Choices

Thank you for he information, my question is where is this located please? Thank bunches

Ahh the best laid plans....

So no, I did not make it to the hotel last night nor did I make it to chemo or any of my other appointments today. The situation being what it is with me pretty much took me out of the picture for getting up to Cleveland. Finally got to a clinic today to discover the fact that I had a severe upper respiratory infection and was given antibiotics and steroids. She also wants to see me back if it isn't better within 5 days. That was a tough go being at the clinic, half the time I thought I was going to pass out from lack of air lol. I assume it's going around though because there was a lot of people in there with the same symptoms I have. So now I just take my meds, try to get better and once more try to get back on the chemo horse. sigh. Looks like a pretty potent antibiotic too. That's fine by me if it'll just kick butt and take names. Tired of being sick.

Just a quick note to catch you up with what's going on in my life. I pray that you all have a great day! Hugs

Afternoon ladies!

Marla I am so sorry to hear that you are beginning to show all the symptoms of chemo -induced peripheral neuropathy. I was really hoping that you didn't get it. It tends to get worse over time and doesn't ever go away. Sorry for the bad news. I've had it now for 10 years. I definitely don't like the pain in my hip that goes down my leg but all of it makes doing normal things hard. You'll have to figure out how to do things that came easy for you before. I just feel so bad that that happened to you.

For my part I continue to get worse last Tuesday to the point where I had to go into the emergency room. It seems that I still have some residual covid along with double pneumonia and sepsis. Over the past 24 hours my right arm with the lymphedema is swollen even more and is warm and red to the touch. I just came back from a DVT test to check for blood clots but one of the nurses mentioned cellulitis so I will just have to wait and see. I've been really tired I guess for obvious reasons now. So I'm still in the hospital and I don't think I will be out before Christmas the way things are going here.

Claoh we miss your posts! We are both praying that you are okay. Please let us know what happened at all your meetings this week. A really big huge hug for you!

Pat

Merry Christmas to all the wonderful ladies on this board! And gentlemen of course lol.

So it looks like I will be getting discharged from the hospital today, a nice little Christmas present for me. I have been in here since Tuesday but they believe I'm well enough that I can go home now. I will catch up with my primary care doctor when things open up tomorrow. Christmas for me is basically going to be snuggling up in my blanket and sleeping I believe, but that's not so bad.

Claoh I hope you're enjoying your time with your family. You too Marla, and everyone else on this board: have a very merry Christmas! May you find love and peace in this coming year.

Loveprimes, will be thinking of you and sending prayers and good wishes. Everything is in God's hands now. Be at peace, I know that I will be with you. too!

Lovesprimes you are truly in our prayers as your name is lifted up before God. Know that He holds you in His tender care. Be at peace.

May this new year find all our contributors and readers the strength to continue the fight and the faith to believe that there is hope even in our darkest moments. May you all find peace in this coming year. I thank you all for your continued support as we walk our paths we have chosen.

Lovesprimes, a special heartfelt prayer goes out to you as you recover from your surgery. We wait to hear from you and hope that you are doing well.

Marla and Claoh, thank you for your friendship and great advice (and jokes!). It has been a great blessing to me to have you here to help me along my path. A prayer for you both that you are greatly blessed and to be at peace in this coming year.

Pat

2024. Let's see what that brings. Claoh I think I understand what you're saying. Reality does take away the facade. Not that there isn't hope. It is that hope that gives us the strength to continue on regardless of the course.

I had a meeting with my oncologist last week. Also with my palliative care doctor. I would say that for the most part my pain levels are being controlled even though it seems I am taking some high doses of certain meds to make that happen. My big issue is actually everything that's happened to me within these last couple months. The covid-19/pneumonia, the double pneumonia, the multifocal pneumonia, the acute respiratory failure with hypoxia, the sepsis, the cellulitis on my lymphatic arm, the internal bleeding which really didn't seem to have a source, nausea while eating, the abdominal pain and on and on seem to all boil down to one root cause: chemo. The cellulitis was from a bacterial infection. I am immunocompromised and, as my oncologist told me, my body is not taking well to the chemo. In the last 2 months I have spent four and a half weeks of that in hospitals. So then you may ask where's your hope? There is hope in taking a different course of action than what was previously defined when I first started treatment. Actually there will be two choices. One of them is by taking an oral dose of chemo. The second one is even more interesting. I had blood work drawn and sent out to a lab that looks at your genetic structure to try to determine which of approximately 70 different genetic structures could be firing up mtnbc. Once that is figured out they will do a program for me that would be specific to whichever type is causing the issue. I won't kid you, it was tough getting to this point. I was always exhausted. But now I have done my blood work and tomorrow will be setting up an appointment for a new pet scan to see exactly where we're at and any improvements from the previous treatment. So I have these two items that give me hope. Once my oncologist gets the results of the pet scan back we will sit down together and figure out where to go from here. The chemo pills was an interesting idea because that would allow me to roam around the country and not have to be right next to a Cleveland Clinic somewhere to get treatment. The other one is even more interesting and I am waiting until all these results are in so I can find out more about it.

So as you can see, my issues are definitely more than pain and my outcomes will determine my destiny. I know this really doesn't explain what you're really looking for and I apologize for that. The biggest takeaway that I hope you see are the possibilities.

Pat

Hello, my friends, and happy new year. I, for one, give 2023 0 out of 5 stars, do not recommend. Our year started with my husband having rotator cuff surgery and a week later we lost both of our dogs in traumatic way. We said it would be long time before we’d be ready for another dog. Then mid-March, I got my diagnosis after weeks of having to fight with insurance just to get a breast MRI. (Thank God that my GYN fought for me because my cancer would NOT have been found on mammogram.) Shortly after my diagnosis, I told my husband I didn’t want to go through cancer treatment without a dog. So, we got a 5-month old rescue from the Caribbean islands and named her Zoey, which means life. I’ll see if I can figure out how to add a picture here. She truly has added so much life to us in a dark season that has included 3 surgeries in less than 8 months.

The surgeon said (reconstruction) surgery went well. I’m home now and trying to stay ahead of the pain. I have to be in a hunched over position at all times for at least 3 weeks. I have 4 drains and a Prevena negative pressure vac on my abdomen. Getting around is quite difficult; right now, I can’t imagine how we go to my first post-op appointment Tuesday. I guess that is a worry for another day.

I feel like my (reconstructed) breasts are smaller than before cancer. Husband says they’re just shaped differently. I’m trying not to judge until I’ve healed more. And I know it will be difficult to accept them until I get tattoos, which is at least 4 months down the road.

My husband had his first “I can’t do everything!” Moment yesterday, less than 24 hours since we’d been home from the hospital. He didn’t get to shower, didn’t take his own morning meds until after 3 in the afternoon. And today he’s adding some work-from-home. I know you all have even more you’re going through but I worry and wonder who takes care of our caregivers?

For today, we are trying to get him two 2-hour blocks of time to just work. (That’s about how long my bladder can hold out; I have to have help to get to/from bathroom.) We can hopefully gradually increase as days go on. We’re thankful that both of our employers are being understanding and supportive.

I’m thankful for you, dear sisters, and praying for God’s will and loving care for each of us.

Welcome to 2024, sort of, another day ahead!

Last week I could not take chemo #6, just beat to the ground with the neuropathy in my fingers and toes and I feel exhausted. The oncologist gave me the week off but will return for Taxol # 6 this Friday. Seems like the numbness in fingers and toes has subsided somewhat. Still, the shortness of breath remains. Have been trying to walk around outside to get some strength back. My legs have been aching every day from my hips down, muscular-skeletal pain I guess. Another one of those "side effects". My heart goes out to Lovesprimes, glad that she has a great husband!

Not much else going on right now, just taking each day one at a time. Glad that Sadiej is at least home.

Marla