2012 sisters

Welcome mcook - and thanks for sharing your story. I am now determined - after your story and all the other great inspirations here - to start running again when I can. I used to love running before my kids and just haven't gotten back into it. I'm going to start walking as soon as I can after my surgery and take it from there. And after chemo is over, my sister and I have made a pact to do that 3-day avon walk. Here's to having post-cancer goals!

Lots to keep up with here today. Lisa - happy b-day to you and yours. Jpmomof3 - congrats on those results! tballmom - i hope you are hanging in there. What a crappy way to have to spend your day before surgery. Good luck! I think I'm forgetting lots - but wishing you all healing and happy vibes.

jpmom - when you go for your pre-surgery tests, they'll likely give you lots of pamphlets - some of which will be about lymphedema. Best I can gather from my reading so far - you need to be vigilant about your post-surgery excercies, not gain excessive weight, and say a prayer. My Dad - who has spent his life researching cancer and watched his mom go through two separate mastectomies and get lymphedema back in the old days - was crestfallen when he heard my surgeon say all the nodes on my left side have to come out. But - there are lots of treatments these days that can help if you do get it - and I think 80% of survivors don't get it - or some number like that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it is just the lumpectomy you are expecting. I'm getting all nodes out on the left, and a sentinal biopsy on the right. My pre-surgery nurse was brutally honest and told me the bmx recovery isn't too bad - its the recovery from the nodes that sucks. But look on the bright side - I think you got the hard part over first. I'm kind of jealous of all you ladies here that did your chemo first and then are moving on to surgery. I feel like I have the easy part coming up first and then the hardest part of the road ahead.

And if I can add one final note, as it can't stop thinking about it. We were at a BBQ today and i saw my neighbor there who didn't yet know about my BC - so I told her. She is probably a little bit older than me but has young kids still - I think 7 and 5. She admitted to me that she hasn't been for an annual gyn visit since her daughter was born - so 5 years without a pap smear or a breast exam by a professional. And she admitted she doesn't do self exams and obviously hasn't been for a mamo. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. I hope I talked some sense into her - telling her I go regularly each year and by the time my doc found it I was stage II already. Imagine if I'd waited 5 years to go - I'd be saying my goodbyes today. And what I really can't get over is that I was not convinced at all by the end of the conversation that she was going to schedule an appointment. Anyway - I rant...

Good night and sleep well lovely ladies. 

tballmom, that stinks. They did all that in one surgery? wow. I did ovaries in Nov and BMX/SNP in Feb. Of course the ovary thing was BEFORE I knew I had bc. It  was "preventative" since it turned out I was positive for BRCA1. Well, at least the ovaries were clean.

Hope you feel better and that you talk to your doc tomorrow, and call the on call doc if it gets heavier tonight. Hugs!

Sorry you are having such a ruff time tball.  You've have more setbacks and difficulties than anyone should have to put up with.

Thanks everyone for your comments.  I'm not as angry now, and hopefully whatever this "period" is gets resolved quickly.  Since the GYN's office is just one street over form the surgical center, I might just have my DH pop me over there right after the surgeon releases me.

I think I'm going to call it a night and get ready for my port surgery tomorrow.  Sleep sounds really good right now, or at least curling up in the bed with a big comforter pulled up to my chin sounds great.  I hope I don't wake up in the middle of the night and forget I can't eat or drink anything after midnight.   

Take care everyone!!!!

teeballmom-sorry you are having such a crappy time with everything. Hope you get some answers today! The port placement shouldn't take that long, if I remember right. Hope all goes smoothly for you with it.

mcook-glad you found our group, just sorry you needed to find us. I understand about the being nervous on the next step of the journey. I have one more chemo then surgery and I'm more nervous about the surgery than I ever was chemo. Your story about the race is an insiration.

It was too hot to do much again yesterday, but DH and I took a ride and visited the state park near here to check out the campground. We have burn bans everywhere so no fireworks to watch. Today I get to meet up with my cousin I haven't seen in about 8 years. Then I get to get packed for tomorrows trip to the Dr. Last TX!!!! 

Hope everyones day is a good one. 

Long post but I am getting caught up since having houseguests all week.

Diananm I too will be going back to my MO soon. When I saw him post- surgery he said he would see me in 3 or 4 months and set me up for blood tests too which always make me nervous now. Then he made a comment like " I would like to say that we were all done since the surgery was a success and you didn't have any more cancer, need chemo or rads, BUT (dang there is always a but in this crap) now we have to make sure there are no cells left to set up shop in the digestive system etc etc" Then he gave me the arimidex script. I hope that thats what he meant and that there aren't any floating around that he is aware of and I'm not. I mean I know that is always a possibility but I would think if he was aware of something that was definitely there, he would tell me. My husband thinks I read to much into it all and that the MO was more or less saying that's why he was prescribing the arimidex; just in case.

Soyaandpepper No pain no gain right? I think maybe I'm going overboard with these eggs though lol  Have you found another MO to help you in your decision making? I'm thinking and praying for you. The decision making sucks.

Lisa2012 regarding the intimacy thing you are definitely not alone. I ran into another DMX patient in the doctors office that I had talked to many times before. She is really a hoot considering all she has gone through. But she was telling me that her hubby was trying to be more intimate after her surgery than ever before. She said when he tried to get intimate with her after she was allowed to (she had also had a hyterectomy at same time) she looked at him and yelled, are you crazy. lol He told her that he thought maybe she would be into it alot more because she was off work and maybe wasn't so tired. (she was laughing and said she guessed she used the too tired and had to work excuse too much lol) Anyway she said they finally had a heart to heart  when he kept trying and it boiled down to he wanted her to know that breasts or no breasts, scars, no hair etc. he loved her just as much as before and he wanted her to know that she was still sexy and appealing to him. He was afraid that if he didn't try to be intimate after her surgery that she would feel unattractive to him and he didn't want that. So while we might be going thru alot of feeling unattractive, unsexy etc, at times, who knows what the poor guys have going thru their heads. She said she leveled with him and told him that he was still as sexy and loveable to her as ever too, but that with taking the anti-estrogen drugs and  the chemo ses etc etc she just wasn't up to it and that it would take some time. He told her, truthfully just like before her surgery, he really was  too tired from the stress of his job but asked if it was ok if they just cuddled!  She said it really helped to talk about it with him though.  

hi teeballmom I had the oophrectomy at the same time as my nsdmx as well. Although I had no pain or bleeding from it whatsoever, the paperwork did say it is not uncommon to have some vaginal spotting afterwards. Hopefully, thats all it is. So glad your other results were benign!

Lostimo last TX yeaaaaaa!

CMartin Lol Tofurky does seem very appropriate right? Lots of vegetarians have that fake turkey breast for the holidays but we will have tofurky breasts permanently. Oh well, I'm very thankful for the option. I am somewhere in the 650cc to 700cc range (I'm not sure because the dr was putting in 100 at a time then one week said she was reducing it to 75 but don't know if she did the 75 or 100 the last last 2 times.(She put 200 in at surgery) It was just these last 2 that got me. I think I might have 1 more then be done (not sure) other than the overfill. Fortunately I found the old pain pills from my lumpectomy and they help alot! I have a few questions though-I mentioned that they seemed a little too far apart and she said she could open the pocket during exchange and move them closer . But now I'm thinking that if that can cause any other complications, I'll just let them be. They look fine in clothes infact much better in clothes than the "old" ones.

Ramois You hit the nail on the head with the engorged boobs description-infact that's what my husband said. Its like when I was pregnant. The difference is it doesn't hurt at all to touch the actual breast surface since they are numb. But man do they hurt all around them but particularly when laying on my back. The pain pill I had from my dmx didn't help but I found a different kind from my lumpectomy and they did the trick. But now I'm ok. Seems to take a couple days to "stretch" and then the fill is no problem. Think I might have 1 more then I'll have 2 Thanksgiving size tofurkeys lol

Allurbaddayswillend You better believe it! I'm definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and looking forward to the prize at the end (booby prize? lol) Been messing with this cancer crap since last October and although I have been SO much more fortunate than so many on here because I didn't have to go through chemo or rads, it has been hell nonetheless. All the steps we have to take and crummy decisions we have to make and results we have to wait on, I'm just so glad that my tofurky breasts are almost done. It will be so nice to have something a little softer in there after the exchange-these things are ROCKS!

Tazzy the TE's don't soften up at all nor do they move at all-they just stretch the skin/muscle.I swear you could stand on your head and they wouldn't budge a bit. (I haven't tried it though) The 1st few fills didn't hurt at all, but I think now that I am going from hard boiled turkey egg size to the hard boiled ostrich egg size  they hurt more for a couple days after the fill. This time it was particularly painful but today they are just a bit sore around the edges and my back is a bit achy from the weight of the twin peaks pulling on it. Lol. My husband continues to tease me and remind me not to hurt him when he hugs me. I guess because they were 2 fried eggs for so long that now what comes to mind is the burger king song, "it takes 2 hands, to handle a whopper" lol

I was looking for the post where someone commented about wearing their bathing suit over the 4th and thinking it would be the last time their "real" breasts would be in it. I can't find who wrote it though and I apologize but anyway that really struck me because someone emailed me a pic of the 2 of us that was taken last year before my dmx. I had a tight top on that I remembered liking and thinking looked nice at the time. Well, when I looked at that pic yesterdday I ask my hubby why he let me wear it out of the house lol because I looked like I was sagging down to my waist. Now I realize how lucky I was that I never got them caught in my belt buckle! With this perky tofurky my clothes really do look so much better. It really was weird though how noticeably different they were in the pic.  We have to find atleast one perk in all this BC crap but thankfully I found way more than one perk- my perky tofurky plus all of you great ladies. Hope you all have a great day.You ladies that run and walk and excercise so much and those of you who deal with so much with their treatments, kids etc etc are truly remarkable people.

I had the blood work when I saw my MO, but she mentioned nothing about checking for cels in my blood. Which test would that be, I have results? Thought I might see the Ca-27 or whatever, but nope. 

Anybody know how to interpret blood test results? I have CBC/Diff, Electrolytes Plus, Liver function, Glmerular Filtration rate, and immunoassay. My liver function tests all have stars along side them but all appear to be in the normal range. My copy of the test just has results, I've been finding the ranges on the internet.

tballmom - hope all has settled down, port is successfully in and you are resting comfortably



Won't respond to all posts but agree with tazzy that info on surgery link was and continues to be very useful



Appreciate the info re: intimacy - hoping my husband can soon look at me without me seeing pity in his eyes, want to see the desire I am more familiar with



Interesting info re: lymph edema - I think much more is known about it now re: prevention and catching early signs, taking action then



I have a blog that I started early June - it is called Above and Beyond, I thought it was interesting mccook301 that there is a website of the same name re: cancer. Even though it is early in my journey, the link for my blog is on my profile, if anyone is interested.



Have a good day, everyone!

lisa2012-I use almond milk when ever I need to, I don't drink milk so I only use it to make my oats and its good. We need to get protein somewhere else other than the milk. 

2FriedEggs-I have an app with another MO for 25th July and hope that this one is better than the first one, can;t get any worst. I'm getting my results for the receptors any day now and I'm a bit anxious about it. It feels like finding out the hormone receptors of my cancer is like finding out if I had cancer again, I don't know why. I guess this result can contribute to my decision about chemo. 

Thanks Tazzy!

I'd love to go into surgery holding your hand mcook.   I have been hanging out with the:

Anyone having surgery in July 2012 - want to wait together? (in forum Surgery - Before, During, and After)

My surgery should be beginning of August so thought this was a good one to hear other experiences and tips.    Lostinmo is with us on that one too.

All,

Anyone tried running with expanders in?  My PS told me today that I'm far enough out to do that but I'm hesitant!?

I'm still considering tatoo only but he is very much against that and believes that three dimensional is the way to go.  Now I 'm rethinking?

 Friedeggs - I mentioned the cleavage today.  He said that he can help the clevage some but that all in all that muscle can only be manipulate so much.  I had my last fill today.  I at 500.  Glad there are no more.  It's getting tighter and aggravating a nerve that bothered me just after surgery.  I'll know the final in two weeks.

2fried, glad to see you back.  I dont think your MO meant to suggest there were sneaky cells floating around or that he had evidence fo stuff left behind, but was just meaning that you need to be on hormone therapy because it reduces the recurrence rates!

 I had the opposite problem with my eyes on A/C and taxol (the AC was worse), I had very very dry eyes during my chemo and 10 days PFC still do and cant wear contacts.  at night I wake up with my eyelids stuck to my eyeballs half the time and have to use lubricating drops.  So I belong to the bald and four eyed club too!

mcook sorry to hear you had so much trouble with taxol.  sounds like you might join us for the july surgery group someone mentioned it above, i think i will look for it too!

Finishing up a 12 hour shift now.  looking forward to a three day weekend off. 

Best wishes and hugs to all!

Tballmom, I am glad you did well during the port insertion. You will be happy when they take blood for labs as well as for chemo. And the spotting is going to be checked out so that is good. Much love.

Hope you're all feeling well. I am very, very, very, very happy to share my news that my PET/CT scan came back clean as a whistle - aside from the cancer we already know about in my left breast. Woohoo! So I'm sharing my good news vibes with all the rest of you awaiting results and hoping they rub off on your results!

lostinmo - congrats on reaching your last treatment; good luck!

2friedeggs - that was me who made the comment about my real boobs in my bathing suit for the last time. Thanks for sharing your story - it made me giggle. And while I am a novice at this TE business, I will share that during my initial consult with the plastic surgeon today - he explained that the way the full TEs sit in your body is different than how the final implants will. One of the most common differences is the spacing between the boobs. When they show you the material the TEs are made of - you can see why. They are almost tacky in nature - some kind of odd consistency that is not going to shift around a bit. Whereas the final implants I think are a bit more forgiving and might come a bit closer together in the middle. So good luck with sorting all that out!

tazzy - thanks for the link to the july surgery group; I just joined!

mcook - sorry you had a crappy day and got a curve ball thrown at you. That is truly the worst. Hopefully you've adjusting your mindset and course of action to accomodate it and are feeling a bit better. Big hugs coming your way.

teeballmom - so glad to hear things worked out ok today and you are doing pretty well.

Hugs to all and wishes for a peaceful night sleep. Tomorrow is a fresh new day.