March 2012 chemo

Hi Sissy and Gabbi will be starting in March too, thought it would be February but needed to get a petscan and a MRI done and they were not able to get me schedule before Thursday 23/2, so guess its March for me too.


I will be doing AC*4 followed by TH*4, then radiation, then five years of Tamaxofin, what's your treatment like? They decided to come at me with a loaded gun because of my age (34) and my nodes involvement.



Got my port insertion on Friday , now I am so sore, it also hurt when I swallow, either of you girls have a port does it hurt when you swallow, not sure if I should be feeling like this, want to call my nurse but doesn't want to seem like I am whining....sigh!!!!



Just wanted to reach out and looking forward to getting to know all as we take this journey together



HUGS

Hey girls...I was in your shoes exactly 1 year ago and started on March 2nd.  I just want to let you know a year out, life is great.  Now our March thread from last year is not posting non-stop about chemo issues...wear are talking about stupid, normal stuff and our addiction to that website called Pinterest.com.  I hope you all get through this with minimal side effects and can move on healthy and happy.  Cyber hugs to my chemo sisters.... 

Thanks so much Mdg, I am sure we will need the encouragement through out this journey.



Just got a call from my RO assistant they reschedule me to start 29/2, so I am back to February, would love to stay with march though since I will be closer to starting with the girls in March....please may I stay:)



Sissydi actually have no problem sleeping on the side, it just that it feels like a big painfull boulder is rolling around in my chest. left a message, hopefully the nurse will call me back. It just hit me that I have been sleeping on my back, I have no comfortable side left lumpectomy on the right port on the left.....awwww this journey but I am smiling though.



Lots of hugs girls

I will get my first dose on 2/23, not sure how I feel or what I think, guess since I am noit thinking about it.  I have made chicken soup and will be making broccoli soup to have on hand I love mashed potatoes, hope I still do when this is all done.  I plan on packing my TX bag in the next couple days.  I will bring my Snuggy!! lol, and ice chips, popsicles and water.

I have to say I am so tired of people asking me how I am, really, is that all they can come up with? I know they mean well and care but just so sick of it,besides I have had ZERO   effects of cancer till I got my port put in, heck  if no one knew I had bc they never would of found out without me telling them so. 

Hi Ladies - just popping in from the March 2008 chemo thread - hard to believe it's been 4 years! I try to pop into the March threads every year just to give you encouragement and tell you it can be done.  Several ladies from previous years did that when we started our March 2008 thread, and it gave me so much hope to hear how well they were doing a year or two or more out, so I always try to "pay it forward" and encourage the latest Chemo "March"ers.   

I did 6*TAC - a tx every three weeks - starting March 4, 2008 and finishing June 17, 2008. As you've probably heard, chemo is not a walk in the park, but it is doable. The March 2008 thread was a lifeline for me - I didn't know anyone in the "real world" who was going through chemo, so I'd have been so isolated if it hadn't been for the wonderful March 2008 women.

I worked full time all through chemo. My chemo days were Tuesdays. I'd take my chemo day off, and since I had to go back for a Neulasta shot the next day, I took that off as well. I'd go to work Thursday and Friday, then pretty much rest most of the weekend, then I was back at work on Monday. I have a desk job, not a physically-demanding job, so that helped quite a bit. The effects for me were cumulative, so as treatments went on I had to leave work early on the Thursday and Friday of chemo weeks, and even sometimes on Mondays. But aside from that I was able to work. Fortunately I have a great workplace and a supportive supervisor.

The worst part for me was the fatigue. I never had nausea thanks to Emend, but I found I wanted only very bland foods, like white rice and mashed potatoes during the week or so after chemo. I had been extremely physically active before dx, and tried to stay active during chemo, but had to pretty much give up exercise by the end of chemo because it just took too much out of me.

And yep, my hair came out, starting on Day 14. Unfortunately, that goes with the territory. I thought I'd be devastated, but the surprising thing is that once it actually happened, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I had a very nice-looking wig, but gave it up after a week or so and just wore baseball caps and dangly earrings. My co-workers and friends gave me all sorts of baseball caps and dangly earrings, so I ended up having a cap and earrings to match just about everything I owned. Everyone is different - some wear caps, some wear scarves, some wear wigs and some are even brave enough to go commando. You'll find what's comfortable for you. And just think - no shaving legs/pits for months, it's a snap getting ready for work in the morning when you don't have to blow dry and style, you save a fortune at the beauty salon, and those sneaky little chin hairs - gone!!! The good news is that your hair grows back eventually, and sometimes better than before. Prior to chemo I had stick-straight limp hair, but it came back beautifully curly and wavy - I love it! For me, four years later, being bald is just a funny memory of something that happened a long time ago.

Pamper yourself, let people help you, and do what you can to have a normal life. For me, that meant going to Nationals baseball games - because of the fatigue I may not have lasted past the 4th inning most of the time, but I went and had a great time while I was there. Baseball and working were lifelines out of Cancer World for me - they were normal everyday things to do that helped me take my mind off myself and gave me the opportunity to have normal conversations with normal people about normal everyday non-cancer-related things. If you have something love doing, try to keep doing it for as long as you can.

The biggest thing you need to do is to be strong enough to ask for help. That's very hard for most of us, but people want to help and it makes them feel good. Let people help you, whether it's cooking a meal, walking the dog, running errands, taking the kids for the weekend - whatever you need. People like the good feeling they get from helping out - I think they enjoy the kudos they get when they casually mention to others that they cooked a meal or walked the dog for a cancer patient! So give them the gift of allowing them to help.  

Good luck ladies - I may not check this thread a lot, but I did want to hop over and say hi and give you encouragement. Hang in there and you can get through it. And it does get better. Today I routinely mountain hike, take yoga, do weight training, and I even run!  I ran a few 5Ks last year for the first time and loved it, so I just signed up to run my first 10K in April - not sure whether it was extremely brave or extremely foolish to do that - I guess I'll find out in April.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me and I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have about my experience then and how I'm doing now.

Carry on Marchers!!!

Mary

I start 1st of 6 TCH March 1st.  I want to put together a bag of essentials for the day.  I plan to do cold caps so it will be a long day.  Any ideas on what will be needed?  Magazines, water, munchies, ...????

Yay, happy to find this group, Im starting my chemo March 9 or 15 and its FEC D (plus herceptin later). Im pretty scared about it still, i.e. I cant even bring myself to get the port..even tho Ive got 15 months of infusions every 21 days ahead of me......hoping to get some inspiration from everyone here.

Looks like there's a few of us pre-menapause here. I'm 44. I also keep hearing that chemo is advised "because of my age". grrr. Although my nodes were negative, as were my surgical margins. I find out tomorrow if I need the whole dose dense 8 weeks or if i can go a slightly less aggressive route. I also have asthma and recurring bells palsey from virus in facial nerve... so trying to balance benefit of chemo with added risks with these conditions too.

mdg and natsfan - thankyou so much for checking it and for the needed encouragement.

jap62 - lmao... I plan to make a halo too. wig just sounds sooo uncomfortable.

sissy, theres a lady in my area that sells wigs, you can get them on line too

I hear so much anxiety in your posts!! It takes me back cuz that's exactly how I felt before my first chemo 4 years ago.  I can tell you that waiting on that first chemo is absolutely the worst emotionally and anxiety-wise because you have no idea how your body will react.  Once you get through that first one, you have a much better idea of the whole process and how your body will react, and you can prepare much better for the next one. 

On the port issue - some people do just fine without a port, but personally I think a port can really help.  There are some ladies on the chemo threads who have posted that they got through chemo OK without a port, but now their veins are shot and it's extremely difficult for them when they need blood drawn during medical visits, and they wish now that they'd gotten a port.  That's not the case for everyone, of course, but it's something think about.  A port can save your veins for later - they can use it not only for chemo, but for blood draws.  And you'll have a lot of blood draws during chemo. 

And of course if you've had any lymph nodes removed, even just a SNB, you're at an increased risk for lymphedema on that side and need to avoid any blood draws, blood pressure cuffs, etc. on the affected side.  A port can help save your veins on the non-affected side so you can use them later once the port is out.    

Hang in there Marchers - you CAN do this! Again, if any of you have any questions or just want to talk with someone who has "been there" please feel free to PM me.  So many women helped me when I was going through chemo that I'm glad to help those behind me.