sharimay
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Hello all,
It has been a little while since I last posted. I am finishing my week off from chemo. I am set to start my third cycle on Tuesday. This off week has offered some “bumps”. I was feeling fairly well until I noticed a reddened area on my left breast. Turns out that cellulitis can be common with chemo, you know with my immune system being in the crapper. Along with the uncomfortableness of a sore boob, I was left feeling achy and very tired. I started on a antibiotic and they gave me one dose of IV antibiotic. I am feeling much better. The nurses at my infusion center said that they have had some cases of this type of thing. The thing that bothered me the most with the whole thing was my oncology nurse practicioner didn’t want to deal with it at all. It is frustrating because chemo is causing it, but she said it isn’t what they deal with. I had to go to my primary doctor, which turned out not to be an easy thing with the holiday and everything. I have some awesome support people to vent to, and I did, which made me feel better. I work in the hospital system and I get frustrated, I feel bad for people who don’t work in heath care and how incredibly frustrating it can be for them. Thanks for listening.
ShariHello Everybody,
I am sitting in the chemo infusion room as I type getting my second dose in my second cycle. I have been feeling well since the start of my second cycle, I just get tired by the end of the day. I have been feeling so well that I think I overdid things a little this last week and now feel like I am coming down with a sore throat. I celebrated Christmas with my very large family this past weekend. We had all but 7 family members there. It was great to see everybody and it was good for them to see me and be able to see that I am okay. This Christmas was especially hard as my dad is in poor health. So now that the celebrations are winding down, I think I need to bunker down in my house and try to stay as healthy as possible. Time to catch up on some movies and maybe do some de-cluttering. I am glad to be almost done with cycle 2, bring on cycle 3!
Tracy,
My best to you and your mom. I can share her thoughts about chemo and not wanting to feel crappy with it especially when she probably doesn’t feel too bad right now. From postings I have read and my own experience the chemo for CC can be OK to handle. I have been feeling good and my oncologist told me that I look better than my labs do. Attitude is one thing that has helped me through this fight and I am in good shape and still get to the gym 2-3 times a week. It sounds like you and your family are a great support to your mom and she is very lucky to have you with her during this time. I will keep you and your mom in my thoughts and prayers and keep all of us posted on how she is doing. This website is a great place of support and there are great people here with lots of knowledge. Take care and have a great day with your mom.
ShariHello everybody,
I am happy to report that my white blood cell count was 3.7 today and my granulocytes were 1300, which is much better than the 1.7 and 200 they were last week. I was able to start my second cycle today and they are planning on starting neulasta injections next week after my second dose. I hope that this is going to be my last delay with my chemo. It sounds strange to want to do chemo, but with how long the course is I just really want to get them done and not be delayed. I am feeling good, just a bit tired. I am grateful to be able to handle my chemo so well at this point, and am hoping that the rest of the courses go as well as the first one. We are planning on celebrating Christmas with my large family this Saturday, and I am hoping that I don’t feel too tired. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful place to post my thoughts and come to for advice and support. Thanks for listening!
ShariHi,
I was treated at Mayo in Rochester, MN. I saw a liver specialist, Dr. Lewis Roberts who was very straightforward and knowledgeable. He was able to have me see the surgeon in the same day and get things going for me to set up my surgery. My surgeon was Dr. David Nagorny. He came highly recommended and I felt very comfortable with him. He was great and his nurse was awesome. I live about 8 hours from Rochester and his nurse was great about calling me after surgery and checking in on how I was doing. I followed up with an oncologist Dr. Michaela Banck, and she was great also. The oncologist was very thorough and spoke with the surgeon, the pathologist, and other doctors in her group about my case and they decided on the best course of action for me. I felt very lucky to be there and feel I received the best care I could have.
ShariHello everybody,
I was set to start my second cycle of chemo today, but unfortunately my granulocytes are too low. I am put off another week to start my second cycle. They think that my numbers should be better by next week. I am going to start neulasta injections with this cycle to hopefully help my numbers. Does anybody have any good ideas for boosting WBC’s that doesn’t interfere with chemo? Thanks for the input.
ShariLainy,
I am sorry that the hospice center is not making things easier on you but harder. Keep on them and make sure you are completely comfortable and happy with the care both you and Teddy are getting. I am praying that you and Teddy find peace and comfort.
ShariThanks to everybody for their thoughts and well wishes. This week so far has been better and I haven’t had any nausea. It is good to hear that other people have felt the same I have so I don’t feel so abnormal.
ShariHello all,
So I am on my off week from chemo and have been feeling pretty good. I have had some random nausea over the weekend and have taken some of my oral zofran and it has helped. Is it normal to have nausea even on the off weeks from chemo? I no longer have a ‘normal’ anything anymore and I am just trying to feel my way through all of this. Thanks for the help.
ShariLainy,
I have seen fentanyl patches work well in patients. Just a note that sometimes it can take a few days to for someone to get used to the patch. So Teddy might be more sleepy for a day or two until he gets used to the new medication. So try and give it a few days to see how is body adjusts to the patch. I hope that it brings both him and you more comfort. Good luck!
ShariThanks Marion,
I have been diligent on drinking 2 liters of water a day, and I have been getting a liter of normal saline on the 3 days post chemo. I am due for labs and my second round of chemo to start on Dec 7th. Thanks for all the well wishes and good tips and advice. I will take any I can get that might help make chemo easier.
ShariMelinda,
The more I read about CC and read other peoples stories I am learning that there are no 2 cancer stories that are exactly the same. I hope that your break from chemo gives you rest and allows you to get back on your feet again. Being a nurse and going through all of this can be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. I worked for a few years in a general ICU and I think have a different perspective of health, quality of life, and death than most people. It is good that you have the support of your husband to help with difficult decisions. I have my week off this coming week and hope to get some rest and get ready for the start of cycle 2. I am looking forward to chatting with you also. Take care and have a good holiday season.
ShariHello,
Thanks to everyone for the great words of support and well wishes. I feel lucky to have such a great place to come and read and find support for my CC. I started chemo this week and it has gone well so far. I did have a cold before I started, so that made things kinda crappy, but other than that I feel good. The nausea medications they gave me work wonders. I am hoping that the rest of my treatment goes as well. I have a long road left to go with my chemo treatment, but if the rest of the weeks goes as well as this first week I think I will be able to handle this. If anybody has any suggestions for me on things that helped them with chemo, I will take any advise I can get. Thanks for all of the support.
Shari
