In shock

No, it was not sore when my drain came out, honestly. The dr was talking to me, and the next moment she had the whole thing in her hand. Didn't feel a thing. Hope it's the same for you, Benny!

Esther

I haven't driven yet, so Hubby is getting a workpout. That's OK, he had open heart this spring and I had to drive him. Now it's his turn. Trouble is he hates to shop, finds a bench and waits for me! So I have limited my usual shopping excursions! Need to find some burner covers for my stove. I turned on the wrong burner the other morning, burned the cover up:) Senior moment.

Good morning, won an aternoon cruise on the Hudson River from the radio station this morning while I was listening while on Facebook. Yay! Jean 

Hey Benny I hope you are enjoying your new horse, and feeling well. Don't over do it.



Bonnets I agree BC can get anyone, it doesn't seem to matter if you eat well, exercise, vegetarian or marathoner or someone who eats junk and is a couch potato. It must just be in the genes.



Edith I hope you enjoyed the cinema,...no snoring eh!



I just had my second round of chemo yesterday, the hair on my head was so patchy from falling out I had to have DH shave it...so I am doing the scarf thing. I have been feeling pretty good, keeping up with the meds to keep from any nausea, it's working. Managing to clean the house and still bike everyday.



Have a fantastic weekend girls and I hope everyone is healing well.

I found mine scratching an itch. I have always been pretty lax about breast self-exam because my breasts have always been lumpy and I didn't think I'd notice a lump that was new or different. However, as soon as I felt this one, I thought "THAT isn't supposed to be there!" Somehow, it felt different from my usual lumpiness. I hope your biopsy turns out to be benign, but if it doesn't, you've come to the right place for information and support.

Crystal the pathologist found mine on a routine mammogram. Was called back 2 days later, they got me right in for a repeat and an ultrasound. They pretty much told me a few days later at the doctors that it was picture perfect BC. It totally blindsided me, no real BC history, a aunt had it 30 years previous but lived another 30 yrs and did not die from it...I sure hope you get a biopsy result that is negative for BC.

Benny I also had waist long hair, it was sad to have to cut it short but I was glad I did about a month before I lost it from chemo. It was a bit less traumatic, I now have hair envy though, whenever I see pretty long hair. The one thing I learned was short hair is so easy to care for. Oh well I only have 2 more rounds of Chemo so I can start growing it back in November, and maybe by summer it will feel like chemo is behind me and I will have a cute short do.

To those who have had surgery The one thing that you need to watch for is LE, Lymphedema, swelling of the arm that nodes were taking out of. Do all the exercises your surgeon mentioned and ask your surgeon about it. Never let a nurse or anyone take your BP, IV, or any needles in the arm that had the nodes removed. Just thought I would mention it as it was brought to my attention on another thread.



Edith will you be doing chemo?...





Have a fun weekend everyone!

Thank you ladies!! edithesther I won't lurk anymore lol.... I am trying to stay positive but im only driving myself crazy.  Mu lump is hard and does not move in anyway, feels like its attached to something in my chest.  Im trying not to read much into it but thats so HARD to do! I have found comfort in this board which I am so very thankful for.  I don't like looking on the Internet for information seems like really bad information so this board has been heaven sent. 

Hugs to everyone. And to our Benny!!!!

Benny, doing what you are dong would make you tired, cancer or not. I was really tired when I was diagnosed and asked the nurse was this a sign of cancer. Definitely not she said and she is an expert. Worry and stress makes you tired. Since treatment started the tiredness has gone I feel normal again but I am resting, doing a little bit ,resting again and that is not in my nature but I want to get back to full health a.s.a.p . Try and take it easy.

Have heard that you can have an ice cap put on while having chemo and stops hair loss, may be worth looking into.

Edith,

The only thing that concerns me with the cold caps is that I want all my cells to get the chemo, the cancer cells can hide anywhere, even in the hair roots. I am glad you are feeling better, I do think stress tires us out. I am with you I just want to get back to myself fast.



Benny,

Yes I did keep my hair, I braided it when it was wet and chopped the braid myself. I don't think I could have left it on a hairdresser floor. Then I went into the hairdresser for a short cut. It felt real weird and I couldn't make eye contact with anyone for a day then I got used to it and it it was okay. I have 2 wigs, and don't wear either mostly hats and scarves I made from a McCalls pattern....I also thought of hooking the bread into my hat or scarf but I haven't done it yet...you can look up how to tye a scarf with a braid and its using long tails of the scarf to make a long braid....I am going to try it.

I was wondering how old Diamond is, Mare or gelding?....probably super nervous from the move, poor thing.



Take care everyone, have a fun weekend.

I saved my braid albeit a thin braid I did not cut until almost 2nd chemo and I was thinning but I dod not cut until it started coming out. Then this is crazy if you knew me I am pretty conservative, I had it cut sort of almost buzz longer in front. BLEACHED platinum and some pink put in the front. It didn't even last a week, but I thought when will I ever have a chance at 41 to be that crazy again - never



I am totally with bear cub on the cold caps. I don't want to offend anyone who uses/used them, but one of the places breast cancer can metastasize is the brain. My oncologist will not allow them, PERIOD. Cancer is a rapidly dividing cellular structure as is hair, nails, and the cells inside the mouth. This is why chemo impacts these areas heavily, it is fundamentally created to impact rapidly dividing
cells. I am not a Dr or and expert, but I listened to the information and much as I DESPISED being bald, I want to be alive and not have to repeat chemo so I wanted to hit it with everything I had, none of
those nasty little bugger cells hiding any where in me



I understand the feelings too well. I go nasty at one point with all the people telling me not to
make "too big a deal about the hair, it will grow back, yadda yadda...". Well I understand their point
that the chemo will save my life and losing hair is a temporary by-product of that life-saving treatment, I
still have to look at myself ithe mirror every day. I was heartbreaking, I will not lie. There were months
I wanted to cover all my mirrors, I just did not look like me. Bloated in the face or puffy is a nicer word,
from the steroids, and bald.



I feel GREAT 3 years out and cancer free and look nothing like that beast that looked back at me
in the mirror. It is harder to recall myself that way, the more time that passes the less I can recall it
vividly. : )



BUT I digress, this may tarnish the heroic image you all have about me but i was
MILLISECONDS from carrying a razor shaver every where (WITH NO GUARD ON!!!) I went and just
buzzing a huge stripe through EVERY person's head who said it was just hair and it would grow
back....REALLY, then they should not be at all upset about the 2-3 inch strip of missing hair on their
head, should they, I mean they are not even totally bald, and it WILL grow back, they said so
themselves....



Sheesh the whole hair thing just came up again because I had bi-lateral SGAP surgery 6 weeks
ago and soooo happy would do it again in a heartbeat, but when I went to the hairdresser last week we
found what I consider a large bald patch maybe 2 inches wide and 4-5 inches long and even a full 5
weeks after surgery not even stubble....I guess this can happen after a 12 hour surgery even if they
move your head in surgery etc : (. Easy to hide and in many cases it eventually comes back but in
some cases NEVER...WHAT???



Sorry for the long rambling rant. : )

Hope you are all well and I read all the time I just don't post all the time, but I am keeping up
with all of you and pipe in when appropriate.



Benny, you will be changed from breast cancer, but as I told you before maybe an even better
version of yourself. I agree that you could be tired from all the emotional trauma and stress. You just have to give yourself time. You may not have the physical strength to do all you want to do right now,
but you will get back to those things in time. I am in Sales and type A, anally, obsessively organized
and di it all type person, so I did have to learn to slow down. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Many women return to everything they did before, assuming they still enjoy it and consider it a priority
and some get in even better shape and are STRONGER because they value the life they fought for
even more.



It is unfortunate timing that you just got a horse. My family has had many horses. My sister still
has an American Saddlebred and does dressage, not my thing, but more power to her!! In any case I
think everything happens for reasons. This horse may be exactly the friend you need at the pace you
are today and it is my guess you will forge an amazing bond even if it is not the way you would
approach things if you did not have this temporary setback. (not minimizing your diagnosis, you just
cannot do what you would ordinarily do right now and it may have hidden benefits.)



I have gone down roads, literally, that I did not want to be on due to traffic, detours, who knows
and then I find a cute place to eat or shop, that had I gotten to go the way I really wanted I would have
missed the experience of. My favorite cat passed during my chemo. She was 17 and I moved West
from Chicago 6 years ago. She was my only family from Chicago with me and i wanted her to make it
through my whole cancer journey. She just could not do it. I have a cute pic of her cuddled in bed with
me on a "bad" day bald but I had a cap on. I cherish it. I would be devastated when ever I lost her but she was my little piece of home and family, not to mention the chemo, cancer, et al made me more emotional. My point in telling you this (my step kids) talked me in to 4 yes FOUR kittens, shelters here
were over run, and I have the greatest bond with those kitties. The one male used to come and lick
my bald head. Long story and suffice it to say I did not necessarily enjoy the sandpaper tongue on my
sensative scalp, but I know it was his way of trying to care for me and comfort me by grooming me, he is sort of the group leader and did this for the other three too. I have such a connection to him now
and I believe you and your new horse, Diamond, will form your own version of this through this
process. Animals are so perceptive!



Hugs

Lesley

@bennymuffins, when I was in grade school I got the book "Afraid to Ride" by CW Anderson from Scholastic Books. (remember them?) It's the story of a girl who was paralyzed with fear after a bad fall, and a horse who had been abused by a previous owner. The girl and the horse got together and I won't give the whole story away, but it turned out to be a good thing for both of them. You remind me of that book because one thing the girl did was walk the horse around everywhere on a lead, just like you did with Diamond.

@Lesleyanne67, I also had a cat that liked to lick my hair. Any time she got on my shoulder she would be at it again. She died several years ago, and the chemo regimen I'm on usually just causes thinning rather than baldness, so at least I won't have a raspy tongue on a bald head.

Benny, glad you are resting today, me too, have been invited out with girls and grandchildren to local play area. Have refused  as I feel as if I can't leave the house for some reason. SO SORRY about stupid ice cap suggestion, here of course all part of national health service. Hope i didn't offend anyone.  

Bearcub, very good advice about ice cap too. Hadn't heard that. If I did need chemo, I would definitely not have tried it anyway. No one I know has and even though no cost. would sooner do the scarf thing.As you say want every stray cell killed not just chilled a bit.My hairdresser suggested bright pink mohican as a good start if chemo needed.

lesleyanne, lovely story about cat and your head. Nice to know yours has grown back so well.

Lunchtime here, time for a BLT, Happy Sunday everyone.

@crystalred7, what great news! >>>happy dance<<<