Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
Good for you Michelle! I had the same MammoSite device....And yes, the "switch" hurt a little, but not as much as trying to get the other one in, Ha! But it was soooooo worth it, to have the radiation this quick way, without the 6 week treatment! The "planning" & taking pictures takes a day or two....but they want to make sure they give the right dose, for the right amount of time. The actual treatment was a breeze! My tube hole "leaked" a lot, but I had an infection there, so watch that closely, because anti-biotics will take care of that! If you have any questions, I'm always here! This is the link I posted...... And we didn't talk about any Preventative pills, until about a month later...after the Radiation....And it is then, that I asked for the Tamoxifen!
http://www.mammosite.com/breast-lumpectomy/view-a-demonstration.cfm
And the above one shows exactly what they do! And Thank you Bonnie! And was it Jackie, about the transdermal meds for cats! I wrote all this down to tell my Daughter! So THANKS a million! Little "Jaz" is quite old, & takes Prednisone to help her joints! I mean she gets it shoved down her throat....
So Janie will be Happy, with this new way! 0 -
Just a note about CYP2D6 testing. To test and see if the liver is ABLE TO metabolize T can be done before you take any T. I had mine done 2 months before starting T, to make sure it would work for me (and it partially does).
There is a newer test to measure the endoxifen the active agent T metabolizes into. It is my understanding it is a blood test and will indicate if you are producing enough endoxifen for it to be therapeutic. Check out:
http://www.nmslab.com/SearchResults.aspx?code=4311B
Welcome Gina - we are a great bunch even if you didn't plan on joining us...it's a bummer all round and (from the dates you've posted) I can imagine you are still in shock mode. Take one step at a time, ask questions (the only dumb question is the one not asked), let your daughter know you need to hear the same question answered several times to get a different slant on it and to reinforce the info in your brain - we ALL do this - aging is only a part of repeated same questions. This disease makes us into temporary nut cases, so our families will just have to suck it up for the moment. (That said, I think we scare them 1/2 to death - Mom's are not supposed to get sick, never mind have surgery.....)
xo from the sunny, warm west coast of British Columbia,
C
0 -
Just thinking about
when I paddled a canoe
here soooo peaceful
0 -
Wonderful news, Michelle!!
0 -
Well, back to square one on the oncologist. Dr office called this afternoon to inform me that AETNA had an error on their website, and the Dr I had appt with is NOT on the plan. You'd think the Dr assistants would have seen that when I made the appt two weeks ago.
0 -
Michelle, what great news. Happy dances are definitely in order. Hoping now for Granny to get as good of news as possible.
Life is good for me --- busy as a one-armed paper hanger but good. I have a temporary job at a boarding kennel here in town. The owner is going away for four days and the person who is doing the boarded dogs does not like cats --- so I will be caring for them. There are only nine so it won't be difficult --- a little time consuming on Friday night.....but I will be out there anyway to "visit" Maggie's boarded cats -- so I'll just do a bit more at that time.
I am wishing it were cooler but we get what we get. Dh has the day off tomorrow.....so while I doubt we can do much ( Wednesday is always my hard day as much of it gets used for my getting ready for my two days at the office ) but maybe we will sneak in something.
Hope you all had a fantastic day today and will have another tomorrow. Be seeing you soon and know that I am always wishing you well.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Ah man, Gina.....I hate when someone throws a wrench in our plans! Just keep on "keepin' on".....Maybe it happened for a reason!
Lisa, my Brother in Nashville loves to kayak on smooth lakes like that! Especially at sunset! Good for you!
And Thanks Caroline....I had read somewhere where you had to be taking the T pill, before you had the test.....It's good to know that the test can be given even before! That would make more sense anyway~ I mean if the test even proves anything~
So the Oncologist is sending me copies of my latest tests....even the blood test that tells something about "tumor markers"... Whatever that is.....Bye gals! xoxoxoxoxo0 -
Thanks, Chevy
I really wasn't looking forward to the meeting with the onc, doubt there will be any GOOD news there.
I think I'll head back over to the radiologist and have him go ahead and order the tests he wants me to have before beginning radiation, PET etc. I'll be seeing my PCP Friday so maybe the two of them can co-ordinate something between them.
The surgeon was pleased today with my rate of healing from the lump, so that's good.
Remember the old TV show, with Buck Owens? They used to sing a song called, "If it twarn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.".....my theme song.
0 -
Gina, sometimes I think Murphy's Law is immutable!
BarbaraA I tried that lifemath site you recommended and am not sure I'm doing it properly; could you pm me? Thanks!
Thought I'd share my laugh of the day - my pup is just keeping us in stitches. I call him pup because these guys are slow to really mature... Since I'm not much in the sun this summer, I've been spending time on the shaded front porch. Besides being pretty good about entertaining himself, Gus is on a two-month kick where he constantly carries around his outside toy, one of those rubber Kongs, which he is willing to slobberly share at the slightest invitation, "Gus" =(130#, 30-month old German Shepherd whose official name should be Goofus Gigundigus) loves to chase butterfly shadows, often with the Kong in his mouth. He tries, but he's just not very ferocious. When he's on bug-guard, he's entirely oblivious to the world, and he really doesn't think to look up, but a butterfly shadow will keep him going for a long time. (I've never seen him catch a butterfly, but I'm sure he scares the poor dears half out of their wits.) In the fall, he goes wild over the leaves from our big oak trees and entertains himself and us for hours.
We laugh so hard, now when we're outside he chases, jumps, pounces, goes after all and anything that flies or floats in the air, resulting in us having a fly and bee-free porch, while laughing until we get tears. Since we laugh, he's encouraged, and he takes his job seriously. We will never be outflanked by flying insects or autumn leaves. Boogiemen who bring toys or cookies might not have problems I fear. He's real good about not chasing neighbor's cars or kids though - he may bark at them, especially the speeding cars, but stops when I say. (and of course we are fenced).. So, he's a keeper. He has an authoratative bark when you get the toy out of his mouth or if we're playing the who's-here-what-is-it game, but when he tries to be ferocious without letting go of the toy, we just fall over, it's almost an americas funniest videos moment, tail wagging hackles up, toy hanging out one side of his mouth, tongue out the other, slobber-slinging, tries to bark and comes out "Wuffth!"... He is my organic Game Boy and a particular joy.
Have a great night, all. hugs and best wishes for tomorrow.
My tomorrow includes 1 hr to town @6:45, rads #27 at 8, a baseline with LE specialist at 9:30, a trip to groc store for vinegar & mustard seed, home 1 hr and I'm grateful DH has agreed to drive me. In the afternoon we'll be making bread & butter pickles, a real treat, organic cukes he planted in early June, just before I began tx; we put up 10 qts last week and have cukes for another 5 qts or more tomorrow. We've been eating fresh every day & are giving them away already.
0 -
Michelle....great news for you ........congratulations.....doing the happy dance with flair !!!!
Love n hugs. chrissyb
0 -
Michelle- The Power of Prayer! Wonderful keep the happy dance shoes out and polished! Yeah!
All of those waiting for results and having treatments, my heart and prayers are with you all. GD you hang in there!
Rita where have you been and what have you been doing? Where is Marybe? Has anyone heard anything?
Don't we all have tweezers stashed everywhere? I can feel them before they sprout!
Men! As Dale Evans says "Well, you can;t shoot them anymore!" Have a great night! Hugs to all.
0 -
I am an old bag of 71 with old, baggy breasts just diagnosed with a small IDC. I will be having a lumpectomy and SN biopsy on August 18th and am most fearful. I am still coping with the effects of a benign brain tumour and the Cyberknife used to treat the stinker that was done in 2007. I guess I'm lucky- the thing in my head stopped growing, and my surgeon tells me that the IDC doesn't seem to be angry or upset about anything. I really wanted a mastectomy, as in all honesty, my breasts are not what or where they used to be, but opted for the lumpectomy out of concern about a prolonged recovery due to the exhaustion, vertigo, and headaches that I already have. There is a well-researched connection between breast cancer and meningiomas. Is there anyone else out there with this nasty duo?
paamboli
0 -
Hi paamboli,
Great you found this site - super women here and lots of support. YEAH for finding the BC before it got out of hand! I am 66 and had a lumpectomy and SN last year followed by rads. and I am taking tamoxifen. Even though my breasts are also saggy, my surgeon said the recurrence/ mortality was identical lumpectomy/mastectomy and to remove one breast would mean, in my case, reconstruction... increased surgical time.....
I am one year post surgery - and in a year or so, you will be able to say the same
We are all here for you, so ask away...what country are you in? There seems to be slightly different protocols from place to place.
Cheers,
C
0 -
Michelle, I'm in on the line dance as well! Great news! Best of luck with the treatment.
Buck knows nothing!!!...only good luck is wished for you Gina.
Granny, hoping doc #3 is a real "House!" Always thinking about you dear, and praying.
Paamboli, great to meet you. It must have been such a relief when the brain tumor was found to be benign, congratulations! I hope and pray the IDC will be equally benign and that you can soon put these terrible scares in the past.
((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs all around))))))))))))))))))))))
typo edited
0 -
Lisa...what a lovely restful pic, I shall try and visualise when I can't sleep.
Welcome to 'old bag' Paamboli !!!! Pull up a chair and join in.
Sorry to those of us who are having medical hiccups...I don't know how you all cope with the insurance problems...at least here in UK it is shambolic but EVENTUALLY you get seen....I think they delay treatment so we will curl up and die before we get to see a decent Dr. The waiting, and the letters which get churned out informing us that,yet again, our appointments have been moved forward, and the appointment we hoped for to get something seen to in 10 days will now be 6 weeks longer to wait. I have sheaves of such letters, in fact they almost fill up a drawer.
Isabella.
0 -
Just a question gals....Are any of you taking Femara? Does your insurance cover the cost completely? Are you doing okay with it? Let me know......Jeannette0
-
Dreams Dashed. by Julia
Curly tops always have my admiration
Curls everywhere and here, it defies imagination
Not that they ever would
Nothing they could do when that coif wouldn't look good
The straightness of my hair
There is nothing in nature to compare
A blacksmith's iron could not fair
What I would not do for a little frizz
Then I could certainly make my mark in Show Biz
Sometimes the chemo perm has a great transition in store
Hard to believe, son of a gun, miraculously appearing locks galore!
But alas and alack I have examined the dome
And not a single bend where the stubbelo roam
Ok woe is me, so let it be
Curl-free is the only way for me.
(typo fixed)
0 -
Julia, LOVE IT!! You're a poet and you don't know it!
0 -
Jeannette - yes, I am on Femara. My extended health care pays for 80% of it but I think things are different in the US. Physically I am mostly OK. There are some aches and pains but when I visit my 95 year old father, I feel quite spry. There is a thread on this site about Femara - like all the drugs we take, it seems that some people have no trouble and some have more. I doubt there is any way to know which one we will be. While I reserve the right to complain about sore hands and stiff joints, I carry on with life. Today I will read in my backyard that I mowed and trimmed the other day, play bridge and then take my grandson on a much anticipated overnight trip. That's as good as it can get!
Oh Julia - great poem! no curls? Is it early in your hair growth? If so, wait - my hair didn't start to curl until it was about an inch long or more. Now it is beautifully frizzy on the right side, not so much on the left. My hairdresser cut it so it doesn't look too peculiar.
(edited to fix a silly typo)
0 -
Hi everyone......we all fix the typo's and I'm wondering --- why not just use the spell checker on here. Look up above where you are typing --- there is a line with several things there a B so you can type in dark black....and I so you can type in italicand some other things I really don't pay much attention to.....but over on the end is a place with an abc and check mark. That is the spell checker --- something I can't live without. Since the bad thyroid, stroke, etc --- my once almost perfect spelling is not. Anyway --- maybe I'm all wet --- maybe you don't have this on yours -- I don't know --- but if you do.
Julia --- loved the poem -- I use to try and write them, but quit a few millenniums back -- or at least it feels like it is that long. Anyway....running again like crazy but it will slow down soon I'm sure. I am going to start looking at solutions to handle some problems at my friends' house and that should put me back in having a bit more time. Yipee !!! See you all later.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
I have an internal spell checker - a few decades teaching English will do that - but this time the phone rang, I clicked submit and realized a to/too error which spell checkers never catch. Too awful to leave that!
0 -
Many thanks for the kind "welcomes". I live on the coast of Northern California, and the protocol here seems to be no Tamoxifen for post-menopausal women. I cannot figure out exactly why that is the case, but it is mentioned a number of times on Google. Also from Google, someone recommended taking Vitamin D-3 and 500 mgs. of magnesium to ease the aches caused by Femara. I hope that information will be helpful to someone...
I'm so new to all of this that I feel kind of nude. Speaking of which, I am supposed to wear a supportive sports bra after my lumpectomy to keep my bazoombas from flopping around. Can anyone recommend a good one that fastens in the front?
I had a great laugh from the posts on The Everlasting War Against Chin Whiskers! What a drag, and I've got a moustache that needs bleaching to boot!
paamboli
0 -
Hi paamboli, Tamoxifen is not usually use for women after menopause because it works on the oestrogen produced by the ovaries and obviously after menopause there is no oestrogen from the ovaries so would not be as effective. On the other hand, the AI's work on the substance that converts the phyto-oestrogens to oestrogen that comes from the adrenal glands and fat. So that is why they are used. Hope this helps your understanding. And another welcome comes your way. Love n hugs. chrissyb
0 -
Paamboli - welcome!
Have you checked out the Humboldt Community Breast Health Project in Arcata? They are a wonderful resource for the women of the North Coast.
987 8th St., Arcata; 707-825-8345; google them; they have a website. These women really have great resources and support and I highly recommend talking with them. One of the women I spoke with from HCBHP chose Tamox. I went to Eureka St. Joseph's for my surgery and come back to the coast for checkups, but live in the Sierras and am having rads in the valley, but seriously considered St. Joseph's for rads as well. Bras: I got Fruit of the Loom hook & eye sport bras at Walmart 2/$11. 2 sizes larger than I usually wear.
Have a good day, all. Whatever good day means to you, I wish you well.
0 -
Paam
Welcome from another California gal... way southern...
saw this today next door and had to take a photo
0 -
Hi,
Thanks very much for the bra information, especially about buying a larger size.
Actually, I live in Half Moon Bay, which I guess is not all that North... I've found the folks at Kaiser to be very nice and helpful, but there's nothing down here to match Arcata's style. For all intents and purposes, I'm my own case manager, but my good buddy in Arcata might be able to send me some information.
paamboli
0 -
I love Half Moon Bay..we had two sons who are UCSC alumi, and would stop up there
whenever we took them back and forth...actually we stayed a tiny bit north by the
fishing boat docks...by the way...the winery where we used to buy cases of garlic
mustard, closed...Obester, do you know if they reopened??
0 -
That is one glorious rose!
You must have stayed up in Princeton when you visited the coast. That's where the marina and the fishing boats are. I don't get out all that much, but I think that Obester is still in business. I've a vague memory of a fire up there a few years back, but will get my facts together and let you know.
paamboli
( In case anyone is curious, 'paamboli' means "bread and olive oil" in the language of Majorca.)
0 -
Paam! I ordered a couple bras from Amazon! Front closure, & I love them....I even ordered 2 more! Just go to Amazon, & type in front-closure bras....The "Gel-mart"....& I also order a size or 2 larger! They also hook over the shoulders...and are about $15.
...
These are really comfortable.....And I like the bras from Walmart also! xoxoxoxo
0 -
Wow, Chevyboy... you are looking pretty fit. :-)
pam
0
