Starting Chemo March 2015

ksusan

Katy, I'd enjoy seeing that list, too.

SueH58

Katy, can you please send to me also?

By the way, I see you're feeling lazy today. Quite the improvement from previous reports. So happy for you!!!

littleblueflowers

Me too Katy! Please?

Italychick

is anybody else's hair doing a bunch of weird cow licks? Mine is crazy, growing in like 10 different directions.

Eileen, you addicted me to that Netflix series Between. I only have one episode left, and now I have realized the next season doesn't come out until 2016. Got any other suggestions? I think you are the one that mentioned that series.

Big hike today in Big Bear. Weather is gorgeous

Lovemylab

After the last 24 hours I'm not sure I can do 5 more Taxol/ Herceptin combos. Bladder spasms, the big D and just can't eat. Just pushing fluids and trying to survive. Is there nutritional value in Imodium? If so I'm good to go!

Maureen

Trvler

No, Theresa, but it will be in about 2 weeks.

Just as an FYI, farmers' markets stuff is NOT typically organic. Ask. I was surprised to learn this but I went the market with my husband the other day and it occurred to me. Not only that, they aren't completely upfront about the levels of pesticides. I think one vender said something like…."No, but they use very little pesticides" or something along those lines. Right. Sorry.

Trvler

Oh, I am sorry, Maureen. I hope it clears up. Bananas? White flour products? Always stuff I was told to avoid because it was constipating.

SpecialK

Here are dirty dozen and clean fifteen lists;

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02985/Foods-You-Sho...

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02984/Foods-You-Don...

I shop for clean protein at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and my local grocery store. I no longer eat dairy but use both almond and coconut milk products - coffee creamer, ice cream, whipped topping, milk. In the interests of less inflammation I also don't eat sugar but use organic stevia or monk fruit for sweetening

Jackbirdie

thanks Special for the list links!


Allison- I should have mentioned what you did. You can't assume it's organic. locally I've found there are some organic choices in our Farmers' Markets but as a practical matter my local Safeway has a large selection and that's where i get most of mine. I still wonder, though.


Maureen- so sorry! A traditional home solution is the BRAT diet. Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. I have used it with success before, if you don't die of boredom first. Hope you feel better soon.

eheinrich

I'm so glad you liked it Theresa! Other favorites of mine that are a bit off the beaten path: for comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, for creepy The Bates Motel and American Horror Story (not season 3 - that one was dumb, didn't even finish it), for crime The Killing.

Italychick

have you watched the 100? Scifi and I love it. I will look at your other suggestions. There are only so many cooking and remodeling shows available, and I am hopelessly addicted to Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Love It or List It.

SpecialK

I can tell you guys are easing out of active chemo discussion and into what happens beyond treatment because you are on Hairwatch 2015, and discussing how to incorporate possible recurrence prevention practices into your lives going forward. Yay! Here is also a link to the EWG database for cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, etc. Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs what you put on it, so investigating the products you use daily is a good idea. You can search this database by putting the name of the item, such as mascara and it will give you mascaras ranked by safety, or you can put in a brand name of the mascara and see what it says about it.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

One of the thoughts behind farmer's market produce being potentially better is that it in season, so possibly fresher, and produced on smaller farms, but, as always, caveat emptor.

Here is a USDA blurb regarding what organic means:

http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-...

And another link discussing local, natural and organic:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-turow/you-need-t...

And a farmer's market link:

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/8-food...

molly1976

Re: TV, I've been watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix lately. She's a lady detective in the 1920s and super independent and sassy!

ninjamary

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was awesome. I'm into shows that make me laugh. I hate to admit it, but American Dad always cracks me up. I watched 40 rock too. Can't believe I never caught that show when it was on as it had some terrific writers.

ninjamary

The netfilx series Sense8 is pretty cool too. Lots of sex scenes...don't say I didn't warn you lol. It is written by the Wachowski brothers...well now it's brother and sister. I find them fascinating. Maybe read up on the plot to see if that would interest you.

pboi

My hair isn't long enough to go in any direction yet. But I seem to have a similar problem with my eyebrows. Most of them are growing in straight. But I have quite a few rebel eyebrow hairs that are starting to grow in and appear to be curling as it grows in.Wondering if it'll straighten out as it grows longer, or if I should just pluck it?

So hesitant to pluck it after I waited so long for it to appear...lol!

PB

rleepac

My DH wants to know if all the eyebrow hairs fall out on one side but I still have some left on the other side if that means I have a 'uni-brow' . We got a good laugh at that and I told him no... That's not quite the same!

ksusan

Plucking damages the follicle, so trimming might be better if you want to keep that hair later!

Carrie37

I hope this isn't a silly question but how do we know if we have had a complete response to chemo? Is there another pathology report from surgery? I am tired of my doctors/nurses telling me not to work about things that are part of treatment but further down the road. Like radiation and hormonal therapy. I am also very annoyed because my DH says the dumbest stuff sometimes. Like "blaming" everything on me and my stupid cancer. "We can do that until mommy is all better." For the love of @&$!! Cancer isn't exactly convenient for me either but to keep saying we can't do thing or go places because of me just makes me want to scream. Or burst into tears. And just because I don't want to do something doesn't mean my DH and DS can't do it separately. DH says he feels bad leaving me out but I could care less about being home by myself. I actually like being alone.Sorry, rant over.

Trvler

Oh, Carrie. I am sorry. Ugh. Hit him for me!

Jackbirdie

Wow, Special, thanks for the skin deep link. I had heard about it while watching Pink Ribbons, Inc, but had not yet taken the time to check my products.

I come from a family rife with skin cancer. Had a younger brother die from melanoma mets. Another brother with so far successful melanoma removal. Twice.

I myself have had more freezings, a large surgery (basal cell) on my face, a MOHs, and a burning.

When you mentioned skin being the largest organ it startled me into action. Sunscreen is my biggest "product"! And one of the ingredients that a lot if the companies put in acts like estrogen in the body. WTF? And Neutrogena leading the way this year as the worst of the worst. I thought they were a nice company!

Sometimes I feel I will never, EVER, be safe.

Jackbirdie

Carrie- totally justifiable rant.

You still have surgery coming up? Is it scheduled yet? It's not my dx, but my understanding is they get an idea of what kind of response you got from chemo from a pre- surgery MRI, then a new pathology from the surgery. Sometimes after chemo, they go in and can't find evidence of any tumor or node involvement that they knew was there before. That's a total pathological response, and if scans were also all clear, you would be declared NED (no evidence of disease)

Please someone add to this or correct me. I think there are others here, Carrie, that know more about this than me

SpecialK

Jackbirdie - I know, right? What I found was that I gradually researched products and started switching to cleaner cosmetics, shampoos, etc., also switching to more natural cleaning products. What it did do for me though was give me a sense of being proactive, and when combined with diet and exercise changes has made me feel I am doing my best to maintain my health.

rleepac

That is correct. They will send all the breast tissue from surgery to the pathologist and s/he will make a billion slides and look to see if there is any evidence of cancer in the breast tissue and any nodes that were removed. That combined with repeat scans will determine if there was a pCR and then the hope is that they will say NED

Jackbirdie

Special- and everybody- I just went through all the $250 worth of "free" product I got at the American Fucking Cancer Soc. LGFB class. Looked each one up. Threw away between 1/2 and 3/4 of everything they gave me.

Known carcinogens and estrogen morphing endocrine disfuckingruptors. How can they give these things to women with cancer? I am in tears. Not for the lost product. But for the loss of the last of my remaining innocence. Trust no one. I don't think I will ever feel safe again.

I have been feeling unsafe all day.

Oh, and the sunscreen I was using (because I am at such high risk) was among the worst on the market. Neutrogena SPF 70.Lies, bad chemicals, known carcinogens, and more lies. Big black trash bag out to the trash just now.

Disgusted. Just disgusted.

Italychick

I get some products from healing scents.com. She makes everything by hand. But be warned, it is way different than the commercial cosmetic stuff we are used to seeing. I use a lot of her body butters, sunscreen, and my husband loves her hair loss shampoo. It hasn't grown any hair for him, but it smells great. I also use her deodorant. I get the tub of it, then you put on fingertips and rub into under arm area. It "disappears", but keep me from being stinky.

I would love to know what products others have found.

I also use Dr. Ron's MSM shampoo, drrons.com. I use the conditioner too when I have enough hair to use it lol!

slothabouttown

That's why we stick with the coconut oil as a go to for most every skin related need-right?

I'm wondering who in our group has started the tamoxifen and how it's treating you? I've been taking it for about 5 days and today I feel achy all over kind of like a flashback to chemo days. Anybody else experience any SEs? I'm hoping this is short lived.

I did Google side effects and some of them were good for a laugh:

Hair loss (are you f#@!ing joking?)

Inability to have or keep an erection (something I was never able to do before, so meh)

Loss of interest or pleasure (good to know when I lose interest in something in the future I can blame it on the drugs)

Discouragement (because having cancer isn't discouraging enough)

Jackbirdie

ugh- Sloth- pass the coconut oil.

SueH58

OK, now I'm depressed and with you, Katy. I happen to LOVE origins products, and they lead you to believe the products are made of all natural ingredients. Holy cow--just looked them up and they're as bad as the next product. What are we to do???

eheinrich

Linda, I've been saying I don't have any tamox SEs. However it occurred to me yesterday that I am tired ALL the time - naps are important. I've also lost most of my motivation to do much. These could be SEs, they could be from changes in my other meds, could be just cause. Not a fan