April 2013 Chemo Group

Well I see someone else is awake this early morning. Hushkat may peace come over you. I have not got to your path yet, I'm steps behind you.

I know one day I think, wow way cut my hair. The next day I dread it. I'm going this week and having it got short. I was going to doit in stages, off the shoulder, then above the ears. Not sure yet! I am always like GO FOR IT, then what the hell did I do! I've had only one really bad hair experience, a stylist thinne day hair and shortened it, I actually cried! Pms at the time? Who knows, but I remember just hating my hair.

So lets all pray to the hair goddess that our hair will grow back thicker and more luxurious than ever! Oh, yeah and no ray please, lol!

On the bright side how much $ we saving on hair product, stylists, color, perms, straightening products etc?

Hushkat-I'm in the same boat with the hair. Sunday night the hair down below gradually fell out while I was showering. Then I noticed the hair on my head pulled out easily in small clumps. But, I have decided at this point to stop messing with it because I am scared of the next step...the clippers! I'm sure it will be necessary soon...maybe late today or tomorrow. Good luck to you! I like how you described feeling like an actress just playing a part. I can relate to that! Pretty soon it will be the real deal. To bad we do not get paid for this!!!

Great news Tricia81. Stay strong. All this really stinks but it'll all be over soon enough and we'll be stronger because of it.

I am sorry about the hair loss ladies, I guess I will be next, have been waiting for the hair loss, but nothing so far. I am not prepared for it either, I don't even like the wig I got, LOL! I think bald looks beautiful on other people, but ME? Uggghh.

                                                                                                  Heather

Just curious, not a chemo question, but how many of you (like me) have/had cancer in one breast but opted for/are opting for a bilateral mastectomy? I know I am making the right decision for me (NEVER want to do this again, though of course it can return elsewhere and even the residual breast tissue) but sometimes wonder...

                                                                                               Heather

heather214: I only had the mass in the left but opted for a bilateral. I am triple negative and carry the BRCA1 gene. It just seemed like the right thing to do...

Heather I also had bilateral mastectomy. Many reasons for that decision, but to share just a few of them -- I have a family history of BC. I am only 30 years old so even if my risk of local recurrence is only 1-2% per year, that's 50-100% by the time I'm 80! I don't ever want to deal with this again, and bilateral didn't eliminate my risk but it did drastically reduce it. Plus I did not want to go through the anxiety of bi-annual mammograms and MRI's for the rest of my life, I just couldn't take the stress of it. Also, I had multifocal cancer (all in one breast but multiple tumors) so I had to have a mastectomy (vs. lumpectomy) on the cancer side and was not interested in reconstruction and felt that bilateral would make me more comfortable phsyically, emotionally, and appearance-wise. I definitely felt like bilateral was the right decision for me (and am also very happy with my decision to forego reconstruction).

It's ironic, and a little sad, how quickly and completely our lives have changed. We will all redefine our future and our priorities as a result of this brief time in our lives. You young women are setting aside notions of femininity and taking courageous steps to ensure you are there for those you love. I admire you for it and you make me proud to join strong, take-charge women on the forum.

((Hugs)) Katie....on the road right behind you...and Thank you and all you other ladies for paving the way for us following in your path. Your honesty and bravery and raw true emotions leave me awe inspired~

Beherenow, SO sad to hear about your hair. I know we all can feel your pain, as we are all almost there. I am hoping to try to find it liberating and rather than feeling like the poor woman with cancer, I plan to revision it as that damn "strong" woman who is overcoming cancer with as much grace as possible. You go girl, you are blazing the trail for us first!

Good to read about the bmx choice.  I was leaning that way heavily, but almost every doc including my 2nd opinions have leaned away from it unless my genetic testing comes back differently than they all think it will.  I'm doing neoadjuvant and am also awaiting finding out if I indeed have a liver met before I need to make that decision.  

Tricia, so glad you got good results.  YAY!

Hushkat, I hope your wig buying experience turns out to be empowering for you.  I was honestly surprised by how unemotional I was about the whole thing.  

Tweezing and waxing facial/chin hairs is out, right?  I have not just a couple, but a plethora and not sure how I should get rid of them during chemo.  I figure my luck, they will not fall out, but everything else will:)   Could I use some little electric thing to get rid of them?  Not sure what they are called.

Last, how are some of you working through this and getting out so much?  I'm day 7 of cycle 1 (AC) and was still feeling like crud until late afternoon today.  I actually felt pretty good through day 3, but it now seems to be taking it's own sweet time for me to feel up to doing much of anything much less driving and getting out.  My MO pretty much told me I'd be this way, but I didn't believe him as I see how many women are working and out and about.  

Etsy's has adorable stuff!

Just wanted to stop by and wish you all the best of luck. I finished eight rounds of chemo on March 28th. I think of it as chemo's hundred day war with cancer--battleground: my body. My tips: if at all possible get a port in your arm rather than your chest. Drink A LOT of water. Let yourself rest on your bad days. Don't overdo it on your good days. Don't think that you will get ALL the side effects listed, but you'll get some. Some are crappy (examples for me: joint pain on taxol, queasy on AC), others are just peculiar (peeling on my fingers, watery eyes), and others you hear about you'll never get (joint pain with neulasta during AC). Keep a running list of questions to ask your Onc. Bring a friend or loved one to chemo with you--and if you can bring two--it's a good time to catch up with a dear friend and let them feel useful--and it's amazing to find yourself laughing with a dear pal in the infusion room. Bring the chemo nurses baked goods--they'll love you and always look out for you every time you come--plus they deserve them! Find a therapist or social worker through the hospital--ideally someone who has worked with cancer patients before. It's incredibly helpful to talk with someone who understands and is not afraid of what you are feeling and can help you prepare for the road ahead. Take a walk every day that you can--it doesn't have to be fast or far--but it will help you feel much better. Don't buy a zillion hats, wigs, and scarfs until you realize which look feels right for you. Everyone I talked to found one look that felt right for them--and usually it takes about 3-4 of life as a bald person to figure out what feels right. Then once you know what you like, you can buy what you know you will actually use. Purell is your best friend--keep small bottles in you purse, bag, backpack, car, etc. Try to find someone else to take care of you besides your doctor: an acupuncturist, a yoga instructor who knows how to find chest opening restorative poses that are safe for BC patients, a massage therapist who works with cancer patients and might even do scar work, etc. Finally, listen to your body. This process is so alienating to your body, so take special care to listen to the signals your body is giving you about what it wants or needs. Warmest wishes and best of luck slogging through chemo. You can do it!