Illinois ladies facing bc

And the good news just keeps on coming!  Awesome.

KJ- Prayers yours will be too.  Hugs.

C-squared....I so agree and appreciate your efforts to educate the medical community about LE. It is difficult to find a CLT near me at home and then the wait to start treatment is usually 3-4 weeks! I so wish that there was an LE therapy center anywhere close to me in IL. I may have to schedule any future treatments back here in PHX. My CLT here says that she does have several patients who travel here every winter for therapy. Well, good excuse anyway!



Timbuktu ... Good for you finishing chemo. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Onward.



Loving the view from my breakfast table.... Over a beautiful green golf course, sun rising over the mountains and four hot air balloons rising in the sky. As soon as it warms up a bit more, I am headed out for a bike ride before heading to therapy.



Take care everyone. I wish you were here in person, but I do have you all in my heart. Next winter, we need to get a little group together and find a sunny spot for a week long lunch bunch!

Jackie is that a new photo? I love it

Spunky, love the idea and team name. Maybe have mismatched rainbow like socks, or attach pigtails to your headband in honor of punky brewster.

Thanks for all the welcoming posts! I got my pathology results from my lumpectomy and am breathing a sigh of relief, while still waiting anxiously for one more test result, the Oncotype. Thank God I had clean nodes and margins, and just one 7mm, grade 2 tumor. But they found DCIS too, which was a surprise. May be that it was part of my IDC tumor, rather than a separate patch, since it was given no size or dimensions of its own, was just listed in the path report as "associated with the IDC". I'm waiting on my MO appointment, and will ask her about it. Saw my RO and she recommended whole breast radiation because of the DCIS .... to be sure they get it all in case there's any other rogue minuscule DCIS cells floating around in there. I have my MO appt. scheduled for Feb 8, waiting for the Oncotype Test results which will determine if I need chemo or can get by with just the radiation and Arimidex, since I am post menopausal and highly hormone receptive. RoulaG, you are close by, I live 15 minutes from Western Springs, and my sister must be a neighbor of yours...she also lives in Western Springs. Small World!

dbm75 my tumor was 6.5cm but only 5.5 was IDC. The other 1cm was DCIS. It's not unusual to have a mixture but they stage you based on the invasive stuff only. My guess is my tumor started out DCIS then started to mutate to IDC.

c-squared I too am happy the shots worked for you.

Keep warm everyone. Looks like we may have some snow this week but gradually getting warmer. (Anything over 20 isn't too bad if the wind is slow). BTW anyone going to be at Rush Tuesday or Wednesday? I'm planning on doing my annual cookie drop to my onc & staff.

To the query, ''What is a friend?'' his reply was ''A single soul dwelling in two bodies.''
-- Aristotle

Anyone in the Chicago area have recommendations on radiology and medical oncoligists? I've already got appointments set up with each, but have been referred to these docs based on them being within my surgeon's network, so am concerned my surgeon (who was awesome) is biased towards keeping my treatment all within the medical group family, but I'm not finding much about these docs when I search them, which makes me a bit nervous. I would like to see how they compare to others. I met my radiation oncologist already, but she's only been practicing for a year and a half, kinda fresh out of med school, so would like to get a second opinion just to compare what another, more experienced person would say. I haven't even met my med oncologist yet, so any recommendations for radiation and medical oncoligists in the Chicago area or in Dupage county would be appreciated! 😊

Xanax is not working!!!



My chest hurts and I feel like puking

chemo is not as bad as you fear.  I was petrified.  For nothing.

I'll tell you the truth, the way i got through, the way I still get through is to stay in the moment.

When I felt I would lose it out of fear i'd force myself to think "This minute is ok."  Why ruin it with worry about the next minute?  You can't control it anyway.  You were able to type your message.  You are ok in this minute.  Don't think of any other minute and you'll see, you'll get through each minute ok.

Chgo--like was said seriously take nice deep breaths and drinks some warm milk with u'r xanax. It's really and truly not as terrifying as u think--The nurses are wonderful the actual getting of chemo is nothing but resting and u might not have many side effects and whateer comes alon the Drs. help u immediately--It's not terrible but u'r anxiety is--do u take any other med for depression or anxiety with xanax.? Cuz alot of people do and it really helps.- Honestly if u feel that bad tonite go to the ER--I know that's extreme but why not, why should u suffer with this.

chgogemini - I cannot imagine that any one of us who got chemo was not afraid.  I was.  This is normal, but we made it through.  You will too.  Timbuktu is right, live in the moment.  At this very moment, everything is ok.  Deep breaths.  Run cold water on your hands.  Chase you kids around the yard screaming.  Charge up and down some stairs.  Right now you are ok.  

t bear are you on Ai's?  I have terrible pain, especially if I overdo it.  I took it easy today and feel much much better.

I don't understand how it works but the onco told me it makes your nerves much more sensitive.

I had to stop taking it  a couple of times just to prove to myself that it was the meds and not something worse.

I'm on my third AI now, they are all a little different.

Everything in life comes to you as a teacher.  Pay attention, learn quickly.

Cherokee saying