MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

elimar86861

Thanks for info, NMainer.  One of these days I should check for the titers and guess no longer.

I took your reply to mean that once I get test results, the vaccine can be properly coded to qualify for the insurance pmt.

elimar86861

Johnetta

Anyone here EP+ but opted out of taking tamoxifen? During this past year's journey I have followed my gut on my choices and am at peace with each of them thus far. I can't help but feel taking this pill for 5 years is not worth the benefit...

NativeMainer

Barbe--if it's the
same vaccine how does it matter how someone tests?Medically, it doesn't.BUT, insurance won't cover the chicken pox
vaccine for someone who has antibiodies, but will pay for the shingles
vaccine.It's a word game with the
insurance companies.

Elimar--EXACTLY!

Johnetta--talk to
your onc about the benefits of tamoxifen for you.There are sites the docs use to show how much
possible benefit there is from each kind of treatment in various situations.
Your gut feelings are important, too, though so pay attention to them.Keep in mind that many woman have no side
effects, and you can stop taking the med at any time, so your choices are more
than just 5 years or no years.

Momine

Johnetta, with stage 3 cancer, I am not skipping anything

barbe1958

Johnetta, if you had an Oncotype test taken, remember that the results are based on you taking Tamox for 5 years. If you don't, then the test was useless. I am ER+ and don't take anything - I just use common sense to not add any extras to my ER load - no soy, edamame, etc.

elimar86861

Johnetta, I agree with NMainer, that you and your doc should go over the benefits for you personally.  The rule of thumb is that if the treatment provides 5% or greater odds against recurrence then the benefits are greater than the risk of some of the bad SEs Tamox. can cause.  I, too, wanted to get out of Tamoxifen, but the fact is that it has been tried and true for reducing mortality for over 30 years.  When I was on the fence about it, I decided to try it knowing that I could stop at anytime if it made me feel horrible.  I took it for 3 years (then had to stop to undergo treatment for another cancer, not BC.)  I have decided not to do additional years of it.

Did you have the Oncotype test done?  I am curious because you did some chemo generally thought to be nasty, so how was it decided that you would do that?  With ER+ BC, Tamox can be as great a tool as chemo, or greater in some cases if your tumor had a high percentage of hormone responsiveness.  Please have the discussion with your doc. so your decision can be an informed one.  

Jeannie57

I have been reading along.....I have taken Tamoxifen for a year with mostly mild hot flashes as an SE. I have no uterus to worry about.  My MO says the Tamoxifen or AI is the most impt. treatment for my cancer. I would be on an AI if my bones were stronger, especially since I have lobular bc.  I'll switch to it eventually.  I'm throwing everything at this f$cker, excuse my language!

elimar86861

(She posted on another thread, but looks in here all the time, so...)

MinusTwo, 

Congrats on making it all the way through rads (tomorrow.)  You are almost there.  You did it!!!!

MinusTwo

Thanks Eli - and all of you for the thoughts & feelings & advice that you share every day.

barbe1958

I know that because I haven't had any chemo or AI that my first line of defense if I recur will be Tamoxifen or Aromasin. That does not necessarily mean that I wouldn't have recurred, it just means those drugs are that effective.

One of my customers years ago had breast cancer. She told me that she took (I'll assume Tamoxifen) so she wouldn't recur. I asked her why we ALL didn't take Tamoxifen so we didn't get it in the first place! It stumped her. She wasn't offended, either.

NativeMainer

Tamoxifen is taken by some BRCA mutation positive women to prevent breast cancer.

barbe1958

Wow!! It's about time they got pro-active instead of re-active! Good to hear that Native, my comment was made about 10 years ago. 

Anonymous

Ladies, thank you for all your encouragement for my colonoscopy! It's done! Yes, the prep was worse than the procedure itself but for me, the worst is always the IV. Sorry very low tolerance for pain and I become a pin-cushion. They gave me a shot of lidocaine (they said), did nothing. Fought the 2 nurses, even a hot towel didn't work. DH wasn't helpful, not understanding, tried bullying me into it so I told him to leave. Finally, a shot of versed did the trick. It could have all been avoided with what I was told is a J-pen (apparently that's not the name). Vaguely remember being wheeled into the procedure room, then back to pre-op/recovery area. Heard them talking, couldn't respond, difficult to wake me up. Slept while DH drove me home, then all afternoon. Still feel numb, but it's done! Thanks for the pep talk!

Tomboy

awww, 2nd, sorry that they hurt you, but glad that you are done.... i say, when is your DH's colonoscopy gonna happen? maybe he will understand then! we gotta love our men, but boy can they be babies when They don't feel good... good for you for sending him out of the room. Sheesh! now, go and get some ice cream in there, good for scrapes!

barbe1958

Glad our PREP talk worked! hehehehehe

elimar86861

2TA, You have failed to mention if you got on the "all clear" 10-year program.  You seem happy enough now, so I am guessing there was nothing to worry about.

Congrats?

Anonymous

thanks, all!

Kath, both DH and DD had their colonoscopies years ago. I'm the hold-out. It wasn't the procedure but the IV that bothered me. 

Elimar, what I haven't said is they removed a small polyp. Was told prior they send everything out for path review. Plus, took samples from endoscopy (have frequent terrible heartburn). So, we will find out next week 

elimar86861

Good riddance to bad polyps.  I just say "bad" because, really, can you call any of them "good" if they have no business being there?  2TA, I think that will probably put you in the 5-year club.  I had a single 3mm one removed, got the 5-year spiel; but that was before all my real trouble began.

Hey, you will all like to know that I am almost back to what you could call old normal.  I can't eat anything I want anymore!!!  Guess I have recovered from most of my chemo damage and don't need to rebuild my body anymore.  I've gained back 10 lbs. (out of almost 20 lost) and from here on in, it's just going to be belly fat, so I am trying not to shovel in quite as much as I had been doing.

Bathroom habits are a bit different now, but nothing horrendous (won't go TMI here) and if I did not have persistent foot neuropathy (6 mos. now) then I would just about be where I want to be.  Stupid darn feet.

Oh yeah, my MO office called to schedule my CT, I told the scheduler I felt like waiting until May.  She called the next day and said that the MO wanted it in March (a 6 mo. interval.)  I said, I know that, but I also have a surgeon that would be fine if I only got CT yearly, so in the spirit of compromise I had decided on May (8 mo. interval.)   Of course, I told everyone here that I was planning to do that.  Now I did it.  Good follow through, eh?

elimar86861

Am I just weird, or why do I love this stuff? 

Hitting the Nail on the Head:Clues to Systemic Disease

I was being rhetorical.  Don't answer that.

Tomboy

i love it too, elimar! Thanks!

NativeMainer

That IS fun stuff! 

Dianarose

Jeannie-glad to see you post.  Thought about you with all the mud slides in your area. If A's are our best line of defense I would have liked to have started with them from the beginning. By the time I did all my surgeries, chemo, and radiation more than a yr went by. Maybe my cancer wouldn't have gone to my ovaries if we had started things in the reverse order. We knew my onco score was a 6 so to me it would have made more sense.

elimar86861

Dianarose,  How are your tumor markers doing lately?

Tomboy

Diana rose, that is a very. good. Question.

Tomboy

oooooh, elimar! Love Ganesh!

elimar86861

Thanks, kathec, for also loving the Ganesh pic.  I thought this representation looked spring-like (maybe it was the colors or the bowl of eggs.)  I don't know what's up with the swastika-looking symbol on the hand, so let's just ignore that.  

Momine

Wiki: 

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" (meaning "good" or "auspicious") combined with "asti" (meaning "it is"), along with the diminutive suffix "ka." The swastika literally means "it is good." It is a common practice for Hindus to draw Swastika symbols on the doors and entrances to their houses during festivals, which is believed to symbolize an invitation to goddess Lakshmi.^[1] The name "sauwastika" is sometimes given to the left-facing arms symbol, which is a mirror image of swastika (卍).^[2]

The Nazis stole it from the Hindus - it is the whole Indo-Aryan thing. Back then, people believed that Sanskrit was the "original" Indo-European language, which would have made Indians the "original" Aryans. This is wrong on at least two counts. We now know that Sanskrit is one of the many Indo-European daughter languages, not the original, but the more serious error, of course, is to confuse culture and biology.

Tomboy

i think that i read somewhere, that symbol was hijacked by hitler. it was the turning of the wheel, and in india, it went the right way! and bad H, turned it the otherway! love the eggs, too, and am planning on coloring some, and i am 54, and have no kids!

Tomboy

sEE! momine knew!