February 2012 MX

Deborah2012

Hi Fab Febbies,

mma59 I had no bloating.  I always have constipation after anesthesia, but I didn't have reduction surgery.  How did that combo go- a reduction and a lift?  Did you get fries with that? Did you have anything done to your abdomen in the process that may be a factor?

Galsal, you have a BCO contingent in your vicinity?  That's terrific! How was the luncheon?  How are you feeling? I'm sending happy thoughts your way. I glad I made my fellow FFF smile. That makes me smile, too.

Hallmark has a card for everything.  I saw cancer sentiments cards in the drug store today. 

 

Galsal

The BCO get-together in Tampa was grand!  Eight attended. 

Today, am off for a postop PS appt.  Appears likely have a Seroma with the left breast that has grown significantly.  The last drain is borderline so don't know if will come home with it or not.

Now am off Tamoxifen, due to the clots during the recon surgery.  That along with the family history.  Will see a newly assigned Onc later this month to review options and begin what ever testing needed.  Technically I'm still peri-meno since have had four periods in 12 months, regardless that my hormone tests have said for some time that I'm done.

Have a lovely day and be well!

Sally

farmerlucy

Deborah2012 - Sorry it has taken me so long to respond from your May question about the nipples. I was having a hard time emotionally, but I am much better now. I just got some more nipples in the mail yesterday  I get them from rubonnipples.com. They are not too expensive and are kind of fun. I have decided that I am not doing "pop up" nipples. but may do the 3d tattooing with Vinnie Myers. I don't mind the Barbie look right now. The rub-ons last about 2 weeks. You can scrub them off earlier if you want. Hope all is well. Jill

farmerlucy

Galsal - Holy Cow! Just read about your 15 + hour nightmare. I am so sorry. I had my exchange 7 weeks ago, at three weeks I tripped over the dog gate we have set up for our 16 y o beagle. Fell on my right arm and upper right breast. My PS checked things out, and is having me move the implant around the pocket and putting my on papavarin to help with circulation. They look good and the right side seems a lot less swollen than what it has been. I had my gall bladder removed yesterday after 4 mos of misery. Goodness, it has been one heck of a year. But I feel so happy now to have all this behind me. I'm not doing tamox because I had a hard time with it, and my onco score was good. Take care! Jill

Nel138281

Just checking in, how is everyone doing.  I can't believe we are 8 months out from surgery.  Some days it seems like just yesterday and some times like it was eons ago. 

Hope everyone is well

Nel

november

Hello everyone

It's been a while. I just want to say hello. I am doing ok; hope everyone is doing ok

janiceg415

Good morning,

The pavement of my rocky road is getting smoother.  I am doing quite well, surgery is almost done, looking at a possible revision to my implant.  Taking my Exemestane for 3 months, without too much problem (just hot flashes).  Hope other side effects stay at bay.  Now that it almost the one year since diagnosis, and because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month it is a reminder of the last year's events, how far I've come.  I hope that all of you Feb 2012 MX ladies are getting along OK.

mma59

Hi ladies!  Checking in.  Had my exchange/lift and reduction in July.  Had my oncologist check up last week and blood work looked good.  Holding off for nipple recon till January.  Taking Tamoxifen and still participating in Metformin/placebo clincial trial.  My only side effect from Tamoxifen seems to be hot flashes and my arm still bothers me from the ALND I think but all in all feeling good.  Take care and hope you are all doing great!

Deborah2012

Hello Fab Febbies!

How wonderful to hear from you! I'm doing very well now.  I had a bit of a setback.  Nothing serious- It wasn't surgical.  It was shall we say "moodical".  More later.  It's comical now.  Naturally at the time it wasn't. I didn't realize our Feb 2012 MXers had posted.  I'll update shortly.

DebbieOs and I keep in regular contact and have visited each other a couple times with our hubbies, too.  She's been a terrific dear friend.  If she could be bottled, she'd be the best medicine you could have.

Nel, November (a rare poster), Janiceg415, & mma59 you all gave me a big smile and a chuckle. We're no longer rookies.  Most days it seems like breast cancer didn't really happen.  Then I catch myself in the mirror, see the blind foob winking back at me, and wonder who in the heck left that thing on me?  Then I laugh and swallow my estrogen suppressor like a good girl.

Miss you all.  Deborah 2012

P.S. Galsal whatup?????

Nel138281

Good morning and a peaceful holiday to all.  Enjoy the day, a year ago it felt like the world was hanging over my head.  I am thankful for having moved so far past a year ago.

Be well

Nel

Deborah2012

Hi dear Nel,

I echo your sentiments. We've come far. The Fab Febbies got me through it.



Happy Thanksgiving to all!



Deborah2012

Wren44

You're right. It's a different world this year. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Alicethecat

Deborah and friends

Can't believe we did it but we did!

To those in the US, hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and are enjoying Black Friday!

Best wishes

Alice the Cat

Nurse_Lizzie

Hello to all the February girls!

I just found this thread (I guess I'm really slow), but am excited to be able to share experiences with others who have had their surgery in the same time frame.  So here's my story - diagnosed at the end of January.  On Feb 4 (Groundhog day) I met with the team at the breast care center - surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, genitecist, and nurse navigator.  By the end of the visit, had appointments for plastic surgery, MRI, and had my preop labs and EKG done.  A very busy day, and my husband and I got home around 6pm.  When we got home, there was a message on the machine that my husband's company was closing their doors.  This is not a day I would like to repeat...EVER!

So the next three weeks we met with the PS, my MRI showed that in addition to the high grade large DCIS in my right breast, there was some "abnormal junk" in my left breast.  Because i was not a lumpectomy candidate, as the DCIS was too large, we opted for BMX with TEs, which was done on February 24.

My recovery and ongoing course has (knock on wood) been pretty standard and uneventful.  The TEs were an annoyance, but not awful.  My exchange surgery was September, and that was pretty uneventful too. 

Before my diagnosis, I was never that interested in my breasts, as i never felt that they were my best asset.  When I was younger and alot skinnier, I was flat chested, barely an a-cup.  As I aged, I was about a c, but flabby.  My husband is clearly not a boob man, so the decision for the MX was pretty easy. 

The interesting thing, is as I have gone down the reconstruction road, I find that my breasts are becoming much more important to my self image, and I'm FAR more interested in what they look like now and in the future.  I wasn't going to do nipple reconstruction or tattoos before, but now I'm seriously considering both, and I'm finding that I'm interested in making sure they look symmetrical.

Is anyone else going through this? I'd be curious to talk to anyone who might want to share.

Nurse Lizzie

DebbieOS

Hi Fab Febbies!

It's soooo good to hear from you and that you are doing well!  I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving holidays!  

Nurse Lizzie, welcome to the group!  It's a shame you didn't find us until now....these ladies (one, in particular, named Deborah) were my saving grace.  I don't think I would've made it through without them.  But, I'm glad you're here now!  It's funny how this cancer biz changes all of us and how different things become more or less important...  I actually had the opposite feeling of what you have felt lately.....my boobs are anything but symetrical, esp since I just had a uni MX (and recon) and didn't get a lift on my real boob side. I had such a rough ride going through this that I don't want anybody going anywhere near my real boob or anywhere else!  I even skipped out on a final operation on my foob to remove the valve and tubing (my plastic surgeon said that it's okay as long as I don't mind having a small lump on my side).  I'm soooo over going to the doctors that I'll do anything to avoid an office visit, let alone surgery or tatooing or anything.  But that's just me...I think we all go through different feelings because of this, and I think whatever any of us decide to do after going through this cancer is 100% just fine!  So let us all know how it goes with the tatoos...I hear that a lot of ladies get some fantastic new nips! 

deniseday

Hello Ladies, I'm new here as well and I'm searching for information.  I had bilateral MX in Oct. 2011 with immediate reconstruction, (no tissue expanders).  I am now scheduled for nipple reconstruction on Wednesday.  Can anyone tell me about the recovery.  I'm wondering if I want to reschedule until after the holidays.  Having spent last Christmas recovering from the BMX, I'm really wanting to enjoy the season.  I'll also be celebrating my 50th birthday on Saturday and as all of you know, our birthdays become more important after surviving BC.  If it's just a week or so, then I'm good to go, but if I'll be down for a while then I may reschedule.

Thanks for any info,

Denise

mma59

Nurse Lizzie, I wasn't going to do the nipples either but now I figure I've come this far and I might as well finish.  It seems kind of silly to me now not to complete this process.  I'm not scheduled till January cause I just did not want another surgery this year! LOL 

mma59

Deniseday, I'm not having my nipple done until January but I asked my plastic surgeon about how long I would have to be off work and she said just a couple days.  I wasn't going to do it if I had to miss a lot of work again.  Hopefully you will be good to go in a few days!  Good luck!

Nurse_Lizzie

Mma59

That's exactly how I feel!! I've come a long way in the past ten months and it would be a shame to stop now. The nurse in my PS office said one day: "when you buy a hot fudge sundae you make sure there's a cherry on top". At the time, I didn't "get" what she was saying, but now I do.

My breasts aren't perfect yet, and I think I'll need some more recon before I'm done, so I think I still have a way to go til I can consider myself "done". My next appointment is in January. Will be interesting to see what he has to say then.

Lizzie

Galsal

Today is the day one year ago that the diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound were performed.  Even though the biopsy didn't occur until 12/8, I knew from the ultrasound. 

I'm looking into Fat Grafting for reconstruction since the Diep couldn't be completed.

So many have come so far through this journey. 

Deborah2012

Galsal,

I really enjoyed seeing your post tonight.  I hadn't checked the posts for a bit, decided to see what's up with the Fab Febbies, and was happy to read your comment. 

I too, have passed time benchmarks from last year.  Seems so very long ago to me.  I will be having my annual mammogram on Tweedledee December 18th.  I find it's on my mind.  I realize that statistically I needn't worry.  It will howeer, be a big deal for me to have a clear mammo under my belt post a mastectomy.  

The AIs are aging me quickly- inside and out.  I've got 4.5 years more on the estrogen blocker. So much fun, isn't it

I'm a test subject in a research study at a major medical university for cognitive function for BC women on Aromatase Inhibitors.  I had my second testing battery.  The first was a baseline post MX but pre AIs. 

Have any of the other Fab Febbies found themselves enjoying simple things in life far more than pre BC?  I am.  I was one who stopped and "smelled the roses" before BC, anyway.  But I find I am just more satisfied and content with everyday observations and routines.  Nature is prettier than ever.  And I noticed her pre BC, too.  Even my office work space gives me pleasure.  The artwork, the coziness of it, the view of the street beneath my window make me feel happy and productive.  I also have noticed that I delight even more than previously in gift giving.  I'm not going wild or anything on spending, I just take even more pleasure seeing someone enjoy a gift I selected.  If I really want something for myself, I'll budget for it and get it.  I'm not talking big ticket items or spontaneous indulgences.  I ktend to evaluate discretionary spending on if it contributes to my quality of life and less on vanity for instance.

Pre cancer I wondered if I would outlive my retirement preparation.   Post cancer, it's liberating not morose to think that's not going to be such a big fear.  Instead of that being depressing or feeling like I have to make a "bucket list", I feel content.  My young adult kids are wonderful! They will be able to support themselves and are responsible. Perhaps them graduating grad school and undergrad respectively this spring is a large factor?  Does anyone else feel this way coming up on their one year anniversary of the big C?

I am fearful of facing future surgeries of any kind because of the associated RECOVERY periods.  Last year it was remaining alive, everything was uncertain, so much investigation, homework, adrenaline and a mastectomy looming.  This year a bad mammogram would not be a fear of "losing" a breast.  It would be the burden of facing another major surgery, treatments, etc. and the darned healing time that would send me into a tailspin.  

I'd be curious if any of you feel similiarly?  Although I've lost a noticable amount of my previous vigor, (I haven't shot sporting clays, gone bike riding, and then immediately gone kayaking in the same day as I used to almost every weekend) I'm more at peace and loving than ever.  Now, If I sit and watch the wild birds at my feeders, listen to the multiple fountains, have my morning tea and toss peanuts to the scrub jays or read outside under the oak trees I'm just as happy.  I still do active things and I do exercise, but not nearly at the level of intensity and frequency as I used to.

It would be interesting for the Fab Febbies to comment on how they have changed a year post bc diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.  I'm guessing us middle-aged gals may feel differently from other age groups.

Hugs and smiles,

Deborah

Alicethecat

Hi Deborah

Great to see your post!

I'm trying not to be on here so much and get on with the business of living but I do like to find out how the February 2012 Surgery members are doing.

Interesting that  you are not currently doing things as intensively as before (shot sporting clays, gone bike riding kayaking on the same day).

I don't feel fully up to speed at the moment. Almost there but have more energy some days than others.

But it's nice to smell the roses and wonder at the marvels of nature. Didn't realise how beautiful they are prior to breast cancer.

Hopefully, we won't have to face it again but I'm due to start Arimidex in January 2013 and am not looking forward to it.

Life is just beginning to ramp up speed a bit and I don't want it to slow down again due to quality of life issues re Arimidex. Fingers crossed it won't have any.

I'm a middle-aged gal (50) and still enjoying life!

Best wishes

Alice

Wren44

I've been on anastrasole (generic Arimidex) since March with almost no side effects at all. I've been a little stiff in the morning lately, but the weather is cold and wet and I'm getting on in age, so not blaming Arimidex just yet. Here's hoping your experience will be like mine.

janiceg415

Checking the site and was glad to see both of you -

I started Exemestane (aromasin)  in late July, so far most noticeable side effects are hot flashes occassionally and finger & toe pain, also pain in wrists. Like anyone middle aged (55) I know I already have arthritis in my fingers so  is it related to that or the medication?

It it doesn't become anymore debilitating than this I think I can handle it, but it is early on who knows what will happen down the road.   

I am taking my 95 yr old mom for a breast biopsy tomorrow. She has had a mass for a few months but ignored it otherwise she had been having a mammogram faithfully every year up to about 90 yrs of age.  Then she kind of fell thru the system, her Dr. quit practicing, then she broke a hip.  I think the medical community or insurance often think the elderly don't warrant certain tests or treatment anymore.  I talked with my BS & MO about her and they said she should by all means have a biopsy to atleast know what we are dealing with.   

I hope all of the FEB 2012 MX are doing well, and wishes for a happy healthy new year!

DebbieOS

Hi Janice! 

Glad you're doing well!  I've been on the exemestane too....but have had many side effects from it...still trying to figure out whether I want to stay on it or go to tamoxifen.

Re: your mom....I'm so sorry to hear about her biopsy...from what I've heard, the reason many doctors won't test for breast cancer on women of advanced age is because sometimes the surgery is harder on them than the actual cancer...esp if it's a slowing growing one, it's not worth it to the patient to remove it.  But, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that it's benign!

I can't believe that it's been almost 1 year!  It was on Dec 19th that I had my biopsy and Dec 23rd that I received the official confirmation of the diagnosis.  For those of you who received their diagnoses around this time last year.......This Christmas is going to be a hellava lot better than last Christmas, eh?????

Well, happy Hannukah, merry Christmas, and happy New Year everyone!!!!!  It's time to celebrate!!!!!

Debbie

Alicethecat

Wren, Janice, DebbieOS

Can't believe the year has flown by so fast. Totally agree that this Christmas/Hannukah/holiday season is so much better than last year's.

We have all done so well.

Cheers to us and all the other February 2012 MX members!

Alice

Nel138281

Good Morning to all,

Had my first yearly mammogram, since DX in 9/11, on Friday  So strange but OK.  Saw my surgeon after for yearly follow up.  Won't see her for another year - or that is the plan and I am sticking to it!   All is well, recovery on the UMX side has gone well.  I am grateful for that, but still often shocked when I look in the mirror.  No reconstruction for me, I couldn't do as part of the initial surgery due to DX, not sure I would have anyway.  But now - I am choosing no elective surgery for me.  I am adapting to the lopsided look .  I still think I have some grief/loss feelings to deal with as I am sure many of us do.  Time.

I remember so little from a year ago.  Treatment, awaiting surgery.  Appreciating all around me so much more than before.  Like others I don't have my full energy back - but doing generally well.  Working kids house holiday and seeing my friends all a juggle but so happy to be here and doing so. 

I finish herceptin in February and then just routine scans.  Excited, terrified.  But first the holidays and enjoying my teens in all their glory and frustration.

Be well.  Gentle day

Nel

november

Just wanted to check in and say hello to everyone. I am doing well; 13 months since diagnosis and almost a year since surgery. No reconstruction; wearing forms most of the time but just as comfortable without them. Hope everyone is doing well. Merry Christmas and Happy New year to everyone

Nel138281

Happy Holidays and a peaceful New Year to all.

Be well

Nel

LLinAZ

Hello and Happy 2013 to all of you! Life has certainly gone back to normal for me during the past few months. After the swap in June, I moved on and blocked out what had been going on. Work has been super busy, both kids went off to college and no real thoughts about breasts...other than the occasional wondering about what to do about nipples. I think I will make an appt to discuss them sometime soon. Now that the anniversaries have started (lumpectomy, diagnosis, each horrible test), I find myself remembering and also being thankful. I wouldn't wish any of it on anyone but the experience changed who I am how I see life and the person I want to be. I am not that person yet, but will keep trying.

Thank you all so much for sharing so many personal thoughts and details. I am so grateful for all of you.