Starting chemo January 2009?

Good for you ddlat.  Wow, your neuropathy got better fast.  An hour a day walking is awesome.  Right now all my PS will say is ok to do since the exchange.  You should check out the motivation thread.  We work on encouraging everyone to keep up the healthy lifestyle and keep excercising (most are done with chemo).  With your walking an hour a day you'll be a great inspiration.  My favorite thread, love celebrating "back to real life"  and working on health and having the chemo cruds behind.

Heya Jewels!  Just checking in and hoping that everyone had a nice weekend.

Phyllis, so sorry to hear about the dehydration and the infections.  Hopefully you've seen the back end of those and will start feeling some relief.  It's just that the timing wan't the greatest.  But there wil be so many more Mother's Days, right?

Here's to a great week that only gets better.

Catherine

Phyllis, hugs to you, I hope you feel better soon.  Sometimes a good cry is in order to let it all out

Lisa: Congrats on your walk, it kind of made my eyes tear up when you mentioned kids walking in memory of their mom, very emotional these days.  I just can't snap out of it, but I'll blame it on the Tamoxifen for messing around with my hormones.  In July I am registered in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer in Calgary....it's a 2-day 60 kilometre walk, 30 Km's each day and you sleep in tents overnight and have lots of fun and entertainment.  It's going to be great.  It's a huge to-do and the whole city really supports it.  I REALLY have to get walking every night if I am going to walk 60 km's in 48 hours! 

I am off to my oncologist today to see him about my sore rib, I am soooo nervous and I don't know why, just asking about it makes me nervous, I think mostly because I keep picturing myself bursting into tears when I start talking which I don't want to do at all, yep, I blame the Tamoxifen.  That's my new one, whatever happens, I blame that now instead of chemo lol.  I find I'm really emotional on Tamoxifen and I have gained at least 5 or 6 pounds in a month, maybe that's why some ladies call it "Tamoxifat".  Oh well, I'd much rather be fat and alive, then skinny with cancer lol. 

jilly, I'm glad your doctor is being proactive and trying to ease your mind.....please keep us posted!

Plutz--your daughters are so sweet! Just their thoughtfulness had me in tears.  I'm glad you were "just" dehydrated, but it truly is so much CRAP to deal with, and on mom's day too. I'm so glad you're feeling better, and I hope that your next treatments are smooth--you've been through so much.

Jilly--glad your onc is so proactive, andt I'm betting the pain is from the mast. I've had rib soreness too, and am worried, because it's increased (can Taxol do that?). I'm going to mention it to my onc on Friday. I've also mentioned my shoulder and lower back pain. I feel like he might perceive me as a hypocondriac, but I need to get over that insecurity! Cuz sh...t happens--don't we all know it now.

Holtbolt--I had that same reaction when the phone rang when I was expecting my initial biopsy results and the PET scan results.  My heart just stopped each time the phone rang, and I don't even have caller ID. I've finally gotten over white coat syndrome re by blood pressure (would always go high), after having it taken every week before treatment. Test results seem different--but here's to ongoing good news for all us Jewels!!

Lisa-Good luck with the rad rehearsal, and then the real thing!! I might be joining your May Rads group, but I'm still not sure when I'll get started--sim rescheduled to 5-18, with dry run 5-22. Hope you don't hit too much traffic to and from.

Ddlatt--Great news about feeling better, walking, and having the neuropathy go away. I have just one more taxol friday, and when I walked today after work I really felt the tingling in my toes. I don't want my feet to just go numb all of a sudden and fall down. I talked with my nurse today who said it should go away soon after the last treatment.

I have nose hairs (yuk) but STILL loosing eyebrows. I'm TERRIBLE at drawing them on. And my 3 or 4 remaining lashes look so pathetic with mascara. White fuzz increasing on head to about 1/2 inch with some dark spikes.

kmmd--I really agree about exercise. I feel so much better after I walk. Partly I want to get exercise, but for me being outside is so important.

Phyllis,

Am I understanding you right?  I'll have hairloss from rads on my chest?  Please, please tell me you mean in the area that's being radiated.  Please????

Renrel: sorry to hear the last one was so hard.  DS sounds like such a sweet caring boy.  Hope today is better

Phyllis - I do have hair, or rather, it's coming back with a vengeance...hence the freaked out post   My rad oncologist was pretty emphatic that I would not have hairloss with the treatment so I'm hoping he's right!  P.S. glad you're feeling better and have more energy!

Renrel - sorry you're Mother's day was a washout.  Hope you're feeling better.  Just keep telling yourself you are done!

JillyG - sending positive vibes your way for what I know are going to be good x-ray results!

BerkleyKim - My eyebrows are almost completely gone but I swear I saw little bitty stubbies there this morning.  Hang in there!  I do believe losing them is worse than having a bald head.

Waiting to hear if my left franken-boob has to be deflated more for rads.  When they told me yesterday it might have to be, it was the first time I cried at the doctor's office since I got my diagnosis!  Thank God my plastic surgeon is sticking up for me.  He is certain there are ways around it that won't require that measure.  Wish me luck!!

Have a great day everyone!

Diane

My goodness...this thread was about to fall of the first page!  I hope that means everyone is feeling good and having a great day!

I am pretty frustrated.  After going for my rads simulation on Monday, my rad onc said I need to have the left side deflated more!  This is not the side I will have radiation on, but it is in the way.  That means I will be lopsided (they are taking it down an additional 200ccs).  I am very upset and told my husband I'm cancelling summer altogether.  Between the wig, the breasts and the 11 pounds I gained on chemo, I'm not sure I will leave the house! 

BTW, I started Tamoxifen about 2 weeks ago.  No noticable physical side effects yet, but maybe emotional.  Or maybe it's all of the issues in the paragraph above.

Hope everyone else is doing ok

Diane

Hi Jewels!  When I do my 60km walk in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer I am wearing a white shirt and I'm going to put all the names of women I am walking for on it.....and that includes you!!!  Anyone that wants to give me their names, please private message or post it here if you are o.k. with that and I will add you to my shirt.  I want a constant reminder that day of what this walk means to me.  You ladies have helped me through this year more than you could know, so I would love to include you that day.  Thanks!

Jill

Jess--Yeah, get another opinion.  I would have thought that this was soemthing that would have been decided awhile ago.  Your other doctors should not be "surprised" by this. In my case, after my lupectomy, I was reviewed by a "tumor board."  There everyone was involved in what my treatment would be based upon the nature of the tumor.  That plus your own instincts on on your rad onc...?  The last thing you want at this stage is to second-guess yourself.  The decision to do rads may turn out to be inevitable, but at the very least, you should feel comfortable with knowing why and the people who will be doing it.

Diane--Sorry to hear about the deflation.  But you know what?  This is just one summer.  It's gonna suck on some level no matter what our situations in comparison to what we thought it was going to be a year ago.  But it's just one summer.  There will be others.

Also to everyone finsishing chemo and about to start rads, for some reason I went into a real dark funk in the weeks between.  Just an FYI.  I wasn't on tamox, I can't really say why exaclty, but there's something about doing rads that has a weid effect on some people.  I've noticed it on other forums with people who started rads in March and April.  Not all of us, but enough that you can't help but notice.  So, maybe that'll help in not making you freak out more than necessary because you find yourself in a bad place mentally.  Just an FYI.

And yeah, it is nice to see the thread get less active.  Wow, January...can't believe how long ago that seems on so many levels.

I couldn't have been able to say that with all of you Jewels.

Catherine

Gah!  Jess, I'm sorry to hear that.  Definitely get a second opinion if you can.  If it doesn't go the way you want I'll be happy to be your "rads with a TE" buddy.  Hopefully your situation won't be as frustrating as mine.

Good luck!

Diane

BerkelyKim--What got me through the final round of chemo was beng able to "dare" any side effects to give it their best shot...because this was going to be their last chance as they knew it.  Wanna mess with my tongue?  Bring it on!  Gonna try to make more hair fall out?  Give it a shot because it's your last one.  Try to zap all of my energy?  Fine...I've got ambien cr.  I'll sleep right  through it.  It was a bit empowering, especially at that stage of the game.  And after the first week following the last dose, things get better even more so because your strength is building only not  for the next round(because there isn't one!)  No, you're healing and putting that dstance between you and chemo.  Once you're mind and body realize that you're not gettin dosed again...its'  going to be great.

 I'm cheering you on!!!!!!  And give yourself a mental vacation.  Don't try to work out issues or think about what the future holds.  Give your head a break as well.  Nothing major needs to be thought or figured out right now.  You're gonna be great.  I'm just excited for you for finishing chemo!!!!

Catherine