Best Of
Re: Starting Chemo August 2025 support thread
Hi ladies! We wanted to share this great thread with More Tips (and a Shopping List) for Getting Through Chemo. We hope you find it useful!
The Mods
Re: My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
I was reading up on the likely upcoming paratransit strike and heard their side on a news site here in london. Not only are their wages way lower than regular bus, they are told they cannot go to the washroom since riders cannot be left on the bus. Bus drivers in the city have regular rest stops, like when taking a particular route home from the hospital, they circle around to another hospice and long term care place and this is where they can stop for a rest break, sometimes it is also needed if they are ahead of schedule to bring them back on time. We are left on the bus when they take a rest stop. Paratransit needs the increase to properly reflect how hard they work and be allowed to take a rest break to use the bathroom. They will be voting on Sept 21 to ratify or reject and go on strike. I do support them. Hopefully a deal is set soon after if I am being honest but we will see.
Re: Poll: What's the one piece of advice you'd give to someone newly diagnosed with breast cancer?
Especially in the beginning, my advice is don't tell anyone. Keep it strictly to yourself until you're ready to deal with other people's fears of cancer. However, I also recommend joining an online cancer support group, if you can. Just don't talk to people who don't already know what it's like to have cancer. Also once you tell someone you have cancer, they'll always ask you about it. If you don't want to cope with this, don't tell them in the first place. (PS—of course, tell your medical folks everything!)
Re: How are people with liver mets doing?
@vik2ri Sorry for all you've been going through. I've been very happy with my treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Recently I've been working with Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC. Both places are excellent cancer centers. Certainly couldn't hurt to get a second opinion and to pay out of pocket for treatments that you currently can't get. As we know, cancer is life or death and we can't take our money with us.
Re: Tips for getting through chemotherapy
Hi @crossh! You’re right, this thread is an old one, but still has lots of great tips! You might also want to check out this thread in case you missed it: More Tips (and a Shopping List) for Getting Through Chemo
We also have a thread for those starting chemo in September that you may find helpful (see below). And if your treatment begins in October, we’ll be starting a new monthly group soon, so you can connect with others beginning at the same time.
Let us know if this helps, and if there are any other ways we can support you.
Best,
The Mods
Re: Long term "high oncotype test" survivors
My mo said chemo could take my risk of 23% to 10-15%. I just am not sold on the oncodx test results.
I can't believe how different doctors seem to approach the treatment plan. Mine thought at 53 in excellent health I should take the most aggressive chemo regiment but afterwards do AI treatment for only 5 years. Mo didn't think I should have bmx just because I had ilc and idc.
Aside from my horrible scare last week. I've been good and cancer free with no chemo. My scare was in my DIEP not my good side, go figure it was scared tissue. I hate this poking and proding and scaring me half out of my mind.
meow13
Re: Stage III Cancer Survivors .... 10+ Years and Out
Welcome, @crabbasket! Thank you so much for joining our community and sharing your positive outcome, it may be just the bit of encouragement someone needed. Congrats on nearly 10 years, and to many, many more!
The Mods
Re: Stage III Cancer Survivors .... 10+ Years and Out
Noooo way!! Us old timers are out here, just caught up in enjoying life, not necessarily online. I am a mere days from my from the 10th anniversary of my Stage 3B diagnosis and related treatment hell. But I'm proof that it is possible for life to go on well beyond diagnosis. (If you get good care and have some luck on your side, of course. I say this not to discourage anyone going through treatment, but to respect those who were not fortunate enough to make it through.)
Re: Are you currently (or have you been) in a Clinical Trial?
Tough Old Crow, My PhD is in biochemistry, my area transcription mechanisms, and yet none of that would give me a clue as to whether taking 3g of MSM would have any effect on glutathione levels in the body either!
Saulius, I really enjoyed that story too, they put the discussion within the historical timeline so you can appreciate the progress that has been made and future things coming for Her2. I keep hoping there could be a bispecific antibody for Her2 and PDL1 to target immunotherapy and reduce its side effects, and maybe could be used for Her2-low cancers also, but haven't seen anything on that yet- or maybe we can get a vaccine for metastatic Her2? A lot of irons in the fire these days!
Jen!!! MSM is a supplement I was taking to try to fix my nails and hair after such a long time on anti-estrogens. It also has, in the lab, anti-cancer activity, inhibiting Stat signaling in ER-positive breast cancers, and reducing cancer cell migration In the lab, it synergizes with tamoxifen so the data in lab expts is all postivie for cancer, and FDA considers it safe.. It is also an anti-inflammatory also, so helps with arthritis pain. This recent story that glutathione pushes metastasis brings up a hypothetical problem,so we need some data in people.
Re: Stage IV MBC Fitness
I remember one of the members here who I think was an early-stager used to say something like she enjoyed feeling the blood coursing through her veins when exercising and visualizing the cancer cells just getting knocked around the walls of her blood vessels so hard that they died.
I’ve adopted that visualization when I get moving.
olma61