Nurses with Breast Cancer

NativeMainer  I wish you were treated better.  How horrible it must be to have all that crap on top of fighting the breast cancer itself. It sounds like care was so abysmal across the board, that I'm wondering if it wasn't only you that was treated so poorly.  I have heard of places where the "culture of care" spirals downward, and anyone who tries to buck the trend gets slapped down, or gets burned out and leaves. (At the very least, I think more than 2 IV tries per nurse is inhumane, and they should have a policy against it. )

Sounds like I've been very lucky to have been a med/surg/onc nurse and also a med/surg/onc patient that was treated very well.

iodine i loved reading the list of different jobs you've done. It makes me hopeful that if I can't go back as an onc nurse, that there are a variety of interesting things I could do.

rgiuff my onc laughs at me too.  Last time I went in, he grabbed my list of 20 or so questions, and said "I shouldn't let you sit in the waiting room so long thinking up more questions."  Calls me a pain in the, but at the same time, he really likes being challenged.  We play dueling studies.  I, too, get more useful information here on the discussion boards and the other areas of bc.org than almost anywhere else.

I'm off to get a baseline chest xray and pick up some "breast fluffs," since I can't tolerate breast forms yet.  I've really been struggling with feeling "down," crying in the shower, having a hard time dragging myself out for exercise, overeating, hiding at home watching tv etc, this last week, and have been thoughtfully eyeing the samples of Lexapro I was given.  I really am struggling to figure out how to cope without messing with my serotonin, so am trying to force myself to reach out to my network, and have my friends float me up again.

Sure wish breast cancer was easier.

Congratulations on your son's graduation!  And hang in there, the fatigue gets better, eventually. 

Bumping for any new nurses interested in sharing ideas and situations.

Another nurse here!   Graduated in 1977, yr of peds in inner city (like a MASH unit) then two yrs of grad school (paid by NIMH back then) then 13 yrs in psych and 12 yrs as a school nurse while my kids where in school.   disability retirment in 2005, unrelated to cancer.

so while I am not actively practicing nsg, I love it so and try to share info to help "my pts" whoever they might be.  the internet is such a great research tool (boy do I sound old) that I can update my knowledge quickly.      those A & P courses, with all the pathological disease knowledge is a good base even tho so much has been learned since I was in school.  

good to know this thread is here. thx  

Hi In-Cognito, my Onc wrote some lifting restrictions I have LE in my right arm.  He also wrote that I'm not to carry things and walk at the same time... espeically babies (I'm a L&D & post partum RN)  So it's a problem.  My feet are completely numb from Taxanes.  My last chemo was in Sept. and there is no sign of it getting any better yet.  I have near falls daily.  I also have pretty significant "chemo brain" so he wrote that I cannot pass meds, he wrote that we would "re-evaluate" all of this in 6-12mos.  I sure hope this gets better so I can get back to work.

Jessica

www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessicam

Hi ladies,

   Another nurse jumping in here.  My work experience has been with hematology/onc/BMT since 1990.  I returned to a ward nurse position after my bilateral mast. with reconstruction in 2008.  As per union I did a back to work program that lasted almost 3 months.  I also was dealing with carpal tunnel in both wrists so I think it lengthened my return a little.  Since then I have changed positions to be a clinical resource nurse in the Canadian system so I'm not sure if it is the same name in the states.  Less patient care and more coordinating pt care.  This time around I had chemo and radiation after LND, and complication of lymphedema.  Not sure what my restrictions will be this time, and I have been off work since Oct. 2009.  

Jessica-do you have to wear compression garments at work?  If you do...I'm wondering about washing hands as on my unit we wash before and after entering a room.  As I am not direct pt. care I would not have to do it as much but it is a big part of working in any hospital. I wear glove/sleeve compression garments. I guess I'm just throwing it out there it see if anyone has experience with this from an infection control point of view, and practical advice as well.

Glad to have found this thread as well, wish I had found it sooner.  As I have not just been diagnosed I saw it in the active posts.

Diane.

Namaste!

I joined in April and this is the first I have noted this thread.  Hooray!  I have been an RN since 1971.  I started out working ICU in the city, moved to a community of 12,000 and worked as House Supervisor which meant L & D, Emergency and everything from engineering to medical records.  Did this for 15 years.  Moved back to the city and did Emergency for a few years and then Post Anesthesia Care Unit (Open hearts to choles) for 12 years.  In 2008 I was hired as Staff Development for PACU and Pre-op.  Two weeks after my diagnosis this year my position was eliminated.  Let me tell you, that sucks big time.  I was overwhelmed (initial indications were probable but not definite invasion in one of the 3 sites) and I was worried about maintaining insurance as well as the hit my ego took with the job.  My primary MD refused to give me sleeping bills or benzodiazapines (I begged for just one night of sleep). He said no, we were going for the long term solution from the start and work on coping skills and an SSRI.  Well, it was painful but the Celexa is working keeping me fairly even keel and I am sleeping mostly pretty good and I am suprised that I have coped as well as I have. 

The down side is still my job.  My boss has "floated" me around.  I am still doing a lot of Staff Development activities (at staff nurse pay though).  I have interviewed for 3 positions in the system (want to keep my benifits and same providers) and gotten none of them.  Right now I am filling in for an open position in Surgical Support.  I have applied for the position, was told they would let me know in two weeks (it has been over three weeks) and I still watch them interviewing more people from outside the system so they must not want me.  Regardless, if they hire someone else, I will be the one to set up their orientation.  This sucks and my attitude is going from "acceptable" to bitter with each passing day of this. 

I agree with Jo Ann.  There are jobs in nursing that are less demanding.  I have been a Public Health Nurse for 25 years.  I mostly talk with families about their children with special needs.  It uses a lot of the knowledge base I have acquired over the years, keeps me up on procedures (even though I am not doing them) and is very fulfilling. 

Good Morning my fellow nurse sisters!

I have been so fortunate in my career and am currently a QI nurse in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University.  I've done different nursing from premies to home care and have done my fair share of public health nursing at the local and state level.  I've been in QI for over 15 years. 

I've had a good experience with my colleagues who allowed me to work around my MX, Chemo and Radiation and keep my full time job and benefits.  It was hard at times but it was worth coming to work for the support of fellow nurses and friends.  My family was terrific but there's nothing like friends to help get through this (along with my friends on this board).  I am very saddened that some nurses and other women are treated poorly by coworkers and employers but most of all that nurses are treated poorly by other nurses or health care personnel when they are going through this horrid time in their lives. 

Thanks for activating this thread again.

I just found this site, too!  I was dx a yr ago with DCIS of my left breast and had a mx.  I am doing well and grateful this is so.  I did not have to do chemo or radiation because of the non-invasive nature of my cancer.  But obviously, it has been a year of challenge and the usual phases of grief over having a mx.  I am 48 and work part-time as a school nurse, which is a great job for working around family schedules.  My kids are 15 and 13. 

The biggest benefit I found to being in the medical profession and having cancer was that I have a lot of contacts and was able to navigate the cancer journey with a lot of "inside knowledge."   Fellow nurses and physicians I knew rushed to my aid upon my diagnosis and provided me all kinds of help.

I wish I would have found this thread a year ago when I was first diagnosed.  

For conversation sake, where did you all go to school?

University of Southern Maine

I am now 3 weeks post right prophylactic mastectomy, left delayed, right immediate DIEP reconstruction in Boston.  

Hello Nurses!  I need your input...

I have been a Nurse since 1994, and currently work in the Public Health arena.  I have been able to make it to 20 hours/week doing audit work.  I am very glad to be able to lay low while doing the audit, but am concerned about my current health.

I see my Onc on Monday, and my pain has been getting worse.  I have chronic pain issues (yummy) which took me out of bedside Nursing. That breaks my heart to this day...but now I don't know what to think about my pain.

My hips/legs and lower back are screaming out.  I have a severe Vit D def., and made it to 16 from a starting level of 4.  Not sure where the calcium is, I certainly have muscle twitching. I have what feels like intense pain, muscle fatigue, and some nausea.   I have been miserable the last two days.

I had a hysterectomy 8 years ago, without estrogen replacement.

Tomorrow, I will ask for a bone density, calcium/mag added onto the regular panel.  I am wondering if I need a PET scan...

so can anyone give me any Nursy advice?  I'd really appreciate your input.

Thanks much,

Traci

Isn't it wonderful to be suffering from a condition that a lot of oncs don't even beleive exists?  And where is the ADA?  Cancer is considered a disabililty and reasonable accommodations need to be made for the restrictions  that cancer treatment leaves us with.  Yet we don't insist on our rights for fear of rocking the boat.  Not exactly what we tell our patients, is it?  Why do we treat ourselves differently or accept different treatment than our patients?  I know, it's in our nature, but really, this whole thing is starting to make me mad.  My religion teaches that you will know a follower of Christ by how the person treats other people.  Most hospitals claim to be in the business of providing care, but their actions toward their employees when they become patients sends a very different message, at least to me.  My employer withheld my earned time payout for 3 months because I had the nerve to write a letter of complaint about the lack of care I was getting in the radiation department, so I know how they can be.  I've filed complaints with the Joint Comission, the state licensing division, the medical board and the civil liberties union.  I may not ever get answers but I can make thier life miserable until I do. 

Hanta Yo, at some point during a discussion of your hours/new position, ask if the fact that you have a breast cancer diagnosis and a treatment complication is a barrier to more hours or a new position.  The management will say "no" but they'll realize that you know you have ADA rights, and they may start treating you better for fear of an ADA complaint or lawsuit.  I hate using that kind of tactic, but I've learned that's the only kind of tactic that works with many employers.  

squidwitch42:  when you see your onc remind him/her that adequate pain management is a patient right and what is he/she going to do about your pain THIS VISIT. You have a right to pain management WHILE the cause of the pain is being determined.  Do not leave the exam room until you are satisfied with the results.  The trick is to not leave the exam room.  Do not let them talk you into waiting in the waiting area while they make test referrals or write a prescription for pain medication, it's too easy for you to get brushed off.  If you are in the exam room they cannot put another patient in there and that starts impacting thier financial bottom line, and that gets attention.  I've used this tactic many times, always successfully.  "I'm not leaving, my appointment isn't over yet because I have not gotten (an answer to my question, or a prescription for my pain, or an appointment for a test,fill in whatever).  I'll leave when I have what I need."  

Hi all, new poster old nurse LOL. Squid--Thanks for getting me here. It was a very hard place to find. Nice to see you Native Mariner , FEELS LIKE HOME ALREADY --YEAH.

A universal truity about nursing, Nursing mgt and  Institutions of Care is --they don't understand that the state and federal laws apply to them.  I guess there like the federal government that is exempted by the Constitution of the USA from the laws that apply to the citizens.

Squid --We were going to have a pain discussion on PM ,but here is good. Native mariner is definitely on mark. I love her comment re: not leaving the room until the "Whatever" is managed. There was another poster on another thread that was told her pathology slides were missing and to go home and wait. She stated she would sit in the pathologist office until they were found---they were found in short order, but she wonders what the difference of two weeks meant to her when the subsequent written report was positive. I couldn't post back. For me, I went from grade 2 (adequate specimen -no error) to a grade3 in three weeks at bmx with immediate recon, but thats another story

Squid----some thoughts on pain mgt. From researching my pain the new big daddy syndrome term is chronic widespread pain--CWP. It encompasses all of fibromyalgia and more, it's been awhile since search and short term memory sucks. Suggest that would be a good google. 

We never got around to whether or not you are on aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen. AI's can be involved with widespread muscle, joint and bone pain, necrosis, carpal tunnel, bursitis of any joint, fibromyalgia, arthritis to the point of needing hip and knee joint replacement. I haven't studied Tamoxifen other than superficially. 

You have the special problem of dealing with an old injury of the pudenal nerve. Working in a multiuse center --one of the sections was pain mgt. Pudenal nerve blocks were rare, but were done. The discussion between doc and patient that I remember was that it took a really skilled person to do them with success, could be an area to search.

In Jan while doing a drug search for DH, I found GENEMDRX. When you go to this site it has a thirty day free trial and training video. I bypassed training video at first--don't. Why is it worth it? After plugging in all my drugs, I found the program identified multple drug interactions not identified on other sites. Arimidex effect was enhanced by 25-75% because of Norvasc--duh I had been  overdosed. Played with adding and deleting as I had learned from the training video. Cytoxan had been "enhanced" for same reason-- norvasc. Coulds have been the reason first and only chemo almost killed me . I was overdosed or enhanced by an ADR. WE will never know. I plugged in Femara same results as Arimidex. Aromasin would be enhanced by 150%. I was on a washout of Arimidex for 8 weeks and had been on Femara for several weeks and had just made the decision to stop it. Found DH had many drug interactions. This site has extensive description of cytochrome450 and all identified pathways--1A2&3,2c9,2c19,2d6,3a4 etc. I suggest it as one tool to use. I describe DRUGS.com as kindergarten and GENEMDRX as graduate school. Be cautious when printing --it will use a lot of paper and ink. Follow directions for color if you do print because the color coding is important as you will see when your there. RED for major,  2 Yellows, Green for normal. They have an email function even in the free trial mode ---send a copy to yourself and other docs.

When 2 onc's mine and my husband, 1 cardiologist were presented with results and request for testing, the response was the same--"-I don't feel comfortable ordering tests about something I don't know". Tried to involved the research pharmacy division of my company which employs 5000--owns 3 hospitals/hospice/drs/homehealth/insurance/dme etc.  The Doctor of Pharmacy as well was having trouble keeping up, after what I had learned in the journey to understand liver pathways. That is pathetic. SO, for your self protection please, review site.  A yearly subscription for individual<25.00. At least after analyzing your profile, you may know if there is any drug manipulation you can persue.

After 5 months off AI's my musculoskeletal issues are improving. With an oncotype dx score of 30, and  family extensive bc history of which  21 women-- 9-had bc--one is my twin--3  with other  types of ca, you know that decision was not easy.  The men--24 male cousins only one with prostate ca. There's a study in that one too --no ones interested.

Now I'm in process of weaning off drugs that helped with the problems caused by other drugs.There is an irony in there. 

I am not suggesting that anyone quit there AI's or tamox or whatever. It became a quality of life issue for me. My pain scale was100 on the usual 0-10 scale. I have high pain tolerance with a history of post polio my whole life. I suppose this is a good analogy '"I was crippled once, I choose not to go there again".

What is unknown is ---would I have tolerated the drug if it was in therapeutic range.

For the moment, I will sign off  with two original statements or I think they are--LOL

SERIOUSLY SEEKING NORMAL

PROACTIVE IS BEING SELFPROTECTIVE

Another nurse here, graduated in 1991.

I currently work for a global medical company as a clinical consultant in vascular access. My company has looked after me very well through my treatment, I was able to work form home during Chemo and they employed someone part-time to do my hospital workshops and customer visits. As soon as Chemo was over I went back full time to my usual position.

It's nearly a year since I finished Chemo, only 6 weeks since I finished Herceptin and I'm now considering taking on some casual work in the acute care setting to keep my clinical skills up-to-date, just one shift a fortnight. 

LL