Starting Chemo May 2008

Ok now I'm a tad freaked out.... flax seed is estrogenic???? I'm going to have to call the onc about that one again just to make sure. I've been taking 2 of those darn things a day the past 3 days. so much stuff to learn.... Maybe my cholesterol went down a few while taking it at least. :0S

U/S went uneventful .. that seems to  be my new word now LOL. She did come across a small dark spot in the same exact area where my cyst was a few months back. Most likely it is the same cyst only much smaller. The other one I had was gone.

Tex~ I'm sorry you felt like you had to pull back because of the dx. Daulin' we are all here thru thick and thin and worry ourselves sick when one of the "sistas" disappear. Even thought we are across the river, it doesn't mean we are going to leave you behind to swim alone.

Rock~ the only other thing I can think is to go into your add/remove programs and look for that last update and manually uninstall it. You can also trying reinstalling skype again and see if that helps any. OH, and check your volume control box and make sure that it didn't turn off or mute one of the settings. Without being able to cuss out your lappy in person, its hard to fix from here LOL.

Robin~ I got your card today! It was a T-Totally wonderful surprise. It made my day! :O)

Howdy to everyone else! XXOO!!!!

Adrienne...prayers for you tomorrow....

night all, randie

Dana, so good to have you back - what Rock said.  And you should come here, or not (though of course we all hope you do!) based on how it makes *you* feel,  And when you feel like whining - whine away. 

Robin, your butterfly alighted in Michigan yesterday - thank you!

Karin, we can get up early together.  (I'm naturally an early riser, most of the time, but the early switch to daylight savings time this year is kicking my ass.)

On the surgical follow-up issue: I last saw my surgeon last April, and that was only to check that my seroma, aka this frickin' clementine under my arm, had resolved.  My port was inserted/removed by the interventional radiology folks.  No plans to see him again, and no desire to (though I have to say, I do think his physical exam of my breast/axilla was the most thorough I've ever had).  I'm on a six month check-up schedule with my oncologist.

Linda

Morning Ladies!

Tex-So glad that you are back.  We've really missed you.  

Robin-Thank you so much for the butterfly!  Did you get any snow?

A big thank you to all for your thoughts & prayers for my granddaughter--she is doing really well and her life is pretty much normal, for the most part.   You all are the greatest!

Adrienne- good luck today-will be thinkiong about ya!

Randie-hope that you are having a great day!

Follow up with med onc today to see how I am tolerating the Tamox.  So far, no problems, hot flashes have actually gotten better.  After today, I won't see her for 3 months.  

Love & Hugs to all!

Who HOO. Just found out that the new grandbaby, Ds and DIL are coming out in April and wil be here for 10 days at Easter.  Yipeee!!!

Kristy/Kerry: we are swimming in eggs, they are laying a dozen every day.  The kis are selling them for $3/doz

Gracie Glad the granddaughter is doing well, yo are all in our prayers.

Gotta go take a shower...randie

Noelle: Because I am at a loss for what to say, I'm tempted to not say anything. But that doesn't seem right. What a tough, tough place to be in. As if cancer wasn't tough enough. As if being a single mom wasn't tough enough. As if being  small business owner in a recession wasn't tough enough.  I just don't know what to say...

Aack!  Homework?  I am sooo over doing homework.

rock has a wonderful way of putting thoughts into words.  Ditto what rock said.

I spent 20 minutes working on a post about my recheck appt schedule with my surgeon, and then when I hit "submit", something ate it. So, here's attempt #2:

I was told to alternate recheck appts with my breast surgeon and my med onco. I end up seeing one or the other of them every 4 to 6 months. My med onco is the most important right now, because I'm on Arimidex.  She's keeping watch on liver enzymes, bone density, other SE's of AI treatment, etc.

Both my med onco and my breast surgeon do super-thorough exams of my mast scar line, my remaining axillary nodes (except for the 3 that are in the jar in the path lab), and my good breast. Their exam techniques are slightly different, but each does a much better breast exam than my GYN did for the 25 years I went to him.

The deal is, my breast surgeon (who's a surgical onco) is also the co-director of the "breast health center" at the university hospital/cancer center where I'm being treated. So, I assume--and hope--I'll be seeing her for my annual mammograms and breast exams for the next, oh, 30 years or so. That would be good, since I've fired my old GYN who insisted that the lump in my left breast was "just your usual fibrocystic tissue."

Robin, I was really glad to discover that all the butterflies didn't fly north already.  Mine arrived yesterday--thanks so much!

Noelle, I don't know what to tell you except that you've been through hard times before, right?  And, you are doing something you like to do...so keep at it.  Things will turn around.  (I sure hope so.  My retirement investments would have done better this past year if they'd been in a fruit jar under the bed instead of in Mutual Funds.)

We are headed for the boat tomorrow, and then on to Oklahoma to visit my in-laws.  I might be out of contact but not for long.

Hugs to everybody.... huddle around now... (((((HUG))))) 

otter 

Noelle - I am so sorry you are having go through this.  Its really so unfair.  You have companies that lie, cheat and steal and somehow they get by (or rescued) and the hard working small business gets the short end of the stick.  You are in my thoughts and I'm sending super strong vibes your way.

Had my mammo today (they do digital) and I was expecting that it would get reviewed while I was there like last year.  When she finished, and said go ahead and get dressed and you'll receive a letter...blah blah blah....I started to cry.  This just has to change.  They have to understand our position.  This was my first mammo since diagnosis.  They have to understand how anxious we are at this point.  She said it was because last year was a diagnostic eval.  So perhaps I'm being unreasonable?  If the doctor is there, why can't they tell him that we have a breast cancer patient in for her mammo and have him read it?

Called onc today to double check on whether or not it is ok for me to be taking flax seed oil. The message from him was quote "take it with my blessings". He musta been in a goofy mood today LOL. So Now I take 2 of those darn things a day with my liquid life vitamins. I hate taking pills.



I'm worried about my gf.... About 6 years ago I was having problems with my period. It was SUPER heavy and lasted forever. My gyn told me I had too much estrogen in my body and put me on a low dose birth control pill to regulate things. She is now having the same problem. It's thrown up a red flag in my head..... What if that was the start of my bc? I'm going to keep on her about self checking and getting those yearly checkups done. I refuse to let another person I know go thru this if I can help it. I'm probably being paranoid, but it goes with the territory anymore I think. She is hoping for early menopause. I told her to stand next to me during a good hotflash and she will change her mind on that one.

Adrienne~ I totally understand wanting results right then. It's hard for us to wait after what the past year has brought us. I did a sneaky my last ultrasound and asked to see the pics of the tumour. Now I have an idea of what to look for on the screen. Not that I am schooled in reading grey fuzzies but it makes me feel better.

Noelle~ hang in there best you can girl! I'm going to order again as soon as I am able. Ya I know that won't do a whole lot......

RanD~ If I was closer we'd be all over those eggs as well. Ya'll are making me want to get a few chooks for my backyard. Possum would probably eat them though.

Adrienne, Maybe the wait is so theycan justify have to be ther 9-5 to write reports....sigh, if it were them,don't you think the results wouldbe faster??

Otter: Boat on!!!!

Angels, hugs in advance of Thursday appt.

Jen/sable: If I could send them toyou I would...they are getting the bnefit of my juicing, all the pulp goes right to them/I am thinking that I have super oxidant eggs now!!

Noelle, Will be nudging more of the fam and friends to look at your website....

back to mafia wars...lol...randie

Thanks everyone. Take care of your families first. I appreciate your business, but don't buy out of worry. I'll show up at your front door for dinner if things get really bad. I've told my local friends that too.

I can fire the staff if I have to. I ran the whole joint myself for years so we have some room to cut the fat. 

Off to bed. 

xoN

Noelle - No words so I won't try.

Instead.

Finally, finished reading 5 pages. You ladies sure like to talk.

Our vacation was lovely. We left for our flight Saturday morning and found out our flight was oversold, we decided to surrender our seats and the got us out later that night, first class! Yes!!!

The cruise was lovely. We did so many wonderful family things. The first night, during family bingo, my oldest won the jack pot, $500! She was so cute, jumping up and down. I then reminded her that all the sail and sign cards go through my checking account. She was bummed but I reassured her that we would do something fun, which we did. We swam with the dolphins. This is so crazy expensive but such a treat. If we didn't win that bingo pot, I never could have afforded it. We had stops in three different ports, all warm and sunny. I'll post pictures on FB later I hope. Fly home on Saturday and sure enough, the flight from Chicago to Milwaukee was oversold, surrendered our sets again and took the bus. I now have 8 round trip tickets for future use. Score!!! Okay, the flight from Chicago to Milwaukee is about 20 minutes and the bus ride is about an hour and a half. It was a no brainer.

Robin, I when I picked up a weeks worth of mail (mostly crap and bills), I was thrilled to see your card. Thanks so much.

Noelle, I truly hope things change quickly for you. Your products are amazing.

Rock, you sure have a way with words. My heart tugs every time I read something well crafted by you. 

I really missed you all and need to see what's up in everyone's world. The days just seem to fly by these days and I wish they would slow down. Love you all.

P.S. I haven't paid for air travel in years. We just keep surrendering our seats. One day I'll write a book about savvy travel. 

Mary 

Roxi not sure what it is you want me to do but I'll check my email.

Okay . . . . I apologize if I missed these . . .but I still need songs from Sue, Robin and Tex.  Here was the original request so you understand what we are trying to put together.

What do you think about a May 08 - 1 year anniversary CD??  Maybe a song that made you happy, got you through chemo, etc. If you are up for it, simple send me your song and I will get working on it.

If you do not have a favorite, we can assign one to you ;-)