March 2012 chemo

Happy Friday!  It has been raining all week here and predicted to rain through the weekend. There was some flooding, but mostly just makes it dreary and me lazy!  I am pretty lazy any way, so no idea if I will get a lot done this weekend or not!  I really need to though, so hope I am at least somewhat productive!

Hope everyone is feeling good today and has a lovely evening! 

For those of you growing your hair back.... I thought I'd share a couple of photos...  the first one was taken around 6 weeks after final treatment, and 2nd one taken at 10 weeks.   

 

This picture was taken yesterday but I've been hatless for a few weeks now. So it took about 2 months before I could go "topless" and have people think it was intentional. I've had two strangers tell me that they love my "hair style".  I get a lot of stares and looks -- sometimes I don't care and sometimes I want to hide. At least I live in an artsy college-town, so it's sort-of normal to look different here. Still... one more inch will make a huge difference.

P A T I E N C E 

More gray than before -- but not too bad. My collick is still there -- above right eye -- its sticking straight UP and its mostly gray/white. So that outa look interesting in another half-inch or so. 

My eyebrows stayed with me through treatments and then they went about 70% bye-bye around week 7-8. But they are already growing back in. Hope they stay!

Hot as heck in New York (Southern/Central).... so at least the "hair style" suits the season.

Many hugs to all -- especially those of you finishing up your treatments. 

TrailGirl, Congrats on being DONE with chemo. Yes... I know what what you mean... I signed up for yoga around week 4 and had to take class without a hat... and it was just so obvious. But now... just a few weeks later, its not obvious.  Weeks 4-5 were difficult for me... because it started out so slow. But...once it starts growing, it seems to pick up speed!

Thanks Shera - I'm one week out of chemo and ready for some scalp coverage!  Hope I have as much as you - you look great!

Hi all! Haven't been on here since we've had DH kids. They left this morning and I'm so sad. They were so good and understanding of my illness.



Congrats to all who have finished chemo! I'm so happy and jealous of you!



My BRCA came back negative so that was some good news. I see the RO and PS on the 24th. And I'm down to 5 more weekly Taxols.



Shera-you look great! I have a thin layer of hair all over my head but it's coming in white so I still look bald unless I have lights shining on it. Lol! Well I'm off to take a nap. Had to get up real early to get the kids off. Have a blessed day all!

Thanks for the encouragement, Shera! Still sold on the Marrow Plus, owe you for that. No shots yet after five rounds!

kltb - thanks for asking - my dad is doing better, though is still very tired a week, will take some time.

I will send all our rain your way, I am done with it!  LOL

I look everytime I go by a mirror to see if there is growth!  There is some hair which is good, but no where close to covering the scalp.  hope radiation doesn't slow down the growth.  Also ready to get my eyelashes back, though saving tons of money on mascara!  My eyebrows are very spotty, hope they don't all go away!  Fingers crossed.  Still have numbness in my toes and fingers, it has been over a month now and it is such a weird feeling ready for that to go away!  Other than that I am great!  

Hope everyone has a peachy day! 

Ladyfighter

I'll be joining you on the Herceptin - until July 2013!

I am due to start it on Thursday...but the Taxotere looks as if it has leaked out of my veins after an infusion and I may have to have the dreaded PICC line after all!

Have to phone the chemo nurses on Monday to find out if they can fit one for me in time.

Not what I had in mind but I am sensible. At the moment, I have one and a half-inch red blotches down my writs and half-inch red blotches where I had two infusions of Taxotere.

Not a pretty sight so I guess it could be the PICC line for me!

Shame, I was all ready to wave the flag to say I'd completed eight rounds of chemo without a line or port. Sigh...

Thank you for asking.

Alice 

Good morning all!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend.

Shera-loved the pictures, showed my DH and he laughingly said since mine is coming in gray it will take more than that to be able to really tell. He did say he could tell it was growing though.

Alice- sorry you had leakage sounds a little scary. I hope everything will be ok.

I think things have calmed down somewhat. I still have to stock the deep freeze with easy stuff DH and DS can cook for us. I'm using the surgery to get out of cooking for a week . 

I think I'm as prepared as I'm going to get. I went to the ACS on Friday and she gave me a pamplet on a really good fitter for bras and foobs. I'm choosing to not reconstruct, I'm just sick of hospitals and everything involved with them. Maybe down the road we will see.

I didn't get to share my last chemo with you guys. It was so sweet, when I was unhooked for the last time the nurse brought me a bag and inside was a certificate stating I completed "crappy chemo" (their words). and a tee shirt. The tee shirt has chemoathalon on it with a pic of the push needle, the iv drip, and being done. I'll put it on and take a pic of it to share with you all. I thought it was sweet and they are signed by all the nurses and techs.  My DH and brother both recorded me ringing the bell. 

Tues I did my preop testing so now I just have to show up Thurs at 7:30. I think DH and I are going up the night before and meeting our pastor and his wife for dinner out and staying so that we don't have to get up at 4am to get to the hospital on time.

Well guess I better go get some more work done. I still wish I could find my lost house elf. 

Hi everyone! Well, taxotere#1 hasn't been much fun at all. Since yesterday afternoon, I have felt like I have had the flu, joint and muscle aches. Had some chills yesterday but no temp, at least, not according to my thermometer. (I'm wondering if it works). I have still been finishing antibiotics from last week and I don't want to visit the ER. The bitter taste in my mouth is worse than ever. I had heard that nadir for taxotere comes earlier than with A/C, but when I asked the NP about it, she didn't seem to know. Anyway, it is not worse this morning, at least, so I'm getting through today.

Indigo: so sorry to hear taxotere is being difficult; I am on my last round of it, and yes, it does feel flu-like, achey, mouth feels gross, taste nothing. But it has passed the other two times, by about day 10 or so for me. Wishing you strength til you get there...and some of your beautiful purple energy

Alice: crap about the leaking of taxotere in your vein, this sucks! Hang in there!

Hi Ladies

I hope everyone surviving this hot weather.  This heat and humidity is making me wish for fall.

Indigo

Are pincher bugs the same as earwigs?  Sorry to hear that Taxotere is givng you a rough time.  Have to considered trying Clariton?  I found it made the world of difference on the bone pain that I suffered by first TX.

Lostinmo

Congratulations on being done with chemo!!

Alicethecat

You should seriously ask about getting a port vs a picc.  I was annoyed that I had to have one but now an totally happy I did since I will too be having Herceptin through January 2013. 

Klt

I think Herceptin is slowing the hair growth for sure.  I notice that the gals on the Hair Thread like Shera that aren't receiving this and that finished TX around the same time as I did are well ahead (no pun intented) of me.  I was speaking to my chemo nurse while I was getting herceptin last Friday and she said it did slow growth but not to worry I will catch up eventually. 

I even died my hair with a semi perm colour on Friday.  There was alot of gray so I figured it would make the coverage look a little better with some colour.  It turned out redder than I thought but it'll wash out in 28 washes so no big deal.  I've updated my avatar with it dyed.

My family spent the weekend moving my Mom into an assisted living residence.  Hard thing to do but she's 84 and starting to really decline physically and needs the 24/7 hour care it provides so the peice of mind it provides is priceless really.

Indigo - Ewww - pincher bugs sound nasty.  That reminds me of the episode of New Adventures of Old Christine where Julia Louis Dreyfus character swallows an earwig - I laugh just thinking about it.  I think the claritin would be worth a shot next time?  I actually forgot to take it this time for my Nuelasta.  As far as thermometers, I have one of the last real mercury thermometers in existence!  It's my mom's.  Remind me to tell ya'll the story about breaking mine a couple years ago and the freakout that ensued.

MLB - yay for hair - Coloring will definitely be in my future - I have had grays since I was 18 and I am sure it will come back in more gray than any other color.    I was thinking the other day how I always hated my hair SO much and would always say "I should just shave it and start over" - little did I know that one day I wouldn't have an option.    Glad you got your Mom settled into her new home.

I need to go get my lazy kids out of bed.  Have to take them over to bro/sil (my usual babysitters - my parents- went on vacation - how rude! JK) so I can go get my week #3 labs done and then back to pick up SIL and go to dinner tonight and see Magic Mike.  Today is the day of the great fake eyelash experiment as well so I need time to get ready.

I need a girls' night so bad!  I love several of the Magic Mike actors - Matthew McConaghey, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer!  I think I'm going to talk a couple of my friends into going maybe next weekend.  Earwigs/pincher bugs will definitely cure your kids of wanting to take a drink from the garden hose, that's for sure. 

OMG, lololol!  Thanks for sharing!! And you're right, it would be so great to have a girls' night with all of us.