April 2011 chemo

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  • Elizabeth1889
    Elizabeth1889 Member Posts: 1,036
    edited December 2011

    BernieEllen, Thank you for the laughs and your lovely Christmas thoughts.  You really have the gift of brightening a day.  Wishing you and everyone Christmas love.

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    Good morning beautiful warriors. I want to wish a special thank you to the April Chemo group for helping me get through the toughest year of my life. I am filled with awe and gratitude. May the blessing of the universe be upon you. Look in the mirror today and see your own magnificence. Not only have we made it through, we helped one another while at our weakest. It speaks volumes about our strength, our morals, and our character. I am very proud to be a member of this group.

    Love Merilee

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  • scc218
    scc218 Member Posts: 163
    edited December 2011

    Beautifully said, Merilee!  I couldn't agree more!

    Merry Christmas, everyone.  And let's hope we all have a better year next year.  HUGS to you all.

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  • geocachelinda
    geocachelinda Member Posts: 223
    edited December 2011

    Hello  everyone!  I hope everyone  had  a very  Merry Christmas  or Happy Hannakka!  Everyone still seems to be  in  different  stages of treatment.   I had my ovaries  removed in  Nov.  Nice easy surgery  except  the hot flashes  started up again!   I am  now considering getting reconstruction  done.  I should just go for it!   A  little discomfort would be worth it to get my  new  boob  and perk up  the other one and get a tummy tuck in the  process! 

    Love to all, Linda

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  • BernieEllen
    BernieEllen Member Posts: 2,445
    edited December 2011
    Holiday Diet
    The following diet is designed to help you cope with the stress, paranoia, depression and delusion that builds during the holidays...
    Breakfast:
    • 1/2 grapefruit
    • 1 slice whole wheat toast
    • 8 oz. Skimmed milk
    Lunch:
    • 4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
    • 1 cup steamed spinach
    • 1 cup herb tea
    • 1 Oreo cookie
    Mid-Afternoon snack:
    • The rest of Oreos in the package
    • 2 pints Rocky Road ice cream, nuts, cherries and whipped cream
    • 1 jar hot fudge sauce
    Dinner:
    • 2 loaves garlic bread
    • 4 cans or 1 large pitcher Beer
    • 1 large sausage, mushroom and cheese pizza
    • 3 Snickers bars
    Late Evening News:
    • Entire frozen Sara Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from freezer)
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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    LOL.  Last night, my plan was to go to bed at 9 after the boy was asleep.  Around 8:30 I decided that I couldn't live without pizza.  I was in bed by 10 with 2 slices of pizza in my belly (and a surprised and happy hubby working away in his home office).  :)

    One week from today was exchange surgery--still a bit tough turning the wheel around a bunch driving, but I'm getting there.  

    Linda, glad to hear you did well with your surgery.  I get hot flashes (from the Tamoxifen I think), but they're not too bad...just a weird wave of heat comes over me, and I keep wondering if this "qualifies" as a hot flash.  :)  

    Lovely words, Merilee. I so agree.  Thank you all for making this toughest of years easier.  To making next year "OUR year!"  

    -Cris 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2011

    Hi, ProfBee/Cris: Glad to hear you are recovering well from your surgery. I am sending good New Years thoughts to your new cleavage!

    Nice to hear from you, Linda - it' been a while. Are you feeling different now that your ovaries are gone? Are you BRACA+? 

    Hugs back atcha, Suzy. What did you finally decide to do with the hair?

    I got my new wig today. It's BURGUNDY RED and long and layered, and so different from my usual hair, but I am getting so many compliments! I could put on an Elvira dress and it would look like it belonged on me with this hair (except for the low-cut, cleavage-requiring nature of that dress. Haha)

    Merilee: Amen to the better 2012!!

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  • scc218
    scc218 Member Posts: 163
    edited December 2011

    Your new wig sounds great, Windlass!  Can you post a photo?

    I cut the curls off my hair but did a real hack job.  Looked pretty bad.  Went to the hair salon at Walmart today and had the stylist use clippers and even the whole think out -- very, very short -- almost shaved.  Back to the drawing board.  We'll see how it comes in this time. 

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    A new wig sounds fun!  People keep asking me why I didn't get a blonde one...ummm...hubby's mom is a blonde and I think it might turn him off forever.  LOL!  

    Suzy, you can join me!  I've just got the tiniest bit of fuzz up there.  I think you're brave for cutting!   

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    Scc- sorry my idea did not work, darn. Mine is better now and I feel for the first time since April like I like my hair. Never again will I take it for granted LOL

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  • BernieEllen
    BernieEllen Member Posts: 2,445
    edited December 2011
    A hunter kills a deer and brings it home. He decides to clean it, prepare it, and serve the deer meat for dinner. He knows his kids are fussy eaters, and won't eat it if they know what it is, so he doesn't tell them.
    His little boy keeps asking him, "What's for dinner dad?"
    "You'll see", he replies.
    They start eating dinner and his daughter keeps asking him what they are eating.
    "Ok", says her dad, "Here's a hint. It's what your mother sometimes calls me."
    His daughter screams ... "Don't eat it, Jimmy! ... It's an effing asshole ..."
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  • seeay
    seeay Member Posts: 56
    edited December 2011

    Hello friends,

    I've been absent on here, but reading along and catching up with everyone. I am in pretty much the same stage as most of you - my hair looks ridiculous - but I've discovered those Boho headbands help with making me look more feminine. Most of the time I wear a baseball hat. I have a friend who is three months ahead of me and it helps to look at her hair and see where I'll be! These hot flashes are the worst!! My SE from herceptin are pretty bad - intense joint and muscle pain and hot flashes galore - that I still haven't started my Tamoxifin yet. I just can't do that to myself after I read that the two biggest SE from it are what I am already experiencing! I actually showed up one time for my tx of herceptin and just lost it and couldn't do it. I was just so uncomfortable! I did end up going back, but it is really tough. I can barely walk - even typing this out is so painful. But, like the true troopers we are, I just suck it up and push forward, telling myself it's just what I have to do. Knowing you all are with me on this crappy journey somehow makes it better. I cannot believe this year. Just know that next year HAS GOT to be better - right? Thank you chemo pals!

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    Crap, Seeay! I have been so lucky on it. I'm sitting here waiting for my Herceptin treatment.  And, I've been taking my Tamoxifen for just over a month.  So far, nothing too bad.  I've heard that the SEs really drop off 3 months in.  

    Better?  Not just better, this next year is OUR YEAR!!!!  We're going to be promoted, win the lottery, travel, heal, all sorts of wonderment!  :) 

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    You got it Prof!

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  • BernieEllen
    BernieEllen Member Posts: 2,445
    edited December 2011
    CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
    Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:
    * Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
    * The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
    * Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands
    * The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
    * Remember in prayer the many who are sick in our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
    * Don't l et worry kill you off - let the Church help.
    * Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
    * For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs..
    * Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
    * The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."
    * Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
    * A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall.. Music will follow.
    * At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
    * Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
    * Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
    * The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
    * Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
    * The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
    * Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
    * Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
    * The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
    * Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church Please use large double door at the side entrance.
    * The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."
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  • KiwiMum
    KiwiMum Member Posts: 704
    edited December 2011

    I'm with Profbee. Next year will be our year, we've earned it.



    Bugger the SEs Seeay! I've been on Tamox about 10 weeks now. The only SE so far is hot flashes. I had them whilst having chemo and they are about the same. I need to figure out if there is something I do which makes them worse. Some days/nights they are less frequent and then some nights they are brutal 4-5 times "on fire" during the night.



    My hair isn't long enough yet to curl or do anything interesting but I am loving having no wig. I am short and ok with it.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2011

    Profbee: I think you and I were waiting at the same place, on the same day for our treatments!

    I am STILL waiting for my infusion, though - and I imagine you are long gone, headed for home.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2011

    And I hear you on the hot flashes! I get them every night, and they're awful. Good thing it's like 20 degrees outside my window, which is right next to my bed. I just crack it half an inch and it's better than an air conditioner.

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    Hey Windlass!  I'm doing the Herceptin up here locally at the hospital just 20 minutes up the road.  I'll be back to work soon, and I feel pretty good about the decision.  I still have my Dana Farber docs, but I'll just see them for my check ups every few months. Maybe we can coordinate sometime! 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2011

    Ahh, gotcha. I am still here at Dana Farber because I am on this clinical trial for TDM1.

    And hooray! Good timing. That beeping I hear is telling me my infusion cycle just ended! Now to slog home in Boston traffic...

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    At least the caf there is good!  (The one up here STINKS!)  You're getting AWESOME care!  I hope you're home by now.  

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    Hi Prof  & Windlass

    So good to hear that things are going fairly well. The only infusions I am still doing are Vit C.

     I am on  Arimidex and get the hot flashes too. I carry a pretty fold up fan that I bought in Mexico. It really helps to whip it out and fan like crazy. Plus I need all the feminine accessories I can get  with the boy hair cut and no boobs! LOL

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    Wow...you have to go IN to get Vitamin C?!  They can't just let you take that at home?  Ugh.  I'll be so glad when I don't have to go into a hospital and get stuck all the time.  

    My hot flashes aren't all that bad.  I think I have them...but usually whipping off my hat and revealing my bald head cools me down enough.  A nice fan may be something to look for though!  :)   

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    Prof- the Vit C infusions are by choice. The body absorbs better that way. The Taxotere really did a number on my immune system, so the C is a part of building that back. now if they could just shoot me full of something to make me more Rapunzel like, that would be good.

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  • profbee
    profbee Member Posts: 858
    edited December 2011

    Oooh...I'd take that too!  Sorry about the immune system issues...that stinks.  

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  • scc218
    scc218 Member Posts: 163
    edited December 2011

    Oh yeah, that WOULD be cool, Merilee.  A Rapuzel-like drug....

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  • BernieEllen
    BernieEllen Member Posts: 2,445
    edited December 2011
    Here is this guy who really takes care of his body; he lifts weights and jogs five miles every day.
    One morning, he looks into the mirror and admires his body. He notices that he is really sun tanned all over except one part and he decides to do something about it.
    He goes to the beach, completely undresses and buries himself in the sand except for the one part sticking out.
    Two little old ladies are strolling along the beach and one looks down and says, "There really is no justice in this world."
    The other little old lady says, "What do you mean?"
    The first little old lady says, "Look at that."
    "When I was 10 years old, I was afraid of it."
    "When I was 20 years old, I was curious about it."
    "When I was 30 years old, I enjoyed it."
    "When I was 40 years old, I asked for it."
    "When I was 50 years old, I paid for it."
    "When I was 60 years old, I prayed for it."
    "When I was 70 years old, I forgot about it."
    "And now that I'm 80, the damned things are growing wild!!"
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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited December 2011

    Speaking of aging, any one besides me plan to live till 100?

    Here is a very uplifting article http://www.happynews.com/news/11152011/102-therapist-psyched-life.htm

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  • scc218
    scc218 Member Posts: 163
    edited December 2011

    Planning on it, Merilee!  Awesome article!  What a woman!

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  • Merilee
    Merilee Member Posts: 3,047
    edited January 2012

    Good riddens 2011!

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