MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

elimar86861

I met a Stage IV breast cancer lady today at my chemo appt.  Wanted to share the weirdness her story, just cause in the four years I have been here, I have not heard a one like this.

For her, it started with a couple tick bites, a particular one under the bra band that was super itchy.  After some scratching, it showed signs of infection, red line travelling down a blood vessel, etc.  So she sought a doc and some antibiotics.  The tick bite formed into an annoying keloid scar and her doctor said it would be irritating right there at the bra line, but a dermatologist could fix it, so she went to have it excised.  Derma sent it out to the lab (as was their standard on all lesions removed) and it came back that it was B/C, mets to the skin.  Stage IV right out the box.  It was lobular, never spotted with mammo.  She also had mets in bones and liver, without symptoms.  That's not unusual, but presenting with the skin mets is kind of unusual.  Just sharing. 

I did mention this site to her and she seemed interested but I think she might be older than this age range, so I'll probably never know if she joins this community or not.

Jeannie57

Lobular is such a sneaky thing. Cancer is so mysterious sometimes.

barsco1963

Yes sneaky it is. Damn cancer! Instead of "now you see it, now you don't" it seems to work the other way around. A  friend that I met through a bc support group on fb passed away on Sunday. She found out only last Wed that her cancer had spread - and it spread with a vengence. It was very shocking to hear of her passing. Ironically she was a big (NY) Mets fan.

elimar86861

And speaking of flip-flops.  I wore a pair to my chemo yesterday, and purposely walked around making the loudest flip-flopping noises I could make with them, just for attention-seeking fun.  If I ever wore the other "thong," who knows how I might have to draw attention to THAT!  And don't worry, I'm probably already known as "that annoying patient," so there was no additional stigma risk to my extreme flip-flopping either.  Walk on, sister!

                                                               

p.s.  Sorry, Barsco, I wrote a silly post and forgot to add the serious part about your friend.  That is just another shocking story about the unfathomable ways of B/C.  Very sad.

Dianarose

Bought my stove and 3 bay sink today. I am looking at a mixer tonight. It will feel good to have all the equipment in place. I was so tired of looking on Craigs list.

My low back still hurts today, but it is not as painful to pee. I did call my doc and she apologized and CVS gave me a refund. I don't think the tech at the pharmacy realizes what a big mistake that was. I am in their instant alert system so this doesn't happen. The trust factor is gone now.

Eli- can you eat any fruit? I had a Fuji apple today. It was so flavorful.

Barsco- sorry about your friend. I think it scares all of us. F'n cancer.

Eph3_12

Dianarose, the doctor prescribed the antibiotic, so isn't she the one that the buck stops at?  The pharmacist certainly should have been aware of the allergy, but I don't know that my pharmacy has ever asked me if I'm allergic to anything (I could be wrong about that-I've been there for about 4 years & I've had chemo since then) I am going to check next time I do a re-fill.  I'm not defending the tech by any means but I think the doc is the one to be most upset with.

NativeMainer

Dianarose, nope no lightning here.  Not even a rumble of thunder.  Stop hogging all the good storms and send a few my way! 

HLB

Hi ladies! I am 50 and thought I would put my two cents in this thread. When I take antibiotics I always take acidophilus. Every time I take one abx I take 2 acidophilus and never got the yeast infection again. I an addicted to Fuji apples! Gotta back into work so have a wonderful day everyone :-)

heartnsoul76

HLB - welcome to the Middies thread!

Haha, now I'm craving a Fuji apple! Boy, the minute you find out you can't eat something, you start craving it. I've had food poisoning twice in the last 9 days so I'm going to make myself avoid fresh fruits and veggies for a week or two. The first time I got sick I believe was the result of cross-contamination with raw fish. Five days later I had some fresh veggies and dip from a platter I ordered from the grocery store for a party and I got sick again.

Elimar - I love your list of icy cold treats! Have you had any yet? I can imagine you've been craving them for a while now. I'm so happy your MO is giving you a break on the platinum drug and I hope it puts everything back to normal before you have to have another dose. Glad to hear you are being the annoying patient - the way I look at it is you are providing the entertainment! Another thing that doctor's office owes you for, haha!

So fresh fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and good for the immune system, yet I have to avoid them for now because my immune system is apparently weak and can't fight off food poisoning. I remember puzzling over that ad nauseum during chemo, lol. 

barsco - I'm so sorry that happened to your friend! Cancer is so sneaky - I guess we should all be aware that something as sudden as that can happen with this horrible disease. Things like that keep me on the Tamoxifen, in spite of all the pain-in-the-ass side effects.

Speaking of which, the other morning I woke up and lazily stretched in bed, pointing my toes like a ballerinia. All of a sudden, a calf muscle cramp just grabbed my left leg and locked it in place like that. My muscle felt like a rock and hurt like crazy. I was screaming (glad I was alone) and practically lifted my leg out of the bed, put my foot on the ground - with the intention of standing up and walking around - and the minute I put weight on that foot the cramp just went away. So the lesson here is I found out the best way to straighten out a cramp is to stand on it. 

HLB

That is terrible about the food poisoning! Here is tip I read in a great old book called Vermont Folk Medicine. Take a spoonful of apple cider vinegar before meals and you won't get food poisoning. Never tried it but I would not be surprised if it works. I've read so many things that acv is supposed to be good for but I just can't choke it down so I bought some acv capsules from swanson. Idk if they work as well but they were cheap. I know it works for my mom for reflux.

barsco1963

Thank you all for your thoughts. Judy's passing makes me even more determined to speak out about mbc and the lack of $$ that actually goes into research.

Diana - so glad that you are feeling better. And that the bakery is filling up with all the equipment needed to whip up those yummy treats!

Eli - I can just imagine you flip-flopping your way through chemo. Strut your stuff girlfriend! 

Anonymous

Home last night from Colorado and had a voice mail from my MO re the MRI I had last week. She is referring me to my surgeon because the "lesion" on my pancreas is "slightly" larger than the last one. I'm waiting for the call for an appt. ......."I'm NOT going to worry....I'm NOT going to worry.......I'm NOT!!!"



Dianarose, forgive me if you've already posted, but do you have an opening date for the bakery? It sounds wonderful!



Barsco: congrats on the Spa day! So sorry about your friend.

barsco1963

Chacha - I am NOT going to worry with you. Hang in there!

NativeMainer

Chacha--I'm NOT worrying with you, too!

Sherryc

chacha I am joing the not worrying club!!!

elimar86861

Chach, Do your best to keep the worry away.  A lot of the imaging techniques aren't even that precise when they measure our tumors.  So many times ladies reported that, at surgery, the tumors turn out bigger or smaller than seen on the imaging.  I know this is one MRI compared to another of the same, but a slight variation in size can just be something quirky in the imaging technique itself, don't you think?  No, it can't be ignored.  We don't have that luxury anymore.  Still, we can definitely give ourselves a break not to worry that somethig might be something, when it is really nothing.  Gonna wait for your surgeon to tell ya something good.  Let us know.

elimar86861

Proof positive...my platinum drug is the devil.  I feel GREAT about taking a break from my platinum drug for this two week cycle because I did not have vision disturbances or the leg cramping this round, and eating has been much less of an ordeal.  I am sure I can get a few pounds on this cycle and feel much better about heading into the second half of my chemo.  Last, but not least, that Frozen Coke(*) I had the other night tasted like HEAVEN!!!

(*) Also known as an icee, slushie, slurpee, etc.

Dianarose

Just got the call and Boston comfirmed it is mets. It is better than a new ovarian cancer. It was contained inside of the ovary and fallopian tube from what I was told. It was not my MO who called as he is on vacation. It did however say the HER2 was positive again. Now that is 2 who say it is and one who says negative. WTH

elimar86861

I would never think mets is the lesser of two evils, Dianarose, but I do like the sound of contained, and I hope that means that since the ovary and tube are out that you might have gotten rid of it once again.  Of course, you will probably have to follow this up with some kind of drug therapy but until they solve the HER2+ riddle, I guess you don't know if that will be Herceptin or something anti-hormonal.  Did you get both ovaries out or just the affected one?  Sorry, I've mentally lost that info. if you mentioned it before.

Dianarose

Eli- I had them both out. The intent was purely prophylactic. No one saw this coming. I am going to be going on some AI or another next month. I have a ct and bone scan scheduled first. I am going to ask the MO about Bazedoxifene though. I think I will go with the guy who says my her2 is negative. I am starting to like him.

My son and I picked strawberries this morning. We picked 30 pounds in about 25 minutes. Hulling them now. I am half done. I don't know why, but it seemed like a better idea this morning. I will make jam tomorrow and I think I will treat myself to shortcake too.

elimar86861

OMG, can anyone here imagine the energy level Dianarose had BEFORE her cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beatmon

How does she do it?

Loral

Chacha, I'll not worry with you..."Hugs"

marlegal

So many posts, so little time. I'll just stick with current events and add that the thought of Diana's energy level pre-c is a little scary!



Haven't posted much lately but I've been in every pocket when needed, I promise.



Chacha, I have NOT worrying down to a science, we got this covered



Eli, I am so glad you took this break. And that you know yourself well enough to know you needed it. You are one of the most self aware women I've ever met. You go girl!!

barsco1963

Diana - you certainly do keep yourself busy! Picking fresh strawberries is always a good idea - until it comes to cleaning them. But fresh strawberry jam is oooooohhhhhhhh sooooo gooooood! Good to hear that the mets were contained. I am hopeful that the all of the little buggers were taken with the ovaries.

I was out in the garden pulling some weeds, in between swats at mosquitos and horseflies. Found the beets, and lettuce. Everything is starting to grow so well. The corn is getting to be taller than the weeds! Which of course gives me reason to not have to pull the weeds from the corn patch!

macatacmv

whooeee, lots happening here!  edited for spelling

I have had lots of company lately and am wearing myself right out. Today I took 2 naps and I come on here and read about the Queen hulling 30#s of strawberries. Diana, contained is a great word right now! And them being removed is even better! Glad the bakery is coming together. Are you cooking there, now? 

Eli, yay for the break! Just in time for the heat wave you get to ice up. 

barsco, sorry about your friend. Man, it hurts to keep losing people to this disease.

chacha, no worries! be happy!

I've been hanging with a friend that has hospice involved now. The good news is she is getting some great services that she should have been getting all along, like LE massage therapy. I just sit with her and we talk about the old days. Some days I take her dog for a walk. Helps me to keep it in the day.

Last weekend I went to the Farmer's Market. We were purusing a holistic booth when my cousin pipes up and says what can you do for her cough. She's been coughing like this forever. So now I am making wild cherry bark tea, diluting it with plenty of honey and choking it down. So far I see no change. I am suppose to report back next sat. 

Anyway I learned to make little gluten free baked donuts. See they are healthy for us. I'll bring them to the pps. I know I am no match for the Queen of Tarts. 

Anonymous

Thank you all for the "No worries" pocket party!  I got the call last night for my consultation with the surgeon on July 1.  Thats the same day I see my MO for our regular visit so I'm hoping she will give me more info on why the surgical consult when I see her.  Pocket party, please?  I'm thinking a spa day is in order.....looking forward to Viatnamese Pho lunch between the two appointments.

Dianarose.....I know what you mean when you say the "good" news is mets.  Mets has been the scariest thing until I started looking at the possibilities with the pancreas!  Pancreatic metastisis would be better than a primary cancer of the pancreas.......oops   No worries!

Sherryc

I have my 6 month MO appt with my Zometa infusion tomorrow.  I am having lunch with my BFF's from gradeschool if anyone wants to jump in my pockets we can have a really good time.

marlegal

If those donuts are going to the party, I'm in

Anonymous

I'm down for the party Sherry!