**NEW** Starting Chemo March 2009
Comments
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ginagina - Thanks for making the change on my cocktail!
Sakura73 - Thanks for the tip on the Vitamin D; I'm actually taking supplements because my D level was fairly low. Pics will be coming soon! Promise!
NanaA - Actually my cocktail is Taxotere, Carboplatin, and Herceptin. However, I do know many ladies, such as yourself that is taking Taxol. I believe they are somewhat in the same family.
NYDeb48 - I have sensitive skin as it is so I guess staying out of the sun would be a wise choice for me. So where in NY r u from? I grew up in Queens then lived on Long Island for about 11 years.
Ricki13 - I'm pretty fair-skinned myself but every once in a while would be nice for me to get some color. And with my husband being hispanic and dark-skinned, we look like an oreo cookie on a hot summer day!
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mmdj43 - I live upstate in Naples , a small town in the finger lakes. My son dated a girl from Long Island all through college. She lives in Massapequa. They were planning on moving to Queens, but recently broke up.
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When I was given Adriamycin (sp?) at my first tx, the nurse did wear protective gear. I wouldn't call it a haz mat outfit but he was protecting himself. He was cool about it though. He also made sure I was protected incase anything dripped where it wasn't supposed to, which it didn't. I guess we have to realize these are truly harsh chemicals they are putting into our systems. I just keep reminding myself that it is all to help me live a long and healthy life.
The family is taking me out for a belated b-day dinner tonight. I am already thinking about all the things I want to order because I've been able to eat the last couple of days!! My mouth is getting worse with sores and I have a funny feeling on my cheeks but I was prescribed this "magic mouthwash" to use if it gets too bad. I just hope it doesn't get worse during the day so I can enjoy dinner tonight.
Lastly, I actually slept last night!! YEAH! I switched back to ambien, then propped my pillows into more of a sitting position. I got about 6-6/12 hours of sleep. I feel so much more energized today.
Best of luck for tx's today!
Cyndi
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Good luck to everyone getting treatment today (gina, rusty, ccbaby!!)
I hope everyone has a great weekend, and feels really good!
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Lots of posts since I last checked! Didn't I check yesterday? Man, you guys are active!
And of everything, what stuck with me more than anything is 125,000 chickens. OMG!
My hair is buzzed. It started to fall out yesterday, and my wig appointment was last night, anyway. The woman at the wig place tried cutting it very short, and it looked awful. It actually looks better buzzed, but it makes me sad. The wig. Well, it might just be worth the money. It turned my deep frown upside down. It looks like me on a really, really good hair day. I guess ... me on the way home from the hair stylist. I'll put pictures on snapfish and try the instructions.
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Good Luck today to gina,ccbaby, and rusty.
my tongue feels like it has a sunburn today and everything tastes wrong and my hands and feet are freezing.
i told my cancer last night. SILENCE!!!...... I KILL YOU... ( i am a huge Jeff Dunham fan--he is a hilarius ventriloquist check him out on you tube for some good laughs)
MichelleinSJ: I'm glad you turned your frown upside down,i hope mine does the same when my time comes. you must have gotten an excellent wig because your picture looks great with your real hair,(i could only wish i had hair like that to begin with).
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Sessna1,
Just wanted to tell you your posts make me laugh. Keep writing the long ones! So funny about the metal incased needle in the metal incased box for the PET scan. I thought the same thing!
Thank God for these boards. It is so nice to have others going through exactly what you are at the same time.
Nicole
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After cutting off my ponytail on Wednesday ...
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. . . and?
What happened? Inquiring minds want to know . . .
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NYDeb48 - When I first moved to Long Island, I had moved to Massapequa; funny thing. Sorry to hear about your son and his girlfriend. I'm sure he'll fine another sweet girl that he'll just fall head over heels for and marry.
MichelleinSJ - Can't wait to see your pics. I still have to post mine. Hopefully I can post over the weekend.
marshall2000 - You crack me up! I have to check out the youtube vids of Jeff Dunham. Too funny!
Everyone have a wonderful weekend!
Mary
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Facebook ???? - Tried to join on Facebook - it says you must be invited to join the group. I guess I just wait until I'm confirmed. Is that right?
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PattiB - It looks like you were confirmed on FB.
MichelleinSJ/mmdj43/Sakura - can't wait to see the pics.
Anyone else having mouth issues? It feels like to top of my mouth has been scraped and I am developing more sores. Why does it have to be the one night I want to go out to dinner? And I have a killer headache.
Re: skin care - I switched to dove and have noticed a great difference in my skin. It is much softer and smoother than ever. I hope it lasts! I'd like to have one good thing going on.
I hope everyone has a great SE free weekend!!
Cyndi
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I hope you can enjoy your dinner. Try not to eat anything too hot that might burn you. I for some reason am on a fudgesicle kick. I tryed sugar free bananna popsicles but they didnt do it for me.
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Hi GinaGina ... my cocktail should actually be FEC x 3, T x 3
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Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend.....
I just got the call that my $50.00 wig has come in....errr I have to go pick it up tomorrow. I still have no signs that the hair is going but I am on day 9 and know my days of hair are numbered
I will post my pictures as soon as I have to shave my head with before and after.....Great to see so many of you on the facebook group! Welcome to Patti our latest member! I love everyone's photos. Keep them coming!
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Hi All,
Gina..How are you..Hope your chemo went well today....
Just love the new Cocktail..My we ladies are just sooo Hot....
Deemdee..Welcome to this board. . We are all here to support you in your treatments...
CCbaby...Hope all went well with you today. Yes the unknown is always the worst..We were all so anxious not knowing what the treatment would be like.
Well I am officially on Facebook. My hair is falling out like crazy but it was great that I cut it. I will keep it until it really looks bad and then I will shave it. I have three wigs lined up Unfortunately I believe mine look nice but thsy do look like wigs. Too perfect.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs to all..
Francine
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Hello Ladies,
I think I'm becoming a grouch. My support system pretty much sucks. Most of my family lives far away and all I really have here is a boyfriend who tries when he can, a best friend who had a baby ten weeks ago and a friend that is 45 mins away. I think if one more person says you need to eat more I am going to scream. I'm thinking well bring me some d--n food!!!
My mom can't come visit beause she has strep and some other leaking infection. So that just leaves me to fend for myself. I thought I would be so wired from the decadron but, all I've been doing is sleeping off and on.....so exhausted.
sessna1 - thanks for the post. The wig people seemed so nice when I was spending money but, when I wanted it back it was a different story. I just went to the shop and had a minor breakdown so, they just gave me the wig with no additional money!!! The owner was still very rude throughout the process so, of course I won't be going back there for anything.
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nasharayne.......you are entitled to be a grouch! I find it very therapeutic! I am sorry your family is far away...I am lucky my parents live near me and my next door neighbor I could not live without. She helps me with my kids, etc....are you on FB yet? Please feel free to PM me or join us on Facebook. We are all here for you whenever you need us!
Diane
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I really liked the fudgsicles too. I second the making sure you don't eat anything too hot. Normally, you burn your mouth a little it heals in a few hours- not so after chemo. I had a mouth sore for a few days. now it's just slightly sunburnt feeling on the end of my tongue. I have TMJ (jaw messed up) a little- instead of grinding my teeth I press my tongue towards the front of my mouth (unconsiously)- I think doing that wears on my tongue now and it doesn't heal. Spicy foods also are bad. And soft foods are good. I ate a bunch of crackers and my esophagus burned for two days.
Michellein SJ- I hope you can figure out the snapfish to post here- your wig looks great (assuming that's the wig on your new FB profile?) It looks great!
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gymmom - day 8 my mouth felt really bumpy, cottony, with a strange taste. but there were'nt any visible bumps. Today I'm not feeling the bumps and the cottony aftertaste is almost gone. I have been sucking on ice pops, and icebreakers citrus breath mints.
Didle 20 Diane - I think we both started TC 3/11 and I have no signs of hair loss yet. I cut my hair a little shorter a couple weeks ago and everyone has been liking it better and saying it looks the best it has in a while (even people who don't know about the chemo) isn't that ironic!
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Patti, wow, we are chemo mates...my next as you can see from my post is 4/1...I am trying to do all Wednesday's...nice to know someone I "see" online is with me at chemo
I want to get some pictures taken before my hair is gone....that is my mission for this weekend. Keep me posted if you have any signs...I haven't yet. I wear my hair in a ponytail so everyone is going to know something's up......my friend got so many complements on her wig when she wore it...they all thought it was her hair, looked great, great highlights. She ate it up! And how easy it was to get ready for the day...2 minute shower, put in wig, get out the door! -
Hi1 I'm 10days post Tx and I still have my hair and my mouth is good! I rinse 3 times a day with the baking soda! My wig is in the closet so the dog doesn't get it! and hopefully I can wait until next Thurs for the Buzz! Have a great weekend! Dawn
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Well, I got through my first treatment today. I had a bad allergic reaction to the first drug, Taxotere. Within 5 minutes, my chest tightened up, I couldn't breath and my face turned bright red. They had to adjust that to a smaller dose and start all over again. It was a little scarey. My husband and I were there all day from 8:45 to 5:30!! So far, I am very tired and a little hungry.
Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts!
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ccbaby....Congratulations on your first chemo treatment..one down, great job ~~~ sorry you had a reaction to taxotere. I am glad that you still got through the treatment with a smaller dose....I know it is a bit easier to tolerate than the adriamycin. Rest up and DRINK lots of fluids. Can't stress that enough. I have you in my thoughts tonight!
Diane
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As promised -Mohawk pix -Sorry this took so long -my daughter had a private blog and had to open a new one:
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Datadrudge: Great pictures. Looks like your family made the best of a bad situation! You look great! Some people can just pull off the shaved looked so gracefully....
Those who had treatments today...cheers! Enjoy a SE free weekend. Everyone else...enjoy the few days before next rounds begin.
Now that the nausea has passed, I have terrible heartburn/indigestion. Anyone have a good drug? Prilosec, Zantac, Mylanta, Pepsid...... Tums and Rolaids were NO help! Just another drug to combat yet another side effect. I have never had so many combinations of drugs in my system my entire life. It seems like I take something to combat side effects of drugs to combat side effects...what a cycle!
If nothing else works, I'll knock myself out tonight to sleep!!!
Take care all,
Chris
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Datadrudge - I LOVE your pics on you blog. It looks like you all had a wonderufl time. The pic of you and your husbsand is priceless.
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gymmom8 - Pics will come over the weekend. Stay tuned! Sorry you're having mouth sore issues. Have you tried the ice chips? I've heard many say it helps. This is probably a stretch, but what about Cool Whip? Tastes yummy, soft enough and real creamy (ok, i'm not even going to even try and describe what this sounds like; must keep mouth closed
)nasharayne - Keep leaning on us. Know one else can understand what we're going through except for ourselves. I can't tell you how many questions I wrote down to ask my Onco with much thanks to what I've read in these threads. Btw, which wig shop did you go to? I went to the enormous one over by the University Area (spent nearly 3 hours there; huge store) and got 2 really good human hair ones.
ccbaby - I'm sorry to hear you had a bad reaction to the Taxotere. It's so frustrating to know that you can still get a reaction during Tx 2 and so forth. My second one is on Tuesday (3/24) and I'm a bit nervous about it (had no issue with the TCH the first time).
So my chopped haircut is now thinning out quickly. I know it's just a matter of a couple of days before it'll all come out but i've got my wigs, so 'it is what it is'.
I know many of you have switched to Dove, but what have you found to be a good face moisturizer? I was using Olay's Micro Sculpting Cream and I love the Olay product line, but I started using an Avon product that was given as one of the free products from the 'Look Good Feel Great' class and I must say it is pretty heavy with hydration (which I hear is highly recommended during treatments).Another question........are we supposed to limit our sugar intake? My Onco and the nurses never mentioned it but I keep reading about everyone's limitation with sugar. There's been speculation about sugar feeding the cancer but I don't recall hearing that it's been proven. Then I was told by other BC Survivors to avoid coffee and soy products. Why would that be the case? I wish the Onco nurses could provide a list of foods/products to limit or eliminate; would make our stress levels much calmer.
Mary
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Hi gals - well today was TC #2.
It did not go as expected. I got through all the pre-meds and then when Taxotere started, I had a major reaction - just like ccbayby and Chick717. Bright red face, problem breathing and MAJOR spasms in my lower back. I felt like I was having contractions and in labor. No nausea/vomiting or diarrhea. They stopped the chemo, added benadryl and ativan and more saline to my mix and watched me like a hawk. It took 2 seconds to get their attention when it started to happen, but about 20 min to get all the SE to calm down.
My first question was: how much Taxotere did I get into my system? They said I got ONE DROP. Onco wanted to relevate after about 1/2 - 1hr (about 1pm). Unfortunately, with so much benedryl (now 100mg) and Ativan, I fell into a long deep sleep and didn't stir until about 4pm. There went the entire day. Conclusion: Onoc doesn't want to keep me on Taxotere, so we are going to switch from Taxotere to Abraxane, and will restart TX #2 next Friday 3/27.
Now I need research what this Abraxane stuff is all about. OY.
G.I. Gina is long gone. Now I present you with SPLOTCHY GIRL. My scalp is white (same as you NYDeb48, and lots of sporadic stubble. This little spiky stuff is prickly and hurts so the sooner I get it off the better. Onoc nodded and said that it should stop hurting when all of it is gone.
Side note on glasses: My glasses prescription is about 2 years old and I could use and upgrade. I mentioned it to onco and he said the chemo and steroids will both impact my eyes negatively, and it is best to wait until we are finished with chemo. I think I might go to the drug store and invest in a pair of the $5 glasses so I can read the posts on bc.org better.
I love you all. I think what keeps this site interesting is the sum of its parts and contributions. I know it can seem overwhelming some days to read everything, but that is what makes it interesting to me. My pic here is from this morning and is posted from Facebook. Got love it. Technology and everything....though I did dry to post that pic earlier today (hub took on his camera phone) from the phone to the flicker and from there to here all using the iphone. It just isn't there yet....but it probably wont be for long.
Ok. I am planning to get a good night sleep and reset my expectation for the coming week, given that everything has been pushed out a week.
hugs
gina
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