new one in town

Hi Wetcoast,

Just wanted to say welcome. I would not have made it this far without the support from here as well as the great information. To answer your question about protocol, my situation is somewhat different in that I am getting chemo then surgery. I will say that when first  diagnosed my tumor was 2cm, I was node negative and the chemo regimen I am getting is Carboplatin and Taxotere. It has definitely kicked my butt (and hopefully the cancer), but it has not been as horrible as I thought. Hope your visit with the oncologist goes well. I would consider getting a second opinion for treatment options as I saw two oncologist and they both had very different approaches.

Take care,

Natalie

Hi Laurel - I had a 2.8cm IDC and 2 positive nodes and a lumpectomy in 2005.  I had adriamycin + cytoxan (4 doses) and Taxol (4 doses) plus radiation. 

While your first and utmost priority is getting rid of any remaining cancer cells, you should know that some people have had nerve damage in their feet and hands from Taxol - since you mentioned marathon running, I know this could be something that you want to consider.  I am NOT suggesting turning down a drug that your oncologist recommends for your treatment - only that you and your onc talk about side effects. 

Best of luck to you and hope you get to Boston (even as a cheerleader!)  My ma's family is from Boston (it could get wicked cold so take a sweatah and get some chowdah!!)

Hi Laurel,

I'm so sorry you had to join us. I was diagnosed on 3/28/07 with a 2cm tumor and no node involvement! All nine that were removed were clear. I chose to have a Mastectomy. Because my C was high grade, my onc went aggressive. I was given 4 rounds of AC, two weeks apart, followed by 4 rounds of Taxol, also 2 weeks apart. To build my counts fast, I had to learn to give myself Neupogen shots for 7 days following each treatment. It wasn't fun, but I knew I had to do it. The Taxol caused neorapathy in my feet, but as a friend told me, at least I have feet! It's all about attitude and the will to live. I also developed Lymphedema in my left hand and upper arm, so I also wear a compression sleeve and glove. My TRAM flap reconstruction is January 28th and I am more than ready! It seems like forever since my diagnosis and not just 10 months...

Linda

Linda, I have LE in my arm and neuropathy in my feet...it's been over 2 years since I finished treatment and the neuropathy is gettng much better.  I hope you find improvement over time, too!

I'm at a similar stage you are - lump + snb and am waiting to see my oncologist (also on vacation) this thursday. I sometimes think the waiting is worse than the treatment because you can imagine too many horrible things. In my case the tumor was .9cm and 2/2 lymph nodes were clean.



Probably the worst thing about being triple neg is that we are only 15% of the people getting breast cancer, so till now, we haven't gotten much benefit from all the research that is being done. That's changing - hopefully soon enough for all of us!



Susan

it took awhile for the numbness to wear off - I was sorry when it did. Until then I didn't feel the stitches! Enjoy it while it lasts.



I'm not patient either - I'm from NYC and believe that the only way to drive is with one hand on the horn so everyone gets out of my way. Having said that - don't run before they tell you to. There are internal & external stitches - why risk it? I went for a bike ride 5 days after my surgery & regretted it the next day.



I think we feel better than we are - especially when we are still numb.



Susan