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MonicaD

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      MonicaD
      Participant

        Hi there,

        I'm Stage IIIb and will be starting interferon tomorrow.  I'm incredibly nervous!!  I'm 33 and feel too young to have to deal with cancer so I really feel for your son to have to be dealing with it at such a young age.  Thanks for posting your question because now I have some tips on how to get through it too.  Right now my plan is just to do the high-dose for a month – I prefer to focus on a short term goal – I will decide whether or not to continue once I reach the end of the month.  I will be thinking of your son and I hope it goes well for both of us!!

        -Monica

        MonicaD
        Participant

          Hi there,

          I'm Stage IIIb and will be starting interferon tomorrow.  I'm incredibly nervous!!  I'm 33 and feel too young to have to deal with cancer so I really feel for your son to have to be dealing with it at such a young age.  Thanks for posting your question because now I have some tips on how to get through it too.  Right now my plan is just to do the high-dose for a month – I prefer to focus on a short term goal – I will decide whether or not to continue once I reach the end of the month.  I will be thinking of your son and I hope it goes well for both of us!!

          -Monica

          MonicaD
          Participant

            Yes, I am.  There's a few Monica Doiron's but my pic is me at Peggy's Cove.

            MonicaD
            Participant

              Yes, I am.  There's a few Monica Doiron's but my pic is me at Peggy's Cove.

              MonicaD
              Participant

                Hi again,

                I just thought I'd let you know I had my first dose last night.  It wasn't the best I've ever felt but it certainly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be either.  They gave me anti-nausea meds and Tylenol before and I felt a bit of joint soreness/achiness but that was it at first.  I let my Tylenol wear off a bit too much before asking for more so I got very shaky/shivers and was cold but they gave me more Tylenol and a quilt and after the Tylenol kicked in and I got warm, I was ok.  I slept pretty good and when I woke up I only had a very tiny minor headache.  I'm in Canada – it's probably different here – I am admitted to hospital for the first week and I had to stay there last night in case of allergic reaction or anything but now I can come and go as I want.  I have to be there for my dose, of course, but if I want to come home and sleep in my own bed tonight I can or I can stay in hospital.  It's nice to have that option.  I've come home for the afternoon but will go back later and decide after my dose what I'm going to do for the night.  Again, I'll be thinking of your son and hoping for him (and me) that it's not as bad as we're expecting!!  I keep telling myself it's a month… 1 dose down… 19 more to go… it sounds not so bad when I say it like that.  I think I'm only going to do the high-dose month but will make my final decision as I get closer to the end of this month. 

                Take Care,
                Monica

                MonicaD
                Participant

                  Hi again,

                  I just thought I'd let you know I had my first dose last night.  It wasn't the best I've ever felt but it certainly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be either.  They gave me anti-nausea meds and Tylenol before and I felt a bit of joint soreness/achiness but that was it at first.  I let my Tylenol wear off a bit too much before asking for more so I got very shaky/shivers and was cold but they gave me more Tylenol and a quilt and after the Tylenol kicked in and I got warm, I was ok.  I slept pretty good and when I woke up I only had a very tiny minor headache.  I'm in Canada – it's probably different here – I am admitted to hospital for the first week and I had to stay there last night in case of allergic reaction or anything but now I can come and go as I want.  I have to be there for my dose, of course, but if I want to come home and sleep in my own bed tonight I can or I can stay in hospital.  It's nice to have that option.  I've come home for the afternoon but will go back later and decide after my dose what I'm going to do for the night.  Again, I'll be thinking of your son and hoping for him (and me) that it's not as bad as we're expecting!!  I keep telling myself it's a month… 1 dose down… 19 more to go… it sounds not so bad when I say it like that.  I think I'm only going to do the high-dose month but will make my final decision as I get closer to the end of this month. 

                  Take Care,
                  Monica

                  MonicaD
                  Participant

                    I guess I'm handing it well at this point but in the beginning I certainly wasn't.  Who does?  I just came to the point where I accepted that there were only certain parts of this journey I could have an effect on so that's where I place my focus.  The rest, while I might make some decisions about treatment, etc., is really out of my hands.  When I was first diagnosed and came to this board and asked if people survive melanoma, one person responded with something I needed to hear.  They reminded me that life is terminal.  They are sooo right!  At some point I will not be here and nobody guaranteed I would be here until I was a little old lady – so it's up to me how I spend that time.  From then on, I just decided to have the most positive attitude I could and go with it.  I still try to crack jokes, smile, eat well, and be as positive as I can.  Does cancer suck?  For sure!  Would I love not to have it?  For sure!  but I do have it so the choice of how to deal with that reality is up to me.  I choose not to waste my time wishing I didn't have it because I do.  My plan is just to make the most of each day I'm given, it's really all I can do and I truly believe overall it's one of the most valuable things I can do for myself.

                    The drain you hear about isn't so bad.  My surgeon has decided to leave mine in now until Monday (Nov 1st) at least (that'll be 2 weeks since surgery).  While it's annoying to have this thing hanging out of my leg, and therefore a limited amount of pants I can wear (I find shorts easier), I have found my drain to be very helpful in relieving the pressure of fluid in my leg…especially once I realized how to "milk it" and keep it draining. 

                    Good luck with everything.

                    Monica 

                     

                    MonicaD
                    Participant

                      I guess I'm handing it well at this point but in the beginning I certainly wasn't.  Who does?  I just came to the point where I accepted that there were only certain parts of this journey I could have an effect on so that's where I place my focus.  The rest, while I might make some decisions about treatment, etc., is really out of my hands.  When I was first diagnosed and came to this board and asked if people survive melanoma, one person responded with something I needed to hear.  They reminded me that life is terminal.  They are sooo right!  At some point I will not be here and nobody guaranteed I would be here until I was a little old lady – so it's up to me how I spend that time.  From then on, I just decided to have the most positive attitude I could and go with it.  I still try to crack jokes, smile, eat well, and be as positive as I can.  Does cancer suck?  For sure!  Would I love not to have it?  For sure!  but I do have it so the choice of how to deal with that reality is up to me.  I choose not to waste my time wishing I didn't have it because I do.  My plan is just to make the most of each day I'm given, it's really all I can do and I truly believe overall it's one of the most valuable things I can do for myself.

                      The drain you hear about isn't so bad.  My surgeon has decided to leave mine in now until Monday (Nov 1st) at least (that'll be 2 weeks since surgery).  While it's annoying to have this thing hanging out of my leg, and therefore a limited amount of pants I can wear (I find shorts easier), I have found my drain to be very helpful in relieving the pressure of fluid in my leg…especially once I realized how to "milk it" and keep it draining. 

                      Good luck with everything.

                      Monica 

                       

                      MonicaD
                      Participant

                        A fellow New Brunswicker! Hello! 🙂  I'm in Moncton. 

                        So far I've had good experiences with my surgeons and my leg is doing well.  It's still early though so I want to make sure I have all the info I need to keep it that way going forward!  My current surgeon is letting me keep my drain longer than originally planned and I really think it's helping.  I see him again next week and will ask about a compression stocking, massage, etc.

                        MonicaD
                        Participant

                          A fellow New Brunswicker! Hello! 🙂  I'm in Moncton. 

                          So far I've had good experiences with my surgeons and my leg is doing well.  It's still early though so I want to make sure I have all the info I need to keep it that way going forward!  My current surgeon is letting me keep my drain longer than originally planned and I really think it's helping.  I see him again next week and will ask about a compression stocking, massage, etc.

                          MonicaD
                          Participant

                            Hi Val,

                            Thanks for the link.  I'm actually located in Canada (New Brunswick) so maybe it will be applicable to me.  It's still early but so far my leg is doing pretty good.  I'm constantly checking it against the good side.  Thanks for more ideas for exercise too – I'm just anxious to get back to doing something other than healing for surgeries! lol 😉

                            Thanks again,

                            Monica

                            MonicaD
                            Participant

                              Hi Val,

                              Thanks for the link.  I'm actually located in Canada (New Brunswick) so maybe it will be applicable to me.  It's still early but so far my leg is doing pretty good.  I'm constantly checking it against the good side.  Thanks for more ideas for exercise too – I'm just anxious to get back to doing something other than healing for surgeries! lol 😉

                              Thanks again,

                              Monica

                              MonicaD
                              Participant

                                That did help, Laurie.  I hadn't thought of swimming, but that's a great idea.  How soon after your surgery did you start walking?  I really miss exercise but I'm only a week and a few days post-surgery and not sure how much I should push it.  I have been moving around the house as much as I can though but when I stop, I lie down and put my leg up… so far, so good.  I have some swelling off and on but it's mostly above my knee/in my thigh except for a tiny patch near the inside of my ankle.  So far I've been able to gently massage out the ankle part.  Today is actually the first day my leg feels almost 'normal.'  Before today I kept feeling like there was a tennis ball between my upper thighs when I walked but it seems to be less today.  I hope it stays that way.  Thanks for the info.

                                Monica from New Brunswick (we're sorta neighbours!) 🙂

                                MonicaD
                                Participant

                                  That did help, Laurie.  I hadn't thought of swimming, but that's a great idea.  How soon after your surgery did you start walking?  I really miss exercise but I'm only a week and a few days post-surgery and not sure how much I should push it.  I have been moving around the house as much as I can though but when I stop, I lie down and put my leg up… so far, so good.  I have some swelling off and on but it's mostly above my knee/in my thigh except for a tiny patch near the inside of my ankle.  So far I've been able to gently massage out the ankle part.  Today is actually the first day my leg feels almost 'normal.'  Before today I kept feeling like there was a tennis ball between my upper thighs when I walked but it seems to be less today.  I hope it stays that way.  Thanks for the info.

                                  Monica from New Brunswick (we're sorta neighbours!) 🙂

                                  MonicaD
                                  Participant

                                    Hi Cheri,

                                    I couldn't help but laugh a little when I read what you wrote about Google image searches!!! I KNOW!!!!  It's the Wikipedia one that gets me every single time I see it…. crazy!!  That image is burned into my brain.  I think maybe it's partly why I'm so obsessed about preventing lymphedema as early on as I can.  I googled it right before my surgery and it totally freaked me out… I'll wear a million compression stockings if that's what it takes – lol!! 🙂

                                    Sorry to hear about your problems with your graft, etc.  Thankfully, when I had my WLE, I didn't need a skin graft.  The surgeon was able to pull skin around from behind my calf to the front.  It's a pretty crazy looking scar, but I think it healed much easier than a skin graft would've.  I hope things are going better for you now.

                                    Thanks for replying.

                                    Monica 

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