Starting Chemo May 2008

rock~ actually I had told my mom about the "dressing up" that you did and the convo that we had (hope that was ok) then she found this site and sent it to me today. Immediately thought of you lol

Happy birthday Jean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dang it... still a tad too early for mascara. I got all excited about new growth and bought my first new tube in well over 7 months......I think I need to wait just a bit longer before using it again. :O(

Hey all, rads, hum....dog.a$$.tired too. Just officially finished number 20 and have 10 left. Only doing a total of 30 not 33. My skin is hanging on but pretty pink. 

Noelle, I agree with Adrienne, your Doc has no bedside manners whatsoever.   That' just wrong. Just a note about herceptin, it's our line of defense for her2+ girls. Our tumors are not not driven by estrogen or progesterone so we can't suppress them with tamoxifin for 5 years. Instead, we have herceptin every 3 weeks for a year. The downside is, it can cause heart problems so we get muga scans frequently to make sure we can continue receiving the benefit of the drug.

Jen, love the craft projects but can't imagine little brownie troops doing them for a patch.

Yeah for hair, Otter I counted the weeks in hopes that mine will look like your at 17 weeks. 17 weeks post chemo puts me at Dec. 17. Hair for the holidays!

Jean-Happy birthday to you! 

Rads update....they're sending me for occupational therapy starting next week. Looks like they'll be doing ultrasound massage. Sounds lovely....my expander side is so swollen and sore to the touch. I thought I was retaining fluid. The rad onc informed me that its lymph fluid and I need to move it. They want to make sure I learn some massage techniques for home to make sure I minimize the risk if lymphedema. 

Love to all, gotta catch up with my shows. 

too tired to talk much.

Rock, I am lucky enough to do tv a lot because my tiny local tv station does a 3 hour long breakfast TV show 5 days a week and is always desperate for people that can handle doing the whole show live on location at 6am.

A few years ago I got a short spot for a last minute Xmas show and have been called on regularly ever since. I get to do the show about 3-4 times a year or so.I did it once during chemo and we demo-ed our shaving prods on my head. 

 Night all!

Good Morning Ladies!

Happy Birthday Jean-hope that you have a wonderful time.

Taxotere is easier than the FEC, nausea wise.  But my mouth did get very sore and irritated, Magic Mouthwash has taken care of that.  The bone pain was horrible, between the Taxotere and Neualsta. Last week I had a difficult time getting my Onc to give me some stronger pain meds.  She told the nurse (it was lab day so I didn't see the Doc.) to tell me to take the Ibuprofen and Benadryl.  When the nurse came back and told me that, I just broke down and cried and told her (for the second time) that was what I had been takiing, it wasn't working and I would get something, if not from her, from my PCP, but I really didn't want to have to go that route.  I got my script for Vicodin.  (Hey it wasn't like I was asking for morphine!)  Anyway, when I went this week for my visit with my Onc, she gave me a big hug and told me that she was sorry I was having a time with the pain and if I needed more medicine to let her know.   (I had the "rare" but serious side effect of bone pain/muscle weakness when they tried me on Lipitor and Zetia-we tried 5 cholesterol meds before finding one I could take.) Feet are sensitive and fingertips are numb.  Fingernails are discolored.

Went out last night with a few friends for dinner (first time since May), and it felt so good!  They gave me a small gift and I just about cried.  4 different really good smelling lotions!   You know the sad part is that it is more than what any of my siblings have done for me. (One sister does call and email, the other sister and my brother...who knows, I haven't heard from them since just after I was first diagnosed.)  That's okay, I have all of you.

Enough for now.  Hope that you all have a great Friday!  

Happy Birthday Jean!!

Happy birthday Jean!!! And what Linda said. And what Rock said.  My family are interstate..so I can't expect too much from them. More phone calls would be nice..but I've been thinking that for 16 years!  I am beginning to get my head around the fact that cancer is actually a bit of an exclusive and private club. And I guess the fear that family feels is also. I'm sharing all those danged pains as well (and got a brand new painful swelling on my wrist last night. grrrrr), but I am starting to FEEL normal..brain-wise and temperament-wise...Drew and I seem to have 'ridden out' the end-of-treatment fall-down, and are back to a pretty easy-going life.

I do, however, still enjoy playing the cancer-card. Well hell! I EARNED that card! On Thursday afternoons I have a watercolour painting class..paid for by my school. (Cool!) Last Thursday I was early and had my wig on and the teacher was admiring my 'hair'. I went into the full explanation and she was suitably concerned/worried/impressed/affirming..all the things I was seeking! Anyway, part-way through the class I had to duck out to buy a different brush. When I came back the whole class (all older, retired gentle-folk) were fussing and cooing, and rubbing my back..NONE of them mentioned cancer!..and being so lovely! I loved it! And on the Wednesday I was walking around at school doing yard-duty, bin in hand; as I approached the 14/15yo boys they all got up to fly away leaving their rubbish everywhere. I called out to them "That's right! run away! leave it to Cancer Girl to pick up! No..no..I'll be fine!"  What is that??? This isn't permanent is it??

RanD???Are you (relatively) ok??? XXXX

Have a great weekend, girls. 

I'm up!  But it is kinda cool here in KY.  Had to put something on my head to keep it warm!

Rock-thanks for understanding.  You always seem to have the right thing to say.  The last time I spent a holiday with any of my sibs was 9 years ago, just after our little brother passed away.  I went to OH to spend Thanksgiving with his children.  (And the sis that I never hear from-she can come to me from now on!)   

Going to a surprise birthday for my MIL today.  (Pitch in dinner-hoping for some good food!)

Happy Weekend Ladies!

Its been chilly here.  We turned our furnace on last week...boohiss.  We'll be getting our pumpkins this weekend.  Back when all the kids were still at home we'd have a pumpkin carving night and we'd end up with 6-8 beautifully carved pumpkins.  Now that they are all gone (except for our little guy)...we're lucky to carve 2.  Perhaps we'll do a few more this year.  Its a ton of fun.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy birthday Jean!

Sorry, all, that I am only posting pretty much on the weekends now, but rads and work combined, kicked me in the nether regions.  Still taking a nap every day, and dealing with a pretty impressive burn.  I started using pure cocoa butter on it yesterday, and that seems to help. Smells really good, too.  I used it during my pregnancies to prevent stretch marks (and I don't have any)...when I put it on yesterday my dh told me I smell pregnant. ;O)

Church Fall Festival and Auction tonight.  With dinner.  We go every year and have gotten some fantastic bargains over the years.  I had promised Christmas pillows and placemats (I'm a quilter) but didn't get them done.  Actually, didn't even get them started.  It's the first year I have promised and not delivered.  I guess they will just have to understand.

You know, it's weird, but I find myself loving myself a lot better than I did before cancer.  Isn't that interesting?  I had self-esteem problems going back to high school, grew up with an alcoholic father with all the attendant issues, dealt with sexual abuse (and had treatment)....all that seems so small now.  It definitely showed me what was important, having cancer.  And it showed me what I have, and how blessed I am.  As for siblings, one was attentive and one was not.  The one who was and is attentive, we were estranged before cancer, and now we are not.  So that is very good. The other one, we are there for each other in crises, but there has never been a lot of contact otherwise.  She called me three or four times during chemo, which is a lot for her.  It is very, very good to have all of you here.  You have saved my sanity on several to many occasions!

Something fun this weekend, huh Rock?  Well, the festival and auction today, and hanging my covers on the line to dry tomorrow---I have a boring life, don't I?  Oh, I know, I will go the expensive grocery store on Sunday, where I can get clean food, how exciting is that?  Seriously I will try to think of something to do just for me on Sunday, and let you know what it was.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Love,

Sue

Wow! I'm loving myself more as well, and I'm loving this Fall-quiet philosophical change of pace on this thread and I'm loving my new dog (who is loving me enough to wag her tail at me today!!) and I am especially loving my seestahs. It is around 18C here..I'm really going to have to learn the conversion to F!  Out the back of my house there are ducklings and plover chicks..they are s-o-o-o cute, and just the thing for a Cancer Girl easing her way out of 18 weeks of chemooooooo. 

When we talk about festivals here, we are 99% talking music and alternative arts. We are into the the spring/summer music festival season...I'm kind of over that scene by about 25 years and I'm VERY over the drugs that go with it now that I know a thing or two about REAL drugs! I'm fascinated by the festival names over there: Yambouree, Noonday Onion!!

Did any of you read Bill Bryson's 'walking tour' of England before he returned to the US for good? I actually laughed out loud through the whole thing, but it was the chapter listing the names of places that made me pee myself. Earlier this year I read 'That Ole Ace in the Hole', (Annie Proulx) and really enjoyed the Texan pictures and sounds I got in my head as I read it. As a result of being a May O'Eight,for the first time in my life I'm getting interested in bits of the US, and Texas is one of them..perhaps because where I come from it's so big and flat and rural (I am guessing that Texas is flat..pardon my ignorance of these important details!)

Lewing, I am so impressed by your running biz. I dream about SOME level of fitness..walking the dog (Phoebe, Freebie, Heebie-Jeebie, Fleabag, Feeble...any more helpful name-suggestions?..I'm calling her Reebie which will morph into Ruby by Wednesday) twice a day will start that long hard road! And thanks for the tip re getting measured and getting serious about LE..I needed a kick-start on that one as well.    XXX Kerry

ps WHAT did I just do the formatting?? 

Me, too (about Randie).  She hasn't logged on since October 13th, which is nearly a week ago.  I sure hope she's doing okay.  Has anybody heard from her via pm or email?

otter 

Jean, love the new avatar!