Is There A September 2011 Chemo Group?
Comments
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me too with the hair. The remnants on my head are growing so slowly but growing. Never lost all my body hair but the leg hair is comoing back but not the armpits yet. Just want to see some new growth on my head! Can't wait to ge topless Thanks for the info on port removal.
Maggie
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Yay, Shelley!
RJ- Glad things went well. Hope you're feeling good today.
Linda- You're in my thoughts. I hope that the surgery was smooth and that recovery passes quickly and easily.
Hope everyone is feeling good this weekend and that those who have finished chemo are feeling more and more like yourselves. I'm very ready to join you ladies in the "finished" group. Two more left unless my oncologist cuts it short.
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Hello Ladies! Been resting and just laying around and taking it easy. The oldest daughter and her kids have been gone to a friend's house and I have been enjoying the peace and quiet which I so needed!
Mags: My port came out via surgery. Went to the surgical out patient center and was put under. The surgery lasted about 15 minutes. I spent more time in pre-op and post-op than the surgery took! LOL! At any rate, I am doing well with a little swelling where the port was and some stiffness in my shoulder. I think the same thing happened when I had the port put in but in about a week, I will be good as new. Planning on going to work Tuesday as normal after rads. We are off Monday but I have 3 dr's appointments that day. I am going to ask my ob-gyn if he thinks I should have my ovaries out since my tumor is ER/PR positive.
Shelly: Good to hear from you. I'm glad you're through with rads. I have one week done, 5 to go! The first week passed by quickly and I hope the others do too. It takes me more time to drive up there than it does to get the rads. Go figure!
Linda: Hang in there sweetheart. I know you are down about the fall and the surgery, but it's gonna work out. I've still got you in my thoughts.
Kimberly: That is so funny about the leg hair! Maybe I need to do that to see if I have any cause I surely can't feel any! Nothing under my arms either. And the hair on my head is growing but soooo slowly! I am hoping by the time it warms up I will not have to wear those wigs anymore. I wore my dew rag to surgery Friday. I just didn't feel like wearing my hair. First time I really went out in public without hair on my head! Wasn't so bad.
Take care everyone. Think I will go be a couch potatoe today and enjoy the peace and quiet. Kids ought to be home soon.
HUGS!
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RJ: Yay for good surgeries.! Hope rads continues to go smoothly.
Mags: I always feel so encouraged as I hear about you getting closer and closer to being done. One step at a time:)
Shelley: So glad you are done...Donig the happy dance for you!
Linda: Ditto what everyone has said, you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.
Kimberly: I see a few fine white hairs on my head, I'll be watching the rest now.
Belle: Positive thoughts for an easy week up to final chemo!!! It has been such a rough road for you, I just want you to get done so you can finally start to get to the other side of this. (((HUGS)))
Just want to finally post a positive. Last chemo is over and today I think I am finally past the pain. Thought I was stroking out Thursday night and was out on painpills from then until last night but, so far today, only minor twinges and mild nausea (although I'm staying on those nausea meds like clockwork). I feel like I might finally be getting to the other side of this nightmare!
Thanks for getting me through ladies,
Lee Ann
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Hello ladies! Glad to see you all here today. Just a couple of updates.
Surgery Friday went fine, but over the weekend, the site where my port was swelled up again and I could tell there was fluid in there. Went to rads as usual this morning. Then over to see my ob-gyn. He did not recommend a hysterectomy. I am not having any problems whatsoever so we will just be very diligent in making sure I get regular check-ups and my paps every year. Then did some shopping and on to the onc I do. Well, I show him my port and how it is still very swollen. He drained it! I was so glad! But this time it was a bloody fluid instead of the infection looking stuff that my surgeon got out of it last week. At any rate, he don't think I'll have any more problems. I'm sure he will let my surgeon know about having to drain it. From what I can tell, they are in touch quite often concerning their mutual patients. My onc also gave me a copy of my scans that I had done on December 29. Everything is clear except that the scan shows that I have gallstones. Well, I kinda knew all that. When my Mom was in the hospital back in 2004, I was on a nail fungus drug and had to have regular blood draws and my doctor told me then that I had evidence of gall bladder disease. But it doesn't bother me and if it ever does, then I will deal with it too.
Lee Ann: I just wanted to say "congratulations" on finishing your chemo. I know it's been a rough road for you and I hope things drastically improve now that you are done.
CJRT: I am feeling very well today. Glad I am home from all those appointments! Whew! Was a long day!
HUGS to each and everyone!
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I saw my MO today as a follow up to finishing rads. Mentioned that I sort of go out of balance maybe once a day, but was not too worried about it as I see many on this site mention it. He didn't seem overly concerned, but...brain MRI on Friday. One good thing about breast cancer is that they can pretty much order any test and justify it.
I am also starting 100mg B6 at his suggestion to try to hurry along the neuropathy recovery. Can't feel my middle 3 toes on both feet most of the time, which is problematic in winter in Cleveland, Ohio.
I've been on Aromacin for 2 wks now, and am starting calcium plus 4000iu vitamin D3. Oh boy, lots more pills each day.
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Shelley, It's the fish oil pills that will choke you, hee hee. I have them and should be taking them, but they are huge and get stuck. At least the vitamin D3 are small. I wondered about whether I need calcium, but usually heavy people have stronger thicker bones from holding up their weight I guess. We do weightbearing exercises every day when we get up and get on our feet. Still, I don't have a baseline bone mineral density and that is on my list with the AI too. Meant to squeeze it in last year while the deductible was fulfilled but missed that deadline. Procrastinators will pay.
I just sent a check in today for a way overdue breast cancer bill, almost 2000. I took some money out of retirement earlier and thought I had all the biggies of the breast cancer paid off, but I hadn't. Wow, My checking is about cleaned out and I have other sizable bills, and then there is now a new deductible year and services needed for health. The house taxes are due. The energy bill is high. This is not a problem for everyone but I know a lot of the rest of you are facing the same kind of bills and stress hanging over. I do love the part where if you have a question on a bill you get transferred and spend a minimum of 1/2 hour on hold. When I first called an automated voice told me the expected wait was 1 minute and 10 seconds, BEEP. Ha. My condolences to Maggie with what she has been through with her insurance. I'm just guessing she spent hours on hold wrestling with her insurance and providers.
I still think of Linda and the food pouring in. I have to clean out my freezer and fridge from the salty stuff. I am channeling Dr. Oz on a purge. The dogs ate ham on rye with thick slices of ham for breakfast. They had spaghetti for dinner made with the commercial sauce full of salt. Yesterday they had my frozen homemade vegetable lasagna, totally healthy except for the sodium content. Let's put it this way. I am eating the banana, pear, hamburger with spice, and potato. Their dinner smells better than mine. I want the vegetable lasagna. The cupboards and fridge are getting a complete makeover food-wise. Wonder if Linda has a dog to help with the casseroles?
2 months post chemo, head hair has thickening, duck fuzz, like all the hairs have decided to peek out, not just the crazy wild hairs that never fell or the first on the scene. Hooray for duck fuzz. How are you girls doing hair-wise?
Karen - Thanks for putting it out there, wondering about prognosis, wondering how long until the next shoe drops, then kicking yourself for not being more positive, then kicking yourself for not being realistic. I told my sister, all my energy was just trying to survive and deal with the surgery and the chemo and surviive that. Now I am overwhelmed because I have to prepare for the worst scenario and I don't know how much time I have to deal with it and prepare. We all face that. Don't know if it is 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. If I lay in bed and try to sleep longer, am I wasting precious moments? So many things I should prepare in case it is sooner rather than later and it is all about as pleasant as my bald head, scarred chest, medical bills, and I would just as soon sleep late. I think they call it adjustment disorder. Right now I am in the phase where I wonder how anybody adjusts to this reality.
Weird to have an older sister with breast cancer, but she could pat me on the head on the phone and tell me she had the same thing too. She didn't have a magic formula or answer for me, but just that you learn to live with it.
I am still in the adjustment phase. You sure this wasn't all a bad dream? Do I really have to deal with all this mess? Me? My adjustment disorder is that I want to escape, sleeping or drinking, just take this problem away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WbQLNjTuTo
Diagnosis: 7/2011, IDC, 3cm, Stage IIa, Grade 2, 1/3 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2- -
Pinkshirt--thinking of you and hoping surgery went well.
Mapping and sim today for radiation.
Tomorrow back to Mo for results of pet scan and blood tests. Hoping I get the ALL CLEAR! Guess we all think about the "what if" part of this damn disease.
Belle--hope that last cheme takes it easy on you
Rae- still missing you and wishing you well
Maggie
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I just wrote a long post explaining why I have been absent for so long and responding to many of your posts and somehow when I went to sumit it deleted it. I haven't been on in so long and I am so sorry because I realize how much I have needed and missed you all. I can't redo the post right now because I have neuropathy so bad in my hands and they worked only for awhile. I wanted to let you know I am still alive but have had like many of you an extremely difficult time. I love all of you and spent the last while reading over all the posts. I celebrated, cried and sympathized with you. Darn I wish my post hadn't deleted but I must close this one. I love that chemo is after the monsters within me I hate that chemo has turned me into a mere shadow of my former self. I don't mean by mere shadow that I have lost a bunch of weight just that I no longer can function as I used to even writing or typing is difficult. Love you all and will write the next time my neuropathy is in a good mood. Rae
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So glad to hear from yo Rae...Time will heal us all We love you too. It feels like we are all family with the ups and downs we have shared in such a short period of time
Clean Pet scan results from the doc today. Slightly elevated ca27-29 but doc says it is most likely from chemo inflamation!!! Time to celebrate. 3 wks PFC and feeling a bit like my old self again. Now if that hair would just grow
Maggie
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Rae- So good to hear from you. We've all been thinking of you!
Maggie- Amazing news!! So happy for you!
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rae, so glad to hear from you, so sorry to hear about the neuropathy! hope it gets better!!
great news, maggie!!
well, sub mo added heartburn med to premed but it didn't help!arrrh. haven't heard the results of breast mri, will call tomorrow and have them send the report to my primary so i can get a copy. then need to make an appt with her to discuss results of cat scan i had when in er a few weeks ago. a couple of years ago they found masses on my adrenal glands consistant with benign, they appear to have gotten a little bigger guess it's time to check them out!
on good note, yesterday was my last chemo yeeeeeaaaaa!!!!!! hope se are less this go round so i can recover before radiation starts.
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Rae, it is so good to see you again!! My MO recommended B6 for the neuropathy...125 mg a day. My multivitamin has 2 mg....so I bought some!
Belle, congrats on finishing! Good thoughts for manageable SE's....
Maggie, congrats on the test results. I have a brain MRI tomorrow.....
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Rae - It's so good to hear from you!! I'm sorry you are having problems with neuropathy. Like Shelly, I've been taking B6. I'm still experiencing neuropathy, but I think it could be worse. the worst of if it is problems with gripping items, typing and balance. Boy, I never really appreciated my fingers or toes until now. Hopefully you will begin feeling better. Sending loads of hugs!!
Belle - Yay!!! Last chemo! That is so awesome.
Maggie - Great news on your PET scan!! Congrats!
I'm 2 weeks out from my last TCH chemo and my red and white blood cell counts are still in the toilet (even with a Neulasta shot). My Onc ran some extra blood-work, and my B12 is WAY high!! Normal is between 211-946, mine is 1999. Has anyone else hadt this problem? I haven't talked to my Onc about it yet, I see her next week. My infusion nurse reassured me that if it was a problem, my Onc would have called me. I still worry. From what I have read, abnormal B12 is connected to liver problems, and all my chemo is processed through my liver.
I hope everyone has a wonderful, side-effect free weekend!!
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Rae!! So glad to hear from you, although I am very sorry that the neuropathy is giving you such a hard time.
Mags, that is great news about the scan! Shelley, hope your MRI goes as well as Mag's scan...
Belle, knew you would make it! It feels good to get that last one over and done with, hunh?
Eek, Kelli, if it isn't one thing it's another. So you are done though? Now maybe your body will catch a break and things will start to reset. Let us know what's up with the B12 when you hear.
Hope everyone has a peaceful weekend!
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Cooka - I'm through with the Taxotare & Carboplatin, but I still have to take Herceptin every 3 weeks until September. How are you doing with your LE?
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Rae: Sending lots of hugs your way! Hang in there! It is so good to hear from you.
Belleast: Way to go girl! Glad that's over, huh?
Maggie: Great news on the scan!
Kelliregi: I didn't have your problem but I did have high potassium. Couldn't figure out why and have never figured it out. Don't eat bananas, but did eat lots of potatoes. I'm more or less a junk food junkie. Had to have extra fluids a time or two on count of the high potassium but that was all and my onc didn't seem to be too worried about it. Still a mystery to me.
Well ladies, the 12 pounds I lost through all the chemo is slowly but surely coming back. The last couple of days I just want to eat all the time! I can taste again and food is so much better nowadays! Radiation is not that difficult.....yet. I'm still waiting to see if my skin holds out or if I begin to have some issues. I see the Rad Onc every Monday to discuss any problems. Two weeks down and 4 to go! Hopefully they will pass quickly. I am already so tired of driving back and forth every day.
I have the house to myself tonight! Oldest daughter is gone to a friends and both kids are at their other parents! Ahhhh.....at last.....time for me! I am enjoying my peace and quiet. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and grandkids, but I so enjoy my free time!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Talk to you soon.
HUGS!
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Kelli - Can't remember what your follow up liver testing revealed, but high B12 is also linked with leukemia, which is another possible side effect of chemo alkalytic agents. Hope it is nothing. Why were they even checking your B12 in the first place?
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Maggie, congrats on your test results! I had my brain MRI yesterday and it was clear!!!! Phew!
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Kimberly - After my last dose of TCH Chemo (I'm still on Herceptin for a full year), my red and white blood cell counts bottomed out. This hasn't happened before. My white cells dropped after my first chemo, only because we tried it without Neulasta. My Onc was concerned I may have internal bleeding and ran my iron count - normal, ferritin - normal, TIBC/UBIC - normal, and B12 & folate. My folate was normal, but my B12 was >1999, normal is between 211-946. I saw that leukemia was a possibility too =(. I don't know if she maybe ran some other tests on my liver enzymes, but I sure hope so! I will be FULL of questions when I meet with my Onc on Wednesday!! I can't help but think it means something, I just wish I knew what it was!
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hi all, would like to respond to everyone's post but se kicking in. good news tho, breast mri was clear/negative, one less worry yeeeeaaaahhh!!!!!!
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Hi Kelli, LE is going okay, I am getting used to my sleeve and will start working with a sports medicine person soon to get ready to start competing again. Still love my massages:)
Hey about your B12, there is a person on here called DebRox that had B12 at 1999. Think it resolved on it's own and is just one more way our bodies get all screwed up while we are on this stuff. Let us know what you find out though!
Yay Shelley and Belle for your clean MRI's!!! Take care everyone, Go Niners!!
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Cooka - Good luck with your training! I just got a new lymphdivas sleeve and gauntlet that looks like dragon tattoos. I love how it looks, and it works well too. Thansk for the info on DebRox. I'm not too worried about leukemia, just my liver function at this point. Hopefully it's just one of those cheom recovery things.
Belle & Shelly- Congrats on the MRI results!!!
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Hello Sisters,
I came cross your discussions when I try to look for information about moving to Canada. I am in the difficult situations now. I came to Canada with a work visa in Feb 2010 and was diagnosed with BC on Aug. 2010 I filed application for permanent residency in May 2010. Now my application is still pending at the visa office. I am worried about if I could pass the medical exam or not? Does anybody have any comments on that? I am done with my treatment, now on Tamoxifen. I have worked through my chemo by working at home and have gone back to full time work after finihsed chemo in April 2011. Thanks very much and best wishes for all sister. Life will be better soon and there is light at the end of the tunnel for sure. Now I could barely remember how hard the chemo was. except those sleepless nights.
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Hi Meglove, i do not have any answers for you but I found a thread where they were discussing this problem
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/55/topic/738934?page=11#post_1525462
also, there is this info (but you may have this already)
http://www.canadavisa.com/immigration-medical-inadmissibility.html
Hope it helps! Glad to hear you have recovered so well and we can look forward to the same:)
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Hi Cooka,
Thanks for the information. I will look it up. Life is tough with cancer. But I felt blessed that my husband and I got back together after my diagnosis and he put me on his insurance in the US. We both found we still loved each other after this ordeal. I am happy for that no matter what. We will hang in on there until we know what would happen to my application in Canada. Wish you feel better soon!!!
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Linda, hope you are recovering well from your surgery with no complications!!
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I'm starting to get hair too, but it sure isn't pretty! It looks a little like this
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Thinking of you, Linda, and hope you're doing well!
Hi everyone, Just a minor vent. I feel bad venting thinking of Linda recovering from surgery, but I am having a rougher time than normal mentally going into this next one. I just got back from an appointment with the PA to see if I was over my cold enough to do chemo #5 tomorrow. I got the go-ahead and am glad it isn't delayed, but I am so anxious and dreading it terribly. My BP was sky-high when I went in but luckily dropped to normal levels during my appointment, despite the fact I felt like I was going to cry during my appointment. My sister is even flying in for moral support and to help with the kids since my in-laws went back home. Rationally, I know that I have help, I'll have only one left, I have had a good clinical response, blah, blah, blah. But I feel like I just can't muster the strength to cope with a another one, seem positive and strong, etc. I know your ladies can relate. You women that are done remind me that this part will be over soon. I have to keep reminding myself of that! Please send some positive thoughts my way this weekend.
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Congrats Maggie!! That's great news about the clean PET scan.
Belleast: congrats on being done with Chemo and on your breast MRI. That's awesome!!
Kelliregi: I can see the picture??
CJRT: I know its so tough. I felt like that with my last treatment but if you get one more down... its one less you have to do. That probably doesn't help much. I just moved forward like it was something i had to do... that i didn't have much choice. Now I am done.
I am three weeks post chemo and I feel great. I've been back at work now for a few weeks and fell great to have my normalcy back. My hair hasnt really started growing yet. I have that fine blond stuff that has started to come in but i'm not exactly sure what that is. Like peach fuzz or a brand new babies hair. My husband says he can see some stubble in the back but its not really growing. I am trying not to be impatient.
Surgery is next wednesday - 2/1. I am really excited believe it or not. I am hoping that this is the last step of my treatment and then I can put this all behind me. I am having a bilateral mastectomy with free tram reconstruction. I know recovery will be tough but my husband and I have all the support organized and planned. I feel like we are as prepared as we can be. I am excited to be done and to get the final pathology report that I won't need radiation.
I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry its been a while since I have been on. Missed you guys.
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