February 2011 chemo pals

Yes the shot it important.  I did have it.  I still had issues with my counts, but the shot did finally kick in.  I enede up in the hospital because my nuetrfuls crashed.  I wasnt able to fight any infection I would have gotten.

YAHOOOOOOO Sukie!!!!!!!!!!!  I bet your doing cartwheels.  Ok ya dont really have to do them, just do them in your mind, lol.

Had number 3 of TAC yesterday. I'm halfway through! Although it's daunting the think I have to do exactly what I've already done. I'm doing much better this time around than the previous two. I always get really bad nausea, which I still have, but my ONC added ativan yesterday and it seems to be helping some. I even feel as though I've been able to drink an adequate amount so far.

I haven't worn my wig yet either. I love my scarves! I am taking it to the Look Good Feel good program with me next monday. They said they may be able to style it better for me. So Maybe I'll where it but I doubt it.

Jenn_H- my nose is really runny too. I've read that when our hair falls out, so does some of our nose hair and there is nothing to catch it. So carry some extra tissues. Also the taxotere can cause excess tears, People always think I'm crying..lol. My ONC said they could put a shunt in if it got too bad. I say no thank you! I'll deal with teary eyes.

And I agree that chemo is no fun. It took my mom 5 trys to draw my labs last week and then it took the nurses four times to access my port yesterday. I got so nervous I ended up with diarrhea all morning. I've had enough of needles for now!

Hope everyone's treatments go well this week! I'll probably be sleeping most of the rest of today and tomorrow. Chemo totally whipes me out.

Melanie

FEC-D Start: Jan 28/2011 Cycle 3/6 Day 6

Three FEC done...3 taxotere( D) to go. The pattern has been the same for each treatment for me...day 4 and 5 are the worst then slowly emerging from the misery by day 6. ( TODAY! ) I have been more fatigued this round but I think it must be cumulative. SO tired of laying on the couch unable to do much so am going to try to do a few things today.

Now looking ahead to taxotere and wondering how that is going to compare.

OH I also wanted to ask the group...

I find myself "nesting" before each treatment...lol. I feel like everything has to be clean and straight before I go in for treatment so I can relax in those days that I don't feel well. I stay up until like 2 am trying to get it all done! It's probably good for me though because I'm not the neatest person in the world.

I like getting some things in order before chemo, too. My favorite thing to do is get the bills paid several weeks in advance so I don't have to worry they're overdue while I'm taking a week to recouperate from the treatment.  Not sure why it calms me, but it does.  I used to do the same thing a few days before I knew PMS and my period were to start, that way I could take a breather and not feel like things were behind.

I think it's great that we pamper ourselves ahead of time; it is important for our health.

golfer - you might want to bring your own tools to the pedicure and suggest that they disinfect the basin before you put your feet in it just to be safe.  Also you might try an antihistimine eye drop to help with your tears.

melanie, divine and fuzzy - I "nest" and do the bill paying thing too! How funny we all have the same thoughts.  I did it before all 5 surgeries too not being sure how I was going to be after, now its a habit! 

jenn,

being the center of that kind of attention, like getting gifts, that's what I've experienced too.  I work as an aide in an elementary school, my coworkers are wonderful, but at times the attention gets overwhelming. I'm not always sure how to handle it.  I also get lots of cards in the mail, and phone calls from people I haven't heard from in years.  On the one hand it's flattering, but I'm dealing with a health crisis here, and am not sure how much I want to talk to simply everyone about everything.  I let my answering machine pick up a lot. 

Hi everyone,

I have lots of catching up to do but too tired to do now.  Round 3 of EC was definitely harder than the first 2. quesiness lasted longer and I had to break out the compazine a few times. headache also lasted longer.  good news is that the ONC says they are from the antinausea meds and they are not routinely given with the taxol so headaches and constipation may go away with the second set of drugs.  I was also much more tired, i was coming home from work and sleeping for 2-3 hours.

Melanie it sounds like that nesting bug hits a lot of us, I definitely have to have the bills paid and soup stocked in the fridge.  I was at work too late today because I "Needed" to get a project done before chemo tomorrow, I did not want to come back to it especially with Chemo brain, I was afraid I would forget what i had done! This week was the added bonus of doing the tax prep work, again wanted to get it done before Chemo tomorrow.  House work not so much but like to have the area near my comfy chair tidy.

So headaches, naps, power outages, bill paying and tax prep have occupied most of my at home time, I was thinking about all of you and hope all are doing OK.  My last round of Ec is tomorrow them I start 4 rounds of DD Taxol....Almost half way there!

I did get a Girlfriends dinner in on Monday to celebrate a friends birthday - they timed it around my Chemo schedule it was great to get out and eat out out, though my eating habits have definitely changed for the better, I hope I can maintain it after Chemo.

I have got to get some sleep, Will check in this weekend as long as the headaches don't keep me away from the computer.

Love to all, and welcome to all our new members.

Jean

GolferGrandma - I agree on the pampering DH and ds were away last Saturday and I picked up my set of tools and headed out to get a mani pedi - it definitely felt good, here i am just hoping too be able to were peep toed shoes not quite ready for flip flops. Onc jsut said bring my own tools and not cutting of cuticles.

Jean

Dear Fellow Suffragettes,

Well, talked to my breast surgeon at the cancer center yesterday, it was such a relief to finally discuss all my whining and terrors with him.  We changed around some of my meds to hopefully ward off nightmares and diarrhea, and he showed me my mammograms (my cancer is in several parts, a big one leading the other smaller ones) and I wanted to see how close to my chest wall the growths were, and they are a healthy distance away.  Made me feel hopeful that when they do the mastectomy at end of chemo, all of it will come out with great margins.  

Doc told me because of the inflammatory presentation I had with IDC, that they had never thought of saving my boob, and also they simply had to stick with the four ACs and twelve Ts (I was trying to talk him out of so many Taxols).  They have to try to kill all the cancer cells that likely roamed away from the original site becaue of the nature of my cancer.  He did not like it that I had nightmares, fevers, diarrhea for eight days, he was most concerned, so he told me I should call down there if it looks like it's going that way again.  That was nice.  He said my boob looked much better, which I had told him I thought it did too, so I appreciated that one piece of good news being confirmed by him.

Today I go over there for Chemo #3.  God help me.  Thanks all for responding to my last post.  I have this picture in my mind of all of us being abandoned in a vast desert, crawling to the nearest water hole, endless misery the only landscape around us.  GG

GG - Thank you fo rthe update!  Sounds like it went very well and was much needed.  Good luck today...mine #3 is tomorrow...and I'm nervous. 

Today is laundry, shopping, cleaning, drinking, cleaning, drinking, cleaning!  But, I have curry shrimp with ginger for lunch and I'm super excited about that!! 

I hope everyone has a good day today.  HUGS!!

golfer - just be careful about your germ exposure in a public setting (golf) with a low white count.  Had you been getting Neulasta previously?

I wanted to share this..it really brightened my day. I just got a package in the mail from the Gaila Fund...a beautiful black velvet turban with ties that I ordered a few weeks back. It was free and it is REALLY chic and I LOVE it and I wanted to pass this along to all of you to check out their site. It's small kindnesses like this that help me get through all this..

http://www.gailafund.org/site/

Thinking of all of you...

#3 for me today...I'm a little tired and felt a tad dizzy and head achy, but overall ok. Didn't sleep well last night since my mom was coming today, excitement, anticipation for today...

Sry about the hair pejkug...don't worry...wearing scarfs is kind of fun. I pick out my scarf and then the outfit and jewelry to match!

My mom brought me a Pandora bracelet with the angel of hope charm and a breast cancer charm and my sister gave me another breast cancer charm. My aunt brought me three willow tree angels....I have been showered with gifts the last few days...I could get used to this

Hope eevryone is feeling well!