Calling all ladies in their 20's

Oh yeah! almost forgot... I found out about this GREAT program (AFTER I was done with chemo!) it's called Chemo Angels (www.chemoangels.com) and if you sign up one of the "angels" will send you a small gift every month through out your treatment. I would higly recommend it to any of you ladies currently in chemo or about to start (especially if you are far from family or friends). I know it REALLY made me feel good whenever I would get a card or a book or something from my friends or family

Hugs, Mari

Treadsoftly - my experience was pretty much the same as yours.  First week was worst (apart from the steroid days) second week had to take it wasy as I got tired real easy, but felt pretty good all things consdered in 3rd week. Overall I found it doable.

I'm just about finished with my rads now - only 5 boosts to go yay!  Then will be starting on the tamoxifen.  Will be interesting to see what the side effects will be - so hard to tell with so many horror stories around but am willing to give it a go. My onc just said to make sure I report any SEs and they hopefully can sort them out for me as they don't want me to STOP taking it so well see.

Hey ladies, I was on Taxol for a couple months and had really bad nose problems. I'd have to blow my nose a lot, and I'd see a lot of blood...it was also very dry and sore. My onc said I could put some Aquaphor or Vaseline inside. I would usually do it at bedtime, and it definitely helped.

shiramg - sorry you had such a rough time at the fertility specialist.  He really sounds very insensitive and not at all understanding what you were going through.  I was told by my Onc pre-chemo that with 4 cycles of TC, he was over 90% certain that my periods would return and fertility would be preserved.  We did not discuss egg harvesting at all.  Zoladex was mentioned but he felt that with only 4 cycles and my young age (29), that my ovaries would not need it.  Turned out he was right, and 3 months after my last TC, my period returned.  I dont know what chemo you are about to start, I know some are much harder on fertility than others.  What was your Onc's opinion?

Nanababy - I didnt get any fluid retention from taxotere but its defo a recognised side effect.  I just used a tiny bit of vaselene on my nose at night for the nosebleeds and it seemed to do the trick.  Liking the new profile pic - bet you never knew a buzz cut would suit you so much!

shiramg - I live alone too. After my surgery, my mom stayed with me for 2 weeks and then my aunt for 1...and I went crazy. I'm very used to being independent. During chemo, none of my friends slept over, but they stopped by daily to help with chores and meals and stuff. You're probably going to be pretty tired, so it helps to have someone else take care of the trash, laundry, cleaning, etc. But there are moments when I just wanted to be alone too. When you're not feeling that well, sometimes the last thing you want is for someone to see you. Are you going to have someone go with you to your treatments?

My mum insisted that I stay at home the night of chemo although there was really no need for it at all.  I think it was mainly to keep her happy that I wasnt in the toilet all night getting sick!! 

 I got great news today - I went in for my first mammogram and ultrasound since finishing treatment and all is completely NORMAL!!    Such a wonderful feeling! 

Sorry havent been here! Nice to see some new faces! I had some major family drama pop off! My sister in law actually thought i was faking my cancer so she didnt have to give me the $5,000 earned in a fundraiser over the weekend she sent the police to my chemo treatment on monday. But of course i o have cancer so she had to give the check to me... But it just got so NASTY! Today is the first day that i felt like getting on line since! This whole ordeal unfolded on freaking facebook! Talk about embarassing! I didnt even want to get my nuelasta shot cuz i was so embarassed! I mean my oncologist was questioned by the police! But its total water under the bridge now! I am def not talking to a few people for the rest of my life but eh whatever!

shiramg - probably too late but I have been away so haven't been able to post.  I did zoladex during my chemo. My periods stopped during chemo and returned 7 weeks after my last chemo. So i'm thinking the zoladex did its job I guess time will tell. I also didn't do the egg collection so the zoladex was the one thing I could do to try and preserve my fertility. So sorry your specialist wasn't very helpful.  I was lucky my specialist discussed all of our options - and said that as I was young (28) I could be confident that my periods would return and that there shouldn't be any long term problems with my fertility.  Good luck with your decisions.

texasrose361 - i had taxotere and yes the fluid retention was there. I also put on a couple of kilos due to the steroids (couldn't stop eating!).  Things have settled now and I'm just trying to build up my strength again before I worry about losing those couple of kilos. I think the loss of muscle tone is the main problem for me so I'm starting yoga next week - should be interesting.

i have some advice re: neulasta pain.  its not technianlly proven but i've heard from several girls that taking clariton the day of and continuing for the next 7 days will help.  i am getting my first shot today.  wish me luck, and please share any other advice you may have.

also, did anyone get chest pain?  from the TC?

Hi Nannababy, Yes I did TC x 4 pre surgery (lumpectomy).  My tumour was 3cm and very round and full pre-chemo.  Post chemo, it was down to approx 2.8cm and had lost a lot of its fullness, i.e. it felt more like a shrivelled prune!  My onc did tell me that ER positive tumours often do not show as good a response as ER negative tumours and not to be expecting miracles with chemo...

 I think the purpose of chemo for me was more to reduce the chances of recurrence rather than trying to shrink it pre-surgery, as they told me I could have a lumpectomy first, and then the TC x 4 if I wanted.  To be honest, I wanted to get the chemo out of the way as fast as possible and let my hair start growing again!  Im also happy with my lumpectomy scar.  There is a slight indentation on my boob that side but the scar is fading rapidly, my boyfriend and I call it my 'battle wound'!! 

Fingers crossed this cycle of taxotere will go smoothly for you Nannababy!

Shiramg - never experienced any chest pain from TC....

Shira - i didn't actually get any nausea during my 4 cycles of TC.  I found as long as I kept food in my tummy (I ate something every 2 hours) I felt fine. THere was one morning when I'd gone to bed early the night before and woke a bit later so had gone ages without eating anything that I felt a little nausea but took an extra anti-nasuea pill that I had just in case and felt much better by lunch time. I think my onc said that nausea wasn't usually associated with TC - but she also said that if I did suffer any to tell her as there are heaps of different anti-nasuea meds around these days and sometimes something else will work better, so don't put up with it if you do get nausea.