Breast cancer

Daldred even though you have no ulcers your gums are being affected by the chemo. Try cleaning your mouth with tepid water and bicarbonate swished and spit to clean the mouth and such on some ice chips. If the problem persists out a call into you onc and ask for some magic mouth wash which has some lidocaine in it. Hope this helps.



Live n hugs. Chrissy

Daldred, I also had the burning mouth and throat. Sometimes I would have ulcers but mostly it all felt burnt. I started sucking on ice or popsicles during my chemo especially when they were injecting the adriamycin. I also would use the baking soda and water rinses, biotine mouthwash and toothpaste. I finally got the magic mouthwash but i use it more for my throat. Oh and I also drink water all the time everyday.



I also have bad bone pain all the time especially when I try to sleep. I alternate ibuprophen, tyelenol and sometimes I have to take a pain pill. Its the worst in my legs. I just wanted you to know that Im right there with you. Today will be my last chemo. I wanted you to know the things that I feel was my fault contributing to the bad side effects. I gained 35lbs and was too sick to exercise which I feel the lack of exercise was probably what made me sicker. I started out taking a ton of vitamins and supplements but I became lazy and stopped. I just became tired of taking pills. I really feel like the vit d, calcium, zinc, magnesium and something else I cant remember really was helpful to my leg pain so I wished I would have taking better care of myself. Maybe depression is a big factor in keeping me on the couch all of the time. Zoloft is a miracle drug for me but it only helps if I take it. lol.



I dont know what chemo you are getting but I am getting A/C/Taxotere combo every 3 weeks and it was a nightmare for me but most ladies dont have such severe side effects. So I feel the lack of exercise and added weight made it worse on me. I will also say if you dont drink a ton of water you will feel worse. My last chemo was 3 weeks ago and I literally slept and laid around for 12 days. I know that this last one will keep me down for 3 weeks but Im praying that I will return to normal after that. Chemo was cumalative for me because the first few were not as bad as the last ones. Keeping in mind the things like vitamins and exercise that I stopped may have been the culprit. I just wanted you to know what I didnt do and maybe it will help you. Healing hugs and prayers going your way.

Daldred, that's wonderful news! Congratulations!

Chrissy's - thank you for the words of encouragement. My mind (at least I hope it's my mind) has me thinking my lymphnodes are sweeping each day, like I can feel them. God I hope that's my mind. Like I've said I'm in the obsessed phase of this thing. Sure I'm going to die, sure it's spread and sure I'm not strong enough to deal with it. I hope this gets better, it's exhausting. Once again thank you all.

I thought about the possibility of getting something to take the edge off. I'm sitting in my house and I can literally feel all my muscles tensing up. My arms and across my chest actually hurt from being so up tight. I'm hoping some of the anxiety leaves after the lumpectomy. At least then this tumor will be gone and can't spread more cancer around me (if that's what it's doing right now). I'm used to having control and I just feel like things are out of control. Well actually I guess things are out of my control. Not where I want to be. Again just admire the calmness you all demonstrate. I hope I can get there in a timely fashion soon.

Well the saga continues. Went in for my lumpectomy on December 26. All prepped taken to OR nighter, night. Wake up a couple hours later and I'm told they couldn't do it. Once again they were unable to find tumor. The marker from the biopsy didn't show up on the equipment they had in the OR and the only way they could get a wire to it would have been to wake me up, take me down for mammogram and put me back under - which is not possible to be done twice in one day. So i get through recovery and my surgeon made an appointment for that afternoon at 3:50 with a surgeon 90 miles away with the hospital I went to for the biopsy. New surgeon assures me they will have no trouble doing lumpectomy and tried to assure me that this delay will not do a thing - that I have time and he's assured from looking at the path report this is an early stage cancer.



He said he would never have done a lumpectomy so close to diagnosis because you need time. I'm not sure why all doctors say that. Once I know I have something to do I just want to do it. Oh well hopefully have surgery the week of January 11 if not sooner. It can't come soon enough.

I hope you're right about the delay. Looking at nearly a month from diagnosis to surgery. He mentioned to me he's had patients with a same diagnosis that have plans to winter for a couple of months in Florida and have their procedures done when they get back. I have no idea how they could do that, but I guess it goes along with what all the medical people have been saying - cancer doesn't move as quickly as I think it does.



I'd like to get in sooner, but I don't have much hope for that. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Something has got to go better soon. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Or maybe it is and I'm now getting treatment in the place I should be getting it. Hope so. Kris

I'm reading this thread today because it popped up for my key words of IDC and Florida. I live here, while everyone else is on vacation! Ha ha. Anyway, it is so great to see Deanna and ChrissyB are still their welcoming selves (you gals rock, and welcomed me as well). I owe you ladies so much, that first welcome in the crazy, sleepless, I'm gonna die first few months really meant a lot to me, as it obviously does to Kris and Daldred. 

I only wanted to add that in hindsight, I would have asked for a sleep aid, like Ambien, sooner, if I'd known how great it is. Ladies, don't be afraid to ask for something, you are going through incredible stress, with your mind going to the worst, darkest places, and it's unavoidable. Get some good rest. It will help you cope and recover with chemo, surgery, or whatever treatments you are having.

Warmest hugs and wishes to you!