SEPTEMBER 2009 RADS

Ok, I know you guys probably think I nuts already but, Lolly, my haircut OF CHOICE is pretty much exactly your length. Christy, I think yours is about the same length as well but can't tell for certain. For me - No chemo, just fashion. I feel sleek and elegant and chic.  And you guys should too. Put on some big earring and attitude and you both are good to go. And, Lolly, IMHO (for whatever it's worth, you look lots younger with the short doo. Go for it !!!!!

Hi there ladies,

I thought I would check this group out.  I am almost half done my chemo treatments and will be starting radiation in a couple of months.  I know I will have a million questions to ask.  I am sure there is a lot of great advice here.  I see that it is an active group, and I even see a few familiar names.  I will never be able to read all the posts, but I will give it a go.  Any advise to a newbie would be great. 

I have been off work since my mastectomy in Aug. and I am hoping to go back to work when my chemo is over.  Do any of you work through your radiation?  What can I expect.  How will my immune system be during radiation...I work retail, so I am with the public all the time.  One reason I am not working at the moment.

Besty, I love your story as well.

Michele

Welcome Michele..glad to hear from you....this group is a little crazy..I'm the only sane one on here as you will find out.

Anyway, I did work through rads..had no issues at all..I only had to drive 8 min. each way so I was only gone for 30 minutes..(my appt. was at one..took my lunch)...I found that walking (fast) every day kept the fatigue away..get lots of sleep, keep slapping on the cream and you will do fine..oh..and eat everything in sight.

Titan,  I like you already..glad to know there is at least one sane one in the group..LOL.

So far my WBC has been good.  Chemo has been kind to me.  I have only about three days a cycle when I feel more tired, than normal...no nausea, no mouth sores, all is good.  I feel lucky, yet I sometimes feel like the other shoe will drop.  I did FECx3 and will do Taxotere(sorry if spelling wrong) for three.  I am a little worried about those three..If it were not for the H1N1 and flu season ,I would work to stay sane. 

I am only ten minutes away from the cancer center, so I hope to work most of the day and then go  for treatment...That is my plan anyhow. My onc might have other plans.

must go to bed now.  Tomorrow is a school day for my kids.

Michele

This group had a lot of women who finished rads around the same time I did, so I'm stopping by to wish everyone a good Thanksgiving WEEK.  It already seems different to me, not having the same energy level going into the holiday season.  I can tell all of you that I AM THANKFUL to have the main treatments behind me now, and I'm looking forward to many more holidays as a survivor. 

Thanks Titan..

Hi kawee, I have the same issue with my arm on the side that had nodes removed. I had bilateral mastectomy in April. I worked really hard and succeeded in getting full range of motion on both sides but the right was always worse because of the node removal.

After rads I was shocked at how stiff the pecs and axilla became. It's as though the muscles have lost all manner of elasticity and have shrunk. It even affected my rotator cuff.  I try to make a point of getting my arm up and stretched out when I'm in bed or just laying around in hopes that it will eventually give in. I have also been getting regular massage and she really works my chest and pecs and inside of the arm.

Getting back to PT for a few sessions may be just the ticket for you. Good luck with this. Mary

Hey Betsy, yep, I'm slowly getting some hair. I can just barely grab it, thank goodness with winter coming maybe I won't need hats inside anymore!

Here's my update  ---  I had my Rad-Onc 6 wk follow-up this morning.  He was all glowing praise on how great my skin was looking, not just getting over the rads but from the surgery too.  He said the soreness I was feeling was normal and can takes months to go away for good (which I pretty much knew from BC.org comments) and he showed me how to massage toward the armpit to help get the lymph fluid out of the area formerly drained  by my two missing nodes.  It's not a lot of fluid, but I'm a little puffy.

He also said he could still feel the internal stitches.  I said, What!  Shouldn't they be disolved by NOW?  He told me that the scar tissue can kind of form a capsule around them and told me to massage the incision area and any other lumpy scar tissue I felt in there.  Told me to keep on moisturizing.

Then, said he would see me in 6 mos.  Whoa!  I thought after today I would be downsizing to just my BS and my Med-Onc.  Nope.  I'm supposed to see him every 6 mos, AND my BS every 6 mos, in a staggered way so that I am actually seeing one of them every three mos. What about my GYN doc, I asked, what about the exam he gives me?  Rad-Onc, ready with his verbal trump card, replied, "But he's not a cancer doctor like I am."  

Just curious...Are most of you on a schedule to get a re-check from the Rad-Onc every 6 mos?

elimar--I just saw my rad onc for my 6 week also and I will also need to see her at 6 months and then she said yearly(or at least a year from that visit) notsure if it is yearly--anyway sounds like the same protocol--

lollys, do you also see your BS every six months then?

ccbaby, I'm glad you are finally healing up. How often does your BS want you to come back?

MTG, yeah, I felt like this Rad-Onc visit was the closure on my rads treatment anyway.  That's what I thought it was supposed to be, not something ongoing for 5 years with him.  What schedule are you on for follow-up with your BS?

Aah now my BS schedule is a bit excesssive - at my request not the docs. Every 3 months.  My BS even jokes about my moving in and staying on his couch since I'll be there so often. (I would have been happiest with every 4 months but read on.)

I wanted 2 sonograms and an MRI. The BS said a mamogram is still important (that it picks up things the sono may miss) and wanted to swap out a sonogram. But since a sonogram has no downside (e.g. there no radiation or even discomfort) and since it finds so much more than a mamo (esp for me, dense tissue) I did not want to wait 8 months between the MRI and Sono so I really pushed for the second sono. I thought they'd just do two tests in one day. By no,  so.... for the beginning it's every 3 months.

Each test - Sonograms, Mammograms and MRI - apparently picks up certain BCs which the others dont. So, personally, I think women who have already had breast cancer need all three annually. If there's a issue - like dense breast tissue -that makes one test less effective then add  a fourth. As much as I like him, I'm also fine if I do the test and simply call in for the result rather than meet with my BS. But we'll see.

BY the way - this man is head of his department, a wonderful guy and,even after the cancer part is behind me, will be acting as my regular breast doctor (thus replacing the one who thought my BC was only a cyst)

Well, it seems like there are a good number of variations on the follow-up appointments.  I'll sort through all of them and go with what feels right for me, as usual.  I guess it would be better to err on the side of caution and show up at a few extra OVs rather than too few.  The recurrences seem to peak at the 2 and 3 year mark, maybe I can taper off after that.

BetsyBuzz, was that him in the lab coat in the center of his office staff group?  Bust-a-move!   Right at the time I got started on my rads, my Rad-Onc group was in a t.v. comercial.  Both my Doc and my main Rad tech were in it.  So I would have to "see" them on weekends as well as 5 days a week.  Sheeeesh!

OOPs just read the last post....must be chemo brain.