Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

Joni- That is great news! I am smiling ear to ear for you. walk into your future with your head high and those who love you at your side! HUGS

"Also, I'm thinking of going to the Nebraska wedding anyway. They canceled all the airline tickets and decided to drive because my MIL was whining constantly about the flight, and with rads postponed there is no reason why I can't go. Have to figure it out yet but I just may do it."

Skye, You'll be in the neighborhood. I'm 60 miles from Lincoln and it's a nothing drive for me. If you're not tied up in family things, we could meet for tea?

Cindy

Cindy

Jopni,

What great news - I am thrilled for you!!! Good luck on Monday with your rads, it is a new step for you in the journey to combat this thing - and you will win each battle as it comes along -
all the best
caya

I meant to say in that last message that I hope I can work out tea with Cindy, I know that's a far leap from Canada Joni. Chemo brain strikes again, even 4 weeks after Taxol! Sorry for confusion...Skye

Hi, all. Fairly ok day here today - didn't feel too bad, and got a few things done (aquarium water changes, preop arrangements made, bathroom cleaned, trip to library} - that's not bad, is it? Better than most of my days lately. It took six phone calls and two days, but I finally got my BS's scheduler to call me back about my preop lab work, registration, etc. That will be Tuesday and I think if I'd left it to them it wouldn't have got done at all - she finally admiktted my surgery wasn't even scheduled yet. The surprise is that it will be at a different hospital, and I'm not happy about that. I also have to deal with the issue of having residents doing it instead of the surgeon, and I'm not sure he'll try as hard if Dr. Spiegel isn't right there, and what if the skin sparing part doesn't work out a month later, and.......you get the drift. I'm starting to worry about everything. This would have been SO much better if I could have had it all done in one day. I just wasln't perky enough to pass her inspection. I actually think I would have been fine by now, but now it's too late. Tried to call Dr. Spiegel's ofice today for reassurance, but she is out of town assisting Dr. Allen in a DIEP in S. Carolina.

Joni, I'm thrilled about your news! And even more thrilled that you are feeling happy and optimistic again. It's great that they're going to do the radiation - I never quite understood why they decided not to. Was this a different doctor?

Speaking of diferent doctors, Skye - I think Wingate Clapper is just the best name ever!!! I'm anxious to see if he lives up to his name. Wingate Clapper in Mukwonago....:) Well, glad you're getting underway at last, and hope it goes well. Loved the story about the pink sleeper, too. Poor little kid....but if he only "sort of" bought it, guess he was a pretty smart kid. So glad you're going to Nebraska - that wedding sounds like FUN! A once in a lifetime experience, maybe

Rebecca, I've worked with lots and lots of plastic surgeons, and I can tell you for a fact that many - most - of them are in love with BIG boobs. A D-cup is, to them, just barely adequate - so be FIRM with him, make any kind of fuss you need to make, but don't let him give you more than you want. I see them giving little 100 lb. 17 year old girls DD implants that they can hardly carry around - one of my pet peeves.

Still processing Lost - the flash forward ending was intriguing. Not sure whose funeral that was, but I don't think it was Locke's. He's too central to the show to lose, I think. If it isn't him, then it could be anyone (except Hurley). I'm guessing they might not even have decided yet, based on past patterns. Surely not Locke, though. Jan, maybe the reason Jack isn't finding redemption is because he isn't on the island. Guess I won't give up on the show, though - it does still have possibilities.

Melia, I also got teary-eyed hearing about your husband making the beds for you. That is just too sweet. I think my dh is like yours - since I am so independent and so rarely ask for anything, he doesn't always hear me when I do ask, or realize that when I finally ask for something, it's not to be taken lightly. I hadn't exactly thought of it that way before.

Robertin, I agree with you about Katie Couric. I don't like her much anyway, but she is starting to look very artificial and unnatural. Sorry to hear about your test results, but it'll probably go back down. At least the A1C is good!

Joyce report: She's one week post-op today and got all 6 of her drains removed!!! I think that's great. The only thing that bothers me is that she's still a little short of breath when she talks. I know it was a very long surgery and that's hard on anyone's lungs, and the PA wasn't overly concerned, but it bothers the nurse in me.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Mel - Tell me about your aquariums. We have 3. A 75 gal in the family room and each of my DD's has a little 2 gal in their bedrooms. All freshwater. I've always wanted saltwater but I've never gotten brave enough to invest that much in fish. The cheap freshwater guys are so much more easily replaceable.

Sorry to hear the surgery saga continues. I really hope you get it all straightened out soon. You don't need to have to deal with so much extra stress. Do you really have to have a resident? That would make me a bit nervous too! My breast surgeon that did my mastectomy was supposed to have a resident with her that day but the newer hourly work hours cap meant that he didn't have a resident that day. I was actually relieved since my surgeon had such a stellar reputation I wanted just her.

I just heard yesterday from my insurance co that they won't pay for DIEP with Dr. Allen b/c there is one doc here in NC that is in-network and my policy doesn't cover out-of-network. Lucky I've got goldnmom here to guide me through the appeal process, but I really dread the fight. I was so hoping I'd get lucky and it would be easy.

If you ask me Katie Couric went over the top with the plastic surgery a long time ago. I've never been a fan.

I was at a meeting of parish nurses (I'm not one but have considered going through the training) and as I sat wearing my pretty blue scarf, a lovely woman came up to me and said "I know a sister when I see one!"

She looked wonderful to me. I wouldn't have known she was wearing a wig if she hadn't acknowledged it. It's a great wig.

It was another one of those 'aha' moments when you know another woman understands.

Cindy

We have one salt walter aquarium. It worked out well but we had someone set it up for us. It was worth the cost.

Hi,
Nancy,
I hope you are feeling better today. 2 more taxols - way to go!!
Melia,
Half way there! Great! Me too! We did it! Just six more taxols, yippee!!!
That is so sweet of your dh. They do come through when you least expect it. Your garden will be lovely, especially because it will be made with TLC.
Amera,
Do you only have one week left?
Rebecca,
“We spent so much time deathly ill that even when we feel sick we feel well by comparison.” Ain’t that the truth!!
Rebecca,
“Not all women want to have big bouncy boobies!”
I feel the same as you. I was always a DD and I always wanted to be smaller. You have to explain to him how you feel. After all, it is your body. Lots of doctors do have a G-d image, but even so, you have a right to get what you want.
Shorti,
It was hard to me to imagine myself getting a PBM (prophylactic bilateral mastectomy), but since my left breast is multi focal, and I have to have one mastectomy, I feel that I might as well go for it. The PS would have to have given me a breast reduction and lift on the right side anyway. This way they will be symmetrical. They also found ALD and AHD on the left also, which increases my chance of cancer on my right breast and I also have advanced fibrocystic breast disease. I will also have peace of mind. Those are some of my reasons to doing this.
Your dh sounds very understanding and sweet.
Skye,
I am glad they finally called and it is only 15 minutes away. Now at least you can enjoy your nice long break now and also you can go the wedding.
Wingate Clapper is quite a name. You seem to be blessed with quite a few “different” names recently.
“However last year his grandparents pulled out a photo they had taken of him in it and I had to suffer great recrimination for dressing him in pink.” LOL!!!
“Lost”= Yes, that was a shocker!!! It seems that they could have ended the whole show that way. Are we sure it is coming back?

Mel, That sounds like a great idea, but they are not cheap. Did her insurance pay for it? My PS told me to get this!
!http://www.turnerhealth.com/products.html. My insurance compamy will pay for it, but gown looks much nicer though.

Jan,
“Lost”
I think Jack missed the “life” on the island. He was a leader, hero, and well respected. There was also a big sense of community and friendship on the island. In a weird way, he was happy there. When he got home, he had to face his wife leaving him and his father’s death. The poor guy couldn’t take all that rejection and wanted to return to where he was “wanted” by two women and he lived quite an adventure. I think he dearly missed his life on the island. The island was magical and seemed to have brought redemption while they were there, but when they returned----who knows what. It looks like he turned to booze and pills to put out the pain of loneliness. Let us not to forget that his father was also an alcoholic. I felt so sorry for him. Whoever saved them must have been alright, since they made it home. Walt & Michael might have made it home.

I think Sawyer is still with Kate, or Jack and Kate would be have been more friendly during that last scene. I can’t figure out who died and why Kate would not have wanted to go. Walt might have been a figment of Locke’s imagination when he was in the hole.

It just came to me- wasn't there a flashback scene sometime where Kate visited her dying mother in the hospital? In that scene, wasn't Jack's father paying for the hospital bills? Wasn't he Kate's estranged real father? Anyone else remember that scene?

Anyway, that is my humble opinion. I really enjoyed the last episode, and as you can tell, I also have been trying to make sense of it all- like I have nothing better to do- lol.
Good night,
Viddie

I am not a lost watcher i am addicted to those home and decorating shows right now . I will watch anything ....

Joni WOW great news you must feel so much better ! (too bad the weather there is colder than here ) we were at 30 degrees yesterday .... did you get snow too ? I know red deer did and thats where Dar1 lives .
Do hope that your flowers survived .....

Well I am off to have my port flushed today and then onto radiation . DH is coming with me and the day is warm and sunny . Just waiting for that cold front to come in from Alberta and Michigan

Will check in later gals have a good one

Hi,
You are right. Now I remember that is was Claire. Thanks for straightening that up for me.
Shorti,
Have a nice day after radiation with your DH.
Melia, The taxol is so far so good. Some minor annoyance like a little neurophathy on my feet, but very little. Not enough to bother me. I have been taking b6 to help prevent it from getting worse. I am a little more tired, but I am trying to downplay that. My biggest annoyance is my external hemorrhiods. They have been developing over the past few weeks, but now they are full grown. Luckily I am regular right now, so that part is not the problem. I have been putting on Preparation H ointment. I have mouth sores, and last week I had a yeast infection. The week before I had an UTI. The antibiotic probably caused the yeast infection. All that cleared up except the hemorroids and mouth sores. Aren't you glad you asked?

My last taxol is July 6. We do not have any plans yet. My DD will be home then. My surgery hopefully will be on August 6, so I do have some time off. This past week my husband's tooth fell off, and he needs $5000.00 worth of work on that tooth and a root canal on another tooth. We also have to put a new septic system in our cottage. Since it is so close the pond, we have to move it 100 feet away (per law) up a hill. This involves extensive work and also an elaborate pump to move the crap up the hill.- to a tune of over $20.000- so there goes any big vacation plans. But at least we will enjoy our cottage this summer and fall. That will be our vacation. We might get away for a few weekends though. Maybe after surgery in the late fall, we drive to Nova Scotia. We love it there.
My blood counts have also been hanging in.
I am glad you are feeling good, except a little tired. We will just have allow some extra time to relax. How are you celebrating your end of treatment?

Cindi,
Whatever happened to your hemorrhoids? How did you get rid of them or did they finally go away on their own? Any suggestions? Are you feeling a little better today? I hope your thoughts can get some cheering up. Remember, we all have those thoughts, and we are here for you. Have a great day.

Viddie, my experience with the taxol was that it was just deadly on all my skin and mucous membranes. Mouth, nose, nails, hemorrhoids, you name it - I even got a yeast infection. By the end of the 12 weeks, everything felt totally raw and fragile and dry. Gradually, it has improved until I don't really notice it anymore (except the nail situation, which will take some time). My skin is looking much better now, hemorrhoids went away, nose isn't irritated anymore, etc. That's just my experience - don't know if that's typical or not.

Mel,
You didn't start to have trouble til the end, did you? Didn't you stop work b/c it all caught up with you? That's what I worry about, that the cumulative effect will slam me at some pt ...are you planning to go back to work?
Melia

Mel, Don't rush back, two surgeries is a pretty big assault, esp after all you have been through. Of course, you are a nurse, so don't need me to tell you that!

I have a desk job and am hoping to be able to work through ... we really need my income, I make a lot more than my husband. And it is very good for my morale to work. But I am just taking it one treatment at a time.
Melia