Anyone starting Chemo in August 07?

Juju is a West African word that refers to kind of a supernatural force. I think it is technically used for objects, but I have sort of bastardized it to equate with karma, voodoo, that sort of thing. Mostly cause I just like saying juju.

DeAnn, I'm really happy to hear your friend is doing so well! That is remarkable.

Speaking of bad juju, it seems like we go through waves of it on bc.org, with a lot of deaths all at once off of the mets board. One of the gals had been doing poorly so it was not a surprise when she passed. Another one had been having iffy scans that weren't completely conclusive for bone mets, and it wasn't even clear if she really was Stage IV. She'd just had a PET that showed her liver to be perfectly fine, then had a repeat scan two weeks later which showed her liver completely riddled with cancer. Then she suddenly died. While on Xeloda. So, these sorts of things give me pause to wonder--how the hell can we ever be sure that we're OK? We go in for some scan and they tell us it's fine, but things can change in an instant. I don't understand. I supposed it's the same as not knowing if we're going to get hit by the proverbial bus every time we run an errand, but still....

On that cheery note, my MRI has been rescheduled for Monday. Whoo hoo. However, overall I have had a good week--the cellulitis is gone and I feel much better. My baby boy turned 7 yesterday (how did THAT happen?!?), and we're having a party on Sunday, so that will be fun.

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all when our little thread isn't active. 

Hi Nash and Kaye... good to read you gals, even if the subject is not so fun.

today I have my mom's wig fitting - I went with her last week to check color and cut, and this week the wig-lady should have it ready for her - good timing as she just had last week her first cycle. It was quite fun actually, as the lady remembered me perfectly well - and imagine that - had kept for me for TWO YEARS a pair of sun glasses I forgot there. I guess chemo brain for me started prior chemo: I didn't even know where I left them, and they were prescription sun glasses. How the heck did I walk out of her shop and drove home????

Mom is taking the chemo quite poorly. I don't know if she is a lot more sensitive to the products, or if she is simply older and weaker - and maybe also that she is a bit of a complainer to herself (I really don't want to sound crass, but she has always been one of those persons who find issues in every situation), but she has been terribly sick and tired. Now it is day 6 after the first infusion, and she is feeling better - finally. It all doesn't sit well with my dad either, who is now prone to tears and to hide it picks fights with everybody.

Will life ever be back to normal? or rather, what is normal? maybe this mess is normal. My next check up will be on the 24th of feb. I feel quite serene thinking of it... I have a long list of questions for the doc. Then, another one in early summer (3 months), before switching to the 6 months schedule. I wonder what she will think of Zometa... after mom's dx, I would like something to protect me further...

Nash-ie... I keep forgetting how many rounds of this "mess" you have been cheerfully going through. But sorry - I don't like much the "new normal". I find it unsettling on a good day, very distracting from what one is supposed to do with life... gosh, what do normal people do every day, when they don't have to call doctors endlessly? 

Anyway... we had a somewhat nice lunch - me and dad trying to carry out a conversation, while my mom was explaining out loudly what kind of activity her insides were feeling up to. I guess the folks at the next table of the restaurant must have fully enjoyed the conversation

It was almost fun trying on all those wigs - she had a very good looking set of fitted wigs for mom, and she was able to pick one that actually (but of course I didn't tell her) looks better than her hair looked in years. she almost - almost - had a smile on at that moment. 

I have to say that - yes - going through it again with someone else is even harder than the first time around. It is really doing a trick on me.

Well tomorrow is another day.  

June--whoo hoo! I'm so happy you had an interview today, and that it went so well! Keep us posted!

 Lilith, yeah, new normal sort of sucks. I have no idea what other people do all day--I went through quite the culture shock last year when my treatment ended and my mom died, which actually, all occured within three days of each other. Anyhow, I was thrust back into the world of van driving sports mommies doing Target runs, which is actually what I was doing during treament, as life had to still happen, but now I was doing it without the constant medical crises, which was just sort of weird. And it's so hard to relate to people who just haven't had a lot of crap happen in their lives, and who get worked up over everyday pettinesses. It's like we've got our own subculture as cancer patients.

Cancer dominates one's life, especially in the beginning. So it sucks to be going through all that now with your mom when you're trying to settle into a non-cancery existence of your own. I totally understand. If nothing else, the image of you having lunch with your parents while your mom was discussing her innards was pretty funny.

Jackie, yeah, my kids were 5 and 8 when I was diagnosed--they're 7 and 10 now. Both are terrified of getting cancer, given that three of their grandparents have died of it and Mommy had it. Probably a valid fear, but I try to quell it as much as possible. And every time I go to the doctor, my little one says, "But Mommy, I thought you were done with cancer!" Breaks my heart. But anyhow...

I am SO sorry to hear that Ann's MRI showed another spot. Crap, crap, crap.  Big hugs to both of you. I do understand how you're feeling with her, though. With my family members, I got so upset I was physically ill. Couldn't eat, and my blood would literally run cold. I will never forget the day I went with my mom to get her surgical path report. It was one of those, "Oh, and do bring a family member with you" appointments. It was bad, bad, bad, and I really thought I was going to stop breathing. 

And I see how stressed my poor DH is. If he or the kids were sick, I think I'd come completely unglued.  Whereas with my stuff, although it sucks, I can deal. I have always said that it is much harder emotionally to be the caregiver than to be the patient. 

So, again hugs to Lilith, and extra hugs to you, Jackie. And to DeAnn, with her MIL. I'm sorry that this is all going on--we obviously are caught in a web of bad ju ju. I always thought that somewhere in a past life I pissed off some cancer gods somewhere, and I'm obviously not alone.

Oh, I forgot.  The receptionist wanted to give me back my cookies.  I would have eaten the whole friggin box at that point so I told her to keep them.  LOL.  Could you imagine taking them back?  Too funny.

OMG, Jackie--I would have had a conniption. I hope the rest of the staff appreciated the cookies at least. That is pretty outrageous. There should have been both a letter and a phone call, especially to patients who had upcoming appointments. Ugh. It reminds me of the time I took DS for a followup ENT appointment, and they neglected to tell me they had moved offices. That was exciting. Fortunately the new office was just up the street, but still. Sheesh.

I don't know if you need to find a new surgeon. Probably. I'd see what the onc has to say about it. In the meantime, enjoy your trip to NYC--sounds wonderful!

Lilith--I'm a raw batter kind of girl myself. Yum. Sounds like you had a nice day. 

We went to Stars on Ice yesterday, which I go to every year. There was hardly anyone there, which reinforced my decision to postpone our little show. The economy is just the pits right now.

Well, I'm getting ready for DS's b-day party today. Both DH and I have raging colds, so this should be interesting. At least it stopped raining, b/c I was starting to panic about what to do with a dozen small children, other than have them run amok outside.

Whoa,Jackie! That would be very upsetting for me if I found that one of my doctors was just gone! I can say, however, that the 6 month follow-up with my breast surgeon was a complete waste of time. Especially since I was seeing the plastic surgeon on a regular basis at that point. I just got the quick look and was out the door in five minutes. So, I don't think I'd try to find a new one unless you were having some issues.

I'm thinking about you and Lilith as you cope with family going through this disease. I'm going to the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday with my MIL for her second opinion. Then she'll get started with rads and chemo next week, I think. I hope she tolerates it OK. She's going to probably be getting Carboplatin and Taxol. I had Taxol, but not the Carboplatin. Did any of you have that drug? 

Oh, and I think my natural hair color is starting to come back! So, I'm going to get my hair colored back to blonde tomorrow! The red was fun for awhile, but its time to go back!

Hey, what is everybody doing during the last two weeks of August?  My MIL has her 60th birthday this September and her 40th wedding anniversary. She has always wanted to take her grandchildren to Disney, but I really don't like Florida much, so we were thinking we would take everybody to California to Disneyland instead. Since I have family there, I can stay for cheap, and since both Nash and Kaye are there, well, maybe we could try to sort out a little reunion!  The last two weeks of August my son's summer daycare program is closed, so it seems like it would be good timing before he starts up with school.  So, I'm throwing that out there to get y'all thinking about it! 

DeAnn

The last two weeks in August would rock, DeAnn. Just let us know.

My mom was on Carboplatin for about a year, then randomly had an anaphylactic reaction to it, and had to stop it. Otherwise tolerated it well. Good luck with the Wednesday appt. at Mayo--let us know what they say. 

Whoo hoo on the hair! 

I go for my reschuduled breast MRI Monday morning, which should be interesting since I can't breathe and have a nasty cough. Hack, wheez.This weekend was unfortunately extremely busy--we had house guests for the party, then the party ended up going way longer than anticipated--in fact it moved next door b/c I was too pooped to go on, so that gives you an idea of how things went. Meaning, the adult end of the party went really well, but I just couldn't hang with it anymore. I think I'm throwing myself into a bit of a frenzy, with the anniversary of my mom's death coming up on the 15th. In order to cope, I run amok. At any rate, I'm going to bed now after I pop a Nyquil. Love to all.

Wow, interesting article. The advances they are making in figuring out the hows and whys of all of this are amazing. Like Lilith, I sure hope none of us will ever need any of these advances, but if we do, it's pretty exciting stuff.

I've wanted to check out that book, Lilith--didn't realize they'd made a movie, too. Will have to watch it.

Well, had my MRI Monday. Onc called at 8:20am this morning. When they do that, you know they're not calling just to chat. Anyhow, they saw something on the "good" side, and I have to go in for an MRI guided biopsy. 

I'm hoping this is a case of false positive on a new machine with a new radiologist, and not something that has popped up since last year. My last two MRIs have been clear on that side, so I'm not feeling too optimistic, but will obviously reserve judgment. 

My first biopsy wasn't MRI guided--have any of you had it done that way?