August 2013 Chemo Sisters

Welcome, Kate and I definitely agree - the ladies here are great.  Thanks, Martie - duh, I never thought of checking the Herceptin website but it sure sounds like I'll like what I see about the weekly treatments (and survival rate - yay!). Sharon, I never even heard of the Nottingham scale till you mentioned it and now at least I understand it a little bit after reading a couple of sites. Can it be used before surgery? It looks like it's based on the surgery outcome, right? Yep, more dumb questions from me - but I know I'll get lots of good answers here.

Another one - I've been checking my temperature (my MO said I just really need to do it if I start feeling bad - then if it gets near 100 to call her). It's been typically 97.4 or 97.2 (it's always been a little low so that's normal for me). This morning was 96.8. Can low be bad or is it just high? Thanks for any information.

Happy weekend!

Great Day!  Today's declaration is I AM Blessed + Highly Favored in Christ.

Question:  How do you see the malignancy + chemo?

I ask because throughout this process I've never seen myself as having cancer or being sick.  I never doubted the malignancy, I acknowledged it + am dealing with it, but I never claimed or owned it as "mine".  I continue to correct my breast surgeon.  Every time she said, "your cancer", I responded with, "the malignancy".  The cancerous cells were/are foreign invaders that do not have the permission to reside in my body; they are there illegally + must go!

Attitude + thoughts are everything.  When we see ourselves as "sick" or claim "sickness" + "dis-ease" that is what we become in our own minds.  As a man thinketh, in his heart, he is.  What we afix our sight to is what we see.

I am not suggesting that you deny your feelings, emotions, circumstances or situations; these represent the facts.  What I AM suggesting is that we look at them from a different perspective, from a higher + Godly perspective . . . which is TRUTH.

Let's being speaking TRUTH, LOVE + HEALTH over our lives.  Let's begin seeing ourselves as healthy, whole + complete.

God Bless!

My temp is usually on the low side, too.  Normal for me is 97.5 or so.  Friday night (day after chemo #1) it was 99.5, and then yesterday it was 96.8.  So all over the place, but not close to the 100.5 they said was worrisome.  If it was TOO low and you weren't feeling well, then it might be worth checking into, but a degree or so?  Nah.

What is the deal with this headache that won't go away?  It's mostly on one side of my head.  Driving me crazy!!!

Hi ladies,

I have to say that I LOVE the pictures of your bald heads!! I am on day 9 from the first chemo treatment, so I am sure it will be coming out soon! I will post a picture when I shave it off. I have a question....are any of you getting really bad acne? I have pimples like crazy! I feel like I am back in high school...I normally get a pimple here and there but this is nuts!! Praying for no SE'S for all of you!!

FMG...I don't have much energy to post today but I wanted to tell you I have always felt that the tumor was removed and the cancer is now gone...I agree with you I am not going to claim it as mine...thanks.

So I'm 17 days post first infusion. Last night I had my daughter (who is a beautician) cut off my hair. My hair was longer and I thought it would be less emotional losing shorter strands. Quite a bit was coming off in the shower. I rather like the shorter style, but when I walked in the kitchen this morning, my grandson looked at me and said, "really grandma". My head is really sore this morning, not sure if from the actual cut, or if I'm just getting ready to have massive fallout.

Candi, wishing you a minimal SE weekend.

Rayna, I so hope you get some resolution of your sleeplessness. How frustrating.

Prayers to everyone for a comfortable weekend.

Lighthouse: My temp has been like that, too. It was 95.? when they first took it at BS's office last week (repeat 96.3) and was really low at home a couple of days prior it's now back to 97.4-ish. I don't think it's worrisome unless it stays below 96 or goes over 100.4. I believe it can indicate an infection in physically compromised people (elderly and we who are having chemo 😷). As for headaches, I believe (from what others have told me and the list of side effects) that Cytoxan is the culprit. I have one the day of and two days after AC infusion. Maybe I'll mention it to my MO when I see him on Wednesday since he was mad that I suffered through N/V the first round "when we have so many options to deal with it now." Hope you're feeling better soon! I'm starting into my "feel-better" days (10-14). Great admiration for those who have children at home, work, or in any other way have to be "on" while going through this! May God give us all the grace, peace, and strength we need for the tasks before us this day (including this every-minute battle raging in our bodies)!

Yay, Cougar!!! Praying with you for that!

Martie and Lighthouse, I didn't worry about my temperature being 95 after chemo until I just read your post. I thought my thermometer was broken. What caused that? Is it something to worry about?

Cougarlicious, I didn't know you were pregnant. Congratulations.

SaltyJack, the Nottingham scale was on my biopsy pathology report, so it wasn't based on the surgery. The only thing that changed for me after surgery was the size of the tumor. The Nottingham score stayed the same. Nine is the worst score and that i smy score.

Oh Rayna, poor baby. Sleep helps our immune system recuperate. I'm going to pray harder for you and be more specific. What a nightmare, pardon the pun.

One of the worst things someone said to me was, "My aunt is dieing of that, too."

Declaration for the rest e of the day: This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I subbed today and all went well, but I am pooped. I've been feeling really well since day 10, I think. Today is my day # 12, counting infusion day as day 1.

God bless you, everyone.

Martie - due date was Nov 19 but they want to induce me early so I can resume chemo. So I get to choose between Oct 29-31...yes, I can opt to have a Halloween baby (I think my 2.5 year old would vote against that so he can still go out and get his treats). Feels weird to choose the date of delivery, feels like I'm cheating!

Lighthouse if u have temp close to 100.4 or above call onc, if they r closed go to ER, don't sit around, it could mean you are neutropenic and need to be hospitalized. At the ER, tell them u are chemo patient and need isolation from other patients so u don't get any infectious disease, they will take u aside quickly and make sure u don't share a room with someone with pneumonia oR something. Don't ever ignore a fever, it is deadly to us. I almost died from it. I went from 100.4 to 104 by the time I made it to ER. I was hospitalized for 3 days, they never figured out what kind of infection I had, but they pumped me with so much antibiotics that my fever finally broke and I was released.

Funny note about hospital stay. My girls then 9 and 6 yrs old visited me at the hospital. The first thing Olivia, my then 9 yr old said was, "Mommy, this is not a hospital, it's a hotel!" "You have a nice view, a big screen TV, your own bathroom with shower, and room service too!" "I want to stay here too!" Kids, gotta love them

I have 3 fish so I will name them all of the above, Big Mac, noodle, and burger it is, thanks, love that!



I finally got my burger today, a double bacon cheese fat burger with chili cheese fries with bacon, wow, heaven! My mom didn't bat an eye, she finally gets me!



Had brain radiation 13 today, went well since I'm off the steroids, never again!

Wow, Sharon - I don't have a good answer for you - but I'll respond just to let you know I feel badly that you even have to worry about this!  I may not be taking the low WBC seriously enough - I can be somewhat lackadaisical at times - but it seems to me that you'd be okay if you'd eat from the buffets if you were careful that the food hadn't been sitting around at room temperature (collecting germs)? If the food is kept over steam or other heat, I'd think it would be safe to eat - just get some as early in the serving process as you can and not go back for anything after it's been sitting around - and maybe pawed over? Certainly any cold vegetables or anything that is at room temperature wouldn't be great.  I hate to think of you just sitting there drinking coffee (especially when the desserts are served!)

Hope somebody else has some wonderful ideas....praying for you (and all of us!) for wisdom and common sense.

Thank you, SaltyJack, I think possibly my MO is being cautious with me because of my age. He is treating me like his mother, and that's just fine with me. I think I will eat the really hot food and at this reunion, which we have annually, we are the first to go through the buffet, so maybe if I'm really careful, it won't hurt. I do not want to stand out like a sore thumb. I'm not sure anyone knows of my BC except a cousin, who is always at this function. It depends on how many people she told. I would just as soon have everyone act normal and not treat me like a precious vase of something. I am still confused about the WBC. When we get the chemo, that starts taking our WBC down, but after the neulasta shot and then one week later, when we go in for a CBC, the WBC is up higher than normal, (at least mine was) so why are we at risk in days 7-10? Does it go back down below normal again? That is going to ask when I go back. It's made me a little paranoid.

FMG, I feel great. I am going and while getting ready this morning, wig and all, I thought about it a lot. I will just be picky about what I put on my plate. I love hot rolls and have been denying myself them because I don't want to eat butter, so today, I'll pig out on rolls and butter. I think three is a good number!!!!! Thanks for responding. I have really been going round and round with this. My class reunion is on Oct. 1, which is on the 6th day after my third chemo. That is the one I really want to attend and probably I that one will be risky for sure. We can't stop living, so I'm leaning toward going and taking a chance. If it kills me, I'll die happy.