Anyone from Alberta? Edmonton? Fort McMurray?

245

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  • 70charger
    70charger Member Posts: 963
    edited January 2014

    Hi  Ladies.  I'm from Leduc, so not far from a lot of you.  I finished all active treatment Jan 3rd/ 2014. Big hugs to all, sorry we have to meet this way, but glad to have you all for support.

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited January 2014

    Hi 70Charger! Glad to have you on here with us! Treatments all done, nice! How's the hair situation? Is it growing back? I will probably lose mine within the next week - if what I read and hear is true. lol Gave the husband a heads (pun intended) up and the option to shave it off for me. He's thinking about it, might make things to real for him though. Oh well, life goes on and I will continue in my new craft skill of knitting hats. They are coming in handy these cold day. Take care everyone!

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  • 70charger
    70charger Member Posts: 963
    edited January 2014

    Hair is coming in very very soft.  All bald spots are filled in now.  It might be 1/4 in long. Even this little bit is a lot warmer than none. 

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited February 2014

    Hey all! Okay, so had my 2nd Chemo (Thursday 6th) - with major reaction to the Docetaxe/Taxotere with extreme lower back pain and then across the top of my chest and down the arms. Hit the button and go a bag of Benedryl IV. Ouch - that was right up there but not as bad as the nipple radiation needles before surgery; but just about. :) Now, I have the dreaded metal mouth which I first noticed yesterday (Saturday). Could it be from the Benedryl? I didn't have it from the last treatment? Is it salt water we use or soda/water - sorry haven't been paying attention to that on here. Stay warm today. Let me know.

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited February 2014

    Hi

    I had the metal mouth taste and did not take Benadryl. It is from the chemo. Nothing tasted good, even my beloved coffee. It lasted about a week each time. 

    Bioten mouthwash and chewing gum and mints seemed to take the edge off of it. 

    Hugs.   

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited February 2014

    Thanks Shoppygirl. I got a mouth swish & spit recipe from another forum. Baking soda (1c), Salt (1/2c) mixed. Then use only 1/4 tsp with water to rinse mouth. Easy enough to put into a jar in the bathroom for use. Also, to use plastic utensils and eat foods I would not normally eat. Avoid milk and coffee - ya, the coffee, not going to happen, will suffer through as I use it as a diuretic for moving the food along the system, if you get my drift.  Tried to find Bioten at Shoppers the other week, didn't find, we might have been out, will try again. However, I do have lots of gum and mints - I bought them but couldn't remember why, since I do not normally use either one. Loopy

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  • NorthernCanuck
    NorthernCanuck Member Posts: 44
    edited February 2014

    Hey, we're all pretty close to each other.  I live southwest of Edmonton and work downtown ... it's about an hour drive.  I have also lived in Drayton Valley and Fort Muck!  I still have family there.

    I'm new here today and it was nice to find some neighbours.

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited February 2014

    Welcome NorthernCanuck! This is a good site, lots of good information. I see you just had surgery. Do you have a schedule time to meet with your MO yet?

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  • clarrn
    clarrn Member Posts: 557
    edited February 2014

    Welcome Northern!

    Not sure of everyone's schedules but if we all want to get together one day I'm game. .. just not Friday, I finally go for my BMX!

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited March 2014

    How is everyone doing? Haven't been on here for a while - like the rest of you. I have my last chemo this coming Thursday and then onto the radiation part of the treatments. What is new with the rest of you?

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  • clarrn
    clarrn Member Posts: 557
    edited March 2014

    Congrats Carren on beginning your last chemo this week!  Unfortunately after my BMX they found lymph node involvement so I will be taking your chair in Red Deer as soon as I am healed up.  But otherwise good :)  My mom is here and even at 30 there's nothing better when you are feeling down!

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited March 2014

    clarrn:  So sorry to hear that you had lymp node involvement. The nurses at CACC are super nice and so is the center.Glad to hear your Mom is with you, good support is a must. I hope you are healing well. Do you have to have many treatments?

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  • clarrn
    clarrn Member Posts: 557
    edited March 2014

    4 AC every 2 weeks and Taxol weekly x 12 weeks

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  • ColdInCanada
    ColdInCanada Member Posts: 95
    edited April 2014

    Hello Fellow Albertans!

    I'm from Calgary, and I start chemo tomorrow. Nervous, and a little excited to GET MOVING, although that could be the Dexamethasone talking - it's making me a little WHOOO, you know? ;)

    I have to say, I've had some fabulous medical teams so far, and I am SO thankful to be living in Canada, and NOT dealing with insurance forms on top of everything else.  I can not imagine how much more stressful that would make things. I have two children (ages 8 & 11) that I HOMESCHOOL (which has been a blessing, honestly. No making arrangements for chauffeurs, and no worrying about GERMS brought home from school), and a fabulous husband who is a MAN and my very own Fix-it-Felix, who can't fix THIS and is taking everything harder than the rest of us. 

    I don't want to say it's "great to meet all of you", since I wish NONE of us had to be here. But, well, you all know what I mean, right?

    Hugs!

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited April 2014

    ColdInCanada: Glad to have you on board here with the rest of us. Yep, I can identify with the Dexa Mood! I always felt like I should be out at the gym lifting weights or in a bar brawling - but at 60+ and a non-drinker - that was NOT about to happen. LOL

    I have finished my Chemo and going onto my Radiation Education come Monday morning at 9am here in Red Deer. Looking forward to Phase 3 of my adventure (Surgery, Chemo & Radiation). Since I am Triple Negative - there will be no Phase 4 (drugs). It is what it is. Keep up the positive attitude, good to have the kiddies home - keeps the isolation at bay, my husband can relate to yours. I just carry on like it is just 'another day in the neighbourhood' - helps to keep him in denial. LOL  Make sure you ask lots of questions, don't be brave/take the drugs (for pain), drink LOTS of water especially the first 3 days after Chemo. Let us know how it goes for you. Carren

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited April 2014

    ColdinCanada 

    Welcome!  Sorry that you are here but this is truely the most supportive group of ladies ever. I am also from Calgary and completed treatment in Sept of last year. This time last year I was just starting Chemo . Today I am in vacation in beautiful, sunny Florida. Still have a few aches and pains from all the treatments and the Tamoxafin but other than that I am doing great and you will too!  Are you going to to the Tom Baker?  My oncologist was Dr Stewart, he was pretty good although always running behind. 

    Hugs to you. 

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  • ColdInCanada
    ColdInCanada Member Posts: 95
    edited April 2014

    shoppygirl: I am going to the Tom Baker. My oncologist is Dr. Roger Tsang, and to be honest, I've only met him once at my consult. He seems nice enough, and knowledgeable, and he LISTENED to me, so I already like him. :)  I was in Florida in January - my husband and I ran the DisneyWorld Donald Half Marathon (with CANCER in my body - I am SUCH a rock star!), but the weather was terrible. Cold and rainy the whole time. Still, Disney was fun, and I am SO GLAD I got that time with my family before this whole mess started (at that time, we didn't even know I had cancer!).

    First Chemo was shockingly uneventful. The aftermath has NOT been pretty, but I'm moving through it. Some nausea, TERRIBLE acne (like, HORRIBLE, the WORST acne I have ever seen anywhere), body aches and pains, exhaustion - basically, I feel like I'm pregnant, only I don't get a prize in 9 months. :)  

    Carren: You are FINISHED Chemo! YOU, Girl, are THE GOAL. :) Yay for you! And good luck on the Final Phase! 

    My husband keeps waiting for me to break down, I think. Nope, not going to happen - I honestly just do not have the energy for that. If I think I might start to cry, I tend to fall asleep before it happens. 

    Snooze

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited April 2014

    Coldincanada

    So glad that you are happy with your oncologist, it is so important.  The nurses at the Tom Baker seem very nice too.  That is amazing that you ran the Disney marathon in January, I am very familiar with it as my friends were there and ran 42 miles over two days.  Quite an acomplishment and yes, you are a rock star!!

    It is amazing that so many of us were running around, going on with our normal lives, not even knowing we had this dreaded disease. I can remember thinking about how great I felt just hours before the ultrasound that found the cancer.  I thought I was so healthy!!

    In regards to the skin issue, I had the same after my first treatment but that was all the only time I had it.  I used a moisturizer called Clinaderm that you can get at Shoppers Drug Mart.  It is very reasonably priced and very natural and safe.  You will find that you will feel better about a week after each chemo and before you know it, you will be done.

    Good luck to you!!  Oh, and if you are a coffee drinker, the little coffee shop at the Tom Baker makes the best lattes!!!

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  • goodnessme
    goodnessme Member Posts: 18
    edited April 2014

    Hi everyone - I am from Edmonton. Newly diagnosed and I have a less than competent PCP. Do any of your fellow Edmonton women have recommendations of surgeons? I so wish I could trust my doctor but her actions have spoken otherwise so I am hesitant to warmly receive her recommendation. Any advice would be appreciated… with gratitude.

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  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Member Posts: 5
    edited April 2014

    Hi, I live in Jasper, Alberta.  I just underwent a skin-sparing double mastectomy with immediate free TRAM reconstruction.  Surgery was on April 15th, so just resting, healing, and waiting on pathology results.  My sentinel node biopsy came back negative, so I am one of the lucky ones who could have immediate reconstruction.  That's one last thing that cancer didn't take away :)  Have an appointment in Edmonton on May 1st with my general surgeon (they should have results by then) and a follow-up with my plastic surgeon to hopefully pull out the last 2 drains in my abdomen.  The drive just sucks, but so far, every doctor/surgeon/nurse I have come in contact with in Edmonton have been amazing.  I'm nervous to hear the pathology results, but I've heard great things about the Cross Cancer Institute, so I'm not as nervous for whatever comes up.  

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  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Member Posts: 5
    edited April 2014

    Hi Goodnessme,

    I was referred into the Alberta Comprehensive Breast Care Program by my family doctor, as soon as I felt my lump.  Your doctor should refer you into that, now that you have a diagnosis.  The program is meant to streamline newly diagnosed or high-risk for breast cancer patients so they don't get lost in the normal healthcare system.  You get assigned to a Nurse Navigator who contacts you within 48 hours, and she handles all your bookings and guides you down the line until you meet your oncology team at Cross Cancer Institute.  I was given Dr. D.W. Olson as a general surgeon in the Meadowlark Health Center.  A nicer, friendlier surgeon you will NEVER meet!  He is very careful to educate and explain ALL your options for your diagnosis.  If you choose to go radical like I did (I have a huge family history of breast cancer) and ask for immediate reconstruction, he will tell you who he recommends as plastic surgeons- and I love them too!  Dr. Schembri and Mehling are in the same building.  After a 14 hour double mastectomy and immediate free TRAM reconstruction on April 15th, I am home after 5 days in the hospital, and resting resting resting.  I can't urge you enough to ask your doctor to refer you into this program!

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  • goodnessme
    goodnessme Member Posts: 18
    edited April 2014

    Hi suzycreamcheese,

    Thank you for the information. It sounds as though you have received excellent care. Mine just started out on the wrong foot and now I am ready to lead the dance with the other. Fight!  Let me tell you, this stuff certainly lets you know what you are made of. I would like to keep in touch with you as an ally. Seems we are close to the same time diagnosed - maybe a couple weeks apart? I think my head is spinning because while I appreciate the speed, I am trying to catch up on knowledge and awareness of what is going on around me. Then there is the being scared for your child part. And what she will feel and experience. I guess I am just doing the best I can. Off to see the PCP today - I need an explanation of the pathology and have lots of questions. After that, she is fired. So I will go in with my naturally positive self and get what need and let her go. Onward and forward. What is that song that Michael Buble sings… "it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, it's a new way…." 

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  • Infobabe
    Infobabe Member Posts: 1,083
    edited April 2014

    Wendy, I am so glad you made this connection.  I understand all too well how important it is to be near home when these things happen.  You are definitely on the right track. 

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  • 70charger
    70charger Member Posts: 963
    edited April 2014

    Hi Ladies.  I'm in Leduc & finished chemo Nov 15th/13.  Finished Rads Jan 3rd/14 . Any questions feel free to ask. Big hugs!

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  • clarrn
    clarrn Member Posts: 557
    edited May 2014

    Carren-  Just wanted to say you were so right about the Red Deer Cancer Centre. It's beautiful and the staff are so good.  As are the staff at the Tom Baker, (My oncologist is Dr Henning in Calgary and I can't say enough good things about him).  Troy is my go to IV starter since my PICC line had to go and he makes me laugh all the way through.   Did you get to do radiation in RD?  Do you know the rad oncologists name?  I would like to get mine here instead of driving to Calgary every day in September or October and maybe I can get myself referred to that radiation oncologist :)  Thanks!

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited May 2014

    70Charger: I am had my last rad on May 12th - 5 days ago. My LB is sore to even very light touch - even putting on the Glaxal Cream. Now my arm pit is turning purple and looks to be getting darker and larger area. The breast seems to have taken on a life of its own and is swelling. So far no weeping or breaking of skin. Question is this; did you find anything that would take away the pain from the local areas, how long did any side effect you had remain and did you sleep lots too. Thanks Carren

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited May 2014

    clarrn: The Rad ON in RD is Dr. Julie Cuartero. She is wonderful. She is in her 30's; I guess - I would say she is young but then I am 60 so everyone seems young these days. She will give you the truth - just ask her like I did for the ''worse case scenerio' and she will. Nice to not have to read between the lines with her. The are a well run unit and in/out in less than 20minutes each time. Let me know how it goes. Carren

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  • gia444
    gia444 Member Posts: 68
    edited May 2014

    I live near Red Deer in Lacombe AB.    I went to Calgary though for treatments as my daughter lives there.     They have a very good cancer centre.    My hair is growing back now.   About 1 1/2 inches long.   

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  • Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock
    Carren-LB-at-2-0-clock Member Posts: 116
    edited May 2014

    gia444 - good to hear about the hair! Mine is finally starting to show 'in the right light'. How long before you felt comfortable with going with no hats, wigs or scarves. Just wondering what the timeline would be. I had last Chemo March 20th - that means Tuesday will be 2 months. I still see a lot of skin and feel baby fuzz. How long before I need a comb? LOL Carren

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  • gia444
    gia444 Member Posts: 68
    edited May 2014

    Hi Carren,     I only wear a wig when I go out.    I find them so uncomfortable.     I will be glad when I can take it off for good.     My hair is still too short for that.    Some people look nice going out with 1" hair but not me.     I don't have a nice hairline.     So far I don't need a comb.   lol

    I noticed that Clarrn had Dr Henning in Calgary.     He was my OC too.     Very nice man.     I had Dr Olivotto for radiation.     It would of been closer for me to go to Red Deer but with my daughter in Calgary I decided to go there.    

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