Starting Chemo January 2015

Awww you guys are too kind :0). I am sort of glad to be in this single break as I can just focus on me and not worry about someone else who would also be worried sbout me, if that makes any sense. Iguess I have a hard time even with my close family when they fuss around me or get worried. Anecdotally, I left Quebec City for Toronto for a change in scenery following a heart break. I moved to Montreal leaving someone behind in Toronto. I know this time will be the right one otherwise I will end up with no city to move to (it rains too much for me on the west coast and snows too much for me in Alberta lol).

But this is not Dear Abby so I will wish you a good night and a lovely weekend!

Marjo who is high on steroids even with a half dose. I just finished installing a wireless printer, fixed my computer, watched two hours of Mr. Selfridge and am running out of things to do!!!

Marjo—I see you had your surgery in October…do you remember how long it was before you were able to play tennis? I've only been out ONE time this year (we've gotten A LOT of rain out here in Texas is one reason) and it is just too much of an effort to run! Don't know if it was just that feeling of normalcy, or being out in the sunshine...but after playing for an hour--the rest of the weekend I felt so much better and energetic. Makes me wish I had kept up exercising throughout chemo. I've got my BMX scheduled for Friday...just wondering if I should not expect to play again this summer. --Lorie

OK Marjo...you have TOTALLY made my day, my week, my month!!! I would never have thought it would be a possibility to play after only 4 WEEKS?!? (I know everyone's different...but just to know it's possible?) That is amazing that you were serving at 6 weeks? I am beyond excited! I was thinking by the time I had enough range of motion, the summer would be over. Of course, I am assuming my stamina will be back somewhat! --Lorie

Good luck to you tomorrow JazzerciseGirl and keep us posted - 16 treatments is known as "the Canadian method". I asked for it but wasn't a good candidate :0(

Hello everyone,

Jazzercisegirl, I hope your radiation went without a hitch on the 26th. May 25th was my birthday, and it was actually a pretty good day! I have four chemos left, ending June 18th. I'm counting down- three weeks from tomorrow!

I am in a quandry. Last Friday I went to a plastic surgeon who is with a different hospital (University of Michigan) than where my breast surgeon is (Beaumont). I thought it would be a straightforward appointment. If I like him and his results, I would go with him for a delayed DIEP flap. I am now left with more questions. Where I am now, Beaumont, they do SNB during BMX. Then I find out if I need radiation, based on SNB and what they find in my breast tissue. Reconstruction is obviously delayed. At University of Michigan, they say I am a candidate for immediate recon. Their protocol is to do SNB outpatient in advance and then do immediate recon at time of BMX if rads is not needed. The DIEP flap results look much better if recon is immediate. I have to move to U of M for my breast surgeon if I choose immediate recon at U of M. I now have an appointment at the U of M multi-disciplinary clinic on June 8th, which I have mixed feelings about. I don't really want to switch to a different hospital because I like where I am. I have to admit that one big surgery versus two is very appealing though! Plus, I wonder if they miss something by basing the rads decision on SNB path alone. U of M is the number one hospital in the state for cancer (Beaumont is number 2, but top hospital overall in the state) so I'm sure they know what they are doing. I just won't get any answers from U of M until June 8th, and I'm waiting for Beaumont to call me back about the reasoning behind their protocol. I just want to know what I am doing so I can start processing it in my head and everything is up in the air right now! It is stressing me out a little bit!

Cheryl -Sorry to hear about your Dad's health but glad he is doing better now. Crazy stuff! Congratulations on reaching the last Taxol infusion. Wishing you well today and hoping you are able to regain some energy soon! I still get the ankle/foot swelling now 8 weeks PFC. Not sure how long that lasts. I could do better I think if I watch my salt intake more.

Brandi - sure hoping things have improved for you too!

jlstacey - Belated Happy Birthday wishes! That's a tough decision about surgery. The immediate recon is not a sure thing so a little hard to base your decision on that issue alone ? Maybe things will become more clear once you have had your visit on Jun 8th.

PMR53 - hoping you are recovering well from surgery still!

Colourpurple! Hope all is well with you!!

On a bright note, I think I see some new stubble coming in on my head finally! I never completely lost all my hair (99% of it though) and found some of it was still falling out. Yesterday, in the bright lights of my radiation changing room I could see the little hairs poking through! Hallalujah! Heading in for my 2nd to last rad TX today! It will be great to be done tomorrow.

congrats Cheryl that is great news!

Hi Ladies, I wanted to share my hair picture, 6 months from my last Taxol. I take Biotin daily and it is working great for me. I already had my first haircut. I hope this helps, I know how long it is to wait, but your day will come. And truthfully, I am starting to love my wash and go hair!

Now if it would just grow in a different direction other than straight up! Still trying to figure out this weird love hate thing with my chemo hair. I hated it for years, then shaved it, then hated bald, then hated fuzz. I guess I should be happy to be able to finally blame my bad hair on something other than a crappy gene pool! I can blame it on chemo. The only good thing that I found from chemo as a good side effect, it killed my toenail fungus...................at the same time the nail fell off. But it's back, and looks great now! Is that the silver lining that people keep telling us about, or is it the "gift"? Cheryl

PMR53, thank you! I hope you are doing well also. I hope you get that short sassy hair by Labor Day. Once mine started to come back, it turned wild on me, but so happy to have it. Bonus, it is super soft, and I don't have to "do" it. I just play my C card and keep on moving! Other than lingering fatigue, and joint pain I feel almost like my old self. I am so happy to be in such good company. Cheryl

SweetHope, I hope you are doing well. And I hope rads are treating you well. I had to laugh though, 1/4" of bed head hair, and it was complaint time!! Funny how we all adapt to the grow back stage. But seriously, my hair is crazy right now. I always looked exactly like my Mom, then I was bald and looked exactly like my Dad. Then I looked sick and bald, more like Uncle Fester. Not sure who is coming up next, but it could be Kramer or Einstein. And I don't care!! Have a great evening! Cheryl

Cheryl fg – CONGRATULATIONS on finishing chemo.I hope the SE subside for you quickly too!Radiation does feel a bit like a job since you are out every day.On the other hand, it seems to go by quickly.Good luck to you with it!That is wonderful that you also had a normal mammo! Hoorah!I think it is great they told you right away also.Enjoy your summer break as much as possible despite rads!!

Beachbum – love the picture you posted!That is fantastic hair growth!I wonder how many of us thought of Fester with our bald looks!I certainly did!Too funny.

Kristin – That's great that you have been able to return to work full time.To me that takes great strength.Wishing the end of chemo comes quickly and easily for you!

Jenn – Fatigue is definitely a bigger issue as time goes by.Hopefully your dancing is helping with that!I had my Rad simulation before I was scheduled to finish chemo on April 15^th.When I didn't end up getting that last chemo, my Rad schedule was bumped up and started on Apr 24^th. I got the port out after starting rads as well.It all happened pretty quickly really.You will probably get more information before your final chemo on Jul 10^th. I wouldn't think it should delay things much.Chemo was more of a problem for me.

Sweethope – I giggled about the bed head comment!That's pretty good.I only have stubble so far but boy it was great to see it!!LOL

TeriMP – how is it going on the Tamoxifen?I think it is getting a bit better for me as the hot flashes are not as extreme as they were the first month.I still have other SE's but I believe these are still related to my last chemo drug – docetaxel/Taxotere.Hope all is going well with you!

PMR53 – hope you are continuing to heal well from your surgery.

Brandi – Sending hugs and hoping things are improving for you!

I finished my rads on Friday and the skin is continuing to get redder.I have a bad area under my arm pit that is giving me a bit of grief.They told me that the skin would get worse for another couple of weeks and I'm counting down those days!

Wishing everyone good days!

Wendy

Hello everyone,

cherylfg, congrats on finishing. I am glad to hear your father is doing better. Glad the mammogram came back good. That encouraging news.

Brandi, I hope you are doing better as well.

SweetHope and Beachbum, the bedhead hair thing is funny because I too have about 1/4 inch of hair all over but mine is white or gray... but I don't care, it's hair. 😃 and Beachbum, thanks for the picture. It's great.

Jlstacey, I am praying for you about which hospital to choose. I know you will make the right decision for yourself.

Kristin, I am glad you are able to go back to work. You are a strong woman. And enjoy every bit of time you have with your Son.

Jenn, I am so glad you are still dancing. ...

Tennisfan, keep up the tennis matches. I just wish I had all the energy you ladies have.

Here is my update: I was supposed to have 3 more chemo TX left. The last two were postponed because of neurapothy in my feet. Well now I also have neurapothy in my right hand so it is spreading not going away. My MO said that if we can't do the next treatment on June 10th we will have to stop chemo all together and just move onto radiation. I have been measured for the rads machine but not tattooed yet. They marked me with permanent marker and put clear stickers over it to keep the marks in place. I don't have my rads schedule yet either. I don't know when I will start tomoxifin but it will happen. Nothing was said about my port being removed. But for the last couple days I have been having a slight pain in my armpit on the right side. (That's the side they removed the lymph nodes from) I worry about cancer still being there.

I just want all this to be over. we have been through a boat load of torture and I still have many side effects even though I haven't actually had chemo in like 3 weeks. Bloating and constipation are still my biggest problem areas besides the neurapothy And fatigue.

Enough about me... have a good day ladies. See you all soon right here.

Hey everyone and thank you so much for your support while I was away. I was avoiding the site for a while. My pain is a lot less but I still have almost constant nausea, which seems to maybe be connected to the giant hematoma I'm sporting on the left side of my abdomen that is like having a sideways pregnancy. I look all lopsided. It was sort of draining through a drain hole on my hip but then that closed up so now I have to go in weekly to see if they can suck it all out. The skin under my armpit where they took out the lymph nodes is VERY sensitive but I think that is slowly improving and I have less pain in that boob, thank goodness! My mom has been here for 3 weeks. She leaves tomorrow and has done a lot of house cleaning and cooking and stuff. Yesterday she took me in for a pedicure and it was nice but a bit painful as my body is very sensitive to massage and such. No complaints there though. I mean it's a pedicure in a massage chair. lol... I found a translate site so I could tell my lady that I have been going through chemo and she really helped me. I just wanted her to know that her job made a difference to someone. I *hope* it translated well and I think it did. Anyway, I do love the look of my new boobies and I guess I should be thankful of my fat gut I've been dealing with for years because that's where they came from.

Hello All;

I have spent the last hour or so reading everyone's posts and looking at your pictures; I've missed you girls!!

Beachbum; what great pictures!! Enjoy your break! What a blessing!!

Loriekg; the rain here was crazy wasn't it?? My Mom got 30 inches up in Whitesboro; we got I think 28 in Denton and have been dealing with all the flooding at Lake Lewisville and Ray Roberts however nothing like the Blanco River;my heart broke for those people that had no warning! How are you and your home? I pray no flooding or damage!

Mommacat and the rest of the peachfuzz crew (LOL) I to have about 1/4 inch of peachfuzz on my head and it sticks straight up on top and lays down on the sides and is very light; really curious as to how it will grow out, the texture and color....such a mystery at this point! But it's nice to feel the peachfuzz.

Since I've started the Taxol, it has been an up hill battle; at first I went on a couple bike rides and thought "this is great!!" Now 8 weeks/treatments in the fatigue is so bad, I feel like I have hot coals on the bottom of my feet and I hobble around like I'm crippled; I have sores in my mouth, throat and nose with a bloody nose every morning (it's just gross); my voice sounds like I've got constant bronchitis, plus I'm retaining so much fluid my joints ache and I'm so close to saying "No More!!!" and throw in the flag; then I remind myself how far I've come! I've got 4 more Taxol and then 5 weeks of Radiation. I was going to switch from Plano to Denton for Radiation as it's closer to home but have heard Horrible things from people about Denton-Texas Oncology; so I am now looking at the Texas Oncology in Flower Mound. I will still go to Plano for my Herceptin every 3 weeks however not knowing how I will react to the radiation and as fatigued as I am now, I want it to be closer to home.

My job is starting to give me grief and stress me out as they want me in the office more and I am so exhausted and have been working from home and going in at least one day a week. I was told to "Cowboy Up and find some toughness" from the powers that be and now they want to meet with me in the morning. I am so tired of people who have no idea what I'm going through nor experienced it first hand even through a family member tell me how I should feel and react to this nightmare call cancer and chemo!

Anyhoo, sorry to pop on here after so long and vent; I just know I can always go here and you girls will always be here. You get it; you've lived or are living it; so happy for those of you at the end; here's a Big Hug from me!!! And those of you around where I am; one foot in front of the other and just breathe some days, right? There is an end to this; and I know I'll get there; I'm just so tired and so ready to have my life back!!

Can anyone tell me what radiation is like? My tumors were on my left side at 2, 6 & 8:00 and they took 16 of my lymph nodes as it had metastasized and spread. I still don't have all my feeling back in my left arm and side and they did the lat flap so the scars make me look like a patch work quilt; my major reconstructive surgery will be the end of the year as I have temporary implants in now and no nipple on my left side.

Love & Hugs to All!! And THANK YOU!!

Lara