Best Of
Re: So...whats for dinner?
Wally, I hope the nurses can shield you from the disorganization at the hospice.
Tonight was carne asada, brown rice and pinto beans. Simple, quick and quite good.
Carne asada is flank steak sliced VERY thin, marinated and then cooked rare to medium rare. I don't know about this marinade as it was done at the grocery store before the meat was packaged. It was one of those manager specials where it was near the end of the "use by" date on the sticker.
eric95us
Re: So...whats for dinner?
Carole, Often my dinner plans are determined by the "best by" dates on the meat/fish currently in the refrigerator.
Reader, Yum on the homemade rye bread.
Wally, While small towns have some advantages they are not the best for medical care. I'll have some tough decisions to make if/when I'm unable to drive. Hopefully the nurse will be somewhat helpful even if the organization is in flux. It's great that the shower chair and walker finally arrived. Now is the time to splurge.
Dinner tonight was Indian shrimp in delicate sauce on p. 240 of that cookbook; DH thought it was good. I like that you can buy the ingredients at a regular grocery store. My other Indian cookbook requires foods from a specialty market.
maggie15
Re: So...whats for dinner?
Wally, Good to hear that the steroids are helping your DH. Hospice routine takes some adjusting since everyone’s situation is different and fluid. It’s meant to take some of the stress off you so you have quality time with your DH and for yourself. You will figure out what works for the two of you. Is the Mississippi crockpot chicken a variation on Mississippi pot roast?
Dinner tonight was artichoke chicken on cavatappi
maggie15
Re: Stage IV MBC Fitness
@gailmary - I am indeed hoping that this is just an adjustment period and that things will settle down. I just get so very tired. I just cannot imagine not being able to get out for even a short walk since October. I bet you are thrilled to be able to get out now. It's not even spring yet, but the signs are sure showing up and making time outside just wonderful. Enjoy it!
@soldanella - You are so right about how good this is for morale. It's helpful to know how well you are doing on the same dose. My oncologist said that if the response looks especially good at 3 months, he would consider lowering it. I'm fine with everything the way it is now except for being so very tired. I feel lucky to have so far not experienced any digestive or hand/foot problems. I hope you keep up your good work with Xeloda too!
@chicagoan - Thanks so much for the good wishes re the Xeloda. I hope your walk today is really nice. I just got back from a walk. Because of the fatigue that Xeloda is causing, I only went for half an hour, and on mostly flat terrain and sidewalk. I usually go for an hour on hilly and varied terrain with little sidewalked areas, but... something is definitely better than nothing, and my walk was fabulous in spite of being exhausting. We are just having an exceptionally beautiful day here; sunny and cold, but showing very inspirational signs and feelings of spring being just around the corner. Wishing you a wonderful walk too!
Re: Is a chest wall recurrence inevitably stage 4?
I wanted to follow up here in case it's helpful for anyone else in a similar "gray area" after a chest wall recurrence.
When I'm stressed, my go-to strategy is research. So I've been devouring academic articles and re-reading my path report closely.
I found these definitions helpful (from this site: https://www.dynamed.com/condition/locoregional-rec...) (emphasis mine):
"local recurrence only" defined as development of tumor in breast or chest wall/mastectomy site previously affected by cancer without involvement of the regional lymph nodes
locoregional recurrence associated with distant metastases is considered a metastatic recurrence
A lot of the studies I read that had really dismal prognoses for chest wall recurrences were lumping together (no pun intended) local and regional types of chest wall lesions, and those dismal studies were also 20 years old. There are more recent studies that are teasing out characteristics of chest wall recurrences that are associated with better and worse prognoses.
Upon re-reading my path report I found the pathological staging of my lesion: rpT1b NX. I had somehow missed that before, but it tracks what I had thought the tumor was - stage 1b. I understand it's more complicated than that given that it's a recurrence and I opted not to remove more nodes, but I also understand why my MO hadn't used the stage 4 language with me.
Re: What topics/experts would you like to see on The Breastcancer.org Podcast?
@jamie_bco_senioreditor
I am so excited to read your response to GB about the podcast for those of us who can't tolerate AIs or tamoxifen. I hope it's posted before I see my new (hopefully better) oncologist in May. The old one didn't even speak to me after my last failed attempt.
missymoo
Re: All about Xeloda
@threetree I started out at 2,000. But I was taken off Xeloda for 7 weeks because my toe was badly infected, before I realized that I was eating too much of the high-folic foods. During those 7 weeks, I developed a spot in my liver, so I asked to go up to 2,500 a week.
I have postprandial hypotension, which I figured out myself (when none of my doctors knew what was wrong). I have to now eat smaller meals every 3 hours. Otherwise, my BP can go way too high before I eat! (I am weird). And you do have a point since I never noticed this before I started on Xeloda….. And I am also on Herceptin, which can also mess with our BP. You'd better see a cardiologist about your BP. I have and my heart is fine, but I am on BP meds.
Denise
denny123
Re: My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
@micmel So happy to hear Gabby is on the path to healing! You have all been through so much and I look forward to the day you post she is totally finished after reconstruction. You had the supermom strength to walk beside her each step of the way. I wish you all mental and physical healing from this, hugs.
@goldensrbest Fingers crossed that the stimulator gives you the relief you deserve.
@mara51506 Hope your appt and transit goes smoothly for you.
@shanagirl Well I hope your not extra sore today after PT and you get relief soon. Agree, this damp dreary weather goes right through your bones!
@intolight Hope your feeling well today and enjoyed a delicious birthday lunch yesterday.
@irishlove In your pocket for Friday…do we ever actually feel mental relief…sigh…it's tough! Sending positivity your way.
@threetree Thinking of you and hoping and hoping your fatigue is lifting
Hi to all here and hope you have a good day. Damp and drearies again here but I'm loving the extra daylight hours🌞
cookie54
Re: Bone Mets Thread
@norah2024 This is such good news that this was a little blip on the radar and that it's treatable. Here's to the return of appetite, I hope soon!
