Cloud Swift, I don't have much new to add either. A nice mint tea can soothe an upset stomach and crystallized ginger is nice to munch on if you can take the "heat", it's a bit strong but great for nausea and motion type sickness. The only time I was truly very nauseous was when I was pregnant with Amanda and for some reason lemonade and potato chips worked better than anything. The doc said it was the combination of sweet/sour/salty but I think it was just because I liked potato chips and lemonade. I just wanted you to know that I've been thinking of you and you're in my prayers, hoping for a quick and total cure for you. Be sure to drink enough too, it can be difficult when your stomach is cranky, but you need to stay hydrated. Annie

as the ladies said every doc has h/her own mix..i had 4 doses every 3 weeks...lost my hair (i helped it along and shaved my head) wore scarves, and a hat...a nice warm one, since i went thru it late summer/fall. the "side effect" for me was the steriod i was given ..motor-boated all over the house for the 3 days i took them, then crashed and slept--alot! i recieved the mix thru an iv in my arm and had to sit for 3-4 hours...watched tv or read..btw i drove to and from all my appts alone, because i was able to...never had to take the pill (at home) for getting sick..the mix they gave with fluids before the treatment, worked for me...now a pal i met did, and was sick, but not for long... had 33 radiation treatments...in my case i did have skin peeling (like a bad sunburn) and used special script ointment..what was difficult for me was the darn table you lay on..no padding and those 10 minutes were hard on my back...and holding still... now i'm on fermera an anti-hormone, that both a coz-inlaw and i have found makes you pretty tired..but she's back to work and i manage to get what needs to be done..almost, lol...thanks be for insurance! those little brown pills are expensive! i'm having a little difficulty dealing with the new curly hair-do...but actually it's kind of fun! i never use the "c" word. i'm not trying to hide or make believe it didn't happen, but i also don't want to be defined as that granny with cancer...think one of the best moments i had, was when i was leaving and the nurse said something funny...was loling...had another patient stop me and ask for some of whatever i had..so gave him a big hug...from then on i did/do try to smile laugh and not dwell on what has happen but what i can do ahead... please relate all your treatment, care, and what you're going thru...i was so happy the other ladies did here...who knows? you may help another woman sometime someplace... btw they have some cute bandana-type scarves at wal mart in the purse dept(?) i found one for halloween that was orange with skeletons..so wore it with an orange top for trick or treaqting with the grands...told them it was my halloween costume!

Hi 3cats... just to offer friendly feedback on a point you made (I'm not arguing/lecturing and don't care what you do :) You seem to feel that because you are ok to wear leather that there would then be no reason to reject fur. There is a big difference which is why most people who wouldn't be caught dead in a fur will still wear leather. Yes, while it would be ideal to be leather free too, leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. No animal is suffering in order to provide you with a pretty coat, unless you are wearing exotics. That is unfortunately not true for most animals with pretty skin. If you care about animals or the message you are sending, perhaps you will want to consider a coat made of something that is also being raised for food.. then you can be as warm as you'd like but not sacrifice your values (if you didn't say you were sensitive to the issue, I wouldn't have bothered pointing this out). On the pricing issue.... my mother has a nice old mink that no one in the family has been willing to wear for at least 20 years. My sister brought it by a furrier last week and was offered $750 for it. They will obviously be selling it for more. So, I guess the prices do vary quite a bit. Cyn427, Thanks for that info. I didn't know it was possible to get down humanely if it wasn't eider down. I'll have to look into that because I try to make humane choices when it's an option. I have an eiderdown comforter and it's the most wonderful thing, albeit not inexpensive. On that note, 3Katz, if you want something warmer and lighter than fur, an eiderdown coat would be superior in every way. It may not fit into your budget though. There is no fur coat that could compare.

Sue, I had to come back to ready your full post about the treatment plan they are recommending for you. Is this plan the maintenance plan to keep the counts stable or is this plan because your numbers are up? There’s a difference. After the Revlimed quit working, the doctors tried several treatments on my husband, I don’t recall all the long conveluted names but Darvalex sounds familiar. I know one was a shot but another was a full day of infusions once a month. Still, the side effects were minimal, he was just uber tired, some of which was attributed to the rapid increase of the lightchains in his blood. Now, I’m sure your doctors won’t appreciate me saying this at all, but during his 8 years of treatment, my DH had tons of infusions, but never had a port. He was encouraged (even strongly encouraged) to have one installed, but he didn’t want one and would never agree to it. What were they going to do? Refuse treatment? No, Why? Because this journey is about you and what you feel comfortable with. So, if you don’t want a port, if that part makes the process less bearable for you, tell them no and to find a vein. Sure over a long period of time it can scar your veins, but for now...until that starts to happen, just tell them you don’t want one. There is a nurse at our clinic who has become a dear friend. She’s been a Cancer Nurse for years and years and even she admitted the port is pushed in part because it makes their job easier, which to be honest, really irks me. It’s not supposed to be about them. Also, are you aware that some of the drug companies are offering huge rebates on their drugs? One day out of the blue, the doctor’s office called to let me know I had a bill for 11,000 which was for 2 treatments the insurance was refusing to pay. But she said, don’t panic, the drug company was offering a rebate for all but a 5.00 copay for each treatment. She ASKED if I’d like to go that route. (silly question) and said that she’d even facilitate the paperwork for me. So you might want to inquire about that with your clinic’s Administrator. I don’t get advisories when someone posts to me, so I will watch the thread for your response. I do hope your numbers aren’t rising.