CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS

sheila888

WELCOME To our new sisters;

(((1xmastree)))   (((bombaygal)))  (((AnaM)))  (((Slinky)))

Sorry if I missed anyone.

♥

sheila888

jo...Merhaba

sheila888

AnaM

Thanks, Seyla........

sheila888

Barbara...I don't remember on which thread I saw it  but your place looks like a resort.

And I love resorts

HUGS♥

sheila888

To All New Sisters don't forget to read the posting limits on the top of the page.

Sherryc

Annette congrats on day three smoke free

Bombay--welcome to the group it is a great support system here. My stats are very similar 1.6cm and I did not have chemo. I got two opinions and both said no. I had an oncotype dx done and I scored a 23 with 14% dist recurrence rate. The main deciding factor for my MO was that my KI67 was below 10%.

sheila888

Bombay..My tumor was 1.2 cm. I had chemo and the whole package because I was HER+

Hi Sherry...I didnt have all those tests maybe in 2005 they werent doing it.

HUGS

jo1955

Sheila - I did not have all those tests done either.  They are very expensive and my MO did not see the need to them in my case.  He said he had all the information from my biopsy path report to decide that I did not need chemo.

raincitygirl

Bombay. I have almost the same as well. I pursued four opinions and ended up with only one saying I should do chemo but my understanding was potential benefit was 1-3% with potential damage closer to 5%. I began chemo and then had a recheck with my renowned surgeon and then both rad teams I was considering. They were all surprised that I was doing chemo at all. The rad onc sent out for my ki67 and mine was also very low. This info was part of my oncotype but had not been included in the report to my onc. I stopped chemo at halfway point, did my rads and finished those a few weeks ago. Started arimidex this week.



I am also allergic to many many things but so far, so good with the arimidex.

raincitygirl

Have you read the article on here saying essentially that mammograms alone are insufficient for many of us already diagnosed?

sheila888

Diane...Digital mammos are very clear.

The technician showed it to me.

It looked like a clear ocean few fish inside.

Honestly thats how it looked like.

catbill

Hi everyone,

I hope all are okay today. 

I am here with a question today, and I know someone here will have the answer. Please understand that I am not asking anyone to donate any money to anything.   This is not spam. 

My neices (young mothers, late 20's and early 30's) have decided to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-day, 60 mile "walk for the cure" this year.  They are doing this in honor of both grandmothers (genetics everywhere!) who are both still surviving and me (not a blood relative, I married their uncle).  I am quite honored to be included, but was surprised by something yesterday.

We were asked to participate in a pancake breakfast benefit the girls were having to raise money and, of course, DH and I went to support them.  It was so cute to see them (and their spouses) running around serving pancakes while my BIL (the girls dad) and his wife babysat for the 3 kids.

One of them told me they each have to raise $2300 to be allowed to make the walk.  Honestly, I was shocked.  Does anyone know why the Komen Foundation is putting this kind of financial qualification on those who want to participate.  That's a lot of money!!  It's almost like punishing someone that wants to help.

My neices are not complaining at all about this and have a bowling benefit set up next month, so they feel confident they will reach their goals. I can understand why the Komen Foundation might need a certain level of fundraising because I believe they do feed/sleep everyone in the walk, but it just struck me as way more money than necessary, and they should be happy with something less.  Maybe I'm crazy, and if I don't understand, someone let me know.

raincitygirl

Catbill - I believe it is because they formed a team or joined a team with such a goal. The individual fee to join is $90 so that level of fundraising is not required to participate. There is such controversy this year over the millions of dollars Komen is spending on lawsuits against those using the "for the cure" phrase, that I am less likely to participate.  I'm not sure yet.  I have received information from them in response to my concerns and it seems to say nothing of consequence.

raincitygirl

Sheila - I guess next Tuesday when I go for my annual mammo, I will learn about digital mammograms

Teal3Pink1

Speaking of mammos, I did a count yesterday and since December 1 last year, I have had 5 mammos or procedures involving mammo, 1 MRI, 1 CT/PET scan, 2 ultrasounds, 1 echocardiogram and at least 10 breast exams most after the lumpectomy. The girls haven't seen this much action since high school band trips...! 

It feels like wasn't the cancer violating enough? And now my body is being handled by someone new practically every week.  I'm trying not to let the ooginess factor get to me too much. these are medical professionals after all! But sometimes when I'm taking off my gown and putting my girls back into my bra, I can't help but have that being-pressed-too-close-to-strangers-on-a-crowded-subway-at-rush-hour dirty feeling. 

I know this is typical and we're all in the same, or similar boat. Rads simulation on March 16, so this is only the beginning.... 

sheila888

Teal...I know that feeling. It was like I have been squeezed daily either by machines OR DR's.

Maybe I didn't have time to think about My BC. So many appointments OMG.

I still get a professional exam by Oncologist 3 times a year, BS 1, GYN 1 and GP 1 =6

I'm not complaining because I cant do SBE myself. I just dont know what to look for.

I remember years ago 2 months in a row I ended up at GYN thinking I felt something. False alarm. Thinking of you Sister♥

jo1955

catbill - The Komen Foundation wants so much money so they can pay their lawyers more money for the lawsuits.  I think it is pitiful and would not participate under those circumstances.  That is just my take on what I have read and if I have offended anyone along the way, I do apologize.

I know the feeling about mutilple gropes by doctors and machines.   My girls have not seen that much action in quite some time.  Guess it will not end anytime soon.

raincitygirl

jo1955 - as you can see from my post above, i am on the same page.

dogsandjogs

This is what I was told. A malignant breast growth is hard, has an irregular shape and is imbedded. The first one, 28 years ago, fit the description perfectly. The one I discovered in Nov. had a smooth shape, but was hard and imbedded. 

Anonymous

srbreastccancersurvivor: your description of malignant breast growth is interesting given that I had completely "non-palpable" IDC that was 1.4 cm. No one could feel it....not the PA, the BC, the MO or the RO when they all took turns on the same day the week before my lumpectomy nor the radiology Dr who did the needle biopsy prior to that (they had to use Ultrasound to "see" it).  Because it was not palpable, I had to have a needle localization via mammo so the BC could follow the wire to remove it. Additionally, the cancer was not specifically visible on the mammo last Dec despite that size; it read as an "architectural distortion" when comparing to my prior mammo (as I understand it)...

There's DCIS as well as the IDC in the pathology. I'm actually quite scared that I have more non-palpable, non-visible cancer lurking around in one or both of my girls.

Anonymous

Oh...and I go for my first post-lump appt with the BC tomorrow. Scared she's gonna squeeze, poke or pull on me and that it will hurt like the dickens!  I don't poke at my sore girl so I'm not sure how much abuse I can take at the moment! lol 

dogsandjogs

I guess you just never know- after my first cancer was diagnosed my Mother asked me for my opinion on an "olive-sized" lump she had. It was very smooth and I was able to roll it around so told her it was probably a cyst, but to check with the doctor. Luckily she did as it was a cancer.

Did you have an MRI? I was told the MRI was another form of a second opinion and would rule out any cancer in the armpits or elsewhere in the breast.

dogsandjogs

Don't worry about the post-surgery appt. My surgeon only touched the two incisions very gently and removed some of the surgical glue. He didn't touch any other part of the breast. I had been worried about that too.  I am now almost a month post-op and there is still some sensitivity - mostly by the armpit scar, but not that bad. 

sheila888

ajtina...I remember my first post-lump.

BS just looked at them I had 2 one for SNB which was a completely different place to see the healing process.

sheila888

SRBCSurvivor....

Sensitivity takes time to heal.

I used to protect my Breast when someone was walking too fast towards me.

chabba

I was worried about the first appointment I has with my BS after rads.  My breast was so sore that any pressure - even a hug - hurt.  And you know how Drs press and ask "Does this hurt?" When they know you have pain!  He moved his hands across my breast, barely even touching me and told me where I hurt!  A couple of times he would move his hand over a spot a second time before saying anything and then it would be "No, ok there." 

Anonymous

Thanks for the guidance about the follow up appointment, SRBCS and Sheila! I know I block that boob every time someone goes to hug me and I got very nervous walking around the Farmer's Market on Saturday that someone was going to back up and bump my on that side so I was walking around with my arm across me to protect it!  The SNB scar is the worse of the two from a general pain perspective, but I suspect the boob would hurt more if it took a hit of any kind.

I'm with Kaiser and they didn't do a pre-surgery MRI. They said they end up chasing a lot of false positives from it and it delays the surgery. I plan to discuss getting one now, particularly since the surprise DCIS finding.

sheila888

ajtina...I see you reached 10 posts.

If you have a question you can PM me anytime

Hugs

sheila888