MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
Comments
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Meece - what are the signs of an allergy to iodine contrast, and what procedures use an iodine contrast?
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Faith, thank you for thinking of me. I feel peaceful about the tests, mostly because I am being looked after by someone I consider competent and at the top of her field.
Kleenex, The iodine contrast is for CT scans. I can tolerate the iodine when the put it in slowly for the head, and chest, but when they scan the abdomen and pelvis they need to injected it quickly because the organs in those areas process it quickly and it will dissipate too soon if it goes in slowly. Or so I have been told. My throat begins to itch an swell and I begin to sneeze uncontrolably, which make for blury images!
MRi at 7:30 am, so up at 4:00am, drag on some clothes and start driving. CT scans beginning at 2:30 pm with blood work in between. And hopefully a chance for a nap.
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Thinking of you, Meece. Good Luck with all the testing!
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Hello My Middle age friends! Not only Is it Raining & Monday here In New Albany Indiana ,But my Recovery is not going as plan & I had another set -back today. The drainage from my Drain tube is up to 60 cc ,which is 5 cc more than Yesterday. Ugh ! Iam Bummed!
" Rainy day & Monday & Cancer get me down! "Remember that Song from the Carpenters I just added the Cancer part! Maybe we could start a new song
Just Talk to surgeon Nurse & they cancel my appt this Morning because he will not take the Drain tube out til 25cc or less. Bummer.Going on 4 weeks now! & still havn't got my 1st filler !Looks Like I going for a world record having the drain tube the longest ( I always wanted to get into Guinness world of records Book-ha)
Hope you all are having a great Monday !Hugs Gina
PS Sorry to vent, but what are friends for ! Thanks for being here for me & each other!
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Another song - "that's what friends are for"...
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Vent away... that is what friends are for....
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Good luck today, Meece!
Gina - here's another song for you..."Drain, drain, go away, don't come back another day!"
Wishing everyone a happy Monday...or at least as happy as a Monday can be.
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ReginaR, I don't know how a drain feels, but for the three days that I tried the mammosite balloon (for radiation,) it was pretty darn uncomfortable. A drain cannot be confortable, you must be a Spartan to put up with it for that long! I am going to put my mind to some drying thoughts for you: deserts, sponges, saltines, etc. (I don't know if I believe in all that mind power stuff; on the other hand, my mind would think of those things on any given day anyway. Ha!)0
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Hi Middies, looks likes those Dr's appts. are giving our Meece trouble, we might all have to show up and give her some support, oh they would not like that!!
Thought I would share with you that I had a whiskey milk shake Saturday night and OMG it was better than I imagined. My DD flew in Thursday night jumped out from behind my bedroom door when I got home from work and shocked the hell out of me, she surprised me for my birthday and we stayed in Manhattan the whole weekend and ate at a cafe imitating Casablanca..it was all tappas and was oh so good. Unfortunetly it is back to work today and had to drop her off at the airport
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Thank you all for your care and concern.
There is redemption!!!!!
I woke up at 2:30 am to take a pill prior to the tests, and stayed awake from that time on. Although it rained fairly hard half the way there, traffic went smoothly and the 130 miles went by fairly quickly.
My MRI was at 7:45 and I hardly had to wait. While waiting I thought I would schedule my Mammo in person, as the person on the phone said they don't do diagnostic mammos on Mondays. The receptionist said to wait and she asked a tech if she could squeeze (pardon the pun) me in that morning. She said yes, at 9:30! That gave me time for the MRI, to go down the street for my bloodwork, and get back for the mammo, again without much wait.
The mammo tech was from Bulgaria, and we had a nice shat in between about 14 squishes, I actually lost count after 11. But it was the best experience I have ever had with a mammo. I was worried since I am 12 weeks post recon. She took her time and somehow only about 3 cause any significant discomfort.
The MRI tech let me keep the IV port in, so it could be used for the CT later (One less stick!) Unfortunately, it blew the vein just before they started the CT. Other than the Nasty Barium Smoothies, the CT went well. No allergic reaction this time, thanks to the pre-meds.
We were on our way home by 3:20, and despite L.A. commute traffic, we were home by 6:00 pm!
I have no more test in line and my next trip down will be to have my follow-up onc appointment and follow-up PS appointment, hopefully on the same day.
OmahaGirl, kids are great! What a happy and fun surprise. Sorry it's over already.
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Meece, I'm so happy that your day went more smoothly than it sounded like it would. What a difficult time you had trying to get things done in preparation for yesterday, you deserved a smooth Monday and I'm glad you had it.
I didn't say anything on the thread but my Onc felt an enlarged node under my arm last Wednesday (the mastectomy side) and I had an ultrasound yesterday which turned out negative. Monday was good for me too. AND, I found out this weekend that I'm going to be a Grandma Again!! So glad for some good news.
OmahaGirl, so jealous about the whiskey milkshake and am so happy you got to have one, especially with your DD. I must try one soon.
Have a great day my middle aged friends.
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Hi ladies. Man I hear ya!!! I was DXed the same week my youngest graduated from high school It was much like my marriage was just going back to the honeymoon stage when it was all about him and I, when SLAM!
I am trying to get into the Young Women Conference this weekend, but I was DXed three mos. after I turned 46 so I may not qualify.
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Here is a song which may epitomize our boards. From Me to all of my Sisters here:
Lean on Me
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrowLean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean onPlease swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you don't let showLean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean onIf there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call meSo just call on me "sister", when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean onLean on me when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean onLean on me...
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Congrats, Suz. I found out this weekend, that there is no chance for DS and DIL to be natural parents. Everyone is pretty down right now. They are going to look into adoption once the shock wears off. I feel so bad for them.0
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Meece, I'm so sorry for them. I don't know what else to say other than that sucks. You and they are in my prayers.
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Thanks, Suz. It does suck. Thank you for your prayers. I also believe in miracles, and the powere of prayer.
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Meece, it does suck, but as I one who was unable to conceive due to medical issues, I have to say, my daughter is my daughter, and I don't think there's anyone in the family who uses the word adopted to describe her. She's all ours! God works in mysterious ways and I trust that some of my DNA was somehow planted in Rachel's bio mom because there's no way she could be anyone else's child! He will work to the good of all concerned.
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Just spoke with DS, he is going to have to miss the adoption orientation class because he will be in Afghanastan for two to three months. This is putting there plans back a step, but the plan is still there. They are bummed, but still have hope that adoption will come through.
There are a lot of non-bio parents that are more nurturing and parental than those who donated the egg or sperm, so I say "A parent is the person who parents, and a child calls mom or dad." God is Great.
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Meece,
Totally agree with you ...the parent is for sure the one who parents!!!!!! Wishing you and them the best..
Hugs,
Pat
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Thank you so much. Life certainly is a roller coaster.
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Elimar - gotta say I'm concerned about the impact of the Cymbalta on the photo image selection at the top of your thread... Life is looking pretty psychadelic these days, isn't it, my friend?
Pauldingmom - I was freshly 45 at diagnosis, and know just what you mean about ALMOST being a young woman in BreastCancerLand...
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Don't worry Kleenex, I haven't lapsed into any hippie flashbacks. We are just having an art interval between the realism of Winter ice and snow & Spring flowers. The Cymbalta? It does seem to be taking the edge off of the fibromyalgia and I am sleeping better with less anxiety, but the trade off is that I'm a little spacey.
PauldingMom, welcome, if this is your first post here. I can't remember. But that's 'cause we also were on the same rads thread for a while. So, your chemo is well behind you now, I bet you no longer look like that avatar. What's your hair status these days?
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Right now my hair is at that in between stage. It wants to come down over my ears but instead hits the ears and then sticks straight out! Goofy as all get out but I refuse to cut it. I have shaved my neck a little but I'm not touching the rest. It's a decent 1 plus inches now and I don't feel like I have "Chemo. hair" anymore.
It cracks me up that I missed the young women status by 3 mos. My story is this...I didn't become a woman till after I started high school so physically I am still Young to have B.C. That's my story and I am sticking to it!
Just got through another Cancer scare when my regular doc. said lets get some of these moles looked at. They took off three and all were Neg. with one reported with suspecious cells. Just want to see me in 3 mos. THAT I CAN HANDLE! but the waiting for results nearly sent me in a downward spiral. Thank goodness I had the week off and the weather was great. Got outside and got my mind off my anxiety.
It's great to see some of my homies here from my Chemo.and Rad topics. I will try to keep up with ya'all better. I just found out I am probably going to met NikNak from those topics! She is headed to Atl. for a conference and we are going to attempt to meet up. So awesome. Wish we could all meet face to face sometime, someplace.
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Be careful what you wish for! I believe we WILL all meet....
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But not for a good long time... 0
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Pauldingmom - I was diagnosed two months before I turned 45. I had hoped to go to the conference in Atlanta, but I'm not going to make it this year. I'm sure it will be awsome!
Meece - So sorry to hear about DS and DIL - that is such tough news to hear. I am praying that the adoption avenue works out smoothly and quickly for them.
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Thank you so much, CarolinaChick. They hadn't even let on to me how "bad" it was until now. I mean I knew there were issues. Just didn't expect the door to be closed.
What conference are you referring to? Have I skipped over some posts?
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I have a question, I had and MRI, blood work, a Dx Mammo and a CT scan on Monday. Yesterday afternoon my back, the base of my head and neck and my collar bone started hurting to touch. edited to add : It hurts to have the strap of my purse over my shoulder or my coat rub against the back of my neck. Not like muscle aches, but the skin hurts deep, like it was bruised. Is this a reaction from one of the tests? I also have tingling in my lips and tongue. I had contrast injected for both the MRI and the CT, but cannot find anything that mentions these symptoms as reactions to contrast. Just wondering if I am falling apart or not.
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Hey Girls, A nurse friend e-mail me this Article , Now I am total confused about Treatments.I know i need to change my diet It consist of lots of Choc & sweets!
Hope you all are doing well, I am still having headaches,( think it the tamoxifen)
Hugs
GinarJohn Hopkins Update - Good article
AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKIN S IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.
Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.
2 . Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.
3 When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors..
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will stren gthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs..
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10.. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
1. No plastic containers in micro.
2. No water bottles in freezer.
3. No plastic wrap in microwave.
Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Cast le Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc..., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.
This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.
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Hi Regina,
This sounds like the same email that was sent to me a few months ago and it isn't from Johns Hopkins. It's an email hoax, I've included the link to the actual Johns Hopkins Cancer website that states the email is a hoax - They have some good info on the actual website.
http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1016
Talk with your oncologist about treatments and any information you get from other people just to make sure it's correct, there's so much misinformation floating around.
Warm regards
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