anyone starting chemo in Nov 2005

Hi friends,
Wow...are we going through a toe phase? I fractured the tip of my second left toe a couple weeks ago. Some how I lost my balance and the tip ended up bending all the way down. It has gone through the various shades of the color wheel and now is still a little red. Ouch!!!

Okay, I know it has taken me a while but here is a current picture taken by Steven this afternoon. The hair is a little dark because I just colored it. The lashes are back and the eyebrows are almost back. I don't know why they have taken so long to grow back. What do all think?


And yes, that is Ms. Maggie. She has become so attached to me - does not leave my side. Last week after the port removal, she was very gentle with me and just wanted to be on my lap. Isn't she sweet? I really think God wanted her in our life because everyone in the family has accepted her; even the folks who do not like dogs.

Love and hugs,
Odalys

Oh how funny (and painful)....I was chasing after Daniel a few weeks ago, and slammed my toe into his dresser...it was totally huge and purple. I could sort of bend it, so I figured it was bruised, but I can't bend it very well at all now, so I think I'd like to request membership to the Toe Club!

I'm getting ready to go to my simulation now, but I wanted to stop by and say hi to my sisters.
Thank you all for the insider info on stretching out. I'm still not sure why I was told to wait, because I started asking if I could stretch by day 5. Anyway, I have been careful to stretch lots, and it is improving!
Daniel is yelling, "MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!" right now...Greg is giving him a bath with his new Crayola bath tints, and it seems important to the little guy that I see it! Gotta go....
Love and prayers, Debbie

Yep, I sure do like those open toe shoes!

Oh how I love those bath crayons! My daughter used to play and play in the bathtub, so much so that sometimes I had to change the water so she wouldn't be sitting in an ice cube! I think I will go out and get me some of those crayons. Why should they be limited to tiny people? I haven't taken a bath in a while, showers are so easy. But nothing beats the relaxation of a nice soak.

Good luck on your simulation, Debbie.

Here I go for Herceptin 26. I hope I get that wonderful new nurse who knows how to take my BP for a change. Has anyone else been through 7 oncology nurses? Why do they rotate so frequently? Probably because they don't get the pay they deserve.

I agree, there's nothing wrong with hope.

Hugs,

Anna

I am very lucky- my onc has 3 very good nurses. I don't have a port and one nurse was/is particularly good at getting a good iv set up. I asked at my third visit, back in December, if she could be my "first-string" nurse (they would call her in when they would miss) and she has been my nurse ever since.

Odalys- yikes a girl-munching shark would scare the beans out of me! We have one swimmer, one sort-of swimmwer and one life-jacket girl. We have a pool and we work on one kid learning to swim each summer. So next summer - they should all be little fish! We have a nice beach 20 minutes away, but can't compete with Florida. Our water is COLD and our sand is brown. I grew up on the coast of Mississippi and miss that powder white sand and warm water.

Anna- are you getting weekly herceptin? I am on the 3 week schedule and doing well.

So interesting to read about the differing opinions of our oncologists regarding 1 week vs 3 week herceptin, ooph or no ooph, AI or Tamox, etc.

Odalys, I have to tell you I had a dream last night that I went to the town I used to live in when I lived in Wyoming. I went to some house where there was a "Resale Shop" of sorts in the driveway, like a mega garage sale (I'm a garage sale addict). Suddenly, YOU walked over to me and introduced yourself! You were the owner of the shop! Hee hee....

Anna-How is the Herceptin thing going? I'd go crazy with a different nurse each time. I just feel such a sense of comfort when I get the same person every time, because they know that I tend to laugh hysterically when I get nervous, that my veins collapse when I get nervous, that I liked to snack on Cheddar and Sour Cream potato chips during chemo (LOVED the salty goodness). I like Margerie's idea about the "first-string" nurse.

Simulation was a little weird. It wasn't bad, but there was a point when I thought I'd prefer to chew off my arms to be more comfortable. Also, when they did that wire thingy around my "bump formerly known as a boob" it really hurt my scar area! I really felt a twinge of pain. It was freezing in there, too. This is odd, coming from someone who sweats while in air conditioning.

Hey, where the heck are our others sisters?!?!?!?!?!? NancyK, Lat56, Mary Lou, and of course, Kaye! I miss you all, and want to know how you are doing.

I'd better go and take some Ambien. I really didn't sleep well last night. Hey, that is a question for you all-how long did it take for you guys to sleep in a bed (in comfort) after surgery? I've been in the recliner all this time.
Love and prayers, Debbie

Debbie - I love it. Did I atleast give you a discount? Too funny.
Sorry to hear the simulation was a bit painful. I hate how they keep us in the same position for so long and the room is always so cold. Glad to see this part of the journey is also over for you. The actual treatments don't take very long and are not so uncomfortable. I'm happy that treatments are moving forward, soon you will be done too.

BTW- What Ambien do you take? I used to take regular 10 mg but I stopped taking it while on rads because rads made me so sleepy. I could sleep for hours. Now I am on the new Ambien CR 6.26 mg. but I prefer the regular Ambien because the new one does not get me to sleep right away. Some nights it takes me 2 hours to fall asleep. I wish I did not need it but if I don't take something to fall asleep the Femara will keep me awake most of the night.

Good night ladies. Hugs,
Odalys

MaryLou - Wow, great start. You go girl!!! Thanks, love seeing our heads covered with hair again. I think I'm going to keep it short from now on.
Hugs,

I don't know what happened in that last post. lOL!

Kim, congratulations on the soon-to-be A/C! You will love it and I sure hope your going to all this trouble to have it installed will cause an end to this heatwave. Yikes!

I agree again, Odalys, I am beginning to really like this short stuff on my head. Yesterday I bought myself some pommade and it's pretty obvious I don't know what I am doing cause I either look like a slicked-back chicken or I look like I just stuck my finger in an electric socket. I'll keep playing with it. At least it smells nice.

My toe is still purple, but it doesn't hurt as much.

Mary Lou, you have inspired me. I will go and hunt around for my little point guides. I remember how easy it is if you just set your mind to it. The trick is not eating haphazardly, but really "being there" when you put something into your mouth. My very favorite thing is eating and reading at the same time. I obviously can't read at mealtimes since my husband is there and he likes conversing at the table. So I find other times to read and eat, like mid-morning with the paper and a snack, or mid-afternoon with a cup of tea and a few cookies..... The worst thing you can do is eat and do something else, cause you don't even fully enjoy that food. I keep telling myself that but the urge is so great!

Kim, I hope you get good results from the Xeloda. How long will you be taking it?

It's not that I get a different chemo nurse each time, it's that they quit after having been my chemo nurse for a while. First I had Jason for 3 A/Cs and he quit, then Twee for two sessions and she went on maternity leave, then Melanie for about 8 treatments and she quit to be closer to home, then Jessie and she quit to be closer to home (the traffic in Northern Virginia is truly murderous), then Heather, now Laurie. I have liked every one of them, but of course some ot them are more experienced, hence confident, than others. Laurie is very confident and she calls me her angel, so of course I am praying she will stay and stay and stay.

Debbie, I hope your rad sessions are more comfortable than the simulation was.

My hubs takes Ambien. It's the only thing that calms his irritable bowel syndrome so that he can sleep through the night. Weird, huh? I guess he must have been a colicky baby. Poor MIL. He likes the timed-release one.

I LOVE beaches, especially the sound of the ocean. I love it love it love it love it! We usually spend four months at the ocean (end May-end September) but last year we had to come home for you-know-what and this year we have to stick around for treatments.

Margerie, my oncologist likes doing Herceptin weekly if the patient can handle coming in that often, but she also gives it every three weeks. She has said I can have two separate month-long vacations from Herceptin starting after the summer. Maybe I'll like it so much I'll switch to the three-week schedule. Right now this works for me. It gives a certain routine to my summer here in Virginia. Of course if I had kids at home like you do, I wouldn't want that kind of added routine, would I?

Whew, this has been a long one!

Hugs to all,

Anna

Margerie - I remember a while back you had lost 7 pounds. Have you lost any more weight?

Kim – Glad to hear the Xeloda is oral, much easier to take than through a port. I know how you feel without A/C. The heat is stifling. Last year we were without it for two weeks due to the hurricanes and everyone was miserable. We ended up buying a small window unit for our bedroom and we spent most of the time in that one room. Air conditioning makes a world of difference. I hope you get yours quickly.

Debbie – Our secretary (who is also a bc survivor) suggested I take the calcium supplements at night to help me sleep. Have you heard this before?


Love you all.
Odalys

Odalys,

I forgot to say that you look fabulous!!

I like having short hair- it's my first time. Will probably keep it short for awhile. Got my first cut (all the frizzy ends) last week. It was fun. Still some gray, but a lot is growing in brown now. I am a pomade novice also. Sometimes I look like the heat miser.

I did lose 7 pounds after chemo- but have not lost anymore. I did have a month where I couldn't really do much, after my ooph, and I have had plenty of sweet treats. So I am very lucky to be holding steady considering I am now in menopause!

We have one more birthday party for my 5 yo this weekend, and then I swear I will get my act together! I can't really lose a bunch as my diep is coming up and he wants to use that belly fat. I always knew I was saving it for a good cause.

About sleeping, the Arimidex was worse than the decadron for me. I started taking it in the morning instead and that helped a lot. Still a few nights a week I can't seem to fall asleep. So I have been rotating an ativan, Tylenol PM, or melatonin as needed. The ativan works the best. But I don't want to get hooked on them.

We built our current home and made sure they put in 2 air conditioners. I am especially glad now- with Ms. HotFlash residing.

Hope that Xeloda keeps treating you well Kim. Crank up the A/C and have a nice cool drink......................

Thanks Kim! I'm glad we have an idea. I think that next time we should tell people to post on a seperate thread when they send the package. It would save some angst over where the heck it is!
Love and prayers, Debbie

Just a quick note. If anyone has an opportunity to get central A/C go for it. It will maintain even temperature in your entire house and has really helped with the hot flashes.

I'm off to see the onc to discuss ooph, again! Stay cool.
Odalys

Debbie, I think that was my hair making an appearance in your dream; while it isn't grey or frizzy, it sure is horrifically curly! You know where I said if I use that pommade stuff I can make it look like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket? That actually only lasts a few minutes; it quickly reverts to curls and I look like a poodle instead.

Did I mention I had to get a Procrit shot when I went in for my Herceptin and they did my blood counts? I thought I was so over that. My hubs says it's because I won't eat meat anymore. Are any of you having trouble with the idea of meat? I only like fish now. It's lucky this is wild Alaska salmon season, I don't know what I'll do once we can only get the farm-raised stuff again. I'm getting a steak tonight. Ah well, I should be grateful there's food on my plate, right? The things I take for granted....

I agree, Debbie, we have come a long way. When I think of where I was last July 20. That was the day I met with the plastic surgeon from hell. That was when I thought I'd only be losing one breast and didn't know what type of reconstruction I wanted. At that point my diagnosis was just lots of multifocal DCIS, so I thought I'd be finished after the surgery. That was almost two months before my surgery and four months before I started chemo! Whew!

Hugs,

Anna

Debbie,
Too funny. No, no hair dreams for me but some days I do feel like a boy with earings. I can't wait to get some volume/layers on top of my head. Wow...I never realized before now how attached we are to our hair.

Hugs,
Odalys