Starting Chemo May 2008
Comments
-
So you picked up on my subtle signals, huh?
Rock - Sorry for the sadness about your friend. I'm PMing you a big hug. But I gotta say, I snorted at "menopausal chimpanzee"!!! Brilliant!! And maybe a bit manky as well!
Noelle - I soooo want to take my girls somewhere back east in the fall! I remember being awed in Pennsylvania for that whole season. I hope it is absolutely great!! And maybe we'll get some pics?? Please???
Kristy - I love your face!!
Gracie - I'm hoping your Taxotere experience is infinitely better than mine!
Jen - NOSEHAIRS!!!
Here's the Roll Call, as I know it for this week:
Wednesday - Grace (T #1)
Thursday - Jen (Her); Me (LAST ONE!!!)
Let me know if I'm missing anyone.
-
Chemo-lag..now that's a great name for it!
Have felt a little teary myself UNTIL I read your post, RanD, then I burst into some of Rock's flames..WTF!!!! You are having a Double M and they told you/gave you NOTHING??? How can this be??? Oh, I so want you to have the little tiny Fiona Lee I had..what a contrast. I am disgusted by what you have had to go through..no wonder everyone ends up in tears...it's the shittest road possible to travel. AND all this pink shit!! Unfeck the world, I say. And they can start with getting serious about bc instead of marketing opportunites. G-a-g-g-g-g-g!
Rock, we are plugged into to same power-point. Where does this heat come from, for feck's sake?? Oh that's right..straight from hell!! Are you on arimidex or something? I'm just about to enter into the world of fake hormones or blockers or something and man, I don't know what to do.
I've been reading about acupuncture on one of the other threads..some girls have had a great go with it re the melt-downs. XX (I'll PM you soon).
-
Randie - I don't know how I forgot to say something, but WTF?!! They gave you no information about what to expect, what not to do, nothing?! That not only sucks, it's stupid too!! I hope you get better info tomorrow - lay into them, girl!
(BTW, on my little travel pill box, I have 2 spots missing, Tuesday and Saturday, so in between these spaces is "WTF" which I can only read as one thing now and it's NOT the days of the week. Made me giggle this weekend.)
-
Christine,
Herceptin on Wednesday. Thanks.
-
Arrrrgggghh. My post is deleted and I need to go to rads. Brief summary:
Randie -- I wish I had something useful to offer you. Even my movie recs (D-Day, Gallipoli) tend to run along the lines of "pointless slaughter". I'll work on this! But I'm with everyone, you deserve more info, more unrushed time before a surgery that is a big d**n deal. You DO.
Menopause: I'm trying to pretend each hot flash is caused by a sudden spurt in hair growth.
Jen, everybody: Such a cliche' but you really do help by being there.
I LOVE the idea of the WTF pillbox. I'm gonna buy a pillbox (maybe even a pink one?) and pull some o fthe lids off.
Off to rads. Mary, Gracie -- Best wishes for Chemoooooooooo on Wednesday!
xoxox
-
I modified this from another internet spoof. I hope it doesn't offend anybody. (If it does, I'll remove it.)
Footprints in the Sand
One night a woman w/ breast cancer had a dream.
She dreamed she was walking along
the beach with the Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from her life since diagnosis.
For each scene, she noticed
two sets of footprints in the sand,
one belonging to her and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of her life flashed before her,
she looked back at the footprints in the sand.
She noticed that many times along the path of her life
there was only one set of footprints.
She also noticed that it happened at the
very lowest and saddest times in her life, including chemo.
This bothered her and she questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life there is
only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, during chemo, when I needed you most
you would leave me."The Lord replied "Yo, Lady,
I love you and stuff, and we're buds forever,
but during your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints in the sand,
it was then that I had to take time away from you.
At those low points in your life,
you became such a drag to be around.
With all your bitching and moaning,
All your, "why me, Lord, why me?"
I decided you needed time to yourself.But as you see, I've always come back.
I was still walking with you, just waaaaayy over there.
And look there? see all those extra footprints?Sometimes I even brought some of the May 2008 chemo chicks to provide you with moral support. No, babe. You weren't alone. I was just giving you some space.
*****
After that night, the woman decided she shouldn't watch the TV evangelists while she was still flying high on steroids or getting hot flashes!
-
Love it! Leave it! It made me cry! and honestly, from now on I am going to think of the people that have not been in touch during my illness as still having footprints on the beach somewhere further away.
Rock, the meaning of faith to me is finding your own way to believe in what helps you get through.
and my lovely sister, if the Lord (or whatever/whomever you choose to believe in) brought me to you all for whichever reason I will take it!
xoN
-
Menopause: I'm trying to pretend each hot flash is caused by a sudden spurt in hair growth. Don't I wish! if that was the case my hair would be down to my ass by morning LOL
-
Thank you girls, for the golden gifts. Footsteps: perfect. Just soft and lovely and perfect and true.
WTF pill-box: every day lol experience..I am so doing that! IF!!! and ONLY IF!! I ever decide to put even ONE more fecking pill in my mouth!
More gold? Hot flashes and hair-growth! Of course! I have flames coming out of my head AND crazy hair! I cannot believe how fast (and madly) this is growing. I've got these long, wispy dirty-looking sideburns and over-ear hair and all this other weird shite. It's great. Except yesterday I picked up a speck off the kitchen floor (toot) , stood up and caught my head on the edge of the bench..nice 2" graze. So last night my hub comes home to someone who looks like a drug-dealer. Lovely. (No heat and no hair down there..so Rock, your theory is proven.)
Went to the onc yesterday to sort out what happens next ( GIVE ME MORE DRUGS! BRING IT ON!!) and to get to the bottom of this Stage thing. I nailed him down to 1-ish / 2ish. Big simple tumor, small nodal involvement (all successfully resectioned) and 18 weeks of serious poisoning do not a Grade iV make). I should have slept peacefully after that news, but Neulasta got into bed with me again, the bastard!
Love and thanks, and hang-in there RanD. XX (and Rock).
-
Okay, let me try this again. (I HATE footprints, by the way, almost as much as I hate the Serenity Prayer. MY spoof was based on some other guys' spoof but clearly it lost something in the re-spoofing. I never meant for it to be taken seriously. I jsut liked the idea of God saying "um... you're on your own, whiner". But you guys are so very sweet for rolling with it.) There's another version where God responds to the question "Why, in my greatest need, did you abandon me?" and God answers "I never left you. Those were the times when we both hopped on one foot."
I'm sorry folks. I But But But!!! SO VERY HAPPY THAT KERRY IS NOT A STAGE IV!! WOO HOO!!!
-
Hello, beautiful chemo sisters. I've been gone, and then workin'. But I stayed home today because the rads fatigue is kicking my a$$. So much going on here--Cris and Jen--YEAY on your last one! Rock, I am with you on the hot flashes and mood swings...I'm supposed to start Tamoxifen in less than two weeks and I am not sure what to do--I can have an ooph instead, but don't see my onc again until December. And that just gets me out of 2 years of Tamox--I will have 5 years of Femara instead.....I just don't know. I am sorry that you cried all day, I wish you could have sat on my porch and I would at least have been able to hold your hand, probably cry with you, and keep you hydrated with homemade raspberry lemonade! Looks like your little home town is our geographical center as you said--think we could rent a big house with a screened porch and rocking chairs all the way around?
Kerry--so glad for stage 1-sih to two-ish!!! What a great improvement over stage IV!!!Noelle, hope you have a wonderful time in Vermont! Send pictures of the fall colors, please, as we do not have them in Texas.
Love you all. Hope I didn't leave anybody out, but I know I did.
Have a great evening.
Love,
Sue
P.S. Rock you look like a supermodel.
-
Wow! Otter and Kristy photos surface in the same day!! Love the pictures gals!
Woo hoo Christine! Congrats on the last chemo coming up.
Yeah!!!!!! that Kerri is NOT stage IV!
Randie - I totally get your frustration . . . as you will see below. Is it too much to ask to get a little info on the treatments we are getting?!?!?!?!
I have been staying current with the posts, but have I am trying to wrap my head around my radiation plan. Am I crazy to think that before I go through 33 treatments of radiation, the onc could describe to me what his plan is? Could he have told me that I am the first patient in the hospital to get this treatment?? I hear it from one of the rad techs - pissed! He is from the Mayo Clinic, so I asked if this treatment was preformed there or am I a beta - they could not answer it. Yep, the doc is on vacation and apparently the note to call me to review the plan was dismissed. Sorry - venting.
Jean
-
Jean -- No need to apologize, sister! THAT WOULD PISS ME OFF. I want people to give it to me straight and then let ME decide what I do. Grrrrrrrr. They can frigging find the doc or they kind find whoever he left covering for him. You are OWED.
***
Sue -- I love you guys too much to dispatch you to my hometown -- hours from the nearest airport and with all the charm of well, something largely lacking in charm!
I love Vermont. I love it a lot.
I'm crawling into bed. Follow up with onco tomorrow. Then rads. Then work. I'm determined to get some sleep.
-
Rads # 10 and the skin is a little tingly
I have a cold
Warm lemon bars make it all better
Kristy
-
Kristy, lemon bars your way.....
Jean, I am so with you, after watching the pink day promotions on TV, can our drs. get it?
Lft a message for the doc, he better call if he likes his testicles wehre they are now...lol
love an best thoughts to all of you as I desperately run to the freezer to cool my head off!!!
BTW, my chemo nurse told me that the hot flashes on your head are good, they bring the hair in faster, her theory was increased blood flow is good and hair loves it...okay, I would rather be bald and cool...oh wait, I already am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
randie
-
I think with all the "pink" celebrations they have going on right now.... if you show up bald you should get one of everything free and get into all the concerts free as well.... who is with me?
-
Sable, it hasn't worked for me. I keep hanging around those pink displays, hoping someone will see me, figure out what's going on, and offer me a freebie....but nooooo.
Actually, today I was in a large Belk's and there was a display for Wacoal's "Fit for the Cure" campaign (http://www.wacoal-america.com/fitforthecure.html).
Stores that sell Wacoal bras are offering bra fittings, and for every woman who participates, Wacoal is giving some money to Komen. The Wacoal campaigns are going on at a lot of the larger clothing stores, like Macy's, Belk's, Dillards, etc. Even the little bitty Dillards in my town is doing it. I looked all through the lingerie section at the big Belk's today, and didn't see a single thing to suggest they had mast bras, prostheses, or anything that would fit me. I know already that the local Dillards doesn't.
Unfortunately, I am going to be out of town on the day my local Dillards is doing their "Fit for the Cure" fittings. If I were going to be in town, I would love to stop by and ask them to fit me with one of the stupid, underwire, push-up bras they're trying to sell. "OK, sweetie, FIT THIS!!!"
otter
-
iam so there, my bff calls it playing the cancer card....should mean something , right?
I wish Oprah had gotten a little more in to the nuts and bolts on her show. Poor Christina looked on teh verge of a major crying jag thru most of the hour. Hey, since its bc month, maybe she should have done a month;s worth of shows on it, she could have flown all of us in, now that would be a panel!!!
ran
-
otter, too funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
ROFL!! RanD, you are what we call in Australia, a 'Unit' , or a 'Unit of a thing'! My Drew will call a guy a 'Complete unit' if he's really out there. You are hilarious...or...is this a little (or a lot) of pre-op semi-hysteria???
Thanks for the bloodflow info...explains why I'm turning into a yeti so rapidly..or is it the mangy-dog? Whatever..it's fascinating in a kind of sick science-experiment way...
Sable, I agree with you. I mean, what exactly IS in it for us????
At our local hospital (big..services the north of the state) parking is a complete nightmare. The Holmann Clinic (my current favorite haunt..not) has SIX free permit spots for chemo patients. SIX. There are about 20 chairs and they are always full... sooooo how the feck does a patient getting treatment for cancer get a fecking park so that he/she can go through the treatment-trauma???
The local council, in their breathtaking wisdom, has given the parking over to a private company: Care Parks. (WTF!!!!! CARE Parks!!)
So yesterday I parked illegally in the EMPTY government vehicle area (permit only) put my paid-for ticket on the dash, and got a pointed comment from a Gov worker getting out of her car (one minute before my appoint to see if I am stage iV). "You're not supposed to park there". I took off my beanie to reveal my full Cancer Girl look....or is that..murderess look? I forgot the 2" graze for a minute... and snapped at her "Well, what do YOU suggest I do??? I am going in to see my ONCOLOGIST, and if I get booked I'm going to the fecking PAPER and CARE! CARE! will NOT enjoy the publicity I give them for NOTHING!!!
Mood swings...know anything about them?
-
OMG! Imagine us all on the panel. ROFL. Special guests: The WTF Girls!!
Are any of you into astrology? What was going on in May, or are other groups like us as well?
Whatever..thank goodness for it.
It's 1.40pm here and I'm in bed trying to sleep. HA! Belly full of wind.. Can't make myself get out and walk, and even my chemo-cat thinks I'm too smelly. What time is it where you 'awake' girls are?
-
12:30 ish here and I am off to bed.
You are all funny.
I am all tired
chemooooo!
-
Grace - Before I forget, LOVE the baby avatar!! Soooo cute!
Jean - I would also be annoyed. At the end of my appointment last Friday, I asked the tech if I would be meeting with the rad onc before I start and she said "No, but do you want to?" I said "Yes", but what I was thinking was "Well, yeah, since I just met him while I was laying on the table with my boob hanging out." (He was on vacation when I had my first appointment, which has now been months ago.) DUH. It may be routine for them because they treat patients like us every day, but it's far from routine for us and sometimes they all need to be reminded!
I haven't had too many hot flashes but I've had a few (and at very odd times!) - they are irregular, like the rest of my bodily functions.
Kerry - I don't know if any other group is like us, but I like us!!
Okay, I'm hitting a Neupogen low. I needed 2 more shots for today and tomorrow so that I can have treatment on Thursday. But every time I've had to take them at a different time from treatment, they give me a lot of pain and crappiness. So I told everyone at work that I was going home so dh can give me a shot to make me feel crappy. Sigh. I'm sure this is the "cumulative" part that everyone talks about. My WBCs are just not recovering as fast, even with the shots (I've had 9 so far), if they had been any lower today, I would have been banned from work. It's a wonder I haven't gotten something - knock on wood!
Now I'm rambling, so here's the updated Roll Call:
Wednesday - Grace (T #1); Mary (Her)
Thursday - Jen (Her); Me (LAST ONE!!!)
-
H-e-e-y-y-y-y!!!! Cristine, all the best for tomorrow!!!! It feels AWESOME to finish..just you wait and see! XXX Kerry
-
Kerry - I think you're a bit ahead (well you are) of me, it's still Tuesday here...lol...and about 10:30 PM where I am.
-
Holy Hot Flashes, Batman!! Can talking about a hot flash bring one on?! "Cause I'm having a whopper right now!!! To the freezer, quick!!
-
Kerry, too funny. I got a handi-capable pass and I call it my WTF pass since I can park Wherever the freak i want without getting a ticket......no pre-op hysteria here, I am always like this.
Cristine, how about you try Antarctica again this last treatment, will meet you there to commiserate....lol, i hate the sweatiness of all of this.....so tired of changing my shirt because of soaking wet necklines!
randie............................
-
Too much stuff going on - good, bad, funny - to capture it all, so this is going to be a little bit random.
Randie and Jean, doctors who won't answer questions (or who don't tell you important stuff, like, why this treatment plan) suck. They may be technically skilled, it may be a lapse because they're especially harried, they may not totally deserve the cutting-off-of-nuts penalty (Randie, I never use "lol," but LOL!!), but still: this is crap
Sue, on tamoxifen, my experience so far hasn't been bad. Hot flashes, sure, but no more frequent (and no hotter) than the chemo-induced ones. (Love the hot flash/hair growth hypothesis: sometimes my scalp crawls at the start of a hot flash . . . surely, that must mean the hair is growing.)
Oh! And I've sighted actual eyebrow stubble! And - get this - when I tweeze my pesky chin hairs, they no longer give up without a fight. It smarts, like it should.
Kerry, such a relief to hear that you've been restaged.
Noelle, have a great time in Vermont. I went to school in western Massachusetts, and though Michigan is pretty darn nice this time of year, New England is special.
Kerry, I HATE parking rip-offs. My main hospital, where I go for my treatments, doesn't give parking passes to chemo patients. My satellite clinic, where I go for blood draws, gives them to anyone and everyone; they just leave a bunch of 'em out on the counter. And the parking passes are good for the entire system, including the main hospital. So whenever I go for a blood draw, I grab a big goddamn handful.
(I just realized that I could have used the PAST TENSE in that last paragraph. I guess I'm still getting used to being post-treatment.)
Speaking of which . . . Cristine, can't wait for you to join those of us who are over on this side.
A final note on pink crap. Ever since a Trader Joe's opened two blocks from me, I've been doing most of my shopping there (and at a the farmers' market). Which means I'm mercifully sheltered from pinkomania. (When I do run into Kroger's for canned beets or something Krogerish like that, I tend to dash in and dash out without even looking around.) So, I don't know what I'd do if I saw a big banner linking breast cancer with free samples. A free sample of breast cancer? No thanks!!
Hopping on one foot,
Linda
-
Morning everyone,
Kind of got behind on reading everyone's posts, so yesterday I printed out what I'd missed and took them with me to my Rad. Onc. app't--so now I'm caught up!!
My Rad Onc is just about the coolest doc ever...I just love him. AND when I told him my onc wanted me to start Arimedex now, he was pretty emphatic..."I strongly recommend you wait until after radiation." Which was what I had already decided, but it was nice to have his backing. Simulation next Wed and then probably (hopefully) starting the following Monday. If I can start then, and don't have any glitches, I'll be finishing the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and that's my goal--to be done before the holidays.
He did tell me something that all fellow hot-flashers/nightsweaters may be interested in...he just read a study where they're having wonderful success in tx post-bc tx hotflashes with acupuncture! At this point, I'm game for anything, even a thousand needles. I think it may even be covered by my insurance.
RanD--Good luck on Friday! I'll be praying for you!
Kerry--WOOOHOOOO for no Stage IV!!
Cristine--WOOOHOOOO for the last tx tomorrow!
Everyone--you are all too funny. Gotta run....have a wonderful day!!
Sherri
-
I am in a wicked hurry!
Nutty morning for me ... cannot get the song "Knees up Mother Brown" out of my head... if you know it.. may you be cursed with it too... it makes me laugh!
Later ladies!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team