May 2012 radiation

SB - I hope your sister is doing well today and so are you!  I would stronly suggest a second opinion to her even if she starts chemo there.  I went with my second opinion group of doctors and I am so glad I did.  IBC needs special attention.  I think there are free or discounted airfares and housing through the American Cancer Society or something if its over so many miles. 

Neeners - congrats on starting your boosts.  More stickers off!  Yea!

My skin si doing a lot better and I don't have the pain I had either.  I'm still putting on my lotion several times a day too!

Elizabeth....I can imagine how frustrated you must be tring to help your sister through this long distance.  I hope she has somebody locally that can at least go with her to key appointments to make sure questions get asked and to take notes on the info provided.  Does seem that if she has a path report indicating that ER/PR+ that the initial biopsy must have confirmed the clinical diagnosis, in which case, I agree, why do more biopsies?  

 Glad you are almost done with your boosts and that skin is on the mend.  My doesn't seem to be any better but it least it's not getting any worse.  Mine is most annoying in the armpit area because of friction against my arm.  I've also been getting some strange "pains" the last few days.  Feels almost like a cramp in my chest muscles that just starts like it is going to cramp up but doesn't go into a full charley horse and then goes away again. ....kinda weird.  

Good morning, girlfriends...

First, my sister Kane's surgery went well.  The surgeon did a skin biopsy and removed a lump o'boob that he believed was at the core of the inflammation, and initial pathology proved him right.  Now they'll have enough cancer sample to do a thorough pathology analysis.  She's in a little pain, but doing well.  Chemo starts tomorrow.  

Thanks, everyone, for your information, encouragement, and support.  BL, I'll tell her about the NCI in Denver; it's not too late for her to make a trek up there with her slides and discs and get another opinion.  Univ of Colorado is also my alma mater...how's that for coincidence?

My skin's healing very slowly in the parts that aren't being radiated anymore.  I'm impatient to be all better, NOW, but it apparently doesn't work that way!

Have a great Thursday, everyone! 

SB - I'm glad your sister has more information and she is starting her treatment. Please tell her it is never too late to have a second or third opinion.  As you know, she will have months of treatment.  I think she will feel better if she knows she had the second opinion especially with IBC.

Glad to hear your skin is healing.  It does get better.  It's slow but doable.  Keep putting that lotion on!!!!!!!!!!

Neeners, I am so glad you had a good treatment day! They quit marking me up the last week too, my burn allowed them to setup without the marks ;-)



mckenna, I know what you mean about the follow-ups, rads follow-up, BS follow-up, and my first mammo in August, MRI is is October (something they are watching in 'lefty'). And I am very grateful I don't have to take tamoxifen.



SB - that is great news on Kane's surgery ... I have been thinking about her a lot. I as SO glad your skin is doing better too!



I don't even have an outline anymore!! I feel extremely lucky. I get 'zingers' - but I have been getting those since my biopsies. I do worry about fibrosis ... but I try not to obsessively worry ;-)



AEM - one more!!!

Neeners, my sis is four years older than me--that makes her 60.  She has four grown kiddos and a handful of grandkids that she wants to see grow up and dance at their weddings.  I would like to do that, too, with my own grandbaby coming in March!  Her first chemo was supposed to be yesterday, but they did the open biopsy instead, so she'll be chemo'd tomorrow morning. Thanks, everyone, for your support for Kane and her journey.  It's scary the whole way through, but the beginning is so filled with unknowns, it's overwhelming--as you're all painfully aware.

Boost #5 this afternoon, and the skin's holding onto my chest so far!  The other biggish burns are healing veerrrry slowly, but they're healing, with the help of the Mepilex Lite dressing that BL kindly send me in the mail.  Fortunately they're not in the radiation field anymore, it's just the chest scar that's being broiled right now. 

Tomorrow's Friday, AEM will be finished, and Neeners, we're on the home stretch!

AEM - I thought you meant tomorrow was your last day.  WOO HOOO!!!  CONGRATS!!!

SB - It's me and you, kid.  Let's do this! 

way to go AEM47...enjoy the freedom!

I started working on putting the rest of my body back together during rads.  Just when I was starting to regain some energy after chemo, I got arthritis in one knee.  Got a cortisone shot earlier this week and it's feeling much better.  Still hurts when I do stairs or bend it too far, but at least it isn't constantly throbing and keeping me from any kind of exercise.  Then I got seromas after surgery.  Had one aspirated but it just filled back up.  So now I am in rehab 2X/wk for manual drainage and lymphatic massage.  Therapist is also helping me with some balance and other issues left over from peripheral neuropathy.  All of this just so I can go back to exercising.

ALL! It's not much support just reading all the posts (which I do, every day) and never jumping in to say, "Hi! Hang in there!!" I'm still here in Spokane cheering you on, Neeners and SB, even though the cheering has been a little too quiet to be effective.

Over the past 10 weeks I've been more plagued by lymphedema symptoms and "appointment fatigue" than anything else. I was seeing the LE therapist for manual massage 3x/week (!) in addition to the daily radiation fun. And theoretically I was still working full-time. Now I'm down to 1 LE treatment/week at my own insistence, since my insurance limits me to 25/year and I sure can't absorb the $160/visit! So I've gone from 8 appointments/week to 1. That feels like a wonderful return to normalcy.

BL - good reminder to everyone about the arm exercises. The LE therapist gave me range of motion exercises that I've been doing for about 8 weeks to help my corded right armpit. Next week she's going to start me SLOWLY on upper body exercises for strength - again at my request. I'm back to treadmilling, but I've lost so much strength in the upper body, it's discouraging. Living alone, I really feel the necessity to maintain strength as well as health.

Lastly, I didn't know if all of you noticed the link Lynne (Jan24) provided, so I'm posting the pic itself from our lunch meetup last week. (Just learning Photobucket.) So fun! I'm on the left; Lynne's on the right. I'm hoping she'll get back to Spokane soon. (Her dad and a sis live here.)

AEM - Congrats on being finished!!!!!!!!!!!!    

SB - hope your sister is doing well and resting.  Do you know that date of your last radiation yet?  Ladies, I told DH last night that we are having a bottle of asti when everyone is finished.  He got a big smile on his face and said absolutely!  I can't wait to toast all of my May 2012 radiation friends!

BL - thanks for the link for exercises.  I stretch my arms/chest throughout the day.  I can still feel the stretch and it got a little bit tighter during radiation.  I want to start building up my arm muscles too.  If I get rid of my belly (diep surgery) I don't want fat arms.  LOL

Spokanellie - sorry to hear about the lympedema symptoms.  Are the massages helping?  Did you check youtube to see if you can do some yourself? 

Spokanellie and Jan you gals looks so happy!  I love those smiles.  I have been so much happier since my last radiation treatment.  I feel like a huge weight came off of me to be done active treatment.  It has been such a long 9 months!  My whole family seems happier too.  It's amazing how much this beast affects us! 

Neeners - don't scratch! Just put the lotion on it and rub a tiny bit!