stand4hope

Oh my gosh - those were wonderful. I'm printing them now for my husband. He will LOVE them. Thanks. Peggy

Hi Paddy, I don't think I've had the pleasure to write to you yet. Just wanted to share with you that my husband, too, had horrible side effects from Taxotere. It was so bad for him that I literally shudder when I hear the word Taxotere. He actually had a several allergic reaction to it in the 3rd cycle and immediately had to give him benadryl in his iv. They tried again the next week with benadryl in advance, but no way - turned beet red, heart racing, and he almost passed out. After that, he was flat on his back for 2 months. Of course, he was getting lung radiation at the same time, so the doctors admitted that they were probably a little too aggressive with him. He was in such superior health, that they wanted to start off with a bang - well, they did!!! I understand, though, from reading other's posts that many people on here have tolerated Taxotere quite well. Go figure. I guess it's "different strokes for different folks". I'm also sorry to hear that you are having a hard time. Don't know if I can help, but feel free to PM if you like. I've only been at this cancer-fighting stuff for 8 months, but I sure have been down that road many times learning how to cope with the bad stuff this 'ol world dishes out. Welcome back from your vacation, and I'm glad you had a good time! God bless you, Peggy

Hi Margaret, My real name is Margaret, too, but I have used my nickname all my life, which is Peggy. Here's a great big warm welcome to you to this forum. I think you are really going to love it here. My husband had gemzar/navelbine on his last round of chemo. He really did very well with this combination, except for fatigue, which is normal with any chemo. The only thing that was any problem at all was getting a big enough vein to take the navelbine. Navelbine is a vein irritant and it's injected directly into the vein, not by IV. They always had to heat up his arm with a heating pad, and sometimes it took several attempts to get a good vein to take it. It can't burn while it's going in or they have to stop it and try another spot. My husband is no baby and he would wince terribly and swing back in the chair from the burn when the vein wasn't right. Once they got a good, wide open vein, it was no problem. Hope this helps. This can all be very scary for us who have loved ones going through this horrible nightmare, so please feel free to come here whenever you have questions, concerns or just want to vent. God bless you, Peggy

A rash after taking new meds (in this case chemo) always shouts to me - ALLERGIC REACTION because I am allergic to two medicines that caused a rash. However, I don't know all the chemo side effects, so this could be one and not be an allergic reaction. Like he said, if it gets worse, then I would call the doctor. Good luck, Peggy

How about one forum for all medication and/or medication questions? Someone in my family was prescsribed Zoloft this week, and I did a search to find posts on it, because I knew I had read a lot of posts about it. It would have been easier to go to a forum. Peggy

I think you're all weird! Guess I joined the right forum. Now, for the vivid picture I now have of what David has been doing with his time . . . . . . Peggy

Well, I guess I'll be the devil's advocate here. We all know Rick doesn't deserve hate email, but I am an IT coordinator and work with computers and computer users and I just want to say that some people just happen to have a very low level of patience, and when they send hate mail, they don't think about the fact that are attacking a person. They don't think about the fact that a caring person is actually receiving the email and taking it personal. They don't know and don't think about the fact that the person doing the fixing is working as fast and feverishly as they can to get it fixed. I have one user that is as sweet as she can be, but when her computer doesn't work she turns into the Wicked Witch of the Firm. She has had me in tears (unbeknowst to her), because I am doing the best I can, getting all the help I can to fix the problem, and wish so much that I could get it fixed quicker. People don't think of computers as a machine that will break down. They are so used to the speed of using them, getting things done and everything going smoothly that when it breaks, they just lose control. If they were like me today, they may have just typed a long post puring out their heart, that took them a long time to type, only for the system to crash when they tried to send it. Truly, it happened to me today. I was sending a long soul-dumping PM and Kaplooie! it was all gone. I wasn't torn up about the typing, but I was about everything that I said that had just disappeared. Anyway, whoever sent Rick emails has probably read this thread and is feeling pretty bad right now. I do applaud everyone for coming to Rick's defense, though, that is very commendable, but how about we all say a prayer right now and just ask God to give folks more patience. Thank you, God bless you all, Peggy

It's beautiful in Indiana, too, but I'm stuck on the 44th floor of a high rise only able to vicariously enjoy it through the rest of you. So, ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!!! and plant a flower for me, too!! Peggy

Me, too, Peg. Love, Peggy

Fay, I don't know what "Carpe Diem" means, but I do know what this means: WOOHOO! Love, Peggy

Oh, Berisa, I am feeling so sad for you and your family right now. I'm so sorry you lost your wonderful, loving father to this horrible disease. I am also so strengthened by your words of peace both for him and for yourself that you expressed. You were a wonderful, beautiful, loving and supportive daughter to your father, and I just bet you were the strength for the rest of your family as well. God love you, and again, I'm so, so sorry. Peggy

Dear BLT, Just the opposite at my house. My husb. scans aren't until the 1st week of June and I'm already stressing. It's like OMG tomorrow is April 29, and then OMG, then it's going to be April 30th and then it's May, and oh no, it's getting close to June. He's the one that has to get the scans, but he's the one in bed sleeping like a baby, and I'm the one on here till I can't hold my eyes open looking for all the support and good news I can find. Go figure. Anyway, since you are the one stressing, I can at least identify with these horrible "stress tests". That's what they are really, not CT tests or blood tests or any body-related tests - they are really stress tests in disguise. You should post again Sun. night because everything everybody tells you here in the next 24-48 hours to help you to relax will have already left your psyche by Sun. night. I was joking about feeling stress now for June scans, and I probably won't feel much stress before the scans, but the time will go tick-tock, tick-tock until we get the results. For me, that's when the stress hits me. Here's what I do when I'm really stressed. I lay in bed at night and over and over say "God loves me. God loves me. God loves me." But here's how I do it: I put the emphasis on a different word each time, so it goes like this: "GOD loves me. God LOVES me. God loves ME." It really comforts me and helps me to fall asleep. Sometimes I say the persons name that I'm worried about instead of "me", but saying God loves me, tells me that he loves me and is looking after everything that involves me and everyone I care about. God bless you BLT, Peggy

Have fun, Billie. Seeya when you get back. Peggy

Welcome back, Melinda! Sorry you've been so sick, but glad you're feeling well enough to come back and spend time with all of us. God bless you, Peggy

Hi Debbie, Like the others, I'm sorry you are having to go through this, but I'm glad you found this wonderful group of friends we call "family". You are going to love the the support you will get from these folks as much as I have. We are all here for each other whether we are crying or laughing, up or down, or anything inbetween. Oh, you'll also find a lot of humor, which really helps a lot! God bless you, Peggy

TBone, This made my dad. So glad to hear the pain is gone. God bless you, Peggy

Welcome again, Bruce. Glad you have a first name now. Wow! You have been down the road and back again, haven't you. My prayers are going out for you to have a successful surgery and many more years ahead of you. God bless you, Peggy

Connie, Is it just my browser, or did your post come through three times. Anyway, I got the message. WELCOME BEVERLY, You are just going to be overwhelmed with all the love and support you are going to get here. Not only that, but you will get a lot of your questions answered, too, and hopefully fears squashed. So glad you find this site. I know I was. God loves you, Peggy

Yeah. My husb. complained about that and told the doctor, too. I forgot about that. He even used the same words, grey, fuzzy. I think the doctor went "hmmmmmmm, let me know if it continues". Lots of help, huh. It did go away. Of course, I have no idea if your vision problem is the same as his. It's always good to ask the doc. God bless you, Peggy

Welcome back, Andrea. Take a deep breath. BREATHE!! There you go, now relax your shoulders, quit worrying about everybody's health in your family, including your own. Just enjoy each day and take it as it comes. Sounds like everyone is a-ok right now. THAT'S GOOD!! As soon as the trial is over, GO DANCING for crying out loud - you and Brian are so young - get out there and enjoy yourselves. God loves you, Peggy

Jane, Send your picture to Rick. He will put it up for you. Peggy

What goes around comes around. It's just comin' back to you, Mo. God bless you, Peggy

Hi again brm, What did you find out from your doc on Monday? I hope everything is ok. Peggy

Good news for you!!! Congrats on the good scans. Thanks, too, for posting the articles. God bless you, Peggy

Oh wow, I am so sorry for you. I don't know what else to say about this, Julie. I think you best get some professional counseling for yourself on how to deal with this, and how to deal with your dad. My prayers are sure with you! Love, Peggy