April 2011 chemo

I know what you mean about the calendar thing -- overwhelming at times.  I think I went 23 years without going to a doctor (other than my chiro), and all of a sudden I'm running all over the place to various appointments.  I had 8 in one week!  Drove me insane!  It's mellowing out a bit now, thank goodness.

I think the testing is hard too....been to the hospital everyday this week and again all next week.  Thank goodness for cancer free weekends.

I love the PACMAN image.  I'm going to see if hubby can get the game for my kids DSI's and I can borrow it and play during infusion.

If you are on a budget...ask friends to lend you their scarves....I have about 3-4 in my closet that I never wear....(don't we all)...or wear once/twice a year...my friends are happy to lend them to me.  I did go wig shopping (wow, expensive)...so not sure what I am going to do.

Is anyone getting neupogen shots rather than neulasta?

Kg.

If you go to a shop specializing in Cancer Image they can help you with the expense on the wig.  My insurance does not cover the wig, but they were kind enough to give me a substantial discount and no sales tax because of my perscription.

Yay!  Congrats Soon2!  That's fantastic news!!!

congrats on the job for your husband!!! more good news here.. my husband and i just got back from our daughters senior prom!! she is sooo beautiful!!! we went and took pictures earlier and they turned out so great!!!can't wait to get them back then it will be time for graduation in may!!! i'll get back to cancer monday but for now i am spending my weekend trying not to think about my treatment starting then....

i hope all have a great weekend!!!

kg1234 So glad you like that Pacman idea brilliant idea to get it on the DSI, 'power to the pacman', chomp that cancer away.

Teckler2 My steroid is called Dexamethasone 2mg now Ive got the hang of this i take 2 paracetamol at the same time to stop the hot flushed feelings and a couple of rennie to ward off the bad indigestion. 

scc218 I was exactly the same never hardly ever went to the doctors, infact the nurses on the chemo ward commented on how thin my file was, thank god last week is over. 

profbee Thankyou for your kind words of encouragement regarding the test results, I only have one result left and thats the CT scan all the others were fine and I'm putting all my focused meditation energy into making the CT scans clear as well.  Saying a special little prayer for you and your Jack, fingers crossed everything goes well. 

I'm having a bob cut next week then the week following a shorter style pixie crop then shaved, in the gradual removal of my hair (cause its very very long and i've never had short hair so the shock of it falling out might upset too much). 

soon2 Congratulations for your husbands job, it must of been a huge financial strain on you. I understand the stress this can put you under as well as dealing with this cancer nightmare. I'm a self employed designer/artist and have not made any money for about 6 months (due to the recession) luckily my boyfriend managed to get a job early this year which is supporting us and taking me through this disease as even though I am english and paid taxes and NI contributions I still dont get any benefits to help me through this so I have absolutely no money of my own, its really tough not to stress about money and practical matters but we must not worry, we need to be calm and collected and very very positive.

Lots of love and light to all of you

Sarah Sweety xxx 

Windlass - I HEAR YOU and am sending you lots of hugs and good thoughts!  You will get through this!  Got my port two weeks ago (along with a bone biopsy that thankfully was negative).  I start my TAC cocktail on Wednesday tx every three weeks for 6x.  Then surgery, then radiation.  Then whatever else they think of.  My daughter is already planning a fun trip for when this is all over! I agree, cancer sucks!  But we are all here together. 

What I really like about this site is that it is fullof incredible support and HONEST feelings.  Friends and family sometimes want to avoid the real feelings and want us to be better - so we play along and may not be able to share how we really feel.  Thank you everyone!

artie cat -

I'm going to have acupuncture prior as well. Have you had it and if so does it work?

axtella- i want to put my 2 cents in about acupuncture. I go every week for treatments for me, and i find it WONDERFUL. At the very least, it is great to relax on the table for an hour. But the treatments themselves help me with so many things. My adive would be if you do decide to go, tell your acupuncturist everything! They can put some things together to treat in a different way than our regular docs do.

Oh, and also do some research on who you see. There are acupuncturists out there that have only taken a 30-40 hr course and aren't as knowledgeable as ones that are herbalists and have had substantially more training. 

Let me know how it goes if you decide to see one. 

Massage and Acupunture is apart of my treatment at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I was so lost in finding an oncologist. I did not care for the first one I saw. We are so blessed to have one of these four treatment centers in my area!

Hi everyone

Add me to the group! I get my port in on Tuesday, April 12 and begin TCH (6 cycles) on April 19 and then H for a year, followed by Tamoxifin for 5 years. I had a BMX on Feb 16 w TRAM recon, so I am still recovering. I started back to work (I work at a college, teaching and in the Athletic Dept) and it feels so good to be "normal." again, only to have to start Phase 2 of Chemo life next week. I had a funky tumor - it was 85% HER2neg but 15% positive. I had the lab checked out, which turned out to be reputable and got a 2nd opinion as well. I feel like I did more research this past 3 months than I did for my entire dissertation!!! I have accepted I need to do chemo and feel a lot better once I stoped fighting it and being angry about it. I am going tomorrow for a wig fitting. My little son is very scared about the hair loss, so I am getting one good wig and then a bunch of cheap fun ones - like pink, ice bonde, jet black, etc... I think I'm going to try to have as much fun with this as possible, so that my 2 kids (ages 13 and 10) remember this as not so terrible (positive thinking). I went through this with my mom and I can't recall one positive thing about it, so it's pretty tough for me. Going to keep thinking positive and rock the wig look!

Hello all! Got my port on Friday, not the best experience. My veins are really tired. I had two burst in the back of my hand and, after quite a search, they found one in my forearm. The "twilight" sedation was more like "the break of day." I was fully aware of all that was done, without any pain of course. I started weeping when the doctor was numbing me up and he had to take a break. It did finally come to an end. I'm sore, but managing to continue all that I need to do. I think I am just tired of being poked. I will be glad to get started Thursday on chemo and I'm hoping to get a routine back.

I went wig shopping today and yes, they are expensive. I am glad to hear that insurance may cover some of the cost. I guess I need to ask for a prescription for a prosthetic? Does anyone know the wording? Apparently the receipt needs to call it a prosthetic and not a wig. 

I hope those of you who started this last week are all doing well and had a relaxing weekend. I feel encouraged that so many are not having a terrible time with SE's 

Best wishes to those of us starting this week! Take care, xoxox 

off to my first treatment with a headache i do believe that is from the dethamethasone i stated taking yesterday?? not real nervous just ready to go and hopefully get rid of this headachi hope all is doing well!!

Pawprint- I hope your headache eases up for you today. I had one too from the demathasone. I'll be thinking of you today

Michelle

Pawprintgirl: Glad to hear things are going good so far. Best of luck to you sleeping tonight.