January 2016 Chemo!

congrats lifealoft! so good to be over that hurdle!!

Ok, I am now 7 weeks PFC, and hair is growing in all over. I love that my eyelashes are already making a little fringe!! I cannot understand the rate at which those wily chin hairs sprung back up. But, the funniest thing by far is my brows…at first, I though that I hadn't washed my face properly and it was leftover brow stuff…but it looked so gray. Also, didn't have my glasses on. Then I got close and realized that the reason it looked like 5 o'clock shadow was that it was!!! Whole brow at once, tiny dots, then short hairs, right brow about a week ahead of the left one. OMG.

congrats LifeAloft, well done!

Thank you ladies!! I'm DONE!!! My counts were a little low and I was worried for a few minutes that they were going to delay me, I would have been so bummed!

Zinny, you look great! I can't wait to have eyebrows and eye lashes!!! That's bothering me more than my hair at this point.

My current situation: I'm in the process of getting last chemo infusion right now..whoop whoop

Congrats Buttafly!

I had taxol #7 yesterday, but they almost didn't give it to me. They took 40 millimeters of blood for cultures as well as some urine, to try to figure out what is causing my fevers. Also had a chest X-ray because of my cough. Aaaaannnd, my lupus rash is flaring up. I can't win.

Thanks guys. I will kinda miss my taxol Fridays-(catching up on Netflix and munching on some crackers and fruit juice all wrapped up in their heated blankets and pillows) but I'm not going to miss these Friday nights up all night from the steroids. would be great if I was still in my clubbing days, but nobody can hang till 4am anymore lol.  Heres a few pics from today. I rang the bell and then planted a flower in the garden of life

congrats buttaflydiva, so sorry missbee that is the worst of all.

Sending gentle hugs to my fellow chemo gals and guys. Still recovering from my masectomy, rads are next.

Hi, Rockstarteach. Yes, I have tissue expanders that were placed at my BMX in December, 2015. They did not fill them at all in surgery. I am now fully filled (slightly overfilled) to 280 cc per side, which I think is roughly a B cup. The fills did cause me some pain--maybe more accurately discomfort. I could not find a comfortable position sleeping the night of the fills, and had a difficult time getting out of bed due to backaches. But that only lasted 24-36 hours each time and I think I only had 3 fills. You can ask them to do smaller fills if they hurt too much.

I started radiation early May and since I will be having 36 treatments, am STILL only 2/3 done. My side effects definitely include tightness in my chest which I'm trying to alleviate through exercise and stretching. And girl, I hear you about not wanting to wait six more months. Mine are asymmetrical--one looks larger and sits lower, and of course they're immovable. I've expanded my wardrobe to include flowy and patterned tops so the asymmetry is less noticeable. I also have lots of Athleta sports bras with removeable pads--sadly I threw most of them away before my diagnosis but I have found it works to pad only the smaller side. They still don't sit level though. And, my skin is now red and tight in the radiated areas so a bra is uncomfortable anyway.

So yes, they SUCK. But all I can do is grit my teeth and put one foot in front of the other. Apparently the asymmetry really, really doesn't matter when it comes to the final exchange. It's just annoying now.

my RO said Aquaphor and also gave me a cream he likes called Arc. Others have said Calendula cream can help with pain

Valstim52...Hey, we're RAD-BFF's‼️ I go Monday. Hoping I can do four weeks.

beware the calendula…i bought 4 big tubes on amazon, only to learn that my centre said avoid scented creams. That being said, if you want calendula cream, I will happily mail it to you - just PM me.

Zinny and Paxton29 thanks for the heads up.

Valstim52...I expected to do 7 weeks. However, I'm doing rads at a cancer hospital and they seem to have a different approach. If the area where the tumor was removed is the appropriate size (by their standards) I can do four weeks. Hoping, that will be the case. Will know for sure tomorrow. I thought since I am TN, it would be 7 weeks for sure. I'm hoping I don't get skin breakdown. I always burn in the sun.

Valstim52...Well, today was interesting. One hour making a mold for me because I didn't do well with the standard equipment they had. It was very painful holding my arms up the way they wanted. Worse pain than from my lumpectomy‼️ The RO recommended that I do some PT for range of motion before radiation begins. Happy day!!! I will be doing four weeks, but it probably be a bit longer each visit because I get a boost each time. Chemo was a piece of cake for me. Don't know if rads will be the same. My simulation is in 9 days. Treatment begins on the 10th day.

Hello everyone! I haven't been on here in such a while! Life has been crazy lately. I finished chemo April 19th (hooray!) and started rads May 9th. I have two more weeks left so I'm almost there! The biggest pain has been the drive. I have to drive one and half hours one way to get to the nearest rads hospital. Ugh. My skin just started getting irritated last week because of the bolus, which they started the week before. I'm ready to be done with that daily drive! And to be able to wear my bra again.

I am starting ovarian suppression tomorrow along with Aromasin and Fosamax because I already have osteopenia in my lower spine. I'm nervous about this next step but I do this when starting every step. It's that fear of the unknown!

My hair is starting to grow back and like someone mentioned above, it's amazing how fast those pesky chin hairs popped back up! I have the Sinead O'Connor look going right now.

Nice to touch base with everyone again.