Is There A September 2011 Chemo Group?

cjrt, i had steroids in my iv,too. i took my zofran sp? and 2 tylenol for the aches. thanks for well wishes.

rhea,i mentioned it to my mo, she said to wait to see if i had that side effect before taking it.

maggie,thanks,hope u are doing well.

sstayton, are u using biotene mouthwash if not that might help.

belleeast - I hope you don't have any SE's!  My MO at Dana Farber said she heard they are just beginning to do studies on why Claritin works.  I don't care why, as long as it does!  Good luck!

rhea, the way i feel now, i think i'll take a clariton in the morning.

I still have my hair hanging on.  The MO today told me it will be Friday or Sat at the latest.  Just waiting for it to start coming out so I can just shave it off.  I just find myself grabbing a bunch and pulling all day to see if it has started yet. The MO told me he just had a girl who would not cut her long blond hair and when it came out in the shower she had a major panic attack and there was hair everywhere and they had to call 911.  Then an EMT fainted because of all the hair. It made me feel a bit better as I am thinking at least I'm not that bad. Gearing up for round 2 on Thursday! Wish I had a Sonic nearby.  I'm thinking a slurpee would be good too! 

OK, I slept most of the day and I am awake with a really bad cramp in my leg...ouch! So I wanted to share what happened before they started chemo.

 Nurse practicioner saw me before hand and tells me she thinks maybe we might want to wait a week because they like to do chemo 4 weeks post-surgery, not 3 and where the drain was isn't fully healed. Also 3rd Her2 isn't back and even though the doc is pretty sure it is negative and ok with starting TAC, she thought lets wait cause "cancer is gone." What???!!! You can't know that! So I told her that and said I didn't like her not taking this as serious as I feel it is. So I explained, "Well, first this mass grew 3mm in three weeks, then MRI showed no lymph involvement, followed by CT scan about a week later, which showed one somewhat enlarged internal lymph node under breastplate and CT almost a week later recorded it as 2 lymphs nodes because it was now 2.2cm (.5 is about avg.) So, I am thinking that if there is just one little cell in my lymph system I want to kill it quick because these little buggers are multiplying fast!! She asked me how I plan to view and deal with the cancer then if I didn't plan to just decide it was gone, so (refraining from hitting her) I explained that I would do that like any who agrees to chemo based on the cancer possibly still being present. She said we could do it today if I need it for peace of mind and I told her I would take the peace of mind. 

After that, everything went great but I can tell she doesn't exactly care for me right now. I almost never stick up for myself with the doctors because I am afraid of making them mad, so I am kind of proud of my handling of the situation. The rest of chemo went fine and I am just awake now for a little.

lwarstler, Congratulations on getting though the chemo AND telling the NP what was on your mind.  I can't stand an Nurse, NP or anyone who thinks they're the doctor.  If the cancer was gone... why the heck would any of us being doing chemo!  Is she crazy??  None of us know if it's gone and that is why we are subjecting ourselves to this.  Chemo is an insurance policy and as we all know insurance policies NEVER come cheep.

BTW, how you deal with your cancer or how any of us deal with it is of no concern to the NPs or even the doctors (unless we are asking for their counseling).  We have to choose our best method to keep us sane.  Whether it's worry, planning or just hanging on this newsgroup... that is for us to decide.  Tell her that next time she has a mass in her breast she should let you know her favorite coping mechanism, but until then...

Okay I'm done ranting ;-).  Good for you for calling your shots!

Jersey - I gained the weight back too somewhere between the shrimp dip and potato chips and the can of cashews after my taste buds came back. 

Sandy, Lee Ann, and Belle - Congratulations on beginning your counterattack on the cancer.  I have to hold myself back from getting too pushy.  Drink that water.  Take those steroids,  Eat lots of fiber.  Brush that sugar out of your mouth.  Take your nausea meds.  Get your rest.  Ha ha.  I have been through chemo once and now I am some expert, right?  What I mean to say is take care of yourselves the best you can and we are all here for you.

Rae - Mood swings....I think we are all having them.  Sometimes I feel strong and sometimes I feel pretty weak.  Being sick and in pain can make a witch out of anyone.  For those of you who are premenopausal, the shutting down of the ovaries and hormones isn't helping any either.  About bone pain, you might try Glucosamine and Chondroitin, Fish Oil, or Flaxseed oil if it is ok with your MO.  Those are just some things people with arthritis do.  I know when I start the Arimidex in January I am going to try extra calcium, vitamin D, and the above G and C because I have heard the aromatase-inhibitors cause bone loss and bone pain too.  When all else fails, I take a pain pill.  I took a Percocet a day on day 4 and 5 and a Vicodin day 6 for my first round of chemo because I could barely move and there were a few things needing doing around here.  I wasn't drugged around the clock but getting a break from the pain made it easier to endure when it came back, and allowed me to get the bare essentials done.

RJ - Bummer about being late, but I think our bodies need a lot more sleep to recover and rebuild, even in the in-between when we are not feeling major SE.  I think your body must have needed that little sleep-in.  I fell asleep really early tonight and now I am up in the middle of the night. 

Hello, my mom is diagnosed with Stage IIA. So far, she has had the first chemo cycle, and there has been no major hair loss but we are expecting it at any time. It is Day 17 today after the chemo cycle. Some one told me that it does not always happen in the first chemo cycle - is it so?

The next chemo is scheduled for Oct 3 and she is feeling tired and having leg pain as well, including nausea.

Hi Swarna - Sorry to hear about your mother.  What chemotherapy did she have so far?

My halloween costume.  All I need is some jammies and a nipple.

Kimberly - love your Halloween costume.  Technically, I only see one nipple in the picture so it just might work if you use a little doublesided tape. 

 Regarding my high number of tests - I am on the ISPY2 trial to test a PARP inhibitor in addition to regular chemotherapy.  I had my initial biopsy to diagnose the breast cancer, then I had another biopsy to get a mammaprint score to decide which study drug I would get.  The biopsy yesterday was part of the study and was done after 3 rounds of chemo.  I don't know if I will get the results from that one.  The 3 MRIs are for the same thing.  No more biopsies until surgery but I will have a few more MRIs.  I just hope they show that the tumor is shrinking.  I'm getting good at holding very still while lying on my stomach with my tiny breasts in huge holes and my arms overy my head at uncomfortable angles.

 I'm sorry that you didn't get a PET or CT scan.  I needed one to make sure that I didn't have cancer anywhere else (also a requirement for the study).  I guess I am "lucky" to be  a lab rat.

 Take care, everyone.  My round 4 of weekly taxol is this morning.  Praying for uneventful...

Kimberly: when the picture first came up I thought whoa am I on the right site and then I burst out laughing. That was great!

Kelli: maybe we can all come up with a character Uncle Fester is a good one. Many days lately I have not felt like anything more than a caricature of myself I am going to be the smiley face head grin and bear it no matter what.

Pinkshirt: hope taxol goes easy on you today.

I actually feel a tiny bit human today. Returning to normal if there is such a thing anymore but hey I will take what I can get these days.

Kayrem - can you make a poster with your picture that your son could carry on the walk?  Or maybe your face on a stick kind of thing?  Tell him you have a date to walk with him next year when you can be around all the kids again.