Chemo in Sept 08
Comments
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Genia, good for you! Glad it may be getting better. Sounds like the Tamox was poison for you.
Yeah, I don't know what the answer is either, but I feel BC is a friggin epidemic!!!
Jane GOOD FOR YOU!!! Great article!
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Beautiful article Jane! Congratulations on getting it published. Your attitude is great.
As far as the new mammogram recommendations go-my BC wasn't picked up on mammo either. I was premenopausal with dense breasts. I found a lump during a self-breast exam 4 months after a normal mammo. That being said, previous mammograms showed calcifications, biopsied 6 years ago as benign. Knowing this prompted me to be vigilant. I feel we are taking a giant step backward by changing the screening age and no longer recommending self-breast exams. So many of us found our own BC's.
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http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712473
Insomniac here....da*n I'm tired.
The new guidelines are confusing all round. I read a medical article about this situation last week and was confused then. Now that everyone has been informed I'm still confused..One of the premises of the argument against mammos at 40 ,every year, and a monthly self exam, was that scientist researchers noted no increase in survival rates over a 10 year period.
I Need to read the research material....If MSK doesn't like it, I don't either.
Fox New is interested in this and wants BC stories but they are so into hysterical behavior...who knows what they might do with our personal stories... as a nurse I'd rather do more research. I've been helped with my tendency to beat myself blue...:):) for missing mammograms by my friends here telling me how their cancers were missed on Mammograms.
I'm tired. Let me know if you can get in the article...if not I will mail it to you via e-mail attachment.
I have a lumpy post-op 14 month breast and in spite of negative mammo...i think ...still waiting for results...and negative a neg US, my ONC still wants my surgeon to examine me. I said NO at first but Now I may call for that apt.
For some reason I thought the guidelines would be tightened up. Instead now they're more lose. I'm confused and will remain confused until they straighten this up. Of course we all have to be our own advocates...but da*m.
Sharing from my Medscape here with my good good friends. I logged to read it in a more scientific manner because I have no clue what the*(^*&%$ is going on.
Chemo brain prevents me reading this agaain right now so I put it here maybe we can go to chat room and talk about these abrupt changes.I'm horrible with homonyms...chemo hasn't made me smarter I can tell you that and I've lost a lot of mental agility.
xcuse all mistakes please.
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Genia thank God things have improved since your medications was changed. Jake be my neighbor in Cafe if you want and Farmville. You are a fantastic writer...hope I didn't miss much but just in cast I'll come round tomorrow.
Breast Cancer is such a tricky beast: half the studies I've read state that Soy is protective of breast tissue and the other half say Soy is not protective of breast tissue and is of no use. arrrrgh
nitenite
mina
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Just got back from the neurologist...I need weekly infusions of calcium and magnesium or the Reclast won't work. I am also deficient in insulin, chromium, vitamin C and zinc. This means I am pre-diabetic too... and I have a tooth that hurts
hope everyone is having a better day than me!
hugs
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Dang Miss Juli......girl what ELSE are they gonna do to you! Bless your heart.......lotsa hugs! Love ya sweet sister!
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Thanks, Genia. I've really had enough. The doctor gave me more supplements too. I'd like to chuck 'em all out the window (except my teeny weeny heart pill that I KNOW I need!).
Tomorrow the dentist and cardiologist...
hugs
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Oh Jules. I am also on pill overload!! I am thinking of getting some of these supplements in powder form so I can drink them, vs swallow pills!
Hang in there girls.
Genia, How is the AI assessment going? How you doing these days?
Thinking of Chris in Holland!!!
I see Mina on FB - such a cutie.
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Spring - The doctor tried to sell me a powder that had many supplements in it, but when I read the back of the container, it said "contains milk and soy"... no thanks. No soy for me!
hugs
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Hi Girls,
Got back from England and Holland a couple of hours ago, It has taken me a while to catch up with all the posts.
I had a lovely time visiting my boys and meeting my older sons American girlfriend that he has had for almost 2 years now. She is lovely and coming here to Singapore to have Christmas with us.
I have been so busy and have done quite a bit of travelling between family members and Holland so I now have a cold, but nothing I can't deal with. I didn't manage to find a house I liked, but at least I know what you can get for our money now, or what you can't get! It is nice to be back in Singapore and I can see from my emails that the leaving parties will start next week. I can do parties!
Spring, don't worry too much about your counts, although mine are back to normal, I know alot of people who still have counts below normal and they have all been told it can take up to 1 1/2 to 2 years for them to "spring" back. Like you said with the surgery you body has had alot to do. My counts went down low after my surgery too.
Genia, glad that you are feeling a bit better on the AL, lets hope it continues.
Great to hear from all of you, Juli, hope you feel good soon.
Oh yes, thought I would tell you , on my flight from Holland back to the UK today, a piece of my tooth and filling fell out! I thought I would buy some gum and stick it in the whole to stop any food getting in before I managed to see a dentist. I went to the pharmacy at the airport and ask if they had any gum or something like it and the girl showed me a emergency dentist kit. I was able to paint a little of something onto the hole then fill it in with a bit of dentist stuff and made a very nice looking filling myself! Amazing what there is out there, I haven't had any pain at all.
Take care Girls,
Singapore Chris, soon to be renamed, Dutch Chris x
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{{{{Juli}}}}}}
I'm sending you soft warm hugs from the Big Apple as I type this post and I'll continue 24/7/365.
love ya sister
mina
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Hi again,
Chris, I'm glad you're home and can enjoy the holidays with your good friends and family.
I'm not well for 2 weeks now but I'm too addicted to Cafe to slow down. I'm starting to cook 12 +++ hours dishes and slow myself down. I do love cooking. I relax watching the game
lol My son told me I'm a gamer now:):)I have lots of joint pain and muscle pain for 2 weeks. Tuesday my PMD reduced one of my meds--Zocor-- that may have exacerbated all of the above, prescribed a tranquilizer....TY GOD... and Wednesday my rheumy put me back on my Fibromyalgia meds and one more for joint pain.
Personally, I think this pain and more pain is post treatment body crap, from what I experienced these past few months and will eventually resolve itself. I pray I can regain the energy I had prior to this stumble.
be back later,
xoxo
Mina
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Mina, feel better sweet one.
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Chris - so good to hear from you! Funny about changing to Dutch Chris. lol
Mina - big hugs to you too! Hope the meds give you relief soon.
Tonight my ex told me I have to pay $1000 by tomorrow to his insurance co or my son will lose his medical insurance.
I hope he finds a job soon before he ruins me too.
hugs
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Hi Girls,
Sorry you are feeling bad mina, hope the change of meds sorts it out.
Juli, not what you need right now I am sure, hope your son gets to keep his cover.
Spring, I have been thinking about what your oncol said, and I only finished my treatment 9 months ago, so you probably finished yours even later, so what is the big deal if it has only been less than a year, surely they know it can take a lot longer to recover completely. Anyway I am really praying you will be alright. I would get a second opinion about that. I am going to check on the internet now too.
Take Care girls, Singapore Chris x
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I finished RADs end of Feb Chris. I'm with you. And this surgery will be my third in a year. I am going to wait. My numbers were normal after chemo, tanked after rads, and then were climbing up, then the huge surgery. I want to be LEFT ALONE for 1 year at least!!! (I am sure we all want that!!!)
Jules, Yikes. I hope you can find the $$, everyone needs HC coverage!!! Golly!!!
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Hi spring,
I have just looked at a few sites and these are some comments from others about their low white count. I don't suppose that your oncol said leukopenia, not leukemia??
Leukopenia, also known as a low white blood cell count, is a medical condition that can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. Because low white blood cell count can increase susceptibility to infections, it is important to find and address the underlying cause of the condition. This is done with simple blood tests that help doctors determine how leukopenia should be treated.
The following are some comments from people in the America Cancer Society network.
A year after treatments have finished I still do not have a normal white blood cell count either. They say it takes time.
I'm now 14 months after chemo and my WBC is still hovering on the low side. Before chemo it was always around 5-6. Now I can barely get it above 4. Today it's just 3.7. During my six months of chemo, which was administered on a weekly basis I had a lot of white cell boosters. I started to get a bit concerned and stopped them towards the end of treatment \
I am now a year and a half post chemo and my white counts hover just below 4. I took Neulasta during chemo to increase my white blood cell counts or i would probaby still be waiting to finish chemo. My very first treatment put my counts dangerously low and my second treatment was delayed until they went up to 1. I'm happy my white counts are at least just a little low, the doctors told me that just may be where they will stay, everyone is diffent. Although a year and a half later my lymphocyte count is still only 0.5, fighting infection and viruses I think will always be a difficult thing.
I am now six years post chemo and my white cell counts still fluctuate. My Onco warned me of this at time of treatment.
I'm six months post chemo and my WBC just came in at .04! Has anyone heard of this?
Hope this helps put your mind at rest. Take Care, Singapore Chris x
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Wow Chris. It seems like it can really hammer the bone marrow. Thanks for all that. I think I am considered "leukopenia" right now (lower than normal) but not Leukemia - which is what the ONC mentioned. But, I am going to wait a while and see what happens.
My white count was well above 7 before all this!!! 4 is the low end of "normal". Mine was 3.2 the last time I was tested. ugh.
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Scheduled for 7:45 tomorrow...have to be there at 6 - yuck!!
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Oh Jane...is that tomorrow? I'll be praying for you......and I hope everything goes well for you!
love you
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Hi Girls,
Jane, what are they doing to you tomorrow?
Hope all goes well.
Singapore Chris x
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Jane is having a right mast tomorrow.
Good luck Jane! We love you!
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Jane, good luck I am sure all will go well. We are all thinking about you and sending our positve vibes. Please let us know how you are.
Take Care, Singapore Chris x
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Oh Jane, we are thinking of you girl! Sign on pls when you can and let us know how you are.
Genia, how goes it now with this new AI? Do you some days feel like a human experiment?? I DO!!!!
love you girls!
Spring.
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praying for you Jane and waiting to hear that all went well.
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I just got off the phone with Jane and she's doin GREAT! Some pain...but she said it wasn't anything that a Vicodin wasn't taking care of. She sounded very upbeat.....and glad it's over with.
I'm doin better on the AI Bev........not wonderful but much better than the Tamoxifen.
Chris......good to see you back. Hope you get things squared away with moving.
love to all of you
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Thanks Genia! So good to hear all went well for Jane!
hugs
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Genia, thank you for filling us in on Miss Janie! Glad to hear she is upbeat,..
I have a friend who has just had the worst time with Femera. She got very sad and is crying all the time. Has anybody heard of anything like this from an AI?
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Hi Girls,
Spring, yes I have heard of people who don't get on with Femera, I know someone who didn't get on with anyone the AI's and stopped taking anything.
I am happy to report that I feel fantastic, the only thing I get is a bit of cramping now and then, in my feet, legs and sometimes even my neck or sides, I just stretch it out and it goes away immediately so not really a problem. Aromasin gets my vote.
Jane, hope you are feeling alright, every day should be better than the one before.
Spring you are up next, hope you are resting and eating well in anticipation of the next phase.
Juli, you have sooo much hair in your latest pic, you look so sweet.
Are you girls all getting excited about the holidays, what are you all doing for Thanks Giving? I feel that we should celebrate to, I am very thankful to be alive.
Have a great day girls. Singapore Chris x
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Yes, I started the food prep yesterday! I love Thanksgiving! We are having my husband's parents and our two daughters. My older will come home from college and stay a few days.
I just love having family together. It is so exciting! I focus a lot on Thanksgiving so that I don't have to think about surgery.... lol. But, by Christmas I should be out the other side and over the hump.
One thing that I would like to happen in this next surgery is a lowering of the abdominal incision. It is so high up that you can see it above my yoga pants or jeans if my top rides up. If he can do this (it depends on how much loose skin there is - some women have to wait a whole year for things to loosen up) then I have the option of having the abdominal muscles "repaired" - like stitched back together from being separated at pregnancy. I've heard if you do this you get a nice flat tummy and it ends up being like a "corset" inside. I like this idea b/c it will prevent overeating and weight gain! But the recovery is longer. I will likely do it, though, if he can do the incision lowering thing. We'll see...
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