Starting Chemo March 2015

rleepac

Hi all. Just finished catching up on posts. Whew...

DD comes home from camp today and I'm looking forward to having her home!

I did go in for fluids yesterday and in so glad I did. The diarrhea has eased up only a little bit so I know I would have needed up in the ER this weekend without the extra fluids.

DH finally finished working on our little rental house and it went on the market last week. You can check out what an amazing job he did if you want. There are pictures on Zillow.com. Just type in the address: 610 Avenue A Ripon, CA 95366 and you can check it out. Yes, we are asking way more than the 'Zestimate' but Zillow is way off on estimates in this particular location. Who knows...maybe it's listed too high but we can always lower it if we don't get any bites. Anyway, the house was built in 1924 and we've owned it for 24 years. He did a complete renovation and I'm so proud of all the work he's done!

Today is my 'flu-like' symptom day and I still have diarrhea. It's ok though...I only have 4 more...I can do this!!!

Hair is still growing and I'm going commando almost exclusively now. Yesterday when I went for fluids I fell asleep and according to DH, he and several of the nurses and other patients had quite a conversation about how beautiful I am without hair. I asked him to record the conversation next time because I think he's biased LoL.

That's all for now. Happy Saturday!

Bekah

molly1976

I'm usually a 2-3 book per week person too who struggled with it. I ended up re-reading all the Harry Potters during chemo because I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I'm back to reading grownup things but much slower than before.

Trvler

Bekah, the house is so cute! Good luck on the sale. I know Zillow is often off. I used to be an appraiser and I know computerized models can be way off. Zillow is a computerized model.

rleepac

Trvlr - It's a very unique property in a desirable town and the computer doesn't know the half of it! That's ok. The right person or family will come along and will see it for it's true value hopefully the human appraiser agrees...

Trvler

Well, if the value is there, it's there. Just pay attention to any recent comparable sales and give them to the appraiser to prove the value. If it doesn't sell after a long time, you will know the price is too high. Also, make sure the appraiser knows the local market.

Jackbirdie

Bekah- I just looked at the listing. A truly adorable house. I would love to live there! Not bad for CA, and the taxes aren't bad either! Your husband did a MAGNIFICENT job. I love all the personal touches, which I'm guessing you are behind. The potted plants, the curtains in the upstairs barn/garage window....and I love the full door in the master leading out to the back yard? I'm a sucker for master bedroom ingress/egress!

I have a feeling you will be getting an offer very soon. I know it must be bittersweet for you. But I can see why you are so proud of your husband. Talent and taste. That's what I see here.

Have fun and enjoy your daughter's return, a special time it will be.

rleepac

Thanks Katy. I'd love to take credit but we have a friend who does 'home staging' and she helped us out along the way with colors and decor. She told DH what to do and he did it. It turned out great! So much better to have someone who is 'in the know' about what is popular right now. Who knows what it would look like if we had to rely on me LoL!

Meme117

Congrats Sharon on being done!!

Bekah love the house, adorbs. Your husband sounds wonderful and enjoy that daughter.

E congrats on job and enjoy your daughters visit.

I forget stuff all the time now, have had 3 things burn on the stove.

Do you always get a ct before rads?

I'm getting nervous about surgery, lumpectomy. Please share your insight and I'll check out the other forum.

Feeling so bloated, burping 500 times, truly getting on my last nerve.

SpecialK

meme - the CT prior to rads is for the nuke folks to do the planning of your program so that the rads hit the places it needs to. This is also why they either put a sticky thing on you that stays for a period of time, or they put tiny tattoos, or build a mold - so that they can aim precisely every time. Here is a great BCO explanation:

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/radiation/ty...

Italychick

Meme117, my lumpectomy was pretty much no big deal. I did slosh like a water bottle was in my chest for several days due to a large seroma. Honestly, the lymph node area hurt the worst. The area of my lumpectomy still has a slight bit of swelling and is lumpy and bumpy But the MO says it is scar tissue. The seroma has mostly gone away. The area where my sentinel node biopsy is broke open and leaked a tiny bit of fluid about four months after surgery, but there was a stitch that was kind of poking out and I suspect that caused the fluid drainage. But now pretty much all is well.

I did the radioactive tracer so she could do the sentinel node biopsy at the same time of the lumpectomy, and that hurt like a bitch, burned when they injected the stuff in there. The day of the lumpectomy, they inserted a wire in my breast as a guide for the surgeon to use. It was no big deal, just freaky watching them stick a wire in my breast. My lumpectomy was actually considered an excisional biopsy since it was my first surgical procedure because I did no other biopsies since I was classified as a bi-rads 5, and I wanted a one shot deal.

I went home a few hours after surgery and felt fine, didn't take pain medication or anything. Well I took one the night of surgery just to be safe, but then nothing else.

And of course, lol, was riding my bike in about five days. Surgeon freaked out and I asked what the concern was, and she said well you could fall. I said I can do that walking, so on the bike I went.

I don't know where your lump is (mine was at 2:00 on my left breast), but my surgeon went in through the side of my nipple, and I have a small scar on the outside of my nipple, and the sentinel node biopsy scar in a crease of skin under my armpit, I forget what the procedure is called, but she cut around the areola, stretched the opening wide (you would be surprised how much skin can stretch) and took out an 8 cm x 8 cm x 4 cm chunk of tissue. The nipple cut seems to be better cosmetically than cutting on the side of your breast.

I have absolutely no pain left, and my armpit that was numb has regained feeling.

Hope the information helps, and ask anything you want.

Best of luck. When is your lumpectomy scheduled for?

Jackbirdie

time for a kitty update

I think she's twice the size already. Kitty life = eat sleep poop eat play poop eat poop sleep.See for yourself:

ksusan

So cute!

eat sleep poop is pretty much all I do after each chemo.

mysunshine48

Now, that's funny!

DavisD

how about eat, sleep, poop and play Katy! My two are growing like their cousin Tutti.

Bekah love the little house! I didn't think you could get anything in CA for that price! It looks turn key and I'm sure you'll sell quickly.

wpmoon

my lumpectomy story is almost exactly the same as Theresa's (left breast at 3 o'clock, no lymph node involvement. But they took out one full one and two partial ones during the axillary lymph node dissection and surgery). Except, my scar on my breast is about 3 inches long. It's healing really well, with the help of mederma. I'm still having a numb feeling in my left arm and have tightness/soreness in my ribcage and some pain in the breast. I finally requested to see a lymphedema specialized physical therapist and hoping that helps.

I never took any pain meds either, other than what they gave me at the hospital after the surgery.

Trvler

The kitten is so beautiful!

Lovemylab

The kitty is getting so big Katy. Sorry about your divorce. No matter if it is amicable or not, it tears you apart when it happens. Mine was 8 yrs ago and I don't think I started healing until I moved 90 miles away from him last year.

Bekah, love your house! I think it would be awesome to live in CA but I guess I am tied to my healthcare plan in MN. I guess I am not your buyer!

Third Taxol went ok. Minimal SE. Thinking now I should just retire and never go back to work. I am so obsessed with this BC coming back, I feel like I won't live long anyway. I know for stage one the odds are good but I feel like I'm stage one BUT.... But HER 2+, and there were 2 tumors! One was 1.6 and one was .9cm. If they had been connected I would be stage two. For multifocal they only use the bigger tumor for staging even though risk of reoccurance is higher w multifocal tumors. Strange. Just don't think I want to go back to a job I hated plus I am not sure I can keep up with my chemo brain which I am sure I have.

Goodnight all and thanks for listening

Maureen

BBwithBC45

Maureen, I can relate to not wanting to go back to work. I don't hate my job and I worked through chemo, but from home. I wish I didn't have to work. I feel like I'm wasting whatever time I have left. I'd rather spend more time with my husband.

I'm also Her2+++, and I had small tumors, but there were 4 of them. I didn't know that multifocal tumors had higher reoccurrence.

Jackbirdie

Maureen- I can vouch for you. Either we are both normal or both crazy. But I have the same problem, with worries bubbling up way too often. I am often reminded by various well meaning people of my "good prognosis" and feel terribly guilty voicing my concerns, especially when there are much worse dx and much younger girls. But it's not rational fear, and therefore follows no rational thought process. A horrible repeating thought that despite numbers being in my favor, there are going to be unlucky ones, and that's going to be me.

It makes me mad that bc will most likely take me, and painfully. But I get even madder when it fucks up the good times now. Ok. The times aren't that great, going through chemo, but still. I think, ok cancer, so you're going to kill me. But do you really have to fuck up every day between now and then? But the second part is up to me. It's not a gift, but a skill to learn how to live without thinking about dying every day. So I practice. I'll get better. It takes a long time to get better at it, but I assume it will be easier to do when I don't have daily reminders, like SEs, doc appts all the time, etc.

I'm glad you shared your feelings. They are normal, and it's important to let them out and not stew. That's one recipe not made better by aging. And I was kidding about the crazy part.

I'm glad Taxol 3 went ok, and you are inching ever closer to days where you aren't bombarded daily with everything bc.

And thank you for your kind words about my divorce. I left him over 5 years ago and a lot of grieving has been processed. But the finality of it is very sad for me.

And since YOU mentioned it, yes Tutti is a moose! Here she is a couple of minutes ago defending her seedlings. She things they are hers, cultivated expressly for her enjoyment, like everything else around here.

Hugs to you Maureen

Katy

SueH58

Little tutti.......

SueH58

Bekah. What a darling house!!!! Where did you say you are moving to, another home nearby?

wpmoon

Maggie says hi tutti!

Jackbirdie

how's Maggie feeling Whitney???

wpmoon

She's fine. Had a big hairball the other day, but otherwise she's doing her kittenly duty by keeping me company when I'm down.

IndyGal35

Those kitty pics are too much for me! I need a kitty fix so bad.

Theresa, my MUGA just went up from 55% to over 70%, and I thought of you. How does that happen? I haven't done any cardio lately, so I'm not sure how my heart could've gained so much efficiency, but I'll take it. (Maybe it's from dragging my steroid-inflated butt around...?)

I'm cleared for Herceptin until my next scan in September. Hooray! Now I just need to get through my last chemo on the 30th. This round has been brutal. I'm glad this part is almost over.

Italychick

Lee, are you done with chemo? I wonder if the chemo transfusions somehow affected our ejection fractions.

Whatever caused it, woohoo! One less thing to worry about for you.

I officially rode my bike 98.2 miles this past week, which I haven't done since chemo infusion #5. Recovery is imminent, crossing fingers! Good thing I don't need the bottom of my feet to ride a bike. But I think those will recover too, at least I hope.

Trvler

I hope so, too, Theresa!

IndyGal35

Unfortunately, I have one more dose to go on 6/30. The neuropathy and hearing loss haven't improved since last round, even after the dose reduction, so I'm hoping I can complete the course without anything too permanent. Those stupid tingly fingers and toes are making me crazy

ksusan

Indygal, are you using L-glutamine?

Italychick

IndyGal35, will that be round 6 for you? I have no words of wisdom, just know I'm supporting you!