Starting Chemo April 2009

Helen, quite a story! Good that he listened to you in the end. I hope he continues to improve. But lots of other good stuff going on in your family too which is great!

Geri, sorry you had to cancel your trip, but so good that you can put things into perspective and know that it will happen, just not this week. Hope the dog is ok. I have never owned a pet, my husband grew up in a home where there was always a dog, and I am in awe of the relationship that owners and dogs have. Enjoy your day off on Monday.

Titan, enjoy your few days with your son.

We have had a busy weekend again; On Thursday night we were out at a movie, last night we had a house warming party for very old friends and it was so much fun! I drank too much and was very jolly (not like me at all...), the wine was very good though LOL!

Tonight, we are going to visit with other friends and then from tomorrow, I am hoping to have a low key week, tie up loose ends at home before I start working next week.

The sun is shining, so let's hope we all have a great week ahead.

Sending you all hugs, Judy x

Hi everyone. Well the weather here is the news. It is positively summer like here. Temperature is in the mid 20's C which is 80ish on the F scale. Spring flowers are already coming up. Very bizarre. But enjoying it. Son's rash is slowly improving. I think it will take several days for his skin to settle down since he's off the drugs. A friend of mine is getting biopsy results today so I am worried for her. She is positive that it will be B9 so I hope she's right. Judy, good luck on the new job next week.

My friend's results were B9 thank goodness. She has had 5 different kinds of biopsies over the past year so I hope this is over for her. Her mother died of uterine cancer so of course there are always worries.



Good luck fornSunday, Judy. I'm sure once you are there everything will be fine but I understand your nervousness.

Oh Judy..glad you enjoyed the wine and the company!  You deserve it!!!  Oh yeay..hugging the son....poor kid...I'm holding him hostage because i won't take him shopping until Friday..ha ha..the things we mom's do....I do think I'm going to have to get a cow for the back yard when he is home..my gosh..the milk that kid drinks...and good luck with your new job..you will be fine..

Helen..we are having the same weather here..it is freaky..it is more like early June than mid March....very strange...

Oh Judy - so sorry that happened.  The blood will reabsorb, but likely not until your arm turns all colors of red and black and purple.  Sometimes a warm compress will help the reabsorption and ease some of the discomfort.  Also, if you are at rest, try keeping your arm elevated on a pillow - that will sometimes reduce the swelling.  Obviously, if it doesn't start to resolve, or looks worse, it would warrent a call to the doc, but these "infiltrates", as they are called, do happen and rarely cause anything more than unsightly swelling and bruising, but I totally understand your reaction - seems like we will always have that lurking in the back of our minds.

Here's hoping your swelling goes down very quickly, and HUGS to you!

Geri

Judy, what a terrible experience. I hope you are starting to feel better.

Judy,

Did you have axial lymphnodes removed when they did your mastectomy? If so, watch that arm closely. If the swelling goes down in the immediate area but your arm is generally achy then the blood draw attempt might have triggered lymphedema. Stay on top of it. If it causes you problems for more than two weeks, have a dr. look at it and refer you to a LE specialist (they can work magic).

I went to my LE specialist yesterday due to the new edema in my leg and flare up in my arm. I couldn't see my ankle bone when I walked in and after the MLD (manual lymph drainage) I could see the bone. I even lost 2 lbs overnight. Amazing.

Now for the really GOOD NEWS - my genetic test results...drum roll please - NEGATIVE for genetic mutations!!!! About freakin time I could share some good news. I was getting depressed with my writing on this board. I couldn't believe how uptight I was yesterday. After the dr. appt. my db took me to lunch, he said I needed to decompress before returning to work. I was bouncing off the walls yesterday with happiness. BTW -unlike what the counselor indicated b4 she said my sisters don't have to be tested. I know she told me the last time that even if I was B9, my sisters might not be and should be tested. Oh well, regardless it's excellent news. I can breathe again!!!!

I'm moving on in the genetic result area. I joined a test out of the Cleveland Clinic for genetic markers on PTEN. Since it's a study it will take a very long time to get results. As long as there are no drugs involved I told her I was happy to assist with scientific result.

So it's official I'm in the .5% - most likely tamoxifin caused my endometrial cancer. Lucky me but at least its all resolved.

My arm and chest LE have flared up again while trying on some compression pantyhose. OMG...I thought the arm compression was bad, I couldn't even get the damn stockings over the ball of my foot. It took me...I'm not kidding...about five minutes to get them on with the help of the clerk. Working the stockings caused my chest and arm to flare.  I said "screw this, if I can't put them on then I'm not going to wear them. I'll be damned if I'm going to make my dh dress me in the morning." So I ordered some thigh high garments and knee highs for traveling. They are so ugly and freaking expensive. But who needs a gym when I get a work out just dressing. It's sad but pretty funny too! LOL

So I wear some non-medical compression pantyhose, the type RiteAid sells, under my workout clothes at the gym per my LE specialist recommendation. So what happens...they rub sores on my legs between my thighs. Just like my arm...open sores are not a good thing so my legs swelled even more. I'm trying to do the right thing but I think sometimes the stars are lined up against me. Regardless...I'm one happy camper today, albeit, with big legs and sores but B9 for a really nasty genetic mutation.

I hope everyone is well. We've had snow for the past four days off and on. Yesterday I woke up to an 1.5. The weather has really been bizarre this winter. Tomorrow it's suppose to be in the 60's.   

Hi  Betsy - soglad your genetic testing was negative - you're right, you deserve some good news after all you are going through with the lymphedema, the endometrial cancer and all...I'm glad this is cause to celebrate, and hoping that your swelling and sores resolve soon.

Judy - tomorrow is the big day, right?  First day on the new job??  Good luck - whoever they are, they will find out that they are very lucky to have hired you!

Sending everyone good wishes

Geri

Helen, my sleeves & leggings are also custom made and I am one of the fortunate few that has double insurance (primary through my work and secondary through my dh) so 100% of my compression garments are paid by the insurance companies. That is not true for those that don't have insurance or just have single coverage. It makes absolutely no sense to me why there are so many folks in the USA that are against a single payer system??? Anywoo glad your LE is under control.

Judy good luck tomorrow!

Judy, so glad to hear that your first day at work went well. Sounds like it is a good fit for you.

How is everyone?  Quiet here - Judy, how is work going?  Maybe that's why it seems quiet - Judy is usually the one who drops a note once or twice a day...now that you're back to work, we'll all need to pick up the slack, lol

Geri

Happy weekend all!  Good to hear from you Judy - it's very tough to adjust in the beginning to a full time job again, but you'll get there - glad everyone is nice though - that's so important because you spend so much time with them.

Geri

Same weather change here Helen - oh well,  spring will really be here soon - in the meantime, out come the gloves again

Here it's just rain, rain, and more rain. We set an all time record for rain in March. Last week we even had some snow which broke a lot of cherry branches. The weather is very weird. Now flooding may become the next issue. I hope it doesn't warm up fast, with all the snow in the mountains and water in the ground it could be interesting in the next few weeks.

Titan- Sorry to see Ohio State lose.

Got my compression garments yesterday. My leg seems to be improving. I'm happy it's moving in the right direction.

Wishing you all a great week.

Hi Pam. We have all been in your situation and totally understand how you feel. I had the port and even though it is painful at first and uncomfortable, it is a much easier way to get through the chemo. It will get more comfortable over time. I also had the 4 tx of TC every 3 weeks. It's not fun but it's doable. The Neulasta or Neupegen - which ever your doc ordered is used with many chemos to try to elevate your white blood count so that you will be less susceptible to infection. It's pretty standard. There is probably a thread for people doing chemo in April 2012 and if you find that thread I expect you will find a very supportive group that will help you through and to manage all the se's. We are the April 2009 group and as you can see there is still a group of us who stay connected. I would be happy to answer any of your questions and I'm sure any of my sisters here as well will share words of wisdom with you at any time. For tomorrow, my advice is to drink lots and lots of water to get the chemo going through your veins and out of your body. Best wishes