For those starting chemo in June

I wanted to say "THANK YOU' to Mary and Paula for sticking with me and Janie on "for those starting chemo in June". It's been a long haul for all of us.
Renee

Hi girls, I want to thank you all for being the little voice that kept edging me on and the crutch that has held me up through the good times and the many bad. I know I would not have gotten through this as well without you all. I have laughed and cried and shared things I would never tell anyone. Yous have been my rock in the flooding waters and my push to make it through one more treatment until there were none left. Yous have eased my fear and made made me smile when I didn't think I would ever smile again. Things just wasn't as scary with you girls here to run to. We lost our hair, our dignity, our strength, some times our brains, our memories, our muscle strength and flexibility. At times we were lost and scared and always we had each other to turn to and we were not alone in this. We were a click away from someone who knew just what to say and do and knew exactly how we felt, Thank you for being here.I will check in tomorrow and see if anyone wants exchange e-mail ads. Paula, Glad your shoes matched today, may they take down a long and healthy road. I ran into an old friend who has a 10 year old daughter who is fighting a liver desease and needs a transplant. I feel for her and her daughter. My friend asked if I had cured my cancer and I said not exactly. Its cured in my right side but it will come back elsewhere so I guess you could say my rightside breast cancer is cured. It will be another cancer when it comes back. She said are you dieing? I mean is it remissed? and she said "I am sorry its just kinda a surprise and I don't know what to say and after all we have been through with my daughter I just ask up front questions". I said its alright and its refreshing to just be asked openly whats going on. I am going to live until I die. I don't know where that came from but I said it and I think its what I mean. Hugs and goodnight, Mary

Mary, I will PM my email address to everybody. Like Paula, I will be checking back here. I'm addicted now and the support has been my rock through this. Also, I still have the weekly infusion until November of 2005, so it is hard to stay very far away.

Yes, I finished rads today. They gave me hugs, a balloon and a certificate of graduation. They tore up my plastic mold and told me I can't come back even if I want to (yeah right). I have an onc appointment and Herceptin infusion Wednesday and then the infusions will be transferred to the local center. I still come back here every 12 weeks because it is written that way in the clinical trial.

Warm fuzzies,

Janie

I love Mary's last line about going to he$$. I'll have to remember that one. How about starting your business in Arizona and getting out of the cold? I'm all about fulfilling my/our dreams- why wait? The condo in Galveston is sounding better every day, especially when it is so cold out!
YIPPEE to Janie for finishing rads!
I can stay off the boards if I am gone, but when at home, I have to check them everyday...now I am more selective of the ones I read. I try to stay positive.
I go for an appt. with the lymphadema clinic. I fly 5-7 times a year and in Sept. we will be going to Amsterdam- Italy. Some women said I need to wear a sleeve when flying... guess I'll find out tomorrow... Any idea on what this costs?
I will PM my email address to all of you too.
Renee

Holly Cow Janie, your trip sounds great. We are looking back into Hawaii. My husband is not a traveler. He is too antsy so hope he makes this with out getting up and trying to help drive the plane or serve or clean or something. I hope the plane doesn't lean to one side and go around in circles because my J-Lo butt here. I will take a dvd player and movies.No idea when we will go.Gosh PJ you have had about enough bad things going on. Hope all is well.That really sucks for a kid to go through that. I am thinking of a business in Scottsdale. People will buy anything there as long as its expensive. I am thinking of something in the food line. I have to think on this. I have been checking some places out. I have to make a lot of money so I can fly back and forth to see the grandkids or fly them down every wk. end. Well, maybe once every couple months. Yea, I do need to get out of my job. I think penney is getting a little tired of staying 7 nights a wk. She has 3 kids and 2 are in grade school. They stay too. It seems like I have a day every once in a while thats kinda sad. I have a little pitty party and then I am o.k. for a couple weeks or until for some unknown reason I hear or see or think of somehing and get down again. There are days I can read stuff thats sad and days I can't. I usually don't know what kind of day it is until I cry and I have to get it out and go on for a few wks.Better get a piece of butter pecan cake I baked tonight. AND I WONDER HOW I have a J-LO a*s!!!! Well its the chemo. I am just not the least bit worried I guess because I just eat when ever I want to. I seldom ate sweets and never ate more than 2 meals a day. Now I strap on the feed bag and just eat like its not a problem. I saw a niece today and she said I look really good... really good! She meant," man I have never seen my aunt with meat on her bones." Good old cottage cheese butt. I had on a pair of pink jogging pants I only wore once and decided to wear them to the DR. with my boss. My husband said, "you gonna wear those?" I said" does my butt look too big?" he replied so honestly but brainlessy "No but those pants are too small." I said "you mean my butt is toooo big!" "no!" he said "your pants are too small thats what I am saying, you must of shrunk them!" He never did get the drift and frankly I don't care his heads too big and he has hairy arms!! Hugs, Mary

PJ, I hope your niece does fine and they don't find anything serious.

Mary, did you do steroids during chemo? That's what caused my J-Lo Butt. I have lost weight since going off of them but it isn't noticeable.

Guess what! Now that I am scheduled to leave here tomorrow and not come back for several months....my insurance finally came through and they had scheduled me a kazillion times. I cannot take that much more time off from work. I will have to work something out at home. I dread going back to work Monday. I will be expected to be 100 percent and I'm not. People tend to think just because you are through with most of the treatments, you are back to normal. But that's not even the problem. I was expected to do my usual 12 hour day even when I was doing treatment. Vent is over.

Talk to you later.

Janie

Janie isn't it the way it always happens? Gosh, it is hard trying be normal again because our bodies just don't work normal and I don't think mine ever will! Yea I got a lot of steroids in my pre meds. but none by mouth. I have leveled off at 140 and its all my butt. I am a size 9 and 11 in cheaper pants like JCP.I really am not that worried, I think stopping smoking has something to do with it too. My Dr. told me I would gain about 10 lbs. or so. I just can't figure out why I like the sweets. I just never ate much before. Maybe its the change too. I started it before treatment and now I think I have been thrown through and out the other side. I use to like sweets but just never ate a lot of them. I just ate like a bird.Well this person I now am just eats differently than the old me. Wash. or the big Apple? thats tough. N.Y. would be great but, Washington would maybe be more interesting, some place where theres a six flags. I want to see both. There is so much I want to see and do. gotta go, later Mary

You guys will have a great time on your trip. We took the guys to DC and they were never bored, they loved the subway. I got a compression sleeve for flyer and my next and hopefully last for a while, is on Thursday with my onc.
We saw Phantom of the Opera last night... it was awesome!
I'd love to go to NY and see more at the theaters!
Renee

HI girls, You know at least gaining the wt. now has been reasonably priced as there are lots of sales so I have saved on pants. I would of saved more if I could stop eating all together but thats not gonna happen. I seem to love to eat now. It is cold and snowing. We are thinking of a family trip to Fla. Brother. and his family my dad and my daughter from here and 2 sons and my son and his two kids. Guess they are thinking of June. They want to go to Disney, I want to go to the Keys. We were at Disney when our kids were small, that was enough for me but I will go with grandkids. We will drive down to the keys and snorkle and take a jet boat ride. My husbands mom was from Fla. and all her family is there around Jacksonville so we have been there several times and lived there a year but never got to the keys. We were usually around Jax. or Punta Gorda. My husbands father lived in Punta Gorda. I am glad my dad will get to see Fla. He has never been. Well bored, had grandkids all night and been cleaning so its time for a Wally run to get out. Burrrr, I must be bored if I am going out in this weather. Later girls, Mary

Cold and rainy here (well, cold for Texas). Went out and bought Nathan a new bike and fancy helmet today. He's gonna 2-wheel for the first time. He's very excited.

Life's finally seeming pretty much normal. I need to do my little family illness tree for my appt. Wednesday tho. I'll probably be up late Tuesday doing it...

Take care,
Paula

It's cold for South Georgia, not freezing, but cold and rainy. My son's power came back on during the night. Some are still without power there. Have to return to work tomorrow. Could use another few weeks off. I will be swamped when I get there. My local doctor left a message for me to see her tomorrow. I may ask her about the bone thingee. When I had the bone scan, I lay on my back and the scan went over the front. My pain is all in the back. I wonder if it scanned everything or just the front. Do you know?

Janie, Keep warm! I heard you had some awful weather.And it's not much better by Paula.
Mary and I are used to it. I personally don't care for winter, but my husband's biz is here and so we stay. At least my biz is flexible.
Paula, I remember my guys first trying to learn to ride. The oldest started about 6 years old, the middle- we had to PAY him to learn, and the youngest was riding at 4 years old- sooner than the middle one! He didn't want to be left behind or ride on the back of dad's bike anymore. They didn't have those cool trailers they have now.
We lived at the end of a street so all the neighborhood children practice by our house. It is so fun to watch their excited little faces when they accomplish it.
Have your camera with you!
Mary I love my Toyota RAV4. Great with snow, holds lots of stuff. My hubby is 6'5" so it isn't to comfy for him, but I'm in my car most of the time by myself.
Stay warm ladies- take care
Renee

Janie, Yep, I go for genetic counseling Wednesday and I guess I'll just tell them to take the blood if my insurance will cover it. The good thing: it takes something like 6 weeks to get the results back, so I'll have that long to live in oblivion. If it comes back I do have a mutation, I guess I'll have some serious thinking to do about possible future surgeries. Blech.

Hope you guys are doing well today.

Janie, They strongly suggested it after my sister was diagnosed. Which is why they're also confident my insurance will pay for it.

How are you feeling? How's the arm, etc.?

Hey, the rain finally stopped! Yea!

PJ, I am feeling fine, a little nauseous sometimes. I wrap the arm every morning. The sleeve still doesn't fit. I have to schedule therapy here since I have moved most of the treatment here now, but I have so many appointments, I am putting it off for a while.

Mary, Mary, what are you going to do with the penny pitching fools? That just does not sound right. What is a rock rub? Sounds great whatever it is.

Someone on another thread said that Her2 people rarely have the genetic gene. It's about time we had a break. We already have the infamous mutant gene. I went to the orientation yesterday at the new place, although I am through with chemo and doing Herceptin. The speaker said that Taxol causes weight gain in the middle and the nutrition guy said that you lose weight with all but breast cancer when you usually gain weight because of the treatment etc. Of course we already knew that, but I had not heard it said in that way before.

Warm fuzzies,

Janie