Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Thanks to everyone for the healing vibes. This "wound" looks nice and pink and itches, so I feel the healing has begun. Prayers and good wishes and hugs for everyone. I am plowing thru some more necessary paper work and have yet another bag of shreds done. I really need a secretary or personal assistant. He/she can then order food delivered in and we can sit and admire all we have done.. LOL. Have a super duper weekend. Nancy
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Ladies - I haven't posted here for a few days. My scans all came back clear and I had my first tx yesterday (DD A/C) and get a neulasta shot today. The oncology nurses were wonderful and the infusion took about 3 hours and went very smoothly. Everything good so far at this very early stage but I am so relieved to get started with treatment.
Good wishes to you all.
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Alyson, your post really moved me, and I bet everyone can afford one dollar. I do admire you I could not get up in front of people and speak much less make them laugh.
Carol, I will be praying that everything goes smoothly on your surgery tomorrow and God controls the surgeons hands.
Lefty, isn't it nice having that port out. pink and itchy is good, just don't scratch. Lefty when you get your personal assistant could you get them to make us some homemade cookies. thanks.
Pam, I totally understand about friends and people you never expected are there for you and friends you expected to help you disappear. I don't understand what happens.
Gill, so glad your scans came back clear, that is a blessing. also glad everything went smoothly
Hi, Rita and Noni, hope your having a good day.
Hey, JO, bless you friend hope you are having a good day too.
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Howdy everyone...
speaking of itching...I am having one of those days when my "phantom" boob is
itching...now this is eight years after my mastectomy...go figure...
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Would you believe SoCalLisa, that I have a spot on my mx scar which, if I scratch/rub it, I get a feeling like worms crawling under the skin inside my elbow on that side? When I first discovered this phenomonen, I used to watch the spot to see if it actually moved! Makes my skin crawl to think abuot it.
Sheila.
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Hi to everyone....Lisa...I am tryig to figure....hmmm, what triggered a memory that triggered your mind to trigger a feeling in something that is not there....SIGH.
Sheila....that too is rather remarkable---probably wish you could have an ultra-sound while rubbing.
Hope you are all going to have a fantstic day and wonderful week-end.
Hugs, Jackie
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i think the phantom thing has to do with nerves that have been cut...soldiers with amputations of their arms and/or legs get that phantom limb pain...and we all know that the mastectomy is an amputation of sorts...
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So true Lisa, My foob itches but I can't feel it if I do try and scratch it. It is weird.
Sheila, I bet that is a really creepy feeling, it must be the nerves underneath the skin the alternative is too scary to think about. LOL
Jackie, hope you have a wonderful weekend also. I need to go get a shower and get ready to go to a baby shower.
Prayers, hugs, and love to all.
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Spar2, Rita and Alyson,
Thanks for the hair tips, I will try them. I hope that you are enjoying your weekend. I am having some bone pain today from the Femara. I did all my errands and chores this AM. I am checking my e-mails and favorite web sites now waiting for the Tylenol to take effect. It has really been killing me the last three days. Does anyone have any tips on how to lessen the bone pain or is it with me for the next 4+ years. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Cindy
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Cindy....is there a possibility that you could change to one of the other drugs...Tamoxifen or Arimidex. I have some aches and pains on Arimidex....and don't like it, but would have to categorize it as annoying and not worth using a pain reliever on. Hope you can get some help with this. I also think it is possible that in time the pain might go away....something you probably ought to ask about.....four years is a long time for discomfort strong enough to have you seeking relief by using Tylenol or other pain killers. Hope all else is well.
Hugs, Jackie
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Cindy, When I first started on the Arimidex I had terrible pain in my feet. It was even hard to walk and I had always been an avid walker. One of my bc sisters from the Illinois thread told me to take magnesium and vitamin D-3. I asked my onc about it before starting them and he said there was nothing that could hurt me. He did, however, seem very skeptical that there was anything about them that would also HELP me. I took 1,000mg of the Vitamin D-3 (and it needs to be the D-3 and not another form of vitamin D) and about 500 mg of magnesium a day. At first I took a little more of the magnesium but cut back because magnesium is a major ingredient in laxatives and I quicly discovered that I didn't need that much. LOL It took about 6 days and the pain began to subside. I take these supplements daily now and have very little problems. I have a knee that aches sometimes.....it comes and goes..........but the feet are no longer a problem. You might want to give it a try for a couple of weeks and see if it helps you. My oncologist has since done some research on the Vitamin D-3 and he's convinced there is a correlation now between lower D levels and side effects. In fact, when I go back in August he's gonig to test my vitamin D level.
Hugs to you. Those joint pains are NO fun!
Rita
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I have a very sensitive spot, exactly where my lump was, but had a mastectomy ??
Sometimes it can be downright sore, I keep reminding my drs, but all say its just phantom pain.
Thing was, it was completely painless before boob removal !!
I never have the feeling of phantom boobs though, and I'm six years out ! I do get a most
fantastic feeling when I take my falsies off....great relief...especially when its warm weather...wish
I dare go completely without boobs when I am dressed up, but haven't found the courage yet !
Isabella.
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Boy, Isabella, isn't it the truth, the relief of removing them, they are so heavy and hot. It took me years but finally had implants done and it was such a relief, they just feel and look like my real boobs now but they don't sag. They are nice and soft and I love them.
Rita, is your feet pain gone now? Can you walk again with no problem? I can't walk very far without my ankles hurting so bad but the bone scan said it was arthritis. I wonder if magnesium would help with that?
Goodnight to all my goldie friends. hugs and love. sherry
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Often have the phantom boob pain or tingling, really quite strange. Will even go to scratch where it is!! Sometimes the pain goes right to the nipple which of course isn't there.
Isabella I know what you mean, the fake boob is really heavy somedays and its a real relief to get it off.
Rita I hope your feet are feeling better. I have arthritis as well. Maybe we are all getting old but I don't like that idea.
Cindy, I am on Femara as well, sometimes the foot painis terrible - I am having a good spell at present - its the knees that are playing up.
I must away and get some writing done before I go to bed. I lost several pages and many hours of work this morning so I was not very happy. At least I can sit by the heater, it's very cold again tonight, will be a frost. Tomorrow when I go outside I will be reminded that spring is coming because I have some lovely bulbs beginning to flower. Can't wait until the days get longer again.
I hope Monday is a great day for you all.
Alyson
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Spar2.....I hate to speak too loudly here, but yes, the foot pain is gone. Like Alyson, my left knee bothers me at times but the magnesium and vitamin D3 have relaly helped with the foot problems. You may want to try the magnesium with the Vitamin D-3 and see if it helps you. There is nothng in it that will hurt you and the supplements are relatively inexpensive, so it might be worth a try. :-)
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Spar2.....I hate to speak too loudly here, but yes, the foot pain is gone. Like Alyson, my left knee bothers me at times but the magnesium and vitamin D3 have relaly helped with the foot problems. You may want to try the magnesium with the Vitamin D-3 and see if it helps you. There is nothng in it that will hurt you and the supplements are relatively inexpensive, so it might be worth a try. :-)
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Rita, I will pick up some at the pharmacy next time I go to town. My ankles hurt bad enough I am willing to try anything and like you say, it can't hurt. Thank for letting me know about them.
Alyson, I guess I assume that everyone has summer at the same time, its been triple digits here and when you said its cold and expecting frost tonight I was in a state of shock for a moment there. When is your hot weather or do you have any?
Noni, wish you were close enough to play with your hair, I love to mess around with others hair (not cut) just fix it and see how different hair styles look. I try and try to get my granddaughter to let me try different stuff with her long hair but she won't and a couple of weeks ago she rolled a little comb up in the front of her hair and it would not come out so I had to cut it and for the first time in her life she has bangs and she hates them and her mom said I should have just let her sleep with the comb in her hair which I would have but it was also a pick with 4 metal prongs on the end and I was afraid one would put her eye out or something. Anyway, it will grow.
Hope all of us golden girls have a great afternoon. hugs. sherry
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Alyson.
It sounds so funny waiting for bulbs to flower, in JULY ?? and expecting frost, we shall be back to all that in another few weeks. How hot are your summers ?
I love my garden, in fact I just about live out there all summer, my bulbs have long gone, apart from a monster pot of agapanthus, which are flowering their sox off right now. I mixed blue and white and they really are a picture. I notice Socal has some by her pool, all I have for a pool is a very small pond..... I have been thinking of having a 'swimming pond' has anyone heard of them ? Quite large ponds, kept clear, and 3-4 feet deep. Trouble is here we only get a few really hot days, so it would be a very cold swim !
Isabella.
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Alyson - my husband and I and were fortunate to be able to spend from the middle of October - middle of March in NZ. We were based in Christchurch and had a wonderful time. AND we got to enjoy an extra summer, missing a miserable winter here in Idaho!
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Hi from the other side of the world. Just think Summer at your place Winter in mine. The summer temperatures vary throughout the country the highest we got to last summer was just over 100. Here in Auckland it is hot and humid while other parts might get higher temperatures but do not get the humidity, on the other hand we don't get snow here at all. Evidently the last time it snowed was 1939. We have had a cold winter so far for us with many frosts.
Isabella we have had some hot weather in the UK. We always joke about the fact that we have usually had great weather when we have been in England though I have to say last trip was October-November and it was starting to get cold especially once we got to Germany.
Gillyone, pleased you enjoyed Christchurch, its a lovely place. It is a very 'English' city. Luckily you missed winter there, not as cold as Idaho but it is cold for NZ and it does get some snow.
I am using this to avoid doing some work. Even though officially retired I am trying to get a workbook written for History at Year 13 - Grade 12 level.
Alyson
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Chooks,
Last week I planned on my grands (2 girls) being here for their annual summer visit--didn't work out well at all--homesickness, first in 5 years--but I'll explain later.
Then, today I had #11/12 Taxol--very stressful event (not the TX, but finding that my appt. had been "cancelled." Short version--I guess I had an out-of-body experience--looked down to see myself threatening to lie down on the waiting room floor until I got my chemo or they called security. It worked. So only ONE more TX, then on to rads.
Hope all are doing well...haven't gotten the posts caught up. Will try tomorrow. Take care. Helen
PS, If I explained the grands thing before, I apologize. If I go back to look, I'll lose my message and I'm too tired to re-write. Plus the steroids are kicking in.....oh well. Talk to ya later.
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Way to go Gramof3! I can just picture you when your appointment was "cancelled" - and it seems perfectly reasonable to me that you would demand the treatment. I'm going for my second last treatment a week from today and would be mighty disappointed if it didn't happen as scheduled. Mighty disappointed.0
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I'm with Leslie on this. Most people are willing to do un-plesant things, but we are not willing to go through the extra dread and stress of having to go to treatments that don't happen. Especially when they wait till you get there to let you know......not acceptable. Good for you Gram. Homesicknes...who knows when that will kick in....if ever. Just glad that you "handled" every thing and did well with it.
Count me in too Alyson....seems strange ( though our summer has so far been somewhat weird ) to be hearing about expected frosts etc. Sort of puts one in mind of that Jimmie Buffet ( sort of a drinking song I guess ) song " It's Five O' Clock Somewhere ". No matter what we have soneone is having the other seasons somewhere. Cheers.!!
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That a way, Helen! There's nothing as nifty as a grandma with grit! I'm so glad you stood your ground and got that treatment. I would have loved to be a little mouse watching this! :-)
Jo....Hang in there. You're one tough lady (even though we don't always like to hear somebody tell us that) and you'll lick this fatigue and nausea. I know you will. Isn't it hard to be patient and let our bodies be our guide? It seems like it's always just one thing after another. Maybe that's why we've learned to savor those good days. I'll say a special prayer that your energy will return and the nausea will disappear. You are DUE for lots of good days! Hugs!
I've been trying to schedule a time when my two oldest grandsons can come for a week, too and not having alot of luck. I may just have to settle for a long weekend!
Catch you all later.
Rita
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Helen, good for you. gutsy gramma
JO, so sorry you aren't feeling well. Hope it gets better and better every day. As you already know, I have been off the arimidex a couple of months now and decided to start taking myself off of the citalopram which I have been taking to counter the side effects of arimidex, and last night I had one of the worst hot flashes, dripping wet pj's and hair so am going to just half them until I talk to the onc again. No telling how long the arimidex stays in our bodies.
I have my granddaughter today and took her to McDonalds for lunch. I am not sure which one I will have for the weekend but you can be sure it will be one of them.
I really miss my older grandson, he use to spend 1 or 2 weeks with us in the summer time but about the age of 16 he stopped and said he had to work and stuff like that. He is 18 now.
Rita, how old are your oldest grandsons?
Ya know it really is 5 O'clock somewhere, I love that song.
Gillyone, would love to visit NZ, have heard it is so beautiful. As a child I had a pen pal from there and was always so thrilled to get postcards from there
Everyone enjoy their grandkids and have a great evening.
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ritajean-
I already take vitd3, I think I will try the magnesium, what do I have to lose? I do have an appointment coming up in Sept for my 6 month follow up with my oncology dr. I will ask her about the pain. I have my 6 month follow up tomorrow with my radiation onc tomorrow. I always get nervous with these appmnts.
thoughts and prayers to you all, Cindy
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Just popping in to say hi today. Been waiting last three days for it to rain per weather report but it hasn't happened. Weather has not been bad so I don't mind but hoping it doesn't go from pleasant to nearly the worst all in one day. Hope you all are feeling well and making progress at whatever your doing.
Jackie
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JO-5
I went to the Dr. this morning. I had some good news and some very concerning news. The good news is that my liver and lungs are o.k. The concerning news is that there is some activity in my right breast again, so they have scheduled a mamogram for next Wedneday morning. Also, when they did the bone scan they have found something that they don't really know what it is, it is in between the two bones on my left leg, that's the one they replaced the ball in my hip, so they have made me an appointment with the surgeon who did my hip. Dr. Mankin said it would be hard to do a biopsy, because they may miss the exact spot,but he is concerned that it may be cancer. I just have to trust and believe in Jesus that everything will be o.k. Boy, when the devil gets started he doesn't know when to quit.
I hope and pray you are doing great and I will continue to pray for your good health.
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Does anyone take effexor? I have a starter pack and prescription but haven't started taking it yet. My gynecologist said it is the only anti-depressant that has been tested on menopausal women and helped some women with hot flashes. I stopped HRT a month ago when I was diagnosed and have been experiencing hot flashes again. Plus I'll have to take Arimidex once I've recovered from my bilateral surgery with recon. One reason I took HRT was it made me feel so good. I'll miss it.
Today I finally figured out how to get my diagnosis info on my posts! I don't know the stage yet. I have to remember to ask.
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Hi Carole,
I take effexor for anxiety and supposedly hot flashes. I still have them, in fact I would call them sweats. I get up in the morning and shower and get dressed for work and am soaked before I get out the door. LOL. In the morning my nighty is soaked when I get up. I take vitamin e and vitamin d. Does not help. The effexor does however, keep me from being weepy, and it helps me feel better. I had stopped taking HRT about 4 years before I was diagnosed with BC, I had hot flashes before, and probaly will have them for awhile. I HATE THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any way, to you all hugs and prayers. Talk to you later. Cindy
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