Starting Chemo December 2015

mvspaulding · February 2016

thanks ladies, I will feel like celebrating once I stop feeling like crap! Had a bad weekend. Thankful for a paid holiday at work today.

I never lost my arm hair either. And now I'm starting to get regrowth on my head but it hurts like it did before. I don't know if I will keep this hair or not? Also, I see people on the hair thread that talk about losing their eyebrows after treatment is over. I thought if I kept them this long I was good?

So sorry you are having a hard time Chinookmom, I really agonized over the surgery decision. But once you decide what's best for you you will feel a huge burden lifted off your shoulders.

Nebraska917 · February 2016

I still have arm hair too. I'm not sure, maybe it thinned out a little bit? I also read that with the eyebrows and am hoping since I still have them the will hang on!

I'm sitting at my last infusion now. I haven't talked to my doctor yet about the next step of action. I know i will be on tamoxifen though. Reading some of those discussion boards are a little stressful too.

I can never sleep the night before chemo. I get about 4 hours of sleep. My nurse practionet told me anxiety gets a lot worse while on the steroids.

chinacat · February 2016

opt, the henna art took about 2 1/2 hours then I left it on for an hour before removing the paste. However, next time I'll leave it for at least 2 hours so it is more noticeable. It washes off in a few weeks. I'll be getting another one done this week.

I still have arm hair. My brows are thinning. I fill in the bare spots with brow cream. I have three more treatments so I expect to lose them all the way. That seems worse than losing the hair on my head. I'm very self conscious about my brows but I'll go anywhere with anyone bald and not care one bit. I think about when the hair starts to grow back. Will the brow hair be spikey? I also have thinning lashes. Hardly any left on the bottom. I so can't wait until this is all a memory of badassness. If that isn't a word, I'm declaring it a word now;)

Nebraska, adivan for sleep and anxiety, and also nausea. I take it the night before and the morning of treatment.

puremalarkey · February 2016

Hey y'all, had my last treatment this morning. The taxotere was stinging so I got extra fluids and it slowed way down but I swear all the extra fluids ran down to my foot! Also this morning I decided to wear skinny legged jeans, I hope the swelling goes down before bedtime or I might be sleeping in them. Any advice? thanks, Sandy

chinacat · February 2016

pure malarkey, yikes! Did your nurses or doc see that? What did they say

Smurfette26 · February 2016

Sorry you experienced "stinging" during your infusion pure malarkey but glad it was your last infusion. Congrats.

I thought my feet and ankles were puffy last night (SE of Arimidex) but nothing like yours. Rest up and elevate them. Hope you manage to get your jeans off.

Hugs all.

mvspaulding · February 2016

puremalarkey, congrats on your last treatment! But I would have that swelling looked at.

Chinacat, you are brave going out bald headed. I only do that around the house occasionally. My son is 18 and has a lot of friends coming in and out so I usually keep a beanie on so as not to scare then lol.

Hope for minimal SE's on your last treatment Nebraska.

Lyra10 · February 2016

Yeah for being done! I didn't notice the arm hair either but yeah it's gone. Go an unexpected early out today, kinda forgot about the holiday! Went this weekend and got another wig that hubby got to pick this time. Fun & red!

Thank you all for was this board does for me, alleviates some worry, makes me laugh, and allows me to be vocal. Although my story is loud & proud everywhere, anyone that knows me knows what I'm going through if only to help others.

Twirp26 · February 2016

congrats puremalarkey and Nebraska!!! So happy for you two!! That ankle looks painful though! Keep that foot elevated girl!! Hope you don't have to cut your skinny jeans!! Lyra, love that wig! The color is so warm and pretty. You wear it well.

I still have some arm hair but it is thin. My eyebrows are also starting to thin out more everyday. Really don't want to lose them either. I have also gotten used to the no hair thing but eyebrows are different. Hoping you ladies are are all doing well.

mvspaulding · February 2016

Lyra, you have such a great attitude and smile! Love the red wig.

puremalarkey · February 2016

Thanks for the well wishes. I showed the nurse close to the end of my treatment. She said to go home and elevate it and flex my foot back and forth to maybe help the fluid get moving. No changes yet but if it is worse tomorrow I'll call the triage nurses at the center.

Lyra that wig is pretty, it's a good color on you!

Nebraska917 · February 2016

chinacat - they did prescribe me ativan I think it is.. what dose do you take? I took one last night and didn't help much. It was the first time I took it before treatment day though, so I wasn't sure whether to take more than one.

chinacat · February 2016

mvspaulding, funny you see going bald as brave, I see it as my stubbornness. I live in NY so I do wear hats but I also get hot easy so bald it is. I haven't gone bald in front of my kids friends. They are 10 & 7 so this would be confusing, especially for the little ones. I have 4 wigs and countless beanies, scarves, and hats that I really wish I was comfortable wearing but I just hate the feeling. I'm going to struggle in my head when I go back to work. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there:)

Nebraska, I was prescribed adivan (generic-lorazepam) 1mg. It makes me loopy, I get the giggles with the nurses every time they ask me my name before they start the infusion. It's comical. I don't love the 'high' of it but it makes me not care about getting the poison. When I take it at night, I sleep solid through the night.

chinookmom · February 2016

Hello everyone~ Hope the long weekend was good to you all!

mvspaulding- Hope that extra day off helped & that you are feeling much better!

Nebraska917- Sorry to hear you no sleep the night before chemo. Hope you were able to make up for it a little & sleep during your infusion. The Benadryl ususally lets me sleep on & off for most of it. (However the last time I started getting restless legs and hip pain during the infusion which the nurse said can be a side effect of the Benadryl. So I may not get it next time. To counteract the restless legs, they injected 1mg Ativan into my IV. That hits much stronger that the 1mg pill. I got a bit loopy from that..)

Puremalarkey -Congratulations on your last treatment! Were you on a 4 infusion chemo schedule? I have 6 and finish at the end of March (Her2+) . Hope your ankle swelling has gone down

Lyra10 –Your new wig looks lovely! The color look s great with your complexion & works really well with the tortoise of your glasses.

Regarding the body hair- Mine has thinned all over but I haven't lost it all yet anywhere. Shaved my head 12/31 and my stubble has gotten very thin on my head. I think I have more in the back than on than top & side of my head. Still have the basic shape of my eyebrows & over ½ my eyelashes which I am really hoping I can keep. I too am more upset by the idea of losing those than being bald. Hoping I can at least keep enough hair to maintain the basic shape of my brows.

I keep my head covered with a scarf or beanie when its sunny out, but inside I'll go bald if my head isn't cold. My boyfriend prefers my bald head to my wig or halo hair to wear under hats. Luckily my head is better shaped than I feared it might have been.

Learned the hard way that I can't eat Mexican food at any point during treatment. Made what I thought were mild green enchilada's with cheese & chicken.. big mistake. Back to the more mild food i've been eating. Was hoping to get a little variety in again before chemo Thursday..

Wondering how much everyone's diet has changed during treatment? What are your go to foods during treatment?

puremalarkey · February 2016

Hey y'all, Yes Chinookmom I only had the 4 treatments. I'm glad I was able to complete the last one fully. I didn't want the 'what if's' if I didn't get the full dose. I too have a little hair that never fell out when I had it buzzed to 1/4 inch long. Seems like soon I'll have a little that will be able to peak out at my temples and the back of my neck under my hats. In the house I'm okay bald too scraggly to go out in public like that though.

This week after treatment chocolate will taste nasty to me. Plain foods especially mashed potatoes, French fries, macaroni and cheese and salad with Italian dressing taste fine. I'll eat a little meat or chicken but they are basically tasteless. 9th or 10th day the tastes buds return, then maybe I'll go to Carrabba's to celebrate being done with chemo lol.

Still have some swelling in both feet now, but not as big as yesterday. I'm just going to keep them up a lot today and take it easy. I saw the podiatrist yesterday afternoon and he said I was healing as he expected, I can start tonight leaving them uncovered until morning then wrap again for the day. Just the last three days they weren't a constant throb. The neulasta pod will go off this afternoon. Seems the bone pain goes to places that you've hurt previously in your life. The last three times from my knees down were especially painful. Got my Claritin started yesterday and may take an extra tonight to maybe help.

I'm working on a set of six 20 x 20" Minecraft paintings for my grandson's bedroom. Those with little ones will know lol. I'm almost done with the cow face and next will be the creeper.

Sammy3 · February 2016

Chinookmom - I never replied to you on my surgery. I am not going to have the mastecomy. I did have a pre-chemo lumpectomy (my biopsies were inconclusive, so they needed that to get my ER/PR/Her2 status). Anyway...to make a long story short, my breast surgeon and oncologist both told me that for MY particular case having a mastectomy would not help my recurrence numbers anymore than what I am doing would. The main thing is due to being her2+. They told me that her2 people's risk is not local recurrance, but somewhere else. So with that, they told me doing it for peace of mind was fine, but that the difference between my risk numbers would not really move.

For that reason I am having 1 more lumpectomy (long story, but basically I have a different surgeon now and although my margins were clear, he expressed interest in making one of my margins a bit wider). Fine by me. So I am having that in April, then after healing radiation (not sure of start or how many), then I will go on tamoxfen or something similar. Also I will continue my herceptin through Dec.

I go back and forth on it all the time - but them telling me that hey you can have the surgery and your risk is still X kinda sealed it for me. I know its such a big decision and totally personal. Ask your doctors about your personal risks. Ask how the risk #'s change if you do a mastectomy vs lumpectomy w/radiation.

Sammy3 · February 2016

oh and I forgot to answer the diet question. Ya I can't do spicy either! Or super greasy. I made the mistake of having a brat off the grill and I was in the bathroom pretty quick. Ugh. I am not sure what that is about. I get Perjeta which caused what I like to call "bathroom issues" so I really don't need other issues, lol.

redrock75 · February 2016

hey everyone! I had a lot to catch up on! I did taxol 1 of 12 today, so far so good! So tied from the Benadryl. New wig. Taking a nap. ❤️ To all

Nebraska917 · February 2016

ooh what wig is that one and what color? Been looking for something like that.

redrock75 · February 2016

it's Jon Renau "Zara". The color is shaded praline, 12FS8 is the code for that color

http://www.wigs.com/zara-by-jon-renau.html

Nebraska917 · February 2016

that's what I thought it was. Do you like it?! What's your favorite one that you have gotten so far?

redrock75 · February 2016

I love it!! It looks so much like real hair, with the roots and lace front and mono top. I just got it last week but it's my favorite for sure. When I want to wear a shorter wig, my runner up fave is the Jon Renau "Scarlett" in the same color. But the Zara is amazing, I'm in love.

mvspaulding · February 2016

Thanks Chinookmom, I worked from home today. Still not feeling great. Very achy this time. Going to make the trip to office tomorrow. I have been so irritable too, I should be glad the chemo is over. Don't know why I can't get happy.

Puremalarkey, we will have to compare hair growth. I wish I could sleep without my beanie at night cause it makes me hot, but the hair on the pillow still hurts. Do you all sleep in a beanie or not?

You always look great in your wigs Redrock. This one really suits your coloring.

I had ravioli with roasted garlic pasta sauce for dinner, not a good idea either. Having heartburn.

Nebraska917 · February 2016

I've been super irritable and crabby this week and I would think I would be happier too that the chemo over. Just got to get over this hump I guess.

Twirp26 · February 2016

mvspaulding and Nebraska, your moods are probably the chemo talking. I'm sure in a few days you will both start feeling back to "normal" let that poison run its course and kill what it needs to. I'm praying you both can celebrate finishing up this portion of your journeys soon!!! You deserve it!!!

Redrock , wig looks amazing!!! I just got on and ordered a shorter wig and then a cheaper fun curly one;) I'll post pics when they arrive:)

Puremalarkey, I would love to see your paintings when you are done!! I wish chocolate tasted bad. Seems the only things I can taste after treatments are sweets:( packing on the pounds😬 Oh well, I'll worry about that when I'm all done and cancer free:)

Meeting surgeon tomorrow. Hoping to get some numbers on reoccurance rates to base my decision on. One day at a time ladies!! WE GOT THIS!!

chinookmom · February 2016

Hello!

mvspaulding & Nebraska~ I think its totally understandable & okay to feel irritable, crabby &/or unhappy. We are putting our bodies, minds and emotions through so much. I imagine that even thought there is a sense of relief to be done with chemo that the physical recovery from completing the course as well as the thoughts of moving through the next steps can be stressful. Sort of a let down to finally being done and using so much strength to get though this part of treatment. Please be kind to yourselves. Hope you're feeling better soon & can take it easy at home or work as much as possible.

redrock75~ Love all of your wigs! How many do you have now? Do your little ones have a favorite? I would think your daughter must love the pink one!

Puremalarkey~ I second the posting of your paintings! Love to see the various creative outlets photos. Nice to see the non-cancer parts of everyones lives too!

Had a visit with a cardiologist today. Last week I'd been in for my first echo as i hadn't had one before starting the Herceptin. The echo was normal, but i really wanted to sit down and talk to the cardiologist as i have had rapid heart rate, currently have a blood clot from chemo port catheter & some unknown pains on my left side. Had an EKG on the treadmill and a thorough review of medical history & all the drugs i'm on.. Happily he thinks all of my symptoms are chemo related & I'm sure due in part to anxiety at times. I feel so much better having seen him. I've always been sensitive to things (sort of canary in the coal mine) but this whole cancer experience has told me to pay attention to my body. (That is how I found out about my blood clot in my vena cava- 2 weeks after my after my port was implanted.)

I had some really good margarita pizza today- only right before my chemo when' i've healed up the most can i eat tomato sauce or i get heartburn as well . I have very little taste for more than an occasional bite of sweets. My favorite food during treatment has been risotto. I was lucky enough to have dinner this evening at a friends house whose Italian (born in Italy) wife made homemade saffron risotto & gave me the leftovers. I could actually taste it too!

Tomorrow is my day before chemo. Last day to feel human for a bit.

Sending love to you all. Another day down!

Sammy3 · February 2016

Let us know how the appointment goes Twirp26!

puremalarkey · February 2016

Mvspaulding Yep I'm on hair watch with you ! Bet it'll be a few weeks before seeing any new signs for me. I just lost the last of my lower leg hair over the last couple weeks and never did lose the fine arm hairs... go figure. I'll go to bed with a sleep cap but every time I find it somewhere in the bed when I make it in the morning lol. I gained 6 pounds over these 4 TC treatments. I'm hoping some of it is water weight that will go away when the swelling goes down. Doesn't seem I've eaten as much as normal but I haven't been walking since my toes/ feet gave me trouble.

brithael · February 2016

Just got out of five days in the hospital, so I haven't been either reading or posting. I did try to do a quick read through to catch up with everyone, but forgive me if I don't comment.

Had my 3rd chemo on the 8th, uneventful, got the Neulasta shot on the 9th (or as I refer to it Skele-gro,) went to the theatre on the 10th and had a lovely meal. Woke up about 11:30 p.m. that evening in severe abdominal pain which lasted through the night. I called my MO first thing in the morning and was told to proceed to the ER as it might be diverticulitis which is what is was. Don't even want to talk about the ER (why don't they have a priority door like TSA Pre just for cancer patients?) but was eventually admitted, put on IV antibiotics etc., and just managed to escape yesterday.

Since I've only had three chemos and two hospitalizations, obviously I'm very concerned about my next, albeit last, chemo. I sent my MO an email this morning asking her opinion on just doing the three, and saying we did four, and she concurred!

I have an appt. to start the radiation oncology March 1st already, but they are going to give me a cancellation if it comes up. My joy is unbounded!

PezGal · February 2016

Congrats brithael! So jealous of you all finishing up! I feel like I have forever to go (10 weeks counting tomorrow). I guess I'm on the extra deluxe plan.

Thanks for the link chinookmom (salmon?). I'll look into that. To be honest though, I'm kinda nervous about it. I'm afraid of real life scary stories (reoccurance, upstaging, and whatnot). Wimp here.

So, everyone is talking surgeries... what about radiation? I was told I'm in the "grey area" when it comes to radiation and they left the decision up to me, cause I'm a doctor in my spare time and can make these sort of medical decisions easy-peasy (sarcasm!). I got a BMX last October so theoretically I shouldn't need it, but I'm genetically screwed (BRCA1+) which doesn't have much to do with radiation but feels like it should, but I also had a positive lymph node. Originally I was all about laying it on, everything I could do (and I still am for the most part) but I'm starting to get cold feet. I will probably do it because I'm a big proponent of "this is my ONE chance to squash it for good" but just wondering if you all were given the choice and what you decided? I feel like I make a lot of my decisions based on fear. OR.. is fear happening one way or another and I'm just taking the bull by the horns? Ole!

Starting Chemo December 2015

Comments

Categories