Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

Hello, January ladies.

Amera, Lynn and Viddie, that's so great you're going to get togther Monday! I'm totally jealous - would love to be there to meet you all. Pleeeeeease take a photo or two for us - or tape it and put it on Youtube, as Skye suggested. That would be even better.
Mizsissy, so glad you got your laptop back. I'll add my prayers in for Mena and so glad to hear she's feeling better already.
Melia, I'll be thinking about you tomorrow with #2 taxol, you know that - hope you get to feeling better.
Tlc, how disconcerting to have your last treatment moved up like that! Especially since you didn't even get to say goodbye to your nurses. Congrats on being done, though - what a great feeling that is.
Mary, that's very sad about your brother-in-law, but I guess when the end is near, it's best that they are talking about it, at least. I'm very sorry, though.
Joni, sounds like you're ready for spring, with all the flowers you bought. Spring is almost over here - I missed all the spring gardening time. Soon it will be summer and everything will be burning up (including me).
Robin, congrats on getting the port out - just another step!
Carol, I can relate on the side effects of the Taxol. I'm beginning to think that what we hear about taxol being easier is just a big myth that got started somehow, and has been repeated so often that it has come to be accepted as truth. Swelling, neuropathy, toenail loss, fatigue...I've had it all.
Robertin, good to hear from you. Will keep in mind about the blood clots - one more thing to worry about! Good for you with the weight loss, though - you've made the best of a bad situation, for sure.
I'm fine today - only a very tiny bit of tearing after the eye surgery, and everything looks ok - I can feel the tubes in my eyes, but hope that will go away soon, or I'll get used to it. My legs are really swollen today - I think I'll call about it tomorrow. Seems like it shouldn't be getting worse.
Hugs to everyone
Mel

First, congratulations to TLC for being D O N E...Yeeaaaaah!!

Whew, another one done!!!

You taxol ladies are having a miserable time. Sounds worse than AC. I never had any of your problems on Taxotere, except for awful mouth sores and the UT infections.

It's sure nice having my laptop. Now I can relax and read your messages instead of sitting in an uncomfortable place with my head in an uncomfortable position and trying to get done ASAP.

Prozac is working very well on cooling down hot flashes for me. I know it is because yesterday I missed my regular dose and flashed all day long. Today, I remembered and I don't remember getting one flash. And I've never gotten one that was strong enough to make me perspire. Unfortunately you can't take Prozac with Tamo so I'll have to switch to Effexor. I'm putting it off as long as I can!!!!

Ways to avoid them: wear layers and start peeling at the first sign of getting warm. Don't wait to get hot. Keep the home cool (we keep our house at 62F), and have a fan near your bed at night. Drinks lots of cool drinks with crushed ice.

Does any one get chilled? I think the problem with temperature regulation works both ways. Yesterday I came back from my rads appt so cold I had to take a hot bath.

Amera, Lynn, Viddie...have a wonderful lunch on Monday!! We'll all be with you in spirit. Where are you going? We definitely want those pix!!! Lots of 'em.

xxxooo Mizsissy

Well, it is 6 months today that I had my RB Mastectomy, and 7 months since I heard the words, "there's a cancer there". What a change my life has taken. From working 12 to 14 hour days, always involved with upgrades, nightly job runs, managing a staff of 26 people, trying to fit enough lunches in in a week to make everyone happy to this.

One thing it sure has done, is made me slow down, and smell the flowers. This last 6 months has been the most emotional of my entire life. I thought finishing chemo would be more of a milestone, but I sill have rads to go, and then tamoxifen for 5 years.

Without this group, I think I would have gone stark raving mad, heck I'm close anyways, but just wanted to say to all, "thanks for helping me get this far".

Going to have a nice lazy day, go for my walk, and enjoy the sunshine.

My hubby is fixing my bike for me, so it should be ready to go by the weekend. I'm going to try to get out for a bike ride each day.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Hugs...Joni

Hey ladies,
Mizsissy, so glad you got your laptop back. Sooo much easier to be in a comfy position. I think you are right assuming Taxol is tougher than Taxotere. I think it is as bad as AC in some ways (Carol, I also had the cytoxin with the AC so couldn't separate se's) You don't have the metal mouth once your AC wears off, and you don't feel so toxic, but the leg pain, neuropathy, bone-deep fatigue and bone pain are killer. Also, with me, some degree of fatigue lasts the whole 2 weeks whereas with the AC I felt pretty good by the second weekend. Taxol is not "supposed" to cause nausea but it does with me, perhaps it's just my weird body chemistry but never really goes away so I'm anxious to see how long it lasts past the two week time frame now that I'm off it.

Robertin, I was thinking about you this morning so was glad to see your post. You and Melia and Viddie hang in there with the Taxol. It's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer...feels so good when you stop. :-) That must have been scary with your arm, and thanks for the blood clot tip. I'll be on Coumadin/warfarin (rat poison) for another year with the Herceptin so I'm probably protected to some degree.

Viddie enjoy that visit with your daughter, a precious thing.

Rebecca, I never had daughters but I did have my then-10 year old niece living with me for part of a school year while her mom was job-scouting. Ai-ai-ai...the tears, the angst, the girly-infighting at school, I had no idea with two boys my only experience. Even as a teacher with girls in the classroom it wasn't the same as living with one. But she has turned out fine, happily married and will graduate from college next January. I think your muffin remedy is perfect...fun food and attention. What I observed with Rachel was that her moods would come and go no matter what I did, it was the hormones roiling and she felt safest letting it out at home. She needed a certain amount of alone time but then just grabbing her for an activity like you are planning seemed to help. Still, it was a challenging time.

I'm planning a slow day for day 3 of last Taxol. Had trouble coordinating steps of making coffee and eggs this morning. I call it brain neuropathy. I'm content to watch the spring rain from indooors, and the chickadees and cardinals emptying the black oil sunflower seeds from my feeder. - Skye

Sorry for the double post. More chemo-brain-neuropathy. Skye

Well.. That was an experience. I recently started back to work part time and yesterday as I was driving home, I kept hearing a thunking sound and lo and behold my wheel fell off as I was moving! I swear to you I never saw a tire bounce around in traffic so much in my life! I kept thinking for pete's sake stop! Your going to hurt someone. All I could do is sit and watch it roll and bounce down the road. Evidently, the do hiccys that the lug nuts screw onto stripped out and so there was nothing to hold the tire on. It happened so quick though... no wobble nothing, just a noise and off it came. You know what really gets me! Not a single person stopped or asked me if I needed help, there was even a man blowing grass off the sidewalk right next to my car, he didn't even look at me. OH brother, What has come of the world?

Nancy,

So sorry you had such a clunker of a first day back to work; people can be so impersonal these days. I think it's the high population density. On a positive note, I will tell you that here in Pinckney strangers are really nice.

The last time I had car trouble was going to the hardware store; there was something dripping under the car that smelled like fuel. A lady and her husband stopped to inquire, agreed it didn't smell good and warned it could be a dangerous fuel leak Inside the hardware store they lent me their phone, I called our dealership. The lady and her husband took me home in their car, and someone from the dealership came and picked up the car and got it all fixed up in a couple hours. I didn't have to do a thing!!!

Move back to the boonies and you'll find nice people!!!

Mizsissy

Good morning everyone,

Nancy,
Thanks heavens you are alright. I cannot understand some people. Last year when I was in the grocery store, by accident, when I was picking out some apples, all the apples came tumbling down to the floor. A little boy started helping me pick them up. His grandfather came up to him and told him to stop helping me and to move along. I was astonished!!! What gets me is when I have been with my dd, 23, for the last 7 years, and if something happens, we get plenty of help. That is just not fair.

Rebecca,
Thanks for the doctor questions. I just did something gutsy. I just e-mailed nude photos of my breasts, stomach and but ( minus my head) to NOLA center. That is the breast center that pioneered the Diep procedures. The nurse called me and said if I sent my photos, the doctors will evaluate them to see if I am eligible for Diep. I still I cannot believe I sent my photos on the web. The breast construction forum raves about these doctors. I am not going to go to La, but it will be nice to know if DIEP is possible.
I remember my dd going through that stage. She would cry and then be dancing. It was mood city. Girls can be cruel, and all the girls want to be as popular as the most popular girls. My daughter's worst incident came after she was sick. A girl called her to play and my daughter told her she couldn't because she was sick. She felt better at the end of the day and we went to the playground. That girl was there and left in a huffy. She thought my dd did not want to play with her. After that, the girl wouldn't speak to my daughter. The problem is that girl was popular and she told all her friends not to be friends with my dd. That ended her social life for awhile. She even got phony phone calls. Kids would invite her over and not be there when she arrived. Very cruel. All on a misunderstanding!! We wanted to get involved and call the mother, but we knew we couldn't.
My daughter became an outcast to the"popular" set, but that turned out to be a good thing. Those kids became the "fast" group- parties, boyfriends and all at a very young age. It kept her younger longer. A good thing.
You are doing the right thing by listening to her, making muffins and giving her extra TLC. All we can do is listen and be there for them and try to give them some advice, if they want it. It is very hard not to want to call their parents and tell them that their daughters are being jerks. That would certainly backfire!!!
Is this the daughter that skates? Skating or other activities helps them understand teamwork and gives them another focus. My dd was into dance, and her dance became her social life. She formed a whole new set of dance friends and she realized that she did not have to compete with "popular"girls. Dancing also gave her a purpose, a goal and one excellent college essay. I am convinced that Ballet also helped her get into the colleges she chose.
She will grow out of this phase and your TLC and understanding will help her tremendously.

Skye,
Did your doctor put you on coumadin/warfarin because you are on herceptin? I hope you feel better soon. You are finally done with taxol!!! That is great news. Hopefully all the s/e will end as well.

We having luncH at California Pizza. I can't wait. I am sure we will all take pictures. I am somewhat technically challenged though, I needed Joni's help to post my picture on this board. Between us three, I am sure we can get them posted.

Have a good day.

Viddie

Nancy OMG hope you got your tire back on ok ! hope your first day at work was better than the drive home ....
Mizsissy glad to see you back ,and Lynn bike rides look like the way to go at least we can sit down doing it my hubby has to fix mine up too . I roller blade , but ha that can wait a bit .... still a little bit shaky . Mizsissy lucky you to have a bike path so close by !
Rebecca : My daughter would have loved the baking, I have become so close to them since being off work . Last night DH and I had to go GET my youngest from her boyfriends house , their phone was busy and was not working , we had all the thoughts of bad things in our heads . So we drove over and knocked on the door , ... well DH spoke to his dad and advise him that MY DAUGHTER HAS TO BE HOME AT 8:00 ON SCHOOL NIGHTS PLEASE AND THANK YOU .
She was not there but on her way home with her boyfriends mother and was sitting at the kitchen table when we walked back through the front door . IS DAD MAD MUM ?????
NO DEAR but please be home at 8 on school nights . Dad is cool this morning .... boyfriend stories when teenager gets home tonight
Joni : awe the Flames are out ... Detroit beat them no more hockey );) now just nice spring days and getting better ....
Congrats to ayone done chemo this week whhooo who ......
Caya : dinner sounded yummy ... I am just laptopping it today coming off the steroid decatron crunch ... lazy day , puttering day . Kids and hubby 's todo list is waiting .
Have a good time Boston gals !
Everyone else have a good day .........

Viddie- how did you not kick an apple at that man hoping he would trip and land on his butt? I swear....I ooh ahh OMG I can't even say it. Makes me crazy, all mean people need to go to the "pit of dispair" . Rebecca, I need you to hang with, God love ya... you would set 'em straight.
I knew you ladies would feel for me, Thank you, I was sooooooooo embarrassed mostly. Then mad! Ah a day in the life of us. Never a dull moment.

Hi Mel,

It wasn't just me that wanted daughters. My husband did too. He wanted a skater.

But we both just love our kitties. We started with two 18 years ago (had them out of wedlock, male and female littermates that eventually became an old married couple. Miranda, a very wild kitten from a farm, was added three years ago to provide social insurance if one of elder cats died. When Sissy died last September, we were so grief striken we went out and got two kittens (Hannah and Marissa) that looked like her and reflected different aspects of her purrsonality. Bunky, the older male, still survives, and is enjoying his new elevated status as head of a large harem.

For pictures see http://picasaweb.google.com/mizsissy/OurCats

DH & I are just another wierd pair of cat fanatics. We are convinced they are smarter and nicer than most people (except of course, the women in this January Chemo group!!!)

BTW, I highly recommend Picasa software and the Picasa web site for sharing photos...it's great free software from Google!!! Anybody who wants to organize and/or share pictures should try this!!!

Mizsissy

My problem is I am having the surgery and then rads so close together - rads should start three weeks after surgery. You have had the opportunity for expansion during the time of chemo and then rads, right? My surgeon said I could delay the rads a bit - up to 8 weeks, if I wanted to do the ps and expansion. I really don't want to take a chance on delaying radiation since I am Stage III, so I'll just wait until after rads. I'm glad that you got a good prognosis. I think that if I tried I might be able to do it but it is more mental now, that I don't feel like I could go through one more thing.

Re daughters, sorry I only have two sons, but good luck. I have heard the same thing from people at work re their daughters. Daughters are a joy when they are older but hard as adolescents. I guess there's a reason God gave me boys!

The good news is 3 weeks out of taxol and my toes are much better, less numb, if at all. So the side effects don't last forever, hang in there.

Today was such a good day. It always is the day after the Taxol. I worked, I got my Neulasta shot, and tonight I had two dinners. There must have been a mixup, but someone brought a very diabetes friendly dinner with brown rice and chicken and carrots and broccoli, and even apple pie made without sugar. We were ready to take a bite out of it, when this lady from my church came by with THAI FOOD. OK, we put the chicken and rice back into the casserole pan, and had Thai food. The lady's husband runs a Thai restaurant. Oh the food was so good. I don't know if it was good for my diabetes, but I took small servings Since today was a painfree day, I took my Aleve both in the morning and at night. Tomorrow I will double up on the dose and I hope to go to work both tomorrow and Friday. By the way, my onc told me to take vitanin B6 for the neuropathy too.
As far as nasty teenage girls are concerned, my daughter has had two kidney transplants. The steroids would leave her bloated and chubby. Her metabolism is at a very slow rate. You won't believe how cruel girls can be if you don't fit in the cheerleader mold. It was so painful to see her go through that. It seems that outer appearance is becoming increasingly important. Look at all the plastic surgeries (that are not a medical necessity). Why can't people teach their daughters that the inside is so much more important that the outside? It's sad.

Oh Robertin - please send some of that Thai food my way!
Phyl (from the Feb group).