February 2014 Starting Chemo Club

Atiteca, I had dose dense A/C last fall. My surgeon and oncologist told me I would not be able to work. Or if I could, it would be very few hours. I took a leave of absence, spent many days in bed, or weeks, I should say. 

Taxol was much easier, for me. The "Red Devil" got its name for a reason....hellish...good luck, one day at a time.

Good luck njmom!  I'm sure the transfusion will do the trick - I've seen so many women report feeling SO much better afterwards!  Sorry your chemo has to be delayed yet another week.  I know you want this over with ASAP!  But it is what it is.  

NJMOM - it will do the trick and you will feel much better after! Good luck with the transfusion.  

My hemoglobin and Hematocrit are in the toilet!  They gave me the option of a transfusion or Procrit.  I took Procrut but have now been waiting 5 days for the insurance company to approve!

2 phone calls and 60 min later.   I got it approved myself. Sheesh!

Is anyone else getting freckles on their face?? Strange? 

hOpe....not on my face, but my right arm has freckles.  Never had them before.  Someone told "freckles are cute".

Mor

Hi Ladies! 

I have completed 2/8 chemos (one every other week) and have experienced the nausea when my tummy is empty. I hate taking Zofran, Compazine, etc because along with the chemo cocktail I just feel as if I am drowning in Pharmaceuticals. Does anyone feel a slight numbing of the tongue and sort of at the skin surface all over? Do scents you used to like make you nauseous? I have this bubble bath that I loved before this but now I can't tolerate it. I wonder if some of it is memory driven. As if to say, this was what you smelled when you were healthy and now that is a thing of the past? That probably sounds neurotic. LOL. 

The loss of my hair has hands down been the hardest thing to deal with. I had an enormous head of hair my whole life. Even at 50 my hair has been thinning due to perimenopause, but I still had enough to cover a few bald heads. After almost four weeks since treatment started my hair is still on my head. The very last layer is still holding on. I am sure it will take the final plunge soon. I just cry every darn time I wash my hair and there are clumps in my hands. I refuse to shave it. I hate short hair. I feel like this is something at least I can control. I can keep my long hair until the last moment, although psychologically it's probably doing me more harm than good.

Peace and well being to all.

Gina

Gina... Yep, things smell yucky and bother me.  I shaved. But the little bits are coming out still. 

Tangandchris.,. Hey,  how ya holding up?

tangandchris I think you're proberly right... and grade 2 is moderate growing. But all lumps and bumps get checked out. I had a lumpy thing right after my exchange... My onc wanted me to see my BS if my PS didn't know what is was even though it moved around... It was just some fat that eventually went away.

diabloMom, I would call your doctor/oncologist sounds like an allergic reaction...at least they can tell you.

Hope it goes away ,thinking of you.

Thanks for the warm responses Tang and princess! Hugs to you both! Ill keep watch here. I hope you both are well as you can be!

Gina

Ladies, so sorry we're all in this boat, but at least we're in it together!

Saw my onco today and he said that my blood work was good, although my hemoglobin has been slipping downward. Today it was 10, so still ok, but down from 12 a few weeks ago. I decided this means I get to eat lots of red juicy steaks over the next few weeks before my treatment! I also got the name of the radiologist so I can call and make an appointment.

lago, I know exactly what you mean about doctor's offices and the staff. It's a nightmare at times, between them and the insurance companies. I had one particular beauty call me and say that my insurance company denied my first lumpectomy because they had said I had no insurance. I called the insurance company in a panic and went through the 98 prompts and hold music before I spoke to someone. They said that they had no idea what the doc's office was talking about. They had no record of any doctor's office making an inquiry!

I know exactly what you mean about how devastating it is when that hair first goes. I wrote a short essay about it called "Me and Jo March" and hope to get it published. If you remember, Jo was the sister in Little Women who sold her hair for her father and then cried afterwards, although she didn't think she was capable of vanity.

I find that the insurance companies do eventually pay, but they sometimes will fight you. Like you said, they like to hold onto their money as long as they can.

I just got a bill from the ER. No wonder hospitals are going out of business. The bill was for almost $8,000 for the day (well, five hours), and yet my insurance paid them less than $400. They are billing me for my copay, which I actually paid that day, so I have to find the receipt and get it to them. I think they send these bills out hoping people will just pay without checking.

h0pe, was your taste off on AC #1 and 2?