Is There A September 2011 Chemo Group?
Comments
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thanks all!
rae, i have to say THANK YOU i am ending my day with laughter,picturing what happened, i can so relate!
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Rae - You tell the story with just the right twist. Glad you are feeling almost back to yourself again.
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OK I know this is middle of the night paranoia, but, to all the port ladies...does it feel like yours is closed? how the heck will they be able to get inside there on Thursday?
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Jersey: I was not as nauseated after chemo 2 and no bone aches. Still fatigued but number 2 seemed to affect my emotions more I was weepy and depressed. On about day 6 I snapped out of it and have been great ever since except for a nasty skin rash.
Belle: bathroom jokes are running rampant at my house at my expense I might add. At least the "stopped up gals" have some control and planning involved unlike us who are at the mercy of our body. I rushed in the other day our house abuzz with kids and activites. Made it to my bedroom where I could shut them all out and proceed to my business in the bathroom with the usual sound effects. Feeling very relieved washed hands went to go into my closet which is next to my bathroom where I had left the door open the whole time, and saw an unfamiliar mans leg standing dead still I think the rest of him was trying to sink into the wall. It then dawned on me that earlier that day the security system man had been there to check out a problem we had been having and that the security box was in my closet. I zipped up my pants said "oh sh## literally!! Turned around walked out with my kids going mom the security man was missing a part but he got it and came back while you were gone. I kept right on walking out the front door with the kids asking when are you coming back to which I replied "NEVER"
Can you imagine the story the poor security guy had to tell back at the office. My husband and kids are still cracking up over that one! -
Jersey - They poke through your skin to get to the port, same way they poke through to get through to a vein. The difference and advantage is that you are not scarring up your arm veins with the chemotherapy and you don't run the risk of blown veins during chemo. Didn't use port last time?
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Oh Rae,
I may never complain over my backed up bowels again!!!
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Jersey- I think your port should be fine. Like Kimberly said, they poke through your skin to access it so the puncture heals up each time. The port is sorta like a target under your skin. My Doc gave me a prescription for Lidocaine cream that numbs the area. I just rub on the cream and cover it with plastic wrap before I go to chemo. I don't even feel the poke that way. It is truly the easiest part of the whole treatment and I'm glad I have the port.
Big hugs to all who are buzzing their hair this week. I was emotional but found that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My husband still looks at me as though I am beautiful which has helped tremendously. The biggest shock was that I haven't seen my natural hair color for quite a few years and I am almost totally gray. My hairdresser must have been doing an excellent job.
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You guys are rocking the bald look!
Rae, you are too funny and have such a great sense of humor about all this:)
Jersey we are still on the same schedule, let's get this done! BTW, I just retired from the AF in '09. 20 years and 8 days, but who's counting? Sure am glad I have the medical benny's now:) About the port-mine still feels very foreign and I am hyper aware of it when I am working out...can't wait for it to be gone!
Is anyone else still having their period? Mine is here just in time for chemo week, yay! I rented a backhoe and am going to take my irritation out on my some ancient oleanders that need to come out of my back yard, should be fun:)
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I decided to "pull the trigger" yesterday. I had a stylist I had never met, but who was darling and her assistant made me so comfortable. They were braiding my locks as I always wanted to donate my hair before I lost it (turned out there were 12 braids in all). The cut, style and shipping of the hair was all free! The stylist was telling me how healthy my hair was and showing me the shine at the roots were it was cut. I had never really seen the shape of my face this way before and once again she was so complementary telling me I had a nice oval face, etc.
I can't seem to post a pic. I've uploaded pics to facebook and tried to use the URL, but nope... not working :-(. I told the stylist that my hair was going to be gone in a few days anyway, so she should just cut it however she liked. I have NEVER in my life told a stylist to cut my hair the way they want :-). She gave me a very sassy 1/2 inch style that everyone was digging on. I decided not to shave my head since I've read about our heads being sensitive, etc. I figured if my hair was just very, very, short... I could wear a sleep cap and NOW I could let it fall out without the trauma of my long hair ending up all over the place.
Hubby was saying that when the hair grows back, this is the style for me. I don't know about that, but it was nice that they he and my son were both sincere about this temporary look. My 9 year old daughter cried. She prefers the longer hair. I have two looks I will be sporting. One is a halo hair piece and blonde, the other a sexy long layered wig. I got the halo idea from Special K and will wear a hat or dew rag with this piece. It will be for hiking, biking and everyday running around. I love the idea of two totally different wigs and making the best of this situation! I'm feeling strange with just a little hair up top. Bald will come in time on it's own so this works for me. I always thought a lady needed to be tall with high cheekbones and a long neck to rock this look. I was wrong ;-). Feeling good today!
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Rockym,
Glad you had a good experience. I think the hair is really hard on daughters. We shaved mine yesterday and it was hardest on her. Neither child slept last night and she decided on taking a stroll (she's 15 but still not supposed to stroll in the middle of the night). Anyway, she told me that she just feels that hair is part of who you are as a girl and was struggling with mine being gone and how I "really" felt. It's really good that your daughter was willing to express how upset she was. Mine didn't and pretended she was fine so it just got bigger. I'm glad too for the fact that you like your short do. Mine was pretty good too and it made me feel that I could switch to my own hair pretty quick after the chemo.
Hoping that you keep feeling this great,
Lee Ann
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oh my god,rae! hilarious!
one lesson i've learned is do not eat too much at one time or you will be paying homage to the throne on your knees!
rjbaby, you are spot on 5 days from shot bone pain,today. otherwise,don't feel too bad,afraid to say that because i think we are learning at least for me, it can change in an instant.
hope everyone has a good day!
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This is a picture of me and my husband. I will post a shaved on after tomorrow.
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khegidio, you guys look beautiful! I tried to post a pic, but it wasn't happening. I did it with a flicker account and also facebook since it says you need an URL. Is there some special trick I don't know about ;-).
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Khegidio: you are beautiful and that is going to shine through with or without hair. Great picture!
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Rokym, I found that if I right click on the picture and select copy image url from there it worked.
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Looks like we share the same prescription free2fly7! I started my AC on the 21st of Sept. 12 days into my chemo. Not been too bad so far except for the sores in my mouth that ache and the overall tiredness. How are you doing?
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Curlymommy, you may want to contact her directly via her blog. She has not posted on this thread too often.
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Rockym: I went to facebook and right clicked on one of my profile pics. If you select properties from there you will see a URL there. That's the URL that I used when inserting an image.
Hope that helps!
Thanks Ladies. My husband shaved his head today. He looks great - looks like it has always been that way.
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Kimberly....got the port last time but didn't look, lol!
Thanks to u and everyone about answering my question. You know how weird stuff occurs to you in the middle of the night.
khegidio....beautiful picture, and I agree you will look beautiful with or without hair!
Rae.........OMG one of the most horrifying, but funniest stories ever, especially when u just walked right out the door, hahahahaha...could just picture it.
As for me, debuted the wig today in work. I guess it looks ok, but man my head was itching all day. I think it's the real hair falling out because when I took wiggy off, I have some icky bald spots. This was the part I was dreading, the really bald part...................ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I just hate "looking" sick, and this kind of hair makes me look sick, even if only to myself. -
Moving very slow today ladies. So tired and could just lay down and go to sleep! But alas, the other job beckons me tonight. Gonna go in, but don't know how good I'm gonna be. Maybe I can at least run the register and not goof up!
Make big mistake at real job today. I blamed it on "chemo brain"! LOL! Oh, well. We all lived throuigh it.
Talk to you ladies tomorrow.
HUGS!
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Okay Ladies.... I am officially losing my hair. Thank GOD my hair shaving appointment is tomorrow. I just got out of the shower and I figured it might happen. My head hurt - like the feeling after you take your hair down from being in a tight ponytail. Sure enough - when I got out and brushed it... there it came. I brushed it until i was done... then just put it in a low pony tail and won't touch it until tomorrow. I can actually feel my head tingling. Hopefully I don't wake up with a pillow full of hair. It actually made me gag - pulling so much out at once. Ugh. Tomorrow can't come soon enough. I think I will have a cocktail
It is day 14 for me after my first TAC treatment.
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Lee Ann and khegidio, Thanks! The right click worked. I kept trying the tree icon and then some cut and pasting, but none of that was working. I sported my new sassy look today. I figure I only have about 3 days before it's all gone. At least I won't have globs and globs of hair all over my bathroom and body and when it does hit the ground it will only be little 1/2" pieces.
It turns out I had 12 braids that were about 14" each! I only wish I could see who gets my hair, but it's like when I volunteer... you don't always see who is benefiting, but you do know someone is.
Thanks!
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RJBaby: So sorry to hear how you're feeling. I hope things went well with your job this evening and you get to just sleep well when you get home.
Kate: That sounds so aweful about your hair. My mom warned me about the pain and I imagined the fall-out so decided to shave it yesterday. I'm glad you get to go tomorrow cause I can't imagine how that must be. The shave was easier for me than I expected it to be.
Rockym: so glad it worked and wow that was a lot of hair. how wonderful that will be for someone.
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I keep rubbing my hands thru my hair and so far nada...not even my nose hairs have come out. It was day 13 today from taxol and 2nd round is Wednesday. My scalp has been tingley for a few days and itchy so I was sure it was coming any minute.
RAE--funniest story ever. I can only imagine his face! ROFL
Maggie
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Yeah!!!
My husband figured out how to post. Below is my "before" picture of me at my daughters 5th birthday in February 2011.
Next is my recently shaved look. Not sure I will be doing a "bald as a cue ball" picture.
When I feel my "new do" it feels like I am petting a soft hedgehog!
Kimberly - I took a pass on the Terry Fox walk. I promised my son that I would do it with him next year. I almost drove to the school with a picture (as Pink Shirt suggested) but the walk was in an hour and my girlfriend was at the door to go wig shopping with me.
Rjbaby - I guess being bald has it's advantages. I mentioned to my husband that the wig I got free from cancer care did not fit as well as the one I bought. I made a joke about all the people who used it before me stretched it out! My 7 year old son heard my comment and told me I should not wear the wig in case I get head lice! I assured him that the chances of a bald lady having head lice where pretty minimal!
Hope everyone has a good week!
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Hello September ladies!
RJ - Yeah, I am having a hard time since being back to work too. My production is down and they track these things very, very closely and have repercussions for not meeting them. Oy. Chemo brain was bad enough that I was filling out noncontinuous-FMLA form at MO's office and had a hard time getting my employee number correct. I am not 80 and senile, but the brain is not clicking at top speed these days.
Kate - You are beautiful. You are going to wow all of us even with your bald pic when the time comes. I had my neighbor take my pic with my dogs today in her yard. I was trying to get my younger dog to sit down next to me for the picture and she collided with my head. Arrggh. I saw some of the shots and I look like a green buddha with dogs with my little and too red button mouth. Jan is a bit older and having a hard time mailing the pictures to me. As soon as I get it, you can all have a laugh at Mrs. Potato Head and her dogs.
Cooka - My port irritates me too but compared to everything else....It's just rub, rub, rub, every time my arm moves from the mouse to the keyboard and I do this like 10 times a minute while I'm working. The way I sleep on my side I am always afraid the thing is going to flip and need to be opened up and revised. About those Oleander....in Wisconsin they sell them in the very high-end garden centers as a tropical annual. I had a yellow one about 5 years ago and it smelled so good. I loved it. Out there it is common I am sure. Hope you worked your aggravation out with the backhoe. Oh, and beware of the tampon with the low ANC. I figure you already thought of that, but just in case you hadn't.
Lee Ann - Bummer that your daughter was so upset. We don't get cancer alone. It's effects are more widespread. Is your daughter a teenager? They are so self-conscious and appearance-conscious. Gosh, don't want to embarrass them but that puts another burden on you, to try to look a certain way. God, society is so demanding. You're too fat, too thin, too wrinkled. Your glasses are too thick. You have too much facial hair, pubic hair, whatever. You are not in style. The diamond on your hand isn't big enough. Your boobs are too big, not big enough. You have a pimple. You are too tall or too short. Your hair is gray and you did not dye it. The list just goes on and on and on, ad nauseum, and it's almost like as a woman you can never satisfy the demands society makes on women. I think that's why I choose to go out there without a wig or scarf. It's a bit of a rebellion about all those demands on us. I hate the demand to look like nothing is wrong, when actually something is. I'm single and I can do that and no one is going to be mortified that it reflects on them.
Rae - You are the funniest storyteller ever. Have you thought about having "evacuation" drills for your family. Everyone leave the premises, mom's going to blow.
About going out and about bald, sometimes it does cost me a little bit in what I get as reactions. I was entering the elevator at my MO to get the FMLA forms filled out today. I stepped in elevator, a male cancer patient also stepped in. Two Indian or Pakistani ladies, I don't know, colorful outfits but with full head covering/veil type apparel also stepped in. Then they stepped out of the elevator before it departed and decided to make the trip another time. The guy in the elevator and I looked at each other.....well that was pretty rude, huh? So we went up. 1 minute later the same ladies stepped out on the same floor. Well, how much good did that do them? We still ended up in the same office. Sigh.
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RJ: hope you are feeling better soon. You are an amazing lady working so much and going through this.
Kayrem: You look fantastic with longer hair and with your " hedgehog do"
Mags: maybe you will be one of those rare people who lose very little hair. Mine is shaved but honestly I still have a lot of hair left too and it's growing.
Rockym: geez you are lucky to have such nice hair one of those braids is my whole head. I keep hoping my mine will come back in thick.
Kimberly: You are the one who is hysterical. Your posts always make me laugh such as Mrs Potato Head. In fact I think you are so funny I made the mistake of sharing your comment about evacuation to my family. They rolled on the floor laughing. I have a bunch of wise cracking teens so now when I walk through the room one of the wise guys taking the cue from your line yells, thar she blows!! Or I love this one don't make mom mad because you know the crap is gonna hit the fan and she is not playing. Take note never share anything with teenagers!
OK I promise this is my last comment on my personal toilet issues -
Iwarstler: Home now and still very, very tired. Getting ready to get some rest. Things went well and I should be feeling better by Wedneday, let's hope anyways!
Kayrem: I loved your son's comments about the lice. Kids just crack me up sometimes!
Kimberly: You know that I am a transportation coordinator for a school district and part of my job is making sure people that are absent have substitute drivers. Well, apparently "chemo brain" took over last week and I wrote someone down to be off this afternoon.....it was this morning!!! Needless to say, that bus ran very late! Damn! I never make those kinds of mistakes! Ugh! Maybe they will forgive me. Hope it doesn't happen again. I can so relate to the brain not clicking at top speed these days!
I love all the pictures! When I figure out how to do them, I will post some of me, before and after. I really don't want my bald pictures on facebook though. Did someone say there was a way that no one else could see them?
Hope you all have a restful night and a wonderful day. Talk to you tomorrow.
HUGS!
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I cannot sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep since my first chemo. I have a prescription for Ambien but I don't just want to take those to take them. I did take one last night and woke up at midnight, then again at 3 am. Finally at around 3:30 i moved down to the couch to at least try to spare my husband and let him have a good nights sleep.
One a good note.... Its hairpocolypse.
Rockym:I cannot believe how much thick/beautiful hair you have. What a great feeling to be able to donate it. I can't donate mine because it is not long enough and it has hihlights in it.
Really wish I could. I hate to lose all this thick shoulder length hair for nothing. Kayrem: You look like a natural! Your face looks great with your hair but also with the buzz cut. You really go look great.
rjbaby: good point. I have not and don't plan to announce on fb that I have breast cancer. There are a lot of people that I am "friends" with that don't need to know this information. I don't know if there is a way to upload a picture without sharing it. I am in the same boat. I'll need to find a way to do that too. Maybe we can use a different site like Kodak Gallery. I'll try that later this afternoon.
Have a good day everyone. Hopefully I can fit a nap in somewhere. I have my hair shaving appt at 10:00, girlfriends coming over at 4:00 to have some wine and celebrate with me. Family coming over at 7:00 pm for the "unveiling".
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Karen - You have beautiful eyes in the birthday AND the hedgehog pictures. I would love to be as slender as you, Can I ask....what is that blue dress in the background about?
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