Topic: Any Northern Virginia ladies on this discussion board?

Hi Monique-

I live in Arlington.  I was diagnosed in May, had mastectomy on June 18 and start chemo on July 24.  Would love to talk more...

Emily 

I'm in Falls Church, near Tysons Cornerl!!!

I'm way ahead of all of you ladies but I do live close by!

Dawn

Monique-

I hear you on the information overload.  I went into surgery thinking my tumor was 2 cm and that I could be treated with hormone therapy afterward.  The pathology report showed a bigger tumor (3.5 cm) and vascular invasion... which meant chemo.  I start my first session tomorrow.

NatsFan-

Where did you have your surgery done?  My doctor is Katherine Alley and I had my surgery done at Suburban Hospital.  My plastic surgeon, Kathy Huang, is also in Bethesda. I really like her.

Emily 

Monique - what happened at the surgeons?  What's next?

Emily - how did your first treatment go yesterday?  what are you getting?

oldlady - hope your surgery went well and that you are recovering quickly.  What's next for you?

Right now I am waiting for a tumo marker blood test to come back (appt on Tuesday).  If my markers are up, I'm in for more tests to see if my cancer has metastisized and if they are normal, I'll be waiting six months and then have another ct scan to see if there are changes.  The waiting and wondering is the hardest part in all of this journey.

Please do ask anything that pops into your head!  This site is awesome and no matter what you are wondering about, someone knows the answer.

Dawn

So good to hear from all the local ladies! 

Emily - I went to Hopkins for my surgery, but did my chemo in Greenbelt (it's near my hubby's work so he could drop me off and at least get a few hours of work in during my tx).  How are you doing on Day 2 after your first treatment?  I found that the absolutely most important thing for me was to get a good night's sleep during chemo.  I felt the crappiest on the days when I had a bad night's sleep.  The first tx is the worst I think because you don't know what to expect or how your body will react.  Once you know what s/es you are likely to get, you can prepare ahead of time for the next one. I'm a Grade 3 as well, so I know how you feel.  But the fact you have no nodal involvement is great!

Monique - you're in the worst part right now - still getting basic results and making decisions on what to do.  Once you have a "game plan" in place, you'll feel a lot more relieved.  Don't worry about your lack of medical knowledge now - believe me, you'll pick up a lot of medical knowledge in a hurry.  This site is one great place to start.   

oldlady - let us know how you're doing when you feel up to it.  

lastminute - sending good positive thoughts your way for those tumor marker test results.

And maybe the Nats will win another game someday.  It's been a tough year to be a baseball fan!

Hi everyone

Lay02 - glad you found us for support.  I have only been on here a little bit over a month now and it has helped me in many ways already.

Emily - how are you feeling after your first chemo treatment?  I hope you aren't having a rough time and are able to enjoy the nice weather we are having right now.  Keep us informed.

Dawn - my surgeon didn't have the results for the Her2 yet either?  He didn't seem too concerned about it?  I had a ct scan yesterday and I will have a bone scan on Tuesday, after which I will meet with the onc again and hopefully find out when I start chemo (not that I'm looking forward to it).  I'm not sure what a Tumo marker blood test is ----------but I am praying for good results for you   It looks like you have been through your share of things already.

NatsFan - What chemo did you have? and how did you handle the treatments?  Any other basic advice beside the good nights sleep?

oldlady - I hope you are feeling ok this soon after your surgery.  Stay in touch as you feel up to it.

Good night ladies -

Lay - welcome.  This board is a great place for info and community.  I don't know anyone in the "real world" who was going through this now, so it's been wonderful to find a whole community of people who know exactly what I'm going through.

Monique - I had 6 TAC tx 3 weeks apart.  I had a port installed the day before my first tx, and it was a godsend.  Since I had AND on my right side, they could only use my left for veins which were getting pretty beat up by that time, so the port saved me a lot of futile needle sticks on my left arm.  Hydrating before, during and after tx really helps too - I'd start downing tons of water the day before my treatment.  My onc gave me excellent drugs to control nausea (Emend is a true miracle drug) but I still didn't have much of an appetite for the week or so after each treatment, and all I could eat were small bland meals of stuff like white rice, soda crackers, and noodles.   Ginger ale was essential to me.  I got constipation, so I also started on Colace the day before treatment.  Once you find out what symptoms you have after your first tx, you'll be able to start preparing a few days before the treatment to minimize symptoms.  Finally, let others help you.  They really want to do something, so let them.  My dh was wonderful through this, but friends also helped out by cooking, running errands, etc.  For me, the fatigue was cumulative - after the first few treatments, I usually bounced back after a week or 10 days, but by #5 I felt tired all the time.  The good news is that 6 weeks out, I'm beginning to feel like my old self again (except for that baldness thing!).  I'd highly recommend that you check on some of the monthly chemo threads in the Chemotherapy section - pick one from the past (I was in the March 2008) group and read along. They provide a week by week account of women in chemo and all their various reactions, and the tips and tricks we all passed along to each other as we went through our tx.  

Em - good luck on your upcoming surgery.  I'll be interested to hear how your reconstruciton goes.  I opted for delayed reconstruction after my bilat, so will be doing a DIEP in Fall.   

I am 4 days post-op lumpectomy plus 1 lymph node as of this Saturday night. I have not taken any pain meds since Thursday.  My bruising still looks disgusting but slightly better since my first viewing on Th. The lymph node incision is right under the bottom edge of my undergarment which is slightly irritating but do-able. Oh, and I was able to put on a polo shirt over my head today instead of a buttondown blouse!

My followup is on Wed so we will see if the pathology matches my original biopsy report.

For those in the greater DC area:

 ARC in Vienna, VA has a variety of different programs to include free wigs AND free makeover tips

The Wellness Center in Bethesda, MD has a variety of health, nutrition, exercise classes.

Woops! I meant ACS-American Cancer Society, not ARC-American Red Cross.

In any case, there is a local office located at 124 Park Street SE, Vienna, Virginia

Phone: (703)938-5550

Emily-you've now affirmed my need for more pj's!  I realized I only have one comfy button down pair, so I'm going out to buy another pair.

Speaking of support groups IRL, I'm planning to go to a meeting at Loudoun Hospital Center on Monday from 5:30 to 6:30.  Between this on-line resource, and a friend from church who went through this as well, I have felt vey supported. But, I like to take advantage of every resource possible, so I think I'll go to that meeting too.

Let me know how your group at VHC is, ladies.

-Em 

Hi again.  Virginia Hospital Center (formerly Arlington Hospital) has an active support group that will meet this Tuesday. I intend to go. It's at 1701 George Mason Drive, in the old part of the hospital. There is a cancer resource center there and Kathy Dorner coordinates it. You can call her at 703-556-5555.  I met the group the day before I went to my first chemo treatment, and because my docs are in the doctors offices there, Kathy and another member came by to give me support.

I am scheduled to get a mediport tomorrow morning with my general surgeon doing the job at Sibley. I could have had that done with a local at interventional radiology, but I trust Richard Flax to make the smallest scar possible. The port creeps me out, but my first treatment was iv, and my entire vein in that arm is still inflamed. Of course with a wbc of .6 I am not healing quickly.  How many of you already a port?  The onco nurses say that patients LOVE their ports.

 When I finish TCH (taxotere, carboplatin and herceptin) and then the full course of herceptin I will have been through two cancer diagnoses, lumpectomy, radiation, years of tamoxifen,  then mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy...just about all there is. So if anyone out there can benefit from my experience, I am happy to hold your hand!  I also work full time (i went back to work part time last week from my surgery on June2) and I have two sons living at home and heading to or back to college, another son living in Ballston, and a wonderful and devoted husband.  Thank goodness for our wonderful Arlington community!  the support we received has been overwhelming!  

 BTW, the ACS is doing a Look Good Feel Better program on August 4 Kathy Dorner has details, see number above. There are other locations besides VHC.  

 Wish me luck tomorrow!  maybe i'll meet some of you on Tuesday night.  Gail

I had my port installed the day before my first TAC tx (3/3) and have had it since.  I had AND on my right side, so they can only use my left arm for needles, and the veins were getting harder and harder to use.  Also, adriamycian is nasty stuff if it gets out of the veins, and my onc highly recommended the port.  I never had any difficulties with them using it, and felt I was much better off than all that arm slapping to make veins pop and those bad sticks. They just stick the needle into the port once each tx, and they can do all blood draws, infusions, etc. without additional sticks.  No arm bruises or soreness, and my veins got a chance to heal.

I'm done with chemo and was ready to get it out.  But my ps said it's better to leave it in with my upcoming DEIP flap this fall - she said that if my veins get tough to use, they like having an easy backup they can use for IVs, etc.

Sometimes I feel it (my seatbelt cuts right across it) but most of the time I'm not even aware of it.  It looks a little weird having this quarter-sized thing under your skin, but it's worth it not to have all those needle sticks.

Hi ladies ~ popping in to say hello. I tried to find local support groups in the beginning but found none. Nice to know there are so many so close with so much in common!

Natsfan ~ I live in Rockville as well...imagine that!

Lay02 ~ I am receiving my treatments at Georgetown also. My BS was Dr. Cocilovo - loved her! Regardless of who you have you are in good hands at Georgetown. I had my PS from there, my surgeries there and now my Onc and chemo there...I'm using Dr. Eng-Wong for an oncologist...she's awesome as well.

I was diagnosed in March ~ IDC...was set to do lite chemo when my oconodx score came back a 49 they put me on 4 rounds of DD AC with 12 weeks of Taxol/Herceptin etc...I am set to start the Taxol phase this week. Getting pretty set with it all but hoping it's about to get easier for a while.

Thanks for starting the tread...I'm going to mark it as a favorite so I can keep up with you all. Dawns the only one I've really seen before/spoken with.

Sorry for anyone I missed this time around, not much time to type right now but wanted to pop in and say hello...

Did any of you all use the Inova Alexandria Cancer Center for either radiation or chemo? If so, what did you think?

Lay02: The Vienna office of ACS does help coordinate rides to and from treatments. I'm not sure about escort duty for biopsies.