Starting Chemo in March 2014
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well that was weird, i just typed out a response and it says it was removed by the community. Has this happened to anyone before?
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What I tried to say that got deleted was that Ultrasound is best for palpable lumps and looking at suspicious areas found on a mammo. To do a whole breast ultrasound takes a really long time and does not pick up calcifications, a very common indicator of some types of breast cancer. The technology we want to be looking for in the near future is called digital breast tomosynthesis. It is a 3D type exam performed like a mammo and picks up masses not seen on a traditional mammo. It also will show calcifications and everything else a mammo shows. CancerVixen-did you have a palpable lump? If you did and it was already hitting nodes it was very aggressive fast growing type. I also was frustrated with my experience because my mammo was read negative but when I looked at it I found the DCIS and had to ask for magnification, at which point they agreed it didn't look right and I needed a biopsy. One must advocate for themselves ALWAYS!
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CancerVixen, mine is in one lymph node as far as they can see, and they believe it's stage II but they can't 100% tell me that since I am doing the chemo first and not surgery, and they can only rely on tests at this point to stage. The reason for chemo first is because they hope they will shrink it so the surgery isn't as bad. They will restage me too, after I finish. They seem hopeful, so I have to be too. Anyway, good luck on Wednesday! Did you have chemo before, or is this your first rodeo? By the way, my mammogram on June 29 was clear, and now in February look where I am. I guess they could not see what was growing there in June because of my dense breast tissue. I hope you are successful with your fight to get the ultrasound.
When I first got this news, my instinct was just to get rid of the disease, no matter what. I didn't care about my hair, or losing the "girls". In fact, I couldn't even look at them because of how they've let me down. But now, losing the hair is right in front of me, and I am a bit more upset about it. I feel I have no time to prepare. I will feel better when I have a good wig, then I can cut my hair really short and start wearing it. My chemo starts on March 3 so I only have a week to do everything. I think if I start wearing the scarves and wig now, it will ease my transition. But I don't have any of that yet.
Let's keep each other posted on our treatments.I wish we could all be physically together as we go through this, but we are together in spirit!
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Wish I could turn the photo, this is my new haircut. Sigh, was hard to do but I think it looks okay.
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Alli--- You are beautiful!!!! I know it's a sudden change for you and I'm sure there may be more tears. I've tried to look at my hair evolution and changes in the most positive way possible. I had waist length hair for many years and now I've been able to see what I look like with everchanging hair styles. I have to say that there are times, I miss the times when I had minimal hair. I used to rub my head because I found it rather comforting. My husband and my son who was a high school senior when I was having chemo decided that they wanted to rub my head too so they could feel how my head felt. I used to tell them it was okay to rub my head for good luck. I have a favorite slouchy wool hat that I wore during chemo and continue to wear it whenever the weather is cool enough for me to wear it. I wore a variety of straw hats and baseball caps when the weather got warmer. I also took selfies with my phone every 3 weeks to keep track of my hair changes. A year from now, after you have finished your chemo and your hair is making its mighty return, you will see how far you have come and what a beautiful woman you have always been.
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I came across this CancerHacks site, sponsored by Livestrong. I like the idea:
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beautiful Alli!! I decided i am chopping mine off on Friday. I actually had very short hair once and while it wasn't my favorite look, boy it sure was easy. I do look forward to not taking so long to get ready in the am.
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You look great Alli. Very becoming.
The short 'dos make me think of the flappers in the 20's breaking social barriers and being strong women. I try to channel some of that spirit.
Have a great week.
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Thanks ladies! Agness-I love the 20's, I am immersed in season 3 of Downton Abbey and it's 1920....I will try to hv fun with my hair until the fateful shedding.
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Hi Ladies! I am jumping in here. I start chemo (AC-T) tomorrow so I am close to being a March starter. Most of my February starters are already on their 2nd treatment, so I can get good advice from both threads. I am getting my hair cut short today and wig shopping later this afternoon. They will fit the wig once I get my hair buzzed when it starts to fall out in a couple of weeks. Alli, your hair is so cute, and that's the look I am going for today!
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Thanks macintx - I am going wig shopping Wednesday, I hope my hair is short enough to try on the wigs. Good luck with your first treatment, let us know how it goes
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Just got back from getting my hair cut short. My sister just told me I look like a cross between our mother and Jamie Lee Curtis, haha.
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Hi all,
Another person joining the March group. I'd thought that I'd end up with February but my Oncotype test got delayed, so here I am with you all! I'm 41, diagnosed in December a couple of weeks before my 41st birthday, and I'm a librarian, so of course I spend far too much time doing research and reading! I am an immigrant, so all of my family is in another country, apart from my husband who I moved here to be with. I have a 20 year old son who is living back in New Zealand with my parents, he is taking this all ok as my mother has had breast cancer twice, the most recent just last year (she still has tissue expanders in), so he has seen her go through this and so it's not as big of a shock for him.
I'm hoping to get my port in on Wednesday, my oncologist wants me to get started the day after the port is in, but I have a feeling that I won't start till next week. I'll be doing FEC x3 and then Taxotere x3, each 3 weeks apart.
Not that thrilled to be here, but I'm very happy to have found what seems like a great bunch of ladies to share this journey with. I've enjoyed reading all the posts so far and look forward to learning more about everyone.
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Welcome, Kiwilady. I think we all would be crazy if we didn't feel the same as you....I was so not thrilled to learn I needed chemo. It has been unfathomable since early November for me, when my craziness with breast cancer began. Like you, my oldest son is not living with me. He will be 18 real soon, he is living with his dad so he can attend a better high school....my young almost 7 yr old has been 'taking care of me", I've had one procedure after another. This is all new for me, but this little growing group has been a great thing for me to turn to. We will all get through this together
Macintx- how's it feel? Was your hair really long before the cut? I am still getting used to this hair thing....
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Alli- no it wasn't very long before. Just above shoulder length. But, now it's about 1 1/2 to 2 inches all over, shorter than yours. I have to admit that except for the gray, it does look like Jamie Lee Curtis' hair. It's gonna feel weird when I wash it tomorrow I'm sure. But, being this short, I think, will make it easier to transition to no hair. At least that's the hope!
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Alli, I am into Downton Abbey too! I hear you about this group--it's helped me a lot so far. My only complaint is that I wish I could meet you all in person.
I was planning to buy a wig before the hair fell out. I hope I can. I think if it is cut short enough I should be able to try them on. A group of girls at work are coming with me at lunch, I told them they should all get one too! I am trying to make this negative situation better, by making it fun.
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Hello to all the new people! This is quite some group!
I did the not-a-buzz-yet haircut thing a couple of weeks ago, although for me it wasn't a big deal. I've been wearing my hair short for quite some time, and just went shorter than usual. I've come to really like it, so I'm not sure it made the prospect of the chemo cut much easier. Oh well...! The next time I'm over at the cancer center I'll be checking in with the nurse navigator to see what she has at their wig bank. Hopefully I won't have to do much more in the way of wig shopping, as I'm more likely to use scarves and hats anyway.
Finally have the initial round of everything scheduled out - port on Wednesday 3/5, first tx Thursday 3/6, Neulasta Friday 3/7. Such mixed feelings - dreading the whole thing, yet sort of excited to get it going. And definitely grateful to be going through this with such a great bunch of ladies!
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Alli your hair looks amazing! Mine is already short, about 3" all over. I already had an appointment to have my normal monthly haircut next week. I was thinking about cancelling it because its just going to fall out anyway. But it might feel really good to have someone wash and style it for me just one more time!!
To you ladies starting chemo in the next 2 weeks good luck. I hope to join you soon. Can't wait to slay this cancer dragon!
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Alli, you look ADORABLE!! Seriously, that's not blowing smoke - you really do look so cute and can carry the short hair. And while we're on the subject of you, you also have fantastic skin!
Ugh, not really looking forward to the haircut, even though the logical part of me accepts that it's inevitable and such a small, (hopefully) transient part of this experience. My hair was destroyed after all of those IVF treatments, and it's taken me seven years to grow what is now a reasonably nice 23" of well-behaved follicles. Seven years, and slavish devotion to a pretty expensive stylist. Ah, well - I'll donate what I've got and hope that someone else can make good second-hand use of all those pricey salon treatments, lol.
Can I ask how many of you have done the Oncotype? Has anyone considered doing Mammaprint, or the Symphony panel? I was looking at a comparison study on the various gene assays out there, and Symphony seems to cover so much more than any of the others. In addition, unlike the Oncotype, the Mammaprint portion of Symphony only divides you into either low risk or high risk. There is no "moderate risk" option. I guess that if you're a Grade 2 or if you have other "middling" scores on things like Ki67 or receptor status, being pushed either into low or high risk might tip the scales one way or the other in terms of how aggressive you want to get with treatment. Also, while Oncotype is only available to ER+ folks, Mammaprint can assess both ER+ and ER- cancers.
Here's the link to the study, in case anyone wants to read it: Genetic test comparison
I hope you're all off to the start of a good week, and that even if we're teetering on the brink of what's probably not going to be the easiest part of our lives, you're all managing to find a few smiles and some sunshine every day :-) Waving hi to all the new ladies!!
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Hello everybody.
I'm newbie here also. I've been reading some of your posts and it really encourages me to move on with my life. Dawn, i feel sad and i cried a bit with what you have experienced. Hi there Xrayalli,
I know that you have the strength to overcome every session you will undergo. Take care everybody.
Thanks.
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Hello Ladies, yet another new one in the group. On the 12th I had a BM with the TE inserted. I am so excited to have found this site an all of you. Last Friday my last 2 drains were removed and I had my first fill. WOW, I think they might have mixed the saline up with cement. Oh well, at least I know what to expect. Wednesday I go for my oncology appointment. I took all of the cancer news like a champ and make decisions without looking back but having to have chemo has thrown me for a loop. Fear of the unexpected? I am so thankful to have this site where I can see/hear what i will go through.
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Love hearing all the posts about the short hair cuts! I'm actually excited about trying a new style, this is the best time to do it since there is no obligation. I've also looked on the bright side and realized how much money I'll be saving on hair cuts and colors! You have to find the silver lining in things especially in such a difficult time we are all going through. Today I found out that there is a young survivors support group in my area and I can't wait to go to the next meeting. Definitely helps when you can talk to others going through this too.
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Hi everyone. I'm another March newbie and was *so* glad to find this thread. I had surgery in January, but between delays in getting oncotype results (a whopping 52, ouch!) and more delays with the oncologist I will *not* be going to, I won't be starting chemo for another week or two. I see a new onco tomorrow and fervently hope she and I can work well together. After that, it's a port and probably 20 weeks of AC/T.
It's good to know that I'll have the company of such great women along the way and will try to return the favor.
Thanks, all.
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Holy cow! Did I leave the door open after I posted? Hi there, Sandra, Maggie, Jmen, and Susie - welcome aboard!
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Welcome to the newest folks. It's getting to be a party in here!
My mother is visiting me this week (we had thought I'd be already started with chemo by now) and took me to the salon to get my haircut. Unfortunately they weren't entirely helpful and said that I had too much hair and that, combined with the wave in my hair, meant that they could not do a short hair cut.
Having had short hair before in my life, including in a similar style to what I asked for, I know it can be done but I didn't feel like arguing with them so I just got a chin length bob. Really I just feel like the hairdresser just didn't know how to cut my hair. I am seriously considering taking the scissors to it myself before it falls out, and just seeing what I can do.
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Nina, thanks for your kind words, I have always been a long hair person so I appreciate you saying that about my short hair. And I about my skin, you're so kind
Your comment was so funny about leaving the door open, lol, I also give a HUGE welcome to Susie, Jmen, Maggie and Sandra to the March chemo group. Maggie-I was the same as you. My story couldn't have had any more twists and turns. And I just rolled with it but when they said I had to have chemo to beat this I was floored.
I am off to the oncologist today, hoping it's very productive. Will let you know I get any good stuff out of it. Have a great day!
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Hi Folks, I haven't posted here before, but recently found out some info that has pissed me off in re: the drugs given to me during treatment for BC. I was almost killed with my one and only chemo. Taxotere was the culprit. I "failed" all three AI's b/c of s.e.'s. All of this could have been avoided had my MO paid attention to the Cytochrome450 genetic testing. Of the six genes tested, I have abnormalities in three. All are major players in the drugs I was given. Had I been tested, it would have been known. The drug choice and /or dosage modifications could have been made
Rather than rewrite the details here The link below will take you to a thread that has the posts that I have written in the last few days.
I'm not trying to sell Genelex. Other laboratories are doing genetic testing. But Genelex is the only company right now that provides the application of the genetic results to the drugs we are taking. Other companies, I'm sure are trying to build the same business model. It's the future of drug administration.
Why? Patients will no longer except being experimented upon with drugs that can harm them. If the docs won't do this because it's the right thing to do it. Then we have to PUSH them into doing the right thing.
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Alli, I hope you made out good today. I go tomorrow and have no idea what to expect.
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