Anyone Starting Chemo Jan. 2010?

11tybillion:  First of all, I want to tell you thanks for starting and keeping up this group.  I'm sure I speak for others when I say please don't feel obliged to do more than you want to.  There's no reason to add any guilt or obligation to your life right now.  But, I can totally relate to your mood. I went through a period last week that was similar and I felt overwhelmed and like it was all going to be so much harder than I thought. 

This board is a great place to come and read so that you find information, laugh a little, cry a little, and generally feel like part of a group that really understands the ups and downs of this unfortunate journey. Without this group, I can't imagine how "lost" I would feel about all of this.  I love the pictures. I will try to take one this Friday at chemo and post.

The hair thing had started really bothering me too, and I still don't have a wig.  I'm planning on going this week to try some on.  But in the meantime I ordered some cozy caps and head coverings online from headcoverings.com and they arrived Friday.  For some reason, getting those in the mail and realizing that I actually had something to wear once the hair was gone made me feel a lot better.  They are so comfortable and cute and I "test drove" one out and wore it to dinner on Saturday night.  I still have my hair (this week) but I wanted to see what it felt like to wear it out in public.  My shaving party is this weekend and I know there will be tears.  But, my son is so excited to get his head shaved (and have a mohawk for the day) that right now it seems like a fun family event. 

The good news is that I feel really good. I went through the weekend feeling like myself and it was such a great surprise. My kids (3 and 6) totally recognize when I'm really feeling good versus just putting on my brave face.  It's a nice change of pace after last week.  With any luck this will continue until Friday for #2 when it all starts again. 

Hi everyone, I'm going to be starting chemo in 2 days (wednesday) 4 rounds of T/C don't know if I should be in this thread or feb. since I'm starting late in the month?

But figured it would be helpful to be able to talk to other women who are going through this too..

Hi Cal30, you are so VERY welcome here, their are many amazing women in this group that are taking TC also and I'm sure they would not mind helping you through it. PM me anytime with any questions, but I am on a different regime and can only tell you what what is going on with that. I say join both, the more support the better. good luck on Wednesday, this will be over before you know it. I'm sure you know by now it is all about drinking the water all through your treatment to flush the medicine out of your system. some people call it toxins, poison, I call it a possible life saver. Hope I helped out. CH

Hi all - hope everyone is doing well. I am dreading Thursday; the 2 week point and when my hair should start falling out. I purchased a wig on line weeks ago that I'm not entirely thrilled about. After seeing all the great wig pics the last few days it has inspired me to go wig shopping for real. I'm taking a friend tomorrow and making a day of it and I'm determined to find a wig I like.

I had Pei Wei for lunch today and got the following fortune in my cookie. "The best times of your life have not yet been lived". I have it taped to my monitor as a reminder.

 Take care and be strong!

Hi all Jan sisters,

If you happened to be watching TV in the next 3 weeks you may see me in a commercial. It is mostly running on cable but also the big national networks. I work for Kashi (not as an actor but as a scientist)) and we shot the commercial in NY Central Park back in November 2009.  I'm one of the 5  people running around in the green track outfits. The middle aged women in the blond ponytail.  Ironically I was on the commercial shoot when I got the call that my mam was suspect.  Who knew?

Welcom cal30- I just had my first round of TC (of 6) last Friday. Good luck, let us know how you do.

I'm fortunate, still feel fairly well, have been achy last 24 hours and feel like not doing anything. Had to take a compazine last night for 1st time which worked well. Each time I eat today though I have terrible stomach pain for hours, I'm eating lots of rolaids.

Has anyone experienced a creepy sensation of their skin, like it's tingling (including my scalp- which I know is too early (day 4) for that to start happening!

Stay strong!

chasinghope

I didn't know I had any private messages!!! So I just checked and found yours. Please don't take my delay as not wanting to meet.  I just replied now too!  I think maybe I could try to find you before my infusion at 2PM, but I won't know for sure how my schedule goes until I'm into it, if you know what I mean.  Alternatively, you might be able to find me. 

Thank you for the popsickle idea. I assume ice isn't enough, you need the flavor?

 Ditto regarding wipes.

 I'm having AC only.

I just cut my waist length hair on Friday and now have a very stylish do for a few weeks.  Oh, well. Better to deal in stages I figured.

 Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement.  Last night I had my husband help me shave my head as close as the clippers would take it down.  I had clipped it to 3/4" last Sunday, but it started falling like snow...so it was bothering me.  I was reading the post about using duct tape to get the stubble out...I have been using the adhesive lint roller with the pull off sheets...it seems to be working...but coming from a redneck family duct tape is aways a great alternative...I wish I had thought of it!

After my first treatment i developed swollen glands on the back of my neck.  I have to have them biopsied on friday.  The nodes undermy arms are clear....did I mention cancer stinks!?

Stay strong my friends. 

Nkrun - I will keep my eyes open for your commercial.  How fun!

 Tomorrow is my second AC treatment tomorrow morning.  I hope I can manage the side effects better this time.  I have meals coming for the next 3 nights so I don't have to worry about my family.  I am so grateful for all the support.  I am especially grateful for you all!!  I hope all of you have a great "normal" week.

Hello Everyone,

Had my port/cath procedure yesterday. The procedure went well, but I took a long time coming around from anaesthesia. I vaguely remember my anaesthesiologist telling the recovery nurse, "...and she has a history of asthma..." I drifted off again. Next thing I remember, two nurses were pulling my blankets and tugging at my IV. I heard a voice say, "She's got all kinds of $hit on her bed: a robe, blankets, all tangled around the G-d d@mned IV..." I had not even opened my eyes, but managed to ask, "I've got all kinds of $hit tangled around my G-d d@amned IV?" The nurse laughed an embarrassed laugh and said, "Yes you do, and I see you picked now to wake up!" My blood pressure was quite high--198/110 and I was in a lot more pain than I had anticipated. 2 shots of Duladid in my IV over about a hour's time helped the pain and brought my blood pressure back to my normal 118/68. It was 3:45 before they took me into the last recovery room and allowed my mother to see me. Then I got a new nurse with a funky, kind of punk rock, multi-colored hairdo, longer on one side than the other. And here I am worried about what my hair looks like! Anyway, she was really kind and gave me some Morphine in my IV because the pain came searing back. A big thumbs up for that! She also went over my discharge instructions and reminded me to eat before I took pain meds at home, or they could cause me to "Barf my brains out." Where do these nurses acquire their delicate language? The Morphine sent me back into the land of nod, so it was about 6:00 pm before I got back home to my own bed. I probably would have stayed in the hospital longer, but Mum ended up forcing me awake because the valet parking was closing down and we needed to get the car before the last guy left.

My DH had "cooked" dinner, (boy did he ever!): underdone brown rice, overdone broccoli and carrots (cold) and unseasoned organic chicken. After one taste of each item on my plate, I played my post-anaesthesia nausea card and requested toast and coffee! I'm pretty sore this morning, (should have guessed there would be pain associated with getting knifed in the jugular!) but I'm resting well in bed, and in good spirits. I get to take another Davocet and Valium in about 45 minutes.Yay me!
Thanks again for your comments and prayers.

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Georgiabirdgirl--me too! My next infusion is on Friday. This will be my 2nd of 4. How far along are you on the chemo schedule??

leta17--here is what I understand about soy. Organic, soy products made from soy with no GMOs are supposedly safe. However, many soy products available is the US are not organic and do have GMOs--you need to read labels. The soy estrogens from products with GMOs are synthetic and they can promote tumor growth, espcially if you're ER+. I still have a lot to learn about this stuff myself, but this is as much as I understand. I recommend that you go to the Life Extension website. My mother subscribes and buys a  lot of their products. They have a lot of scientific research articles that can steer you in the right direction. Good Luck!

leta17-the information I received from my ND for ER+ is to  avoid processed soy products like soy shakes and meal replacement bars, but not avoid(in moderation only) whole organic soy products like tofu, edamame, tempeh,  etc. 

• Below are other recommendations from my ND-but please review with onc before.
• Buy organic product, dairy and meats to decrease toxic load
• Drink 8-10 glasses of filtered water daily to help cells flush toxins
• Do not eat, store or heat foods in plastic/Styrofoam to avoid hormonal stimulation
• Drink 3-8 cups green tea daily for anti-oxidant support 
• Only cook with EVOO as it's more stable at high temps
• Avoid flax oil as it oxidizes easily
• Emphasize foods in the brassica family like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage
• Increase garlic, onions, leeks and chives - all contain allyl sulfides that inhibit chemically induced carcinogenesis
• Increase carotenoids - carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, peaches, nectarines, cantaloupe, apricots - decrease oxidative damage
• Increase citrus fruits (including the white portion of the peel) - promotes carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes and inhibits cancer promotion
• Dark green leafy vegetables - to support liver function
• Increase fiber with grains such as quinoa and oats
• Decrease consumption of all meats, processed foods and additives
• Consider juicing grasses, vegetables and fruits

Lifestyle:

• No coffee
• No alcohol
• Sleep as much as possible to aid cellular repair
• Reduce stress to support immune function
• Exercise daily (walking x 30m or light yoga with deep breathing x 30m)
• Constitutional hydrotherapy in your daily shower:
  • At the end of your shower turn the temperature all the way to cold (it should take your breath away)
  • Immerse the front of your body including your face and top of your head for 5 breaths
  • Turn 90 degrees, lift your facing arm and immerse the side of your body including your chest and arm pit for 5 breaths
  • Repeat on your back and opposite side
  • Purpose: Cold water causes vessels including lymph vessels at the surface of your body to constrict from their dilated state.  This creates a pumping mechanism that increases filtration to your liver and detoxification from your lymph and skin.

Supplements:

• Liver supporting supplement: I recommend HepatoPlex by Emerson
• DHA oil - I recommend Frutol by Pharmax LLC - uses small wild caught fish to minimize heavy metal contamination and does not have the common side-effect of burping

Hello January Chemo sisters,

I started chemo on Jan 15 A/C X 4 biweekly, then Taxol choice of X 4 biweekly or X 12 weekly. Is A/C getting harder on us with each treatment?

mslrg-I had a good laugh on your funny stories; sorry for the pain, hope you will feel better soon.

I have expanders for reconstruction so I guess that's why no port for me? Is anybody else with expanders? I had breastbone and back pain, especially a few days after my first Neulasta.

I love your pictures. You all look great with or without hair.