Starting Chemo May 2008

Just catching up after a self-imposed computerless 48 hours.  Randie, it's so good to hear your (cyber) voice again . . . make that, it's so FECKING good to hear your voice again. 

Sue and Rock and Roxi and Kristy and others who are dealing with radiated skin in various stages of redness and soreness and rawness -- sorry.  It truly sucks, to finish chemo and then have still more crap to deal with. 

Kerry, about your yellow fingernails . . . are they dying from the top down?  And are they really tender?  I'm two+ months out from my last Taxotere, and my nails look worse than ever, and are so tender that I can't do anything that puts pressure on them.  (Which turns out to be a lot of things . . . unknotting shoe laces, opening milk jugs, etc. etc.) 

Random stuff . . . my standing in the "Greatest Mom" competition (and isn't it great that each of us operates in our own private divisions?) is rising on the basis of picking up Cheezits without needing a reminder, baking gingerbread for dessert and supplying the materials for a kickass pirate costume.  (On the latter, it was gratifying to see a couple of my chemo scarves, never-worn silver chain belt, and what-was-I-thinking baggy trousers put to good use.)

Linda

Wow WOMEN! So much of your conversations to soak up and soak in. I don't know where to begin. I miss you all. Ran...so glad you are back. Okay, so I have been not feeling like blogging or facebooking or even writing here. Why? Like most of you, I go back and forth of trying to find my "new normal" to being overwhelmed with next steps (looks like an oof for me...hoping for this year...could we all get together and do it at once? Maybe put our ovaries in an egg carton and sell them?) I am feeling really, really good physically. Back to working out regularly. Hair and brows and lashes continue to make new inroads as well as unwanted facial and leg hair. Still searching for nasal and pubic hair but that's too much information I am sure. Denver sounds good to me, but I'd go anywhere to catch up with you--even Tasmania. I am pulling for the girls still working through chemo...you are almost there. For those on herceptin (like me too, Jen) though we have a long, long way to go, the side effects are not like they are for rads and this is supposed to save our lives so we have to reframe how we look at this....all in our own time, though. As Adrienne will tell you, our autumn here has lately been fabtabulastic! The colors are amazing. Just went up to BC (not Breast Cancer but British Columbia) to spend a bit of time in Victoria...a late anniversary trip. We are doing better . . . seeing a therapist and trying to work through stuff. I am thinking of all of you. I will also try to get my holiday shopping done with you, Noelle. It's simple for me to do that. Remind me where your web site is....I love seeing many of you on Facebook and will continue checking in here, but I am trying to keep up with my so-called normal life and that is taking up lots of time. I hope we all have a fun Halloween. Adam is going to wear his regular clothes and post a sign that says, "Nudist on strike." talk to you soon.

All of you gals are s-o-o-o-o nice and so bloody funny! I laugh out loud at least once reading these posts..it's great at the end of a day. Linda my nails are quite strange and I can't really work out what is going on with them. Three tips on my right hand have been so tender..like yours, but that has stopped now. The white nail tips are fine, but the parts connected to the fingers are yellowing from the top down, have some bands across them and I have only 3 moons out of ten! I'm not that worried about them..I guess I will be REALLY worried if they start coming loose . I'm more concerned about the spare tractor tyre around the middle. It's like..I've been concentrating on getting through one day at a time and now that I'm feeling good again I'm starting to notice everything in detail..from the muffin-top look to the embarrassing pile of 'to do' at work. Oh well...I haven't forgotten to play the cancer card just yet!

Noelle! What do you call a 'little' race? How long after you started moving the body again did you start to see jumps in aerobic fitness, and general strength? I'm hanging on your every word here!! XXXto you all.

Roxi/Mary,

What I got to soak was called Domeboro soaks, over-the-counter.  If the rads burn gets worse once you are done, ask for Silvadine cream which is antibiotic and very soothing....

Hope you don't need this advice. I went back to the rad onc a weeek ago tomorrow in intense pain and today is the first day I've been able to wear clothes all day...

Yes the silvadine is soothing, you can slather it on and cover up the raw spots--but I couldn't wear ANYTHING (referring to clothes here) for about 5 days...

Kerry, I was in a swim course 3 weeks after chemo, and started racing 6 weeks out. Until recently every workout made me painfully sore for a week or more.

 From what I can tell the nails are from the first chemo. If you think about how nails grow, the damage was months ago and the cells of the nails bed got all fecked up at the same time as the hair follicles did.The growth you are seeing at the top is that damage. I felt fingertip pain until about a month ago which was 2 months out of chemo. My toenails still ache from closed shoes and KILL me after I run.

Randie, you seem in great spirits. I like that! 

 I meet with the genetic counsellor on Wednesday. 

I have to work for another hour.

 Night night! 

 N

Is it perverse to get so many laughs out of a group of traumatized women??? I'm thinking this thread should be called 'Starting Fat Ass-Growing May 08'. My scales actually went down by about one-and-a-half pounds since Sunday. This is significant, believe me, because I need visual encouragement..I'm not getting any from my jeans! I walk the dog out the back of our house, and the spring grass is knee-high. I deliberately avoid the walking track and head through the grass (where the snakes are waking up.....) because it's like walking through snow..I have to step really high and quite deliberately. Good for the thighs (I'm hoping!). The dog is comatose 20 seconds after we get back. I'm comatose by 8pm. I keep counting my lucky stars about rads..I really do feel for all you girls..you are my heroes.  Ran, I'm glad you like your new doc. It makes all the difference feeling confident and happy with the person who is saving your life! Noelle, thanks for the info..stuff like that keeps me motivated...Even when I have TWO..RanD!.. TWO banana and date cakes in the oven as we speak. Not a morsel will cross my lips..sigh..XXXX

Randie-reading about your new doc, I remembered my first encounter with my surgeon back in March--He walked in and I looked at him and said  "Yep, you're a Patterson"  We have known his Dad and Mom for several years, but hadn't met him because he was in school.  He got a big kick out of it (after I explained that I knew everyone in his family except him!)

Kerry-banana/date cake sounds good!  With a big cold glass of milk!

Cris-hope that your daughter is feeling better.  Sorry for the delay in rads.  It just sucks!

Most of you are finishing up with rads and I still have 2 rounds of chemo to go.  Won't start rads until probably after the first of the year.  

Today is lab day!  The first round of Taxotere didn't drop my counts like the FEC did-hoping that they haven't dropped this time.  Oldest grandson's birthday party is Sat. Don't want to miss it.

Happy Tuesday!

Rock is done?  YEAY!!!!!!

WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo! Rock is done!!!!!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!

YEAH.......ROCK IS DONE! I'm so happy for you!

Mary 

Yeah Rock - congrats on being finished.  You now get to try to drag our tired a$$e$ out of the water as we all approach shore again.      LOVE the new avatar!

I have 8 radiation tx left, followed by 5 boosts to the scar.   I am a bit concerned that the boost is not to the chest wall since the margin was only 1mm.  Sorry that I have not posted much, but I have been over the top tired.  I spent the weekend preparing the house for the winter - yes it snowed here in MN on Sunday.  Came home from work yesterday and went to bed at 7pm. 

Jen - my doc is having me push through the hot flashes without anything - at least for now. 

Sue - Hope the skin heals quickly and thanks for the tips on how to treat it. 

Noelle - I have not done much with facebook (very obvious), but it is great to see everyones eyes!!  My toe nails hurt having the bed covers lay on them.  Ouch!

I plan on hanging around on this website until we are all through with our various treatments.  You have all been there for me and I will stay here for you as well. 

Off to bed. 

Jean

Who HOOO HOOOOO HOOOO ROCK ON!!!!!

Okay, I went to the ob/gyn oncologist and she was wonderful!!!! Anyway, she scheduled my oofers for mid January so I can rest up from rads.  She also took a Pap (yuck, I hate them every since I looked at what the spread us apart with...seriously, who the fuck came up with that medieval torture device????) Anyway, the one interesting thing was that she said that she read and believes that tamox is counterindicated during rads since it slows down the rate of growth of the cancer, which makes rads less effective. Why the FUCK didn' t chmeo doc tell me that before she gave me a year's dose and told me that it wouldn't be a p[roblem to take during rads...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The other hing was that I told the gyn about all of you guys an she wants to know if therer is a similar site for gyn cancers.  She thought that a similar support system would be wonderful.  I told her I wudl ask you all and she gave ne her email addy to send info her way.

Date cake,,yummmmmmmmmmmmm,

Rad sim tomorrow, on to watch my tivo'd House, randie