August 2013 Chemo Sisters

RHODY: I know what you mean about the dogs, they sense stuff actually I read that dogs can tell when someone has cancer, they either sense it or smell it (can't remember what I read)  I know the morning that I went in for surgery my Rotti wouldnt eat her breakfast until I was home from the hospital (and shes a glutton, she never misses a meal). I have to put her to sleep soon too, she has a torn ACL and I've been keeping her on pain meds until they don't work anymore, I don't want her living in pain and my sorrow is not a reason to keep her around if shes in pain.  I would have done the surgery but its for a small dog, you have to carry them in and out to go to the bathroom and no stairs, well she weighs 105 lbs so carrying her is impossible and the vet said that by the time that side healed the other side would be shot. So I thank God for everyday I have with her. I think she will make it until I'm done all of this but it will be so hard to do.

Love, Rayna

Rayna, are you familiar with Xylitol? That's also come into fashion in the health food recipes and stores, but one must be very careful as it is proven TOXIC to DOGS.

Oh, shalimar, I wish I had a nice kitty to snuggle with me in bed! You are lucky in my eyes, even though Siamese are such big talkers ; )



The ibuprofen is helping me with the aches, nothing much else! My docs say Advil/ibuprofen, not Tylenol/-acetominophen for ME, but I don't know why. If you have ibuprofen, maybe try that see if it helps more?

Thanks for the info Carol, was not sure which of the pain relievers were recommended.

Oh, she's a beauty, Rayna!

Carol: Thanks for making my day with the gas story!!! I am still chuckling every time I think about it!



Rayna: I too was surprised that the MO wanted to go ahead and start so quick. My BMX scars weren't even completely healed up. I think he just wanted to make sure we started hitting any stray cancer cells quick and hard since my posterior margin was positive and I can't have radiation again. (He had actually disagreed with the BS at conference - thought they should take out part of the chest wall.)



Had my friends over for haircut/shave last night! Fun times! I think it was harder for them than me. Good thing we had some wine!!! My husband tells me I look like a little boy!

FMGDTR, he sounds wonderful. I think so many breeds are misunderstood. I have a good friend down in Florida who is quite a fantastic pet photographer. Here's one she did of my daughter (5 yrs ago) with my Dakota.



http://www.lmeimages.com/htmlver/galleries.php?galnum=3&sec=2&tstart=2



Her Dancing Dogs images are a hoot! I looked but did not find any Rotti's in her portfolio, sadly : (. But y'all might enjoy looking at them.

FMGDTR!!!! How was the event/sale today???

Cougarlicious, are you a Splenda user? Well, after today, I'm NOT! I will just go unsweet because I don't want white sugar either.

Back to the dog/Rottie discussion. We have a local hospice in the area that has a Rottie for pet therapy. They dress her up in all kinds of outfits to match the season/holiday and she is just the sweetest thing! They used to come visit the long-term care facility where I worked and initially the residents were apprehensive but they all came to love her!

Sharon: Talking about the Tylenol vs Advil, when I was in the hospital the oncologist that I talked to told me that the meds that I am on because of my back and fibromyalgia (Oxy Codone and Morphine) which are narcotics were the best medicine that I could be on.

He said that the chemo and all the drugs we take for naesua and heartburn all affect either the kidneys, liver or heart and the narcotics that I take affect none of the organs so that if he were prescribing me a pain med he would prescribe the narcotics before he would tell me to take Tylenol or Advil.

Just goes to show, heh

Love, Rayna

Need Advice from my Pink Sisters: (this will be long)

I have trying to be very generous with not holding my husband and son back from doing things just because I can't or shouldn't go somewhere I tell them to go without me such as camping and fishing trips, footballs games.

First, there is this couple that my husband and I have gotten to know, I knew the man first from him being friends with my husband and he is a very kind man and has shown nothing but concern over my having cancer and he is considerate. His girlfriend and I got to know eachother thru the men and I have been trying to get to know her, she works at a hospital here in admitting and works 12 hour shifts around sick people and I would imagine carries a lot of germs on her person.

A few weeks ago we were suppose to go camping and I opted out of the trip because I was sick from chemo and didn't think I should be that far from hospital, Ron went with the guys (4 of them) and this woman went along even when she knew she would be the only woman and how hard it was for me to stay behind. It was good that I stayed home because I ended up in the hopsital with infection and Neutorpenia for 4 days.

This woman has facebooked me and called me girlfriend and wanted to get together for coffee, never inquired about my health or how I was doing but wanted to talk to me about her boyfriend.

Today we were going to watch the football game and when I realized that my husband had invited them over I chose to stay in the house to watch the game by myself, I explained that I wasn't being anti social but because of her job I needed to stay away from her and her boyfriend because I was on Day 10 (Day 7 - 10 having the most suppressed immune system). Thought they understood and said "They didn't need to come over" I said "No it was fine and I would stay in the house".

Now tomorrow was the day we are going boating and I found out that my husband has invited them along, I figured after the conversation and the fact that I was staying inside away from them during the game that they wouldn't really come along on the boat trip.

When the game was over I went to say goodbye and she asked me"Are you going tomorrow?" I was a little taken back and said "Do you mean boating, Yes I'm going" (thinking to myself "well it was my idea and it is my boat"), then I asked her"Why are you going?" and she said "Oh, yeah" so I said "Oh, well If you are going I guess I will stay home then" and of course then they started saying "Oh well no we'll stay home, you go"

Anyways my question is am I suppose to be feeling the guilt that I am now feeling? If I was in her shoes I wouldn't even have asked If I was going, I would have known that if I didn't want to be around them for today nothing would have changed by tomorrow, I just can't see putting myself at risk to save someones feelings when someones feelings shouldn't be hurt to begin with, they should have more common sense than that. Am I wrong for feeling the way I am or does it make sense to all of you.

I have been feeling really alone and lonely in the past month with missing out on so much stuff and I have tried really hard to not be selfish and make my husband and son miss out on anything and make sure to tell them to go ahead without me, that next summer I'll be better and can enjoy summer then.

Please give me your opinions and be truthful, if I am wrong I will apologize, I just wanted some unbiased opinions. Thanks

Love, Rayna

raynaj,

You are entitled to your feelings + opinion. 

~ Have you discussed not wanting to be around this couple with your husband and asked for his support?  Let your husband that you'd like to spend time with him alone or as a family with the three of you (you, your husband + son) only.

~ As a nurse, does the woman know what germs can do to you and is she taking the proper precautions?  After work she's probably going home to shower + change clothes before meeting you.

~ Are you being honest with yourself about the real reason you won't spend time with this couple?  Or with the girlfriend, specifically?

These are guestions are not for me, they're for you to answer to yourself.

Rayna, just retread your post. Want to make sure that I was NOT implying that you had done anything wrong - nothing to feel guilty about - just that they sound clueless! The couple anyway, lol! And insensitive, her in particular. Please let your husband know that you are lonely for his company, and work on planning some activities that you can enjoy together, and with your son.



If we act like "everything's all right", we run the risk of being believed ; )

Rayna, thanks for that great info. The pain reliever I had for surgery is oxycodone and acetaminophen, so I guess my narcotic won't do. I got it approved this week at my MO's office in case I needed it. I suppose if I'm going to take Tylenol, I could take that just as well. We'll see. I have Claratin ready and every drug available that I might need. Tomorrow is the day and I'm scruuying aound making sure things are in their places around here. This is the day I take the sterhoid at 8 and 12. We'll see if it makes me hyper like some have reported. Maybe I'll put a new roof on the house or something.  I am making ginger tea to freeze in one-cup amounts. It is good for nausea. I ground some ginger root this morning, too, and was wondering if just swallowing a pinch of it raw would be good. I'll try anything if nauseated. One thing I've always done over the years is put a very cold washcloth on the back of my neck. It relieves nausea about as well as anything I've found. Even an icepack might work.

ForMyGranddaughter, FMG   I prayed for you and your vending excursion, but I guess I didn't do a very good job of it. Everything is for a reason, I believe, anyway. As for your hair, I can sympathize with you today, but in a couple of weeks from tomorrows 1st chemo infusion, I will be able to empathize. That is one of the biggies I'm dreading. I wore my wig to dinner yesterday when my sister came with three of her friends that I didn't know. I didn't tell her that I had it on, and she had never seen it. I waited until we had eaten, then I asked her if I had on my wig. No one knew.  I told them not to patronize me and to tell the truth.  I will help you decide about your products. You don't have to give me anything though.   Just let me know if you need me. I'll check out your website. Of course, tomorrow, I might be sick as a dog, but when I come up for air, I'll be back. I"m addicted to this board....but so are you. If you don't have a wig, get a free one from the American Cancer Society in your area.