Best Of
Re: Breaking Research News from sources other than Breastcancer.org
Dear amel_83, I know that our NCI does cryoablation, so I am not completely sure if it is the same thing as "thermoablation", as the last thing should be heat. I personally know the surgeon who does these cryoablations and results are really good if they are able to cryoablate with bigger margins. Liver is a big organ and regrowths fast, so it is really one of the best for local procedures.
Saulius
Re: I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
I posted the HCR newsletter because it seems to provide some hope.
I would love for the adulation of the Loon to be a mirage. You gotta wonder how so many people could continue to follow him down the rabbit hole and never, ever say, “okay, now that’s where I draw the line.” I remember when Beth Moore, the woman preacher who was a survivor of sexual abuse, finally spoke up and said, “enough” after so much was publicized about Trump’s treatment of women. How is it that people cannot reach a point where they say, “he is getting out of hand.He’s gone too far this time”
Women voters had really best be paying attention. It is an outrage to hear talk that contraception is something that could be outlawed. And if that happened, what’s next? Women no longer allowed to work outside the home? There is so much controlling of women’s bodies that needs to be stopped with our collective voting power.
Re: 2018 DIEP Surgery
just going to throw this out there...bikinis after 40 & DIEP are the bomb! Try it...you just might like it!
Re: Seeking DIEP recovery stories
hi Indahood - glad to hear you’ve made it through the first surgery and that you are healing quickly but very sorry you are dealing with that nerve issue. I had same, skin sparing BMX with immediate DIEP recon and it took around 10 11 hours with first BS and then 2 microsurgeons taking over. Although I didn’t have nerve issues/ pain in arms I did have it in abdomen- I highly recommend physical therapy as long as you can get a therapist that is familiar with how to treat this kind of issue. Some have also taken gabapentin for nerve pain but I was offered opted not to. I took a few supplements that may have helped but can’t swear to it. The PT also worked with me to soften up the scar tissue a few months later both under breasts and at bikini line
I had an ‘insurance’ flap of skin from my abdomen attached under the reconstructed breasts that they put there in case my own skin did not survive. Thankfully it did and that extra skin was removed in my 2nd surgery (out patient) 2 1/2 weeks later. I had to have another out patient procedure a few weeks after that because of wound healing complications at the bikini line incision however- that pulled my skin a lot tighter and hence the nerve pain and need for PT. With massage (PT showed me really good techniques to soften them and the scars) their shape is really good, like my own when I was 40-ish. Slight side boob on one side has resolved with the massage, it was never really pronounced. My recon breasts need only a cosmetic correction for a divot of fat that came out from one due to an infection - will have fat grafting in a few months- PS said the more softened up they are prior to fat grafting the better the results will be. Hope this info helps and wishing you swift healing
Re: BONE METS / JOINT PAIN Q & A
Jons_girl, are you trying to find a way to distinguish between normal joint/bone pain vs. bone pain from mets?
I don't know about the later stage of bone mets but early on, I don't think that's possible. As the previous posters have pointed out, joint and bone pain is very common from AIs and arthritis and just from aging. And bone mets at it's earliest stage is often painless. From my time on this site, while sometimes mets is discovered because someone has pain and imaging finds mets in that area, what I've seen more often are situations where the area with pain is found to be something like osteoarthritis or bursitis, but then there may be an incidental finding of mets in a different area.
As someone with OA who is also taking an AI, I have bone or joint pain every single day. I wish there was some way to distinguish my 'normal' pain from something that might be serious, but unfortunately there isn't. I monitor my pain and as long as it moves around (different joints at different times) and waxes & wanes, I don't worry about it (or not much, anyway). I did have persistent and worsening hip pain for a period of time and decided that needed to be checked out. My hip x-ray was fine - just degenerative changes - although it did result in an incidental finding/diagnosis completely unrelated to my hip pain, my breast cancer history, my OA or anything else I previously knew about. As we get older, every test raises the possibility of finding something. Oh, and that hip hasn't been hurting lately but now the other one sometimes does.
Re: So...whats for dinner?
Chicken tikka masala tonight. A healthy version. I put on 17kg (!!) during treatment and really trying to lose it but menopause at 40 is a shock to the metabolism for sure.
Re: how about drinking?
Goldie - you are a star. So glad you have your family around you. I will think of you when I look at our wonderful wide skies at night.