What might be making you a tad apprehensive, but might not, as it's too soon to tell - Page 7

limey · 10-19-2012, 01:36 PM

Hope things are going well for you!

Sent by thought transference.

Trilby · 10-19-2012, 01:54 PM

Re: them not telling you about stuff so they won't "put ideas in your head" - YES!

they acted like they'd never HEARD of taxotere causing bone pain! They never HEARD of a cancer patient needing more than tylenol! After my first (male) onco told me to "man up" I fired his Syrian ass and got a female onco. She was MUCH nicer and sympathetic but still, after about four taxotere treatments when the tumor was BIGGER instead of smaller and I COULD TELL IT WAS she and the nurse were all like, "oh, no, no, it's just that different doctor's measure things differently," YEAH. RIGHT. But, see, I was so dependent upon them for meds and treatment I let them LIE TO MY FACE. Plus, they never said, by the by, you'll go right into menopause, too!

Really - whole thing pissed me off. I drank vodka straight thru my cancer and guess what? Out of my clinical sample, I"m the only one who ended up with a complete negative post surgery. HA! I think the booze dried me out and made the medicine work more effectively. BUT DON"T TRY IT YOURSELF! You'll only regret the hell out of it.

I'm a professional drinker.

orthodoc · 10-19-2012, 02:55 PM

Not to tell you that you'd go right into menopause - that's bad. And the other stuff, really bad. I don't know what these people are thinking. I still think that giving people an outline of what to expect is crucial. My line of work isn't oncology but it involves helping people through injuries and exposures of various types. Telling someone what to expect is central, and I find people do better (no surprise - information is golden) when they understand the usual course, what's common, what's uncommon but may happen, and what's an emergency. Then, too, if things go better than anticipated (it happens), people are extremely happy because they understood the whole process.

I was given a booklet with a calendar and a couple pages listing side effects. There are columns giving an idea of when a side effect becomes an emergency, but nothing about timing and the onco didn't go over it. Maybe it's because I'm a medical person, but I have no practical experience with chemo. I can read articles but I don't know the practical details of timing and little tips that help.

And yes, I also feel constrained and dependent on this team. Overall I'm okay with them so far, but I don't really have other choices due to insurance and job requirements. I get frustrated when I read books by obviously extremely well to do people who insist that everyone should flit around the country visiting the top 5 cancer institutes before deciding on care. That's not reality.

Trilby · 10-19-2012, 04:27 PM

right. fuck those ladies who did cardio along with getting their chemo. FUCK them! With their eyelashes and eyebrows intact while, strangely, they are bald on top.

my hair loss started two weeks after the first chemo and was dramatic and emotional...I lost ALL of it - eyelashes, eyebrows, arms, lets, all of it. I recommend you get a friend to help and a wig. or if you have a really good shaped head (I don't) a killer scarf will do it. try TLC magazine for cancer stuff. They've got big scarves that will do the job that a bandana won't. Your onco should have a TLC mag in the office.

orthodoc · 10-19-2012, 04:59 PM

I've been warned that ALL of my hair will go - all of it, as you say. I did get a referral to a guy who does wigs for medical hair loss and he's great. I've arranged for a wig to at least wear in clinic, assuming I can continue to see patients, and I did get some cotton caps and some scarves to try. I'll probably wear them more, but I thought it'd put patients off for me to show up wearing a scarf and obviously bald underneath. Who knows, I may not even need that wig if I'm too tired to work clinic.

I'm going to get my head shaved next week rather than wait for my hair to fall out. I don't think I can cope with the emotional trauma of finding it all over the place, and I definitely can't work clinic with hair just falling out. I was told it comes out over several days, in big clumps. So I'll wait until just before it should start and then be proactive. The eyebrows and eyelashes will be the worst to cope with, I know. That's going to really bum me out.

And the gym? Nope, not going to the virus palace. I'm already nervous enough walking around in public buildings and in the hospital especially, going into my neutropenic week. Going through hand sanitizer by the bottle. Probably going to wear gloves next week, and a mask. It's more to keep me from touching my face; it won't stop small droplets that are floating around in the air. But hand-to-face inoculation is by far the most frequent means of picking up germs.

BigV · 10-19-2012, 05:10 PM

virus palace. berry berry funny.

clearly your sense of humor has yet to fall out.

Please keep in touch orthodoc. We're all pulling for you.

Trilby · 10-19-2012, 06:34 PM

honey, if a scarf feels good, do itl

i looked like a baked potato without hair. i got a cheap wig (150.00} and I was always very weird about it. they DID say I had a big head, though. That was part of the problem! A fat head!!

BigV · 10-19-2012, 06:56 PM

you say that like it's a bad thing. I, like most guys, *like* a lot of head.

footfootfoot · 10-19-2012, 07:16 PM

Orhto, get some Mala beads and a saffron robe. Rock the chrome dome!

Undertoad · 10-19-2012, 07:51 PM

Although there is nothing wrong with a little head either.

hey don't forget the nether hairs, they're gonna fall out too, if yer gonna shave the drapes ya gotta shave the carpet

orthodoc · 10-19-2012, 08:00 PM

Now there's an idea, rock the chrome dome! If I were Persis Khambatta, I would. We'll see. Guess we'll also see if it's a lot or a little head.

And yeah, the drapes, the carpet, it's all gonna go. The big upset is the eyebrows and eyelashes. I can pencil eyebrows in but ... they're penciled. Nothing to be done about eyelashes. I don't think I'll be posting pics on the you rfn thread for awhile. Although, you never know. If I get silly from the steroids, you never know.

Still waiting for things (the unpleasant weekend is starting early) to calm down enough for me to write an online quiz on SAS programming. I have until midnight, hooray! I'd ask for an extension but have a sneaking suspicion tomorrow will NOT be better. On with the show ...

Griff · 10-20-2012, 09:52 AM

The chrome looks pretty sweet on some ladies. I feel like the scarves always look nice as well. A splash of color is always helpful for keeping the mood up. Rock on!

footfootfoot · 10-20-2012, 01:32 PM

You could take a page from this woman's book, and create a whole range of head-dressings. I could see a really cool lizard diorama, get some plastic or rubber creatures and glue them to your head in fighting poses, or you could get some dinosaurs and make a whole prehistoric tableau with volcanoes and such. You cold even do holiday themes: with stage make-up or face paint you could color your entire head orange, black triangles around your eyes, nose, and a jaggy black mouth. Then just attach some sort of stem to your head, et voila!

I'm just getting started. How long until your hair grows back?

orthodoc · 10-20-2012, 02:08 PM

I'm thinking of walking into clinic with a lizard diorama on my head. Too funny! Patients would either love it or run screaming from the room.

I loved the video. And I'm thinking ahead, looking at embracing the experience of being hairless. How much easier it'll be to get ready to go out; how much choice I'll have in color and style of scarf; no hair salon bills (okay, I bought a wig so that's sort of advance salon $, but not a year's worth). No shaving or waxing. Sort of cool. I'm willing to roll with it. Getting playful with the stage makeup is another whole dimension!

Of course, this assumes enough energy to get playful. Last night showed me just a little of the downside. Much better today. For the next 3 weeks it's new territory since everyone reacts differently. I hope for the best, 'cause it'd be great to have some fun with this.

Length of time without hair? It starts growing back within 2-3 months of finishing treatment, they tell me. My hair grows slowly. I think I'm looking at a year before I'll have enough hair for a short style. Time for all the holiday seasons.

footfootfoot · 10-20-2012, 02:44 PM

A little guy with a lawnmower

10-19-2012, 01:36 PM	#91
limey Encroaching on your decrees Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An island within the south-west coast of Scotland Posts: 7,016	Hope things are going well for you! Sent by thought transference. __________________ Living it up on the edge ... of civilisation, within the southwest coast of

10-19-2012, 01:54 PM	#92
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Re: them not telling you about stuff so they won't "put ideas in your head" - YES! they acted like they'd never HEARD of taxotere causing bone pain! They never HEARD of a cancer patient needing more than tylenol! After my first (male) onco told me to "man up" I fired his Syrian ass and got a female onco. She was MUCH nicer and sympathetic but still, after about four taxotere treatments when the tumor was BIGGER instead of smaller and I COULD TELL IT WAS she and the nurse were all like, "oh, no, no, it's just that different doctor's measure things differently," YEAH. RIGHT. But, see, I was so dependent upon them for meds and treatment I let them LIE TO MY FACE. Plus, they never said, by the by, you'll go right into menopause, too! Really - whole thing pissed me off. I drank vodka straight thru my cancer and guess what? Out of my clinical sample, I"m the only one who ended up with a complete negative post surgery. HA! I think the booze dried me out and made the medicine work more effectively. BUT DON"T TRY IT YOURSELF! You'll only regret the hell out of it. I'm a professional drinker. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

10-19-2012, 02:55 PM	#93
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Not to tell you that you'd go right into menopause - that's bad. And the other stuff, really bad. I don't know what these people are thinking. I still think that giving people an outline of what to expect is crucial. My line of work isn't oncology but it involves helping people through injuries and exposures of various types. Telling someone what to expect is central, and I find people do better (no surprise - information is golden) when they understand the usual course, what's common, what's uncommon but may happen, and what's an emergency. Then, too, if things go better than anticipated (it happens), people are extremely happy because they understood the whole process. I was given a booklet with a calendar and a couple pages listing side effects. There are columns giving an idea of when a side effect becomes an emergency, but nothing about timing and the onco didn't go over it. Maybe it's because I'm a medical person, but I have no practical experience with chemo. I can read articles but I don't know the practical details of timing and little tips that help. And yes, I also feel constrained and dependent on this team. Overall I'm okay with them so far, but I don't really have other choices due to insurance and job requirements. I get frustrated when I read books by obviously extremely well to do people who insist that everyone should flit around the country visiting the top 5 cancer institutes before deciding on care. That's not reality. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

10-19-2012, 04:27 PM	#94
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	right. fuck those ladies who did cardio along with getting their chemo. FUCK them! With their eyelashes and eyebrows intact while, strangely, they are bald on top. my hair loss started two weeks after the first chemo and was dramatic and emotional...I lost ALL of it - eyelashes, eyebrows, arms, lets, all of it. I recommend you get a friend to help and a wig. or if you have a really good shaped head (I don't) a killer scarf will do it. try TLC magazine for cancer stuff. They've got big scarves that will do the job that a bandana won't. Your onco should have a TLC mag in the office. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

10-19-2012, 04:59 PM	#95
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	I've been warned that ALL of my hair will go - all of it, as you say. I did get a referral to a guy who does wigs for medical hair loss and he's great. I've arranged for a wig to at least wear in clinic, assuming I can continue to see patients, and I did get some cotton caps and some scarves to try. I'll probably wear them more, but I thought it'd put patients off for me to show up wearing a scarf and obviously bald underneath. Who knows, I may not even need that wig if I'm too tired to work clinic. I'm going to get my head shaved next week rather than wait for my hair to fall out. I don't think I can cope with the emotional trauma of finding it all over the place, and I definitely can't work clinic with hair just falling out. I was told it comes out over several days, in big clumps. So I'll wait until just before it should start and then be proactive. The eyebrows and eyelashes will be the worst to cope with, I know. That's going to really bum me out. And the gym? Nope, not going to the virus palace. I'm already nervous enough walking around in public buildings and in the hospital especially, going into my neutropenic week. Going through hand sanitizer by the bottle. Probably going to wear gloves next week, and a mask. It's more to keep me from touching my face; it won't stop small droplets that are floating around in the air. But hand-to-face inoculation is by far the most frequent means of picking up germs. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

10-19-2012, 05:10 PM	#96
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	virus palace. berry berry funny. clearly your sense of humor has yet to fall out. Please keep in touch orthodoc. We're all pulling for you. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

10-19-2012, 06:34 PM	#97
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	honey, if a scarf feels good, do itl i looked like a baked potato without hair. i got a cheap wig (150.00} and I was always very weird about it. they DID say I had a big head, though. That was part of the problem! A fat head!! __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

10-19-2012, 06:56 PM	#98
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	you say that like it's a bad thing. I, like most guys, like a lot of head. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

10-19-2012, 07:16 PM	#99
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Orhto, get some Mala beads and a saffron robe. Rock the chrome dome! __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

10-19-2012, 07:51 PM	#100
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Although there is nothing wrong with a little head either. hey don't forget the nether hairs, they're gonna fall out too, if yer gonna shave the drapes ya gotta shave the carpet

10-19-2012, 08:00 PM	#101
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Now there's an idea, rock the chrome dome! If I were Persis Khambatta, I would. We'll see. Guess we'll also see if it's a lot or a little head. And yeah, the drapes, the carpet, it's all gonna go. The big upset is the eyebrows and eyelashes. I can pencil eyebrows in but ... they're penciled. Nothing to be done about eyelashes. I don't think I'll be posting pics on the you rfn thread for awhile. Although, you never know. If I get silly from the steroids, you never know. Still waiting for things (the unpleasant weekend is starting early) to calm down enough for me to write an online quiz on SAS programming. I have until midnight, hooray! I'd ask for an extension but have a sneaking suspicion tomorrow will NOT be better. On with the show ... __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

10-20-2012, 09:52 AM	#102
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	The chrome looks pretty sweet on some ladies. I feel like the scarves always look nice as well. A splash of color is always helpful for keeping the mood up. Rock on! __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-20-2012, 01:32 PM	#103
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	You could take a page from this woman's book, and create a whole range of head-dressings. I could see a really cool lizard diorama, get some plastic or rubber creatures and glue them to your head in fighting poses, or you could get some dinosaurs and make a whole prehistoric tableau with volcanoes and such. You cold even do holiday themes: with stage make-up or face paint you could color your entire head orange, black triangles around your eyes, nose, and a jaggy black mouth. Then just attach some sort of stem to your head, et voila! I'm just getting started. How long until your hair grows back? __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

10-20-2012, 02:08 PM	#104
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	I'm thinking of walking into clinic with a lizard diorama on my head. Too funny! Patients would either love it or run screaming from the room. I loved the video. And I'm thinking ahead, looking at embracing the experience of being hairless. How much easier it'll be to get ready to go out; how much choice I'll have in color and style of scarf; no hair salon bills (okay, I bought a wig so that's sort of advance salon $, but not a year's worth). No shaving or waxing. Sort of cool. I'm willing to roll with it. Getting playful with the stage makeup is another whole dimension! Of course, this assumes enough energy to get playful. Last night showed me just a little of the downside. Much better today. For the next 3 weeks it's new territory since everyone reacts differently. I hope for the best, 'cause it'd be great to have some fun with this. Length of time without hair? It starts growing back within 2-3 months of finishing treatment, they tell me. My hair grows slowly. I think I'm looking at a year before I'll have enough hair for a short style. Time for all the holiday seasons. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

10-20-2012, 02:44 PM	#105
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	A little guy with a lawnmower __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

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