September 2013 Chemo Group

Kbeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG that is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot imagine how good you feel!

SO VERY happy for you!!! Praying for easy 4th treatment and recovery!

Kbeee - HURRAY!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you. I hope you do a little happy dance on your way out of there today. Yay!!!!!

Peacockgirl - Good luck today, and hope the bone pain isn't as bad this time around. My hemoglobin went up from 9.5 to 9.6, so we're neck & neck again. :-)

My mom is here - flew in last night and staying until next Friday. Great to have her here for the holiday and my son's birthday, but hope I can stand the level of mothering she wants to do!

Ugh. I finally got a call on my surgery scheduling. Jan 24th. I'm NOT happy about that. My surgeon said she likes to do it 3-6 weeks after chemo, preferably 3-4 weeks. Well, 1/24 is over SEVEN weeks after my last chemo. I sent a message back to her office asking the implications of that. I realize trying to schedule three surgeons right around the holidays is challenging, but they've been sitting on this for a month since I was there last time. I'm just a little miffed, and worried what it will mean to wait that long.

Hockeymommy - good for you and Happy Birthday!  Not the best one I am sure but really sweet of the nurses and a wonderful distraction from the infusion.

LHL - I don't know anything about the medical risks for a delay but just your mental and emotional desires to get the move on this whole journey I understand.  I delayed almost 9 weeks for chemo and could have done more but am going to start rads less than 12 days after my last infusion.  I understand wanting to finish this!  Maybe pushing them a little will work of the scheduling but it seems like these docs are so busy these days and being pulled in many directions themselves that to coordinate three might be too much.  But I totally get not wanting to wait any more than they already quoted to you!  Here's hoping they just need a little prodding and something will open up!

Happy Belated Birthday hockeymom! I used to hate birthdays. I appreciate them a bit more nowadays.

LHL, I liked your comment and did decide to do the happy dance across the parking lot. it was icy, so people got a good show, but I did manage to stay on my feet. My parents are here from NJ, so I am enjoying the dinners without having to cook, but trying to tolerate being "mothered" a little much too! I hope her visit allows you to get some R&R before going into your LAST treatment. I sure hope you can get your surgery date moved up.

thanks for all of the congrats. My gut feeling was 6, somthat was firmly implanted in my mind. The day after my diagnosis, my daughter made me a pink rubber band bracelet. I told her I would not take it off until chemo was done. i have't except during my surgery when i had to. Before chemo, I had a 0745 appointment with the plastic surgeon. While changing at his office, the bracelet caught my sleeve and broke. I was bummed, and then realized maybe it was a good omen that it would be my last chemo. That was my first glimmer of hope. needless to say i was happily shocked when MO gave me the results. Tamoxifen starts Dec 7, and then i hope to schedule my exchange surgery around Christmas break. Sing it now..."All I want for Christmas is my 2 front........."

Lighthouse, I'm getting neoadjuvant therapy too and really understand why you want the surgery sooner rather than later. I hope they find nothing but dead cancer cells when you have your surgery.

I just went through my last taxol steroid crash tonight. I HATE those crashes. They have me sobbing uncontrollably until I can fall off to sleep. I wonder if I will have to go through the same thing with my AC infusions. I get my first AC infusion in two weeks. My thought at this point is that I can manage anything 4 times. I may not like it, but I can get through it.

Kay

HIV-apples really debloat me have you tried that?

Simple life- I hate those steroid mood swings too! Ask about the dose on a/c it was higher for me...my steroids got dropped for taxol. I did find a .5 dose of Xanax while in the roid roller coaster really helped level me out...hated the uncontrollable crying jags and angry thoughts..

I'm enjoying my morning without side effects until neulasta shot at 230. Feel good enough to train a client and teach a yoga class this morning!

KBee- congrats chemo grad!! Woohoo!! I had a dream after my post taxol MRI they said no AC. Doubtful though!

LHL - hope your legs are better, your mom is tolerable, and you get your surgery moved up!!

Simple- yeah for finalizing taxol! I'm nervous for AC too, I had to reduce my steroids by half on taxol to tolerate, I hope I don't have to go back up?!

My chemo nurse yesterday told me fat only reconstruction sags since it's real tissue. She's seen 10 year old ones look droopy. She recommended implants. Huh.

Question: will they fill TE during rads?

knightzoo - you need to talk to a PS and RO about the process of fills during rads - I suspect that it will be either fully filled prior to rads, or no fills until after rads. Some RO think that the TE interfere with the field, and some PS prefer that the skin be fully stretched prior to being radiated. There are a lot of individual opinions and no consensus - so this is frustrating. I have only seen one autologous recon in person and there was already sag, but that may have been a surgical skill issue. The flip side is that implants will never sag so having perky breasts while the rest of you is down around your ankles when you're 80 is a whole other deal, lol! Mine don't bounce and they don't move.

ok one more question. If they rad before fill do you have saggy skin or do they take the skin even if you do nipple sparing? I'm not really sure if I care if they save them if they have no feeling. Does insurance pay for tattoos? Ok that's two questions. Thanks!

My plastic surgeon said it is all covered...he did fat grafting (lipo) on me to add fat to breasts (implants) and I had nipple and skin sparing...no radiation though, he said radiated skin is hard to work with and is like tough leather...but he said he can do the tattooing, etc. and lipo and all is covered...there was a law passed in 2009 or something pertaining to just that..

he is our family member and he has a great site to give you info. www.parkmeadowscosmeticsurgery.com

maybe that will answer some questions...

lighthouse lady thanks for checking in on me, I had neulasta shot at 230 today, no signs of impending doom yet. I also took a nap today without any medication at all and that is unusual for me. I'm bolstered by the fact your not getting slammed as much this time. I often wonder if the first taxol was so hard because we were still feeling with left over effects of A/C...a double whammmmy so to speak. Hope you continue to do better this time, sounds like time for cozy blankets, board games and hot chocolate stay warm!

My chemo brain is in full force..I swear my short term memory is just shot! And really having trouble eith putting coherent thoughts and words together....it's just so not me!

Mercedes - Oncotype Dx is a genetic test done on a tumor sample that determines how much chemotherapy will benefit when added to hormonal therapy for ER+, node negative patients. Some docs will do it for 1-3 positive nodes, but many won't as the result for node positive has less confidence among docs. Since you are already getting chemo there is most likely no reason to do the test now. It is usually done when making the decision whether or not to have chemo. Here is the link for more info:

http://breast-cancer.oncotypedx.com/en-US/Patient-Invasive/WhatIsTheOncotypeDXCancerTest.aspx

KBee: Congrats!!! What a wonderful surprise! and great news, too, BabyRuth!!!

Happy birthday BetterDay and hockeymommy! My middle boy's birthday was yesterday. I can't believe he is five already! I spent ALL day cleaning Friday and had people here until midnight last night, but I got the party done. Hooray. My company helped me clean up after too so that was awesome.

Thanks SpecialK for that info on reconstruction. What if you had a DIEP flap done and then implants later? That would reduce the sag and provide more movement maybe? I don't even know where I am at right now as far as all that. If there is only a 2% difference in possible reoccurance, I don't really know if I should do a mastectomy. Ugh this is so agonizing making this decision but I know I am the only one who can make it. I got scheduled for a sentinel lymph node biopsy January 15th where she will also do a lumpectomy since my tumor is right near there anyway. Might as well get the cancer out then there is not such a rush to do surgery if she gets clear margins, or I may decide not to do any more surgery at all. I am just trying to take things one step at a time. If my lymph nodes are positive I have to have rads regardless so I will just get prepared for that possibility, I suppose. Better to be prepared unnecessarily than not prepared and need it. I haven't even really read up on rads at all because I was so adamant that I would just have a mastectomy to avoid them. The surgeon had told me that there was likely no way that my mom died from side effects, but I know that was what we were told at the time. I guess I will never know for sure unless I could get a hold of her medical records. I will just hold fast to the fact that was over 20 years ago and things have much improved and hope that she wasn't just "weird side effect girl" like myself lol.

Speaking of weird side effects. the tips of my fingers, where my fingerprints are, have all developed vertical lines on them. They almost look like a subtle version of when your fingers get wrinkly from being wet. I know they weren't there before and I'm sure they have even changed my fingerprints. Weirdness. My identity has officially been complete changed by cancer. Not exactly off target.

Josigirl,

I've planned a trip to Arizona for in the Spring as something to look forward to after chemo, surgery, and rads.  It is part of what is keeping me going!

Whomever mentioned appointment fatigue, I'm with you!  In the next two weeks I have 7 appointments in 10 business days.  Uggh!!