Starting Chemo in April 2014

Hello friends! I've missed you all.  I loved reading the feedback about the alternative medicine guy who I had the argument with on Facebook.  And Timbuktu you hit the nail on the head about the arrogance.  That's what pushed my buttons - that and him saying people who do chemo are "lazy & misinformed".  I felt better after I told him he was a judgmental fool.

ANYWAY... had #4 today, which means only two more to go! My fingers and toes are crossed that the SEs don't get any worse this round like they did after round 3.

Sharon, I love the collage.  Thank you so much for including my furry friend, Jack.  He is such a joy.  I have another dog as well and the two of them are so loving and fun.  They offer me such great company when I'm visiting the dark side.

Sadly, I have horrible news.  My 22 year old niece died in a car accident on Sunday morning.  I will be taking a 4 hour road trip on Thur. to attend her funeral in upstate NY.  It will be awful, and compounded because my SEs will be kicking in that morning.  Not sure how that's going to be riding in the car either...  But I can't wait to see my sister and give her a big hug.  This is the worst tragedy to face our family & there will be a lot of healing for years to come. 

Merg, I know we're chemo buddies.  Hope yours went well today. 

Golfin girl, great shirt and great tradition behind it.  Very cool.  And BTW, you are gorgeous without your hair.

As far as coffee enemas go... I don't even know what to say, lol.  I'm pretty sure we have enough issues with digestive upset to not even entertain such an idea, so yeah I too will be ingesting my coffee orally thank you

Have a nice evening ladies.  Here is a pic of my other dog, Cali.

Long Island, I am so sorry for your loss.  I can't imagine.  Thank goodness you are able to travel to be with your sister and family. ((Hugs))

Longisland - so sorry for your family's loss. 

We had a Toyota Highlander - liked it a lot.  Currently have a Jeep Grand Cherokee - it's a little larger which I like, but the Highlander was very nice.

Long Island, that news knocked the wind right out of me.  And it comes with a terribly true message.  With all of the fear we have, the cancer, the chemo, etc. life is so unpredictable and at any time something from left field can take you down, so why worry?  Ha!  But I've found that to be true.

My father died of an ulcer after years of battling cardio vascular disease.  An ulcer was the last thing on his mind, even the dr thought the pain was from his heart.  Somehow, someway, we have to come to terms with uncertainty.  I'm deeply pained by your loss.  

So true Timbuktu. Wishing your family peace in this difficult time. 

It just reminds us all that we have to try to enjoy each day - - which of course is difficult at best some days. But the good days, they are really really good. 

Longisland, I am sincerely sorry for your loss.  Your family is in my thoughts and prayers and I pray that you have minimal SE during this truly devastating time.  

Longisland- I am also sorry for your loss, but happy you will be there as support for your sister (and she for you). Families need one another in the face of a tragedy, and loosing a young family member is one of the hardest things a family must face. Plan your trip wisely. I traveled for a family funeral four days after chemo, and I gave myself extra everything. Time, meds, fluids, snacks. It is easy to focus on getting there, but you want to BE there when you do. Just be careful. At the services I found myself hiding so as not to be the focus of peoples attention, but then again I hadn't seen most of my family for over twenty years. My cousin (whose father passed) actually put her hand out to me and introduced herself when i walked in. When I told her who I was she broke down in tears. My entire childhood all I remember is spending time with my Aunt Uncle and cousins (they were more like sisters to me). Anyway I am rambling. Point is take the extra time you need to get through the day emotions are a powerful force and you will need all the physical stamina you can muster.

Ladies, So I wanted to give a post-chemo report. It has been eight days now, and I seem to have developed chemo associated peripheral neuropathy. It started Saturday night and I had hoped yesterday this would be a SE that would say hi and bye. I will be calling my MO today. Other than that the good news is my chemo brain (which was really bad after round three) seems to be clearing up! The fog is lifting! Yeah. Bad news the hair under my arms and on my legs are growing back. Darn it! I was looking forward to a shave free summer. Also I believe I am growing the Fuzz on my head. I never thought things would happen so quickly. I still have a lot of fatigue. Combined with the neuropathy I have a lot of difficulty getting around. I am working four hours a day, but that depletes all the energy I have. Not a whole lot else to report other than round four was easier for me than round three. Maybe it is psychological that I knew round four was it for me. Have agreat day ladies I'll let you know what the MO says later.

DeeC ,Jaimieh, You look "Marvelous". Great pics.

Round 3 is done! Just going back for the horrible bone pain shot today. I am dreading it.

My friend took me yesterday & she brought a picnic basket with us filled with cheese, crackers, grapes, sparkling grape juice. We had real napkins & plates. The hospital has food donated but it's always cakes, doughnuts, cookies, chips. That's ok, but after 3 hrs I want real food. Anyhow it made a long day fun.

Easy SE's for everyone!.

Linda Thanks I already started the B vitamin regime. Last week. This just snuck up on me

longisland I am so sorry for your loss   I am sending you hugs and support and hope that it somehow helps to know that you and ur family are in my thoughts!

Had my bloodwork and met with my MO yesterday. We had a great discussion about my prognosis as I explained to him that I am getting very down at times. He said that with my type of cancer he expects that I will be fine and live a long life. He did mention that they never know what cancer might do 100%, however he said that in my case things look very positive. Then he gave me some medical jargon to support his view. He also mentioned that they can unfortunately tell with some women that things do not look as positive

I find it funny that even once he explained this to me I still feel worried. I feel like it's not good for me to feel relived because I'll jinx myself into having something bad happen. Crazy I know!!!!!

Today I will be in the chair for round 3 of FEC. My final round!  3 weeks from today my cocktail changes to taxotere/ herceptin for the last 3 rounds with herceptin continuing for a year

Last night I doctored up a tomato sauce and added too much garlic. My tummy was not good for most of the evening and this morning it's killing me!  Great timing!!

Love all the pics!  It brings us all closer together!!!!  Here are two of my hubby and me. One with the wig and one without. I must admit that I loved sitting on a park bench in Niagara on the lake with the breeze blowing through my fuzz!!!!

Lol

Have a good day all !!

Linda I hope that your Ct shows nothing. 

Football nut great pics . 

Weekly taxol side effects check in however I am skeptical because I still have AC floating around in my system. Heartburn is still number one issue,my taste buds are off, dry mouth is still hanging around and I have a little bit of an upset tummy. None of this is stopping me from getting out and about though. Hopefully my list will not grow at all. 

Longisland - I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you're feeling strong with very few SE so you can be there for your family in the way you want to be. My best friend's step daughter (17 years old) died in a car accident the week I started chemo. It was really hard not being able to travel home to be there for her. It sure made me count my blessings.

DeeC & Jamieh - love the wigs! I've been mostly going bald or with hats. They look so great I'm rethinking that startegy.

Linda - fingers crossed for a clear CT

Mikishelly - I hope that neurpoathy is temporary. Sorry about the hair growth. We can't have it all!

footballnut - glad you had a great trip. I love Niagara-on-the-lake. Such a quaint town. Cute pictures of you two. I'm very glad your OC is positive. That's wonderful news. Good luck today in the chair. Go Rangers!

I'm in the chair this Friday. I've had a rough week. The last two times week 3 was awesome. Almost normal feeling. Not this time. Exhausted. Short of breath. Had to take yesterday off work to try to get some rest. Glad I did. It helped. My energy is about 50% of normal. Dreading the chair becasue I haven't bounced back. So beaten down.  

LongIsland - I am SO SORRY for your loss. How awful. Sending prayers and hugs to you and your family. 

Ladies, I LOVE the sense of family on this board. How amazing that we can all "be" here for each other in everything. This makes my heart so very, very Happy.

Looking good Footballnut!

And the WIGS! LADIES! I would never guess. Ever. They all look so natural! 

Linda - Sending prayers for a clear scan. 

Having some serious numbness in my fingers and feet the past couple of days. Also really chilled. *sigh*  Yet ANOTHER side effect? You could put my face on a poster for THC side effects. Seriously. I'm like a walking ad. 

Also, I miss FOOD.

Hey Footballnut! We're chair buddies today!

Sorry for the long post but I've been offline for a couple of days and trying to catch up. Here goes:

Sitting in the chair right now for TC#3 of 6, sucking on ice and eating a Lorna Doone. MO said my white tongue sounds like it wasn't thrush, but instead just the chemo killing off the cells in my mouth, so she said to try to ice my mouth during the T&C drips, to reduce the amount of chemo that attacks my mouth cells. Hopefully it works.

EverForward: I too look on the bright side with the good things you listed. Well, except for the no-period because I'm still getting mine (boo!).

Jaimieh: Nice wig...looks like real hair! They've gotten so much better with the wigs these days, which is so nice.

Timbuktu: If your wig feels too loose, try a smaller size. Wigs seem to come in 3 sizes: petite, average, and large. Mine all seem to stay pretty well, even when I drive with my convertible top down. Good job remembering a phone number on chemo. I couldn't even remember phone numbers even before chemo!

MakeLemonade: Congrats on finishing A/C! Gotta celebrate each milestone. I too am exhausted right after my infusion, usually the first 11 days after chemo, but then I have 10 good days afterwards until my next infusiion. We gotta enjoy the good days and look forward to them on the bad days.

SwissMiss: I only get blood work the day of my infusions (once every 3 weeks). But I think that's because I get the Neulasta shots. Once a week is a lot of vein sticks. Yuck. Sorry you have to go through that.

DeeC: Wig looks great and just like real hair! Hang in there...only 3 more to go! You can do it! I'm looking forward to hearing how radiation goes for you since I will be doing the rads in September when I'm done with my chemo. And enjoy the good days!

LongIsland: So sorry for your loss. I hope the drive goes well. Just plan a lot of rest stops and I think you'll be fine.

Cold, clarrn, Blueberry, and jhodro: I like my Toyota RAV4. It's a good size for me (family of 4). Good space but not too big as to be hard to park. I have friends and family who like the Honda CRV, the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Lexus RX350, and Acura MDX. The Subara Forrester (more of a tall wagon) is also a favorite of friends. I'm a car girl so ask me anything about cars. I love to talk cars.

Mompv: Good luck with your first infusion. You can take Ibuprofen for the soreness..they let me take them for my port installation soreness, which helped. Start the Claritin right after your infusion and take for several days afterwards (I only take for about 3 days but I think others on this board take it for a week).

mmtagirl: Congrats on finishing A/C! Whoo hoo! You're brave to have that many people over! I'd be afraid to do that even if I WASN'T on chemo!

MikiShelly: Thanks for the postchemo report. Sorry to hear about the neuropathy. I hope it goes away for you soon. As far as hair regrowth, I'd gladly take that over chemo anyday! DId you know the Komen Race is this Saturday? I can't go because I will be exhausted and be spending my day in bed, so I signed up for "Sleep in for the Cure," which I wasn't even aware of until this year. It lets me support the cause but not have to physically go downtown. I plan to go next year to walk for sure though! 

Footballnut: Great pics!

Linda505: Good luck with your CT scan. Hope it turns out well.

Cold: I miss good food too! Only ice cream and cheese taste good for a week and a half after infusions. Things we'll appreciate more after chemo is done...

Wishing everyone a good day, whether you're in the chair, out and about, or enjoying some sleep.