Stage II Forum

BCinColorado:  You are quite a head of me.  I am not sure if I needs to do RADS yet as I had 2 nodes positive and a little more in the egde of what they took in my lymph node surgery.  My Oncologist told me that potocol is if there are 3 or more nodes positive, then RADS for sure.  He was not sure about my situation and told me that I need to see the RADS Oncologist for more info.  I will have to for this as I have 4 more treatments.  Monday will be my 3rd and I will be half way through.

Hi Laura,

Just had second chemo (and my hair started falling out PRECISELY 2 weeks after the first).  Got is shaved and have "Francine" my wig now.  Went scarf and hat shopping with my kids.  The stubble is itchy, but will soon be gone too.  Guess the good thing is that I have a nice round head - no dents or divots....... 

Will be getting a PICC before next tx as my veins are just too hard to get.  Don't want trouble done the road so PICC for the next 2 AC and then 4 Taxol.  Fun fun.

 Hope everyone is doing well.  Figure I am 1/4 way through chemo now. 

 Take care

Rocket,

Check out the Radiation threads here...you will find alot of women are or have gone through rads and they can lead you down the path.....there is also another website that many women here have posted pictures to, that you access through another site. It is password protected, and you must be a contributing member of this site for dome time before you will will be granted permission to get on it.  After a while, if you want to take a look, private message Tim-Tam and she will assist you.

Godd luck and God Bless you!

Hi

Lorraine5 Congradulation on finishing AC you are right Taxol is much eaier. GooD Luck

HH

Hope777,

Have you had your surgery yet?  After surgery, it will take a few days to get the official diagnosis.  Be sure to have your doctor go over every word of it with you and also have someone sit in to be your listener.  When I was first diagnosed, the doctor would explain things very carefully but all I heard was 'cancer cancer cancer'.  My listener, my DH, took notes for me and repeated what the doctor said.

You will probably have radiation and you can ask questions about that to your doctor as well as the radiologist.  If you have had radiation at any other time, you need to be certain that the doctors know this.   You may or may not need chemotherapy.

I hope this helps.

Hi shelleyj43,

I am 2A, large tumor, neg for node involvement.  I had a lumpectomy, chemo and 35 rad treatments.  I am also fair, although now rather gray.......lol.

I found both the chemo and rads doable.  During rads just be diligent with whatever skin treatments they suggest.................each doc seems to use different stuff.  I used 100% pure aloe and aquafor.  You can't put anything on before treatment, but I would carry my aloe with me and slather myself up before I got redressed each day.  I then probably used it twice more each day.  I did very well with just a slight skin irritation toward the end of treatment.  One week after treatment skin is in pretty normal condition.  Make sure you check with the rads threads when you start that phase.  How many chemo treatments are left?  Usually you start rads about 3 weeks after last infusion.

As far as determining if our treatments work...................that is an ongoing process of periodic testing determined by your docs based on your particular case.  I have a digital mammo and breast mri once a year.  So far I have been having them separately so I am actually monitored every six months.  I also have a blood workup with onc every three months.  So far so good

Lastly, yes there is light at the end of the tunnel and for most of us a bright light.  Best wishes to you.........................Caren

Hi Shelleyj43,

Estero is quite far from you.  We are in the southwest corner half way between Naples and Fort Myers.  We too had rain all day yesterday which is quite unusual although at this time of year as you know we do get afternoon storms almost every day.

Interestingly my bloodwork does not include tumor markers.  I have a regular cbc and am also tested for things like liver  enzymes.  Infact mine have been slightly elevated the last few months so that led to a liver ultra sound and I am negative for disease so that's good.  Apparently the culprit is still from being overweight.  I have a fatty liver.............matches my fatty body.

BTW, I now have my major testing done at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  My onc here and I both feel the testing and the readings will be more consistent than going to a general radiology locally.  It is a little over a two hour drive each way, but it is a decision I am comfortable with, plus I am seen by my onc there, so another opinion.   How far are you from Moffitt.  I believe you are in central Florida, correct?

Make sure the aloe is 100% aloe.  It will clearly say it on the tube.  I think I got mine in CVS.

Please keep me posted and let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Be well................................Caren

Yes my original chemo was supposed to be 4 doses of TC.  I had the first two and then had an allergic reaction on my hands and feet.  My oncologist here consulted with my Moffitt onc and they decided to change me from taxotere  to weekly infusions of taxol.  I  had six treatments.  I was one of the lucky ones who did not have my taste buds affected at all.  I did have mouth issues but that was thrush.  On the whole I did very well through chemo and radiation.

I am confident with my local care also.  My onc is very thorough.  He just feels I am high risk so he wants my testing done where we feel we are getting the best techs and radiologists and of course specialized in breast cancer.  I still see the onc here regularly also.

Hope your mouth  is easily fixed.  Did they prescribe the "magic" mouthwash yet?  That will usually help a lot.  Just ask, they know what it is.  If you need more info let me know.

Hope you have a good night's sleep..........................Caren

Hi Hope.

Even though I am Stage II, I did not do chemo or rads.  I had no node involvement and my BS ordered OncoDX testing before I first saw my onco.  I started off with lumpectomy (and then re-excission) before I had a mx (I'm a uni).  According to my onco score, the benefit of chemo would only reduce my chance of recurrance by 2%!!  Not worth it to my onco and it was fine with me!  Since I had mx there wasn't anything to do rads with either.  I definitely recommend this test for everyone!

Definitely learn what your lab tests mean too.  Don't just get copies of everything.  If you don't understand or know how to read them, you can ask and I'm sure one of us will know what they mean.

Hang in there.

Did your BS give you a "staging" form at all?  If not, call your BS office or your onco and ask for one.  I think you are correct though.  They first thought I was Stage I but when it was all over with the turmor was 2cm and my sheet shows 2-5cm as being Stage II, which is what they told me I was after the mx.

Hi stlcardsfan,

Welcome.  Sorry you have to be here though.  I was dx last August.  I was able to skip chemo and am on Tamox and just finished exchang surgery last month.  Now on to physical therapy.  I know the stress of all the surgery and meds can certainly take their toll on a person.  Hang in there.

Hi Rachel,

I'm sorry you have to be here too.  I didn't have to do chemo since my OncoDx testing showed not enough benefit vs chemo benefit.  I am on Tamoxifen though (since the end of January).  There is a whole thread on Tamoxifen.  I wish you well with your chemo and hope it is much less terrible than you are dreading.

I swear I will be late to my own funeral!  I'm in, lol!

i just found this forum. I'm IIA, small tumor but 1 lymh node involved which bumped me from stage 1 to stage II. I've had a BMX with TEs inserted. I'm to do chemo, FEC x 3 then Taxotere x 3. In looking at the positngs kind of quickly, it looks like I'm one of the only stage II ladies with lymph node involvement? My doc said 1 to 3 nodes still gets you in stage II unless your tumor is big. Anyway, thought I'd join in. Shellyj43, how did you do on FEC and T? I'm waiting on my last drain from surgery to come out before I start, so not sure when I'll get going.

Regina

Hi Regina--looks like you and I are pretty similar. Stage 2, lymph node involvement aswell. My turmour was relatively small (1.7cm when removed) but one lymph node was positive so it pushed me into Stage 2. I am starting chemo in the next week (FEC-T), also met with radiation doctor and will have 25 sessions followed by 5 boosters--that will start a month after chemo has finished. I was also in holding pattern due to recovery from surgery and waiting for surgeon to give go ahead (they were thinking about more node removal--but good news is no more surgery!).