Is there a July 2011 group?

Jamie 30- it is easy to pull back and let the SE's get to you, I find it really important to try to keep going as I did before BC as much as possible.  After the 1st tx I was paying attention to every little blip I was feeling looking for something to happen.  Then I decided to not do that because I was focusing too much on it and the things I was feeling were probably things that were just things.  I try to find the humor in many things because a really good laugh feels so good!  I started losing my hair yesterday morning and I welled up with tears and a little panic that it was really happening.  Got over that quickly and had my friend (stylist) come to the house and cut my hair off to the pixie style that is popular.  My 19yr old daughter sat and watched and smiled the whole time.  I feel great, love the new look even if it will be a few days, but it gives me excitement of what I have to look forward to.  You just have to tell yourself that this battle going on internally is going to make you better in the long run and that this can be done!  I have a gym membership too and have stayed clear from the gym.  SOOOOOO many germs and sweating people in close proximities it is NOT worth it.  I tend to be an avid outdoor excerciser and last winter when I got forced to the gym, I got a cold right away and was out for a week.  If its too hot, walk in the early morning when the air is clean and everything is cooler and fresher - my favorite time to run! I am sorry to hear when SE's get us down, but alot of positive self-talk really does great things.  Come up with a personal mantra for the day and just tell yourself this over and over and it works.  One day - my mantra was simply "I WILL" and mind over matter is powerful.  love to all warriors in pink!

Dexxy...that is exactly why I dont ask for help from others too.  My husband is awesome but someone has to work and pay these bills, lol.  So I am staying home with our 3 boys.  I still have to cook, clean, run errands, break up fights, and deal with school issues.  It has to be done so I do it.  Hope things get better for you soon!  That is alot to deal with back to back.

I do have a question.  About a week after my first chemo I got a little dark bruise looking area where my iv was.  The skin peeled on it and now looks like a white scared area.  Well now the spot where my iv was for my second infusion is RED.  It showed up Friday or Saturday maybe, idk, about 10 days after my chemo.  It started as a light red area.  I just thought it would be kinda like the first one. Well now it is bright red, about the size of a quarter, and is kinda burning.  It feels like a burn.  Has anyone had this happen?  Should I call my onc about it or wait until Tuesday when I go for another chemo?

Ybrooker1 - Have you tried using colace after treatment to help with the bm?  I have found that I get constipated after my infusion.  I take 2 colace the day of treatment.  If nothing, I take 2 more the next morning.  This usually works for me.  Senokot S also works great if nothing happens and it is not as harsh as some others.  After my BMX and using hydrocodone, I did not have a BM for 5 days and I thought I was pooping out a baby.  Now I will take whatever I need to to get the job done.  Hope this helps.

Hi Rabbit, Port went off without a hitch. Had a mild sedative because I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cutting into me. Nurse with bad needle skills on my IV though. It looks like my cat scratched me.

hi all!

khs113, so glad the port wasn't too bad, I hope you got some percocets or hydrocodones...for me the first several days were pretty sore.

Jamie, please call the Dr. they should be able to tell you over the phone what to do or have you come in. let us know! 

Bless0Mel that's indeed a wonderful piece of news! So happy for you. Dance sing rejoice!

Izzy325: You bring up a good question. My 13 daughter asked to come with me on the first treatment and I made her go to the summer program she was in. Now that she is done with that, she could go to the next one with me.

Do you guys think that this might be too much for 13? She has been through a lot medically herself with open heart surgery and complications from surgery, being on blood thinners around a year… She also has ADHD and it has been a job trying to settle her down into understanding the seriousness of this. It might be good for her, but an emotional journey that I don't know that I want to put her through.

J-Bug: I personally think that if your daughter wants to go, take her. However, it would be nice that if doesn't work out there is someone there who can take her home.  I have a 15 year old son and he doesn't like to talk about whats is going on and doesn't want to go.

I am so sorry to hear about the non-support I am reading. That is worse poison than what we are getting injected with. Hang in there and keep in mind if needed just lean over to the person with the poison and tell them to Piss off. Isn't being rude a SE we can lay claim to?

So is this weird? I am very comfortable in my baldness (mabe not in public though). I bought hats, turbins and bandanas and I like the bandanas. But tonight I was at a Cub Scout leader meeting and when it was wrapping up I looked at the leaders and said, "Ok who wants to see my bald head". Boy the looks were the funniest. Took off my bandana and oh did I feel so much better. The funny thing is I was told that it needs a tan. Oh and how many times have you been scratched by your husbands 5 o'clock shadow, well I chased my husband around with the top of my head. Payback! 

Hello ladies, I havent posted in a few days but have been reading all your posts, THANK YOU for sharing this journey and for all the feedback and advise, it is very helpful to know that I am not going through this journey alone or feeling the way I am feeling.

Pheeww where do I start? okay, lets start about negative people; this journey for me has "opened" my eyes (me & DH) and made me see who are my "true & real" people (family & friends) and who are not. There are some family members and friends that I thought were close and i opened up and told them abt my BC and treatments, the return i got was either silent treatment or occassional calls or sulking all together. My sister in law is one of them, mind you she is the older and only sister among 5 brothers!! She has been MIA sulking since before i started chemo, i.e more than 5 weeks now.She lives less than 25 mins from us and we have not seen her since before i started chemo!! she claims that i screamed/shouted at her over the phone so she is sulking! she called my hubby a few times and they have been missing eachother on the phone, finally they spoke (this is after i had my 1st chemo already) and my hubby told her that he doesnt care what did what, all he knows is that we are going through one of the toughest times and she is and has not been there!!! she has not made any attempt to call the house phone or come over!! that conv happened 3 weeks ago and until today we have not seen or heard from her!! The other person is one of my hubby's young brothers. My DH told both his young bros the first time we got the news, this is in April 2011!! he came to see me "briefly" for 5 mins once after i had my surgery... todate, we have not heard or seen him, and mind you he also lives less than 30 mins from us!! The other brother is soooo supportive, he's always there calling me checking on us etc.... The point is, I dont care!!! My family are here for me!! my true friends are here!! I just feel bad for my husband! he needs the moral support from his sister etc.. he cant understand how someone (esp a woman) can be this cruel and heartless!! all this over a claim that i supposedly screamed/shouted at her over the phone!! I keep telling him to ignore them and just thank God his youngest bro is here with us and for us, and on top of that we are so blessed with my sisters (who would move mountain for us) and 2 of our best friends couples.

All in all, going through this journey had made me see things and people clearer!! I dont hold grudges, i dont have regrets, but I thank the almighty to open my eyes and see the true colors of humans!!! I also try to always count my blessings, because I have alot to thank for!

Okay, on the SE's part now:-) I am day 7 past my 2nd TC treatment, and I am feeling better and better. I tend to feel abit tired by the end of the day. I worked full day yday and today. Yday got home and my daughter wanted one of my speciality dishes (rice, chicken curry and spinach:-) so i had to make that and we ended up having a late dinner @ 7:30pm but she ate and enjoyed all her food:-) by the time ths kids went to bed at 9pm, I was WORN out!! I had these tingly pain lower back to my legs, took some aleve which helped. Decided not to take any Ativan last night, guess what dozed on and off, at 3am decided to get some ativan:-) Other than that I am feeling okay (say 85% of my usual self), have to pick my kids from preschool today, thank God I have so much leftover so no need to cook:-) I have to go in tomorrow afternoon for the Zoladex shot UURRGGHHHH then I have Yoga classes:-) YAAYY atleast something to look forward to after the crazy needle.

Well, i think if i write more i will tire you beautiful ladies:-) so I am going to end now and get abck to work. All the best to all that are having chemo today, sending you positive vibes and best wishes. Hugs to you all.

Pssttt - regarding the hair, i am using the Penguin caps and my hair is still hanging:-) i have alot of new growth, i have cut it short in the back (becasue my hair was long and the shedding was too much and my hair had a reaction to the burts bee shampoo, long story) and the front is kinda long so it covers the back. Hoping and praying the caps work, but so far so good. I remember someon on this thread asked abt the caps.

khs113: That card is so bad - it's funny! I am sorry you had to be on the receiving end of that. It reminds me of how much everyone's responses are more about their issues with processing the illness and not about the patient. I see that in so many that I talk to. It becomes about their experiences with illness, their issues with losing a loved one, etc. That helps me smile and accept their responses. 

Hi everyone just checking in I hope everyone who is having treatments today have minimal

S/E thinking and praying for you we will get through this we are doing this journey together so you are not alone Let the negative people in your life go for now untill you are stronger.Lots of hugs xxxxxx

Bless0Mel, congrats on all the good news, that's AWESOME, I am so happy for you!! May we all get to post this kind of news soon

Izzy325, thinking of you hope it went well today! And you are so right, we learn to be grateful for the "not too bad" days LOL 

J-Bug, I think females are much more mature than males at that age, I know you mentioned that she is a special needs child, but if you think she's ready for that, by all means I think you should take her with you. 

Sandy115, so glad you are having minimal SEs

Cathy_C, funny you said that, yesterday it was super hot here and I had to go to the bank, had taken my hat off because my head got sweaty and whenI pulled up at the drive thru I couldn't understand why the girls at the window were looking at me funny,I forgot to put my hat on LOL, it bothered them much more than it bothered me!

Snoopy, I think the big problem with some people is they don't know what to say to you. I am lucky that most all of my friends and family keep in touch, call me or email me almost daily. I lived in Australia for 8 years and have a handful of friends there that I've kept in touch with since I moved back here over a year ago. One of them, finally called me a month or so ago and said "Ellen, I am sorry I didn't call you sooner, I just don't know what to say to you" and I was like, " you can say anything to me, ask me anything, don't feel weird about it, it is what it is, I am ok and will beat it, just keep in touch with me" and she has for the most part. I just think some people have no clue what to say....

Krista, OMG really, you got a card that said that???? Wow, some people have no people skills REALLY?

Okay....I found a few places that some of you may be able to use:

 http://www.cancercare.org/financial and http://www.cfoa.org/download.html

they offer different types of assistance, you can print the application and fax or mail it in.

And, for those of us that love green tea, I found that Honest Tea makes some great low or no sugar, cold teas, they sell at Whole Foods, all kinds of flavors that are awesmoe.

Good luck to all getting zapped this week, I actually am starting to feel "almost normal" the last few days, building up for my big weekend of a few lunches and bingo before my 3rd FEC on Wed. next week

xoxox to all! 

A side effect free day!  Feeling just about like myself, other than the bald head. I feel like my wig screams bald more than just my head in a hat or chemo beanie> They are the best investmesnt I have made. Go for mid week blood work tomorrow. So far, worked the last three days taking only Friday off for A/C #2. Next week is AC#3. Can't wait to be done and on to taxol.

Thinking of all of you ladies!

I found this organization:

 http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

actually someone here may of posted about it, don't remember, I  will claim "chemo fog" LOL but they clean I think once a month for 4 months for chemo patients for free. They didn't have anyone in my area with an opening but some of you may get lucky with it. 

I was going to use it for my fiance's condo, I live there half the time or more and he has dupetrons in his hands which knots up his hands and he can't open them all the way. So a little help with cleaning there would be great.

Here's the email they sent me:

 We have made every effort to match you with a maid service in your area. Maid services are currently full in your area and cannot take any more patients. Maid services that participate in our program agree to handle two patients at a time. These are very small companies, typically 5 - 10 employees, who pay their employees to clean your home at no charge. Our desire is that we assist everyone that applies, but we hope you understand that we are unable to do so. We know you have been patiently waiting and understand the disappointment in receiving this letter - we sincerely apologize.

We are unable to keep a waiting list, due the high number of applications we receive each month.
If you are still interested in our services, please reapply back in a few months at www.cleaningforareason.org. You will need a copy of your Dr.'s note to be sent in when you reapply. To reapply go to www.cleaningforareason.org

If you know of a maid service in your area that is not part of our foundation encourage them to find out how they can become a partner by contacting us through our website www.cleaningforareason.org.

4Honey- click on your user name at the top. Click edit my profile. At the bottom in the pot that says signature... This is a free text box to add whatever you like to your signature line.