Is there a July 2011 group?

bcisnofun: You are absolutely right! That is why I am still questioning it. The ER doctors last Monday thought that it was infection. Yesterday my oncologist told me that my long version of UTI test had come back negative. So they think all the pain that I had was from the Neulasta and Taxol. But, I have never heard of white counts that high, so I was putting it out there for you guys to see if anyone else's numbers had gotten that high without an infection.

I am still on for Taxol #2 on Friday along with ample quantity of Oxycodone and maybe a couple days off to suffer through.

Misswim --- so glad everything worked out. And Rabbit,let us know what's going on as soon as you find out. Do you have a port on that side? The line that runs from my  chest port is under the skin but I can feel a bump where it goes over my collar bone and down in (vena cava?). Sending good thoughts.

dexxy - is this your last one?

rabbit - any word yet?

Thanks for the info dexxy. That's kind of what I thought.  My doc likes it to be above 10 to do the chemo so I'm just on the edge where he pulled the plug last week.  Hopefully numbers will be better this week. Good luck in the chair tomorrow.

Rabbit, feel better.

Yea Dexxy!!!  As a friend said to me to keep in mind - "one and done baby!" 

so everybody - what do we do now when we're all done with chemo?  Do we stay chemo sisters?  

hi all...sorry, was at the hospital for 7 hours!! What a way to spend my bday oh well, could of been worse. Again, I have to copy and paste what I just posted on my caring bridge site, sorry to not be personal. I am absolutely beat, but here's the update:

Ok, where to start...woke up around 7am this morning feeling worse. Tenderness in the left side of my neck was worse, could barely lift my arm above my shoulder, when I turned my neck either way, but mostly to the right, it hurt BAD. So I phoned the oncologist office when they opened at 8am, they got Brooke, the PA, on the phone and she said to come right in. That she wanted to take a look at what was going on and that it sounded like it could be a clot.

I woke up mom "mom....you gotta drive me to the hospital" she almost jumped out of bed. We got there shortly after, saw Brooke and Dr. Hargis pretty quickly, they determined it was probably a clot in the jugular or thereabouts and sent me downstairs to get an ultra sound. My arm at this point is discolored, a tint of red (full of blood I guess) and my neck is more swollen on the left, the whole upper body on the left is swollen. And it feels tight...like it's being strangled.

The tech that did the ultra sound said she wanted the radiologist to come in the room to look at it himself,she had found something. Mom was in the room with me thankfully, not a good feeling when they are scanning your jugular vein and seeing clots!

The radiologist was very informative, he explained there was definite clotting, in the external jugular, not the internal or main jugular vein. I had no clue there was an internal and external jugular???
He said I would probably go on blood thinners..if it was too blocked there would be "other avenues" but thankfully my oncologist decided I just needed to go on lovenox injections daily until I am done with chemo, end of November.

So today I learned how to give myself the shots..not too bad, tiny needle, did it in the gut. This med will prevent more clotting and hopefully dissolve the clotting that is there now. I was told it would be weeks or months before it dissolves. I hope the arm swelling goes down soon, that is annoying, now I have an idea how it feels to have lymphedema, it hurt to just pick up a glass with my left hand. I can't do any upper body exercising and nothing but walking really, can't take a chance that any vigorous exercise or straining dislodges the clot and I stroke out!

Well, I finally got home after almost 7 hours at the hospital...took a 30 minute rest, elevating my left arm, then had a few people over for my bday dinner. Blue, Nikki, Karen, Lynne, Dad and of course mom, Lauren and Kyle it was fun, and I got some great presents. Mom made some awesome meatloaf and redskin mash potatoes..Nikki and Blue did an incredible zucchini dish with garlic YUMMMM, Dad bought me a peanut butter/dark chocolate bday cake that is so rich I could only eat a few bites, Lynne brought some blue chips and salsa, we had a great time, took my mind of everything today!

Love you all, will catch up tomorrow I hope  

Thanks for letting us know rabbit and so sorry to hear that news. Clots and blood thinners are serious business. My daughter was on blood thinners when she was a baby and I was terrified watching her learn how to walk with Coumadin in her system. But it sounds like you have things under control and I am sure you know how to walk without falling over by now. : )

Happy birthday and rest well! 

Thanks J-bug. All the best for Friday and I pray this time round it's easier on you.

I have been away for a couple of days cause my chemo number 3 was very bad for me, not with the side effects but mentally.Im getting tired of all of this treatment specially cause a friend of mine from Chile is dying from this stupid thing.She had BC 3years ago and now in May she had mets in her lungs , did chemo didnt work and now is everywhere and she is sufering so much, she is only 38 like me , has a 6 years old gilr and all of this is breaking my heart and my hopes.

Today I had chemo number 4, not so bad like always and now to wait for the SEs, I hope they stay nice with me like until now.Finally my onco gave me sleeping pills so i can fight those stupid steroids that dont let me sleep.

Rabbit  I hope you are doing better, too bad that you have to spend your birthday like that, but at the endwasnt so bad at all..you are a very positive women.

Frances C  I hope those SEs go away pretty soon and you feel better.

good night and i hope we all have betters days.

OMG Rabbit sorry you are having such a hard time Dam this diease Im sure glad you got infast to have alook @ what was going on.Hope you are feeling better,

Congrat's Dexxy on finishing up cant wait for that day

Jun bug I hope you are doing better and your results come back good.So Happy for you misswim Hope you are doing so much better,Im day 2 of 3rd Fec taxol and doing good I hope everyone else will be better real soon when this is all over we will have to have a big Reunion.

Rabbit.

So far this morning I feel great. Probably steroids talking. I woke at 7am, an hour too early. My pet rabbit was thrilled, he got lots of snuggles. Then the cat had a party in my room and there was no way I was going back to sleep. I'm at work right now. They're so awesome that if I start to feel bad I can always go home. I want to work though. I'm tired of sitting in my room watching tv.

Celexa is my friend right now! : )

Rabbit..belated happy birthday and so glad all is being treated..must have been terrifying.

PAulamati...so so sorry about your friend..this is such a terrible disease  and when you hear what it can do, it is so hard not to live in fear

Frances I hope you are doing OK...you are almost there.

Sany115..hang in there

Snoopy 73... I have my last TC tomorrow and start rads on Oct 23rd too.

Jbug... you have amazing stregth..I hear it in your words.

shinypop...keeep popping those aleve...I get headaches a lot and find I am popping excedrin but being careful not to get too much tylenol...

Switching oncs once I am finshed with last chemo and SE's and switching rad onc too....was at a palce I loved but lost my confidence...everyone is great but I had to do way to much self advocacy and it has tired me out.

Hi ladies! Just popping in to see how everyone is.  I started my 2012 Relay for Life team this week.  Our team name is Across the Rainbow.  You can check us out on Facebook.  I am looking for some people to share their story on the page also.  I want to put faces with stories.  If anyone is interested please let me know.  You can find me on FB also.  My email is unc_boswells@yahoo.com.    The ACS is doing the Strides for Breast Cancer here on October 1st so Raleigh will be full of pink!   Since October is coming up, I have seen alot of contest to raise awareness for BC.  Our local feed store is doing an animal contest.  Animals should be dressed to promote awareness for BC.  I am going to enter my doggie Callie and my SIL is entering my neices pony Nutty.  I am a little stuck for ideas.  I dont want to do the same thing as everyone else and put her in a pink skirt. ANy ideas?  I really want to be out of the box, lol.  Doing these things is getting my mind off my own diagnosis a bit.  I had my last chemo and will start Tamoxifen on October 1st. I guess I am just nervous and I am in that kind of "now what" phase.  My onc isnt going to do any bone scans or things like that.  Just watch for anything that may pop up.  Makes me a little nervous.  Ready to move forward but scared to at the same time.  I have an appointment to see my PS next week.  He will be scheduling my exchange for mid October.  Again, I am ready to get these boulders outta my chest and get some soft boobs but I am scared of another surgery.  Just a lot of rambling going on with me now.

Hope everyone is doing good.  I see alot are halfway through!!!! 

Everyone, catching up on your lives. I have been taking a break from reading just to get the BC off my mind. Tx 4 of 6 next week. Each one has new or worsened SE so just digging in to work a bit to keep my mind off it. Definitely wishing you all the best.

Probably a little late to respond but my WBC went up to about 65,000 with Neulasta on my first tx. We switched to neupogen so we could control how high it went but requires multiple daily shots and multiple repeat blood counts. It did make me feel terrible after the neulasta. But on neupogen, it was down to 2,000 and I felt tired then. So nothing is perfect. My understanding is WBC counts go up naturally with infection and inflammation so in our cases, elevation (after neulasta or neupogen) is desirable except when we have fevers above 100.... Good thoughts out to those of you struggling and best wishes for few SE to those getting tx this week.