MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

tinkertude

absolutley!!!! haha

Paula66

Well juliet a little snuggle and huddle while your face the storm, lol

Hauntie

Paula - do an online search for "artificial nipples." You'll be AMAZED at what turns up - temporary tattoos, silicone nipples, custom made silicone nipples... - as well as some weird stuff you wouldn't believe. If you should decide you want nipples tattooed on, please take the advice of my BS and find a reputable tattoo artist. They have a much wider variety of ink colors and way more tattoo experience than a PS. My BS has one she's personally checked out, so if I ever decide I want them, I know exactly where I'm going. You can check those out on line as well - "tattooed nipples" or "nipple tattoos." It's absolutely amazing, especially the ones that have a 3D illusion.

tinkertude

Funny thing is when my PS was talking about nipple tatooing i asked if they would tatoo Tinkerbell ( i was only kidding) and starting laghing. He was so funny he looked at me and said oh no sorry my assiasant has only been trained in nipples. lol.. but since he couldnt do it here is one for fun////////////

Hauntie

Tink - that's one of the nicest Tinkerbell tattoos I've seen. If you're really thinking of it, take that picture to a tattoo artist.

Paula66

Thanks gals for the ideas.  I will have to look into it all!  Hugs to you all and goodnight!

tinkertude

Goodnight Paula sweet dreams!

Hauntie... I like it too. she looks cute some i have seen she looks like "evil Tink" . I tried to get a henna one at the  beach this summer but the ones they had actually scared me! 

justmejanis

You ladies crack me up!!!!

Tink, just curious if you had a mastectomy, why with no node involvement?  I am not sure what guidelines are used for a mast.  My surgeon never even mentioned it.  Wonder why?  I mean, do they sometimes do a lumpectomy then a mastectomy after biopsy results?

Sorry to sound so lame, but still learning!

tinkertude

Janis I will pm you

Sherryc

Paula you crack me up with getting your mojo back.  Oh and your ex sissy in law that just makes me sick.  I also have a family friend that I have known a long time and she had lung cancer again and is not doing so swell.  Anyway her family has been doing all kinds of fundraisers for them and claiming that not much is being covered yet they have medicare and a supplement.  My Dad has medicare and a supplement and has not had to pay one cent so far.  I on the other hand have insurance through my employer and will be making medical bill payments for quiet some time and happy to do it.

Tink my GD thought getting a message form tinkerbell was way cool.

Hope all the people with damamge will be able to get it cleaned up quickly and those without power will get it back on soon.  NOthing more miserable than no power and it being hot.

My family has been here for days and I have gained weight.  Guess if I had my kids around all the time the weight I need to gain for surgery would be no problem.  Who knows maybe now I'll gain more than I need to.  What a scary thought.

Welcome to all the newbies cannot remember you by name but this is a great group of women.

Sherryc

justme janis my BS never mentioned a MX for me either and I did not find out until I was almost finished with rads that if I had had one I could have skipped rads altogether.  I was not happy about not being informed.  It was my choice to make not my BS.  Anyway after permanant nerve damamge and some other things I will be moving forwared with BMX in the spring.

tinkertude

Janis.. I also forgot to mention she did give me the option of  a lumpectomy but left the choice up to me. She gave me all options available

tinkertude

Sherry i agree with you completly it was your choice not your BS I am grateful mine gave me all the options and i decided on a bilat . It was a good thing too because when pathology came back there were 2 kinds of cancer found one was hiding and a micro met in the node. She said later she thought i was being aggressive but it was my choice and then said when the reposrts came back it was a good call... we should always be informed of all of our options

marlegal

paula, we missed your posts!!!  congrats on getting desire back ... mentally I'm there, but physically, not so much.  I love the tassles idea - you go girl

elimar86861

Hauntie,  LOL.  Yes, we have lurkers; no one has mentioned being a "leaker" so far.  The day might come, but it ain't here yet.

Paula66,  I though of a few insane things that might make good nipples...like if they had mini Ring-Pops...but seriously, I don't know how you could keep anything (besides tattoo) in place.  That would be pretty disconcerting if your nipple started changing positions.

Sherryc,  Sounds like you are having a great time with family.  It may not be as exciting as Paula getting her mojo back, but still...

cmbear

A day without internet and I fall so far behind. (never trust DH again with a shovel!!) Trying to read 2 days of posts on my  I-phone reminded me of how old I am!  So glad to be at my keyboard again with my nice 20 inch monitor. 

Welcome Duchess! You are no better hands than our lovely group of middies!! Hope you are healing well. Any questions  feel free to ask away!!

Reesie--Thinking of you on your upcoming surgery. Am sending all the positive energy I can muster.

Paula--your ex-SIL is just not right in the head. To take advantage of her DX and profit.. . there is a place in you know where for people like that.

JO. (((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))) I'm sorry you're sad. I know this is incredibly shallow. . .

but I hope this makes you feel better.  

 

justmejanis

Sherry I was never offered up a mastectomy.  My BS actually just told me he was doing a "partial mastectomy".  I was fine with that, really did not want my breast cut off.  Still I wonder why treatments are so different?  I really was not given choices, but if I recall BS indicated that a mastectomy was not necessary. 

Tink you had lots more going on than me.  He did tell me my tumor was larger than he thought from the tests, but said it was slow growing and not aggressive.  So guessing that is why it was never even offered for me as an option.  I don't know...maybe they assume women would not choose a mast if the outcome were the same on a cancer like mine.

It is all interesting.  Thanks for sharing your stories!

cmbear

And I am very glad that all the East Coast gals survived Irene relatively unscathed. Hopefully, y'all are done with your natural disaster for the week!!

KittyGirl2011

I sure missed alot here, sorry I've not been able to keep up.  Damn work always seems to get in the way of all the fun.  Jo- your sure feeling the "normal" thing when it comes to those life changing events.  We all know your pain, confusion, and out right frustration with this micro-monster we are all dealing with.  So feel good about yourself and who you are now and pitch the cancerversary into the bonfire.  I'll help if you need it.  Now doesn't that feel better?  Reesie - all my best to you for your surgery.  You are one of our superwoman.  Eli - I may be on the high side of this age thread but I can party with the kids anytime!  Got your water balloons ready?  Tink - I think silly tatoos would be great!  Janis - your grieving will find its own way out so you really don't need to look for it or wonder where it went.  I have a co-worker who is 2 years out now and still has not cried.  She says she's a professional optimist.  Paula - how about glow in the dark star stickons!  Welcome mostlymom!  Marlegal - did you make the dress? Loved it!  Sorry if I missed the rest of you posters but lots of ((((HUGS))))) to everyone.  Whew, now I'm pooped!  Take care everyone!!  Kitty

Sherryc

My thoughts on the eating organic.  All of my Dr's basically told me to eat more veges and fruits and cut down on red meat.  But that exercise was the most important thing.  So I took that to heart and really started exercising and even though I did not eat horribly tried to clean it up even more.  I think Kay said it trying to go organic with the dirty 12 but my local grocery store is pretty limited so unless I am going to Dr visits and can go to a larger store I just don't get the stuff.  I have enlarged my garden and I really like that because I am eating fresh which taste better and I do feel is better for you.  I also can and put things in the freezer and should start paying less for groceries because of that.  I have pretty much cut sweets out until my kids showed up.  That will be hard to break again, but at least I have gained some much needed weight. I did turn down the trip to DQ for blizzards tonight.  Just could not eat anything else.

Kay glad your surgery went well and Reesie hope everything will go good with your upcoming surgery

Valjean

Jo ~ I haven't been posting much myself lately, either. I come to the parties but stand just outside the door & watch & listen.

I understand your apprehension about the one-year mark coming up. I'm very sure the year went by slowly for you & yet was very busy & emotional. Such ups & downs we go through. My 3-yr mark is a couple of months away yet & I'm not sure how I'll feel. Honestly, I don't remember how I felt at my 1-yr mark, I'm sure I was still numb.......

So I want to send you my best wishes for all your days to be beautiful & we are very happy to have you for a sister/friend.  ♥

{{hugs}} 

Valjean

Jo ~ I haven't been posting much myself lately, either. I come to the parties but stand just outside the door & watch & listen.

I understand your apprehension about the one-year mark coming up. I'm very sure the year went by slowly for you & yet was very busy & emotional. Such ups & downs we go through. My 3-yr mark is a couple of months away yet & I'm not sure how I'll feel. Honestly, I don't remember how I felt at my 1-yr mark, I'm sure I was still frozen in time....... stunned, really.  

So I want to send you my best wishes for all your days to be beautiful & we are very lucky to have you for a sister/friend.  ♥

{{hugs}} 

ETA: This post posted twice. Since I am in the boonies, I still have dial-up (lucky me) & I was waiting for it to post when I realized I'd been dropped, so had to connect again.  (I can get high-speed if I want to pay an arm & a leg, so I've opted to keep the slow crapola for a while yet!)

Hauntie

Let me preface this by saying, I didn't realize this post would be this long when I started typing. 

Somewhere on one of these threads, I think I gave a brief explanation of my special relationship with my BS. Her father is the MD that delivered me and 2 of my 4 brothers (my youngest brother is named after him). I was an extra special delivery, as I was the girl my mother longed for (her one and only). The story is told that when she had her 3rd son, Dr. Jim was afraid to tell her it was a boy, because she wanted a girl so much. According to my mother, since my brother was the most beautiful/best baby in the world (slept through the night, his first night home from the hospital) she very quickly got over her disapointment that he was a he and not a she. My BS's dad also delivered numerous cousins over 2 generations.

Her father and my uncle went to medical school together. Imagine - it's the Depression and 2 sons of immigrants (Italian - my uncle); (Irish - her father)  become doctors. Her dad got his love for italian food while studing at my grandmother's kitchen table.

We aren't BFFs and don't see each other socially, but the relationship between our 2 families is still there, especially between our fathers - until her's passed away a couple of years ago. She fixed my Dad's WWII injury related heriia, after numerous failed attempts by other surgeons. An operation, she is still especially proud of. She told the story to me again, when I saw her last week. She treated my mother twice for BC, then me, then a cousin twice and now monitors that cousin's daughter.

Anyway I started this in response to the comments about being informed  by your MD and making choices. One of the first things she said to me after my diagnosis, was that she  would always tell me the truth, no matter what.  That was probably the 1st or 2nd sentence, she said, after I found out I had BC. Something she didn't have to tell me - I knew immediately by the absolute look of devastation on her face. 

Then she TOLD me - she had to do a mastectomy and I would be having chemo no matter what the final pathology report said. No other options were presented or discussed. I was pretty glad I didn't have to make those decisions. I'm sure if it had been any other MD telling me this I would have said - "Whoa, wait I minute. I need to think about this." Turns out she was right. Her aggressive treatment is probably why I'm still NED almost 18 years later.

Because I've been NED for so long, I haven't been to see her in a long time. I thought she had mellowed some, given our discussion during my post op visit last week. She gave me options, we discussed them and I realized, walking out of her office, that she got me to do exactly what she wanted me to do.

She has mellowed in one area. Years ago, when I mentioned to her that I was thinking of getting a tattoo over my mastectomy scar - she absolutely flipped. Fast forward to my appointment to discuss my PMX - at the mention of getting a tattoo, she not only approved, she gave me the name of a tattoo artist, she had personally checked, out so she could refer her patients to a pro to have their nipple tattoos done. Actually that's another example of her control issues - she visited the shop and personally interviewed the artist.

I still have a drain in and although she's on vacation this coming week, she insists she's coming in to remove it. We went around and around on this a couple of times and as usual, she got her way. She'll be taking out the drain - hopefully tomorrow.

I know she gives her all to all her patients, but I think I get just a little bit extra special treatment. I feel very, very lucky to have her in my corner.

SAB

Hauntie, I'm another "lurker" who doesn't post much on this thread, though you ladies always pick my spirits up when I visit!  You really hit on one of my pet peeves, which is a Dr.'s hesitation to offer a strong recommendation.  It is politically correct now for Dr.s to ask a patient "what do you want to do?"  I think that it is a cowardly approach! I do a lot of research, but they have the medical degree, the experience and the objectivity.  What they don't always have is the courage to put their necks on the line.  Congrats on having a Dr. with integrity.

mostlymom

I know I'm lucky I had such a good BS but even he dropped the ball with follow-up.  My DH & DD (a 12-yr BC survivor) went with me to hear the results of my lumpectory & nodes - WE ALL ABSOLUTELY REMEMBER HIM SAYING HE WOULD SET UP THE CHEMO APPT FOR ME.  Well, after a few weeks, I called to see when my appt would be - they asked me why I'd waited so long....  I know it's sour grapes, but I hated hearing that if I'd come in sooner, I could've gotten by with the 1 week 5-radiation regime.  My 1st chemo doc asked me what I knew about my cancer, asked what further treatment I'd like - I truthfully answered NONE of course, she said since I'm at the top end of the 60ish age, further treatment wouldn't be of benefit.... I later wondered if she even looked at my chart. My 2nd chemo doc strongly recommended 33 radiation treatments & 5 yrs of hormone-suppresent pills. I went with his recommendations!  This last 6 months started in a whirwind - in hindsight, the needle-core-biopsy was horrid & I wonder if anyone else thought the same.

justmejanis

Hauntie I think it you are extremely lucky to have a prior relationship with your BS. She clearly was able to be objective and still offer exceptional care and advice.  She sounds like a gem and I am glad you have her.

mostlymom....I had no trouble with my needle core biopsy. It was fairly painless.  I was given an injection of Lidocane prior to the procedure.  I felt some pressure and mild discomfort but nothing serious.  I am sorry it was rough for you.  One thing I have learned is that often we cannot compare what our experience was.  It is a little different for everyone.

Scuba_duchess

Thx jo1955, I already suspect this will be a big help on many fronts. Things for me have happened fast, May mammogram, July lumpectomy, August BMX. BC runs heavily in my family, although no BRCA issues, there has to be so,ething. Right now am holding on to get the drains out and start PT. Somewhere in my mind, am starting to accept this isn't just a broken leg or something that will just heal and go away... Knowing more will help.



Thanks!

elimar86861

mostlymom,  Here's my list of physical things least liked to recover from, from worst to less bad.

1) Sentinel Node Biopsy (painful and tight with every movement of arm.)

2) Core Needle Biopsy (the most bruising, the purplest; insertion spot twinged a long time after.)

3) Painful SNB radioactive injection. (the worst 5 seconds of all.)

4) Anesthesia Hangover (laid me out on the couch for a full 24 hours after.)

5) Lumpectomy (biggest scar, but it just twinged a bit and healed.)

I didn't even put Rads on there, and it should probably top the list.  My ribs were painful to touch for a LONG time, and the whole area tightened up.  Only now, after two years, it feels almost back to normal.

Hauntie,  My BS was a former soccer-dad that I knew.  That made it more awkward than comforting.  Ha!   At least I know he personalized me as an individual, but he is good like that anyway (by reputation.)   You had a great situation, where you could trust someone else to take the reins. You already knew your surgeon, but so many only meet them for the first time after the Dx. 

LovesChristmas-Barb

Mostlymom...I must admit that my core needle biopsy was awful too. He gave me lidocaine and the first two samples didn't hurt but the third and fourth were terrible (even though he gave me more lidocaine after the third one). It felt like someone stabbing me which of course, he was! The pain was all the way down into my muscle under my breast and I told him and he kept looking at the samples and telling me that there wasn't any muscle tissue in them. I kept wondering if he just pushed the cancer cells right down into my chest wall. It was worse than my surgery...  I told my RO about it and she said that I had clear margins and my chest wall would be radiated and that I shouldn't worry. 

LovesChristmas-Barb

I enjoyed catching up on this thread this morning....you ladies crack me up! I spent my day yesterday reading everything I could find on tamoxifen and DIM.

Today I begin my 18th and final year of homeschooling! I have mixed emotions indeed....