So...whats for dinner?

Speaking of ports, mine is coming out on 11/2.  Another milestone!  And I thought it would be outpatient surgery, but no...she does it in her office with just novocaine.  So it will be an interesting procedure!

Kay - my LE therapist trained me to do the LE massage, and the touch was extremely light.  She made a point of saying that a light touch was the right touch.  I'm flying to Florida on Monday and I'll be wearing my sleeve for the first time.

I'll be seeing the RO at Dana Farber tomorrow morning at 9:30.  We are leaving at 7:30 so it will be an early wake-up call.  DH wanted to leave at 7, and I said that if two hours was not enough to go less than 30 miles, we would just have to be a little late.

Speaking of which, it's time to go to bed!   Good night, sweet ladies!

Laurie - the Taste of Concord sounds like fun, glad you got to enjoy it after volunteering!  It's only fair...

Debbie - that FSA event should be lots of fun, an opportunity to overeat, I assume!!!

I'm up early this morning, and I guess I didn't sneak out of the bedroom quietly enough as DH is up and showered already.  The alarm was set for 6:15 but I woke up at 5:15 and couldn't go back to sleep.  So I came down and made coffee and turned on the tv as I usually do.  I was surprised to hear him - he usually stays in bed until the very last minute unless there's a golf tee time involved...lol!

Have a great day, everyone!

Kay sorry about the lymphedema, just one more sucky SE to remind us of this disease.  i really had a fit with my BS not wanting the lymph nodes taken out to prevent the edema,but he insisted and won. I am fortunate though to not have any problems..yet.  I have not flown though.

Michelle...yeah on the port coming out, I have one more herceptin then mine is coming out as well, cant wait as it pinches me when I sleep.

Laurie I love those tasting things too, they have them around here freequently with the wineries, and we also have a culinary institute a town close to us.  You can also go to the institute for an evening of cooking class, so much fun to do with other couples.

tomorrow we are attending an Octoberfest with german foods and different beers.  gonna be a cold and rainy day though..yuck.

Just got back from the Radiation Oncologist.  He recommends I have my tissue expanders removed before radiation so that he can use electron beam technology and not damage my heart.  My TE sits right on top of my heart, it is in the way.  Looks like I'll be doing rads at Dana Farber because this guy is one  of the best in the country, he had exactly the same concerns I had, and all he does is treat breast cancer.  It will be a 3 to 4 hour round trip each day, once I get started, in the dead of winter.  This is going to be just so much fun...not.  The ONLY bright side of all this is that I hate the TEs and they will be gone.  I won't have to put up with them for another six to eight months. 

And oh, he doesn't think I had a recurrence.  He thinks it was cancer that was left behind the first time around.  It makes me feel better that it wasn't my body that failed me.  Now I have to figure out what I do with that information. 

I need a drink!

Wally- Glad you liked it, sometimes i do eat healthy LOL!

that is a long time in the car in the winter in New Hampshire luvrving - be safe.

The million-dollar motor home was probably a Prevost.  I've been in a few of them at big rv shows.  Friends of ours in FL have an Allegro Bus that was $350,000.  It's very nice but we're just as comfortable in our 38 ft. 5th wheel with 3 slides that cost considerably less. 

We had pasta with tomato sauce tonight.  I made a big Dutch oven of the sauce with Italian sausage.  I'll freeze a couple of quart bags.

This is an "additional" surgery to remove the expanders only.  No implants - he wants my skin flat against my chest wall.  I could just have the left one removed, but I decided that if one is going, they both can go.  So I will be flat-chested until I can have the DIEP surgery some time next summer.  I guess I'll be shopping for a mastectomy bra and foobs.  My insurance will cover it.  I have a tentative surgery date of 10/26, which will be 2 days after we get back from Florida. 

As for the drive, yes it will be a pain.  We have friends who live in Milton, which is just south of Boston.  They have already offered us a place to stay and we will take advantage of the offer if the weather is threatening.  It's about 20 minutes or so from their house to Dana Farber and there are better pubic transportation options near them. 

Debbie - yes, I've looked at the pathology reports from the initial lumpectomy and there were clear margins.  This "occurrence" showed up in the area of the initial biopsy scar on the opposite side of the initial lump, where I had two very large hematomas.  My breast surgeon and I had already discussed the possibility that cancer cells were trapped in the hematomas and were released as those started to dissolve.  She didn't do the biopsy, it was done at a local imaging center by a radiologist who probably shouldn't have used the Mammotome Biopsy System.  I need to do some checking.  The radiologist at the breast center who later performed a needle biopsy on one of my nodes said that they shouldn't have used that method on my particular lump. 

It does make me feel better to think that this is the initial cancer (and it certainly had pretty much the same pathology) and not a true recurrence.  And it makes me angry that I should not have had to go through the last eight months of hell.  I really have to give this some thought. 

The Prevost motorhomes are magnificent - they are the ones favored by the rich and famous! It always amazes me that they can charge that much money for a metal box on wheels, considering what you could get in a home for the same price!

Ah, the casino. I sort of miss being 20 minutes away from them.  I need to get my girls to go play bingo one of these nights, I think we would have a blast.

Debbie - you are my party girl hero! Two drinks and I am under the table...I don't know if it's the metformin or just lack of practice.    I am just starting to be able to enjoy a glass of wine without pain. I will probably have a problem again when I start rads, so I'll be indulging a little bit until I get started.

I need to figure out what I am serving my family today. I've got them all stopping in between 11 and ??? to visit my niece and nephew who are visiting from Rochester, NY.  If I can get my butt in gear, I will head to the grocery store. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, I just need to figure it out. And I will get "prepared" stuff, no one will care.   I could throw a lasagna together, though.  That would make DH very, very happy.

i am totally flat on one side and totally comfortable.  my surgeon suggested that since i was late stage that implants would 'hide' any cancer lurking about.  I don't even wear prosthetics unless i am performing in public for something special.    i do have a comfy bra thing and an insert thingy that works well. I'd also look at picture of replaced boobs.. in my opinion they are a bit odd. luvrving..

me too.. the stories

i do wear a pink watch but wore it before i ever had cancer (as far as I knew).

cold fried chicken leftover from a church dinner from an excellent caterer.. yum

Michelle and Joyce- Have a great time in florida. the sunshine sounds so good about now/

Laurie- I know what you mean, i too get very emotional and cry during the ceramonies, i imagine its always going to hard to deal with but hopfully the pain will lesson. (((((((hugs)))))))))))

Kay, i always told myself taco;s were healthy, mainly because i love them so much LOL! but when you think about it, only the hamburger is maybe not so healthy because its red meat, well, and the fried shells and maybe the cheese, LOL!!!

So pooped, my dad and his wife were here friday too monday, our friends got here tuesday will stay until wednesday, my brother and SIL will be here tomorrow all i have done is eat and drink and on the go. Having fun though.