Lashing Out

I am now 2 months post chemo and my eyelashes and eyebrows are back! My eyelashes are almost longer than they were before chemo thanks to Latisse. I have been using it since approximately 1 month after chemo ended, when I started to notice some re-growth. According to the aesthetician where I bought it, there is no point in starting until some re-growth is visible as it will not work.

This product claims to help you grow longer and thicker lashes within 16 weeks and is actually a version of a glaucoma drug in eye drop form called bimatoprost. Some people say that it can change the colour of your eyes but based on what I was told, that would only happen if you put the drops directly into your eyes for a prolonged period. So don't do that! Simply follow the instructions and hopefully it works as well for you as it did for me. I did not need a prescription and got it from a local "medical spa". Here is some additional information:

http://www.latisse.com/WhatToExpect.aspx

Tip: You can also use it off-label on your eyebrows to help speed up re-growth. 

I don't usually endorse products like this but from what I have read, Latisse appears to be safe, as long as it is used as directed. The box that I bought lasts around 2-3 months and I likely won't continue it after that but for a time when all I wanted to do was hide out in my house and avoid any mirrors, it gave me the push I needed to go back out in public and keep living my life. I never thought being able to put on mascara again would make me so happy!

Take Your Vitamins!

After surgery, I started seeing a Naturopath and am so glad I found one with the FABNO designation (Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology). It was important to me that they had this designation because it requires an additional board certification examination in oncology. My Naturopath is familiar with the chemo drugs that I received and has experience treating cancer patients. He recommended high dose Vitamin C IVs prior to surgery to promote wound healing and in high doses, Vitamin C can kill cancer cells. I am skeptical about the second claim but figured there is no downside so it was worth a try. If it does kill cancer cells, great, and if not at least it can help me recover from surgery quicker. If anyone is interested, here are some articles regarding high dose Vitamin C:

http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/vitamin-c-pdq

http://www.oasisofhope.com/cancer-treatments-therapies/vitamin-c/

The Naturopath also suggested some other supplements to take before and after surgery, one of them being Vitamin D. There are many articles showing that the majority of women with breast cancer are deficient in Vitamin D. This is something that my family doctor, Oncologist and Naturopath all agree on (and is probably the only thing they agree on). At the beginning of chemo my family doctor suggested taking 1,000 IU a day even though my levels had never been tested. After 3 months, I requested a blood test which showed that my levels were still below the normal range so my Naturopath has me taking 5,000 IU a day until they increase. I am not saying everyone needs to take this much but I do think it is important to have your Vitamin D level tested! If I wouldn't have questioned it, I would still be taking 1,000 IU a day thinking that was enough, never knowing that I was still deficient.

Seeing a Naturopath is not an option that is available to everyone as it is expensive and not usually covered by drug plans. I am of the mindset that if you can afford it, it is money well spent. The supplements I am taking combined with the lifestyle changes I made have me feeling better than I did before cancer.

Mastectomy

The first few days after surgery were rough but not nearly as bad as I thought they would be. The anticipation and not knowing what to expect can send you into a dark place but I am here to tell anyone else about to go through this that you will be fine. The pain is manageable, the drains are annoying, bathing is a pain and you will have a couple new scars that you didn't have before but you will make it.

Pain- When I woke up from surgery I was nauseous but they quickly gave me some drugs and the feeling went away. They had put morphine into my IV so I didn't really feel any major pain while in the hospital. I guess they wanted me out of there as soon as possible because my surgery finished around 5pm and I was discharged by 9am the next morning. The pain didn't really kick in until I got home the next day but with a few Tylenol 3's, I was good to go. 

Drain- It was annoying, especially when sleeping but I found that putting a pillow under my arm made things more comfortable. I am a side/stomach sleeper so had to learn to sleep on my back but it is possible. I have some pregnant friends and I can't imagine sleeping with a bowling ball in your stomach would be any more comfortable so I sucked it up. My drain was in for 6 days and the nurses said it could be up to 3 weeks so I was happy about that. I attribute my speedy healing to the high dose Vitamin C IVs I did leading up to my surgery but I will write another post about that later. 

Bathing- The link I included in the last post mentioned getting a lanyard or something to put around your neck and clip the drain onto when in the bath tub. I found that really helped to make sure the drain didn't pull. I didn't shower until the drain was out because I wanted to make sure it didn't get infected but that is my personal choice. The hospital said that I could start showering 2 days after, as long as the wounds were covered. 

Important tip for anyone with a port- Ask if your surgeon will remove the port at the same time as your surgery. I only thought to ask because I had read someone else's blog. Why go through another procedure where more needles and freezing are needed to remove the port? None of my doctors mentioned this as an option but when I brought it up, my surgeon said it wouldn't be a problem. When I woke up from surgery, voila, my port was gone! At least there was one positive part of that experience.

Preparing for Surgery

I don't know how you are supposed to prepare to have your breast chopped off. I had done hours of research before getting my port put in and before my first chemo but for some reason I didn't feel the need to prepare as much before surgery. Maybe it's because I am getting tired...tired of thinking about cancer, talking about cancer and being a cancer patient. It has consumed me for 6 months now but it feels like so much longer.

Regardless, I did manage to do a few google searches the day before surgery and found some helpful tips for getting through a mastectomy: http://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/tips-for-getting-through-mastectomy. The hospital gave me a list of items to pack but there are other things on this list that I hadn't thought about like downloading some of your favourite movies and songs. 

I also found it was helpful to increase my time in the gym leading up to surgery. Throughout chemo I was pretty good about getting out to the gym at least twice a week for an hour. I had read an article about Jennifer Griffin, the FOX news correspondent who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2009. In the article she talked about how exercise and a strict diet became her tamoxifen. Unlike estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, when you are triple negative there are no drugs like Tamoxifen or Zoladex that can be taken after chemo and radiation are complete to prevent recurrence. For triple negative breast cancer, the main way to prevent recurrence is a healthy lifestyle so I figured that exercising regularly would not only help me keep off the extra pounds women commonly gain during chemo but also contribute to my recovery. After chemo ended and before surgery, I increased my exercise to 3-4 days a week.

The only other thing that was recommended is buying a mastectomy camisole or bra. I was once again reminded that breast cancer is usually something older women face upon walking into a local store where everything was obviously made for someone 50+. Thankfully, I managed to find a bra at a store near my hospital where everything on display wasn't something a grandma would wear. 

There Go My Eyelashes

Before starting chemo I spent hours scouring blogs trying to figure out when I would lose my eyelashes and eyebrows. For some reason, losing the hair on my head or the rest of my body didn't seem like a big deal because it can be covered up but I was terrified about losing the hair on my face.

If others are looking for the same answers, here is my experience:

After AC

• Lost 70% of the hair on my head after 18 days. The rest came out gradually after that but I wasn't really keeping track since I had shaved my hair short and didn't really notice. A lot of women rock the bald look which I commend them for but I personally am so glad I have a wig that I feel confident in. 
• Still had about 80% of my eyelashes and eyebrows, so it was not even really that noticeable.

After 1st round of Taxol

• Down to about 50% of my eyelashes and eyebrows

I lost the rest of my eyelashes gradually after the 2nd round of Taxol and by my last infusion, I only had a couple left. I tried not to touch them because the minute I rubbed my eye, they would fall out. 

Now I am 2 weeks post chemo. I still have maybe 20% of my eyebrows left, enough that I don't need to draw them on yet and all of my eyelashes are gone. I find that when I apply a black eyeliner on the top and bottom, it isn't really that obvious. I use a L'Oreal liquid liner on the top and an Annabelle pencil for the bottom.

A Cause for Celebration?

My 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds of Taxol were as uneventful as the first one which I am grateful for. At my last infusion, the nurses in the chemo suite presented me with a certificate to congratulate me. I also received messages from family and friends all asking if I was excited that chemo is finally over. The problem is, I don't think of my last chemo as something to celebrate. I think of it as the last step in the first part of a very long journey. I still have surgery and radiation ahead of me, not to mention all of the question marks that come after that including returning to work, check ups, scans, hopefully having kids and doing everything I can to prevent this horrible disease from ever recurring. I don't mean to be negative, I would just call it being realistic. Some people may celebrate the end of chemo as a milestone in their cancer journey which is great, but it's not for me. I'm just glad they didn't make me ring the bell.*

*My cancer centre has a bell in the lobby that is used to mark a milestone in your journey. I think I will ring it in 2-3 years when I am still cancer free.

Taxol

Everyone says that Taxol is much easier than AC but because I didn't have many problems with AC, I was worried that I would be the opposite (that always seems to be the case with me). Luckily, I did not have a reaction my first infusion.

The pre-medications with Taxol are different as well, I took Dexamethasone 12 and 6 hours before chemo. My infusions were scheduled in the mornings so unfortunately this meant waking up at 3am to take my medications. One of the main side effects of Dexamethasone is insomnia so good luck getting back to sleep. Here is what I recommend:

• Take a sleeping pill with the Dextamethisone if you have to take it in the middle of the night. I took Zopiclone which helped me go back to sleep. 
• Eat something small with the Dexamethisone so your stomach doesn't get upset. 
• Bring something with you to your infusions as they are long. If my chemo was scheduled for 9am, I usually didn't leave the hospital until at least 2pm. I had magazines, an adult colouring book and of course, my family to keep me occupied.