Chemo Update
Well, I've finished four rounds with the chemo Rx taxotere (after each round I got a shot of neulasta to boost WBC) and let me just say that it was a real bitch. I went from bed to couch to bed the entire time. On Jan. 2 I will start the first of four more treatments with a drug called Adriamycin Cytoxin--see? "Toxin" is right in the name! YAY!
I was at the oncs yesterday and the tumor has NOT shrunk ONE bit since we started all this in Oct. Doc says, "well, as long as it's not getting bigger..." I say, "I wish I'd just had the surgery right up front and skipped all this hair-losing, hot-flashing, shortness-of-breath and fatigue-making complete BITCH of a treatment!" I'm right where I started so what is the point? BTW, I called my insurance company--each time they did chemo on me it cost 9,600. Yes, that's right: nearly 10,000 dollars per treatment. Eight treatments--80,000 dollars. And that's just the chemo drug :3_eyes:
I am supposed to take a new "miracle" anti-nausea drug called Emend after each A/C cycle--a pill a day for three days. Each pill costs 200.00. Do the math: 600.00 dollars for three pills to keep me from puking. They gave me a voucher for the first three pills (the pharmacy had to order the meds b/c, as you can imagine, there isn't a big demand for 200.00 pills) and only one voucher per patient is allowed by the drug company. I think for the remaining three rounds I'll just be puking. Does anyone, anyone, see a problem here? I just watched Michael Moore's SICKO and I'm still pissed off.
anyway---wish me luck. I think I'll need it.
How much does aprepitant cost?
Aprepitant is available as a 3-day pack containing one 125 mg capsule and two 80
mg capsules. The average wholesale price is $312.
The above is quoted from a website:
http://www.forourpatients.info/pdf/2-22/FOPAE242.pdf
I don't know how accurate this is. My onc told me it was 200.00
per pill and this is saying 312 for the three. At any rate, 100.00 per pill is still too expensive. What insurance co. would pay that?
Do the math: 600.00 dollars for three pills to keep me from puking.
All I had to do was stop drinking...
Try to focus on the good. It has stopped growing, that is important. You can assume the Doc isn't being completely random with his choice for the next toxin. They've been at this a long time, but you know that. Please keep heart.
anyway---wish me luck. I think I'll need it.
I wish you more than luck, I wish you well.
I wish you more than luck, I wish you well.
By xob and used by me.
Whatever it takes Bri - hugs and heartfelt, healing prayers are headed your way!
Thinking of you, and hoping the worst is over as fast as possible.
*hugs* woman.
You could still squish it under your heel, if it was outside your body.
You could still squish it under your heel, if it was outside your body.
good mental image, that.
I'll start meditating on that image instead of the one where light beams shoot out of the middle of my forehead (which was pretty cool, but not really "cancer-specific" like this one is!) :flower: :apinkr:
All chemotherapy drugs work by attacking cancer cells, but Taxotere® attacks cancer cells differently than other chemotherapy drugs. Instead of attacking a cancer cell's DNA like most chemotherapy drugs, Taxotere® takes a more direct approach and attacks the cancer cell's supporting structure (or "skeleton"). This makes the cell very stiff, and it has trouble multiplying.
Seems to me (a complete layperson with the ability to google) that shrinkage wasn't necessarily the primary aim of the Taxotere, although (obviously) a desirable effect. The various sites I found seemed to say that the use of this drug was to weaken the structure and prevent further growth and spreading -many sites cited research that women treated with this drug were less likely to have cancer found in other parts of the breast during surgery.
So chin up. Good Luck.
and buy lots of unperfermud moisturister. Apparently dry skin in a common side effect of your next toxic cocktail. I use Vaseline Advanced Healing.
Would it be better if they were able to serve the chemo in cocktail form with little umbrellas and sophisticated olived arrays on sticks and the like?
thank you, monster! I've googled taxotere and I never saw that information---that is helpful--thanks.
:)
and thanks for the dry skin tip.
and, yes, it would help if they served it "cocktail" style--esp. if they provided a "pool boy" too!
exactly the kind I had in mind! :)
What a coincidence, you're exactly the kind they have in mind.
Best of luck Bri. Each step you take is a step towards all this being done with and life getting back to normal. *Hugs*
You can do anything, Bri. I know you can. We're all thinking about you.
Glad to finally hear an update, Bri. Kick this son of a bitch's ass. You're gonna do it. Stay strong...you're obviously already brave.
I second everything that has been said, Bri...and I reckon Monster is awesome for doing some research.
Stay strong and positive.
Best wishes, and good luck with the new treatments!
and I reckon Monster is awesome for doing some research.
I think you fancy me.... ;)
(if beest ever fucks up, I'll call......)
...orrrr...he could join in ;)
I was actually thinking it sounded like I was lusting after you, so I am not gonna start the thread thanking you for organising the Secret Santa.
Hey Bri- I hope your having good luck today....
:)
Stay up on the other possible therapies you could be using -- if you're refractory to one, you may need to change to another.
Best of luck to you, Bri. Be well.
thanks, all. I managaed to go to class yesterday (bought the books, sat for class AND went groceryshopping in one go!) and I felt so much better just to get OOTT and see people.. and the sun. and the road. I got a tim horton's iced cap and went wild!! :) thanks for all your love---esp. SG's love. I think I"m going gay on her. :) :) you'[re all stars, all of ya!
Nice to hear you're getting out and about Bri :)
That's great Bri! Keep at it. Trying to run your life as normally as you can is one of the best things to do.
Going gay on me is a common side effect of cancer treatment. I have been asked not to walk past the oncology dept in my local hospital any mor3e as it sends the wards crazy.
I am so glad you are out and about!
One day at a time though - don't beat yourself up if you don't make it out next time.
Wish you were here so I could rub your fuzzy head for luck. As it is you will have to rub your own. I'm rubbing mine right now in the library in case that works for you. Well you gotta try everything right?
Keep us updated xxx
I bet love shrinks cancer cells better than the toxicthingy.
Here's some for you. :hearts:
P.S. Have you tried the all natural, herbal, somewhat illegal anti-nausea remedy? Cheapter than the 200/per pill, I'd say. (Just a thought).
Hang in there woman! One day at a time eh? :D Wishing you the best in your recovery.
Update please Bri.
I've read that you're bald, puking, despairing of never having sex again and drinking too much. Is that pretty much an update?
Don't worry, you sound like Yul Brynner after a heavy night and I'm sure he got sex. If not, don't fret too much, there are other options. Like DIY, then go round giving everyone stink finger all day. Or I've heard rohypnol can be quite good?
Seriously, I am getting myself and my life into shape girl. Once I come off these anti-depressants I intend to whore myself out to medical science and then I'm have the plane fare to come over and sort you out. You have been warned. More likely I will also end up bald and puking as I drunkenly persuade you to shave me in a spirit of sisterly solidarity...
Any time you feel down, just think of me struggling to lose weight, stay off the booze and not snort with laughter in AA meetings when people talk about how God sent them visual hallucinations to stop them drinking (he's got a weird sense of humour) and really you got off lightly with just a little bit of cancer. And then think of my thinner and fitter and stronger and a militant teetotaller headed for your door, and realise things could be worse :)
I want to pour olive oil over that bald head, and rub it all over my body...
for starters...
Yul was sexy! And I'm sure you are too! Hey, they make great scraves. You can be the Cellar fashionista!
the good news is my tumor IS shrinking! I can barely feel it--it's gone from, like, lime-size to pecan-sized! the A/C is working! YAY! I've also only got two more treatments left. After that, they wait a month or so to let your body recoup a bit then do surgery THEN radiation, which I will refuse to do. After surgery, Im done with it all. I can't go thru any more bullshit and rad. is five days a week for months---forget it.
anyway, tho I'm tired, I am feeling better. thanks for all the good vibes, great posts and best wishes. you all have been great thru this! *hugs* to you all!!! :)
lime-size to pecan-sized!
SA-WEET!
And you could STILL crush it under your heel if it was outside your body, which it soon will be, this fucker has totally FAILED to take over and you are gonna crush it like a bug.
Brianna WINS!
I save this word for special occasions. ::: checks special word committee, approved:::
TOTALLY FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!
You've got the upper hand, keep going hard on the bugger until it is finished. Yay yay YAY!
Congratulations on the chemo.
Don't worry about side effects. I've dated women who didn't have any hair (alopecia) and had a lot of fun. Sexual attraction has a lot of factors. Once you get your equilibrium back, I'm sure you will rediscover your 'inner babeness' and everything will be cool.
BTW, if you do see a guy looking at you, just walk up to him, look him in the eye, lean over and whisper in his ear "It's not just my head that's bald".
At the very least, it would be fun to see the reaction.
<-Bri Tumor->
:blownup:
Wheeeeee!!! Great news!!!
Fantastic! I'm so happy :D
This is second hand information, but I work with a lot of people going through treatment. They tell me the radiation is a walk in the park compared to the chemo. The hardest part was finding a parking spot at the radiation place, but it was so quick and painless they could double park in a pinch.
You go girl! :ggw:
Fan-dabby-DOZY! :celebrat: :girlband:
YAY Bri, yet again, you are my hero.
I better get an invitation to the SG + Bri party.
I better get an invitation to the SG + Bri party.
done and done!
That is great news... I've been rooting for you!!!:)
wow--melidasaur--it's been a while! glad to see you back!
Really pleased to hear the news :)
The only downside will be my Mum believing it is her prayer circle that has healed you!
Keep getting all the help offered - treatment or otherwise. We really want you 100% well remember.
I've changed my plans for this afternoon now - I was going to sit on here for another hour, but I think I will celebrate my health and yours by going to the gym!
GREAT news Bri. Awesome, awesome, awesome!
Yay, Bri! I am very happy for you, like so many others. Can I come to the girls makeout-er...I mean celebration too?
Yay, Bri! I am very happy for you, like so many others. Can I come to the girls makeout-er...I mean celebration too?
You're all invited!
I can no longer feel the tumor unless I really TRY---two more chemo's and done with that--surgery end of march, prolly. No pain--just tired. I'm going to one class and feeling like I might live thru this after all. *hugs* to you all--you've been great!! :)
*still bald, though
You're a winner, Babe. Bald is beautiful.:comfort:
she's not just a winner....she has the Eye of the Tiger
just imagine your name is .....Glen...or Roy:
[youtube]tovjwToZ0y4[/youtube]
had second to last chemo today. one more (Mar. 4) then a month to recover and then------SURGERY! YAY! l look forward to surgery b/c you get many goood drugs and people treat you nice for a while (not a long while, but a while nevertheless) and offer to do your laundry, etc.
the A/C makes me sweat like a pig and I'm bald and have very dry skin and I sometimes wish wish wish I could be a fairy and live in fairy land where everything is fixed with the wave of a well practiced wand. (ain't it the truth, ladies)
Good luck finishing up Bri!
In the third turn, on the last lap, heading for the finish line, a WINNAH!
had second to last chemo today. one more (Mar. 4) then a month to recover and then------SURGERY! YAY! l look forward to surgery b/c you get many goood drugs and people treat you nice for a while (not a long while, but a while nevertheless) and offer to do your laundry, etc.
the A/C makes me sweat like a pig and I'm bald and have very dry skin and I sometimes wish wish wish I could be a fairy and live in fairy land where everything is fixed with the wave of a well practiced wand. (ain't it the truth, ladies)
you don't know us from Adam, but we and banana-mom (MIL) may well be in your area around the time of your surgery. If it miight possibly cheer you up, we'd be happy to visit or invite you to join us at the airforce museum.
Go Bri!
Bri,
I am in awe of your courage. I'm starting chemo March 3rd, and it's nowhere near as intensive as yours(I hope), but I'm wimping out big time. So much for macho. Hang in there, and be my hero, and maybe I can absorb some of your courage vicariously.
God bless.
Good luck to you as well Spud!
Right on, Bri did it, and spudcon can too. Nothing but winners here.
had second to last chemo today. one more (Mar. 4) then a month to recover and then------SURGERY! YAY! l look forward to surgery b/c you get many goood drugs and people treat you nice for a while (not a long while, but a while nevertheless) and offer to do your laundry, etc.
the A/C makes me sweat like a pig and I'm bald and have very dry skin and I sometimes wish wish wish I could be a fairy and live in fairy land where everything is fixed with the wave of a well practiced wand. (ain't it the truth, ladies)
You are beautiful. I am rejoicing with you.
haven't been here in a while----nice to see the posts. monster--the AFM is about 15 min. from where I live---let me know when you are coming and if I am able I would love to meet you all!!
Spud--I had no idea. look, it's truly a bitch but not a TOTAL bitch. If there is anything I can do----any info, a shoulder to cry on (although pretty much everyone here in the cellar is a positive force for good health and a great shoulder,too) any weird experiences....like, no one told me about all the emotions, the weird dreams, the weird cravings....goood luck, my friend. I'm a complete wimp---if I can do it, anyone can do it.
how many rounds are you getting?
One treatment a week for six weeks, then 30 days off, then check for growth, then one a week fo three weeks, then 30 days off, continuing but decreasing for two years. Eventually, I'll be an old pro at it.
Thans, Bri for the encouragement, and thanks to the rest of you folx too.
Joe
That's a lot of rounds! do you know the kind of chemo you're to be getting? the drug name?
(yay! my ativan is ready!)
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Yes, it's a lot of rounds, but I've been fighting this for a long time. They tell me the cure rate is good with this stuff.
Hope it goes well spud. I'm sure you'll get through it well.
I say we all meet at Bri's hospital, bribe the recovery room nurse, dress like insane clowns, and be there when she wakes up.
There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
Looked in the mirror and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today?”
So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up,
Looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
“H-M-M,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today?”
So she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up,
Looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.
“Well,” she said, “today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.”
So she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up,
Looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.
“YEA!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”
I say we all meet at Bri's hospital, bribe the recovery room nurse, dress like insane clowns, and be there when she wakes up.
So you're saying we should from some kind of
insane clown posse???Braid My Hair -- Randy Owen
She could be the first female president
Or be the doctor who’s experiment
Finds the cure to what she’s in here for
But right now treatments keep her sick in bed
That baseball cap never leaves her head
And while she sleeps I sit and dream
One day I asked her what do you wanna do when you grow up
I soon found out I wasn’t dreaming big enough
She said, I’m gonna ride my bike, I’m gonna climb a tree
Gonna fly a kite, score running little league
I’m gonna go to school, make a friend, be able to run again
Take off my mask and just breathe in the air
But most of all I’m gonna braid my hair
She could question God, Lord, knows I would
She could just give up, I don’t think I could be that strong or fight so long
How can such a little girl have such big faith
And even through the pain she still prays, saying, God will make a way
For me to ride my bike, for me to climb a tree
I’m gonna fly a kite, and score running little league
I’m gonna go to school, make a friend, be able to run again
And take off my mask and just breathe in the air
But most of all I’m gonna braid my hair that’s down to my waist
Then I’ll get it cut so they can make
Locks of love for some little girl who’s just like me
Wonders if she’ll ever be
Able to ride her bike, able to climb a tree
Able to fly her kite, and score running little league
Able to go to school, make new friends, be able to run again
Take off her mask and just breathe in the air
And most of all she can braid her hair
She can braid her hair
:DBri,
I can't travel far enough to be in your room after surgery, but rest assured I'll dress up like a clown that day anyway, and wish I was there.
thanks, spud and you all.
Last chemo is on Wednesday. I'm fighting a rotten cold so I hope and pray that my WBC's don't dip too far and they have to reschedule....nah, that ain't gonna happen! I'm gonna be feeling good and healthy on Wednesday and they'll be able to do it and then, babies, I am gonna FLY OUTTA THERE!!!
*smiles* go to it honey! And good luck:)
Cool For You Brianna! Kick ass!
That's the attitude, Bri!
thanks, spud and you all.
Last chemo is on Wednesday. I'm fighting a rotten cold so I hope and pray that my WBC's don't dip too far and they have to reschedule....nah, that ain't gonna happen! I'm gonna be feeling good and healthy on Wednesday and they'll be able to do it and then, babies, I am gonna FLY OUTTA THERE!!!
Bri,
Had my first chemo today, it hurt like hell, but I came through it better than I thought. I've been home a couple of hours now, and so far, no side effects.
Good luck on your last one on the 4th, and your surgery. I hope they can't find anything left to operate on.
I'll pray for you,
Joe:hugnkiss:
thanks, joe. My thoughts are, likewise, with you.
My last chemo was today. I'm done. I get another mammo and an echocardiogram (adriamycin/cytoxan is cardiotoxic--YAY!) and see the surgeon march 24. surgery first or second week of April. My onco can no longer feel the tumor.
send me lumpectomy wishes!
:)
I'm lumping all my wishes together for you.
You did it, chica! Time for a month off. You're almost all the way through.
No more lumps! Fantastic!:thumb2: And did I say FANTASTIC?
My onco can no longer feel the tumor.
:)
Want a second opinion? :yum:
bruce, I thought you'd never ask! :heartpump
DONE!
May the hair re-growth commence!
:cheerldr: Woot! Good stuff Bri:)
DONE!
May the hair re-growth commence!
Nay, nay, not done. START!!!
A new beginning!!! I knew you're a winner, baby. :grinnylov
Im so glad to hear that you have finished up your treatments and am looking forward to hearing an update on your surgery and particularly interested in what the cardiologist will have to say. I had my chemo right at 20 years ago and am at present dealing with the heart issues that I was told would accompany it further down the road. Just reading the word adriamycin makes me feel kinda shakey even after so many years,the bright red/hot pink stuff,I catn recall if it was icey cold or burned like hell? Its hard to get past all of it and you will think about it everyday for the rest of your years,but like love lost, over time you will think of it less and less. I really wouldnt concern yourself with the cardio aspects,they are usually something that wont show up for many years. I cant wait to hear about the new hair, mine came in as soft as a baby's. Just keep living for the day and try to avoid stress whenever you can. Make sure to keep trying new things,if something sounds fun or interesting GO FOR IT!!
Yay Bri!!!
You kicked that MF'ers arse :D
A while since I posted on here. I usually just lurk around the image of the day and the internet stuff so i've missed this thread. Good luck with everything. I can understand what you have been through as I have been trying to beat Non Hodgkins for a year and a half. Beginning a stem cell transplant in a couple of weeks. Not looking forward to the month of isolation....
Keep us up, on the nitty gritty details of that, Roosta. I'd like to more about that.
I've had four rounds of chemo so far. All the lumpy bits have gone along with my hair. The last burst before my stem cell harvest was with a little machine that I had to wear on a neck strap pumping stuff in for 96 hours continuously. It feeds into a Hickman line in my chest. I dread one of my kids pulling on this thing one day. I had to give myself injections of GCSF every day for 10 days to boost clean stem cell production. The next stage is going in for some really bad chemo that will kill my bone marrow / stem cells completely over a seven day period. Then they will infuse my harvested cells back in. Hopefully, I won't get an infection that will put me in a box in the meantime.
Good luck & well wishes Roosta
Thanks for the explanation, Roosta. I guess you should avoid whorehouses and opium dens for a bit. ;)
Best of luck, we'll be rooting for you.
Roosta, best of luck with it all, please take your comp and internet access into your bubble -you don't need to be isolated from us. If Bruce doesn't ban us we're certified virus-free ;)
Roosta--my heart and hope goes out over the sea to you and I will keep you in my thoughts. Compared to what you are going thru, my chemo was a walk in the park. Oh, my. You have your work cut out for you but YOU CAN DO this. Are you in any pain? That's what wrecked my world for a bit--the taxotere gave me constant, gnawing bone pain that nothing got rid of (the Rx they gave me just made it bearable) but now I see how constant pain will change a person.
I was given Rituximab and Vinchristine for nearly a year. During the three hours it took to get it in my veins, I felt as if I was being kicked in the stomach. They gave me morphine and gas/air but It still made me crease. In the end they sedated me so I slept through the pain. It left me feeling battered for days but the 20 steroid tablets I had to take for ten days after kept me awake even though I was really tired. Thanks to you all for your nice comments, I will beat this thing! Cheers, everyone!
Roosta---you are a warrior. I cannot imagine your ordeal. Holy moly, I hope they are giving you good drugs to cope. 20 steroids? I was given IV steroids and then a few by mouth after the chemo and it made me very nuts and crazy and I cried for DAYS. (Though, in my awful defense, I was going thru chemo induced menopause, too) but, shite, dude/dudess. Please keep us updated on how you are doing--even if it is only a word or two (I know the fatigue) but please keep us informed. I, one of many, I am sure, am sending you good vibes, good love and good healing.
Roosta, best of luck. My father is currently undergoing a chord blood BMT for CLL, so I can certainly sympathize with the treatments you describe. Are they doing a mini-auto, or full?
The stems are mine, harvested a few weeks ago. I don't fancy the prospect of someone elses stems - there is a 20% chance of not making it through due to the the new immune system rejecting me!! My brother and sister weren't matches for me so my own being implanted again was the best option.
Roosta, all the best of luck to you and you have my greatest respect for posting about the experience.
If you ever fancy a visit from a complete stranger you can always PM me your details and I'll see what I can do about finding your locale for a cup of tea and a cake. My shout I promise :)
True, but there is a much higher chance of relapse of the cancer with your own stems. Graft-versus-leukemia is a stronger effect in Allo, but as you said, GvH can kill, too.
Best wishes in your treatment. My father is in day two of the heavy chemo/radiation.
Thanks for the offer Sundae!
My good wishes also Roosta. My sister went thru that bone marrow thing too, but that was 20 years ago. Technology has skyrocketed since then.
I go see the surgeon today at 2.30. It's kinda stupid, though, as I don't get my mammo and echo until thurs. and friday this week. Cart before the horse sorta deal.
I'm scared, lonely and feel desperate. I'm also broke.
my stomach hurts.
Were I the surgeon, I wouldn't want to wait until next week to see your tits. ;)
Don't be sad Bri - we're all there in spirit.
Creepy, huh?
Good luck Bri. We know you can do this -- you've done so much! It's just one more step on the path.
Best wishes, Pie
You really pull on my heart strings girl. Make a cup of tea. go light on the tea heavy on the sugar. Go steal a daffodil out of someones yard and put it in a pretty vase in your window or whever you are so you can see it and giggle about it.
I know it is hard enough to be without a dime. Believe me this last week I'm feeling it too but the other stuff. wow. You are so strong. I know you don't feel it but you have the power to pull it right from the screen so know the power is in you to pull every good thing from life to you.
The cancer has shrunk to size of thumb-nail. Pretty sure lumpectomy, but she will take all my lymph nodes in left arm due to previous tumor size and then 6 weeks radiation.
thanks, all.
:thumb:
da rest o' dis shit is gonna be easy and you gonna have this ass kicked in no time atall!
The cancer has shrunk to size of thumb-nail.
Shit, that's even less than squash-it-under-your-heel size. That's like... I dunno, give-it-to-a-squirrel-to-bury-for-the-winter size. Okay, this analogy isn't really working. The point is, you are the awesomest, Bri.
Sounds like you're kicking its butt, like we knew you would. :)
Bri, I just wrote a long philosophical message about common feelings and circumstances. I just flushed it, because the simple thing is, the physical stuff is hurting our emotioal stuff. But it's all temporary, more so for you, because you're much younger than me. You don't have to be lonely, because you have all us Cellarites who love you, but there are people close by you who love you also.
You can't pick your relatives, but you can pick who you love, You sometimes can't control being broke, but you don't have to be poor. Choose to be loved, because you are, and that's the true reality.
Ah nuts, I got philosophical again. OK, you can't pick your circumstances, but you can pick your nose.:3eye:
It works for me.
that works for me, too, spud.
You're wonderful to care so much. from the bottom of my grinch-y heart, I thank you all, again, for being so good to me.
Today I am declaring a moratorium on all thumbnail sized objects, to show my disdain for the thumbnail sized badness still lingering.
In fact I'll staple my own thumbnails to the desk.
Ah, wait - I can see a problem with that immediately.
Well instead I'll take the more sensible step of saying congratulations Bri, I know this has been a hard path, but you're near the end of the worst section now. Sunshine and flowers and lemonade and lollipops (and some hard drugs) from hereon in.
Thinking of you xxx
Ok. Surgery date April 4th at 1:00. I cannot wait to get this done! I'm glad it's going to be on a friday---it'll give me the weekend to recoup before going back to school. yay!
Good luck, i'll be thinking of ya! I'm in Friday the 4th at 10am for my chemo/transplant. Stay strong!
Hey, Roosta! I'll be thinking of you!!
thanks,monster and Pie. I appreciate all the good tidings! I know things will be fine!
All the best Roosta! I'll send positive thoughts your way on Friday. @ Bri, almost there m'dear!
Best wishes to everyone! Glad to see you doing so well, Brianna.
See you guys on Monday!! I have to be at the hospital at 11.00 tomorrow and hopefully will be well enough to write more on Mon.
toodle-oos, my Lovely Chickas and Handsome Warriors!
Good luck Bri!
Good luck Roosta!
Se youse on Monday!
Hugs all round :grouphug:
thinking of you both......
*hugs* see ye monday Bri.
Good luck - snag a hottie doctor!
Best wishes to you both.
Another encouraging story: my father may be released from the hospital next week! He's progressing nicely from his bone marrow transplant. (My mom has a blog
here, if you're interested!) I'm heading out to Minnesota again tomorrow.
Just saw this thread. Bri you're probably there right now as I type.
Roosta you're probably in the trenches by now. I send good thoughts and wishes to you both.
~be well
Good luck to both of you - get well and get back here posting soon.
Bri, I've been thinking of you today. Hope all is well, but don't post until you feel well enough. Hope they give you some good drugs to get you thru the weekend. Recover first, get well, hope to hear from you when you're able.
Call me if you want to talk, Bri.
I was thinking of you on the day - didn't get any spooky feelings, so I assume you're okay. Unless you were that fishy burp I did in the afternoon.
Love you lots - hope you have plenty of (real physical) loved ones to look after you over the next few weeks.
My surgery went off just fine! Had the one lump and all the nodes out of my left armpit---I've got a drain in and it will probably be here for the week but easy to take out. Everything is looking good and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your care and support and love!! More after these painkillers kick in (I really am in "ouch"ville, esp. the underarm part)
Ta daaaaaaa! And the crowd goes wild!
And who needs a bunch of stupid nodes in their armpit? Freakin' nodes all getting swollen and stuff! It wasn't intelligent design to begin with.
Hi! You don't know me. I'm a knew member, but I read all the posts since the beginning of your sickness, and it's like I know you.
You must be a very good person to have that many friends, and now that you are OK, that will give me the chance to become one of your friends to.
Congratulations
thanks (and an especial thanks for UT putting it all in perspective, as usual) and hey, buffalo bill....welcome. thanks for the support and for coming out of lurk mode to congratulate me!! :) but I just laid there. the surgeons did the work!
Great to see you back, Bri! Any chance we can get cool pictures for the Bruises thread? ;)
snip~ You must be a very good person to have that many friends, ~snip
Naw, she's a bitch... but she's our bitch and we love her. :3some:
My surgery went off just fine! Had the one lump and all the nodes out of my left armpit---I've got a drain in and it will probably be here for the week but easy to take out. Everything is looking good and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your care and support and love!! More after these painkillers kick in (I really am in "ouch"ville, esp. the underarm part)
Yay for no more lump! Yay for painkillers!
Would a frozen peas ice pack help the painful pit?
PM if you need anything.
Did you get to keep the lump and stuff? Is there a tumor fairy? I reckon it must be worth at least a pony.....
Yeah, you have to crush it under your heel!
We sure do have some badass, tough muthafuckahs here. You two impress the shit out of me with your attitudes. I'm simply not worthy.
Blessed be to you both. You *shall* heal.
Jinx--yeah, the frozen peas in a bag really do help! I don't need a thing except for your continuing friendship and support--you all have been great!
I, too, feel the lump is worth a pony....which I didn't get but i DID get a Vermont Teddy Bear (Coco Chanel) and SG is keeping me busy with Rude UK--a book I look at and laugh and laugh! I couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to help me thru this.
Peace be upon you all!~
Love, Claudette
Add my congrats and yoohoos to the rest. My last chemo is today.
Bri, I'm really glad it all went well. Hope you get out of ouchville soon.
Whew!! finally on the other side. Congratulations, and take it easy you deserve it. You'll be back to up your shitstirring rabblerousing self before you know it.
::huge but gentle hug::
Glad to hear you're doing good!
Spud, good luck to you too. Isn't it nice to see the light at the end of the (chemo) tunnel?
- Pie
@ Bri. That's the best news. Wonderful. You totally nailed that stoopid tumour. :)
@ Spud, Good luck mate, almost there *smiles*
Thanks to all for the good wishes. Chemo is done, and I'm home, feeling like crap, but happy nonetheless. Gonna rest for the rest of the evening, and detox/decontaminate.
Right on, Spud! Here's to the start of a cancer-free life. Here's a little story for you all...please, next time I start bitching about something, remind me how insignificant my problems are compared to other people's?
A guy I've just started working with this week asked me how I was today, so I started pissing and moaning about work stress, my kids, poverty, crappy cars and such. He was *so* nice, smiling, telling me about how his kids were at that age (he's about 65), listening to my concerns, and obviously trying to make me feel better.
Then, while talking about how great his kids turned out, he casually mentioned his wife's terminal cancer, and her dire prognosis, and all the chemo and radiation and surgeries she'd been through fighting it. I felt about two inches tall. I mean, who the fuck am I to whine about the stupid shit I was laying down, while this guy stands on the verge of losing his wife of 40 years, and still has a smile and a kind word for a relative stranger? I have a healthy family, a nice house, cars that usually run and food in the cabinets, and this man is going to lose everything that means anything to him someday soon...
I've got to try harder to be a better person. :headshake
I've got to try harder to be a better person. :headshake
No you don't.
1) you're one of the most empathetic people I've come across
2) If Selene was terminally ill, would you really want people to pussy-foot around you and not mention anything that wasn't perfect in their lifes, just to try and spare you further pain? Or because they felt your pain made theirs unimportant? By telling him your woes and minor(ish) greivances, you probably gave him a few minutes to forget his own pain.
^ what the monster said, 'Spode ^
He sounds like a decent man, but you are too, so don't beat yourself up.
A man who needed to be a better person wouldn't even have got to hear about the ill wife!
Still, if it got you to count your blessing it was a positive encounter.
Spud - lots of love sent to you, hope the detoxing goes as well as it can. At least it's another milestone passed.
Glad it went well for ya! I'm late getting in here to pass on my best wishes - my good lady only dropped the laptop off yesterday and i'm having to connect through a mobile at a massive 9.6kbps! It akes an age! Everything is going ok, not feeling too bad. Having the cells returned to me tomorrow. Apparently, i'll smell heavily of sweetcorn for three days due to the preservatives they added to them!
Anyway, stay cool everybody!
The journey's long but i'm clingin' on!!!
We're rootin for ya roosta :)
Here's to nice, clean cells being shoved back in, Roosta! Go for the gold, bro.
No you don't.
I've *had* my own crises, and crises with my eldest child in more than adequate measure, that's for sure, so it isn't as though I don't know true despair and pain. Its just that, all things considered, my life is probably the best it has ever been right about now, and that's saying a lot...yet still I fall into these bummer moments. Then, when someone who has *real* problems comes around, it just jolts me.
I don't know how the guy can be such a cheerful, open fellow with all he's got going on in his life. I'd be such a basket case if Selene was in the condition his wife is in. Just considering the prospect of her no longer being with me on this plane almost makes me cry.
I just wish Life didn't have to make people suffer so much, you know?
Best wishes, Roosta! Smelling like sweetcorn is an aphrodisiac in some areas of the world.
I"m pulling for you and the spud!
Good luck and keep the good attitude Roosta. Despite the junk you're going thru, it gets better. And don't worry about smelling like corn, I have a friend who farts a lot and smells like corn, but everyone still loves her.;)
Get better quick, ya hear?
P.S. Thanks everyone for good wishes.
My anti-depressants made me smell of meat for the first few months - you get used to it after a while!
Just think, you'll be the only Roosta pursued by real chickens!
Good luck and best wishes and keep doing what you're doing to all those ill or beginning recovery.
Hey Roosta, my dad just finished his stint smelling like corn (mini-allo). He's doing quite well -- we just brought him home from the transplant ward. Hope things go just as smoothly for you!
Spud, Bri -- glad you've both made it to the end of this trial. Hopefully, every day from here on out will be better than the last!
Thanks Pie, every day is better if I allow it to be.
Brianna,
I leave the nets for a while and this is what I come back to?
Jeez, that'll learn me.
I am so glad you are doing well. I've missed you.
Oh yeah, sorry about the...
[COLOR="Red"]I wish you more than luck, I wish you well.[/COLOR]
Oh yeah, sorry about the...
You heartless bastard. You know Rainbow Pony's colors ran on 9/11.
You heartless bastard. You know Rainbow Pony's colors ran on 9/11.
*applauds* That's just brilliant.
I wish you more than luck, I wish you well.
[COLOR="Red"]I wish you more than luck, I wish you well.[/COLOR]
Well, we agree on that. :D
Do you still weigh 55kg?
Well, i'm out at last. Not the best experience of my life but it could have been worse. Tiredness and no energy to do anything are against me at the minute. I can't wait to get back to normal - no sense of taste, constant aches and endless visits to the hospital for blood tests are doing my head in. Thanks to everyone who supported me.
Roosta, if the support of strangers could help you at all, I'd promise you that you'd be well any minute now.
Apart from that - you have my very best wishes for strength and health.
Me, too, Roosta. It WILL get better.
lot of us here supporting you.
You'll be cock 'o the walk before you know it. :thumb2:
Good on you, roosta! Getting back home (and back to normal) can be a major psychological boost.
Best wishes for the rest of your recovery.
Hurr Hurr....Bruce said Cock!
Thanks everyone! It really does help to know there are still so many good people in what is a mad old world.
Way to man it out, bro. Congrats on a successful completion of therapy.
Going in to get checked out in a few hours. See if my chemo worked. Prayers please from believers, the rest of you, cross your fingers for me, OK?
You got both, here. :thumb:
I'll drip some chicken blood over the octagon just before midnight for you, spudcon.
I'll pray and cross and whatever else I can think of for ya - best to you!
All the best Spud. *hugs* we're all thinking good thoughts for you.
Prayers cross the waters, Spud. I'm thinking good thoughts for you! :hugs:
Thanks everyone for prayers and stuff. They found 2 very small lesions, have to return for biopsy. Maybe the spots are from previous surgery. Don't know, they're inside me.
Not looking forward to next visit, but won't let it get me down, either. I will be grouchy, tho'.
Ah Spud. Sorry it's not perfect news. I know it's a drop in the ocean, but you have all my best wishes and hopes.
SG, it's not a drop in the ocean. Every tiny bit of good wishes turns into mountains of gratitude. Thank you.
Well then enjoy the mountain climate, 'cause we're heaping truckloads of good wishes on ya. :grouphug:
We like grumpy posters - just look how long T-dub has been around.
srsly - congrats and good luck.