Has anyone started a forum for Chemo in Dec 2008?

Hi

Today Ihad tx 6 of 8 of CMF. So I started in November and will be going on for another 6 weeks...does that make me the last to finish?  

Mandy  What is the date of last TX exactly. Mine is the 13th of April. I started Dec. 29th 2008. Well we are in good company.

I admire all you bold, bald, beautiful women..... I too am one of those who only goes out covered. I guess I am really ready to be back to a normal life and hair has always been a part of that; though when the weather gets warm I will probably ditch the hat/wig when I exercise!

Tomorrow I finish the last of 16 dose dense radiation treatments...... only a bit of soreness in the armpit area. The rad onc says that effects can still appear for 4 to 5 days after the last session, so I will get some cream to reduce discomfort.

Even though I am done with chemo and soon to be done with rads, the journey continues..... Apr 1 starts the Femara stage.

Mary L 

Morning after treatment #6 -- and I was up all night from the steroids. ZERO sleep. My eyes are so watery that it looks like I'm crying all the time. The tears run constantly and I wipe off any eye makeup within minutes, so even eyeliner is useless. They may send to me to an opthamologist to get my tear ducts flushed. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm hoping it eases up during my week off next week.

Good luck to everyone who is moving on with rads/exchanges. We'll all get there eventually!

Hi Colleen!  I hope your moodiness is just temporary! When I was first DX with BC my gnyo called and suggested I start taking 1000 of Vitamin D.  So I've been taking it everyday.  I hope all your tests go smoothly and you can stay on schedule with your date of 3/26! 

Hi Divas.  I hope you are all doing good today.  I'm feeling good and very excited about tomorrow.  I wonder if the SE's will be easier since mentally I know it's my last TX.  I was thinking about bringing something with me tomorrow for the chemo nurses.  Maybe I'll pick up some cookies or something. 

Caroline, that's so funny about your MIL.  I'm glad she didn't freak out or anything! lol

Have a great day everyone! 

Good Luck tomorrow Elaine!  I know you are ready to wrap this up!

Congrats Mary on being done with treatment So did the radiation made you more tired than normal?

Hard to tell if it made me more tired; I started radiation 2 weeks after chemo treatment #4 - so improvement I may have felt from chemo side effects abating were probably cancelled by the radiation SEs. I am pleasantly surprised by how little redness/rash/soreness I've experienced during rads.

My goal now is to lose the weight I've gained before I start Femara April 1st. THAT is the portion of our treatments that concern me..... five years of taking AIs!

I'm taking baby steps with going bald around the house.... thank you all for that encouragement! Still not bold enough to go bald in public..... maybe when it gets warmer I will have to! 

 Mary L 

Congrats to all that are finishing and have finished up.

Horsecn and Mandy what can I say. I have 2 more to go and it seems like a 100. I am soooo anxious to have this over with. I am jealous of the gals that have SE for just a few days. I am sick for a week and a half and them BAM I feel OK. I really like the decription  that it feels like you have been injected with toxic expanding foam.

I do need to make appointments for a good rad onc. I am going to set one up at City of Hope and At St. Joesph's Hospital. We will see witch works out better. My onc is in Beverly Hills but it is too long a drive to do on a daily basis. It takes me about 45 min to get to BH.

Hae not made my mind up on ALS. I will wit to see my hormone levels after chemo.

I have so much work to do and I am so tired of being tired. I can only do a little at a time. I still do not know how anyone could work full time during this. I have to work next week and am bringing an assistant with me to carry some of my equipment, so I will have the proper energy to take great shots. (photography)

Hope everyones doing well to day. Spring is here. The promise of eternal life and new beginnings!

I am starting Taxol tomorrow. I will be done, if I can make it till the end, by May 29. After that I will start the alternative treatment. No rads or hormone therapy for me. As soon as I feel fit I will have the prophylactic surgery on my right side.

My MIL had the biopsy done. Done have all the details yet but it spread to 2 lymph nodes for sure and one has a tumor growing inside.  She will start with chemo then surgery then chemo and rads. The good news is that she does not have mets in other parts of the body. TG! Tuesday she goes to have the port installed and she stars chemo next Friday.

Thank you all for your support!

I'm SO dragging today. Stomach hurts, nails hurt, eyes watering to the point where I can barely see. My oncologist is sending me to an opthalmologist to get my tear ducts flushed out. Otherwise, he says they may scar and then I'd need plastic surgery to re-open them. Oh boy, huh?

Simvog, what kind of alternative therapy are you planning? I'm very nervous about the AIs but don't know that I'm brave enough to refuse them. I don't want to go through all of this again!

Hi Divas.  I finished chemo yesterday!  I was so happy to get that done.  When I met with my oncologist he told me he was really proud of me for handling it so well.  I think I was beaming when I walked out of his office.  I met briefly with the radiation doctor during my infusion and I talked to his nurse after I was done.  I'm having a planning session with her next Wednesday to get my a tatoos and other information that I need.  My rads will begin on March 30th.  No SE's from the Taxol yet but I'm expecting them to show their ugly face by this evening.  I plan to start popping the ibruprofen right after I finish my lunch.

Simvog - I hope all goes well with your 1st Taxol today.  Please post and let us know.  Hopefully it will be easy on you. 

Love and hugs, Elaine

Way to go Elaine!  I hope you have an uneventful evening and no SE's!!!!!!

Elaine -  WONDERFUL!!!!! Hope the SEs are manageable and no new ones pop up! Good luck with the radiation planning; I too started radiation about two weeks after my last chemo treatment. I finished radiation Wednesday and am already feeling more energetic now that chemo and radiation SEs are disappearing. Will you be done or do you still have surgery?

Mary L 

Woohoooooooo!~!!!! Congrats Elaine!