Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

Molly50

Welcome Pat. I am sorry you find yourself here especially at your age. I think a lumpectomy is the way to go if you can manage it. Mastectomy is tougher to heal from. If you get the tumor removed you can probably opt out of chemo and radiation. Have you seen a medical oncologist yet or just your surgeon?

brithael

Pat = There are studies now that say that lumpectomy with radiation is actually BETTER than Mastectomy. I would be proactive with my questions, research, and get a second opinion.

Italychick

happyhammer I have one Herceptin left, February 26th. Will be glad to be done!

brithael

I got some new hats in today that I had ordered online, and thought you guys might want to see them. I've been wearing wigs and knitted caps, but I know when the weather gets warmer, I won't want to have that much warmth, and who knows how long it will take to get enough hair to protect my scalp. So here they are, with wig and without - I got them from Headcovers Unlimited, and they were quite reasonable.

patgreig

Wow! Thank you all for all the responses. Very heartening. Treatment options are going to be offered after the surgery and the surgeon has indicated lab results will be available about 3-4 days after surgery Feb 17 when are a panel of doctors will be looking at the results so it is getting many opinions, not just one.

I have already made contact with a Health Clinic Cancer Care Centre who has a Naturopathic Doctor who specialises in oncology and has a national and international reputation.

Based on some of your comments, I feel more confident about recovery. A big thank you!

HappyHammer

MLP- love the "merchandising" you did for your WF grocery run! Nice! You are ready! Remember to drink LOTS and LOTS of water prior to and during chemo. Wish we had a WF here...closest one is about 40 mins north in Charlotte. Decided to try the maple syrup in the recipe later this week. We hardly ever use the syrup so this will be a good thing.

HappyHammer

Italy- one and done- that's just great!!

Molly50

Adorable hats, Brit! Italychick, great news on the last Herceptin!

Moondust

Tami, I'm near Bakersfield. Are you being treated in Bakersfield? My Dx is similar to yours. Good luck with everything!

LovesToFly, I'd let your BS know about your symptoms, but I think it may be normal because it takes so darn long for surgical byproducts to clear out of the breast area. Things are still filling in, healing up, and your lymph system is transporting the waste products away as fast as it can, which isn't very fast.

MLP, the recipes look delish! I love lentils.

HH, you can get the coconut sugar online. But I think even Walmart carries it. I made turmeric ginger tea before I started taking the capsules and it definitely needed sweetener! I like the capsules because I was afraid the daily turmeric would stain my teeth yellow. And you get a lot more of the curcumin in the capsule.

Brithael, very cute hats!!

Pat, welcome to the not much fun club. The diagnosis hits us like a ton of bricks, then we dig out from under and life normalizes. If you have a few weeks until surgery, you may want to see a physical therapist who could help you strengthen your arm and shoulder as much as possible before surgery. I think recovery is easier if your arm is strong, and muscle is somewhat protective against lymphedema. We can build muscle at any age, so don't think you are too old!

HappyHammer

Whoa, whoa, whoa Moondust.....we are NOT the "not much fun club"......just sayin'...if you have thought it- we have probably "talked" about it...sex and all.....we may not be that much fun right now but, hey- who is????? We cannot be fun 24/7....keep reading, my sister friend...keep reading.....even PEGGY has given us some very fun ideas and, she is more experienced, very smart and funny and a bit older than most of us!!!!!

HappyHammer

Brit- you are ROCKIN' the hats!!!

PontiacPeggy

HappyHammer, I took Moondust to mean that this is a club no one chooses to join and she's right. BUT, that being said, now that you are a member, we ARE fun, warm, welcoming and zany. You've found us because you had to. We'll keep you as sane as possible, discuss the hard stuff, buoy you up when you need it, tell it like it is and give you something to laugh about. What's that line? I am woman, hear me roar?? We ROAR!!

HUGS!

ayr1016

I am extremely run down today. Surely Lupron and Tamoxifen can not kick in and cause fatigue this fast, right?

I am so frustrated with my Insurance company. Because my plan is a "new" plan, a lot of stuff is coming through as denied and out of network. It is really stressful seeing all those charges for thousands of dollars. My insurance company can not get their act together and some of their systems show providers and facilities as in network and some of their systems show as out of network. Is it normal to have to be on the insurance company his much? One a positive note, I received the paper copies of my negative BRCA1/BRCA2 results in the mail today.

Two of my cousins (who are sisters) went and got mammograms because I was diagnosed. They have a family history (2 of their aunts) of BC on their dad's side. One of them has her results still pending, but the other received her results today with the all clear. I'm glad something positive (them getting much needed screenings) has come out of this.

justmaximom15 I loved your karma story. I really like doing RAOKs (random acts of kindness). If I see the opportunity and can do it, I do it as often as I can. Welcome Tami and patgreig. brithael love the hats. My favorite is the last one, super cute on you!!

ETA - fixed a broken sentence. I'm sure more are broken, but that one was bothering me

LovesToFly

I too love the karma story.

I found my lump myself doing a self exam, a lot of my friends are telling me that they been feeling themselves up like crazy! A few have also stop stalling and booked thier yearly (late) physicals and mammograms. I'm so glad!

LovesToFly

so cute Brit! I have some of their pre-tied scarves and like I'm well enough. A scarf look isn't really what I meant to, but they might be nice for the spring when I gets too hot to wear hats, and they are already tied.

HappyHammer

Oh, my good friend, Peggy...YES! I was trying to be funny but you said it ALL!!! Have a good night. BTW- no reports about how packing has been going lately- how are you doing?

614

I get up for work at 4:45am and I don't get home from work until 6:30pm.  It is so hard to catch up on this board with the limited time frame that I have.  However, I love being a part of this lumpectomy lounge.  All of you are an inspiration to me and I love the support that I get here.  Being a single parent, I really need all of the support that I can get.

Welcome to all of the newcomers and I am sending hugs to everyone.  Double hugs to Melclarity because it is your birthday.  I am in the pocket of everyone else.  (I cannot possibly respond individually after missing almost a week.  I would love to try but I would end up forgetting so many people. I don't want to offend anyone by skipping over you.)

Good luck and healing prayers to those of you currently having or about to have surgery, chemo, rads, and to those of you waiting for pathology results.  The waiting is terrible.  Double hugs to those of you who are dealing with LE or other side effects from myriad tx.

I do have to say to ChiSandy that you have so much information to share.  You are interesting, well read, and intelligent.  You are an asset wherever you happen to be and you are an integral part of this group.  Thanks.

My son was born on Super Bowl Sunday - 17 years ago.  My son informed me that the Denver Bronco's won the Super Bowl on the day that he was born and they won again on Sunday.  That is a terrific stat for me. It was also nice for me that the Bronco's won because my brother lives in Colorado.   I don't care about football at all but the Super Bowl party was really fun.  I laughed because a friend called Cam Newton, "Fig"!  She couldn't wait to watch "Fig" play and she wanted to see him do his dance.  ROFL.

I will be going to a Breast Cancer Survivor Retreat this weekend sponsored by the Lotus Survival Foundation.  I cannot wait.  My cousin from Maryland will be attending, as will 3 members of my support group, 1 of my co-workers, and possibly a 2nd colleague. Unfortunately, my cousin from NY cannot attend because she is currently undergoing rads and she cannot get away during treatment.  Unfortunately, she is having a terrible time with radiation.  This weekend will be outstanding.  Unfortunately, I do not have off on Monday which is President's Day.  Oh well.

 

PontiacPeggy

HappyHammer, packing is going. I still have tons of books to pack up to donate. When I'm not doing that, I'm trying to de-personalize and de-clutter. I flit between things so I don't get bored. It doesn't help when I find interesting old things that I want to peruse - like the diaries my mother kept for 3 years (don't know why she stopped). I've hired a crew to clean the house top to bottom just before it goes on the market March 1st.

BTW, if anyone has any experience about having a delayed memorial service for a loved one, I'd love to hear what you did. I've never been to one. We're having it at a state park, no electricity in the pavilion. I've hired a caterer since I don't want to schlep food around as well as all the things about DH I'm going to display. But I need thoughts as to actually how to do the service itself. HELP!!! It won't be religious.

Love to all of you. I'm burying my head in a digital book (all my books that are moving with me are packed and I won't let myself buy any paper books right now ).

HUGS!

614

Apparently, I used the word, "unfortunately" many times in that last paragraph.  I hate when I don't write well.  (I actually feel very fortunate about numerous things.)

LovesToFly

Melclarity:

614

Dear Peggy:

I LOVE books.  Reading is one of my favorite things to do.  I am so lucky that both of my children love books/reading too.

Sorry that I do not have an answer for you regarding your memorial.  However, I know that you will do an outstanding job.  Good luck.

 

PontiacPeggy

MelClarity, Happy Birthday to our Dear Aussie Friend!!! May it be as great as you are!

HUGS!

brithael

Peggy - I did a delayed memorial for my Aunt which I was very close to. She died out of state from family, so we had the service about 4 months later to give people time to respond. I asked for memories of her to be emailed to me for anyone who couldn't attend, and asked for people to talk about their memories of her. I made a slide show about her life which I had playing on a computer on a loop. It was fabulous. People were eating, drinking, laughing, kids running around. She would have loved it.

PontiacPeggy

Brit, that's exactly what I hope we'll have. Lots of laughter and happy memories to share. We both appreciated funerals that included joy and laughter with not much sadness. That's a good idea to have friends who can't come share their memories of him. I thought about a slide show. I also have lots of photos, scout memorabilia and other things that meant a lot to him to display. Thanks!

HUGS!

1step

Melclarity- happiest of birthdays to you!

Brit- I love the hats- the straw one's my favorite.

Tami and Pat- welcome.

I, too, loved the karma story. What a great reminder.

I was fortunate that my lump was along the side- I would have found it much later, otherwise. I have dense breast tissue, to add insult to injury.

I attended a support group meeting tonight. They had a MO do a presentation about side effects of breast cancer treatment, focusing on integrative therapies. It was really interesting.

And I know what cording is now. Thanks armpit. I think it's been there, just covered by the swelling. At least that means the swelling is down.

HappyHammer

Peggy- I tried but couldn't say it better than you!

HappyHammer

Awww....Mel- wishing you a VERY happy, happy birthday!

Moondust

HappyHammer, I didn't choose my words very well. Peggy, I'm glad you knew what I meant. It was no fun to have to join the club, but this club is full of the spunkiest, most upbeat and funny women that I have ever met! I am so grateful you are all here with me and it is a privilege to be numbered among you. It's so much better than going it alone. You guys make me feel normal

Ayr, what a pain about the ins company. Mine requires authorizations for everything. I would wait two days, then call to see if my authorization had been processed, and they'd say they had not received a request. Then I'd call the doctor's office and tell them the insurance hadn't received the request. The doctor's office would say they faxed it yesterday. Then I'd call back the insurance and relay the msg from the doctor's office. This happened a lot. Once I became "friends" with the authorization ladies by calling all the time, they now recognize my name and put my paperwork through right away.

Happy Birthday, Melclarity! I hope this one was good and that the next one will be even better!

Molly50

Happy birthday, Melclarity!!

Molly50

614, happy birthday to your boy and enjoy the retreat. Your son was born the day my son started showing symptoms of encephalitis so our boys are 7 months apart. Peggy, we did a very casual memorial for my dad. My brother spoke first, then me and my sister. A couple of his friends came up to talk as well. I made posters at Walgreens of photos that represents who he was... Dad, grandpa, son, coach etc. We displayed Little League trophies and photos and the trophy from his Little League championship year. It was very nice and I think he would have enjoyed it.