Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

Surgery went well. Thank you everyone for going along in my pocket. The surgeon told my husband there were more calcifications but she said she got them. I have felt pretty good this evening so I am very happy about that. Good night and thanks for being there

Great news, KarenR0618! Keep the ice packs on, and take it easy!!

Count me IN for a diet. I want to lose at least 30 lbs. I am 154lbs at 5'5. I am definitely overweight. I do not want any fat for the estrogen/progesterone to hide out in. My current problem is trying not to be nauseous all the time. I have lost about 8 or 9 lbs since being diagnosed at the end of December. I might have to get me a fit bit after all

Disneygirl: Welcome! Poodles: Glad you got fixed up with IV fluids and Zofran. That virus sounds like it was hell on wheels.

"Feeling like in the past 6 weeks I am studying for a exam that I have limited knowledge yet make in informed choice with impacting results" --- Brightsocks, I feel like I could have written this myself. This is how I feel every single day so far.

Thanks for the replies on my current issue (to do hormones prior to surgery or not). I sent my MO a ton of questions and requested a call or another appointment. Sloan - thank you for your insight. That is one of the things she mentioned. We can monitor how my tumor reacts to the meds to see how effective it will be in the long run. She went over a lot of options with me. She talked about the "SOFT" trial and said that they have already received some results (5 year results) back and that trial can effect me greatly (why she suggested the Lupron shot, it was in that trial for ladies doing Tamoxifen + Lupron + having low Oncotype score. I do not have my Oncotype yet. She said she would send off my biopsy to Oncotype if we do hormones first, because the tumor would be less accurate after it is taken out and having been affected by the meds first. Ugh, so much information batting around in my head. Thinking about the 2nd opinion option though. It never hurts!

Did anyone ever ask their MO (or SO) how long they thought the tumor was growing inside you?

My mom passed in 2006 at the age of 85, but I'm sure if she were still around she'd be chomping at the bit to “take care" of me. (In '94 when I had my gallbladder out, and she was 74, she flew in to “take care" of me--but when I got home I was fine--I cooked for the family and three days later we all went out for our anniversary).

I can't do a diet low in fat and high in carbs--it makes me cranky and I don't fill up. I have no idea what a “Shakeology" shake is, but it sure doesn't sound satisfying for breakfast--I need texture and balance. (Real food, mostly plants, but REAL). I was never a fan of real shakes & malts anyway--why would I want a low-calorie one for breakfast? No, what I need to do is go back to Induction on Atkins for awhile and slowly add back berries, low-carb full-fat dairy and eventually very-high-fiber grain. (Oh, and get off my butt more). Where I went off the rails was when I traveled to Spain last March and indulged in first matzo (first week was during Passover) and then breads, crostini-type tapas and desserts, especially at the lavish included hotel breakfast buffets--not to mention the food & alcohol on Iberia business class. Once I fell off the horse, it was tough getting back on. I had my abnormal mammo in mid-Aug. and then the BIRADS 4b ultrasound the day before I left for a course and gig in New Orleans--I was terrified it might be my last trip there ever, and I was deep into my pity party. I even “rewarded” myself with dessert after each medical or rads appt. Some “reward,” huh?

Going out to restaurants is a HUGE part of Bob's & my social life. And when I tour, I need to be able to find something to eat on the road that is on my diet. I have done the WW thing--bringing a scale and points calculator to restaurants--and both Jenny Craig & Seattle Sutton. I cringe in retrospect when I recall bringing prefab JC or SS meals into restaurants and having the chutzpah to ask them to nuke them for me. By contrast, I know I can walk into any restaurant and find some protein and green veggie to eat--even if it's string cheese, hard boiled eggs and celery sticks at a gas station. I can find something satisfying and delicious--and totally on my diet--at a steakhouse, fish restaurant, breakfast place, even a music-conference buffet or down-and-dirty road BBQ, so long as I lay off the sauces, sweets and starches (and definitely limit wine to a couple glasses a week of something really, really worth drinking). It's a matter of re-exercising the discipline that allowed me to lose those 50 lbs. and stop justifying the insidious “little cheats" that definitely added up.

It isn’t fair. Nothing about cancer is fair. Especially the fact that we can’t even comfort ourselves with the things we enjoy, to compensate for the unfairness. The truth is it’s not a zero-sum game, and we don’t get to make it not suck.

ChiSandy I followed pretty much the same diet you did and also lost 50 pounds. Then gained 20 pounds back during chemo. Now down almost 10 of those pounds (8 months later), but man this time it is slow going. Having said that, I have cheated during chemo and after because it was hard to deny myself, but I am motivated now to get back on the "diet" that works for me.

Can I just say that through weight loss one of the foods that has helped me more than anything has been pumpkin seeds? Avoiding processed carbs takes out a lot of the crunch foods, and pumpkin seeds help me fill that void.

Theresa, I decided to “get back on the horse" starting with dinner tonight. (My farewell-to-discipline was a pain au chocolat after the family shrink appt. and shopping trip to Whole Paycheck). WF got some really nice branzino in this morning, so I had the fish guy scale and filet one for me (I froze the bones & head for stock). I got a really pretty organic artichoke too. I sauteed some onion & cubanelle peppers (red & green) with a little minced garlic. Meanwhile, I salted & peppered the fish, put them on some parchment paper with some drops of olive oil. Topped them with fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, and tarragon leaves, then a quartered tomato and a squeeze of lemon. Folded and crimped the parchment, cut a few slits in the top, and nuked it on high for 90 seconds. (Yup, that's all it took). Topped the cooked filets with the pepper-onion mixture. And for crunch, I trimmed the artichoke and deep-fried it till the leaves were crispy but the heart was still tender, and sprinkled with a little Sicilian orange sea salt. Voila: carciofi alla Giudia, just like I had in Rome. No wine, just seltzer. No starch, no sugar. And with all the herbs from the fish (especially the tarragon & basil) the kitchen still smells great. Only bummer was that I had to wear a Kevlar glove on my right hand to protect it from heat (and further swelling). Let me tell you, even mild LE bites!

Haven't tried pumpkin seeds since I was a kid, but for crunch I’ve been eating cashews & almonds.

oh yeah, almonds and cashews are awesome too. I just got in to frying Brussels sprouts in palm oil. They are delicious and crispy, but can really give me the burps.

What a gal will do for crunchy!

Ok, you have motivated me. No more cheating! I do best when I allow myself one cheat meal per week so I don't go too nuts looking for the crunch (pun intended!). I have found I can also overeat nuts and gain weight too! I'm a pumpkin seed junky because my Sicilian grandpa always kept some in a tin when I was a kid and he would give us just a few, so they became a special treat

Weight loss after menopause sucks....

Im soooo behind!!!!! OK JCLC and Octogirl - I had different Chemo to both of you and unfortunately have to concur with JCLC..I had every shitty side effect possible!!! everything she said and more. Im now 4 days back at work JCLC after 4 months off work...its debilitating, my spirits are high, but by the time I get home I pass out on the bed for 45mins unable to move through exhaustion and then I get up and do dinner. Its hard, but doable, am hoping to get better each day. Chemo has depleted me physically, before Xmas I couldnt even walk through a shopping centre, for pain in my bones, nerves and muscles and fatigue. Things are brighter everyday!!!

Just when I thought it was time to re-start my own pity party, I found out tonight that my friend with DCIS' biopsy result shows her tumors are not just high-grade but also hormone-receptor-negative. No idea if triple-neg, because they don't test DCIS for HER2 unless post-surgical path reveals invasive cancer as well. (if HER2+ she can at least get Herceptin besides chemo). No idea what to do except be there for her (and perhaps go to the thrift store and help her buy a whole bunch of cheap old dishes I can then fling into the air for her to shoot at in the cornfields behind her house).

Dear ItalyChick:

I just packed pumpkin seeds for a snack at work for today.  Thanks for the advice.

I have a little bit of a rant, and I do hope I don't offend anyone with it....but, just because I had breast cancer does not mean that I am going to support or participate in every local breast cancer awareness event! My employer holds a huge marathon with a local tv celebrity who has has stage IV breast cancer. We do get a lot of money for research, but in the last two days I have had at least 10 people at work ask if I am running in, or volunteering for the event later this month. They seem offended when I tell them that I am not. Almost every single person has made the comment: "but didn't you have breast cancer?" I am in a place right now that I want to get as far away as possible from anything breast cancer related. I have to face it everyday in my thoughts and in my continuing Herceptin infusions. I am not a runner, so to think that I would, in my exhausted post treatment state, take up marathon running to support the cause is a bit silly!

Thanks for letting me rant away!

CreativeVintage, How every rude of your co-workers. Because you had BC doesn't mean you have to join every BC event. You certainly don't need to participate in any! I totally get why you are PO'd. You DID give at home and everywhere else by just getting through your treatments. Just ignore them. It's nice that there are events for BC.

I'm sure someone here will come up with a snappy comeback for you!

HUGS!

Did anyone who had radiation get a UV marking over the older method? I was reading this is a new approach so we won't have to wear the dots for life.

614 the "diet" I can lose weight on is no processed foods, and no fruit except berries and an occasional grapefruit. The processed foods I avoid are bread, pasta, rice, crackers, cookies, cereal, etc. I find it pretty hard to overeat on protein, fat and vegetables, although I can sabotage myself with too many nuts and dairy. It does make it hard to eat out, so when I do eat out it is usually some type of protein with no sauce and a salad and grilled vegetables. It got to the point where I had some difficulty so I added in a little bit of sweet potato.

Man, when I do my diet I so miss bread!

One of the few cheat foods I eat is So Delicious No Sugar Added Coconut Ice cream, but it has a lot of inulin in it, so can cause gas if I overeat it.