The Chemosabe March Cruise

Patti, welcome to the Bald and Beautiful club! props 2 u for posting yr pics! did yr girls have fun buzzing yr hair?

i've been running a lint roller over my head the past few days to get the stray hairs off. feels kinda good...

Put me on the cruise for Tuesday. #5 Taxol. My hair is thinning but not gone. I will try to be brave and post a pic when I get there.
Bettye

Holly - so sorry you are feeling poorly. I am proud of you allowing your friends to help by staying with you. Such a wise choice! Work can wait - just get better.
My LGFB class was very nice. Maybe you should contact the American Cancer Society and complain - your facilitator may be taking advantage of the system!
Prayers for better days for Holly! Hugs, Jacque

Hi all,
It's the day after AC #3 and I'm tired but not too nauseaus. I had at least 10 people praying for me yesterday as during the last treatment, it took three pokes to find a vein. I was so sick by that point, I just wanted to go home! But, an answer to all those prayers yesterday as it only took one poke! Now I must let all those praying ladies know they did not "pray in VEIN"!
Hope everyone has minimal or no s/e this week. The snow looked mighty familiar, but today it's melting here in southern Alberta. Yea!
Christine

Dawn - I'm so glad your first treatment wasn't the ordeal you expected. Be vigilant, though about your preventive self-care (lots of fluids, colace, Biotene) because many of us find that ~Day#5 is the toughest.
MissS - you cracked me up with the junkie-of-the-week remark! Believe me, it does feel weird having all these hypodermic needles in the house! So glad your visit from your buddy was a success - thank you for letting us learn from your experience.
BarbKirk - what an awful time your wife had with that first port. Ports can be a real blessing, so I am glad she is feeling better and more upbeat now that she's got her new one in, and done right this time.
Patti - you look good with a bare head!
Holly - dear, dear, Holly. I am so sorry that this has been such a struggle for you. Your liter bag each day makes my little Neupogen shot pale by comparison. Has your doctor said how long this will go on?!? What a huge motivator to be constnatly drinking so that you can self-hydrate! I'm sure you will as soon as you are able. BIG {{{hugs}}} to you.
I agree that you should make a stink about the LGFB class - did she hand out evaluations at the end? They are supposed to, so if you didn't blast her then, ACS does need to know that their much-needed service is not being adequately provided. My class only spent about 2% of the time on wigs, hats and scarves and that's what I really needed (already know how to put on make-up, thanks), but I still felt it was a worthwhile class and the instructor made a great presentation. All of our kits were different, too, and some certainly more generous than others, but we all had fun.
Christine - so glad the Power of Prayer came through for you!

I apologize that the jpeg file for my roses was a bit large. I'm on dial-up (yes, still in the stone age, but it's cheap!) so I know big files increase download time. Sorry.
I did resize it and wanted it just one size up from a thumbnail, but that's what we got.

My prayers are still going out daily for all my 'Sabe Sistahs!
Lisa

Patti....love your bald is beautiful photo...I bet your girls enjoyed themselves and I'm sure it made them feel apart of the whole journey.

Holly...so sorry you are having such a tough time but its great that you have friends coming through to help you. I see that you are taking #4 next Friday.....is that your last one?

Lisa...thanks for the beautiful roses...you must have a real green thumb. I know you enjoy seating our in your yard and enjoy their beauty.

Keenie & Dawn...so happy to hear that you are feeling well. I agree to be sure to keep up on your fluid intake and the mouth wash.

Sybilvox and Fireba....hope things went well for you today! Here's praying for no hangovers.
Question for all of you.....what days do you consider is your worst day after chemo. Seems like mine is a week later. Just not much energy. I'd be interested to see what everyone else's experience is.
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Nancy

Thanks, Playwriter, for the info on heavenly hats. I just signed up!

Lisa - Thanks for that feel good picture of your roses. I wish I could smell them!

Pmarsh - loved your pics! You look great

JannM - good luck with your blood work tomorrow

Sybilvox and Fireba - thinking about you today

Keenie - I'm glad those prayers weren't in "vein!"

Hugs to all of ya,

Marsha

Holly - still keeping you in my thoughts

Dawn - keep on hangin'in there. You're doing great!

GrammyNancy - As for your question, day 5 is still pretty rough. I've only had 2 treatments so far, but I start to feel human again on day 8.

man, i could almost smell those roses! beautiful, luxuriant...
sybil and fireba -- {hugs to you}
grammy -- for 3 days i basically sleep and eat very little, then for another three days i lie on the couch a lot, then after that i do stuff a little at a time, and rest. it takes about two weeks for me to feel normal.

today i actually do feel normal. worked in the back yard and the BR today. getting tile put in the master bath so when my kitty ignores his box and poops on the floor, it'll be easier to clean up!

Nancy, my worst days seem to be 3 & 4. I think that may be because I am reacting to the Neulasta shot instead of the chemo. It makes sense that many of you might see day 7 as a low point, because that is the day when your white blood cell count is the lowest (according to my cancer nurses).

Unfortunately, I have a low white AND red count again. I got the shot for the red blood count and the usual drill about staying away from public places. I really don't feel bad, though.

Holly, I am so sorry you're having such a difficult time. It seemed like you did well with the first two infusions, right? I hope you can get things back under control and start to feel better.

Lisa, I loved the flowers, too. May I come and sit in your yard with you? My ex in-laws used to live in Coronado and it was always fun visiting them.

Happy Friday and hope everyone has a weekend of sun and feeling good and loved ones nearby.

Miss S

Hi ladies and gents,

Had a bit of a rough couple of days. Got the big 'd' again. Always seems to happen the week after chemo. This time I headed it off at the pass though and it wasn't nearly as bad as the 1st time around. Seems we're getting more knowledgable about what does and doesn't work for us. I've been trying to get here to post but the power company has been working on electrical around here and keeps cutting us off for hours at a time. I think yesterday was their last day so maybe now I can get back to normal again.

Dawn
Next time have the nurse do the Cytoxin infusion slower and it will ward off the headache. My 1st one was 1 1/2 hours and they had to move it to over 2 hours and it saved me the 3 day headache afterwards. Everything else sounds pretty normal and I'm glad you're feeling better than you expected.

barbkirk
Sorry the DW had issues with the port but glad it's taken care of and this one is feeling much better for her. Tell her don't get discouraged. I know personally if I never saw another Dr. again I'd be too happy, but unfortunately that isn't where we are in the scheme of things right now. I remember sitting at a red light and looking over at the hubby and crying. I told him I was sooooooo sick of Dr. appts I couldn't stand it. Just then my cell phone rings and my DS is screaming into the phone he's broken his leg. Well it was back to the hospital again.....lol It just never seems to end.

Arnee
Welcome to the group but sorry you had to join our little club. Jump right in and start posting. We're here to listen to anything.

Rosebud
You keep that darn snow right where it is. We had 2 weeks of summer weather here in the 80's and 90's and then 3 days ago the winds kicked up like you wouldn't believe. That's about all the bad weather I could take right now...lol

whitecotton
It's an absolute great feeling to know you just did chemo then come home feeling great. Almost makes it easier to go back for the next round. I just wish I could do this every week for 6 rounds and get it over with, but the se's would be horrific.

JacqueN
Nothing like a wedding to take your mind off of the bc. I say post a pic of her dress,,,afterall who would know except 60,000 women on the bc board........hehe No that's ok really cause being a MIL isn't easy. When my oldest son married I got the DIL from h@@l when it came to the wedding plans. Everything was fine for a while and as time went on it got more and more difficult with her. Oh well it was just a wedding.....lol 10 years later and 5 grandchildren to play with makes all of that go away. Have fun with it.

Luck to all stepping up to the bar today and next week.

Love,
Angel

Beautiful! I am jealous! Unseasonably cold weather has nipped many of our spring plantings here in Nebraska.
I am feeling ooky today and yesterday (days 4 and 5). I have had the nasty c and today my tummy is just not right. My tx causes severe joint and leg pain, so slept very little last night. I am praying that tomorrow is a better day = which I am sure it will be.
I am trying very hard to keep my opinions to myself concerning the wedding - which is hard for me as I am very opinionated! I figure having a good relationship is more important than stating my opinion - like you said Angel - it is only a wedding! :-)
Hugs to all who had their cocktails this week. Next week with less to no se's are just around the corner! Jacque

just checking in to say have a great w/e, ladies with no SEs for anyone! i'm off to my scrapbooking w/e. everyone stay well. blessings to you all.

Miss S -- Your dogwoods are beautiful. That's what things look like out the window here in Maryland, but then when you step outside, it's freezing!!!

PW -- Hope you've already started enjoying your scrapbooking weekend.

Lisa -- Sorry to hear the SEs are lingering so much this time. Have you been prescribed Ativan for nausea also? I find it works better than Compazine for that occasional Uh-Oh feeling, and it doesn't make me as tired.

Keenie -- How great to have the world praying for you. The mouth soreness bugs me, too, even though I've been much more careful about what I eat this time.

I had a new SE this morning. When I got up and was trying to get ready for work, I just felt weak and had to sit down a lot. I finally realized my pulse was going between 110 and 120, so I called the doc. Of course, by the time I got to the office, I was feeling a lot better. They did an EKG which looked good -- no evidence of any permanent problem. He said it sounded like I had a temporary atrial tachycardia, which can happen occasionally, but I need to be sure it isn't atrial fibrillation (which is more dangerous) if it happens again. He advised me to get a BP monitor that gives a pulse reading, too. If the pulse goes as high as 150, that's when you really worry. So I bought the monitor, to the tune of $60. Worth it, I guess, for peace of mind, or early warning, whichever is necessary.