January 2012 chemo

Thanks Kitchenella... I am hoping it's this cold virus that I've been fighting for three weeks. Not getting up at 6am every morning and driving an hour in rush hour traffic will hopefully make a difference!



How are you going?



Jenn

Mission "TX/HER #8" accomplished.  Went out for lunch/dinner afterwards.  Arrived home at 5 PM and slept like a log for 2 hours.  Holding my breath and praying the lack of serious side effects continues.

Even though my taste buds are messed up I have a tremendous appetite. Seems like I'm always feeling hungry.  I"m not on steroids so it must be the Taxol or the Herceptin.  I hope its not the Herceptin.   I don't want to be like this for a year. I'm managing not to snack but my portion control for meals is sorely lacking. 

How is it possible that I feel more fatigued since completing chemo than when I was in the midst of it. I'm 15 days since my last treatment, and while I feel pretty good now, I find that after doing work/chores/errands/whatever in the morning, I'm wiped out. I'm getting my walks in, but so far that hasn't energized me. I'm just wondering if I notice the fatigue more now that I feel better. In other words, feeling chemo sick kind of masked the fatigue. It was all a ball of feeling crappy.

 I know it will get better, but I'm sure I harbored the belief that once I finished chemo, I'd be able to do a lot more than I had been. Patience is not my strong suit.

 Annie 

Annie your body was being poisoned  for several weeks.  Give the poor thing more time.

Jenn-Thanx for the info, I didn't know that..no Pet scan for me either. 

Well I finished the 12th Taxol today...ahh relaxing and waiting for the pain to kick in Sunday & Monday.  Gonna work tomorrow, to make up for pullling today off, besides I will be Wonder Women all day on the steriods anyway....

Last 20 minutes pain from infusion started pushing its way through the pain killer, and the Hot blanket machine broke yesterday...no blanky on the last day is just not right!  Now I have a lots of Doctors to make appointments for on Monday and see where that takes me.

I start Tamoxifen in 4 to 6 weeks...to keep the side effects from being confused with the Taxol side effects.  They printed out my vital stats for me to hang on to, and they were and have been O-K with the 102 Bpm, but if I feel it is too high I should go have that checked out...Knew that would be the answer, but I had too ask.  I go back in 6 weeks to run blood work etc...and hopefully I'll have been on the Tamoxefin for 2 weeks by then, with NO side effects.  Have nausea medicine ready as I may need that for the first few days of the pill or so...we'll see.

All in all, a good day compared to some, lot's of hug..and my husband let me go there with 2 hanger bumps on the back of my sweater., I didn't see till after I finished the pre testing....just not right!! 

PCBarbie66 - CONGRATS on finishing TAXOL!!

PCBarbie- Congratulations!!! You did it!!!! Hoping your last treatment will be kind to you.

PCBarbie66 -- Yay! Congrats on finishing!!

PCBarbie - Congrats on making it to the finish line! And congrats to everyone else who has finished.

Annie - It does take time to recover, so don't worry if you're not feeling 'normal' yet. My MO said it takes a good 6 months to start feeling back to normal.

I figured I'd check in on everyone - I just got overwhelmed with the threads and stuck to the December group. Sounds like everyone's making progress. I'm 7+ weeks pfc. I'd say about 3 weeks ago I felt a big lift in energy and physical condition - at least I no longer had the 'cement legs' feeling. I've made it back to the gym a few times. But I still get tired from even little bursts of energy on occasion. I have some nice peach fuzz coming in as well. Hopefully I'll be able to go topless soon, because the wig is just too sweaty when it's hot outside.

A quick (knowing me, probably not) catch-up; it's been a busy week.

Thank you for your kind words and thoughts re: my son Michael.  He is now on permanent dialysis until a transplant can be found.  It's been an eye-opening experience for all of us, and a humbling one for me.  I realize that my cancer is (hopefully and expectantly) a short-term bump in the road; treatment is hard but doable; and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Michael's life is changed forever; treatment will slowly destroy his body, and even a transplant is no guarantee of health.  It feels so much like what I'm going through, but on a grander scale.  Gosh, how do parents do this?

Today we are doing the SGK Walk in Kalamazoo.  My DH's daughter and her husband flew in from NY to walk with us, as did her twin sister and her husband, from WI.  And last night, somehow, when my leg gave out from underneath me, I twisted my freaking ankle - and I don't know if I can walk today.  :-(   But I'm going to do what I can - I feel like I have to.  And I want to.  So wish me luck!

I know I said that going off Taxol and starting AC helped with my treatment acne, but I spoke to soon. My skin is AWFUL. I have huge, painful cystic pimples all over my cheeks, chin and forehead. I've been using 3 different kinds of Clean and Clear twice daily for about 3 weeks now, but it doesn't help. Not only does my face hurt, but it's also embarrassing (I know I shouldn't feel embarrassed, but I do anyway). Is it from the AC or from the steroids? I was on the steroids during Taxol too, but my acne then was a lot less and also on my chest and back. This time it's just my face. Does anyone have any advice? I go in for treatment tomorrow (3 out of 4 AC's) and will ask the nurse, but I have a feeling I'll get the same old answer -- it just happens, deal with it.

KristenFro - AC really dried my skin and everything else! I developed skin issues, but not to the degree that you are describing.  I had a rash on my arms and hands that was painful.  Once I finished AC tx my skin cleared up. This sounds like something you might want a dermatologist to look at. At least have the nurse take a close look tomorrow.

Kristin-I feel like I'm holding my breath for you until you finish. I can't wait for you (and everyone) to be done. Waiting for that last treatment is almost like waiting for a really crappy Christmas gift. It's just weird to wish for something like that to hurry up already. It'll be the best crappy Christmas ever!

I LOVE that! Happy crappy Christmas to us all!!