Trying not to freak out

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  • Dilly
    Dilly Member Posts: 655
    edited April 2011

    Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery Michelle. Suze, will be thinking of you tomorrow.

    {{hugs}}

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Thanks for the update.  I'm glad the surgery went ok. Please keep us informed.

    Suze, thinking about you today.

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  • LittleMelons
    LittleMelons Member Posts: 273
    edited April 2011

    LovinMyMom,  Thanks for letting us know.  So happy the surgery went well.  You are all on a roller coaster right now, but it is good that this was found and is being taken care of. Hope your mom is comfortable now and wishing her a speedy recovery. 

    Suze, good luck today.  Will be thinking of you. 

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Good Morning!  I am awake (well, sort of) and waiting for breakfast to arrive.  I'm doing OK - not too much pain, compliments of Percoset and Valium.  I had a fairly restul night and should be able to go home sometime after lunch.  I'm going to take stroll after breakfast.  I am still connected to those inflatable leg compressors which I am actually enjoying.  And I still have a saline IV and IV antibiotics.

    Suze - good luck today, we'll all be thinking of you.

     I guess I really earned my warrior stripes this week.

    Valium is taking over so I think I'll give in to it,although breakfast should arrive any minute.

    Michelle

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  • SeasideMemories
    SeasideMemories Member Posts: 3,194
    edited April 2011

    Michelle,

    You definitely earned your stripes and THEN SOME, this week! 

    Didn't expect to hear from you so soon but, glad you were able to post to let us know that you're OK!  As I'm sure you know, take all the help you can get from the pain management medications!  It's far easier to maintain a comfort level than it is to try to reign it in if it gets out of control!

    That was a pretty big surgery you had!  I am surprised at how fast you are going home but, I am sure you'll be much more comfortable in your own home!

    Still thinking of you as you heal!

    Jennifer

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  • SeasideMemories
    SeasideMemories Member Posts: 3,194
    edited April 2011

    Suze35,

    Still thinking of you a sending up a prayer that your surgery is going well!!

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, Nice to hear from you today. Keep taking those meds as you need them. When you do go home let the family give you all the love and support they want to give you and you so rightly deserve.

    karen

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Suze, Thnking about you, hope things go well today.

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Thanks again, everyone.  I have a prescription for valium and my PS said to take one at night for a few days.  As for the rest of the pain, it's not too bad.  I have been taking just 1 Percoset and now I think I'll be able to manage with arthritis-strength tylenol.

    I saw both surgeons around lunch time.  By then I was dressed and ready to leave.  I think we left around 1:30, it took us about 40 minute to get home.  I promptly placed myself in my recliner and took a nap.Smile

    The BS took two levels of nodes and a little chest muscle.  Unfortunately she couldn't get the intra-mammary node so I guess that will be the one to watch for chemo effectiveness,

    My tissue expanders got a 150cc fill. 

    I go back to the PS a week from Thursday.

    Michelle

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  • LRM216
    LRM216 Member Posts: 2,115
    edited April 2011

    Michelle and Lovinmymom:

    I am so glad your daughter is there to help you through all this - daughters are so very, very special.  I am so glad your surgery is now behind you, and I want to wish you a smooth and totally uneventful recovery.  Get much rest and please take good care of yourself.

    Linda

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  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited April 2011

    LuvRVing - you sound like you are doing well, I'm glad it has been a good experience. Let your family pamper you! Am so glad your pain is minimal :). I think your Warrior Stripes are now permanent!



    I was in at 9:00 and home by 5:00. My doctor took 2 nodes, one far in the other closer to my collar bone. She thinks still level 2, but close. She had to cut a neve, which will cause some discomfort as it heals, but I'm managing the pain with a little Vicodin and Tylenol.



    My MO still insists I'm Stage IIIa, (maybe IIIb, grey are) and that sounds so much better than IIIc, so I'm keeping it :).

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  • hope2
    hope2 Member Posts: 73
    edited April 2011

    Michelle,

    i just wanted to wish you well, and hope that you are doing as good as can be expected.Smile

    hugs going your way. 

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  • BarbaraA
    BarbaraA Member Posts: 7,378
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, sending gentle hugs your way. You are in my prayers.

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Hi everyone.  I had a pretty restful night in my recliner and have had my breakfast.  I'm soon going to take a shower, which will be my first 'full' view of the reconstruction.   Later my daughter is taking me for a little walk.  The weather is beautiful.  I think I will challenge hubby to get some sort of steps so I can sleep in my bed tonight.  It's very high and I cannot heave myself up and onto the mattress...lol.

    Suze - sounds like you are doing OK, hoping you heal quickly.

    Thanks so much for your care, prayers and support. 

    Michelle

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  • china
    china Member Posts: 1,567
    edited April 2011

    Michelle and Suze, I am glad both of your surgeries went well for you and that you both are recovering nicely at home. Rest and enjoy being pampered and well taken care of, you both deserve it. My prayers are with you that each day makes you stronger. Hugs Dawn

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  • SeasideMemories
    SeasideMemories Member Posts: 3,194
    edited April 2011

    LuvRVing and Suze35,

    Thinking of you and hope that tonight finds you feeling comfortable and healing well!

    Hugs to you both!

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, I'm glad to see you are doing well so far. You really are a fighter. Keep it up.

    Suzie, Thoughts are with you as well.

    Sleep well tonight ladies.

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Just got a call from the breast surgeon with the early pathology report.  4.7 cm lesion with 4 of 21 positive nodes, not counting the intra-mammary node that is likely also involved.  Stage III.  Lots of tears around here right now.  We are going to come up with a plan to get us back to the Boston area ASAP.  All our family is there and we need them more than ever. 

    Trying really hard to hold it together.  Not doing such a great job right this minute. 

    Michelle

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  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited April 2011

    LuvRVing - I am so sorry that you have to go through this again. I know exactly how you are feeling at Stage III. In some ways, I had it "easy" as my bad news came out slowly. I had time to absorb each blow. But you probably feel like you've been hit on the head with a brick...it isn't fair. Now is the time to circle the wagons and prepare to fight again. What part of Boston are you considering? I had my surgeries at Mass General, and might be doing a clinical trial at Dana Farber...Right now my MO is in Nashua, NH, and is wonderful.



    I tell myself every day this is a fight I can win - and so can you! Statistics are old, and my MO has shared several good stories of Stage III women who are 3+ years out. Please take care of yourself and enjoy your family. If you do get back to Boston, please feel free to PM me.



    My thoughts are with you.

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, It is so hard to believe in such a short time you went to a stage lll. I hope you can get to the Boston area fast since that is where you want to be. I will be praying that you will have a plan to fight this beast in place soon. ((((Gentle hugs tonight.))))

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Nashua is my home town and I will probably end up somewhere around there.  Yes, Dana Farber and Mass General are on my radar.  I have a friend who's very familiar with the Boston medical scene - she's a professor of community health nursing at Northeastern.  And she has offered us a place to stay, we've been friends for 40 years.  I also have my 81 year old mom with Alzheimers that we will have to move. 

    Trying to regain my composure.

    Michelle

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  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited April 2011

    Michelle,



    I lived in Nashua for several years, we really liked it. I go to Foundation Oncology and have been very happy with my treatment. I'm glad to hear you have a place to stay, I hope it all goes smoothly for you. Such a difficult time right now for you and your family.



    I will be keeping you in my thoughts tonight. Treat yourself gently, or scream all you want. You'll find your composure when you need it.



    Hugs.

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  • brendaclee3
    brendaclee3 Member Posts: 119
    edited April 2011

    Hi Michelle, I'm so sorry that you are going through this.  A friend of mine had breast cancer which came back in her spine and then moved to her brain.  Medicine is a miracle.  Her illness was six years ago and now she's out jogging everyday, showing her show dogs all over America and has a full head of beautiful hair again. All that cancer is gone.  I had infiltrating breast cancer 12 years ago and had a lumpectomy.  After a week, I decided to go back and have a mastectomy.  This May 25th, I'm scheduled for the DIEP and they are going to do a mastectomy on my left breast just for safety's sake.  I'll never have to have a mammogram again.  I highly recommend the Natural Breast Reconstruction Center in Charleston, S.C. if you go for the DIEP.  Blessings to you. ~Brenda

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  • BarbaraA
    BarbaraA Member Posts: 7,378
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, I am holding your hand and in my prayers.

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Thanks, Barbara.  I appreciate everyone's prayers and thoughts, and especially those from all of my cyber-sisters here.

    This is tough for a woman whose mantra has been "I come from a long line of short, stocky French women who live forever."  I'm not really wanting to buck that trend, so I need to get my sh$t together here pretty soon.

    Michelle

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  • SeasideMemories
    SeasideMemories Member Posts: 3,194
    edited April 2011

    Oh Michelle,

    I wish I could be there to give you a hug and lend a shoulder to cry on!

    I'm sure this latest news is going to take some time to process. I know it's hard but, take some time to feel the emotions you are feeling. Scream! Cry!  Do whatever you need to do to get them out! 

    I was very bad about that in the beginning feeling the need to have my brave face on but, believe me, it comes out sooner or later.  Mine happened to be during radiation.  Wish I had dealt with it sooner because, for me anyway, once I no longer had to fight to keep those emotions in, I could focus all of my energy on what I needed to do.

    Good that you have someone in MA that can help you figure the medical community there.  

    Thinking about you and praying for strength for you and your family. 

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  • kira1234
    kira1234 Member Posts: 3,091
    edited April 2011

    Michelle, I'm keeping you in my prayers. ((((Gentle hugs coming your way,)))))

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  • Snobird
    Snobird Member Posts: 593
    edited April 2011

    Michelle- my prayers are with you right now. I know you are going to make it because you have the power within you for the fight that is to come. Boston is a great place for treatment I'm sure you will be put in good hands.

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  • SeasideMemories
    SeasideMemories Member Posts: 3,194
    edited April 2011

    Michelle,

    Thinking of you tonight and sending you a hug!

    Hang in there, my friend!

    Jennifer

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  • LuvRVing
    LuvRVing Member Posts: 4,516
    edited April 2011

    Thanks everyone.  Luckily, the physical pain is pretty manageable with the valium at night and the tylenol and meloxicam for the rest of the time.  And we bought a little step stool and a "boomerang"shaped pillow, so I am sleeping in my own bed tonight.  That's a big positive right there. 

    We've done our share of crying over the past 24 hours, as you can imagine.  I'm sure there will be more, and we've had a couple of "intra-family" things to deal with.  But I think those are finally under control and I won't have to worry so much about this "stuff." 

    We're starting to formulate the plan to get me back east as soon as possible.  As always, having a plan makes things easier. 

    I am hanging in there, thanks to all of you.

    Michelle

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