Calling all TNs

Titan

Suze..that is good news...your onc will have a plan to take care of those freaking nodes...if you want I will jump on them on them and have my cats throw up on them.

 Seriously though...your onc seems pretty positive about this...try to be too...it sucks..what we all want to hear is "all clear"..and when we don't hear that..we have to go through the mind set and gear up for another round.

I would love to hear my onc say..see you in 10 years..instead it is see you in 3 months...blah..but it is what it is.

MBJ

NavyMom:  Great news!!!  Congrats and a toast to you!!!  Such a relief.

suze:  So happy to hear your cancer hasn't metasticised. As for the other, if necessary  I would do the rads and chemo and opt out of surgery-that's just me though.  Sounds like your dr. has your best interests in mind and I am sure you will soon know what the plan is very soon. 

BTW:  I just got some really good news today that my friend who is a Stage 4 TN & Diabetic has finally found a chemo coctail that is working for her.  Really great news and I wanted to share it with you all. 

MBJ

Hi Christina:  Sorry you have to be here but you found a great bunch of women who will help you through your best and your worse days.  I hope your chemo coctail works and shrinks it into oblivion!!!  BTW:  Mine didn't completely go away, but when they finally did surgery, whatever was left was dead so I hope you have the same results!

TexasKaren

Suze:  Good news, and yes, do rads on the underarm nodes, vs. surgery; it kills any cells that have wandered "outside" the nodes as well!  None of my areas (L breast, L4 spine, R shoulder)  where radiation was done have come back.  Just wish I could rads my whole body !!

Suze35

NavyMom - I'm so sorry, I missed your great news!! Congrats on the clear PET! I know what a relief that is .



Titan - oh yes, come and stomp away! If only it were that easy, lol. I'm staying pretty upbeat. My doctor is great at giving me realistic news, but keeping my hopes up.



MBJ - my inclination is rads too. I can't be the only woman this has happened to, most don't get PET scans after surgery, and I know the radiation can knock it pretty well. I'm so happy to hear your friend has found a chemo cocktail that works - wishing her a looooong time NED .



TexasKaren - thank you for your insight. I'm glad to hear rads really worked for you, and I'm defiitely leaning in that direction. Hey, they have WBR, why not WBodyR, lol? Sigh, only in a dream world.

MBJ

Titan: Here is an extensive article on Lysine in combination with Vitamin C & Proline

http://www.drlam.com/articles/vitamin_C_therapy_in_cardiovascular_disease.asp?page=5

Anonymous

MBJ- have you gone cluckin crazy also, like all the other hens on the OMG thread? You changed your avatar....

MBJ

Heidi:  Yep, cluckin' Looney, hahahahhahahhaha!!

cc4npg

Suze:  I'm really happy to hear PET was clear! That is what I needed to hear to end my evening.  Just see what happens with the nodes, but it's really good the scan was negative.

Kymn

Suze that really is great news.MBJ what was the chemo cocktail that finally worked for your friend. I too freak out with every pain I feel I keep think that with all the scans and tests and MRI they still missed something lol . A tad paranoid I might say. Have a meeting with the Onc tomorrow to make sure blood is good to go for round 2 on thursday.

hope all are having a great evening

Hugs Kymn

Sugar77

MBJ - I love your new avatar.... I also liked the one with the mouth-watering pies you baked for Thanksgiving!

kelben

congrats. Suze... breathe a little easier indeed.

Luah

Sugar:  Glamour indeed! What a great picture of you.

NavyMom: Congrats!  Very happy for you.

Suze: Yes, good news on the PET. Onward...!

Re vitamin D, thought you ladies might be interested in an article in this morning's Globe & Mail (Canada's "national" newspaper). Interesting finding regarding vitamin D and body leanness in triple negative tumours. Looking forward to results from the human trials on Vitamin D.  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/high-doses-of-vitamin-d-reduce-breast-cancers-in-mice/article1971805/

   

MBJ

Kymn:  I am waiting to hear back from her as to which combination they gave her.  Just so happy she is doing better!!

Fighter_34

Another good read ladies...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1373786/Could-carrots-sweet-potatoes-help-fight-breast-cancer.html/

Titan- I love that cat idea! Headed out for a nice long walk. Nice out finally.

Sugar77

Well ladies I'm busy packing for my trip to Washington. My sister and I fly to Baltimore/Washington tomorrow. Can't wait for the mini ivacation!

Luah, my new avatar is a scan of a photo that was taken last week at a gala fundraiser I attended for work.  My company sponsored a corporate table and we had to get all gussied up.  They were taking photos of all the attendees at the event.

Anonymous

Sugar- Have a great time with your sister in DC! I will be watching my son's rugby game on Sat. and attending my Naturalist field trip on Sunday. I hope there are still some decent blossoms to see after all this wind and rain. I also hope the government gets its sh*t together so it doesn't have to close down tomorrow....

MBJ

Sugar:  Hoping you see some beautiful blooms for Spring and come back and share them with us!!

Suze35

Sugar - enjoy your trip! I hope the blossoms are still there.



Well, I'm still in a holding pattern. The nodes are level 2, to the right of my arm pit, under my pectoral muscle. My BS is consulting with tumor board tomorrow am to get recommendations. She isn't sure she can reach them without causing damage. My RO feels that he can do radiation effectively, but it is "outside the box" and will require careful planning. Everyone seems a little perplexed as this isn't common - catching this so soon after surgery. My RO is pretty upbeat, says it is better to know the devil that we are dealing with, and still sees me on a curative path, as does my MO. My BS is more, um, resigned. She pretty much thinks it is only a matter of time before it spreads. I'm glad she isn't my onc!



I'm still hanging on, trying to balance the optimism with acceptance. A part of me believes my lymph nodes are doing a bang up job, and that I will be on the good side of the stats. But I know my cancer seems to be particularly aggressive, and everyone is surprised I'm still Stage III.



I'll be lurking mostly, but will keep you guys updated. It is good to just read the chatter .

tnbcRuth

Such a difficult time for you Suze.  Hugs !!!!!!!!!!!

jenn3

Suze  -  I wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and send you a big (((HUG)))

Lynn18

Suze:  I am thinking about you also.  I hope you can take a little break, enjoy the kids and just forget about this stuff for a while, (I know, easier said than done!)

Titan

Have fun Sugar!

Suze..you lurk all you want..I lurk sometimes too..my kids accuse me of this all of the time on  Facebook..I just pretend I don't see anything!  If there is a bottle of alcohol in the background of a picture of them in college..well..don't see it!

Seriously Suze..it sounds like you have a good team working for you..My BS and ONC are great people but I sure wouldn't call them optimists...guess that is their job...they have probably seen too much..I read on here all the time that we are INDIVIDUALS..and not statistics..take that and run with it...

MBJ

((((Suze)))):  Hang in there and try to stay positive and optimistic.  I still say it sounds like you are in good hands and we are all individuals--no one can predict what will happen so give it the good fight and we all have your back!!!  Come here as often as you need as this is the place where we all understand what you are going through.

cc4npg

Suze:  I also agree that it appears you have a really good team working for you.  Each person has opinions based on their interpretation of what is going on, so I'm not surprised to hear one of your docs is a bit more resigned than the others.  However, that being said, it is better to think positive on anything in life... hands down... no matter what the circumstance.  Easier said than done.. been there.  Your nodes ARE doing a bang up job, period.  That is the whole reason we have them there to begin with, to catch impurities in the blood, infections and so on before they reach other areas of the body.  So yes, there is no other way to look at it than to say your nodes are doing what they were created to do.  Your PET was clear as I recall so I will look at it as a sign that those nodes caught all those nasty little devils!  I'll be praying for you and your team of docs!

I colored my hair 9 weeks pfc this past Tuesday.  I used Henna and it turned out very nice! I just took some additional pictures because Henna does change over several hours after coloring.  They're currently on my photobucket at  http://s1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee444/cc4npg/

Suze35

Thanks everyone for your support.  I described this experience to my friend as trying to catch a fish with my hands - just when you think you have a hold of it, it slips out of your grasp.

So I am having surgery on Tuesday.  My BS got several opinions, and she said that it appeared the nodes - and there are only 2, not 3, yay? - are pretty easy to reach.  Because I am not Stage IV and young, she wants to be as aggressive as possible.  From her realistic point of view, she thinks that if we just radiate and it recurs in that area, surgery would be impossible and it could make me uncomfortable.  So even though she is still not too keen on my chances, she understands that I still have to try.  I will then do 5-6 weeks radiation about 2 weeks following surgery (as long as all goes smoothly), then Avastin/chemo.

One thing I am clinging to - the doctors keep saying I have a chemo-resistant cancer.  Well, yea, at the end.  But I am convinced that I had a significant response to my chemo until 4-6 weeks before the end of my treatment.  So I am hoping that first response knocked out any floaters, and that my second round of treatment will do the same.  If this cancer had been resistant from the beginning, I'm fairly sure I'd be Stage IV already given its aggressiveness.  When I have trouble sleeping, this is what I tell myself .

I'll let you all know how the surgery went! 

Babs37

Suze35-  I think you are so right. Keep fighting and I'm sending you big hugs. And good luck with surgery.

Isabelle XX

MBJ

Suze35:  I am glad you have a plan now. Surgery and radiation sound like a good idea.  BTW:  I am surprised that just because one chemo didn't work, they aren't trying another.  Not all chemos are the same and I know for LauraJane, the last one she used worked well and hers was resistant to the first chemo, which is one of the standard chemos given.  I think it's good that you question this and I would get a couple more opinions.

Suze35

Isabelle - thank you .

MBJ - I am going to do another chemo - we just aren't sure what yet.  My MO is convinced Avastin with chemo will help me, so if I don't get into the clinical trial arm with Avastin/chemo, I will pull out (unethical, I don't care), and do Avastin with probably Cisplatin/Gemzar.  I agree - there is nothing to say the next combo won't work!  That is how my oncologist is approaching it, thankfully!

MBJ

Suze:  I thought that was the case!  That is great to hear and we will all be thinking about you come Tuesday.  Where is your surgery being performed at?