Member Since: January 22, 2008
Last Login: March 22, 2008
Location: NY
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Recent Posts by PAA
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Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, Created: Jan 27, 2008 10:11 am
Chemo starting Feb 2008?Has anyone undergone the Oncotype Dx test? I just found out about this. This is a little excerpt from what I read about it in the breastcancer.org website: Study design: In this small study of 67 women and 1 man with node-negative, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, participants were classified as having low, intermediate, or high risk for recurrence based on their Oncotype DX recurrence score: * 32 participants (47%) were low risk, with a recurrence score of 17 or lower. |
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Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, Created: Jan 26, 2008 12:17 am
Chemo starting Feb 2008?Finally spoke to my oncologist and I will quite likely be starting chemo and Herceptin on Wednesday february 6th. Today I had a MUGA scan and a bunch of blood work. They told me they believe the veins in my left arm should hold out OK but I'm going to ask for a port to safeguard the veins in my arm .... I wonder if this will delay the start of my chemotherapy? Haven't looked into wigs yet but today I have been wearing a bandanna a la 'Pirates of the Caribean' around my little one and he seems to be dealing with it OK. The downside: Yes, I look like Jack Sparrow, dark circles and all. Any suggestions as to how to look for a suitable wig? I'm clueless over here .... Carol, I admire your will to continue working as long as possible. Do let us know how it goes with that wig. Like Bridget, I'm planning on shaving my head .... but I am very jealous that she has a friend in the 'grooming' business because I don't! :) I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do it in the privacy of my home without ending up with a bold head with seventeen band-aids on it to boot .... and yes, to add insult to injury, they will probably be Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer band-aids, quite unglamorous! |
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Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, Created: Jan 25, 2008 09:50 am
Chemo starting Feb 2008?Dear Bridget, my respect and admiration to The Rock of Gibraltar. What an awesome and gutsy lady you sound like. You have already covered all the bases so let's just hang together and share this 'little curve' the universe sent our way. I just wish we all lived closer so we could help look after each other's kids when the drugs put us out of commission for a bit. Geesh, wouldn't that make life a lot easier? As a single Mom, it would be priceless to me! This is my greatest source of anxiety. I am seeing my oncologist today so I still don't know when my adventure starts and, at best, I'm no where near ready so this is the plan: I'm just going to jump in when somebody with a clue says: Go! Sharing a giggle: I was talking on the phone to a dear friend last night and telling her how I have been pondering about all the difficult situations life has handed me and what it all means. At this point she told me she couldn't wait to hear of my revelations. My answer was: I got nothing. We both burst out laughing and decided there is no rhyme or reason for anyhting in this very chaotic Universe so we decided we just need to put our big girl panties on and s*ck it up? Dear Monica & Carol please hang in there. We are in the exact same boat. Calm on the outside and completely freaked out on the inside? Let us know what happens, ok. I have no idea what to really expect so I'm anxious to hear from all of you and to tell you how it goes for me. PS. Did you ladies hear about a documentary by Kris Carr called 'Crazy Sexy Cancer'? This very young woman was diagnosed with 24 inoperable malignant tumors all over her organs with a terrible pragnosis and she somehow turned it around. I just order a book called 'The PH Miracle', which is mentioned in the documentary (I believe Kris wrote a book about the whole experience too) and am planning on looking into it. Let me know your thoughts on this if any. Hugs to all and till soon. Patti |
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Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, Created: Jan 24, 2008 05:53 pm
Chemo starting Feb 2008?Dear Nowwhat, my heart goes out to you and your little ones. About your upcoming mastectomy, I never had any pain when I had mine and I'm hoping your experience will be the same so please don't fear that. About the chemo bag, I never heard of it but would love to learn about it. Maybe a search online? I'm also a single Mom facing chemo and Herceptin starting sometime this February. I have a 9 year old and my little one has Autism. He has gone through a lot every time I vanish and live him to endure my absence with coworkers. I don't have any family in NY and I can't explain to him why Mommy vanishes once in a while (8 surgeries since 2004). He is also incredibly attached to my long hair (he likes to roll it between his fingers to calm his senses) and I am terribly distressed about how to best help him deal with this change alone. I still haven't started to discuss with my oncologist just how sick does chemo actually make you. So strength, wisdom and endurance to all of us so that we may get passed this experience. |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Breast Reconstruction, Created: Jan 21, 2008 11:39 pm
Expander SizeI wish I had been as resourcefull as you all when I was in my expander-phase. I had a R-mastectomy and it has now been almost 3 years since I had my implant. I'm 5'7 1/2 and 125 lbs with a small frame. My PS suggested enlarging my 34B into a 34C (full). I somehow ended up with a 34D .... men! turns out, there is a whole PT routine developed for mastectomy patients. Patti |
..... but as time passed I developed 'capsules' which required surgical removel. Capsules make the new breast mound hard, unnatural, unconfortable and raised up against your chest wall. Make sure to sufficiently overexpand to allow for a softer appearance of the breast mound once the implant is introduced and things soften and settle 'down'. Your chest muscle is going to want to go back to where it belongs. Because of a recurrence, I am now a patient at Memorial Sloan (MSKCC) in NYC where, after a latest surgery, I just learned that at the time my implant was placed I should had ask for a physical therapy (PT) referral to learn stretching and massage exercises to minimize scarring. Scarring leads to the formation of capsules. I really wish I had known about this. When I had my implants put in I was only told I should do a simple finger massage in the region of my chest wall above the implant but I was not told much more. As it