September 2013 Chemo Group

Alfranco- wishing you get through radiation without any more redness...did you see KJ posted a bunch of creams and things for it a few pages back?

KJ-LOVE Vegas!  I used to live in Southern California and we would drive 4 hours and we were there!!  SUPER fun!  Although I HATE the smoke! They have a four seasons that is smoke free if anyone interested???  Count me in, that sounds fun! To finally meet! 

Art- That SUCKS!  I'm sure you will tell the Dr how disappointed/confused you are and get this thing taken care of asap...keep your hope up! My husband would tell me all 'positives' several times a day when I was a wreck and it did help me...talked me off the ledge ..

LHL- Dallas driving is horrid today, be careful!  Snow is just stopping and crashes everywhere..!!! Good luck at appts...

simplelife- sounds like good appts - hooray for you!

Betterday- I like Las Vegas too, always warm, good food, amazing sights, weird people to watch...:) 

Going to P.t. 3x/week now for 'congestion' behind my armpit in back area and a little upper arms...seems like a LOT of appointments to keep...I'm TIRED of DR appts...sigh.

I went to movies with my husband Wednesday...saw Lone Survivor war movie...they are buddies for life and I felt a certain camaraderie with us 'survivors' as they call us...just have that connection having gone through this...that is the one positive  right?

Finally I have sisters...

knightzoo,

It gets better soon. Try two percocets. ;-)

I am 3 weeks post surgery today and see the light!  Down to Tylenol only and maybe one Percocet at bedtime. 

Btw, after the On-Q pumps came out, my chest was still numb for a few days.

Hi all!  Just got back from the PS; had a fill before rads.  It's my first and only fill since surgery, and I'm now bigger on the TE side than I am on the 'natural' side.  He is going to over-expand a little because the tissue will probably shrink a little with rads.  It's a little odd looking but I think if I want to get the 'girls' balanced for right now, I could use like a little wonder bra type pad below the natural one.  I am thinking of naming them Ginger (the TE side) and Mary-Ann (natural)!  Got to keep laughing, right?

Alyon, that is a very extreme reaction.  I did not take Taxotere, but there are others on here who have.  Have you gotten in touch with social workers re: your living situation?  If not, do so immediately.

Alyon - That is very scary, and I'd be leery of any doctor who wants to continue with that particular chemo given your mom's reaction to it.  Is there another oncologist you could consult with?  I've heard of a lot of reactions to the various chemo drugs, but nothing that severe.  {{hugs}}

I can probably do any weekend in Sept if we plan Vegas, so if another weekend works best, maybe we should switch it?  KJ and I just threw that one out there.  I don't want to do Labor Day weekend, but any of the others?  Maybe a vote?  :-)   What fun that would be.  We can all compare hair growth and curse cancer over adult beverages.  LOL

Art - I'm so sorry about the MRI.  Not what you were hoping for.  But I agree with Audra and keep thinking positive.  Just think if chemo can reduce a large tumor by almost half, what did it do to any other microscopic cells hanging around?  I still had tumor fragments and 9 positive nodes at surgery, so I know how lousy it is to not get the news you want. 

So today we had an interesting day.  We got a little snow last night, which pretty much shuts down this west TX town.  LOL   My kids had a snow day so they spent the day next door at my father-in-law's house since we had to go to Dallas for my appointments.  What's normally a 3 hour drive took 4.5.  The interstate was pretty much clear most of the way between here & there, but once we got to the Dallas-Fort Worth area it was awful.  Lanes covered in snow and wrecks everywhere.  I had to call my PS office and tell them we'd be late because we were stopped on the highway 10 miles away at my appointment time.  LOL

Anyway, got my first TE fill.  They only did 50 because my PS is still concerned about the "T" in my left incision.  He didn't want it too stressed I guess.  Anyway, we also discussed reconstruction options - I'm not sure why, because that's going to be WAY down the road... like six months after rads which I'm not even starting until March.  LOL  Anyway, originally he was saying stomach, now I don't have enough stomach to do both breasts, so he's saying stomach & thighs.  Brings in another PS to meet me... apparently this guy is the surgeon who did the first ever PAP flap procedure.  He and my PS are one of only two pairs of surgical teams who do the stomach/thigh combo surgery.  The other team is in New Orleans.  I'm feeling pretty important now.  LOL  Anyway, turns out now they say I have enough to just do the PAP flap (one benefit to having lots of junk in your trunk...LOL) and not mess with my stomach.  That's fine with me - one less area to cut sounds good!  Of course all this could change between now & then.  I'm pretty impressed with myself that I've stumbled onto such a great team of doctors pretty much by dumb luck.  

After that appointment I saw a lymphedema specialist/occupational therapist.  KJ was right - OUCH!  She did some lymphatic massage and some stretching on my left side, and then showed me some exercises to do to help my range of motion and fix my "forward shoulder" problem.  I really liked her, too, and feel like she'll help me a lot.  I won't be able to see her very often since she's hours away, too, but I will see her again next Thursday when we go back for my next fill.

I was telling Hubby, though... even though he does all the driving, these appointments so far away really tire me out.  We left the house at 6am today, drove 4.5 hours in the snow, had the PS appointment, drove 30 minutes to lunch, then another 30 minutes to the OT appointment, then 2 hours home.  <yawn>  After chemo and surgery, my poor body can't keep up with that kind of day.  Thankfully I have nothing planned tomorrow, and my cleaning lady comes!  Yay!  ha ha

Knightzoo - Hope your pain is better since you got some cc taken out.  Are you home now?   Never mind.... I forgot it's already Thurs and your surgery was Monday.  LOL   I'm assuming you're home.  Are you able to sleep semi-comfortably?

Southerngirl,
WTG!!!  So happy for you!!

Knightzoo,
Any better?

Art,
Sorry you didn't get better news.  But, it does sound like you are getting some response to treatment.  Are they working up a new plan?

Alfranco,
If you shoot me a private message with your email I'll send you the document I made with SpecialK's friend's list and where I found them.

All,
So, sounds like a lot of interest in Vegas in September.  I picked the 26/27/28th kind of whimsically.  If another weekend works better, let me know.  Then we could vote.  I'd prefer to keep it in September because it is past everyone's summer plans but before interfering with Holiday plans. Thanks, SpecialK, for the heads up on the other group. 

Simplelife,
You could bike into Vegas! ;-)

Simplelife, Glad to hear that the thyroid nodes are stable.  I hope you get answers from your PS soon!

Betterday, If you can make it to Vegas, it sounds like you can be our tour guide!!!

Art, I am ao sorry about the MRI results.  You and Nat must be beyond frustrated.  I hoep they have a new plan in place nad can put it into action quickly.  I know she was hoping fo ra lumpectomy, but if this beast is as fast growing as it seems to be, than they may need to take the more aggressive approach...which sucks, but we all want this beast gone for good for Nat.  Keep us posted, and know she's in my prayers. Hopefully what the MRI was showing was a big mass of dead cells.

Knightzoo, 250cc...wow!  I hope with 50 less, you are more comfortable.  My PS does not fill at all during surgery, but once surgery is done, he will fill as often as needed/wanted to get the process going.  Maybe that is why I had so little pain after about day 2.

LHL, That sounds like an exhausting day!  Glad the appointments went well; it sounds like you have an amazing team!  Hope you can get some rest today!

hockeymommy - Hope you have a wonderful time!!!  I would love a little vacation right now!  I bet you can't wait to get some sunshine!  LOL

much better today! I took all my meds at 11:30 and slept until 6:00, took them again and at 7 was able to get up to pee without help. Yay for the little things. I've been taking slow walks around the house too. 

Love all the Vegas talk... I'm a strong maybe! 

Just found a cool website.  Good for both lumpies & mast. www.janacsportswear.ca

OOOPPPSS!  I think I forgot to thank everyone for their support & kind words regarding my hubby.  Sorry, just not thinking clearly.  THANK YOU (((())))

I saw the surgeon today. Feel good about the visit. Looks like my BMX with TEs will be scheduled for 4-5 weeks from now. He had a call into the PS & I will get an appointment to see him very soon. 

I like having a plan. And not too rushed, a month gives me enough time to get to some auctions for inventory, paint some furniture & get things into the shop since I'll be out of commission for awhile post op. And plenty of time to procrastinate about getting house hold chores & stuff done...LOL

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Hockeymom, have a great holiday, you look very cute!

Art, feel for you, but don't give up, keep fighting the good fight!!!

thanks for all the support. We're back from the ledge. We met with out plastic surgeon & original breast surgeon. BS said it did shrink and some little things cleared up. She said just because MRI shows mass duesbt mean all cancer, could be scar tissue but it all has to come out.

So will be nipple sparing bmx.

No date yet. Just doing ore surgical blood work this week and hope it's done by end of month.

knightzoo- the ball thing has the med in it so it will get smaller and smaller..

Is anyone having problems with their joints? I don't know what's going on, but my elbows hurt, especially the one on the non-cancer side. I wonder if it's because I've been using that arm more to compensate since the other side is tighter and more painful after surgery? If I push on the outside of my elbow it's very painful, and also if I totally straighten my arms, both elbows hurt. I'm also having problems with my right hip, but that's something I've been dealing with off & on for a few years (went to PT for it two years ago) so I'm not as concerned about that. 

I just don't want anything else WRONG with me! When I was on taxol I had horrible bone, joint and muscle pain, but that went away a couple of weeks after my last treatment. Why would I all of the sudden start hurting again? Going to have to ask when I see the occupational therapist again on Thursday. Of course my mind immediately goes to the fact that breast cancer often metastasizes to the bones. <sigh>