Canadians in British Columbia

Yes I do have a hernia, incisional and above previous scars from laparotomies from bowel obstructions in 98 and 2000. Surgery in April or May at St/ Paul's and no exercise or yoga for a month which will be the worst for me. But knowing it could rupture means it needs doing.

Marian - glad to read you were overall feeling well these days, but so sorry about the hernia repair needed.... My underarm is healing up but now have a similar patch under the breast -- oyy vey! Otherwise getting less pinky, and had good appt today with physio. Yes I saw the PG retreat with great interest -- have heard of the camp, but didn't know they did that too! But as I have a lovely cabin on a different lake that I go to quite frequently, I think I will let others take the spots. PS I think you meant to invite Stellamaris re the walking nearby!

Wendy, I will be thinking of you and I can only imagine it will be a long week waiting. Hang tough.

Wendy, damn, I'm sorry to hear about the bad results. Keeping you in my thoughts.

Thanks Beachlife my family doctor is in Salmon Arm the only one I was able to find here that still takes patients is unbelievably bad. I have to phone back on average at least three time after getting a referral then it's like "Oh well she filled out half the referral and forgot to send it oh well, I'll let her know" stuff like that constantly. I have been feeling that lately I need a degree in medicine to take care of myself. Because the doctors are either not really interested or just to dumb sorry but I feel this way.

Delta lady have to agree wholeheartedly with you. There are a lot of really good people I think the way it's run it faulty. Your right everything is disjointed nobody know what the other doctor is doing. You would think with the electronic age we would be able to send files and make appointment clear. I sat in the radiologist oncologists office and she said to me well we will need a new bone scan to pinpoint the laser. I said well I had one on Tuesday she was stumped had no idea and looked rather embarrassed. This wouldn't be a big deal if this only happened once it happens all the time. 

ouch Stellamaris - just catching up ... so sorry, sounds painful and frustrating. I had felt that with my replacement RO who was not up to speed with my info. If you do end up in grey area like I was, there is a provincial case conference [monthly I think] where a few of the best in the province review your case from the beginning and go over all your path results etc with fresh eyes, and add their input. Maybe inquire about it -- I was referred to it by my former RO [who went on mat leave], and that was what convinced me to go ahead with rads.

Stellamaris, I have been suspecting you have the same BS as I based on communication difficulties etc. esp. when the BS commented on practice in Toronto. I feel sorry for us. I also had quite an experience plus a margin issue.

Take care!

Stellamaris - thinking of you as you enter your one week countdown to surgery:) Hope things have gone well with that 'badboob' in the meantime. I am 5 weeks post rads and my diep breast is healing very well except a light persistent tan [expected], but absolutely no other issues ... even the weird temporary 'freckles' are gone too, and my fatigue is melting away with the last bits of snow. The one lingering annoyance is my brain keeps forgetting things, [way more than usual] not unexpected either, but it better be temporary!

Marianelizabeth - thought of you when I heard about the new plans for the Arbutus corridor, which sound pretty good:) Hope you are well and your appointment was helpful. It's so nice to see the longer sunnier days. I am looking at the garden [still hibernating unlike Vancouver], but at least I can see it, and the dog is back to drinking out of her favourite place...the birdbath -- she's tall!

And spring-is-in-the-air greetings to everyone!

Marian good afternoon hope you are well . So I was slated to start my clinical trial today unfortunately my body didn't adhere to the guidelines of the pharmacy company. Too much estradial in the system still to be considered menopausal . So my oncologist thinks this is from the tamoxifen I was on so now they want me to redo the blood work one more time to see if the numbers come down and if they do I do the fulvestrant ( did I spell that right?) ribilcon (that I spelled wrong for sure) study and if my numbers don't work my onc has a way of getting me the fuvestrant anyway even though it is not yet approved in Canada. So yeah my tumour markers are none existing so that's good and no progression since last scan which was only a month ago but heck I'll be happy over that. So now they figured the tamoxifen did not work on me at all. Would have been nice to know this before nine months go by. I hope everyone is doing well.

Wren how are you?

Wendy

Marian: Wishing you a wonderful trip with much joy and laughter, as well as a speedy recovery from your hernia surgery. It does seem never ending, and I'm hoping everything will be clear sailing for you once you get through this one.

Beach Life: It was great speaking with you and I hope you continue to heal without incident.

Wendy: You have been in my thoughtsas well. So happy to hear your positive news that there has been no progression since the last scan. Every piece of positive news helps.

Wrenn: Thanks for mentioning Callanish. I had not heard about it and am glad there is an organization available that can provide an outlet and a comfort zone.

My DH took me on a mini road trip this week. It was wonderful to get out from under the stifling bc umbrella. We spent Wednesday skiing Mount Baker, and Thursday we wandered around Samish Bay. We found a delightful artisan cheese producer. Outside the facility was a small sign "free cheese tasting", so we swung the car around and in we went. Wow! Gorgeous cheeses up to 15 years old. We sampled the 2 year old cheddar, 18 month old gouda and a couple of semi-ripe cheeses flavored with fresh chive and jalapeno. I must say we splurged a little bit, but such a treat! We finished the afternoon with a surprise picnic - DH had packed the ingredients (butter, garlic, fresh chopped dill and lemon) in the cooler, as well as the frying pan, garlic crush and tongs in the backpack, lol, and we had fresh grilled pacific oysters on the beach, with the view of the San Juan islands sparkling in the sun. It was so much fun and such a lovely, caring gesture.

Sending everyone healing thoughts and best wishes.

Wow Stella what a treat love oysters and I can't say enough about cheese. What a great guy you have to organize something like that wonderful.

Stellamaris - thinking of you with positivity as your surgery date arrives tomorrow Remember the first few days can be rough esp with the not standing straight, so take it easy, but then you will start to improve steadily and be so happy this is behind you. XO

Stellamaris I have been trying to stay offline while here with friends in Amsterdam but wanted to wish you well too. Keep us posted

Hi Ladies, you have all been in my thoughts and prayers, hope you are appreciating the spring. Sorry I have been running around with some anxiety unfortunately, which again reminds me of my cancer personality.

Stellamaria: It was great talking to you too! Wholeheartedly wish you a smooth surgery and recovery!

Marian: Thank you for asking! U/s & Mammo for that bump on April 12 (It takes 1.5 months to get to that point!) , and a rib X-ray that I am yet to know the scheduling after one month's waiting! However, while my family doc was on vacation, my bone den scan results came back (It was requested by my MO for possible AI after Tam). I was called to see my family doc.'s cover to discuss the results (osteoporotic range ) but the doc soon caught something he wanted to deal with right away instead of the bone issue. He sent me to various tests right away (blood, heart, lungs, ribs), more tests coming, and said he'd refer me to a specialist before Thanksgiving. I hope I am OK. Have a great friends reunion, it would be a wonderful therapy indeed!

Happy Easter everyone!

Hello Ladies! I am from Ontario but cannot find an active group here and saw you are all interacting with each other which is great.

@ phoebe58...what does the (FISH) mean in your DX?

Can anyone explain to me what the significant is of the ER+/PR-,HER2-??? Is this more aggressive? Does it mean it is Luminal B? My MO did not order the Oncotype test and wondered if yours did?

Did you have boosts with your radiation? I need to know very soon and just worried if to do them or not. Any sharing would be very appreciated. Thanks so much.