Calling all TNs

MBJ - thank you, thank you, thank you, so very much for such wonderful information.  I totally agree with everything you have written.  It helps me a whole lot in my decision making. 

God Bless

Lynn18, My hair actually came in grey/white and after looking at Emma Watson's picture on Marie Claire, I tryed to dye it her color.

Heidi, I keep hoping for the curls, but none so far.

Lovelyface, I hope you can find a surgeon you can trust and lean on for advice. We need to be at peace as much as possible.

I did have a lumpectomy, and now I have just 10 more rads to go. Today they told me I would finish all treatment on December 30th, and to my surprise, I burst into tears. It was just the overwhelming emotion of this whole journey from diagnosis through chemo and radiation. I'm afraid I startled the radiation technicians. 

MBJ - I too have been reading up on inflammation.  I am starting to really believe that is at the root of my cancer.  It all makes sense.  I have always eaten a highly inflammatory diet, and after dealing with several very stressful situations in the last few years, I was even worse about my food choices.

I am now trying to stick to an anti-inflammatory diet.  I hope this will keep any recurrance at bay, as well as help with allegeries, colds, and other stuff I have had going on that seems likely to be an inflammation issue.  If nothing else, I should age beautifully!  If you read the perricone anti-aging diet, it is basically the antiinflammatory diet.

If you google "nutrition" and "self" it should pull up a great website that gives you tons of nutritional  data on foods, including what seems to be very important for anticancer - glycemic index and inflammation index.  It is shocking to see the inflammation score for some of the crap food I have always eaten.

ETA:  here is the site  http://nutritiondata.self.com/ 

99Sporty:  See post above but to add to it--I craved protein on this diet, so it's a good one to be on during chemo as you are going to want lots, and lots of protein.  Chemo aslo kills muscle tone, so this diet will help you retain some.  good luck and you will find much support on here!

momma--probly you found your answers by now, but----

i found good answers and explanationsand therfor comfort

from clips on Utube (nobody told me anything about drainage what or why orhow)                       the natonal cancer institute  http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary 

mayo clinic www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer 

http://www.cancercenter.com/glossary/growth-factors.cfm    

mastectomy info and graphics http://www.emedicinehealth.com/mastectomy/article_em.htm 

BRAC  or genetic issues http://www.genetichealth.com/BROV_Gen_Dis_in_Ashk_Jews.shtml 

practioners, medical centers and our own bodies are clearly so varitous.  i had a lot of high dose radiation for some other cancers and said my prefernce was no more radiation (of course they agreed with me)  my brca (ng for a gene mutation mostly in ashkenasic jews) test came back  negative which yey thay or i probly would havd been amputated sown to floor (joke).  so, in my case the answer is tamoxifen for 5 years, 6 mo check ups w/oncologist and mt thorasic surgeon.  other women who have reconstructive surgery travel some different airways.  

i was fortunate in another way.  i had a mammo on a tues, a wk ater a core biopsy a week later surgery.  didnt have to stress ore ponder.  i have seen that some women have had to wait weeks and months.  i think i would jumped in fronyt of a moving train by then!

good luck (& hopefully not tmi)

 ~ nancy carol 

To All My Friends on this Board!

Today was my last radiation treatment.  I am DONE! 

Happy for you Swanny!!!!!!!!

Way to go Swanny!! Hope you go out and celebrate!!!

Laurajane:  I was just wondering where you were!  You have a great day, too!

HeidiToo: You beat me to the punch by 17 minutes!  I just copied and pasted this.  When I was researching my situation a year ago November, I opted to not do Avastin as it was showing signs of not working so great even then.  So dissappointing for many.

Diet? Discipline? Not me! I am totally back to normal in what I do and eat. And happy to be there, I might add. I got tired of living a fear-based existence. I stared the beast in the eye... and the beast blinked.

I find the FDA withdrawal of Avastin disturbing.  For many women on this website with mets, it seems Avastin was one of the only options they had.  There is a WSJ editorial which is posted on some of the other forums which suggests that Avastin was a political target because of its cost.  It states that the risks associated with Avastin are real, but manageable.  It is not being withdrawn from use for other cancers, and it sounds like Europe is still using it.  This article calls it a tragedy for women with incurable disease.  I would think especially for triple negative patients who have no other options.