Thanks Jo for the link. It was great to read about the Texas girls from another perspective.

It scares me how gullible and naive some women can be!!! Why in HECK would someone take an antioxident when they're pouring poison into their system to kill something else?? Makes it all a waste of technology (and money!), doesn't it? I also read recently of women who used the cold caps getting mets to their scalp because that area didn't get the chemo! Why try to change what has taken years to prove? I don't profess to be a doctor, so I listen to their advice. Then I do research if necessary and make an educated decision. Simple really.

I'm 4 weeks + 1 day out from my lumpectomy and SNB. My range of motion is fine, but I have numbness in my armpit (try to shave with that feeling!) and a pulling sensation down the inside of my arm. My two incisions are both on the breast, about 1/2 inch apart, so nowhere near the armpit. Still have aching, tingling, little aches and pains, and the incisions and nipple are hypersensitive. So weird!

I take a bunch of supplements, including C, D, & E, but I also take antioxidants. Damned if you do/damned if you don't??

Meeting with genetics and MO tomorrow morning! A month out from surgery and I still don't have a treatment plan, but I'm glad they're being thorough. Keep running into people who tell me that I look great - well, yeah, I'm not doing anything to not feel great!

Happy Birthday to MEEEE! Lol...49 today. Whoo-hoo!  Went for a good run this morning, did some shopping, and heading out to dinner tonight. A good day! 

joanna  

Happy Birthday madpeacock! What a great birthday present to yourself, a good run! I ran today as well, first really "free" feeling run in what feels like ages... I guess I'm finally getting past the anger and disappointment of realizing I'm going to need another surgery. Life is good at this moment, and so I'll take it!

Oh, and I had that pulling sensation in my arm for quite a while after my MX, even with PT twice a week for almost 5 months now.

happy birthday, hope you got cake!

Happy Birthday Joanna!!!

Sounds like a great day so far!! Hope you got pampered!!! 

did we get an answer to the mystery pic yet?  not feeling great tonight so off to the couch ... just ate too much I think

Happy Birthday to you, Madpeacock!

Wow, miss a day, miss a lot! You gals have been busy. I'm gonna try to catch up.

Claire, my goodness, the treats you post look fabulous. BTW, I love how you tried to pass the sweets as "fruit". Love it!

Happy birthday, and congrats to Madpeacock

The last few days have been my best since mx on 9-7. My DD had her sr. night for band Fri. At one point, didn't think we'd be celebrating that. Ever. The weather's been beautiful here all weekend, and I've tried to spend it outside, and not in my recliner. Still dealing w/numbness and tightness where snb was. Meeting w/PT tomorrow. Hoping that will help.

Wishing all my virtual sisters a wonderful week ahead.

we'll be with you joanna - all the way !!

I had to go back three pages to figure out what this mystery picture was that all of you were guessing about. I never saw it when it was posted! Guess I missed a bit with the holiday over the weekend. Nothing like a good 25-hour fast to mess with your internet habits!

madpeacock, hope you had a great birthday yesterday. Regarding running, I was back to running barely a week after my UMX. It was a slow and easy jog, and the TE really didn't mind it, surprisingly. By the end of the seven weeks before I had the exchange procedure to put in the implant, I was back to running 40 mpw. Then the second surgery took me down and I had to recover all over again. On September 4, seven and a half weeks post-op, I ran my first race: a half marathon, and believe it or not, I PR'd! Now I'm not fast, but I was thrilled with my time of 2:03:09. I've run a 10k, another HM and a 4-mile race since, and I feel good to go. I'm even back to doing the speed workouts at the track with my running club. Yeah, it really does make me feel like I'm in control of my body. It's who I am.

Sorry about the running soapbox there, I should save that for the running thread here (which I was so happy to find the other day!). Running is a way to stay positive amidst the crap that life throws at you. Oh, did I also mention I'm trained as a yoga teacher?

Have a wonderful day, ladies!

I WISH I could run!!! I tried so many times. I would love to feel the burn in a good way and not after a block! I never met the "wall" and broke through...sigh. It was so unusual that I even got tested in the hospital 30 odd years ago. I was on bikes and compression chambers with tubes taped to my mouth and all the docs did were knock on the machines saying, "It's impossible to be showing this!" I never did find out whether it was cardiac or pulmonary....sigh.

The stretches that got posted earlier also help keep the pectoralis muscle that gets damaged by radiation from tightening up and limiting shoulder movement.  I"m almost 5 years past rads and still have to do them almost every day to keep the motion in my shoulder and to keep it from shriveling up so much it hurts all the time. 

Victoria - As sherry said follow your heart and listen to your BS.  The factors that helped me choose to do a BMX was the expected size of the tumor, (measured over 3cm on scan, over 5cm on path), the location of the tumor, (mine was on top at the 11:00 position) and if you show signs of possible cancer in the non tumor side.  I am glad I choose BMX because the tumor ended up extending from the 11:00 position to the 1:00 position.  So Lumpectomy was not an option.

Concerning lymphadema, my Drs said absolute no blood pressue, blood work on that side and use caution when saving your under arm.  I have gone to a PT specialized in lymphadema due to some issues that started right after Rads.  It helped so much, I am a high risk for lymphadem so I take extra messures not mess with my right arm.  A trick one of the techs told me is of course drink lots of water to keep hydrated and at least two days before your blood is drawn, use a stress ball and exersise your arm at least two days prior to your test.

Sherry - keep praying for you and your dad, hope to see you soon cuz.