January 2012 chemo

Annie, I read somewhere that BC patients have had so much bad news when they finally get good news,

they don't know how to handle it!!  But I am celebrating with you!

Jenn - okay, it is gonna get better, girl... 

Nancy - GREAT to hear you are doing so well.  So happy about this!!!!

Hello, can anyone tell me if you had bone or joint pain from the hips down. I had ACT for chemo treatment my last one was April 30Th 2012 and I am still tired, pain in the hips and legs, and can't sleep well anymore. Never had these issues before ANY treatments started. Bone scanned in march 2012 said no cancer or arthritis .

ang7894 - it's funny, I was coming to this forum just now to ask if anyone is having residual bone and joint pain, and there was your question!   I ended Taxol on May 15, 2012.   I am not tired anymore, but I have gotten a pain in my right hip that feels more muscular than bone.  It goes up the right side of my right hip.    During Taxol, I had the most pain in this leg and hip.  

My Lymphedema Specialist who is also a PT saw me limping yesterday.  She said she would help me with some stretches that will help.  She said it certainly could be leftovers from Chemo.

Well, rads definitely hasn't gotten any better... My skin has been sharply sensitive since day one! I swear I can actually feel it burning me on each angle...



I don't sunbathe because I am sun sensitive and end up getting itchy hives all over if I do - and guess what I got all weekend? Yep, random appearing itchy hives all over! I had to ask today if it is OK to take an anti-histamine and the answer is yes (after the nurses got over how weird they thought that was.



My arm has felt heavy and has been aching since Friday so today I have asked if they can organise a referral to the LE physio :-/



And last Friday I had a bit of a run in with the RO as follows:



On Friday, after suspecting that after me not allowing the techs to tape my arm they were hitting my arm more than they should be ie: to 1/3 of the way down my arm towards my elbow on the underside (I could feel it burning...), I emailed the RO who actually phoned me and stated that I would either have to "compromise" and allow them to tape my arm each day or accept that my arm would be "hit". As you can imagine I was NOT happy with this and we had some terse words with me having to state that if the issue would need to be resolved and if it could not be resolved I would not be turning up for anymore treatments...



So, she came along to the set-up on Friday afternoon and when I first arrived (before the RO got there) the tech very importantly told me that "oh by the way, we have moved the arm rest for you"... Then the RO came along and confirmed that my arm was no longer in the field.



Such a simple "fix"! I was left wondering if the RO had been under the impression that the techs had tried everything possible to get my arm out of the way where they had in reality tried NOTHING because they don't like to move the arm rest because it takes longer for set-up...



So my arm got 2 days of rads that it should not have had. And over the weekend my arm did not stop aching.



I hate this... Jenn

Joyce - gentle air hugs coming your way everyday!!!!!



Jenn

Joyce - so glad your surgery went well!  Hope your healing continues to be smooth and easy. *hugs*  And please do let us know how everything turns out - sending positive thoughts for a negative outcome!

Joyce, so happy your surgery went well. Hope you have a nice relaxing, healing, cool day!

One of our group, Julie, had her surgery on Tuesday and has had a rough time. Bleeding that they are having a hard time controlling... She is in the ICU.



Please send prayers/good thoughts her way.



Jenn

Julie, praying for you.  So sorry to hear this.  Sending hugs your way!

Thinking about you, Julie, and praying for a quick recovery.

Any update on Julie, Jenn?

Julie is still in the hospital. After having to have a LOT of blood, plasma and fluids she was downgraded from ICU to PCU.



According to her post on Facebook a little while ago her doctors are now debating if she needs more blood and she has asked for continued prayers/thoughts. :-/



Oh, and it looks like pathology was all clear after her neoadjuvant chemo :-)



Jenn



REMINDER: there are a few of our January group that seem to have moved away from BCO and mainly use Facebook. There is a private group on Facebook that January women are welcome to join. Just private message me your Facebook name and I will add you and add you to the group on Facebook. We have 19 members currently over there and it's nice to get to keep up with everyone's journey and get to know them a little bit on a more personal level outside of BC.

Mazel Tov! Jenn.    My question is: when will I stop feeling crummy?  I finished Taxol 2.5 weeks ago.  My taste buds are back and my feet are starting to feel a little bit less of the neuropathy but everything else is the same.  Still tired, eyes still watering.  Face still feels a bit numb etc.  I'm starting Rads tomorrow so I'm starting to get a bit down because I'm afraid I will have to wait until they are over, and then some, to get back to some normal.  Of course I also start Tamofoxin next Thursday and am still on Herceptin.  Will it never end?   

Yes I know it will I'm just getting impatient.

Peggy 

Peggy - I finished chemo 4/13 and began rads 5/9.  I found that the healing process was very gradual.  Rads did not seem to interfere with my recovery.  It was a very slow process.  In fact I still have some neuropathy in my toes.  My fingernails and toenails are slowly improving.  I was told by both MO and RO that it may take months to be back to some type of normal.  I did allow myself to sleep whenever I seemed to need it.  I also began to increase my physical activity. Overall, I feel so much better than I did in April.  So, just take your time and rest when you need to.  You will feel better over time.

Jenn I move around alot and when I'm out I walk.  I do fine walking of flat ground (not alot of that where I live) but as soon as I start an incline or stairs I am huffing and puffing.  I do think it helps though.  I do recover fast when I get that "I just have to sit down" feeling.