2012 sisters
Comments
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Sorry to hear this news Sharon! You have come to the best place to be for support and many, many, hugs.
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Jenjen: but a wedge for use in your bed and you won't need a recliner. :-)
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Sharon: if I were you my post would have contained multiple expletives!!! So I'll say it for you.... THAT FUCKING SUCKS!!! So glad you found your way to our little forum though...
(((HUGS))) -
Jen, I have so much I could tell you. I have 4 kids. Girl 16, and 3 boys 5, 4, and 2. I had BMX in Sept. No lifting heavier than 5 pounds for awhile. Drains are a pain, but not undealwithable. They placed my TEs with my surgery and are filling them during this 4 months of chemo. Radiation will damage the skin too much to stretch well, so as long as the skin is stretched first I should be all a go for surgery to replace the TEs with implants next summer.
I had my first chemo 3 weeks ago, #2 will be this Fri. I am doing Cytoxin, Taxol, and Heceptin. I had chemo Fri, and Neulasta Monday. I was puky sick Tuesday and Wed. Bone pain, head/back ache from the Neulasta on and off for the first week. All in all, not too bad.Beth, I read something about Ft Collins. I will be there for Thanksgiving. If you want to meet up I would do love that. Let me know.
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juneau- that cracked me up! yes cancer Fucking sucks.I wish there was a cure for this so no one else would have to go through what we have/are going through.
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Chemo #2 tomorrow. I wish I'd found this site before I bought that wig! What a fantastic idea for us cycling/skiing chicks! (Okay, maybe 51 is a bit old for the "chick" thing!) http://www.hatswithhair.com/
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Amethyst – hi again. Happy to hear chemo #1 has been and gone… one more down.
Sharon – I agree with Juneau… that fucking sucks.
Juneau/ramols: just heard that that The East Coast is being walloped by a Nor’easter – stay safe.Welcome Beth – glad you found us – sucks you have to be here. Age is a state of mind and if you feel like a chick I sure bet you look like one.
Including today… only 4 nukes left for me and they are boosts. I said to DH last night that rads seem to have been dragging their sweet arse to the finish line (Nov 14) and it is making me tired and cranky. How can I have gone through chemo and surgery without being this cranky - least I don’t think I was. Oh! well – onwards and upwards.
Hugs to you all with minimal se’s xxxx
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Hi all! Haven't posted in a while. Been busy with sick kids and life in general. I went back to work for 16 hours (or less) a week and between that, treatment, appts, family, etc...who has time for the computer or reading in general! lol
Went to see my Oncologist yesterday, she said she really wants me to do the 6 treatments of TC rather than 4. Not too happy about that because that takes it into the new year and completely ruins my holidays. I have treatment 3 tomorrow and then treatment 5 falls on Dec 21 which makes Christmas as sucky as can be. My last treatment falls on my anniversary weekend. My MO also said she wants me to have an oophorectomy after I'm done with treatment. Sigh...what's one more surgery I suppose.
I go see my PS today to get the stitches out from my wound closure surgery which I had Oct 17. He didn't want to take them out sooner because he was afraid the chemo may have slowed my healing time and didn't want the incisions to open up. Still only at 450cc in each side and only had one fill. I feel like I'm back in the waiting game and that's kind of depressing. I want to feel like things are moving right along.
On a side note, I have had no nail changes with TC, no neuropathy, or nausea! HOPEFULLY, it stays this way.
Love to all!
~Kristie
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Welcome back, MrsCich! It sucks that you have to do chemos over Christmas time, but the dr probably knows what she's doing. All I can say is that it will pass, and life will be good again. Another surgery also sucks - I am getting another in May next year and I am already thinking of ways to get out of it. Glad about the upside of your SE's though. May it stay that way!
Tazzy, yay - only 4 more! Almost done. Cancer is a cranky, exhausting business, and it is a bonus whenever we feel friendly and are smiling - LOL!
Can't believe the east coast is getting it again. Hope you guys there are safe and warm!
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MrsCich - wholeheartedly agree with Liefie - it sucks. But may all your SE's be minimal and gentle on you.
liefie: yes its a bonus when we are smiling people eh?
Hugs and love to all xxx
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Kristie,
I for one am glad your nails are doing good. I always had my nails done and that devastated me in a weird way. But they are coming back stronger than before my thyroid cancer. Would like to get away from acrylics.
So last night we lost our power AGAIN at 11pm. Wasn't good road conditions to go up to hotel so we piled kids into our bed to stay warm and today did some retail therapy after a lovely lunch with my sister and her family at Cheesecake Factory! Yum.
Tomorrow is a herceptin day and DH is coming with me and turning it into date night!
Ladies have a warm wonderful evening!
Karen -
Tazzy: you are SO CLOSE to the end!!! YAY for you! Stay focused on what you're going to toss in your suitcase for that trip home to your family; that should help with the crankies...no? Seriously though, you have been a beacon of humor, positivity and constant support for me since my first post in May. So glad to see your treatments finally reach their end.
Mrscich; that does suck, but just think, maybe you can make up for lost time on valentines day! -
Juneau: thanks for the kind words. Hard to believe we have 'known' each other for six months... not until you can look back that you think (least I have) "where did that year go to". Certainly didn't feel like it at the time. I may be nearly finished tx but you can be sure I'll still be on these boards looking for your posts too. I feel so close to you all and thank you for getting me through the good and bad. It is nice to know that we can still laugh through this shit. Hope you are OK. Heard that NY has snow now??? Like WTF ?
Hugs to all xxx
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Inspirational Message for when people piss us off:
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Tazzy: I love you!!! That is so perfectly true!!! ...and you are so right; 2012, the year I can't remember (literally thanks to chemo); yet the year I'll never forget! Oh the irony, right?!?! Just like everything this BC brings.
I was ok in that last snow storm. I was far enough on the west side of the state to be mostly unaffected. My dad got 10" and my sister in Connecticut got over a foot. She texted me at 5:00 pm, "Holey moley it's a blizzard here. You?" Made me laugh... She got away without so much as a blip in her power last week.
Our Governor commented that he's waiting for pestulance and locusts next. There are still a lot of friends with no power around here. It's just insane!
Ramols; how are you faring after you last tx?? Thinking of you.
Hugs to all and hope you night is a comfortable one with minimal SEs. -
Tazzie I love it !!!
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MrsCich I have chemo #4 on Dec 21 also. At least my MIL will be here to make a Christmas dinner and stuff while Im puking. I will at least be able to watch my kiddos open their presents.
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Tazzy....I love that message....exactly how I feel about certain people that are no longer
in my life.
PS......are you getting excited about going home? -
Hey everyone, wish we could all "meet" under different circumstances! I went in for my 1st mammogram at age 4 less than a month ago. I had no expectation of problems, since as far as I knew there was no history, but I went because my doctor (who had just performed a yearly breast exam & found nothing) said that's what you do when you turn 40. Honestly, I preferred my take on turning 40, which was to buy a Harley & get a bellybutton ring!
Anyway, they called me back for a "better picture" and the mammo tech started talking about "the spot"... which is NOT the way you should find out there might be a problem, by the way! Anyway, I was sent for an ultrasound as well & they found a 1.5 cm lump. Needle biopsy the next week confirmed my fears, it was IDC, Stage 1, ER+/PR+. When I told my family, both of my grandmothers mentioned a history, so I have it on both sides (including a maternal great-grandmother who died in her early 40s) and am awaiting the results of my genetic test.
Considering my age, history, fear of recurrence, etc. I have decided on a BMX with immediate reconstruction (silicone implants). I'm hoping the sentinel node biopsy goes well and that I don't end up having chemo or radiation, but only time will tell. For now, I'm waiting for the surgeons to coordinate schedules and give me a date for surgery.
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unowhoandwhy, we will all be hoping for good results but meanwhile, welcome to our "sisters" thread.
Tazzy, I love it! You seem to know lots. What is the deal with Taxotere versus Taxol and also why do so many get Taxol x 12 weekly and from what I see, here in British Columbia, we get Taxol x 4? This has been my question of the night. Of course, I plan to ask my MO on Tuesday prior to A/C #3 but just curious.
Also has anyone taken Melatonin for sleep. I have Ativan and it works but I realized that I sleep OK with it but no dreams! When I don't take it I dream but I also wake up too often and then tired. Also this is a long haul and Ativan is addictive. Of course I am taking crazy chemo drugs so why worry about Ativan! Fun!
So time for .5 mg of Ativan and no dreams. Good night all!
Marian
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Marian, I take/have taken Melatonin for a while. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I had insomnia before diagnosis so I have a smorgasbord of sleep aids. Lunesta is perscription meds that in currently taking but apparently its not working tonight (its 145am here). OTC sleep aids and Melatonin I take just to shake things up a bit when the Lunesta isn't working.
Chemo #3 at 10am. Hoping my SE's stay minimal but I'm afraid I'm one of those cases that has progressive SE's with each treatment. Hope I'm wrong.
Love to all.
~Kristie -
Hi all. Been busy hosting powerless friends and trying to get back into work after time missed last week during Sandy. We got a bit of snow from this last storm but not much. So trying to get back on with things. Car shopping is on the agenda this weekend since the insurance guy finally showed up yesterday and totalled both of them. Had taxol #2 Wednesday and seem to be doing ok. Mostly just tired and struggling with my bowels a bit. But this darn headache still won't go away. Fortunately the CT scan they did came back clean. So guess it is just stress, hormones or SEs. Sigh... Two more treatments to go and then herceptin only. I can kind of see the light. Been thinking of you all even though I haven't been on too much lately. Hope you're all doing well and manage to have a great day. I'm already plotting out my nap schedule for the day...
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Marian, just wait till you start taking Tamoxifen. Then you will dream the weirdest, most incoherent, unbelievable fantasies - I've never done drugs, but some mornings when I wake up I feel as if I've been on an LSD trip for the night, honestly. 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' - LOL! I still love the Beatles.
unowhowandwhy, welcome here. I hope and pray for negative nodes for you. A positive node is a game changer as I found out. Keep us posted, and best wishes!
MrsCich, you are in the BGC by now. Hope all goes well, and that the SE's will be mild and bearable. Hugs to you! Same to you, Miranda. This too shall pass, this too shall pass, this too shall pass . . .
Ramols, yay for the clean CT scan! That headache must be an SE from chemo. It is just weird how chemo finds new ways to torture us. Fortunately you are not far from being done, so wishing you well, and hugs to you too.
Juneau, glad you are safe and have power. I agree about Tazzy - she knows how to cheer us up and make us laugh. She's an angel in disguise.
Yesterday I discovered that I'm about to lose both toenails on my big toes six months after my last chemo. They are definitely beginning to lift. ??????!!!!!! WHAT? And here I thought I was home and dry. I'm going to a fancy wedding on Des. 7, and was going to wear strappy sandals . . . now I will have to hide my toes. Can just imagine what they will look like - disgusting. Oh well, at least my fingernails are okay. Did not lose one there. They each had four funny white horizontal stripes, one for each chemo, but that has grown out now.
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liefie, I have lost big toenails trekking so I will try to keep that in mind if I lose mine and not stress.
Not Tamoxifen, I guess because post menopausal but can't remember whys and wherefores for so many things. I see from notes, that MO is thinking anastrozole or letrozole for 5 years as well as possibly the MA.32 trial with placebo or metformin though if it is for early stage cancer I can't see that I would go for it.
mrccich good luck in the BGC. Thanks for info on OTC for sleep. .5 mg Ativan last night gave me a good 7 hours and feel so much better today.
I am pretty excited to be going to Leonard Cohen Monday night and when we bought the tickets in Sept. had no idea that I would be doing chemo. It is the last day of the cycle so timing could not be better!
Marian -
Scans came back clean, has not spread to liver, lungs or bones. Obviously, still have to check those nodes but a small victory. Also, results came in HER2 -.
Today is the 1st day I actually feel hopeful.
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Congratulations Ramols & JenJen on good scan results. Yay!
Marian, enjoy the concert. It feels so good to do normal fun things during all this.
Lifie, that sucks to lose nails so long after chemo. I hope that means new healthy nails are pushing them out?
Today is my post Taxol high energy day (thanks steroids, and thanks deep sleep from 2 mg ativan). I think I'll do some paperwork and shopping.
Tomorrow we do our fun annual tradition of backyard camping. Hoping for no rain. The tent is going in the living room to stay warmer (it's an extension of the back yard, right?) but we eat outside around the fire pit and then go for a night nature hike (aka walk around the neighborhood). Normally there's some Southern Comfort drunk right out of the bottle, but due to chemo I think I'd better limit it to a tiny sip. Or two.
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Jenjenl, YAY YAY YAY for the good results! Hope the nodes will be negative too! Now you can relax a little, and have a good weekend. Best wishes!
Marian, I am stage 1, strongly ER/PR+, HER2- and post menopausal. I will be taking Tamoxifen for 3 years and then switch to Letrozole for another 2 years. That's the plan now. Enjoy Leonard Cohen; I love his music.
Ann, yes, there are new nails there. Enjoy the camping - sounds nice!
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liefie - I've been robbed. I don't seem to get the wild dreams, in fact I've only had one memorable dream since starting T. But maybe you need to sleep to get the dreams, and I don't do that much anymore.
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Hi, I was wondering if anyone can recommend an oncologist at MSK in NY. I was told I couldn't get an appointment with DR. dickler until Dec 10, seems too far to wait since I had my surgery on 10/24. If you want to pm that's ok too, I would appreciate ANY imput.
Thanks, Bet -
unowhoandwhy: welcome. That's exactly how my journey started only I was 44. I had no family history but found out being a Ashkenazi Jew puts me into a higher risk group. Who knew!?
The only hurdle I didn't expect was the Oncotype test after surgery. It's done on the mass when removed. It gives a score which is used to put you into a low, mid, or high risk recurrence group. That's how I ended up in the BGC (big girl chair) getting chemo.
I'm telling you this because I too had BRACA testing and the secondary genetic test...both were negative; so after I was told my nodes were clear I thought I was home free. I felt really cheated and angry and confused when my MO told me chemo was suggested.
Anyway, this is along journey and you have landed in the right place if you're in need of love, support, information and validation that when you think you're loosing your mind...that your not at all and your right where you're supposed to be in your process. We've all been there, are there or will be there soon; so we will validate your crazy when no one else gets it.
(((BUG HUGS)))
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