September 2013 Chemo Group

Peacockgirl: Love it!!!!!!

I just have to say.... we have the best group here.  I'm so glad I "met" all of you.  I know I'm done with chemo but I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.  You all have been such an important source of support for me.  Being able to ask questions and complain and compare and learn about each other.... has made this experience so much more tolerable.  {{hugs}} to all of you.  We ROCK!

I concur, I hope we can all stay and continue chatting on some level. We all have friends and family and they love us, but of course they don't understand what we are going through and I wouldn't want them to have to experience it first hand either. I'm sad we all ended up on this forum and in this situation and that every 30 days another group starts a thread for their own chemo journey but I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. Thank you for letting me vent, ramble, share and meet you all. Live on and be well my September sisters!

ps- kinda bummed. My hemoglobin dropped back down to 9.6 from 10.2. But my elevated liver stuff (AST, ALT and something else are dropping nicely back towards regular levels) I'm SO looking forward to that glass of champagne on Christmas Eve!

2nd AC today, only peed light pink once and now normal. Hoping it's not a sign that my kidneys aren't filtering it out?!

The edema in my feet, ankles, and calves is abating some.  The oncologist looked at it today while I was at chemo.  Says it is a side effect of the taxotere and this is somewhat common in the last rounds of chemo with the taxotere.  Prescribed lasic (sp?) and potassium (sp?).  Will pick up the prescriptions tomorrow and he said it could take up to 8 weeks for getting things completely back to normal.

Glad I have such good providers.  Feel like I have the "A" team.  :-) 

As I figure you all can tell, I am out of active treatment and not going anywhere either. Great bunch of survivors!

Wow, PeacockGirl, love the sign! It rocks and so do you. Unfortunately the kind of fatigue rads has brought me is the type where I am so tired, sleeping doesn't help. Plus I am having awful sleep issues, which I bet have to do with the chemopause. Bleh.

KJ, congrats on your last trip to the chair. Your daughter is lovely, btw. Glad the MO put you on diurectics.

Thanks everyone for mentioning Vit D levels. I have my first post chemo appt with the MO on the 27th and I'm interested to hear her take on this and supplements. My levels were very low just prior to diagnosis.

LOVE the sign and pose peacock!

We are all KICKING CANCERS ASS!  YEAH!!!

Interesting how all of our Vitamin D levels were low before or with diagnosis....I am interested in getting and keeping mine up...I mentioned before my dentist has low levels and he takes supplements but says it's always still low, then a nutritionist told me that Vit d isn't absorbed unless you take Boric acid??  So not sure how it works but I want mine up...and wondering now that not taking any supplements is it still low or did it go back to normal now that cancer cells are gone??

I have lots of questions...who would know all of this, which of our doctors we see???

I am having a tough time with hot flashes, woke up every hour in night - 6 times to pull off covers, seems they are getting worse...do they ever level out?? Or does this continue?? chemopause...and does it change when on Tamoxifen or stay similar...anyone know??

Hi all, this is my first post on BCO after doing a lot of lurking...since June I am Stage IIa and have done AC+T.  AC really sucked (Started 9/12, finished it 10/28). but I have been doing 12 T since 11/7.  It is definitely not as bad; I just have to watch my WBC count and I am still doing shots (2-3 per cycle, as needed.)  

I am a school teacher and I have been spending a lot of time in my classroom in the last month, since I feel good.  I have done 6 Taxols and have 6 to go...target date to finish is 1/30...SO EXCITED about that!  

Glad I finally posted somewhere...BCO is great, as long as you don't get sidetracked by scary stuff which may not be applicable to you anyway.

Another day of resting, between AC and the UTI, my energy levels are very, very low.

Jos, thanks for posting about the suppliments.  I take very similar things, but I worked it out on my own.  It's good to know what some experts think.

jellyk - I missed you!

I have been menopausal for 18 years (hysterectomy and oophorectomy) and am getting hot flashes frequently during chemo.  Fortunately, it seems to match up well with waking up to go to the bathroom and I have a wonderful ceiling fan in my bedroom with a remote right at the bed.  :-)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas preparations.  I'm enjoying having my son home today (he was gone a week skiing with his dad), but am glad he is going to friends tonight so I can wrap presents.

Before he does, though, we are going to pick up my Christmas gift to myself... a new recliner for recuperating next month after surgery (and beyond!).  It worked out really well.  A friend had a call out for another friend in need for some furniture, so I saw the opportunity to give away our small rocker recliner (in great shape, just not what I want for recuperating), so I was able to give that away a few days ago to make room.  I took it as a hint that the splurge was ok.  :-)

Congrats, Hydavis42!  Blaze the trail for radiation and let me know how it goes.  It is very intimidating to me and I'll be starting in February.

Yay good for you for finishing up already! I started in Sept too but will be going through with Herceptin til next December.....

Alfranco-

You are NOT ALONE!!  I feel sad almost daily, cry almost daily sometimes several times a day, for apparently no reason.  I am anxious and pray quite frequently throughout the day to relieve this...also taking Ativan in am and at night to help sleep.  My husband is anxious also as it is worrisome to him and maybe contagious...he is taking Xanax off and on...I have a friend that is a psychologist, she had this 4 years ago, she always has interesting perspectives on this and tries to phrase and look at things in different ways.  She wore camo undies to each chemo as she was a warrior in battle, she visualized Jesus blood healing her through her Red Devil I.V. , she went to a counselor, she was prayed over, she knew she would win as God is on her side...etc...just talking to her helps me...I would call daily but feel too needy and she works...but she really helps...and she says there will be a day in our future when we wake up and this will NOT be the first thing on our minds!!! Can you imagine??

This is a horrible battle and I think the hormonal changes, the feeling so bad, the not feeling much better every day is wearing and draining and all of it is awful!  Mentally this is the most challenging battle I've ever been in and I've been beaten, divorced, shunned by my parents, had our teenager runaway, then have her come home pregnant,etc...  I thought I was tough...NO!  This is VERY challenging!  Mentally and physically at the same time...

I have started to see a counselor which not sure if helping yet...and I ordered CD's of visualization, someone on here recommended a book to me about it that helps her and I read the book and it helped so am getting the CD's...they are relaxing and positive visualization and I think that is just what I need.  Book is called:Fighting Cancer from within, Martin Rossman....

Plus the weakness and sitting at home is KILLING ME also!  I am used to being sooo busy...and now I'm almost scared to do 'too much' as when I do I am weak for days after....I am only 46, I am shocked by the toll this is taking and how awful it is!  I want to be myself again too, I want my hair, I want to be happy!

I think we need to look at the big picture and this is only a small portion of our life...it is for a purpose, to kill any little cancerous cells or micro cells or anything bad in our bodies so we CAN live a wonderful fulfilling life without getting this again!  Right??!!! 

We just need to keep this in perspective and take one day at a time and pretty soon we can be back to ourselves, only we will be stronger knowing we made it through such a HUGE battle and we WON!

Praying for you!

Gina

Alfranco,

You have been strong and you can continue to be strong.  Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.  Work through the walls and know that you can do this!

There are times that I seem to cry at the smallest things.  Other times I wonder, often after a test or something painful, why I didn't cry.  There are so many ups and downs right now.

Hang in there!  You are stronger than you think you are.  Crying is not a sign of weakness.  It is a sign that you are in touch with your feelings and your feelings are legitimate.  This is terrifying.  In some ways, it is like being on a huge roller coaster, except our ride continues and continues... The good news is that we have friends along for the ride.  You got this!  We've got this!  :-)