January 2016 Chemo!

My cheeks and lips are burning....any one experience this? Planet...love the photo of you and your brother

planet you look great. Awesome pic. I should do that with my bald twin brother!!!

My lips tingle for a few days after chemo.

Lovestofly- All three of my brothers and my dad are bald or balding. When the one in Switerland comes back to the states in July, I want to do a group photo--and then throw in our eldest sister who when she was born took all the hair and left the rest of us with nothing! It's a family joke.

I posted this pic on FB, and my favorite comment is that all I need are some big earrings, a caftan, and some chunky jewelry, and I could look like every othe theater professor in her department!

Cathytoo-I had a terrible breakout/rash on my face. Oncology nurse suggested I go to primary care and take 2mgs of the Dexamethasone. I held off on steroid and PCP thought it was more like rocasea and had me put Clindimycin lotion on which cleared it right up. I also stopped wearing the mask on the L train as I thought that might have contributed. Luckily, my blood work shows that the Nuelasta really did its job. I'm still a bit pink, but Lancôme Effacernes waterproof undereye concealer handles that. It is very good for scars, too. Pricy, but you only need a dab.

It's so hard knowing what's cancer or chemo related, and what's related to my foot surgeries, and what's just old maladies flaring up. Being 52--almost 53--and peri-menopausal, brings even more questions. And really, can we stop giving me pregnancy tests!!! Not even Hitachi has been down there!

Sending hugs to all of you who need one. And applause to all for getting through another week!

Ugh! The rash on my chest got worse over night. Now it is covering a much larger area. I took a Claritan to see if it helps, but so far it still itches. Why would this be happening two weeks after chemo, when supposedly it is the dexamethasone causing it? I'm going to send a pic of it to the nurse tomorrow. Hopefully it won't get worse again. So sick of rashes!

jensgotthis...Jen, I'm actually feeling back to normal with lots of energy. My bad days were 4 through 6. Very weird. Felt like I was going to collapse. But, since day 7...no problem. This time around my taste buds were gone from day 4 to 10, which was yesterday. Still not normal, but I can taste some things. All I'm eating at the moment is: VANILLA ICE CREAM, canned cherry pie topping, gazpacho, marina sauce (alone), cranberry juice, and potato chips!!!! Thank goodness I can drink water, but only Smart Water. Next infusion I'm going to chew on ice while the taxotere is going in. I read it saves your taste buds. Are we having fun yet???

I still have my eyebrows and my eyelashes. My eyebrows are quite thin, but nothing I can't handle with a pencil

I am on day five of cycle three now, always my worst day because it's my first day without steroids. The steroid withdrawal makes me feel really tired dizzy and emotional

I'm lurking, reading every post and have found this thread to have a wealth of information. Thanks so much for sharing all the good and the bad. I'm an information geek and want to know what to expect every step of the way.

I start my third cycle of chemo this Wednesday. I was warned it would be the most difficult so far. I had severe dehydration 7 days from my first cycle and again 7 days after my second. I now have a standing appt when I get my blood work the following week for hydration, too. I am having a lot of heartburn. Every time I eat or drink, it comes up on me. I also have diarrhea all the time and I know when I get the painful stomach cramps it's time for hydration. My lips become chapped and my mouth feels like sandpaper, my eyes don't focus. My worst days are from day 3 to day 10. I am totally dreading Wednesday, or rather the week after. Ugh.

My taste buds did not come back too much after my second cycle. I had baked a lemon pound cake and on the 10th day I could faintly taste the lemon in the cake. I actually teared up. I had almost thrown out the cake thinking I screwed it up. I realized I can't taste food very much or not at all so that when I cook, I cook from memory. It's silly really, asking my husband what the dinner tastes like as I'm eating it. "Is it too salty? Can you taste the herbs in the gravy? Do the mashed potatoes have too much garlic?". He answered "No, yes and yes." Oh well, two out of three ain't bad.

FWIW, I as others, am working throughout my chemo. So far I've only missed the days I have chemo and the one day I had the cramps, diarrhea and dehydration. Yeah, that was fun day. Oh yes, and then there was the day I had my second bout with dehydration. I was hydrated and went straight to work. A couple hours after lunch I was vomiting that lunch and went home a little early. Yah. Another fun day.

Cathytoo, I would chew on ice cubes during the taxotere segment, but I don't know if it's too late for me now. It's worth a shot. I'll try it. Thanks for the info. I'm with you: vanilla ice cream still has flavor. I was not happy that my Ben & Jerry's coffee ice cream with fudge toffee bar crunch did not give me the foodgasm I've come to expect.

I love that you gals are doing pics with the bald men in your lives. I just took one with a co-worker. It's a gas! What a way to have fun with our new look. I took my wig off the other day walking into the kitchen. My cat was sitting in front the fridge, as usual, begging for food. He looked at me just as I pulled the wig and jumped in fright. It was hysterical. Sometimes being bald is awesome.

Sheri, my nose runs all winter and so I don't know any differently. I think you may have lost your nose hairs and that makes it worse.

Jen, my heart goes out to you ((big hugs)) love your positive attitude and your strength is truly inspiring. keep the good fight going, girl. you got this!

I love seeing everyone's pictures!!!! Y'all all look awesome!!! Bald should really be more of a thing for women, since we obviously all rock it so well.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who's turned into lizard skin. I had such soft, soft skin. Yes, it's because I bathe in lotion, but now I'm still bathing in lotion and feel like a crocodile. At first I thought it was hive remnants, but I would think after 3 weeks that would be over It's just harder to concentrate, and when I'm trying to write, it just sort of makes me more non-productive - as in, I should be writing now, not on here, but I left my power cord and the computer's about to run out of power, sooooo...

Lashes and eyebrows still holding on, so I'm going to quit complaining about leg hairs. If I can keep those and still have to deal with the other, so be it.

Jill: You are just gorgeous in anything!!!!! And screw that lady in line. She obviously had issues for saying anything like that out loud to anyone!

I realized last week that I was 33% through round 1 of 2, which feels like 50% will be here before I know it. Gotta run to PT. Oh, I forgot to mention - I got an attack of the lymphadema arm, so I have a huge bandage wrapped arm to haul around. Little did I know on the day I took this picture what I was going to wind up with. LOL!!!

Have a great day!!!!!

frill the scarf looks gorgeous. So creative!

Dear all,

Like to read all the posts, although i do not post too much, it is definitely helpful to be one cycle behind everyone else. Other than the fatigue and the diarrhea, I had no major SE. I did lose 10 lbs (which i gained them all back after I started following your lead with Vanilla ice cream). I will not need a brazilian because I am almost there and my nose bleed stopped already although next time will start using the nasal spray, since I did not like the crusty scabs on my nose every morning. I received the neulasta stick on, and it worked like a charm, no pain, nothing major and I was at home.

Jen, so sorry to hear your news and like everyone else here, huge bear hugs.

Wendi, so sorry about your port. I am yet to touch mine or let anyone else do it. Freaks me out completely.

And last but no least, my hair is falling out like crazy, I asked my husband this morning if I had hair after the shower and he said "Of course you have hair on your head" and then I moved away for the drain, he almost lost it. My 12 year old freaked out this morning when trying to cover a spot and was left with a clump on her hands. I laugh so hard. I will shave tomorrow after my second treatment and will post a picture for you ladies. Love the bald pictures!

Forgot to mention: I drink at least two big bottles of coconut water per day in addition to regular water. You have to try it (hopefully you belong to costco/sams), it really helps with hydration. my rn was impressed.

I keep forgetting to mention this, I started taking acidophilus right after chemo #1 because I'm a fungus/yeast magnet - so maybe that would help with the mouth issues some people are having? I have to say that it's not cleared one way or the other by the MO. I also get mouth sores - and weird tongue things - thanks for sharing, Frill - when not on chemo, so when I heard that it was an issue I was worried.

This is the only thing I'm doing that seems even remotely related to mouth stuff. I still haven't started the baking soda stuff, although I did use my Biotene last chemo day.

Maybe this will be helpful to someone, or lead to something helpful!

round 3 of TC is affecting me a little more than the first two. This is my first time missing work and I've had two low grade fevers since yesterday. I don't know if I can manage another day at home being stuck in bed or on the couch and feeling to tired or dizzy or sick to be useful. I really hope I can get back to work tomorrow so the day passes a little more quickly