Anyone starting Chemo in August 07?

lilith

The turkey story is truly quite a darling. Unbelievable. HMMM baby turkey.. so I guess you are hosting the next Thanksgiving party huh??? too funny....

 Kaye - hm. healing is OK, all my body parts are doing fine. Oddly - the most painful bit is the liposuction - lucky that it ain't bikini time here, because... my tummy is of very odd colors!!! blue and green and purple. and sore. but hey - I am happy about the 2 lb less...

wackyjackie

I am laughing so hard at this turkey story.  It's hysterical.  Of course more funny because it's in your back yard and not mine!!! Only kidding. One thing you must do is get rid of them before I come to visit because I am petrified of all animals.  Except lady bugs.  Oh, not that I'm inviting myself to your house or anything.  Only kidding...again.

 Hope everyone is doing okay.  Lilith....you go girl.  Your tummy may be the color of a rainbow but I bet it's going to look beautiful.  I would need a lot more than 2 lbs sucked out.  Yuck.

 Hugs to all my friends, Jackie

katoMato

Lilith, odd that the thing that gives you trouble is the lipo...interesting. But you should be PERFECT in time for said: Bikini Season!

And Nashie...DH did a little researching for you... and found THIS

Or, if the link doesn't work, try: www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061123/news_7m23turkey.thml

You are apparently sitting on a very successful turkey proliferation center!!!! Make a hutch for 'em and we'll be down next November!

nash

Thanks, Kaye's DH, for that article--who knew? And yes, Jackie, I do need to get rid of the turkeys before you all come to visit, b/c they keep pooping all over the place. Sort of a turkey version of goose grease. Not festive at all. Animal Control is working with the Fish and Game Dept. to see if they can bag the turkeys and take them back to the mountains, b/c it seems that no one is allowed to touch turkeys unless they are injured. If they can't do that, they're going to research how one discourages a turkey from setting up camp, although I think it may be too late for that, as the orginal one is already inviting its relatives. I actually don't mind them--they're sort of cute--but it's the endless pooping....Maybe they make turkey diapers.

nash

I'm glad I have the turkeys to laugh about (they have been quite the source of mirth this week), b/c I got so upset at the rink today that I actually came home and cried (how pathetic is that?). I've been having a lot of problems with this one jump, and keep bailing out of attempts, and when I got off the ice today, one of the mothers actually said to me, "(My daughter's) jumps are starting to look like yours." I didn't know if she was complimenting me or not, since my jumps are nothing exciting, and her daughter was struggling during her lesson today, so I said, "I don't know if that should be her goal.". She looked at me and says, "No, it shouldn't." I was aghast. I didn't ask her opinion of my skating, nor did I care. I was already frustrated with this jump, as it comes and goes (which is more annoying than not being able to do it at all), and it's been a very hard jump for me ever since childhood. That someone would have the audacity to criticize my skating to my face really upset me. Plus, she's a big fat cow who's never strapped on a pair of skates, so she had no place to be talking smack to me. I guess she thought nothing of it, b/c she kept babbling on about her DD. People are really weird sometimes.

katoMato

Give her a bag of turkey poop for Christmas... Or give them her address.

wait. she doesn't deserve them. (/What a creep.) We love you, Nashie.

nash

Love you, too.

And no, Nasty Skating Mom  doesn't deserve my turkeys. Besides, my neighbor and I have joint custody of them now (they're still in my yard, but she loves them), and are going to open up a country farm stand. I have a slew of my kids' classmates coming over this afternoon to meet the turkeys, and I'm thinking about charging admission. This could be the start of something big. Oh, and one of the mothers did mention that she has a friend who has been wanting to go turkey hunting, just like in that article your DH found. Except I won't let them hunt Edward (the turkey) or his friend, who we now just hear, not see. We've become too close. 

I have to go potty train the turkeys now. 

katoMato

You don't hear Edward's "Friend" because she's his "Wife". And she's "Hiding". Because she's "Pregnant". (Or she's his girlfriend, and she's texting all her other turkey-peeps to come check out the new crib Edbird just moved in to.)

Somebody go buy me some cranberry sauce.

nash

DGHoff

Holy turkeys, have you got a crazy backyard going on! Oh, and Nasty Skating Mom sounds like a bit of a turkey herself. Oh wait, maybe that is an insult to the turkeys.

lilith

Kaye... just rolling on the floor laughing...

nash

Hello, girls. Is everyone busy like little elves? Made my last shopping trip of the year to Target today--I refuse to set foot in another store until January.

Anyhoo, went to the eye doc yesterday. Am delighted to be able to add another body part to the list of parts that have to be periodically scanned. Seems that the optic nerve in my right eye is thinning, and they think I might have the beginnings of glaucoma. What fun. So, I have to get eye scans and visual field tests every six months to track the nerve. It could just be normal for me, but they won't know until the next eye scan. Maybe I can intersperse these little trips with my mammos and MRI's and onc appointments, and then I can have something fun to look forward to every month. 

Also went to see a new neurologist today, as my neuropathy continues to tingle away. He's ordered some sort of fancy blood test that costs $1000 and involves a travel nurse coming out to my house for the blood draw. Thank God for good insurance. Have any of you seen "Madagascar"? In the film, a hyperchondriac giraffe named Melmin at one point hollers, "You can't make me go HMO!"  I agree.

And to round it out, I am going for a bone scan on New Year's Eve, b/c nothing says "ring in the New Year" like a trip to Nuclear Medicine. It's for that pain in my boob, which I thought was rib pain, but now think is boob pain. But I'll go for the scan anyhow. 

Hope everyone is having a good week. Smoochies.

nash

Forgot to add--we had to run the turkeys out of our yard--between the poop and the molting, it was getting out of control. Running them out involved running after them, screaming, "Bad turkey!". It seems to have worked, and was more than Animal Control managed to accomplish. My DH goes out on recon every morning to make sure our perimeter is secure. We heard them gobbling from across the street one morning, but they do seem to have been sufficiently insulted, and are staying away.

wackyjackie

Nash,

This is so hilarious!!!! It could be a reality t.v. show.  Thanks for the enjoyment!!!!

Sorry about your eyes. Hope it works out.

Hi to everyone else.

Hugs, Jackie

lilith

Nash - while the turkey adventure seems to have added a hilarious kick to your family life, I am so sorry for all your medical stuff - it is amazing how many body parts need regular review, and how skilled we have to become in medecine to be able to take "informed decision" when the need arise.

On this side of the pond, yes, we have been pretty busy elves too. I had last week off and this week working only 50%, thanks to my medical leave - and I have been feeling OK most of the time - so I took the opportunity for the xmas shopping. I didn't have a huge list, but I am quite proud of my finds! Our family will have a good xmas this year. I still only need to help my partner's kid to find a prezzie for his dad - past that, I am in xmas heaven.

My new job will not start b4 mid-march - in the interim I am still working in my current position - so now I have some downtime, 2 weeks off for xmas and new year, then some relax time in jan and feb - maybe a couple of business trips for hand-over purposes and so.

Actually, this is quite welcome, so I'll be able to start the new job rested, full of energy, and having mostly finished all medical issues (with the exception of the body parts checks, as Nash mention).

while I think of it, I will scoot to our yahoo group to tell you the story of my new job... ) I forgot lately.

katoMato

Nash, You made me laugh so hard I cried. "Nothing says Ring in the New Year  like a trip to Nuclear Medicine". (Actually, I've always thought that...)

And then there's Poor Edbird and his Lovely Bride. I envision your DH with a semi-automatic machine gun with night-vision glasses wearing fatigues doing the morning round. Gee, you guys are such sticks-in-the-mud.(Remind me not to come over and poop in YOUR backyard.)

It's the economy, ya know? You just can't move into any house you want these days. They'll survive somehow. Maybe they'll go back to the Turkey-In-Laws for the holidays.

Hey Lilith...congrats on the job!!! The CA location is very near Duarte where I got my tx, and where i go for my followups. Maybe we could swing a lunch sometime! Or eat one. Whatever.

And the rest of you Elves...Love to you ALL! I have been sitting around eating chocolate, wondering how i can lose some weight. Not a thing comes to mind.

 

nash

LOL, Kaye, you've got DH and Operation Big Bird pegged. At least all he wanted to do was chase them away--I had several people ask if they could come over and shoot them. How pleasant. No. Besides, that's what the grocery store is for (I prefer to be in denial over the origins of my meat).

Harley44

Lilith,

Congratulations on the NEW JOB!  YAY!! 

I'm still looking, but not too hard.... I have just gotten very frustrated and have just about given up.

 Nash,

Gosh!  You sure have alot going on, dear! 

I saw a new ophthalmologist over the summer and he told me that my optic nerve 'looks like someone who has glaucoma'.  WHY didn't any of my other eye drs. tell me this?!  This happened when I had alot on my plate, back in the summer, when I had that d & c from HELL, so I put it off til I could deal with it.  I guess I'll be doing that in Jan., or Feb. 

I just got back from my 6 month check up with my onc.  So much fun!  I was fondled, and poked, and probed, oh, and he felt up my neck, too.  He was going to get me a Rx for Raloxifene, but when he came back in the room, he said that it hasn't been approved yet for use to prevent bc recurrence.  So I left with yet another Rx for Tamoxifen, and another appt., I'm sure for another annoying Trans Vaginal u/s, and another d & c....  NOT...

Harley

nash

Harley, that is so weird that your optic nerve is funky, also. What did the ophthalmologist want you to do about it? I have to go for a visual field test in January, then another scan in the summer. Makes you wonder if there's some correlation with the cancer or the chemo or something.

Whew! Wish my onc would feel me up--that's a big part of the reason I'm divorcing her--she doesn't lay a hand on me. Might as well call her up on the phone as go see her. Anyhow, wish your onc could give you Raloxifene off-label, since you already had thickening from the Tamoxifen. Ugh. 

Harley44

Nash,

The ophthalmologist I saw was not very nice.  The first thing he did when he came in the room is... he sat down in front of me and asked me WHY I HAD the INSURANCE PLAN that I have.  He said that it would be better if I had the Tricare STANDARD plan, and not the TRICARE PRIME.  Well, Tricare PRIME is the BETTER plan, and he was mad because he couldn't charge me more.  So I really am kind of suspicious that he found something wrong, and ordered follow up tests...  a visual fields test and ... I forget what the other test was.... HPT or something like that.  I refused to see this dr. again, and will see a new dr. when I go back for a  second opinion about the glaucoma dx. 

Yep, I know... I was so disappointed when my onc came back in the room and said "sorry, but I was wrong... Raloxifene hasn't been approved yet..."   He also said that it works just as well as Tamoxifen, without the effects to the uterus.  I also wish that my onc would just give me Raloxifene off-label, but he gave me the impression that he would get in trouble if he did that.  Funny, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would worry about getting in trouble for helping a patient who was having trouble with Tamoxifen, if there was another option available.  Oh well...  Just my luck.  By the time they approve it, I will have already moved on to an AI.   .... sigh.

Your onc won't examine you?  I think that is strange.  I can't remember too well, but I seem to recall that MY onc doesn't usually give me such a thorough 'feeling up' either.   When I go, every six months, they alternate... I will see my onc once, and then, 6 months later, I will see his Nurse Practitioner.  SHE is the one who usually feels me up!  I was surprised that this time, HE gave me a rather thorough exam. 

Today, he told me that once I am 2 years out from tx, I will only need to see him once a year.   YIKES!  Somehow, with the 6 month check ups, I feel like I have a safety net of sorts...

nash

Harley, I'm glad you're getting a second opinion on your optic nerve. Was it an OCT that he ordered? That's what I had done--it's like a CT scan of the nerve and retina. There's also something called an HRT, I think, that's similar. Anyhow, I wanted to mention that it's possible to have an enlarged optic nerve cup and have it be normal. The OCT will show if the enlargement is a result of thinning of the nerve (and thus probably glaucoma), but the scan has to be repeated over time to see if there is progressive thinning. So anyhow, there's a good chance that your optic nerve cup looked larger than normal, but that the enlargement is normal for you.

Well, I'm having a lot of fun right now. I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow, and you all know what that means. The worst part has been the fasting. What sort of sadist doctor doesn't let you eat all day? It's insanity.

lilith

Nash, by now your fasting should almost be over... personally, I find that the - ahem - intensive use of bathroom facilities is the most disturbing part. yuck.

Once it is over, it really feels good to know that we are "clean" there too...

Harley, I find very disturbing how every doctor seems to have a different way to proceed. I am still seeing my onc every 3 months - actually up to now it was every 3 weeks, because she always made apoint to come in and say "hi" when I was doing the Herceptin infusions. We'll switch to a 6 month pattern next july, at my 2 yrs from DX mark. I wouldn't mind to go to the yearly ones, but then I am sure I would worry just like you.

Anyway, at next check up (in february), I must also bring up the ??? on the Tamoxifen vs. Aromatase, and see. I find the optical issues quite disturbing, I really like to be able to SEE.

Harley44

Nash,

Ah, it was an HRT test!  I remember thinking HRT... like Hormone Replacement....  I remember thinking that MAYBE he just made up that test, so he could get more money from my insurance! I promise that I will go for my 2nd opinion on the glaucoma dx, but maybe not til Jan. or Feb.  We are going on our 20th wedding anniversary cruise in Feb., so it may have to wait til March.  We will be married 23 years on Jan 4th, but since my FIL was sick (he had kidney cancer, mets to the bones), so we postponed our cruise.  With everything that has been going on with the bc and my dh's job, we are only just now getting to celebrate the 20th anniversary.  heck maybe we will also celebrate #25, early!

He DID mention that it may just be 'normal' for me to have an optic nerve that looks like that. 

I hope you are finished your colonoscopy, and I hope you got ALL GOOD results!!  I thought the prep was ... DISGUSTING!  But, it was kind of nice to know everything was all clean!  lol  My dh waited with me in the room before the procedure, and watched TV.  Guess what channel dh chose?  FOOD NETWORK!  Here I was STARVING, and watching all these shows with people cooking food! 

Lilith,

Yes, it bothers me that every dr. seems to have a different schedule for our 'after tx' exams.  I finished chemo Oct. 9, 2007, and I saw my onc's P.A. in November, about a week after my reconstruction surgery.   Then, I was scheduled to see my onc in 3 months, in Feb.  After that, I have been scheduled for follow up visits every 5 months.  Before I left on Friday, I got my appt. for my next visit... and it is exactly SIX months from now, on June 12th!!    I don't mind having yearly onc visits, but there is always that worry in the back of my mind that something will be missed, if I don't have these regular six month exams.  Silly, I guess.

What other optical issues do Tamoxifen vs Aromatase I. have?  I read that Tamoxifen can cause cataracts, and I already have a family hx of cataracts. 

nash

Hi, girls, am back from the Rotor Rooter session. The doc said everything was fine, see you in ten years! Whoo hoo! So that was good news. Now am off for a nap.

nash

And Harley, I'm so happy you have a cruise coming up. Congrats on your wedding anniversary--I like the idea of celebrating the 25th early.

Harley44

Nash,

YAHOO!  Glad the colonscopy was all good!  I like the sound of that... "see you in TEN years!" 

lilith

Harley, I read something about lower vision during Tamoxifen - here is the link.

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/725203?page=1#idx_21

It is true that - while I don't seem to have cataract or glaucoma, my glasses (re-done last spring) are no good anymore!!! that is frustrating - because I don't see well - and expensive - the insurance reimburses only partly, one pair in 2 years. As it seems to be happening in other cases, I want to mention it to my onc....

 Nash, congrats on the scope results - that is great!!! it feels like  - ahem - a new lease on life, doesn't it???

Harley44

Lilith,

I couldn't get that link to come up.  Rats!  I'll try to cut and paste later. 

I am VERY nearsighted, and it seems that I need a new Rx for my vision every time I go, so I am kind of scared what they will find when I go back.  I also seem to notice that my vision has changed since my last update, almost two years ago. 

lilith

Checking in quickly - to say MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY, VERY, VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!

I hope all will enjoy happy times, family, success, fun - and good health!

nash

Well put, LIlith. Merry Christmas, everyone!