Information and opinions on Breast Cancer from koponen at MyBreastCancerNetwork.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/49765/interested Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:55:27 -0500 koponen Hey Ladies, If anyone is interested - Minnesota Public Radio is putting the call out for stories, information, etc.  Maria, PJ...this might be good for you two to field!  I'll copy paste the "call out" below - Hope everyone is doing well.  I'll write more later when I have more time! Koponen (Sandy)   Right now MPR News wants to keep in touch with the latest issues surrounding cancer. Coping with cancer is so much more... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/49765/interested http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/45481/party-effect Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:15:03 -0400 koponen Hi Everybody, It has been a bit of a tough couple of months.   First of all the tamoxifin was a no-go...it made me very sick...running to the bathroom...nausea, diarrhea...kind of sick...so they switched me to arimadex...now I am having major joint pain, headaches...and did I mention the blistery rashes I sometimes get, or the tiredness I always feel...the neuropathy is still bad...I am a little more on the "weepy side" than... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/45481/party-effect http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/41868/chemo-back Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:03:42 -0400 koponen Hello Everybody!!! It has been so very long since my last sharepost!!!  I left off back in March with only one chemo to go...   Seems forever ago and just yesterday!  It really was tough back then.  The best way I can explain it is that I didn't know how bad I felt until I started feeling better!!!  And let's talk about Chemo Brain!!  That is a very real thing...boy, it's just been the last few months that I feel... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/41868/chemo-back http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/20947/chemo-1 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:19:00 -0500 koponen Hi Everybody,I'm sitting in infusion getting my second to last chemo!!!! Only one more to go!!! Talk about exciting!!!In 10 days I will be done!!! One more left!!! Yippee!!  In 10 days, my hair will start to grow, I won't be tired all the time, I will be able to feel my fingers again, I won't be tired all the time, I won't be walking on marbles, I won't be tired all the time, I won't be a puffy marshmallow, I... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/20947/chemo-1 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/20429/news Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:26:00 -0500 koponen Hi Everybody!!I feel like time is just flying by! Coming in every Friday for chemo does seem to make it go faster. I remember back when this all started thinking six months was a lifetime! Six months of chemo - a year of herceptin...wow, that will take forever! Well, after today, I only have 3 more chemo (Taxol) infusions to go!! I will still have 42 weeks of herceptin - I think I go back to every 3 weeks instead of every week...whatever...the... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/20429/news http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/19510/sister-study Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:39:00 -0500 koponen Hi Guys,Thought I'd spread the word on a new study I heard about from my sister. My sister, Kathy, is the best. She took the news of my cancer pretty hard but has totally been there for me. She did tons of research on her own so that she would understand what I was going through.  We went through a bad scare a couple of weeks ago when she found a lump and had to have a needle biopsy. Thank God it came back negative. I'm not... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/19510/sister-study http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/19335/cocky Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:24:00 -0500 koponen Hi Everybody,Sitting in infusion for my 5th round of Taxol (all ready had the 4 rounds AC). Got just a little cocky and paid the price. The Taxol just seemed so much easier to bear than the Adriamycin and Cytoxin that "Dr. Koponen" decided to stop taking the nausea medicine (don't like taking meds if I don't need to). Well, Friday night wasn't fun...the nausea wasn't as bad as it could get with the AC but still. Totally... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/19335/cocky http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/18674/taxol-oops Thu, 03 Jan 2008 20:57:00 -0500 koponen Hi Guys!!How is everybody?!?!? Talk about confusing!! Doxorubicin/Adriamycin/Anastrozole /Arimidex/Paclitaxel/Taxol/Tamaxofin/Trastuzumab/Herceptin /Warfarin/ProchlorperDexamethasonWarfarin/Cytoxin /Cyclophosphamide/etc/etc/etc/etc..... anybody else confused yet!!!  I really kind of concentrate on one step at a time and when I finished the AC part I felt like I crossed a major milestone....yippee!!! Now I'm on to the next step, I got... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/18674/taxol-oops http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/16972/halfway Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:25:00 -0500 koponen Hi Everybody,Just a quick update...just had chemo #4 yesterday...that is the last round of adrimyacin and cytoxin!  In 3 weeks I start my 12 round of tamoxofin.  I'll start the 52 weeks of herceptin then, too.  So, the way I see it, I am halfway through the chemo...major milestone!!!  In 15 weeks, my hair will start to grow back.  In 15 weeks, I'll start getting some energy back.  In 15 weeks, I won't be... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/16972/halfway http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/15913/pink-wigs Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:25:00 -0500 koponen Hi Everybody,I've talked with a lot of you but haven't written a journal entry in a bit!!My second round of chemo went very well. The doctor changed a few of the nausea meds around and I didn't get anywhere near as sick. Hopefully they've keyed in on what works for me!! Kytril is the anti nausea drug that works for me...they have to give me samples of it because my insurance doesn't cover it. I think that is ridiculous...we... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/9293/15913/pink-wigs