Calling all TNs

I have to say that all of my Dr.s have been absolutely wonderful! they take their time to answer any questions I may have. The down side is sometimes the wait time at appt goes a little longer than I would prefer. but I would rather wait a little longer and get my questions answered.

In my area of the country, there is a big push to mesh medical care with holistic care. Treat mind, body , and soul. My BS gives out certificates to use with massage, acupuncture , reiki, and numerous other calming methods. Both of mu MO's have always answered questions and hug me at the end of my visits. My RO actually called me from her home to talk to me after learning of my recurrence. If you are not comfortable with your relationship with your dr.s, you may want to consider a 2nd opinion and see how that dr handles personal interaction.

Michelle, I pray you find your peace. This is just so sad, my tears are flowing . You have made an impact on many people, your legacy will live on. Prayers to you.

Jianchi- WOO HOO! That is great news!

wow Jan...what a prick...geez I should count my blessings. I think I would of blown my top if a Dr. talked to me like that. I actually had a young Dr. called a fellow. (I always thought new Docs were interns) anyway she talked down to me, and after the visit I told the office manager I wanted her off of my case. She relayed it to my M.O; he didn't call me about it, which is fine. The next appt., she was not there.

Slowlori/al- that is soo cool that you have such caring Dr.s...how awsome to not only have a smart Dr. but a truely caring one to boot. Kindness goes a long way in my book, and then to get a hug....cool cool cool

I did get some answers today, the onc wants me to see a Rheumatologist, as the symptoms I am describing sounds like it could be R.A. I also tactfully brought up the whole issue of referring me to Primary Physician, and said I was uncertain about who I am suppose to call when I have problems...she changed her tune and said it was fine to call the onc, and I should continue to call the triage line. Overall she was very nice, which is a switch from sounding abrupt and annoyed in the initial conversation.

I appreciate your help, and now I know that I am not expecting too much. I am thankful that I could vent on here, and get my thoughts together before I talked to the nurse again. I don't think it would of been good to blow a gasket to her....Have a good night. Jianchi....CONGRATS...so so happy for you...... Lori

Jianchi...happy dancing for you....thank you for sharing the good news with us all!

Mags

simplelife - welcome to the thread. You will find lots of help and support from the ladies here. It is a good place to come and ask questions and just feel like you belong. There are lots of TNs around, and most of us are doing fine.

Jianchi... yay

Stupidboob, I don't sleep in total darkness, but wish that I did. I sometimes use an eye mask to block out all the light, but those can get hot. I like total darkness because it improves sleep quality. I feel like one of the best things I can do for myself in fighting cancer is to get enough sleep and it's one of the things I have the biggest difficulty with.

Hello dear ladies and ALHusband,

It has been a while since I have posted. I finished all my treatments in July and just had to take a break for a while to try to get back to a normal life -- however, I did not forget about all of you and thought of you. I decided it was time to catch up, and what a lot of catching up I had to do. This thread is very active and it took a while to get through three months of posts but I finally did it. I was so shocked about Naan and praying for Michelle and her family.

To all the new ladies -- so sorry you have to be here, but this is a wonderful forum. It was a lifeline for me. I found so much information and comfort here while I was going through my treatment. You might also see if there is a chemo group started for about the time you are having chemo (or start one if there is not). That is very helpful too -- people going through the same thing you are at the same time.

An update -- my hair is a little over three inches now and salt & pepper in color -- still trying to get used to the color (decided I'm not coloring anymore), but liking the length. I lost my eyelashes a second time about 6 weeks ago, but not really totally -- little short ones pushed out all the longer ones so I still had lashes; they were just stubby once again. They are back to the point they were before again, so I hope it doesn't happen again! Someone mentioned hair growth slowing down. My hair grew really fast for a while and was having to shave my legs every day -- now I can go a week or more. October 11 was ONE YEAR from my surgery. My MO said to count from surgery date. However, my husband said if they considered you free from cancer after the surgery why did you have to go through all the treatment crap? I said that was in case there were any micro cells of cancer they couldn't detect, so he says, exactly -- they don't know. So he thinks it should be counted from the end of treatment. So, I think I will consider my surgery date the day I began my fight, and the end of treatment, the victory day.

I have not really felt well since I finished radiation in July. Every day is different -- flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, bone aches, tightness in my chest, soreness, etc. When I told my MO about it at my August visit, he said it sounded like fibromyalgia to him, but he did some tests to rule out other things (lupus, thyroid, arthritis). He said he would call if any came back positive. I didn't hear anything so assumed all was negative, but I continued to feel crappy every day. After several more weeks, I tried calling his office and just kept getting the run around from staff. After several calls, I finally got across to someone that I was in pain and needed the doctor or someone to call me back. The nurse finally called and said that they were going to send me to a rheumatologist since all the tests came back negative. I had that appointment on Monday and he thinks it is chronic fatigue syndrome. He gave me some medications but said that it would probably take several weeks more before they helped. He said my body had been through a lot and unfortunately treatments did have some negative side effects. I really don't like being on medications. I had already started paying more attention to my diet and eating more greens, fruits, etc. I got a NutriBlast machine, and I really feel that is slowly helping. Anyone else have these issues?

I'm taking my granddaughter to Build-A-Bear today for her birthday present. She is 10, but that is still her favorite thing to do for her birthday. I hope it will help her get over her trauma of yesterday. I picked her up at school and took her home to get clothes for spending the night. She went in her room and ran out crying hysterically. It took a few minutes for me to calm her enough to find out what happened -- one of her pet mice was dead and the other one was eating it. Luckily, her 14 year old brother was there and took care of the mouse situation, while I held her and let her cry it out. Then we called her mama and let her talk to her. I think what she saw is going to be hard for her to get out of her head. She was still upset about it when she went to bed.

Sorry for such a long post. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

beautiful Kathy and thank you for including us

Hi stupidboob, I usually do not sleep with a night on as I feel I fall asleep faster and sleep better.

Kathy,

Thank you so very much for passing on our love and our thanks to Michele and her family. I wish her peace and comfort after such a valiant struggle and hope that her family will find peace knowing how she helped so many of us with her strength and love of life. I just picture her in that pink bunny suit and it brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. She truly is a sister! Please hug them all for us.

Doreen

Kathy, thanks so much for passing along our thoughts and prayers to Michelle. May she be at peace and free of pain.

I haven't posted in ages but do check in from time to time. I wanted to say hello and wish all you ladies a wonderful day. I'm was so happy to see everyone posting about what you are grateful for. LauraJane was a very special lady and I think of her whenever I see the plant I put in my front garden in her memory.

Take care.

Thank you Kathy. It is so thoughtful of you to include us. I can't write really write anything about Michele as it hurts too much. I'm sure you will tell her family how we all feel about her.

Tazzy- thank you for passing along the update.

I'm grateful for every chance I get to see my nephew, who is about 2 1/2 and is growing up into quite a little young man. Had a get-together today with my brother and sister and their spouses, which doesn't happen all that often.