Has anyone started a forum for Chemo in Dec 2008?

I had Taxol 11. One more to go.  So far so good. No major SEs. My hair is growing but I might shave it off since it doesn't look like my old hair. It is too thin.

Have a nice Memorial Week-end!

Simvog - All right!  Almost done.  When is your last?  I want to make sure I'm on the boards so I can yell for you!

Is anyone else still plugging along with chemo?  If so I hope you have a SE free day!

Sonia 

Damn it, Texas.  You don't need one more thing.  It does seem as if it will never end.  I have never heard of all these bizarre side effects from other chemos.  The taxotere is rough!!!

Congrats, simvog on being almost done.  It does feel good when that part is over. 

Texas...sorry to hear about the additional surgery!  It stinks!  You are strong though...and you will take that one more step on your road to beating this damn thing.

Texas, sorry about the tube One more thing.. hopefully it will be the last.

Firni, hope it starts growing soon.

Hi,

It's great to catch up on posts and see that everyone is doing reasonably well. 

Texas -- sorry about the tear duct problem and the need for tubes.  You really didn't need that after all you've been through, but hopefully it will be a fairly easy procedure that fixes the problem.  My eyes tear a lot now too, but I haven't been to the eye doc to see what's wrong.  Could be that taxotere did a number on my tear ducts too. 

Today will be #18 rad treatment for me with 10 to go -- should be done on June 8th.  So far the worst part is going every week day -- it's very tiring and I'm dragging by the end of the week.  Also seeing a lymphedema therapist every week and will be getting a sleeve and glove soon.  My LE is pretty mild, but it's in my hand and that is supposed to be hard to deal with.

I tried to change my avatar to show you my new and extremely short gray, white and brown hair, but couldn't figure out how to do it.  Take care everyone. 

Bonnie

Texas - So sorry to hear about your tear duct problems.  It does not seem fair that so much has happened to you.  Hopefully this will be the last hurdle you have to get over.

I just got home from the beach.  Both kids were off today.  My daughter's school was closed all week due to 8 confirm cases of the swine flu.  It was crazy around here, but hopefully she will be back in school on Tuesday.  I want to wish everyone a great Memorial Day Weekend.  And that everyone is feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Colleen

Texas, I'm sure it was you, when we first started posting here and we talked about chemo and how we were both so healthy that instead of being hit by a mac truck we'd just have to deal with mini coopers. HA  I think you and I have had the worst SEs with yours being even worse than mine.  How long do you have rads yet and do you have you tear duct surgery scheduled yet?  I do hope you enjoy your nap so you can enjoy the show tonight.  I'm sorry that your family is so unsupportive.  Maybe they should have gone out to see you while you were having treatments and see for themselves what chemo can be like.

Went to my friend's daughter's funeral yesterday.  It was a very nice funeral as far as funerals go.  A beautiful tribute to her daughter.  So sad and so scary.   

Texas, all the AIs are very expensive because there are no generics.  Some insurances pay all but a small co pay.  My insurance has all the AIs listed as a tier III med and they only pay 30%.  So my monthly cost would be about $200.00 per month.  When I told my onc that he put me on Tamoxifen instead of Femara.  SO maybe your insurance won't pay enough for you to afford taking the AIs.  Sure beats arguing about SEs.    I've only been on the Tamoxifen for 2 weeks but so far, no SEs.  If you do go on Tamox, have your Onc do a liver metabolizer test to make sure it will do you any good.  Or you could look into DIM.  Some of the women on the alternative threads swear by it.  

You know my MIL watched the Farraw Faccett movie the other day and while watching it she began to understand what it was like. She said I always looked so good that she never thought I might have had that many SEs. Reality is that she never saw me at my worse when I would go 2 days in jammies without shower & make-up and could barely stay awake. Of course, I didn't get it as bad as some of you, I think I got out easy on the SEs, but when she would see me, I would be dressed nice and looked nice.

Anyhow, my BIL (who's only 20) went to the dr yesterday morning complaing about lump on the back of his throat. Well, she is sending him to a throat specialist, she thinks it can be stage 1 (how can she stage!) throat/mouth cancer He's still young and a party boy, smokes & chews tobacco! And NO health insurance. All we can do now is wait & see, I keep telling her that he CAN'T be dx with cancer the day I'm done with tx!!

Caroline, that's really scary for your BIL. Hopefully it's not only good news but also a wake up call for him to tone it down with the chew/cigarettes.

Firni, it is very stressful for our loved ones to see us sick for this long. I didn't watch the special because I wasn't in the right place emotionally and was afraid I'd get too depressed. Maybe by the time they repeat it, I'll be ready. I'm beginning to see my old optimistic personality emerge more each day.

Caroline, I can't believe a doctor would tell your BIL something like that without any tests.  He must be terrified.  I remember a few years ago I was getting my teeth cleaned and the dentist stopped midway and said he noticed a blue speck on my gums and suggested I get it checked because it might be cancer.  I freaked out!  So I went to a specialist and it turned out to be a vein!  I will hope and pray that it turns out to be nothing for your BIL.

Good afternoon all!  It really feels like a Monday!!!!

I had a great weekend.  Very relaxing.  Got to eat crawfish and drink a few brews.  Good time!

I'm sorry to hear about your BIL Caroline!  I too am interested to hear about DIM.  I'm sure it won't help me since I'm trip. neg.

Thanks Lisa!  I'll check these out.

Sonia

Thanks Lisa, I read those, but still not sure I get it. Getting late... since it does the same thing as Tamox, then it wouldn't work for triple neg, right? Any SEs? I wouldn't think, but it might be worth trying since I'm still unsure of my true ER status, might be tiny +.

swest, how long are you hair now? I'm debating about it, mine are very much gray right now, but I know the grey will go away when it starts growing more and I get my first cut. I'm scared the roots would start showing way to soon since I have so little hair on my head, plus I'm unsure as to what color my hair will be, I wouldn't want to keep dying my hair after it grows back, and scared I'll end up regretting it, so I think I'll tough it out! But if you do dye your hair, make sure you use a natural one with no harsh chemicals.