Starting Chemo, November 2013 Group

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  • Amazonwarrior
    Amazonwarrior Member Posts: 485
    edited May 2014

    smrlvr: I feel achy all over my mastectomy site, the whole side is getting tighter and I am getting shooting on and off prickly pain going all the way to my fingers. 

    And you are right: having a period and hot flashes at the same time is an insult to an injury! Darn it! I wonder what 's going to happen once I start Tamoxifen. 

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  • audra67
    audra67 Member Posts: 521
    edited May 2014

    praying you feel better Amazon

    Thanks for good wishes on scans guys

    Well I did briefly talk to dr- she called in am on Mother's Day and I was still sleepy so didn't ask questions I had planned to so I have another call into her!  I am SOOO slow mentally!!

    The 2 lung things are 2 mm smaller and lung thing 1mm larger

    The only hope I have from this is they were done at 2 different hospitals and hoping measurements are off??

    There was a calculus thing on kidney also not thought to be possible cancer or area of concern and they have that as different sizes too- so I'm hoping...

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    yes hooray I'm done today!feel so great! 😃 My hair is growing also. I need to put lots of luberderim on my left side, it's quite red but not peeling. I have to repost and tell you how the rad therapists explain on how to take care of my left atea

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    yes hooray I'm done today!feel so great! 😃 My hair is growing also. I need to put lots of luberderim on my left side, it's quite red but not peeling. I have to repost and tell you how the rad therapists explain on how to take care of my left atea

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    yes hooray I'm done today!feel so great! 😃 My hair is growing also. I need to put lots of luberderim on my left side, it's quite red but not peeling. I have to repost and tell you how the rad therapists explain on how to take care of my left atea

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    yes hooray I'm done today!feel so great! 😃 My hair is growing also. I need to put lots of luberderim on my left side, it's quite red but not peeling. I have to repost and tell you how the rad therapists explain on how to take care of my left atea

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  • Amazonwarrior
    Amazonwarrior Member Posts: 485
    edited May 2014

    audra: I hear you on the scans. It could well be that the measurements are slightly off and that happens. How is your daughter? Is she on bed rest? 

    Phebe: Yay for finishing rads and for your hair growing back!  It must feel great to be done with it. Today was my 17/25 so I have 8 more to go. 

    How was Lubriderm working for you? Did you have any other SE other than skin redness?

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  • Bec65
    Bec65 Member Posts: 312
    edited May 2014

    Congrats, Phebe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • smrlvr
    smrlvr Member Posts: 422
    edited May 2014

    Yay Phebe!  Good for you!

    Amazon, I felt the same way with the mastectomy scar tightening.  It is a lot better now, almost three weeks out from radiation.  I had that prickly feeling too, in both hands.  I still am tired, though and I think that lasts for,a while.

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    amazon? What the radiologist gave me was saline to soak gauze and leave it on my affected area after a shower for 15 minutes. Then I put thin layer of cream called hydrocortisone acetate on the affected area for five minutes but if I have an open sore then I don't put it there. After that I usually smear luberderim all over the affected area and lie around with no T-shirt and let it air out for 15 minutes. I was supposed to do that for 2 to 4 times a day but that cream only twice a day.i find so far I do it twice a day. He said the more the better

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    the area where I just got radiated it seems like my nerves act out. I have to continue exercising it but I only do it for five minutes, no energy

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  • Amazonwarrior
    Amazonwarrior Member Posts: 485
    edited May 2014

    Smrlvr, phebe: Thanks for the feedback on the SE with rads. I had my 18/25 yesterday and the tech there noted that my skin was looking 'really good' compared to others. Well, I don't know what other peoples' skin looks like, but mine has a pinkish-reddish appearance  with one small blister. The skin feel slightly itchy when I wear my sports bra, but once I take it off when at home then it feels better. 

    Now it's a long weekend here in Canada due to Victoria day (a national holiday) this Monday, I will have 3 whole days to recuperate. Yay!

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    amazon that's what my radiologist said about the part where they did radiation. He said its looking good but I have to keep putting the stuff that I mention above. My right arm is kinda sore from the port. It's annoying but I don't want to get poked all over my hand and arm

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    I want to vent! I want to scream! I hate this big red rash on my armpit. It's aggravating have to keep putting saline solution to cool it off.

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  • lisa137
    lisa137 Member Posts: 569
    edited May 2014

    Phebe, vent and scream all you want! I hope it heals up fast for you and becomes just a faint bad memory in the very near future.

    Hugs!

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  • jab
    jab Member Posts: 220
    edited May 2014

    Audra - I was told that if the lung nodules are +/- 3 mm not to worry. It is all dependent on the angle the scan get them. It may not be real growth or reduction in size. I hear you about mental slowness. I really HATE not being able to remember the simplist things.

    Phebe - I want to vent too. Acrually I want a vent in the top of my head to let off the heat!!

    Ellen - Great picture. You two look like you were having a bunch of fun!

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  • Bec65
    Bec65 Member Posts: 312
    edited May 2014

    Vent on, Phebe!  We'll all scream with you!

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    Even though I'm done with rads I still have to continue the herceptin antibody and today is the day for that. I'm glad I got the cream to smear it there before I get the IV, it's usually every three weeks. What I don't like is my port and I still have to have it till December 15th. But on the other hand I like my hair. I like touching it lol. Thank you for letting me scream. It's healing very slowly. What helps me is the saline water I put it there, it soothes it. I also put diaper rash cream called Calmoseptine. The wound specialist gave me that from my other rash that I had in between my thighs and stomach before. I use luberderim  in the other area where its just pink/purplish color. Hope and pray all is well with you ladies. I want to let you all know I really appreciate you during my rough days. I miss Pauline I often think about her

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  • Phebe38
    Phebe38 Member Posts: 197
    edited May 2014

    Lol jab you made me laugh to let steam off your head. When my kids were starting their young teens years, I used to say to them if God wants us to smoke he would put chimney on our heads. Lol.

    What I like to do is planting seeds or bulbs from small pots and leave them in my small greenhouse. My geraniums are just blooming flowers inside the house. Last year when I first got diagnosed I really went hard to plant lots of flowers. It helps me not to get bored and have something to look forward to. I'm also going to go out camping and just enjoy the summer.there's so much to do in the summer

    image

    That's me and my husband and our cats Prince and Princess. I got those flowers from Mother's Day

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  • audra67
    audra67 Member Posts: 521
    edited May 2014


    Thanks you all about the scans.  The part I had not worried about seems to be the worse thing now.  The 'new' spots that weren't there- the radiologist labeled them a 'handful of under 3mm. nodules in peribronchovascular distribution'....I have googled and it did not look good.  My MO said they could be 'mucus' ??  and really no other options so I am praying for that but started waking up with my hot flashes and worrying about it again!  It's been a bad 2 weeks.  I changed MO's since the nurse never asked Dr anything and was rude and awful...so now I'm seeing a MO I love but it's at ut southwestern, so I cannot ever get anyone when I call, just a message, or I can email her.  So she has emailed me that she asked a pulmonologist about the lungs and he said they were nonspecific and to recheck in 4 months....what a long 4 months it will be...

    Yes, Amazon, my daughter is on bedrest and since she has been her symptoms of preeclampsia have gone away, so now the Dr says to continue bedrest and wait to deliver, she is due in 4 weeks.  She had a sonogram yesterday and the baby is 6lb 11 oz already!  So she is going to be big!  I am so excited! 

    I am very mad at myself for getting so worried.  I am a Christian, I believe in God, but I seem to be so very lacking in faith lately.  I think the shock of having BC in the first place made my whole outlook change, I thought I was healthy and wham.  So it seems every test, scan, waiting for 4 months to repeat scans just makes me weary and feel so hopeless.  During the day I find myself thinking what if I'm not here for them when...., with my daughter my husband, my other daughters....I am sure it is NOT true and I will be OK, but I HATE my mind and body for betraying me and scaring me and waking me in the middle of the night.  I will NOT let my negative thoughts take over!  I am going to regroup and be courageous and I do NOT have the M word..!!!

     

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  • lisa137
    lisa137 Member Posts: 569
    edited May 2014

    Audra, don't be mad at yourself for being worried; it's natural. Any of us would feel the same.

    Also, stay off Google! There's very little on Google except worst case scenarios for the same reason that there's very little good news in the newspapers. :)

    I can't tell you that you don't have the M word because any one of us could have the M word. Anyone who is  a member of these forums could have the M word. In fact, anyone walking around out in the world right now could have the M word and not even know they have the C word yet. Of course, we could also back out of our driveways and get hit by a bus, or have our houses flattened by unexpected meteors, or choke to death on a piece of popcorn...but none of that is likely to happen. Your prognosis, based on what you have listed here as your stage, grade, and node status, is excellent, so chances are great that you're right: You do NOT have the M word. 

    If my MO told me it might be mucus, I'd assume it very well could be mucus, because why not? It's not as if mucus is uncommon in the lungs, right? 

    If you truly can't get it out of your mind, bug your MO, and have the MO bug the pulmonologist, until you have a better list of things it COULD be. How concerned did the MO seem to be? Let your MO know how worried you truly are; maybe there is some way to find out what's going on without having to wait a whole four months. Or if the MO really isn't that concerned, maybe she can explain to you WHY she isn't especially concerned, and help calm your fears.

    But mostly, stay away from Dr. Google! You know as well as I do that a search for a runny nose on Google can have you convinced that your death is imminent within a few clicks.

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  • audra67
    audra67 Member Posts: 521
    edited May 2014

    Thanks, that is so true...seems I have felt this way all day, after waking up several times in the night thinking about it...

    Then the googling...NOT helpful I know, but did it anyway...

    Thanks for your common sense!

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  • Bec65
    Bec65 Member Posts: 312
    edited May 2014

    Audra, ANY of us would worry; it's only natural.  I agree with Lisa on even more than that -- it is SO unlikely that it's the M word since you had no nodal involvement.  I definitely would call your MO to talk about it more so that the next 4 months isn't so excruciating.  We are all here with you every step of the way....HUGE HUG!!!!!!!!!

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  • QuirkyGirl
    QuirkyGirl Member Posts: 383
    edited May 2014

    Thinking of you, Audra.  The fear of M is understandable.  Even when the odds are everything is fine which is usually the case.

    I'm afraid I'm up freaking out about M.  I had a sudden pain show up Monday night under my ribs and it hasn't gone away.  I'd started tamoxifen 5 days earlier.  When searching for a possible answer I've been reading that Tamoxifen can cause a "flare" in mets that indicate the tumor is responding to the drug and the pain appears soon after the drug has been started then will subside in time. The painful spot is the same side as my cancer.  I'm calling my MO first thing tomorrow morning. 

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  • Bec65
    Bec65 Member Posts: 312
    edited May 2014

    Ohhhhhhhhhhh, Quirky and Audra......we are here with you.  We all KNOW everything is likely fine, but it's so hard.  

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  • QuirkyGirl
    QuirkyGirl Member Posts: 383
    edited May 2014

    thanks, Bec. :).  My MO said to call my surgeon. Waiting to hear back...

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  • Amazonwarrior
    Amazonwarrior Member Posts: 485
    edited May 2014

    Aurda. Quirky: I have noticed that every time something new pops up in the way I feel, my first reaction is BC- and the M word. It takes some conscious effort on my part not to let it take over my thoughts and feelings.

    I do worry about it, and it's natural to do so. If pain is present to remind you of it.

    Quirky: I too have some on and off pain in my lower ribs just below my radiation field, but I like to interpret it as one SE of RT because I have other sore spots in the treaemt area. I will be however asking my RO and my MO of the possible causes of this. 

    It seems that this constant worry is going to be an unwanted companion on this trip. 

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  • QuirkyGirl
    QuirkyGirl Member Posts: 383
    edited May 2014

    amazon, are you still in rads?  My pain showed up three weeks after I was done and came on suddenly 

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  • Amazonwarrior
    Amazonwarrior Member Posts: 485
    edited May 2014

    quirky: The pain for me started after last Taxotere chemo which is 8 weeks ago. It was pretty intense at the beginning then it subsided after 4-5 weeks, but then it started again a few days ago. It sits low at the bottom of my ribs in the liver area. I had an ultrasound for it few weeks ago. The results came back with a hemangioma on the liver which was there before and a spot on my kidney. My RO said he wants me to do an MRI just to be sure. I am still waiting for the scan. 

    I had my 20/25 RT today and my skin is starting to have a nice red tan and is getting itchier. I can clearly see the outlines of the radiation field.

    My hair is growing back in a weird patchy way like a lawn after being reseeded. I still have a few bald looking spots and it may take some time before I could venture out without any head covering. My lashes are growing back nice and thick. Yay! I am noticing some growth in the southern regions as well and my brows, but they are still kind of patchy looking with more growth on the sides than the rest. Now I even grow hair where I don't want it especially on my face like very fine blond looking sideburns! I guess that goes well with the old man look. Lol

    Anyway I find the hair issue a bit of a distraction from my radiation SE.

    And here is a pic of my patchy hair growth. It reminds me of the globe. Lol

    image

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  • smrlvr
    smrlvr Member Posts: 422
    edited May 2014

    Amazon, Quirky, I have the same pain under/below my ribs that comes and goes!  I am  really worried about it and the M word.  I was thinking if it was cancer it wouldn't come and go, but who knows?  It started before the tamoxifen so I can't blame it on that.  Amazon and Quirky, please keep me posted on what you find out.   Every little pain I have makes me nervous.  I just hope and pray that none of us have to,experience any type of recurrence.

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