February 2011 chemo pals

FEC-D Start: Jan 28/2011 Cycle 2/6 Day 12

jenn

My hair started falling out about day 14 after chemo and by day 21 was coming out in handfuls. By day 23 I had about 2% left and haven't really lost that last bit. I really don't know why I didn't snip off the rest other than it amuses me? ( odd sense of humour I guess) And I'm curious to see if it ALL falls out yet. Plus it's so cold here I may have deluded myself into thinking it keeps my head a little warmer. I do wear a hat in the house too.

Hey MY Feb Warrior Friends,



Have not posted a a few days and just caught up with everyone. I am in the "good Week" and trying to get ducks in a row in prep for next week.



so glad to hear every is doing OK...I am gearing up for EC round 3 on Thursday.



pejkug3-i too have a large head confirmed by the wig lady.-23 1/2" the beubeu scaves are working good- that was the link that was just posted hair4women and I will look for another i used that actually had sized hats and scarves that worked very well. the gaila scarves work and they will send one at no charge to cancer patients. There is a thread here with lots of great links for hats and scarves i will bump it as soon and I am done posting so it comes to the active thread list. You should have hair for a december wedding, my friend who went throughout this last year said it started growing back right after the last chemo treatment, here started out in tight curls. we get 1/2" growth a month should be good for the december wedding. one girl told me today I should use my wig when I go out even when my hair comes back as she loves the cut and style!



My hair loss has slowed-there is not much left but the tingling has stopped. I have not yet buzzed but it it cut very short 1/2'. I agree it is better to take the jump and cut/buzz when it starts to go, the proces of it falling out is more distressing than I thought, MIchelle i love the Charlie brown christmas tree image...I was most emotional when it was very thin and it did not look like me, now that it is cut and I have the wig and scaves i feel better about it. I love the image of our heads reminding people to get their mammogram- a great powerful message.



I am wearing a wig to work and a scarf at home. People think the wig is mine unless I tell them but that I either blew it out or had a keratin treatment, so I will enjoy my new straight hair for the duration then back to my curls/waves/cowlicks.



I am wondering if the shedding process will begin anew with next treatment? Will let you all know.



Has anyone else been getting very heavy periods? I thought I was done for good last summer and have had 3 in the last 2 months...I thought Chemo was supposed to stop that.



I also had a sore throat. Was worse after the first TX, found biotine rinse helped a lot. some also recommend gargling with salt water.



so glad the kids are taking the news well. My 15YO son wanted me to get a mohawk but by the time I had it cut it was to thin to even do for a photo op. They have been very supportive and said that they are confident because I am confident but the 15YO did want me to onfirm that the doctors were confident too and it was just me. I think the older ones have to process in their own time.

sorry this seems to be rambling.



Good luck to all having treatments this week, hope for light SE for all, it definitely helps knowing that we feel pretty good again by day 7-8.



for treatment day also bring some easily digestible snacks to eat while there, I think I look like I am moving in too but spend a lot of time in the waiting room and feel better with book, ipod, ipad, water bottle, snacks, tissues,lip balm etc. I have my tote bag loaded to go.



{{HUGS}}to all

jean



sorry did not update signature

DD EC 2/4 T 0/4 started Feb3, day 13 next TX 3/3.

Good morning ladies,

Well I did have zero white counts again AND am anemic...so back under house arrest.  I can say that losing the hair over the weekend was a traumatic experience and every time I see myself in a mirror am startled.  I, too, told myself that it was indicative of the chemo doing it's thing and am glad to see the cancer is being eradicated.  Understanding the "what head covering do I wear" and being very self conscious about it has intensified.  My head is still very sensitive and the wigs feel different bald. Anyone have a suggestion about what type of head cap to wear under their wigs?  I chucked the wig yesterday and wore a hat; scarves also feel much better.  I may end up not wearing a wig at all.  I did go to the underhair sight suggested and am awaiting a sample ring to match hair color.  Thanks for posting that one in Tampa.  

I was able to do lite yardwork yesterday morning.  My daffodils are up and had 2 bags in garage that didn't get planted in fall-they were sprouting through the bags so I decided if they could sprout in adverse conditions, so could I!  I put those bulbs right in the ground-which leads me to my next comment...Day 9-14 Yay!!!!!  I was able to function yesterday with no nap, nausea or bone pain!!!  I'm relishing in the good days and thankful that God answers prayers!

Have a great day ladies!!!!

Renee 

Cindy and others who already had a few AC treatments... do you find the SE to increase with each new dose?
If you were tired after the first one, are you more tired after the second? I am now day six past the first treatment, and I feel 99% fine, but I wonder if it will get progressively worse, so I can plan accordingly.

Hi all, I'm a little late getting back here, treatment two is tomorrow.

Fuzzy, the way it worked for me is, and according to some of my chemo papers, third or fourth day is when people are at rock-bottom with feeling awful.  Also, sore throat can happen from the chemo, too, so gargling and swishing salt water with a little baking soda in it helps a lot, four times a day at least.

Golfer, I did my wig shoppping with my mother yesterday, and I also got some cool scarf "caps" that are pre-tied, but I also borrowed one of my mother's regular large rectangular ones.  So, find a long one, buy one if you need to, it'll cover your splotchy fallout head, and yet your good hair sections can peek out fom under the scarf to look nice.  The scarf, you begin it across your forehead a few inches above your eyebrows, wrap it around to the back and tie it, then wrap it all the way around and tie it, with the long pieces as "hair" on the sides or back, you know.  My tying advice isn't perfect, online may have some tie type methods.

Ladies, Thursdays are my chemo days every two weeks, new one tomorrow.  Well, just a few days ago, on Monday, I actually felt almost normal, other than being weak and irritable as the day wears on.  So, it was great to see my folks, did the wig shopping, glad I've got some stuff for when the hair goes.  I got this cute little terry-cloth "bed hat," it looks like a small version of a baker's hat, purple of course, and I'm gonna wear that at home all the time (I live in my PJs, I'm 60 and I've earned it!  Ha!).  My scarves are for groceries, etc.  And hair wig is for "personal appearances."  It's not as long as my regular hair (to the waist), but more shoulder-length-ish, so when my real hair reaches that length, I can switch over and let it continue to grow.

QUESTION:  I'm thinking about when my hair starts to part with my skull and float off into the winds of forever, that I shall rubberband it and cut it, and donate it to myself.  I'm trying to figure out a way to keep those ends (glued?) stuck together, and then I can use a clip barrett to attach the ponytail to my real hair when it grows out some.  That way I have my long hair back in a hurry.  I've thought about supergluing it to a strip of cloth, not quite as long as my clips, or mashing the ends into lots of uber-sticky duct tape, or WHAT SHOULD I DO?  It's probably a lost cause.  But if wig people can make falls and extenders out of real hair, so can I, I think!!!  Maybe I'll look online at "make your own extensions" or something, DYI sort of thing, or study them and try to replicate what I see.  ANY IDEAS FOR ME?  It's a lot of hair, not too thick, just very long.

Well, back to being attacked by a Kimono Dragon tomorrow, and will be miserable for a half-dozen days or so.  I'm gonna ask nurse for anti-nausea drug that will knock me out eight hours... drove me nuts to wake up at 2 a.m. with fever and nightmares and pain.  Or guess I need to just ask the doc to give me pain medicine, I have some pills for my back problems, but can't be taking extras of those or I'll run out.  Maybe I need to make an appointment with him for tomorrow or Friday when I come back for the shot.

Oh, and I cannot hardly stand the thought of having to begin Taxol after this Adrian/Cyto stuff is done in a couple more weeks... I posted a new thread in the forum "Help with Treatments," I think it is, about how come some chemos take so many weeks!?!  Divine, I'm also taking chemo as presurgery thing, but not doing reconstruction, the doc just wants good margins.  So, I'm doubly concerned about waiting around sooooo long for surgery, it'll be 12 weeks of Taxol.  So, thought I'd let you ladies know, if you had any interest in that subject, that it's over there.

Love to all, GG (dogeyed)

Melanie, your picture looks great, mohawk brings out your pretty face and your smile is beautiful:)

Hi everyone, I haven't posted as much here because I've been over on the TCH board but I've been keeping up with everyone. I started chemo on 2/15/11 so I'm on day 15 of cycle 1. My hair began shedding terribly this morning in the shower. The drain was full of hair and my hands were full of hair...it was just endless. When I brushed it, it just kept filling the brush. I've decided to try to make it until Friday and then I'm going to buzz it...it's just falling out so fast and making a mess. I got a lot more emotional about it than I expected. I'm going to take the day off from work on Friday to deal with it because I'm afraid I'll be really upset when my husband cuts it off. I have the wig ready but I have such mixed feelings about it. When I put it on it just feels like I'm wearing a costume. I guess it's going to take time to get used to it. Thanks for letting me vent.

SpecialK Okay, thanks for that post-actually made me laugh which was not easy today. I'm having a bad day between the major shedding and starting my period on the same day and definitely needed something to smile about. The "365 days of Halloween" comment is hysterical-you totally summed it up for me! I'm taking control and buzzing my hair on Friday...

Lisa -

What kind of wig did you get?

 I ordered two, they should come this week.  One is monofilament, the other is just 'regular', I guess?

My hari hasn't started to shed, but I'm already dreading it.  My husband keeps telling me not to cut it, "What if you don't lose it?" - but I feel like that's false hope.

Two friends are coming over to scissor it off tomorrow.  I don't know if I'll get to the point where I buzz it - that just seems so traumatic in my mind.   

Good evening all!  I have my second treatment on Friday ... getting a little nervous ... Does anyone do anything to prepare for their next round?  I was pretty ill for six days following the last one ...

Hugs and a smile!

LOL!!!  It can be thihs thread too!!

I'm pooped myself ... have a great night!

Hi girls! My hair is almost gone.  I just have stuble.  Im gonna let it hang on until itwants to go.  I just dont want razor stuble on my head and legs.  Speaking of legs, still gotta shave them, grrr.  Im finding my stuble all avet the place, lol.  Im like come on I cant have that much left to find.

Im having the same hip isssues with Neulasta as I sis the last time.  Its in my hips.  Today though I did feel like I was given a huge hurts doughit in the arm a few times.  Weird new pain.  I see the Onc Fri so I will see.

Take care my sisters!

Fuzzy..yes that is a hilarious thread. Feels good to laugh and "escape" the serious stuff once in awhile. We all need a good dose of laughter..and asparagus !!

I found myself addicted to it....uh oh...is that a cure or a cause!! LOL! I have NEVER laughed so hard, for so long! Maybe we should take it on the road?

Charlottesmama..I am imagining the next person that goes to try on that hat in the store and finds it full of hair stubble..I can just picture their expression..*L* And Jean... what an experience that would be, chasing after your hair across the parking lot...*L*

Sometimes the absurdities of what we have to go through is so funny. When my hair really started falling out I remember laughing so hard when I was in the shower and and all this loose wet hair got PLASTERED to my entire face and I could hardly get it off. What an experience.