April/May 2012 Chemo hang out

LOL..I feel like that pic of Edith Ann..way outta my comfort zone...and in a chair way to big for me..and that's the truth..LOL

@Rgina - your blood pressure sounds like mine!  It hit 165/110 at one appt.  They have me on something for it now too.

BGC gals, just rock it today!

rgina and kjiberty, I did have the echo of my heart before starting the herceptin.  The issue I have with no scans, etc is this; my MO talks about how "interesting" and "difficult" my case is; none of my tumors showed on mammos, some of them are HER2+ some are -, "minor" node involvement BUT the tumor there was +, she mentioned she worries about the atypical lobular hyperplasia in the left breast....she talks about all that yet still did no follow up.  I will DEMAND some follow up when I finish chemo. 

Having tummy issues, bone pain and the fatigue is the worst today.  First tx was last Friday, so I am a week out.  Not too much to complain about but practically falling assleep typing this.

rgina, kjliberty, vickilind61- Before I started chemo, I had the EEG, EKG, echocardiogram, chest x-ray plus a nuclear CT/PET scan from my upper thigh to neck.  Originally, my onco wanted to do a dye CT and dye bone scan but when i told her no way because of an unknown reaction to my MRI before my UMX, she changed it to the nuclear CT/PET scan and had to appeal my insurance companies inital denial for the nuclear CT scan.  I know I'm having echocardiograms every 3 months because of the Herceptin I'm taking under the clinical trial.  Not sure what other scan I'll be having as this journey continues.   

Calming thoughts and energy to everyone today plus minimal side effects!!!  Keep cool!!!

Marcia, you are so awesome!!!!!   You are plugged in and plugged in.    But I have to ask; which movies?

sandik - so glad your cardiologist is being so cautious.  Adriamycin definitely can cause heart damage.  Hope all turns out well from the tests!

 marcia - I did one of the meditations in the chair yesterday for Herceptin...nice to have it on my ipod.  Loved how it relaxed me!  Hope it works for you like it did before!

fierro - awesome you got some sleep!!!!  Now go away headache!!!  

chapter4 - HUGS.  I can SO relate!!!  It's been almost a year since my initial diagnosis.  The road is longer for some of us, but I feel like the ladies on this thread will be there through the long haul for each and every one of us.   

Best wishes to all in the BGC today!

New sx for me...L ring fingernail started aching last night...eeeks!  Taxotere is tough stuff...I iced like the dickens!  No nail changes so far.  Being careful not to type with it...slowing this prolific writer down...maybe you all won't have so many pages to keep up with for a while.  LOL 

Chapter4 - I hear ya & feel similar to you. This is a lot to handle, manage & function. I am not working but wish I had something to do during the day to stop me from over thinking all this. I wonder/worry will I ever be able to let this all go & get back to life be4 cancer. I had taxol #2 yesterday, no tongue issues but I had the shakes so bad 2 days after. Dr decreased the amt of steroids he gave me & I hope I do not have the shakes again. Dr said it is a side effect of taxol. 2 more to go & were done w this phase. Hang in there.

Uggh Stacie.  Hope the seroma resolves soon!

Love the Edith Ann pic! Sitting in the chair myself waiting for my cocktail. Plugged in and plugged in - DS#2 and I are watching Office Space.



I remembered today to ask if they have have a bell and they said no, but they said they sing Hit the Road Jack for your last tx. I like that but I still want to bring a bell to my last tx - something to look forward to!



My MO is fine with icing so it's a go for next time. Thanks ladies again for all the info.

Vjm - glad you are doing so much better. Yay for end of chemo!

Fierro, hurray for the sleep!!! It's an issue every night for me, I alternate with nothing, Ambien, Ativan. Sometimes when I go to bed, sometimes at 3:00 am- and when I hit the jackpot and get 6-7 hours I am so happy and refreshed. Told my DH I feel like a girl of 16 again. Um intimacy, chapter four ? Big struggle. My expanders don't trouble me but my body does feel very real yet. plus fatigue. Dancetrancer, I get on top of tongue discomfort. Using Nystatin again, salt water, Biotene. Seems to be holding it down.

Eyes watering, feet dry and peeling, but overall ok. Stacie, hope you are hanging in there. Wow.



I get Zofran, no headaches and no nausea. Weight gain seemed level off around 9 lbs, not too horrible, steroid related (and maybe snacking from being home too much, cutting that out .) let go off coffee and alcohol at the beginning, didn't appeal. The acupuncture sound helpful but i am anti anti-needle these days!



Feel good but confused. What lies ahead. I send honor and support to those ofmyounwho I realize have had many more bumps in the road,both with diagnosis and treatments. Hugs to all.

Hope everyone's doing well today and staying out of the heat!  I'm halfway done tx#3 so only 1 and a half to go!  

dancetrancer: Thanks for that article - someone was asking me just the other day about the problem with food tasting odd while on chemotherapy, good suggestions.

TriChick: awesome attitude.  I can only imagine how your BC dx changed your entire world, especially being a tri-athlete.  Good for you for having the courage to keep doing what you love best.

I'll cheer you all on with some words that helped me through it all:

"If you're going through hell, keep going!"  - Winston Churchill

Hugs!

Fierro, I am with you.  This is the worst I've felt and if I had taken my imodium earlier, I could have gone to work.  Bone pain is moderate, tummy issues (until today) have been mild to moderate.  Still no sign of hair loss, and I ran a low grade temp for a day and a half.  When I read some of the SE's for some of these ladies, my heart goes out to them.  Tomorrow I will go back to work.  It's always something, as Gilda used to say.