Re: Jill: radiation after chemo

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill,

Oh, I soooo agree with you!! I will do

anything they say to stop these cells, if there are

any. I was so worried about chemo and throwing up I

just prayed that I thought I could handle anything, if

He would just protect me from vomiting. And...He has

done it!! I am a pretty tough person, but discovering

that I need to respect myself as a bit sickly at this

time. I hear that radiation makes one tired, well I'm

already tired, so it shouldn't make much difference.

I also worry about my skin...I am super sensitive to

the sun, dryness, etc. I have a horrible feeling the

radiation will do a number on me. What are some of

the things I can do to help that? Is there anything I

can be doing now to toughen up the skin?

Thanks,

Gloria

PS. There was a front page article on our family and

our home addition. The article is at

http://www.geocities.com/largefamilies2001/joi.html

and I have pictures that I took on my website at

http://www.adoptn.org/addition.html

--- Jill Merrill wrote:

> Gloria,

>

> I found that the Taxotere was cumulative, and my

> last session and even now,

> four weeks after my last session, have been the

> worst in terms of pain and

> depression and all sorts of nasty side effects.

>

> I share your fear of radiation and also wonder how

> something that is known

> to cause cancer can kill cancer. But I trust my

> doctors and it seems to be

> " the " protocol for breast cancer these days. I'm

> afraid of radiation but

> I'm more afraid of dying while my daughter is still

> young. Since you have

> so many children, I'd guess you'd feel the same way.

> Chemo can give you all

> sorts of serious life-long problems too. It's no

> fun, but, for me, if it

> lessens the changes of a recurrence or my becoming

> Stage IV, it's worth it.

> Even if it kills only one stray cell, it might well

> be the cell that would

> later migrate to your organs or bones and cause a

> recurrence.

>

> However if you still feel really badly about getting

> radiation, you might

> want to talk with a radiologist and get more exact

> figures about the odds;

> how much does it help and how much more likely would

> I be to get a

> recurrence if I skipped it? It may be that, for you,

> there wouldn't be that

> much difference, and it might be OK not to have

> radiation.

>

> As for the timing, I don't know because I'm having

> surgery in between. I

> know they wanted me to wait about six weeks after my

> last chemo before

> surgery. Surgery is much more invasive than

> radiation, though, so the wait

> might be shorter. Three to four weeks, maybe? I'm

> sure a lot of women on

> this list can tell you.

>

> Best of luck with whatever you decide.

>

> Jill

>

> At 05:27 PM 12/28/2002 -0800, you wrote:

> >Hi all,

> > what is the usual time between the last chemo

> >treatment (taxotere) and radiation? I have only

> one

> >more chemo to go...Praise the Lord. Yesterday and

> >today are the first time that I have felt totally

> >awful: sore throat, painful legs and feet, sinus

> >infection, temperature, and extreme fatigue. The

> doc

> >put me on antibiotics, and I started the Neupogen

> >shots (white cell) the day before. I'm not going

> to

> >complain, because I am so blessed that I have been

> so

> >healthy throughout all this. Now for the

> radiation,

> >which really scares me. I was brought up fearing

> >radiation (my father was a nuclear scientist)...

> >Bye for now, and I hope everyone had a blessed

> >Christmas and will have a joyous New year.

> >Gloria

>

>

>

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill,

Oh, I soooo agree with you!! I will do

anything they say to stop these cells, if there are

any. I was so worried about chemo and throwing up I

just prayed that I thought I could handle anything, if

He would just protect me from vomiting. And...He has

done it!! I am a pretty tough person, but discovering

that I need to respect myself as a bit sickly at this

time. I hear that radiation makes one tired, well I'm

already tired, so it shouldn't make much difference.

I also worry about my skin...I am super sensitive to

the sun, dryness, etc. I have a horrible feeling the

radiation will do a number on me. What are some of

the things I can do to help that? Is there anything I

can be doing now to toughen up the skin?

Thanks,

Gloria

PS. There was a front page article on our family and

our home addition. The article is at

http://www.geocities.com/largefamilies2001/joi.html

and I have pictures that I took on my website at

http://www.adoptn.org/addition.html

--- Jill Merrill wrote:

> Gloria,

>

> I found that the Taxotere was cumulative, and my

> last session and even now,

> four weeks after my last session, have been the

> worst in terms of pain and

> depression and all sorts of nasty side effects.

>

> I share your fear of radiation and also wonder how

> something that is known

> to cause cancer can kill cancer. But I trust my

> doctors and it seems to be

> " the " protocol for breast cancer these days. I'm

> afraid of radiation but

> I'm more afraid of dying while my daughter is still

> young. Since you have

> so many children, I'd guess you'd feel the same way.

> Chemo can give you all

> sorts of serious life-long problems too. It's no

> fun, but, for me, if it

> lessens the changes of a recurrence or my becoming

> Stage IV, it's worth it.

> Even if it kills only one stray cell, it might well

> be the cell that would

> later migrate to your organs or bones and cause a

> recurrence.

>

> However if you still feel really badly about getting

> radiation, you might

> want to talk with a radiologist and get more exact

> figures about the odds;

> how much does it help and how much more likely would

> I be to get a

> recurrence if I skipped it? It may be that, for you,

> there wouldn't be that

> much difference, and it might be OK not to have

> radiation.

>

> As for the timing, I don't know because I'm having

> surgery in between. I

> know they wanted me to wait about six weeks after my

> last chemo before

> surgery. Surgery is much more invasive than

> radiation, though, so the wait

> might be shorter. Three to four weeks, maybe? I'm

> sure a lot of women on

> this list can tell you.

>

> Best of luck with whatever you decide.

>

> Jill

>

> At 05:27 PM 12/28/2002 -0800, you wrote:

> >Hi all,

> > what is the usual time between the last chemo

> >treatment (taxotere) and radiation? I have only

> one

> >more chemo to go...Praise the Lord. Yesterday and

> >today are the first time that I have felt totally

> >awful: sore throat, painful legs and feet, sinus

> >infection, temperature, and extreme fatigue. The

> doc

> >put me on antibiotics, and I started the Neupogen

> >shots (white cell) the day before. I'm not going

> to

> >complain, because I am so blessed that I have been

> so

> >healthy throughout all this. Now for the

> radiation,

> >which really scares me. I was brought up fearing

> >radiation (my father was a nuclear scientist)...

> >Bye for now, and I hope everyone had a blessed

> >Christmas and will have a joyous New year.

> >Gloria

>

>

>

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi Georgia. Since I haven't had radiation yet I can't tell you much about

it. They'll tell you not to use deoderant because it contains aluminum, but

Tom's of Maine makes really good deoderants that don't have any artifical

ingredients, including aluminum. I use it anyhow and will continue to. I

know that the radiologists can recommend skin creams but I don't know what

they are. I bet a lot of other women here, though, can tell you.

I know what you mean about feeling sickly; I am super-sensitive to

*everything* that happens to my body and had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome even

before bc so I will probably feel like the undead during radiation! But

some women get through it with just mild tiredness and a bit of sunburn. I

hope it turns out your experience is better than you'd expected.

The article and photos were really cool. How appropriate that your last

name is Joi. I can't believe how strong you are, but the openness of your

heart continues to astound me. I have a hard time coping with my own

daughter, and she doesn't have any special challenges, other than being an

adolescent... Anyhow your kids all look beautiful, and very happy.

Jill

p.s.I only threw up once during chemo myself, and I can't quite remember

but I think I did something stupid like overeating or having a glass of

alcohol, so I think it was my own fault! I was VERY grateful not to be one

of the women who vomit for days on end after every chemo treatment. I

vastly prefer gaining weight and even being in pretty severe pain to

nausea. That's the worst. It's funny, isn't it, the stuff we talk about on

this list. Most people couldn't care less and would much rather not hear

about whether I vomit or not!

At 09:18 PM 12/30/2002 -0800, you wrote:

>Hi Jill,

> Oh, I soooo agree with you!! I will do

>anything they say to stop these cells, if there are

>any. I was so worried about chemo and throwing up I

>just prayed that I thought I could handle anything, if

>He would just protect me from vomiting. And...He has

>done it!! I am a pretty tough person, but discovering

>that I need to respect myself as a bit sickly at this

>time. I hear that radiation makes one tired, well I'm

>already tired, so it shouldn't make much difference.

>I also worry about my skin...I am super sensitive to

>the sun, dryness, etc. I have a horrible feeling the

>radiation will do a number on me. What are some of

>the things I can do to help that? Is there anything I

>can be doing now to toughen up the skin?

>Thanks,

>Gloria

>PS. There was a front page article on our family and

>our home addition. The article is at

>http://www.geocities.com/largefamilies2001/joi.html

>and I have pictures that I took on my website at

>http://www.adoptn.org/addition.html

[Guest guest]

At 11:01 AM 12/31/2002 -0800, you wrote:

>This was for Gloria....right?....georgia

Oh foo! I know the difference between you two wonderful women. My brain

just has a hard time distinguishing which " G " name belongs to which woman!

Yes I know that Georgia is the woman with so many children and such a big

heart (not that Gloria doesn't have a big heart, too) and that Gloria is

the woman who, like me, is concerned about radiation (I think...). But

that's no guarantee I won't make the same mistake again. Sorry!

Jill

> Jill Merrill wrote:Hi Georgia. Since I haven't had

> radiation yet I can't tell you much about

>it. They'll tell you not to use deoderant because it contains aluminum, but

>Tom's of Maine makes really good deoderants that don't have any artifical

>ingredients, including aluminum. I use it anyhow and will continue to. I

>know that the radiologists can recommend skin creams but I don't know what

>they are. I bet a lot of other women here, though, can tell you.

[Guest guest]

Hi Gloria,

I just had my 17th radiation therapy treatment today. I get a little tired

but when I do I go to bed. I work full time and have not missed a day of

work. I am a redhead and have very sensitive skin. I would not say my skin

is handling this any worse than anybody else. To reduce the 'burning' I

have found a wonderful Aloe with Lidocaine and Menthol Gel sold at Walgreen

s. It has done such a good job with me that my radiation therapist is

recommending it to her other patients.

Hope that you can find it and also that it works for you.

Yours in healing,

-- Re: Jill: radiation after chemo

Hi Jill,

Oh, I soooo agree with you!! I will do

anything they say to stop these cells, if there are

any. I was so worried about chemo and throwing up I

just prayed that I thought I could handle anything, if

He would just protect me from vomiting. And...He has

done it!! I am a pretty tough person, but discovering

that I need to respect myself as a bit sickly at this

time. I hear that radiation makes one tired, well I'm

already tired, so it shouldn't make much difference.

I also worry about my skin...I am super sensitive to

the sun, dryness, etc. I have a horrible feeling the

radiation will do a number on me. What are some of

the things I can do to help that? Is there anything I

can be doing now to toughen up the skin?

Thanks,

Gloria

PS. There was a front page article on our family and

our home addition. The article is at

http://www.geocities.com/largefamilies2001/joi.html

and I have pictures that I took on my website at

http://www.adoptn.org/addition.html

[Guest guest]

Wow what an incredible web page. I really admire you for the things you do for

children. Thank You for sharing

Jeana

Re: Jill: radiation after chemo

Hi Jill,

Oh, I soooo agree with you!! I will do

anything they say to stop these cells, if there are

any. I was so worried about chemo and throwing up I

just prayed that I thought I could handle anything, if

He would just protect me from vomiting. And...He has

done it!! I am a pretty tough person, but discovering

that I need to respect myself as a bit sickly at this

time. I hear that radiation makes one tired, well I'm

already tired, so it shouldn't make much difference.

I also worry about my skin...I am super sensitive to

the sun, dryness, etc. I have a horrible feeling the

radiation will do a number on me. What are some of

the things I can do to help that? Is there anything I

can be doing now to toughen up the skin?

Thanks,

Gloria

PS. There was a front page article on our family and

our home addition. The article is at

http://www.geocities.com/largefamilies2001/joi.html

and I have pictures that I took on my website at

http://www.adoptn.org/addition.html

--- Jill Merrill wrote:

> Gloria,

>

> I found that the Taxotere was cumulative, and my

> last session and even now,

> four weeks after my last session, have been the

> worst in terms of pain and

> depression and all sorts of nasty side effects.

>

> I share your fear of radiation and also wonder how

> something that is known

> to cause cancer can kill cancer. But I trust my

> doctors and it seems to be

> " the " protocol for breast cancer these days. I'm

> afraid of radiation but

> I'm more afraid of dying while my daughter is still

> young. Since you have

> so many children, I'd guess you'd feel the same way.

> Chemo can give you all

> sorts of serious life-long problems too. It's no

> fun, but, for me, if it

> lessens the changes of a recurrence or my becoming

> Stage IV, it's worth it.

> Even if it kills only one stray cell, it might well

> be the cell that would

> later migrate to your organs or bones and cause a

> recurrence.

>

> However if you still feel really badly about getting

> radiation, you might

> want to talk with a radiologist and get more exact

> figures about the odds;

> how much does it help and how much more likely would

> I be to get a

> recurrence if I skipped it? It may be that, for you,

> there wouldn't be that

> much difference, and it might be OK not to have

> radiation.

>

> As for the timing, I don't know because I'm having

> surgery in between. I

> know they wanted me to wait about six weeks after my

> last chemo before

> surgery. Surgery is much more invasive than

> radiation, though, so the wait

> might be shorter. Three to four weeks, maybe? I'm

> sure a lot of women on

> this list can tell you.

>

> Best of luck with whatever you decide.

>

> Jill

>

> At 05:27 PM 12/28/2002 -0800, you wrote:

> >Hi all,

> > what is the usual time between the last chemo

> >treatment (taxotere) and radiation? I have only

> one

> >more chemo to go...Praise the Lord. Yesterday and

> >today are the first time that I have felt totally

> >awful: sore throat, painful legs and feet, sinus

> >infection, temperature, and extreme fatigue. The

> doc

> >put me on antibiotics, and I started the Neupogen

> >shots (white cell) the day before. I'm not going

> to

> >complain, because I am so blessed that I have been

> so

> >healthy throughout all this. Now for the

> radiation,

> >which really scares me. I was brought up fearing

> >radiation (my father was a nuclear scientist)...

> >Bye for now, and I hope everyone had a blessed

> >Christmas and will have a joyous New year.

> >Gloria

>

>

>

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi Gloria. Can you post the name of the product? We live two minutes from

Walgreens and I'm sure I could get exactly the same product here. I'm glad

that radiation isn't going too badly for you.

Jill

At 06:52 PM 12/31/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>Hi Gloria,

>

>I just had my 17th radiation therapy treatment today. I get a little tired

>but when I do I go to bed. I work full time and have not missed a day of

>work. I am a redhead and have very sensitive skin. I would not say my skin

>is handling this any worse than anybody else. To reduce the 'burning' I

>have found a wonderful Aloe with Lidocaine and Menthol Gel sold at Walgreen

>s. It has done such a good job with me that my radiation therapist is

>recommending it to her other patients.

>

>Hope that you can find it and also that it works for you.

>

>Yours in healing,

>

[Guest guest]

Jill,

The product is just called Aloe with Lidocaine and Menthol Gel. It is a

large bottle and is blue in color. It is a Walgreen's product.

Hope that helps. It sure cools me off!

-- Re: Jill: radiation after chemo

Hi Gloria. Can you post the name of the product? We live two minutes from

Walgreens and I'm sure I could get exactly the same product here. I'm glad

that radiation isn't going too badly for you.

Jill

At 06:52 PM 12/31/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>Hi Gloria,

>

>I just had my 17th radiation therapy treatment today. I get a little tired

>but when I do I go to bed. I work full time and have not missed a day of

>work. I am a redhead and have very sensitive skin. I would not say my skin

>is handling this any worse than anybody else. To reduce the 'burning' I

>have found a wonderful Aloe with Lidocaine and Menthol Gel sold at Walgreen

>s. It has done such a good job with me that my radiation therapist is

>recommending it to her other patients.

>

>Hope that you can find it and also that it works for you.

>

>Yours in healing,

>