April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

Last chemo tomorrow! So anxious. Just want it over with and then I have so many questions about what the future holds (AI's, zoladex, balancing surgery with PS). Also anxious about lifestyle changes ahead. I've always eaten pretty clean, but did eat beef, pork, lamb and occasional bad carbs (potato chips, bagels, etc). Torn between making drastic changes including no alcohol (haven't had anything since April and think Maybe this should be the new normal), but then i think they really don't know what causes cancer and there are so many things you need to cut out to supposedly reduce your risk that you don't feel like you are living your life! My mom took DES while trying to get pregnant with me. Sometimes I just want to chalk it up to that and get on with life, especially with no family history, but then again who knows what caused it! Was it the Diet Cokes, the birth control pills, the wine, the non-BPA plastic, the dense breasts or none of the above? I think right after treatment is a very unsettling time. Ok rant over! Words of wisdom would be appreciated!

Renee - I am glad you are safe after the accident; awful that it happened.

Lynne - I have been thinking about you a lot; did not know what to say. HUGS and HUGS

Gingerchi - Sending you all the healing vibes I can muster. Fall leaves are beckoning you when you are ready

Kbeee - from your posts, I see you living every minute of your life. Not only does that make me happy to read the posts but it gives me ideas for how to beat some of the cancer depression.

GKodad - beautiful artwork

Theprincess - hope you feel better soon.

Off chemo and am on tamoxifen for the past 2 weeks - intense hot flashes/night sweats. Oh boy.... with you Alibeth and Addie!!! It's been intense here, with my mom going in for a colonoscopy and her mammo (call back and then they think it's a cycst). She lives with us and so all the appointments weigh heavily even when I have friends take her to the screenings. I look forward to developing a new routine over time.

Thanks for the well wishes and info! My MO is happy with my progress and is ready to resume treatment. She would have started back this week but she left it up to me...I opted for next week. I am better but not 100% by any means...I told her that I'm kinda scared to start treatment..that was the sickest I've ever been and definitely don't want a setback! I see the surgeon on Monday, so unless he has any objections, I'll be back in the chair on Tuesday!

Congrats to Stacy, Scarlett and Andrea on completing chemo! So happy for you!!

gkodad, I love your painting, its just beautiful!!

ksusan, your cats are pretty and look so cozy. There's nothing like having a purring cat in your lap.....if my dogs wouldn't go nuts I'd have one myself!

Oh gosh, my brows! Mine are still pretty thick until about mid-eye, then nothing. It looks a little strange to pencil in the rest, and I cant even get half of one straight!! I noticed this morning that my eyelashes are about gone now too.

What is it with the Look Good, Feel Better program!!?! I registered through ACS, almost never found the correct place. It was held in the cancer center of a hospital, but ACS told me a room number in a totally different building on the hospital campus.....which none of the staff had any idea what building I was looking for, nor had they heard of Look Good/Feel Better. I will spare you the whole story but it would have made a good I Love Lucy episode. It was a sweltering day and I was sweating bullets by the time I got the bright idea to check inside the cancer center, and viola! I found the session! I even pulled my wig off and went commando I was so hot. LOL LOL I have to say I did enjoy it once I got there.

Good luck to everyone hitting the chair this week!!

Thanks for the eyebrow hilarity. It reinforces my decision to mostly leave it alone or hide what's left of mine behind sunglasses. On the plus side, I look bitchin' in sunglasses.

Gingerchi: good luck restarting treatment. Praying all goes well for you!

Kbeee: sounds like busy week. I hope you get your "me time" too.

Positivespirit: hope those hot flashes get better. Mine are mostly at night and I notice it allover my scalp first. Kbeee had a great tip have a cold glass of water. During the middle of the night I keep ice water at my bedside. It is helping.

All of you that are done with chemo, are you also doing radiation? Has anyone here been thru radiation yet? Wondering what to expect. Getting ahead of myself as I still have 2 more chemos and then a month wait until rads.

Managed to gey my labs done, clean house, grocery shop, walk 1 mile and then bake a couple loaves of blueberry bread. Oh how I wish I didn't love to bake and eat! Giving my neighbors a loaf.

Rpayton, I had chemo (TC x 4) and am starting radiation. Let's talk about it here as well as in the dedicated radiation threads.

blueberry loaf? Can you post the recipe? Sounds so good!!

LGFB is a program for people going through cancer. It shows you make up tricks, gives advice on skin care, and how to pick a wig or wrap turbans etc.....they stood me up when I attempted to go now the director may be stopping over to my house to give me a one on one because I called and gave them my horrible day sob story and made them feel bad but they should feel bad- they failed to call me and didn't show. I'm totally playing the cancer card with this one

Littleblue.... email the gal .. pollysponytails@outlook.com or she has a Facebook page Polly's Ponytails. I am sure she can help you out!

Stephmoen: Hooray for #5! Good Luck! My #5 tomorrow and I will be done on the last day of this month too. Counting the days like you!

Everyone here have a great day. Be well, Blessings!

Rene

Good luck, Stephmoen! May your SEs be minor!

Me, I'm off to radiation tattoos and, I think, treatment #1. The communication has been sloppy, which is why I went to a different agency for chemo.

Just back from blood checks - platelets, hemoglobin and RBC in normal range with no change from 1st pre-Taxol infusion. WBC's usually are in the basement but this time they are at 15000 - maybe I didn't need the neulasta shot? No one seems concerned, so I guess that's normal. Liver enzymes still in normal range but also creeping up...probably due to Tylenol for Taxol pain.

Other than finger, foot and toe numbness and random muscle aches and pains, I feel pretty good, so I'm looking forward to an enjoyable week before Taxol #2.

I know many off you are heading into your last session this week, so hurrah for that! I hope it all goes well.

arrrgh so frustrated itchy throat very slight on taxotere so they stopped gave me Ativan and medication to open up my throat..they have me on a 5 hour plan I still have carboplatin herceptin and perjeta after this :

Karen. I will be seeing my MO next week about completing the final two sessions. For total of 6. He said there would be 6 if I "tolerate it". I guess that would be according to labs and SE. It seems so many of you contributors have had recurrences. No guarantees that won't happen, but my thought is to go for the six. My symptoms are minor compared to some, but my taste would be as you perfectly described it. Except I'm GAINING weight. Anyone else gaining? I read taxotere can cause this. I guess bad taste can't stop me! Thank you all for sharing your journey

The radiation machine is broken so I can't start today. Hanging around in case they fix it. Got 3 tattoos that don't require calibration of the 5 I probably wI'll have. They also peeled off the other 21 stickers. I guess they needed them to stay on until they were sure they had gotten the imaging they needed, but why not call and tell me I can remove them? Says my mother, "Because they're not patient-centered."