Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

wow Mary congrats on the news always makes you feel better eh .
Mel do not feel bad about joining late we luv the company . I guess you still have surgery left too . Do try and coordinate both if you can .
T and Tae so sorry the treatments were so rough we feel for ya ... take it easy rest alot and enjoy the spring . Each and every day brings something special .
Lynn waiting for that special somethin .... Do you ride a motorcycle ? cool ..... if you do sounds like you do ....
I get queasy at the thought of pudding and jello from my abdominal surgery and anything they gave me on the liquid diet they had me on ! Chemo room was the sight of the epiribicin the "red koolaid " it made me shudder ewwwwww do not want that stuff again .
I was checking out another forum moving beyond cancer and found this about hair growth
http://www.karinstack.com/hs/hair.html
check it out ..... my hair is starting to grow back wearing less scarfs and more hats and caps i am starting to get quite the collection . So what if my big ears stick out !
Got a call from my doctor today i am officially in menopause ..... ok i knew that now i have a real good excuse for the family when i get grumpy
Still getting watery eyes ..... man i am like a leaky tap and they are red and swollen .... give up on makeup what the heck ! It only takes me 2 min to get dressed now and i love it gotta wear sunglasses too ..... look like Russian spy incognito , commando mum ......

Happy Birthday Robbin, hope it's a good one. You can celebrate the END of CHEMO!!

Had my first official visit with my oncologist today since end of chemo. He says my prognosis is excellent. I was only Stage I and chemo was only marginally necessary.

Got to get going on anti-hormonals in a few weeks and I still haven't decided. It's a tossup between Femara and Prozac OR Tamoxifen and Effexor. If it weren't for the anti-depressant change, I'd do Tamoxifen, but I really don't like the idea of having to go on Effexor. Hey, you Effexor ladies, how's it working?

I'm going to have a bone density test beforehand to help decide. Femara is very hard on the bones.

Get this: my regular onc says there is NO problem taking Prozac and Tamo together. This is NOT the opinion of the 2nd Opinion man at UM OR correct according to what I am seeing on line. Any more ideas here?

Tae and T4T, you just went through a grueling experience and I am so glad Tae is finally done. Her side effects were the worst of anyone I've known and I hope you NEVER have to go through anything like this again. You probably won't.

I've got to get out and paint some lilacs while the light is good; I don't have time to catch up on your posts now, but I'll try later.

Lynn, again, thanks for sending around such a wonderful gift; it has helped strengthen the bond we already had and make us realize how special we are to each other...

Love & hugs,

Mizsissy

Ok, thanks to everyone who reassured me they don't think of me as a party crasher. I will try to drop that label in my mind and just bask in the glow of being part of the group. I love you guys.

Ok, here's the deal with my surgeries. My breast surgeon and my plastic surgeon work together on Tuesdays. Other days, the PS does breast reconstructions that don't require the presence of a general surgeon, such as, for example, one where the mastectomy has been done previously. Dr. Spiegel saw me last week and said that she didn't want to operate on me if I were not healthy and strong going into it, and she didn't see that I had enough time to recover from chemo by June. So, they gave me the first Tuesday in July, which is the next available day that Dr. Baker, my mastectomy surgeon, works with her. Still ok there. Then I called my oncologist to run this by him, and he isn't comfortable with letting that triple negative, stage IIB tumor with two positive nodes (removed) just sit in there for two months. So he's the one who's splitting up the two surgeries. My PS saw me at my sickest and thought I wasn't as healthy as she wanted me to be, considering she wants me to donate two units of blood, and considering it's a 10 hour surgery. The PS nurse says it is no big deal, he just saves the skin somehow so that it is still there to use when we get to the reconstruction. If she says it's no big deal, I trust her.

The down side is two surgeries instead of one. The upside is less hassle from my STD company justifying my absence from work. There are other ups and downs, but those are the biggies. So...I'll just go with the flow - what else can I do?

Happy Birthday RobbinJaye. Lynn, thanks again, for your very sweet and moving gift. Love you all.
Mel

Happy Birthday, Robbin!!!!

A/C - the "red devil" cocktail. I used to like red wine and cosmos- not anymore- I cannot even look at them right now!
Melia- I use to love chicken soup- I even froze some I saved from the first chemo tx- now I cannot even think of having some.

Skye- that is great that you can change to every 3 weeks- makes it more tolerable- and gives some of your valuable time back.

Mel- I am seeing a plastic surgeon on Friday who does the Diep procedure. I was planning on having surgery 4 weeks after my last taxol tx. I wonder what he will say about that. The breast surgeon suggested that timetable for implant or tram surgery, but she did not check with the PS. I wonder if it is because the Diep is a longer surgery than the implant surgery. I will let you know what he says.

Thanks again everyone for your input on my sil problem. Now I definitely know I am not being selfish. What would I do without all of you???

Viddie

Singing the birthday tune to you here in Elkhorn, Robbinjaye. Were your ears burning? :-)
Lynn, the mailman came and I am so overwhelmed that you did this for all of us. It does strengthen the bond. The only thing I can compare it to is the way a close friend of ours who went to Viet Nam is with his Army buddies. They shared something that the rest of us can never understand because we didn't experience it -- and that is how we are. There's a book I like by Barbara Delinsky called "Uplift, Secrets of the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors" that gives tips and anecdotes from bc sisters, but the women in that book are just names. I feel we have gone beyond that in this group and have gotten to know each other the best that online buddies can. But Lynn, you have gone over and above! What kindness! All the heartfelt mush in the world back at you, girl!

Mel it sounds like going with the flow is your best choice, even though no one wants two surgeries. Probably best to have that thing out now!

Not to belabor my small (literally) problem of losing the cup size on my lumpectomy breast, especially since those with masts have had far more breast-altering surgery, but it finally occurred to me that I read either here or somewhere else that it takes many months for the body to finally reabsorb all the fluids etc. that cause the surgical breast to swell. Finally connecting the dots...I think that is what finally happened because I KNOW it wasn't this small before, denial or not. Also coincided with end of steroids. Luckily, I found a foam shoulder pad from when shoulder pads were bigger that just about exactly makes up the difference (which was barely noticeable before). Has anyone else experienced the "Honey I shrunk my boob" phenomenon? - Skye

What a gracious lady you are Lynn. The gift is so thoughtful amd I love it--Thanks--Nandy

Hello all:

Lynn, ALL DONE....WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy your ice cream!!

Skye, "Like a tick on a Coon Dog"...loved it!! My solar sex panel is my bald head!! It can also in the summer if it doesn't grow in soon, be mistaken for a mosquito landing pad...enough.

RobbinJaye: Happy Birthday, Many Many Happy Returns!!

T4T: Glad to hear that you are getting better. You have had a heck of a time with chemo, God Bless.

Mary: Good Path Report, and the Red Wings won their series, what more could you ask for!!

Caya & Viddie: Hope those UTI's clear up quick!!

Shorti: How did your doctor know you are in menopause? Did they run a blood test or something?

Mel: Hope you can get those 2 surgeons coordinated to make it a one time deal, but if you can't...so be it...we'll be here for you through both!!

Jan: I just may order some of those buffs. I liked that rose colour one you had on.

I had a very busy day today...made up about 8 pots of flowers, and planted about 48 bedding plants. There is a perenial swap at our town hall this Saturday, so I have some yellow tiger lilies, and some pink cranesbill I'm going to take over. Should be fun, I'm also volunteering for two hours to help out.

I met the doctor at the Breast Cancer Supportive Center yesterday. In Alberta, they may change it so that every cancer patient has counselling after being diagnosed. Anyways I really found the doctor wonderful to talk to. I will be seeing her again next week. We talked about quite a few things, not sleeping well, weepiness, menopause, and she has given me a lot of suggestions for helping myself.

Anyways...hope everyone is having a great day.


Hugs to all....Joni

Good evening sisters,

I'm on the couch and got my laptop hooked up. Still haven't read through the past 2 days of posts but wanted to update you on my past 2 days. Then later or tomorrow I'll do the catch up on all of your messages..sounds like a plan to me.

The Users Forum - I didn't get grumpy at all the comments and questions. Everyone was very nice, thoughtful and caring. I wore my two fancy head peaces that have pretty beads on them. I was getting compliments on them from people I didn't even know, even men! I saw the CEO at Sunday night's cocktail party (hadn't seen him since January) and he came up and gave me a hug. His sister had breast cancer so he is in tune. I told him how wonderful amd supportive my boss Wendy is and the company and he said to let him know if there is anything he can do. How nice. So I explained my story from the beginning at least 10 times and the latest update oh, about 25 times. Got plenty of looks, plenty of compliments on how fabulously coordinated and accesorized I was. Tons of hugs, even from fellow employees. As I have always said, I am so lucky to have such caring people in my life. I'm so glad I went.

Biker event I missed - One of my best friend's mom isn't doing well so she didn't go either. DH said everyone asked about me. He won 5 of the prizes, one of which was $100 cash which he in turn donated to the Shriners, but the others are gift certs and a card table/roullette table. He had a great time!

Onc visit today: I went TOPLESS!!!!!!!!!!! I was so proud of myself. My hair seems so thick and maybe 1/3 inch long. I said to myself 'what the heck, it's a Oncs office' So I walked in all confident and everything. Onc said that I probably will NOT lose it. He said the chemo give an initial assault and the next few do as well, but was quite confident that I will keep this hair..woo hoo! Got my prescription for Tamxofin, he told me to start in about a month. I asked about the hot flashes since they are getting worse and are also a side effect of Tamoxofin and he wrote down three things..can't remember what they are but not prescriptions. I'm getting my port out June 11th, and will go back to see him in 4 months. He of course said to call without hesistation should I need to. Flying is fine (they only took 1 node from me), told me to wear a hat in the sun and use at least 30 spf and to have a great time in Florida. As I look back over the past 5 treatments, I've been pretty lucky. I do get very severe chemo fog and have had some nausea but didn't get one fever, no colds, no infections, didn't need any naulasta shots, no procrit shots. Guess I'm an easy Oncology patient, all he had to do is keep upping my anti-nausea meds. Hopefully the same will hold true for this last one. So far so good. I remember after I finally got my surgery last December how happy I felt that I was actually doing something to fight the cancer. I have a similar feeling now, another thing done to fight the cancer, chapter 2 done. I also asked him about the bad day I had with emotions before my last chemo. He responded it probably feels like the umbilical cord is cut..I said yes, this has been my safety net. He said this is very common to get this before, during and after the final chemo.

After the Oncs office we went to Cold Stone Creamery for our ice cream and I went in there topless as well. So that's it ladies, I'm doing a major major downsizing to wearing scarves, headpeices etc. I was absolutely fine! I actually felt my hair blowing in the wind, what a feeling! Robertin, I'm with you, finally!!!

Finally, thank you all so much for the wonderful thank you's. I got some private and saw some while scanning the thread. I'm so happy you like them, it means a lot to me. I will explain more once everyone receives their's, don't want to ruin the surprise. Canada girls, hopefully you'll get yours soon...remember, don't read the green customs form!

And for the really finally, I know I have tons to respond to from all your messages these past couple days. So many different things everyone is discussing, it's great!!! Can't wait to sit down and spend time reading through them tomorrow morning.

I'm getting pretty sleeping and foggy, time to veg. Wow, sorry for the long post, didn't realize it got that big.

hugs!

Mel – was it you that mentioned goldnmom? I met her for lunch today. Wonderful, beautiful, smart and caring woman. I had a great time.

Ah Lynn – the suspense is killing me. I’ve never checked my mail so promptly before. Maybe tomorrow….

Amera – The dog sounds great. Hope you got some sleep. The first 2-3 nights in a new place can be tough. What’s his name. I’d love to see a picture when you have time. You guys know I’m dog crazy.

Happy birthday, RobbinJaye!

Seems like you've had a full day. But a good one. Hope this next year just gets better and better.

Cindy

PS Which festivals do you work? All in California? I go to the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival every August. I'd go to more if I had the time from work and the money.

Congrats Lynn on finishing chemo - hope the next few days are not too rough.

The one drain came out today and I do feel less bogged down. I have hopes of getting the other one out before the weekend but it is not too likely. My surgeon said she would follow me for the next 2 years and get breast MRI's since my lobular is so hard to detect. Let's hope the insurance will agree.

Looking at my path report, makes this seem all so unreal. Unfortunately I looked up some of the numbers like the combined histologic grade and I wasn't too happy - it's intermediate. Well I just have to hope that they got it all and that the radiation and Tamoxifen will take care of the rest - actually the rest is in God's hands.

Hope everyone sleeps well.

Oh ladies, it's 3:30am and I can feel the nausee creeping in. I took the Emend yesterday morning before chemo. Took 2 Ativans in the evening 6pm and midnight, took a zofran at midnight and have to wait until am to take another zofran and Emend. I can take another Ativan around 4. It feels awful and if I burp, I almost lose it and might. Argh! I can feel the chemo trying to get at my stomach. I was telling dh that the best day from chemo 5 was like my worse day from chemo 1.

Nancy, I'm proud to be a kiwi, salt and pepper variety.

I think I'll start to catch up on posts.

Yay Lynn on both accounts!!!! hair blowing in the wind....ahhhh those were the days

You made it!! Great news!!

Lynn & Robertin, hope you guys feel well asap!!

Big Hugs...Joni