Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

Thanks, 614. He was really lucky. they thought they'd have to stent him but by the time he got to the cath lab, he had cleared the clot so no stent. His ejection fraction was normal and there was a minimum of damage at the very apex. He has completed rehab and continues with the exercise plus I have gotten 32 lbs off of him. We were just getting back to normal and then I was diagnosed in Dec. - It's always something.

Dear Froggie:

I cannot believe how much you and your husband have been through.  What a rough ride.  Good luck to both of you.  I am glad that you are there to help your husband and now he is there for you.  I hope that you have an easy time with bilateral whole breast rads.  I wish you the best and I am sending you hugs.  I am glad that you do not need chemo.  One less hurdle.

Poodles how wonderful

Froggie this compact is my favourite, I use the powder to lightly shade the whole area and the wax to define. I've got more expensive ones but love this the most

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HUPR60K/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_s_it?qid=1458628705&sr=1-3&keywords=bh+cosmetics+brow&pi=SY200_QL40poodles how wonderful!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HUPR60K/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_s_it?qid=1458628705&sr=1-3&keywords=bh+cosmetics+brow&pi=SY200_QL40

thanks -- i responded. seed implantation and lymph mapping today. surgery tomorrow. Im less nervous and more anxious at this point. I just want to get started so i can be one day closer to the end. (OK maybe I'm nervous since i have been up for two hours and its not 5AM yet) -- lol

Nancy, good luck today and tomorrow!

Moondust, so you don't shear your pretty sheep?

On insurance. When my DIL was being treated (surgery then chemo) for colon cancer, my DS had a 2nd fulltime job battling with his crappy insurance company. They'd pay for chemo one week and the next time reject it. It's a wonder he came out of it sane. At least DIL is cancer-free (her type produces markers making it easy to track).

On the paint front for the new house. I had DS look at the carpet (which is fine, BTW) to make sure of the color. The colors in it don't go with the paint I thought I wanted. So I'll just have everything painted with the same color. And that's fine. You can see where some of the walls have been scrubbed really hard and the paint's thin. It will simplify things. Hoping to get the inspection report today. I'll definitely need my DIL to help me decorate - I'm lousy at it.

Poodles, it is extremely hard having family on the other coast. I hope you can retire to West Coast. I hope to get over to the Seattle area. I'm FB friends with an author who lives there and I'd like to meet her in person (Meg Justus).

If anyone has friends or relatives in Spokane and they are willing, I'd love to meet them!

HUGS!

MLP - seriously that stuff annoys the pants off me. Or as a former co-worker used to say to me, "That fries my nose." I have been dealing with incompetent billing and admin at healthcare facilities up here since I started getting treated in Boston. The last one was for PT for cording, the prescription didn't have the RIGHT LANGUAGE (mind you, from Dana Farber) and therefore I could not make a PT appointment. As a result I was sent on a wild goose chase. And the bills, well that's too long to even get into, but they don't put all the services on one statement, instead they put EACH service (office visit, ultrasound, biopsy, surgery, pathology, etc.) all on separate bills and so you have a pile and don't know what's been paid or not. I actually rely more on the insurance company and my account on their portal to get a full picture of what's going on because the hospital administration I went to up here is so inefficiently annoying. (I do love the nurses, though.)

LTF, Poodles, so glad you are bot feeling better!

Did a 5k this weekend with my family, including the kids. We walked, it was cold but the sun felt great. I did take a nice nap afterwards.

BTW need an opinion - I have tickets for a concert 7 days after my first AC, I should be good enough to go, right? My blood counts have been fine. I'll ask the onc too.

Baby animals are such a beautiful sign of spring! My oldest was born in April, I always referred to his birth as "the great lambing."

Poodles, I think that Spokane is much sunnier than Seattle. Summers are drier. You might want to come visit me when you start exploring areas in Washington. I think Seattle is about 4-5 hours away (not real sure). Not a drive you'd do in winter but otherwise a nice drive. Even with all the rain we had when I visited last week, the sun still came out. Rather reminded me of Florida rains: rain, sun, rain, sun etc. Like your DH I wouldn't fare well with out sunshine either. I have no trees in the backyard of my new house and lots of sun - perfect for me.

HUGS!

Nancy- good luck. I had the same procedures done, too. So scary when you don't know what's going to happen!

Poodles- My brother and sister in law live very close to your sister! In Kingston, WA. I love that area. Good to hear about your good news, too

I hate having insurance issues and I'm glad that I have Kaiser because it makes billing easier (although I have gripes with them, too).

Have a great Tuesday everyone.. I'm off to the PS to get my infected drain site taken care of. I know, fun, fun, fun!

I am pretending to be a model here.  I have absolutely no fashion sense or coordination.  I hope that I can raise some money for Breast Cancer patients through this organization. 

Sherri - 614

Dear Poodles:  I totally understand about paying off credit card debt prior to retiring.  However, medical bills for breast cancer treatment hampers one's ability to pay anything off.  After tx is finished, ongoing medical tests/imaging/doctor appointments, etc. also add to debt every year.  The financial stress, time off from work for tx, appts, and to heal, plus the emotional/mental anxiety from bc make this disease so difficult.  I am still praying that you can retire soon.  Good luck paying off the debt.

Good luck to all of you having surgery, chemo, and rads.  Also, good luck with pathology result.

Fightergirl- Your 5k sounds great! I had to laugh at the "that fries my nose" comment- thanks, am hoping to be able to remember it so I can use it.

MLP- 28 year old stable hands---got a chuckle out of that, too. Can't remember who was asking about a concert 7 days out from chemo (sorry) but agree with you- should be fine and if you get tired leave early.

Nancy- wear something with big pockets- looks like lots of us with be in there for support. Hoping Peggy doesn't knock any of us out

Yeah, Spokane significantly drier than Seattle--can't remember the meteorological term but the mountains catch all the rain.

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to post this for the newbies out there! I just had my lumpectomy this morning. My BS also took out one sentinel node and put a spacer and catheter in the tumor cavity so I can begin Brachytherapy on Monday, (5 day internal rads 2x per day). I have to say that I feel pretty good. A little sore, but I'm just resting and taking it slowly. The dye was injected into a few spots on the edge of my nipple to flow to the nodes. I had heard that that was going to be excruciating. They put a lidocaine type of cream on the area and that really seemed to help. It did not really hurt much at all during the injections,,,... it was more like a fleeting sting. Next thing you know, I was awake and all wrapped up tightly with ace bandages. So far I'm just tired, and a bit tender. I notice it more on my underarm than the lumpectomy site.

The Doc said that there was no node involvement and they think the margins are clear, but won't know for a few days. They still recommend the Brachytherapy for any stray cancer cells, and I will start that on Monday. I am happy to say that the spacer is already in place and all they have to do is exchange the spacer for the balloon on Friday. I thought they were going to have to do a whole new procedure to get that in on Friday so that was a huge relief.

All in all, for day 1, I feel pretty good regarding my new LX. That may change as soon as the anesthesia wears off, but, in the meantime, I just wanted to share that it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be! I appreciate all of the posts on this forum, and it has been a great source of info and comfort to me...I hope this little post will help alleviate anxiety for some of you out there still counting the days to your surgery!

Drove up to Milwaukee to see the Who last night--they’d had to postpone their tour for 8 months while Roger Daltrey recovered from bronchitis (he is extremely allergic & asthmatic). Last June I had tickets to see them in Rosemont but it was the first night that he had to cancel--Gordy said that when he saw them the night before Daltrey was having problems and had to sit out the last few songs. He was in terrific voice last night--but Townshend had laryngitis and sounded more like Jimmy Durante at times--growling where he used to hit higher notes. It was a benefit for Teens with Cancer.

BTW, for you Fitbitters--because of all of the wild applauding, air guitar, fist-pumping and dancing in place, my Fitbit said I did 7800 steps, 2.6 miles and 8 flights of stairs. Now you know how to fool a Fitbit!

Then on the way back to the parking garage, I stubbed my toe on a raised brick circle on the sidewalk, and down I went--landing on my R knee, elbow and upper arm, straining my shoulder. I was able to drive home just fine, but all the way home I was worrying about my LE. I knew that despite not abrading my leather jacket I had still skinned the elbow (friction with the cloth of my sweater sleeve), and I couldn’t shrug my shoulder w/o wincing. When we got home, I was relieved I could still reach up to close the tailgate--Bob said that means I didn’t tear or fracture anything. Washed off the scrape on my elbow--raw red patch about the size of a penny, with some dried skin peeled back--and put on a band-aid with bacitracin. Took a Celebrex and a Norco and slept like a baby. Woke up okay, so have decided I don’t need to waste time going to Urgent Care.

Have to go buy some pounds sterling today, and Swiss francs tomorrow--I start with 3 days each in London & Lausanne, which don’t use the Euro, before finishing with 3 days R&R in Paris. I now have an excuse to ask for a wheelchair at airports, but because of the Brussels bombings it won’t get me through security any faster. And it’s just as well I didn’t apply for Global Entry--they’re not exempting members from TSA shortcuts until further notice. I’m a bit nervous about the trip, since it looks like Europe is ISIS’ target. I’ve decided not to go to any Friday night services in London or Paris, since synagogues there will probably be vulnerable.

Sandy, your fall was scary. I think for all of us over 60 falls are the thing we fear most. Glad you weren't really hurt! And I think you are extremely wise to avoid Friday services anywhere in Europe. That's too bad because I'd think there are some really old synagogues that would be wonderful to visit and attend services. Smart of you to request a wheelchair. I had one in Denver coming home from Spokane (changing planes). Have a wonderful time!!

HUGS!