Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[robinb]

they did my mom's surgery first also....well...

her surgery was really before they realized what was even going on...

a 16 year old boy with a brand new drivers license ran a red light and slammed into her car....which saved her life..

the air bags and seat belt injured her so they did a CT in the hospital emergency and found her lymph nodes in bad shape.

so they did surgery...she was already stage 3 b or whatever....in the lymph nodes and all clumped up..

so those were all removed at that time...

really before they were sure she had breast cancer..

and then she did all the chemo and radiation......backwards in her case..

.

Wow. What a lucky day that was for your mom!

 

[Dancind]

Disneyholic, do not beat yourself up if you the chemo is too much for you. Not everyone sails through, some people just get too sick. I know I would have been one of those people, so avoided it at all costs, but I do have a history of chemical injury. If it's too much, ask your doctor for options.

 

[disneyholic family]

Wow. What a lucky day that was for your mom!

indeed it was....without that accident, it wouldn't have been caught....

 

[Feralpeg]

Disneyholic, I've been thinking about you. Hang in there. In the beginning, it feels like it will never end. Amazingly, it goes by pretty quickly. We have your back!

Good news! 4.5 years out from my chemo/radiation/surgery. The pet scan was normal. Tumor markers are good! Life is good!

Oh, and he had no problem with my going off the Tamoxifen. Yea!

 

[disneyholic family]

Disneyholic, I've been thinking about you. Hang in there. In the beginning, it feels like it will never end. Amazingly, it goes by pretty quickly. We have your back!

Good news! 4.5 years out from my chemo/radiation/surgery. The pet scan was normal. Tumor markers are good! Life is good!

Oh, and he had no problem with my going off the Tamoxifen. Yea!

wonderful news!!

 

[ThistleMae]

thanks for all the encouragement!!

the reason i would have a double mastectomy is because of genetics.....gene mutations in my family...

you're right that statistically, breast sparing surgery is just as good as mastectomy in terms of outcome..

except for gene mutations........in that case an argument can be made for risk reduction by mastectomy...

I have done some reading on this, and yes it seems complete mastectomy is the way many surgeon's are going. My aunt had a complete mastectomy years ago, just said, cut em off! She never had a reoccurrence. This was without genetic testing. You do what you think is best for you after discussing with your doctor. They do fabulous work in reconstruction today.

 

[ThistleMae]

they did my mom's surgery first also....well...

her surgery was really before they realized what was even going on...

a 16 year old boy with a brand new drivers license ran a red light and slammed into her car....which saved her life..

the air bags and seat belt injured her so they did a CT in the hospital emergency and found her lymph nodes in bad shape.

so they did surgery...she was already stage 3 b or whatever....in the lymph nodes and all clumped up..

so those were all removed at that time...

really before they were sure she had breast cancer..

and then she did all the chemo and radiation......backwards in her case..

.[/QUOTE
Wow, yeah, different things happen to everyone. Even when things are found can vary. My mom died from breast cancer and I dont' know that she had regular mammograms, we never talked about health issues in our family. I just think it was the times. Today, everyone is much more educated. The mammogram saved my life, caught it very early on. I was one of the lucky one...so far...knock on wood!

 

[disneyholic family]

when did your hair start falling out?

i'm trying to figure out when i should go get it cut.....

they told me it would start with the second chemo, but my hair is already really weird.....not that it's fallen out...

but it's like i have a head of straw....yesterday and today i pulled it back in a ponytail...

i thought maybe i should get it cut off before i start the second chemo..

i feel super great today (knock on wood), so it would make sense to go to the wig place (where they'll cut it off) before i do chemo (and feel bad again)..

don't know what to do..

 

[disneyholic family]

i decided not to wait...
i'm going to get my hair all cut off tomorrow while i'm feeling good, rather than wait for after the second treatment when i won't necessarily be up to it..

this morning a lot of hair fell out...but that could just be because my thyroid is off kilter from everything...but i figured, why wait....may as well go for it...

so i'll be at the blood testing lab at 7 am for my blood test (done the day before chemo) and then head for the wig salon - i have a 9 am appointment...

DD is going with me (for a second opinion on how they permed and styled the wig), so i hope she's not freaked out when they take all my hair off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

 

[kittylady1972]

i decided not to wait...
i'm going to get my hair all cut off tomorrow while i'm feeling good, rather than wait for after the second treatment when i won't necessarily be up to it..

this morning a lot of hair fell out...but that could just be because my thyroid is off kilter from everything...but i figured, why wait....may as well go for it...

so i'll be at the blood testing lab at 7 am for my blood test (done the day before chemo) and then head for the wig salon - i have a 9 am appointment...

DD is going with me (for a second opinion on how they permed and styled the wig), so i hope she's not freaked out when they take all my hair off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

Good luck Beth! Mine really started about 21 days after the first chemo session I think, give or take. However I did cold capping so didn't lose ALL of mine...mostly lost a lot right in the center top of my head and could hide it well. Now it's all come back in that center/top area a little extra wavy/curly, and with my other long hair I feel like I'm sporting an 80s mullet or something these days.

Hope all goes well with the wig salon and the next chemo.

 

[disneyholic family]

Good luck Beth! Mine really started about 21 days after the first chemo session I think, give or take. However I did cold capping so didn't lose ALL of mine...mostly lost a lot right in the center top of my head and could hide it well. Now it's all come back in that center/top area a little extra wavy/curly, and with my other long hair I feel like I'm sporting an 80s mullet or something these days.

Hope all goes well with the wig salon and the next chemo.

well i did it...i look like a marine i guess...short buzz cut...

there were about 7 other women at the wig place who are also getting chemo and also getting buzz cuts and picking up their wigs..

my wig actually looks very much like my regular hair....it's a real hair wig and they gave it a perm, so i still look like a very long haired dark brown shaggy dog...

you can't really tell it's a wig...and since it's real hair, it's very comfortable...airy...not hot...i wore it all day without issue..

of course, we'll see if i can put it on tomorrow....i'll probably screw it all up....the downside of real hair is it needs a lot of care...it doesn't hold it's shape..

 

[disneyholic family]

so did my second chemo yesterday...woo hoo!! 2 down and 14 to go......so far so good..

got my neulastim shot today (i know it's called neulasta in the USA, but it's called neulastim here...go figure)

it's an actual injection....with a needle and syringe...i can't figure out how they thought i could give that to myself..

i thought it was like an injector pen, but no, it's a real needle and syringe....no way can i shoot that into my arm....my arm isn't long enough to reach the back of my upper arm...

oh well...it's just one additional thing...get myself to the nurse in the clinic and have her inject me....

i just don't like being around all those sick people....i wore a mask there today....i don't mind the funny looks...better funny looks than catching a flu or something..

oh...and i wore my wig the whole time at chemo....it's a really very comfortable wig...and since it looks just like my crazy long curly hair, no one would every guess..

i mean, really.....who in their right mind would get a long hair super curly wig???? i'm trying to think of who has a hairdo like that....those long hanging curls...super curly...

dark hair...just like mine....the grandkids didn't know at all....looks just like me..

here all my life i've only wanted straight hair.....
and what do i do when i buy a wig?....
but a real hair wig...that was nice and long and silky beautiful..

and then tell them to perm it curly.....i am too weird for words.....but it looks like me, so i guess that's why i did it....still me looking back from the mirror...

well maybe i'll order a cheap spare synthetic wig for fun.....straight blond hair? a step too far? ok...a straight brunette wig....probably even that is a step too far for me...

what can i say, i have a curly hair personality...whatever that is...

 

[ThistleMae]

i decided not to wait...
i'm going to get my hair all cut off tomorrow while i'm feeling good, rather than wait for after the second treatment when i won't necessarily be up to it..

this morning a lot of hair fell out...but that could just be because my thyroid is off kilter from everything...but i figured, why wait....may as well go for it...

so i'll be at the blood testing lab at 7 am for my blood test (done the day before chemo) and then head for the wig salon - i have a 9 am appointment...

DD is going with me (for a second opinion on how they permed and styled the wig), so i hope she's not freaked out when they take all my hair off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

They make such good wigs today. There are people who get hair weaves and wear hair pieces all the time, and those who wear wigs that don't have cancer. You will look beautiful!

 

[disneyholic family]

had the chemo tuesday, so today is day 3 of this second chemo (with the chemo day as day 1)..

i'm feeling much better this time than i did at the same time after the first chemo...

i guess either i'm getting used to it, or maybe i was more stressed the first time than i thought i was...

anyway, so far so good....

 

[ThistleMae]

had the chemo tuesday, so today is day 3 of this second chemo (with the chemo day as day 1)..

i'm feeling much better this time than i did at the same time after the first chemo...

i guess either i'm getting used to it, or maybe i was more stressed the first time than i thought i was...

anyway, so far so good....

Our thoughts are with you each and every day! Glad u did pretty good this time...gives you a breather. You have a good attitude, that will help a great deal. Hang in there. You are not alone!

 

[disneyholic family]

today was a very hard day.....DH says the same day was hard for me the first chemo, so i guess i'm consistent...

i slept the entire day....so fatigued...let's see....chemo was tuesday, so today is the 5th day after the chemo...

i was going to try to finish the tax returns today, but i'll wait until tomorrow......

i finished, just have to double check, print out and mail them all....tomorrow....or maybe the next day...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

today was a very hard day.....DH says the same day was hard for me the first chemo, so i guess i'm consistent...

i slept the entire day....so fatigued...let's see....chemo was tuesday, so today is the 5th day after the chemo...

i was going to try to finish the tax returns today, but i'll wait until tomorrow......

i finished, just have to double check, print out and mail them all....tomorrow....or maybe the next day...

My oncologist used to say that chemo is designed to "knock down" cancer cells, so that's what it does. And right as they're getting back up, the next dose knocks them down again. Over and over, until they're hopefully obliterated.

And our bodies mimic the process. So we get chemo, it makes us feel awful for a while, and just as we're feeling better, they hit us again! As you've found, it's really hard going through it. But hopefully in the end, it's all worth it.

Thinking of you while you're in this rough period. Take it as easy as you can, and try to rest your body to help it heal!

 

[disneyholic family]

My oncologist used to say that chemo is designed to "knock down" cancer cells, so that's what it does. And right as they're getting back up, the next dose knocks them down again. Over and over, until they're hopefully obliterated.

And our bodies mimic the process. So we get chemo, it makes us feel awful for a while, and just as we're feeling better, they hit us again! As you've found, it's really hard going through it. But hopefully in the end, it's all worth it.

Thinking of you while you're in this rough period. Take it as easy as you can, and try to rest your body to help it heal!

yes, i think it's a combination of the red blood cells being slammed together with coming down off of steroids...

so the two together really knock you off your feet...

i slept the entire day yesterday....

but today, i forced myself to get up....i'm sure i'll feel better as the day moves on...

here's hoping the cancer cells are also getting slammed....

 

[kittylady1972]

Beth -

Glad you are doing well and here's hoping the chemo goes by quickly for you. Happy that the wig is working out for you as well.

I'm about two months away from my original diagnosis date, and will be due for my first post-treatment mammogram again. Scary thought.

 

[disneyholic family]

Beth -

Glad you are doing well and here's hoping the chemo goes by quickly for you. Happy that the wig is working out for you as well.

I'm about two months away from my original diagnosis date, and will be due for my first post-treatment mammogram again. Scary thought.

fingers, toes crossed for you!!!