Starting Chemo May 2008

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  • rock
    rock Member Posts: 1,486
    edited September 2009

    Robin: The Crescent rolls... while I didn't quite follow the metaphor (I had a lumpectomy), I think that I too will never look at the Pillsbury dough boy the same way again!

    Otter -- lump.  duly noted.  i had an area i was pretty darned sure was just scar tissue but it was a relief to have my onco give me the all-clear.  I haven't had an MRI or a mamm since January 2nd and am not scheduled to have one until January 2010. I don't know why, but after an initial, "are you surrrre?" I'm completely fine with this.  If cancer is going to come back, it will come back whether I have a million scans or none. I was really happy, though, to see "my" oncologist.

    I will keep my fingers crossed, Otter.Also, please know that we are still a safe place for the freak out, no matter how irrational or unfounded or improbable the fears.  We are never too sane, too grounde, too chill to lose our sh*t from time to time.

    Lots of love to everybody.  (Jen, your reminder of my earrings... oh, the good bad ol' days!)

    I'm good on the supplies!  My period is pretty light. And I really am curious whether I'll get it again next month.  I don't even know how I feel about the mooncup. I just remember girflriends here talking about them (I'd never heard of them before) and being a little sad that I'd never get to try one.  Who knew. Who knew.

     

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  • drcrisc
    drcrisc Member Posts: 836
    edited September 2009

    Yay, for port oustings, clear scans/mammos/ultrasounds, celebrations!!!

    Rock - I have been on the period see-saw.  Back and gone, back and gone, back and...Stopped last October and returned in January...stopped in June, had hotflashes for 2 months, and back last week, but very light.  It will do whatever it's going to do at this point.  I think my onc wants to check my hormone level this fall which will be good information, but won't change whether it comes back or not! 

    Otter - It's good to go away, but sometimes better to come home.  I'm still negotiating with the compression sleeve.  We've had a run of exceedingly hot weather and I don't think it helps when it's this hot. 

    My dh made a huge bookshelf in a room we are trying to make into a "den" upstairs and brought all my books (textbooks from grad school, Star Trek books, loved books from childhood) upstairs.  They are in stacks all over the room and both girls said "Whoa!" when they saw it.  I need to sort them out (keeping or donating) but just looking through them was like a time-warp.   I missed my books!!  (Ahhhhh...T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" - a classic!)

    Happy Labor Day Weekend!

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited September 2009

    Christine, that is FREAKY! I have been thinking back to my end-of-chemo, which was Sept 26 last year and this jumped into my head: 'I should have been a pair of ragged claws, scuttling across the floors of silent seas'. That's how I felt..I WAS those ragged claws. I can't believe you love that poem..how cool! And how cool is everyone's news..that is so nice for a change. It's Fathers Day here, and it's been a really nice day at our place. I even made pavlova for dessert, with whipped cream, green and yellow kiwi-fruit, strawberries and a starfruit. James (13) showed Alex (16) the end of the starfruit and said,"Looks just like a star!". Alex, in classic grumpy 16yo style replied, "Looks just like an a$$hole". James nearly peed himself laughing..rather than being really rude, it has become really funny. For example, when the Ginger Ninja was licking his..you know..James said, "Look! Rusty is cleaning his starfruit". Sometimes it's hard in a houseful of males....Anyway, I've had too much pav..Eddie's pound-a-week diet is a arm's length at the moment. Oh well, back to it tomorrow. Hub is taking the boys to Queensland next week for 7 nights and to tell you the truth, I can't wait. I'm looking forward to a silent house, snore-free sleep..all of that stuff. I'm not going because I don't do water, and they are going to be doing all the theme parks. I get to get my home in order..sigh..is that even possible? I love hearing about 'dens'. It means..well..the future..looking forward.  Rock, I laughed my head off about the period, and the moon cups. I haven't had a period since 1994. I can remember trying those cups back then because my periods had become unmanageable. What a fiasco! Suffice to say, I ditched the cups.  Well girls, I'm off to bed, and hoping to get a good sleep. Otter, what is a ..chigger? XXXX

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited September 2009

    Kerry, I will never look at a starfruit or the back-side of a cat again, without thinking of your story.  :)

    Ah, ... and, "What is a chigger?"  Chiggers are the bane of summers here in the Deep South.  They are the reason I no longer harvest blueberries from our blueberry bushes.  They are the reason why I shy from the long walks I'd love to take along the woods roads and fields and creek bottoms on our property.

    Chiggers are larval mites.  Here's a picture of a chigger, magnified hugely.  They are very, very tiny--I cannot see them without a magnifying glass.



    Like ticks, chiggers hang out in grass and weeds, and will grab ahold of the skin of a leg, arm, or other body part passing by.  Like ticks, chiggers insert their mouthparts into the skin and inject stuff to inhibit clotting.  Their plan is to suck bodily fluids.

    I've heard widely varying stories about what happens next. Some people say chiggers burrow under the skin; others insist they do not burrow but simply bite and inject their salivary goodies. In any case, some people (like yours truly and her dh) develop very itchy, red spots at the site of a chigger bite. It's an allergic reaction, no doubt. Here's one version of the story: http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/chiggers(008).shtml

    Here is a very good example of the result of chigger bites. These occurred under someone's sock. They tend to occur in warm, moist areas where the clothing is compressed against the skin. (Use your imagination for even more lovely and uncomfortable examples):

    Fortunately, it's getting late in the summer, so chiggers are less common and I can safely and comfortably take those long walks on our woods roads. I'm still not sure about the pond banks, though. Maybe it's the thought of encountering a water moccasin in the deep weeds...

    otter 

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited September 2009

    P.S.:

    You women really are like sisters.  Even better than sisters. Before this past week, I'd never heard of a "moon cup."  No joke.  My imagination didn't even get me there--I had to Google the phrase.  Now, I'm thinking, "Wow--wish I'd known about these 20 or 30 years ago!". 

    'Course, I'd never heard of tampons until 2 weeks into my freshman year of college, when a dorm-mate gave the women on our floor a lesson on their selection, purchase, and proper installation.  My life was never the same after that.  You mean, you can go swimming during your period???  And, you don't have to be married (which is what my mom had told me) to use them?  (I was soooo naive. I had wondered if she meant you had to show your marriage license to the pharmacist, to buy them.)

    Love you all...

    otter 

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  • Roxi65229
    Roxi65229 Member Posts: 462
    edited September 2009

    Ladies, 

    Great news for clear scans..!

    Life has been so busy lately but I always think of all of you. I had liposuction on Friday to cultivate fat from my inner thighs and transplant it to my new breast. It needed some fullness and lipo was the way to go. I feel like I've been hit by a truck! Bruises all up and down my inner and outer thighs.

    Robin, my expander was in so long because I needed radiation after the fact but I believe it's only a 6-8 week process to fill 'er up. 

    My sister saw her oncologist and she'll be doing radiation and tamoxifen, no chemo. That was great news.

    I've been silently interviewing for a new job and received the offer letter on Thursday. Now to make the big decision. I think I'm going for it since I'll get short term and long term benefits which is huge. It's more money but farther from home. It's been difficult at work and I think this will help put all the cancer crap in the past. Off to host a labor party with friends and family. Love you all.

    Thinking of you Otter... 

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited September 2009

    <sigh>

    otter here.  It's almost 2 a.m. and I am wide awake.  I'm sitting in my recliner with my jammies and robe on, typing this while dh sleeps.  At least this isn't because of dexamethasone-induced insomnia, like it was last year; but it feels almost the same. (I know it's not the same, because I can run my fingers through my hair and it doesn't come out in clumps.)

    I've been thinking about cancer lately, and about recurrence risks and lumps and other nasty things. I was thinking about Annie/HeatherBLocklear, who was dx'd shortly before I was and started neoadjuvant chemo earlier in 2008; and AlaskaDeb, who made us all laugh (and was godmother to rock's ovary); and Twink, whose last avatar was a pig wearing pearls; and of course our wonderful ranD...and all the other women I did not know as well.  I miss them all so very much.

    I talked to my mom this (last) evening.  She called to say "hi", and part of the conversation consisted of, "How are you doing?", followed by, "No--how are you doing?".  I am doing great, of course (say it like Tony the Tiger--GRRREAT!).  My mom, not so good. There is nothing new that's bad, but she sighed and said, "Well, I guess we're okay.  There really isn't anything to look forward to, anymore."  What do you mean, Mom?  "I mean, we get up, we eat a meal, we fall asleep in our chairs; then we wake up and eat another meal, and fall asleep in our chairs again; and pretty soon it's time to go to bed.  Nothing to look forward to anymore."

    I challenged her:  But, Mom, you have a car, and you can still drive, and there are lots of places you and Dad can go and things you can do. She rejected the idea.  "Well, yes, I guess we could drive to town, or go down to the lake, or drive out to [where my Dad's family used to own a farm] ... but, there's just nothing to do.  Nothing to look forward to....."

    And, here I am, 1,000+ miles away, feeling guilty and wondering if it's my responsibility to keep my mom motivated -- convince her there is something to look forward to, a reason to live, when she has convinced herself there isn't. You all know her health is poor and my dad has Alzheimer's, so maybe she is right.

    Then I come back here, and I read on the Stage IV forum and the Palliative forum about women who have not "given up", even if they are no longer accepting active treatment for their cancer.  They are still living--maybe even more so, now that they aren't being sickened by chemo.

    That's what I want to do, if/when I'm in that situation (and I think "when" more than "if").  Enjoy life. Look forward to each sunrise and sunset and the glow of the moon.  Listen to the tree frogs and the owls and the laughter of your neighbor's children.  Smell the wet earth after a rain, and the aroma of freshly baked bread.  Feel a soft cotton blanket fresh out of the dryer, and the raspy surface of a cat's tongue, and that crisp bite of a frosty morning.  Watch the last hummingbird of the season, and marvel at the long journey it has ahead.  Enjoy those things.  Hug your children, and your grandchildren, and your husband or a good friend. Look forward to them being there again tomorrow, and the next day, and each day after that.

    Hugs to all of you.  I think I'll try sleeping now.

    otter 

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  • ewesterman
    ewesterman Member Posts: 417
    edited September 2009

    Okay, so now it is 1;23 am here in Seattle and i just read Otter's entry and my mom just moved here and we're adjusting to that, but she is quite the same, Otter, as your mom in terms of not much to look forward to even though she does find joy in our kids, etc., but your gist is what I agree with post-cancer. Today was kind of stormy here -- the beginning of autumn kicks in and I was walking with four people and two were a bit in front and two were a bit in back and it was on a very flat safe road and I just closed my eyes bc I could hear from their voices behind and in front if I was getting off track....and I felt the wind and the mist and the cold and I felt so alive and I hope I never lose that feeling. There is definitely something after cancer that settles in as we learn to live with cancer. Okay, so I finally chatted with Bob (RanDie's husband? -- thought his name was different) but he says they never got any kind of package. I sent it with their proper address and my proper return address in the beginning of August. No one has cashed the $650 check and I will cancel it on Tuesday and write a new one and send it off, but at least it explains why we never heard back. I sent it in a US post office bubble pack envelope and had them weigh it there at our post office so I know the postage was correct. I suppose it is floating somewhere and will arrive sometime back here, but meanwhile, I will cancel the check and resend. The tragic part, of course, is that all of the cards and letters and Ran-D-isms were in that package. I am crushed, but I feel it will appear at some point. Sigh. I am so sorry for I know how we all put time into our cards, letters, memories. I will let you know what happens, but meanwhile ....

    The pound a week is working...and a bit more...lost 10 in eight weeks ... celebrated with a Reese's peanut butter cup...guilty pleasures, what can I say? Otter, welcome home and I suspect your "Floating lump" is a little cyst or something that is very, very NORMAL. My washer and dryer are both on...my husband is in DC for a wedding of dear friends of ours. Our older son ceded me the computer only now and only after watching a bunch of teenage movies (but funny) plus Sunshine Cleaners (I think that is what it was called....Emily Blount and Amy Adams...very good( and our little one is at a slumber party. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law and niece are here for Bumbershoot and, like Otter, I am up but not because of meds or worry....just because. Love you all ... Jenn deportation is GOOD. Noelle, hope all is well. Rock, love those FB photos. Must sleep so I will go for now. 

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited September 2009

    Otter, thanks! I've been feeling the same way...I hope I never feel the hopelessness your ma does. Does she need anti-Ds? Depression is so common among those in their 'genteel' age. I feel super-tuned to everything going on..especially bird-calls. I actually laugh, and speak to them when I'm walking in the bush. It's as though we are totally on the same wavelength. I mean, I LOVED nature before, but this is....almost cosmic. I am grateful for every breath I take..every chance I am given. Love you all..more than I can say. XXX And Otter, the god that invented chemo also invented chiggers....w-h-a-a-a-a-a-a-t-???? I hate those things..from afar!

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  • Sable
    Sable Member Posts: 738
    edited September 2009

    Roxi~ Hope you get to feeling better soon. Man, new boobies, tummy tuck and NOW thigh suck! I bet you are one hot mama!! And not in the hot flash way lol.

    Jean~ YES YES I would love to meet with you in November! :O)

    Eddie~ That sucks about the package. Hopefully it will show back up soon. I know that RanD heard every word we all typed out and put to paper to send.. Maybe that is where it is right now, she is rereading everything before she lets it move on. I would put a tracker on the next package though.

    Otter/ Kerry~.... chiggers...... *shutters* Oh the nitemares. Kerry one of the things that we did to help get rid of them is paint over top of them with nail polish. Nasty buggers they are! I think Fireants are worse though. Thank goodness we don't have those here.

    Tomorrow morning is my de-port-tation. Surgery #8.... I am so frickin tired of being cut up and scarred. I am determined that this will be my last one unless I decide on new boobs. I hope you guys don't mind but I am taking you all with me tomorrow morning. I'm very excited about getting it yanked out but nervous at the same time. I am ready to not be a cyborg anymore and to no longer be assimilated in the collective.

    Love and humptyness :O)

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  • sueper13
    sueper13 Member Posts: 1,224
    edited September 2009

    Hello, all--deportations, welcome homes, clean scans, midnight philosophizing (Otter--I loved it)...fipples are...interesting.  One is perfect and I am amazed, not just at how much it looks like a nipple but by how much it looks like my old nipple! The other, not so good...the PS says I need "one more revision" but that it can "probably be done in the office". It's just a bit misshapen, I am trusting him (for now!) and just moviing on.  I am walking three miles four days a week and going to aerobics class the other three days..training for the breast cancer 3day in November. Hopefully I will lose some weight--trying the pound a week system, eddie. Just not eating late or having seconds, and being mindful of fats. Seems to be working, and I forgot how good it feels to  exercise.

    Life is good.  My house still hasn't sold. I want to go back to Georgia. It's becoming an ache. 

    Take care and love and hugs to all]

    Sue

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  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 1,576
    edited September 2009

    I don't know how I happened on this thread but here I am. Actually Otter I never quite figured out why you ended up here seeing as you started chemo in (Feb. 2008?) Anyway I know you have been here for a long time.And you found love right?

    I was having one of those " feeling sorry for Artsee days '. Dealing with my mom (88) and some health issues I've been having which create anxiety.Otter, Your post made me smile and made me realize I'm not alone. Thanks kiddo......

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited September 2009

    Hi, artsee, 

    I started chemo in April 2008, and finished in June. But don't tell anybody.  These wonderful women in the May 2008 group adopted me because I was hanging around looking hungry and pitiful. I also spent a lot of time on the Taxotere & Cytoxan forum, which began in January 2008 I think and is still going strong. It's not date-dependent. The April 2008 group sort of faded away after everyone was finished, and I ended up here.

    I am feeling better today than I was last night.  I figured it out:  the reason I couldn't sleep was because I'd had a large glass of excellent "Milo's"-brand sweet tea for supper last night.  Being an adopted southerner, I love sweet tea; but the older I get, the more sensitive I am to the effects of caffeine and theophylline (sp?).

    Sorry to hear that so many of you are struggling with the aging-parent issues, too.  There is some comfort in knowing that I'm not alone, although it sure would be nice to have a support group for that, too!

    Eddie, I agree with Jen. I think ranD sidetracked the package so she can read all those notes and cards. It will get to California.  If not, well, we'll deal with that. I am just feeling sad for you because you worked so hard to get everything together and put it in the mail.  Makes you want to use UPS, I'll bet? 

    Hugs to everyone.  artsee, remind me to ask you if you are still having trouble with aches and pains in your hands.  I am.

    I am going to bed now.

    otter

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  • drcrisc
    drcrisc Member Posts: 836
    edited September 2009

    Eddie - Well, at least we found out.  It didn't seem like them not to respond.  I think you're right - it will surface at some point. 

    Jen - We'll be there!! 

    Otter - I'm glad to hear you feel better today.  I hope getting you're thoughts out to us helped.  My worry about my mom is somewhat the opposite - how to keep her from doing too much and wearing herself out.  We both know the kids give her some purpose, which is great, but it can also go the other way.

    Kerry - I have several poetry books that are just T. S. Eliot.  English was my minor.  When I feel "stuck" in some life situation, the line I always hear is "Shall I part my hair behind?  Do I dare to eat a peach?"  Felt that way a lot last year. 

    This weekend, Katie and I caught up a gymnastics scrapbook we started early last summer.  It felt good to do that with her!  She took it to practice today to show it off - and we found some special awards we thought had been lost.  Apparently, I put them between the pages to keep them safe - duh!!

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited September 2009
    Hey girls..well I must have caught the wide-awake-at-3am biz from y'all. I woke up with a start and then spent the next 3 hours worrying myself sick that I had left my two ladders (which I really love) in Drew's house when it sold (3 months ago)!!! Suffice to say I didn't and actually climbed up one today when I HUNG MY CURTAINS WHICH I"VE HAD FOR TWO YEARS!!!!! Not only that, but at one point I stopped, got down off the ladder, went into the kitchen and FIXED THE GRILLER WHICH HAS BEEN BROKEN FOR 5 MONTHS AND I COULD NOT WORK OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT!!!!  I am almost a year out from chemo and my brain is starting to come right..I can feel it!! What about the rest of you..do you detect changes? I'm walking a very brisk hour a day..maybe the oxygen is doing it. Who cares? I am loving it. Artsee, stick with the glucosamine and keep really active (hands and all...I make a lot of stuff like clay things) and I am sure the pain will reduce eventually. If I stop walking for even three days, the feet turn 100 years old and I have to start all over again. By the way, May O'Eight is the place to be. Plenty of love here. Sue, more about the nips. I truly cannot face another 'procedure', but I am keen on nips. How long did the op take? What was involved? Christine, I love literature. I am a Shakespeare freak. Can you imagine my happiness when the modern movie interpretations FINALLY began? like Romeo & Juliet? Have you read Les Murray (Australia's Poet Laureate)? I'm not sure you would connect..maybe the Texas girls would. Check him out. I can't get enough of his writing atm. Well, that's it my seesters. Jen, enjoy your port-fee status. I had a local and chatted with the surgeon while she took it out. I had a moment when I thought I should leave it in....because....well..you know. But only a momentLaughingXXX
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  • angelsaboveus
    angelsaboveus Member Posts: 298
    edited September 2009

    Happy Tuesday ladies,

    Just dropped my baby off for her first day of high school, I was proud and sad at the same time. Soon she will need me less and less as the boys did and find her own way, hopefully making the right choices.  

    We have officially moved in from the cabin this weekend...love being out there but it is so nice to be home. We have some crazy wind storms coming through here lately.. the day after we moved in one blew through and brought down about 5 trees on the cabin property, just glad I wasn't there!  I don't mind thunderstorms just hate the wind where trees are involved.

    Kerry I wish I could detect the changes you are feeling , some days I think it's going the opposite way and I just can't think straight. I'm fearful that I am following my parents down the road of alzhiemers, so am hoping its related to the chemo .  I might try your brisk walking idea to get the oxygen flowing through!

    Eddie I hope the package you sent is just lost in postal limbo and will resurface and find it's way to the destination .

    I go for a follow up mamo on Thurs, will be happy to be done with that !

    Have a great day girls !

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  • artsee
    artsee Member Posts: 1,576
    edited September 2009

    Kerry and Otter....I do not have pain in my hands anymore. That was when I was on Aromasin. I'm on Femara about 6 month now and have no pain but my hair is FALLING OUT! UGH!!

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited September 2009
    Artsee..remind me..how long ago did you go through the whole cancer/chemo etc etc thing? The reason I ask is..in Jan last year I got seriously ill (priest and family called..induced coma, the works) and when I got home ALIVE three weeks later my hair started coming out in handfuls. This was pre-cancer! It is still a mystery to me but my gut instinct is that is was post traumatic stress, which must be real and physical even though I had been asleep for 6 days. My poor old body certainly had a shock. The hair loss had just started to stabilize when I was diagnosed with the big C and then..well the rest is history.  Maybe this is delayed shock for you..I certainly hope so.  Angels, I believe the oxygen has a lot to do with it. I'm also taking an iron/vitamin B tablet every day..that has picked me up somewhat as well. I find I'm still hopeless with names and sometimes I forget how to finish my sentences! The most fascinating thing of all, and forgive me if I have told y'all this before!, happened when we recently bought a piano. I used to play pretty smartly, in a self-taught kind of way, but when I sat down to play this time my right and left hand could not communicate properly with each other. Talk about freaky! And frustrating! But I thought it might also be interesting to track my progress and relate it to my recovery in general. I have posted here before that in Germany the government gives chemo-patients a year off on full pay. That's on the money, as far as I'm concerned. Imagine how bullet-proof we would all be if we didn't have to struggle through work during the whole chemo-circus. Speaking of bullet-proof: I'd like to propose a toast to Noelle. Beggar me! if she ain't made of cast iron! In Australia you would be in the ironman events, for girls; I am in awe of you, Noelle. Your boy has got one amazing ma in you!  You are all amazing. Rock, youKiss DO look like a model.XXX
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  • Sable
    Sable Member Posts: 738
    edited September 2009

    Morning ladies! Thought I would venture out of my room for a bit and see how the rest of the world is doing. I'm still good and sore today and moving slowly. I woke up in the middle of the night last nite with a headache so bad it scared me. I was kinda dizzy at the time but I am not sure if that was from the headache or from being drugged up. It finally let up some and is now just a little headache. I'm wondering if I am having caffiene withdrawls... which is a very good possibility. Hope everyone is having a great day! Love you all!

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  • angelsaboveus
    angelsaboveus Member Posts: 298
    edited September 2009

    I got some good news yesterday....I got called and was told that there is a vacancy in the permanent care home that I had my moms name in. Didn't think they would have a spot for a couple more months. Her mental health has been quickly deteriorating lately. A couple months ago they did a minnie mental test on her and she was at 10/30, they did one a couple weeks ago and she was at 5 so this might of moved her up on the list.  They asked if we wanted it......yaaaaa!  I thought it would be a week or so before we would take my mom up there but they said bring her up on Thursday, tomorrow.  So the brain has been in overdrive thinking of all the things that need to be taken care of, just happy this didn't happen next week just before we leave on the cruise.

    So after the call I went to visit my mom, i had phoned her at to say i would be down in a bit. When i got there the door was unlocked , dog inside but my mom was nowhere to be found. I ran to the neighbours, jogged around the area looking for her while panic was setting in.  She would never be able to find her way home or remember her address.   For those of you who have kids....it is the feeling you get if you ever have lost you kids in a busy store or mall and you don't know where they are.  I looked for quite awhile then phoned the police to let them know and get some direction.  Not too long after this a car pulls into the driveway with my mom and an old friend of hers gets out, apparently she took her out for some icecream and didn't think of leaving a note or phoning. She said as soon as she saw me she realized what she had done and she felt so bad. So I couldn't be mad with her as she had good intentions.     I think I gained a few grey hairs on that one.Surprised

    I have to go and do all the paperwork today to make it easier tomorrow. Busy days ahead.

    Jen take care of yourself, hoping your headaches go away. I will virtually send you a neck and temple massage to ease the tension and the headaches....here it comes !

    Sorry I'm so chatty,....just needed to share with my sista's

     Have a great day!

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  • ewesterman
    ewesterman Member Posts: 417
    edited September 2009

    Cancelled the check today. If I would have sent gift cards, I would have been ou $650. I will reissue the check but I am reluctant to mail unless someone sends me the address. Also, someone said RanDie's husband's name was Chip but I spoke to someone named Bob through Facebook. Does that compute? I want to make sure the check arrives and I want to re-send stuff that can be printed (easy enough) and I hope upon all hopes that package will re-surface. As I said, it has return address and was weighed and mailed at the post office. Yes, it does make me want to use UPS. Please re-send Rand's family's address...

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  • drcrisc
    drcrisc Member Posts: 836
    edited September 2009

    Jen - It is the worst to wake up with a headache - feels like no sleep happened at all!  :(   By the way, I tried to respond to your "May 08" group request, but FB was not cooperating tonight.

    Angels - That sounds like a good move and very timely.

    Eddie - Thank you again for taking care of this - keeping my fingers crossed for the package to become found.

    Had a day off today instead of tomorrow because, like Rock, I am also teaching tomorrow.  (Got that much off of FB).  Had a 6 month mammo for the right side only today - tech was great, understanding and funny but not irreverant.  It was almost enjoyable.  Then I made myself go upstairs to onc's office and start scheduling the PET/CT/bloodwork he wanted me to do in "the fall".  How can it be September, it was just June!  Aack!!

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  • JulieC
    JulieC Member Posts: 324
    edited September 2009

    Good morning all - it is nice to just read the "chats" on here and find out how everyone is doing.

    Jen - I'm so glad you are doing okay.  I've had a lot of morning headaches lately.  I finally went to the chiropracter and that seemed to help.  Our allergy season is so crazy lately.  Everyone is sneezing or stuffed up - worse than usual.

    Angels - I admire your strength in dealing with your mom.  That has to be hard, but it sounds like you are doing everything right to make things good for her.  Where are you cruising to?  Can we come along?

    Eddie - the package has to turn up somewhere, sometime.  We'll keep our fingers crossed.

    Otter - glad to know you are home and posting more.  Sounds like your summer was great!

    It also sounds like we are all back in the doctor/scan/appointment business again.  It's amazin how fast those dates roll back around.  I go see the onc this afternoon.  Had a chest x-ray and blood work done on Tuesday to prepare.  I think I was more concerned about not touching anything and picking up any flu germs than anything else.  Today I'm a little more worried, which I guess is normal.  When I called to change my appointment the cancer center person said the doctor I started seeing for my check ups is no longer with the hospital - as of last Friday and I will be seeing a new doctor so-and-so.  When I went to register for my tests, the clerk didn't even know about the personnel change.  Glad I could give them useful information.  LOL!  She said she wasn't surprised.  The doctor that left wasn't the most warm and fuzzy kind of guy.  He seemed more interested in his processes and procedures than the people.  The clerk said they several cancer patients had left because of him.  So we will see what this new guy is like today.  So this will be my 3rd medical onc.  I saw the old "new" guy last year during his first week and now I'm seeing this guy in his new week.  Anything can happen.  The original doctor is great and it will be hard to fill his position.  He took another position in the hospital, but was highly regarded by all.

    Noelle - congrats on the triathlon!  You amaze me.  I do a triathlon everyday: laundry, dishes, cooking - and feel like I ought to win an award or something.

    Kerry - I just love reading anything you write.  Love you attitude on life.

    Kids have been back in school and are already finishing up the 4th week.  Cris, I can't believe September is almost half over already.  The oboe arrives in about a week.  Wish us luck with that.  Youngest DD had her mind set on that and the band director will let her try.  One of my other dd's friends plays an oboe and her advice to Riley was to change instruments as soon as possible.  This will be interesting.

    Have a great day, ladies.  I'll come back later after I've been to the onc - of course you all will know what is going on because I'm taking you with meSmile.

    Hugs to all - Julie 

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  • Sable
    Sable Member Posts: 738
    edited September 2009

    zooooommmmmm

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  • Jeano77
    Jeano77 Member Posts: 237
    edited September 2009

    zooooooommmmm back at ya Jen!  :)  Sorry to hear of the headaches, hope you get some relief soon. 

    It makes me sad to read of all of the challenges folks are facing with their parents, hoping for good outcomes for all. 

    Anyone having MASSIVE leg cramps from tamox?  Over the past couple of months, they have been terrible.  I wake up in the middle of the night screaming in pain because the cramps in the calf & quad muscles are so intense.  I get them in my feet, legs and arms.  Google (and the Onc) confirmed it is Tamoxifen.  When I get up the next day, I feel like I have a pulled muscle.  I have had as many as 4-6 in one day.  Yikes!

    CT scan was clean - yeah! 

    I miss you all and love you lots!

    Jean

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  • kerry_lamb
    kerry_lamb Member Posts: 778
    edited September 2009

    Hi girls, it's Sunday night here and all is well..except that IT IS RAINING AGAIN!!!!! Grrrrrrr! The whole of Tasmania is OVER it. We have been away for the weekend. My hub took me on a mystery trip because he is going to Qld tomorrow with the boys and will be away for my birthday. It was a magnificent weekend..two days of brilliant sunshine, and spent at the beach. We wandered and collected shells and got sunburned necks and ate out and slept in and it was brilliant. No nagging animals, and no argumentative teenagers! Jen and Julie, I hope your medical stuff goes as planned. I can't face another doctor's appointment but I guess I will have to see the onc (cancer), the surgeon (breasts) and the other surgeon (nips). I'm so sick of it..and I detect y'all are the same on that score. Hey! Random thought: here's something worth looking at:http://humour.bluehaze.com.au/files/20090803_rain.wmv Check it out..maybe rain isn't so bad after all! I think I will have a glass of red and fall gratefully into bed. Grateful for: clean, fresh air and the ability to breathe it deeply; pulling t-shirts over my head knowing I will never have to wear or adjust a bra again; 8 days of snore-free sleep and the bed to myself; an exhibition opening on Wed night when I catch up with some of my favorite people; for courage; for a thick skin!; for all my sisters here.Kiss

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  • lewing
    lewing Member Posts: 1,288
    edited September 2009

    Jean, a big YES to your question about godawful leg cramps.  Mine hit only at night, and are mercifully infrequent, but they're doozies.  It feels like the knots in my calves are squeezing the nerves tight, and I want to scream (though I don't) or at least mutter obscenities (which I do).   I suspected it had something to do with hormone levels (I had similar cramps when I was pregnant), but hadn't known of the relationship with tamoxifen.

    I hope this at least means the stuff is working. 

    One quick newsflash: cancer must have made me sentimental, and Facebook is definitely enabling my sentimentality, so, well, after years of having nothing to do with anyone I went to high school with, I'm going to be attending my *30th reunion* next weekend.  There are a handful of people I'm looking forward to seeing, and many more that I'm just curious about.  I will of course post about how it goes.

    Jen, please tell us those headaches have cleared up.  Angels, I am so glad there's a good place for your mother; I'm amazed at your strength, and know that you'll be able to be "there" for her much better if you're rested and not forced to carry the entire load.

    Linda

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  • Sable
    Sable Member Posts: 738
    edited September 2009

    My headaches come and go it seems. Onc thinks it is seasonal allergies or the effexor I am taking cause there is nothing in my head pointing to them... well maybe a few spider webs up there lol.

    Port yank went well and I am feeling pretty good at this point. The soreness is letting up and I am able to move a bit better. I do have a stitch sticking out on one end that is rubbing against my shirts..... driving me nuts! Tried to trim it today but I think they used kevlar thread on me... it won't cut. I thought for sure I would feel more "done" after the port came out. I guess once I get past the 3 week mark from my last tx it might hit me then.

    Linda/Jean~ I'm having cramps as well but they are in my toes. I thought it was just me. I will be watching tv and feel one coming on and can watch my toes curl up from it. When I get them I take potassium supplements for a few days and they stop. I learned that from my low carb days. I hope you 2 get some relief from them soon.

    I was reading today about a new boob process where they suck out fat in other areas and use that to enhance your bustline....I'm hoping that once I get around to getting up the nerve to go under the knife again it is perfected and I can do that instead of fake ones.

    s/s XXOO

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  • drcrisc
    drcrisc Member Posts: 836
    edited September 2009

    Where did the weekend go??

    Kerry - I thought of you yesterday (not to mean that I don't think of all of you at least once every day!) but we took a quick trip down to the beach when dh got off his shift in the afternoon.  There was foam all over the sand - I have only seen pictures of it in Austrailia!  Not as much as you had there, but it was still interesting.  The girls got a kick out it - Katie made "foam shoes". 

    Julie - Hope all went well with "the new guy".  And good luck to Riley (and all of you!) with the oboe.  I know it's more complicated than the clarinet (or "clarineck" as Kelly would say), but if she can handle it, good for her!

    Jen/Linda/Jean - I don't get cramps per se (but then, I'm not on Tamoxifen either) but I do have what I think is restless legs syndrome.  Had it before bc but it does drive me crazy at night.  What can they do about it?

    Kelly's birthday is coming up on Tuesday.  6 years old!  Wow...and a pain in the butt!  She's more difficult now than she ever was at 2 or 3.  Sheesh...    I also discovered on Friday that I can still get D.A.T. and am still struggling with leftover "chemobrain", mostly my word finding part.  Drives me crazy and makes me feel stupid when I'm dealing with students - "You know, that thing!"  Sorry I'm complaining so much - just had a lot of cancer leftovers hit me.

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  • Gracie713
    Gracie713 Member Posts: 302
    edited September 2009

    Hi Ladies!

    Cris-I have had restless leg syndrome for years and it sure isn't fun.  Family doc put me on Mirapex a few years ago and it has done wonders.  Could tell a big difference within days of starting it, the quality of sleep improved and so did my energy level.  It is truly amazing.  There is also a drug called Requip that is for RLS, but I have never taken it, but others have said that it works well.

    Jen-so glad that the port removal went well--I am always tickled when someone gets theirs removed--mine tried to kill me.  I still have it, (in a ziploc bag).

    Linda-I went back for my 30th high school reunion last summer while on chemo.  It was only the 2nd one I had been too.  Like you, there were just a few people that I really wanted to see, but several I just wanted to see how they have changed.  facebook has brought a lot of us together.  I am going back to Indiana first weekend in Oct. for Homecoming,(it's only held every 5 years), and really look forward to seeing everyone again.  I haven't been back to Homecoming on 30 years!  Hope that you have a great time!

    Had check up with med onc last Wed and all is good.  the best part is that I have no cancer related appts. until Jan. now!  Well, I do go later today to be fitted for my mastectomy bras & forms, but no docs, other than family doc next month.  Not sure if he will stop the coumadin (originally only supposed to take it for 6 months), and he is thinking about keeping me on it for a year, which would keep me on it until April.  

    Not much here--co-workers got me hooked on farmtown, so that is where I am, if I'm not scrapbooking (or at work--but the overtime has slowed down and onc said no more 7 & 8 days straight, especially working 12-14 hours).  

    Think about all of you, everyday.  Can't wait until we can all get together!

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