Starting Chemo May 2008

Karin,

you look beautiful.  I can't wait to see the clip.

ALL MY COMPANY IS GONE

and I am glad.

It was great to see my son and his gf (The ones in Pittsburgh) for the weekend, but exhausting. And my SIL who had been here for about 1 1/2 weeks left as well today. I love her dearly too.

Love all you guys.  Done with rads and dog.ass.tired.

Sue 

Kristy,

Happy birthday. May you live to be 103. Herceptin for me too this week on Wednesday. But it is so much easier without the SE that went with chemo.

Karin,

I am afraid I am living through you vicariously....even the teeth sucking part. First off, it is nerve racking to be LIVE. I used to be a TV reporter and it was easy because there were no live shots then and you could always re-shoot a stand-up. But ask anyone --- it is HARD to be live on TV so if you're every sappy enough to watch American Idol, you can just imagine what they feel like when they are in tears and being asked to sing. I mean, really. You looked great and I can't wait, wait, wait to see the clip. The part that makes me happiest is that you got to thank Dr. Weiss for all of us as I keep saying someone ought to do a thesis on on-line cancer support groups. I believe they are healthier than live for many reasons which I will NOT attempt to share right now because I am trying to be a bit more brief.

Sue --- LOVE your hair. Mine aspires to be yours.

Jen, where in Ohio do you live and do they have good chocolate croissants (is that a lunch food?)

Mary,

The tearing up in the church/synagogue thing is fine. They are your community and want to support you in your journey. I just delivered a speech at our synagogue thanking my community for all they have done (see my blog if you want....just google Eddie Westerman...it is there under thank you) and I have teared up, wept, choked up, etc...it is human and beautiful and a safe place to do that.

Kerry,

Get that photo up there.

The rest of you,

Happy October. It is our 18th anniversary tomorrow and we are working on our post-chemo stuff and seeing a therapist and doing well. I love October because: it is a crisp month; great leaves; we got married in October; the gem/rock is opal and I love opals; it is the month of Kristy's b-day and my brother's too; and, of course, it means winter and fires are coming.

One more question....anyone who was on taxol or taxotere still having that hicuupy kind of burping thing? That and some tingling are my only lingering SEs. 

Happy Birthday, Kristy!!!! 

Karin - I wish I could send you a necklace, sweetie.  You made me tear up.

Eddie - Echoing Adrienne and wishing you a happy anniversary.

Sue - YAY for being done-done!!!

Had my first rads treatment today.  Okay.  So there it was.  Although, I did find myself thinking "They are sending very high doses of radiation into my body - is this the part when I explode?"  Other than that, it wasn't bad.  I was told to just use whatever I usually do to moisturize.  Oh, okay.  I do have a very large jar of something called "Ultra Balm" that has vitamins A, D and E and aloe and lanolin.  I think I'll start with that.

Checking in a few minutes before radiation.

Karin -- My face has been compared to a) a person who has had a stroke and b) an animated cartoon.  I think we ALL have our facial um "unique-ities"!  Million dollar smile, our original pole dancer, and of course, the pig-gy expressions of support (which still warm my heart). 

Mary:  Just reading the words "anointing of the sick" put a lump in my throat.  Being raised Catholic and the "blessing of St. Blaze" with the two candles crossed under my chin and the smell of incense... Okay, it sounds creepy but it WASN'T.  Thank you for bringing back that good memory.

Sue -- NO MORE RADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chemoooooooooooooooooo!

I guess I'm in a sentimental mood this morning.

I've got to scram. Radiation awaits.

xo

Eddie - Happy Anniversary! I was on Taxotere. Tomorrow will be eleven weeks out. I never had the burping thing but I do still have slight tingling in the ball of the left foot.

Greetings, everybody!

Happy (belated) Birthday, Kristy!  You were in Arkansas?  I was in Arkansas, too, on the way home from visiting relatives.  Sunday night, we stayed at a campground on the Arkansas River, southeast of Pine Bluff.

Congrats on your new-found fame, Karin.  Gotta tell you, though:  I think you looked great, even before the LG-FB makeover.  Don't let anyone fool you--like Rock said, that is a million-dollar smile you gave us with your pole-dance pic.

Thanks a whole bunch, Jen, for digitally cutting-and-pasting our individual photos into a wonderful composite graduation pic!

Jean, Happy Birthday in advance (Oct. 17)!

Randie, congrats on being a "very good" patient.  That's a card you can play in the future, when maybe things aren't going so well and you need some attention immediately.  Also congrats on your successful neoadjuvant chemo.  Rats on having 15 of 15 nodes positive.  That perfect score must be worth a trophy, or at least a ribbon. 

Eddie, you are wrong.  Your posts can't be too long, 'cause mine are too long.  Happy Anniversary!  Ours was last week, but we didn't get a chance to celebrate because my dh was dealing with a really bad cold, which I contracted 2 days later.  And, yes, I had a terrible time with hiccups/burping during my 1st round of Taxotere/Cytoxan.  It turned out to be due to severe acid indigestion/gastric reflux.  Once I got that under control, the burping stopped.  Maybe your stomach is still feeling acidy?

Linda, that's a touching story about your encounter with the nurse while campaigning.  I guess we forget sometimes how small the world really is.

Adrienne, it is great to hear someone say she has a "renewed sense of purpose."

I started this post feeling pretty good, but since then things in my household have become, ... well, uncomfortable.  Some days I feel like I have no purpose, except to annoy my dh.  Unfortunately, today appears to be one of those days.  So was yesterday.  And maybe even Sunday.  Tomorrow is not looking good, either.  OK, that's a topic that needs to be carried over to the bitch-and-moan thread.

Hi to Kerry, Sue, Rock, Roxi/Mary, Cristine, and anyone else who posted farther back than I started reading.  Gentle hugs to all of you getting rads, and head-rubs to those with new fuzz.

Here's what's happening on my head:

I actually went to the post office today without even taking my cap.  The postmistress, a young woman who doesn't know me very well at all, grinned when she saw me and said, "I really like your hair!"  I explained that it wasn't a style I had chosen--it was re-growth from chemo.  She wasn't deterred--she continued smiling, and said, "Well, I like it anyway--it looks good on you!"

At least some things went well today.

otter 

[Edited to add:  I'm 19 wks post-chemo, so I danged well better have some hair.] 

Hey Ladies - just up from a nap and headed back to bed.  I am a bit tired from the radiation as well.  I have an incredibly sore throat from the radiation hitting my esophagus (which they warned be about).  It hurts to swallow water . . . but 10 down only 23 to go.  Looks like soup for a month.  I met with my onc today and found that my WBC is at 1.9, so I got a neulasta & flu shot today. 

Noelle - welcome back, already have me laughing.

Otter - love the hair, I am jealous!!  I could not believe how long it is - bet you never thought you would hear that. 

Sue - Congrats on being done with rads!  I am soooo looking forward to that.

Hello to all!  I miss you all and wanted to say hi, but need to head off to bed.

Jean

What a lovely lot you all are. When I read a run of posts like this I 'hear' the coo-ing and clucking one might hear in a pigeon/dove enclosure. It's really nice  Otter, the hair is fantastic! It makes me want to give it a rub! Noelle..way to go. I'm glad you had a really beautiful break. Drew and I are going over to Melbourne on Nov 21 and it may not be restful but it will be nice to have a new landscape for a few days, and it will be great to see my family, especially my Dad.

I was worried about the acid thing and actually had tablets for it but I think it's settling down now (just about 3 weeks post chemo). I'm also a bit less dog a$$ tired (thanks Cris! a bit more ladylike!), although I am still going to bed at 8pm. I'll tell you who is VERY dog a$$ tired, though. My DOG who arrived tonight..fresh from her 'girl's' operation. She is currently curled up and snoring her head off. I'll post pics on FB as soon as I'm organised. It's nice to have a dog again, and Queen Christine seems relatively unconcerned. Mind you, the TERRIER has been asleep since she got here   XXX you all.

Sue, welcome home from rads.

Jean, welcome to your birthday week.

Otter, can't wait for my hair to look like yours. We all go through our stages with dh, kids, partners, etc. It is going to be fine.

Karin, I am still telling people your story about meeting Dr. Weiss. Can't wait to see it on the tube (maybe YOUTUBE?)

Rock, you crack me up. In a good way.

Jenn, herceptin today was a TOTAL breeze.

All of you--I get to have my ovaries out !

Kerry -- have fun when you go traveling with your hubby.

Did I mention how easy herceptin was?

Adrienne, is it cold or what around here? I need to get out my woolies.

Gotta' get back to work. 

I had a doc's ( aka dr jerk) appt yesterday. Bloodwork and a physical exam of sorts.

My sore hands and mouth cold sores are all from the chemo( I knew that, but wondered if there was anything that could be done etc but they just shrugged at me)

 Today I had herceptin.I waited for 2.5 hours for a 30 min infusion.

Yesterday the onco nurse asked a bunch of questions and schdeuled my muga and mammo in Dec. and sent the doc in to examinate me. 40 min later he showed up. He asked if I had questions and I told him about the hand pain etc and he said it was from the taxol.... then he started the exam. He asked about when my last Mammogram was. I said in January which was how I was diagnosed...he said... and catch this.... "THIS YEAR? OR LAST YEAR?"  ummmmmm this year doctor.... because you are in this room for my FIRST exam since my chemo ended in July. You know.... the chemo we just finished talking about 2 minutes ago!!! 

Perhaps he got distracted while touching my boob...? Or maybe despite his name on all my charts he has only met me 4 times including once in the elevator and had no idea who the hell I was... 

Today in herceptin I asked the chemo nurse for my bloodwork results, because they did not give them to me yesterday( they never did before either, but I figure the first post chemo test was important) everything is within normal ranges.

Karin, if you ask the TV station they will have a service which will allow you to buy a copy of the show you were on. If you need me to chip in to help you get it I can do that. 

 Eddie, I like doing live TV. You just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it. I do it a lot for our local breakfast TV station. 

Sue, yes Origins is fine. They are one of the few big companies that have elimiated parabens. Have any of guys tried pure shea butter on the rads skin? What are the things they have been telling you about the products to put on the redness? No oils? water based? Light? heavy?

 I hope everyone is well!

  I am wiped and the day was wrecked by the billions of hours to and fro  and sitting in the hospital etc.

Otter -- your hair is BEAUTIFUL. So shiny! So pretty!  Of course, I am poring over your photo like it's the Dead Sea scrolls, so I've gotta ask: Have you trimmed it at all to keep it tidy? 

Sorry about dh woes.  At the same time, I am grateful for the reminder that just as being single/on my own has its drawbacks (I am still waiting for someone to massage my feet or fetch me a glass of water... just ONCE), being in a relationship is no guarantee of bliss. I forget that a lot. 

Noelle: I'm sorry about your hands. I want you to know that I def am having post-Taxol effects.  The leg and foot pain increased after chemo but before rads + Tamox so I know it's from chemo.  My rads onco today said that other patients report similar "lagging" hand and feet pain, even tho med oncos often are dismissive and want to blame the pain on rads.  

I am tired.  I think I have 8 rads left, including the boosts.  The fatigue and my continuing feet woes caused me to stumble into Gloria Steinem tonight pretty hard (it was at a Ms. event).  The room was really crowded, she IS kinda petite and 74 years old so it wasn't ALL me, but I felt bad. I wish I could say it turned out cool but I was so embarrassed that I just stumbled away as fast as I could. Smoooooth.

I'm using Aquaphor right after treatment and again at night.  Seems to work really well as I don't think I have any burns yet.

Noelle: Why do you do tv "a lot"? I am trying to figure out a way to word that question so I sound less dense and rude but I'm too tired.  That's really cool!  (But your onco? Jayzus, buddy, *snap* *snap* *snap* lets wake up here! hellooooooo!!!)

Linda, Kerry, Sue, Karin, Cris, Eddie, Jean, Mary, Gracie, KristyAnn, Adrienne, and everyone:  I wish I wasn't so tired so I could write some more. Know that you're in my thoughts. And Randie?  I wasn't kidding about the Tamoxifen toast. (How are you?)

I'm beat.  Of course it is almost one in the morning and I've been up since 6:30 am with only an hour's nap so perhaps I can't blame it all on rads.

Hellooooo out there in post chemo land! Spent since last friday without phone and mostly without internet. If I'd had hair I woulda pulled it out. This was the 5th time we have had somebody come out to check the line and "fix it". I kept getting told that it was our cordless giving us problems. We unplugged it and still had the problems. Anywho, a little dude came out and found the real problem (we hope), our line was burning thru itself. So far so good.

Weather is turning better. Been in the mid-upper 80's past few days and my arm and ankles have swelled up nicely. Hoping that with this cold front going thru all that will go away.

Kerry~ herceptin is an additional IV drug given to us that are HER+. usually given for an additional year.... yay for us.

Taxol hands/feet...... Mine give me more problems the more I walk or use my hands. I went to a library book sale last weekend and 2 fingertips on my right hand swelled up and my feet were killing me... but we got 120+ books for $3! it was worth it lol. I also have a bit left on the tip of my tongue. Certain foods still taste off and sometimes I get a metallic taste just to the very tip.

Got up this morning and my remaining boob was kinda achy, of course in our situation panic sets in early. I figure I either slept wrong or my (.) is trying to come back. I can see a difference in my hair daily. I can't wait to get to the level of otter's hair!! Thanks for posting the pics ladies, everyone looks so good! It makes me wonder, would we recognize each other, if we walked down the street with hair??

Happy thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O)

remember way back when rock and I talked about what to do with our sams club size boxes of tampons and pads now that we weren't using them??........ here is the answer below

click here

Jen -- do I wanna know how you ran across that website? Do I?!

(happy birthday to jean  happy birthday to you)

if we used to say "chemoooooooooooooo", do we know say "radioooooooooooooo" to Kristy and Co? Just wondering. (And a "fedora fedora" to Sue. Just because.)