Chemo June 2010

DesignerMom - You Go Girl!!!!!  Way to go.  Congratulations to kicking some butt!   We are proud of you.  Hugs!!!

Girls - I actually used a little shampoo today on the baby hair I have growing back in on my head! Woohoo!  Progress.

Have a fabulous weekend my sisters.

YAY DMOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I was tested to see if I metabolize tamox.  I'm just starting it.  I am changing oncs so maybe the new one will do it.

Yay for Designermom!!!!!!!

JFV - you may want to ask your new onc about the tamox test - at least where I am, they don't always tell you about it because it is not covered by insurance (it costs US$290 here)

grneyd - I am also using baby shampoo - my hair has been growing back slowly throughout taxol (it fell out with AC). I love it because it is soooo soft - i touch it all the time :-)  but several people have told me that it is best to shave it at least once or twice, so it will grow back stronger. I'm loathe to do this, because i love the way it feels, and if i shave it it will be prickly again. Anyone have any opinions on this?

Congratulations D'Mom on reaching the finish line. Here's hoping for no SE.

Grneyd5600 ... hair, wonderful hair! Good for you. How long does it take to grow in following your last chemo???

Leaving tomorrow to go see the plastic surgeon to review mastectomy and reconstruction options. Appt on Monday...

Thanks guys, I've been getting 8 mg steroid, which I thought was a lot, but I guess not...

Sherry- Good that you have people looking out for you at work!

About the hair, I would rather wait till it gets a little longer and trim it, it will thicken...

Northerngirl - can you please report back what the PS tells you? I'd like to hear. Good luck!

grneyed-  Boy you have to travel a lot.  Try to not over-do.  Your body is still healing.  They say you don't fully get your energy back for up to a year after chemo. 

cheyenna- Girl you are headed for the finish line now.  You are going to make it!  Take a calendar and mark big X marks over the days you have had chemo, only 6 to go.  Look how far you have come!  Each one you X out will get you closer to the end.  You will see, you sort of get a second wind as you get closer to the finish.  This last Friday I genuinely looked forward to chemo, knowing it was my last one.

Okay ladies, I want you all to ask your Oncs to check your vitamin D levels if you haven't already.  There are tons of published medical articles about BC possibly being caused by low D levels.  It seems most of us may be low in D.  Mine was only 14  (ideally it should be 60-120 I think).  We need to do everything we can to prevent this BC beast from getting us again!

latte-Your Onc must not be up on the new MEDICAL thinking.  Even my Onc put me on a megadose of D for 6 weeks to try to bring up my count.   She prescribed 50,000iu of D3 once a week X 6 weeks.  Then said to take a normal Calcium + D supplement after.  It is fat soluble so be sure to take it with a bit of cheese, yogurt etc..to help absorption.  She did tell me to check with my Rads Onc to make sure he was okay with my taking it during rads. I have learned a lot on the alternative thread  "help with my Vitamin D levels".  If I find the article, I'll post it here.  There is also some thought that Iodine deficiency (which it seems most of us have) is also putting us at risk.  More on that topic as I find out. 

sandiddstn-  Glad you had a great trip.  Sounds lovely.  I think it's totally normal to be scared before chemo.  I got very upset before each one.  Chemo is tough and starting a new chemo means a new routine, new side effects, new meds.  It's a big adjustment.  Just remember you are one tough lady and you can handle it! 

I did pretty well on my first AC.  I made two mistakes though.  I missed a couple of doses of nausea medicine and I drank coffee.  So, I guess my advice is double check your meds and go easy on the food and drink for a couple of days to keep your tummy OK.

Hugs and best wishes!  Joan

sandiddstn, i think youll do great, i was very lucky i had no problems or side effects from the AC, i was an emotional wreck, but flew through it!! i did sleep 20 hours after my last one, drink drink drink!!! walk walk walk, it really does help with chemo fatigue... and of course stay on ur meds. i took compazine for 3 days after my chemo just in case... your gonna do fine and we will be here to help you through it!!! do you have any hair after the Taxol, ill have my 6th taxol tomorrow (monday) i  have lashes and eyebrows but hear they will fall out again after the taxol is done? thanks, i will be thinking of you,

love chey

Hi, all.  Glad you are working your way through the remainder of your chemo tx. Wish it was past you, too. Sorry for those being delayed. I'm sure your frustration is immeasurable. 

I'm now a month past last chemo and noticing things that have improved or not so great things that have comeback...like that pesky post-nasal drip. It's just amazing to me that chemo stopped it cold and now that my body is recovering from the chemo and the new cells can grow again, back comes PND. That is truly something I could have done without forever.

Today after my 5th radiation tx I saw the RO and described to him the shooting pains I'm getting in the bottom half of the treated breast and the ache under my arm where the nodes were removed. He poked and prodded, sometimes pressing deep into my ribs, and then told me that the pains are a sign of early inflammation of the chest wall and breast tissue due to the radiation. It's a bit early for it to start, but it's real. He told me to take OTC anti-inflammatory for the pain, to only wear a sports bra and to keep the breast supported, not to lift anything heavier than 5 lbs with that arm (my right), and to massage the area regularly. So, there you have it. After only 4 rads tx the SEs started appearing. I've got 28 more to go. Not sure if rads tx is going to be less traumatic than chemo or not. It's an odd feeling to be lying on a metal mesh table with huge machinery going back and forth over you, listening to the timer click off seconds, and imagining what this radiation can be doing to you, besides the original focus of eradicating the possibility of recurring cancer in that area. Scary stuff, this.

DesignerMom...no, I've never heard of Emu oil, but there is a flock of Emus 'stabled' a few blocks from my home. Where do you suppose the oil comes from in those critters? Think 'fresh' Emu oil is better than store bought?

Thanks for asking about my Mom. She is better on some fronts and worse on others. Trying to deal with insulin at any age is tough but at nearly 89 it's just downright dangerous. She is still on prednisone and it's taking it's toll on her, just as it's done to some of us. Mom is far from 'out of the woods' yet. I go to her multiple weekly appointments, as well as mine. Still scared for her...and more tired than I ever remember being.

Am going through rads tx with one eye on the door.  I think that for me every day will be one for making a decision whether to continue or not. With chemo we all knew that we HAD to keep going. With rads it's not so clear since the benefits are less defined. Or so I see it. No, I'm not longing for the good-old-days of chemo, Heavens, NO. Just think I understood that better than rads and found it all more tangible in some strange way. Radiation is just something out of sci-fi to me.  But, of course, I forget that the founder of Breastcancer.org is a radiation oncologist. Oh, did you listen to her personal message. She herself was diagnosed with bc earlier this year. She didn't divulge her tx for fear that every one of us would rush out and demand the same from our docs, but looks like she didn't do any chemo because she has a full head of long curly hair that definitely isn't a wig. Makes you know how random bc really is, that even she could end up fighting this damn disease.

Hi all.  Bon good to "hear" from you on here today.  I am grappling with things that are going through my brain at the moment.  The first is radiation.  I am supposed to complete a series of radiation when I'm finished with chemo (if that day ever comes).  I don't understand what additional benefits radiation will have since I will have completed two chemo tx regimens.  My onc has mentioned a couple of times that because I had extra-capsular extension (cancer has spread outside the wall of the affected node) in one of my positive nodes that he would want to be sure and concentrate a certain amount of radiation to my underarm area. If the purpose of chemo is to kill all cancer cells in your body, what would there be left to zap with radiation? 

I'm also seriously thinking about having a BMX when I finish chemo.  The cancer plus the tx has taken me to a place I've never been before, which I'm sure you all understand.  Recurrence is very much on my mind and what I am most fearful of at this point.  My journey since April has wreaked havoc with my entire being.  I told my husband last night that I could NEVER go through this again.  He says he is fine with whatever decision I make.  He's been such a great support through all this. I just feel like if I remove my boobs, it will lessen my risk for recurrence.  Plus I wouldn't have to have all the tests and scans every few months for several years which would keep recurrence ever present in my mind.  If I was younger, I might not feel the same way.  But, they're just boobs and since they've tried to kill me, I think I might want new ones. 

What do you guys think?  I really want to hear what you have to say.  You all are the ones who really do understand what I'm going through. 

Hi Sherry - glad you're back with us again! about the rads - i don't know the answer to your question, but for me I was told i need rads because i had positive nodes, and i am going to do everything possible to make sure that i get rid of the cancer. about the BMX decision, i think i am going to have mx (am meeting with surgeon in 2 weeks to discuss it) - but the main reason is because my stats are much worse because i am BRCA1+. I don't think i would consider BMX if i was negative, but everyone needs to decide what is best for them. Would having the genetics test help you decide?

DMom - your bird knowledge is seriously lacking :-)  yes, it's a bird that is native to australia, and it is a bit like an ostrich but bites viciously if you get too close.

sherry, i had a mx and plan on taking the boob in November and at the same time the will do reconstruction... when they told me its breast cancer, i did not know at the time how big or how bad i just said take them!!! and sooooo glad i did, im young too but i dont ever want to go back and hear them say we need to do a biopsy and then cancer.. i dont care that they can keep an eye on me and catch it early!!!!!! early still can mean chemo.... Im done with BC its bad enough we have to worry about a distant  recurrence. they do beautiful reconstruction now a days, but go to a surgeon the does only breast reconstruction for cancer.That is just how i feel about it, as you, i feel i to have been to a place ive never been, im not the same girl and never will be. i will always be looking over my shoulder, but we all chose  very aggressive routes..those cells dont have a chance!!!

love Chey