Starting Chemo in April 2014

Mameme- You are beautiful! What a great smile.  My hair is really getting thin now.  I took a picture yesterday that I will try to post later.

mamame- such a beautiful pic. Just make me smile!

MameMe Your hair looks great! I still have the chemical taste in my mouth too. I will be reallly happy when it goes away!

I woke this am with numbness in both of my hands. Just a little, but it is very bothersome that the Neuropathy may have spread to my hands as well as my feet. Typing is proving mildly difficult. Oh well another bump in my road. 

Here's to a SE free day to all you beautiful ladies!

Beautiful pic, Mame - you do have a lot of hair still.

Jamieh - am impressed you could do an 8 hour wedding photo shoot!

I hear everyone on the no taste / fuzz mouth.  Yech.  I wonder when taste buds come back?

Sorry about the neuropathy, mikishelley.  Mine comes and goes, mostly I am feeling like my nails want to lift away ... Another pleasant outcome.

OK, one thing I'm really frustrated with is the darn cold I have!  My "feeling good" week for my last two infusions have been plagued with this horrible cough and cold.  I don't have a lot of congestion, no fever, but the nagging cough just keeps on keeping on.  I can't go five minutes without coughing.  By the end of each day, I feel like someone has been banging on my head with a hammer because of the full day of COUGHING.  I go for my next infusion in three days, and I feel like this chemotherapy is preventing me from getting over this common cold.  Will I be stuck with the horrible cough through the duration of my chemo treatment?  I've used OTC cough medicines, which aren't very effective during the day.  I take Nyquil every night so I can sleep, and also to deal with the aches and pains the Taxol gives me.  Is anyone else experiencing anything like this?  If my chemo goes as scheduled, I'll be done in a month, but I don't know that I can do this coughing routine every single day for a month longer.  Honestly, it's wreaking havoc on my bladder control, and with the C and D I've experienced with Taxol, I'm literally a mess  

Hope you're all having a SE-free day, and that  you are enjoying Father's Day with loved ones!

Hi all,

Just stopped in to say hi and check up on everyone.  Haven't been on here in about two weeks.  I thought I would catch up on everything but I can't read through all the pages I missed!  Wow!  You guys have been busy on here.  

SharonDe- I hope you are doing well.  I did see the montage you made.  So cool!  You are the best!

SwissMiss- I hope you changed oncs.  I know you were unhappy.  I see you have a bad cough.  I had one and my PCP gave me a prescription cough medicine that actually worked!  It tastes awful but I was having very bad rib pain from all the constant coughing.  It is Promethazine VC.

I started my Taxol last week.  It was definitely easier on me than the A/C, but I now have new issues.  No nausea with the Taxol, but body aches and fatigue.  MO told me I am slightly anemic, but will check my blood weekly to keep an eye on that.  Also started having very bad edema in my lower legs and feet.  MO put me on Lasix for that, also potassium as mine was already low.  He also put me on a B complex and Calcium and Magnesium to try and stave off neuropathy.  So my kitchen counter looks like a pill factory!  Eleven more weeks...

I am having so much trouble with my eyes that I called my eye dr.  He said that our corneas have fast growing cells so that is why the trouble.  Great.  But it should clear up after chemo.

To everyone else - I wish you all the best, a good nights sleep and minimal SE's.

Hugs to all,  lilyrose

You guys are so sweet! Thanks to all for the kind remarks. I love seeing you all in the collage that Sharon did, and some of the ind. pics people posted. Its hard to get much out of the tiny avatar shots, at least for me. 

I was so wiped out yesterday, I couldn't get out of my own way. Two long naps, got nothing done, felt trapped by cancer treatment. Today was totally different, no naps, no real fatigue, took a two mile walk, got seedlings planted into big pots and took DH out to dinner for Father's Day. I did not feel stricken with side effects, at all. Up, down, up, down... I guess its the nature of the beast.

Nice to have your company through this peculiar adventure we are all on.

Timbuktu- what chemo did you have last time ??  I hope you can find put where your palpitations are coming from. I get them from low RBC's. 

I had cMF for breast cancer.  the tc i'm on now is for endometrial cancer.

My hemoglobin was 11.8 last time.  I try to make sure I eat red meat and I make it in a cast iron pan so the iron will leach into it.  then I take a vitamin c so my body will absorb it more readily.  I'm not sure this is why my hemoglobin is ok but it's worth a try.

I think the palpitations may have to do with my blood pressure meds but I'm not sure.  I forgot to take one last night and the palpitations were bad today but when I took the meds it went away.

I also took a xanax for good measure.

My onco said "anything is possible when you're on chemo".  Ugh!

btw, I get itching after my infusions in spite of the benedryl.  I take over the counter benedryl for a few days and that seems to help.  

good morning all

Just catching up. My plumbing has shut down so took 2 senekots last night. Sort of got things moving a bit but my tummy is killing me as is my lower back and hips. I feel so bloated!  Having said that whenever I've had issues in the past my tummy was always affected

Dry mouth and fatigue were my two worst SEs this past weekend besides my stomach. Yesterday was the worst!  No mouth sores but I can relate to the cardboard taste. Perfect way to describe it!!

I feel like I've blown up like a balloon. So bloated!  Ugh!

And now no hockey!  Well it was a good run!

My hubby and I are considering reuniting our acdc  tribute bend for cancer benefits only as I suspect that we will get a good crowd out and hopefully raise some. $ for research. We are targeting late fall so hopefully it will work out

No chemo until July 2 so hoping for reduced SEs as summer approaches

Have a great day all!!!!!

Nancy - I have a problem with itching too.  I am convinced it is the opiates.  Do you take them?  I did some research online and itching was mentioned as a temporary SE.

lovebeingNana:  I put a call in as well. I'll update once I speak with my MO. I'm on day 4 of these hives and it really sucks. 

Brifadoonbenson: I'm not taking any opiates so I'm thinking it has to be the taxotere. 

Ugh. This is miserable. This is supposed to be my good week before my next treatment.  Oh well. Hopefully my MO can give me something to stop this itching. 

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I had a long nail that broke in the middle and  since them I've been keeping them short.

I woke up today, alive!  I couldn't believe it.  Today is one week since the last infusion (3), and darned if the life force hadn't sneaked into my body!  don't give up girls, better days are ahead

Hi girls.  Today is a better day than yesterday.  The awful

constipation followed by severe diarrhea is really getting old! Boo! I do think I'm turning a corner though today... we will see.  The good news is that Round 4 was definitely better than Round 3 - next to no nausea as of yet.  Tomorrow will be one week and I'm hoping to get back to work tomorrow.  Today I got outside for a bit - did a little planting and went food shopping.  I was worried about being in the grocery store and having to "go right now" but fortunately that didn't happen.  Next month I will take the two senekots for the 3 days for sure - never cutting back on that again.  I really don't think it's the Senekot causing the diarrhea - I think it's just a course we suffer digestively from the anti nausea drugs and the chemo. 

I was interested in something a couple of you said about your nails feeling like they were lifting away.  Back in May I did a long hike where my toes got severely injured.  Consequently I ended up losing 4 toenails and I attributed it to the hike and the shoes I wore.  Now I'm wondering if the chemo played a role in that... (things that make you go hmm..) 

Summer is upon us ladies and we need to remember to stay out of the sun.  Luckily it hasn't been crazy hot here yet in NY.  And I have a big old oak tree in my backyard which will help keep me in the shade. 

Hope everyone is faring well today xo

I take magnesium to help with the restless leg situation that has amped up since beginning taxol. I also take Vitamin D and Glucosamine. All ok'd by the MO.

I have been struggling with rotating between C and D throughout the last couple of weeks. It's rough. Feel like my diet is the worst, but I do not want to eat fruits and veggies with this stuff going on!! Bread and cheese, that's my go to. LOL.