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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    How was England Gilly!!!!????  Did you have a wonderful time?

    Lilah

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Good afternoon - well, my skin went from uncomfortable and red to really purple, open oozing, bleeding and VERY painful almost overnight.  Ouch - this hurts.  I went in today to have it "cleaned up", the nurse told me to continue what I was doing and to see her again in the morning.  So.... I'm home in very loose clothing and on pain meds again.  UGH!!!  The upside, I'm healing and finished.  Like MaineCoonKitty said this long road is coming to an end........It seemed like we would never reach this point and we have - WHOO HOO!!!!

    Weety - (((HUGS))) I am so sorry you are going through a scare like this.  I'm crossing my fingers and toes and saying out loud - THIS IS ONLY A CYST......

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  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited March 2010

    Poor you Jenn.

    Lilah - I had a great time in England. Saw all my family but one brother who was in france and met up with a bunch of old school friends as well as a college friend. I was pampered - didn't cook the whole time, ate too much and now need a rest!!!! Went in to preschool this morning and one of the children said anything about my hair, though some gave me a long hard look. My teachers oohed and aahed. I didn't hang around to meet parents - do that tomorrow.

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Sounds wonderful Gilly!

    Jenn - HUGS!!!!  You poor thing.  At least you are DONE and healing is all you have to do right now.

    Lilah

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  • msmpatty
    msmpatty Member Posts: 818
    edited March 2010

    MaineCoonKitty - Hooray for you!   I second everything you so eloquently stated about the long journey we Amazons have had together.  It did seem impossibly long and dreary at the beginning, but here we are...at the end or almost.  Amazing!

    Lilah - Glad to hear you were on vacation.   I thought you'd gone into recovery from your BCO addiction and we'd never hear from you again.

    I'm with everyone on the hair...mine is getting longer and, with some color, I could probably get away with it.  But then I'd have to give up my cute wig.  I'm getting kind of used to people following me out of stores to ask where I get my hair cut.  HA!    I'm kind of on your time frame Lilah...late May or early June to go commando.  We can always chalk it up to a new "summer" cut.

    21 rads down, only 7 to go.

    Patty

    P.S. - Oops...I just saw your post Jenn.  Ouch!   I didn't realize your skin could get worse after rads are over.  Healing thoughts coming your way...

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    LOL Patty re: recovery from my BCO addiction!  Nah... I'm still hooked!

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  • weety
    weety Member Posts: 1,163
    edited March 2010

    Thanks everyone for your prayers, warm wishes, and even the fingers and toes crossed! Smile  I go in today for the follow-up ultrasound.  Hopefully, the darn thing is gone.  I doubt if that will be the case, but I can at least (realistically) hope for some shrinkage!  No more growth.  No more solid areas.  No more of any of that!  Ugghh.  I'll update when I find out anything.

    Does anyone know if a tech is allowed to answer factual info?  I know they can't give you an impression or offer you info, but if I ask strictly factual questions, can they answer?  (Is the cyst still there?  What size is it?  Etc.?????) 

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  • NavyMom
    NavyMom Member Posts: 1,099
    edited March 2010

    Weety, I think it will depend on the tech.  When I had my ultrasound on the breast lump and started asking questions while she was doing the test she immediatly said that she was not the Doctor and was not qualified to read the pictures.  BUT then is asked her, well what are all those red and blue colored X's on the screen and she said those are blood vessels, circulation........well then I KNEW I was in deep s@#t because I knew cancer tumors had all kinds of blood vessels to keep them growing and surviving.   So, Ask away...all she can say is that she say anything!  Keeping good thoughts for you.

    And keeping good thoughts for all of the Amazons.  Here we are......just keep on plugging along.

    Navy

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Today is about the same, blistered, peeling, open and oozing skin, but......the nurse did say it what I'm going through is very normal and I am on my way to being finished with all of this mess.  Still working from home in very loose clothing. 

    Patty - I knew that the radiation continued to work (cook) even after radiation was completed, but didn't realize how bad it could get.  I was so proud of myself because my skin was looking so good, I was using lots of lotions, aloe and a does of hydrocortizone for the itching.  It seemed to happen overnight.  The nurse said it was very common for masectomy patients because there isn't breast tissue to absorb the radiation.  However, like they keep telling us everyone is different and we all have different reactions.

    Gill - so glad you had a wonderful trip!!!

    Weety - when I was having the biopsies for my breast the radiologist told me she couldn't tell me what was wrong, but if she were me she'd have a masectomy and that the "cyst" I thought I had wasn't a cyst, but a solid mass.  Hmmmm.....guess that was her way of telling me something was seriously wrong.

    Lilah/Navy - How have you been feeling?

    Hope everyone has a great day!

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Jenn -- so sorry you're still suffering.  It seems so unfair that you should be suffering like this when you are DONE with radiation! 

    Me, I am fine.  Still sore from my last fill on Monday, but not as sore today as I was on Monday!  Looking forward to feeling really normal (as normal as one can with a TE in one's chest) and then counting the days to May 18 when I will have my next (and hopefully final) surgery.

    Loving the spring time weather!  I feel as if I blinked my eyes last spring and now I am here... though it has been SO much to endure (all the treatment and the tears and all from diagnosis to now) it has also somehow flown by. 

    Lilah

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  • NavyMom
    NavyMom Member Posts: 1,099
    edited March 2010

    Jenn, sorry to hear that you are having trouble post rads......but glad to hear that you are done.  I am feeling good.  But still on activity/lifting restrictions.  Wearing a sports bra 24/7 and since I haven't even worn a bra of any sort since the BMX, this has been an adjustment for me.  Hindsight tells me I sould have worn at least some type of bra on a daily basis even if it was only a few hours a day.  Anyway........was at the store today(bra shopping!) and a young man in his early 20's walked by and called me "SIR"  I only wear a ballcap now.  No scarves or wigs.  But not up to going topless yet.  Anybody else get mistaken for a man during this journey?  I didn't get mad at the guy but I did have a moment of anger for what I (We) have had to endure because of Cancer.

    Navy

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Aw so sorry Navy... that is really so insulting (and though I know he meant nothing bad, it still sucks).  I wear a wig so no way I could be called sir... but I can imagine how upsetting that would be. 

    Stay strong!

    Lilah

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Navy -  right after I went back to work I was called "Sir".   I was in line @ Subway, wearing a black suit, with a black trench coat, the store was packed and the cashier was just hustling everyone along, he looked up quickly and said "SIR, what did you have"?  I thought I was going to just cry right there.  I posted something about it on Stage III because it happened on a day that seemed that everything was going wrong.  I woke up the next day feeling better.  I guess when we start going topless it's so freeing, yet we are still very sensitive to comments and remarks made by strangers. (((HUGS)))

    Lilah - ouch sorry you were sore from the fill, but glad it's feeling better.  this process seems to take so long doesn't it?

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    I don't know Jenn -- it does take forever but then just like that you feel like someone snapped their fingers and time passed.

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  • msmpatty
    msmpatty Member Posts: 818
    edited March 2010

    Weety - Any news on the scan????   The techs can't say much, but they can speak volumes.  As I was leaving the room after my diagnostic scan and needle biopsy the tech said "Good luck to you dear".   That's when I knew I was in big trouble.

    Navy - How crushing to be called "Sir".   On the plus side, the young man was at least being polite, just got the gender very very wrong.   Ah...the indignities of BC, when do they end?

    Jenn - Sorry you are having such trouble.   Have you tried Emu Oil?  If you google "Emu Oil during radiation" a couple of testimonials come up about how effective it is with radiation burns.   Of course they are on sites promoting the stuff, but still pretty impressive.  I've been using it on weekends during radiation and everyone is amazed at how well my skin is doing.

    Lilah - These fills sound painful!   But in a few weeks you'll have a lovely new breast, so hopefully it will all be worth it.

    Only 5 rads to go for me.   Only bad reaction so far is increasing fatigue that hit just this week, so I consider myself lucky. Lilah, I agree...when I look back over the past eight months I think "Wow, that went by fast!"

    Patty

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    My skin is still oozing and it hurts, but I guess it's all part of the process. 

    Patty - I haven't used or looked into the Emu Oil, but may look into it later.  My skin did great during rads, the techs, nurses and rad onc raved over how well I was doing, asked what I was doing, said more patients should do the same.  Then....bam I was hit with this.   I guess because I was doing so well it caught me off guard, but the nurse that cleaned it today said it's looking much better and said in the next week I should start to feel better.  I will pray that you continue to do well and don't have any problems.

    Lilah - you're right - the process takes a long time but when we reach the end point looking back it doesn't seem that long. 

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  • Kayel
    Kayel Member Posts: 28
    edited March 2010

    Good Afternoon Ladies~

    It is so nice to check in and see how everyone is doing.  Hooray for each of you that has completed treatment.  I haven't posted  for  a while but I finished radiation Thursday as well.  it is nice to be done.  I also started tamoxifen.  So far it has been an eventful week post treatment.  I came down with a fever Saturday and the dr. sent me to the hospital Sunday for bloodwork.  They did a  chest xray and a CT Scan and my husband and I were told that I had Pneumonia(most likely from radiation) and 3 lesions on my liver.  Needless to say we were shell shocked. My Doctor did call that night to say that it was not conclusive that they could be cysts.  However, It was hard to not focus on the worst.  I kept thinking, I was a good sport but I can not do this again!  I had a pet scan Tuesday and they did turn out to be cysts.  Yeh!!  Now I just have to get rid of the pneumonia.  I have been on the couch all week with a fever.

    Jenn3~  I feel your pain with the burns on your chest.  I also had severe burns, blisters, peeling and oozing.  A couple of days before the end of TX the Dr. put me on a cream called Silvidine.  You may ask about it.  It made the area feel so much better and now it is finally starting to heal  Good Luck.  If you are like me, I was thinking once treatment ended I would start feeling somewhat normal.  I also have had mixed emotions now that treatment is over.  Very happy but scared at the same time.

    Weety~  I am so sorry you are going through another surgery and the scare of not knowing what is going on.  You are in my thoughts and prayers.  I am very hopeful that it will only be a cyst.

    Hang in there everyone with the hair!  We will be at our new normal soon.

    Take care.

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  • weety
    weety Member Posts: 1,163
    edited March 2010

    I've stayed away from this board for a few days while I was waiting for my results of the follow-up ultrasound on my ovarian cyst.  I've been a nervous wreck.  The report basically says that there is no significant change.  It has not grown, but it has not shrunk either.  I guess that's good news, but then again, it's still there and it's still complex.  This time the wording said, "irregular soft tissue peripherally to the cyst wall."  Oh joy.  Surgery is still scheduled for next month.    Don't like the waiting game.

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Weety - sorry you're having to worry about the cyst, I know it would have been so much better and less worry to not have it at all.  Before you know it, the surger date will be here and you'll have one less thing to worry about.  (((HUGS))))

    My radiation burned skin is about the same........wishing it were healed up and I felt good enough to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather.  It's still so disgusting and very painful.

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  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited March 2010

    weety and jenn  - still thinking of you

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Thinking of weety and jenn too -- healing prayers sent your way.

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Thanks for the good wishes and prayers.  although this is still miserable, I can see signs of improvement - I am so ready to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather we're having.  But.... today I will stay in, decorate and fill the bags of goodies for all of the little ones coming by for Easter (if they all come will be 8 children).  And..... make sure the plastic eggs I use for the Easter Egg Hunt every year are cleaned and ready for this year.   

    Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!!

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  • YoYo44
    YoYo44 Member Posts: 203
    edited March 2010

    Weety and Jenn, sending you best wishes and good thoughts.

    Take care all!

    Yo

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  • weety
    weety Member Posts: 1,163
    edited March 2010

    Thanks all for your good thoughts and wishes!  Gyn-onc said it is unlikely to be cancerous, but if so, it would be a slow-growing one since the follow-up exam showed no measurable growth after 6 weeks. 

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Well that sounds like good news Weety!  Are they still going to remove the growth (to be safe)?

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  • weety
    weety Member Posts: 1,163
    edited March 2010

    Lilah, Yeah, I'm still scheduled for surgery to remove ovaries (and uterus & cervix--no chances taken here!) on April 20th.  Although the comment by gyn-onc was meant to be good (I think) I don't have much confidence in even expert's opinions at this point!  My breast lump had a clinical impression written as:  LOW suspicion of malignancy.  Likely a benign fibroadenoma.  Well, . . . no such luck on that one!  Makes me not believe in clinical opinions anymore!

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    I don't blame you there Weety -- they started out telling me I was Stage 0 and just DCIS and the MRI did NOT see that I had invasive cancer (which the first lumpectomy did).  It's frustrating.  Hang in there and I am praying for you that it is benign or, if not benign, then something very easy to treat.

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  • msmpatty
    msmpatty Member Posts: 818
    edited March 2010

    Weety -  Ditto your and Lilah's experiences.    No problem, no problem, no problem...then big problem.   You'll know for sure once they get in there.   Toes and fingers crossed that it is nothing but a harmless cyst.  The odds are in your favor!

    My last rad was this morning.   I am DONE!  Happy dancing today.

    Patty

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited March 2010

    Wooo hoooo Patty!!!!!

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2010

    Patty - congrats on being finished!!!!

    Weety - I would feel the same way as you did given your experience. 

    Experiences like you and Lilah had does give you a lot of doubt and less trust.  I didn't run into those issues with the cancer, but did when my daughter was ill and it's hard to walk away trusting what you're told after you've been run through the mill once, twice or more.

    My radiation burns are finally on the mend, right on schedule like the dr's said - I have just one small area that's still oozing, but the new skin all around it looks great.  I had a follow up with the onc today and he gave me a clean bill of health and said the skin is healing wonderfully- come back in 3 months.  I talked to the surgical onc on Monday, he too said the radiated area was looking good and progressing as expected.  He also gave me the name of a surgeon to meet with to discuss reconstruction.  He feels that I'm not a candidate for expanders.  He feels that DIEP would be my best course, but suggested I meet with the surgeon to discuss options.  I'm meeting him on the 12th.  I'd like to have my surgery in Dec/Jan so that I can be healed and ready for Spring/Summer - my favorite times of the year. 

    Hope everyone is having a good day.

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