Told by phone, Invasive Ductile Carcinoma-- little other info

Anonymous

april, I'm still working on the fatigue two years later. But, I also have RA, so that causes fatigue as well. Difficult to decipher what's causing it all.

Have you been on the Arimidex boards? I know some of the AI's can cause bone pain.

No, I didn't have a port. My veins held up fairly well through treatment.

Hope you start feeling better soon!! Thinking of you!!

april25

Hello, Bippy! Finally getting some Fall weather! It's nice, but crazy feeling so chill now, between bursts of warm days...

Roofers are all busy already... hard to get one to come caulk up my skylight! agh.

Plus busy this time of year... so not free some days to see repairmen... and still going into L.A. for medical appointments...

I'm nearing the end of my one year of Herceptin... not sure if I'm getting SEs from it or not. I've had a couple of weird heart-palpitation days so my MO sent me to get an echo-cardiogram. I don't think it showed anything alarming, thankfully.

It's so hard to tell what is causing what symptoms...!

I've been on the Arimidex thread to see about SEs for that. I have been feeling a bit achy--stiff joints and such. No muscle aches or bone aches... at least I don't think so!

I had this weird rash-- tiny, tiny little bumps you could barely see, clear, like pin-head sized blisters--no itching, no redness, no pain. It started after I took the Arimidex (well, the generic, anyway), so I asked my MO about it. He sent me to a dermatologist. Of course my skin was clear then! Apparently they need people to come in when it's happening, which sort of makes sense! But guess what--it never happened again. I looked it up on the internet and there weren't clear answers but some seemed to think it was a super-mild form of heat rash... and that could have been it, since I got it during the last few hot days... and because it was more humid than usual, and my body going through all this other stuff, that seems to be the most likely thing.

The dermatologist got rid of a few little flat warts on my hands, at least! I never knew what those were... just looked like age spots of something, but apparently not! (ugh! freeze those things please!)

Right now I need to decide on a new insurance since my current one is stopping coverage for individuals (me) and only covering groups. *sigh* I liked that insurance, too, and only had it a year! Now it'll be Blue Shield, most likely, and some of my docs are only on Anthem... so I'll have to switch those docs... geesh. They make getting coverage so hard! No one has much choice... I have SOME being individual now, but before had to change with each employment... bleh. At least I can get coverage given my pre-existing condition now! I guess I should be grateful. but still wish there were more healthcare reforms rather than less...

I hope you will have a great Thanksgiving! Crazy that it's coming up so soon!

I'll be heading to my sister's place, of course. Saves me from cooking and cleaning, which is all good!

Anonymous

hahahaha April. It took me awhile to realize you were posting to me because we also have a Bippy here on BCO that I've seen around!! Beppy and Bippy....sounds like a comedy duo. haha

I'm loving the colder weather! I never feel like cooking when it's hot so it's been a nice change.

Great to hear you're almost done with Herceptin. I agree about trying to figuring out the cause of different symptoms. I have that same issue with my RA. Glad to hear that the rash didn't last.

Sorry to hear about the insurance issues. I know of a few women having to make those same decisions. It should be so much easier than they make it!!

I hope you had a good time at your sisters for Thanksgiving. My nephew hosted the family and his wife made an awesome meal.

Nice chatting with you! Sorry it took so long for me to figure out you were posting to me!!! Big hugs!!

april25

Ack, sorry! Beppy! I should try and proof my posts before hitting the button, but that never seems to work!

Finished Herceptin! I had to mention it to them at my last infusion... "Ummm... is this my last one or ???" and it turned out it WAS! So that was a bit of a surprise.

(I think I'm going to have a gift basket sent in to the infusion nurses--they have all been very nice. I just need to remember to do that! So many distractions this time of year!)

RA is tough. I had a friend who had that. And one of my sister's docs thought she might have it, but my sister is pretty sure it's not, and apparently it's not easy to even diagnose, at least in her case!

Oh--I didn't post that long ago! And sorry again for the confusing typo! I think I might have also been trying to type from my phone which drives me crazy. I don't know how the kids do it!

I had a very nice dinner at my sister's place. BiL loves doing big meals, so he hosted around 20 people. My sister did the sides and some desserts. There's still a TON of food left, so I've stayed over the weekend to help them with it!

Glad to hear you had a great meal too. Gah... I really will need to do some serious exercising soon!

Maw-maw

I was DX Oct 2. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Had Partial mastectomy yesterday.Now I can hear fluid sloshing around (SEROMA) inthat same breast. Is this normal?

Anonymous

Maw-maw, I just want to welcome you to BCO. You picked a good place for support. The women here are awesome. Unfortunately I don't have the answer to your question. Have you tried a thread pertaining to mastectomies? Here is one I found talking about seromas:

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics/833266

You may want to ask your question there. I would definitely call your surgeon and let him/her know what's going on. Sorry to hear about what you're going through. Gentle hugs to you!!

april25

maw-maw -- I have definitely heard of others saying they've heard fluid sloshing around! But check with your BS/team just in case. Definitely, if it's swollen or tender or getting worse or bothering you in some way.

Check in at the "Lumpectomy Lounge" thread. It's a great thread for all things LX (partial MX) and beyond! Very friendly and informative!

Also there might be a thread for people who did surgery of any kind at the same time you did--as they will be going through similar things at the same time as you.

Italychick

I had a sloshing seroma, sounded like I was carrying a water bottle with me. It resolved on its own, hopefully yours will too! No pain ever, just sounded weird