~* The Waiting Room *~
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Remind me not to knit my pale yellow baby blanket in the presence of a strobe candle! LOL
Bette
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Lexi- great news, congrats and enjoy your vacation!!!!
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Lexis, that's marvelous! Have a wonderful time, it sounds like a perfect trip.
Sherry, I'm glad your treatment is starting. I hope you find good things to do close by your lodge. Will you go home for weekends?
Fall semester is about to start. One of my classes was cut due to budget woes. Hope I can hang on to the rest!
Love the stories, you're great!
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Yay, Lexi! Have a wonderful vacation!
I've been in the Waiting Room since June 2 when I had a PET/CT following the end of Herceptin. You've probably stepped over me a few times, curled up in the fetal position in the corner, sucking my thumb.
Anyway, met with my onc today and ALL CLEAR! I get my port out soon.
Thanks for the great company - wishing you ALL the best results possible.
Love you, Sue
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So awesome Sue-
I always think about you and actually thought of you today knowing you were waiting to get result at your appt. I feel sympatico for you being my fellow Arizonian. I just knew it would be ok!
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Yeah to the great + news for Lexi and Sue.
I am still waiting for surgery scheduled on the 28th. I am scared and I am really not sure why I just have tears running down my face all the time, thank God my co-worker's sister has had BC so she really understands.
I wish I could knit, I tried and tried and because I was a south paw and everyone tried to make me right handed the end result is a big klutz.
So, my hobby is to reading and when I received a bonus this year at work I bought a Kindle from Amazon and I love it and it goes everywhere with me!
Well I'll be back soon with coffee, tea, and some cinnamon rolls ummm I think I must be hungry.
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Yeah, Sue! That was a lo-o-ong wait.
I purposely didn't schedule my PET/CT more than 10 days before my onc appt. I don't think I could have lasted two months. I'm seeing my onc on Monday, and hope for the same results...NED and port removal OK'd.
Linda, I'm hoping you have the best outcome for your DIEP...I'm jealous you have it scheduled already and with Dr. Allen! Talk about PS Superstars, lol. I don't care about any of those drs on TV that do makeovers. Someone like Robert Allen, and everyone that he has trained to do DIEP reconstruction are the real heroes.
How do you like your Kindle? I work for a publisher and they are a hot item, for sure. But I'm still partial to paper and ink. No need for batteries, lol. I like the different trim sizes of books; little soft plastic ones for messy two-year olds. I predict Kindles will take over the novel market, but they can't replace oversized books or little kids' books.
Lexi, good news on the BRACA. That takes one less worry off the table.
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Congrats Lexi and sue. That has got to feel good.
oooooh a kindle. I have thought about getting one. Tell me more. Oh yeah, my daughter is a southpaw and she still knits better than I do!!!! Igh.
Nancy D---good hippy story. Try hipp hugger bell bottoms with a bubble butt!!! Need I say more?
I also like your point about the books and the necessity of holding one. My daughter loves books and stacks them and packs them all over the house. I have been trying to talk her into selling them online.. ( My friend goes to some web site and sells them. ) Anyway, my dd won't sell them!!! Wait till she goes to college----I get my house back!!!!!!
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Thanks! Today has been great. Nancy, I'm hoping you get the same results - I cannot wait to get this port out! I
I like books in my hand too. My favorite summer activity is floating in the pool (I always wait until 4 p.m.) with a paperback. Probably can't do that with a Kindle!
Wishing you all good news. . . . Sue
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Now I am back 'waiting' so will join you others ladies here.
I saw my BS this morning. Found a lump ten days ago, tiny about.5cm, hard peasized firmly stuck to the muscles about 2-3inches above mast scar. She is most concerned about it so its back through CAT scans bone scans etc. It is being removed next week. Once it is biopsied then will work out what next. Two and a half years out you begin to think its all behind you.
I love books and love carrying them around reading them.
Have a whole lot of editing work to do but don't have much concentration.
Alyson
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Well first things first ladies..I love books and when I moved from Omaha to NY 6 years ago I had over 400 books in my two bedroom apt. I had this thing about never getting rid of the written word. However I had to pay a moving van for every box, so I donated to the public library and somehow that made it okay. Now if a book comes in then one must go out to the used bookstore. So, I love my kindle II and the leather cover makes it feel just like a book and it is always in my bag. I love it, but I will probably still buy certain books. Has anyone read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan? It was a wonderful story about the power of womens friendships.
Nancy I feel so blessed to have Dr. Allen doing my surgery. I didn't know if it would happen with the out of network thing, but it all worked out. I was less afraid of having the DIEP after he said it would only take 4-5 hours from start to finish and other people are under for a whole day...
Alyson we are sorry your here but we keep the Coffee hot and we have a nice selection of magazines in this waiting room. We offer gentle hugs and support too. While I was waiting for my MRI and biopsy reports I wrote it out and said it outloud when my mind was going down the "oh my god" road... I said "I choose Hope!"
It helped me a lot to have a little mantra to chant and to swallow some valium LOL
Let's all hope for the best outcome irregardless of our diagnosis.
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Hi Everyone,
Haven't been around too much lately as my hands were hurting so much form the Femara. Finally saw my onc for the 3 month check and got good results from the muga scan and mammogram, have to wait to get an ultrasound done as she forgot to order that with the mammogram, lump didn't show last year etc. Overall all looks good. We decided I will take a break fom the Femara for a 30 day period as the side effects have become really quite bad, hope this does the trick, not sure how long before I will start to feel any benefit but the other option was more drugs to add to the list and I'm sick of drugs right now. We did agree that stress exagerates the side effects of the Femara though which is handy to know. Has anyone else had breaks from Femara, how long did it take to see any benefit? I hate feeling like this, my get & go would appear to have got up and gone!!! I'm 44 and feel 90.
Gaynor
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Gaynor, I have been off Femara for 6 weeks now due to bad SE's including carpal tunnel syndrome, chest pain, cough, dizziness, fatigue. I would say that I started feeling better in two or three weeks.
While off the Femara, I was diagnosed with triple negative stage 4, so I will not be going back on it.
I am now waiting for the results of my latest CT scan, plus hearing whether or not I made it into a clinical trial for PARP inhibitors and TNBC. I am not a good waiter. Good that we have such a friendly waiting room.
Bette
Bette
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Waiting over for now! Have been accepted into the clinical trial for TN metastatic breast cancer, in the control arm of the trial. But I will receive the BSI-201 if I don't respond to the gemcitabine and carboplatin. Now for all those trips on the Beltway (trial is in Arlington, VA).
Bette
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Bettelou,
I am glad you were accepted in the clinical trial. How are you doing?
I read your profile and am inspired by your strong faith. I am saying prayers for you, Bette!
You sound so strong!
Happy
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Hi Gaynor we have some similarities in type of BC. I was also put on Femara afte not tolerating Arimidex. I am also 43 and they would not let me have Tamox being Her2. The Femara was better than Arimidex but they just took me off 3 weeks ago as they are just not sure I am completly menopausal. They are giving me a 3 month break to check Estradiol, FSH and LH levels before deciding for sure. The Chemo put me in early menopause and they are worried I may not be keeping that status.
I will tell you that the side effects the crippling foot and hand pain has still not subsided after 3 weeks and I remember that with the Arimidex that it took weeks before I felt better. I have a friend that quit Arimidex after 2 years and she said it took a year for the SE's to go away.
Keep in touch with me or PM me so we can compare notes. What was your reason for not having tamox?
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BetteLou - so glad to hear you are making progress on this journey. I really appreciate your expressions of faith and peace even in the midst of this storm. God is with you and HE will never fail!
Can I (reluctantly) join you all here in the waiting room? I had a right mastectomy in February for DCIS, and there was a small amount of microinvasion but clear nodes, so no rads, no chemo. At that time, I had found a small lump on the left side so they repeated the mammo, then did an ultrasound and couldn't find anything. The plan was to watch it and see if it was hormone related and would go away. On my last onc follow-up it was still there, so he ordered a repeat mammo. It was negative, so they ordered an ultrasound. It was negative, but the radiologist is mentioning Lobular CA. She wouldn't order the MRI, so my onc did. I had the MRI yesterday and was told no results until Tuesday. Just got a call today from the radiology department - "due to the results of your MRI, they want you to have an ultrasound"! What????? If 2 have been negative - I can guarantee this one would be too! So----I know the results are available.....it's Friday afternoon.......I have a call in for my onc - he will tell me the results. Now I'm questioning if they found something else and that's the reason for the repeat ultrasound! But they need to explain that!
Yes, it's frustrating, but God is in control and He knows the answers and the events of the next couple months. He is an Awesome God and will never leave me even IF I get some answers that I don't really want! So, I join you here, waiting for the return phone call!
Above all, I want to be in His Will.
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Hello everyone,
Hi Bette, I'm very glad you're in the clinical trial. At first I was worried that you were in the control arm, but I understand you get the most watchful advanced care when you are in a trial. It sounds like that is definitely the case with this one. You and your entire support team will whomp that beast into dust.
2hands4me, Have they mentioned a biopsy? I wonder after all the puzzlement why they don't just test a sample and settle it. Hope you get some definitive news soon.
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2hands4me. I had a similar experience with going back and forth between ultrasounds and mammograms and I finally asked to biopsy it anway.....no lumps were ever "found" , just a thickening and so I had a digital mammogram which really didn't confirm anything, but I insisted on a biopsy of the "thickening"....The biopsy uncovered the cancer-of course- the mri found more, but also false positives. You are right to have the mri.
so, welcome, you are here.
Btw, I finally had the Bs check out two lumps in the "old" not mxd breast, and she looked at it with the ultrasound and drained it and said all is B9!!!!!! Whew! I am so glad this was all able to be resolved quickly.
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Dear Bettelou!!! Praise the Lord, you are on your way to healing now. Withl your strong faith and positive attitude, there is nothing that can stop you. thanks for being such a great role model for us all. Kathy GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
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A quick update - Thank-you for the support! The nurse called yesterday afternoon, onc is on vacation but his partner said she could share MRI results with me! Apparently there are 2 "benign appearing" areas in the lateral lower area of the breast that they now want to check on ultrasound. The upper area that I can feel showed nothing as far as I can tell. Onc will call me Mon or Tues. So at least I have that much information - but won't know for awhile if we are looking at bx or monitoring or mastectomy. I'm thinking the upper area would need to be an excisional bx since it doesn't show up on anything to do a stereotactic or needle-guided bx. But I really don't want a general anesthetic only to find a cancer that would need a mastectomy! But, one step at a time along this path. God will give me the strength to face the answers and decisions.
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2Hands4me, The most heartening thing is that they're not ignoring it. I had apparently invisible-to-mammograms lobular that I could thankfully feel as a lump and which did show up on ultrasound and MRI. We need docs with inquisitive minds willing to search the the atypical stuff for us. Hope you can relax a bit this weekend.
Hugs for you, dear Bettelou.
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Fortunate1---What kind of tx did you have? My mom who was dxd 14 years ago--a going strong- said she had lobular that was found on the mammogram. I find that amazing, but fortunate for her because it was very tiny. She had a mastectomy because of the grade, I believe......
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Well, today's the day I get my PET/CT scan results. I'll let you know by noon. This is the first post-treatment scan I've had.
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Thoughts and prayers are with you, Nancy.
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Good results for you, Nancy. I'll be checking back.
Jess, I have been very fortunate. After finding the mammogram-invisible lump, it was thankfully confirmed and reconfirmed by ultrasound, MRI biopsy PT/Cat scan. The tumor was at 2 o'clock and all the docs said "bad location, terrible cosmetic outcome" for a lumpectomy. I yielded and had a Mx right side only. The PS I was sent to suggested a one-step reconstruction with alloderm and an implant after I expressed strong concerns about the muscle moving surgeries. So I had an "easier" surgery.
The Mx got me out of doing radiation (close call with pretty close margins). My age(61), stats, and an oncotype score of 20.5 got me out of chemo. I will be on Femara for 5 years, which my Onc thinks is the best treatment for me. Sure hope he's right. I try not to second guess.
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Hooray! A clean scan, except for a seroma they saw developing around my surgical site and underarm. I could have told them that, but it's great to hear there's nothing else of concern. Time for an afternoon celebration! Thank-you ladies for keeping me company.
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Yay Nancy! I'm so happy to hear of your clean scan - the best news ever, isn't it?
Be well!
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Fantastic news! Have a great day.
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Woohoo, Nancy! a clean scan!
I am now waiting for chemo on Friday. Have no idea what the SE's will be.
Tomorrow I should get the results of my latest CT scan. Onc appointment at 2 PM.
Bette
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