Urgent Advice Needed

Tammy, thank you again for your advice. I'll certainly let my body decide whether I can cope with the rad while working or not. 

And also thanks Tundra for your message too. 

I had my CT scan results back yesterday, the brain scan is clear, and the chest, abdomen and pelvis scan is largely clear except that they found a 4mm noncalcified nodule in the lateral left lung base. They don't know what it is yet, but my oncologists left this message to me: The lung nodule is very small, and significance of this is undetermined. Given the lack of any other findings, at this time I believe the nodule to be benign. We can followup with another CT scan in 3 months. I guess I'll go with my onco's story so far, and try to believe the better. 

Another development was that I had my hair cut short yesterday, and it didn't look bad at all, I am liking my new hair style, not sure how long can I keep it though.  

Hi Letlet

My husband has been wonderful so far, his employer is quite understanding so he works at home a lot these days. He's also taking over most of the housework and the cooking, which is sometimes tough, especially when I have a really strange appetite these days. It's been a tough ride for both of us but we have decided to treat it with positive attitude, I think he is doing this even better than me, because sometimes I cannot help but feeling down.

My parents are also coming over to help us for the next few months, they wanted to come as soon as they heard the news, but they need to get their US visa sorted and the earliest appointment they can get is tomorrow. They are hoping they can come even before christmas. And once they are here then they can at least help my husband on most of the housework.  

I am actually a bit more anxious these days. I keep hoping my breast is going to shrink a lot more, but I think it hasn't changed size in the last few days. Shouldn't the chemo start working straight away? How do I know that the chemo is actually working on the tumor? I know I maybe too eager for that, but just couldn't stop thinking about it.  

Hi Lori,

 I know exactly what you mean about the hair loss, as I am on the same boat. They are so many other things that I can also worry about at the moment, for example, the possible drop of my my fertility because of the chemo, and I don't have any children yet, my future job. The list is endless, and I guess any single item in the list can freak me out before my diagnosis, but facing the much bigger picture now, these are really the things that are less important to me, so I just kicked them out from my worrying mechanism for the moment. I am actually quite surprised on how well I managed to cope with it.

Also thanks for your info on the IBC, it confirms my impression on the whole thing.  I am just quite surprised with the realisation that my onco has never formally confirmed my IBC diagnose to me.  Maybe she thinks spelling it out to me will discourage me?  I'll certainly ask her the question next time I see her.

Hi Linda, I am sorry to hear that yours is not shrinking, but don't worry about it too much. My doctor actually didn't expect it to shrink that fast, he said normally the effect will only be obvious after 2 or 3 rounds of chemo, so I am sure yours will start to shrink quite soon. My breast probably responded faster because it was HUGE, and it grow SO QUICKLY, my doctor said he has never seem anything grow that quick in his entire career, I guess it also means mine will be fast in responding to the chemo too.  My doctor also said the reddish color is a normal response to the chemo, my whole breast is still super red at the moment, but the doctor said it is normal, and it will actually get a bit worse when I start my next round of chemo. So hang in there!  And enjoy your christmas! 

Hi Julie, happy holiday to you and every body on board too. 

I am doing all right these days. Just started my second round of chemo yesterday, the nausea was much worse than the first round, so I couldn't eat anything at all for my dinner. But the nausea is getting better today, just fatigue in general. On the bright side, I am half way through my AC chemo. YEAH!

One thing that I have developed in the last few days was some mild pain deep in my throat, or at the beginning of my chest wall. I don't feel it normally unless I try to breath really hard, or swallow really hard, also when I burp, I can also feel that pain too. My nurse thinks it maybe some kind of indegstion, but I never have this before. Does anyone think it worth concerning?  Thanks! 

Hi Tundra, yes, we are in very similar boat right now isn't it? I am amazed that even our bone and CT scan are really similar.  I wish you the best luck with your chemo, I am already on my second round of dense AC and I think I am responding quite well. The breast has really become much much smaller and even the redness is getting much better.  I haven't received conclusive IBC diagnose either but they are certainly treating me like one. 

 Norma, thank you for your advice for the wig. I didn't have too much strength today for the shopping but I am feeling much better now, so I think I will be able to check up with the wig tomorrow. My insurance said they can cover the wig if it's in network, but only 70% if it's out of network, but the only in network wig shop is closed until Jan, so I will have a look at the out of network shop tomorrow. 

 Lastly Tina, thank you so much for your message, it is such a bless to hear from you. I am also on Dose Dense of AC and I am actually responding well since round 1, you are certainly lifting  my spirit up, I wish you a very happy new year and certainly all the best luck!