Chemo Starting August 2018

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  • MoonGirlJess
    MoonGirlJess Member Posts: 267
    edited January 2019

    I spent yesterday in the ER barfing my brains out. I couldn’t keep down any fluids and threw up any antiemetic pills so I ended up getting 2 liters of fluid, zofran IV, chest xrays, CT scan of my chest for possible pneumonia. No pneumonia just an awful virus. It was like an F5 tornado of barfing. After the 2 liters of fluid I could finally pee again. I was so sick I though I might be in multi-system organ failure. It was ridiculous.

    Happy New Year! At least I got that new 2019 insurance deductible and out of pocket taken care of yesterday.


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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    MGJ I am so sorry about the puke fest. Yuck!! Did you feel solidarity w/ all the millennials who were puking for a different reason???

    BUT-- I will say there's a silver lining to have had that scan and find nada on it! xoxo

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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    MGJ, so sorry you are so sick. Doesn’t seem like you can catch a break. I am betting that 2019 will turn around for all of us and be a great year so stay strong and keep up that funny sense of humor you have. You make me chuckle all the time

    I will also have my deductible and out of pocket paid after tomorrow’s H&P infusion -woohoo.

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  • wanderweg
    wanderweg Member Posts: 549
    edited January 2019

    Kelly-Anne - My sister told me they celebrated "New Year's in Reykjavik" - because Iceland hit midnight at a more reasonable hour. I think next year I'll pick an alternate time, too, because I fell asleep a few times on the way to midnight. I'm so glad you're moving forward with active treatment rather than just managing symptoms. I have no doubt you'll be here reporting being NED one of these days.

    MGJ - Oh no! That sounds dreadful. That is a hell of a way to have to start the year.

    There was a rescued turkey vulture at the nature center where my husband and I hiked yesterday and I now know that I have hair like a vulture. Her sign said, "Bald is Beautiful."

    image

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    Speaking of hair.... My 21 year old son keeps saying, "You look cute! Take your hat off! I like the color! You've got a good-shaped head!"

    SWEET.

    My hair is back everywhere on my head - it's like an ultra-low-pile heathered grey upholstery fabric! Eyebrows coming back haphazardly but I am NOT plucking till I have the full canvas I am working with.

    MGJ are you feeling better?

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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    Hi chemo gals, I have a strange thing going on. Saturday the inside of my ankle got swollen, it didn’t hurt to bad but was red. By Tuesday the other side swelled and was also red. I wrapped and the swelling went down but during the night I had such bad pain in my ankle and radiated up to knee and backside of thigh I had to take 2 Tramadol. Then Wednesday morning, not much swelling for sore. That night again sever pain during the night, once again had to take 2 tramodole. Not sure what is going on.

    I have my H&P infusion this morn, hope they don’t delay because of this.


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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    image

    My DH thinks I look like Russell Jackson from Madam Secretary. To be honest I think he has more hair. The turkey vulture is probably more accurate

    SB, I wish I could see some hair coming back but no such luck.

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    I am sorry to hear about your random ankle issue-- sounds alien like. I wonder if it could be a nerve misbehaving? that is being irritated in lying down position?

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  • MoonGirlJess
    MoonGirlJess Member Posts: 267
    edited January 2019

    I feel great! Absolutely no lingering side affects from pukefest 2019. I wish my barfing was due to too much partying. Maybe next year! I was in bed by 10 pm New Years Eve as well.

    Kelly-Anne—right after my ACs in September I went on vaycay to Hawaii. The trip was planned before I had my diagnosis so I rolled with it. I mean I looked awful. Nasty skinny, port on my chest looking like a bulging blister, half-flat, bald. Let's just say I was really rocking the cancer look. I was on the beach and a lady came up to me and asked if I was in remission. I said just in between chemo sessions and she introduced me to her friend who had BC 5 years ago. The lady told me she was stage 4 and now she her friends travel all the time. No more cancer. I love stories like that. Makes me feel better that others have kicked BC ass at any stage.

    I'm 42, I think you are in that age range, too. (Forgive me if I'm wrong on your age.) I absolutely would go to town on this cancer. Balls to the walls active treatment. You've got this.

    MACTAZ—I'm totally rocking that front bald look. It's freaking me out. That ankle thing is strange, isn't it? Hope your treatment goes great today.

    Santabarbarian—I'm jealous your hair is looking cute. And even! Eyebrows?!?!? Lucky! I wouldn't touch them either. Let those babies fill in.

    Wanderweg—I love that turkey vulture. She's a beauty.

    I ordered some Nioxin shampoo. Anybody try it?

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    Oh it is NOT looking good..... my son is just that sweet!!

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  • cefinkc
    cefinkc Member Posts: 86
    edited January 2019

    Granted my kiddos are still young -- 12 and 14 -- and boys, but they have opted not to look at Mom's new peachfuzz yet. I, on the other hand, am excited that I have hair almost covering my whole head now!! Be it ever so short and fuzzy! SantaBarbarian -- looks we have the same timing (my surgery and chemo were just in reverse of yours). I'm on week 11 of PFC.

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  • Hughope1
    Hughope1 Member Posts: 129
    edited January 2019

    Congrats girl MoonGirlJess. So thrilled to see you ring the bell. Sorry I have not wrote much lately. Trying to get ready for next surgery and came back to work yesterday. i will write more later. Hughope1

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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    Cefinkc, wow hair, when was you last chemo? Mine hasn’t changed since I lost most of it in September.

    Hughope1 glad to see you back on. When is your next surgery? Did you get the TE already

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  • cefinkc
    cefinkc Member Posts: 86
    edited January 2019

    MACTAZ, my last chemo was October 17th. So exciting to see hair, even if it is more salt then pepper in places. It didn’t start really sprouting till 3 weeks ago.

    Kenna — back at work? Wow!! When is your next surgery?

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    Very happy to report that my pathology was perfect!!

    Relief!!!

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  • Benji69
    Benji69 Member Posts: 94
    edited January 2019

    Great news! You must be so relieved. (Me too.

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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    santabarbarian, great news, I’m so happy for you. Happ

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  • Hughope1
    Hughope1 Member Posts: 129
    edited January 2019

    Hello My Girls, Sorry it has been so long. I am doing good. Still have a drain in from the mastectomy on the right side. That should come out next Tuesday. I got a great pathology report, everything showed clear. I got saline added to my breast last week, it is hard as a rock. Nothing like having one boob up around your neck and the other one at your waist. But cancer has taught me more patients than I have ever had. I do things on their time now, not mine. Still only have peach fuss on my head, hopefully that will get better. I am doing 12 rounds of the perjeta and herceptin, finished the rough chemo before surgery. I have 10 more of the targeted therapy. Plastic surgeon I see him on Tuesday and he will probably schedule my reconstruction on the left and still has to put in permanent replacement on the right. I really hope that surgery is not as bad as the mastectomy was? I did good but still can't lift my right arm vary well, I am suppose to work on that this week.

    I have been reading through all the post and so much has happened, it's hard to catch up. Kenna (hughope1)

    I love you girls, you are the strongest women I know. xoxoxoxoxoxo

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    Hughope so happy your pathology was great too.

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  • MoonGirlJess
    MoonGirlJess Member Posts: 267
    edited January 2019

    Santabarbarian and Hughope—Awesome news! I’m so happy that your path reports were good! Love it!


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  • cefinkc
    cefinkc Member Posts: 86
    edited January 2019

    Woot! Woot! Great news SB and HH!

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  • Hughope1
    Hughope1 Member Posts: 129
    edited January 2019

    Thank you girls!

    I hope we all bring in the new year on the path to being new women, stronger than we ever imagined we could be.

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  • wanderweg
    wanderweg Member Posts: 549
    edited January 2019

    Santabarbarian - What a great thing for your kid to say. My younger son (22) always rubs my fuzzy head when he sees me. And I'm cheering wildly here about your good path results! Great news!

    MACTAZ - Russell Jackson! That's funny!

    MGJ - I'm so glad to hear you are feeling better. I've had Nioxin recommended to me, but haven't tried it yet. Not even sure which kind to get. So far I've been using Aveeno baby shampoo and rubbing it into my head with a baby washcloth. I figure they have bald, fuzzy heads...

    cefink - It's reassuring to me to hear you have peachfuzz - I'm 9 weeks PFC and was starting to worry that maybe I was way behind.

    hughope - Good to see you back here. I know you'll be glad to get that drain out. In my experience, recovery from the exchange surgery was much easier than recovery from the BMX. None of those range of motion issues, for instance. It took me forever after the mastectomy to be able to lift my arms over my head. Let us know when you get scheduled!

    The fuzzy hair on my head is starting to darken up a little, so it doesn't look quite as hairless as it did. I've started wearing my scarves more loosely just in case the pressure on my head was causing a problem.


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  • MACTAZ
    MACTAZ Member Posts: 597
    edited January 2019

    wanderweg, funny you mention keeping your scarf loose so it doesn’t cause issues, I’ve been fretting over my naps and bedtime because I always sleep on my back, so afraid that hair will never come back.

    So happy to see hughope1 back and with good results.

    Stay strong chemo gals, we are moving forward and nobody is going to stop us.


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  • Kelly-Anne
    Kelly-Anne Member Posts: 69
    edited January 2019

    hummm. I have just a little fuzz on the top of my head, it is the blonde colour I’m used to. Around the back it is a very dark brown or black coming in.

    I’m wondering if I’m going to end up looking like a skunk!

    Oh well, it’s hair and I want it. Anyone know if/when eyelashes come back?


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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    To be fair my hair had a head start because (after my fist chemo) I did a fake version of cold capping. I bought some freezable caps that are normally for migraine sufferers. They stayed cold for 20-30 mins and then thawed fast. Did not prevent it falling out, but I think it allowed my hair to get started re-growing a little faster... mine was actually starting to grow back by my last chemo.

    Some of my hair never fell out. I cut it to about ear lobe length but it was crypt-keeper long before that, with a huge bald spot on top. This week I cut that long stuff short to match the new growth. That hair was the baby-fine blonde/clear hair... unkillable. My rough dark needs-a-highlight hair was what fell out. How weird. It's coming back black and I swear its a lot darker than the hair I used to highlight. Sprinkles of grey about the same.

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  • cefinkc
    cefinkc Member Posts: 86
    edited January 2019

    Mine as well. Dark and longer in the back. Salt and pepper fuzz on top and longer gray (sigh) on the sides. I’ve been slathering castor oil on it before bed 3 times a week, then covering with a cap overnight. Washing with a biotin enriched, sulphate free shampoo the morning after my castor oil nights. I’m trying not to wash it the other days. Oh, and taking the maximum strength biotin capsule every morning. I’m hoping to get thicker hair then I had pre-chemo.

    SB, very ingenuitive to discover and try migraine cold caps!! I didn’t know they existed!!

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  • Hughope1
    Hughope1 Member Posts: 129
    edited January 2019

    Mactaz, Your surgery is right around the corner. How many rounds of the targeted therapy do you have to do. I was scheduled for 12 of them and have done 10, they seem to be a walk in the park compared to the Taxotere.

    santabarbarian How did your surgery go? And are you going to have to do radiation now? That was my option if I would on gone with the lumpectomy.

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  • wanderweg
    wanderweg Member Posts: 549
    edited January 2019

    Reading through all the comments about hair regrowth, I flashed back to my first MO (the one I now call Dr. Dick), who was very dismissive about the hair loss. Well, yeah - he was a balding MAN. I don’t think he understood or cared about what it’s like for a woman to go bald. But clearly, it matters to all of us.

    Cefinkc - where did you find biotin shampoo? I am taking biotin very day.

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited January 2019

    hughope, it went very well. I am one week out now and it's still a little swollen and sore under my armpit but very comfortable where the incision is on my breast. Everything was clear. I

    'll meet the surgeon Tues and Onc this week for their thoughts but I plan still to do proton rads. Deciding where... Maybe Philly or NJ as those spots are decently close to my daughter in NYC and many friends (used to live there). I thought that could make rads more fun, to have some dinners and weekends with friends and my daughter and son in law. I would rent an airbnb near the rads place and train into the city for fun.

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