June 2007 Chemo

I'm here, I'm here!  :::waving:::: 

Just been busy with things and if you asked me what, I couldn't say.  LOL

I am having my heart tests done tomorrow and I'm not supposed to have any caffeine today.....it's been a difficult morning.  I miss my hot tea with breakfast and diet coke with lunch, whine, whine, whine. 

My daughter was involved in a car accident last night, not her fault and she's ok.   Her car is totaled though.   We're just hoping the insurance pays enough to cover the rest of the loan.   She can't afford a new car! 

The weather has turned this week, finally, into some semblance of spring.  The sun is out today, snow is melted and I think highs in the 40s...woohoo!!

Dawn, you can't seem to catch a break...hm, let me rephrase that.  :-)   I hope the break isn't serious.  

Bonnie, good luck with your exchange surgery next week! Keep us updated on how you're doing.  

Not a lot going on here, trying to move beyond cancer but these one year anniversaries keep popping up and I MUST celebrate them.  I won't truly be over it all until Oct when my port was removed.   I'm still doing well on arimidex.

Also, I joined Weight Watchers last week and lost 4.4 lbs. so far.  I'm thrilled.  

Now if I can just get my heart in order, I'll be good as new....even better. 

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hey Terry!  I see you waving!!  Give me a break............you are too cute!

The verdict is in - not broken, but not happy either!  I have injured the scaphoid bone which is at the base of the thumb.  I get to wear a splint 24/7 for three weeks and go to an orthopedic doc if I still have pain after that.

Came home and announced to my boys that they have dish duty for the next three weeks!!  They of course think they do a lot already!  hahahahahaha

Copied that from another post cuz typing is interesting with this splint - I type at work - going to be fun.

What tests are you having?  Please let us know what happens.

I'm glad to hear that your daughter is okay - scary when they call you after an accident.  My daughter had one several years back and the car was totaled but as long as they are ok - cars can be replaced!

I am so ready for spring as well.  My oldest sons gf is doing weight watchers - she has lost 25 pounds so far.  Of course, she's only 22 so I think it is easier at that age (I think I remember back that far!)  The nurse practitioner I saw today just got back from an obesity conference - they were going over how women with breast cancer going through chemo with steroids gain weight especially around the middle faster than women just going through menopause.................... we of course could have told her all that!! Anyway, I told her to let me know what she learned when we can have more time or by email.

Bonnie - your ps sounds like mine - calms me down quite often!  Our boys are pretty close in age.  I miss my daughter but she lives close by so it's not too bad. 

enough typing.............work is going to be rough!  Lots of backspacing to fix typos!!

Have a great night you two and keep in touch!

Dawn

Gracie, I'm so sorry you're having a difficult time.  I offer gentle hugs  {{{Gracie}}}  Good luck with all the new testing and let us know how things turn out.   Are you in counseling?  That's a very personal question and I'll understand if you choose to ignore it.   But I really think it helps to get outside guidance sometimes.   More {{{{Gracie}}}} 

Good to hear from you Gracie!  Totally understand taking a break from here - I've been doing that too - so much sadness recently with losing so many sisters - but decided I needed to check in here and on the rads thread I was in on to see how each group was doing.  Our June chemo girls seem to check in more but then, we've been together longer!!  I am sorry you are having trouble.  When I felt a different lump in my reconstructed breast, my surgeon did a biopsy even though he felt it was scar tissue - unfortunately for me it was a local recurrence.................. on the other hand I had a lump in my healthy breast which I had a lift on and it was a lump of undesolved (that word looks weird) stitches that my ps removed in the office with local numbing.  If it bothers your brain - get them to get it out so you can be assured.  Same with your other side - My onc has said - any pain, give it two weeks and if it still bothers you, let's check it out.  It does't take much these days to make me worry even though I really am so tired of doctors and appointments.  Please let us know what's going on - praying for some calm for you.

Terry - glad your tests went fine - totally understand about telling them numerous times!!!!!!!!  Sometimes I just want to hold their faces in my hands and make them look me in the eye like I've done with my kids!!!  If you lost weight before, you know you can do it again.  I think I'm a little more determined to get healthy so I can have a better shot at staying that way but it sure doesn't take much to wear me out!  I was go, go, go during all the surgeries, chemo & pretty much rads and it seems to have caught up with me - DANG IT!!

Yes, I've injured the bne - this wrist thingy holds my thumb and wrist still and is driving me nuts!!  The weather is beautiful and I so want to play in the yard -  I had my boys spreading mulch in the front bed that I weeded a few weeks ago and it looks better.  Guess I have to wait to plant stuff in my pots too.  Oh well.

I had the chest/abdominal ct scan on Friday - had to drink barium (orangey but still pretty gross) and they injected dye into my vein as well.  I'll see my onc on the 18th for a 3 month and get the results then.  I would think if it's serious she'll call me and tell me to get my behind in there sooner!

Sat long enough - off to iron a sheer curtain to put up in the guest room and then maybe a nap!! 

Hope you both have a good weekend!  Take care of yourselves!

Dawn

Gracie - I think if you are in that much pain, that you should call your onc's office, leave a message for him/her or ask to speak to their collaborative nurse or triage nurse.  Let them know what's going on and try to let them know on a scale of 1-10 how you rate this pain.  Maybe they will move you in or send you to your gp sooner.  If you hurt that bad, you can't wait a couple more weeks - you have been through enough. 

I totally agree with you on eating better.  I've gained 10lbs on top of the extra 20 I've been carrying around for years and need to eat better as well.  I'm trying to do the treadmill 3-4x a week, 45minutes a day but tend to average 3x.  With the chemo (I was premenopausal before and post now at 46) my weight gain seems to be in the middle and it's not budging yet.  Trying to eat more veggies but I think I still have a mindset of:  I am a cancer survivor and if I want cheetos, I'm having cheetos (or whatever!!). Definitely a balancing act.  The other hard thing is all of the conflicting info out there!!  UGH. 

Check in about your side and what you find out about nutrition!

Dawn

Morning Gracie and any other lurkers!     I so agree that all of the wonderful women here know what we are going through and I probably wouldn't be checking in as often if I wasn't worrying about me as much as I am.  I have not joined any support groups in my neighborhood so this site is my main support.  Between my mom's terminal cancer, my 86 year old grandmothers health and life in general, I feel like I can't catch a relaxing moment.

My liver counts came back better but not normal yet so my onc sent me for that chest/abdominal ct scan - I'm definitely having "scanxiety" and instead of scheduling a week after appt I chose to wait till my appt on the 18th. Of course I'm now thinking I will go nuts waiting but I really think if it comes back and she wants me to see her asap that she'll call.  You KNOW I'm going to be ROYALLY pissed if she doesn't!  but, I guess I really don't know if she looks at them before the appt gets here................... grrrrrrrr.

I am glad you did not wait till the 22nd to see your onc - hopefully your counts will be fine and they'll send you for a scan or something.  All of my nurses think mine will be my gall bladder - sounds much better to me than hearing anything else right now!!  I'm not sure what body parts are on the left side under the rib cage - seems like there are a lot cramed inside of us!  My oldest son had his large intestine removed due to ulcerative colitis back in 04 - if I remember correctly they are 5 feet long!!  The small intestine is around 23 feet!!  Reminds me of the new car engines that fill up the space so much more than the old cars did!

 I'll be thinking about you Gracie and waiting with you!!

Dawn

I can hear your sigh of relief from here Gracie! 

IBS is no picnic either - do some investigating and diet changes and see how it goes.  If you aren't feeling better - you'll need to see a gastroenterologist.

Your plan with tweaking your diet will help with the IBS as well.

Check in to let us know what's going on!

Dawn

Good to hear from you Mel!  Love the little guy!  I see you adding pictures all over the place on these boards!  So cute!

Tamoxifen.................. did that for 15 months.......... the hot flashes got me more than the weight gain.   

The treadmill is hard; I hear it calling my name every morning at 6:15am!!  Some mornings I do really well at listening and some mornings I do VERY WELL at not listening!!

Let us know who wins at your place!  and if you find any good recipes to share - please do!!

Dawn

Great news Terry!  I don't blame you for not wanting more drugs - me either!!

I've watched a couple of Ellie Kreiger's episodes as well.  I thought you were doing weight watchers?  Are you just finding your own recipes and figuring out how many points they are?  That is what my future daughter-in-law does and she is still losing weight. 

Send out some recipes when you find some that you really like!

I think you got all of my snow this year but I agree, at this point at least, rain would beat the snow!! (I can't believe I typed that!)

Stay dry!

Dawn

Hi Ladies! Well , I thought with all of us dieting , I would share a couple of things that really help me. When dieting , I tent to eat alot of chicken. I try to buy hormone free when I can. But weather its chicken , beef , fish , its the way you cook it. So you can take whatever you are use to cooking , and instead of using a oil or butter , use chicken broth , beef broth , or even vegetable broth. It flavors the food wonderfully , and no fat! And it keeps it moist. Another thing I use , instead of butter , its called smart squeeze. Not the spread. It really taste good to me , and although you can't cook with it , it taste good on veggies , toast , baked potatoes etc... And those two things , cuts out alot of calories and fat. And my biggest problem , portion size. I found it I have a big side salad with my meal , that really helps. OK girls , good luck to us. We can do this. After what we have all been through , this is a walk in the park! Have a great weekend.xxx Melody

Hi ladies, just wanted to check back in.



My husband had a major heart attack last Sunday morning at work. He's doing better, they put in two stents. What was that about us trying to get rid of stress??? Yeah, right. Anyway, he's home. He's on a ton of medication and it's hard being the taker care of instead of the taken care of, lol.



I am still having that pain in my side, it's not any worse, I don't think, but not any better either. My onc's appointment is on Tuesday, so I'll talk to him about it. It will be the first appointment I've had to make by myself, as my husband can't go. That's kind of scary. Say a prayer for me.



Terry, I'm SOOO glad to hear your heart is doing well, that would have freaked me out too. Will continue to pray for you that your heart continues to be completely normal



Dawn, have you heard anything on your scans? Hope everything is clear and normal and you can start fresh again.



Mel, loved the pic It's so hard to get back on a better diet and I never know what's going to agree with my stomach and what's not....the strange thing....I have taken meds for my stomach on an ongoing basis, meaning every day, since 1982. Started with Tagement, went to zantac, to prilosec, to whatever it is I'm on now....I don't need it everyday now. I wondered if the chemo changed my stomach lining and now it's a little better...its kind of strange, but will talk to the onc about it on Tuesday too.



Anyway, have to go for now, you all take care.



Blessings,



Gracie

Gracie - saying a prayer for your husband and a big one for you!  Please let us know what's he/she says tomorrow!

I prefer to be the caretaker as I've not really let anyone take care of me these past two years!!

Sounds like you need to make a detailed list to go over with your onc tomorrow.  Make sure to leave enough room to scribble some legible answers in there!! 

Couple things going on for me:  mom's saw the onc on Thursday - tumor markers on last blood work went up indicating progression.  She is having an abdominal ct scan tomorrow.  I saw onc on Friday before my herceptin.  Looks like my innerds are okay but I do have a "subpleural rounded density within the right middle lobe measuring 2.3cm in diameter.  This is associated with a healed right rib fracture which extends partly into the lung, therefore this may be related to a chronic posttraumatic or other process as opposed to recurrent or metastatic disease."

I've never been diagnosed with a rib fracture - only  thing I can think of is that the month before my mast - 1/06 and right as I was starting radiation- 12/07 I had colds that kicked off asthma symptoms (one of which was HARD coughing) that I ended up on inhalers to calm both times.  Guess I coughed harder than I thought!

Anyway, I'm waiting for a call to set up a PET/CT scan and I'll see the onc this Friday as will mom.  Going to be an interesting day.

Terry - what's up with the dragon boat team?

Hope everyone not checking in are doing well!!

Dawn

Hi Bonnie! So glad to read a post full of good news! Congrats to you. So glad you finished your CNA classes. I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors! And I'm so glad you are happy with the new "girls"! And happy aniversary! I hope you are feeling as good as you sound. I am fine. Just , this is alergy season for me. Today I feel crappy and I think I will call my doc to call my script for Allegra in. But this to shall pass. I need to feel better for the weekend. My son's girlfriend is graduating college , and I am going to her openhouse. So I am looking forward to that.  Well , I hope the good news is contagious and more sisters post with good news too. God bless you all , Melody

Hi Debbie! Thanks for suggesting. Zyrtec. I "used" to take Allergra , but for the last couple years , I didn't need any. I think maybe the chemo last summer might have destroyed any immunities I may have built up to them. Today though , I feel like I now have a sinus infection. So I will probably be seeing my doc this week. Other than that , feeling good. Glad to hear you are doing well and enjoying life once again. Hugs , Melody

Happy Mothers day everyone!

WOW am I behind with an update or what?!?!?!  Sorry you guys, it's been a tad crazy and I really thought I had been in here........... with an update.    bad case of CRS!!

Mom's ct scan showed progression - previous lesion a bit bigger, new one started so the onc gave her the choice of doing nothing or trying Xeloda - she chose to continue fighting!!  3 pills 2x a day for 2 wks, off a week and repeat.  Rescan after 9 weeks unless she starts having more symptoms.

Me - what a game it's been.  In a nutshell:  1st ct scan showed fatty liver, other organs unremarkable, healed fractured rib with rounded density headed into lung.  Onc asked for pet/ct scan since tumor markers were skewed; I asked for thyroid test - tired, weight gain etc.  Insurance denied pet/ct - onc asked for biopsy - hospital said no cuz they'd have to go through my back or through my implant - onc argued w/ins - ins gave in - pet/ct came back negative for metastatic - says rounded density is a lung contusion associated w/rib fracture - will repeat ct scan in July to check on it.  Normal thyroid is .3 to 3.5 (was 5.5 but has changed) - mine is 128.95 - major hypothyroid!!  had T3 & T4 tested, sent for fasting cholesterol panel - 436 total (not a typo!) started 100 mcg Synthroid 5/1 and can see a difference in my face already (puffiness gone & color better) and my energy is a bit better.  I go 6/4 for a repeat blood test for all of it to see how it's going.  Meanwhile, we are doing a semi south beach diet but I haven't ventured to the treadmill - kind of afraid to till I know my heart is okay!!!  If I walk fast or do much outside - I can FEEL my heart and it freaks me out!!  So, taking it slow.  Oh, and I have an appointment with an orthopedic hand doctor next Friday since my wrist/forearm is still hurting. 

Whatever!!!!  At least it isn't anything to do with cancer!!! 

Gracie - how is DH?  what's up with your side?  Did you google IBS and find some info?  What about getting an upper endoscopy?

Too many questions, huh? 

Bonnie - so glad your exchange surgery is over and done with.  I was much more comfortable after that!!  What happened with your exams? what's next? 

Melody - allergies suck!!!  did you get some meds?  How was graduation? 

Debbie - sounds like you are full speed ahead!!  Lots of info online about different restaurants (some of them are scary!!) and picking healthy foods when dining out.

Terry - sounds like we have a lot of the same stuff going on - weather not cooperating with planting flowers!!  graduations!!  woo hoo!!  My oldest son graduates from the Art Institute 6/11 and my youngest son from high school 6/13. 

Hope Mother's Day was wonderful for everyone! 

Hugs, Dawn