April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

KBeee

Gingeel, Interesting take your 4 year old has!

Littleblue, glad it stopped. Mine bleeds every day, but not badly at all.

Rpayton, The worst of the storms stayed south which was good for us, but not for them. Lots of flooding, but none in our immediate area. I hope the storms didn't pound you when they headed out of Iowa.

Rockerwife, have a fun weekend!

ksusan, I am with you; I can't wait to get the port out!

Stacey, those nails look sore! Ouch!

ksusan

Thanks, Rockerwife.

#17: I am grateful to have enough presumed immune function to eat a burger that's pink in the middle and some salad!

I also had a sip of my wife's beer--it was delicious.

woodburns

Stacey - Have you tried teatree oil. It does not smell great, but it sure helped my nails the last time I had chemo. I am using it again this time.

littleblueflowers

PORTS SUCK! THANK YOU PORT FOR SAVING MY VEINS! grrf...

Good luck ladies Going to the chair tomorrow!

My DH bought me leather skinny jeans and two pairs of heels. He says he's over boobs, and booty is where it's at...I'm not a leather pants or heels girl...is this the new normal everyone talks about? Why is my sense of self so fragmented? This is just weird!

ThePrincess

Stacy - ouch! I hope they feel better soon!!!

Alibeths

good luck today to anyone doig chemo with me!😊😘so over this

mysunshine48

Stacy, are you using Tea Tree Oil on your nails?

littleblueflowers

good luck allibeths! I'm not going today but I hope it goes well! 👍💪👯

GingerChi

I finally got home from the hospital last night! So glad to be home....I was there a week. Ended up being an abcess under my arm, but it took several days for it to show up on an ultrasound. Once it did, a surgeon drained it. I stayed a couple of days after that as they waited for cultures to grow and get me on the right antibiotics. So today, I am supposed to go to a center and get something like a 2 or 3 hour antibiotic infusion. Home Health is coming for a couple of days to pack and change my dressing. What an ordeal!!!!! No idea how this will affect my treatments....I missed one last week already.

Today I'll get caught up with everyone's posts...hope its been a good week for you lovlies!

Rpayton

GingerChi: wow that just sounds plain scary! Praying they have you on the way to healing fast. Rest and get well.

Alibeths

Feel better ginger!!!

Just curious, how many of you ladies go for fluids?.

KBeee

Gingerchi, What an ordeal! I am glad you are home. I hope you can get some rest and heal quickly!

Alibeths, I got fluids during AC. I hope all goes well today.

gingeel

Wow, Gingerchi, Glad you're out of the hospital, but sorry it was such a big production for you. At least you know you are in good hands with Home Care and all. Get well soon!

Alibeths, I get fluids during my chemo, but I don't make a separate trip.

Rockerwife

Gingerchi- I am happy that you got released from the hospital. You will heal better at home in your own bed. Before cancer I hadn't been in the hospital except to give birth . The two hospitalization during my TX were not fun. You had to be there a week. So glad you are home

lovlilynne

Cherie - WTF? Can this sh*t sandwich get any worse? I feel for you - these complications that some of you ladies have had in addition to everything else you are going through makes me ashamed for complaining about my mouth sores. Sending healing thoughts.

Lisa - me too - I have never been under anesthesia before BS - I didn't even have drugs or eipdural to give birth, and had my wisdom teeth pulled at the dentist! I understand that all this medical intervention is temporary, but it also scares me that I'm going to end up a much more sickly person when I'm done. It certainly has aged me - I was noticing all these wrinkles/lines on my face that were not there pre-chemo.

Sigh.

Just saw the news about gay marriage on my FB feed - I'm was feeling joyous about that - especially since my state led the way.

Lynne

BAT

Hope all is going good with everyone in the April group.  Just thought I’d drop in and give some  positive news concerning my wife.  Yesterday she completed her 2^nd DD Taxol treatment and all is well this AM with her.  Tomorrow will be the defining day as Saturday is the day it hit her two weeks ago….Lots of bone pain and lasted about a week.  She has two more treatments left and I continue to pray that they go well.

With that said, her DD AC portion really did a number on the tumor and node.  I was recently reading the BS notes from his 16 June exam and he gave a run-down of the measurements from his physical exams of my wife.  In his notes it read t following:

4.8cm, N1 as of April

3.8cm, N1 as of 15 May

1.8cm, N0 as of 16 Jun

So besides the tumor shrinking, the BS and Chemo doc can no longer feel the node in her armpit.  My hope is Taxol continues the positive trend.  Anyone know if her tumor board will restage her after surgery or will she remain a 2b?

Many thanks to all of you….and may God bless you each and every day.

Vr,

BAT

ksusan

GingerChi: I'm glad they found the problem and you're back home. Rest well.

Lynne: Yes, thanks to Massachusetts for leading the way! (That's also where my wife and I got married.)

allicat1214

So sorry for everyone going through all of the side effects... I'm going through sad times and am heartbroken about all the illness around all of us...

KBee, I'm so sorry about your dreams. How scary. I don't even know what to say except that I'm sending hugs your way.

After my son's engagement last Friday, I was scheduled to back right back this week and help him while he had an outpatient procedure for a fistula from Crohn's disease. He and I both have it and his symptoms are much worse. He is so brave and has dealt with this 4 years and only missed a few days of school.

Anyway, I had rash that kept flaring for 3 days before I left.... to make a very LONG story short: I ended up at two different ERs day before his outpatient procedure, one in NOLA and one in Lafayette where he is. The second one because I was going into anaphylactic shock -- albeit slowly but still scary -- complete with a fat lip, thickening tongue, closing throat, and scratchy voice. I have NO IDEA what set off the allergies, even the second worse once, because I was eating things I've eaten before with no problems. Second ER gave me steroid which first one didn't, thank goodness.

Anyway, I was able to be there for son's surgery to hear his surgeon say after this procedure if this doesn't work, not sure what next step will be because he is concerned any further action will cause fecal incontinence. He's 24 and newly engaged!

So I've been looking into alternative treatments and healing. His surgeon said his diet won't make much of a difference.

I am grateful for my own surgeon and my son's surgeon, but I'm just so frustrated with our American medical industry that only looks at one aspect of healing and not look at us wholistically. I know I feel better when I eat clean. I know there's so much research out there that indicates the same thing.

Praying for all of us today....that our SEs be few, that we feel good, that our families understand what we're going through....and that we find a way to heal these bodies so we can get back to living and loving our families.

Rpayton

A great day in our supreme court for the passage of same sex marriage. My aunt has been with her partner for 15+ years. I'm sure the pride parades will celebrate in victory this weekend!!! Every human is entitled to equality period. Those of you here I hope you have a wonderful celebration too!!! About time.

ksusan

Thanks, Rpayton. Under my present circumstances, it's wonderful to know that no ER in the country can keep my wife from seeing me or making medical decisions on my behalf without having to whip out a sheaf of notarized powers and proxies!

We had our non-legal marriage many years ago, a civil union in Vermont 3 after that, and domestic partnership recognitions at the local and state level. We got married but a year later, the jurisdiction voided those marriages. When Massachusetts allowed same-sex couples to marry, we did so. My wife felt strongly about getting married in the US, not Canada. When I was in college many decades ago, I couldn't imagine this happening. I'm glad it has, and glad we can now turn more attention to issues like forced conversion "therapy" and others affecting LGBTQI youth in particular.

littleblueflowers

YAY Supreme Court!

Allicat, so sorry to hear about your son's illness and your ER visits. In the middle of summer...ugh. Who even knows what's pissing off your immune system. Crossing my fingers and toes and legs and arms and praying for you both, and all of us!

Ginger! So glad you are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a restful and healing weekend!

BAT: Glad your wife has had good news! That must make you both feel so much better! There are a few of us doing DD Taxol in this group..hope your wife has minimal SE's. I'm usually in pain for about 4 days post-infusion, then start to improve, if that helps.

Fluids....Nope, I don't usually go in after to get them. I did after my first AC because I was vomiting so much, and I did after my first Taxol for the same reason. I do make them run the full final bag of saline, even if the infusion drugs run out first (and they usually do). Figured, I paid for it, and it can't hurt! My blood doesn't get monitored either except the day of infusion, but so far everything has been normal..even my hemoglobin continued to improve from its all time low before my first AC.

My DH just bought me two pairs of leather pants off of Amazon, and a pair of heels. Do you guys think he is trying to tell me something??? (deadpan look)

littleblueflowers

borrowed this from ruthbru from the daily excercise thread...

BAT

Thank you Littleblueflowers....and yes, it does make us feel a tad better.  Just need the Taxol to do its part.

Jackbirdie

yay for the Supreme Court !

Yay for Ginger home in her own bed.

BAT/ great news on your wife.

Thinking about everybody today, recoveries still ongoing, chemos starting, trying to move on without bc taking top priority in out lives. Hoping everyone will have the best possible weekends.

Hugs all 'round

Ksty

littleblueflowers

Ok I just wanted to get this down befor I forget again :

Does anyone else remember having weird symptoms a few months befor diagnisis? For me, I noticed my finger nails got really brittle and my hair was just gross. At the time, of course didn't think anything of it, but after surgery my nails returned to normal and so did my hair ( in the 4 weeks befor it fell out lol) even now my nails are strong, just black at the beds. Also, did anyone else take fertility drugs? Hmmmm. I did. 18 months befor cancer.

gingeel

The only weird symptom I had before my DX was a strange burning sensation in my skin over my heart. This was on my left side, and my BC was on my right. But, I went to Dr. and they thought it was Shingles, even though I never broke out with anything, just had the pain. They even gave me meds for it. Said my immune system was weak for someone so young to have Shingles. Crazy.

Love that "Note to Self"....need to remind myself of that.

Allicat, so sorry for all the health issues you and your son are having.

BAT, good news on your wife's tumor!

Also, Littleblue, I was on birth control pills for years before my first son was born.

KBeee

BAT, Great news on the tumor response. I do not think they restage the cancer.

little blue, no weird symptoms other than maybe increased fatigue and a sense that something was wrong.

Ksusan, happy for the ruling today

Allicat, I hope you and your son are feeling better.

Rockerwife

Yes. Littleblue I definitely had weird symptoms and have often wondered if it was related to BC. I had a tooth go bad and I got a root canal on my left side . BC side. Following this I had a chronic headache for a month that no pain pill could touch. Also. My mood swings were iratic and I often got upset for no reason . The night I found my tumor I had a stupid freak out sessions on my husband because I couldn't wrap my head around what to do for dinner. I was fuming mad an emotion wreck over something so trivial. I remember I went to the gym and worked out pissed off. When I took off my sports bra before my shower I noticed I had a bruise on my right rib where the underwire hits. I thought that is strange let me check the left side . Ribs on the left were good but WTF is that on my boob? Yes I could see see the shitty tumor. Welcome to the world of. CANCER

ksusan

No weird symptoms, although it turns out my iron was low. I wasn't feeling it, though.

slv58

Gingerchi, I hope you have a quick recovery and sorry you had to go through so much! Hugs

Allicat, prayers for quick recoveries for you and your son

Bat, I believe they leave initial staging but that is the best news- great response!

Great news on the ruling! Victory for all.

The only different symptom I had was fatigue. Seemed to be sleeping a lot. Oh I remember I had some light head feeling as well- almost an off balance that was intermittent, I thought it strange but it went away after chemo. Maybe inner ear?

I hope everyone has a nice week end and are able to put nasty side effects away for awhile! Just think we will all be through this soon!