I think I have a problem

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  • SpunkyGirl
    SpunkyGirl Member Posts: 1,568
    edited November 2008

    ((((((((Annie)))))))).  I am so sorry you have to keep going through this.  Please tell us how we can help you. 

    Bobbie

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  • HeatherBLocklear
    HeatherBLocklear Member Posts: 1,370
    edited November 2008

    From what the oncologist said, the lesions are tiny. In fact, they're going to do a bone scan to make absolutely sure they are mets, although she believes the certainty is around 95% since the uptake was identical to that in my underarm. The oncologist also mentioned Ixempra, and I'm a bit upset about that since I've heard the SEs are horrendous. Can anyone fill me in on what I might expect from that drug?

    Yes, Gary is part of my past. In fact, I intend to never see him again in my life. Tender and others will shudder, but I actually removed the stitches from my last surgery myself rather than go into his office. May his ancestors have a pox on them (safe curse).

    Lisa - how are things coming along for you? Time for an update, girlfriend!

    Tonight I'm having a vodka Martini. I'm thinking Grey Goose. Does anyone want to join me? With a stuffed olive or two, I think. Some crackers with brie.

    Love,

    Annie

    PS: I'm hoping to be on these boards for a long time to come.

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  • AnnNYC
    AnnNYC Member Posts: 4,484
    edited November 2008

    I'm with you on the Grey Goose martini with the olives, crackers and brie.  Only wish I could be right there in person!

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  • swimangel72
    swimangel72 Member Posts: 1,989
    edited November 2008
    Annie I'm so sad to read this news - and angry too - you don't deserve this - no one does - I HATE THIS BEAST! Frown
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  • OneBadBoob
    OneBadBoob Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2008

    Annie, Sweetie, I will join you.  I am having an olive stuffed with blue cheese in mine, and I will nibble on a raisin, and a date, and an apricot (Remember "Ahab, the Arab, Shiek of the Burning Sun.  And every night about midnight, he would jump on his camel named Clyde, and ride!"

    I am out of brie, so I will have some Port Wine Cheddar cheese--I know it is quite pedestrian, but that is all the cheese that is in the fridge right now.  It was on sale, so hubby bought four packs!

    And the hot item around here these days is to add a dash of Tabasco to your martini!!  I am going to have Stolie, my blue cheese stuff olive and the port cheddar.

    This so sucks my dear--I have been cursing like a sailor all afternoon.

    But you will be around for a long, long time, my dear!  We elephants all love you and are pressing hard against you to help you get through this krappe,

    Warm gentle hugs being sent!!  And some Mamool cookies, Baklava, and Ka'ak to sweeten your evening! 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2008

    Our sisters are all being so eloquent (with the exception of the expletive "CUCK FANCER").  I also want to add a hearty "SON OF A B*TCH!!!!" 

    Now-perhaps since I am the youngster of the elephant group (that is Mommy to a youngster), all I have to offer our party is a Slurpee and perhaps some stale Cheerios.  Will that do?  I can break out some of the 50% off Halloween chocolates, too. 

    Hey, food is food, right?  Undecided

    Annie, I just want to offer my hand to hold you as you tread through the uncertain and frightening path that cancer is yanking you down.  Hold on tight, my friend.  We are all here.  Love and prayers, Deb

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  • AnneW
    AnneW Member Posts: 4,050
    edited November 2008

    Make my toonie with Bombay Sapphire, add two garlic-stuffed olives, and some goat cheese on those yummy oliveoil-peppercorn triscuits. I'll be raising my glass to you, Annie, and ALL our camel-sisters here in BC land. We all deserve so much better, but what we got is what we got. And most of all, we got each other.

    Anne, Queen of Toonies

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  • jeanne46
    jeanne46 Member Posts: 1,941
    edited November 2008

    Oh Annie Camel sister, so very sorry to hear your news.  What more can I say?  Cancer sucks. Since I'm a Cal gal I can swear and curse with the best of 'em and will certainly do that on your behalf.

    The good news is that apparently this has been picked up very very early and in bones only. I've had bone and soft tissue mets and am still hanging in three years later with same involvement. (Although I show that I'm ER+, I was first dx triple neg.  When AIs were tried, my cells were resistant.)  Perhaps the xeloda will knock it out. You might also check with your doc about adding zometa for the bone mets. It's an IV bisphosphonate that has been shown to help with bone strength and in some cases to encapsulate small tumors in bone. Wait until your consult with MD Anderson before you worry about Ixempra (a pretty harsh chemo that I keep worrying I will have to take).  Your oncologist is probably thinking "go for the big guns and knock it out!"

    Your Dad is a wonderful role model for you to emulate!

    Gentle bear hugs, Jeanne

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  • sushanna1
    sushanna1 Member Posts: 764
    edited November 2008

    Annie--Another person cursing on your behalf.  I am so sorry. 

     AnneW--Will you share your Bombay Sapphire?  All I have is Gordan's.  Good enough for gin and tonics, but not quite up to a decent martini.

    How about some cracked peppercorn crackers and decent cheddar cheese.  Though I wish I had some stilton.  Anyone have any stilton? 

    Sue

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  • sdavis
    sdavis Member Posts: 96
    edited November 2008

    My prayers are with you, keep your chin up.

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  • HeatherBLocklear
    HeatherBLocklear Member Posts: 1,370
    edited November 2008

    I don't have Stilton, but I do have Roquefort! Who wants to challenge Roquefort for the position of King of Blues? Of course, if you have Stilton, you need a good, robust port wine to go with it. If a Roquefort, a Mouton-Roschild will do (haha).

    Does anyone have info about triple neg mets to the bones? Yes, I will have hormone receptors done, but everyone tells me they expect the mets to mirror the initial tumor. By the way, the stuff under my arm is responding beautifully to radiation + Xeloda. This cancer has always responded to treatment, whether chemo or radiation. Talk about irony!

    That is precisely why a serious and reputable physician doesn't allow triple neg to get the upper hand, especially in a case (like mine) where there was residual disease in the breast. That should have been a red flag that there might be remaining neoplasm in the axilla, as well. But Gary Unzeitig is a surgeon, not an oncologist, so hubris got the better of him, and I'm now paying for it.

    Love,

    Annie Camel Hip

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  • AnnNYC
    AnnNYC Member Posts: 4,484
    edited November 2008

    Annie, I don't know much about triple negative mets to the bone, but as many here have said, now is a great time to have EVERYTHING reviewed by a super-expert.  Markers can change, as Jeanne46 pointed out, and they can even be mis-tested.  Someone else on these boards (who lives in Texas and loves cheetos, tequila, and Vicente Valero...) was originally dx'd as triple negative, but upon retesting at MDA by V.V.'s group this past spring was found to be weakly HER2/neu+, and a candidate for herceptin.

    xoxox,

    Ann

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  • ICanDoThis
    ICanDoThis Member Posts: 1,473
    edited November 2008

    Well, I think I'll watch you all enjoy your martinis, and sip a diet quinine water. Got cramps in my leg again during water aerobics tonight. Perhaps I'll have a little Havarti on water biscuits, just to feel part of the scene. Now, there was a time when it would have been a saki martini, but...

    Now is definitely the time to go to the big guns. It's time to get a team around you that makes you feel protected

    We can only do so much.

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  • frogger
    frogger Member Posts: 52
    edited November 2008

    hi heatherblocklear,

    i have not posted for awhile . i have been busy with work and kids and usaully am too tired to be on line. i finished my chemo in july and finished radiation oct 17. went back for my 1 mnth fu and was sent back to my surgeon for a lump near my scar. was told 90% chance it was just over growth of scar tissue but i insisted on having an fna which came back malignant. i don't know what to think the cells are the same as the first tumor. i will keep ypu in my thought and prayers as prepare to stert my new scans for bone mets since my posterior margine was only 1.5mm and was scraped as deep as the could.

    frogger

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  • frogger
    frogger Member Posts: 52
    edited November 2008

    annie ,

    by the way am the friend that bobbie was telling you about. i don't know where she gets all her energy if you could see her. she has been such a wealth of strength and encouragement for me.

    frogger

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2008

    Dearest Annie,

    As soon and the emesis of shock and rage abate, I will join the party.

    If I must rely on what is at hand, it will be Kahlua and cream and a chunk of cheddar. You must take pity on Mother Hubbard and invite her to share your bounty.

    My olives must be stuffed with almonds, and I never allow anything remotely blue in my cheese, thank you very much! The brie must be the finest French triple cream.

    I will bring the entertainment...ever seen a titless elephant strip? You'll never forget it!

    I'm so, so sorry dear friend, and utterly helpless to offer anything but compassion and empathy.

    Judie

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  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited November 2008

    I'm a little late in this party, since I am not a drinker, all I can offer is sweet iced tea and a homemade biscuits with honey. When I said I would cuss up a snow storm yesterday, I didn't know we would have snow flurries yesterday afternoon, so I guess I did cuss up the snow storm after all. The ski resorts opened up at the top of the mountain (25 miles away in Boone) and this is the earliest they have opened in a long time.

    sheila

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  • cmb35
    cmb35 Member Posts: 1,106
    edited November 2008

    Annie - I've been offline for a while, and was hoping to come back to more positive news for you. I'm a fellow TN girl, but withot mets (so far, I can never stop myself from adding the "so far"), so I don't know whether TN mets act differently, or respond differently to treatment. What I want to say is that since TN tumors respond very well to chemo, TN mets would do the same.

    Let's see, it's too cold for this now, but a few summers ago my brother made me a Grey Goose vodka with limeade, and just a tiny splash of sparkling water. It was magically delicious. Have two...

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2008

    Annie, can we make this party a bit of a cooking lesson for the cooking-challenged?  All of our sister friends speak of such delicacies that I only read about.  Perhaps if we teach Debbie Camel Cookless a thing or two about lovely cheeses, this might lift the stress a bit and help take our minds off of things? 

    You remain in my heart, dear sister.   Love and prayers, Deb

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  • chumfry
    chumfry Member Posts: 642
    edited November 2008

    I, too, am cursing. And I would definitely want a biopsy. And I want to cause bodily harm to your surgeon. Perhaps with the flat side of a shovel up-side his dumb old head. (Wouldn't that make a nice meaty "clang-g-g-g" noise, with just a hint of reverberation?)

    I'm furious on your behalf.

    --CindyMN

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  • AnnNYC
    AnnNYC Member Posts: 4,484
    edited November 2008

    Yeah, probably needless to say, I'm with Chumfry regarding the meaty "clang-g-g-g" noise...

    When you got dx'd in Feb, I felt punched in the stomach.  When residual/recurrent was dx'd in Oct, I was raging.  Yesterday -- I felt completely knocked out -- I swear, my body felt like lead and I sat at my desk at work, transcribing dictation while FALLING ASLEEP -- like I really had 2 hours of narcolepsy.  And all I could think was I hope my energy was flowing to you.  Like big SLEEPING elephant sisters could hold you up.  Like I was an electrical system with a "limiter" that sent a rage-too-great into a deep sleep for transformation into a usable steady current of energy.

    Love you,

    Ann

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  • fightinhrd123
    fightinhrd123 Member Posts: 633
    edited November 2008

    Ugh, I dont know what to say.  I'm so sorry, but you will fight and kick those cancer cells butts!!!

    Laura

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  • guitarGrl
    guitarGrl Member Posts: 697
    edited November 2008

    Annie - I didn't read the post till this morning, so I missed drinks with you last night - tonight again I hope.

    I switched from Gray Goose to Ketel One - found Ketel One smoother and (at least in my super market) they don't keep it behind locked bars, so it's easier to buy.

    I'll drink to anything you want - anytime!

    susan

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  • femme
    femme Member Posts: 262
    edited November 2008

    Dear Annie,

    Perhaps I missed your telling us, but when is your appointment at Anderson? Meanwhile tonight we will all have another round of whatever took us round the edge last night, the potion that softened  the edges of your less than sterling turkey-of-a-doc's performance... 

    I am casting around for tonight's entertainment.  (I find in the face of great difficulty, one must work like hell for a solution and stare fear down with great defiance). So. another virtual pachyderm bonding party is in order, The 2nd Foot Stomping, Don't-Mess-With-Me, Pachyderm Bash. 

    Townee suggested that she would do a "titless elephant strip."  She promises that we will never forget it.  Being an unreconstructed "titless woman of a certain age,"  I am curious to see her dance and how it is done.  it is never too late to learn something new.

    Annie, we are all on board for you, hour by hour, day by day and we will bear witness as your treatment gets sorted out by real pros.

    Keep calm and carry on with hope and optimism...you really have no choice, do you?

    femme 

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  • Roya
    Roya Member Posts: 346
    edited November 2008

    Well, I'm a day late on the Marinis, stuffed olives, crackers & Brie but I not adverse to 24 hour parties Wink.

    Annie, another sister here for you and I' m sending you soooooooooomany hugs ((((Annie)))) and positive thoughts and feelings!

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  • TenderIsOurMight
    TenderIsOurMight Member Posts: 4,493
    edited November 2008

    It doesn't surprise me one bit you took your own sutures out, Annie. You obviously have a can do attitude, one that serves you well.
     
    I'm late for the wine and cheese party today but would love to bring some Jarlsburg and Leyden (dutch cheese with cumin seeds) and small rye breads.
     
    Lots of hugs and thoughts for you,
    Tender 
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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited November 2008

    Annie, there is nothing "bad" about taking out your own stitches.  It's not rocket science, after all.  Good for you!

    I'm sorry I didn't make the party last night, and I'll have to beg off tonight, too.  It seems I'm in the middle of the "prep" phase for a colonoscopy, which is scheduled for 8:15 tomorrow morning.  The instructions I was given were quite explicit:  no bread, no cheese, no wine.  I did mix the first bottle of Phospho-soda with Margarita mix, and drank it on ice.  It didn't help, though.  :(

    How are your rads going?  I'm glad to hear that junk under your arm seems to be responding (by dying).  I am cheering as I think of those nasty cells shriveling up...

    Oops, gotta go.  Don't make me explain why.   :)

    Hugs,

    otter 

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  • HeatherBLocklear
    HeatherBLocklear Member Posts: 1,370
    edited November 2008

    Dear Elephant Sisters,

    I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow to discuss my trip to meet with Dr. Valero in Houston, and also to explore treatment options from which I might benefit at this point. The oncologist mentioned Ixempra the last time I saw him (I think he suspected spread already then), but I'm hoping something else can be tried first since Ixempra has such nasty SEs.

    My girls have come round and invited DH to spend Christmas with all of us in Corsica. I think that was incredibly noble and generous of them -- they are good girls and I love them more than life itself! One does, doesn't one.

    OK cyberparty again tonight. All of the food suggestions are divine -- I guess I'm not alone in my love of cheese. Just for information, my grandmother's second husband owned the Havarti farm in Denmark that makes Havarti cheese. Guess which cheese was always in the fridge at home when I was growing up? Cool My mom is Danish-born, so we're quite a mongrel clan.

    Everyone get in their jammies and bring food and drink, whether it be wine or soda water. I'm cooking shrimp in wine sauce, served on a bed of saffron rice, and will also make a big tossed salad with nuts, thinly sliced sweet red onions, black olives, and fresh mandarin wedges. Can anyone else supply some crusty fresh bread? A couple of desserts? I've rented one chickflick and one international movie -- The Notebook and L'Auberge Espagnole. Bring your own pillows too.

    See you as soon as you can get here.

    Love,

    Annie SpottyBones (Camel genus)

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  • Marple
    Marple Member Posts: 19,143
    edited November 2008

    Okay, count me in to bring the bread (from our VERY local baker) and garlic from our own garden.  It will be delich.  thankfully my best jammies were washed today.  I'll be there with bells on.  Hope I don't spill the bread.  How does one spill bread????!

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  • AnneW
    AnneW Member Posts: 4,050
    edited November 2008

    Okay. I'm bringing the Hutsman cheese (aged cheddar with a stripe of Stilton) and a really good late harvest Zin by Tobin James called Liquid Love. It cries for good chocolate, so I'm bringing some Trader Joe's truffles.

    Since we need some sustanence, how about a grilled pork tenderloin with a port and dried cherry reduction? And steamed broccoli, since it's so darn good for us. But notice how I think of dessert first.

    And new jammies. And Grand Marnier for the chic flicks, after which we feel a bit buzzed and start showing off our scars/reconstruction/favorite bras, whatever. Girlfriend time rules!

    Anne

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