May 2012 radiation

I finished my radiation today. Yea!. I was given a diploma and had a pink carnation pinned on my shirt.

My RO said my skin had held up really well. MCKENNA I live in St Peters. Where did you have your treatment? 

Congratulations STLmom!! 

Loved the picture - you ladies are all so awesome, I wish we ALL could meet up (at a winery)!

80% -- the end is in sight Neeners!! 

McKenna, I wish I could tell you my end date--Christmas, maybe?  I'm on the charts for 7 boosts, which would make 7/16 my last treatment, but if my skin is holding out I'll probably wind up with as many as 10.  That would make it 7/19.  I'll see the RO next Monday and if my ribs aren't showing through like a skeleton on the beach, we'll keep boosting.

Today at my treatment I asked my tech, Paul, if the boosts made my chest skinny and firm, would he would consider some quick butt boosts.  He said, "oh, we do those at lunchtime, and it's a cash-only deal."  I laughed so hard the gel boosty-thingy slid off my nakey chest.  My techs have all been friendly, sympathetic angels.

STL congrats!  Does it feel 100% wonderful to be finished, or do you think you'll sorta miss the drive/people/routine?

Goodie, apparently they boost hard on the mastectomy scar to decrease the chances of recurrence there.  Apparently if there's a local recurrence, that's where it would most likely turn up.  But with the poison/slash/burn program to which I've subscribed, I'm counting on a healthy future!

I loved my chemo nurses, and I love my techs.  I'll miss them.  But I'm still looking forward to seeing the radiation station in my rear-view mirror. 

nancyjac - congrats!  Keep using your creams!  I just keep putting mine on every time it bothers me or itches!

So nice for her tho that she has you to tell her the "ins" and "outs"! I wish I had someone at the time that knew the ropes...was a strange land for me.

I wish her well with all her treatments!

Woo hoo I'm done with the whole boob zaps!  I had a semi-long talk with the RO today (my normal Tuesday check-ins).  Most of it was about how I've found the whole process, feeling like a piece of meat, the way some (ok one, really) of the techs treat the patients, etc.  He was very apologetic and didn't try to make excuses or anything.  He said he was going to discuss this feedback with the others.  I did complain about the writing every day, but he explained that it's like a surgery every day and they have to be precise.  That's fine.  I just wanted to let him know how hard that part was for me.  I also asked about my prognoses.  I asked him if I could consider myself cancer-free and he said that as far as they know, yes.  He said there could be a stray cancer cell or two (NOT what I wanted to hear, although it wasn't a surprise), but that my prognoses is extremely good and my likelihood of getting a recurrence or a new primary are low, especially with taking the tamoxifen.  The last thing I asked was, "Hey, if I'm starting boosts tomorrow, can I take that sticker off my side?"  He checked the records and said sure.  That made me SO HAPPY!  How silly that taking a sticker off can be such an upper, but it definitely was.  Three more stickers to go.

Neeners - getting even one of those darn stickers off is great.  I hated them! especially the one smack middle of my breast bone that showed with anything I wore!  Glad you told RO your concerns.  Hopefully they will learn from it.

mckenna - glad to hear you are on the mend.

SB - any news on your remaining boosts?  I hope it is just 7 and not 10!  keep us posted.  Hope you sister is doing okay.  I wish her a good day with chemo tomorrow.  That first one is so scary.  I just came home and went right to bed after every one of them!  Sleep was the best thing and NO ONE cooking in the house.  Thank goodness we had meals brought to us.  Well, I had ginger ale and saltines most days.

Yea!! Congratulations Nancyjac!

mckenna, I am so glad to hear you are doing better.

Neeners -- it is awesome that you get to take your stickers off, and I am glad the RO listened to you -- it is the way it is supposed to be.

Good luck to you, and your sister, this week SB ... how is the skin doing?

I am doing better every day -- and, it is so surprising, I barely even have a "field tan" anymore ... I can't believe how well I am healing.  I am running every day on some awesome trails here in Flagstaff -- a little worried about falling (I have fallen many times before), I really don't want to crack a rib, but I can't help but run on them ;-).

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

Hi, girlfriends--my skin has "turned the corner," according to my RO.  There are four biggish areas that are still open and oozing, bleeding through my shirt--the largest one is about 3" x 4".  But I can tell they're trying to heal.  If I keep goop on them it cuts down on the pain, so I have three or four shirts that I'm just cycling through the wash and not worrying about them.  My wardrobe at work is looking monotonous, but everyone knows what's going on and even asks to see the burns on my shoulder so we can all keep track of the healing process!  (I work in a medical regulatory agency; paramedics, nurses, physicians everywhere.)

When I get in the door from work I peel off my shirt, goop up and just lurk around the house that way.  No more kiddos at home, just my husby and me.  It looks like National Geographic here--all I need is a grass skirt.  And maybe another boobie to make a matched rack!

Kane called--her big appointment with her oncologist to get all her test results, as well as her chemo tomorrow, have been postponed.  Apparently they did a core biopsy and took TEN big old plugs out of her breast, even though she has no discernable tumor, and none of them showed the cancer.  I've been urging her all along to demand a skin punch biopsy, so hopefully they'll get to that!  They've got her down for a surgical biopsy tomorrow.  Please be sending prayer and healing thoughts toward Colorado Springs in the morning.

BL...you run ON your ribs?  That's an odd style.  I'd worry about cracking one of them too!  

OK, enough teasing, I'm off to ride my bike/look for snakes/take a gentle shower/lube up/hang around the house with no shirt.  Have a wonderful Tuesday.   

SB - is your sister seeing an IBC specialist?  If not, I would highly recommend her to go to one of the big IBC centers (MD Anderson, Dana Farber - Boston, Fox Chase - Philadelphia, etc.) or at least call them and ask them what she should do. 

You are funny walking around topless around the house.  I would if I could.  My teenagers would freak out.  I too only wear certain shirts because I don't want to mess up too many shirts with this lotion.

I guess I'm a little bit confused regarding your sister's diagnosis then, elizabeth.  If she was diagnosed with IBC from the MRI and/or CT, I don't understand why they are doing all these biopsies?  An open surgical biopsy is the largest removal of tissue.  It is pretty much like a lumpectomy.  

 Here is a short write of a typical process for diagnosing IBC and it explains the various diagnostic tools, including various types of biopsies.

 www.breastcare.com/common_clinical_inflammatory.htm

Nancyjac, I'm confused too.  She was diagnosed clinically with IBC, due to the swelling, redness, and peau d'orange signs that covered most of her breast.  She also mentioned that her BC was hormone receptor positive and they were still waiting on HER-2 results, so they must have found something to test in those ten plugs, right?  And like you, I'm not sure what they're planning on cutting into this morning.  It's difficult not being there--being a nurse, I'd rather be picking the brain of her physicians than the brain of my sister, who is barely learning the ropes right now!  I'll let you know...

I'm on boost #4 this morning and the skin at the boost is hanging in there!  The other moist, oozing areas that aren't being treated anymore are veeerrry sloooooly getting better.  We are definitely on the mend.