Starting Chemo in March 2014

Alli - No prednisone thankfully.   I had to take it once many years ago and it did not agree with me at all!  Turned me into an angry beast!  haha!!

Nina - you look amazing!!!!!!!!!!  I have to say I am a little jealous!!  I was set to get my hair buzzed this past thursday but couldnt make it to the salon as I was still feeling pretty bad.  I have two short wigs and set to pick up a third longer one once I get my hair chopped which is now set for this Wednesday.  I will post pictures.

I like the idea of a facebook group if others are interested.  I think it may be a little easier to follow and respond to people.  I will look into creating one and then if anyone wants to join they can.  If not at least we can support each other here.

lalala - Good Luck tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!  I hope everything goes smooth and your side effects are minimal.

dawn. I just requested you as a friend. I'm from raleigh too!

Everyone is telling me to keep my really short cut because it makes me look a lot younger!  I just hope it grows back similar.  My chin keeps breaking out and it's really annoying.  As if we don't have enough to worry about! 

cancervixen- I sent you a friend request to be added to the fb group.  Thank you for setting it up. I hope you are continuing to feel better.

Kyla

Dawn, I just sent you a friend request also. I am Nadia Aslami Tase. Please add me to the secret FB group for us rad Marchers! 

Nina I am also starting my first chemo AC on Wednesday.  Will have my blood drawn tomorrow ( hope the port works) then on to finally get this show on the road. I am so grateful to have found you ladies on this site. Makes going through this a bit easier. Spent the weekend watching my daughter play her club soccer in a tournament and thought how lucky I am to experience all the good there is in life. This diagnosis has opened my eyes to what is really important, and how others are a big part of that. Hope the night goes well for everyone!

Laura

Nina, beautiful wig!  

Good luck to you girlies having your first treatment this week.  I had my first one (AC) Friday morning and went into work after.  The treatment itself was not bad at all!  

NurseLaura, when I had the blood drawn the day of chemo, they still used a vein in my arm.  They said they like to "save" the port for the chemo while I still have good veins.  Your place may do it differently, but thought I would just let you know because I was a little surprised at that. 

i would be interested in your facebook group.  did you set it up?

Good morning ladies. I'm here to tell you that there is an upswing after chemo treatment. Day 11 after. On my way to work and feel close to human. Still tired but human-tired not zombie-tired. As far as a Facebook group is concerned, I'm there as Anita Jones. And welcome Cancerjourney. Sorry you have to be here.

Nina, you look fabulous!  I am going to the Look Good Feel Better class at our Cancer center today and then plan to go get a wig on Wednesday.  I think I'll cut my mid length bob real short on Thursday to prepare for the inevitable hair loss which will probably come with my second round of AC next Tuesday.  Thank you for the inspiration.

And for those of you starting chemo this week, I was just a wreck, but my first full week hasn't been bad at all.  I definitely felt tired for a few days and a tiny bit nauseous, but took my Zofran when I felt that way and used Ativan when I felt like I wasn't going to be able to sleeo.  I've not felt the need for anything the past few days and I actually am eating pretty normally.  I hope it continues.  Do any of you know if the symptoms continue to get worse throughout?  I've heard both things and am just wondering.

Have a good week.  I'll be sending good energy out into the universe for all you March ladies. 

Wow, Nina, you look terrific!!  The short hair looks great and the wig is amazing!  I got a free one from the ACS, it's okay...we'll have to see if I can style it.  Going to get my hair buzzed next week if I feel well enough after first chemo on Thursday....still so nervous I have an upset stomach but all of your encouragement sure helps as is the knowledge that some of you are already bouncing back after first treatment and say it wasn't so bad.

Glad you had fun, Alli...that certainly sounds like a proper theme for a party!

I don't belong to FB, so I hope you all will still continue to post here...I'm getting so much out of this group's tips and friendship!

My scan was clear today. First good news report since this started. I'll take it!

Hi, everyone! 

Thanks again for saying such nice things to me about my wig. I worked so hard to grow my hair out over the past seven years or so, and while I realize that it's such an insignificant part of the whole cancer picture, I also think we deserve this one thing - a wig we like and can wear with some degree of confidence - if we choose to go with a wig as a head covering. Hey, there's not a whole lot of spoiling we can give ourselves right now. Might as well do whatever we can to lift our moods, and if hair does that for you, power on!

Mom2B, nobody said anything to me about a specific "crash" day, but I'm doing the carboplatin and taxotere, not the cytoxan and taxol. Maybe there's a difference with how long it will be before I can expect to feel icky? It seems to vary so much based on what I'm reading from other people, but of course everyone has different tolerances and is in different shape when they go into treatment. I'm trying not to talk myself into expecting anything at all, but getting any and all pre-meds for known side effects ready in case I end up needing them. Ah, Colace or Immodium. These are our choices? Our choices suck, to be honest :-)

NurseLaura, yay for the Wednesday girls! I'm every bit as grateful for you as you could ever be for me. I hear the first time they access the port is scary because you don't know what it will feel like, but literally EVERYONE I've ever spoken to with a port has said it's as easy as pie and nowhere near as nerve-wracking as getting a traditional IV. Did your oncologist give you EMLA cream to numb the access site? If not, or if you don't want to use it for whatever reason, I hear icing the site for a few minutes works great, too. You'll come through it like the champ you are.

Maggiemay, thanks again for making me feel good about how the wig is working.- I'm so glad for you that you sailed through your first AC with flying colors!!

Hi there, cancerjourney :-) I absolutely hate that you have to join us, but this is the best group of women and we intend to harass you with our love and concern and support. Pull up a chair, and welcome, welcome, welcome.

Yay AKJ!!! The fog is lifting and you're moving out from under the bad weather! So glad the side effects are easing, and I hope you do something really nice for yourself as a reward for not murdering anyone while you were feeling low :-)

Hey, Mitzro - gosh, I hope I can say the same thing about side effects when I'm on the other side of my first treatment. Sounds like you had very few things slowing you down! Despite the little nausea, was your appetite pretty normal?

{{{{{jmg58}}}}}  I know you're nervous about Thursday. Listen, make sure all the nurses and your oncologist are WELL aware of your concerns, and maybe ask that they keep a very close eye on you that day to make sure that they catch it immediately if something doesn't feel right to you. They are there to help, but sometimes you need to make it very, very clear that you need more than a casual glance. It might also be a good idea to see if you can be monitored after treatment is done for a while before you go home. I'm crossing everything I've got that all of your fears will be for nothing, and that treatment will just be a long, pretty boring afternoon in a reclining chair for you :-)

I hope the rest of you Marchers are having a great Monday! All of your amazing feedback on my wig inspired me - I started a new topic here in the Chemo forum about wigs, because I didn't see any other thread like that, and I feel like everyone who is considering wearing a wig has a lot of questions about them. If you feel like contributing anything at all to it, please head over there to share your story! xoxo