2012 sisters

Soyaandpepper Wow that is great news about the bras! Not having to wear one to sleep in after all this time will be really nice for you!

Welcome simplyblessed... sorry you are here but happy you found us... an amazing bunch of knowledgeable women on this thread...everything goes too, if you want to rant, rant: if you want to bitch, bitch. Laugh and cry, we do it together. We are here for each other and to share your journey. Good luck Monday. Chemo sucks but it works... I know - I had neo-adjuvant chemo and it has shrunk my tumour from +8cm to under half size. My protocol was A/C (4) and then Taxotere (4) and I finished the final one yesterday. Which is why I am up and typing this at 3am Pacific Time.   
  
Hydrate, hydrate and then some more for your chemo. And I can't say this enough about chemo - they are doing it for you NOT to you. Ask as many questions as you want... no such thing as a stupid question.

Soya... part of me is very jealous you live on a small Caribbean island, sounds so wonderful.   You are so
young - I seem to see so many more young people with this crappy disease... like WTF ??  Anyway enough ranting... I was not given an option re: chemo.  Had I not had chemo my recurrence rate was 95% so bit of a no brainer really.   I was dreading it..in fact I was more anxious about having chemo than having bc - really I mean how did my brain work that one out ??  I have absolutely NO regrets doing chemo at all - as mentioned above it zapped my tumour good and gave me the confidence that the sneaky little bugger wasn't branching off
anywhere to my bones or liver.   Its hard some days more than others.... But it is doable - anyone will tell you that.   Very personal choice - whatever you decide it is your decision. 

Lostinmo - hope you have a better day - thinking of you too.

Did I miss saying hi to anyone... its only 3.30am here - dexamethasone is working well. If I did I am sorry...so Hi to you all.  Here's to a day of minimal bearable SE's.

Peace and hugs to you all xxxxxxx

Welcome simplyblessed!

Hope everyone is doing well with their treatments!

Feeling really agitated today.  Went to my chemo class yesterday (which was fine) but was told that I will need to have 2 cysts in my thyroid (one on the left and one on the right) biopsied.  Geez, what else?  My ONC ordered an ultrasound because she felt my thyroid was swollen (insisted nothing to worry about and not cancer she said) and then the results showed these cysts.  She's out of the country working until 7/9 (geez I miss her already) so an associate in her office gave me the results and ordered the biopsies.  My ONC is great and she would just give me the facts as they are on the report and nothing else.  Instead I get an associate who is like "well, it's probably nothing but we want this done before chemo starts and don't worry about it but one of them is pretty good size and then there's the other one and they probably will only biopsy the larger one but I'm not the radiologist so I can't really say but don't worry they're probably B9 but........"   I completely understand why I've been told from several medical people that if they had cancer they'd go to my ONC who just states facts and doesn't say anything if she can't give you those facts.  I do not deal well with the wishy-washy talk this associate was giving me.  How does anyone in our situations deal with wishy-washy talk.  It was far worse to hear her tell me about the cysts than any possible SE's from chemo I'll have.  I've been thinking about those cysts all night now and doing my Dr. Google searches, which of course has me freaking out now.  

Thanks for letting me vent!  I hate when my doctors are away (pathetic I know).  My BS is in Italy (vacation) and my ONC is in Cambodia (working with cancer patients for a few weeks).  It feels like I've been left with idiotic medical people in my BS and ONC's place moving my safety net from side to side and/or out from under me.  At least my BS will be back on Monday and my ONC will be back on 7/9 (she wanted to make sure my chemo didn't begin until she was back so she could monitor me personally - thank goodness).

Ellendou - keep a watch on the headaches, have you taken your temperature lately ?  the fog should lift - although I keep saying my foggy, fuzzy head is due to chemo.. just wondering if I was like that before and now just have an excuse

teeball.. sorry you are agitated today.   I am totally the same if my MO is away - for whatever reason, so I dont think its pathetic at all.  We learn to trust these people with our lives.   Its OK to feel that way.  I dont like wishy washy talk either... give me the facts, and whats the next game plan so we can move forward.    Sucks about the biopsies on the thyroids... really eh?  aren't you going through enough.  Hang in there... we'll be with you holding your hand through it.

Lostinmo - lots of different flowers in the garden.  Once it dries out a little I will take some pics and attempt to post them.   One more treatment to go.... what a feeling that is.  My hair has also started to sprout through... a very fuzzy peach fuzz I have now.... thats OK though... all growth is good.  I have enjoyed not having to shave my legs and underarms though - that is a bonus.

peace and hugs xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Ellendou, you are in my thoughts. The rosy complexion is probably due to the steroids (Decadron) you are taking to prevent an allergic reaction to the chemo drugs. I remember that fuzzy, foggy, miserable feeling only too well. There were times when I wanted to just climb out of my body and run away from myself, or crawl under a bush and come out a week later. Unfortunately this is what we have to go through to get rid of the cancer. I remember sitting there encouraging the Cytoxan and Taxotere: KILL, KILL, KILL THE CANCER! Fortunately you will not feel like this the whole time; it will get much better in a few days. Try to get some fresh air too, and take short walks if you can.

Drink lots of water, ice tea, pop, whatever you like to drink. It flushes the drugs out, and you will feel better. Also take care not to get constipated (caused by all the drugs). I almost ended up in hospital a week after my first chemo, but then things started moving at last. One or two Senekot S tablets at night during the first week worked wonders for me after that. One more tip: Nobody told me that the stuff coming out of my body that first week would burn me so badly 'down there'. It was itchy and raw, and it was so unnecessary, because it could have been prevented. I started using a barrier cream, Wellskin Barriere, which I put on liberally at least twice a day. From there I used it during the first week of the other chemo rounds as a precaution, and never had that itching and burning again. Any barrier cream that is used for babies will work. Hope this helps.

Simplyblessed Sorry you had to seek out these boards but you found the right thread; and please don't be intimidated to post.  We have a super group of ladies varying in age as well as type and stage of diagnosis, treatments etc. Etiquette? What's that? lol No like Tazzy said other than listening to and supporting each other,  we say and grumble and laugh about whatever is on our mind.

Lostimo Thats great about just having one more tx to go and the nodes around the collar bone being clear. Pretty nice that you must be   getting new fuzzies up top too!

Teeballmom That sucks that the drs are out of town and that you have to have the dang thyroid biopsies! Enough already!You need to get your drs cellphone #.. Believe it or not my bs had to go out of town the day after surgery. I told her I just felt real nervous that she wasn't around. She told me to call her cellphone if I needed anything. I ask if she would mind if I sent her text messages if I was feeling "insecure" and she laughed and said no text me anytime.I have texted her a couple times and she has either called me back rightaway or responded by text. What a saint huh?

DianaNM Wow let us know how your personal clinical trial works out. lol maybe we will all subscribe. The Dim sounds particularly good-Now that I have these new little foobs that look better in clothes than my old saggies, I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds! But  as far as my Drs slow intro of the als into the body, I think he might have something there.

Jpmomof3 wow great you're only 2 days from your last taxol. Nice taking walks especially with your regal pooch. I'd love to walk my dog but the goofball likes to flip over on his back regardless of where he is. He doesn't care if he is in the middle of the street, on the sidewalk, you name it he just flips over with the paws up in the air and looks around. I swear he was a drug addict in his past life the way he likes to screw with his perception.lol I have had more people stop and ask if he is ok. I have to pick him up and stand him on his feet to try to get him walking again. Such a weird little dog- I need that dog guru from dogs in the city to come work with us.

Super Taz I was up in the middle of the night too-what the heck- empathetic chemo SEs now?

Hope everyones having a nice weekend.

Just got home from the "Survivorship Seminar" at our cancer center.  Very interesting.  Much of what was said I had already heard from one of my team or here, but there were a few new things, and the repatition never hurts.

One thing that I hadn't heard was from the MO who spoke.  She said that if you are ER+ the anti hormonals are the most important part of your treament.  More important than the chemo or rads.  Kind of gives a little more incentive to keep taking the tamoxofein.

Good moring ladies....  Last night SUCKED!  I found myself sobbing for half an hour until my husband came home, but I suppose I needed a good cry.  T minus 48 hours....

 Wanted to post this too.  Got it on Friday night.

 Now i'll try to go back a read what I've missed whilst I've been wallowing in my own shit...

(((hugs))) juneaubugg. Sorry you had rough night. I hope today is much better.

Good afternoon ladies! I slept in, something that has generally been hard to do since I am getting steroids every week with my treatments. Just when things are wearing off I had to go in and get some more. 1 day until my last though. I am feeling quite good today.



Cindyl thanks for passing on that info, the oncologists don't really make that clear most times. According to the websites I have looked at the improvement in survival and recurrence is about 50 percent between when hormone positive women take tamoxifen or other hormone treatments from the untreated groups. That is major for most of us.



Juneau, love that tattoo. I was thinking of getting one too, would be my first. I would kind of like it to cover any tattoos left by the radiation onc treatments but I don't think that skin will handle a tattoo post treatment. But I would still like to get one somewhere. Sorry you are feeling so bad, hope it gets better.



Allurbaddays, that's awesome about the piña coladas! How funny that taste came back to you. When I was going through AC the only thing I could eat some days was ramen noodle soup. I hadn't eaten that crap since I was in college. Then it was oatmeal. Hadn't eaten that since I was a kid.

Happy Monday!

firestorm-love the sense of humor I can picture the reaction to the bathing suit and googles.

Tazzy-would love to see pictures of the garden. Yay on the peach fuzz. Still trying to decide if mine is filling in. If it is it's gray and I can't really see it. Do enjoy the no leg shaving though.

Cindyl -thanks for sharing your info, that's something no one really mentioned to me. The MO just told be I would be taking meds for 5 years.

Juneau- hope that everything is better for you now. Your tattoo is beautiful, wish I wasn't such a chicken I would get one of somekind.

jpmom-yay for the last tx! Glad your not nervous about surgery. I'm terrified by it.

Having a little numbness if toes and fingers but not bad. This round made me a little nauseas which suprised me and the taxol hadn't done that before. Hoping that the bone and muscle pain stay to a minimum this round. Now if I could just find a way to avoid the night sweats without moving into a walk in cooler to sleep.

Went out to enjoy the afternoon at the creek yesterday, but I didn't swim just sat in the shade and watched DS and DH swim. DH got sunburned and he was worried about me getting sunburned.

Thinking of all and hope everyone is doing good today. 

firestorm53- Knew I would find you here!!! Sounds like you will appropriately dressed for rads.... haven't seen any of those cute eye protectors around but perhaps some Batman or funky sunglasses from Party City will look better with your suit!!!

Everyone else--- I got diagnosed in mid February 2012.  I had a lumpectomy--- no the first breast surgeon took out more--- so it became a partial masectomy aka a chunketomy.  Mid March 2012, I had a left UMX.  Now I'm in chemoland and in the Big Girl Chair (I started calling it that because I'm petite and my feet don't touch the ground when I'm in the gold chemo lounger and have to have help with getting the foot rest or putting the chair in the reclining position.  The image of Edith Ann from the old Laugh In show comes to mind).  I have #4 of #6 rounds tomorrow which I am looking forward to since it means one more down and only two more to go!!!   Now, I'm in chemopause, lost most of the hair, doing the icing of nails, taking the Neulasta and taking Claritin to help with the bone pain.  Now just trying to stay cool in the a/c, hydrated and resting whenever. 

Hope everyone is well and having minimal side effects!!!

Melrosemelrose-glad you found your way over. I had to smile at the feet not touching. At my cancer center there are beds and chairs in every pod. I always try to get a bed because my feet don't touch in the chair. That and it helps to be in bed when the benedryl nap kicks in.  

Hello ladies...its been a bit since I have been on this thread...had surgery last week that went well but had my follow-up appetite today with surgeon. They found not one, not two, but THREE, yes THREE tumors hiding in there. They were 1.1 cm, 4mm, and 5mm. In addition they found LCIS. Sooo now waiting on final path to make sure that lymph nodes were in fact clear. Also I am meeting with PS since now I have to have a bmx. I am sooo frustrated! I would have done that to start with had I known! I feel like I am starting all over again...



I could really use some encouragement!

Palmettomom- Sending you lots of hugs and some peace and calm as you find out more info about your treatment plan.  Take some deep breaths and realize you are receiving info which seems slower than you would like but it comes in a waves and believe or not in a way that is not so overwhelming.  You get the chance to let your mind catch up with what has happened so far with your body.  I've been where you are at after the lumpectomy and finding out you need a masectomy.  I did not and could not have any recon after the lumpectomy b/c I developed an infection in my left lumpectomy breast after my MRI.  I barely recovered from that in time for my UMX.  My breast surgeon said no recon for me because of the breast infection.  Glad that option got taken out of my control since it was too overwhelming for me at that point to make a decision about immediate recon.  The MRI revealed some questionable areas in the left breast.  The UMX pathology report showed two very small areas of DCIS, a fibroadenoma and clear nodes. BTW: I had a little setback 10 days after my UMX.  I was healing fairly well except I also had been dealing with a case of bronchitis/coughing right before my UMX surgery.  I coughed too often/too hard and caused a bleeder in the UMX side.  Had emergency surgery on a Sunday at midnight but quickly recovered from that and headed on to chemoland.  I'm still waiting to have my case taken before the tumor board to determine if I will need rads.  My cancer was found nice and neatly contained in a cystic structure so I fall into the grey area for rads.  

I've learned to be very patient with my healing and to keep as calm and positive through all of this.  Patience will become your friend as it has become one of mine.  It is always one day at a time and one step at a time. I understand your frustration and feeling that oh no starting all over again.  However, you aren't.  You are getting more and more info about your particular cancer which only helps your doctors to formulate a treatment plan specifically tailored for you and only you.  You now have time to catch your breath and get energized to move forward.  You are at the right place to vent, get mad and say whatever you need to say so you can move forward.  Sending you lots of (((HUGS))) and positive, calming and healing prayers, thoughts and energy!!!! Just remember you are not alone ever!!!!!  YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!