Calling all TNs

Sugar77

Welcome CatWhispurrer! You'll get a lot of support from the wonderful ladies on this thread.

christina1961

Hi CatWhispurrer!  I'm veryy sorry you have been diagnosed.As Sugar said, there is a lot of support here in this group.  I am just up the road from you in TN and am a big cat lover, too! 

I'm glad you are getting the dose dense chemo; it seems to be very effective and I wish in retrospect that I had gotten it. I also had a delay of almost a month before I started treatment last February. 

CatWhispurrer

Hi Christina and Sugar.  I see most people get treatment in about a month.  When I finally go to surgery next week, it will be almost 3 months since I found the lump.  That is what is scaring me the most.  It has been very frustrating with dealing with places that do the testing not being very sympathetic about moving the process along.   It took a MONTH just to get a diagnostic mam because they refused to do it unless they had my previous mam films which were at another clinic.  The other clinic took 2 weeks to send it to them and then another week to get the new mam scheduled.  That is how the whole process has been going...... 2 weeks for this, then wait 1-2 weeks for results/talking to Dr., then another test the following week, then wait 1-2 weeks for that.   It has been mentally exhausting while I feel this "thing" is growing uncontrolled.   It went from under 1 cm the first US with no swollen lymph nodes, to 1.6 cm and swollen lymphs on my breast mri a month later.  I am SO ready to get the treatment going already!

My sister was diagnosed with HER2+ bc 5 years ago and doing well, but this TN diagnoses has me very scared.  Thank goodness that my BRCA test was negative.   

Tina

Sugar77

Tina - the mammogram that discovered mine was in Aug...I had the surgery end of Sept....then another surgery end of Oct...and started chemo in Dec. of 2009. Glad to hear your sister is doing well.  She's an inspiration for all of us being a 5-year survivor.  Aside from the Her2+..was her ER and PR negative?

jazz3000

Uh Heidi I believe that's MacSanta?! Merry Freaking - do I say Holidays or Christmas? What to do what to do. LOL

Welcome Catwhispurrrr- Sad to read your going through so much pain over just the Dx and having to hurry up and wait to take care of it all. Glad you found this forum too. Patience is the name of the game with BC and they are really not kidding. Hopefully the wait is over and the recovery is soon on it's way.

Titan

Heidi..me thinks that McFry looks a little pissed off...just saying.

Catwispurrer..love your name...I'm a huge cat lover...totally stinks that you had to wait so long until your surgery....that's just not right....but..glad you are finally having your lumpectomy...don't freak out too much about being tn...as you can see there are alot of us on this board...and yeah..we are still on this board...still living, still breathing..hang in there ok?

CatWhispurrer

Sugar, yes my sister's bc was ER/PR neg.  Actually, they didn't find out about the HER+ status until later when an intern saw it in her notes about 6 months after her surgery.  Everyone had overlooked it because she was diagnosed as tn from the biopsy, but then the FISH test was done at surgery but nobody caught it until the intern was going back through her records.  So, she got the same dose dense treatment that I am going to get, but then she got Herceptin later after her chemo was done and took it a year. So, the moral of the story is that I am going to ask to have my tumor re-tested after the surgery just to make sure.  Her tumor was 3 cm when it was diagnosed and had invaded the chest wall so she had chemo first, then bmx, then radiation and finally herceptin.   Yes, she is my inspiration and is trying to help me cope although she lives in WI (my home state) and I live in GA.   She is flying to GA to be with me next week for my surgery.  

I love seeing all the cat lovers on this forum.  Makes me smile and feel in good company.  

Tina

Anonymous

Christmas Cats (taken with my cellphone):

Sugar77

Look at those Christmas cats...so cute.  Our local mall has a special "dog" night where our canine friends can get their photos taken with Santa.  Of course, I've got my dog Brandie booked in again this year

Anonymous

"Heidi..me thinks that McFry looks a little pissed off...just saying."

Well, maybe if you spelled his name right... just saying...

riley702

Welcome , CatWhispurrer! Love the avatar! I have 2 black kittens, both girls, both long-haired, not related. One is 7 mos. old and one is 14-15 weeks old. I have a third kitty, a 7 mo old short-haired tabby calico, also not related to the other 2. I just meant to have the 2, but went to a cat show and a local shelter had a booth with kitties for adoption and I couldn't resist another sweet-faced long-haired black kitty (with extra toes!). I'll post pics.

I absolutely hated the delay and mine was "only" a month. I would have been out of my mind waiting as long as you have. I knew it was aggressive and was terrified the delay was going to get me killed. (((hugs))) So glad you've managed to light a fire under their behinds.

riley702

My 3 kitties, in order: Lucy at 8 weeks and 7 months; Lovey (7 months) playing in the basket; Swiffer, aka Baby Girl, on the cat tree, and Swiffer and Lovey snoozing in the cat tree. Swiffer got her name for her habit of crawling into tight spaces and coming out covered in cobwebs - it was either that or Mama's L'il Dustmop.

Titan

Sorry MacFry! My bad...

Luah

Tina, welcome. I completely understand your fears and frustrations. Once you are in treatment, you will feel much better, guaranteed. I had almost a month wait from when I found the lump to diagnosis, then another month to surgery, then another month to the second surgery I had to have. Then 3 weeks to chemo... so it can be a long anxiety-ridden haul. All I can say is, I forced myself into a role I'm not generally comfortable with - being a bug to my various docs - and that helped. 

Please bear in mind, too, that various scans often turn up conflicting results because they image the tumour differently. An MRI showing a larger tumour size a few weeks after another scan does not necessarily mean your tumour has grown that much that fast... it may simply be more or less accurate. 

It's good to hear you have a surgery date - you're on your way to beating this thing.  

Anonymous

Here kitty kitty kitty.... always loved a black cat!

gillyone

Cute cats! Perhaps we need a cat thread to show our cat pix and tell stories. Heidi - our cat likes to sit under the tree - could be she thinks she's outside. One year when the boys were little, one of them let her in from outside and she had a bird in her mouth. She went straight to the tree and looked like she was going to leave it there. I yelled open the door, picked up the cat (with the bird in her mouth) and threw her outside. The landing must have jarred her, as she let go of the bird and it flew away. It is a story that we re-visit every year even though the "boys" are 22 and 23 now. I also told the story every year ar preschool - the little kids loved hearing it.

christina1961

Heidi, That Christmas cat on the right looks like a troublemaker!  LOL! (I know that "look" well - my short haired cat is a mischief maker.) Do they get along with your Bostons? I have one black cat who loves to play with the small dog.

Carolyn, Love the pics!  That's a great cat tree and looks like they really enjoy it. 

One of the things I've been doing during the last few months is making cat beds.  I ordered $100 worth of flannel fabric in animal prints and got my ancient sewing machine out.  I got a book, "Me and My Sewing Machine" which is really for beginners - perfect for me.  It has been really relaxing.  I just got back from getting bloodwork - white counts very low and anemic - so I was advised NOT to clean the house as planned this weekend and rest.  I think I will spend some time sewing. I want to make some cat beds for a friend who has come by to help with litter boxes and cleaning when I've been the sickest from chemo.

I've got a full day of work to do, so I better get busy!

Anonymous

christina- sadly, the Bostons do not get along with them; they have a very strong prey drive so, for the first time in my life I am having to keep the cats and dogs separate--- luckily not too hard to do with my home set-up.

The cat on the right is/was my son's. We have temporary custody. She was a former "Philadelphia Street Cat".

KSteve

Been looking for word from Laura Jane.  Anyone hear anything lately?

CatWhispurrer

Thanks for the welcome everyone.  I just got back from my PET/CT scan.  I hope to hear the results before my surgery next Wednesday.  

Jazz, I am about running out of patience after 2.5 months but trying.  As Carolyn said, I am just about going out of my mind with waiting..   Will be so glad to start treatment.  

Glad to see Titan is a cat lover too.  Thanks for starting this thread.   Luah, thanks for the advice too about the size of the tumor and being more proactive with the docs.  I have a nurse navigator now and she is helping me keep things moving along.  I really need to learn to speak up more, which like Luah, I have a hard time doing.  I hope when surgery comes, the lump isn't any bigger.   Yes, I think I will feel better once surgery is over.  I know then I am on the way.   I am sure I'll have lots of questions for you all about chemo.  I have had long hair my whole life so trying to decide what to do before I lose it.  I am looking to first cut it off and donate it.

 Love the kitty pictures and I would love to see the kitty beds.  What a great idea.  I am also an artist and have done paintings, some of which are on my website catwhispurrer.org.   Carolyn, the little guy in my avatar is a kitten I rescued earlier this year.  The mom (who looks so much like your Lucy) had kittens when she was incarcerated at the local kill shelter, so I got them out and fostered them because they would have died or been killed.   I was president for the local humane society for 9 years and fostering cats/kittens for about 11 years.  I've fostered almost 350.   I am glad I only ended up with the 8 I have now (3 are long-term fosters) as I wanted to keep most of them lol!  I have 2 dogs too.  I've heard or read somewhere that I am going to be asked not to clean litterboxes? That may be a problem as I have 10 of them that I clean 2x/day!  I was told not to foster right now too which breaks my heart.  Fostering is hard work but so rewarding.  I also got let go of my job of 12 years as a network engineer last year and started school as a vet tech just for the change and my age & lack of a degree was keeping me from finding another job in the computer world, which is a mostly-man world anyway.   I just finished my first year of school and my first hands-on internship.  I have a part-time job at a local vet.  So, I don't know what this diagnoses and treatment is going to do to me financially.  I am guessing that my job is going to be too dangerous to do during chemo.  You can check out my fosters, some fosters from the clinic where I work, and the pictures of the rescued mom/kittens under the "adopted" at the link at www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA727.html

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome and letting me into your private lives and thoughts.  I am sure to find lots of help and inspiration from all of you.

Luah

Catwhispurr - donating your hair is a lovely idea. I was a bit selfish and chose to create my own hairpiece out of my long hair.  If you're interested, look up hatswithhair.com.  I can tell you I wore it more than any scarf or hat or wig - and loved it. 

CatWhispurrer

Luah, what a great idea. I don't think that was selfish at all.  I didn't know there was such an option.  I was going to donate my hair because I didn't want it to go to waste.  I was worried it wouldn't be usable anyway because my hair is somewhat damaged (frizzy) from going gray and using semi-perm coloring.  Which one did you opt for?  the "Underhair" looks like it is the most versatile.

Titan

We have two cats now...Carmella (the 10 year old) and Eddie (the 2 year old)..maybe someday I will be able to post a pic...I buy the little boy cat grass...he absolutely loves it...mostly he spends his days living in our bathroom..not sure why but that is where he hangs out.

Oh yeah..this is a tn thread..so...anyway...Tina..I love your baby...what a cutie.

Oh yeah..this is a tn thread...Riley..your cats are beautiful..have I told you lately I love your avator..ha ha.

I'm not working Fridays this entire month of December..yay me...we will be tagging our tree tomorrow...baking cookies..shopping..dinner party tomorrow night..yes my foot is better so I plan on wearing my high heel shoes...actually bought some hose to wear too...which is a first for me because I HATE hose...darn the new princess in England for bringing hosiery back!

ksmatthews

ksmatthews

Anonymous

ks- kept wanting to hit the "Like"  button! lol

riley702

Tina, all 3 of my kitties were shelter kitties that were fostered, so I really appreciate those who donate their time and resources to the kitties. Lucy was a feral rescue trapped at 5 weeks and brought in for neuter, vaccinate and then planned to release her back to her colony. Thankfully, the lady at the no-kill shelter persuaded the lady looking after the colony that she was young enough to be tamed and have a long and happy life indoors. Lovey was part of a litter surrendered to the shelter at 6 weeks, and Swiffer's mom was dropped off at a different no-kill shelter pregnant, so she was actually born at the shelter and fostered until old enough to adopt out.

I saw the cat tree first on Overstock.com, but they were out, so I tracked it down from the manufacturer, KittyMansions.com. It was only $130 w/ free shipping, and stands 73 inches tall with 3 perches and a condo just below the perches. The bases is only 23 inches x 23 inches and is sturdy. I'm very pleased with it. And they currently have a holiday sale - 10% off with coupon code SANTA.

CatWhispurrer

Yes, I want to hit the "like" button too on all the cute kitty pic's!

I was reading some of the older posts to try to learn and not post dupicate questions.  I saw that a lot of tn people report their tumors were painful.   Mine started hurting a few weeks ago and both the onc and BS said it must be from the biopsy and my body healing as opposed to the tumor hurting.  They said that cancer tumors don't hurt.   The pain from the biopsy had been gone for a couple of weeks, so I didn't think that was it but who am I to know since this is all new??

I am meeting with my BS on Monday to go over plans for the surgery on Wednesday.  He will do another US.   Anyone have any good advice for questions I should ask before surgery??   I have a list started.   Thanks!

naan1004

Hello all,

     Am finally back after first chemo, next will be on 12/13.  Will try to drop by more often.

bak94

Thinking of LauraJane and Suze35~