Has anyone started a forum for Chemo in Dec 2008?

Good Luck to the Monday group -- together we can do this!

Hello Ladies:  Just wanted to wish all the Monday ladies Good Luck!!  I feel like the only one that did not get the decorations up this weekend.  Just to much going on.  My son started to bring up some of the boxes, but he didn't realize that the areas had to be cleaned first.  We came home from Thanksgiving to find a leak in the living rm. ceiling.  So that has to be addressed first.  I did get a nice surprise from my family though.  They told me on Thanksgiving that since most of them live to far and with my Mom being sick that they wanted to do something for me, so they hired a cleaning person to come in every other week to help with all the big stuff.  Which will be so helpful, my hubby is great but with him working I don't want everything falling on him.  I go tomorrow for all my blood work and any other info. that I need and then Tues will be the day!!!!  Still scared, but I know that we all will get through it.  Like I told my kids, I am taking one day at a time.  I also need to call the PS to schedule the 2nd surgery for the reconstruction.  Hopefully I will be able to have it sometime in April.  (They told me to book it now, because his schedule fill up fast). He told me that I still need to have another 3 fills, but I can spread them out.  The first 2 were not bad at all, but the 3rd one I was sore for about 3 1/2 days.

Well I will check in tomorrow to see how you ladies made out.

Be Well,

Colleen 

teachgrade3,

Getting chemo is a personal choice and I know it's scary, but I think that 5-6% decrease is worth it.  My oncol told me that I my oncotype showed I had a 20% recurrence rate (AHHH), getting chemo cuts it by 1/3, so now I'm down to a 12-13% rate, I didn't ask him if it would go down further with Rads and Tamoxifen, which I'm going to do, I hope it does.  Good Luck with your decision.

Hello Ladie

 Well, got all the decorating done this weekend...which is normal for us.  It is our tradition to put up the Christmas cheer the weekend after Thanksgiving...that includes one live tree and three artificial in the house.  Finished up all the outdoor lighting today. 

Tomorrow is my chemo "education" class.  Tuesday I'm off to the plastic surgeon to get my third and probably my final fill.  I was lucky to have 200 cc's at the time the expanders were placed, so I only needed three more fills.  Friday is my first round of TC. 

Best wishes to everybody who is starting tomorrow! 

Teachgrade 3 - I don't think any of us WANT to do chemo...... we just don't want the BC to come back! I'm with CindaD that my oncotype score indicated a high recurrence rate (don't remember the exact figure) which made the decision easy. Before I got the test I was debating whether to do chemo.

But, even so - the whole decision process is a challenge and each treatment has SEs. So being confused is part of the process in making decisions! Is there another oncologist that you can consult? Hearing a second/third opinion can assure you that you are making the right decision for yourself.

First TX on Wednesday - 6 TACX/every 3 weeks.  A bit apprehensive.  My doctor prescribed some valium and although I have always resisted drugs of this type -- I am finding that a little bit helps take the edge off and I do sleep well -- we'll see what happens when I take the Decadron tomorrow.  My Decadron dose is 2/5mg the day before and 2/5mg the day after.  I have been told this is smaller than some starting doses.  Of course, there is also some in the infusion.  Cut my hair 12 inches and got a great wig which I Thanksgiving day to see the reactions - my family all throught it was my own hair - they all wanted to touch it -- so at least that part is over with.  The young butcher at the market told me I looked twenty years younger!  I will shave my head as soon as the first strand falls out.  Leaving the partial bangs long so they will help conceal the lost brows and lashses.  It sounds like we all had an excellent Thanksgiving holiday.  You are all in my prayers -- we are a strong group and I know we will come through this with spirit and dignity. Tuesday night my husband and I will pack up my chemo goodie bag and be ready for the first tx.  I have a calendar set up so I can cross off each treatment with a big red "X" -- and I look forward to putting the first one there on Wednesday night.

Hi Caroline,  I'm soo glad your appt. went well today.  How relieved you must be!  I go back to my onc on Wed. now instead of Fri.  So, we'll see what he says.  I think he's still going to recommend TAC 8 tx every other week.  That's terribly aggressive I think.  At this point I don't understand why unless my oncotype was off the chart and he's counting the micromet as a pos. node.  I don't know.  I'll find out soon enough.  What is Bev supposed to do?  I'm three months from dx and still counting until I start chemo.  If they think my cancer is that aggressive, don't you think they'd move things along a little faster?  I'm also waiting to get MUGA and port insertion scheduled.  Wait, wait, wait. 

I talked with a lovely woman at ACS today.  She enrolled me in a Look Good Feel Better class on Jan. 5.  By that time, all my hair should be gone and I'll really benefit from the class.  She also told me that the Cancer Resource Center at one of the major hospitals here has free wigs.  You just have to call to see when they're open coz they don't keep regular hours.  I have to put a lot of financial stuff together to see if we qualify for financial assistance.  We might have to be destitute before we can get that.  But I'm going to try.  

Lainey, clear margins are wonderful!! Congrats.  I don't really know what we'll do about Christmas decorating.  If it gets done great, if not, well, we have a tiny little table top tree that we got when we were snowed in for Christmas a couple years ago.  We were going to be gone thru the Christmas season and didn't do anything at home to decorate.  Then we got snowed in and it felt so dismal.  We didn't even have anything in the house to eat except soup.  That was our Christmas dinner.   DH did go out and get the tiny little tree with lights on it at Walgreens.  It was one of our better Christmases come to think of it.  

I hope every thing went ok for those that took their first dip in the Chemo pool. I've been thinking about you.

Mimi, thank you so much for the positive report.  You have just made it a tad easier for the rest of us to jump in.  I'm sure you're much more relaxed about all of it now that you've done it.  I hope we all can feel the same!!!!

I love empowerment. 

Oh Mimi! 

It's good to hear that you are feeling empowered!  After reading your post, I feel better already!   OK 12/2 sisters...breathe and relax...this too shall pass. 

Just took the 2nd Decadron.  15.25 hours and counting...and it's the filthy, stinking, rotten cancer cells that have better be doing the countdown too!!!!!!  Their miserable days are numbered!  My days are NOT numbered!

Carol

Good luck tomorrow to: 

Colleen1960     berrypathc       mmliv  msbusdriver and 

LindaBusEd  

Hi girls,

You guys I am still without symptoms, (over 16 hours).  I even slept 7 hours.  I just took my anti-nausea Rx (Zofran).  They told me to take it every 12 hours for the next 2-3 days.  Steroids for today and tomorrow.  I just feel better mentally!  I know symptoms could and will occur, but I will tell the good, bad, and ugly.  Feels so good to know that I have one Rx done, and I hope you all know that you can do this.  Really.  I realize the TC is not as strong as other regeimes, but remember this, your Rx is getting rid of cancer in your body.  We have no control over hair loss, and perhaps I will "crash" when it happens, but we are in control by getting our Rx, resting, and eating well.  I do worry about my job as I am a medical assistant in pediatrics.  I work about 24 hours, and I carry the health insurance.  I will work as long as I can, I pray that my WBC counts stay high enough.  I will cross that road later, and just enjoy my menatl health finally being strong and positive.  I use to be kind of sassy and I was wondering where it went! 

Love to you all and my 12/2 girls kiss butt today!  12/3 your on deck, and  remember to get plenty of water, walk if you can, and eat well.

Mimi

I just found out that hubby was playing online when he got home from work last night. Thought you might all enjoy this, the kids got a big kick out of it when they saw themselves! http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/lCz4JumNMhwmEFaR

By the way, hubby usually does look smarter than that! LOL! I hope I was able to cheer up some of you