you are so right!  We don't know if how we are recovering is normal!  I wonder if I could do some sessions during rads...maybe go in the morning, rads in afternoon....may be too tired!  It's a start anyway!! Thanks!

Cannoli- Ugh.  I hear you.  Mine are very uncomfortable and distracting....however I cannot say painful.  I haven't slept through the night since I got them, they become more uncomfortable when I lie down. Ive tried pillows, under them, between them...nothing helps. 

The swimming I did this weekend may have aggravated things a bit, I seem a little tighter with my range of motion.    I just saw my RO for my pre- mapping visit and I have to put the final 50cc in my left side tomorrow so its maxed before my mapping on Friday.  thhhpt! I didn't want to do that before my wedding and be too lopsided!

JBokland, what a wonderful idea. I am fortunate to not have to do chemo as part of my treatment but I DO know what it is like to be bald. I had a bad car accident years ago that left my head in a real mess. I wore a scarf until it grew just enough to cover the scars, although it is still a little thin. I also had a friend who had alopecia that caused permanent baldness. I love the design and one thought that came to mind for a design was butterflies. I think a lot of young girls may like something like that, so pretty and cheerful.

izzysmom...i was going to say butterflies too ...before I read your post!  Yes jbokland!  So neat!  I am getting so excited about my peach fuzz growing in...I have never gone "bald" as my husband is just not ready emotionally to see that so I wear scarves in the house too..when it's dark I whip those hats off!  I was going to ask my daughter to draw something on my head( she is an artist...aspiring tattoo artist someday) as I thought it would be fun to have something but I like the jewel idea!  That's great!  Rosie

Hello Lina, Good luck on Wednesday. Hopefully everything will go just fine. Keep us posted!

I am not looking forward to the radiation at all either but  the center offers a complimentary wellness program that covers a lot of issues, some cancer related and some just for general well being.  They seem to have a mind body approach and include things like relaxation techniques, massage and meditation. I have struggled with anxiety and fatigue for years so I am really hoping that something positive may come out of all this.

jhodro,

Looks like you and I have the same DX and treatment.

I will be starting rads in July after 12 Taxol/Herceptin treatments are done.  I will be doing the 9 months of every three week of Herceptin.

Do I understand we can swim while having rads?  I do water exercise at my local Y indoor pool so I don't have to worry about the sun.  Only miss when Taxol takes me to the Dark Place and I am so fatigued.

I am also on the Taxol, Herceptin only group.

Dee

I started back to work when I had 2 taxols left.  Bit I work from home!   The fatigue has been quite high at the end of this treatment.  My ass is on the couch come 6:30!

Dee: Yes - luckily my hubby does 90% of the cooking or we'd all be starving, 7 y/o, 15 y/o, 17 y/o and me!! Congrats on being almost there!!!

JBokland: I will be working from home at least 2 or 3 days a week and I have a break week (H only) after next week, plus we're taking a vacation that we booked before I started down Cancer Lane. Then when we come back I have 3 more chemo treatments. I just need to get through it. I started out well on Taxol, but when they say SE's are cumulative, they are not kidding, at least in my case!! I also have 2 more weeks of my Master's program…if I can muddle through that with my chemo-fog brain, I'll be all set. I'm so looking forward to the good weeks.

I work for a very large company and contacted the people that do the benefits to let them know I was planning to work but would need some intermittent time off during rads. I was thinking initially a couple of hours a day to start with, getting there and back etc, even though the treatment will be a short time. I do a lot of work from home and a long way from my office. I don't know how I will feel later on as I suffer with fatigue anyway . They asked me if I would like it unpaid or use my vacation. I was not happy as they can do that under US law but they are not exactly a struggling company and I have done hundreds of hours of off hours work (no overtime pay), unable to stray far from home in the evenings or  weekends and on call in the middle of the night over the years which has left me as a stressed out insomniac.  

I told my poor boss that I was going to claim ANY off hours on call even if I do not get called or weekends against it, also call HR and find out how much sick time I have available too.

My boss will work with me the best he can so I can claim as few hours as possible then when its all over I am quitting (so I may use some of my vacation....). At that time I will find  other health insurance and hope that I am healthy for a while. I don't want a cobra from my company as I don't want to deal with their benefits people any more.

I did get a call from a nurse who works for the insurance company who is my contact to help me through treatment and she says to make sure I get proper exercise and rest during the rads. I have at least 2 overnight on call weeks  scheduled during rads as we are a very small team and others have covered for me during diagnosis and surgery. I may have a meltdown and throw the company laptop out the door...

Ever since my diagnosis the benefits stuff related to time off has been the most stressful part, not the surgery , waiting for test result or the thought of rads.I took 4 days total off for surgery  and 2 days after surgery I just lost it and screamed at the benefits people and told them they were the worst thing about having cancer! They did eventually approve it after I was back at work but it was such a pain. The people I actually work with are really great and I feel bad for them but the powers that be are cheap and clueless. 

That's my venting . Sorry! I am feeling sorry for myself and whining. I am sure there are others in a similar position but when recovery should be our prime concern its like a bureaucratic overload for nothing. The  contrast with the kindness and concern of the medical people just makes it seem worse.

On a completely different topic. I saw some Aquaphor in the drugstore so I bought it and opened it to see what it was like. It seemed to have a very similar consistency to my eye gel.....Oh yes I did!

Sorry Izzysmom. That should be the least of your concerns right now. I've had my share of stupidity to deal with the on the work front too. When I first told the lead VP about my condition, she promptly told the rest of the managers in the company, so then everyone knew. I didn't even know what I was planning to do.

Anyway - we'll get through this, just like anything else. If there's anything we can do to support you, please ask!!!

Izzy, I'm sorry you're dealing with crap! 

Ladies I'm almost halfway through.  I'm tired and my breast just saw its first skin change.  It looks like a bruise on the underside of my breast.  I'm also tender but not red or itchy.  

Hope everyone else is doing well! 

Hi ladies,

I will be starting radiation later this month and thought it might be a good idea to check in for help, ideas, support. I was dxed w metastatic bc in 11/2006, since I have been highly er+/pr+,  the onc put me right onto femara and I have been taking that lovely yellow pill ever since.  In 2011 I had an oophorectomy and lumpectomy #1, a few wks ago I had lumpectomy #2. All the docs agree that this time I have rad therapy in addition.  Not really sure what to expect and am reading all these posts to glean as much as I can from ya'll - real time experience vs not always accurate printed materials

Hope every one is as well as can be.

Izzy, it is so frustrating dealing with this on top of everything else. Hang in there kiddo.

lyzzysmom, you pretty much nailed it. They ask you how are you doing and you usually say fine. I asked my RO last visit how long my zaps were and she gave me some song and dance and how the rads vary do to the electrical draw. Really? I can see it varying a second or two but she can give me a pretty good estimate. I translated it into , I don't have the time to pull it up on the computer as it is not important. But it is to me.

Ok yesterday was #12 of 30. Skin is doing good. I think I might be just starting to get a little orange peal to the skin. I'm the only one that can tell the difference between the two. However, I am really hurting inside, and  swollen. My poor little nipple is just mega sensitive and sore. I know a lot is due to I am still healing from the mammaplasty and everything is now really inflamed. Advil isn't cutting it anymore. Hope I can hold up.