Anyone Starting Chemo in June 2016

Morning Ladies,

Hope everyone is feeling a little more positive about LIFE today and feeling healthy and well. Remember all of us are in the chemo forum now, so that being said, NONE of us actually have cancer anymore...this is something my wee dad says to me every single day. Bless his wee cotton socks! If we have had surgery then it is removed and even if in nodes, then the chemo is stopping it as we speak. I think we sometimes forget the obvious. In the UK, one of our TV journalists called Victoria Derbyshire, had breast cancer last year and on the evening after her operation she lay in bed and said this:

Her message is simple, but it is TRUE. I am now asking us all to start our day with a positive affirmation and that is: I AM CANCER FREE and IT IS NOT COMING BACK EVER.

Say it every morning and every night.

Breaking news over here in Scotland is that Dollydimples has started yoga!!! My sister is a very clever girl and in addition to her job she is also training for a yoga qualification. She has now said she will do yoga with me. We got started yesterday (I suppose the above paragraph gave it away really) and it was calming and soothing and wonderful. It helps reduce the rush of cortisol that comes with stress. It is this stress hormone that is apparently causing our bodies damage and cancer is one of those things that damages us. So I have decided to seriously undertake this yoga thing. I have not YET purchased dungarees and cheesecloth tops or started wearing open-toed sandals whilst eating brown rice...but there is definitely something in this yoga. I have enrolled at the gym to get to as many classes as possible.

NattyB, I have also done the cupboard thing and laughed at your remarks about-out-of-date tinned foods. Some of your stuff, sounds like the Imperial War Museum might would have been interested!! I ventured under my bed before chemo to hoover and clean out dust etc....jeez it was like a scene from Miss Havisham's banquet table. Once you start cleaning before chemo, it becomes an obsession and a task and a half. I suspect all chemo patients must have the cleanest houses haha.

Moondust thanks for comments about my hair. I certainly don't have thin hair (don't have thin anything!) and on this occasion and I am more than happy to say I have fat hair and long may it stay fat and chubby. I also have no probs with the leg hair or further down hair, going. In fact would make life easier. I think though that my eyebrows might bother me. I think I may look like a painted boiled egg. But hey...it is NOTHING. It is just hair and I am keeping myself alive by doing this. I am also not out that much. So will just Howard Hughes it, until I have hair all back.

Labscientist, say hello to your hubby from me!! We seem to be teaching in similar topics. I notice your name is Angela too....well.. well guess what my name is??? Go on, have just ONE guess! Glad you are feeling a bit better and happy and that I am not the only freak constantly touching my head and hair. I have visions of standing in the supermarket and then clumps just suddenly fall out all over the cashier desk or worse still, if I listen to Moondust, and have it fall first from any other region!! I may just shop for groceries online now. More pleasant experience for all.

Krekre, you are doing well. You are now being active and positive about taking moves to fight this thing off! The buying of your nail polish, slouchy hats etc is all part of that. And the crazy and fear and panic is a clear sign that you are normal and sane. Even the thinking that this will 'reposition' is normal too. But you need to be done with that. The brain is the most powerful thing in your body. I believe that if you get that right, then you will be cured. This chemo kills things....so it is going to kill any wee loose cells in your body too! BELIEVE that and it will be so. The majority of people get rid of this cancer and never see it again. So just remember that!

Revnet, hello. Hope the port op goes well and you are doing OK with this cancer thing, so far!

Helen...if you are cold capping, I might be tempted to keep hair the length it is. As said before it gives us the option of changing partings and moving it around the head haha

Dolly (will remain as Dolly so as not to confuse things with labscientist Angela)

so I met with my PS today for the all clear and the stitching on the left boob is not not staying closed 😟

The next step is installing a PICO device for negative pressure wound therapy. I'm having that done tomorrow morning and then after that my bone scan. A busy day! I'm just a little depressed that the suture is not healing like we want it to. If I wasn't scheduled for chemo it would be no big deal. I'm triple positive so we are reaching the 60 day mark that we should be starting chemo but at the same time I want to be all healed up. Did I say I feel like screaming! On another note ever since my port surgery on the right side I've had this tender area at the top of my right bicep. It feels like it's pulling from the port. It's not a clot but they want to X-ray it so I'll probably have one more test to add on for tomorrow. Sorry I'm feeling crabby and I just need to vent !

Moondust, I have watched Victoria a lot on youtube as she is a good advert for chemo and BC in general. I hope we ALL remember her message on our bad days. Have you any clue why you are losing so much weight? Are you eating fattening foods? I watched a clever video on youtube about what to eat during chemo and they were pretty much advocating a diet that they said they would never advocate for a BC survivor after they are off chemo. Get munching on creamy puds and custards and chocolate.

Heathet, I am so sorry to hear about your wound. Do they know what is causing it to take so long to heal?

Dolly, I am eating foods I have not allowed myself to have in years! Grilled sandwiches with cheese and butter, ice cream, milkshakes, peanut butter, waffles, etc. Still trying to fit in my veggies, but I'm having them creamed rather than steamed I am a diligent food tracker, so I KNOW that I am eating plenty of excess calories. Maybe it is just water weight leaving. There's no way I can drink any more. My eyeballs are floating most of the time.

Cwhitney, how can they lose a port??? That is amazing and distressing!! Please keep us updated as to its whereabouts, and I'll be in your pocket tomorrow for the procedure. I'm so sorry!!

Hi krekre, I am a clinical laboratory scientist, so I work doing lab testing on patient specimens at a hospital laboratory, and also in the blood bank. I am not usually someone who wears nailpolish (much to the relief and joy of my husband, who loathes the smell of it). however, I can do research, here's an article: http://blog.birchbox.com/post/19790488420/protect-...

basically says that most nail polish has UV blockers but mentions a top coat to also protect. SO, sounds like a good idea to me. Hope that helps. I am using the clear nail strengthener that came with the AVOPlex from Amazon. It seemed like an easy thing to help my nails be stronger. I guess nails falling out is a rarer side effect of the taxol, but I would like to avoid that if possible. I was quoting Dr.Seuss on one of these boards recently, (I do not like it, Sam I am) and I have to say, it seems very appropriate, becasue this whole process IS very crazy! Weird and surreal and crazy! I am thankful for many friends and family that are so amazingly supportive and encouraging. I am taking it one day at a time and leaning on Jesus. Not sure how else to do it...well, I could be running around screaming, but that isn't really very helpful for anyone.

CarolAG: I had the same thing the day after chemo as the benedryl wore off. The infusion nurse I called said it was from the steroids. (she says, Oh, I didn't mention it because not everyone experiences it.) She went on to say it can make your skin break out too (isn't that lovely?!?) Mine went away as I stopped taking the steroid. I have been only taking 1/2 a dose the day after chemo and it seems some better. If it's still there tomorrow it wouldn't hurt to call infusion center or MO and ask about it. I have been cleaning my face well with Simple wipes inthe evening and Simple cleanser in the shower. So far no breakouts. Yay, you are a soldier killing cancer!!

CarolAG, you are soooo welcome. These boards are such a blessing to be able to share this process with sisters going thru it. I am happy when I have a chance to help others too.

So I take 8 mg the day before, 8mg the day of, and 4mg the day after. Ask if you can pass on the 2nd day after. Also its better to take the dose all in the morning as it disrupts sleep less. (that's what the infusion RN instructed me.) Now, that said, I have to have a CAT scan this WEd, the day after my infusion, so I get to take the full dose on Wed and 4mg on thurs to be sure to not have a icky reaction to the contrast dye. Getting my scan done, YAY, taking more steroids, BOO

Dollydipples123- they're not sure why it's taking so long to heal. My right side has healed and looks great. My PS has a theory - he said that he noticed in patients injected with the blue dye for the sentinel nodes they tend to heal slower on the side they were injected. He says it's just his observation. On my left side they took out 7 lymph nodes so maybe that's why it's still a little swollen and not healing. I am upping my protein intake so hopefully that will help.

Cwhitney- I am so ready to get the ball rolling too! These bumps in the roads are no fun - it's the waiting!

Here is a question. I notice lots of people talking about scans and cat scans and MRIs etc before chemo. I asked the oncologist about all of this and was told I did not need these. Anybody know why? I would imagine they would want to have a baseline of my lungs etc before chemo.

I also have not got a stage yet (I keep forgetting to ask huim!) Anybody know what sort of stage I might be with a 1.5cm lump, grade 2, also 1/3 SNLB (micrometastases) and ER and PR positive and HER2 negative. At the time of my multidisciplinary meeting they were unsure as to whether to give me chemo or not and then decided to based on my age and fact I could handle it.

I would love to be a 1B....but only coz I had thought I was 1A to start with.

Heathet,

I have heard about blue dye causing problems at times. My surgeon did not use blue dye on me. Think he used some sort of radioactive tracer pen or something and think it was due to diabetes and fact that they did not want wound having any probs healing as diabetic wounds can be difficult and get infected etc.

Hi Dolly - I would guess Stage 1B too along with Moondust since your tumor is <2cm and the B for the node but ask your doc. I'm not diabetic but I was told I would only get steroids as a pre-med, none for home use. I asked if they were negotiable and she said, yes, a lower dose. I'm sure she saw that I was envisioning myself as a hot air balloon. I have no prescriptions yet for nausea or anything so I'm hoping they give me a doggie bag when I go on Wednesday, good times.

Heathet - geez. Sorry about your wound - my bad side took a lot longer to heal and my drain holes are still kinda gross and scabby and sometimes leaky. The other side is totally healed so what your Ps said makes sense to me based on my healing. Hugs to you.

Knardo - I went to a wig store and tried on about 20 wigs. It was crazy. I also stood outside in the daylight to see what they looked like in natural light too at the advice of the wig lady. I went with synthetic since the maintenance is easier and while not cheap, they are less expensive. The had a natural hair one in there that was several (like 5) thousand dollars. I asked if it was made from the hair of royals - she didn't think I was as funny as my mom and sister did:) I purchased one (my insurance supposedly covers one) and then I came home and ordered the other one I was interested in online (pay attention to the brand and color when you are shopping)- for about 180 less than the wig store. Kinda ticked me off that I paid too much in the store for the other one. I did the lace caps and the hairline is really amazing. Check out Wigs.com and wigoutlet.com (same company). My hair guy said there is a powder you can use to reduce the shiny so I will look into that.

Krekre - I hear you all the way around. I'm loving hearing I am young but the only women I know who had Bc were younger than me (they are both doing pretty well) and there are so many women at the breast center it's like being at a good sale at the mall.

Elocea - I'm intrigued by the hats with the hair. I'm looking for a few decent ball cap style that comes down lower, haven't seen any yet. There are so many of the cloche (?) styles that look cute on the models but not on my dome - I look like I'm playing dress up:)

Welcome to the new friends - sorry you are here but glad you are HERE:)

Nextyear sorry for the delayed response... Yeah days 3-5 for me I am just out of it. Can't concentrate on anything. Would be nice to be able to chill on the couch and watch mindless tv but I can't concentrate long enough to focus on even that! I can't remember a thing from Friday around 8pm until Noon on Sunday... Honestly it's just a blur of sleeping and weird dreams. But thankfully I am coming out of it now and I feel "normal" again... Like the fog is lifting.

First chemo infusion in 3 days. My sweet husband took me to Cheesecake Factory for a date so I could enjoy a wonderful meal with no side effects. Then tonight a burger and fries at Applebee's. I almost hope I don't have taste buds for a few days after chemo so I can loose the weight I have gained! It seems like lots of waiting to begin the dreaded chemo. Surgery was March 10th and lots of complications to delay. Before cancer I was 50 years old with no health issues at all. Now.... A new journey is before me. So many people ask me how I am..... Truth is it changes from moment to moment. It still doesn't seem real. As if the surgeon telling me I have cancer, the partial mycetomy, infection, wound care, cellulitis and lymphedema weren't enough. Soon I will add the infusion of chemo drugs to the list. It is about to get real. I pray we all experience healing from this disease. I pray we all experience the grace, peace and love that only Jesus can bring

Llroseworld- I totally understand where you are coming from! I was diagnosed May 10 & had a bilateral mastectomy June 1. Prior to this I was a 36 year old with no health problems...none...no medications for anything...Ithe had been really hard to swallow & often doesn't feel real. I go for a heart scan tomorrow ro be sure my heart can handle the squeezing as my Oncologist put it & then I have to have a port put in (I'm not sure why they didn't put it in during surgery) & chemo will start within the next few weeks..I'm scared, freaking out...trying to be strong so I don't freak my teenagers & 10 year old out. People ask me how I am doing & how I feel & I agree it changes from moment to moment. I'm just ready to feel normal again! Good luck to you.