Starting Chemo July 2012

Fifteen months of curls?  Yikes!  I was hoping it would normalize quicker than that.  Every time I look in the mirror I see my grandmother.

Susan wow, your ex is quite a prize!  Maybe it's age, all of a sudden men have their pick, like women did in their 20s.  I don't have an LE sleeve yet.  I was referred for physical therapy for education and prevention, but I have been unable to get an appointment yet.  The office doesn't seem to ever answer their phone.  Maybe that's a sign I should look elsewhere.  I doubt I will wear the sleeve unless I actually develop LE.  Maybe on airplanes?  I haven't decided.

Hello and good wishes to all.  I'm back from a 3 week trip to Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico.  Was good to see old friends. They knew I'd had cancer, but by this time, I look almost as I did before (minus a boob, and with 1" greyish-white hair instead of mediom length brown)....but you know what I mean.  Not so worn-out and tired looking as when I was doing chemo.

Susan HG - I got a LE sleeve in November + glove.  Wore them every day until late March. The sleeve was working well, but my hand still was swollen. So I quit wearing the sleeve, and the hand is doing better.  It seemed like the sleeve was keeping the hand from draining. Both are still a bit larger than the other side, and I wear the glove about a half-day each day.

My support goes out to those of you still experiencing rads and reconstruction. I'm done with rads (that side is still tanned looking but doesn't hurt anymore).  Get a mammogram next month. Wonder if they'll just charge Medicare 1/2 price for doing one.  :}  Nat 

This morning a friend of mine reached out to me because she knows someone diagnosed with trip neg BC who just lost her hair from chemo.  She wanted to know where I got my head coverings because she wanted to get some for her.  I told her I'd be happy to pass mine on as they are all washed up and I don't ever want to see/need them again.  
Apparently I'm not as mentally healed as I thought I was... they've been packed away since before Christmas and it almost made me physically ill to look at them!  

On another note... have any of you been on Tamoxifen for a few months?  I started mine at the end of Nov and thought I'd seen the last of my period.  One of the bright spots of this damned BC was that I have only had it once since last July and thought it was gone for good but Noooooooo.... MY wonderful body has decided it has healed itself sufficiently well and now it has returned to it's full duties! OH Yippy Skippy!!

I am glad to be alive and able to whine and complain about such trivial things 

Just changed my picture ... have hair again, no longer medium length brown, but 1" greay and white.  Trivial, but important to me.  Nat 

I had a nice surprise yesterday, I ran into my chemo nurse at the store!  She was such a sweetheart and took such good care of me last year.  I was so happy to see her and have a chance to thank her for everything.  She is will be celebrating her 14 year BC anniversary next month and I asked her when the recurrence fears go away.... "Never".  Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but nice to know it's normal.  I told her every ache and pain I have now makes me fear the worst that it's gotten into my bones and she says I shouldn't worry about it because I'm on the Tamoxifen and you get great results from it.  Also found out that my crappy nails are probably coming from that and not a leftover result of Taxotere.  That surprised me a bit.  She said she hated taking the Tamoxifen because of the dry skin and nails she had from it.  Yup, that's me! 

This week I realized that my nails are strong again, no longer tearing if I look at them the wrong way. They still don't look too great: dry and with ridges -- but they are functional again. Hooray!

Hi all,
well, not nice ex-husbands, runny noses, splitting nails, and hats, scarves and wigs in hiding...  very interesting catching up here!

3 treatments left of herceptin, now on tamoxifen. Thanks for mentioning tam causing nail problems. Mine survived chemo, but are now splitting 'upward' occasionally!  Nose runs, but not bad. Losing weight on tamoxifen... apparently a person is more likely to lose than gain, but I was surprised by this, and actually have to pay attention to eating more! Have to work harder to keep my spirits lifted on tam, but I think it's getting better. Anyone having mood issues with tamoxifen?

I think my hair could officially be called a pixie cut, and someone might think I did it on purpose. Phew. Laughing when I run into people now and they do a double-take and say, "I didn't recognize you without a hat." Ha!

I, too, got rid of my hats and scarves... donated them back to the cancer agency. Except one awesome classy hat, with a lovely bow made of pirate skulls. Might even wear that again one day.

My perky new breast and the other with a lift.. well, they are so cute and little and matching, I don't even have to wear a bra! (oh, the silver linings)

Hugs and healing to all still going through more invasive treatments, and to all of  us, cuz we rock.

I had my one-year from diagnosis mammogram today. They took a LOT of images, especially of the breast that previously housed the tumor, and the tech went to consult with the radiologist and came back to report that they didn't find anything to suggest any malignancies and that I should follow up in six months, as we had previously discussed.

So, year number one has passed and I passed my test. Whew! Here's hoping for good results for others as well!

http://csn.cancer.org/forum/129
try that Nat.  It's not as pretty as "our" board is, but it looks like it's active.  So sorry to hear about your sister.  Prayers that all goes well for her.  The day of my last chemo they were so busy that I had to share my room with another lady having treatment and she had lung cancer.  She had her surgery already and was doing well with the chemo.  She coughed a lot tho and it sounded like having bronchitis all the time.
YAY VIRGINIA!!!  I've had a 6month done on the surgical boob (so far so good) and next Wed is the day for both of them.  It is on my mind a lot because today is 1 year since my mammo/biopsy.  I was there right now, at this very time.  I was still "normal".  I remember the next day when I went back for the results we had to walk back a hallway to a consultation room, I kept thinking "My life is going to change and I will never be the same when I walk out of this room."  I already had a pretty good idea that it was cancer so even tho I was shocked by the results, I wasn't surprised.  I cried the entire ride home (50 minutes) and then I got MAD.  Now I feel blessed because even tho the circumstances that brought us together sucked, I have met all of you wonderful ladies and we have endured this crusade together.  

Chell45 Thanks for the info. I will send it on ot my sis.  About eyes,  I had "chemo eyes" for about 3 months pfc, then they dried up, and it seems like (sometimes) I have "dry eye symdrom".  I'm going to ask my opthomologist about it, if it keeps on after allergy season. Which it might be the result of. Nat

Doing the Happy dance today.  Went for my 1 yr Mammo and I got 2 thumbs up after the Dr read it.  woooohooooo!!!

Hope you are all doing just as well

Maddie - Your sister just doesn't understand.  But we do.  So keep us posted...and forgive her; she's not been through what you have.  Nat

Maddie, of course you'd want to get bone pain checked out.  I'm sorry your sister's comment hurt your feelings.  It's hard to stay calm about new symptoms once you've been through the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.

Yeah, it's amazing how the old "I'm sure it's nothing" before cancer would heve meant just waiting it out to see if it resolves itself. Now, we say "I'm sure it's nothing" and we phone our doctors to get it checked out. I mean, I don't want to be paranoid about every little symptom, but have to pay attention to any symptoms that even MIGHT indicate metastasis or a new tumor. It's just the way it is now....

Ahh my July sisters. Apologies for my lengthy absence. My youngest child graduated from college this w/end. A lovely bittersweet event. She will be moving next week about 600 miles away to be near her father while she ponders her next step. I will miss her dreadfully. She was my rock this year-was 200 miles and in the town my surgeon was located.

Then--had a glitch in my treatment plan. Finished radiation--looked like a scalded rat by the time I finished the 30 days. Had a week or so off to peel. Had a MUGA scan--and the visit with my MO started with "Well, we have some bad news again....". My numbers had dropped significiantly-as he said one more point no more herceptin. I was blaming my shortness of breath (despite perfect labs), nighttime edema,  and extreme fatigue on the toxicity to taxotere. Nope. Beginnings of congestive heart failure. Will have another MUGA in 2 weeks. If numbers are the same or drop will take a break for herceptin and do who knows what. Since that is the only drug option for HERC can't really try something else. Also started femara. MO almost promised I would not lose my hair. Lied. Am now shedding for the 3rd time with male pattern baldness. Hair is gone on arms and nether regions. No hot flashes. The effexor is working. But the bone pain and joint pain is back and stronger tha ever. I actually took a day off work last week after herceptin. 

The tattooed nipples. How do they look? Have looked on-line but not good visuals. 

Love to all.