Is There A September 2011 Chemo Group?

Hi Barbara - How's that first treatment going? 

today has headace but drink a lot of water , I need all the information and help?  I took a abaim before bed time last might and was awake at 2am   thank for your help

Welcome Beebop and SDW.

September ladies, thank you for all the warm birthday wishes.  Wish I could share some cake with you.  It was lemon with cranberry and streusel.

BlueJay - I am sorry you still got the headaches.  I was hoping you would pinpoint the cause, like it was the Aloxi, and I could just tell the chemo nurse to cut the Aloxi for me next time.  I guess that wasn't the answer though. 

PinkShirt - I am wearing the t-shirt turban and it is very comfortable, not tight or scratchy.  I would just go bald but...it's cold and the weather is changing in Wisconsin and I have not turned on the heat.  I laughed when you said you cut up your HUSBAND'S t-shirts for this.  No reason to cut up your own shirts.  What I really want is a warm furry Russian hat like Dr. Zhivago this winter!!!

RC - Great advice on the PICC and the TechniScrub.  It's snippets like that which make support groups powerful, emotional support and some concrete help.

Cooka - About neutropenic diet, I also was surprised, or maybe not so surprised but I just wasn't thinking, about some things I shouldn't eat.  I love spinach pie with feta cheese, but I can forget that.  No blue cheeses.  I also saw not to make bread becaue of the yeast.  There's a disappointment because I bought 100 pounds of flour this summer in anticipation of baking bread this fall and winter.  The weather is perfect.  My health is not.  No popcorn because it can get stuck in teeth/gums and cause infection.  Cook the eggs and steak thoroughly even if that's not the way you prefer it. Keep nails short as they are dirt collectors.  Wash hands often, and even more often if you have pets like I do.  Moisturize your skin so you don't have those micro-cracks for infection to invade.

Dainty - Delay treatment?  Uhhh uhhh sister.  That's not even an option.  About the unexpected decreased income.....I've been through it a few times.  It's not all pretty but it does bring out your creativity and resourcefulness.

Kelli - You are so honest and the leader about speaking out about the nose hair to the dandruff.  We need that.  And by the way, my butt hairs were the first to go.  I think they got burned by chemo on the way out.  When I wiped it felt like chewing gum stuck to my butt hairs as they fell out. WTH?

Sara - I hope the flu and fever get better.  Keep watching that temperature.

NanaDeb - I hear your frustration with the results of the PET.  I haven't had a PET and am afraid of the same thing happening to me.

Rocky - Mouth tastes like school glue?  I kept thinking mud but school glue describes it even better.  I love food and every bite of food for a week was a frustration to someone like me, except ice cream and yogurt and milk.  Those tasted the same.  Was I happy when those tastebuds came back.

RJ - I'm proud of you for going to the mailbox topless.  You'll get used to that cute head of yours and get even more confident.

LowRider - I am following your mystery diagnosis thread with interest.

Dana - Are you home yet?

To all of you ladies undergoing chemo before surgery, you definitely have an advantage in seeing how the chemotherapy is working on the cancer, shrinking it.  My sister had her chemo before her surgery and her outcome has been very favorable so far.

Cooka - When I took my trip to Georgia with my low counts, I spent the drive googling what I could do. Eating lots of protein was what kept showing up. I know protein is key to helping our bodies heal. I was on a low/slow carb, high protein diet before my diagnosis. I always try to get 30grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. For the days after my big TCH chemo, my diet tends to fall apart. I live on soup and crackers. I can't say for sure if the protein helped bring my counts back up, but I feel better if I've had a proper amount of protein.

Kimberly - I saw a t-shirt on cafepress that said something to the effect: Chemo - The best Brazilian ever! Cracked me up!! I don't think I could wear it though, my kids would be mortified.

RJ - Congrats on going out without your hair! Sometimes life just demands ice cream .

Shelly - I can't believe your MO thought about stopping your chemo for mucositis! The mouth pain sucks, but cancer sucks more. I had to stop using my regular shampoo and switched to Aveeno baby shampoo and body wash. I know some other people have had good luck with it too. I still have my hair, but my scalp is a mess from the chemo. It's finally getting better though.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Fall has finally hit Central Florida and I'm taking the top off my Jeep. Ahhh..I love the cooler temperatures  

Shelley - Keep looking forward to that vacation on the beach.  What is the plan to reduce the mucositis?  Further reduction in the Cytoxan?  Industrial strength Imodium? Special diet?  I wondered if Probiotics would be of any help.  I used them a few years ago when Augmentin screwed up my gut by wiping out all the good bacteria.  I also found that Nexium calmed down my heartburn really well.  I don't know what it's effect is further down in the gut, but that might be a possibility too. Did MO say anything about Octreotide?

Well, day 17 and hairpocalypse has begun. I have stuff to do today, so I put a ton of hair wax in my already short hair. I'll shave it tomorrow. Any thought on what guard to use? I was thinking a 2 might be good.

Sara: Where are you? Did you go to the hospital? Hope you're feeling better. 

All you ladies rocking the bald look are amazing!  Good for you!  Keep rocking it!

I will never get to that stage unfortunately.  I feel very ugly without my hair...it's all good though, cuz I have my beautiful wigs.  It's only temporary.  In a couple years I'll have new hair...maybe it'll be better than my pre-cancer hair!  I just wanted to put this out there in case there are others feeling the same way.  I know I always feel better when I see a post I can relate to. 

Hugs to all! 

Thanks Kimberly and Kelli for all the info.  Went to an event at the botanical gardens with my partner last night and so far, so good (I kind of lurked around the edges though and didn't get in the middle of any crowds).

Barbara/JoJo, how are you doing this morning? Did you get some sleep?

Sara hope you are well, please let us know how you are doing.

Have a good weekend everyone:) 

Hi All

Happy birthday to birthday girls.

Thank you all for you input and caring!!  Well I called dr on call, fever was almost 102.  I talked to him for awhile, said I really had just body aches and fever and that my son had same thing early in week.  I have no cough or other symptoms like that.  He said he thought I sounded good and call if anything changes.  I was really glad because I do think it was "bug".  I took Tylenol pm and slept pretty well.  Woke up it was around 100 so I took some more Tylenol.  Went back to bed.  I better watch out for bed sores at this rate!  Fever almost normal a little while ago.  Lay low today and hopefully have a good week before next tx.

Here's a question, if you have a fever and it is controlled with tylenol/ibuprophen do you still have a fever?  Just curious.

I had some girlfriends do the walk for cure this morning in Lake Havasu with shirts made for me.  So sweet, wish I could walk that far right now!

Sara ♥

Hi Sara, Good to hear from you! Tylenol can mask a fever, so the source of the fever may still be there, even if your temps are lower. Did you get any labs done around day 10?  How were your WBC counts? Anyway, you may want to consider calling your onc again (don't worry about bugging them, that's what you are paying for!) and letting her/him know you still had 100 this am after tylenol. Only saying that because they might not realize you are in your nadir and may be neutropenic (something I am hyper aware of because I am neutropenic:)  

Glad to hear you are feeling better! 

hi all, hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. today is day 4 after chemo,seems like a blah day,made myself go for a long walk.

still on the fence about taking my steroids for 3 days after chemo,finally got the script called in and picked up on the 2nd day,took 1 felt worse after taking it, did not take any more. talked to pharmacists she said it is usually prescribed to reduce inflammation of stomach lining,to relieve stomach issues and nausea,told me to talk to my mo about it.also said could cause you to eat more and to watch for fluid retention.

today,after i got up felt nausea,took zofran and little while later thru up yellow-bile maybe. made some toast and tea,settled my stomach down. my taste buds are changing,my diet soda tastes terrible so does water,lite minute maid with 2 squirts cherry doesn't taste too bad, i think i'll pick up some limes to put in my water.

ok,enough complaining,last nite my son and his family came over brought me a plain double cheeseburger from dq-that,s what i wanted, now that tasted good. we watched about 4 shows i tivo fringe and haven. before all of this they would spend sunday nites here and i would watch the kids on monday,just the little one if school is in. i would tivo the shows,actually several different ones and we would watch them and visit. i have really missed having them here, so it was a very good evening. now today i'm depressed,go figure!

Well today was the day.  Day 12 after treatment and taking the bull by the horns I got my hair shaved off.  She used a "4" so there is about 1/4 inch left. I kind of look like GI Jane with big ears and minus the buff body.  

I went to a look good feel better seminar and one of the ladies shaved smooth to her scalp and then got folliculitus and ended up on antibiotics.  So needless to say I was careful. 

Not feeling to bad as far as sideffects go.  I hope everyone else is doing well (or as best that can be expected given the circumstances).

Question for all....one of the chemo nurses recommended milk of magnesia for the constipation.   Anyone tried it?  The mucositis I get causes severe diarrhea, but this last round of treatment had me blocked up something horrible before the mucositis set in and solved the issue!

yeeeeaaaah!