Starting Chemo July 2013

Soriya - I can't speak for JeriGrace, but being active and spending time engaged in events unrelated to cancer has made it MUCH easier for me  I don't sit still well for long, and if I sat around my house and looked at all the projects I didn't get done over the summer I'd go CRAZY!  My reduced schedule is allowing me to be VERY flexible:  Teaching 8:15-10:45 am on Tuesdays, followed by office hours until 2:00pm, office hours and meetings for a couple of hours on Wednesdays (only when I can make it!), late class on Wednesdays from 5:00-9:30 that starts mid-October, and every other Thursday evening from 5:00-7:00, preceded by a couple of office hours.  We also have meetings some Fridays, and a few Saturday departmental events, but otherwise my time is my own to fight the BC battle!  Also, several colleagues and even the dean have offered to step in and teach my class ANY time I don't feel up to it - which I hope doesn't happen since I'm sort of a control freak

I got FANTASTIC news from my onco today: www.mymidlifemeander.blogspot.com :):)

Making a big pot of veggie soup to keep me sustained over the next few days - and some raisins and dried peaches!

Grace - so glad you're feeling better!!!

Hugs to ALL,

Lynn

no bacon?? That won't go out of my life! LOL I cook my bacon until really crunchy.  This way all the fat is basically cooked out.  Yummmmy bacon.. heck no that won't go! LOL  neither will sasages.  I will eat what I can eat because some day's, it's all that will get into me.  As each chemo infusion passes, it just gets harder and harder.  

I am still working, but I am making the decision (with the help of a wise friend) to cut my hours back to half.  It's gonna be hard, because I'm so always on the go and never sit still.  But I do need to rest.. as you all should.  Rest, rest, rest... even if its not sleep, but resting.  I have a nice new jelly top on my mattress to make it like new and I oh so love it.  It might make it easier on me  LOL  

As for hair.. once mine started to fall out, I only shaved it to a #3.  It's been falling out a little here and there with each session.  I am glad I didn't shave it down bald, as I have heard that you can get some ingrown hairs that way.  I have a hard enough time when I know my hair is still faling out.  But I use a body scrub on my head.  Not only does it feel nice and cleans the pores, it gives it a nice scalp massage too.  

Now off to ice my MX/swelling sites.  OY I hate day's 4-6 after chemo.  And off to get some more sleep.  Keep on winning firecrackers!! As a wise friend said to me.. this is only temporary.. IF you don't slow down now.  Because if you don't slow down now.. you may never regain your strength back again.  ((hugs)) all

Hi All,off to eye dr today,I'll fill all us blind,headache ridden molerats in on what he says,most likely it's just another nasty side effect of these life saving poisons we r subjecting ourselves too. Still wondering if anyone had high white count day 7 after round 3 of ac,Hannariggs you're on same schedule what was yours,mine jumped to 13.4 high even for "normal" people. Onco said coud be Nuelasta over doing it's job or infection(the infection part scares the heck out of me).I don't really miss working but disability stinks,finacially it's been a huge hit but running around 50 hours a week doing pediatric homecare, even half the hours would be out of the question.Soriya,i too am half bald and half buzzed looks really awful,i'd rather it all be gone than this.Hope everyone is hanging in there,let u know later the scoop. Hugs Angela

Jerigrace,thanks so much for easing my mind,phew,Thank God for the "newnasty". Angela

Momx2, I will be thinking of you. Hang in there! ((Hugs)))

Hi Angela,

    No, my wbc has never gone high. It has stayed within the normal/low range.  The only time it was low and on the border of neutropenia was when I had a throat infection after the 2nd infusion.  It took me 12 days to recover and then they hit me with round 3.  Still trying to recover from this last one.  VERY fatigued.  Have returned to work, but only part time.  I just hate missing out on the semi "normal" days.  But rest is important.  Not looking forward to round 4 and if I hear one more person tell me I am almost done and can "do it", I am going to scream. When they experience just 1 round,  then they can tell me about how 1 more is just a walk in the park.  They dont realize that each round for us is hard(grrrrr, ok dont ranting).    Round 4 is going to be the knock out round.  How is everyone else doing with Round 3?  

NoCompromises-I chose against reconstruction, because I figured if I wanted that boob replaced, I could just use the mastectomy bra. I was/am totally comfortable with just the one breast, but surprised myself this past weekend when I put a foam filler,from my post surgery camisole, into my bra, which evened me out. I really liked it. Depending on your insurance situation, there is no time limit as to when you can have reconstruction, thanks to the WHCRA of 1998. I am a mammography tech and I always tell patients to do what is going to give them peace of mind and make them feel good about themselves. I didn't do anything wrong to end up like this, so I remind myself that I have nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. I'd love to hear what you decide to do. I was surprised to discover how much I enjoy how much lighter I feel now

Hi firecrackers!! I know i haven't been on here in weeks and i have missed a lot. I hope you are all doing well and hanging in there.



I have been doing pretty good. After my 2nd infusion on the 31st, i caught a cold so that had me down for over a week. But i am doing much better now. I had an appointment with my oncologist today and my WBC is good again. I will go for my 3rd infusion on next wednesday the 21st.



When i seen my onc last time he said he believed i needed radiation after i am done with chemo. I disagree, but he referred me to a radiologist oncologist to talk to him about it. So i did, but i feel like he didn't give me a good enough reason of why i would need radiation on top of chemotherapy. Have any of you ever experienced this? I am only stage 1 with no lymph node involvement but it had attached itself to a small portion of my pectorals muscle. My breast surgeon removed everything that he could without killing my skin or the muscle. So i am not sure why my onc is so adamant about me getting the radiation on top of the double mastectomy and 8 rounds of chemo. His exact words were "Is your husband in agreement with you on your decision to not get radiation? Cause if you were my wife i would force you to get it." o_O

Good evening firecrackers! I have #3 tomorrow! How r those of u that already had #3 doing? I'm hoping I have as good of luck as I've been having with first two. I even baked some bars tonight to take to the crew in the infusion therapy tomorrow - is that strange? Just felt like baking & thought it was a way to say thanks for helping us fight this battle! My hair stubs r starting to fall out & head itches a little. I've only wore my wig a couple days - mostly wearing scarfs, buffs, hats n such - comfort over fashion I say! How long before eyebrows, or arm/leg hair falls out? Wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how I'm doing. Don't get my wrong I appreciate everyone's well wishes, thoughts & prayers - just feels weird sometimes. I know we all appreciate our family & friends so much during this journey. sometimes i like to think of it as a journey or a bump in the road rather than a fight or a battle. And I've never been a "hugger" and everyone wants to hug now! Wishing everyone well! Lana

Hi Ladies



Lana M

Ditto all the above re the continual updates and asking how i feel , guess they are all caring and anxious but i know week 1 will be crappy - weeks 2 and 3 i am a NORMAL person quit asking me .... yes i view this as a bump/ hurdle not a continual fight



Think eyebrows/lashes and nails come much later - hope I am wrong and they never fall out - so far so good



SweetheartinTX - I am not medico BUT

GET THE RADIATION - if as you say it was

1. attached to your pectoral muscles -

2. It was TN

3. grade 3 (even with no nodes) AND your surgeon said he could not get all of it without killing muscle/skin then you really should take the radio option - lecture over



Angela good to hear re eyes



KTle. Appreciate your comments - I feel totally comfortable with UMx have bought some nice M bras and all (75%) covered on private health have the original " nursing pad" and also a "you beaut " Amoena prosthesis which the AUS govt pays $400 of and my health insurance the extra $29

My problem is I feel DH really wants me to get a recon and I am totally happy ( well u know what I mean) as I am and really don't want any more surgery



2hobs- if I had had a dbl Mx I might feel differently but I didn't ( and it was discussed at start and surgeon reckoned definately not needed ) - this is probably a Topic for a different thread - but how do I make hubby feel involved in the decision when he is adamant one way and I am pretty adamant the other way - it is my body after all GRrrrr think that is my biggest challenge at present ( more even than chemo !!! )

Not seeing BS till January so plenty of time - maybe summer will make me change my mind - who knows there is no sell by date on when/if we choose recon



Rambo - so glad for your daughters results - interesting re your WBC - they do seem low overall. Here are mine

Initial - 7.2 ( ANC -5.1)

Day 10 -1.1 (ANC 0.1 no neulasta )

Day 20 - 7.2 ( ANC 5.3)



Will get next results( with neulasta) next Thursday prior to number 3



Fasting ??? I am eating what I want when I want ( within reason). Which means days 2-6 bit of an effort but rest of cycle all good - BUT thank goodness I have still had no nausea or indigestion since the start - hopefully I will scrape thru to the end w/o

At the end of the day. Hydration is probably the most important thing to get right and good amounts of protein to help our bodies rebuild



Apologies to any one I should have mentioned but didn't

Have a great weekend - mine starts NOW

Hugs to all ( and no I am not a huggy person either lanaM

Sweetheartintx, I would be highly irritated if my onc tried to appeal to me that way, as if I can't make decisions for myself about my own treatment. I'd be like, I'm your patient, I'm the one you need to educate and convince this is the right plan. I don't do what my husband tells me to, or my doctor tells me to, just because they say so. It's your doctors JOB to provide you with the information you need to make a decision.



That said it does sound like he has explained that there is an area he doesn't feel is covered by surgery, and chemo is really for those stray cancer cells that might have escaped in your bloodstream. Radiation is a hassle because it is every day, but I found it to be pretty easy compared to everything else. I could get in and out in 30 minutes and met with the doctor once a week. Felt a little sunburned in one spot but no biggie. I respect whatever decision you make because in the end it is each one of us that has to live with the risks and trade offs.

sweetheart.. I agree with sue (nocompromise) about the radiation.  I personally wouldn't hesitate if I didn't have clear margins and it was attached the stuff ect.  (((hugs))) and good luck on your decision.

Soriya.. I use a body scrub to wash my head.  I usually have dandruff, but with using that, I have a nice clean head.. although not bald yet.. but with the hair folicles still collecting things and stuff, this scrubs the stuff out.  And gives you a nice scalp massage too! 

Its funny.. now that I am almost bald.. I still walk around with a towel on my head after a shower.  Yeah, like there's water to soak up there.. NOT LOL

Decided to cut my hours down at work.  Going to be a huge pay cut.. but we gotta do, what we gotta do right.  I need to get healthy so that I can get back to work full time after all this mess is over.  I just love my job too much! I tell you it's hard to let go when you have been doing so much all your life.  

Going for a MLD massage tomorow and so can't wait! Oh to help with the swelling in my pec muscle are and mx sides.  I'm gonna enjoy!

night all! ((hugs)) to all and good luck with those infusions

SweetheartinTX,

I am not a doctor (and HATE the SEXIST & Paternalistic Bull Shit your doctor laid on you) but I would run towards radiation and here is why:

It was attached to your pectoral muscles - that already sounds like another stage to me 

You have Triple Negative - among the most aggressive froms of BC 

It is grade 3

Your surgeon couldn't get it all without injury to your skin and muscles.

Now, while I am not a doctor, let me tell you biases so that you can judge for yourself whether they predispose me to thinking differently than you.  Please feel free to disregard entirely.  I just don't want another person in my shoes:

I was diagnosed as Stage 0/DCIS Feb. 2012, by the end of the lumpectomy, the path showed regular old BC so a snb was perfomed which showed: micro-metastes in 1 of 2 nodes (in case some aren't familiar a micro-met is so small an amount in an node that the docs don't want to acknowledge the node as being positive). I was now stage 2b formally but the docs said "1c" everything was so small less 1 cm of DCIS  and less than .25 cm of breast cancer that I given chemo as a choice. I chose it gladly/sort of and followed with radiation. Radiation was fine for 65% of the time and then the pain began and burning becasue I have very very large breasts. Soon after completion despite stretching I began having movement limitations and these continue though they have decreased with professional massage and exercise. 

After getting the all clear on several mammos mostly recently in May, on July 11th my radiation onc found an inflammed node on the other side during routine check-up.  I am now a much later stage (1.25 years after my first stage 0 diagnosis) and am doing chemo to hopefully address the systemic cancer so that I can then have a full node dissection and bilateral mx followed by radiation of all areas not previously touched by it last time.

Forgive the full on press; really dismiss it entirely.  I just wanted to let you know I HATED radiation more than all other parts of my treatment but if it can help to save my life I will gladly take the weeks of pain again. (Not expected since I will not have breasts). Most don't have the bad experience that I had but I wanted to convey that even with that, I'd choose to be aggressive because when they told me that I had grade 3 cancer, they weren't lying.  This f@#$er is really trying to live and I am holding its head under water until there is no movement whatsoever with whatever tools I can. Traditional medicine, complementary, prayer, chanting, incense, all of it.

Angela,

Thank you so much. I appreciate your support. from your Dx note, we were at the same place but you received the stronger ACT which is what I am getting this time. That might have saved me the recurrence.

Sweetheart, whatever you decide for yourself will b what is right for you.

V 

Hi again all,just got off the phone with fellow peds nurse(she worked weekends seeing the same pts i saw during the week). Well,at age 40,she went in feb for first mammo,came back fine,she just recenting had elevated liver enzymes and they found a benign tumor after having that out,she then developed an abcess at the liver site and they did a cat scan of chest/abdomen and found tumor in breast.She just found out it's invasive ductal carcinoma,I'm floored,the company we work for is small,we r all like what the heck? She lives literally a few miles from me,well,I'm hoping she doesn't need chemo,this is just crazy. Angela