Anyone.Starting Chemo in October 2016?

well, even though the fingernail thing isn't supposed to start before taxol, last night I noticed that three of my nails really look darker clear up at the top where they grow out from. My husband says I'm dreaming but my son sees it clearly. I think my husband is attempting to prevent me from losing it because I feel right on the edge of a major pity party.

Thanksgiving was tough here. We had a nontraditional dinner Thurs. which was fine. But Friday one son and John fixed a traditional dinner and invited my parents and brother visiting from Chicago. My other son had gone for a bike ride trip with a friend and is returning today. He doesn't like any Thanksgiving food so this worked out well. These 2 sons came without families so I wouldn't catch kid germs. This would have been fine but I just seemed to be incapable of totally staying out of the kitchen. By the time it was over, I had hit a wall of exhaustion and collapsed. To top it all off, i have developed a tremendous sore throat.

The total crowning glory to all of this was that John had given Molly a steak bone. I TOLD him not to do this. I reminded him quite clearly what happened when he did this before. During the night, she had 4 accidents which NEVER happens. Fortunately, I had turned on a light in the bathroom to be able to find the Tylenol bottle and saw 2 of them. I had no problem going in, waking him up, an letting him deal with it. I might have had some guilt if the dr hadn't specifically said no picking up of doggy do without even knowing we had a dog. The other 2 gifts weren't found until morning and he dealt with that too.

The house is empty today with them all gone. I have had one nap and am about to have another. I really have discovered that if I don't pace myself, I am going to pay for it big time. Now, to actually do it

Connie - Cancer sure doesn't make holidays any easier, does it!? Glad you were able to have a Thanksgiving event with family, despite the ups and downs. So true that we just can't run at normal speed these days, but this too will pass! Hope Molly is doing ok.

I also had doggie drama last night ... after I finally fell asleep, my son came banging on my bedroom door around midnight because our old dog Max was having a big seizure! We wound up taking Max to the emergency 24 hour vet clinic ... very scary. They kept him overnight, and we're waiting to see what happens next. Here's the thing ... Max is almost 15 years old, and they are offering tests like MRIs ($2400) etc which are not in our budget. We want Max to be comfortable and well, but I think that difficult decisions will soon be upon us.

I'm trying to stay calm and hoping that all will turn out for the best. (Whatever that means!).

Barb

Hi Nancie, Max is home ... he seems better, thank goodness. We're crossing our fingers that things will settle down! So sorry to hear about your rash ... things like that are crazy, because they're "relatively" minor (in the grand scheme of things), but such a nuisance! Hope that you find some relief ...5 weeks is a lot of scratching.

So tomorrow I'm finally going to get a port ... anyone have any words of advice? I'm looking forward to having it, since it will help preserve my veins, but the procedure is just one more thing to get through. Onward and upward!

Barb

Barb,

I resisted getting a port in the beginning. I didn't want another procedure and was worried how it would feel. People said it would be a positive thing, and that proved to be true.

* the procedure to install it was smooth and easy

* it has made the infusions very easy. I have lidocaine cream to put on it before port access but there's not much of a difference with or without the cream. There is a one second jab when the port is accessed and it goes away immediately.

* you have complete use of your hands and arms (and use of the bathroom) while being infused with a port

* I asked the radiologist to try to place it to the side a bit so that it wouldn't show with V neck tops. He acted like he had never been asked this before, but happily complied.

* it took a solid three weeks for me to be able to sleep on that side (my right) again. I wish someone had told me that, but that it would be eventually doable

* there was tenderness at the port site while it healed. Three weeks. Your skin has to stretch to accommodate it, plus the incision has to heal.

* don't pull off the steri strips even if you want to. Just sayin.....

* I had "twilight sleep" and was given an Ativan before the port procedure. Extra strength Tylenol that night.

* I am aware of the port but it doesn't show when I have clothes on nor is it painful

I am very glad that I got the port, even though I was hoping to do without one. With weekly infusions, it was a good decision.

Good to hear Max is going okay! Way to go, Mac.

Nancie

I am new to the group and I also have one more infusion of AC on 12/6. Them four rounds of taxol along with Herceptin for a year.

AC has been rough on me but so glad only one more to go. My nurses say that Taxol is a piece of cake compared to AC.

I really wanted the cancer tumor out of me before chemo but my oncologist recommended chemo first.

I want the surgery ASAP after chemo to get this out of my body.

Fight fierce ladies ✝️

Queeny

Hi Queeny - welcome to the gang! I'm also down to one more AC (Dec 12), then it's 12 weekly Taxol for me. Here's to getting it done! Looking forward to hearing more from you!!

Jenn - welcome back. I'm sorry to hear you've had a rough time of it. Hang in there ... you are getting through this, and soon it will be behind you. Here's to happier days ahead ... and speaking of which, the coming arrival of Miss Charlotte must be such a source of excitement!!! Nothing like a cute little baby to make the world bright and shiny!!!!!!!

And on the topic of using the forum to vent ... lady, that is what we are here for. We all have our moments/days/weeks where things happen (or don't happen), (or don't happen the way they are supposed do, etc.!). Drop it off here, and hopefully you'll leave a little lighter ...

All the best,

Barb

I'm glad to hear (well, no, not really) that someone else has trouble with the nail beds Deemendoza just so I can show my husband that I'm not paranoid.

This has been a very rough few days. I started with a sore throat Fri. evening that turned into a major event with high fever. I called the emergency number and they told me to go ahead and start taking the emergency antibiotics they had prescribed in the beginning for just this event since I live I 1/2 hrs away. So a great deal of my time with 2 of our boys was spent with me sleeping and trying not to vomit. John's taking them back to the airport as I type. The only salvation is that he took them out for some seafood a few times and they enjoyed the weather. I didn't even consider going as I was sleeping constantly. I don't know how anyone can sleep as much as I have lately. I am white as a sheet and for the first time, I really FEEL like what I expected a cancer patient to feel like....and that just makes me cry.

Deemendoza, how is the hair holding up? I am so anxious to hear how well the coldcapping is working.

Cute wig, Nanci!

Connie, I'm sorry Tootsie! Hopefully your fatigue will lighten up.

Barb, how'd your port placement go?

I'm ecstatic that it went so well for you, Barb. That little contraption definitely makes things easier!!

Barb, that's so great about your port. In a week or so it will just be a part of you--mine doesn't bother me at all any more.

I had a rough Thanksgiving week--AC #3 on Monday, and I was feeling ok-ish until Thursday morning, when nausea (mild, but making itself known enough for me to back away from cooking) took over as I was baking. I managed to eat a tiny bit of Thanksgiving dinner with my daughter and housemates, but it was a struggle. On Friday I had a fever that ALMOST got high enough to call the clinic (which then, of course, means a trip to the ER) but it just stayed under so I stayed home...but felt icky and had had a headache since Monday. Hovered on Saturday around 99.9, and in the afternoon my right eyelid started to swell up and droop over my eye. I'm sure it was an allergic reaction to something; we contemplated calling in in case it was something neurological, but after a Benadryl it started to shrink back up. I barely got out of bed on Sunday, although by then my appetite was back so I managed some leftovers.

My daughter went back to NYC yesterday and I went to a regularly scheduled checkup with my surgeon; when I told her about the eye droop she sent me right down to my PCP to really make sure I hadn't had a neurological event--which I'm quite sure I didn't. It's almost back to normal today, and there were no other symptoms of anything like a stroke.

This week, I'm going to stay away from pubic spaces pretty much completely. Last time, the day before chemo, I did end up in the ER with a "fever of unknown origin" and I don't want that to happen again--if I can avoid it by hibernating, I will.

My homemade turbans (thanks to those who posted YouTube links) are getting a lot of attention and compliments--as a completely non-crafty person, it's nice to hear (and of course they are so easy to make even I can make one.) My housemates have donated some of their T-shirts since I find that my own are just too tight on my head.

One more AC and then I'm on to 4 rounds of Taxol, then, because of the BRCA 2, bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction (temporary filler), then radiation, then surgery to put in the permanent boobs, then surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes, then, finally, just hormonal therapy. It's a long haul but on days when I'm feeling ok, like today, I can almost believe that it will someday be over. I'm really trying to take things a day at a time. I'm glad winter is coming on--being shut in is much less emotionally draining when it's too cold to go outside anyway. I have a few can-be-made-warm-and-cozy spots in this very drafty house so I will move from one to the other over the course of these next months...

Lots of love to everyone,

Kate

Kate, I'm sorry that you had such a tough time. Given my quest to find humor even in this challenging time, I had to chuckle at you staying away from pubic spaces. Having not had a date for years, I, too, avoid 'em!

I'm heading to the shower to prepare for AC #4 and that laugh was exactly what I needed. Thank you!

Yay to Barb on being port-ified! Since my port looked so wonky, the nurse had to use an IV in my dominant arm when I had fluids and I hated it. That darned thing beeped every time I moved my arm more than an inch or two. Very annoying!

Lyn

Kate- might have been a typo but it made me smile. Thank you! There does always seem to be something new going on.

Barb- hallelujah on the port placement! You will be very happy that you have it now. And I understand about you wanting to try it out. You won't know what to do with your hand now during your infusion! Not true. You will. Be patient with the healing and know it will be something you don't think about much in several weeks. Your description of it being like a spa day was cute. When I was in recovery from my port placement, they gave me one of those tiny containers of canned peaches and I thought they were the best thing I had ever tasted.

Lyn- hope infusion 4 goes well today. I have three important "Lynn/Lynne's in my life right now- my best friend, my therapist, and my oncology nurse. All really good people.

I am decorating our Christmas tree today, slowly. A touch of normalcy. Here in New Hampshire, it is drizzly, cold, raw and gray. The trees are bare. I'm making turkey vegetable soup for dinner and bought a loaf of homemade whole wheat bread. A hunker-down day.

One of my close, wonderful friends is English. She has a saying, "Keep your pecker up!" Which doesn't mean what one would think- it means keep your spirits up. But it's fun enough to say. So I say to all you ladies, "Keep your pecker up!"

Nancie

Hi everyone, Ive missed so much! Barb and Betty are my cheerleaders! Thanks for all the support! Im having 3 round tomorrow! My ankles are so swelled! Will discuss it with my Dr tomorrow. I've been reading all the post and saying lots of prayer for my fellow ladies! Hugs and Prayers

Hey ladies! I wanted to introduce my precious granddaughter! Charlotte Davis (Davis was my great grandmother's middle name and also my youngest daughter's🙂)

She was born today at 12:05 pm weighing a whopping 8lbs 11ozs, and 20.5 in! And she is precious! Mommy and baby are doing great!

Jenn - She is beautiful! She looks like she's thinking deep and mysterious thoughts! Thank you for starting my day with such a lovely image. Enjoy your day, Grandma Jenn!!