Calling all TNs

How do you test for insulin resistance if you're not a diabetic? I've had a fasting glucose tolerance test (trying to find reasons for my insomnia and fatigue), which was normal.

I've not been posting much due to finally feeling a bit better.  My fever finally broke Wednesday when I switched antibiotics, and my back pain went away too.  Just had chemo #2 yesterday... halfway done!  They reduced the amount some and getting Neulasta today.  Just wanted to pop in a moment and wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Titan~ WHat do you do in the food industry? Just curious...

Ruth I think I agree everything in moderation. It's all so confusing at times! All I can do is try my best to beat this monster. 

Kelben - that IS a long time before seeing your onc. Do you see anyone else? I know some see BS and or radiology onc too. I see my onc every three months with blood work done the day before. Other than my PCP that is it. My onc is also in the no scan unless or until symptoms suggest they are needed camp which not everyone is comfortable with. I think you'll find 3 months is fairly common.

slcst12:  Congratulations!  Rest up and take it easy and be well.

Titan:  I am all about local farming and small farming it's big companies that do awful things with our food supply.  Ever since I saw that movie Food, Inc I can no longer have anything to do with non organic dairy products.  I ate all of the food off of my inlaws farm and it was delicious.  Corn fed anything equals fat and we TN's need to keep our weight down and grass fed has been the natural way until...well, I am not going to rant this morning, I promise.  I worked in the food industry while putting myself through college and there are many regulations in the US, but after going to Europe and comparing quality of what we get here, it really opened my eyes.  Compare an orgainc egg against mass produced, thin shelled, tasteless corn fed eggs and you still don't come close to the problem.  Chickens that never see the light of day and that live on top of each other in each others poop produce enemic products with no vitamin D!  Cows are fed to fatten quick to market not to produce a quality product.  The corn industry and the fat that it creates in us is out of control.  I agree with the local farmer that would rathjer give a sick animal medicine rather then putting it down, but again, I am talking about mass produced food in unsanitary conditions.  Sorry, I did say I wouldn't rant.  Oh yeah, our food is grown in soil made of war byproduct chemicals not grass fed cow maneure.  So we aren't getting the vitamins and nutrients that we would. 

I eat dark, organic chocolate, I drink Red Wine, I eat grass fed meat.  I also eat lots and lots of vegis and fruits.  I am no angel here, I just think we need to get back to the basics in farming and putting the health of the animals first and on their natural diet in a healthy enviornment so that they produce healthy food. 

Getting down off of my soapbox.  Now.  sorry.

Claire82 - thanks for reminding us that "When we hit 5 years, we are better off than them". Makes me have smile on my face today.

Yeah! the study was pretty awesome, as I am currently in the process of making my decision.  I mean my case is a little different because I have high risk on the right side, having atypia cells, etc.  Even then, I feel that I would rather be on close watch and high risk, then have a mastectomy, not sure why.  I guess I am just too attached to my girls, which really shouldn't be the case.  One should make the right decision based on all their findings.

MBJ - I love all your posts, thanks.  I am doing much better today, 6th day after taxol, taking a cough suppresant and seeing a nurse this afternoon, I guess so that she can just check my chest.  I have been coughing, although I now feel that it is probably coming from a slight infection due to phlem. The Oncall doc recommended a chest xray, but I really hate to have that, any radiation scares me as I have those atypical cells in my R. Breast, which will always worry me from now on, hoping they won't turn into cancer.

Anyone going back to work with a wig on?  I don't think I can stand that thing for 8 long hours, it drives me crazy even after a few hours.  I may be finishing rads by mid Feb and I am certain my hair will not grow an inch by then.  I am completely bald right now, however, I had heard somewhere that hair starts to grow  a little bit, by the time of your second last treatment.  I have one more treatment to go, but was hoping my hair would at least sprout some by now.  But no way, my head seems to be shining even more.  Does anyone have any great hopeful hair growth experiences?

SUMMARYOncologySTAT Editorial TeamEvidence from the last 30 years indicates that women with breast cancer who are obese have a poor prognosis compared with their leaner counterparts. In this study by Ewertz et all, Danish investigators examined the effect of increased body mass index (BMI) on the risk of recurrence and death from breast cancer or other causes. The investigators retrospectively analyzed data from the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group (DBCG) database, which includes information from nationwide clinical trials of adjuvant treatment of early-stage breast cancer from 1977 onward. Follow-up data for death were obtained via linkage to the Danish Civil Registration System. Cause of death obtained from death certificates was related to breast cancer or other causes.The analysis included 53,816 women treated between 1977 and 2006. Systemic treatment regimens until 1999 consisted of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil. From 1999 to 2006, treatment consisted of cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil. Docetaxel and trastuzumab were received by 32 and 294 patients, respectively. Tamoxifen was given for a duration of 1 to 5 years. Aromatase inhibitors were used in approximately 3000 patients. Patients were followed for a 10-year period or until recurrence, second malignancy, or death.Patients were categorized into four categories based on BMI: < 25 kg/m², 25 to 29 kg/m², ≥ 30 kg/m², and unknown. Women with unknown BMI (n = 34,849) tended to be older and postmenopausal, and to have tumors with more favorable pathologic factors. Compared with women who had known BMI (n = 18,967), their tumors were more likely to be estrogen-receptor (ER) positive and adjuvant therapy was less likely to be given. ER status did not differ significantly among women with known BMI (P = .40).Women with BMI > 30 (n = 2338) were significantly older (P < .001) and more likely to be postmenopausal (P < .001), as well as having larger tumors (P < .001), ductal grade 3 tumors (P = .04), and a higher number of positive lymph nodes (P < .001) than women with BMI < 25 (n = 11,490), but had less invasion of deep fascia (P < .001).After a median follow-up of 7.1 years, 4180 locoregional recurrences and 7278 distant metastases were reported, including 1544 and 3277, respectively, in women with known BMI. No significant difference in incidence of locoregional recurrence was observed among the groups with known BMI at 10 years (cumulative incidence, 10%, with overlapping 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2%–11.2%). However, significant differences in the incidence of distant metastases became evident after 3 years. At 10 years, the cumulative incidence of distant metastases for the BMI < 25 kg/m², BMI 25 to 29 kg/m², and BMI > 30 kg/m² groups were 20.1% (95% CI, 19.2%–20. 9%), 22.4% (95% CI, 21.1%–23.8%), and 24.3% (95% CI, 22.1% –26.5%), respectively. In an analysis adjusting for prognostic factors, BMI > 25 kg/m² was significantly associated with increased risk of developing distant metastases (from 42%–46%) beginning at 5 to 10 years of follow-up.After a median of 11.4 years, 15,197 patients had died from breast cancer. Among patients with known BMI, a trend for increased risk of death with increasing BMI was observed. The cumulative of dying from breast cancer at 30 years for the BMI < 25 kg/m², BMI 25 to 29 kg/m², and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² groups were 46.4%, 53.4%, and 57.2%, respectively. The same was true for the risk of dying from a non–breast cancer related cause (cumulative risk: 28.2%, 29.6%, and 34.0%, respectively).In multivariate analysis, the risk of dying from breast cancer increased after 10 years with increasing BMI. Compared with the < 25 kg/m² group, the hazard ratios (HRs) for the BMI 25 to 29 kg/m² and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² groups were 1.26 and 1.38, respectively. The risk of dying from non–breast cancer related cause at 10 years was also increased in the BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² group when compared with women with lower BMI (HR, 1.31).During the first 10 years of follow-up, the efficacy of adjuvant therapy was similar among all groups with known BMI. However, after 10 years both chemotherapy and endocrine therapy appeared to be less effective in the BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² group (HR, 1.33).The results of this large retrospective study support those of previous trials, confirming that women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer who have a BMI exceeding 25 kg/m² are more likely to present with poor-prognosis disease and are at higher risk for distant metastases and death than are leaner women. In addition, adjuvant therapy appears to lose efficacy in these women after 10 years.

Yikes, I'm doomed

Kelben -

That is much too long to wait to be seen.  Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I assure you - I  would be looking for a new oncologist immediately. 

Hey--- I only post the stuff when it arrives in my mailbox! Blame Oncology Journal for the lousy timing.

Thanks guys, thats what I thought.   I phoned the cancer clinic in Sudbury and the onc. nurse agreed with onc that once a year, with regular visits to GP is all that is ordered for me.  She said they don't go looking for spots, but if I find one that doesn't go away, go to my doctor, have it checked out and then she (GP) will decide what to do.  Results if they are positive for a cancer then they wait until it is bothering me and only then would they do chemo again, or surgery or whatever is needed.    Geez, no wonder I'm fat.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19851862

Here is another link, about metabolic syndrome and TN.  I believe you can be thin and still have metabolic syndrome.