Starting Chemo in May 07

Hi all,
I'm still feeling good. Have 2 weeks until my next treatment so that excites me.
My hair is still slowly falling out. Not big clumps just a few hairs when I run my fingers through and I have enough, my best friend/stylist said she thought I had 2 or 3 hairs for each pore. LOL so I have some to spare.
My mom is such a help to me. She is like my best friend. She sits with me through the chemo treatments. We talk on the phone at least 3 times a day, she lives 45 minutes away and my oncs office is in the middle so we meet there.
I'm planning on moving to the same town as her and renting her other house at the end of this month. I'll be halfway between treatments so I'm glad I have good strong boys and awsome neighbors to help out. I wish I could stay where I am but I've not been working as much and money is tight, I can save a few bucks a month by moving. I'm looking for a teaching job for next school year and there are a few openings in her area. Also being closer, 2 blocks, I can help her with her Bed and Breakfast and the dinners she puts on. It will be alot of fun.
I'm looking forward to July because my 15 year old daughter is coming to visit for the entire month. She lives with her dad and his (well I cant say what my boys call her on here because it aint nice) wife, has been there for two years and likes it cause she gets spoiled and doesnt have to put up with her annoying older brothers.

Blessings to all you sisters who are having a hard time, just look for the light at the end of the tunnel each day it gets a little brighter.

Lots of HUGS to all,
CindyKS

Cindy-- Call your onc I had the same thing and they told me I had thrush, they will give you an antibiotic for it.

Ok, Kytril and Zantac are what's ---sort of ----getting me through the nausea and I'm down to two Kytril pills and ins. decided to deny any more....So the onc. nurse is going to f/u on it, and maybe they'll switch me to Zofran? Or what else? Marinol? Aargh, now I have to research the anti-emetics again. What else to try? I'm a little freaked out, but maybe there IS a better solution than kytril. Remind what's worked for you all?

Cindy, Ativan is my sleeping saviour!!!! I also caught sight of myself in the mirror with a baseball cap today (delivery men came to bring the new china cabinet which ended up having a CRACK--another story--grrr!) and thought, "Gee, I could definitely pass for a man! It's wierd, you're sitting in your house bald, minding your own business and suddenly it hits you, you're a cancer patient AND you LOOK LIKE ONE! Ugh! BUT, your pic in the avatar is lovely, by the way, and that's still you inside. Amy

Changed my avatar to reflect my more "current self". And to use up some of this newfound ENERGY!! Yippee!! Amy

I don't have the Bionic Smell-O-Vision, yet, but my husband told me an amusing story. A guy that he knows said that when his wife was being treated, they went out to lunch and brought home the leftovers from a Three-Layer Salad. As they lay in bed, his wife swore that she could smell the salad. He said it was impossible because it was in a Tupperware container and in the refrigerator. She insisted, so he finally got up, threw the salad in the trash and carried it outside.

Sarah, I was so happy to see your post. I have been thinking about you everyday.

Mary S, my pubes are also falling out ahead of my head hair. The head is starting, though.

I'm not going to try to talk anyone into eating soy, but will pass on the other side of the controversy. There is evidence that the fake (plant) estrogen in soy tricks cancer cells by combining with it, but not allowing them to multiply.

Pat

@Sherry

I'm still here. Thanks for asking about me ;-)
I'm feeling better for now, not great but hey, no one said that chemo was a vacation. How are you doing? I shaved my head yesterday cause my scalp started to hurt. It stopped since the hair is gone. My next chemo ist 6-13. When is yours? Any side effects? Physically I feel almost 'normal'.

Jen

DANG I lost my long post! Oh well. Nutshell version:

Zantac 75, Tums and Gaviscon are my constant companions. Really I feel like a little old lady with my purse full of that stuff but heartburn hits almost every day and those are my remedies.

Acupunture = good! Try it if you can. It can't hurt and I think it is helping both my stomach and my mental clarity. Yeah! Plus it makes me laugh thinking about how I must look with needles sticking out of head.

Here's my new avatar, inspired by Amy's new one. Tried to make one with nothing on my head but I look like an egg. I mean EXACTLY like an egg. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that!

Positive things: wore my wig to work and it made me happy to have hair. Even fake shiny Barbie hair. Yeah! Also, I dearly love my house-guests but they are both leaving tomorrow and it will just be me and the kids which I am READY for!

Hope everyone is having a most excellent Friday night.

Hugs,
LeeAnne

LOL Amy, I couldn't even bring myself to download the egghead pictures off the camera! Maybe after another couple weeks o'hairlessness I'll become so casual about it that I'll decide the egg look is a good one... we can only hope!

LeeAnne

Oooo, re the fingernails. I usually keep my nails pretty short, but I've cut them *really* short (with just the merest rim of white showing) in the hopes that it will reduce the stress on my nails from my weekly Taxol/Carboplatin. I did that during my 2005 Taxol and I didn't lose any nails.

I also try not to use my nails to pry anything up. Even the pop-tops on soda cans. I can't tell you how many times I've told myself: "Use a tool, idiot! Use a tool!"

Some people put Vick's Vapo-Rub on their nails at night and say it helps. I used a cuticle cream before bed and at least it made me feel like I was doing something. LOL I'm doing it this time, too.

In 2005, I had four dose-dense Taxol treatments (after my four dose-dense ACs) and after chemo was over, all my nails (even on my toes) had four horizontal ridges in them that took months to grow out.

One thing you definitely don't want is acrylic nails. That would dramatically boost your chances of nail problems.

Hi gals,,,,,,,,,,,,hope everyone had a good week and will have a good weekend. 6th day out from 2nd tch,,,,,,,feel like crap,,,,,,,,,,,achey, tired, flue like,,,,,,,,no taste. So whats new huh? I get so bummed out,,,,I hope I can finish till the end. I hate everything about this. For those of you who have heartburn, I got a presc for Protonix and it worked miracles for me. Take care gals,,,,,,,,,,Cindy
PS.........I bought a couple of scarves and my head is just so small I look like a freak in them. The gals that have their avators here with scarves on,,,,,,,,do you get a certain kind? Are they silk or cotton or what? I got the silk ones and they just lay so flat on my head it looks funky. And the wig gets hot,,,,,,,,,so when I am home by myself and not expecting anyone I wear those beanies..........another dumb look for me. You girls look so natural in your scarves.........good for you,,,,,you must have good shaped heads........lol

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PS.........I bought a couple of scarves and my head is just so small I look like a freak in them. The gals that have their avators here with scarves on,,,,,,,,do you get a certain kind? Are they silk or cotton or what? I got the silk ones and they just lay so flat on my head it looks funky. And the wig gets hot,,,,,,,,,so when I am home by myself and not expecting anyone I wear those beanies..........another dumb look for me. You girls look so natural in your scarves.........good for you,,,,,you must have good shaped heads........lol

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I read that if you want to wear silk scarves you may want to wear a cotton turban underneath. This will help keep the scarf on your head and also make your head look fuller. I have seen some websites selling different types of scarves and head accessories for chemo patients. Look at www.headcovers.com. They have a big selection.

OK girls, a few thoughts on scarves. They are definitely my current preferred headcovering, along with bandanas. I like scarves best because they show what's really going on ( I hate faking it, that's just me) and I can still feel pretty in them. I have a wig and a hairfall (from hiphat.com) but neither is my favorite at the moment. But hey, we've got MONTHS of baldness in front of us, so I figure I'll probably go through phases, right?

I wrote out a bunch of stuff in another thread, so here's that post:

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My favorites are the larger scarves, about 34 inches wide or so. I fold it in half to make a triangle, and then put the folded edge on my forehead and let the opposite point go down the back of my head/back. Then I take the 2 side corners and pull them to the back, and tie them in a half-knot, and bring the ends back around to the front again. I twist them a little and tie them together in a knot on top of the folded edge that is lying along my forehead, and tuck in the ends by twisting them around the pieces coming around to the front. Then I take the point that is trailing down my neck and twist it until it forms a little "bun" back there, and stick the end through the middle. The trick for covering all the baldness is to make sure that you cover at least 1/2-3/4 of your ears. That way you are pretty covered. If that's not covered enough for you, you might not like the scarf option.

With bandanas, which are smaller, I just fold it to make a triangle, but I don't quite fold it in half, so that it's a bit bigger. I put it on my head the same way (folded edge on my forehead) and then knot the two side corners over the point in back.

Here's a website that gives some decent instructions on how to tie scarves: http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/women/hair_help/alt_cov.htm

The first one that I described is basically the same as option 3 under "Tying Basics" except that I twist the back point to make the little bun instead of tucking it in.
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OK, back to now, LOL. The cool thing about using the larger scarves and bringing those ends around to the front is that it gives a little more going on in front, and makes me feel like my head looks more proportioned. I feel a little less egg-like.

Oh yeah, you asked about fabrics, too. I've heard that cotton scarves are awesome, and I know they have them at headcovers.com, but I haven't wanted to shell out the $$. I have a bunch of different scarves that I've collected from seeing them on sale to borrowing from friends who don't need them. Some are silk, and some are polyester. The slippery silk ones are a little slippery, but they still work. You just have to make sure you tie them on low enough over the ears, and don't tie the front part TOO tight or it will accentuate the eggy-ness and will feel like its going to slip off (and give you headache, I've found). I have one silk one that my in-laws brought me from Singapore a few years ago (it's the one in my avatar) and it's NOT slippery. It's AWESOME!! Definitely my most comfy. But poly is fine too. OK, I could go on and on, and trying to describe scarf-tying in print is nearly pointless, probably--you just have to experiment until you get a look you like.

In other news, I still feel good--yay!! VERY tired overall, but good. I taught a bunch of violin lessons today (makeups) and had such a good time doing it. It made me realize that I definitely made the right decision to cancel last week--I was in no shape to give my students my best.

Cheers,

Amy

Amy, thanks for the tips. I'm not bald yet but will be probably after next treatment. I bookmarked the web page so I could go back to it.
I'm still feeling good. I'm still working 2 jobs but they are both part time. I'm tired but cant sleep, even when I get the chance to sleep in I cant sleep. It's getting annoying.
I'm taking meds for Thrush and my face breaking out and now my nose is sore inside. Feels like I've had a cold and blew my nose too much so its chapped. Can't figure out why since I'm on anitbiotics already. If it's not better by Monday I'll call the onc again.
Havent had mouth sores yet but I keep biting my cheek, I use the biotene toothpaste and mouthwash. Only problem with it is right after treatment the taste of it makes me have awful nausea, kinda strange, when I'm ok with everything else my toothpaste makes me sick, how weird is that.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend,
CindyKS

Amy

Thanks for the tip on Lysine. I "googled" mouth sores last night and read up on the recommendation but wasn't sure about it's efficacy with chemo-induced mouth sores. I will definitely give it a try.

Sorry to be such a whiner, but why don't physicians ever give out "useful" information. In my practice I mix alopathy with home remedies and a lot of common sense. I guess I assumed that all providers did this for their patients.

Mary

Did you try lysine, LeeAnne? I don't know if this is true, but my sister claims it works for sore throat as well as mouth sores.