Calling all TNs
Comments
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Joyce - I had a lumpectomy, chemo and rads the first go round. When it returned again, I decided to have both breasts removed.
When removing the "good" boob, the surgeon caught the tail of a lymph chain, which they found positive for cancer, but didn't find a tumor as the went back through it.
I just thought since I had to have one breast removed, it would be better to have them both removed, so I could choose to go flat top.
Glad you just had gas!
Melissa - I hope you are less fearful, now that you've had your first chemo. Rest when you need to!!
Lovely - so glad you have some peace of mind. Radiation - the gift that keeps on giving!
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It's a hot , muggy day here in NC! -
I have been having some breathing difficulties at night combined with moderate to severe allergies so finally went to an allergist today. I wanted to get back on allergy injections so I won't have to take so many antihistimines. My breathing test showed some obstruction so the doctor wanted me to have a chest xray today. I was so nervous but everything turned out ok- it's asthma. I'm always grateful for any ailment that isn't cancer. For you allergy sufferers, they told me that ragweed is already out this year in the southeast - usually doesn't show up until fall.
I'm considering going the BMX route myself if I get reconstruction. The plastic surgeon I am going to go to for a second opinion will not even look at patients until a year out from rads, so I should be able to see him hopefully in October.
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Hello!!! I am currently hooked up to the fighter and making it through this very first scary day!! Had some problems With the port since it did not want to give blood back, but I am finally hooked up to the last bag and will be on my way home in about an hour. 5 hour day in the Chemo room, but it beats the surgery room :-). Anyway, just wanted to say "Thanks again" to the many of you who responded and gave me strength on this very scary first day. And the best part of it all...... It wasn't so scary here after all! A little dopey, so sorry for any grammar or spelling issues.
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Joyce, on Taxotere= I lost part of my pinky nail after my first round. I then iced my nails and never had an issue. I since have lost both my big toenails (I did not think about toes) my last chemo was Jan 17th and lost the toenailsbeginning May. I am still dealing with the brows, but everything else is growing.
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Kathyrrn... the link worked and you look like a great belly dancer - love it. I used to do Zumba before this crap hit me. And I did some gardening this afternoon which really lifted my spirits.. thanks for the thought.
Christina..hope you have something to ease the asthma.
Jazzy - glad the first one is over for you and yes, once you get there its not as scary as you think eh? Take care of yourself over the next few days and listen to what your body tells you.
The RNs put frozen gloves on my hands and feet... so far no nails lost. Fingernail beds are very tender though.
Lory... glad to hear everything is growing back.
Oh! the gas... my poor DH during that time
To those I've missed - hello and hugs to you.
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Hey Jazzy...glad you posted and things went ok..don't worry about the "drugged" posts...we have all done that...and we understand...just glad you made it through number 1....
I think I have allergies or something too...no problems breathing but sneezing all day and my eyes feel watery and my nose is filled with junk..it's not a cold because I feel fine..but my eyese feel weird also...never had allergies before...
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re lumpectomy vs. masectomy..I had a lumpectomy and so far so good...there are so many factors..my tumor was fairly small..1.8 and no nodes..plus I just wanted the dang thing out of there...i was diagnosed on a weds and had the tumor out on a Friday..with a mx I would have had to wait....I thought..well..let's get it out NOW and think about the masectomy later...my drs. were fine with that...It wasn't that I loved my boobs that much..but it wasn't also that I thought they were trying to kill me either...
Like Luah and others have said..it is really a personal choice...but I have had no regrets at all.
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Allergies are a nightmare! I live in SW Florida so something is always blooming, but we do love the sunshine. The only issue today was with my port. They tried for over an hour to draw blood before they started the Chemo..... No luck. They could push and drip fluid in, but could not draw blood. My surgeon said this could happen, but want to better understand if this is common or if I should question it. Any input please?
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Is it too early to say "I am so thrilled to have you gals in my life"?
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Jazzyj...congrats on getting one under your belt. My port never gave blood back the whole time it was in there. Not sure why nor do I care...haha...now take it easy the next couple of days. tomorrow you should be ok so lots of water and rest and you will be fine!! How many tx are you getting total and did you have the Taxol or Ac first ...cannot remember...chemo brain ya know
Maggie
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Glad to know nothing to worry about with the port!!! Freaked me out a bit and hurt since she just kept trying to adjust the needle until she finally gave up! I start off with A/C x4 every 2 weeks followed by Taxol weekly for 12 weeks.. 20 weeks total and then on to radiation. Still waiting for something bad to hit since I feel okay (dopey but okay). Did a load of laundry, fed the dogs.... I know, the worst is ahead :-). Thanksgiving again for the tremendous support!!
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Jazzyj - that first one was the worst for me. Here's hoping you have an easy go and now you'll know what to expect for the next ones. Rest lots and take care of yourself, or better yet have someone else take care of you. 1 down!!!!! 1 step closer to being done!!!!
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Just popping in to say hello! I haven't posted for awhile and this board moves so fast I just kinda skipped through.
Welcome to all the newbies, congrats to the ones with good news!
I too have pain under my left arm pit which was my cancer side. I have been told this is all normal. I do think on my next visit I am going to ask again and also see if there is something I can do to help it.
I will try to keep up with the board.
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Hi Ladies
Fighter - so very sorry to hear about your news. There is nobody quite like your dad. I idolized mine because to me he was the greatest dad in the world and nobody measured up to him. He passed when he was 91 and we knew it was going to happen so for you it was would have been a terrible blow. As someone said the passage of time will make things easier but you will cry from time to time and this is very normal and it will lessen in time as you remember all the happier times with your dear dad. Now my old fellar is the only one who measures up to him and I couldn't be without him. Thinking of you and sending lots of warm hugs and Love.
Tifj - glad to hear your cousin is doing well and you were able to support her like you did. You could give her a (Plaster) to put over the left boob. Pity we can't get Plasters, Band-Aids with naked, gorgeous looking men on them. I'd go and buy some every day just to see if I could see anything different lol !!!!, and would probably have to with Chloe around!!
Tazzy/Kathrynn - I hate spiders. Just cannot stand the creepy crawly things and If I came across the one you had in your sink Kathrynn I would just die a thousand bloody deaths. I would be on the first plane out of there. No Tazzy we don't have big ones in our country thank god thats why I live here!! But your hobo spiders are really big ones, at least they are on my computer.
Mags - thanks for your hug you sent to all of us. I got it and needed it as its been a shit week really what with the boil and all the other SE's. Having your son's marriage break down is more stress for you just when you don't need it. I remember how stressed I was when my eldest girls marriage fell apart and seeing what she went through nearly tore me apart. Sending you a big hug now so hope you get it.
Lory48 - Hope all goes well for your three monthly mammo. Waiting is horrible because you imagine all sorts of things but you will be ok. Thinking of you and sending a hug to you too.
Lovelyface - hope all goes well on your thyroid biopsy result. My onco also said that tumour markers are not really accurate so don't take a high result as gospel cause it could be wrong. Can't help with thre rads as I haven't had mine yet but all the ladies on here have such good advice. Yep it is a cold wintery day here and quite miserable but as your mum lives in Auckland it is always a good few degrees warmer.
LurRVing - good advice about the popcorn but I only like the crunchy caramel ones. I like anything that is not good for me!!
Welcome to Melissa119 and Jazzyi - I too was scared stiff about chemo and dragged my feet all the way there for the treatment but I was surprised to find it went so well. Hope60 says it all. Yes you do get a flu-like feeling about three days after, just keep drinking plenty of fluids to flush it out. I also find watermelon so helpful it really freshens your mouth if you have ulcers and a funny taste. I eat it all the time because its so yummy. As for the port mine has never had a flash back yet but still works really well and the onco nurses are not at all worried out not having the flash back. I didn't get sick thank goodness and just suffered with some constipation issues. Karen OBXK said to keep the stools soft which I did and I have had very little problems since. Good luck. Will be thinking of you. It will go by in the blink of an eye.
LuvBngGma - welcome. I have said all along if I had my time again I would have had a DMX and wish I had done. Now all I think about is what if it goes to the other breast. You are not being over reactive, this is a real worry for you but it is only a decision that you alone can make. Just take your time to think about it and you will come up with the right decision for you.
Sorry Titan - a thunderstorm is a bloody lame excuse for not training. What you gonna do on Saturday if its raining. I expect you to still turn up and run you know. If you see someone carrying a NZ flag it could be me!!. So put down that wine (yes I know you have one in your hand lol) and go rattle your dags girl and get out there and show us what you can do.
On the home front. I had my 7th taxol today. No dramas as usual apart from the first one. I was hoping they said I could stop it because of the numbness in the fingers but no, as soon as I got there they bunged me in a chair and got the drip going. So all my hope went out the bloody window. So hello to swelling hands, feet and wrist, blocked up nose, tiredness and lethargy, horrible taste and all the other shit that goes with it. Oh well, I guess that life!!
Haven't heard from Inmate, Minxie and Clowngirl in a while. Hope they are all doing ok.
Heather - how is your new job going and has there been any luck in your old fellar getting a job yet?
Love to you all. Hopefully we won't have so many problems this coming week. Sunny side up girls. Annie
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Missed a few days, but I'll try to keep up.
Titan - So sad to hear about your friends. Yes, 26 is ridiculously young.
Fighter - I'm sorry to hear you lost your father. I hope you can find some comfort in your memories of him.
CS - Glad to hear that boil is finally giving you a break. I hope it makes its final exit quickly.
Bernie - I was laughing so hard I was crying! I think I need to come here every day for my laugh therapy.
Jazzyj - Yay for getting through your first chemo! And to Melissa and LuvBngGma: Chemo sucks, but it's doable. There will be days when it whacks you hard, but I found that the more I tried to keep up with 'normal' activities, the better I was. For taxotere, I iced my fingers and toes; I also chewed/sucked on ice when I had adriamycin. My big advice to you - try swishing/drinking a tablespoon of olive oil twice a day. A friend who went through chemo and radiation (melanoma and uterine cancer) suggested it, after her doctor recommended it. I really think it helped save my taste buds. They did get funky a few times (and the cravings! Yes, LuvRving, I went for the mac and cheese, and just about anything that was white/orange/beige or yellow, like eggs, french toast, etc), but it usually returned after a day or so each round, and even the last time, it came back really quickly. Good luck!
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Kathyrnn- Great DF article. Very interesting and informative. Thanks for posting the link.
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Jazzy - so glad you made it through your first treatment!! You are very brave. I know 5 hours seems like a long time, but you feel worse, when they rush it. I have Netflix on my iPod - I would watch movies.
Annie - glad you made it through #7. I hope you don't have too much swelling. Big hugs your way!
Heather - tell DH he could make a fortune keeping us in those butter cakes!
Love to all. Have a happy hump day! -
Good News - "Sparse benign follicular epithelium and colloid, consistent with benign thyroid nodule". I have been doing my happy dance ever since the doc left a message, saying we had to discuss good news. I went straight to the medical records, picked up my record to read it myself - treated myself to a great lunch, then a large milkshake, not a small one (I have MS once a year, it is one of my grand treats). bought a concert ticket for this Saturday and am living life to the fullest again. Here I come, with my future plans, floor upgrade, new clothes, until whatever hits next. Everything is halted every time I go through a scare, I know it shouldn't be that way, but that is what happens to me, my experience.
Also, did I tell you guys that I met my Onc. today, which was for my routine 3 monthly appt. Forget about all the Onc. crap, it is more important to telll you ladies, that I think we both have a sort of a thing for each other, perhaps maybe just I do. Ha! ha! ha! Maybe he is just being kind and considerate and knows the severity of what I faced, maybe I am reading his kindness differently - but boy, I sure feel something each and every time. Hey - I am single, I am allowed to feel..... not sure if he is married, don't think so, there is no ring. I have a smile on my face as I think of him, what he said, how he said it. This is the highlight of my day, ladies. Once he had said something which had made me mad, but after that, there is only agreement with me whatever I want, and smiles and good wishes............ I will write more later to tell each of you how your posts helped me get through this nightmare.
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Back in April, I injured my R wrist. There's a burning pain from the base of my thumb up my wrist. Eventually, I had an MRI, which showed microtears in the ECRB muscle (extensor carpi radialis brevis). If the damage was on the elbow end of the muscle, they'd call it tennis elbow, but my damage is on the wrist end of things. Weirdly, it's worse in the morning and then loosens up to a mild ache. The next morning, the burning pain is back. I've been taking NSAIDs before bed and sleeping in a soft brace.
So now I get to practice being a one-armed lefty. Saw the Occupational Therapist about my wrist injury, and she wants me in a rigid brace as many hours as possible for a week. And to ice it and massage it about 3 times a day. And I have stretching exercises. She made me a brace by dropping a blank into hot water to soften it and then molding it to my wrist and thumb, and then attaching velcro straps to it. I'll see her again next Tuesday.
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Lovelyface - your post made me laugh. You know what they say about patients falling in love with their doc's!! In my case I have a woman!!! Better tell the old fellar I'm not what he thought I was. So very happy for your good news. I am all for the retail therapy so bugger the floor upgrade spend it all on new clothes. When I am worried everything normal seems to stop until the panic is over so you are not alone there. Keep that smile on your face. You never know, when 'Love is in the air".
Riley702 - you poor little thing, now you have a wrist injury. Will this never cease. The burning in your wrist is the inflammation and the NSAID's and wrist splint should help you a lot. In NZ we can buy wrist splints from the doctors surgery or a Pharmacy. Hope you feel better soon.
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Three friends married women from different parts of the world..... The first man married a Greek girl. He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married a Thai girl. He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man married a girl from Ireland. He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. The first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything either but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he has a pee though
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Hahaha, Bernie! Don't mess with the Irish gals.
Thanks, Cocker_Spaniel. I do feel like I'm falling apart some days and I'm only 51! Yeesh.
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Riley702 - not much hope for me then at 65 aye. Your only a wee youngster. But I know now what the girls mean when they say they just want to feel normal again. I wonder sometimes if I ever will. I can't believe still that I felt so well and had so much energy before I was diagnosed and that it all changed in the wink of an eye. I thank god each day that I have all of you on here and I can't believe how much all you ladies have helped me through this nightmare. You keep me sane (Have I ever been sane!! beginning to wonder now lol) and If I never do get to meet any of you I thank you all for helping me and being my friend from the bottom of my heart. Tearing up now at all of your great friendship for me. You are all so bloody wonderful. (I must stop keep saying bloody!!)
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Jazzy - glad you got treatment#1 out of the way.....you are one step closer to being finished!
Lovely - Yay! So happy you got good news on the thyroid, and you have every right to celebrate. Have 10 milkshakes if you want them! BTW, I have a big crush on my BS...lol.
Ladies I'm having my 6 month mammo today, and I'm feeling very anxious. I feel stupid even posting this, as others here are having worse problems....but if I don't say it here, where can I say it? Nobody else really understands. I think I should be much braver now, since I'm 2 years from dx. Does anyone else still go thru this? Does it ever end?
Wishing you all a great day.
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Such good news, Lovely. Go celebrate in what everway makes you happy!.
Fighter, so sorry for the loss of your father. May sweet memories carry you through this sadness.
Hey, ATeamNana: waving at you!
Bernie, thanks for the jokes...I look forward to them
Hello to the new gals here. Thinking of you as you travel along in your BC journey. We are here to help you and give you a soft place to land if things get rough.
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happy dancing with you LOVELYFACE!!!! Great news
thanks for the hug Cocker...definitely needed on this end
Maggie
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Lovely: Very happy for you... glad you can get on with life again.
Hope: I don't think the fear every goes away, but it does get better the further out you get. For me, the fear arises with any little ache or symptom that might just possibly-however-remotely-don't-want-to-even-think-about-it-but-I do-think-about-it-constantly be mets!!. Without symptoms, I have never gotten anxious about doc visits or mammos, because I figured it was just good stuff to get checked out regularly. Try and stay calm, all will be well.
Ladies, a few pages back I replied to someone (sorry, forget who now) about soy. Here is an article on the latest evidence which shows that dietary soy reduces the risk of BC recurrence -- and its beneficial effects are particualrly noticeable in women who are TN. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/study-links-soy-breast-cancer-prevention/article4350376/
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Lovely - I am so glad you have some peace of mind. Enjoy it!
Riley - I hope your wrist recovers soon! I have trouble with my right wrist - really can slow you down a bit - opening bottles and doorknobs can make me saw bad words:)
Bernie - Good one!
Hope - it can be maddening, living from scan to scan! I hope it all goes well. I still get anxious over things too.
Hugs all around... -
Fighter,
I am so sorry that you lost your father. Somehow I missed that when reading through these threads earlier.
C
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Lovely: GREAT news on the thyroid. Happy dance it up with your milkshake and then dance some more on your new floor in some hot sexy new cloths. I had to giggle at your "crush" on your MO. Mine too is a woman but I must say, I do love her. She's amazing and I felt like I was in the BEST hands. I am happily married but I think I had a kind of a "trauma" bond with my MO. She seemd to have all the answers when I was spinning from the information.
HOT HOT HOT here today in Ontario. 42C with the humidex. Can't wait for the kids to get home from daycare so we can swim.
Happy Wednesday and first day of SUMMER everyone xo
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