Starting Chemo May 2015

My sunshine....BGH is not found in all non-organic milk. Most dairy farms do not use it, unless it is a large factory farm as it decreases the life span/ production span of the cattle. Milk is required to be labeled that it is from cows treated with BGH. I have never consumed BGH dairy products, I drank raw milk growing up on a dairy farm and I still got breast cancer. There are no easy answers . Very few family farms use Roundup...it is not cost effective. Nutrition plays a part in the rise in autism, but so does diagnosis criteria, parenting, electronics, and environmental factors.

mysunshine, before all of this cancer stuff I diligently ate grass fed beef, all organic chicken and eggs, organic vegetables, etc for the reasons you listed and then some. sad to say that since i've been feeling so so crappy all healthy eating has been thrown out the window for the time being. I'm just trying to eat what my body is craving just to get some calories in. which I think is making me feel even crappier but I'm too tired and lazy to cook on my own and I dont' have any one really to help me with it. I'm with you though, I'll be jumping back on the clean eating bandwagon as soon as I can!

Mysunshine -- I've been drinking only organic milk and eating mostly organic foods for over 10 years. Like tjh wrote, there are so many factors involved. One of my biggest risk factors was 25 years of birth control pills. As for the towel, I'm on day 13 so I still have most of my hair (at least on my head!) but I've been trying not to wrap my towel around my hair because I don't want to add any stress to my hair. Oh, the silly things we do to try to save our hair for just a few more days.

Cats--glad to see that you're having a better time with the SE's this time around.

littlek--sorry to hear that you're having such a bad time. Hang in there.

Gina4h--I didn't have too much of a temperature until bronchitis set in. The highest I've had is 100.3 F (38 C) so my MO wasn't too concerned other than I was coughing up a rainbow of colors. My mom has medical marijuana for her back, grown by my nephew who supplies to a handful of dispensaries. She made marijuana butter in a crock pot...unfortunately for mom she'd 1) never used any marijuana before and 2) my nephew's product is pharmaceutical grade. She was so stoned the first time she ate a little of the butter that she slept an entire day! I had horrible bone pain that vicodin did nothing for but I work in law enforcement so the mj butter is out for me.

Still coughing up a lung...I haven't had bronchitis in over 15 years so I know that I can lay this infection on my chemo. I'm just hoping it clears up before TC#2 next week.

Spa day #2 of 6 underway. Steriod flush and little sleep. May get nap in with Benadryl. Going to try cold mitts and booties thru taxotere to prevent nail loss and neuropathy. Hair coming out,  using sticky lint roller. Could have probably waited till day 20 to trim but the wig is so much cooler and fits better. 

Welcome Shelly to the club no one wants to be a member of. Avail yourself to all the resources. Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) was a fun time and lots of freebies. I went Monday,  they didn't have a wig I cared for but were goin to see if any longer ones available in area.  I did get a new bra, scarf, poster, blanket and lots of makeup. We were encouraged to toss our old makeup. 

Marlanab,  I wondered how working in a zero tolerance workplace would affect using mm. Sorry you are not feeling well. 

Later..Benadryl snooze coming on. 

My daughters are 13, 30, 36, and 38. Since mom's diagnosis the older 3 have all had mammograms. Even if to just humor Mom.

I did it. My hair started to fall out, caused my scalp to hurt, so yesterday I got a buzz. Feels so much better now. A local natural soap/lotion store helped me come up with a oil infusion to put on my scalp to help calm it. Working great!

My son arrives Sunday from Virginia. He will be here for 10 days. I'm excited to see him!

I haven't thought about rubbing creams / lotions into my hair/ head. LOL. I have lots of creams and essential oils, also coconut oil. Any recommendations of what to use?

It absolutely does feel better when you get it cut to at least 1/4". It takes away that stingy, barbed feeling.

I feel pretty well today and am going to clean this room.

Looking hot, t100angel!

I buy local, lots of Farmers market, I do not buy meat or veggies ant Walmart or the other discount stores. Meat is a none issue at this point....my stomach and taste buds are not liking it. Also only but wild caught, sustainable seafood. Organic Valley dairy products, non BGH cheeses and dairy products. I spent the first week after diagnosis second guessing everything I have ever eaten, drank, or done. I have to live for the future.

t100angel...you look great, it does feel better after it is gone. steflove and magnolia....you 30s are too young to deal with this shit...stay strong. Babies are miracles...my youngest was born 5 years after the Drs said we couldn't have any I was 44... There are almost 18 years between my last 2. Be strong. Dunesleeper I am glad you are well today. Gina4h...I wish buying good food was easier.

thank you marlanab, i hope you feel better soon.

I met with my MO and they will reduce my dose for the next rounds! I was concerned that a dose reduction would mean a reduction in the efficacy of the drugs but it won't. Now we just need to see if my counts bounce back up enough so that my second round need not be delayed. Fingers crossed.

Welcome Shelly4321. I also recommend the LGFB class. Like rosesrx mentioned you get some good advice and free stuff that is turning out to be very useful.

t100angel, you look good! Happy you will have time with your son.

t100angel -- looking good. I'm losing clumps of hair but not ready to shave just yet. I'm hoping to make it to the weekend. I had really bad pain in my scalp about a week post tc#1 and aloe vera with lidocaine watered down and slathered on my hair roots really helped. I did that for a couple of days and slept with a shower cap on and I haven't had any scalp pain since.

Shelly -- welcome. I'm 45 and premenopausal. I'm not planning on having children but I asked anyway and my MO said that generally for women over 40 it will bring on menopause and that the younger you are, the more likely that you will retain fertility.

Tifree -- my period started today, a day and a half late. It's been really heavy to start so far.

tjh--good plan on the daughters having mammograms. I had an aunt that had BC at 38 and a great aunt that passed from breast cancer in 1948 at age 37 so my doctor recommended at least every two years starting at 30 and yearly at 40. Even so, I found my tumor 5 months prior to my next mammogram by checking myself.

Rosesrx--thanks, only coughing up one lung today! Good wishes for a minimal SE's with round 2.

So no reactions to the docitaxil,  cold mitts and boots were COLD. MOcame through and asked about them,  where I got them and laughed..kinda insulting but told him I couldn't afford the chance of neuropathy or loosing nails. He may have been taken aback by the wig. During the Herceptin I experienced the palpitations but the rate was normal and things calmed down when the infusion was slowed. Could have been the steroids kicking in. As a pharmacist I think not when given IV 4 hrs earlier. 

I met some friends for lunch/supper afterwards then to Mom's old abode (which I own) to donate some more furniture, dishes and small appliances and stuff. No lifting just pointing out what could go. I only deal with what I can emotionlly. She is adjusting to the NH but the dementia is throwing me for a loop,  not knowing what I am walking into, whether she recognizes me or me trying to figure what year she is in or where she thinks she is. 

I was reading some other threads about when WBC bottoms out,  round 1 mine tanked on day 5 where literature indicates closer to day 10. How is everyone else fairing?

I had total hysterectomy when had my LMX due to hyperplasia with atypia. At 53,  no kids and constant spotting and bleeding since October it had to come out.Also being a DES daughter I was more worried about ovarian/cervical cancer after 4 yrs of tamoxifen. Glad to report all clear! My 5 year sceening Mammogram showed the 2 cm lump which I felt but just thought it was the complex cyst which I had named Larry, Mo and Curly. 

I meet with MO prior to Herceptin next week. He usually comes through the treatment room around noon. Probably just go over response to chemo. Trying not to second guess and project. Stay present my friends and not find problems that are not there.

I used bag balm with socks at night for dry feet.

rosesrx--funny on naming the cyst! I named my tumor Claude L'âneBâté (French for The Jackass). I originally thought mine was a cyst but then the top started feeling hard and had an oddshape. Turned out that I had a small tumor on top of a much larger cyst.

Marlanab, yes, the gross mouth taste thing is awful. Even water is tasting really bad to me (right now sparkling waters/juices are ok, I think maybe the carbonation tricks my mouth? Lol. Also hot things like tea to me seem easier to drink...I had a chai latte today and it actually tasted GOOD!). I have had no issues with loss of appetite, I actually seem to always be hungry (most likely due to steroids). Food doesn't always taste great but I always seem to find something! No mouth sores either, just the yucky taste. I brush and rinse with Biotene frequently, and do the salt/baking soda rinse a few times a day, so perhaps that's why. I also suck on ice during the infusion, and as a result the mere thought of ice makes me nauseous now (I think I associate it with the chemo). I'm going to try popsicles for my final AC....definitely don't want any mouth issues! But also don't want to hurl due to ice

Anyone else have an awful "full" feeling all the time? It's like a weird bloated/queasy feeling. I still get hungry even with that feeling! It's a terrible combo Sometimes I take a few sips of my drink and feel like I've just downed gallons and gallons and might explode. Ugh.