Starting Chemo March 2015

IndyGal35

Does anyone know an approximate cost for laser hair removal for face, pits, legs, and other? The chemicals in depilatories make me nervous now, and waxing/shaving are tedious.

I feel like a Neanderthal woman. Let's just say that I wish my curtains were growing as fast as the carpets.

PS. Have you picked up Tutti yet, Katy?

eheinrich

Lee: Groupon often has deals on packages. It varies I'm sure region to region. I can't remember what I paid, but I bought a 6 tx package. This was enough to eradicate pits, but lady parts need more (or at least mine do).

eheinrich

Everyone is quiet today. I'm working on job apps and need a distraction - quick someone talk about cookies or butt waxing or pets. How's tiny Tutti?

My cat was totally confused by today's rain. She's 5 but never ever wanted to go outside at my old place - partly due to her generally hiding due to her terror of the dog. Since Dec when she & I moved into our new cute little place she has increasing been trying to convince me that she is an outside cat. Which cannot be because I like cat snuggles and we have coyotes. I let her out intermittently during the day with her fav being before I get the coffee brewing. This am I could almost feel her trying to keep her head from exploding as she looked out at the rain. Every now & then she would meow to go out/check if the madness has ended.

Carrie37

you ladies crack me up! I'm hoping Tutti is doing well. I have been exhausted today and yesterday is a blur. I am off narcotics meds except at night but I am so tired still. My MIL left yesterday. Could I really be tired from her NINE day visit?!? I am almost four weeks post surgery so I feel like I should be moving around but I am seriously exhausted. I hope all are well...thinking of you all!

slothabouttown

Coyote and kitties don't mix! Just got back from the coast, I missed checking in on things here. Took a long bath and now I'm catching up on the latest with the March team. I'm late to the table on the topic of facial hair but I used one of those eyebrow shaper razor things a friend gave me and got rid of the white fur. I figured if my friend felt compelled to buy me a razor it must be pretty bad. It's just that certain slant of light and then "gasp" WTF?!?!

I'm glad everyone's still talking about the March trip, I can't even stand how much fun that's going to be.

Jackbirdie

I picked Tutti up and she is fine. Just no rough housing for a couple of weeks.

Jack went to the library club today. This is before a child picked him to read to. Later he was listening attentively and rested his head on one girl's knee.

so-she-did

I'd like to do the laser hair removal but I'm afraid they would take one look at the basement, throw their hands in the air, and say it would take 100 visits to tame that!

We've been out galavanting around on the weekends lately and then the week gets busy so I haven't been keeping up very well with the boards. You all are never far from my mind, though.

Sharon - sorry to hear of your diagnosis. The shit sandwich just keeps giving. At some point, the scales are going to tip the other way and one awesome thing after another is going to happen for you.

eheinrich

Hahahahahaha Linda! My BIL who was helping me out after surgery and is not tactful said to me one day when the light hit me just right - hmm how to spell it? I believe it went like this "Blargickyikesbllllllp" which I translated as "eeek woman wtf is on your face". Not one of my better moments. At least your friend brought you a helpful present. I also am so excited for our March visit!

Carrie I'm a week behind you but "only" had a lift & a TE & fat grafting. Everything still hurts. Cut yourself a lot of slack. The Mx is huge physically & psychologically. If my MIL was here for 9 days one of us wouldn't have made it the whole 9. She will be a bit sad that Alan gets custody of her in the divorce. She never took to me - not religious enough for her, blames me for Alan's "soul being in jeopardy". But I was always the one who made sure he visited & took care of gifts/birthday dinners/etc. It's good that yours helped though. Mine told me chemo would be no problem & started a huge fight with me not long after I told her my diagnosis (like 40 min).

Anyway, Katy: Jack is such a good "giver-backer" to the community. I like that you guys have already started helping at your new neighborhood.

eheinrich

Amy: re laser - in person I will tell the tale of when a waxer actually did that to me. TMI or a fun story after some beverages?? or if you can't make it in March I will have the beverages myself and post it.

Jackbirdie

oh that would be fun! I vote for you having beverages and then tell the story.

so-she-did

I agree with Katy! I can only imagine and am already laughing!

Caught the tri tip at the hospital I have been going to for PT and ST again. Yum! They bbq a mess of it in the parking lot and then serve it in the cafeteria. I had it the day we were there for my bone scan and brain MRI and couldn't pass it up when I smelled it again today. Bought a bunch to serve the fam for dinner and it was GOOOOOD!

eheinrich

I think it needs to be in person...I don't have nearly enough wine here.

jumbledbamboo

Ok, did my my Herceptin and saw MO. We discussed the hemmys and will wait and see as I am so anxious anyway. However, I told her that I still have hip pain and that I have had 3 fingers break on one hand as well as wrist pain. So I get my bone scan. I will get a call to schedule this. It was a good visit.

shaz101

jumbled, im glad you're having a bone scan. It's the little things that make us happy.

slothabouttown

Theresa,

Do you take fish oil? If so what kind do you use? I was just reading the tamoxifen thread and a woman said the epa/dha combined should be at least 900 mg to be effective. My brand is nowhere near that. Her mo suggested it to help thin the blood. (Tamoxifen blood clots are my latest worry obsession.) I ordered some of the sublingual vitamin d and now think of you and your husband as my supplement gurus!

pboi

Sloth...Why sublingual Vitamin D?

I had a DEXA scan earlier this week, and though I am 43 I have osteopenia in my spine and osteoporosis in my hip. Already?!?! I'm on Lupron/Arimidex and so worried what this will mean. Haven't talked to my MO yet.

About a month ago, my endocrinologist suggested I take calcium and Vitamin D. I 1200mg of Calcium (split in 2 doses) and Vitamin D 2000units. I asked about taking magnesium too. The doctor said it wasn't necessary but that I could if I wanted to. I had heard that magnesium would help in the absorption of calcium and Vitamin D?

PB

Trvler

I have read so many benefits of magnesium in addition to that including: sleep, hot flashes and blood sugar. Not sure if they are true but it can't hurt.

Jackbirdie

Sloth- I was taking a very high grade E and my pcp just took me off due to high cholesterol. Fwiw. I am investigating krill oil. He did put me on D 5,000 though. Traded three big gel caps for an itty bitty one. That was nice. And I use spray magnesium and bathe in Epsom salts. A lot. For all of the above reasons.

Like Gilda Radner used to say: it's always something.

Gilda understood s lot of what we went through on and off the stage. Here's s quick laugh. Just too bad she didn't know about coconut oil:

Gilda's SEs

Italychick

Sloth, I take Natural Factors Rxomega-3 Factors Softgels,630mg- 240-Count, available on Amazon Subscribe and Save is the cheapest price I have found.

I take quite a few supplements, but they take research and careful consideration. For example, by taking D3, I know I also need to take K2 because they work synergistically. It isn't as easy unfortunately as just popping a supplement, for me at least. Most multivitamins/multiminerals have chemically derived forms in them, so I avoid those unless I can find one that is purer. For me, based on what we have researched, taking the wrong forms of supplements is basically just throwing money away. In my opinion, if I was cost challenged, I would pick a few things I really need, fish oil, magnesium, D3, iodine, K2 etc and then eat sprouts, veggies and do juicing.

I take NO calcium. Hubby and I researched and figured out enough calcium is derived from diet and again, calcium requires a synergistic balance with several other substances, so you can "over calcium" yourself if you don't take it in correct proportions.

Magnesium, on the other hand, I can't get enough of in my diet, no matter how many fresh vegetables, fruit, and meat I eat. So I supplement with that substance, and I err on the side of pushing the boundary with it, taking more than the bottle says. Magnesium requires no synergistic supplement that I can find. And so many substances in the body end up in the wrong places, e.g., calcification of joints, etc., if magnesium isn't where it needs to be.

I am putting together a list of what I do and why, and can PM it to anybody who wants it. But be warned, it is expensive what I do. Hubby and I research the absolute best forms, take supplements separately, avoid magnesium stereate when possible, bad oils like soy, etc.

And, even though my blood work remained perfect throughout all of chemo, I did still end up with breast cancer. But when I started supplementing a few years ago, my vitamin D level was really low, so maybe that played into my development of breast cancer - will never know. So who knows what works and doesn't? I just know D, B-12, magnesium and potassium levels are something even my MO monitored throughout chemo and continues to monitor even now. Along with all my globulin levels, which I didn't know about, and after reading, show up all kinds of stuff, inflammation, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Just another thing to worry about I guess.

And remember, these are all my opinions and what works for me, I have no scientific background, etc. Hubby and I have just done a lot of research regarding supplementation, and when I supplement, I do periodic bloodwork to see if what I am taking is doing anything, either positive or negative.

Oh, one other substance to research is berberine. It theoretically has properties similar to Metformin regarding insulin levels. I don't know if it works or does anything, but I take it since I think there is a lot of interest in Metformin and breast cancer, have even read there may be clinical trials underway.

ThePrincess

Just a quick note on metformin - I have been on it for 10 years and here I sit in this group also :-(

ksusan

I've also take metformin for blood sugar issues for over 10 years.

Italychick

I just think they don't know. One thing I really feel is keeping my own natural immune system as strong as possible is the best thing I can do for myself. That, coupled with occasionally allowing myself to get a fever if it happens to burn out bad guys.

So an interesting thing to consider. My little Italian Greyhound, Jack, has hemangiosarcomas, which is a form of skin cancer that forms large blood vessels that manifest on the skin in the form of huge blood blisters. They can also form internally on livers, spleens, heart, etc., but typically with his breed it is dermal related. We get them lasered off about every six months. We have had some of them "spontaneously disappear", and on Monday we asked the surgical vet how this happens. He said that is positive that he is able to do that. Basically it means that somehow his immune system has kicked into a level where it is destroying the cancerous growths on its own. But it doesn't happen all the time, just sometimes it does and we can go longer between his laser treatments.

So of course this information has sent my mind all over the place! And I hope supports my feeling that keeping my immune system as strong as possible is my best defense against any future cancer.

Lovemylab

Hi everyone

I have been keeping up reading but not too responsive. Caught up in my own issues I guess. So I am 3 weeks PFC and saw MO yest before Herceptin. He says I have no restrictions on my life but never even asked about bowels or chemo brain. Today I saw my physical medicine/rehab doc and she feels I should be off work for at least 2 more months as memory is still problematic and still having big D daily. She is so empathetic but I feel sooo guilty being off work for this long. She says she wants me to be successful and not frustrated when I go back. So hard to tell my manager this but my sisters say "why do you care". I'm not sure...any advice?

Maureen

pboi

Thank you Theresa for your posts, I've found it really helpful.

PB

ThePrincess

Susan- have you gotten back on metformin? I had stopped w/Taxol because of stomach issues (which i think are the herceptin/perjeta) but haven't started yet as the stomach issues haven't settled down (i feel better seeing loveMyLab has issues too, I thought I was the only one)?

ksusan

I've had metformin 800 mg all the way through. I didn't have any stomach issues. I'm glad I've got it--just wanted to say that it is not a 100% preventive.

Meme117

Amy too funny they BBQ in your hospital parking lot. It sounds so southern and homey to me:)

How nice Jack goes to the library, we visited library dogs when my son was small. How's Tutti?

E can not wait to hear your story. My friend Caren does electrolysis and waxing, she wrote all her "funny" stories for a book, crazy. The oddest I find is she has men who request everything be waxed, everything:)

Theresa I'd love to read your info. I take calcium with vit d so I'll be doing some research on that. I was also low on vit d before my dx and not one doctor mentioned anything about a relationship to breast cancer.

I attended the Thrive program yesterday at a local YMCA and it will be 12 weeks 2/wk fitness program and any other programs I wish to do. Plus my family can go and use the facility/programs. Free. It is based on the Livestrong program thru the Lance Armstrong foundation. Look up your area and see if there is a program near you. There was a mix of men and women. I'm one of the younger members. Different cancers, two other breast cancer and both recurrences, boo hoo!!

I also attended a class thru my BS office for Holistic Nutrition. It will be 1/month for a year and follows the 12 steps of Integrative nutrition http://healthycrush.com/the-integrative-nutrition-... the woman teaching is a 2 time(boo-hoo) breast cancer thriver, she lost 70 lbs following the steps. She is now a vegan but does not push any diet/lifestyle. The classes are 12 steps to better health and include clean eating, stress and exercise, creating your life, increasing your energy and more. I'm excited to get healther and hopefully keep this cancer away!!

Maureen I think you need to do what is best for your body. All my health staff stress listening to my body. Think long term and do not feel guilty!! you have cancer and it is in no way your fault and you need to take care of you first and foremost!!

eheinrich

Part of my research career was involved in some of the mechanisms by which Metformin MAY have a role in cancer prevention/treatment. My work was specifically in pancreatic cancer however that work, I believe, has relevance to BC (due to info from a short term BC project I worked on in grad school). What we need to understand though is that there are so many studies looking at so many different mechanisms in so many different cancers. and that's without considering the diff sub-types of cancers in each organ not to mention each particular individual with cancer. It's so complex.

shaz101

maureen please listen to your body. I came back to work this week. It's extremely tiring. If you go back too early you will end up with even more time off because you will get ill.

Jackbirdie

so had 2 appts today dumbasssurvivorship plan meeting. Total waste of time.

MO- found out he did run tumor markers. He def said he wouldn't. Glad I didn't know. They were ok.