MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Ummm, chocolate looks so good I have been avoiding sugar since Christmas and have lost some weight just doing that..but here comes Valentines Day, my birthday and my anniversary all in a weeks time!
Went to Sloan a couple of weeks ago for my yearly MRI and sh%# a new area lit up and now I am back in the biopsy business, guess one of my ducts is dilated and Tuesday I have to go for a Mamo to see if there are micro calcification's. This is my contra lateral breast and I had a mamo 6 months ago (on high risk rotation) and all was well except for a 5 cm seroma. so, here I am in limbo again. I am heading home on Thursday for a 4 day visit to my new grandbaby that should keep me occupied some. I will keep you posted.
Linda
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Linda - So sorry you are having to do the biopsy thing again. You will have to keep us posted. Crossing fingers for B9 results.
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OG56, sorry it's more diagnostics for you. Hope it's a false alarm over something B9.
I'm sure I am not the only one who wants to start feeling like a true survivor, but can we ever get off the beastly merry-go-round? All the follow-ups make me feel more like a B/C victim rather than a survivor. How I long for the days of JUST a yearly exam!
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elimar - I would settle for the yearly exam and the occasional MO visit. We are kinda stuck with a MO for the rest of our lives.
The last two days seems like a turning point for me and the roller coaster is starting to slow down. Maybe soon I can get my feet back on solid ground. Instead of doing the split dose of Tamox, I am taking it all at once and doing great. Got out today and did some shopping at the outlet mall. Spending more time in my sewing room being creative and less time on the computer. All of this inspite of the fact I still have to go to the lung specialist on Tues for the radiation damage. Haven't been thinking about it at all. Hope when I am finished with that and the follow up with the BS I am done except for the gyn & MO.
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Thanks Jo and Eli and I second that wish! I just asked if I would still have to take Arimidex if I had a BMX and the answer was a resounding yes arrrrr! There is no escape LOL
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Linda - One way or the other, we are doomed to take a dreaded pill whether we like it or not.
I started with Armidex, then to Femara (flat out refused Aromasin after the first two) and now Tamoxifen. I asked my MO what would happen if I struck out on Tamox - thought I would be out of options and no 5 year protection. He said he would find something I would be able to tolerate. UGH!
edited to add: HAS ANYONE HEARD FROM MEECE? I haven't seen her on any of the threads for a long time.
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OG56- here is hoping it is benign, my friend. Waiting and testing and waiting is the worst.
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I received my path report It say,s Infilrtating ductal carcinoma so it is cancer. I don't know what the rest means. I need help with it if possible.
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lynniea - So sorry to hear about the test results. Infiltrating or invasive ductual carcinoma means the cancer has gotten outside the milk ducts. You will need to find out the stage and grade before you decide what you will do next. Hang with us and we will help you through this.
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Jo, Meece posted on the "I come to the Garden" (I think that's the name) thread today. She is in Hawaii now with her son, who is undergoing medical procedures. I haven't followed everything, but it sounds like things are going pretty well. She isn't able to post much there due to reception and internet speed.
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lynniea, let us know what you don't enderstand from the path. report and we will translate if we can.
jo, Meece finally went to visit her son in Hawaii. He had a mini stroke some months ago, which led to docs finding a heart problem. I am not sure if he is having surgery during this time or if she is just going to him and finding out what comes next. Hope to hear about the trip soon. Aloha, Meece!
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Susan - Thanks! Guess I forgot she was going to Hawaii. Have too much on my mind lately.
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I typed that last one way to slow. Susantm filled you in already.
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elimar - Thanks too!
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Someone posted about the Feb 8 news story on lymph node dissection ... it was not just for lumpectomy and radiation, it covered women who had chemotherapy as part of their treatment too. Just wanted to be clear in case anyone was recently dx'd and wanted to have these facts.
Lynn, that dx was very similar to mine so far. Happy to help answer any questions if you want to PM or email me in addition to posting things here on the boards. We will all hold your cyber hands through this, promise.
Raj, good to see you...hadn't seen a post from you for a while
Jo, only out of curiosity, why no Aromasin for you? I did tamox for 3.5 yrs till post-menapause, have been on Aromasin with no probs for a little over a year now ... should be off all meds by May, which will feel pretty damned weird, ya know?
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marlegal - I had such bad side effects with Armidex and Femara - my onc decided not to even try Aromasin. I have been on Tamox for a little over a month now and am doing good. Only se is the toe joint pain which is doeable.
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jo- good for you re. taking the pill all at once without any hassle!!! Guess our bodies just need to adjust....might try going back to one in the am and see how the hot flashes go...but will wait until my dr. appointment on Tuesday and ask if there is harm in taking it in split doses as well while I am there.
Lyniea- hang in there. Many of us are just a few months ahead of you but we are a well-read bunch so....if we can help , please let us know.
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Sandee - I know I posted this before but will repeat. When I asked my onc if I could do a split dose, he said by all means since I had the stomach problems with the AIs and I also told him I got this tip from all the ladies here. I took 10mg for a week and the the split. I got tired of splitting the pills and took the plunge for the whole dose. If it did not work, I could always to back.
I don't see why your onc would not let you do the same thing. Mine said it is just as effective in a split dose.
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Thank you just you all being there is a comfort. I just want to get the show on the road. Why do they wait so long for appt. I have MRI on the 16th, MO on the 21st, than surgeon on the 28th. There is a support group the 3rd Tuesdays of each month at the Hosp where I will be going should I go. God still has been good to me. I have a few more post till 50 can't wait till I can do as many as I want. Sometimes I is good to just write what I am feeling at this time. Thanks for letting me vent. They were talking chemo before surgery to shrink it .
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Thanks Jo. That eases my mind actually...my Oncologist said " See you in a year....if we need to. Otherwise, see you in three years when we will discuss whether to keep you on Tamoxifen or switch you to an AI"! At least I see my radiologist next month. Guess he will check on the scar, skin and shrinkage!...
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lynn - The waiting is always the worst. Once we are diagnosed, we want to get things done as fast as we can. Sometimes that is a good thing and a bad thing. I went from dx to surgery in 10 days to tryinng Mammosite two weeks after that. Whew! No time to breath.
Sometimes it is good to go to support group in your local area so that you can meet with others in person. I could have gone to one at my rad center but elected not to. It was in the evenings and I did not want to make that long drive again. This website has worked wonders for me.
Bottom line - Going to a support group is a personal decision - you can go once and if you do not like it, you don't have to go back.
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Support groups...most of the "Cancer Centers" do offer this. I went once and it was a nice enough group, but I was not motivated to go out at 7 p.m. for the meetings. I have gotten too spoiled by the gi-normous support group right at my fingertips!!!!
Sandee, I have taken a split dose of Tamox. since Day 1 and that was over a year ago. I just take one with breakfast and one with dinner or whenever. I figure some are taking their 20 mg. all at once, so as long as I get my 20 mg. in at some point throughout the day, I'm good. I can't say it cuts the hot flashes, because I had plenty; and I can't compare because I never tried taking it all at once. There is NO harm in splitting the dose. Let me know if your doctor says otherwise.
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Elimar- thank you for this information too. Yeah..taking them at breakfast and at dinner seems to be working for me too. Haven't forgotten one yet! and it has stopped the hot flashes almost completely.
I will indeed report Tuesday evening if she says otherwise. Cathy is a great doctor and if she doesn't know, she will find out for me. The pharmacist did not seem to think it was an issue but had not heard of people doing it so...all about educating those around you hmm? She was also great about looking up meds that do not go well with Tamoxifen (I had her check zopliclone and razadone as I had heard that trazadone was a no no...she checked a variety of places before calling me back to say they were both ok)..
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Sandee - As I read through the posts, I am seeing that a lot of the other ladies have numerous appts with their various drs - onc, rad onc, bs, etc in what to me seems like an extended period of time.
At this point, I am down to my onc every 4 months and the annual gyn exam. The only scans, etc I will have is my annual mammo in Jul. I am hoping at some point to go to every 6 months with the onc. I am comfortable with that follow up schedule - that can change if the need arises. It certainly is a nice break from the zillion appts I have had in the last 5 1/2 months.
I see me doing the Tamoxifen for the entire 5 years instead of switching to an AI in 3 years. I already know I can't take them. As long as I am on something that is alright with me.
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you are right abot the split dose JO- in trying to convince me to take an AI that is what both oncs suggested..still battling withmy indecision but you and others like Marlegal are giving me the idea I need to bite the bullet and just try the damn things. Hell, Imight not have bad SEs, in fact the alternatives I am taking are giving me some in the form of hot flashes, etc so I know I am lowering my levels but maybe I am being a fool for not trying what is recommended...ack...scaredy pants I am.
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My doctor schedule as of now is: BS as needed, MO every 3 months (for 5 years), RO never as far as I am concerned, GYN once a year, PCP as needed. Mammo schedule is (for 5 years) both boobs in April, bad boob in October.
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????What's with all the mystery????0
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i am in such a quandry over treatment along with being puzzled about so many things, there you have it...a question mark with me hanging over it wondering about stuff....
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((((Meece))) thinking of you and your son and I know just being with him makes it all better!
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I have radiologist in March....mammogram in June and , depending on the results of the mammogram I guess, I either hook up with the surgeon again or my Gp....if my boob shrinks any damn more, I will be insisting on the surgeon as we had discussed reconstructing (read: making smaller) the other breast....don't really want a double D and a C unless we are thinking cancer will be my best friend in the right breast too adn I will need the 'space' to remove bad tissue! Good gravy..what a way to think!
Anyhow, I have no intention of switching to an AI is Tamoxifen is working. Why would I switch to something that causes bone loss and causes more SE's???? Why switch form tried adn true and move on to something they are not as clear about . No thank you! I don't like medication in my bod in the first place..the fact that I have to take this for five years and am currently on a sleep aid pisses me off more than I can possibly verbalise! I have always believed diet and exercise, if diagnosed early, can do wonders..I resent that it can't be my primary care decision right now....
oooh. how is that for a Sunday morning rant! My back is completely out because of my ankle going over on Friday and I am in pain....thinking of taking one of those pills the BS gave me after surgery but afraid it will make me loopy along with being pain free
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