Anyone starting Chemo in August 07?
Comments
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Oh Kaye,
This is what I was afraid of. Heartbreaking. I am going to get in touch to see if they will re-send the hugagan again. She sure could use the extra love. But I am happy to know that her family is helping her out. Poor little ones. My heart is so heavy right now.
I love all you girls too.
Lots of needed hugs, Jackie
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By the way, Kaye, thanks so much for making the phone calls
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OH. Oh.
I guess it is what we all were afraid to hear and to read. Devastating... she has been so brave all the time, and taking care of her kids...
Yes, it is a good thing she is not alone, and that she can see that there is family to take care and love her little ones. It breaks my heart.
Kaye, would you please let me have her address? and thank you for researching the story, and for letting us know.
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Yes, thank you, Kaye, so much, for tracking her down and calling. You are wonderful.
And thank you, Jackie, for being alert about the afghan (and making the afghans, too!) and the delivery problem. Your instincts were right on. I really thought she'd made it to TX and just was having computer problems or something. Didn't think it would be worst-case scenario. I'm really just at a loss of what to say or do.
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I posted a thread over on the IBC board about Kim's situation, so they will know too.
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Good thinking Nash.
Hugs to all. I think we all need a group hug.
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There are no words tonight girls for what we're all thinking and feeling. I am so grateful that her family has surrounded her and will see that she gets what she needs right now. You know Kim wrote several times that she didn't think she got much support in that area.
I'm terribly embarrassed to admit this but I don't know how to pm anyone and I very much want her address to send her something. Can one of you please walk me through it?
Hugs and love to Kimmie and family and to each of us .
June -
June, if you click on a user's name, it will bring up her profile page. Then on that profile page, there is a link that says "Send a private message to --". If you click on that link, then you can write the message and send it.
If you receive a private message, you will see a number next to "My Home" when you log in to bc.org. Click on "My Home", then go to your inbox on the left and click on it to get your message. You can also set up e-mail alerts to let you know when you get a PM.
I'll PM you her address, as Kaye was kind enough to PM it to me earlier.
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Nash, you're a doll as usual. I got your pm....thanks so much.
And Kay, we're all grateful that you were able to make some contact with her family. It's a sad night ladies.
June
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oh no, oh no, oh nooo. This is heartbreaking news. Could whomever has her address let me know in my PM as well so that I can reach out to her as well. I'm glad to know that her family has really stepped in to help. Thanks so much to Jackie and Kaye for tracking her down and letting us all know.
Very big hugs to each and every one of you.
DeAnn
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DeAnn--just sent you a PM.
Harley, I'm sending you the address via PM as well.
Does anyone else need it?
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Thanks, Nash!, and Kaye! I got your pms, and will send a card to Kim...
This is just terrible news!!
Yes, a group hug is just what we need!!Harley
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Thank you Nash! I got the address.
DeAnn
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Nash, or anybody having the address: can I please have it? thanks...
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Lilith
I pm'd you, with Kim's address!!
HugsHarley
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Thanks for the address, Kaye.
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I have been searching for a group and sounds like you gals are a good bunch to join in with. I read all your post with very much interest as I will be starting my journey very soon. Like you Carol I will have 6 months of Taxotere/Carboplatin with Herceptin too. I have a Bone Scan to get through on Monday and a Chemo Class on Thursday. Not sure how much longer..hope soon...not that I am excited about taking the Chemo Cocktail, but having this cancer just growing everyday isn't making me feel good either. I ask about a port and the nurse assured me I would be fine that I had nice veins. OK there the health professionals so I said OK, but after the episode with the Cat Scan the next day and 5 missed veins and blown out 2 of them I was thinking I know my body better than anyone and I know how difficult it is to even draw blood so I am going to request that port. I don't want to hassle with one, but after a year of treatment I won't have any good veins left. It was so bad they called for a mop to clean up the floor...this was just the beginning Cat-Scan! Does any of you have a port? I shopped for wigs today and will cut my hair short soon before it comes out in clumps. I will loose a boob later on too, but the biggest thing I am most worried about is getting sick. I mean I REALLY get sick when I do. I hear the water..and that is doable, but I sure don't want to make a mess all over the floor if I eat...you still think that is a good idea? I would be so embarressed. I am scared to begin the treatments, but your post in here really helps me to know the procedure. My name is Brenda with the nickname cupcake and that is just because I can't eat them anymore, but I can have their name without the sugar. (I'm a diabetic)
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Hello Cupcake! (I've always wanted to say that to someone!!! You're IT!!)
A warm welcome to you..with the typical regrets one has when cancer is the thing that binds them.
We'd LOVE to have you join our little band of miscreants. You may or may not know that we're (mostly) done with our chemo and most are done also with the radiation so the topics frequently turn to other things. We will give you support, and good info when we can but if you want to go through the treatments with people who are where you are you might check out the "Starting Chemo in June 08" thread. It looks like those ladies are right about where you are. There is a certain comfort in knowing everyone is walking with you, and at the same pace, with the same handicaps. But you're still VERY WELCOME HERE.
Read, read, read. Read all the posts, read all the studies, read it all. I spent weeks in front of the computer just trying to absorb everything I could. You'll start to see patterns emerge. This site is really wonderful for that.
There is a thread on "Tips for getting through chemo" that was especially helpful.
How unfortunate the episode with your veins had to occur! If there's one thing i've learned from this bc situation it's that you need to be "pleasantly persistant" with your health care professionals. My SIL, who happens to be a nurse, told me that and it's very astute. She said she needs to be that way with doctors with whom she works on a daily basis. I have a REALLY hard time doing that.
In regards to the "getting really sick", I have a similar problem and that was my biggest fear. With the treatment I had (Taxotere/Cytoxan) I'm happy to report there is very little/if any/ nausea. And if there is any nausea, there are some GREAT nausea meds out there that really work. They'll probably be giving them to you BEFORE your treatment. (a good thing to ask beforehand!)
You're in the hardest place right now..."waiting".Try not to stress too much...you'll be fine. Once you get one treatment under your belt you'll have a grip on what to expect and it'll be much easier. Many of the girls worked right through treatments. (not me mind you...i was blessed to not have to. I just went in when I wanted to remember what it was like to "think".)
Anyhow, welcome - and a big hug to you.
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Hi, Brenda! Welcome. By all means, get a port. They're no big deal, and much easier to deal with than needle sticks.
Hey, Kaye, hot enough for you?
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Hi Brenda,
One of my biggest fears was being sick. I've always suffered with nausea. I used to be nauseated more often than not. I also suffer from motion sickness. I just knew I was going to be in for a rough ride. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I expected. Kaye's right there are alot of medicines to help. My onc just kept trying different ones. By all means make sure you get Emmend to take before each treatment. I'm a big fan of ginger to help with nausea. Gingerale, ginger tea, ginger candies. I love gin gins from the gingerpeople.com. They are hard candies. They are also available from retailers, including Whole Foods.
And yes I had a port. Just remember you are in charge of your own health. Ask for what you want, don't leave it up to the doctors to ask you.
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Tami, Great Picture! Looks like you have the curlies too! Ok. now i really need to take a new picture. I tried taking several yesterday, but the gnome that lived in my bathroom last year has somehow sneaked his way into my camera. It's weird. He's in every picture i tried to take. He's hairier now. Evil, evil, frightening creatures. Hand me the Raid.
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oh. almost forgot.
"hot enough for me?". Are you kidding?..... I LAUGH at your PERCEPTION OF HOTNESS. I love this....it's what makes me COME ALIVE...... mRUAAh HA HA HA HAaaaaaa! It's not HOT until it's over 120!!!. (wait. it was 122 last Thursday. Hmmn. Ok. Joke's over.)
(my brain is fried from 45 years in this heat. Nash, get your couch ready.)
DH wanted to remind the girls who live in the snow in the winter that we gloated mercilessly then...you can return the gloat if you want. You've earned it.
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Well I see we have yet another new look of the board. Not bad I guess.
Thanks Kaye and yes for the first time in my life my natural hair isn't stick straight. I used to pay good money for this look. Actually it was never this short either.
But hey I'll take what I can get these days.When I was in Nashville, in the sun, 92 to 94 degress, I didn't notice the hot flashes like I do when I'm in the air conditioning. Do you find that to be true?
I've been getting accupuncture and I love it. It has really helped with my energy level. Our local support group received a grant from Susan G. Komen and I only pay $10 a session. Unfortunetly I only have 4 sessions left. My insurance doesn't cover it so at $95 a session I won't be going weekly.
I like the gnome!
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Tami, your hair is totally cute! RE: the heat--I've heard other women say their hot flashes aren't as noticeable when it's hot out. I think Lilith had that experience, too.
Off topic, but need advice. My DD, who is almost 10, is terrified of developing breasts b/c she thinks she's going to get breast cancer. I talked to the pediatrician, who told her pretty much the same thing I'd already told her--that all women have breasts and that all women have to get checked for breast cancer, and that since both her mommy and grandma had breast cancer (mommy at a young age) that the doctors would start checking her carefully when she became a grown up lady. But that all women have to get checked even if their mommies didn't have bc. And that just because there's a lot of cancer in our family in general, that doesn't mean she'll get it (even my six year old DS worries about this).
So, can you think of anything else I can say to her? The bc fear is wrapped up in generalized preadolescent angst anyhow--fear of growing up, not being a little kid anymore, etc.--coupled with continued grief for my mom. (I'm having the grief counselor from hospice come back to talk to the kids again soon, too.)
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HI!
yes, it was me about hot flushes being less noticeable in the "heat". For the kick - I can gloat back to Kaye (teeeheeeheee), as here we are also in a TERRIBLE heat wave: we get to 85 F at peak... we need to search for a breeze. Yesterday they declared a canicule - the temperature didn't go under 70 all nigth!
Ok, finished gloating. It is pretty sticky anyway, without aircon - of course no-one has aircon here! plus, by next week, I expetc NYC to be pretty sticky and hot...
Nash, I have a similar concern with my DD12. She is a real doll and a trooper, and doesn't seem very worried (maybe because she has seen this illness cured - litterally - in my mom). She did however voice last year "when I'll be grown up and I'll have cancer", sentence that obviously was revolting. Horrid. I just glazed over it, just saying something like "don't worry honey, it isn't certain at all, and you will be checked regularly to make sure all is OK", She seems to be back to being excited about her new growing "mini-boobs"... and I made sure we made a couple of shopping trips choosing mini-bras and undies (nothing sexy, believe me...
In the same way as yours, she is now rather afraid of growing up. BC doesn't seem a concern, rather she is worried about meeting all the responsabilities that go with being a grown up, and with finished studying (yes, my kid all-right). I keep telling her that she will have the time she needs to decide what to do, and if she really want to keep being a student, academic careers exist and can be very rewarding.
I am glad that here she will get the HPV vaccination (all girls under 17 are getting the vaccination for free here), that will be one less thing to worry about. Of course, I didn't go through medical explanations (BRCA+ or others) with her - that will come much later. I feel it would be best if she could have babies (if she'll want them) early rather than delaying it for career purposes...
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Thanks for the input, Lilith. It's funny, b/c my dd has been worrying about career choices, too. Good grief--she's 9! When I was 9, I was worried about being able to open my milk carton at lunch in the cafeteria (boy, those things were tricky). I don't think it even occured to me that people had jobs.
I'm sorry that your DD has the same cancer fears that my kids have. I guess it's inevitable.
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OK, girls, another Kim update. I just got off the phone with her SIL, and she said they brought in hospice yesterday. Kim is in a lot of pain, and hopefully hospice will be able to get it under control.
The afghan arrived finally (Jackie, can you let the afghan group know?). She said that Kim loved it, and is actually sleeping with it. So that was good.
I told the SIL to be expecting a slew of greeting cards for Kim soon, and she said she will read them to Kim. Kim doesn't have a lot of lucid moments right now. But I know that hospice always says that the patient can hear things, even when they are in a light coma, so it's important to keep talking to her.
Kim is taking Xeloda orally, but it doesn't seem to be working. So it does appear that she is out of options at this point. The whole thing really sucks. Her two little girls are only 5 and 9.
So, continued prayers are needed. I hope that Kim can be at peace and pain free the final leg of her journey.
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Thanks for the update.... AWWW.... that really stinks!! I'll be keeping Kim in my prayers.
Harley
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tears.............
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Hey-- about the kids... There's an April post that said Kimmie had a "teen" that broke her laptop. Is there a son as well or something? It's like we're all this family and I feel horrible I don't even know how many kids she has or how old they are.
How do you tell a kid that mommy is dying? How can they watch that??????? I hate this. I have to go have a good long cry somewhere.........
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