Here's what cheezed me off today

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2012

    Hey, fellow cheezers! It's great to be back after almost a month-long diverticulitis attack. I've missed everyone and hope you're all doing well and had a great Valentine's day.

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  • o2bhealthy
    o2bhealthy Member Posts: 2,101
    edited February 2012

    Yesterday I went to see my onc for my quarterly appointment here is what I was told:

    Regarding complaining about the $3,000 echo I had for f/u on chemo that ended 2 yrs ago...'well, had you met your deductible yet?'   WTH does that have to do with an over priced, routine exam that HER office scheduled at a new facility after my old cardiac center closed, who by the way only charged $300 for the same damn exam!!! I ASKED SPECIFICLY how much it would cost at the new place and was told $800 -1,000...imagine my surprise when the scheduler said, 'I had no idea it would be that much!'...he didn't even ask the facility, he had 'guessed'!

    Regarding the imaging place cancelling my MRI (due to 'slight' reaction to contrast in the past) that SHE ordered at my visit last September...'well you really don't need MRI's or mammo's anymore, you have less then 10% breast tissue remaining anyway...'

    To which I responded - 'So since I had no symptoms with my first TWO cancers, I guess I'll have to be close to deaths doors before I get any scans?'  and she responded...'if the cancer spreads it does not matter how quickly it is found, your life expectancy is the same...Finding it early just means you will start treatment sooner...'

    The only good part of the whole appointment is I that I am now on a 6 month rotation instead of quarterly! 

    If I wasn't working two jobs to try to pay the damn medical bills and feed my family, I would be shopping for a new oncololgist.  Unfortunately the closest place to start looking for a new oncologist is over 100 miles away...

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  • hotandcold
    hotandcold Member Posts: 205
    edited February 2012

    O2bhealthy: What a bunch of crock your onc is giving you.  My breast  cancer spread 1st to my lymph system and the Onc told me it was much easier to treat in the lymph system, I feel like I got an extra year because we found it when it had only spread to my lymph system. I responded to the chemo and was actually NED for 3 months. Now its spread to my liver and 2 different oncs have told me it will be harder to treat. What if I had waited for the scans and it had spread to my liver because I waited 6 months for the scans. Your Onc is feeding you a line.  Sorry you live so far away from any others.Best wishes to you. 

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  • o2bhealthy
    o2bhealthy Member Posts: 2,101
    edited February 2012

    Thank you Hotandcold, it is nice to be validated!   I was just so shocked that she had so little regard for me as a person, my concerns and my peace of mind!  Had I been able to get past the shock of her remarks I could have come back with many stories like yours proving that finding met's early can make a difference in not only life expectancy but also QOL...I really question what the heck she is doing in this occupation if she actually believes what she said...   

    I am definitely shopping for a new onc before my next f/u...the nice thing is I have all my records from this office already and only need to get this last visits notes and labs, then I can wash my hand of this oncologist...

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2012

    Do you have people come up to you and say they didn't know you had BC when you know damn well they were told? This has been happening to me a lot lately. Have I always looked like crap? WTF?

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    I have my first mammogram this month since my dx. Anyone have any suggestions to make this less of a nightmare?

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  • Elizabeth1889
    Elizabeth1889 Member Posts: 1,036
    edited March 2012

    rohanna, I do not have any specific suggestions, but I can tell you my experience.  I had my first post BC mammogram in January, and I was very nervous both about possibly finding more BC and the pain.  The mammogram on my left breast, the one that had BC, was slightly more uncomfortable than the right breast, but it was not nearly as bad as I feared and the results were good.  Good luck to you for a pain free experience and happy results.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    Thank you, Elizabeth! I'm a born worrier, so I'll just be glad when it's over!

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  • fredntan
    fredntan Member Posts: 1,821
    edited March 2012

    As I'm now venturing out into the world of chemo and surgery, I'm sure this will get annoying. But it seems like the first thing people ask is these two questions. Did you smoke? Nope. Did you have family history? Nope. Did you get mamos every year? Hell yes.the one six months prior was "good"

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    Hey, fredntan! Buckle up! You're in for a lot of annoying questions. Just come here and vent, we've been there and some ladies have some pretty snappy comebacks!

    Sorry I've been MIA. Still struggling with a 3 month long diverticulitis attack. UGH!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    fredntan - I had a clear mammo 10 days before I found my lump.  Funny, huh?  I just say "Yes, and I don't trust them still."

    Phyllis

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  • 9911
    9911 Member Posts: 54
    edited March 2012

    rohanna ~ I hope you are feeling better everyday. Last summer ... on vacation with my family at my MIL's ... I purchased a lot of Bing cherries. Well, my MIL enjoyed them too much and was in the hospital for 4 days with diverticulitis a month later.

    Mammograms! ... I had 12 years of clean mammograms. The last post card informing me I had a clean mammo was 3 days before my Lumpectomy. They are really useless for dense breasts. You need a MRI.

    OK ... got to get this out of my head and let it go. It has been almost 5 months since DIEP & MS free tram. It's follow-up time with the PS. He said to me ... while holding the breast he made from my tummy ...  these aren't REAL breast.  YOU THINK!

    ~LA

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    9911, you should have tugged on his hair and said "Well, this toupe isn't real hair. So we're even."

    Thanks for the get well wishes but it looks like I might be headed for some IV antibiotics pretty soon. UGH!

    Hope everyone had a great Saint Patrick's Day. I guess I'm the exception to the typecast because I'm Irish and don't drink. Probably because I'm 5' tall and the one time I did overindulge, I wanted to fight everyone in the place. Tequila makes you 10' tall and bulletproof. So, I'd better stick to ginger ale. Innocent

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012
    Had my first mammogram since my surgery today and it WAS the painful nightmare I expected. But I'm not going to get cheezed off because my results were clear. Thank you, God! Hope everyone else gets good news too! Cool
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  • Elizabeth1889
    Elizabeth1889 Member Posts: 1,036
    edited March 2012

    rohanna, So sorry that the mammogram hurt, but hooray for the good results.

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  • kaza
    kaza Member Posts: 284
    edited March 2012

    Hi, sometimes we just have to say no!!!!!! and put ourselves first, as a mother we are so used to caring and putting everyone else first, you are a special person going through a tough journey, its not being selfish its just taking care of you,as you would take care of others. Focus on you and your way forward in the treatment you need to get well and heal. godbless 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    Thank you, Elizabeth. The woman who did my mammogram was mean, cold and rough and when she brought the sheet with my results, she just handed it to me and walked away. I was in the lobby when I finally worked up the courage to look at it and when I did, I walked over and high-fived the two ladies at the volunteer desk and yelled WOOHOO as I entered the parking lot. All IS well that ends well. Now for my ReBirthday on April 19th!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    OK, here's the thing. I read about 2 books a week since my dx 11 months ago and in almost every one of them, a female dies of breast cancer. REALLY? If somebody's mom/sister/grandmother/ aunt/neighbor passed away 2/5/10/20 years ago, it's bc. What happened to the old radio in the bathtub or choking on a chicken bone or the trusty faceplant down the old stairs? Really, this is all creative people can come up with? DAMN! Yeah, I know it's petty, but DAMN! Ok, glad I got that out.

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  • Iz_and_Lys_Mum
    Iz_and_Lys_Mum Member Posts: 126
    edited March 2012

    Rohanna, I totally agree! I deliberately read very light, fluffy, 'chick lit' type books for relaxation, and since my dx soooo many have characters with BC. There should be a warning... Especially since with all this newfound knowledge I'm reading it thinking, 'well THAT wouldnt have been the treatment path for that dx...'. Lol :-). Congrats on the clear mammo, great news xxx

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited March 2012

    Well, Rohanna, you'll have to stick with murder mysteries. They're my favorites. With all the ones I've read over the years, there was only one woman with BC, and she didn't die of the BC (she was the murder victim). Yep, radio in the bathtub or shove down the stairs does it.

    Leah

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2012

    Thanks, Iz! I was sweating that mammo! Soooo glad it's over for at least another year. One good thing that happened during it though was the tech told me that her great aunt had BC back in the early 60's and was treated with cobalt. She said back then the docs put the cobalt right on the affected area and left it on there for a while. Can you imagine? Anyway her great aunt lived another 30 years before succumbing to pneumonia. Put THAT in your books, authors! Get back to Miss Scarlett in the library with a lead pipe!:)

    Leah, I only read murder mysteries. Except right now I'm reading the Hunger Games series. Do you read Janet Evanovich? I LOVE her books! 

    Happy Friday, everyone!

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  • scuttlers
    scuttlers Member Posts: 1,658
    edited March 2012

    Enjoyed The Hunger Games, read all three books through in one sitting, couldn't put them down. My DD gave me a Kindle pre loaded with 19 pages of books! Should do for at least a few months!

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited March 2012

    Rohanna, the only problem with Janet Evanovich is that there aren't more of her books!

    Leah

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2012

    Leah, I so agree with you! Her family reminds me so much of mine! I was too sick to go see "One for the Money" but I'll probably rent the DVD. Did you see it?

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2012

    My ex called me last week after he read my Care Page.  He said he just wanted to check in and offer his car when I was in Houston for treatment (I now live in another state).  That was wonderful, right? 

    Then he asked me questions about my surgery and radiation treatments.  I mistakenly answered his questions told him I was researching rads treatments to see what might be best for me.  He had no idea that there might be more than one treatment and that you could do your own research.  Too much info for him.  He said "well, everything is going according to plan, right?!?" 

    I'm thinking "whose plan?  I didn't plan to have cancer, I didn't plan for you to be an ass, I didn't plan to spend a week out of every three feeling like crap from chemo, didn't plan for nosebleeds for 4 months, for losing my toenails, for losing my hair or for losing my eyebrows."  I just said, "Um..okay.  Yes - the PLAN.  Thanks for calling and checking on me."  

    Don't freekin' ask me if you already have my answer ready!  No wonder he's my ex.  He could always lead with something nice and then end up being a .....jerk.

     Thanks for listening.

    Phyllis

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  • lisagwa
    lisagwa Member Posts: 232
    edited April 2012

    My vent is...well meaning friends contact me or same friends contact me several times a week (by phone, text, email). When I respond it helps them and addresses their concerns. it doesn't help me. it is sometimes tiring dealing with recovery and daily stuff and I don't want to take care of others by repeating the same thing I said last time we spoke "feeling better each day." I want to be left alone to heal in my own way.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2012

    I'm a little confused too about what to say when people ask how I am. It would be interesting to hear how everyone else answers that question.

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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited April 2012

    I just say "fine" or "good". It comes out of my mouth automatically. Most people really don't want to know & if they do they're probably just being nosey. Such a cheery outlook I have?

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2012

    rohanna and coraleliz,  I usually say fine or good also.....usually.  A couple of weeks ago an acquaintance came into our office.  Two of us were behind the counter when he said, "how are you?"  Being a smartass, I said "depends on who you're asking".  He said, "I know better than to ask a bald woman how she is.  She'll either say "fine" which is a lie, or she'll tell you." 

    He had such an angelic look on his face that I burst out laughing.  It was my best day in a while.

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  • LeesaAnn
    LeesaAnn Member Posts: 222
    edited April 2012

    When asked how I am, I tell them I am "hanging in there". It's not a lie, its not putting a happy face on something thats not, its not a complaint. It conveys in a small way, that this is a trial that I'm making my way through.

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