Starting Chemo Feb 2010?

Good luck at the reception, Ado, and I'm sure you will look stunning in your scarf!  How nice it will be to reunite with your work friends.

I just got my part-time job back, so I get to be reunited with my work friends for 3 days a week-yea!  I can't tell you how excited I am to just be getting out of the house.  Who knew I would actually be wanting to go to work...

Same old side effects here-annoying mouth, watering eyes, bone/joint pain (mostly in my hips)..oh, and this rash all over my face I've had after every Taxotere treatment.  With makeup on, it looks like I have acne-and I normally have nice, clear skin.  Aaaaah!  Frustrating!  It usually takes about 5 days to go away, so I'll be counting the days...

I hope everyone gets a great start to their week!

didnt know that sugar increases the estrogen hormones, thanks for the info. am concern on skin products as well such as collagen and placenta or products containing female hormones.

on the bright side, my last chemo is on next mon and am seeing my radiologist on wed. getting excited and nervous to move on to the next phase......

cheers to all who are done with chemo and more cheers to those who are near the finishing line

Our February chemo group is moving along, graduating, trying to get some normalcy back.  My head looks like a chia pet in the last week - my DH keeps rubbing it and we just giggle.. I had my surgery yesterday; it went really well, got a call from the hospital this afternoon -- we got clean margins and lymph node tested came back negative.  On to radiation in a few weeks.  WHEW is all I can keep saying. 2/3s of the way through... WHEW!

It makes me so happy to hear of everyone moving on. Haven't we come a long way since February !

Hi Everyone!

I am also popping in to say "hi" and give an update.  I finished my chemo on 5/20 and I can now say I feel completely NORMAL!!!!  I really do!  There were times where all I wanted was to know if I would ever feel normal again.  People would tell me I would have a new normal.  What the heck is that???  A new normal?  I don't want that!  But it is official - I feel normal...  (big sigh)    I only have a little hair (1/2 to 3/4 inch) and I have ditched the wig since it is July and I live in Florida!  All my aches are gone -- I had bad aches in my hips, shins and hands.  All the numbness and tingling in my hands and feet is mostly gone. My eyebrows and eyelashes are back too (yay!)!  My exchange surgery is less than 2 weeks away (Aug 11).  (double yay - one for each foob!)  And I will be "deported" during the exchange surgery! 

Anyway, keep trudging forward and you will get through it.  I hope everyone has a good weekend.  Gentle hugs to you all.

Sunnycoconut you really cheered me up. I've been feeling rotten today. Last chemo was on 17th June and I think I expected instant results. You've made me realise that I will get there. thanks

Hi All!  I was just checking in, too.  My hair is growing pretty fast.  I stopped wearing my wig long ago.  It was easier to go out bare, and I take very little time in the shower.  I feel much stronger now, but not back to my old self yet.  My nails started peeling, but I didn't lose them.  Had a skin check with the rad onc yesterday, and everything looks fine.

Gina:  I have bad pain in my hands when I wake up; very stiff.

Glad to hear your surgery went well, swiftbird.

I'm so glad to hear the eyelashes grow back in quickly!  I can't wait...but for some reason, my eyebrows are getting more sparse.  Weird.  Luckily my wig has long, wispy bangs so it hides the fact that I have barely any eyebrows.  I too wear lots of eyeliner to hide the fact that I don't have eyelashes.

Nails are still hanging in there-but I'm only two weeks out from the last treatment, so I guess anything could happen.  I have a follow up with the Onc on Wednesday-he was supposed to order a PET scan, so I'll have to remind him.  I want the "all clear" so I can call the surgeon to have this dang port taken out.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hello everyone! Im so impressed with everyone's progress and especially our attitudes. When life gives us lemons...

I finished my last chemo 6/28. Thank God! I was so thankful to be done. I have had some issues with swelling legs/feet and heart flutters. I am going Monday for what seems like a million tests before my lumpectomy on Tuesday. I guess which surgery to have was the hardest thing for me since my Dr.s told me I was good with either surgery even with grade 3 and her2 + ! Let's hope they knew what they were talking about. Then its on to radiation. After rads its a reduction & lift on right side so I will match I'm so ready to be completely done with all this as I'm sure we all are.  

Take care all. Laura

sunny & lindee--so wonderful to hear your experiences, as it is encouraging to have some idea of when things are going to improve.  seems like the better i feel, the more aware i am of the joint pain.  the neuropathy seems to be getting worse-hope that turns around soon. 

kim--ditto on the wierd lines on the nails.  you can tell by my nails when the chemo started.  my one thumbnail was so bad it split at that mark & i have been wearing a bandaid to keep it from completely coming off.  only other option was superglue!  my nails were wonderfully long, but as that mark has progressed further down with growth, i have had to file them way down to keep them from breaking off.  sniff

got deported on friday--they did it in the surgeons office!!  i had his nurse call me, as i was sort of freaking out about it.  am i the only one who has 'hit the wall' in the acceptance & dealing with it department??  i mean, had to go to the hospital & have surgery to get this thing in, and they were taking it out in his office(?!?!)  well, she called me back, said not to worry, it was no big deal, no, they don't put you out, all i would feel was some tugging, etc.  i asked her who was going to hold me down & she just laughed & said she would if need be.  and have to say she was right. it was no big deal.  the worst was when he shot me up with the lidocaine like they do just before accessing it before chemo.  it is a sensitive area to those little pricks!!!!  but once it was numb, i can honestly say i couldn't feel the actual proceedure when he removed it.  i did feel some tugging when he was stitching me up & we were chatting the whole time.  he did ask me if i wanted to keep it (eeeewwwe!)  but i know some people do.  not my idea of a pendant, but whatever blows your hair back.

wow--from some of your comments i realize how lucky some of you were regarding the eyelashes & eybrows, and how much more that must be irritating to lose them so far into treatment.  mine were gone by week 4 on the ac.  and with all the tearing, it is impossible to keep eyeliner on.  one of the side effects i hate the most - losing eyelashes & eyebrows!!!!!   not that i liked any of the pain, but at least it would have been nice to look good while i was suffering!!!

hang in there to those still in treatment/radiation.  there really is light at the end of the tunnel!

hello all, checking in to announce i am over with chemo hurray! its such a relief. my brows are getting thinner, fine hair over my head (not sure to shave again or leave it) and am looking forward to have my normal taste buds back.

had my ultrasound n mammogram last thurs. there's new findings however nothing to raise any alarms and am meeting my radiologist this thurs.

this forum has given me much info, support, sharing n encouragment, thank you everyone! To those who are still going through chemos, hang in there, it will be over just round the corner! God bless all.

Hello, everyone - it's so great to see all the smiley faces and to hear of everyone's progress.  Just back from three weeks vacation so I've been off the board.  I, too, have been experiencing aches and pains like many of you - especially in the hands, knees and feet upon waking.  Hoping that this passes.  Start radiation today for six and a half weeks.  Got my strange, fluttering heart issue checked out yesterday - looks like Herceptin is doing a number on me, but I'm on some new meds and will be able to resume herceptin in three weeks - what I've seen is that the herceptin is too valuable of a tool not to continue so I'm grateful that I'll be able to receive my treatment through February.  Of course, it looks like I'm in the less than one percent of people on herceptin who have this type of issue - I just like to keep my docs up to speed!  As always, I love reading all of your input and relish in the fact of knowing that I'm not alone in all this. 

BTW - the Harry Connick concert is at the end of October to support breastcancer.org - in Philly.  If anyone is interested in coming to town for it, let me know and I'll arrange details.  Take care all - Mo

I just found out last week that my total cholesterol is 240 and my triglycerides are over 300! So now I'm on Niaspan, which causes flushing for about an hour and a half after I take it. And we're in the middle of a heat wave like no other. So even inside in the air conditioning, I'm turning bright red and feeling hot and itchy. And after this first week of 'getting used to it', the dose will double! It's always something, isn't it?

Burley - I have those weird stripes on my fingernails too. My husband just noticed them and pointed them out to me yesterday. My nails, otherwise, are fine and intact. A little weak, but nothing major.

Has anyone had issues with shoulder pain? My shoulder (mastectomy side) is KILLING me. I'm in physical therapy for frozen shoulder. I had some cording pain in my arm, too. 

Hey all, nice to see you're moving on, if still baldish and achy. I'm 10 weeks post final chemo, in week 5 of radiation. I never did lose all my brows and lashes, but I lost more in recent weeks-- hopefully that's stopping. My hair is growing pretty fast-- I'm about a week or two from looking like a Marine recruit. Other than an unpleasant and very itchy chest rash, radiation hasn't been a big deal. My biggest issue now is muscle/joint pain and stiffness. I'm pretty active, and I am prone to the usual middle-aged aches and pains, so I don't know if this is just buried stress or residual chemo issues or just life, but man, I'm hobbling like a little old lady. Sciatica, hip pain, stiff neck, ankle hurts.... I can't seem to shake any of this stuff, despite my great chiropractor, stretching, pilates, etc. Hopefully it's just residual chemo stuff and will go away.

I'm so grateful for all of you. My landlady was diagnosed several weeks ago and was rushed into chemo (neoadjuvant). She is not computer savvy or an online gal, so I've been doing my best to pass along what I've learned both here and through experience. It makes me wonder how anyone gets through this without the support and wisdom of such a community!