Starting Chemo in May 07

LeeAnne! You make me smile!! Could we live further apart?? You in Oregon and me in Jersey... I bet we could have a lot of fun looking for boys together!! LOL Two bald headed women looking for boys. HAHAHA!

I had a Longaberger basket party with 20 of my girlfriends on Friday night. I let loose and drank many many "beer-garitas." Somehow, the subject of me getting "laid" (sorry ladies for being crass) came up and I was absolutely hysterical (and drunk) and I said, "are you kidding me?? I wasn't getting laid when I had hair...I'm bald...I'm not getting laid..." I don't think I've laughed that hard in a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time.

I definitely need that chillow...I need to stop procrastinating... :O

Got approval from my insurance company (100% covered) for the BRCA testing...going to do it and end the suspense...

Almost time for me to go for my "annual" mammo too... UGH. Now I'm petrified to get tested... I just keep thinking that with my luck I'm going to have something in the left boob... ARGH.

Virginia

Quote:

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I told my husband awhile back that I wanted balloons when I was finished.

Pat

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Ooh, balloons sound great! Maybe that's what I need as a pick me up to get me through the morphine withdrawal...(weaning myself off per docs plan, but still having w/d symptoms...not sure there's anyway around it.)

Congrats on being done!!! Woohoo! It really is a wonderful feeling, to have one "good" day after another. And now we all truly know what it means to have bad days, making the good ones all the sweeter.

Congratulations Pat, you're finished Yea! Get out the balloons and Champaign (hope I spelled that correctly)

I will be having my last CT tx tomorrow, but it will only be a slight pause, as my chemo is pre-surgery. It will be followed by TAC, then Rads. For the first time (okay not really) I am very frightened. I had a difficlut time sleeping night before last, and in the morning discovered a lump under my arm. I thought the chemo was suppose to shrink or stop the cancer from growing and now this.

Enjoy your weekend and celebrate!

Hey everybody,

Jean, I'm glad you'll get to see your onc soon. Mandy is right, it can definitely be just a little infection or what-not. TONS of stuff it can be that are not scary. But I know it's hard to wait and wonder--that's why I'm glad you won't have to for long. DEFINITELY let us know whey the doc says, OK?

Well, my appetite is back! And my energy is coming, but still pretty low. But I don't even care, I'm just so glad to know I don't have to have any more chemo. Since opening my store I've sold about 15 things!! It's awesome! Nice to have $$ coming in from it again. I also made a menu plan and grocery list for next week, for the first time since chemo started. What a great feeling!! We have one last meal being brought tomorrow, and then we're on our own. I know I'll get tired, and have to scale back and all that, but it's so nice to think about cooking the things we've been missing all summer. The meals people have brought have been awesome, but there's nothing like your own stuff, you know? We like to go meatless a lot, too, which is not what people bring you, so we're ready to scale back on the meat!

Mandy, I'm so with you on the hair thing. People are asking me "so is it coming back??" YEAH, RIGHT!!! If my last chemo had been my very 1st tx, I would just be starting to lose my hair TODAY. It's gonna take some time, people!! LOL!

I have my appt with the rads doc tomorrow--I'll let you know what that's like. I'm very curious!

Amy

Hi everyone.
I hope you all have a great weekend, I am off to my last chemo before surgery so I am expecting to spend most of my weekend sleeping. I "may" see my onocologist prior to my chemo. I have an early appointment with my PS, and will see if I can be squeezed in. He did say as I had been booked so late day (4:30) he might not be able to stop by the hospital. (He's a very devote Jew and I don't believe he works after sundown on Fridays.) I am still worried about that pain and lump under my arm. I hope it's only a se of the chemo and not more cancer.

Jean - wishing you all the best - positive thoughts and energy and well wishes...I'm sure it's just a SE from chemo or perhaps due to an infection...please do keep us updated!

Virginia - enjoy your weekend with your family - what a special treat to have them all close to you huh?

Liz - still thinking of you and hoping that you are doing wonderfully and on the mend! Just think Liz - the cancer is GONE - for sure!!! That's worth celebrating!

Wishing all of you (Amanda, Amy, LeeAnne, all the Cindy's Pat, Nadola and many more that I've missed) a wonderful labour day long weekend. I am not going out of town (although I'd like to be) but my cousin turns 18 (she's more like an niece) and her birthday party is at a local bar where (of course) young people hang out. NOT my first choice of what I'd like to do but it's a big deal to her so I will be there with all of my other older relatives - at least we'll have each other in the sea of 18 year olds! On Tuesday morning I (and my 2 cousins/nieces) are going on a hot air balloon ride! Woo hoo! I've never done it before - I am a little nervous (especially with the 2 fatal balloon crashes lately) but mostly I'm excited!

Happy Friday to all of you!
Mandy

I have not posted for a while I have been to sick to post. My last A/C was July 25th, I had 6 because of a trial I am on. My counts hit rock bottom and just brushing my teeth was a chore. On Aug 9th I had my first Taxol and things really went bad from there on. After 3 days the skin on my feet peeled off and my finger tips and feet went numb. I think it strange that my feet can be numb but still painful (still are). Each day I seemed to get sicker and sicker and on the 20th of Aug my husband had to call 911 because I was having breathing problems. I developed a rare side effect from the Taxol, Taxol pneumonitis. The first few days in the hospital I was told I would not get any better the lung problem was here to stay but after a couple of days things started to get better. Breathing slow and normal is so nice. Was told I was very luck others that get this end up in the IUC on a ventilator.
They told me I would now have to be watched closer and a different type of chemo would be needed. I decided to stop all chemo. It seemed I die now from the treatment or maybe worry about the cancer showing up again later.


I am ER+ so the next thing will be a 5 year treatment plan for that.

Had my BRAC test sent in last week will be interested in how that turns out.

Hey Everyone. I'm home. I snagged an extra day in the hospital believe it or not. A whole two nights! Anyway, I'm getting settled in and I'll have to catch up with all the posts over the next few days. I have a million tubes and wires attached to me but I'm doing very well. Thanks for all the good wishes from everyone. I'll give a more detailed report later. Pathology should be in today or Tuesday.

Congrats to everyone who is on their final treatments. Ok. That's enough typing for today! Need to go rest now.

Judy Oh my! So glad you're home! Yikes, sounds like a scary time. Breathing is pretty darn essential. Big big hugs to you and wishing you a speedy recovery.

Hi all,

Judy, what a horrible ordeal!!! I'm SO sorry chemo was so hard on you. UGH!! How awesome that you didn't end up worse off, but MAN what you had was WAY bad enough. That stinks. How long were you in the hospital, and how do you feel now?

Jean, I hope you got to see the onc today--let us know when you come out of your chemo fog, OK?

Liz, SO GLAD YOU'RE HOME!!! Can't wait to hear all about it, when you feel up to it.

Traci, I posted a few days ago that I had reopened my Ebay store. Hooray! I sell children's clothing and shoes, and my store is called Through the Wardrobe. By the way, girls, I TOTALLY don't expect any sales from you!! Just thought you might like to see it. Here's the link:

http://stores.ebay.com/Through-the-Wardrobe

So, I saw the rad onc today. And I THINK, I think just MAYBE, that rads won't be too bad!! He was a great doctor and went over everything in minute detail. He told me that in his experience he hasn't seen any correlation between people who are extremely sun-sensitive like me, and people who have bad skin reactions to radiation. THAT was great news!! Different than what I've read online, but I'll go with his experience, I think. And, as far as fatigue, he said that yes, it will give me fatigue, but that his patients coming off chemo are never the ones that complain about that, because they're used to much worse. He thought that given how hard chemo was for me, that I would be feeling the same or better, fatigue-wise, on radiation.

So, I'll get the standard 30 treatments, 5-days-a-week for 6 weeks. I start August 17, to give my port removal (scheduled for the 7th) a good 10 days to heal. They did a simulation in the machine with me, so I'm all set to get started.

All for now, I'm wiped out and need to get some SLEEP!!

Amy

Hey Judy,

I haven't had my port removed yet, but I called to make the appointment and they told me that it is a 10-MINUTE OFFICE PROCEDURE!! I was like "WHAT??" But the nurse told me it is like NOTHING. She herself just had it done (she had bc and went through chemo and rads just this spring and summer) and said she was almost disappointed with how simple it was. So I go on Friday to have it done myself and I can let you all know if she was right. I guess putting it in is probably a lot more complicated, since they have to thread it into the vein and all that. So when they take it out, is it just slit and yank? LOL? We'll see soon enough...

Amy

Hi on Sunday Gals...

My BBQ with the family was just what the doctor ordered... It started with a special surprise on Friday night...my 5 year old niece had a sleep over with me! LOL I am not a mom...just a doting aunt... This child...OMG, makes my heart SING! (All of my nieces and nephews do...but this one at 5 years old...so precious). I could go on an on and telly you stories, but that would bore you b/c you don't know me or my niece... I was so nice to just have someone to cuddle...

Mandy- enjoy your hot air balloon and put any thoughts about something happening out of your head. (Although, I always joke that wouldn't it be poetic justice that after all of this HELL I've been through, that I meet my maker by some crazy accident and not go from the big "C")?

Traci- LOL...I could deal with the bald head in the beginning. Even the wig...and bandanas. Now I don't care any more and with my 1/4 inch of growth, just let my head show through. I am going to try and post a picture so you gals can see how "long" my hair has gotten since my last tx on 6/21. But, I am so over being bald...and so over everyone telling me how FAST my hair is growing. It's excruciatingly slow.

Amy- I checked out your eBay store and your kids are soooooooooooo cute!! (I am sure you can relate to how precious my niece is to me as your kids look really small and sweet!

Judy- dang girl! you have been through the wringer. My Aunt who put up a VERY valiant fight against colon cancer always said that if the cancer doesn't kill you the treatment will. She stopped more than her share of chemo's b/c of the SE's. Sending good thoughts to you!!

Liz- Welcome Back!! You sound awesome!! Here's hoping they gave you really good pain meds and that your wonderful positive attitude continues!

LeeAnne- I'm counting the days for the Bruce record. I do love him... I also want the new Melissa Etheridge. I've decided that she's one of my heroes when she appeared on the grammy's right after her treatments...bald head and all. Very inspirational to me and I keep remembering that moment when I moan about my head....

Ok ladies... I'm off to another lazy day on the boat...this time we'll just stay anchored at the pier...but it's still awesome...

Hugs to one and all!! This board is always a bright spot in my day!!

Virginia

Hi Everyone.

Things are getting easier. I am still having some soreness and pain, but am keeping it under control with vicodin and the pain pump. I slept in my own bed last night for the first time. The first two nights I slept in a big chair in the living room with pillows under my arms and a bucky around my neck. This was a very comfortable position and I may do it again tonight. Sleeping in the bed is nice but harder to get in and out.

Waking up from the surgery and the first day was the worst of course. I felt like my chest was crushed when I woke up. They started giving me dilauded right away which knocked me out and did a good job on the pain. They told me on Thursday I could go home that night if I wanted to and I probably could have, but the nurses were so great and I liked being in a hospital bed and having help to get up and being fed in bed. It's also nice to have someone else keep track of your meds. I am taking vicodin and cipro and you're not supposed to take dairy with the cipro and the schedules are different. I also have three drains to empty twice a day and a pain pump that I have to wear aroundmy waist. Just not getting snagged on things is a challenge with all these wires and tubes coming in and out of me. So another night was a good idea I think. I was having trouble getting into the bed and had some shooting pain if I moved the wrong way. Anyway I was very happy with my hospital experience and ready to leave on Friday morning. I was so glad they didn't push me to leave early.

Most of the days since I've been home I've been just hanging out on the sofa watching t.v. I rented the first season of Rescue Me and some movies. My family have been taking turns visiting so that definitely takes my mind off of it and my husband can go out for a motorcycle ride or a trip to the grocery.

I think I feel better now than I did five days after the A/C. The pain in my chest is bad but the medication takes care of it and I forget about it most of the time. I think I'll be able to start going for short walks today. I want to start with 5 minutes and work my way back up.

I still need to go back and read what you've all been writing for the last five days. I hope everyone is doing great. I can't wait until I'm done with the taxol. I'll call my oncologist next week to set up a follow-up so i can get started. Looking forward to being done with all this around Thanksgiving. I don't know if I'll need rads yet. My surgeon should have my pathology Tuesday.

Hi Liz

I have watched three seasons worth of Rescue Me. I got so absorbed in the stories and outrageous behavior of the characters that I forgot I had cancer for hours at a time. Glad you're feeling better. My surgery will not occur until November. I'm starting Taxol on Thursday.

Happy Long-Weekend Sunday ladies!

Kara - Welcome to this thread - glad you're no longer a "lurker"...please join us in our ramblings an discussionsANYTIME!! It looks like you and I are in a similar boat diagnosis-wise. I was stage 2A (2.5cm, node negative, ER/PR positive, her2 negative) I also had some DCIS which is why I go for a re-excision on September 20th. (Just to ensure that the DCIS margin is in fact, a clear margin - it was 1mm) What is your re-excision for? I too will be starting rads in mid to late October...putting me done active treatment in early December - then I'm goin' to Mexico!

Liz!!!! So good to hear from you! I'm glad you got to stay that extra time in the hospital! When I had my lumpectomy, I decided to stay overnight because I was so nauseated from the anesthetic and I'm glad I did. It was soooo nice to be really taken care of! I actually wondered how I could have gone home...they were taking my vitals every few hours, I was on oxygen, IV fluids, morphine and anti nausea meds...I might have been a wreck at home on nothing! It was just so nice to lay there and be comfortable and be looked after. My hubby is a great man but his idea of 'looking after me' is pretty much to leave me alone and keep the kids occupied - I hate that! I like to be fussed over!

Virginia - You know sometimes (when I visit the dark side) I feel like I can do anything scary now because I know how I'm likely going to die (cancer) that I am somehow invincible to everything else...which is of course krap on so many levels! First of all, I have EVERY INTENTION of living a long and healthy life - cancer free! And second of all, why I would think I'm immune to all the other dangers, I don't know! I did say to some friends though that if something did go wrong with the balloon (which it won't) at least it would be an interesting story post mortem.. For generations I'd be known as great great Aunt Mandy who died in the hot air balloon accident - far more interesting than a number of other ways to go !! I sound a little macabre but really I think it will be awesome. I admit I will be a little nervous. I have a pretty extreme fear of flying (airplanes) so I'm a little unsure how I'll react in the balloon - but I am excited to find out - carpe diem! Thanks for the great rads advice...when are you finished? It sounds like you're having a great weekend - enjoy the boat! Your niece sounds like fun! Kids are so cool around that age! They really have developed their own personality and sense of humour! Such joy!

Amanda - (that's really my name so when someone writes to 'Amanda' - I'm always thinking it's me!!) I'm curious to know why you have to wait so long to have the port removed after chemo? Someone here in my city had her picc line put in the day before her last treatment (her veins were shot) then removed right after - the next day! I guess a picc line is different from a port though? I hope the procedure is quick and easy - just as Amy has heard!

Amy - Good luck with your removal too...glad to hear your store is making you some moolah! We can all use more of that and it's so nice to be back in some of your old routines hey? Good for you!

Judy - hope you're feeling good...I can't remember - are you doing rads now? What is the next step in your tx?

CindyKS - Glad to hear your swelling is going down - what an ordeal that was for you! What is your new job that you are starting?

LeeAnne - You MUST keep us up to date on your PDM (Potential Date Man) How exciting! You know, I was suspicisous about his willingness to get involved with you right now but I think that was not giving you enough credit...I don't know you but can tell from your posts that you are: funny, witty, intelligent, spiritual, full of life, confident and your avator show your gorgeous...so why would a cancer diagnosis - that you WILL fully recover from- keep him away?? Leaps of faith are what keep life full in my opinion. I always think of Dory from Finding Nemo...when they are hanging off the whale's tongue and they are about to let go. Marlin is so scared to let go because he doesn't know what's going to happen and Dory isn't. She trust the whale (who advised them that it was time to let go now) and Marlin asks her 'how do you know something bad isn't going to happen?' and she says "I don't!" and just lets go...leap of faith! I think we need to do more of that in our lives (at least I do) I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

"If you take a risk - something good might happen or something bad might happen...but if you don't take a risk - nothing happens!"

Well, enough of my babbling! I hope you are all having a wonderful last long weeknd of summer (in my neck of the woods anyways).

Take care,
Mandy