Winter rads 2014-2015

Well, yeah, I have my head turned to the side, too. Good point, won't really make much difference what's on the ceiling!

Sjacobs146 I started with a nurse and she was supportive of me not doing Friday's tx. You're right, the nurses are usually more compassionate and full of suggestions. Thank goodness for them.

She had to call the doctor in though and he started right off with the all too common RO mannerisms which made things worse.

By Monday I'm hoping to be ready to hit this again. Sometimes the pain, fatigue, emotions and stress just explode and I feel very vulnerable.

Everyone's input and support is truly appreciated.

Thanks CassieCat

Quiggy-You've got this.  Just cross off one day at a time and get this done to kick some cancer butt!  Beachbum-Yay, you are almost done! 

Thank you all! I feel blessed to have your support.

It is really weird being all marked up and they are a little itchy, I'm just afraid I will forget and scratch one of them off.  The techs really were very nice, I hope they stay that way through treatment.

For you quiggy. Some days are just like that and that's OK. Hang in there. One day at a time. I've got 5 boosts left too. We can do this!

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Love it, thanks mqt64.

Allmodestyi - Good question, I am curious to know the answer to that as well.

interesting article on "cancer free"

http://copingmag.com/cwc/index.php/article/why_chemo

Hello all - sorry I haven't been here recently. I've been making up for lost time on my second job since I like to eat and pay the mortgage and have electricity and all those luxuries, lol. And we are receiving even more of Mother Nature's bounty today in the form of YET MORE SNOW. Ugh. I like winter but even I've had enough of it.

Someone asked when did we consider that we were cancer free and what was our anniversary? I think the date you pick is unique to you. I considered myself cancer free after the first lumpectomy. They got it all, had good margins, didn't need any further treatment, etc. Then recurrence #1 came along and I started to doubt. By the 3rd recurrence, when I had my BMX in 2010, all hope was gone. I'd done everything they'd asked of me but it still came back over and over and that time it was invasive - ILC vs LCIS. I knew it was a matter of time before it came back, and indeed, about 4.5 years out from the mastectomy, all that time on AIs, I found a lump along my incision scar. Turned out there were three tumors in there that the surgeon found. And now it looks like it's gone to my bones so there really is no hope. So now I not only have no hope of being cancer free but I have no hope of being something other than Stage IV.

I sincerely, with all my heart, hope that NONE of you have to worry about dealing with this fucking disease ever again.

quiggy, I wish I could wrap you and a couple others of my sisters in love and put you all in a warm comforting place (with a good air conditioner when the hot flashes came) and just hug you until you get through this. I know you will find it odd, coming from me (the whiner of the group), but please consider finishing. Stopping now is not going to stop the side effects. You only have a few more days. And then you may have a week or two when things continue to be bad or get worse (remember that picture I posted?) but then it starts to heal and you slowly get your energy back and your mental state becomes more stable. I feel qualified to say this having been one of the ones to have a really bad reaction. Stopping now is not going to make any discernible difference (WOW, my brain came up with discernible! A four syllable word! Why can't it remember those words all the time?????) in your side effects or how long they continue. Insist on lidocaine for local relief (it really does wonders on raw flesh), use non-stick bandages to keep things covered, and do what you can to take care of yourself.

Oh, I had my followup on Friday with my RO. I fired her. I very politely tried to talk to her about the terms that she used and about all the things that happened. I told her that unless things changed, that unless she could deal with a strong woman who wanted to know and be the doctor that I needed, that our relationship was over. And you know, she kept going back, over and over again, that what I had was "like a sunburn". WTF? Excuse me? REALLY? NO sunburn I have ever had resulted in a large patch of skin sliding off my body! I finally conceded defeat in my mind. I stood up, told her that should I need further rads assistance in the future that I would seek it from a doctor who would actually listen to me and be forthcoming with information, unlike herself. I then wished her well and walked out the door. I'm furious inside that she would not listen to me, that NONE of them down there seem to be allowed to be frank with patients, but I'm pleased with the calm manner in which I dealt with the issue. This means, unfortunately, that I'll have to travel further to get treatments in the future if I need them, but oh well. I just cannot continue with her or any of the docs in that department.

So I now consider myself DONE with the rads "experience". I have skin where it's supposed to be (if any of you newer peeps want to see, I think the picture was somewhere around page 49 of this thread. I still don't have my mobility back but I'm working on it. There's still a deep ache inside but that is slowly dissipating with exercise and time. My energy levels are back to where they were before - in other words, they still suck but at least it got better.

If any of you want to bitch, moan, complain, whatever, and don't feel comfortable doing it here, just send me a PM. My apologies to anyone I missed - I had to catch up several pages to get to the end!

JJ

welcome scubawoman! This is a great place to find support, help and friends.

Hopefully you'll sail through tx with no issues! I love that you're counting down on tx ...very positive outlook.

Glad to have you newer folks just getting underway. It will be over sooner than you think. Drink lots of water, let air get at your breast as much as you can. Loose clothes like a t-shirt or cami, bra if needed over that, and another layer for public viewing unless you want my Wonder Woman look.

Just Jean - sorry you had such trouble with your RO. You did the right thing. The problem is a lot of the medical profession are scientists and see us as specimens. They are not into people and cannot understand how we feel. My final visit to the RO amounted to a tick box approach and I thought he could have done it over the telephone - no examination despite ongoing axial area problem. Told me to see the nurse at my GPs practice. I am not sure he will ever improve his knowledge and indeed probably doesn't think he needs to. That is the way it is with some medics.

However all you strong women still and just starting rads - you will get there, just grit your teeth and know it really does have to be done and it is the last step in suffering all the prodding and poking about. All the very best.

Possibly - but as I never wear anything in bed I cannot say! - although I sailed through rads with minimum ses. I did wear a bra after surgery for a while.

Try it and see - you might never go back to wearing all that unnecessary stuff!