Starting Chemo May 2008

Have a treatment and I managed to get behind on 4 pages of reading LOL.

I had my port checked. It turns out it is fine (per the doc). It is slightly tilted but that is from the location it is in I guess and it is deeper (cause I'm a bigger chick). He showed my hubs exactly how they should access it just in case. I'm praying that it goes much smoother this time around.

Last treatment, besides the extra jabbing and going back the next day, went rather smooth. They changed out my nausea meds and I felt just fine. Of course tired a bit longer but I'll take that anyday over being sick to my stomach. I was surprised that my neulasta shot didn't give me any aches this time around like the first time. Coulda been I was too obsessed with my bald head to notice.

Got my BRC results back finally... negative WOOHOOOOOOO!

My poor bald head can't decide if it is cold or hot. Cold bare and hot under something. And having the breeze blow thru 1 inch of 5 strands of hair is an interesting sensation.

Next treatment is this coming thursday the 26th...... it's #3 a/c out of 4 and then 4 dose dense treats of taxotene and herceptin.  Only 6 more total to go!

Ladies,

Will miss you. Be back on Saturday, the 28th. Randie...thinking of you and your son....wanting all of you to have few or no se while I am gone. I will cover with lots of slathering sun tan lotion....

Love you all. Take care. Be well. Ciao! 

Rock - I don't necessarily mind keeping a weekly tracking thing, except that for the next two weeks, my computer access at home will be limited (case in point:  I'm writing this at work and probably violating some state law).  But I'm doin' it anyway!!  And you're not going anywhere now!

Lee - Glad to hear about your protectors! 

Eddie - You'll be missed.

Jeano77 - Sorry about the s/e's.  Yucko.  And I had heard about that "regional" thing also - it does explain some of the differences in our treatment protocols.

Roxi - Good luck tomorrow!!

Familyrocs, I feel pretty much the same way that you do, and I've only got 2 treatments under my belt.  The first was so different.  This time, the nausea has lasted longer and the fatigue has hit me hard--feel like I have been ran over by a truck.  Hopefully this will pass.  I have 4 more FEC to go, then 4 rounds of taxotere--they tell me that the Taxotere will be a breeze compared to the FEC.  I wonder.........Go tomorrow for blood work, hopefully the WBC's aren't as low as the last time. 

It sounds like it has been a bit of a poopy week for everyone so far and we've only just begun. I just had tx X3 of FEC on thursday, i'm at the top of the hill and will take the Taxatore trip down the other side.  The last couple days the potty mouth and just plain feeling yukky has hit me more this time than usual...maybe the moons aren't aligned or we all brought a bug back from the rainforest or something ?.....Anyways feeling better today..started taking my neupogen on Sun & Mon and got a call from the onc that my counts are way high so can put off the shots until i get more bloodwork on Thurs...yay!

I'm hoping to get out to the cabin tomorrow (the pic in my avitar is the view from our beach) and debug and take the top layer of dust off (gloves and face mask in hand...never know what might have taken up residence over the winter)   Usually i have this all done by May ..oh well better late than never!

Chin up everybody, today is a new day !! ..................

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!!! I am sorry that I have company in my misery, but I find it extremely reassuring that you guys are feeling this way, too and that my mood is not just a character flaw or moral failing. 

It makes sense that we're hitting it around the same time, i.e., we ARE the May 2008 group! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you guys for sharing, stereotypical and dorky as that sounds.

I'm just tired of chemo, cancer, and it is too darned soon to be tired of it because I still have chemo and rads and more surgery to go.  But "wishing" thing were otherwise does not make it so.  I'm operating on the assumption that I WILL feel better (physically and emotionally). That this is just another transition and while it sucks right now, I will eventually figure out a way to adapt and cope. But right now . . . right now . . .

Adrienne -- YES! to the recliner nausea.  Just the THOUGHT of (c-h-e-m-o) or (d-r-u-g-s) or even (f-o-o-d) makes my stomach churn.  And the 3-3.5 hour Taxol infusion.  I know. I just want someone to hit me in the side of the head with a shovel and knock me out.  Trying not to get into a thought pattern that will make chemo harder than it needs to be (is "anticipatory or preemptive nausea" recognized by the DSM IV?) but it is tough.  What DO we know about Taxol, anyway?  

 Adrienne, Kristy, Gracy, everyone ---  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  You have done wonders for my mood. 

I am NOT a touchy feely person or a group hug kind of person. But while I am saying dorky things, let me add this:  If I could be anywhere right now, it would be standing in a circle with all of you whom I've gotten to know on these threads, holding hands, and just "being present" for a few minutes.

At the end of the day, we have to go through chemo alone (i.e., we are the only ones getting that particular infusion). But we are also going through this alone, together. I am so grateful for that, and to each of you.

I had the same discussion, with my surgeon, who did a sentinel node biopsy, during my first lumpectomy.  One node had a speck, of cancer, which the surgeon, thought it was probably got knocked in to node, during the trauma of the core tissue biopsy.  A second surgery, was needed to clean up the margins, and the surgeon said the oncologist would want to take out more nodes.

My surgeon, didn't recommend taking more lymph nodes, and I trusted him.  He made me an appointment, with the oncologist, and I pleaded my case.  Thank god, we all decided, that with job, and activities, it was worth getting lymphoedema, for the rest of my life.  I have five more months of chemo. (every three weeks), followed my radiation, but I'm strong, and will get through this. 

Right now, I'm still working, but it's one day at a time.

beachmom/Lee, as well as everyone else:  there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 I can't address the issue of spicy food, but tonight we had fish (bass caught from our own pond) fried in my dh's special beer batter.  It's the first time I've eaten fried food since that mishap on my way home from my first TC infusion back in April.  That evening, we made the mistake of stopping at Chick-fil-A and I had half a chicken sandwich.  I developed the worst case of acid indigestion/gastric refux I've ever had in my life.  That was my introduction to chemo-associated indigestion, which I battled throughout chemo and only overcame with double-dose proton pump inhibitors.

I can now say that my appetite, and my tolerance for "normal" food, seems to have returned.  I hope those 8 pounds don't return as well...

I read somewhere that we shouldn't eat our favorite foods during chemo, because they won't be our favorite foods anymore.  Chemo will trigger an aversion to those foods.  That didn't happen to me.  In fact, during my worst days, I discovered some things that have now become "favorites"--like Fig Newtons, ginger ale, graham crackers, not-from-concentrate lemonade, ready-to-eat tapioca pudding, and lime-flavored popsicles. 

otter 

Is there room for one more on the crappy week express?  (A silly question - there's ALWAYS plenty of room on the crappy week express.)  Taxotere is kicking my butt.  The first couple of days were fine (Day 2, in fact, I felt giddy with normalcy), but days 5-6 have not been fun.  I went in to work, which was probably a mistake, and ended up coming home early with chills and body aches.  Turns out I was running a low-grade fever (100.9 at its highest).  I called the triage nurse at my center, we went through a checklist, and I escaped a trip to the emergency room, but did spend 12+ hours in bed.  I'm feeling much better today, but still plan to take it easy.

Oh, and who's the joker who stuffed my mouth full of cotton?  And what do I need to do to get rid of it?

 If you're headed in a Taxotere direction, PLEASE don't let this freak you out.  We're all different and react differently.  And on the plus side, I've experienced ZERO nausea this round, and generally feel less out of it.  Next time, I'll be able to anticipate a little better, and adjust before I wind up flat on my back in bed.  It's just that after having a pretty easy time with AC, the last couple of days have come as an unwelcome surprise.

 (And wouldn't you know, it's absolutely beautiful here, which makes feeling crappy even worse.) 

Linda

Wow.  Sorry to hear about the Taxotere. I wish I could at least offer you a cure for cottonmouth but I got NOTHING.  I'm probably going to be calling the nurse in a half hour or so for reasons I'll spare you here.  I feel fine but am thinking they weren't kidding about chemo's bloodthinning qualities. 

For what it's worth, though, be-yoo-tee-ful photo.  (Such a cool angle-- I have spent 5 minutes with my nose 2" from my computer screen trying to get a better look!) 

Adrienne - did you have a headache afterwards?  That the aura for my migranes.

Lee - not really.  Of course, I was aware of EVERYTHING after that episode.  Maybe a couple of twinges that indicated I might be getting a headache but nothing materialized and I think it may have been from stress and crying.

Adrienne/NOTaBigBaby:  "Somehow I don't buy. . . ." Me NEITHER.  It's your vision!  It's frightening! My eyes have been burning a lot. I'm going to experiment with restricting my time on the computer and see if that helps.  I'm wondering if it makes sense to go to an ophtalmologist anyway, just for a checkup, reassurance, and maybe some good advice.

It's not the same, but I made an appointment to see "my" podiatrist (I first saw him after I dropped a television on my toe, followed by a couch). I want to see what he recommends in terms of preventing/ameliorating peripheral neuropathy. I felt like my docs and nurses are a little too "Why don't we wait and see what develops?" given that I'm already having symptoms and I haven't even started the Taxol yet.

I gave the podiatrist's scheduler the heads up with the fact that I'm on chemo, concerned about neurop., etc. in hopes that he'll do a bit of research before I show up tomorrow.  

Lee -- Bali it is! Woo-hoo!! Cele-BRAY-shun...