoping to be able to drive tomorrow (Day 6) and manage half a normal day. 

invisible2

I am getting my second TC right now. My hair started falling out at day 14, On day 18 I buzzed it to 1/2". I am shedding like a Labrador so tonight the close buzz and shaved smooth. I can't stand cleaning up the hair. The first buzz was liberating so I suspect the second will feel the same. I am in control of when my hair is gone...BC has been driving for 6 months so it felt good to drive for a little bit.



Life - I admire your willingness to show your new style. I did not buy a wig. I plan to use scarves and baseball hats!



2 down, 4 more to go :-)

emilybrooke

Ann - glad to hear that you are feeling better today.

mamabr- I've been trying my best to make light of the hair situation too. Mainly because I am trying to make myself feel better about it. Short story, every week since surgery I have posted an inspiration quote on my facebook status so friends can follow my progress from surgery/chemo. Well this week I was planning on "Hair today, gone tomorrow" that did not go over well with my sister and mother-in-law. Neither cracked a smile - talk about awkward! Again, my small attempt to feel better about it or at least put on a brave face.

Life - you go girl! Very impressed by your bravery

Yesterday I had my second AC treatment and the nurse said "It's week two - the big week aka hair loss" I had a cropped bob as of yesterday morning. By 5 pm, I had Ginnifer Goodwin/Emma Watson's hairdo. Today i am experiencing some shedding. They let my cytoxin drip run 45 min instead of 30 min yesterday in hopes of preventing the headache I got last time - so far so good. I felt better today than I did the last day after the chemo. Had my shot at 1pm so I anticipate the pain/sleepiness to set in soon. Hopefully the claritin that I took will help.

Lifeonitsside

Emilybrooke - I began to rant about people not being on board with your journey and screw them. But basically, don't let someone else stop you from doing things the way you want to do them. Post whatever you want on Facebook. If they don't think it's funny, too bad. Laughter, light and funny can make this whole ordeal so much easier. I'm stunned by how people get offended or put off because I joke about what I'm going through and try to find the humor in it. If we can't laugh, we can't heal. And if your sister and your MIL can't laugh, they aren't much help. Start with you and then don't worry about anyone else.

SusanHG123

Hey Ladies--

My fake hair arrived today. Ordered 2 hair halo's and caps (can't remember who directed me to the site-but thank you again). They are fine. Just fine. And I am so pissed and angry can hardly think. My hair is leaving in handfuls-yet remain in denial about the whole cancer crappola.

Labs tomorrow. Round 2 of AC Thursday if labs are ok. i know I should be grateful to have the drugs and insurance and fake hair. But I just want to smack someone again (Ann--was it you who wanted to smack someone?). I can't remember things. And cry over nothing. Know it is the steroids--but still.

Would love a glass of wine or even better scotch on the rocks--but it smells bad and tastes worse.

Grumpy and Grumpier

s