Crazy Sexy Cancer in Seattle

Hi All -

    It's been forever since I posted too - but have to at least report that I'M DONE WITH CHEMO! Yea!  Finished last Wednesday - still feel a little punky - no taste buds, numb fingertips, etc, but feel SO good that I can look forward to steady improvement.  Don't starts rads until late Dec so will get a month or so of 'normal'.  It seems like forever since I had that.  

     Traci - I'm so glad to hear that rads aren't hitting you too badly.  How's the fatigue factor?  That's the one I hear most about.  I'll be interested how you fare.

      Hope everyone else is doing well.   I guess as I've been nearer the end of this part of the process, I've not needed the support as much as I did earlier.  But I have kept everyone here in my heart and prayers even if I haven't been with you.  There's nothing like this virtual sisterhood to keep us going.  

       Hugs to all ........

Kati

 Hi Rovergirl, Please stay strong, Your in my prays!  Jule thanks for caring, Im still fighting. Kati, I am so happy for you! Traci, Hang in there I know its a long road, But when you get there theres a rainbow. Tracy how are you doing?   I am going to go and fight, I am still fighting for coverage on my year old full body garment(lymphedema). I pray something happens soon my lungs are swelling more, I have to take a breathing class. But I can make it. Angel hugs to all, Debbie 

Hi Loinmomma

Im in Sourtheastern Wa near Walla Walla....are you anywhere close to me??

Hope all is well with everyone!!!!!

Congrads on those finished and those who are nearing the finish line!!!

Im trying to get in a good mind set for Wensday..My 2 yr cancerversary is the 15th but Wensday starts the 2 yr followup process....I think everything will be ok, but it sure is weighing heavy on my mind....

Hugs to all

Jule

Tracy, how are you taking care of your skin while in ads?  Any advice?  I will be getting my last chemo on Friday and will be starting rads after a 6 week break.

My redness under my arm was cellulitus, But I have lymphedema

Roya, My Prays are with you, Debbie 

Debbie-Footprintsangel,

How are you doing??? I think of you often and hope that things have settled for you some.

Hugs

Jule

Hello - this is the first time I have seen this thread - I live on Bainbridge Island, and am doing chemo (CMF) at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.  I don't know if anyone is there, or has experience there.

So far, so good.  Happy (I guess?!) to be in treatment - the waiting and testing is an awful situation.

Hope everyone is doing well.  If anyone is currently going to SCCA I would love to compare notes!

Susan

ApriGirl -

I am being treated at the SCCA.  LOVE my doc. - he's the best and have been impressed over all w/ the SCCA. 

I live in Marblemount - northeast of Seattle - on Highway 20 and split my time between Seattle & Marbles.

Hopefully the rest of the WA babes will check in soon so you meet them too.  Welcome!

Rover

Hi! 

 Rovergirl - who is your doc?  I had Ben Anderson as my surgeon and am seeing Georgiana Ellis, Oncologist. I will be there on Thursday - usually go in on Thurs. or Friday.  

TKone -I have heard good things about Swedish Hospital too - actually, the few women I know that have dealt with BC have loved each hospital they have chosen and there are so many to chose from - I guess we are lucky (?) to live in Seattle.

I would love to do one of the Komens - I have done 8 of the 5K's in Portland - not knowing I would be wearing the pink shirt one day.  sigh....

I finish chemo in the end of June, then have a re-excision and reduction followed by radiation so I don't know how I will feel as I should be in the end of radiation in Sept.

 So much to look forward too!

Hi there - I am on the Eastside, and I saw Rick Clarfeld at Overlake for bilateral masc and Hank Kaplan at Swedish for oncology ~ I had my first TC treatment today! When I get through this phase, I am going to see Frank Isik for ps at the Polyclinic.

Aprilgirl - Ben Anderson is supposed to be one of the best surgeons, several friends of friends in the medical community mentioned his name to me, but in the end I really liked Clarfeld so I stuck with him, and I am happy. 

We are incredibly lucky to have so many good choices here in Seattle - such a heavy concenration of smart/medical/research talent. 

 I would love to do the 3 day walk (had planned on it last year, but I let something else get in the way and I didn't); however, I am going to wait and make my decision until later.

Gina

Swimfan : I will defintely keep you posted on Isik. We met with him twice, once before surgery and once after when we had final pathology and a treatment plan.  I am currnently sporting the "shar-pei -puppy look" and wont see him again until my last chemo treatment (ie May).

Regarding your CMF, there is a thread here who are curious about that treatment - It ws offered to me along with TC for 12 weeks, and I was having a hard time finding anyone would had been on it. In the end, I opted or TC and started yesterday. 

 G

hi everyone, i am not in King county, i am in Kitsap county in Port Orchard. 

Just wanted to let you know that i had a bad experience with Frank Isik at UW Med center as my PS.  He made a bunch of mistakes with my implant surgery and the implant ended up protruding thru an opening in my incision and had to be removed. He told me that we could do the implant again, but after the removal surgery he said he wouldn't do it again for me.  His mistakes were: **he did not replace the drain bulb when it broke the 2nd day even tho i told him that my drain for my mast was in for over 3 weeks because my body produced a lot of fluid.  **He missed placing a suture on one side of the incision, and i had a hole open up in the incision.  He would not do anything about it.  **When i had a huge accumulation of fluid from the broken drain bulb and had this seroma fluid leaking out of the hole in the incision, he still refused to do anything, and the seroma turned into an infection.  **Instead of taking out the implant at some point and cleaning it up and replacing it then or even later, he held off and finally it pushed thru the incision.  **Then he made me wait 10 days with an infection, seroma (and antibiotics) to take the implant out.  I think he is not a good plastic surgeon.  I looked in his photos of reconstruction in the beginning and he got huffy that i asked to see it.  I didn't think that those photos were all that great. He also constantly pushed me off onto his students (teaching hospital) and i asked him to not do that when the problems were occurring for me, but he said they "were all a team". I think that the students contributed to the problems.

The whole experience was bad for me and i haven't done any more about reconstruction because i was totally discouraged.  My experience was in 2005.  I have heard that Kevin Beshlian, at Virginia Mason is a good PS.Can you get a 2nd opinion from him or someone else?

celia

hi Jule,

I remember that we have "spoken" before.  We did actually talk about Port Orchard, because i remember that you had told me about what had happened to your grandmother in Port Orchard.  We had spoken a long time ago so it is understandable that you don't remember.  We moved up here when my husband, who was in the Navy at the time, got stationed on an aircraft carrier that moved up here from the Bay Area where i am from. I have not heard of Brash Road and i don't really know many Port Orchard streets that well.  I also don't know that many people here.

When you know that you are coming here for a visit, PM me and we will exchange phone numbers and perhaps we can meet up for coffee.  i just added this thread to my favorites so i can find it again!

celia