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

Awesome, andrea! You gotta tell us when it comes out! You are a star!

Kbee, sounds like you and I have the same RO. They are so laid back it's scary. Some of us have to get to work!

Bull. I got red but certainly didn't burn except on one of the sim sticker dermatitis areas.

Kbeee, so sorry about your crummy day! My rad techs are really good about giving me early morning appointments every other Friday when my husband has the day off, so we can leave for home early for the weekend. I love that they are so flexible. You really do not need to stress about getting your shifts covered or about burning. This is a time you need reassurance, not negativity!

I hope that your rad sessions go smoother. It is a pain going every single day, but I look at this as my job right now. I can't imagine working as well as going through treatment, plus looking after your family. You are amazing!

Andrea

Steph - that is fantastic news. What a gift!

KB - my RO and nurse said that they probably wouldn't be able to give me my preferred spot at first, but would work towards it as the spot became available - is that possible for you? They said that they try very hard to work with the patient and have flexibility - both ways - if they need to change or if patient needs to change time. So, I'll have to trust them for now. I am same as you waiting to find out spot tomorrow, but I know it won't be preferred time at first, but that's ok for me for now since I'm not working, but I will want specific lunch time appointment when I go back.

My nurse also told me that all the lotions, etc. don't make a difference to outcome, but she also said that they don't see the skin damage/burns that they did decades ago - they equipment has improved and they have learned much over time. However, it seems like your skin type and the amount of radiation (and you are getting all those boosts) - they can pretty much predict that you'll have a difficult time. Have you bought your box of cornstarch? One week supply of tank tops?

Speaking of burning our skin, I'm off to the beach again - going to enjoy the last days before school starts . . .

Lynne

Good morning ladies! I have a side effects question. I am 7 weeks post TC x 4, 3 weeks on Tamoxifen, and have been only monthly Zoladex injections since January. I have had joint pain since starting the Zoladex, which worsened with chemo. Now I have such bad pain in my feet in the morning that it is hard to walk. I also get it if I've been sitting for a while. The pain is in the heel and ball of foot. It goes aways after walking around for a few minutes. I also have increasing neuropathy in my legs, arms and hands and lips (of all places!). I've been on Gabapentin for 7 weeks, but the neuropathy has been pretty persistent. The new SE is that the joints at the base of my thumbs are incredibly painful and neither Advil or heat/ice give me much relief. I've been walking, doing pilates and accupuncture and taking magnesium and b vitamins. Any creative thoughts on the cause of the SE's and/or suggestions for other remedies. My MO's nurse said to try taking a break from Tam for a week and see if symptoms lesson, but I'm concerned about taking a week break. I feel like it took me about 10 days to adjust to it when I started and don't really want to go through that again! Let's just say I was extremely cranky!!

Kbeee geez they could at least have warm blankets. :-(

Andrea congrats on your film debut!!! That is awesome! A cool story and memory at least.

Enjoying my iced coffees before I start rads Mon and no coffee or tea again for a month. I was told it is too strong of an antioxidant and dehydrates. Bummer

My RO attributes my good skin outcome to keeping moisturized. I suppose it might not stop burning, but any fool among us knows that if your skin is dry, it's more prone to peeling, cracking, and stiffening. I used Miaderm most of the time because it spread well and didn't itch. Seriously, the first thing any provider says when I whip off my shirt (BS, MO, RO, PT, PCP) is that I must really be keeping up on my moisturizing because my skin is so supple.

FWIW, nobody said anything to me about coffee (I was even told by RO that I could have green tea as long as it wasn't more than one cup a day. She only wanted me off Vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, and Omega-3s). I see a couple of mouse and in vivo studies, but not anything to convincingly support a coffee moratorium. However, everybody has to make her own decisions!

I'm with you, Karen, I bought the aloe and miaderm and plan to use them. From what I read the miaderm works better if you use it from the very beginning. So let's cross our fingers and hope. And if I had to do what you do I would have to have the pot of coffee too!!! I'm not a coffeeaholic all day but love, love, love my one cup a day iced or hot. Oh well I gave it up for 5 months thru chemo I can do it for one more month. :-)

I've had coffee and tea all the way through. I was told not to overdo it. Everyone makes her own decisions--for example, I had no alcohol from just after repeat mammogram to two weeks after chemo. Others make different decisions. Moderation is probably the most robust strategy for most things.

You don't know that your previous diet hasn't protected you from worse cancer or other problems. Meat's got hormones, yo. I was told to increase my fruits and vegetables during chemo, and I was already vegeprefarian. That leaves you bread, so you may as well go extreme in the direction of your normal eating preferences. Also, oxygen is good! Are you folks getting rain any time soon?

I am not a doctor, but I prescribe artisanal cheese right now. Sorry your husband's out in that.

Also, here's from another thread on this board:

Thanks you guys. I needed both of those replies. Sanity and humor temporarily restored.

But that would be a real conversation stopper, too:

• "You just have to be healthy and do healthy health thingies!"
• "Oh, I know! I've been smearing myself with emu semen like there's no tomorrow!"

I believe, however, that it's from emu fat, the emus having been farmed and their meat made into emu jerky.

Again with the schmaltz, nu?