Sept 2012 chemo

sherbab. Great job on your blog .

Re. radiation, if you had lymph nodes involved, if you don't have any other personal medical risks or major concerns and if you're given a choice, I myself would definitely go for it.  I have read loads of studies that show that radiation dramatically increases long-term survival chances, especially if you had a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy. I had two lymph nodes out of five involved within the lower tier and at a minimal level and a wide local excision to remove a 1.5 cm tumour with clear margins. Because of my age/triple negative status, my MO wants to give me the maximum safe level of radiation, including a larger area up through my collar bone and a further boost to the tumour bed. He calls it the "belt and braces" approach.

Everyone I've spoken to says radiation is a breeze compared with chemo. A bit of tiredness and skin irritation around the area which can be dealt with with the proper creams etc.  The biggest complaint I've heard so far is the inconvenience of having to go in daily, especially if you have to travel any distance.  Other risks, sure, but for me, the risk of cancer recurrence trumps most other things at this point.

This is just my view, but my approach to this is to do absolutely everything that you can do now so give yourself the very best chances for the future.  And for me, each benefit of a treatment, even if it's quite small, adds up to alot with everything else you're doing.

Welcome Linn!



I am off for a day at the spa today to reward myself. Was just thinking they won't have to worry about messing up my hair during my facial...lol. Tomorrow final AC..YIPPEE

Twinsplus. 

 As a grandmother of twins + one, your mom probably is delighted to be needed and to have such qualty time with the children.  The biggest loss of my nine months of chemo and rads wll be the time I will lose with my 2+1.

I found the SE of my 2nd chemo was the same as the first time, except that mentally I was prepared for the fatigue and just went with the flow.

Hugs and no SE

Linn65,
Welcome! We are here for you...whether you want to vent or sometimes you don't want to post but just want to know that people are going through the same thing. Either way we are here to be that support. Having others who know what you are going through makes this even the slightest bit easier...it still sucks but it is great to know we are not alone through this!
Cindi is right, we are all so strong and are all wonderwomen who are kicking cancer in the teeth!

Round 2 of AC tomorrow morning here I come! =( Not looking forward to it and I really hope I don't wake up on Saturday and can't go to my conference. My parents are so amazing for driving me all the way up to Mass (I'm from CT)...their support is unparalleled and is truly getting me through this!

Cindy:

When mom was here for my surgery (she was here for about 5 weeks), she said the thing she enjoyed most was being able to spend enough time with her grandchildren to actually get to know them as people. Sounds kinda crazy considering the girls are 16 and the boy is 11. However, hubby was in the military for 13 years of our marriage and we lived in NC, VA and Germany. We moved back to VA when he retired and then to OH about 6 years ago. This is the closest we've ever lived to family and it's still a 7 hour drive. I guess I just assumed she knew my kids because I talk about them all the time, she keeps up with them on FB, etc... I never realized that a 1 or 2 week visit per year wasn't enough. Really made me think. Now, the kids call her just to say hi and mom actually got a new phone so she could text with me and the kids!

Finished my time in "the chair" today. So far, so good. Feel a bit loopy (well, loopier than normal) from the anti-nausea meds but other than that, I'm good.  Just wish it'd stay this way!

Hugs to all!

Jojo so glad that tomorrow is it for AC for you. I am so looking to be done with it next week. I am praying that Taxol will be good to us .



Shocked I hope you have no side effects



Patricia you crack me up . I hope that you finally got some sleep and you feel good .



I feel like a vampire I can not sleep at night and after I get the kids ready for school in the am I fall asleep for four hrs hate it

I had a partial mastectomy and will also have rads. Bearcub, is prone rads not standard?

Hi everyone!

   I am finally waking up after a long nap.  My doctor tried to help me with the nausea I had last time by giving me additional fluids in my IV both the day of infusion, and yesterday with the Neulasta shot.  I do feel okay - but no lie- I gained ten pounds in one day.  I feel like a puffy marshmallow.  Plus the steroids gave me a total moon face- which is doing absolutely nothing for my bald head.  One thing I think I am hoping to learn through this process is to be less vain.  I have always cared way too much about how I look - which lets face it, was already changing before I found out about BC.  I need to make peace with my inside beauty somehow.  Maybe I will work on that next week.  LOL

   Sherbab:  Thanks so much for sharing your blog!  I loved your party!  I find that writing my blog just helps me to put my thoughts down, clear my head, and because I am trying to incorporate art- force me to be productive.  I also teach at two universities, and it helps for my students to understand what I am dealing with - so when I go back to work, I won't have to tell everyone what happened.. hopefully.  I get a little worried that some of my clients (I am a therapist) might find it, but oh well.  They will see that all of the things that I teach them about coping are things that I do for myself.  

 Twinsplus:  I totally understand why you were upset about your husband going out of town.  I am so glad that you were able to get help!  My husband and I are trying to figure out how to "recalibrate" in some ways our relationship.  I think I have taken on too large a role in making sure everything runs smoothly for such a long time- and I have some built up resentment around that.  I think BC is forcing us to make some long overdue changes.  I also wanted to ditto what everyone said about Grandma's caring for our children. My mother had the greatest time last week really getting to care for my little ones.   I live in California -and she lives in Texas- so we don't see each other very often.  My 3 year old son cried when she and my sister left.  He then told me, "It will be okay Mommy.  We will get them back."  I asked him how he thought we could do that and he told me "We will just need some rope next time."   He wants to lasso the plane he told me.  He is such a cutie.

 I imagine all of you know about lotsahelpinghands.com? I love it.  You add the people you want to your circle, then you can post your calendar.  I put in when I need help after chemo to watch the kids and make dinners.  So far, I have been able to get most all of my time covered.  It is a free site, and works very nicely.

As for the radiation question- I won't be there until January.  From everything I have heard in my support group, most everyone gets radiation these days unless you have a medical condition that doesn't allow it.  I guess the benefits are too great.  I am wanting a double mastectomy, and was still told I will need radiation.  All of the women in my group say that it isn't nearly as bad as the chemo, but two of the women had some pretty awful burns.  Does anyone else go to a support group?  I love mine.  Last week, our facilitator even did a show and tell - and showed us her lumpectomy.  Pretty informative!

Hope everyone who had chemo this week is feeling okay, rested, and supported!!!  and no SE!!!

   

So week after 2A/C I tell husband that I HAVE to get out of the bed and house.  So he takes me to Longhorns for lunch.  While there I ask the waiter to take our picture.  Then I figured out to do the avatar thing.  (So you call it an avatar?  I thought that was a movie)  Later the waiter came back and asked if we were celebrating a birthday.  I told him we were celebrating my return from 2nd chemo. He looked puzzled and I said,  "We can find something to celebrate almost every day." 

Now dear Wonderwomen,  doesn't my wig make me look glamorous?  My hair never looked this good.  No cuts,  no permanent, no sleeping in rollers.  I can live with this. 

Sandee, Updated list on page 51. Glad you are adding to discussion.

Sherbab, Love your blog. It's interesting and informative. I admire your
courage in being so open. A mastectomy party, Wow. I love your sense of
humor.

Bearcub, We have nuts in this country that think we would all be safer if
everyone has their own uzi. Most of our politicians are afraid to even mention
guns. It's the wild west. I grew up in a household where my father and brother
had guns in an unlocked cabinet in the kitchen. Farmers and hunters need them. I
don't want to take away rifles or shotguns from hunters, or even pistols from
those who transport diamonds or have other real security needs. But I want
owners to show they know safe gun ownership, and I want them to be responsible
for what their guns do. Now I will probably hear from the NRA.

Patricia, I can't believe you could walk three miles after chemo. I
understand that the chemo affects the hairs in your ears affecting equilibrium.
I've had some disequilibrium. I really worry about falling.

Jojo, Final A/C. Hooray.

Sandee, I'm interested too in Taxol after A/C effects. Some seem to say
worse, some not so hard. Does it depend on the individual? Also, what about the
effects on WBC?

Linn65, Good luck on 2A/C Hugs and no SE

Damiana9, So sorry about your beautiful hair.

Twinsplus, I know your mom is happy to be with you and the children. Rainbow
effect?

Mariposa, I'm glad you are sharing with your students. This is life. When I
was an undergraduate sometimes, what the professors told me about their lives
outside of class really interested me.

Amy, Great Taxol questions.

Hey, chemo fog is lifting. My brain is coming back. Wish this site had
spellcheck.

Amy - yes on the other half bit. I have no reason to be irritated yet I have found every nit picky reason in the world to be on him. I hate it because it is not how I want to be and yet I can't stop myself. I also have my 4th AC on the 17th then on to Taxol.



Cindi - great pic!



Thanks to all on the blog. I know this one may rub some the wrong way but humor is the best thing going for our house right now. We deal with everything through humor and it is in appropriate at times but if you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at? We don't have anyone hosting benefits, we are just not in that kind of area and we don't belong to a church, the bills are starting to roll in and I cry a lot about them. The blog is free and I am not going to air that side of this process to any of them but i hope it is a release for me to tell those about the process and not have to talk on the phone as much.



Have a good night all!

Good evening girls! Spa day was wonderful. My dry skin feels like baby skin. She massaged my head, was sooooo good.



Damiana, I had nose sores, no mouth just nose. Got meds and cleared them very quick.



Cindi, so glad to see you and ur DH! You look great.



Took my ativan to sleep well. Post tomorrow from the BGC

Hello my warrior women...3rd ac tx coming tomorrow. Hopefully it goes smoothly. I consider myself very lucky...though none of this has been easy, it could be much worse (constipation has been my biggest problem...well that and that damn Neulasta shot). My last tx was little bit worse than the first...hopefully my 3rd isn't worse than the 2nd. Even if it is I will endure it and get through it. Good luck to all the September warriors...(((hugs)))

Cindi it is so great to see a pic of you and your sweetie...Great pic., and I agree a free dessert should have been sent over....

I guess it is not so different than up here in B.C., except we cannot carry a weapon on our person. It is not unusual in the fall for me to be walking down the road and see ATV's go flying by with guys or gals in camouflage with rifles slung around the shoulders. Most of them are out hunting, and it doesn't bother me, but in the hands of a road maniac..yikes!..it can happen anywhere!



JoJo so happy for you, last AC...



Sounds like so many of you are doing treatments this week, I hope you have NO SE!! I have #3 chemo next Wednesday, I have been eating lots of Kale....need the WBC up!!

And I will feel so out of the loop when you are all on taxol.....am I the only one who is done after 4 rounds of AC. NOT that I want more chemo...but I just hope it's enough.



Happy Friday everyone, have a fantastic weekend.