Clinical Trial E5103

Kari,

CONGRATS on your last Avastin !!!!  :)   I have 3 more to go. Stay strong, you are such a great motivator to us.  You have stayed the course with the avastin and have done all that is possbile. It is time to get back to your "new normal"and have a great long life

Deb:)

Thanks girls!!  I just love the support we get from one another!!

Deb, 3 more girl!!!!!!!!!  Woo hoo!!  

Mary, so HAPPY you are feeling great!  #3 Taxol DONE!!!!!!!!!!! 

Had my first Acupuncture yesterday.  Wasn't quite what I had envisioned.  Didn't feel much different right after, but having to lay on that hard table for 20-25 min on my mx side caused my neck and shoulder to ache!  Good Grief!  LOL!!  Anyway, was quite the piggy when I got home and very tired.  Next week is acupuncture #2, so we'll see...

Thinking of you all!  Tomorrow is my big day!! 

Mary, I thought of all of us this a.m. that are on this trial!  That's what is getting me through this!  It will be my 25th infusion via my veins, and let me tell ya, I will be celebrating after this for sure.  My veins have about had it on my right arm.  I start getting very anxious when they go to stick the needle in.  I will have my last MUGA in 2 wks and there goes 2 more sticks, they have been having a tough time with my veins!!  I remember my ECHO as well, laying there on that mx side was very uncomfortable.

So after the acupuncture, my hip pain has really flared up!!  hmmm...hope treatment #2 goes better!

Thanks for your support.

xoxoxo, kari 

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Mary, thank you!!!!!!!  I thought of you and the others yesterday and was telling my clinical trials nurse about this thread.  She was so impressed that this trial was a topic! She said she was going to tell one of the other gals who is on the Avastin.  The nurse got the vein in my hand first time!  She said there is a lot of scarring on my veins.  I asked if they would recover as my onc said they should.  The nurse said yes in time with lots of resting them!  Well 2 more pricks with my MUGA in 2 wks...the lady that does my MUGA's (this will be 5th one) always says 'ok Kari let's see how long this will take'...she's so sweet to me about trying to be gentle with me.

So my oldest daughter calls me as I'm walking out from the hospital and says 'so how did it go?  When can you see about reconstruction?'  I was like Hold on, geez I just barely finished Avastin!  Another hurdle down! 

I am now cheering the rest of you on through this trial!!!!!!!!!!  

I felt very strange yesterday morning, misty eyed and such...had sent the office an email saying I'd be back late from lunch due to my last treatment and I got such lovely emails back telling me I was their hero and that my strength and positive attitude was an inspiration to them.  I started crying at my desk.  Then when I went to the chemo room, the nurses were so happy and hugging me, even saw my onc in the hallway and she gave me a big hug then returned to the office with a round of applause!  Today, one of my coworkers brought in a cake for me!  Lucky girl here.

Have a great day! 

Kari- Sounds like you had a wonderful day!! I had to laugh at your DD talking about recon. LOL No rest for the weary, huh?   I'm so glad that you are done and that your veins will recover. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!! You truly are my inspiration!!

Hugs, Mary

I posted yesterday but it didn't take!! And now I see Brena's post is empty...something wrong with my computer??  hmmm  I'll try again.

Thank you girls for your support and kind words and now I will be cheering you on!

Keryl, where do you live?  I waved to you yesterday, haha!  Tahoe was supposed to be cooler but nice I hope!!  Heating back up today, yikes!!

Hope everyone is feelin good!

Congratulations Kari!  After all this, you'll waltz right through the MUGA.

I figured out something a couple of weeks ago--my veins are "rolling" when I go in for my lab work and sometimes the nurse ends up "digging" for one in my hand.  Last month, before I went to the lab, I put some of my Emla cream on my arm and hand.  It worked--even though the vein was hard to get, I felt nothing.  Not sure it should be used that way, but what the heck...it sure felt better than repeated sticks and digging.

Hope you all are having a good evening.  Helen

HI ladies!

Your #4 is going well today!  Thinking of you...hugs~

Helen, what is Emla cream?  I need that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  my veins have been doing that for months!

Brena, I had posted and something happened to my laptop at home and it didn't go through.  I looked online for that article!  Fabulous pics!!  What fun!!!!!!!!! 

Hi. I am in Tahoe and it is a great evening. Makes me feel totally alive. very cool. 

Kari, I live in Walnut Creek (bay area) and have a second home at Tahoe. It is a 50 year old cabin but very charming and just right. Such good therapy for me - fresh air, exercise, out of the rat race and a great pace here. My kids will join us this weekend. Very fun. 

I have my 3 month check up and blood tests on 8/21 when I return. All has been well, BUT get this, I have an itchy breast on my good side. WTF!!! sorry. No one medically seems too worried about it, but I am.  For those Avastin recoveries, I am 5 months out of it and still have some nasal stuff, but not so bad. I think it is worth it.  It is diminishing every month. 

More of an issue is my radiation recovery - lots of stiffness, needing attention. Doing ok.

Love you guys. Have a great week 

This thread has been quiet! Just checking in. My BP has come down with the higher dosage of meds. Basically, still no side effects from the Taxol. A little bone pain, but handled nicely with Tylenol. My poor bloody nose is my biggest issue. And I have a little sore throat. Not exactly sore really. Just sometimes hurts when I swallow. Tomorrow starts the cycle all again. Labs tomorrow. Chemo on Tuesday. Sure seems to roll around fast when you do it weekly!! Didn't I just do this?? LOL  Oh well, that is good. The time passes quickly! They skipped the Avastin last week because of the BP, so the plan is to give it this week. Best of all- my hair is most definitely growing!

Hope everybody is doing well. Today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. I sure hit the jackpot the day I met him!

(((Hugs)))

Mary

As usual, I'm soooo behind on reading/posting here.

Mary,  Belated Happy Anniversary! 

Kari,  Mary is right on target about the Emla cream.  There are probably other brands available, it is a prescription drug, and I love it--just wish I had thought of using it before blood draws earlier!   I'm going to ask for a prescription refill when I see my onc Friday.

I did have a bit of a scare in the past few weeks.  My onc ordered a brain MRI after I fell down in July--he just wanted to check things out.  Sure enough, I have a brain lesion and though it's small, because of the bc and TN status, the radiologist recommended I see a neurosurgeon.  Neuro said he was 90% certain it wasn't malignant, but if it did need to be removed, I would be a "good candidate for the gamma knife."  Told me to come back for follow up MRI in 4 weeks.  Fast forward:  the follow up was yesterday and the lesion has not grown.  So, I'll have another MRI in 3 months---another doctor and appointments to keep up with, but I'm pleased with the good news.

Can anyone please tell me what it means to "pull the tumor markers" at a 3 or 6 month checkup? OR "My tumor markers were elevated."   I read that on another thread and when I asked my research nurse, she didn't understand it either.  She just said, "The markers don't change."  Help??

Hope everyone has a good evening!  Helen

Hey ladies....for those of you thinking of going on the cruise....go to this link and at the bottom of the page you can enter a drawing for it to be FREE! 

http://www.breastcancerwellness.org/cruise.html

Had my 5th MUGA (last one) today:

My clinical trials nurse left me a vm regarding my results. She said my MUGA score went down more than she expected it would! My heart ejection fraction measured 51% this time, the lowest thus far! Pre-chemo was 66%, then 56% during chemo, then 62% after chemo, then 60% in June now 51%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She said my onc will probably want to talk about getting a repeat echo or the bigger piece of the puzzle would be clinical symptoms??????????  

My onc was on  vacation all last week, we'll see if she wants to repeat the test.  I called my nurse and talked about the MUGA results, this scan was run on a brand new machine and she commented that a few people have had low scores lately...hmmm

Mary, can you believe this week you will be halfway thru Taxol?  That's awesome!  You are doing so well.  That nose thing is awful though, I still blow my nose constantly and at times it just hurts so much.  Not bloody anymore thank goodness.  Glad you got to go camping and have some fun.  Don't push yourself too much.  I was the same way.  You're getting there, halfway!  WOOHOO

Keryl, very NICE! Tahoe for 10 days!! YAY!!!!!!!!!  But sinus issues, NOT good!

I will have to try the neosporin in the nose, mine was killing me last night!  Air conditioning or dry air makes it worse...that's weird that its bothering you now in Tahoe though.  You were supposed to have blood work done last Friday, did you ever get it done?  Glad your nails are almost normal, mine are growing nicely, but still flattening and weak.  Oh...what about that itchy breast, did that clear up?

Hugs ladies, we're making it!  WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!