Calling all TNs

kathyrnn

*strips naked, runs screaming thru thread waving Pom-Poms and shaking my can-can*



WOOOOHOOOO!  15,000 posts.



*Bows in homage to Titan.*  This thread has been a wonderful gift.  Thank you so much Titan!!!!



Love to all you wonderful women who make this place so supportive and full of joy.  Prayers for peace and happiness for all our sisters that have passed on.

Hope60

After being away for a few days, I've returned to find a a discussion of the British royal family,  of all things!  You just never know what you'll find on this board! 

I've always been very fond of the royals.  I have a lot of respect for the Queen...what an enormous,  life-long duty she took on when only in her 20s.  I visited the UK once,  20+ years ago, and I actually saw her.  It made for a really memorable vacation moment! 

Luah - I also enjoyed  "The  King's Speech."  "The Queen"  was another good film.  I don't know how accurate it was as a character study, but Helen Mirren was wonderful in the role.

Hope everyone has a good day!

kathyrnn

I hope this link will work.



http://www.dana-farber.org/Newsroom/Publications/Bridges-and-partnerships--Speeding-delivery-from-lab-to-clinic.aspx



There is a short section in this article ( under the heading Triple-Negative Breast Tumors) that discusses research into the Jak2 pathway, that may lead to more targeted treatment for TN.

Titan

Kathrynn...you were the 15,000th POST...and you win the Grand Prize of absolutely nothing! 

Hope..you just never know where this thread is going...

Tazzy

Well that will teach me to go and lie down for a couple of hours - come back to such a busy board.  That's why this board is such a great one... keeps on moving !

And how boring life would be if we all agreed eh?  As long as discussions and differences of opinions are expressed as respectful communication, which I believe they have been on this thread, then I find it healthy.  It is good to hear other peoples opinions, whatever the topic.

Titan... thank you - I have only be here for a short while... but this thread really has been such a comfort.    Here's to another 15,000 posts.

OBXK - your family history is incredibly interesting - descendant of a Salem Witch.

Fighter - here's to manana's with magaritas (one day soon).

Kathy, thanks for sharing the laugh - priceless.

Lovelyface... thanks for sharing your experiences, so very interesting.

Off to lie down again... will check in later am sure - love catching up with you when I've been away for a bit.

have a good one ladies.

Fighter_34

Okay ladies is this better Tx??? Sorry  LOLOL

TifJ

Don't be sorry fighter!! I'm glad I read it as Texas and not treatment!!

NavyMom

Thanks, Kathymn( I justnow realized that your screen name is Kathymn and not Kathrynn-sorry!) for the link.  It is always good to hear about new research for all BC and TN in particular.

Thanks to OBXK and Lovelyface for sharing some family background.

Interesting conversation about the Royals.  I personally have no interest in them but certainly appreciate everyones view.

A beautiful day here in the midwest.  I went to a 30 minute water Zumba class today.  Very fun.  Leaving to see Navyson and family on Friday.  Its been since mid March since our last visit.  I miss them so much.

kathyrnn

YAYYYY Titan, I won nothing!!!! I'm so excited!!!!! (now THAT'S an optimist for you)


Navymom - have a great visit. Years ago I tried to get the online name Kathyrn, to stand for Kathy RN. I had
to settle for an extra N, which I decided was perfect. Kathy Registered Nutty Nurse.

)

OBXK

Lovely- thanks for the history lesson.



Titan - so glad we have this group!

We get to experience other places and cultures, from the comfort of our homes.



Kathy - I love the idea of your being the only girl at the poker game. Men are such gossips - you must get an ear full every week.

riley702

Maybe I DID misunderstand, Titan. Do you want us to discuss TN and only TN, since Teka corrected us and you concurred? Or are we free to discuss whatever falls out of our heads? After all, I'm not even a proper TN, being all 8% ER+ and all.

melissa119

Ok. Just got back from MO and got my treatment regimen and wanted to know if anyone else had this type of treatment. I was told Adriamycin/Cytoxan for 4 biweekly cycles and then taxol for 12 weekly cycles! I was not expecting it to be that many treatments but was told this is the standard? I am to start June 28th. I am a wreck about it.

Babs37

melissa119- I had the exact same treatment. It is standard treatment. The 12 weekly Taxol seems like a long one but it's easier on the body and lessens the SE. Good luck!

melissa119

Thanks babs37.. That is what my MO said. She said the 12 weeks is like a vacation and really easy... Don't know about vacation but we'll see I guess. How did you do with this treatment? I have 2 kids that are going to be home for the summer and am worried about side effects. Hoping I will not get many but one never knows

kathyrnn

Melissa119 - that is the exact treatment I had, but reversed with the Taxol first. You will learn that there are many different treatment regimen's, but my med onc told me this was the most standard combo used. There have been some recent posts on here from those in treatment, that the medical community is now thinking that the A (adriamycin ?sp) of the A/C may not be effective enough to warrant it's use. (I'm sure somebody will pop in to discuss that).



But please be assured that this is a common treatment, and please don't hesitate to come back with questions.

The Taxol was definitely the easier of the two. I don't know if that was because I had it first, but I used to refer to it as my baby chemo

kathyrnn

Another thought Melissa, if you have children home for the summer. Ask your med onc if she has any problem with reversing the order and putting the Taxol first. Then you would go thru the summer on the easier of the 2 chemos. Never hurts to ask.

mags20487

melissa there is a newer study out that suggest that Taxol first works better for TN.  I do not know where I found this but I am sure someone will be along with the link.  Are you on the tnbcfoundation.org site?  Post there and you will get response so fast on that question.  Then if you decide you want to try it that way you can print it and  take it to your MO and see if they are willing to do it in that order. 

Maggie

Lovelyface

I had what they call the dose dense treatment, which is adrimycin/cytoxan every two weeks X 4 treatments (lasted 2 months), and then dose dense taxol, every two weeks X 4 treatments (another two months).  I feel sorry for myself that I had to endure dd taxol, when mostly for many others, they try to divide it into 12 smaller doses.  Good thing was it was for a shorter period of time.

Lovelyface

Ladies, in response to Riley's post, I just want to add that we are women, we talk about everything, we just have to, right? That's the way we know how to function.  The totality of our thoughts have to be let out, maybe that's why this forum is so popular, we are just being women, being our natural selves.  Our thoughts and viewpoints may not match with others at times, and we may even feel hurt sometimes when we don't agree, but ladies, I don't think we can function and be ourselves just by talking about TN only.  I enjoy reading everything on this forum and learn a lot from you all, thanks.

mags20487

Lovely--me too...that taxol was rough!!  Only good was no nausea on it and at least it went by quickly!!  Any more news for you and your thyroid or did I miss it xoxo

Maggie

Babs37

Melissa- When I did my chemo my son was 4 YO and was with me all the way. I was fine on AC. The roughest part for me was the Neupogen shots(for WBC) that gave me aches and pain in my upper body for a couple of days every round but never too much pain for me not to take care of my son. And during Taxol I had 1 day of bone pain every week of treatment but it happened to be on Saturdays so my husband could take care of my son that day. The other days I felt fine. Don't be affraid to ask for help during your treatment. Family and friends will be more then happy to be there for you.

Babs37

On the subject matter on this thread, personnaly, I love it that we can talk just about any subject and BC of course. I love to read about what's going on with our lives, work, kids, dogs, see pictures....... I love to read funny jokes (I miss Heidi for that ). Makes it fun to come on here and never know what's going on. It's good to keep it "lite" somedays and be here for help when needed.

kathyrnn

Melissa's post is a perfect example of how this thread works. We can be all silliness, jokes, pictures and even "agree to disagree" posts, then on a dime it turns to seriousness when someone needs help with a question. This thread is perfect.

ksmatthews

I am with Babs on this.  I feel like we should be able to discuss whatever we want.  If it is a subject you dont care to read just scroll past it.  I do!

DorMac

Wish I had thought to scroll past all the posts about the chocolate cakes, etc. I'd probably be 20 pounds lighter now! 

Doreen 

Teka

gillyone, will you be attending the London 2012 Summer Olympics?   I am looking forward to watching the open ceremony on TV.

melissa119

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on my question on treatment. I am just so scared of what is to come with the chemo. And i think i handled losing my boobs better than my impending hair loss :-(.... Also another question. Did everyone have a port or do the IV. My MO gave me the choice. She said I could try the first one with IV and see how it went.

Titan

Melissa..how old are your kids?  My kids were older 18 and 20 but we were super busy with my son's graduation plus all the parties and getting him ready for college when I was going through chemo during the summer...I started the end of April and was done the first week of August...4 AC and 4 taxol..dose dense...no..it wasn't easy but I found I felt better when I kept busy than when there was nothing going on....keeping busy kept me sane and made the time go faster...good luck to you...chemo is freaky but you may find that you will handle it better than you think...I hope so!!!  Oh...I had the IV for 8 treatments...now 3 years later..my veins are OK...maybe not as good as before but they are ok...

and hair loss..that is a tough one....it's just weird....to be hairless..like everywhere..but..I did the ac first and the hair started coming back during the Taxol...just a little..but it was there...I was basically hairless for about 5 months...

Riley..sent you a pm

You ladies said it all about this thread....talking about anything and everything....and making sure that we take care of each other with our current treatments and onc visits and fears and TEXAS  (lol)

NavyMom

Melissa, I had a port from the get-go.  because of the axillary node dissection, it is usually recommended that your affected arm is not used for IV's, lab draws or Blood pressures.  So that leaves the other arm for everything...I didn't want my good arm going to crap because of how harsh chemo can be.  But it is your choice and only you can make it.  Do what feels right for YOU. 

Glad you found us...we are here to help in anyway we can.

Teka

Poor veins.   Chemo port!