Starting chemo Sept 05

Lisa, remember you are on about day 5 or 6 arent you? So you will be at your LOWEST regarding energy. That day will seem to last forever....you can hardly read, talk, watch TV, or anything.

But tomorrow or the next day your energy will start to return if you are like me and many of us here. Then every treatment i 'forget' about the tired days being days 5 and 6 and I wonder what is wrong!

So, try and remember the body wants you to rest it on those days and the other days you will have more energy. I am on Neupogen for dose dense AC and then T later and i get the pain too. Vicoden helps as does OXY if you dont have to drive. Walking helps distract me also. Ask the docs if there is a lower dose of it they could give you next session, they gave me 7 shots instead of 8 for the second AC session, since they found my WBC was "too good" and i was getting so achy.

Hi everyone, Marg here.



Aussiemum -- LOVED the short survivor movie. It is only about 5 min so everybody should watch. It was perfect. I could not stop sobbing. Did you ever get that book I recommended?



Peggy, Good for you on the 1/2 mark. I am so jealous!!!!!!! I am down 2 AC tx and 2 to go.



Leanne, I love the website. I cry when I think you and the Aussiemum don't get herceptin. I wanted to sneak Aussimum into the states somehow,-- well that was my plan. I love the way you are going for it. If I wanted to send you a little $$ -- would that be in a travelers check?

I am a HER2+ girl too!!! I start my Herceptin in Dec.



Penny -- how's my girl? Haven't seen your posts.



Susan -- happy belated birthday!!!!! How you still manage to keep up with everybody is amazing. You are great.



As for me, I am 1 week post my 2nd AC tx and feeling okay. I am back at work sort of -- work only 6 hours a day. I just get tired. Lately, I have had all these cravings for the sweet stuff. I have never had a sweet tooth and all of a sudden Im shoving carrot cake down my throat followed by a snicker bar and a milk shake. What the heck is going on?? I was secrectly hoping to lose a few pounds while on chemo -- fat chance at this rate!!!!! I know I gotta watch what I eat, I am reading more and more of obesity (I am 5,0" and weigh 170lbs) and the relation to breast cancer -- well too late for me but I hear I could help reduce my chances of a recurrance if I lose the weight after chemo and start an exercise program. I think I will join Weight Watchers after my chemo is done in FEB.



A little something spirtiual for some of you ladies

from my fav book



Coats of Pride



"God sets himself against the proud but he shows favor to the humble" So humble yourselves under the mighty power of GOD and in his good time he will honor you. 1 Peter 5:5-6



The author goes on to say.... 5 months earlier I had my act together. I had a great marriage, good kids, and a successful consulting business. Everything was going my way and on track. I owed it all to my skills, intellignece, business acumen, and a lot of hard work. I knew how to stand on my own two feet and didn't need help from anyone. I was relatively attrative for a woman in her mid 40;s, a size 8, long black hair and I didn't even had to color. I even had GOD figured out, I went to church on Sundays, listened to the messages and thought I understood everything God had to show me. Today, I sat bald and broken on the bathroom floor. Stripped of every hair, stripped of every pride coat ....humbled before God. Are any of you wearing any coats of pride? Perhaps you have been depending on your own strength instead of God's or you have been busy doing your own thing instead of seeking Him. Perhaps, this cancer has you on your knees... bald and broken, with ever coat of pride and every hair on your body stipped away. Today, it's just you and God. If you haven't already done so, invite Him into the center of your battle. When the heavenly Father looks into your heart and see your genuine humility, He will honor you.



I pray for all of us --- Marg

PICTURE CHECK

Greetings all..greeting to our newbies...sorry you have to travel this road, but at least you're not alone...

Marg...I've always had a sweet tooth, but I've noticed that when my taste buds started to come back (I'm on AC every three weeks and it took two full weeks before things tasted right), I wanted things salty or sweet...extra sweet!!! It's calmed down a little, but my next infusion is tomorrow...so...

Just a little note to everyone. A lot of you have been impressed that I've continued to work and have been taking care of my horses, etc. (a girl has gotta do, what a girl has gotta do!)..well...I just pulled out my 'log' I kept of the first week following the last infusion...guys, I felt like cr*p! Even with all the meds...some nausea...tired...achey days 3 and 4...and most of it I don't remember. What I do remember was after the first week...stomach still didn't feel right. Had to drink coke or eat constantly to keep it happy...eating yogurt was essential to get my stomach to quit hurting (gas pains, I believe) and I'll start eating yogurt immediately this time...but then each day got better...and that is what I'm focusing on...each day will get better!!! And before you know it, it will all be over! So I've planned the next five days to be at home and do nothing...(except log onto here!) and if on day six (which was my worst day the last time according to my log), I don't feel up to going into work, I won't. That's what sick days are for!!!

SO my water pitcher for ice water is waiting and my saltines are there to help me take my meds whenever I need them....here goes round 2!!!

Janet

Peg,

Cory is the name on the box. Like you, I haven't bonded even a little with this wig, so she has her own name. She is a separate entity, and somehow got to have her own name. When I put "Cory" on, I look like a totally different person; which is somehow disconcerting.

I am off to a 6-day gig at one of the Connecticut casinos where I will have to wear Cory for 2 hours each day. Maybe the two of us will come to an understanding during this time. Or maybe not.

Enjoy Family Weekend.... I will miss my daughter's since it is scheduled during my 'bad' days.

*susan*

p.s. CONGRATS on the end of A/C!!!!!!!

Hi lisa,
Oh the first time I had chemo years ago I too was a single mom. My son matured nicely in kindergarten having to help me get through. Eventually he turned into an 18 year old and I think we compete for normal thinking. I guess if you think Decadron and friends do funny things to your mind, well testosterone has to run a close second. Glad to have you on board.
As for the fog in the mind, it will lift when the chemicals get out of your brain. I ask the chemo nurse for another prescript of Dec and she asked me how I took it. I said orally. She said, no I mean 1x a day or 2x a day. I said 2 she said 1, 2x a day or 2, 2x a day? I said I take 1 early morning and 1 in early afternoon. She said so 1 8mg 2x a day. I said look, I got chemo brain, quit screwing with me, you know I can't do numbers. She laughed and some how got my prescript right.
I just had my 3rd round of E/C and am more nauseous but so far doing good. I hope it is going well for you. 1 more of the real yucky stuff and then on to different side effects but I think they are more manageable.

Susan, thanks for the reply. I really needed some encouragement today. I am on day 3 of round 3 and the for some reason your reply is very encouraging but I keep crying knowing how much you and everyone else cares. I think I better drink more water just to refill. This must be a major chemical release day and it is leaking out my eyes. It is very hard to type through tears. Actually I am feeling better this time around than I have any other treatment so I don't know why all the tears.

Norinne,

just thought of an idea, if I go for more hat shopping, I write "breast cancer awareness month" on the back of my head.
So while I try on and they look on, they get the message.

We went to our regular fast food restaurant yesterday wearing no hair but a hat and when I walked out, the waitress choked up when she asked if I am alright. I told her...she was so sweet.

God Bless

Happy Birthday Susan

God Bless

Norine...You're doing great...you may not think so, but you've shown us you haven't lost your sense of humor and isn't that what really counts???

Lisa, Take heart...in a few days you'll feel better and the fog won't be so bad....

Susan...belated happy birthday to you too...It sounds like you've planned several nice days...are you performing at the casino's or...playing the slot machines??? Maybe both?

Marg...I've had the same thoughts about my weight and diet (or lack there of!)...I've been reading about weight and diet effects on reoccurance...and plan to put together a lifestyle that allows me to fight that happening anyway I can. I've also read about exercise...Isn't someone in our group part of a study on exercise and chemo side effects??? Guess I need to go back and read the last 23 pages!

Off to my appointment...janet

Peggy – I am from Tamworth which is in Staffordshire in the Midlands in the UK, about 3, 4 hours by road from London if you want to stick a pin on your map.

Maxine I am having 4 cycles of Epirubicin and 4 (I think) of CMF, followed by 3 weeks of radiotherapy.

Leanne, thanks for sharing your site with us and good luck with the fundraising – beautiful family.

Susan I also want to do something special for my nurses, they are brill and do above and beyond their duty.

I saw a lady receiving Herceptin in the hospital just the other day, however I didn’t get chance to chat to her and I don’t know her circumstances.

Not good news with my line, but I wouldn’t want to worry anyone as it doesn’t happen on a regular basis. Apparently 7/8 ladies a year at my hospital get thrombosis when having a Hickman line, it seems I am one of them. Got to go as a day patient on Monday and have the Hickman line removed (yuk). In the meantime I have got to go to my oncology dept every day for a while to have a blood thinning injection in my tummy (yuk again). Got to have Warafrin (spelling??) for 3 months to get rid of clot and then (maybe) have the line put back in (double yuk). My left arm is more painful than when I had my op on the right side and I am living on parecetomol. I feel really cheated as I have been soooo careful to avoid infection in the line and I had no bother having it put in really. I have now got to have the needles in for treatment until the line is put back in which apparently takes longer and they have to be more careful. But there are many, many people worse off than me, so I shouldn't moan.

I am off for a bone scan tomorrow so must log off now and get to bed.

Speak soon and chin up ladies.


Sandra from the UK

Carol

They told me that the dex last for 6hr and the Maxalon for 4 hrs so if you feel like crap then by all means take the Zorfan wafer (i am going to ask for some tomorrow) Take some Panadol or panadine fore for that headache too.

I usually never take tablets for any thing and it really has been hard getting used to taking sooo many tablets but you know what I would rather rattle when I walk than feel like this. So tablets away.....

I am going for treat #2 tomorrow. I hope you are feeling better soon.
Best wishes
Nicole

Hi ladies!

I hope you are all feeling good today and working through the various stages of treatment that you are at. I am so new to this whole thing that I can't tell you the relief I felt when I read that nearly all of you are off to bed for a day or 2 after AC!! I thought I was just a slacker! I felt truly awful for a few days last round (#2) and couldn't move for 2 days to do ANYTHING. I can't tell you all enough how great it is to find like minded/feeling people!

Well I had my bone scan today and it would appear I am CLEAR!! YAY!! Sooo relieved as I know you can imagine. I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which sure as anything explains years of sore back, neck and migraines. Minor detail in the scheme of things though!

Funny story...

When I pulled the scan out I saw this black blob really low down and I started to freak out and my dad says to me "um. Leanne isn't that your pelvis!!" and THEN I went on about how they had obviously missed my "elbow cancer" and he graciously pointed out that that was where the dye was injected.... oops...

Thanks to those of you who have seen the website and commented on it! We are really proud of it and hope that eventually we can make a difference. We are getting some fantastic publicity at the moment- I did 3 newspaper interviews today alone! Very exciting.

Now the furry beast that sits upon our heads. Mine is simply called "The Wig". That's it. No personal names (I believe she is named "erica") no relationship at all. Just a nice, functional impersonal description. I have worn 'it' once and felt so funny! while everyone just thought I had visited the hairsalon and had a good hair day I thought it screamed "bald person underneath". Just me though I guess. It is the hair I wish I had when I had a choice and still I would probably stick my scarf on or my bear my bald head and head out! And I used to be so vain..sigh.. haha. I just wish I was clever and could tie scarves nicely.

Okay, gotta dash this laptop battery is about to rudely shut me up I think.

xoxoxo

www.leannebradshaw.com

Greetings everyone. My infusion (#2) went pretty well, except when they tried to push the A drug into my iv, it wouldn't go...seems they popped the vein...so they had to find another one to use and the rest of it went fine. I have mine late in the afteroon, so about 6:30 - 7 pm, I was whipped. Stayed out to take my meds, then off to bed. Woke up around midnight, took a penagram with saltines and ice water and work up at 5:00, little queasy but nothing my meds couldn't take care of. BUT they almost didn't give me the chemo...said my white counts were boarder line...so they finally agreed to go ahead and then said if my counts were down next week, they would give me a neulasta shot. WHat's the difference between neulasta and neupogen?

Also received some information I didn't want to hear...posted it under a different section (moving on after treatment, I think)...ha...my memory definitely doesn't last but a few minutes...I still have swelling under my armpit (not in my arm, but my side)...and I know it's from doing too much too soon. When I talked with the PA (didn't see the doc), she said the body would absorb the fluid...and it was starting to do that before I over-did-it...I asked when I could go back to lifting hay bales and 50 pound bags of feed, etc. (I have a small horse farm in addition to my full time job)...and she shook her head and said 5 to 10 pounds...basically forever. I looked at her, almost in tears, and said "I won't accept that!"...Please let me know what your doctors have told you regarding a mastectomy and resuming a normal life. Thanks. Janet