Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

PontiacPeggy

ItalyChick, no warm fuzzies here. That's a crock.

HUGS!

Nash54

Here's one from Cozumel Mexico this summer

Sloan15

Peggy, That sounds great! I didn't realize that bc sisters got together. It makes sense. Very neat. Yes, I'd like that, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to Michigan.... Oh, and one more thing I remember about the Renaissance Center is that my college boyfriend plopped $20 on the counter for 2 beers back in 1984, and the bartender said, "It's going to take more than that for those beers." That was ages ago, so I can't imagine the price now for 2 beers and a view!

Nash54 -- Wow! Wow! It looks fake it's soooo green. I do want to visit to Nashville. I have a former student who moved to Nashville. She --and a million others -- are in a girl trio. That's like living the romantic music dream. Your picture, though, reminds me of stories a neighbor from my dorm days used to talk about when he remembered "home." He talked about horses and miles of pasture land. He wanted to be a vet. Boy, if I lived around greenry like that, I'd probably want to be a vet or a rancher or something! Beautiful!!

Octogirl and I are in brown, hot, dry, California--and not the beach part! Hang in there Octogirl. I told my co-workers about my cancer when I retired, but I'm still hiding under my wig to everyone else. I'm not sure why. I think a little part of me is embarrassed about having no hair and thinning eyebrows. While you might see your journey as "none of your f-ing business," I feel like it is a weakness on my part. I would never think of it being a weakness if one of my friends had cancer, but that is how I feel. Stupid, huh? We can't help our feelings. If you feel that way, it's right for you at this point. Some of the ladies on this site are so brave for going hat-less, loud, and proud. I'm more of an ambivert --I like people, I love to have fun, but I get tired of superficial stuff. We just have to do whatever gets us through this. ((HUGS))

Sweetmammaj-- Haha! So, what kind of candy would golfers and football players be? I want to see if I can imagine your thought processes on them, too. You're hilarious! I thought you had Twizzlers and Snickers pretty much nailed!

Regarding "it's not the rads"... I have been reading the Fall Rads posts to try to prepare, and I did see that expression come up a lot. I'm to the point now in that thread where people are starting to make those jokes. Yeah, if my techs or RO says that, I'll start the joke on the Winter Rads (if someone starts a group). It's interesting because a lot of the women in your group did talk about nausea, and the techs and RO's denied the connection. I wonder how RO's get updates on what people REALLY feel. I hope they are not waiting for the next study on side effects. It reminds me of a survey done on surgeons, and 100% of the surgeons int he study said none of the patients had lymphedema...and the survey authors reminded the readers that was statistically impossible. It's the "not me!" phenomenon.

Molly50 --what is a chek2 mutation? I was looking at your pic, and then I saw that in your signature.

Molliefish - I just saw today that Canadian Arthur McDonald just won the Nobel Prize for Physics. He's from Queen's University. Way to go Ontario, Canada. Is Queen's University one of the most well-known universities in Canada? All I know is that it's a research university. Does it accept underclassmen for college? I'm just curious, not shopping for colleges. haha

Italychick - was that you, or is that claim another person?

Sloan15

Nash54 --that looks like a Corona commercial! I'm looking for the bottles in the bucket next to the chairs!

Italychick

Sloan15, me. But my employer said it has happened three times to them, and they just switch insurance companies when it happens. Just makes me nervous. Don't want it to move me to the top of a future layoff list I guess

molliefish

Queen's is very well known here in Ontario, as for the rest of Canada, I would suspect it is but I can't say for sure.

Sloan15

Italychick - Wow. That is terrible. I am so glad, though, that insurance companies can't drop us now. My son had a brain tumor when he was 12, and I received a letter from the insurance company saying that he had used up all his lifetime benefits. I cried and cried and cried. My son is okay now --just graduated from college!-- but I am so thankful that the insurance companies can play that game now. It's too bad your insurance company is playing the game from another angle. Don't they realize people get sick? I mean, it's called "insurance"! I hope your company stays strong and doesn't play that game and have layoffs. Document everything!

Sloan15

Molliefish --Do you go hat less, loud and proud? I see you giving the peace sign in your picture with your scarf on at chemo, and then there's me hiding behind my wig...

PontiacPeggy

Sloan, sure we get together. We Michigan gals started in April. One suggested a vineyard that is pretty centrally located for all of us and we've continued going there. The wine's good and it is the most peaceful setting (even when it is busy) and the food is nice. Other groups go on road trips. When I get to SoCal again I'll post and maybe a bunch of us can get together. Don't think it will be this year though.

BTW for rads, I was often dizzy when getting up from the table after each rad session. Finally realized I had to sit for a minute before standing.

HUGS!!

Italychick

Sloan15, I don't think they will. I save them $60,000 a month in attorney fees they were paying for outside law firms before I came, and I have to believe that is more than the Insurancecompany shenanigans. But it did make me feel kind of sick inside. I am so thankful that now I have no lifetime cap on my health insurance, though.

Never used to have to think about this crap....

Sloan15

Peggy --That is so NEAT! What is the name of the vineyard? I'd love to look it up. Well, when you come this direction, you'll obviously have some of us CA gals who will get together with you!

molliefish

Haha! I go bald at home when it's warm, but no the rest of the time I wear a scarf or a hat. I just bought some new winter hats yesterday ( I grabbed Michelle888 idea of a slouchy hat and bought 2 at walmart). I've not tried a wig but my husband thinks I should try one.

Your wig is great!!! I love the style and it looks smart, and really good on you.

I am hoping for a job interview for a new position. We have to wear our number one dress uniform with it, and our hat. But we are to take the hat of for interview. I'm a little nervous if I get an interview.

I had to check what an underclassman was and yes, Queen's does. The university is most well know for it's engineering and IT programs, hence the Physics guy.

Sloan15

Italychick --Yeah, that would make me a little sick, too. It's like putting a dollar figure on our lives. Well, it's a good thing you are valuable to your company. I keep telling my kids to find careers, and then become invaluable. YOU are my new story!

PontiacPeggy

Sloan, here it is Sandhill Crane Vineyards. I come from Pontiac, one gal from Kalamazoo, one from north of Lansing and 2 from Jackson, oh, and one from Oregon via South Bend. It's an easy drive for all of us. It's non-stop talking. Plenty of joy. I had thought to visit again this coming summer but we're having the celebration of my DH's life (instead of a funeral) in May and that will mean the boys won't have as much vacation time. So probably in 2017. Of course, if I win the lottery, I'm off to San Diego for good!

I can't begin to imagine how awful it would be to be told my child had used his lifetime benefits at 12. Criminal.

ItalyChick, sounds like you have a very good grip on your job!

HUGS!!

octogirl

Nash: heading to Coz in early May! Want to come along? The MO says I will probably have most of my hair back by then (sigh).

Sloan: I know, I wish I could not care how others see me, but my worry is that they will think it is going to interfere with my work. So I worry. and don't want to tell the world. Not enough to get a wig though. On a warm/hot day like today I am fine with that decision, but sometimes when I see how good some of you look in wigs I think I should. When do you start rads? My calculation is that they are likely to start me the Monday after Thanksgiving. Hope to know more about that next week.

Have a bit, or more than a bit of a headache tonight...off to bed early....

HUGS

Octogirl

Molly50

Sloan, Chek2 is a genetic mutation that in my case increases my chances of a new breast cancer by up to 30%. There are implications for other cancers too like colon and melanoma but they don't know enough about it yet.

Sweetmamaj

---

Nash, you're killing me! Pure torture to look at the water, knowing the fantastic drift diving just beneath the waves, only to be stuck here in rads-recoveryville.

Sloan, golfers are a puzzle-solitary, many sport a pear-shape...cashews? Raisinets? Twinkies? Football is easy: airheads! (Apologies in advance if I offend. anyone).

Molly--whoops--edited to say QMC, love the House voiceover

Goodnight and hugs to all

zinny

What a terrific bunch of women you are! Laughing so hard - sweetmamaj, those snickers and twizzlers reference made me truly LOL. The "house" voiceover - hysterical.

Molly and Sloan, I live on the west coast of Canada, in Victoria. The whales, beach, and mountain are all pics from here. Mount Baker is in Washington State, "just across the water from us."

Queen's is well known across Canada. There aren't that many big universities in each province, so pretty much everyone has heard of the big ones.

Love seeing people's pictures, so fun to think of the different places that we all come from and go to.

Claire, I thought of you as I killed it at the gym today, planning to go into my BMX as physically fierce as I can be:) (OK, killed it might be an overstatement, but if you had seen the sweat dripping and flying off of me, you might be prone to superlatives too!)

Starting my rads Oct 29th...Have to say that taking this time off is an amazing opportunity to spend so much more time with my family, and I really appreciate it. Admire all of you warrior women being courageous in all different ways.

keepwalking

Sweetmama - Yay! Completion of rads!! So happy for you moving to the next stage!

Nash - Wow! What a pic - so serene! Brings back memories of childhood in TN.

Zinny - loved the photos! A virtual vacation!

CreativeVintage - Hi! Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery from your surgery on Thursday. Will be keeping you in my thoughts.

Sloan & Molly - Great that you are starting rads soon - moving to the next step and will be able to tick off that box as well. Hope all goes well with your setups.

Octogirl - You rock! You were able to stick by your preference and not be intimidated to say more than you wanted. Good for you! I am not choosing to keep my diagnosis hidden, but I don't want it to be the topic of every conversation either. Since I chose not to work this semester I did not have to make that decision for the workplace, but I probably would not have wanted to share it with my students.

Italychick - That is just wrong about the insurance. Just what a BC survivor needs - in addition to recovery from BC treatments, you get to risk being resented by fellow employees on account of insurance rates! It sounds like your boss has a good attitude, though, which is encouraging.

Sloan - that's hilarious - "its not rads"

HUGS to all!

april25

MissBee -- I had neoadjuvent TCHP, partly in hopes that my 3cm tumor would shrink a bit and my A/B cup breast wouldn't look "terrible" after an LX (which is what the first bs I saw thought the result might be). My tumor shrunk a bit, but not that much--30% at the most (probably less), and my surgeon said that I would "look OK in a bra"... which wasn't that encouraging! I asked which he would recommend, LX or MX and he thought a sec and went with LX. I'm glad. I don't have a divot yet... I think I have a seroma that is still propping everything up! (5 mos post lx). I liked that I had clear margins and didn't need any extra surgery and healed up quickly with almost no pain or other trouble. I breezed through rads, thankfully. Breast looks slightly different, but not by much. Might look worse after the fluids in my tumor bed go away, but so far I don't see anything obvious. Little scar around the nipple gives away the fact that surgery was done, but that's about it!

I'm sorry you didn't have a better result from the chemo. But hopefully the surgery and rads if you get an LX will take care of it. Plus whatever other treatments you might get later, (I'm still on Herceptin infusions and anastrozole-estrogen suppressant). Good luck with your decision. Maybe get a 2nd. op. from BS and PS? I think if you want an LX, there should be options so you will be happy with that.

Sloan -- Lovely photos of the Huntington Gardens! It's a beautiful place. Great little museum, too, and a place that serves Tea! I used to live in Pasadena for 10 years or so (I went to Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena). I don't get up to the Huntington much now, but went to a talk given by an artist there recently. I'm down in Orange County now, but was up in West L.A., Santa Monica for all of my bc treatment.

---

I love seeing all the beautiful photos! ...I need to get out more! ...and take photos...!

Oh, hey, here's something I took sitting here and looking out to my little patio area--

keepwalking

Wow!! Great shot April!

keepwalking

Sunset - Yafo Port (Jaffa)

keepwalking

Old City of Akko (Acre)

april25

Thanks, keepwalking! I love hummingbirds! They zip about so quickly that it's not easy to get a photo of them, but they slow and hover when they stop to feed, fortunately.

I just checked to see that it's morning where you are. It's after 1am here, in California. The rest of the US is mostly asleep now, I think!

keepwalking

View of Dead Sea from Ein Gedi

keepwalking

Hi April - I thought it was pretty late for you guys! Great that you were able to capture that hummingbird shot!

MaggieCat

Early morning on the East Coast..... stroll though at your leisure!

PontiacPeggy

What lovely photos you are all posting. Armchair travel at its best. Soothing and inspiring - two things that are definitely needed for our BC journey.

I shared that I had BC from the get-go. If nothing else, to let people know that it is no respecter of age. Young, old or in between, every woman is vulnerable. And that not every BC diagnosis means an MX and/or chemo. It's wonderful that we have so many tools to kill cancer.

Thinking of all of you coping with chemo - that's challenging. And dancing in the pockets of all having surgery this week.

HUGS!!

Sweetmamaj

Maggiecat. <gasp> you have a beautiful greenhouse!

janiejane409

Hi everyone…I am new to this. Just had surgery 2 weeks ago. IDC on the right and a 8mm DCIS on the left. Had 2 lymph nodes removed on the left…no spread. The tumor on the left was 99% Estrogen receptive and 80% Progesterone. Has to be tested again for HER2 because it was "equivocal"…so won't know for 2 weeks if I will need chemo or not. They are saying it is unlikely…but still a possibility. I feel pretty lucky all in all that this has not been too bad in the realm of cancer…but still… I am now faced with a decision about radiation that I don't know how to make. On the right side I can either have full radiation or no radiation. I will be taking a hormone blocking drug so they think that will be enough but it is up to me if I want radiation as well. On the left the choice is full radiation (3 weeks) or to be part of a study (at NYU) to do partial radiation…that is to only radiate the part of the breast where the tumor was. They only have 10 yrs. of data on this but the data is good.But I really don't know how to go about making this decision….does anyone have any advice?? I am not an overly fearful or anxious person…at least not in this realm but I don't know what to base this decision on…???

Another topic I wanted some advice about it that i having a fair amount of pain and discomfort in my left arm…where they took the lymph node out. The pain shoots down my arm to behind my elbow and makes it difficult to raise my arm. When they put the blue dye in I had to spend a lot of time massaging my breast to get the dye to show up in the lymph nodes…not sure what that means or if it related to the pain I am now experiencing…but I am worried. There is no swelling but I am a little freaked about lymphedema. I a an active person and would really not want to loose any function in my arm…any advice here….? They did give me some exercises after I asked repeatedly..but they don't seem to be helping yet…I also still have a fair amount of numbness on the surface of the skin on my breasts….is that normal??…My surgeon..a;though she is a big muckily muck, is not very forthcoming with any information about what I might be feeling…I ask her questions and she basically says nothing…?????