Starting Chemo in Nov 2016

amyemn,

I hope you find somebody here who has statins in her treatment. My MO says my heart is beginning to enlarge, but did not give me any meds for it. I guess it's not that bad. My chemo starts Nov. 3.

Good luck sister.

gmmiph

Rachel and Kelly - Yes. I remembered I have a small pillow the surgical staff had given me. I didn't need it after the survey so I almost forgot I had it. It's perfect for my need.

Amyamn - Not only are we starting chemo on the same day but looks like are regimens are somewhat similar.

It's so wonderful to have such great support in this forum and sad at the same time that so many of us are having to go through this.

Leslie26 - Wow! Looks like you have quite the road ahead of you, and no one looks forward to chemo. Keep your chin up and try to stay positive. I keep saying to myself," if this is the process I need to go through to kill anything left and and to prevent it from coming back? Well, yeah, Bring it On!.

Nothing but good thoughts for all of us!! :-)

Patti

I'm sorry to hear that amyemn. I'm sorry, I don't know anything about statins, but I'm sure someone here will. I'm with you on the age thing; I'm only 48 and have been healthy up until now. It feels like I'm falling apart all of a sudden!

Now that all the news is settling in and I've had a little time to breathe, I'm coming up with tons of questions and panicing a little about doing the chemo. Not in a I don't think I need it/want it way, but wanting to understand better why I'm getting the drugs I'm going to get and why 3 FEC's...why not 4, or 5 or 6? Why 3 D's? I just don't understand how they decide on what, and of course now that my brain thought about all these questions, I can't get them out of my head. I got a call to go in for a CT scan on Monday afternoon; I may call my MO nurse and see if she has 10 min to talk to me while I'm there just to sort out my brain.

Ok, the hair thing. I went yesterday and bought a couple of wraps, just so I have something here. They are giving me a prescription on Wednesday to get a wig, I think my insurance covers it. I'm sick of calling them about things already!! I've signed up for a Look good feel good or whatever it's called but it's not until the end of November so I may have to look up some of those videos so I can look half human. My daughter is in a musical a few weeks after my first treatment and I'm going darn it...and I don't want her to be horrified having me there bald and stuff as it will be so new.

Onward...

You look amazing Nfullblume!! Wow, I'm surprised how small the bandage is on your port site and where it is! I don't know why, but I thought it would be more on the clavical, not more up on the neck area. How long does it take to put it in? They are trying to move my port insertion day up so I can have it for my first treatment...That's Wednesday people, I'm running out of days and times to do things!

I have a question for you all, or maybe if someone is reading that's done chemo already, they will answer. Do you all plan on having someone (friend, family) sit with you every treatment? Just the first one? Maybe it's because I've had so much thrown at me so quickly and haven't had a lot of process time, but I'm actually dreading having my mom or sister with me at my first chemo. I feel like I haven't had time to actually be with me, and there are questions I want to ask without them hearing the answers, if that makes sense. I think I'm feeling a little smothered. I don't mean it to sound so awful, I love them both and am very thankful my sister was with me Wed/Thurs when I got all the news, but dang it, there's a large part of me that wants to play 20 questions with the nurses on Wednesday (1st chemo) and then just read or veg. I feel like it's the first downtime I will have had in weeks! Yes, that's my introvert side peeking out a bit..(people would never know I have that side!) I know I should have people for driving etc, but I just feel like I want to deal with this alone. Then I feel guilty for thinking it.

Leslie, I get it about family. My husband will be with me for each treatment. If you choose folks to sit with you, they should be uplifting and positive. Definitely choose someone that you can laugh and cut up with. I'd freak if my mom was there too, cause she would make me anxious.

The port surgery was about 75 minutes, with really only about 45 of it being the surgery. My BS used the neck incision to thread the catheter to the power port. My actual port incision is about at where my cleavage starts. Don't be scared to demand your BS put it in an area that suits you. I didn't want my bra to rub it and I like to wear lower shirts. A lot will depend on your chest structure. The thinner you are, the more it will show. You can see my catheter, kinda just looks like a being sticking out.

Dbear, good luck!! Sounds like we are all close on our start dates, that'll be great, we can offer each other support while we are knee deep in it!!

hIya girls!

I'm getting a little anxious now about the ports. No one has mentioned anything about me getting one, but they always have problems finding my veins and I don't want to be a pin cushion.

Also, have you all told all of your friends and family? I find myself telling a few people, and its always awkward. I still haven't told everyone, including some really close friends....

And I'm still in denial about losing my hair....I wear wigs frequently, by its different when u know everything underneath will be gone...

Just popping in to say hi to all November Chemoladies.

Nfullblume, you are beautiful in your short hair. i wish i would look that way when i cut mine short.

Hope all of you nice ladies are fine.

Gotta run now.

gmmiph

Well, we are all right there with you Steph8875! Good luck at you MO appointment. A few of us are starting this week. We can commiserate together! 😁

Rachel

Happy Monday (and Halloween) Ladies-

I washed my caps and scarves over the weekend and learned that they really do need to be reshaped and lay flat to dry-I hung them on a drying rack and they are very wrinkled now! Port goes in on Tuedsay and I pick up my wig on Wednesday. At this point I am as ready as I can be.

Steph and Marigoldgirl- welcome. This community has been great at relieving some of my anxiety! We can do this.

Rachel- love the short hair! I got mine cut last week and I'm still waiting for it to settle down and look like yours

Have a good day,

Kelly

I finished TCHP in mid-July and wanted to give encouragement to those who are starting chemo soon. You can do it!! I had grade 3, stage IIa IDC with no nodes involved and was triple positive. My experience wasn't as bad as I had feared, although it certainly was no walk in the park either.

For anyone who's Her2 positive, Herceptin seems to be a miracle drug. By the time I had my lumpectomy in August, the chemo/Herceptin had completely dissolved the tumor and I was declared to have a pathological complete response.

My biggest complaints from chemo were GI issues (got to know my toilet so well that my sister had a toilet trophy made for me, which complimented both my toilet and me for making it through some "crappy" times) and, strangely enough, bad skin issues (hideous acne-like rashes on my face and body). My fatigue was essentially non-existent and I had no nausea. I did use DIY cold gloves and boots to prevent neuropathy and overall, I escaped those issues too. If anyone wants to know what I did for that, message me and I'd be happy to show you. My taste buds suffered through the last half of chemo but they came back soon after I was done.

I proactively shaved my head right after the second round and bought a normal wig and a bright pink wig and hardly wore either because they just weren't very comfortable. I ended up wearing a bunch of Chemo Beanies that you can get from various online vendors (Chemo Beanies, Cure Diva, etc). They're very cute ruffled beanies that you just slip on and don't need to be tied or messed with. I've gotten complimented on them by women who don't have cancer but who like to wear scarves regardless.

I could go on but I'll end by saying everyone's experience is different and some people will have an easier time and some will find it very tough. There are some very knowledgeable people on these boards who have a wealth of experience and information. Don't be afraid to ask questions of anyone here and especially of your doctors. While mine have been terrific, I'm still my own best advocate, and have learned to be more assertive through this process.

I wish you all the best of luck and healing from this nasty disease. Eff you, cancer

Hi to all the November Chemoladies here,

Just browsing thru the wonderful posts here.

Nice quote, pmevans.

Thanks so much for the support, Awtct.

Love the quote, Pmevans50. Very empowering!

Kelly, I use a lot of anti-frizz, my curls are dying to go fuzz all. Good luck on the port install tomorrow.

Marigoldgirl, it feels good to get to the point that you're just ready to go!!

Momandwife36, we are thinking of you, girl. Kick butt tomorrow!!

For the November 3 starters, I'll check back in after my chemo on Nov 2 and let you know how it went.