September 2013 Chemo Group

Merry Christmas ladies I hope each one of you enjoyed your day

I met with my ps on yesterday and have a surgery date of 1/30 I will have a double mastectomy  DIEP FLAP 

That is awesome PeacockGirl, wishing you many many years of riding together!

peacock- LOVE the horse and your sweet husband!

Vintage-your wig looks great, wouldn't know its a wig!

simplelife- wishing you a great week! I have no sister either, or family for that matter so this is wonderful for me too!

Mercedes- so glad it's shrinking- proof that this poison is doing something good- not just making us ill.

Lociti- diep flap will be awesome!!!  yay!.

Wishing you all a great day, I will be in the BGC for round 3- just one more poisoning to go!  I am trying to bring out my warrior/fighter side and feeling whiney and sad and not courageous at all...I've got to dig deep here!

Maybe I'll watch a Rocky movie when I get home "eye of the tiger" or something inspiring....:)

Peacockgirl, beautiful horse.

Positivenegative, so happy you are doing well.

2weeks done with chemo and now I am getting neuropathy in my fingers..

gah my husband also gave me his plague for Christmas..so far my temp hasn't gone over 100 but I have called the onco nurse and am waiting to hear back. She said no fever reducers till she talks to doc. Mostly just head and chest congestion. So grateful my Body waited to get sick after final chemo..I really wanted to stay on schedule and I did. Guess getting that last neulasta shot was smart on so many levels. And thank you for all the nice comments about my horse...He is one of my survivorship tools. I want it get back to living. 

Just heard ..have to go get CBC to make sure im not neutropenic fingers crossed....

Hello ladies!!! I feel like I have been gone forever. My last chemo was 8 days ago but it feels like 2 months! I got sicker than I ever imagined I could get. I had 3 days of not even getting off the couch, really. Then I had one good day and got a stomach bug (or could have been chemo-related, who knows lol) maybe influenza because yesterday I started in on the respiratory crap. All three of my kiddos have respiratory issues and my littlest is on day 3 of a very high fever. 2 out of 3 are on antibiotics now. Blah! All that being said, I think I had the BEST Christmas ever yesterday. I was seriously bitten by the holiday spirit. It was just the 4 of us, and I didn't get anything, we didn't go anywhere, we didn't do anything special. I guess I was just finally glad to be alive. I was so very very very down after my last chemo (I think depression was a side effect for me) especially because no one heard anything from me at all for 4 days and no one so much as bothered to call to make sure the kids and I were okay...that was tough, and I heard about my sister having a birthday/extended family Christmas celebration this weekend and guess who isn't invited.. But, I don't know...I have finally found peace in that and accepted it for what it is. So, some of my family is crap, I don't have any close "real life" friends, but things are going to change. I have finally let it go and am going to stop waiting for those I care about to come around and I'm going to start seeking out new people in my life. As important as blood relation is to me, I am finally realizing that I can't wait on that and family isn't really about that anyway. I have never in my life feel more free and alive! 

Anyway...sorry for the blabbing! 

A few things that I saw as I was breezing through the posts I missed.

KJ: Probably late but I swelled SO bad on some rounds! My last one I felt like a stuffed sausage or like a kid in two snowsuits! I would think that yours should be going down by now. Mine has for a couple days. 

Vitamins, etc: I never had any of that blood work done initially (vitamin D deficiency), I don't think. At least I have never heard any of the results. My onc is skipping my next Herceptin treatment because it is close to my lumpectomy surgery, so that means that I will go a full 6 weeks without any treatment OR seeing him. No blood work, even! I am not due to go back into the office until January 27th! I feel like I got abducted last August and just now got dropped off on a street corner in  a strange town without a word. Totally lost. My last appointment there was no discussion of Tamoxifen, nutrition or anything at all. I don't even know where to start! I guess there are a lot of unknowns for me right now because we don't know if I need rads yet or not, but I still feel like there is something seriously lacking in my care. Maybe I should seek out another onc. Oh, and I called today and talked to the nurse and she said it sounds like I have an enlarged spleen. They don't even want to see me? Weird.

alfranco: I just wanted to say that you are definitely NOT alone in feeling the way you do! I honestly think that it is a side effect of the chemo sometimes too, not to mention the fact that we are all dealing with CANCER! I know there were so many times during the last four months that I was so far down that I didn't think I could ever get back up. It is very difficult thing to deal with and you ARE strong. If you ever need to chat, you can message me! Hopefully now that I am done with this chemo nonsense, I can be better about getting back to people lol. 

I hope you all are doing FABULOUS and had a very Merry Christmas. I am so very thankful for having all of you for a support system. I don't know what I would have done without you all and I thank you for putting up with me! I am wishing us all a CANCER-FREE New Year!

Does anyone still have any chemo left to do (besides us Herceptin girls)?

Oh my, mamaStewart, well you have a lot going on but sound ok, & your Christmas was good!

I still have 6 more Taxol (6 down). I started Chemo (A&C) In Sept. The Herceptin will bring me through til next November. Phew long haul huh?!

But we have each other here. Seems many of us have other issues (healthwise & emotional, & with family/friends) that just add to what we're going through dealing with & fighting our cancer battle. It is good we can come here to vent.

Thank you MamaStewart, I just feel like a wimp compared to some of you. I also have to accept we are all different and we deal differently. But I will inbox you when needed, thank you. Hugs.

I don't know ladies....I started using the Tom's deodorant... I have never had an issue with body odor before and could actually skip not using it unless I was getting really sweaty. Now I STINK!!! It was a high of 49° and my pits reek! I just found this site that has some other aluminum free options so I may try another of those. I just wanted to share if anyone else is having the same issue.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/natural-deodorant-review_n_1684296.html

Haha, sorry, I should have actually read it first. The only one that  they gave any good reviews to was Burt's Bees brand. It is a spray and smells like sage oil. I shall be hitting up Walgreen's tomorrow; I hope they have it.

vintage gal, why are you doing herceptin?   Is it because your her positive? I am er/pr positive, her negative.

Btw i am also 60 turned that in july, 2weeks agter i was diagnosed witn bc. Lovely gift yeah! 

But we still rock right?

phew CBC came back..no neutropenia. They gave me antibios for 5 days and I can take OTC cold remedies as long as they don't contain fever reducers. Still no temp over 100. Hope it stays that way. Just a garden variety cold. So fun to be sick and dealing with 4 months of chemo fall out...gees.

Mamma Stewart ...I did an experiment this time and took Claritin 2x a day too. Neulasta pain was quite diminished...but then maybe I was just being positive because it was my last chemo and it is Christmas. Meh, who cares just glad it wasn't over the top horrible like taxol #1. Two Claritin can't hurt that much. And kjsimpson..I've swelled up horribly on taxol around post chemo day #3. Despite staying uber hydrated. So glad to be done. It takes me almost a week to shed the 5 lbs of extra bloat. Ps..I miss my eyelashes and eyebrows. Worst pics ever on Christmas. Can't wait to look like a healthy person again.

Good deal Peacock! Did they say why no fever reducers? I don't even know if a day goes by that I don't take something for pain. I feel like I am always in the dark about everything. I never hear about things unless I hear from you ladies. 

70scharger: I would definitely say something too if it has been that long My right ankle will swell up but not usually the left for some reason. Do you wear compression stockings? They help me tremendously! Not only for the swelling but also they make being on my feet easier; it doesn't hurt as bad. I pretty much have to wear them every single day even with just doing housework. I traded in my cute thigh-high stockings for compression hose lol. This, too, shall pass! 

mama Stewart..they don't want potential infection getting masked by Tylenol. If you spike a bad temp they want to fight the infection where it is. I personally don't think these antibios will help much...they never do for cold viruses anyway... but maybe I don't end up with a sinus infection cuz I'm so congested.

There are some super cute compression running rocks...mine are hot pink. Knee highs. Cost a fortune though..about $50 a pair. I should dig them out and start wearing them. Not that I will be running anytime soon though..haha

On the toms deodorant...omg the lavendar is overpowering! Plus I really hate not having a antiperspirant...but I know. Aluminum is bad. I just hate how my armpits rub now....icky. Personally I haven't noticed my horrendous BO anymore. On AC it was unbearable!