Anyone starting Chemo in August 07?
Comments
-
Kim--Happy Birthday! I turn 40 this month, too.
I think you're wise to get back on standard chemo while the insurance thing is sorted out. I'm sure MDA can appeal the denial for you--it's not unusual for the insurance to deny coverage of a trial. Sounds like you already have that in the works, since you said it will take about 40 days to sort out. Since we don't even know if any of the trial drugs will help you, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of energy getting the insurance straightened around at this point. Let MDA worry about it, and you concentrate on a new chemo regime. Lilith--good luck with surgery!
Kaye--it was so great to see you!! Can you have DH post the picture from lunch, so everyone can see your darling 'do?
-
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm128/thinsocal/SDBCGirls2.jpg
Let's see. Try this.
ok. Next time I'll try to get the picture itself to show up.
Don't wait up for me.
I'M GOIN' IN!!!!!!!
-
have i mentioned that i hate computers? -
-
The sound of cymbals and tambourines and dancing was just me celebrating my successful computer undertaking. Ignore it and enjoy the picture!!
Dr. Nash is in the back row with the turquoise top and HER new 'do (when last we met, she was shiny if i remember correctly), and i'm in the front on the right. yes, the one with the white shirt, AND THE HAIR TO MATCH. (sheesh. it's not that color IN MY BRAIN.)
And yes, we all shared that tiny pizza.
And there were left overs.
SSSZZZZOTTTTT. (and that was me, getting struck by lightening.)
-
Wow, Kaye, I'm thoroughly impressed that you posted the pic! Thank you! How does one post pictures in the messsage anyhow? Under the "insert image" icon, it just gives one an option to post an url for an image, which was completely beyond me.
And yes, it was like Jesus feeing the multitudes with us and that little pizza....
And by the way, I'm so relieved to finally not look like a man in photos. The past couple of months were a little dicey in that department.
-
The theory goes: You can't post a picture that you just copy from your own computer because that (somehow) gives any and every one access to your computer. (ok. way beyond me now.) SO. You have to have a web site type thing (i'm assuming like snapfish, or kodak.com or something where you can put pix online) and DH (you KNEW he was involved somehow, didn't you?) got a photobucket account and i followed the instruction on our board that you mentioned - typed the URL into where it said to type it, named that bad boy and poof. There it was.
But on a theological note, Jesus didn't FEE the multitudes... although some would argue that the FEE came a few hundred years later, in the form of a collection plate.
-
Ladies, (I've been experimenting.) I'd like you to meet our baby. This is the baby roadrunner we rescued after he fell out of the tree. Then we did a whole alien abduction thing with him by taking him to the Living Desert Reserve because he couldn't walk and we thought he'd broken his leg when he fell. They made sure it wasn't broken, and kept him until he could walk (3 days), then we picked him up and re-introduced him to his mom. He's been so traumatized he won't eat from us. His mom has to stand there, take the food from us, turn and feed him. She's pretty irritated by this time, too. ("The people at this diner are our FRIENDS, Buster, so don't you be ungrateful. And by the way, where the heck were YOU for 3 days, young man?!?!)
-
Kaye, he is adorable!!! even in a bad mood.... hmmm. and well done on the picture posting!
Nash, you look great - and even in earlier pics (that I've seen) you never looked like a man. there has always been a light in your eyes, a shine to your skin... and a sparkle in your gestures that told about you.
I am happy to report that my recon is done. It "feels" pretty successful so far (still under cover), but I am recovering fast (I am still in the hospital for a couple of days, the op was yesterday), the drains are clearing and will be out tomorrow, and the plastic surgeon put in to mentor implants memory gel (gummy bears) of 350cc... no pain!!! I don't know what will be my size, probably a B.
I am smiling.... when I get out, I'll make a bee line to the victoria secrets store...
-
Yay, Lilith! I'm so excited for you that surgery went well! Whoo hoo! And you're so sweet--thank you.
Thanks for the picture posting info, Kaye. I still have no idea how to do it--I'll just e-mail you pictures and you can post them for me.
The baby roadrunner sure is cute--it looks like he came over to hang out and BBQ. And that was one funny typo--Jesus feeing the masses. I do indeed feel that every Sunday, especially when it's Building Fund collection Sunday at my church.
-
Lilith - how exciting!! And I'm glad you're feeling well. What kind of surgery did you choose?...i know nothing about the different kinds, but i'm interested. And YOU HAVE FUN WITH VICTORIA'S SECRETS!
Nashie - you do NOT look a man in photos or out of photos. I know the feeling, though - I really do. In a photo NEXT to a man, i feel like i look like a girl, but in a photo with a bunch of girls,...well... i'm just glad hair grows back.
.Re the posting pix thing, dh says you use a different server (mozilla firefox or Internet Explorer) and that has something to do with it. I'll have him explain it because it's WAY over my fuzzy head.
On a research note, (miss dd of phd's!) how can i find statistics - like actual studies that someone has compiled into "the" statistic. People throw around numbers very freely and i want to see the actual study to look at the numbers themselves. For example, I'd like to know the studies that give the numbers for reoccurance - lumpectomy vs mastectomy. I've heard the SURVIVAL rate is the same with lumpectomy, but what about recurrance or a new cancer in the other breast? So you have a lumpectomy in one, if you develop a new cancer in the other, you just go through the treatment all over again, and then you survive? I guess i don't understand. Your survival rate is the same, but the reoccurance/new cancer rate MUST be greater w/ lumpectomy because i've heard that up to 40% (more numbers being thrown around w/ not much verification - but that's a huge number to consider) of women with bc in one breast end up with it in the other breast as well at some time. So. It seems that mastectomy would prevent that. Yet the "survival" rate is the same between the two.
Have i talked myself into a dither? I think so. I'm going to work. Life is simpler there.
Have a great day ladies!
-
Hi Nash,
katoMato's DH here. To insert a photo into the message field as Kaye has done, you first need to create an account with an online photo hosting site. We use Photobucket.
- Just click the Join Now button, and follow the instructions.
- Once you have created an account with them, you can upload a picture from your computer. Their instructions on how to do that are pretty straight forward.
- After you have succesfully uploaded a picture to your online photo album, you'll see that under that picture are url codes that you will need to have in order to insert the photo into a BC board message field. Copy the url that is titled 'Direct Link".
- Go to the BC board, and do what you normally do to create a message. With your cursor at whatever point in your message you want the picture to appear, click on the Image button on the Toolbar above the message. It's the green icon, next to the Smiley face icon. When the image window opens up, just paste the url that you copied from your photobucket album into the box that is titled Image URL, and save. That should do it! Let me know if you have any problems.
-
Kaye: what you say about the statistics is probably true and makes sense - as long as there is still breast tissue, there are higher chances of recurrence - but the rads are then done just to avoid and correct that, so maybe that is why the two are considered similar. However.... I just want to know some numbers to make decisions, now I don't want to read them anymore. I want to live, and when I'll die (someday far far away), it will happen whether I am part of a statistic or not...
As for my surgery, I had the simplest possible: a bilat (getting rid of all breast tissue) and matching implants put in in one step only, no expanders. I have now small cute perky foobies. And close to no risk of recurrence...
at least in the breasts. Happy dance!!! I just now have to start exercising (hate that), so my tummy doesn't get more proeminent than the foobies... why do people say that exercise is addictive? I never got a "high" from sweating...
hugs to all...
btw, I also use photobucket, had to switch there after yahoo photos closed down....
great site... 
-
Thank you, KDH (that's Kaye's DH) for the photobucket info.
Kaye--re: research. Sometimes random googling will get you the info you need, but another good research is the PubMed database of journal articles: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/
As far as the lump vs. mast, the overall survival is the same b/c a tumor will metastize no matter what the surgery is. Local recurrence is 40% after lump w/o rads. Not sure what the stat for local recurrence is for after rads. New primaries are cut down to a 5% chance after bilat mast. I was told I have a 30% chance of a new contralateral primary since I have lobular.
So, you're right, one's local recurrence/new primary chance is higher if you don't do bilat mast. I'll see if I can dig up the stats actually cited somewhere.
But like Lilith said, things happen outside of statistics, so maybe none of the stats make any difference. I was pondering my oncotype score that gives me an 11% chance of mets over the next ten years, which doesn't sound that high until you consider that I had a .9% chance of having bc at my age according to the Gail Model, and have a subtype that accounts for .5% of bc. So, that sort of makes 11% seem huge.
Anyhow, I'll see what I can dig up. Lilith--you're sounding like you feel pretty good! Are you still in the hospital?
Doesn't Kim have her Dr. C appointment today? Kim, if you're reading, let us know how it went.
-
This study looks at local and distant recurrence rates over 5 years by subtype of bc post-lumpectomy. It says that ER/PR+, HER2- has .8% chance of local recurrence after lump.
I love how the oncs cheerfully talk in terms of five and ten years, like that's a whole lot of time. Um, I'm not even 40 yet?
-
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/13/1008
Here's another study about local recurrence post-lump with tamoxifen use. It says the stat for local recurrence is .8% for a new primary that's ER/PR+ (same as the other study), but 4.9% for a new ER/PR - primary.
Which is interesting, b/c I had been pondering new ER/PR- primaries the other day and wondering about it. I keep second guessing my decision not to do bilat mast.
I have an appointment with the surgeon next week for an annual check. I think I'd mentioned to you at lunch, Kaye, that my idiot onc had said I didn't need to see the surgeon ever again. I called the surgeon's office, and they said they need to see me for two more years, and would I please come in next week? Sigh. My onc gives me a twitch.
-
yeah!!! feeling good!!!
Actually, feeling so good that the doc got all drains out (they were giving less and less), and let me go home!!! I am writing from my home computer!!! oh it feels good.
Hugs hugs hugs.
-
Hi Ladies,
Lilith....welcom home!!! I'm so happy you are feeling good. Glad everything went well. Good luck with your new foobs. Each step we take brings us further away from the nightmare we have faced.
Kaye.....I'm so mentally slow these days that I thought you were sending a picture of your barbeque!!. It's a nice barbeque anyway.
...The bird is cute too.Nash...you look great. I don't know any man that looks like that. Did your hair grow in that color? I hope that's not too personal. I'm just curious because mine grew in all gray but I'm a lot older than you.
Have any of you seen the thread on Harley? It seems she's very depressed. I just saw it a few minutes ago.
Hugs to everyone else.
Hugs, Jackie
-
Hey, Jackie! Yes, I did see the thread on Harley, and posted to her over there. I'm sorry she's struggling with the depression. I'd wondered why we hadn't seen her on our thread here. I hope she feels better soon.
And the hair color question is totally not too personal at all! Yes, it came in that color, and that was the color it was before its demise. When you see it close up, there is grey in it, but it was like that before chemo too.
-
Nash, I think your hair looks great!!
Ladies, I have to make you laugh. Do any of you get magazines from your local hospital? They tell you about doctors and patient's stories and what educational classes they offer. Well, my breast surgeon is being featured in the October breast cancer awareness issue and he picked me to be his patient story!! LOL!!!I had an interview over the phone and my story will be printed. My doctor will have his story printed. I was excited. But, here's the funny part. Yesterday they sent over a photographer to take my pictures for the article. Can you imagine. I almost croaked. I DO NOT like to take pictures and I am shy. Well, okay, here's the really funny part: he tells me he needs 2 pix, one for the cover and one for inside!!!!Cover girl. Who knew???At 4 ft. 10 1/2 (I will never give up the 1/2 inch) inches tall, at least 30 pounds overweight with kinky crazy looking hair, I became a cover girl. Anything is possible!!!
I knew I could share this crazy story with you girls. Because only you girls would see the humor I see in this whole event. Oh, when the magazine comes out I will send you all autographed copies
...unless you all come to New Jersey to see me. Have a great weekend.
Hugs, Jackie...who's getting whackier by the minute
-
One more note: he promised to take away my double chin!!!!!
-
Jackie - that is WAY cool. Imagine - a cover girl! When you said they were sending a photographer over i thought you were going to say that they wanted a picture of the BODY PART IN QUESTION! How nice that they wanted your FACE for the cover!!! And yes, you can send us a copy AND tickets to New Jersey to see you for ourselves! And by "getting rid of my double chin" i'm assuming you meant photographically... Rather than surgically.
Me, i'm ready to do some liposuction research. Full body lipo.
DeAnn, I bought all kinds of small juice things - organic, natural stuff - to make a smoothie with. Stuff with weird ingredients like broccoli, but it's good. And a few apples and stuff. I just haven't PUT them in the actual BLENDER yet. And as soon as I don't have workmen showing up at my house at 7:30 everymorning, i'm restarting my running regimen.
I WILL look like something at my daughter's wedding. PERIOD.
And speaking of that, DH and I are down in Nash-land looking for a dress for the wedding. (for me. He's insisting on wearing pants and a sport coat.) I'll give you a call Nash - we have a pretty tight schedule but maybe it can involve lunch or dinner or coffee with a Nash or two (or four!)
Have a great weekend girls.
I'm going to find Harley -
-
We'll be home this weekend, so just give me a buzz, Kaye. We'd absolutely love to get together with you. The kids have karate on Saturday morning and a party on Saturday afternoon, and we have church on Sunday morning, but otherwise we will be home as a family unit. Happy dress hunting!! Don't forget about Sophisticated Lady at the mall in Escondido. You might even be able to change DH's mind about the sports jacket get-up he's considering if they have something extra cute.
Oh my gosh, Jackie--that is SO COOL about the magazine! I can't wait to see it and read the article.
-
Jackie - I totally want my autographed copy. But if I get to New Jersey first, I'll let you know! No plans right now, but one never knows. My DH travels a fair bit, and every once in awhile I join him on his trips to New York City. How far are you from there? Very cool news on the article! I love it!
Lilith! Congrats on the successful surgery! Have fun shopping at Victoria's Secret! I actually just bought my first post-surgery bra. Granted, it is not exciting as it was a sports bra, but still. I think I have been wrong all my life on what size bra I needed. I bought a larger size, and I am so much more comfortable.
Kimmie. Happy belated birthday! Welcome to 40! Hope things are getting smoothed out with insurance. I have been receiving letters too lately saying that my Herceptin wasn't covered because I didn't get pre-approval. Same drug I've been getting for months now, and suddenly I need approval? So dumb.
Nash, I think your hair looks great too! Very chic looking.
Kaye! Good going with the smoothie ingredients. I hope you find a combo that you like!
DeAnn
-
Just popping in here for a quick update. I have been away, since I am feeling so depressed, courtesy of Tamoxifen, no doubt. I promise, I WILL catch up on the posts here. But right now, I am tired, so I will just say HEY to all ya'll, and then I'm going to hit the hay. My neck is sore, and every time I get a new pain, I worry... WTH?? I started working at this little exclusive shop that sells $300 dresses and $88 t shirts... WHAT WAS I THINKING? So maybe I'm not cut out for this kind of store...I sure can't afford it, even with the employee discount.
Happy BELATED Birthday, Kimmeee!! I have been thinking of you, and hope that you are doing ok. I'm praying for you. Hang in there!
Hugs,
Harley
-
Oh, and I just wanted to thank you all for all the support that you gave me while I was getting tx. It meant so very much to me!
Now, I don't know why I am feeling so down. I keep wondering, Is this as GOOD as it gets??
Now I really AM going to bed!!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Harley
-
Hey, Harley - i'm glad you dropped in. Big hug to ya.
To answer your (possibly) rhetorical question: Nope, I (personally) don't think this is as good as it gets. I think it gets much better than this. But i do think it gets worse than this, too. It goes up, and it goes down. When it's down, it stinks, doesn't it? But it does go up, too. Try to remember that...(easier than it sounds, isn't it?) The problem, is that it's just much more extreme highs and lows than i remember (than before dx). I've been thinking about just being patient, and remembering Who's in control. (hint: it ain't me.) These drugs we're on are tweaking our brains - i'm sure of it - (and the rest of our bodies, too) but the good news is this: We've been given more time. Soooooooo... we be patient, and make that time count. Having said all that, know that i'm SO with you...we all are. We've all been there, and will be there again, and we'll get OUT of it again.
And BTW, we "gave you support when you were going through tx" because we were ALL going through tx...remember? We're all in this little rocking boat TOGETHER. We get it. (we try to, anyway) and we care about you.
And I'd give you a little happy face thingie, but I'm on Dh's laptop and it's not working. So - "HAPPY FACE" to ya!
-
Oh, Kaye, Thanks so much!
When I get like this, I can't remember how we are ALL going through this 'post tx period' together, too! I just feel like I'm the only person feeling like SH*T, and I'm getting pretty tired of it, too!
I had that 'nipple surgery' thing a couple of weeks ago, and now I seem to be in a tailspin, going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, and I can't stop! I feel like I'm going to crash soon!
My friends and dh tell me "you are finished... you should be celebrating!" My friends say "your dh is a wonderful man, you live near the beach in a beautiful house...you should be happy!" Well, I am getting tired of everybody telling me how I SHOULD feel!! It is only making me feel guilty, and I don't need that, either.
OK... sorry for ranting...
I just wanted to thank you for your post, cheering me on... You are right. We are ALL in this leaky boat together, and I just have ONE question for you: Who was supposed to be in charge of fixing the leak?
Hugs
Harley
PS I guess I abandoned these threads, because I am not positive, and all my 'so called friends' have abandoned ME, because I am not positive, so I'm afraid that my support group will dump me, too!
-
Kimmie,
I'm still thinking of you, and praying that you can get the tx you need, to keep this beast at bay!! Insurance companies really do suck, because they turn down every request, just because they will have to pay a few dollars to help us get the care that we need! GRRR!!
I am just adding my support, to let you know that I'm thinking of you. Please post again, so we know you are ok. I am thinking that you just had a doozy of a BIRTHDAY PARTY, and that is why you haven't been on for a few days.
Love ya,
Harley
-
Oh, Harley, honey, we'd never dump you b/c you weren't being positive!! Where else can you vent if you can't vent here?
Depression isn't something that one can control. It is very normal to be depressed at the end of treatment. It's almost like post-traumatic stress disorder. "Friends" who want you to snap out of it want you to do so for selfish reasons--they don't know how to handle it, and life is easier for them if you act like nothing is wrong.
And working retail can be very stressful--been there, done that, refuse to do it again. It takes a very thick skin (which I don't have), and if one is already feeling down, one nasty customer is all it takes to make things worse.
Hugs, hugs and more hugs to you (I loved the HUGS4HARLEY thread! What a sweet thing to do!) See? You have dozens of friends here, and better yet, they're friends who understand b/c they're (we're) all in that dang leaky boat together.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team