Starting chemo September 2014

KayaRose, that is excellent news!

Barremom, thanks for being the voice of reason about so many things. Plans have changed, so I will be skipping the glass of wine for now. I don't want to do anything that might cause problems, plus I think I will enjoy it more when I can appreciate the flavor of a good merlot! Might buy a bottle of my favorite and put it in a special place. It can be my victory prize when all this is over!

Love the worry quote! So true!

Drowsiemuffin, welcome! You are in the right place. The support and compassion you will find here is amazing! These ladies have kept me sane and in fighting spirits. I hope you get good info from your surgeon.

Have to share a funny with you all. This morning after my shower, the tub was covered in hair. (How can I be this bald and still losing so much?) Little E had to use the bathroom, and I was worried how he would react to seeing all that hair. He looked at it, looked at my bald head and said, "Wow, Mom! That chemo sure is working!" I started explaining that it's a good sign, blah, blah, and he finally held up his hand and said, "Can we discuss this later? I have to use the bathroom and I would like my privacy!" LOL! I just adore that kid!

Welcome drowsiemuffin! This is a great group of strong, supportive women.

Hello all! Sorry I've gone silent for a while. Yesterday was my 3rd round and the halfway point for me. Somehow I can't get too excited about it. SEs as expected - diarrhea throughout the night, no appetite and heartburn.

I've loved getting caught up on all your posts. Despite the hardships everyone is facing,your strength and optimism shines through. We're winning!

GREAT news, Kaya!!!!  Hope more comes your way next week. 

Drowsiemuffin -  Welcome to the group.  We can conquer anything as long as we stick together.  We are here for you, whatever you need. 

Badhairday,  What a wonderful little man you have!!!!    

Thanks everyone. 

LARock, I've done my four AC (fouth one a week ago) and I've been taking Prilosec and Zantac to help with the indigestion and it does help

badhairday, pie for breakfast sounds divine! 

One interesting thing that has happened to me....  my fingernails are freakishly long and beautiful, even the doctor noticed.... I'll take what I can get  

Drowsie, I envy you the nails. I have had to keep mine short because they are breaking so easily. Can't wait to have a mani pedi once chemo is done!

Melannmor, that seems a lot like an allergic reaction to me, and I am allergic to everything! My son had a reaction like that on day 9 of an antibiotic that resulted in an ambulance ride and a hospital stay. Call your doctor!

Please don't hate me, friends, but I did all my Christmas shopping today! My friend took me, and we got it all finished! I avoided the crowds, there was plenty of stock, and I don't have to worry about how these next treatments will knock me out. Little E is going to have a great Christmas morning! Don't tell anybody, but Santa is giving me a Keurig. I have wanted one forever, and my friend convinced me I should treat myself. It's going to kill me knowing that it's stashed in the closet! LOL!

Also got Little E's birthday presents. Still trying to figure out how to celebrate. Not feeling up to a big party.

Tried very hard this weekend to live in the now, and not anticipate Wednesday's tx.

Nomatter, if it were just me, I would sleep through the holidays! Normally, I am all abouf Christmas, but thid year, not so much. Having Little E means I have to push through it. Just knowing his gifts are done is a huge relief. I am so blessed to have friends that are already plotting to put up the tree and our huge village. They know how important it is to me that E has his holiday be as festive and normal as possible. My big kids are all getting Amazon cards! LOL! Making it easy on myself.

Kaya, I understand the feeling sad thing. I was feeling it last week. I usually do Christmas in a big way. I even decorate the bathroom! LOL! But I realized there is no way I can do it this year. So I figured out what is most special to Little E: the tree, the village and train, and of course, prrsents from Santa. Then asked my friends for help. As long as Little E is happy, that will be good enough for me. It's hard to get to that point, but omce I did, I felt relieved to not have all that pressure on me. I already earned everybody that next Christmas id going to be a huge extravaganza! LOL!

I am worried about Thanksgiving too. It is the day after chemo, and the crowds and kids terrify me. Trying to figure out if I should gracefully bow out.

God is Good Jean!!! Thought ... Prayed for you this morning. For me, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. I will decorate, but will concentrate on being with boys and DH.

hope you like your port, Jean! So far mine is working well for me. Only down side so far is inability to get blood from it from time to time, but otherwise it's been ok. I've decided not to have them spray me with the ethyl chloride for numbing , because my skin over my port would itch starting 3or 4 days after chemo and it was annoying, didn't have the itching the last time.

PoppyK, I had cytoxan with the adriamycin and finished my 4 rounds two weeks ago, my hemoglobin has dropped every time I've gone in, started at 13.4, no I'm down to 10.7, I can't go up a flight of stairs without my heart beating out of my chest and feeling short of breath, I start taxotere tomorrow with H and P, fatigue has been a problem for me but not as bad as you seem to be experiencing, if you don't feel better tomorrow, you should call if for no other reason, peace of mind. This next group of drugs scares the crap out of me, started my oral oral decadron today. I'm hoping for no allergic reactions!

We got the 730am appt tomorrow, since my new group of drugs take a little longer to infuse the first time, THIS SUCKS! I'm tired of worrying about all this stuff! My mind never shuts off. And on top of it all I get a notice for jury duty, finally the cancer is good for something, and they better give me my excusal!

Jean, so glad to hear that you are doing so well with your tx. God bless!

Rose, it's hard to turn the cancer brain off, isn't it?

Poppy, so sorry you're feeling so bad. That's how I felt last week. I finally surrendered to the fatigue and pretty much slept for a couple days straight. Make sure you are drinking enough, and eating what you can.

Toby, one of our most important traditions is making a birthday cake for Jesus, and singing happy birthday to him. I love all the lights and decorations and gifts, but we hold tight to the real reason for the season!

Have labs and onco appointment tomorrow and AC on Weds. Trying so hard to not think about it, and just enjoy feeling almost normal today.

Poppy, my third infusion was the worst for me. I slept for days, then I couldn't sleep for days. So tired it was all I could do to move without being out of breath. It's been two weeks today since and I feel better but still not up to par. Ready for the last one next Monday but dreading the aftermath. Feel better soon

Thanks for the responses. I was wondering if this extreme fatigue was normal, or if I should be more concerned. I know the fatigue is accumulative, but am surprised how much worse it is this time around. I am staying hydrated and eating when I can. I haven't showered in two days, but hope to today.

KayaRose, I did the Myriad genetic testing. It took 3 weeks to get the results, which were all negative. I'm glad I did it because the information would help me make decisions about my treatment. If I was positive for the breast cancer genes, I would have elected to have a Mx and then had my ovaries removed. Hope your appointment goes well!

bad hair and Poppy, thought of you both today. We were closed today so for the first time in WEEKS I was actually ALONE in the house! Felt better today so I cleaned some, went to grocery store, watched general hospital while washing my kale, blueberries

I forgot how wonderful. I love my DH, but this was sorely needed. Bad hair, I know Poppy has tried a lot of nausea Meds, she may have some insight.

Off to watch Ellen!

had my first taxotere/ herceptin/ perjeta infusion today, went much better then I expected. I was preparing myself for the worst, which would have been the dreaded reaction, but nothing, yay for me! Decadron and Benadryl worked or at least helped, got good news on my ultrasound, Cancer has shrunk 40% from the 4 cycles of A/C, MO is very pleased and so am I, means all this crap is doing something. Got a script for Ativan today, my husband thinks I need it, not sleeping great, especially nites before infusions, I worry too much, at least I'll have it if I feel i need it. Other than feeling tired and flushed from the decadron, not bad so far . Still have left over side effects from AC rounds, so waiting to see how the new stuff effects me. Hemoglobin dropped again down to9.4, MO says 7 is the cut off for transfusion.

Badhairday, I'd gladly share some of pounds with you! Hope they get your side effects figured out!

PoppyK , I hope you regain some of your strength and feel better

I'm feeling a bit stronger today. I might even change out of pajamas today! ;-) I haven't felt good in soooo long. It's getting so old. I now know what people mean when they talk about being too tired to breathe. I don't have to get through this gracefully, I just need to get through it!

Badhairday, Hope your SE are minimal this time. Both Kris and I had problems with nausea and were prescribed different meds that were delivered via a patch. I'm on Scopolamine.

Rose, Hope it goes well for you. Ativan only got me about 4 hours of sleep, so my MO prescribed Restoril. This changed everything for me. I could sleep about 7-8 hours and awake refreshed. A good night's sleep is key to your recovery and feeling better! Give Ativan a try. If it doesn't work, call your MO and try something else.

Hugs everyone! I'm too exhausted to post more, but enjoy reading all of your posts!

Poppy