Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Whoa Mary....you and your bodacious boobs!!!! They look great! I'm envious - especially since I'm lopsided!!! I will admit it is slow going with the hair because I was done with chemo 3/16 and the thickness has come in but not length. I'm going to visit relatives at the end of the month and I was hoping it would be longer. Oh well, no big deal because it IS hair and I've always had short hair. Great news about the job!!!!

I have been going to water aerobics faithfully but got turned away this a.m. because there was thunder and lightening in the area. So, I came home and hopped in my own pool and worked out for about 30 minutes. I've been able to maintain my weight which is what I want to do but my rear end feels like it is spreading (I can feel it in my clothes).

Cathy

oh, ha. I just noticed the avatar. Mama mia! They look great. I was done with chemo end of December and my hair is pretty short still. I miss my long hair, but oh well, it's slowly growing...

Have great evening ladies.
Raye

Mary,

I know it! I never wanted implants and I was small (or sporty as I like to say). Having proph R mast in Sept and trying to decide what to do. No immediate tissue expender in L breast due to rads.

Thanks for the compliment on the hair. In the pic, yours seems to be long enough to go without a wig. ?

Raye

Hey Blue - thanks. That picture was mid June and I finished my Chemo on March 22nd. Just feels like it's growing so slowly but everyone tells me it's really coming in. Glad you are recovering from the exchange surgery, it's a ways off for me.

Mary: Got it....had to hit the "refresh" button. You DO look great!!!! I have two more weeks of the 24/7 surgi or sport bra.

My girlfriend suggested a rinse in my hair so it looks like I have more volume....BIG MISTAKE... it is too dark. AND, it's premanent color. THink I could strip it???? HELP!!!

Blue- I would be uneasy about trying to strip the color. Your hair is probably pretty fragile from the chemo, and that might push it over the edge. If you can live with it for a few weeks, you could try a different color then.

MizS, I am so sorry you are going through a rough time. Be good to yourself. So, you have not figured out what is causing the allergic reaction? How did you get the mosquito bites? We call mosquitoes the state bird in Louisiana!

Hope everybody has a great weekend. I got the official job offer yesterday, so I am going to wrap things up here next week and enjoy two weeks off with my hubby and kids before the new job starts! I'll be brown bagging it at the new job, so my eating habits should REALLY improve. (I work at a culinary school right now, so I have 60 students wanting me to taste their food every day on top of the gourmet lunch they serve. I know I will miss the food, but at the same time I really want to have more control over what I eat.)

Did you all see the study about BC and diet? They had two groups of survivors. One group ate a diet of more than 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day while the other group followed the FDA guidelines. There was no apparent benefit in eating more fruits and veggies! And here I've been a vegetarian for twenty years! Hmph!

Wish you all a great weekend.

Mary

Mary, WOW, I got it too. You look great! As for the red wine question. I have read that wine as well aas alcohol turn to sugar in your body. Because I am ER positive and sugar feeds estrogen, most Docs suggest 2 - 3 drinks per week. I don't drink a lot, mostly just weekends. And red wine is all I really drink so I am sticking with it. I envy you with your ability to cook although working at a culinary school would be awful for me. I don't cook at all, my husband jokes that when I do make something, he wants to invite the pygmies over to dip their darts in it! He is a great cook and loves it. My two daughters were asked in school when they were younger "What is your favorite meal that your Mom makes?' One answered 'macaroni and cheese from a box' and the other one said 'cereal'! We're all better off if I stay out of the kitchen.
MizSissy, Scary about the reactions you are having. Hopefully your doc will get it figured out so you won't have to worry on vacation. I have found that the alcohol really slows my weight loss progress but i'm not willing to give it up totally! I am so sorry to hear about your friend.
Raye, I have been working out and really enjoying it not that I am into a routine. I haven't weighed in on the spreadsheet though. But, like you, I enjoy coming her to see how everyone is doing. I am on vacation for the next two weeks, going to a house we rented in Long Beach Island. Have a great weekend everyone!

Mizsissy,
I am so glad to read that your friend is doing well. I stopped by the thread, what a hoot....
She is well loved and I have no doubt that her future looks bright!

I am glad that your contact dermatitis has cleared and that you are losing weight.

Mary,
You look hot!
Good luck on the new job.

Carol,
I wish I could develop some discipline with my wine. Today I stayed away from wine but after my kick butt bike ride I felt the need to rehydrate with a couple of Budwisers.

Anyone been watching the Tour de France? I have to admit I am a junky and glad to see Alberto Contador the winner. He has quite a comeback story. (Mizsissy, He was riding his bike when an aneurysm burst and here he is winning the most arduous bike race in the world. Gives one great hope doesn't it?)

I'm off to the beach this Friday for the family reunion. I think that my cousins/cousins-in-laws, brother, sister-in-law and I have some serious bike riding to do. I just hope that they don't leave me in their dust.
Let me just say that it is tough being part of an athletic family.

I hope everyone had a good weekend.

Casey

Hi Everyone,
Raye, just a question, did your docs discuss the latissimus dorsi (sp?) flap procedure with you? I think that is what I will have as my skin is damaged from the radiation.
Casey- I am tired just reading your posts! Good for you, that actually sounds like a lot of fun. I am still indulging in the red wine and it definitely impedes the weight loss progress. Also just got back from two weeks beachfront in Long Beach Island. Definitely drank too much wine on vacation, came home with an extra two pounds. Oh well, not giving it up!

Hi ladies:

I was on vacation the last week of July. I had a terrible diet while I was away and am trying to get back on track. I've only exercised about 3 days since returning two weeks ago. My 6 yr old is starting school next week so I've taken another week "off". I'm hoping to get back on the exercise routine next week...but I am having my chemo port removed (YAHOO!!!) on Tuesday and can't swim for a week. I'll have to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill or something. It's way to hot here in SW FL to exercise outside.

Good to hear from you guys.

Cathy

Hi All!

The new job is great! I felt like crying when I left there today. I actually worked there (Dept. of Ed.) for three days just as I was getting my cancer diagnosis, so everybody knows why I left and have been so sweet now that I am back. Plus I am really into high school redesign, which is my job now! Yeah!

Raye- good luck with your surgery. Guess you've been through it once, so you know what to expect. What is TRAM?

Glad everybody had some relaxation time this summer! (But Casey, it sounds like your "vacation" was more work than play!)

Mary

Carol,

Yes, that is exactly what my 2nd opnion ps told me, he would do the lat flap with the expander, and then implant, but there MAY be damage to the lat area due to rads they give you in the back - so he would rather do a TRAM, ugh. Scary, huge surgery.

Too much wine? ah, it was your vacation, just take it easy now (if you want, of course ). You know, I felt the same way when my onc said that "I could" leave the port in for years and I asked her "why, because you think it will come back?" She said no, just a convenience, hmmm. I had mine taken out a month after chemo was done.

Mary, TRAM is the acronym for transrectus abdominal muscle, which they remove along with the fatty tissue of the belly and move to the breast area to create a breast or breasts.

Have a wonderful week all.
Raye

Hi girls! I'm not a poster on this thread, but several of my December Chemo Sisters are on this Board, so I check up on you now and then... I'm too lazy to join in your commitment to work out, but I keep you all in sight!!
Raye -- it is such a joy to read your posts and you are an inspiration to all of us -- MizSissy -- you are too! and ALL of you who post here... Dang, I wish I could keep up with several threads but, alas, I get home late and after dinner and a glass of wine my computer sits untouched... Carol -- you and I are peas in a pod...
Check in later!
Dottie