Starting Chemo in December 2013

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  • Lisaj514
    Lisaj514 Member Posts: 719
    edited July 2014

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    Ok my favorite girls, sisters, lovely ladies. I am done! Here is my Facebook page post today. I feel great! They played the song Free (Donavan frankenreiter) through the speakers during treatment, which I requested (find it on YouTube or I posted it on my fb page recently) and then the graduation song, lol!. (See my fb page for more pictures   https://www.facebook.com/lisa.r.boyce. Lisa Ross Boyce)

    NO MORE CANCER!

    My Breast cancer journey started 9 months ago on 10/18/13 and as of 7/25/14 I can now say my cancer is GONE! (and my doctors agree!) It has been cut out, poisoned, and radiated to smithereens! It is a journey that I never ever thought I’d go on.In some of the books I’ve read on breast cancer, some women would say that breast cancer was a blessing or that they were thankful for having breast cancer. Well I can’t bring myself to say those words but I now see how it has changed me, and in many ways for the better.

    You know the quote that says, “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have” well, I get it now. From day one I knew the fight was on and my strength and courage emerged and became stronger as each day, week and month progressed. This has been the most challenging journey of my life, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. But I have made it through and I am proud of myself and I am stronger and maybe even a better person for it.

    I want to share some of the things I have learned, some of them are serious, some are funny but all of them are all part of my life now and part of what I have been through.

    I have learned:

    How important it is… to… just… breathe…

    How music really does help you feel… and heal

    That blue sky, green grass, flowers, clouds, soft rain and strong storms are really beautiful

    How beautiful the beach REALLY is

    How wonderful salt water air smells and that icy cold ocean water feels great

    How amazing warm sand feels between your toes

    How important nose hairs really are (you’ll never realize until you’ve don’t have them!)

    That eyelashes really do keep the dust out…as well as make your eyes look good

    That there are so many ways to tie a head scarf

    How difficult it is to draw on eyebrows

    That I do look OK with really, really short hair

    That really, really short hair is still better than NO hair at all

    That white/gray hair is also better than no hair at all

    How nice it is to have a husband that says he likes this look with my new short “hairstyle”

    How great it is to have a husband that will do anything for you

    How great it is to be surrounded by a loving family when it is really needed

    How wonderful it is to have sisters

    How great it is to have friends that make you laugh

    How good water tastes…when it tastes the way it should

    How good food tastes…all food

    That just putting your feet on the ground in the morning is a really big step

    How great it is to just take a walk

    That running 3 miles is not nearly as big of a challenge as it used to be

    The benefits of one handed techniques and front closure shirts (thanks to my OT

       background)

    That having normal ROM in your arm is really important and how to regain it (thanks also

        to my OT background)

    That great friendships can be made with women all over the country that you have never

        even met and how those women can help you through tough times because they “get it”

    That nurses are the backbone of any medical office

    How important it is to be your own advocate

    How important it is to be an active part of your treatment

    How it is OK to have people help you

    How important it is to talk about difficult subjects and how it helps to lighten the load

    How a person can turn a difficult situation into a reason for positive change

    I have completed my journey, my story.I have won this fight!I thank everyone that has wished me well, prayed for me, kept me in their thoughts, sent me food, gifts and positivemessages, lifted me up, cried with me, laughed with me, and sometimes pulled me along when I didn’t want to go. You are also part of this journey and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now on to surviving and thriving!

    Lisa

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  • aff
    aff Member Posts: 279
    edited July 2014

    lisa  - what a beautiful post! My sincerest CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! All the best as you survive and thrive!!!!!!

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  • jbokland
    jbokland Member Posts: 890
    edited July 2014

    BRAVO Lisa!!!   So very happy for you!  You look fabulous!!!

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  • missy6758703
    missy6758703 Member Posts: 218
    edited July 2014

    I'm going to have a great big tall beer in your honor tonight Lisa!!!! Congratulations my friend!!!!

    Jbokland, your hair is SO PRETTY!!!! love it!

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  • oranje_mama
    oranje_mama Member Posts: 260
    edited July 2014

    I loved your post Lisa! Congrats! Woo hoo!

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  • Crazywabbit
    Crazywabbit Member Posts: 563
    edited July 2014

    Lisa what a wonderful way to celebrate the end of your journey. Yes we get so much of what you wrote. You finished on time thanks to stiuborness and nice techs. 

    JB your hair is so beautiful in its whiteness. 

    I am carrying around the picture someone posted of Jamie Lee Curtis. She is my hair role model.   Now just need to grow the top of my hair more then  the half inch it is now.  The back is great about 2 inches. I am getting used to the light gray/ white color. Although the eyebrows are still very light gray  and white from  half way out.  So tired of penciling them in. 

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  • kjfromca
    kjfromca Member Posts: 283
    edited July 2014

    Lisa - I posted on FB... Love your pics and your spirit.  You are awesome, congratulations!

    Jbok - I got a little swelling in my rib/underarm area during rads, the massage drainage really helped.   Once I finished rads, the swelling went away.  By the way, your hair is a really pretty color.  

    crazywabbit - Jamie Lee looks great with grey hair.  We need a picture update of your hair.  

    Mikesgirl - I spoke with my nurse navigator today, I see my MO on Tues.   I feel much better after my conversation with her.   Due to my back still hurting me off and on, we are sure that she will be running some tests. 

    Have a great weekend ladies.

    Kim

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  • DJJ
    DJJ Member Posts: 229
    edited July 2014

    Mikesgirl, so glad you had a great day!

    Kim, you look fabulous!

    Ornjemama, You look good in the wig, but I think you look just as good in the short look.

    Barbara, I hope you get the insurance issues fixed.

    Lisa, WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!

    Michelle, I like the curls.  I decided that I will let my hair grow about another 1/2-1inch and keep the short pixie style.  I've always had short hair, but not this short.  It's so easy!

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  • DJJ
    DJJ Member Posts: 229
    edited July 2014

    Oh, and guess what now???? My eyelashes are falling out!!! Who's eyebrows were thinning again? sigh!! I did some reading and there is something with them all growing in at once and taking about a year to get on a random growth schedule....COME ON! My left eyelashes came in faster than my right so their really thin so I expect my right eyelashes will also be thinning in the next few weeks.  I could just wear mascara (barely) and now there is no point.  I guess that expensive Latisse is failing me.  Perhaps I should have kept that eyebrow kit....Will they be next??Devil  Why can't we be done with this crap when our treatment is done???

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    congrats Lisa!! Thank you for sharing your post. It was beautifully written. 

    Jbokland - so cool about your designs. Your hair such a pretty color. 

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  • Jodi040812
    Jodi040812 Member Posts: 383
    edited July 2014

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    congrats Lisa and Orange!  I have not been on here in a few days and missed a lot.  

    Holli- hope you are feeling better!  Were you having first part of reconstruct done or another procedure?

    I have been chasing the three girls for over a week, and just was too tired to even get on here!  DH arrived yesterday to help us pack up and move on Monday.  Monday is my last one, and the entire family is ready to go home.  This has been hard on all of us being in TX all summer.  But, we made it!  

    How is everyone's skin doing? The post rads and the mid rads ladies alike!

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  • missy6758703
    missy6758703 Member Posts: 218
    edited July 2014

    Jodi so glad the finish line is in sight!  You did great!!!   

    My skin is healing well.... Here is a picture of my back and under my boob one month out.  I put on a cream called Hempz that is 100% pure hemp seed oil and it has done wonders!

    Today I am on another roll.... It's basement storage room clean out day! My poor 21 year old son has been recruited to help!

    Happy Saturday to all!

    Michelle

    image

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    Michelle- your skin looks great! So glad you are healing up

    Jodi- congrats on Monday being your last day!! Yea!! You are swimming to the finish line!!

    My surgery was phase 2a of my DIEP reconstruction. I'll have 2b at the end of September and then a phase 3 (with nipples) in December. 

    Pain is minimal.  But my abdomin is itching like crazy. I'm wearing abdominal binders and I would love to stick a steel brush down them and scratch all my skin off. Ugh!! Itching is torture. I've tried oral Benadryl, hydrocortisone cream, wearing a shirt under my binders, and this morning corn starch baby powder. I even slept with an ice pack on top of my binders last night. 

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  • Jodi040812
    Jodi040812 Member Posts: 383
    edited July 2014

    I am so stupid-

    Facebook feed had survival stats and I looked.  They were from 2001 or something.  Why did I even look?  Why do they put that crap out there:(. No number really would be good enough.  

    Please excuse my mood and ignorance for self inflicting this.  I'll NEVER look again.  The only thing that matters is what doctor says not stats.  Damn the fear:(. 

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    Jodi- you are not stupid!! I guarantee we have all looked at and have been afraid of the statistics at one point and some of us will probably look again. It's hard not to when it seems like they are all over the  place. Plus I hear that the worrying is the worst during the first year after treatment but with each year that passes it gets less and less. 

    It's funny you should mention statistics. I got an email today about some books that were for sale and one of those books was about "How to Lie with Statistics". It caught my eye and when I googled it I came across the article with the title " NewNielsen  study Shows 75.6%  of All Statistics are Fake". I really enjoyed reading that title. I love the irony of it. So I'd thought I'd share it with you. Stats are great and they have their place but they can also be skewed. 

    Love ya girl!! Keep Swimming!!

    Holli

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    so obviously  having trouble sleeping. :0(

    Just thought id ask if any of you have heard about drinking a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day? My sister swears by all the health benefits but I thought if run it by you ladies and see what your opinion is. My sister says it had to be the kind with the "mother" in it???

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    anyone on here use a fitbit? Do you like it?

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  • missy6758703
    missy6758703 Member Posts: 218
    edited July 2014

    I haven't heard of drinking apple cider vinegar, sounds horrible! ick! but hey, if there is something to it, why not?  What does she say the health benefits to drinking it are?

    No fitbit either, but have considered it.  I went to the State Fair last night with some friends, had to walk over a mile just to get in and a mile back to the car plus the walking we did while there.....omg my legs today feel like noodles and are so stiff! Made me realize how completely out of shape I have become, but also made me realize I am strong enough to walk as far as i did last night so i might as well keep on doing it!

    It feels like Fall outside today, cloudy and cool.........good day to put a roast in the oven and have some good ol' mashed potatoes and gravy with it!! :)  Come on over, you're all invited!! ha! 

    Michelle

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  • aff
    aff Member Posts: 279
    edited July 2014

    Holli - My sister just got a fitbit for her birthday yesterday. I'll keep you posted. My mother was born and raised in Italy. There is an old wives tale for everything. If you ask my kids (12 and 11) they will tell you salt water cures everything. They learned that from "Nonna". A couple months ago my mother told me I should drink a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar 3 times a day. I can't remember if it was for a specific ailment or a weight loss remedy. I would never tell her...but she's usually right on the money :)

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  • Mikesgirl17
    Mikesgirl17 Member Posts: 260
    edited July 2014

    Apple Cidar vinegar....I actually started drinking it last year because my friend had been doing it and it changed how she felt on a daily basis.  I need to get backto it.  It needs to be raw and organic or it doesn't have the health benefits.  If you drink 2 Tablespoons daily, you will feel better within a week.  Now, do NOT just drink it.  It is very acidic and can cause health problems if you do this.  At the very least, dilute it with a cup of water.  I like to drink it the following way.  I call it "a tea."  My daughter says that it is so not a tea:)  I fill a large water 32 oz. container with 1/2 ice.  Then the vinegar,plus....1/2 of a fresh squeezed lemon and a dash of crushed cayen pepper.  The lemon cuts the nasty taste of the vinegar and the cayen boost your metabolism.  I am going to the store to buy some vinegar roght now.  I know I'll feel better if I start doing it again.  You can go on Pinterest and look up Apple cidar vinegar and see all the health benefits.  I hope this helped :)

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  • RHGSR
    RHGSR Member Posts: 774
    edited July 2014

    thanks ladies on the ACV info. I may get some next time I'm out. My sister said if you add cinnamon to it it cuts the vins get taste. 

    I put the fitbit free app on my phone. It tracked my walk this morning. Pretty cool. The actual devices look pretty neat too. 

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  • oranje_mama
    oranje_mama Member Posts: 260
    edited July 2014

    Holli, I got a fitbit right after surgery & I love it. It definitely helps me motivate to do a little more. Only problem is that I forget to charge it . . .

    Missy, I'd love some fall weather! My family just went to the pool. I skipped and stayed home because it's so hot here (90s & humid) i knew it would just drain me of all energy. We are going to upstate NY on vacation in a couple of weeks - hoping for cooler weather! 

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  • Lisaj514
    Lisaj514 Member Posts: 719
    edited July 2014

    thanks all for your positive comments. You were all in my thoughts while writing it. You all DEFINITELY get it better than anyone. Still feeling great and celebrated with a surprise dinner with my family and a few friends, organized by my husband. Funny that I was trying to organize a dinner with friends while he was working on a surprise party for me. We really confused everyone and no one knew who to believe but all and all it was great.  I can't wait for everyone else on here to finish. We are getting there...who's left? 

    My boost area is pretty red but no broken skin but it is bumpy and I get occasional "zingers" and burning/stinging sensation going through it. Has anyone's boost area or skin gotten worse after finishing rad? It feels like mine is getting worse. If I had to get any more than the 9 I did I think next week it would be broken down. The skin feels hypersensitive, like a raw nerve. I'm assuming its nerve regeneration.

    Jodi, yipee for you tomorrow!! So excited for you. It's been a challenge for you and your family but you made it. Your posts are so interesting, I enjoy reading your perspectives.

    Michelle, yea on the state fair and the walking. And I'd definitely come over for dinner...I'll bring the wine. How long will it take me? Keep some warm. I loved your beer post on fb. I was sooo happy to see your smiling face fri evening on fb. I showed all my friends and family, they love you too! 

    I use map my run or runtastic app on my phone to track my walks. Will have to try the fitbit app. S the actual fitbit much different?

    Regarding ACV, I was making kombucha for a while. It's a fermented  vinegary "beverage" that you make from a portion of another kombucha with a "scoobie" ( mother). It's quite a process and confusing. My sister is a "foodie" and into all new healthy things so was making it and gave me some. It's like the friendship bread. If you look up kombucha on this board things will show up. ACV sounds much easier. 

    Holli, hope you doing well post surgery. Need to replan our April vacation that we cancelledc this April and were supposed to go to San Antonio, do you remember, you gave me some ideas of places to go? Maybe we will decide to go to San Antonio again.

    Oranje, where in upstate ny and when. Let me know. I am in central ny, between albany and syracuse on the thruway

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  • Mikesgirl17
    Mikesgirl17 Member Posts: 260
    edited July 2014


    DJJ- It was me that has the thinning eyebrows.  I just filled them in the other day for the first time in a couple months.   I just hope they don't disappear completely.  My skin was just a little tan exactly 2 weeks after rads was over.  (Mine was really bad too.)

     

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  • Crazywabbit
    Crazywabbit Member Posts: 563
    edited July 2014

    speaking of fitbits, Lisa Scottoline's column was on that today.  I always enjoy her column and books 

    Scottoline column 

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  • kimie06
    kimie06 Member Posts: 215
    edited July 2014

    hellooooo ladies,

    DJJ - looking fab up in the air, I would have shit my pants literally, no fear of heights, but the not having control of that thing would have sent me into a frenzy.  

    Everyone seems to be doing well, I get so happy when I read the posts from all of us trying to move on from the last year, we all seem to be doing our very best, with a few bumps along the way., but look how far we have come

    Well I completed week one of my new weight loss journey, went and got weighed and measured this morning, down 6lbs and 14" ... 14 freaking inches !!!! 

    I have a fitbit and I love it !!! I am so glad I bought it.

    We are taking the plunge here and getting a pool... :) yay, its above ground 24ft salt water, the kids are gonna love it.. :) hope to extend our deck around the hottub and pool, have our own little oasis.

    AAAHHHHH I keep saying it but I need to take a picture to add.

    Jodi - I try so damn hard to not read anything, but its next to impossible.. we've all done it, 

    hugs

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  • Mikesgirl17
    Mikesgirl17 Member Posts: 260
    edited July 2014


    Kimie06, Congrats on the weight loss!  Awesome about the pool too.  Heading to Aruba on Wednesday.  Just got done packing.  My mood is still good and not so depressed.  My husband and I are getting along well, so that's a blessing.  I can't wrap my brain around 8 nights in paradise without kids.  It seems surreal.  I will post pics when I get back. 

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  • missy6758703
    missy6758703 Member Posts: 218
    edited July 2014

    Kim that is awesome!!! Good Job!!!

    Mikesgirl, where are you staying while in Aruba? I work for DeltaVacations and Aruba is one of my favorite destinations to sell! Hope you have a wonderful time while there.....I'm going to Dallas this weekend! Woohooo!! not quite as exotic as Aruba, but it sure beats Minot, ND!! :)

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  • Lisaj514
    Lisaj514 Member Posts: 719
    edited July 2014

    MIchelle, "Dakotas rank as top beer-drinking states". Did you see this headline? Hope you are doing your part, lol!

    http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/dakotas-ran...

    Mikesgirl and Kimie06, you both really look beautiful in your avatars. and kimie, great on the wieght loss...keep it up girl!

    First day of NO RADS! Wow it was great not to have medical appt to go to. Went to visit the rehab dept where i used to cover per diem. Told them i think I am ready to come back. except they start at 7am, ugh. Not sure if Im ready for that. Hopefully will pick up some more home care patients. But I should just enjoy having the summer off if I can...right?

    questions...Well BOTH shoulder blades areas are sensitive, feeling like a burn but nothing is there. Doesnt really make sense for both sides. Michele i know you had burn areas to your back shoulder area. I did not have any positive nodes so they only did breast and tumor bed so I dont know what is making me feel this way. I know the rad beam doesnt pass through the body (I asked) because that is not good for the lungs and heart but I heard of refractory beam, maybe it skims the back skin too? Also Im itchy all over, stomach, forearms and my L forearm gets prickly feeling and my ring on L hand fits but is tighter than usual. Im guessing I have a little edema. I guess I should re check with the PT I went to back in March (before my flight to Indianapolis). No edema then and just got a sleeve for travel. Also when I sweat I get itchy all over...anyone else? Im not taking anything different medication wise and will not be taking hormone therapy as being TN. ANy thoughts? And "zingers" through the boost area...you girls get that too? Nerve regeneration Im assuming

    Jodi, So happy for you. Congratulations on finishing

    Barb, I liked lisa scottolines column, funny

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  • Crazywabbit
    Crazywabbit Member Posts: 563
    edited July 2014

    Lisa isn't it great to have no daily trip to rads. I have been getting those stabbing pains in the nipple area, my boost site. They were worst last week, 1 week post rads, and I haven't had any today.  I needed to take some advils at night a few days. 

    Got a letter today from Blue Cross, they approved one dose of reclast, same med as zometa, but only one dose for the next 2 years. it was approved for "osteopenia" so  I will have to pay for the other 3 doses every 6 months.  At least one is covered, better then none I guess. 

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