April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

They probably will excise it if there is even the slightest chance that it's anything to worry about. I have 2 spots of scar tissue on the reconstruction site on my right (non-cancer) side. During the MX, the cautery tool burned the skin from the inside all the way through to the outside. The scars were pretty nasty in the beginning, but are now just small red/hard areas. Part of my next phase of reconstruction is to excise those areas of scar tissue and create much 'nicer', less noticeable scars. So, if they can do that, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't excise this other lump. I heard back from them this morning and the P.S. and S.O. are requesting the u/s images so they can evaluate the urgency and come up with a plan.

I am actually really puzzled by my ability to stay rather calm during this whole ordeal. I was a complete wreck between my repeat mammo, u/s and biopsy last year. All I could do was dwell on all the what if's and why's. This time, I've been keeping myself busy finishing up a room renovation we were supposed to work on last Spring before my DX. After DX, they whole project got ash canned. I wasn't about to let this little lump sabotage my DIY project again. I've also been focused on my Aunt. She had her 3rd brain tumor operated on Monday night. They think she'll be transferred closer to her home in order to get radiation. I don't know much about what the doctors are saying about her prognosis, but I do think it's a good sign that they are being very aggressive with her treatment. If there was no hope, I'm assuming that they wouldn't have put her through 2 separate brain surgeries in 1 week.

Anyway...If my surgical team reviews my u/s images and decides that it's okay for me to keep the surgery date the same, I think I am okay with that. My other option is to go to the surgeon I saw her after my original diagnosis. However, I doubt she could give me a surgery date much closer than my current one. When we saw her last year, she was scheduling 2-3 weeks out if we decided to have her do bmx. At the time, I was like "hell no!" I'm not waiting that long. That's how we ended up in Illinois.

Thanks for everyone's positive thoughts. I really appreciate them. I just hope that a few weeks from now, I can let you all know the good news...that this tiny, little trouble maker was nothing.

Jen, it's always a good time to write song lyrics!

Hi Everyone,

Lovely dog! These pics lift my spirits.

Dizz - sorry about your aunt. You are in my thoughts.

Andrea- arghhhh! Glad you are getting it checked out. Hope your cold gets better soon!

Steph- how did your nipples turn out? Have you seen them yet?

dizz thinking of you there are going to be these scary moments through out the rest of our lives we just have to remain calm and strong..which you are!!

No nips yet jen Monday morning 715am bright and early

Hi all!

My ultrasound yesterday went well. Although the tech is not supposed to discuss findings, she told me that it looks like a simple seroma (accumulation of fluid). I did have an obvious seroma there postop, you could hear it sloshing away...so weird! So this is just the remnant of that, I guess. The tech said they can last up to two years. So nothing to worry about 😀

Scarlett, I had an oophrectomy and hysterectomy in November. The oophrectomy was done laparoscopically so just a few tiny stab wounds. Pain wise you will be uncomfortable for 2-3 days but it's not bad. You will have to take it easy for a while - ie, no heavy lifting or housework for 6 weeks. All in all though I was surprised at how quickly I recovered.

Andrea

Andrea I slso have a seroma! The radiologist suggested a petscan die it im like huh? My surgeon was like nope it's fine will eventually be absorbed

I don't know what my surgery is called just nipple recunstruction taking skin from my inner thigh and making it into a nipple I wasn't going to do it but I think it would make me feel more normal they are also going to fix my port scar it looks terrible since I had to let it heal open from the sepsis it's a huge nasty scar

Happy Valentine's Day to my cronies in cancer...hope you are all having a happy day filled with love ❤️

My hunny and I are off to Vegas today's! Woohoo! 🎉🍹

Andrea

Good luck Scarlett. It is hard getting your brain wraped around going back under the knife. My DIEP stage 2 is on March 3rd too. Good day for surgery I guess. I hope it isn't too bad and that your recovery is easy.

Hope you are having an awesome time in Vegas Andea. I am glad to hear about your good test results.

I've heard back from pcp about my hand x-rays. Results are: troubling signs of both osteoarthritis and osteopenia. She's putting in a rheumatology referral for after my surgery. From what I read online, however, osteoarthitis would be more likely if the pain came on during the day after activity. I am actually in most pain when I wake up in the morning. I can hardly get out of bed and when I do, it's the Frankenstein shuffle for the first 20-30 minutes or so. It's all coming on suddenly in my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders and knees. 6 weeks ago, I treked all over Disneyland morning to night in chilly weather. I didn't have any of this joint pain. It was only after the first of the year that it started coming on bit by bit. Of course, Dr. Google has diagnosed me with everything...including: Gabapentin insensitivity, Estrogen depletion causing cartilage loss, celiac sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Leukemia...just to name a few.

Between the trouble maker lump, my surgery, and this joint pain, it feels like I am being sucked back into the cancer bubble. I don't want to go back into the bubble. I was just getting used to being back in the real world. I have so many side effects stacking up, I can't even keep track.

Once again, thanks for listening. Venting to someone who understands my fears and frustration is helpful.

I hobble when I get up and if I've been seated for awhile. Tamoxifen is my culprit.

I have two strategies: 1) Sitz baths with Epsom salt; 2) Zumba like it's going out of style so I feel like I've earned the aches and stiffness.

Re: hobbling - I've been dealing with this for months now. My PT finally started working on my feet about a month ago, now she does "therapy" on them every visit (2x a week). She uses these tools - I call them the implements of torture - to dig into the soles of my feet and my calves. I also got an orthotic evaluation, and now I have orthotics and I've been wearing my sneakers 99% of the time. PT thinks I have plantar fasciitis - I didn't think it was PF because I thought PF was a constant pain. My feet get better as I walk along (but then pain starts again about 1 mile in).

I wish I had better news to report - honestly I don't think that my feet have gotten any better. But, I also think that it will probably take a long while.

My cousin has PF, and she highly recommends OOFOs - I'm going to try a pair and see if they are as great as she (and other reviewers) says. I'm not a fan of clogs, but if they help, I may even buy a pair.

Lynne

Hi all -

Back from Vegas, had a great trip although I wasn't feeling 100% because of my cold. I always seem to have a cold. But it was so nice to be walking around in the sunshine with short sleeves! It has been mild here on the west coast but certainly not like Vegas! I will post a pic Renee, when I get one from my hubby's camera...I didn't do any selfies!

I am glad I am not the only one with aches and pains. It is awful, I am sore all the time. I have had my hands x-rayed too Dizz, but have heard nothing back from my doctor. I also have muscle and joint pain pretty much everywhere, particularly when I first get up in the morning. I am on Tamoxifen too, I went off it for three weeks before I had my hysterectomy and oophrectomy in November and the pain did seem to be less.

I'm going to start swimming, I think exercise will help...

Andrea