MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

walker2222

Joanna - Whoo Hoo, happy for you.

elimar86861

kay1963,  Fair skinned women have the same 1 in 3 chance to have a more severe reaction to rads as do darker skinned women.  I'm not too dark, got pink after the first week, but overall did very well with my peeling only being in the boost area and only the top layer, just like a moderate sunburn would.  If swarthiness really helped, hardly any black women would get skin breakdown; but they do and some quite badly.   The tips we have given will give you your best chance to do well, and I hope you do.

Barbe, What igloo comment?  I missed it too.

barnyardkitty

Hello ladies and other Kittys, lol. Thanks for the great welcome and support to the group. Sorry I haven't been around for a couple of days but just trying to get caught up on a few things. All this is happening so fast. They set my wire guided lump. for the 20th. Pre-op tomorrow and my GP in a few minutes. Now the onc. is saying she can get to the wall without removing anything but the lump, unlike what she said last week. I'm going to insist on a MRI before anything else is done since she contradicted herself. Going to ask my GP about the "mosaic" look, and about the other test that can be. I return to work tonight unless GP says different. Still draining from site and lumpy around nipple.(new symptom) Will check properly middle of night after work. Got-a-go  Thanks ladies

elimar86861

barnykit, Lumpy nipple most likely from fluid build up.  You can try the light massage stroke for Lymphadema to try to get the fluid to flow elsewhere.  (Google, or You Tube, on correct way to do it.) 

mostlymom

i have a question - i'm having cortisone shots in both knees for pain which i have had before.  i told my pcp about my right shoulder hurting also since the radiation & he suggested a shot there too - now i'm wondering if i should have an injection in my "bad" arm ????  it didn't occur to me at the time - comments PLEASE....

marlegal

m-mom ... very good question. I don't have an answer but will be very curious to hear what others have to say about it. for me personally, I think it would depend on the pain involved, and a quick call to my LE therapist.

Kay_G

Yeah, I don't know either, but I just got lymphedema.  I think holding my arms over my head for rads caused it to flare up.  I'm not sure if you have lymphedema, but if you have a therapist, I'd ask him.  I just saw mine tonight, going again on Thursday.  I can ask him if you want.  I'm not sure your PCP would have the knowledge about lymphedema to know.

barbe1958

mostlymom, the biggest fear with needles is the chance of infection. I'm pretty sure that one shot in a hospital enviroment would be sterile enough. I just had 3 injections into an epidureal in my spine. I can't move if I don't get them. It's not like leaving an IV in for days. It's a quick shot in and out. Go for it!

Kay_G

I don't know, they say blood draws in the "bad" arm are a no no.  I guess it depends on how bad your pain is.

elimar86861

mostlymom,  You don't have any edema or swelling on that side, do you?   I don't think the cortisone shot would bring on lymphedema, but mention your "bad" side to PCP beforehand anyway.  Anyway, like Barbe said, the real risk to your treatment side is infection.  A person with lymphedema knows that side is compromised, so the risk is greater. 

Please try and find some threads about "frozen shoulder."  I know there is one in the Mid-Age forum. I don't know too much about it, but some get it after surgery and rads.  They usually need PT to get full mobility back.  Check and see if it sounds like this might be the problem for your shoulder.

barbe1958

kay, someone getting chemo who gets blood draws a lot, or even chemo, wouldn't be able to use their bad arm. A one-shot that HAS to go in that side (cortisone) is worth the risk of infection if you consider quality of life. I guess I'm lucky that my bad side is my non-dominant side.

barbe1958

e, someone a page or two back asked it we had bathing suit weather in Canada. I said that after our igloos melt we have a very short period.

elimar86861

And just what WEEK is that. Barbe? 

mostlymom

thanks for the advice - makes me breathe a sigh of relief to hear from you gals!

barbe - after over 30 years in Alaska, i understand bathing suit weather - and it did happen every once in awhile....

jo1955

mostlymom - Depending on how bad the pain is, I would ask about any needles in the "bad" arm and avoid needles as much as possible.  I wouldn't think one shot would do any harm and like Barbe said, if it is done in a hospital environment, the risk of infection goes way down.  I, for one, wear a Lymphedema Alert bracelet even though I have not had it.  Better safe than sorry.

zumbagirl

How does everyone post pictures from their phone, or facebook, or computer on here? My daughter couldn't figure it out, and she posts pics all the time. I was trying to post the pic of Eph 3_12 and I .

stjude10

I have a ? for you gals. I had my mx on 9/7 with a total of 23 nodes removed. I still have some numbness and tingling in the armpit and under my bicep. Okay, expected that. Here's the weird thing. My arm from the inside of the elbow to the inside of the wrist is quite painful. It's a bit swollen, and when I DO move that arm much, there is quite a bit of pain and pulling in that area as well as sore to touch. It's almost as though it's got a bad sprain. I'm wondering if it got sprained while I was out, and they were trying to move me around.

My BS is getting a testing system for lymphedema in his office next week. It's supposed to have leads, like ekg, that are put on your arm and can detect the onset or potential onset for lymph. Has anyone heard of this? I got the call today and will be the first one tested. I think it'll be a great service.

KittyGirl2011

Hey madpeacock good luck with the rads.  That is what I had and really was glad to be able to do that.  No SE's that I couldn't handle.  Good luck with the BRCA test and really hoping for a negative.

Barbe-should be keep track when our igloos melt out this year?  I know what you mean, we had a snow pile at work that didn't all melt until June!

Kay- keep that skin greased up when your done each day.  I know I'm very fair skinned and was glad that I did not have to go the long route with rads cause of that fear of burn where no sun has been before.  OUCH!  I'm still worried for Janis.

Best wishes for everyone else this week!  Kitty

PS  Claire this is specially for you girl!  Enjoy your day off!

VictoriaB

Hi Lori,

I dunno but maybe you have axillary web syndrome. I had lump with one node removed in Aug and had excruciating pain from my armpit to my fingers! Surgeon said it would go away but I finally got a frozen shoulder and went to a PT who specializes in LE and AW and they have been stretching me for about 6 weeks. I have heard there is a new test for LE using a machine. But you will want to find a great PT fast, to reduce the pain and scar tissue.  Go to www.lymphnet.org and there is a place to find people who are really qualified to treat women with bc. Hope this helps!

Kay_G

Yes Lori, I would get some PT, whether it's lymphedema or not.  I was getting PT before I got lymphedema just for range of motion.  Did you have drains under your arm?  I think that is what qualified me for PT for the insurance.  Even if you didn't, with your symptoms now, I think your insurance would cover PT.

Zumba girl, did Michelle try to teach you on the food thread how to post pix?  I haven't done it, am going to try soon.  If you have the pix on your computer, you can insert them into the post by clicking on the tree at the menu on top of the posting screen.  (It has Bold, Italics,etc.  The tree is right next to the smiley face.)  At least I think that's what she said.  To get the pix to your computer from your phone, you could e-mail it to yourself if you can't download them right to your phone.  Sorry if I'm wrong, maybe someone else will correct me.  This is the blind leading the blind.

Kay_G

Sorry if I put too much into the lymphedema aspect of getting that shot.  Having just gotten it, I am probably over emphasizing the risk.  And I had all my lymph tissue out, so I was at a high risk to get it I suppose. 

cmbear

Kittygirl-thanks for the yummy cake, chocolate--my fav!!!

Lori, weird pains and lack of pain is normal for awhile but I would get yourself to a PT so they can help relieve you. They can help alleviate your pain and give you exercises to help with LE. Mine was a godsend and if I could still afford it, I would still be going to her. Darn insurance.

Mmom--Sounds like QOL is important here, but I agree, I would check with your MO or RO. PCP usually don't know enough about cancer tx and issues.

Barbe and MMomSounds like we have the opposite problem! Living in Florida, I get the "why aren't you more tan?" And then tourists get mad at us  when it rains or gets below 40 degrees--like its our fault. We don't have snow, but we do have 100% humidity 365 days of the year!!! 

VictoriaB

Claire, check this out! Someone posted in another forum about the bill up in Congress called The National Lymphedema Act! Even if its only for medicare now, it would result in changes in the insurance industry for us!

lymphedematreatmentact.org

elimar86861

stjude10,  You had quite a few nodes out, and there is going to be some numbness, tightness and soreness like you expected, BUT I think VicB has pointed you in the right direction.  Read up on "axillary web syndrome," also known as "cording" and see if that sounds like what is going on with you.  This is somethig you can have with no accompanying LE.

walker2222

stjude - I had cording issues, it was triggered by my rads treatment.  A lymphadema PT that specializes in this is the thing.  I was better after the first few treatments.  The bad thing was she was not on my insurance but she was the best in the area, so I paid the $92 per treatment to see her and it was worth it.  She gave me ideas to self massage the area under my arm and st reaching exercises.  Also, get your BS to prescribe you a compression sleeve.  It helps a lot too.

Sherryc

Zumba girl if you have a pic on FB you can right click and copy and then paste in on here.  A pop up will come and ask if you want to access and just click yes an repeat it and the picture will appear.  Then if it is really big you can click on the picture and on the bottom right corner you can click and hold and resize it.

walker2222

I saw a movie on the Lifetime channel called "Five".  It had five short films about women who have breast cancer.  The tie in is that the Dr they all go to Mother died of BC and that is the reason she became a Dr. she also ends up have BC as well.  It was very moving, produced by Jennifer Aniston, several other women.  Each episode is directed by a different woman, Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Independent Spirit Award winner Patty Jenkins ("Monster") and Penelope Spheeris ("Wayne's World").  I cried, just a warning.  Each episode is moving, and well played.  It was sponsored by Ford Motor Worriors in Pink.

Here is the link about it:

http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/five/about

Kleenex

Will they be running "Five" again? There was a write-up in the paper and it looked good, but I forgot to DVR it.

Jessie - turns out I am chaperoning at Carrollton this weekend as well (we have a LOT of parents who want to chaperone, and so each week, that weekend's "chaperone picks" are "revealed" - it's not that dramatic, but close). I hope we can see your show in finals! Is there a video of it on YouTube anywhere? I LOVE hanging with the kids, but that's the big drawback: you don't get to see the other bands perform. Especially this week, as we won this contest last year so we get to perform last in prelims... 

BTW - for those of you who are NOT living in Texas, my children's high school's Homecoming is a week from this Friday. Sadly, they are both date-free, but their FRIENDS will be festooned with the fabulously ginormous "Homecoming Mums."  I shall take pictures.

Kleenex

p.s. I'm lying. It's not SADLY that they don't have homecoming dates. I'm actually pretty relieved! My youngest - 15 this coming January and a freshman - apparently had a boy who wanted to ask her. At first, she told me, she kind of liked the idea. Then she realized that while she liked the idea of BEING ASKED to Homecoming, she did NOT particularly like this boy. I joked about some of my relationships early on, which were based on, "Well, HE likes me, and I like me, so we have that in common." My older daughter (16 1/2) really likes this boy who is in a few of her classes and in band and in a Bible study group she attends when it's not marching season. He either just likes her as a friend, OR he's totally clueless that she likes him. Oh, high school romance! Wouldn't go back...

stjude10

Thanks for all the input gals. I found it very helpful. My BS is getting that machine to detect lymphadema. I am already scheduled to be the 1st one. Yay! That is on the 20th. I went to PT on Mon. and go again this Fri. The massage really helped the armpit and breast area, but not down to my wrist. She is not a specialized LE therapist. Will have to look and see if ther's one in my area. Thanks again everyone sooo much!