MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

Eph3_12

color me red from embarassment E!  I 2nd suzwes-PM me newbies-I'll regal you with chemo stories!  My best tip-eat ice chips from the moment you get there till you leave, each visit.  I did that and had not one mouth sore!

Santa laughing all the way thru Dec-coooooooollllllll!!!!!!!

jo1955

elimar - Good Point.  Although I did not go through chemo, I would be more than willing to help any newbie that has questions about rads.  I just about done with mine and would love to share with anyone who needs it.

I read this thread everyday but don't post much.  Being around just a short period of time,  I did not feel I could find a place to fit in here.  It is hard when all the posts are about chemo.  

elimar86861

That got me thinking about our mammo-checks.  Wrote a little song about it:

It came upon a mammo -"clear"

That glorious word we'll be told

By rad techs bending near our chests

To touch with hands that are cold.

                             

Yes, the tune is "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, only I'm hearing it with a Funkadelic sample, but that's just me.  Hohoho!  Anyone else feeling the holiday spirit? 

elimar86861

jo1955, I would say that about half (if not more) of the women here did have rads.  I still wonder why some women get less total treatments than others...I had 26 + 7 boosts.  Are you a tiny little thing?

jo1955

elimar - I am 135 lbs. I had 25 + 5 boosts.  Plus, I think it depends on the rad onc and what he/she does.

I can see your dx is just like mine except I had 3 nodes. 

leisaparis

I had 35 rads, NO boosts, but they used a bolus on me everytime. I am over 200 lbs. Ended up with 3rd degree burns. Also had chemo, 24 weeks. Didn't really have bad side effects. Just a little up set stomach. Had to take tummy drugs 2-3x. That's why I didn't write. I couldn't really tell any good or bad stories. 

brazos58

Hi to everyone and all Newbies

Reading up on everyones updates. Hope you all are doing ok with your journeys/ tests/ treatments and quandries.

I am recouping from my 1st Thanksgiving sans Boobies and doing the Family appearance w/o Foobs. I see the Foob Fitter tamara for more LE issues/ Jovi Paks/ new sleeve an glove. I can't stand anything on my chest.

I also have my 1st post op check / 6 months that is this month. I am freaky about it at times.

Things to tell my Surgeon:

1. You lied.... I am not healed in six weeks.

2. You overrated Rads/ Underated the Evils of High Grade DCIS/ ALH/ DES/ and BMX's

3. You know NOTHING about cording/ LE/ AWS.... I will ask him how long he studied in med school while I am at it.

4. You lied again and told me I am cured.

Dusting self off...... you don't want a Nurse for a Pt. < insert snicker >

Taking down Halloween and putting up a few Christmas decorations..... I just can not be such a slacker or Grinch about it anymore.

Grateful for everyday.... even if I am still not sure of who/ what/ where/ when and the whereabouts of my Life.

Love, Light, Strength to all.

Most of all Rock ON!

Meece

Guilty, Elimar.  I was sure I had responded to one of the newbies, but in going through page by page, I cannot find the post I was sure I had written.  Ugh, another sign of aging!

Brazos, venting is great, it relieves stress.

Funny thing, I never considered my BS part of my "team"  I saw him for the bx, the follow-up, the surgery, and one post surgery f.u.  I am used to my GP who calls to see how i am doing and see if there is anything she can do for me, and BS just made me feel like one more job for the day.

Kleenex

Brazos - cheers to you for writing a list - take it with you! As women, we are sometimes too polite and appropriate with medical professionals, even if we legitiamately have some issues they need to listen to. So I sometimes have to "study" and prepare for a discussion such as the one I hope you'll have, using your handy notes to guide you.

Elimar - a tad concerned about your new holiday songwriting bent...I'll keep an eye on you.

Meece

Elimar, I was trying to think of how you could work in a verse about cold plastic panels, holding your breath for ages and contorting to give a machine a full body hug.

Kleenex

I'm thinking she could whip up something to "These are a few of my favorite things," even though that's not Christmas-y...

elimar86861

Remind me to use Meece's abbreviation for "follow-up" from now until forever.

Meece

I think that same thing every time I read that abbreviation.  Sometimes it is better taken literally.

sheila888

someone else uses that Abbreviation when I saw F/U it just didnt make any sense so I asked.

Now I know but everytime i read it hahahahahahahahaha

barbe1958

Okay, so we're supposed to "play nice" and mingle, eh????

uh...jo1955 what makes you a stage 2a with a small tumour and no nodes with cancer?

Brazos, you gotta get the really soft fabrics without any seams to wear against your bare chest or use a very soft cami until your chest hardens up.

Kleenex, you're a word wizard, you do a song!!!!!!\

Is that enough mingling for now?????

elimar86861

Barbe, look again...jo1955 is Stage 1a.  Her tumor is <5mm.  I used to have 1b on my Dx line, which is for tumors >5mm--<1cm but people kept asking what does the "b" mean so I just took it out.  It's kind of redundant anyway, since we can already enter <1cm in the description.  IMO, the "a" and "b" designations for Stage 1 is just not as meaningful as splitting Stage 2 into "a" and "b" groups.

If you keep mingling, I'll keep jingling, but I like your idea better...Kleenex...Kleenex...Kleenex! 

                                                  

But Kleenex did throw down the gauntlet...Uh-oh, I'm feeling the Sound of Music... 

Can I take the third verse?

"Girls in white "johnnies," oh, those poor lasses,

The opening in back is revealing thier asses.

Silver metallic tools cutting our skin,

The doctors left stitches where our breasts had been.

When the rads zap, 

Feels like bee stings,

And the chemo's so bad,

I simply remember that I loathe these things

And all of the treatments I've had."

(You can put away your bic lighter now, Julie Andrews.)  HoHoHoHoHoHo!

Meece

I thought 1b meant larger than 1 cm.  Mine was over 1 1/2 cm.  Oh, well it's been so many years since I've been a "B" I quite like it now.

brazos58

Thanks for listening to my earlier ramblings....Meece/ Kleenex and Barb

Barb, I am 1958 Babe as well. Thanks for those thots. I am wondering HOW LONG does it take for these incisions to settle down???? I just hit 5 months.... I was hoping to be bouncing something by New Years in NYC as I am rocking it in with Mule with VIP tix for the 30/ 31st and hanging with the band.... but they did see me ala Commando Woman.  oh yeah I am seeing your Songbird..... Sarah McLachalan in Janurary!

Sorry I am no help with Xmas jingles....speaking of wich the first Xmas Carols are being played here tonite. DH and DS are decorating and we have a fire goin in the wood stove.

Nite ya all, sleep well.

elimar86861

Meece, I could not find the origin of my thoughts on tumor size for staging, but I checked the ACS site and it had the same info. as the NCI definition below:

Stage I is divided into stages IA and IB.

• In stage IA, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller and has not spread outside the breast.
• In stage IB, either:
  • no tumor is found in the breast, but small clusters of cancer cells (larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters) are found in the lymph nodes; or
  • the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller and small clusters of cancer cells (larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters) are found in the lymph nodes.

• So,according to these well known sources, you and I sound like Stage 1a. I thought when I was looking (a year ago) that Stage 1 meant no spread at all, and the "a" and "b" were just size differences.  Now, the defining factor seems to be micromets.  Things might have gotten more defined since I last read about Staging.  Still learning.

elimar86861

Brazos, I wonder if they used any surgical clips (to close off blood vessels) on you.  I am still getting twinges underneath my SNB site and I know it is those stinkin' clips.  Maybe you want to add that to your list o' questions.  I guess the practice of using them is very "common."  Nobody mentioned mine, and I had no idea they were in there til I saw them on an x-ray.  They are on MY list of questions when I see my BS in a few months.  Arrrrgh!

jo1955

elimar - Thanks for clearing that up about the staging.  I had read the same thing plus my onc told me I was Stage 1a.  With all that was going on, I did remember that.

brazos58

elimar...

 I did have stinking clips on my incision on the outside, hmmm..... i ran into alot of blood loss during surgery. I also had alot of adhesions that needed scar release post op..... Also....I would seriously suggest autodonation of your own blood prior to surgery. Thanks for that thot Elimar! It makes me sick to think about going to see BS.....

elimar86861

The clips they leave inside are titanium.  They are not big either but when seven of them are lodged in the maybe one inch of flesh or less between my skin and my rib cage, how could I not feel that?  They look like ugly little staples.  I think I would like them taken out, but then I also think with any more cutting and stitching to the area, will it only make more tight scar tissue?  Rock and a hard place.  I wish they never used those on me!!!

raeinnz

Eli - I think ladies on this thread are usually great at welcoming newbies and jumping in and helping where they can and talking about all sorts of things and making us all laugh.  I think it has been a super busy time for everyone with Thanksgiving and shopping and people have just not visited to post.  Also, once a new page rolls over it is easy for a question to 'get lost'. I saw the post but I couldn't help as I didn't do chemo and it seems a bit silly to post saying I can't help. With no rads and bmx with recon which was done quite differently from anyone else and so much of the f/u ( I like the abbreviation too) treatment being different I can't help much with tx stuff except Femara. I mostly try to help with the emotional stuff.

NativeMainer

El-I agree we need to be welcoming to the newbies.  I didn't respond to the chemo question since I didn't have chemo, and I'm reluctant to respond to the rads questions since I was in the "Less than 5%" that had such bad side effects I had to have a mastectomy.  My Rad Onc said the reaction is so rare they don't warn women about it, and if  I tell a lot of people about it I'm afraid of being perceived as a trouble maker.  Women NEED to trust their "team" and I don't want to shake that trust for newbies.  Any suggestions of when I should speak up and when I should keep quiet from anyone? 

I could have at least acknowledged the newby's question.  I should have.  I'm sorry I didn't.  

elimar86861

I just brought it up 'cause we don't want the new gals to feel they are not as comment worthy as Cheetos are.  (In truth, they are equally high in our esteem, right?)

Meece

Oh, yes they are equal.  We need both of them in our lives.

elimar86861

There's no way everyone can comment about everything, but I always felt this thread had such a mix of Dx and treatment that we should always have a few with similarities to any newbie that posts.

Native, I, for one, don't think I ever heard your rads story, but would like to hear it.  Especially if it is something that the doctors don't even mention!  You made the point that it is a rare reaction, <5% of women; so for each one of you there are at least twenty of us who just had the normal S/Es to rads.  I don't think sharing your story will be thought of as making any trouble here.

(B/C women are facing scary percentages every day.  Get a Mx, still have a 2% chance for recurrence.  Take Tamox., have some very low decimal place percentage for endometrial cancer, or blood clot.  Get rads., wind up with pulmonary fibrosis.  None of that is extremely likely to happen, but it is very real for a few of our unlucky sisters out there.)

Meece

You are so wise, Elimar!!!!

elimar86861

Oh, stop!  I am already getting you a huge Christmas present this year, my friend.