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

so had my appointment pathology results arrrre not final uggggh but it's a good thing I heard the girl talking outside my door they can't find anything they haven't found any tumor nothing at all having them sent out and sliced through more thoroughly she did say my lymphs were good I asked any dead cancer cells she said she only knows they were clear and free of cancer..I can't wait anymore

Yay Steph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Addie, you look fine! . There is nothing that zumba can't cure!! You are so lucky you have good bones in your face- I looked like a blob even when I had little eyebrows.

You guys, radiation isn't that bad. We like to bitch about it, but it really is way better than chemo. If its warranted, do it- don't be scared.

Jen, you haven't looked like a blob at any point in this process.

Hi all!

I have just finished catching up after a few days...

Ksusan, love the coconut bra and grass skirt! Soooo chic! 😃

Dizz, my last chemo was definitely the worst. I had SE's for almost three weeks when I was used to having them for only a week. And I only had four cycles (TC). Glad I did not have to go through any more! You will feel better soon, I promise!

Re rads and burning - I am quite sore, red and blistered. Apparently the more fair your skin is, the worse you will burn. And my skin is very fair. Stupid Anglo-Saxon genetics. I have flamazine burn cream which helps, plus I am using Aveeno and I take ibuprofen for pain. I had been using Aquaphor at night but my cancer clinic doesn't like it. I was almost out of it anyway.

I am in Ottawa right now visiting my son - it is so great! He bought himself a house a year and a half ago and this is the first time I've seen it. It's beautiful! So nice to see him doing so well.

While I have been here my family doctor called...she has to take me off my antidepressant (Paxil) because of a severe reaction between it and Tamoxifen. She is going to switch me to another antidepressant but I'm worried because I have been on Paxil for years and it does a great job...I don't know how it will be on something else. Oh well, we'll have to see.

Andrea

I had itching with neuropathy- actually the tops of my feet itched like crazy, if that helps. It quit soon after chemo ended- maybe a few weeks? I was using hydrocortizone cream...

Ok, How's this in the ongoing cancer social experiment- You know people aren't worried about you anymore when they start telling you you look like crap, rather than the hated "you look great!". Guess in society, I am now considered healthy LOL.

Also, I've noticed men over 50 are 20 times more flirtatious with me now. Why? Are they trying to boost my already giant ego? So odd......

hahaha, I don't flirt back- its just an odd thing I've noticed. I'll flirt with you Addie! I wish I didn't have to go out- That's the worst, having to deal with people all through this, when I just want to hide. Guess we have all been added back into the rolls of the living, with all the social weirdness that entails..

and speaking of social weirdness- I don't even put on my eyebrows to go out anymore. I'm at the point now where I just don't car

hahaha when i say adult I don't mean personality wise- I'm 29 and act like a child- but I was referring to someone to have a decent conversation with- not someone who responds to everything with "why?" Or "no" and I had my last treatment exactly 4 weeks ago today

Addie..here is the analogy I have for my neuropathy. When it first starts, its like the hot/burning feeling you get after walking too far on vacation. Pretty soon, it feels like I've got a colony of ants living in my shoes and they are eating my feet. ('Pins and Needles') A day or so later, it turns into a dull burning pain / numbness. Eventually, that gives way to a deep ache. Usually this last stage sticks around until time to get the next round of chemo and then it all starts over. Since there isn't a next round this time, I am looking forward to seeing when this feeling might permanently hit the road.

I don't have itching. Mine starts with tingling, in the fingertips (and toes) then will progress to feeling like my fingers and down onto my hands have been smashed....a little painful and a little numb. Picking up anything with texture such as a rough towel, or popcorn is painful to the fingertips. My feet are affected too, but aren't as bothersome as the hands....I get numb under the ball of my foot and the toes. I also have some dull burning here and there...and my balance is a little off occasionally. Mine is usually worse days 5 and 6. Day 7 is better, but thats also the day I start taking steroids for the next treatment.

GingerChi and Addie sounds like neuropathy but definitely bring up with the doc.I have the same numb, weird feeling bottom of my feet too. My MO promised it would go away but will take time. MO suggested I start taking Vit B6 2x day to help. Have been but not really any change.

Andrea I'm in the same shape with redness, sore breast. My last rad was Monday. It is going to get pretty nasty over the next few weeks. Under my arm just raw as that is where i had the boosts against the chest wall. And I have to do the same and start Tamoxifen at the end of the month. I've been on a low dose of Zoloft for ten years for perimenopause symptoms. It has worked great and I'm nervous about changing to Effexor too. On top of all the scary interactions and blood clot risk with Tamoxifen too. I was really hoping I wouldn't need the Tamoxifen but my MO strongly wants and says it works to prevent. The body assault just never ends. Let's look on the bright side and hope the Effexor makes us feel super great!!!!

Radiation has made me super sleepy. Trying to get some exercise and push thru.

When I got up to use the bathroom last night, I had a wave of deep nausea, followed by my vision spinning in a way I haven't experienced before. No idea what caused it.

yes.

Hot flashes= wake up 10 times a night= sleep deprivation= mood swings= crazy person.

Been on it 2 months now. Not a fan. But afraid not to take it