Chemo June 2010

kitty-  So very sorry about your friend.  I am so proud of you speaking for Komen.  What an inspiration you are!

cheyenna-  Well, girl, you sure do it big when you do it!  I used to train people for public speaking.  What advice can I give??  Write your speech/notes on cards, even if you think you have memorized it.  When you get up in front of that many people, your mind can go blank. Keep it genuine and real to connect with the audience.  Even if you screw up, keep going.  Most audiences really don't listen that closely, they will probably miss it.  If all else fails, make believe the heads are cabbages.  I'm kidding!  That is what one of my professors told me to help with stage fright!  You are going to be terrific.  Try to enjoy it.

I had a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound today.  I have had sort of a constant left ovulation pain for a while and thought I better get it checked.  Of course "Irina" couldn't tell me anything about the US results after having her way with me!  No doctor to talk to either.  She said they would send the report to my doctor in 3 days.  More waiting!

Chey - you have 7 inches of hair???  I'm so jealous!   I have maybe 2 inches of hair!  Anyway, you will do great.  Tell them your story on how you got dx and what kind of treatment you had.  Focus on early detection and how the earlier cancer is found, the easier it is to treat/beat.  I am really excited for you and will be thinking of you.  You're going to do great!!! I haven't come up with a plan yet on my speech for Saturday, but will be narrowing down what I'll say. 

JFV -  I have an ovarian cyst that is now 5 cm wide.  It's a simple cyst, but needs to be removed.  Because I'm BRCA1+, my gyn recommended I have an oopherectomy.  I have a gyn onco and my obgyn doing the surgery laporoscopically. 

Kittycat and Chey, LOL, that's what I picked up on too 'you have 7 INCHES of hair!!'  Anyway Chey, I think you will be great, you come across very well on here, so just be yourself!

Julia 

Thanks ladies for sharing about your oomph.  Since we have all had such similar treatments until now I was curious about why docs were suggesting the oomph.  How many are on Tamox ?  I've been on it since Oct.  At my last visit onc said I will switch over to something like Armidex once we are sure about whether or not I am in menopause.  So far the Tamox is no big deal.

Chey-  You're gonna rock your speech !   Remeber darling you've survived chemo.  You can survive anything !

Sherry--my youngest dd is at school in KC.  school was cancelled today, and she jsut got an e-mail that it will be cancelled tomorrow too.  They told the students to be careful if they have to go out for anything!  She HATES driving in the winter, so she is very happy to stay home!

I do think you should call your onc soon.  There might be something he/she can do for you.  Can you take Aleve or ibuprofen?

I'm hoping my hair will start to grow a little faster.  I'm very close to going "topless".  If it were summer I probably would, but my head gets too chilly--even in the house!

Good evening, Ladies!  I've been reading and not posting but keeping track of you all.  Sherry, I'm sorry to hear that your joint issues are making life difficult. I hope you get some relief soon. Please let me know what is prescribed.  I have a really arthritic hip and it has given me fits since the chemo. 

And Kitty, my sincere condolences on the loss of your friend. It is so tough to lose friends at any age, but so young just doesn't seem fair. I know that I'm still reeling from the death of my college friend back in November. It doesn't seem real.

And Chey...YOU GO GIRL!  We all have faith in you and you have faith in you...after what you've been through, seems like this talk will be a piece of cake!  Remember the motto...you don't have to be brave. You just have to show up!

I am leaving the warmth of sunny Florida to head to Atlanta tomorrow to meet with one of the insurance admin people and see if we can't get something in place for me before the 16th rolls around and I'd due for another Herceptin treatment. The insurance saga continues. Anxiety level is high.

I'm jealous of 7 inches of hair. I may never have that much hair again!  Actually thinking of keeping it short and pixie cut...and grey. It's easier...no muss, no fuss. But I do look much older. Maybe it's about time. I am probably the senior member of this group anyway. So I may as well look the part of dowager Queen. Maybe someday I'll get brave and post a new picture.

Hugs to all. Stay warm and toasty and don't go out in that snow unless it's an emergency. You deserve a break...we all do!  XXOO

Bon~Thinking of you and hoping everything goes well with the insurance people!

I'm supposed to get my port out on Tuesday but not sure that will happen.  We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow and again on Tuesday.  I guess I will call Monday to see if it's still on.  Will be bummed if it's not.  I've looked forward to that day for a long time!

thanks jackie for the ooph info!

Hello girls, My speech went great! I wore a teal gown and pinned my hair up in the back to make it look like i had more then i did,The room was so beautiful and the center pieces on the tables were done by the host of each table. I have never attended an event like that before, i felt like i was at the academy awards. The women all looked beautiful in their gowns, of coarse all i noticed were all the boobs, lol i was scared to death, but it all went good. I saw a special lady their who had reached out to me on this site, that was really neat!! i talked of you all and focused on our feelings going through chemo,tests,and everything else that comes with this monster,

kitty, i have had no pain or anything since chemo but i do notice my brain forgets names and things like that. i dont think my head is the same as it was before, lol how did your speech go?

mimi9186 what a great idea!! 5 days, i need to do that cause i freak over everything. I do not trust mamos either, i had 4 and it never saw my tumor. i found it as well.. my BS even looked back at all of them and saw nothing. wow!

gin2ca i to have LBC, and i learned that as well, its not picked up till about 3 cm or larger, i said to my BS "i never knew that" she said " you have to read the fine print" omgosh!!!

bon i pray that things work out with insurance, it sucks, i was told no insurance will even look at me again for at least 10 years, its very sad, im on my husbands. i told him we can never divorce cause i need his insurance, lol and i did remember our motto, thank you, hehe i say it all our new girls i have met, what a wonderful way to welcome someone to this horrible road!!

toni.thank you, i did go topless hehee

tmarina, i was so scared the first time i went to work without my wig, i kept looking in the mirror, ive been taking hair and nail vits and my hair is growing so fast, my head would get so hot in that wig, i hated it.. i got a long gown, teal color and form fitting, hehee

dmomi took all your advice, i had 3 note cards with notes for my 3 main topics, i did screw up a few times but had people tell me i did great, it was very raw and real the said..have u got results? i cant stand the waiting, its so hard..

latte and julia thank you

grneyd thank you for all the info, im making an appt with my gyn to discuss all my options, im so scared of cancer again i think i want it all out..i do know i want my ovaries gone, they scare me now.

as for me im doing good, i did find a lump below my collar bone on my mastectomy side, its big but somewhat soft, im worried, ill make my appt today,its my 3 month check up anyways, i had a friends husband feel it, he is a dr, he said he feels it but its not alarming,he said, he also said a lot was done on this side. i hope he was honest.at the fundraiser he asked had i seen my dr yet and i said i was gonna this week, im freaking about it...

love to all

big hugs

Chey

my head would get so hot in that wig

sherry, im so glad to here you are done. what a long bumpy road we have traveled together.

janny99 i dont think anyone can just get over it! how wrong are those people!!! i have had friends tell me "your all done, whats the problem"  the problem is we will never be that same girl we were before in a lot of ways, ive learned that i need to learn to accept that but it so very hard. people just dont get it!! you dont need that in your life now. you stay positive and just look them in the eye and walk away!

Hello my friends...I hope this finds you all feeling better every day and looking toward a bright future. Last year wasn't our year...or maybe it was. We each learned a lot about ourselves over the course of the treatments and we've come out the other side...different, to be sure. But better in many ways. I will never again take good health or good fortune for granted or think of it as an entitlement. I feel blessed to still be here, little bit of grey fuzz and all, and to have met each of you along this bumpy path.

Chey,you are the poster child for "I think I can, I think I can, I know I can!" I know that everyone here is just thrilled that you were able to make the speech and stand proud as having survived the ordeal. How great. I will also pray that your newest lump is nothing to worry about. It's just much scarier now every time you find a lump or bump anywhere. I know it's not the same, but remember back in October when I got stung by the wasp on my arm on my cancer side? Well that sucker of a lump is smaller but it won't go away. What in heck is that about? Will I never heal normally again?

Tina...I don't know if one is supposed to say congratulations on your cancerversary but I happy that's behind you. You have been through so much and you have such a wonderful and gentle attitude.  

And thanks, Jackie, for the info on the ooph. I really need to have that done but still have no satisfactory answer regarding my insurance so things keep getting pushed back farther and farther.

And gals, please do not settle for just mammograms and don't let anyone you know settle for mammograms if they have cystic or dense breasts. Since so many cancers don't show on mammos, we need to demand ultrasounds and even MRI's if there is a question on the ultrasound. My vulnerability is showing...walking through this dx part with my friend who is supposed to have surgery in the next week has given me even more reason to be concerned about the accuracy of mammos. She is faced with a double mastectomy when the mammogram still doesn't show anything is wrong.

And finally, a bit of fluff...you know that last week I went to Atlanta to meet with insurance people and have a bit of R&R. The security check and travel stuff wasn't bad but the weather there was just awful...high winds and biting rain in 27 degrees. Anyway, on Saturday going to the airport for me to head back to Florida we got passed on I-75 by the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile. It's a hoot to have a hot dog in a bun pass you at 65 MPH. And then while waiting for my flight, I saw Elvis in Concourse C. And I was able to snap a photo of him with the Traveling Gnome. Something lighthearted for a change of pace.

Wishing you all sunshine and good days ahead.  XXOO Bon

cheyenna- I am SO proud of you.  I am sure you were fabulous.  Now you know I love everyone on this thread, but I think you should get a special award for the girl who has come the furthest attitude-wise.  A few short months ago you were ready to bail and not do anything and look at you now!  You are giving speeches and inspiring people.  You rock!  And I bet you rocked that gown, boobs or no boobs!  We want photos!

Tina-  I am praying for countless more cancerversarries to come.  You are such an inspiration.

Bon-  Oh you make me laugh everytime.  Who would believe being outraced by an Oscar Meyer wieny mobile!!  I do believe God gives us a good laugh just when we need it.  I have a feeling he was hanging out in Georgia last week!

Hello my friends,  I have been reading and catcching up on everyone.  Chey we are so proud of you and I pray your new lump is just one of the weird little fatty things that I have been getting since surgery.  I am jealous of the 7" of hair.   I am taking hair and nail vitamins too but my hair is only about 2" long.   It is very curly so far but I know some others that the curl was cut out after haircuts began again.  Don't know when I will need one of those but I guess we will see.

I went to see the onc last week and he cut my Vit D back to 1000u a day because my level has finally risen to around 60 from my 16 post chemo.  I am taking Femara for hormone blocker and it is causing more stiffness and joint and muscle pains.   I am trying to tolerate it as best I can. I sure hope it does not destroy my bones.

So happy to see so many still posting on our thread.  I hope we will remain friends and confidants for many years.   All of you have helped me so much in the past year to keep my sanity and take my mind off of just me.   Thanks so much.

Bon,  I so hope that you can get some help or get insurance to do their part for your treatments and follow ups.  

Did any of you hear the latest on the Breast Cancer Trial or Study about not checking nodes in early stage breast cancer.  I think the medical profession has lost its marbles.  It makes no sense the things that they are now touting.  Do not check your own breast, do not get yearly imaging, do not check nodes in people with known BC.   What is next?  Sometimes I think they want us all to have more problems so they will have plenty of work and income from our suffering!!!!!   I am really worried and disappointed in the things that are happening.  Let me know if any of you know more than I do about this---please!!!

Sherry,  How old is your daughter?   If she is younger than 25 a mammogram would not be the best imaging for her.   Even past 25 if she has very dense breasts the mammogram may not be very helpful.  If she really wants to have a mammogram her Dr. could order a Diagnostic Mammogram for a good reason such as thickening of breast tissue or palpable lump or whatever to give them a diagnosis and the insurance would probably pay then.  They do not like to pay for a screening on young women.   Hope this helps.  One day I think they will have better imaging for those of us with dense breast and young breast tissue but so far mammo is the best we have other than MRI and insurance really won't pay for that without at least a benign biopsy.

my sister is going in for her mamo and i told her to ask her dr about a ultra sound or something different cause LBC is not picked up on mamos, i dont think it will help but its worth a try..How else can we help our sisters and children,its crazy!!! MRI? why cant we get those? i thought those are good for this kinda stuff? my Ins pays more for me now then if we woulda been allowed to have mri's or ultra sounds cause maybe we coulda caught before it got this far, i dont know, its just so unfair!!!

we need to teach our children and sisters to self exam every month!