Illinois ladies facing bc

Hi Diana..I am fairly new to this post also but it looks like we are rad twins as I am at the 15 day mark also.I don't know where Gurnee is but I live in Hillsboro..Hate we have to be here but welcome..this is a beautiful forum.

Terry

Welcome to Diana & Terry.  We are all so glad you are here --- of course we'd like to wish no one needed or wanted to find us here, but I think its going to be awhile...so welcome aboard.  You both sound as if you are doing pretty well......through most of the traumatic and difficult parts.....there is no real preparation for those little three words that turn you inside out and change your life within about that many seconds. 

We are all in various stages.....some of us have 5 or more years since dx, but others like myself still have a while to go.  It is just nice to spend time here because you learn how to get used to life going on.  You may be ever mindful--especially at test time, but life returns and you will discover at some point that your whole life isn't really all about this disease anymore. 

Diana....you have your last rad session on my birthday.  I think I can remember that. 

I hope you will come often and share.....whatever you need to or feel like.  It is comfortable here.

Hope you all have a great Saturday night.

Hugs, Jackie

Oh Terry I didn't mean to leave u out--when I see a bunch of threads it seems like u;ve been around, but I guess not here. This is a great ggroup here and I know u'll feel good here---Let me make this clear Diana and Terry--I can't type and I don't use spell check so u have a lot of guessing to do --the others are getting used to me and u will too.

And I'm still awake and I don't like it so there. LOL

Welcome Diana and Terry,

I hope you find comfort and answers here as needed.

I am a third through taxol, I am keeping polish on my nails, but just took it off to reapply and saw the dark circles at the base. Do you keep polish on to protect them or to not see what is happening? Does icing during taxol help? I have not done it, but will if someone had success with it.

Thanks for the comments! Janet

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand.
- Emily Kimbrough

Just lost my post.

Lemondrop keeping you and your Dad in my prayers.

Thanks ladies for the good wishes for my surgery. Two hours. Two incisions on each hip where they took about 3-4 cm of skin for the skin grafts to make the areolas and nipples. I was under a moderate sedation. IV Valium, Versed and another drug.  Pretty out of it, but he said I asked several times if I could watch the surgery. He said they just ignored me and laughed and said he has never had anyone ask to watch their surgery.  I asked my other PS if I could watch the exchange surgery and he also said no but to surprise me he took pictures during it to give to me.  I have a round sponge type dressing covering the areola and nipple area on each breast kept in place by about 15 staples on each one.  I was NOT expecting staples. Then each breast is covered entirely with tegaderm.  I was doing fine until I developed redness and blisters along the entire medial edge of the tegaderm on the right.  So extra trip down non Friday. He cut away the tegaderm from the red and blistered area. I now have a new large long blister fluid filled on the right medial aspect under the tegaderm again!!!  I see him on Tuesday so I am hoping it doesn't pop before then and he can decide what to do.  Never is easy with me.

Nervous to see what it looks like under the dressing.  He said it won't look pretty at first but he feels good about the long term results. We will see.

Welcome to the new ladies. I am sorry you are now a part of this club and facing the journeys ahead but you will find everyone here so kind and helpful.

I hope you all have a good week.

It is hard taking them to school the first time but amazing how soon not having them at home becomes the norm. Even though you still miss them.  

Have a good week everyone. I will keep you posted on the blister saga  

Thank you all for the warm welcome. And your kind words. Since I am coming (posting that is) to you post-surgery, post-chemo, and more than midway through rads ... it's a different place than coming to you when all this began or even coming to you when I actually found this thread. So I do feel like I know some of you already :-)

C-squared --- Well we do have some things in common. Gurnee, no less and late November diagnosis. We will have to meet up and chat in person one day. I run a lot (but not fast) - west side of Gurnee all through the neighborhoods and along Grand and Hunt Club and Washington too - so you may have seen me and not known it. Who knows we could have stood in line together somewhere at some point over the years ;-)

Hopefulhealing --- so sorry for all you have been through. Pray that you will not have more blistering and that your skin will 'calm down' until you see your surgeon. 

Graceembraced --- I went through weekly Taxol but did not ice. I noticed a purplish bruising look to my big toes early on - my Taxol followed DD AC and a three week break. The toenail next to the big toe on my right foot also got a little purplish at the base too. I only had one toenail depart (it just fell off one day totally dry underneath with nail regrowth and a very strange discolored ridge of toenail. And none of my fingernails or toenails ever hurt. I didn't have fingernail issues at all - in fact they were growing rapidly all through it. I ran through chemotherapy so my oncologist and my nurse wanted to attribute that one toenail to my running because it didn't really present the way they usually saw toenails with Taxol. But it was definitely the Taxol. I didn't paint my nails at all. I know from reading this thread that others on here have addressed their nail issues in detail and will give you good advice. I keep putting off a pedicure because I want that one nail to grow more - it's rather unsightly but I still wore and keep wearing sandals. 

tlangston07 ---Gurnee is north and home to Six Flags. It is also east of Waukegan so not too far from Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes Naval Base. After 8 years here I should know more Illinois geography than I do ... but alas it hasn't been a priority and my GPS lady usually gets me where I need to go. 

camillegal, kjiberty, and Illinoislady thank you too for your welcome. 

Blessings,

Diana

Trying to catch up again this evening. Warmest welcome to all the new gals. I am starting to get lost with so many new names. Wish it wasn't soooo, but you have found a great place. Diana, I didn't find my way to this forum until I was in the midst of chemo.... what a Godsend it was for me.



Grace... I had problems with nosebleeds after my third tx. Yes, even nose hairs disappear. Don't remember that i really did anything other than smear a little Vaseline in my nostrils from time to time. Unfortunately, hair north and south disappears. I never have gotten hair back in my armpits....YEAH! One silver lining of chemo for me.



I didn't experience any nail problems, but I did keep OPI Nail Envy nail strengthner on them all the time, just as I always have. Not sure that did any good against Taxotere.



My recovery from spine surgery continues...... so anxious to be able to toss this big, hot brace in 6 more weeks. I have started PT which is all leg strengthening and range of motion stuff. I go back to LE PT for 3 days this week and then get measured for a custom sleeve on Friday. On of my LE PT's referred me to a massage therapist who is qualified to work with LE patients. I saw her on Saturday, and OMG, so wonderful. Wish I could have brought her home with me. She really knows how to work with LE.



Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. My DH and I went for a nice long walk in the rain this evening. A beautiful rainbow came out over the lake. I will take that as a good omen for us all this week.



Robo...wherefore art though? Laura GTO... better get the old searchlight out!

Diana:  I am not originally from Ill, and living in the Peoria area...So I definitely don't know much what's up north of the State.  My sister-in-law does live in Woodstock and my DH graduated from Libertyville HS.  That was a long, long, time ago, though.  

We had record rain here-2.25".  Wish the farmers could have had the rain sooner.  

Joan:  Glad you are recovering well.  I have had back surgery, so I can relate.  It's not fun... 

I love the sweet smell of dawn - our unique daily opportunity to smell time, to smell opportunity - each morning being, a new beginning.
~Emme Woodhull-Bache

I also had some nosebleeds during chemo.  I would get them in the morning.  I did TCx4 and did get anemia.  I started iron after my 2nd tx due to anemia.  My nosebleeds did not last long - a few weeks. 

We have a few things in common.  I live in skokie, not that far from Gurnee.  My youngest daughter just left for college and the empty next hit me particularly hard this year.  and I had one infusion at Lutheran General.  Hope you come through this in flying colors and next year it will be a distant memory.

am I blue??? Anyone remember that song? I associste songs with feelings LOL

I've had my diarehha (sp) after 5 yrs u'd think I could spell it---mostly on for 3 days now--uh I'm exhausted and I double up on my pills to stop it. So I'm blue hahaha

But this too shall pass--sooner or later

I hope everyone is doing well today I'ts Monday for some work--the rest of us just a new day

joan~so good to hear from you.  You have the patience of a saint!!! 6 more weeks?!?!?!?  I don't know how you do it!!  After all that I've been through maintaining optimism and a smile on my face all throughout the last school year, I seem to have lost any degree of patience this year.  I returned to school last week (I'm an OT working with children with special needs) and I cannot believe how much more direct I have become with colleagues.  We rely on each other for the team to function efficiently and smoothly.  At times I just want to scream... Arrrggghhh!!!  I had such a better attitude when I didn't have energy and they were so much more understanding when I was IN treatment.  It almost seems like I'm in the anger stage (E.K. Ross) ..., 9 months later.  Ugh!  And I believe that the stages apply to many a crisis.., not just death and dying.  My heart is open to anyone who is willing to share some words of wisdom.