newbie

sissy310

nonichol said:

,melbas
Lord Have Mercy Melba. I certainly hope it goes better for you now. I am glad you got some food. I am a skinny chick, but I like to eat.
Sincerely,
Norma

Really Melbas - you have been through a lot. How far into treatment are you? I start my second round of chemo tomorrow and am very nervous. While I did not have much of an eventful time with the first round, who knows what will happen with the second. Keep us posted and I hope that everything starts getting better for you. Be well, Marilyne

duckyann

sissy310 said:

Really Melbas - you have been through a lot. How far into treatment are you? I start my second round of chemo tomorrow and am very nervous. While I did not have much of an eventful time with the first round, who knows what will happen with the second. Keep us posted and I hope that everything starts getting better for you. Be well, Marilyne

Hi Norma and welcome to the
Hi Norma and welcome to the group. I wish you didn't have to be here. I wish you the best through your treatments and please come here as often as needed to ask questions or just vent.

I also had 2 rounds of the Mitomycin. I think the original NIGRO was only one on the first day but doctors have tweak it in different ways.

Marilyn you are coming to the end of treatment fast and you are going through it with flying colors. I wish you minimal side effects with your next round of chemo and to the finish line.

Take care

Nancy

melbas

sissy310 said:

Really Melbas - you have been through a lot. How far into treatment are you? I start my second round of chemo tomorrow and am very nervous. While I did not have much of an eventful time with the first round, who knows what will happen with the second. Keep us posted and I hope that everything starts getting better for you. Be well, Marilyne

time spent
Well, i was going into week 3 but now thay have to start back at week one, with just radiation, with a follow up with the oncologist Thurday after radiation/ Hopefully with a much lower dose, I'm not a big person to start with. I'm 5', usually hold 102 - 105 lbs, i went down to 89.4 at the start of treatment, today i'm up ro 93.6. Now that I can actually eat somewhat soft foods, I hope to get back up over the 100 mark. Now that I;m home I'm also trying to get some stength back. And walking to promote bowel movement. This post is like my lifelinen right now. Instead of reading, watching TV, or playing POGO, I sto;p in here a few times per day for inspiration.thanks to all my friends. Melodie

mp327

melbas said:

time spent
Well, i was going into week 3 but now thay have to start back at week one, with just radiation, with a follow up with the oncologist Thurday after radiation/ Hopefully with a much lower dose, I'm not a big person to start with. I'm 5', usually hold 102 - 105 lbs, i went down to 89.4 at the start of treatment, today i'm up ro 93.6. Now that I can actually eat somewhat soft foods, I hope to get back up over the 100 mark. Now that I;m home I'm also trying to get some stength back. And walking to promote bowel movement. This post is like my lifelinen right now. Instead of reading, watching TV, or playing POGO, I sto;p in here a few times per day for inspiration.thanks to all my friends. Melodie

Hi Melodie--
I also got down
Hi Melodie--

I also got down to a dangerously low weight during chemo. My doc told me if I lost anymore weight, he was going to admit me. I am 5'4" and weighed 92 pounds at my lowest. I really had to force myself to eat and some days all I could manage were protein drinks and applesauce. I hope you can find soft foods that will help you put some weight back on. Try to fortify shakes with soy milk, dry milk powder or yogurt. Please keep us updated. Take care.

pjjenkins

melbas said:

time spent
Well, i was going into week 3 but now thay have to start back at week one, with just radiation, with a follow up with the oncologist Thurday after radiation/ Hopefully with a much lower dose, I'm not a big person to start with. I'm 5', usually hold 102 - 105 lbs, i went down to 89.4 at the start of treatment, today i'm up ro 93.6. Now that I can actually eat somewhat soft foods, I hope to get back up over the 100 mark. Now that I;m home I'm also trying to get some stength back. And walking to promote bowel movement. This post is like my lifelinen right now. Instead of reading, watching TV, or playing POGO, I sto;p in here a few times per day for inspiration.thanks to all my friends. Melodie

Melodie- How much of the first round of chemo did you have? How many radiation treatments did you get before they had to stop it? It sure sounds like you have had a doozy of a time. I doubt they can extend the radiation much beyond the original plan but I have no idea what happens with significantly curtailed chemo.

My first round of chemo got cut short because something jammed in the connections and I started to bleed. It was just at the end of a session with a high school kid I was tutoring and I was greatly relieved that she didn't notice because I am sure it would have freaked her out. Fortunately I am a hard-nosed pragmatist and decided a phone call and a dash to the hospital which is only 20 minutes away was in order. They discontinued the infusion, calculated how much I probably missed out on and decided it was less than 8 hours so they would not "replace" it and I just got free of my bag a few hours early. Not much relief considering all the warnings they give you about if that stuff leaks! I was definitely in high anxiety mode.

I never had to be admitted to the hospital - definitely a blessing. I had bad mouth sores, too, but am chronically overweight so they didn't worry about my weight loss - I feel frustrated to have gained a good deal of it back but you light weight girls have a whole different issue that sounds mighty scary.

Protein drinks, high calorie smoothies and enriched ginger cookies for you all!

Everybody, have a good week this week... time does seem to be passing quickly and treatments will be gotten through!

Priscilla

mp327

pjjenkins said:

Melodie- How much of the first round of chemo did you have? How many radiation treatments did you get before they had to stop it? It sure sounds like you have had a doozy of a time. I doubt they can extend the radiation much beyond the original plan but I have no idea what happens with significantly curtailed chemo.

My first round of chemo got cut short because something jammed in the connections and I started to bleed. It was just at the end of a session with a high school kid I was tutoring and I was greatly relieved that she didn't notice because I am sure it would have freaked her out. Fortunately I am a hard-nosed pragmatist and decided a phone call and a dash to the hospital which is only 20 minutes away was in order. They discontinued the infusion, calculated how much I probably missed out on and decided it was less than 8 hours so they would not "replace" it and I just got free of my bag a few hours early. Not much relief considering all the warnings they give you about if that stuff leaks! I was definitely in high anxiety mode.

I never had to be admitted to the hospital - definitely a blessing. I had bad mouth sores, too, but am chronically overweight so they didn't worry about my weight loss - I feel frustrated to have gained a good deal of it back but you light weight girls have a whole different issue that sounds mighty scary.

Protein drinks, high calorie smoothies and enriched ginger cookies for you all!

Everybody, have a good week this week... time does seem to be passing quickly and treatments will be gotten through!

Priscilla

All this talk about ginger
All this talk about ginger cookies is starting to get to me! I think I'll have to get some on my next trip to the store. I need a good excuse for buying them, as I'm not having nausea!

cujuja4evr

Don't leave five minutes before the miracle happens!
Hi Norma, nice to meet you. I was also diagnosed with squamous cell anal cancer. I just joined the group fairly recently myself and found that I received more help and advice in the first day from this support group than I got from my radiologist the whole six weeks during my treatment. These ladies/gentlemen on here are the greatest! I remember back to when I first started my chemo/radiation combo treatment and the "not knowing what to expect" feeling. But, I took things day-by-day, I had the good days, the bad days, and the ugly! I'm 6 weeks post treatment and I feel great. I'm getting stronger every day and getting back into the swing of my normal life. I only wish that I knew about this discussion board before now because I felt so alone a couple of months ago and I really needed to talk to someone who KNEW what I was going through. But, it's never too late and I feel like I have a brand new family! Best wishes to ya!

nonichol

cujuja4evr said:

Don't leave five minutes before the miracle happens!
Hi Norma, nice to meet you. I was also diagnosed with squamous cell anal cancer. I just joined the group fairly recently myself and found that I received more help and advice in the first day from this support group than I got from my radiologist the whole six weeks during my treatment. These ladies/gentlemen on here are the greatest! I remember back to when I first started my chemo/radiation combo treatment and the "not knowing what to expect" feeling. But, I took things day-by-day, I had the good days, the bad days, and the ugly! I'm 6 weeks post treatment and I feel great. I'm getting stronger every day and getting back into the swing of my normal life. I only wish that I knew about this discussion board before now because I felt so alone a couple of months ago and I really needed to talk to someone who KNEW what I was going through. But, it's never too late and I feel like I have a brand new family! Best wishes to ya!

thanks
Thanks cuju,
I am glad I found this site right before my txment began. Tricks and tips have been so helpful. Today was an ugly day, but at least I am 1/3rd of the way thru txment. I already referred a friend of a friend to this site, so hopefully they check it out.
I am glad you are progressing along so well. Take care.
Norma

JDuke

nonichol said:

thanks
Thanks cuju,
I am glad I found this site right before my txment began. Tricks and tips have been so helpful. Today was an ugly day, but at least I am 1/3rd of the way thru txment. I already referred a friend of a friend to this site, so hopefully they check it out.
I am glad you are progressing along so well. Take care.
Norma

Welcome Norma
As others have said, sorry that you needed a support group but glad that you found this fabulous group of individuals. The support of those who have "been there" will be invaluable.

Wishing you the best,
Joanne