CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS

Valjean

Sheila  ~ Such wonderful, fabulous news about the mamm!!  And, you booked your trip - hurray for you! You will have such a beautiful time, & you must send us pictures, pictures! I will PM you after this post.

GmaFoley ~ I have been on Aromasin - it was two years in Feb - & my SE's have been mild compared to many other sisters. I do have some numbness in my hands occasionally, mornings for the most part, some stiffness if I sit too long, but if I stand for a moment before I move I'm fine, HOT flashes, a few a day, I don't sweat through my clothes - they're not that bad - push my sleeves up - pull them down kind of flashes. Some cognitive moments, I just tell everyone give me a moment & it will come to me if I am at a loss for a word. I play with my grandkids on the floor, exercise if I'm in the mood, which has not been too often lately. That sounds like lots of SE's, but they are minor in the grand scheme of things & compared to some. Certainly nothing that hinders/or stops my daily routine. I can live with all that. The alternative, well......... I'll go with the AI. I hope you do well if you use one.

Allenan ~ I did not have chemo, so I can't help you there. I hope you do well on whichever one you choose. Please keep us posted.

o2bhealthy

Allenan I had TC + H and my SE's weren't too horrible, body aches, fatigue, bowel issues.  I had some neuropathy in my hands, more in my feet and alot of muscle weakness in my legs.  The neuropathy has resolved in my hands, my feet still have a little bit of issues (sensitivity to extreme temperatures).  The legs still tire easily and I may have developed phlebitis in my legs (but that could be due to Tamoxifen and lack of activity).   For me the hardest part was being thrown into instant chemical menopause...  

It really sounds worse then it was but overall I would say it was very managable I just wanted to be honest. 

BarbaraA

{{{SHEILA}}}

Allenan, I did not do chemo so I can't help. Sorry.

annettek

SHeila- YEA YEAH YEAH...i agree-i am hoping in  your pocet and not leaving til you are back on the mainland:)

So happy that you are actually doing something for YOU....you certainly deserve it my friend.

Sherryc

Allenan did not do chemo so can't help but good luck with your decision

Melmes

Hey, Ladies....anyone have a re-excision and then a month later had some oozing from the site? I took a shower this morning and caught a whiff of ewww, and I cleaned under my breast really well with alcohol. I thought it might just be the yuck that can collect in skin folds when you sweat a lot, like from working out, or the belly-button-like stuff you get sometimes? But now I am concerned it might be an infection. have any of you experienced this? No pain, no discomfort, no swelling, no tenderness, and the line seems a healthy color dark pink, not inflamed - but there's still the smell and the oozing. Yuck. ( I have not noticed this before today, which is why I thought it might just be workout sweat gunk...?

sheila888

Hi Melmes.....Yes i had oozing after my reexcision but not month later.

One area wasn't healing like the other areas.

The way you described i believe that we both had it right under the breast where is dark.

When I was home alone actually used to hold my breast up so it could heal. The smell was terrible. OOzing smell is very different than regular sweat. YUCK you are right.

I hope you feel better soon.

Hugs.

Chadneyann

I'm a stage 1 or 2- docs don't know yet- hello to all out there- just diagnosed & scared beyond belief

Sherryc

Chadneyann--Welcome to the thread but sorry you had to join us here.  It is a great place for support and to ask questions.  do not hesistate because we have all been in your shoes.

sheila888

Chadney,,,Sorry about that you had to join us. Yes when everything happening so quickly it's very scary. Are you having a Lumpectomy?

No matter what stage you are always welcome here.

I'll be thinking about you because I have been there so the rest of the sisters.

Stopped by with any questions we are all here for you.

(((HUGS)))♥

BarbaraA

Chadney welcome. The beginning is the worst because you do not have a plan of attack yet. Once you get your treatment plan in place it gets soooo much easier. (((HUGS))) and don't forget to breathe.

TinaT

Melmes:  Sudden oozing and bad smell....I think a phone call to your PS is in order.  Can't hurt to ask.  Hopefully, it's nothing!

TinaT

Chadneyann:  Welcome!  As mentioned above, just know that this is the worst part.  It's a totally foreign world at first and you feel that it's all out of your control - not a good feeling.  I really found it helpful to educate myself, but to try to deal with one thing at a time and not jump too far ahead.  It's so overwhelming when you're trying to learn all the lingo, meet your medical team, and make decisions.

You can get a lot of answers here, but I found it really helpful in the beginning to stay in touch with my health system's Breast Cancer Navigator.  I would ask if one is available for you.  She/he (or a team of people) are a great resource and can answer lots of questions for you.

Best wishes and keep us posted!

jo1955

Chadneyann - Welcome but sorry we had to meet this way.  You have found a wonderful bunch of very caring, supportive ladies.  Right now is the scariest part, but like others have said, once you have a treatment plan in place is does get easier.  Ask all the questions you want - we have all been there and can help you through this.  It can be a very overwhelming time but just remember to breathe.  (((HUGS)))

annettek

melmes- please call your doc....better to have it be for nothing than to find out you needed anitbiotics (sorry for being bossy)

ChadneyAnn--- welcome and i hope we can offer you some answers, comfort and just a place to go when it is all too much...there are amazing women on here....that have been there....just got there...you name it...one of us has been through it....as Jo said...remember to just breathe....

Eph3_12

Allenan: I had T/C (onc score was 42); 4 treatments every 3 weeks.  It was not the most fun I've ever had (!) but I'm coming up on 2 years since my 1st dose & things look much nicer on this side of the calendar. PM (private message me if you have questions)

Melmes, I agree - oozing a month out doesn't sound (or apparently smell) very good!  CAll the doc-that's why they get paid the big bucks!

ChadneyAnn- it's so terrible, we all know that.  Feel free to ask anything.  If you click on people's names above their picture there is usually a biography of sorts.  You can look to see who you have things in common with & write to them or just send it out there right here.  I stalked a few people for a while who seemed to have good senses of humor, which is how I ended up on most of the threads I'm still gleaning from & contributing too!  It gets better!    

sheila888

Good Night!

Valjean

Welcome Chadney ~ It certainly is a very scary time right now...... If it's possible, it is a good idea to have someone with you at the early doctor appts to listen with you. I can remember certain words (not always the good ones) & I found out later from my DH (dear husband) other things I totally missed the dr saying. Some gals take a tape recorder with them. I didn't because my DH has the mind of an elephant! Please keep us posted.

We are here for you. Your name is lovely, by the way.

{{hugs}}

sheila888

                                                          

Chadneyann

You are all wonderful. I feel better already. I'm still in shock. It's only been 8 days since I found out so I'm still freaked out but I will post.

Thank u all for the warm welcome.



Xo

FireKracker

Chadneyann---when i first joined 2 things stayed in my mind.first the tape recorder.even if you have 10 people with you they will never remember everything unless you take Vals DH with you.AND second please get a 2nd.opinion....I had one of the top drs.in america do the wrong thing to me.i dont want to scare you but you should always get another opinion....A lot of Drs.want to rush you into surgery before you have time to think.....come to us often...we all have been there...huggggs K

Melmes

Hey, girls!! I did go to my doctor and she said no worries, a stitch probably just dissolved early, so I have to keep it clean and dry and it will be fine - no reason to think it's infected, might be  a bit yeasty.

 I did my first chemo today. I'm doing 4 rounds of Taxotere/Cytoxan. I went jogging this morning to deal with anxiety, and got to the hospital at 9 a.m. I took forEVER - we didn't leave until 5 p.m.!! They gave me a shot of benedryl, which made me exhausted, and one of deamethadone, which made my vajayjay itch and burn on the inside like a yeast infection - it was SO WEIRD!! Lickily, the intensity died down within abot a minute or so. Then Tax, followd by the Cytoxan. I slept through most of it.

Right now I feel tired, but overall OK. I'm definitely drinking my water and preparing for the next 72 hours....will be glad to know for sure what I can expect by wayof side effects.

Welcome, Chadneyann - hang in there, the beginning rall is the worst, and maintaining a positive attitude and a sense of humor is the most important thing you can do for yourself. ((HUG)) 

jo1955

Melmes - Good to hear everything went well today.  Get plenty of rest over the weekend.  I did not have chemo so I can not imagine what you are going through.  

Just_V

melmes -you and i were DX'd about the same time.. i went back through your posts - so you had a lumpectomy -- i needed to check because i see you are running again already... i had an UMX two weeks ago and cannot begin thinking about running yet... and if you had had a MX and were running already, i will feel like a real slacker.. so guess i can allot myself a bit more time (whew!)...

sheila888

Melmes...In glad you are feeling OK. I had A/C chemo and Benadryl made me feel so sleepy ...I looked like a drank person when i got home.

You are working towards your graduation now

You'll be fine.

HUGS♥

Eph3_12

Melmes, I had T/C. My experience was that each session got a bit more intense in the days following, but I followed recommendations re: anti-nausea pills, etc. to a T & never vomited or had any SE like that.  Fatigue & round #3 & #4 were pretty horrendous as far as how I felt, but I survived-almost 2 years since my 1st dose.  I found days #4 & #5 were my worst.  Good luck!   

Sherryc

Melmes good luck with your chemo.  glad it went ok just get plenty of rest.

Viranyani

Hi, everyone...wowee, sooooo many of us!! Sorry to meet you all this way, but at least we're not alone.

I'm another newbie. 11 days post BMX; the path came back IDC, 0.7cm, Stage I, Grade 2, 0/15 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-...the prophylactic MX on the ipsilateral breast came out clear, only w/ microcalcifications.

Soooooo...1st appt w/ an oncologist on the 8th, hoping to not have to do chemo. My surgeon did a fabulous job, and said that I would probably only need aromatase inhibitors...but ther's a bit of nervousness about the Grade 2. It's borderline, but the nuclear score bumped it up from a 1. 

Been reading the science and am left with the impression that it's a crap-shoot...

Does anyone else out there w/ a similar Dx and surgical intervention have anything to share about skipping the chemo? (There are sooooo many posts here, sorry...no energy post-op to go back and look!)

And Sheila, I'm in Hawaii, too (was born and raised here, but mostly have been living overseas recently...just happened to be home for a while in May and thought I should get a mammogram, 'in case'. PHEW!! I feel **very** lucky.) ...Anyway, I hope you're having a **very** sweet time!

sheila888

Welcome to our sisterhood Viranyani

Im glad you found us. I had chemo so I cant answer any of your questions.

Someone will come soon with information.

Are you still in Hawaii? Which island/

I'm not leaving NY until August. I wanted to meet you if you were still there.

HUGS♥

elimar86861

Viranyani, welcome!  Yes, I have a similar Dx (see below,) but went for lumpectomy + radiation.  Read up on the OncotypeDx test.  It is a 21 gene assay (on a tissue sample of your tumor) that is basically a decision making tool for physicians (and you!) to determine how much of a benefit early stage, ER+/PR+, neg. node women will benefit from chemo.  In fact, you can ask your BS to order the test now for you if you want...since there is usually a two week wait to get the results. 

Based on my score, I found out that chemo would only reduce my risk of recurrence by 2-3%, so I did not do chemo.  I went on Tamoxifen after the radiation.