Starting Chemo February 2009?

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  • susan13
    susan13 Member Posts: 732
    edited July 2009

    Grace-Thoughts and prayers are coming your way!   Hopefully it's just a scare, did you just finished chemo??  This darn disease needs to leave everyone alone.  Someone in my rads group just found out she is stage 4, and she just finished rads same time as me in May.  Just really really REALLY hate this!

    and thanks for the compliments everyone.

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  • Denali
    Denali Member Posts: 347
    edited July 2009

    Susan, your little girl is precious--you should enlarge and frame those photos!  And your hair!!  What a beautiful mama your little girl has!

    Grace4me - I'll be praying and sending positive thoughts your way.  My bones/joints ache so much (and I haven't even started taking Arimidix yet) that I can't figure out how they can tell when it's a problem or not.  Please let us know as soon as you find out because you'll be on our minds.  Wished we had a plane at our service to fly out and be with each other at times like this.  So for now you just have to imagine us all standing around you, giving you hugs of encouragement.

     Apple:  LOVE the funny photo.  Your sense of humor is a gift.

    Kerry:  You're going to do fine today!  You'll wake up, it'll all be over and you'll weigh less!  A little less anyway.

    Helen:  You're great!  I can just imagine each of us going to the oncologist and growling:  Gimme my chemo and no one gets hurt! 

    I'm feeling so GOOD these days.  After my last chemo and then pneumonia, I thought I'd never feel good again.  Trying to finish the quilt I began during chemo.  I'll always think of it as my chemo quilt.

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  • MicheleS
    MicheleS Member Posts: 937
    edited July 2009
    Helen~ They tried to cancel my chemo once too.  I started sobbing hysterically and making a bit hullabaloo in the waiting room... They relented and gave me chemo.  Wink  Good job staying on track!  So, did you see the neurosurgeon again?? Update please!!!
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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited July 2009

    Good luck Kerry--I'm with ya in spirit.

    Helen--YOU GO GIRL!!! You got more nerve than I do. I'm glad it all worked out.

    Hugs to all my furies!!!

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  • gcpommom
    gcpommom Member Posts: 883
    edited July 2009

    (((((((Grace))))))), I'm so sorry you have to go through this.  Hang in there, and know we're all with you....hopefully it is just 'suspicious' and turns up to be nothing at all.

    Kerry:  Thinking of you today.....(((hugs)))  and a quick recovery to you!

    Kim:  ((((hugs)))) to you, too....I remember being very emotional during rads, cried every day it seemed.  45 mins does seem like a very long time to be on the table....don't think I was on the table more than 15 min each session. 

    Helen:  oh, you're almost done!!!!  Yay!!  Enjoy that cookie dough....who says you actually have to bake them? lol  Good for you for being assertive, even without your Glock, lol....I can just picture that scene, he he...."nobody leaves until I get my chemo...."

    Jaimie and Michele:  I'm still having joint and body pain from the Taxol....don't rule that one out yet!  I may still join the study you are in....haven't yet read the paperwork.  I had a bone density scan, and figure I'll be put on one of those meds anyway, I'll find out next week.

    Susan:  omg, she's soooo cute!  Great pic, too! 

    Apple:  lol, great joke, and pic....Glad you're feeling a bit better, I think the beautiful weather helps, I know it does for me.  I've always thought ooopherectomy was a strange word, too!  Why not ovarectomy???  What the heck is an "ooph" anyway?

    Michele:  Sane??? Me???  lol, I try.  Julia comes home today, so we can get back to "normal" around here, whatever that is!

    Bethie:  oh, that sounds awful!  Your poor skin!  i hope it all improves soon, and you can move on with your tx's.  ((((hugs))))

    Linda:  Hi!  Glad to hear you are feeling better....are you sewing a quilt?  Post a pic when it's done, I'd love to see it!

    I'm off to hammer together some boards to mosaic on.....my worktable is warped, so I can't work on the table there.....At a standstill on my son's room while DH sands the floor (I'm not going near that dust with my asthma acting up). 

    Hugs

    Judy

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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited July 2009

    Judy-- Thanks-- I'm tempted to take the whole week off, but I called in for today anyway.  They tell me I did all the right things.

    Apple-- Love the pic!! It's a classic! Great story too!

    Susan-she's adorable!!! give her lots of hugs for me!!!

    Jaimieh and Michelle--I agree with Judy; I had muscle aches/joint pain-similiar to arthrithic feeling.  We've all been through hell and back again, but come hell or high water we're getting through this!!! RIGHT GIRLS???!!!

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  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited July 2009

    Sorry gals for being MIA for what 370 plus posts?

    The site changed up and it was taking so darn long to load up the pages that I was getting too frustrated and then I got so far behind on the posts that I gave up on this thread for awhile.

    I have switched over to using Firefox to load up this site and it has helped tremendously so I am back in the saddle so to speak - and really I am because I am going to ride my horse today.

    Just as a quick update - I had my lumpectomy and there was no cancer.  In fact I went to the surgeon 2 weeks prior to surgery and he could feel the lump although it was small - it had started out as 4 CM.  The day of the surgery he couldn't feel the lump so I had to go back down to mammography and have a wire inserted.

    Can we say that hurt like *$&#^^#^#&#.

    5 hours later than my scheduled surgery I finally went in.  The surgeon removed a large chunk 6.2 cm x 5.2 x 3.0 and the pathology report showed no cancer just scar and fibrous tissue.  So I guess all the crap I went through with chemo came out perfect in the end.

    I start radiation on August 6th.

    I can't even begin to go back all of those pages and see what has been going on because of lack of patience but I am starting new in this thread and will start keeping up with everyone and where they are in their treatments.  I sure have missed all of you! 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited July 2009

    just popping in to say hi and see how everyone's doing ...

    Grace, keeping all parts crossed for you, darling.

    Kerry, smooth surgery vibes comin' at you.

    Jancie, so glad to hear your good results!

    Michele, love seeing you so happy and pretty!

    Judy, so glad jane's coming home. I think of you two often.

    Apple, lol ... I so love how you can always see the bright side.

    update: finished chemo may 13th. hair started growing back two weeks later, i now have 1 inch all over. (yay!) after much debate, my oncologist and i decided against rads, since i only had one node involved. (but i may reopen the possibility when i see him in sept. i'm second-guessing fast & furious.) had my exchange surgery july 8th, and i'm lovin' the new gals! working on dropping the chemo weight (18 lbs, snarl). about to start a free 3-month diet/exercise program for recovering breast cancer patients, sponsored by a local hospital. feels good to feel good again.

    hugs all around ...

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  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited July 2009

    Lisa - dang your hair is growing fast!  My last chemo was May 27th and my hair is only 1/2" long and it has been 8 weeks now!

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  • gcpommom
    gcpommom Member Posts: 883
    edited July 2009

    Jancie:  Hi, so glad your lumpectomy was negative!  Yay!!!!! 

    Lisa: Good to hear from you, so glad you are feeling well.  I was just reading your posts in the "hair" thread, you have quite a bit. I just posted my hair pic there, but here it is for you guys

    I colored it yesterday:

    hairdyed.jpg picture by gcpommom40

    It's kinda 'tan' in color, and all the gray didn't cover, but at least it's not salt and pepper anymore.  The brows and lashes are back--I have so many lashes coming in, it looks like I'm wearing eyeliner (which I do not wear or like)! 

    Hugs

    Judy

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  • gcpommom
    gcpommom Member Posts: 883
    edited July 2009

    UUUGGGHHHH!!!

    Well, Julia was discharged from the hospital this afternoon, but thanks to some a*hole doctor--who decided that the extremely rare bacteria found in her blood was probably just a contamination at the lab---even though she's had this same bacteria before---we are now back in the ER.....her fever spiked up again after being home for only 5 hours.  They stopped her antibiotics yesterday when they decided she probably didn't have a blood infection.  I am so angry right now.  On top of that, we have to sit here in the ER waiting forever to be seen...we've been here since 11pm, and still haven't seen a doctor, and she looks really sick.    I hate this. 

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited July 2009

    Oh, Judy, sending hugs your way. So frustrating. I have come to the conclusion myself that there are many "not so good" doctors out there. Anyhow, hope you have got her home or at least comfortable.Your hair, BTW, is looking great - you have lovely eyes! I remember when my eyelashes started coming back how dark my eyes looked - I think we just get used to seeing ourselves with naked eyes, and it looks odd for a while.

    Jancie - great to hear from you! I have been wondering what had happened to you. I am so happy for you at your complete response - certainly makes all the suffering worth while!  Good luck with rads - I found it to be not difficult at all, and it went by really fast.

    Lisa - great to hear from you too! Your hair is looking great. 

    Grace - you continue to be in my thoughts. Let us know when you find out something.  I hate that you have to go through this.....

    Well, yesterday went fine. The Surgery went well, so I am now ovary-less. Or ooph-less!  I have three little band-aids on my tummy. I feel a bit tender in the whole area, but no real pain. I am still a bit bloated with the gas, and getting some shoulder discomfort as that escapes. But all in all it was pretty straightforward. I was very sleepy when we got home yesterday, but they had let me stay in recovery until I felt OK, I remember thinking they made me leave too soon after my Mx. Worse thing about the whole procedure was the anesthesist trying to find a vein - three tries in my poor Chemo-riddled veins. But thanks everyone for your good wishes!

    So, hope everyone has a nice day today. I still have Gramma here to help, so will try and take it easy while I can! 

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  • MicheleS
    MicheleS Member Posts: 937
    edited July 2009

    great news Kerry! so glad it went well.

    Hugs for your DD Judy.  I hope she is better soon.

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  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 7,799
    edited July 2009

    Judy - I envy your eyelashes.. i have one or two long ones on one eye and a few short white ones.. bleegh

    Jancie - nice to hear from you and that you are doing well.. hope you can check in more often.

    thinking of you Grace

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  • Artemis
    Artemis Member Posts: 759
    edited July 2009
    Judy ~ Good grief!  That's awful!  I hope you'll report that doctor or something.  At least kick him in the behind!  Your poor daughter; I'm so sorry this happened.

    Kerry ~ So glad the ooph went well for you!

    (((Grace)))

    I'm off to rads number 21 in about an hour or so.  My skin is holding up pretty well.  All around my incision feels very dry and looks overly tanned.

    Hugs to all,
    Artemis
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  • MicheleS
    MicheleS Member Posts: 937
    edited July 2009

    apple~ what is it with loooong eyelashes??? I have a couple really long ones (so long they hang down!) and a few really white thin ones. That's it!!  I also have arm hair that is insanely long. so strange.

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  • Grace4me
    Grace4me Member Posts: 47
    edited July 2009

    I just left the hospital and refused to leave until the radiologist told me...............90% postitive NO Cancer!!!!    She is the same one who read my MRI.  She said that she had to side with caution, but thought it  might be the result of the chemo in the bone marrow settleing.  They are going to follow up with another MRI and if it is still there when they repair my muscle tear in that same shoulder they may biopsey the area just be certain............(I did not know I was going to another surgery???), but who cares......................NO CANCER!!!!

    All Praise to Jesus and thank you all for your prayers!

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  • Artemis
    Artemis Member Posts: 759
    edited July 2009

    Yay!!!!  Yay!!!!  Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!!! Yay!!!

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  • MicheleS
    MicheleS Member Posts: 937
    edited July 2009

    SmileSmileSmile

    WHoo-hoo!! Great news Grace!!

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  • Jaimieh
    Jaimieh Member Posts: 2,373
    edited July 2009

    Whooo Grace.  I am thrilled :) 

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  • living4today
    living4today Member Posts: 215
    edited July 2009

    Yipee Grace!!!  Include me in the cheering! 

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  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited July 2009

    It is great to read all of the updates on what is happening with all of ya'll.

    Apple - missed you!

    Grace - great news!

    Judy - Those eyebrows and eyelashes - awesome!  You inspired me to look to see if I had any eyelashes coming back and yes I do, however very short.

    MicheleS - how are YOU doing?

    Jaimieh - how is your hair coming along?  I am tempted to go get some colored mouse (ok I don't think I spelled that right) to see how much hair I actually have since I have this silver/gray and white hairs.  I so want my blonde hair back!

    I finally had to shave my armpits for the first time and my leg hairs for the second time now!   

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  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited July 2009

    Kerry - glad your surgery went well - now just take it easy and relax!

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  • Gramof3
    Gramof3 Member Posts: 301
    edited July 2009

    Grace, Kerry   Happy Dance!!  dancing chicken wearing sunglasses animated gif

    Jancie,. Glad you're back

     More later--off to another conference...way tired  Frown 

    hugs to all   Helen

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  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 7,799
    edited July 2009

    great Grace!

    jollyhooya as we say in Kansas

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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited July 2009

    Gracie--YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!

    Jancie--Gladm you're back--missed ya!!!

    Kerry--Glad surgery went well!!!!

    As for me, I'm out of work all this week because of setback #2 with the radiated skin breaking down faster than it's healing.  Letting it air out.  Also regarding setback #1 with the walking pneumonia, today was follow-up to chest x-ray for the pneumonia, and I'm all clear-no more pneumonia!!!

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  • Beverly11
    Beverly11 Member Posts: 443
    edited July 2009

    Hallelujah Grace!!! 

    Glad to hear you are doing 'ok' Kerry.  Let Grandma help you out as much as possible.

    Love the eyebrows and eyelashes Judy.  I still seem to be losing mine & my last chemo was early June.  

    Bev

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited July 2009

    Hi guys - well, spent the day in bed yesterday, I was pretty sore and still a bit tired. Think I feel better today, less gas discomfort too. Watched 4 movies though!

    Grace - I'm thrilled for you! 

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  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 7,799
    edited July 2009

    i've been writing down a story.. of my trip long ago to Greece, my return to the states and all the trouble i had.  breast cancer is a piece of cake in comparison.. i'll post the story later when it is all finished.

    i'm redoing the girlchild's room - transitioning into big girl stuff... vacuuming  every knook and crannie.  thank goodness i have pain killers that really work.

    i take hydrocodone   - a tylenol/ codeine combo.. my doc and nurse said they are safe to take long term  (every day forever) but i am doubtful.  I take 4 now.. used to take 2 daily.  I can take up to 8 a day within safe guidelines.  Anyone else take this stuff or have read about long term side effects?

    Glad everyone is surviving.

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited July 2009

    Apple - is that for pain caused by Femara?? That sounds terrible, to be in so much pain. Do they think it will get better as your body "adjusts"? That is the same pain killer they have given me for the Surgery.....

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