Starting Chemo in April 2014

Thanks Cold,  I was wondering what to expect here for after treatment   I survived the drive to Calgary today with all the craziness of the first snowfall where everyone forgets how to drive.  Ack!

Timbuktu -  you need a break!  Sending more prayers your way! 

mmta - before this March it would have been no to rads for sure, but a large meta analysis came out this year showing benefits for rads for people like us with 1-3 nodes and chemo.  The benefit was something like 30% reduction in recurrence rates.   So I am in the same boat.  

thanks, Clarn, I had not seen this study.  Btw, I am so jealous of your hair,  I will look like Einstein if my hair on top keeps it's current trajectory !

Ever - prayers to you for a speedy recovery

Cold - awesome news! and thanks for your tips. After I got my port out they told me not to swim for 2 weeks!! Do you know what that's like in Arizona - I stare at my pool when it's 103 degrees out! LOL. Anyway, since I stopped, my water retention has dissipated and I feel a little lighter. I will see for sure tomorrow when I see my MO. I don't have a scale in the house. I will ask about the Glutamine as well - they are particular about the supplements that I'm taking while going through Rads.

Clarrn - I have hair envy as well!!! Congrats on finishing chemo!!

Speaking of hair, I'm 6 weeks PFC and I still have fuzz that looks pretty light except for the back. Then I also have darker "sprouts" on the top which never fell out after I shaved my head during chemo. So my hair is all different lengths and colors (although from a far I still look bald), and now it seems that the back and my hair line around my head is growing quicker than the rest. Anyone else in the same situation? Maybe this is the start of the growth - can it hurry up!!!

I started Rads this week, so far pretty uneventful just a pain to get there every day. Luckily I feel a difference in my energy level. That started about a week and half ago. I feel a little more energy every day - so that is definitely encouraging. For awhile there I thought it would never get better. But it does. I'm also getting more hot flashes, joy. 

Hope everyone is feeling good and recovering well!

-Dawn

Timbuktu - 1/4 inch - I probably have that in the back of my head, my neck (should I shave my neck? it looks kind of weird), and sporadically on the top, but the rest is still "fuzzy". Thanks for letting me know that this is normal! I was starting to think my hair was going wonky! I hope you are feeling good. I actually had Lyme Disease back in 2002, but it was a very bad case. If you do have it, it seems like it was caught early and that is key as it relates to symptoms. 

Timbuktu, no I'm actually from NJ - lived there my whole life. I've only been in AZ for 4 years. I had Lyme Meningitis with it so I was hospitalized for 10 days and had to have pic line to administer IV antibiotics for 30 days. It was a nightmare and nothing like what you seem to have. I was nauseous, fatigued, couldn't eat, stand, walk, and I had a fever of over 103 that lasted for 5 days which is what ultimately put me in the hospital because I couldn't hold down any medications. No bulls eye, but I did have red rash. The doctor thought it was everything but Lyme, until I demanded a Lyme test. No surprise to me that it was positive since I had every symptom and lived behind a wooded area. I never saw a tick on me.

Hmmm.... rads effecting hair growth? I sure hope not!! it seems that plenty of people have hair growth while going through rads.

What an ordeal Kath!  So glad you diagnosed yourself!  I did too, because of the strange rash.

Horrifying, what you went through!  I never saw the tick either.

Hello all you wonderful ladies!

Congrats to everyone finishing chemo, thoughts, prayers and hugs to everyone moving on to RADS and BMX's.

Today I still feel very blessed but am so confused.

Just when I was ready to get my pom poms out for finishing my final chemo on 8/18 I got knocked back. I feel as though I got through rounds 1-5 pretty good with all of the tough but expected SE's then round 6 kicked my butt big time. My SE's went through their normal cycle but were more intense for some reason. I thought my arm and legs were just going to fall off on day 5.

This past Friday I went to my PT appointment and was excited about going to get my nails done finally and then off to get my hair trimmed up. (I did not shave my head so I had thin strands) I was feeling great about starting to get reset but started having heavy chills. Well..... got home took my temp and WOW..... it was 101.5 so I called and was told to go to the ER. Temp jumped to 103 in ER and I was having the worse chills of my life. They did blood work, two types of antibotics through my port, chest Xray, CT scan, pee check and everything came back normal except I had a very mild UTI. I was finally released today and they never did find out why I was running a temp. While there my hemoglobin went from 8.1 to 8.7 then down to 7.3 yesterday so, last night they gave me two pints of blood and now I have this huge headache. Yesterday I would have been out of breath just typing this. I do feel a bit better but I am still soooo very tired. Those of you that have received blood, when does feel better stage start? Has anyone heard of or had such and experience? I don't mean to be a winny baby but I just can figure out what has just happened and the idea of getting blood is still a bit freaky.I have not had time to do my normal research so any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the kind thoughts and prayers. They must have worked because both my BS and PS (along with what seems like every med student, resident, and intern in the DC area) are pleased with my incisions and flat chest so far. I get to leave the hospital today. Woohoo! Will try to go back to sleep now. More later.

EF- Glad that everything is going okay so far.  I hope that you get released soon. 

Blessedme- I had 2 transfusions last time and I felt SOOOO much better afterwards.  This time I didn't need any but 2 weeks PFC and I am recovering just a little bit each day. 

As for me I FINALLY start radiation on Monday.  I say finally because I was supposed to start last week but it was pushed off one week.  Now I feel like I am sitting around just waiting.  I seem to be able to sleep lately much better than while I was going thru chemo but now I seem to be craving more sleep and want to nap during the day.  My nails are still a mess but I think they are all going to stay on even with the blood blister look.  Overall I think I am about 1/2 way to the other side and 1/2 to feeling human again. 

Sunshine, I will be watching closely how things go for you, especially going back to work. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday and today I unwrapped my dressing myself this morning. I admit it was quite a shock. I could use some reassurance that I'm supposed to look this hideous right after the BMX! 

I think the next few days at least will be me sitting in bed with Netflix streaming.

I did Netflix too...lol.  Watched three seasons of Downton Abbey!!!

Hello all!

Sounds like everyone is making progress, yay!!!!! I just finished 17 of 33 rads, so to those of you who are being thrown into that not expecting it - - it's way way way easier than chemo. The actual treatment for me is about 10 minutes, most of which is positioning and measuring. I got 5 micro-tattoos, although some use sticker and sharpies, all but one is not really visible, just the one on my breastbone is visible and I'll want to lose that one after treatment. 

The worst part is the anxiety (like before we started chemo) of what it will be like and how it will effect us. The other tedious part is going every day. My girl is red and sensitive, but I've been doing an exercise class and working out every day (still gaining weight, but I'm active, dammit), and as long as I get a quick nap in the afternoon, I'm good. On days I don't exercise, I'm not as in dire need of a nap. I had my first bloodwork this week and I'm low on Hemoglobin - like 9.9, but not too bad, which I guess accounts for the need to sleep. I also have a gel thing that I keep cool in the fridge and can use when it is more sore, like when I'm more active, and that relieves the majority of the discomfort.

I'm 8 weeks post chemo and I've got eyebrows and eyelashes again. And like many of you, about a 1/4 inch of hair that is enough to go wig-free 99% of the time. Although, today, it was pretty chilly here, nothing like snow, but I'm thinking I'll need hats again to stay warm!! I keep getting "nice haircut" from people - thinking that I chose a micro-pixie of my own free will, hahahaahah! 

I'm having some major water retention from the Herceptin so today I got a prescription to hopefully resolve that. I wonder if I'll fit back in my old jeans after that - - 20 pounds or so of water, right?!

Happy Friday everyone!!

I had my follow-up appointments with both surgeons this morning. Pathology report looks good so my BS said I am officially cancer free! They also removed 2 of the 4 drainage tubes and I removed the two pain tubes yesterday so I feel less like an octopus and more like a human being. I also switched the annoying surgical bra for a more comfortable camisole. I've been on pain meds virtually non-stop since my surgery a week ago; I'm hoping to wean myself off this week but I'm not pushing it. Will decide later when I feel up to going back to work. Both surgeons are pleased with how I look, even though I think I have a long way to go reconstruction-wise. But no sign of infection or dead tissue, so I'll take it. All in all a pretty good day! (No sign of eyebrows yet, but at least my eyelashes have hung on.)

Good news all around and what a wonderful expression, "cancer free".  Yipppee!