Have you ever noticed....

faith_trust_and_a_little_bit_of_chemotherapy
faith_trust_and_a_little_bit_of_chemotherapy Member Posts: 319 Member
edited April 2012 in Breast Cancer #1
I don't mean to mock Seinfeld...it just works out that way.

I have grown to think of my experience with chemotherapy as a system reboot. There are no doubt lots of lessons for me to glean through this whole @#$%! cancer journey that with the benefit of hindsight and a decent single malt scotch I may get around to pondering them, but I digress.

What I have noticed is that since completion of chemotherapy, two years this June, that an insect bite that might have gone unnoticed previously is now some itchy annoying spot...usually bright red against my flawless alabaster...OK, iridescent glow-in-the-dark pale skin. One spot on my calf became a huge, hard, and swollen lump, the doctor at the urgent care facility just suggested that I use Neosporin. Silly me, over-reacting, but I think I earned that right. Now these new guys are just as itchy, and are still prone to hang around for weeks. Fortunately, I still chew my nails like a teenager anticipating a driving test, so I haven't made myself bleed, but they ultimately develop a dry flakey little head. Which I eventually and victoriously succeed in scraping off with my sausage like fingers. I have the scars from childhood to know that I was the early bird special for a variety of biting insects. It just seems to fit an old paradigm.

I'm sorry this isn't one of the provocative and titillating conversations on this board, but I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed any anomalies for their bodies...post treatment.

Topic for my next post...The adventures of muscle cramps and spasms in what remains of my pectoral muscle. Talk about not being able to catch your breath, maybe I'm just in love.

Comments

  • New Flower
    New Flower Member Posts: 4,294
    #2
    Theresa sorry for irritation in both ways
    I am very sorry for your pailful bumps and I hate insects bits. I applaud your irony and style and can tell you that I am having a laundry list for skin problems and your post made me smile. Allergy, hives, acmes, blushing every time while speaking, slow healing - everything I have never had before. I do have a list for muscles, and many other interesting activities. I will continue tomorrow as I need to do gymnastics for low back, self-drainage for lymphedema, meditation for insomnia and take medications for osteoporosis. Keep living in the moment my friend, as we face new experiences every day.
    New Flower
  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
    #3
    New Flower said:

    Theresa sorry for irritation in both ways
    I am very sorry for your pailful bumps and I hate insects bits. I applaud your irony and style and can tell you that I am having a laundry list for skin problems and your post made me smile. Allergy, hives, acmes, blushing every time while speaking, slow healing - everything I have never had before. I do have a list for muscles, and many other interesting activities. I will continue tomorrow as I need to do gymnastics for low back, self-drainage for lymphedema, meditation for insomnia and take medications for osteoporosis. Keep living in the moment my friend, as we face new experiences every day.
    New Flower

    We are blessed
    Sometimes I feel we are all just blessed to have been chosen to go through this journey together. Our minds and bodies are so different from those not so lucky?????
  • laughs_a_lot
    laughs_a_lot Member Posts: 1,368 Member
    #4
    One thing
    I did prior to getting bc was getting those solar lights on a stake in the yard that kill misquitos. Now that I have lymphedema I am supposed to avoid insect bites. (As if I sought them out prior to bc.) I wonder how that will go with the idea of camping. Guess I will have to bring the purple bug lights with me.
  • Christmas Girl
    Christmas Girl Member Posts: 3,682 Member
    #5
    Yes!
    As a longer-term survivor, I know from first-hand experience that cancer treatments (chemo in particular) can have long-lasting/permanent effects. Yes, we are changed forever - in many ways.

    Kind regards, Susan
  • grams2jc
    grams2jc Member Posts: 756
    #6
    I get it
    I call your reaction and your urgent care dr's "cancer hangnail" syndrome. We don't want to be snuck up on again, they don't quite get it.
    Since I am back on the chemo river rapids ride every day is a new adventure
    I think when things finally calm down everything will be all "new"

    Hang in there

    Jennifer
  • Bella Luna
    Bella Luna Member Posts: 1,578 Member
    #7
    Yes, I have
    It's good to hear from you faith_trust.... Yes, I can definitely relate. It will be 3 years come June since I was diagnosed with cancer. My body went through the ringer with drugs that stopped my period, altered my dna, affected my joints and memory. There are other changes that I know are the result of the drugs. I am done with treatment and take Tamoxifen. This drug caused thickening of the lining after two years and I had to undergo a "spring cleaning"( D&C) this past Thursday( 4/19/2010).

    It's been a wild ride and the adventure continues, but I thank God that I am here with my family. I am here to raise my daughter and be here for my husband. I have known other Survivors who weren't so fortunate. I feel for these families who have lost Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, and Friends. And my heart is heavy for those who are battling cancer now. It's not an easy hand to be dealt.

    I will continue to Move Forward and Hope that a cure can be found to end this madness.

    Take care, God bless.
  • kit kat
    kit kat Member Posts: 56
    #8
    I know
    I'm out 2 years from surgery May 5th.Durning chemo i got bit on my arm that was there for weeks, burning, feeling there were bugs in my skin Did nt say a word. Had beds removed thinkinng i had bed bugs. I was having a sycotic episode. Well I have my problems because of chemo. Pain is so bad everywhere.How much can I say I'm fine.when i m not.Feel like saying shut up B**** to people they have no clue. Especially the old living so healthy .I was shot at 49.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #9
    Yup....even 7 years out....
    As I move further and further (farther and farther?) away from the 'reality' during treatments (7 years ago, July 4 was my last rad for the breast cancer that followed the rectal...), I realize that the thing that stays with me, and will for the rest of my life, is the feeling of uncertainty....the vigilance to each and every new mark on my skin, unexplained bruise...(even tho, after I think a bit, I just ran into a low table the day before...*smile*).

    I choose to cope with it by living life full-on. I once said in a newspaper interview (*smile* my 15 seconds of fame has long since been over) that I see the threat of cancer as a large bird flying behind me, just outside of my vision. I know it still flies there, but I do not let it be involved in my everyday life. When it flies closer (such as when I go for a followup exam and see my 6-inch-thick patient folder with my oncologist), I just look forward, to after the exam, when once again the bird flies out of vision....

    I don't know of many other diseases, even after being told it's over, carries this same uncertainty into the future...a broken leg heals, a bout with the flu even is forgotten...

    Hugs, Kathi
  • new2me
    new2me Member Posts: 177 Member
    #10
    So true
    I am also 2 years out since my lumpectomay. After chemo I continued with Herceptin to complete a year. I too have noticed that my body is soooo not the same. I get cramps in my feet, calfs, & shins several times a week. Athletes Fungus on bottom of one foot (which I've never had in my life)which is very painful. I have one fingernail that also has this fungus and is lifting as we speak. Which makes for a very ugly hand and this Arthritis & swelling in my hands and fingers - I have also noticed that the heat is harder for me to tolerate and I use to thrive in the heat. I am still numb under my arm where they removed lymphnodes and will for the rest of my life, I've been told and is sometimes very tender. The chemo has taken it's toll on my teeth as well. No period for 2 years but I'm not complaining about that :) I also thought I would have my energy back long before now, but who feels like going to the gym or jogging in the hills where i live. Not Me!!! Infact my MoJo for working out has somewhere "left the building" and I can't seem to get it back. In the mean time my weight continues to stubbornly hang on. oh my goodness this is not fun!!! BUT - I do try to put things into perspective - there are others that are far worse off than me and I praise the Lord everyday for all my blessings. I try not to mourn over my battle wounds but instead I am reminded of what God has done for me and how he has not once left me.
    Thank you ladies to posting your current experiences - it helps me to know that I am not imagining it all or blaming chemo just for pitty sake. :)

    I was diagnosed right after I turned 50 - 2 years ago tomorrow. I am now 52. :)

    Kelly

    by the way - this is an old picture.
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #11
    new2me said:

    So true
    I am also 2 years out since my lumpectomay. After chemo I continued with Herceptin to complete a year. I too have noticed that my body is soooo not the same. I get cramps in my feet, calfs, & shins several times a week. Athletes Fungus on bottom of one foot (which I've never had in my life)which is very painful. I have one fingernail that also has this fungus and is lifting as we speak. Which makes for a very ugly hand and this Arthritis & swelling in my hands and fingers - I have also noticed that the heat is harder for me to tolerate and I use to thrive in the heat. I am still numb under my arm where they removed lymphnodes and will for the rest of my life, I've been told and is sometimes very tender. The chemo has taken it's toll on my teeth as well. No period for 2 years but I'm not complaining about that :) I also thought I would have my energy back long before now, but who feels like going to the gym or jogging in the hills where i live. Not Me!!! Infact my MoJo for working out has somewhere "left the building" and I can't seem to get it back. In the mean time my weight continues to stubbornly hang on. oh my goodness this is not fun!!! BUT - I do try to put things into perspective - there are others that are far worse off than me and I praise the Lord everyday for all my blessings. I try not to mourn over my battle wounds but instead I am reminded of what God has done for me and how he has not once left me.
    Thank you ladies to posting your current experiences - it helps me to know that I am not imagining it all or blaming chemo just for pitty sake. :)

    I was diagnosed right after I turned 50 - 2 years ago tomorrow. I am now 52. :)

    Kelly

    by the way - this is an old picture.

    Maybe I'm being too literal here...
    ...but I think the question our Yellow One is asking us to weigh in on is whether or not those of us who've had chemo have experienced any skin changes, such as bug bites that don't heal quickly, since completing treatment.

    I haven't had skin problems myself, but just wanted to redirect a little back to the original question, in case anyone has any input on that.

    Looking forward to the forthcoming discussion of your pectoral muscle....You sure have a sexy life, faith_trust. :-) :-) :-)

    Traci
  • Bella Luna
    Bella Luna Member Posts: 1,578 Member
    #12
    TraciInLA said:

    Maybe I'm being too literal here...
    ...but I think the question our Yellow One is asking us to weigh in on is whether or not those of us who've had chemo have experienced any skin changes, such as bug bites that don't heal quickly, since completing treatment.

    I haven't had skin problems myself, but just wanted to redirect a little back to the original question, in case anyone has any input on that.

    Looking forward to the forthcoming discussion of your pectoral muscle....You sure have a sexy life, faith_trust. :-) :-) :-)

    Traci

    Thinking outside the lines
    Just thinking outside the lines. No harm, literal or not, intended.
  • madsters1
    madsters1 Member Posts: 120
    #13
    Hi there Faith..trust
    Hi there Faith..trust and..., I could not relate to any of the problems you're having with insect bites. But GOOD GRIEF have you ever considered writing? You DEFINATELY have talent. You caould continue here on this site and put a smile on a lot of faces. Just a thought. You have a way of lightening the heaviness of it all. Thanks.
  • Lighthouse_7
    Lighthouse_7 Member Posts: 1,566 Member
    #14
    madsters1 said:

    Hi there Faith..trust
    Hi there Faith..trust and..., I could not relate to any of the problems you're having with insect bites. But GOOD GRIEF have you ever considered writing? You DEFINATELY have talent. You caould continue here on this site and put a smile on a lot of faces. Just a thought. You have a way of lightening the heaviness of it all. Thanks.

    I do have insect bites that
    I do have insect bites that take forever to heal!! Even when they do heal, I continue to have a red mark in that spot.
    I thought it might be related to my recent Lupus diagnosis, but now I see that our bodies are indeed changed forever due to chemo and radiation.

    That's what I love about this board.........we have a unique kinship, whether it be with big issues or although not a trivial matter.....small bites.:)

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