Starting Chemo May 2008

Randie - I'm with you on Thursday!!  I know, I know, I said that last week, too.  But I really mean it this time.  And my WBCs should be noooo problem - they were up (probably too high) farther than I have ever seen them, at least since I've been watching.  Antarctica sounds lovely, as I am still having a bit of the burning feet at night.  Whacha makin' for your nurses this time?  'Cause I know you are.

Gracie - When are you up again?  I think it's just the 3 of us left, unless there is a "silent" partner out there. 

Jean - Still holding prayers for Ruby and family.

Angels - Hope it goes well getting everything ready for your "extended" leave.  They will be fine.  Rads and your family.

Eddie  and Jen - Sorry for soreness and steriod drops.  Sucks.

Otter - Well, batten down anyway.  We don't want you to float away by accident.  Randie needs you on Thursday.

Sue and Rock - I miss your faces.  Boo hoo.

Okay, I sound like I'm on steriods and I'm not, I promise.  Not even high dose pain meds.  Just winding up as I approach my old "friends" again this week.  Better get out the plum juice...Lord knows I didn't need it with the Taxotere.

Still have killer hands. Cannot open them without being ouchy.

I got a lot done yesterday, tidying up mail and paperwork from months ago. It is amazing how much stuff was left undone during chemo.

Last night the cat puked on the same stairs as my DS. 

 Ok, so here is the puke story. Friday night my DS was drinking juice( like frozen from concentrate fruit punch) very thirsty and drank most of 2 cups. He went to bed and left the cup with a little in it on the coffee table) I was watching TV and was thirsty, so grabbed the cup for a sip instead of getting up. BLECH!!!! The juice had gone off and I spit back into the cup. I checked on the kid and he was fast asleep. Man, I was thinking, kids have iron stomachs( and no taste buds clearly)  

 FF to the morning and he wakes up and says his burps taste yucky. I said oh, it is likely from the juice and I tell him the story about it being off. He gets this look and asks what happens if you drink bad juice.... and proceeds to start complaining about his stomach. Keep in mind I have a very good actor for a child who can make a crust of bread issue seem like the end of the world. So I offer to get him a Tums and then he races upstairs saying he is going to puke. I follow, and sadly for me he does not get to the bathroom in time and pukes fermented red juice all over the walls and carpet on the stairs and pukes more into the toilet. After cleaning him up he is perfectly fine. I am already late for meeting the staff to pack for the festival, so we mop up the puke as best as possible and we leave. I always hated the light coloured carpet on those stairs anyway, so now with the huge burgundy stains on it I think it really has to go. 

 I am desperately trying to not work much this month- having no chemo, no kid, and no major side effects and a slow store mean a few weeks of peace for me.... but NOOOOOO! I seem to always have too much work to do for the store to get any real chunks of time for myself. We are booking a trip to VT for Canadian Thanksgiving in mid Oct though. 

 I hope everyone has a day with some joy in it. I will carry you with me through mine. 

Cheers and Chemoooo to those in the throws of it!

 N

Good morning. Our smoke alarms went off at 5:14 this morning....second time in a month or so. They are hard wired in our house and one of the batteries needs replacing plus they need dust busting ....one of those dh duties that hasn't happened yet, but it will today as it woke us up 45 minutes before we like and we have angry children and wife to deal with today. I will help.Jen, I am also very, very sore....joints especially and feet too. I know what you are going through -- ouch, ouch, ouch. I just keep trying to move ....because no position is particularly comfortable. My husband just told me he wants to go see a mediator because he is having a hard time living with me. Aaargh. Rough times right now. I will check in with you all later.

Eddie - I certainly hope you are not serious regarding dh!  If you are.....well, I'm completely speechless.

I had my port removed this morning...WOOHOO!!  Surgery at 7:30, left the surgical center by 8:20.  Can't wait to be able to wear a bra again...which means I get to wear my foob...which means I can wear things like sweaters, turtlenecks and non-print shirts without looking like I don't have a boob.  YAY!

Yesterday was my DH's birthday...we spent the day at the Western Washington State Fair (aka The Puyallup Fair).  We had a fabulous day, gorgeous weather and a little sunburn (oops).  I loved getting out and just not thinking about myself and breast cancer.  Although I did catch the double takes/looks.  DH noticed the men didn't seem to care.  It was the women who did the staring.  Oh well...I just didn't care.  We were out to take it easy and have fun.  Which we did! 

Ok I sent out a few links to the "group pic".. I started to pm everyone with the link then I realized I might have sent doubles to some people. So.. with that said, if you didn't get it pm me and I'll link you. I didn't post it because of some recent happenings with outsiders reading posts, I thought it would be best this way. I left space for the rest of the class who are getting ready to graduate. If you graduated and I didn't get your pic send it along to me and I will add you.

Eddie~ that sucks. Hopefully he is just overwhelmed at the moment and have a sit down to talk will iron things out. As hard as it is on us to go thru I can't imagine the pressure our so's have to go thru as well. My prayers are with you sweetie.

Adrienne~ the day I get my port yanked will be my ultimate celebration. I know then it will be over! That'll be the end of next year unfortunately.

Randie~ I always thought I wanted to work high up in a bakery. I used to decorate cakes a long time ago. Made myself sick on the icing too lol. Probably best that I don't work in a bakery, my ass is big enough.

Kristy~ yay for the break!!!!!!!!!

gracie~ good luck wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!! wooohoooo!

Noelle~ what choo talking about? you are always funny in here girl :O)

Hello to all my other beautiful ladies. I hope today if finding you feeling friskie and well. Past few days I can feel fall coming. It gets this time of the year each year and you can almost feel the earth want to go to sleep for a bit and rest. Living in Ohio we get all of the seasons in full glory. Fall is one of my fav seasons. I love the smell of the air, the crispness and everything that goes with it..... including fall festivals! The garlic fest will be next month as will the Bob Evan's festival (yes the restuarant) Walking around these are the highlights of my year. Not to mention all the goodies you can buy while there....yum!

While fiddling with the pics today, each of you made me laugh and smile. I spent 20-30 minutes on each of you erasing backgrounds and pasting you into the group photo. I don't think I could have made it this far without each and everyone of you. It was your support, guidance, and care that brought me thru some very dark days and I thank each of you for it. Wish the cropping would have turned out better, I never was that good at doing that. I just wanted all of us to be "together" in victory. Ok enough mushy crap. Love you guys!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Jen, I'm one of the ones you forgot. Now how could you forget the original IV pole dancer? I know; blame it on chemo brain.

Enjoy the day, Karin

Jen,

Love it, great job.

Question: Are you going to re-do and add the ones that are still on there way once they arrive?

Enjoy the day, Karin

Eddie, I'm speechless about your husband.  It seems so unfair to you to have to deal with that now.  I know it's not easy to live with someone with cancer - the worry, the emotional ups and downs, the steroid-fueled craziness - but still.  Couldn't he have just bitten his tongue for a little while longer??  I hope and expect that once he starts talking about this with a counselor/mediator/whatever, things will get better.

Adrienne, what did the port removal involve?  I gather from other threads that it's easier getting it yanked than having it put it.  Any soreness afterwards?  I'm hoping that when I see the onc on Friday, he'll OK me to get mine removed as well.

Linda

But not before Eddie gets her own post today.  Like Adrienne, I wasn't sure if you were kidding or not.  Really sorry that it's not.  My dh and I went through a similar episode, but early on in our adventure (shortly after my surgery) and I think the conversation we had afterwards really made him think.  He's been very supportive throughout. 

I hope you guys are able to work through it and come out for the better, but it's crappy being in there.  Sending you positive thoughts and {{{{{{hugs}}}}}.

Christine,

You just took me back to preschool. The song you are referring to is "Who let the Letters Out? By Dr. Jean on her "Kiss Your Brain" CD. If the teacher has that one chances are she has a lot of Dr. Jean. Don't be surprised if your daughter comes home next month singing the "Spooky Walk". My favorite of all is the "Tooty Ta". I have most of her CD's. I took all of my grandsons favorites and made him a CD so he could listen to just the ones he likes. His favorite Dr. Jean CD is "Dr. Jean Sings Silly Songs.

RanD, I went to school for cake making and decorating years ago. I decided not to pursue it once I dealt with about 5 brides and their cakes. My nasty sister ( whose wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and everything else were made by me and my mom) complained when her cake was not perfect( she got rip roaring drunk on the night we were supposed to put the finishing touches on the cake and do the final fittings on the BMaids dresses) That was the last cake for me. I occasionally show up at a birthday party with one, and shock people because no one knows I can do it, but I mostly just bake for myself and my kid.  I am suuuuper fussy about desserts after doing it such for a long time, so I rarely eat any unless I am somewhere being polite. 

Cris- My hands ache from wrist to fingertips. It is nothing like they did during the taxol, it isn't tingly really but man does it hurt.  I had a customer today whose dad has long term neuropathy from chemo and what I described is what her dad has in his feet. During Taxol my fingertips tingled and it felt funny/ ouchy to touch stuff, this feels like I imagine arthritis would feel. I will call my onco nurse, but since they sucked about side effect info all the way through chemo I cannot imagine what they will say now.

 Jean, I hope you and mom are doing ok.

Eddie, you know we are all with you. 

 Jen- your pic is awesome,  I will find some pic to contribute I guess. 

 Rock- I wanna be in NYC too. I need a Reuben from Katz's deli, a Mochaccino from Cafe Reggio,  and a bed in the Hotel Chelsea and all will be right with the world. 

I am making plum jam and better go stir it.

  xo and chemooo to all

N

Evening Ladies!  I have been absent while tending to Mom and now trying to catch up. 

I wanted to thank you all so much for the thoughts and prayers for Mom and our family.  Mom passed away this morning (very peacefully), so your many prayers were heard.  I cannot explain the saddness I feel to have lost such a cherished friend, yet happy that she is in a much better place.  One of the last posts that I read (a number of days back) was from Noelle talking of the luxury of notice.  The past six days were truly a gift and our family made the most of that precious time.  Again, I cannot thank you all enough for your support and encouragement over the past 33 days. 

I often spoke to my Mom about all of you.  I continually told her that joining this support group is the best thing that I could have done to help myself and she agreed.  Although I know she wanted to be here to help me see this through, I know that she finds comfort knowing that I have all of you for support.  Love and hugs to you all! 

Jean

Jean, I hope Ruby meets Thalia (my mom) somewhere soon. 

I often think she is up there dancing, singing, cooking food for everyone and making cocktails. Those are the things she loved best. Her party won't be hard to find. Your mom will be welcomed. 

 My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Get through the details of the next few days as best as you can and try to find time to hide for a little while. This won't be an easy time, but as always we are here for you.

 My blessing for you: 

 The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace

 N