For Daisypink
For Daisypink Sorry just got round to reply to your last post.
Hope you are picking up after your last Taxotere…you only have 1 more dont you? im having my 1st one next wed.and im braceing myself ready for it…ive coped quite well with my Fec,so suppose im due for a rough ride.what happens after your last one is it rads again?Really feel for you having to go through chemo again for a 2nd time.Hows your neck,you mentioned a while back being worried about another lump and it acheing,has that settled down…i get a bit of neck ache but i think its the epirubicin i recall a few people saying they had aches from it.
Im still paranoid about my collar bone lumps!!still studying them in the mirror every morning…
Ive done a bit of on-line christmas shopping,but went into town today for some bits,and as soon as i got there i wanted to come home,just cant get m head round christmas this year,felt like i was the only one in the crowded shops with breast cancer(i know i probably wasnt).that awful cloud over your head is with you all the time isnt it.
I come from Manchester.
Im being treated at the Christie…which is a specialist cancer hospital.
Take care
Bi for now julie x
Will be thinking of you Hi Julie
Thanks for thinking of me… I have one more Taxotere left!! Its on the 14th December, I just cant wait to get it over and done with as i’m so sick of feeling rotten, its just making me so tired now and thats fustrating me as theres so much i want to do around the house before christmas and dont have the energy to do it.
The numbness in my fingertips and toes is annoying as well as its making me drop things and be a bit unsteady on my feet.
I keep feeling what i think is a node but surgeon and onc doesnt think so, so must be me being very paranoid. My bone across my shoulder is still aching which does concern me, i am going to mention this again when i see my onc next in Jan. I can remember the Epirubicin making me ache and me telling the chemo nurses, they used to tell me that it aggrevates all sorts of areas of the body. I have my planning on January 3rd for my Rads, got to have another 25 sessions. They have also got me booked in on Jan 10th to have a hickman line fitted but i really dont want one, i’m trying my hardest to get a portacath instead. I have an appt with the surgeon next week to discuss this, so fingers crossed.
With regards to Christmas, i cant get my head around it either so your not alone there, its also my birthday on monday and everyone is asking if i’m going out to celebrate and i just keep telling them no - i dont feel as if i have anything to celebrate, i’m really not that bothered, cant believe how in 12 months everything changes… i was out celebrating last year as i so happy my hair was growing back and thought i was over all this and now look at me… Oh sorry to moan but i expect you know how i’m feeling… your so right it is a black cloud that hangs over us and i think with all the hu har of christmas it just brings it all home to us more…
I will be thinking of you next wednesday, hope you will be ok, the first one they say is always the worst, please let me know how you get on. I have found they have got a bit easier as each one has passed…
Manchester is a crackin place to live, i love to shop there, hope they are treating you well at christies, ive heard they are brill there.
You take care and let me know how you are doing.
Love Jakki
xxx
Steriod buzz!!! Hi jakki,
My heading says it all!this is the 2nd night ive been up from 1.am not being able to sleep…apparently the steriods.
Ive munched my way through 4 rounds of toast,a weetabix and im seriously thinking of raiding the biscuit tin!!
Well,first Taxotere done with yesterday…saw a different doctor also,and asked about my mri scan report again,as last one i saw was so vague…wish i hadnt in a way.as its given me something else to worry about!!
Scan shows 10cm!!! of dodgey tissue under collar bone area(got ruler out soon as i got home)!..doctor didnt seem to concerned and said he still didnt think i should have any surgery as he doesnt want to stop chemo.im to have another mri scan in jan to see if its going…i dont have any kind of lump around that area apart from couple of lymph nodes i can feel…anyway christmas is coming and i need to get through it,like we all have to,best we can.
Anyway,got my little sheet of Taxotere symptons,and been warned its a toughy!!so while my steriods are in full swing im going to get my food shopping today(prob about 7.am ha! do a bit of housework,then flop on settee and write xmas cards out.
Enough about me,how are you after your 5th Taxotere,hope youve not had any hosp.visits with it.
You have your last one on the 14th dont you?you should have picked up a bit for christmas day and new year hopefully…I was reading another post before,i think it was on the treatment section…Kerry i think,and she was saying that she could have her herceptin administered at home once they have kept an eye on her for her first few.
Maybe you could ask about that…
When will you start your rads?do you have a bit of a break 1st.?..
I asked the lovely chemo nurse yesterday how much the dose of Taxotere was that i was having…1 thousand pounds per dose she said!! my god i said ,make sure i get every last drop!.
Anyway,hope your well and almost finished with your xmas shopping.
Take care
love julie xx
Hi Hi Julie
Thanks for letting me know how you got on yesterday, i have exactly the same problem with the steriods. Its bad enough having to take them the day before, but then they give you a massive dose aswell with your Taxotere, i too get the munchies on them, i crave sweet things which is so unlike me, i dont have a sweet tooth at all. I say eat whatever you like whenever you like!
I’m glad your feeling ok, do rest up though as it hits me after about 3 days and thats when the aches and pains set in, do you have plenty of painkillers to help with this? The Taxotere is very expensive stuff, i was told that too, i have 175 ml but saying that they have just reduced me to 145ml because of my hospital stays. Ive been ok this time after my fifth one, they gave me the GCSF injections earlier and i had 5 of them instead of 3 so i have been ok apart from i have a cold that i cant shift and i’ve now got a fingernail thats about to drop off - its hanging on my a thread of skin - eurgh! its going to look gross! Got my last one next week on the 14th so i hope i’ll be ok by then and manage to stay out of hospital in time for Christmas. I still havent done much of my shopping, having problems thinking what to buy everyone! Going to try and go to the bullring in Brum on sunday to do one massive shop and get it over with before my chemo. I’m dreading my last one as my veins are really painful now and i have a sore hand as i have a chemo burn where it leaked out of my vein last time.
So this dodgy area, does it give you any pain? Try not to panic about it, easier said than done i know, the fact they dont seem concerned is hopeful and you are on treatment so at least if it something to be worried about - the chemo is probably doing its job and sorting it. Please keep me posted when you have your next mri…
I have been told i can have the herceptin at home after christmas. So going to give that a try but i’m a bit unsure if i want it home because i think if i have it at hospital at least i can walk away from the treatment and by it being done at home, i will be constantly reminded… oh i dont know, i’m probably not making much sense am i??
January is a busy month for me! I have my planning for my rads on the 3rd and it should start on the 15th, they also want me to have a hickman line fitted on the 10th and i really dont want it. I have an appt on friday to discuss this and i’m going to tell them i dont want it so we’ll see how i get on there. I also start my Zoladex injections on the 15th too.
Julie, do you ever go on the other site?? I’m on there also as Daisypink so if you do, feel free to private message me.
I’ve waffled on enough to you, hope you are feeling ok today, please keep me posted on how your feeling…
Take care and rest up
Jakki
xxxx
Hi jakki Thanks for your reply,
I have been on the other site,only on the triple negaive section though,but have read through a few posts i will find one off you and give private messages a go,not sure ill get it right though,only been doing the computer thing!since breast cancer…only time ive had time to get my hands on it.
Finished my last dose of steriods this morning,feeling a bit fuzzy headed today though,so think symptons imminent!!thanks for telling me to rest,i need telling as i tend to push myself and think im superwoman…
Hope you get to do your shopping sunday,you have to fit everything round your treatments dont you,ive never looked at my calendar so much working out when and how i can do things…im due to go for my works xmas dinner at a local pub next thursday,but im wondering whether to cancel as ill still be in the ‘infection danger period’ and the pub will be packed and no doubt,my work colleages that i havent seen for a while will be giving me a cuddle,cause thats what people do,for the right reasons…and ill be paranoid about catching bugs!!!
|This cancerous tissue all 10cms of it is at front of my mind all the time,dont think ave gained anything by asking apart from more anxiety…i wished id asked if it was considered a recurrance or what has been left…from my july op…dont know,but will be scary as hell if it was clear and has come back so soon…may let that question lie unasked,it is rather tender around that area,but always put that down to my masectomy.
You certainly do have a busy hospital time ahead,bet youve had to fill in next jan on your calendar already!!no wonder your poor veins have had enough,push for what you want at hosp.re hickman line or the other one(not well up on them)they should be letting you have what you want youve been through that much…
I understand actually about what you were saying about home treatment with your herceptin,home is where you want to feel secure and kind of cancer free,and like you say,you can walk away from hosp,and leave your needles and drip bags for them to put in their bins,not yours…understand entirely what your getting at…
Anyway jakki, have a good weekend.
talk to you again
take care
love julie xx
How are you? Hi Julie
Just wondered how you are feeling after the Taxotere now? I hope your ok…
I spoke to the surgeon re. the hickman line and expressed my concerns to him, he’s happy to fit a portacath if my Oncologist says yes. I’m just waiting for them to get back to me.
Wont stay on long as i have to take my dog out…
Take care
Love Jakki
xxx
Hi Jakki Hi jakki,
thanks for thinking of me.
Glad to hear you look likely to get your portacath,do hope your oncologist agrees.
You were right about Taxotere…wow!! it hit me hard yesterday,didnt know what had hit me,even rang hosp. in a panic,felt so bad.Ive just come on the computer now acutally,to send a general post asking if its common for so many Taxotere aches and pains…
I have terrible back ache,low and across my shoulders…ive come out in a ithcy rah round my neck and feel what i can only describe as a kind of pressure ache around my collarbone,as if the cemo is having a stand up fight with that cancerous area!!!
Horrible!!!chemo,but if its a tough one,then so be it…
How youve coped with all yours i just dont know,you poor thing…
Think ill still send a post,i think when other people have similar side affects,it makes you feel a bit more normal…
Take care
julie xx
How are you? HI Julie
Just wondered how you doing?? Have you recovered from your first Taxotere?? When is the next one??
I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2007…
Love & best wishes
Jakki
xxx
Over the worst Hi jakki
Thanks for asking about me,
Im a lot better now thanks,took a lot longer to pick up though than the FEC…powerfull stuff,and that awful lack of taste has only just come back(good job,in time for my christmas dinner or i would of had a major sulk!!!)
Next one 27th dec, so new years eve and day will be a write off!
Hope you are ok and all done with xmas shopping,and ready for a drink or two and some yummy food.
A happy christmas to you too and a good healthy new year…
love jule xx
Good luck Hi Julie
Hope you had a nice christmas day… just wanted to wish you good luck for your 2nd Taxotere tomorrow… i expect your on your steriods today… hope the second one is a lot easier for you…
I’m feeling ok now after my last one, just my nails that are suffering soooo bad now and they are so painful…
Please let me know how you get on…
Take care
Jakki
xxx
Steriod buzz!! Hi jakki
Thanks for the good luck msg.
Ive been up since 3am…ironing at 4.am,tidied up a litlle,a bit eatly to get the vac out tho! and been sat staring into space trying to make sense of all this,whilst eating christmas chocolate)which i need to get rid of before new year,when i start my super health kick???
Had a lovely christmas day thanks did you?..enjoyed my dinner we went to my sisters,so nice and easy for me,i usually have all the family over for a big buffet inbetween, xmas and new year…but its being postponed this year till ive finised my treatment,and hopefully will be a ‘end of treatment celebration buffet’
Did you have your dinner at home and feel well for it?
I can imagine your nails are bad jakki, specially after 6 Taxotere,mine felt very sore when i had my first but there ok now,no doubt they will start again over the next few days,they have gone a funny colour though…im more prepared for going down hill this time,got my pain killers at the ready and im going to start taking them at first achey signs,think i left it too long last time and it hit me like a sledge hammer!not looking forward to the furry mouth and no taste buds though,i find that realy frustrating!!
Anyway ive waffled enough now,and spelling is prob,awfull,will blame it on fuzzy head…was at hospital 7 hours yest, as there was no doctors clinic and the chemo.suite couldnt find my notes!hope they get tracked down for next time…id like to think they no what there doing and what needs to be done to get me better!!!
Busy month for you coming up,you will be meeting yourself coming back from your hospital appts…anymore thoughts on having your herecptin at home?
Take care jakki,and have a good new year,i will be hibernating this year,dont want to catch any bugs in busy pubs and start 2007 in hosp.
Hope your nails improve soon…
julie xxx
Taxotere Read your letters and sympathize about the effects of Taxotere, I feel I should warn you that these effects do not go away very quickly. sorry to bring in more misery to you but I wish someone had warned me. I had my last Taxotere just before Christmas 05 and couldn’t understand why the aches and pains did not go away but they didn’t. I still now have some aches that I believe are attributable to Taxotere. It is however a marvelous drug for what it is meant for, minimising the cancer.
Good luck with your treatments
Glad your Onc has a plan Hi Jakki
I have been reading your posts…so pleased your feeling a little better about the situation,and im glad your onc has a plan of action,and it sounds like a good one…
I know you will still be scared and have your possitive thinking days,then your negative thinking days…i am up and down like a yoyo…
Are you consantly looking in the mirror,checking if theres been any shrinkage??!,i nearly drove myself daft doing that,but dont bother so much now…i was also always prodding and pokeing around my neck,until my partner said “your going to be popping them lumps,messing with them”…something i hadnt thought of,and dont think for one minute that could happen!!,but certainly made me stop prodding!!lol…
Anyway Jakki…do hope things start to get better for you…when are your scans??..i have mine on the 13th Feb(hope thats not a friday!!)…then im seeing my onc on the 21st…hopefully,he will have a plan too…
Best wishes
julie xx
For Julie Hi Julie
Thanks for the post, yes, i am glad my Onc has a plan and it seems a logical one to me so i’m happy… be even happier if the rads take care of these nodes…
I havent prodded my neck since my onc did last week, this is only because its been really aching since he did, no doubt i will though as the days go on. Ive had 9 x rads now, so got another 16 to go. Going a nice shade of pink now…
My scans will be at the end of my rads, havent got a date as yet, i expect they will be through soon, got a Muga scan on the 6th Feb, hope my LVEF has increased as it was only 55% to start with…
You will be happy to know the 13th is on a Tuesday, do let me know how you get on, i will be thinking of you…
Hope you have a lovely weekend…speak soon…
Jakki
xxx
Hi Jakki Hi
Just thought id send a quick post to see how your doing…
Your probably having busy days arnt you with your rads,and herceptin…
Do you have far to travel to your hosp…some people have quite a drive,im lucky only 20 mins to Christies from my home.
Im kind of feeling in limbo land…just awaiting these dreaded scans next tuesday…then reults the following wed…gonna have to try and fill my days up somehow,to keep my mind from working overtime.
That stomach ache i told you about has gone now,so must have been the Tax.
Hows the nodes???my node on my collar bone is still there,its not as visible as it was at first,but i can still move it around…my onc said even though is still there,it doesnt mean there are any cancer cells left in it…
Its feezing isnt it…we have a covering of snow here…its quite nice not working at this time of year,just wish it was because of diffent circumstances…
Ive become a real fan of ‘This morning’ on tv,which takes up a hour and a half of the day…do you get it?sometimes i get soooo bored,used to being on my feet all day running round like a headless chicken.lol…Cant wait for spring to come,i hate jan and feb…want to get pottering in the garden…
Any way,its ended up not such a quickie post…do hope your feeling ok…
Love julie xx
Freezing… Hi ya Julie
Thanks for asking about me… your blinking right its freezing!! Was wrapped up well today to go out for my rads… Ive had 17 now of 25 so not many more… my hospital - Stoke is only 20 mins away also so its not too bad a journey… Was a little pink on my collarbone but that seems to have subsided and my back is pinker now - guess the rads go straight thru.
Had my Muga scan on tuesday and my LVEF has improved greatly, ive gone from 55% to 72%, so i’m really pleased… have my herceptin again next week, will be my 2nd one at home.
Saw my Oncologist yesterday and had some relatively good news… he thinks one of the nodes has reduced in size however the other one remains unchanged. Got to continue with the rads, he will do a bone scan and ct scan after that and review what the next step will be.
Ive started my zoladex injections now along with the arimidex too.
I’m glad your stomach ache has subsided, the taxotere used to upset my stomach, one minute i’d be ok and the next i’d be in agony with griping pains…
Hope next week comes round fast for you - such a worry waiting for scans and then results, i know how you feel, try to keep busy, watch philip and fern - i watch them everyday…its a tough time of year isn’t it waiting for spring… being stuck in the house, cant wait for the summer myself…had some snow here today too, starting to melt now though…
Ive booked a holiday for the 27th feb - we are going to tenerife for a week, i cant wait to have a change of scenery and some warmth!
Please keep me posted about next week, I will be thinking about you…
Take care
Jakki
xx
Glad to be back i bet!!?..not Hi Jakki
Just thought id post a welcome back msg…hope youve had a good time and managed to forget breast cancer for a week(i know not easy,its my 1st thought when i wake and last thought when i fall asleep)!!!
I read your post on the Younger woman section…Daisypink and Co,and see you have a busy busy time now,i must say you sound a close bunch of friends,its great that you can all support each other and have a laugh as well…
Do you feel better for the change of scene? my partner is keen to book a holiday,but to be honest i cant muster up any enthusiasm at the mo,as still in limbo with my next step of treatment…went to see surgeon on the 26th Feb and they are still unsure whether it will be rads or a op!!? they are re-checking my mri scan pictures(with a magnifying glass they said)!to make sure nothing has been missed before they decide…which has left me thinking…what is going on!!
Anyway,there better be a definate answer on Monday,cause my fella is getting a bit miffed with them,and i can see him looseing his rag a bit!.
You take care now,and keepme informed of your progress wont you,cant believe how much treatment you realed off that you are having to have this month,youve needed that break away for sure!!
Love Julie
xx
Glad to be back - not! Hey Julie!
Thanks for the post… good to hear from you… I got back late on Tuesday night and have been knee deep in washing since!
Had a lovely time as you have already read… by the way… feel free to join us with us girls on the daisypink thread… we all met on here and go out once a month for a bite to eat and a good old natter so post away and join in with us as we are a friendly bunch…
Had some bloods done today - my 12 weekly check for my herceptin which is tomorrow. ive got my scans coming up and getting a bit nervous… not about the scans but the anticipation of having to wait for the results… you know what its like…
So, onco for you on monday? I cant blame your partner for losing it as i’m sure he just wants his girl right… i hate being messed about and find myself reminding the nurses, docs about things that are important…
How do you feel about more surgery? i cant remember if i asked you that already before? Can you refresh me as to what exactly they will be removing if it is that you have surgery? I hope you get the answers you deserve… please let me know how you get on…
Anyway, i’ll go now and get some dinner and speak soon… you take care…
Jakki
xxxxx
worried about you Hi Julie
Just wondered how monday went? Hope your ok… please let me know…
Take care
Jakki
x