MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

Elimar- I hope your rads go quickly. I have 3 down and 25 to go. How many do you have to have? I am just really tired. I don't think I had enough time to recoupe from chemo, but I guess they don't want the cancer to recoupe either.

Eph- I had major lung issues about 5 months after I finished rads the 1st round. They got my lung and fluid built up between my lung and the scar tissue. It took about 3 months to get better. I sure hope that it doesn't happen this time. I go at 7:15 each morning so I can go straight to work afterwards.

Hope everyone has a great night.

Cindy - funny my MO is the one that got me into an opthamologist right away when my eyes kept getting worse, it was the first opthamologist I saw that said nah...but I showed up prepared, with lots of official internet information, she must have looked at it after I left because she called me before I left town to head home and asked if I could come back later in the day, she had called around and had a list of things to try before the stents, none worked, the drops did nothing but burn, so she sent me to a different specialist that puts stents in, farther away of course - by the time I got in with him my tear ducts were starting to grow closed and he wasn't sure that he would be able to put in the temorary plastic stents, if not he was going to put in on of the glass ones (YUK), any way he did, left them in until my tear ducts healed and then pulled them out.  I only wish that I had done it sooner, but it was hard to get an appointment scheduled at the right time of the chemo cycle so there would be less chance of infection, as it was I topical and oral antibiotics, but no problems.  I could tell a big difference within about 4 -5 days.  When are you having it done?

Elimar - it's pretty uncommon, I do live in a relatively rural area, and had to go to a larger city to have this done, and they only see 1-2 a year from the cancer treatments.  They try steroid drops first to see if that will get the swelling down enough to keep them open, in my case it didn't - I was told by the doc that put in the stents that only 1-5% of people getting Taxotere need to see an eye doctor about it, and out of those only 1% or less need the stents.  It had to be me (and Cindy1)

Cindy - that's kind of cool that they come to your town.  I live in Oregon and there are only a couple in the state, luckily one was in the town where I was staying for my rads.  I guess that that makes sense about the tamoxifen since that and taxotere and taxol are kind of related.  I bet it's even more rare to get this issue from tamoxifen. 

Eli, what helped me during chemo (and after) was pro-biotics. I got a bit of fuzzy mouth, but no sores or great evils. I took 3 acidophilus capsules daily, one with each meal. The other thing that helped was rinsing my mouth with a bit of baking soda in a glass of water.

elimar, you are going to do this with the same grace and wild humour that you have faced breast cancer with! We are survivors, an example to others of how beaten down someone can get and still keep on truckin`. Sometimes it`s exhausting being a survivor!!!! Hugs to you, sweetie!

Complete response is a good thing. Will light a candle at the church of holy strength (that is really the name, used to be a temple to Heracles).

Eli - There is something out there called "magic mouthwash" that I hear is fantastic for mouth problems.  Ask your doc.  There are a few different formultations.  Link

You go girl!

Linda, yeah, it is cool. The "lid specialists" apparently take turns coming to Rapid City, SD from Idaho. There are two of them and they trade of months, one is her for two or three days this month and the other comes the for two or three days the next months.  They are apparently busy enough that I couldn't get in in Nov. or Dec...

Death to the cancer cells!

The anti-fungals help, but treat the symptoms more than the underlying cause. The probiotics treat the cause, so both work better than either on its own.

Elimar - I totally agree with Momine. Replenish the good stuff in your gut that chemo, the antifungal and any prior antibiotics have killed. I would clear any heavy duty probiotics other than yogurt/kefir with your doctor. I'd be real skittish recommending with chemo treating the colon.  Just my used to be professional opinion.  Hope your magic mouthwash gives you some relief this weekend.  Was the little dictator or your port leaking?