Calling all TNs

OBXK

Oh Jan - how awful. Impending doom is such a stressful place. I hope you can stay safe and at home. Wish I could send you some of this NC rain. I usually suggest an Ativan washed down with a nice Merlot - but that may contribute to rescuing the ugly vase from Aunt Pat and leaving behind the photo albums. Keep us posted - wave to us if you make the evening news!

Anonymous

Hello Ladies- I wanted to let you all know our Sister Warrior Dawn (Inmate) is in hospice.. learned of this yesterday from her sister.. My heart is so heavy..

JAN69

My heart is breaking for Dawn and her loved ones.  She was such a spirited member of this thread when I first joined.  I pray for a peaceful passing and comfort for her family.

Jan

sweetpickle

Prayers for Dawn and her family!

Titan

Hey Inmate..love you lady....you are an integral part of this thread....hoping that hospice will keep you comfortable...you have seriously fought this crap with everything you have in you....and I'm still hoping for you....

Stupidboob

graceforme what is LE?    Thank you for the info.       

I am so sorry to hear this about inmate...........I thought she would kick its butt

graceforme

Stupidboob, it's lymphedema.

Anonymous

Grace, I had 32 rounds of rads, I have some major issues with LE of my cancer boob, my left side and upper R back (Truncal) I had a segmented MX on my right side. I will take the SE's to have the radiation bombers kill whatever is left. It is painful, but I will say the cool of swimming and/or ice accompanied with my flexitouch and manual massage keeps me going.

graceforme

I'm new here but I'm so sad to hear about inmate. I am really struggling to get through this physically & emotionally & hearing this is so hard. I pray God's peace over all of us.

graceforme

Lory, I'm thinking just like you....I have to do this because I want to do all I can. I have two little boys who need me.

mags20487

stupidboob---I got Le from rads...you had several lymph nodes out so I would ask about a compression sleeve to wear during your treatments.  My PT is LE certified and fitted me for a proper one.  Not everyone gets it from rads but at least be alert to the precautions and early signs.

Inmate---all our love

JazzyJ

Dear sweet and powerful Inmate....... I am deeply saddened. Thank you for your strong and encouraging advise over the past year. Your wisdom and support helped many (like me) through the tough days starting with dx. Through the fear, pain, lows and unknown futures, you made us laugh and feel "cared" for. You will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will forever be grateful to have your help through the most difficult time of my life. Love to you our lovely sister.......xoxoxoxo

sweetpickle

Graceforme- Just wanted to say hi and welcome to the board. How old are your boys?

graceforme

Sweetpickle, my boys are 7 & 4. I'm so scared & having a very hard time. I can't sleep w/o a sleeping pill & have to take Xanax & right now I just can't stop crying. I'm tired of pretending I'm ok.

Kayak2

Stupidboob – you can Google “questions to ask a radiation oncologist”, but in my experience, the RO anticipated questions and was very thorough in his explanation of the procedure and potential side effects.  I virtually had NO side effects – none of the increasing fatigue that he mentioned might happen, nor anything else that you may have read about.  Towards the very end I had VERY MILD ‘sunburn’, but that’s about it.  This was NOT a scary nor difficult procedure for me.  (Hardest part was finding a parking spot in the crowded hospital parking deck!)    Since your affected side is the left (same side as the heart), you may want to ask if they do the treatment in the prone position, rather than lying on your back.  This minimizes exposure to the heart, but not all places have this option.  If they don’t /can’t do it this way, you may want to ask if this is offered anywhere else nearby.  Good luck to you.

NavyMom

Sending hugs to our gal Inmate. 

Didn't read up yet on the research study that you posted, OBXK, But sure hope you get in it. 

I Hate BC....A friend of my mother has been dx and had UMX today  This dear lady is 89 years old! 

sweetpickle

Grace- I have twin twelve year old boys and a nine year old daugter so I totally understand how you feel. I have spent a lot of time crying the past year, mostly out of fear for my kids having to go through all this too. I can say that it has gotten better recently but I have just accepted that sometimes I just need to be sad and let it out. I too have had to take ativan to sleep but its not as often as it was. I made a decision to do everything I could to beat this damn disease for my kids sake. Hang in there!

Stupidboob

Hey Gang,
I am going to bed but I just needed to get this out to people who would understand.   PLEASE DO NOT THINK I AM A WITCH FOR FEELING THIS, but I need to know how you all deal with things.   I do not know Inmate like you all do but my heart breaks for her as well.   I know from the little bit of time I have been on here with her she fought with everything she had from what I understand.   Here is the part I don't want you all to think I am uncaring (nothing further from the truth) but I am struggling with my own issues and how do you all keep from borrowing someone else's issues.    I have been so happy that the chemo worked for me so far and at the same time feel bad sharing that news as I feel for them and fear for me, for when it does not work.  After reading about Inmate I had to just get off of the computer for a bit and gather myself because I kept thinking damn this lady has give it all she had and is losing..............Am I wasting my time, my money and etc. with all these treatments.   Then I have to jump back and say I am not them and maybe my treatment will work for a long, long time.   How do you all not get so sucked up in the sad and the bad?    

God Bless and Good Night.    Please say a prayer for me for tomorrow as I go for my consult with the RO and I also go back to the cardiologist.      Thank you ahead of time. 

kathyrnn

Stupidboob - stay away from the radiation forum if they're scaring you that badly. Just some honesty. Compared to chemo, radiation was a piece of cake. I did get a pretty nasty burn under my breast, but I have large breasts with a 60 year sag going on. (Large breasts tend to burn more underneath, because the skin on skin keeps the heat in). The rest of the area was just like a good sunburn. My CT does show a small patch of fibrosis in my R lung.......but it hasn't made me miss a cigarette yet! *wink-wink*

sweetpickle

Stupidboob- I too get sad and it reminds me too that even though I had a good response, this stupid cancer can always come back. I hope for the best and if it does come back I will deal with that then. You arent alone in how you feel.

Cocker_Spaniel

graceforme welcome.  You are so very scared yes, but you will get through this just like we did.  You will fight like hell for those boys of yours and in the blink of an eye it will all be behind you and on the road to recovery.  Time goes quickly believe me but you will get through it.  Whatever you need to know just ask because we are all here for each other. This post is from the biggest wus in the world but even I got through it.

Stupidboob you are scaring yourself so much.  Rads for me was literally a walk in the park.  Mine is on the left side as well and they do everything possible to miss your heart believe me.  Just like Kayak2 I had no problems whatsoever.  No tiredness, no burning, no pain just a little bit of redness right at the end of my 25 rads. I was told it may affect just the tip of the lungs but like Kathy I haven't given up smokes either.  For some reason my hands just take one out of the packet without my knowing about it, funny that.

OBX you crack me up.  It would take three bottles of merlot and 50 ativan before I would rescue Aunt Pats vase but I would rescue my smokes and my dogs and of course the old feller.  

Inmate - my heart is so very very sad at this news.  You have fought with all you have and stayed so brave all the way through.  Your courage and fortitude has never failed to amaze me.   There was nothing you didn't try and Jazzy2 says it all.  I will hold you in my prayers each and every day and hope that God hears them for you.  Always in my heart.  Love you Inmate. xxxx  

    

Anonymous

Stupidboob- You are not being a bitch at all. Last night I had a really good cry with the scary thoughts of what coulb be. I too have left BCO for quite some time after I completed treatment, but have come back now and then to say "hi" and check in with the gals that went through treatment the same time I did, and get to know the newbies.

I will always keep up the fight and encourage others to NEVER say I can't or why should I. I have a another warrior sister that I met on here. 29 years old diagnosed stage IV from the get-go the same day I was. She is such a fighter like Dawn, going through treatment once again, all the while living her life to it's fullest. I guess what I am saying is, we ALL have those thoughts of what-if's, why me, scared shitless and shutting down mentally. If you did not have htese thoughts and feelings I would say you need help. (((HUgs)))

LRM216

Just popped on to catch up and ended up shedding a few tears -

Karen:  I hope to hell that protein is found and you can begin the immune therapy as soon as possible; and to

Inmate:  Along with love and special fondness for all you have given to all of us throughout your struggles with this rotten disease, I wish your journey to be full of peace, serenity and the warmth and security of many loving arms to shelter you each step of the way. 

Love to you all,

Linda

InspiredbyDolce

Prayers and tears for sweet, wonderful, inspiring Dawn. The lives that are touched by her generosity and support have truly been enriched by her.

Karen, so excited to learn of that very specific testing.  That sounds excellent, please update us when you know more!

I read an article recently that said there could be as many as 6 very specific subsets of TNBC. In your case, with the ability to identify a certain proteiin in your tumor and targeting that with a very specific drug, sounds amazing!  I'm so happy for you, I hope you get more good news sooon!

Have a nice holiday everyone!

Peace, love and happiness.

Titan

Jan....wow....scary stuff these fires are.....seems so many bad things happen...hard to look for the good sometimes

Worry wart....se's of adriamycyin....hmm...realize everyone is different...it wasn't too bad for me...just felt different than before...kinda out of it...(tho no one else noticed..lol)....I remember not sleeping very well...also very thirsty....a little pukey feeling but took the meds and i was fine...

Karen...wishing you well..

Anonymous

Dawn, you touched my heart from the very beginning. When you shared the photos your husband took, well that just sealed the deal.



Phyllis

OBXK

Thanks for the good wishes. I will keep you updated.



Stupidboob - well honey, you are being a stupidboob. Stop fretting. You will be seeing the radiology oncologist very often when you are in treatment. If you have concerns, they are onsite. Stay away from threads that only have post from people who have had problems!!!!



Annie - are you sure your arms wouldn't be too full for Chloe just kidding - I know you love that tin can chewing, furniture ripping dog.

JAN69

Just a little update:  No smoke, helicopters, or wind today.  Looks like we were spared again this time.  Too many people and homes lost to these wild fires.  Now we worry about the crazy neighbors and fireworks.  

Hope everyone has a safe 4th. 

Cocker_Spaniel

Karen my arms might be too full for Chloe if I take Aunt Pat's vase.  Do I don't I, do I don't I. Oh well suppose Aunt Pat's vase wins!!!! 

Morwenna

Hello ladies (and gents!)



Just to introduce myself, I'm an ex-Brit, living now in Calgary, Alberta.



Please see my profile below for full diagnosis details. I too have felt somewhat excluded in threads with hormone or her2 receptor positive people, so it is nice to be with people of the same diagnosis, even though I have no idea what "subset" I am!



I swing wildly from supreme optimism to low, low, low! I've just finished chemo, so generally my mood has been quite good this week, but then I read of somebody diagnosed with stage 4, or succumbing to this evil disease, and it fills me with fear and despondency.



Other people have remarked on that sense of always being in the wrong end of the percentages, and when I'm "feeling down" that is where I am. Often it is not with a huge sense of panic, more of sadness and resignation, but don't get me wrong, I'm still out and about, singing with my wonderful Sweet Adeline friends, working out when I am able or at least taking a walk.



My chemo se have been mostly tolerable, though I hit a low point on AC, when I developed dvt/pe in March, since when I've been on daily Lovenox injections!



Well enough blurb. I've been posting on this site for a little while, on the DIEP thread (though not there yet), the weekly taxol thread, and the Canadian thread.



Pleased to "meet" you all!