MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
Comments
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Hi Tink!!
I am off to bed - hope everyone has a great night.
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goodnight Jo!!!!
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Amm42......you may want to check out this website, www.diepflap.com. I had never heard of the diep option until I stumbled onto this site. How fortunate for me!!! It turned out to be the best option for me. I saw 3 different ps, none brought up diep. When I asked about it I can honestly say they discouraged it. Thank goodness for Dr. Levine and to the ladies here who shared their experiences.
I had a mastectomy and immediate diep recon in Jan 2007. The results were better than I expected:)
Now if only I can keep those darned tumor markers down......!
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love the squirrel, Leisaparis! dawney, waiting to hear news... 3jays
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Welcome kay-from-philly and dinamarca, and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about the DIEP. You too, tink, (I don't even have the knowledge to have spelled it correctly in my previous post!) Just from reading the comments so far, it seems like the surgeons tend to push their "favorite" reconstruction, or maybe the one they are the most experienced at doing, rather than laying out all the options that are out there. I, myself, would want to hear the reasoning why the surgeon was recommending their choice over some others. It might take some extra time at the office visit, but this is what patients want and need.0
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I think you're right elimar, surgeons recommend the surgery they're most experienced at doing. That's why researching all options is important. I was willing to go for the 1st thing recommended. I mean lets face it you've been dx w/ bc and your scared. Then I met some extraordinary women on this site......and I found there were choices.
Pioneered by Dr. Robert Allen the DIEP FLAP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap) is microsurgical breast reconstruction using living tissue from your abdomen. There are other procedures, the S-GAP, I-GAP & SIEA, as well.
For me it's like having had a tummy tuck and breast reconstruction. I went in for surgery with two breasts and woke up with two breasts....I never really felt like a mastectomy patient. Yes, there's recup time, drains and incisions, but I was truly amazed at the results. Now, 4 years out, at 49, the circular scar has faded, the girls are perky and my stomach is flat!
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Hello all, I just came over from undiagnosed but worried.
Well, I had my biopsy, today. The Doc is quite sure its the big C. I am not really sure how I feal about that right now. Glad to know one way or another, though.
I will find out all the details on Friday....The doc said it was about two inches, that seems large to me. Is it?
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BirdyRobin, So sorry you're going thru this.....honestly, the not knowing,and waiting for answers truly sucks.0
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Dina, Thanks, I am glad about the knowing. You have been here for a while (2006) are you a survivor or supporter?
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dx 2006 IDC stage ll.......survivor!!! : )
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dx 2006 IDC stage ll.......survivor!!! : )
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Intraductal cancer stage II (some nodes involved? or is it size). What would be 2 inches? do you know?
Thank you for letting me know of your diagnosis.
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I had invasive bc, no node involvement. largest area 3cm. I can't really answer your question regarding size...2 inches. Did they do a needle biopsy or a lumpectomy?
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BirdyRobin - Welcome but so sorry you have to be here with us. Let us know what you find out on Friday. The waiting is the hardest part - it really sucks.
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Third AC chemo today. Hope everyone has a great day looks nice I hear the birds singing.
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Birdy, sometimes DCIS can surround a smaller area of IDC. If you have 2 inches of IDC that would be pretty big! Also, what they try to measure while it's still inside you and what it is when it finally comes out can be two different measurements for sure! Good luck!
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BirdyRobin, welcome! Are you sure it was not 2 centimeters? If you have been getting yearly mammos & doing the home exam, your B/C probably would not get to 2" before it was spotted/felt. I hope it is just 2cm, and that is very common. Because of the shock we all get when they tell us we have cancer, sometimes we space out on some of the details. For this reason I would suggest that you take a family member or friend with you on Friday so you have two sets of ears taking it all in; or maybe take a recorder; or at least a pen and paper to jot it all down. Another thing, ask for a "report" of your biopsy. That usually tells not only the size (estimate really, like Barbe wrote) and type of B/C, but it might also tell if it is ER+/PR+ or not, and that is a big factor in deciding on treatments.0
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Jo.....................
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Birdyrobin welcome to the group but sorry you have to join us here. As you can tell this is a great group with lots of support. Waiting sucks but be sure and keep us posted on Friday.
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Hey everybody! I got back from the beach Tuesday night, but I've been effing around with taxes ever since. Finally, I think I've got it all together! Gave it to my accountant last night. He was not very happy with me. He said he won't be able to do them before the 18th, and I said, "You won't?". He's a REAL uptight kind of guy, so he replied, "Do you know what today is?". I innocently replied, "Yes, it's April 13th." Later, my son, who was sitting across the table from me, said I answered what day it was like the man was seriously asking me if I knew the date. "Oh, yeah! It's April 13th!". I'm still laughing about that, especially when I know it caused the guy to get his panties in a wad! So, anyway, after all that, I'm going to have to file an extension AND pay the man double his usual price. I've been using him for 10 years, but f*** 'em. I'm going to find someone who can be nice - I really dread contacting this guy every year. He just snaps off questions to me and I don't know the terminology or what he's asking for. Taxes and insurance are my two black holes!
Speaking of insurance, I've gotten to where I don't even open the envelopes from my insurance company or the hospital. They just freak me out. But that ended up costing me. About 3 weeks ago, I made myself deal with mail in a box that I marked "urgent". Lately, when I've opened up envelopes from the hospital, they said I owed $22,000. So, I file that in the blacked out part of my brain. Damn! I can't deal with this crap! Then I found an envelope from the hospital which was actually a check for $880 - expired, of course. So, I had to figure out a way to get my $880 check re-issued while at the same time dodging the $22,000 bill. I knew it was a bogus bill, that I would just have to call my insurance company, but I wanted THEM to settle it between themselves. In the meantime, I wanted my $880! So, I tried calling 2 different numbers, but ended up getting the same lady. The first call she said, yes they will re-issue my check (still waiting), and the second call she said I had a zero balance. Ends up my insurance company and my hospital and all my associated doctors were in negotiations, so the insurance company was not paying until they settled everything. In the meantime, I had gotten notices from Aetna saying, starting March 31st, your surgeon, your MO, your RO, and everyone else that knows you really well, will not be participating in your plan. See how they freak you out for no good reason? THAT'S why I don't even open their envelopes! I can't take their damn stress, I've got enough of that!
Elimar and Barbe - well, I guess it's called a beach house since it's on the beach, but technically a realtor would call it a "Gulf-front beach house" because it is the Gulf of Mexico, not an ocean. Sometimes they say "Gulf-view" or "ocean-view", but that's sneaky - it's not on the beach, but you can see it from your balcony. There are other misleading terms, too - you've just got to be very specific when you're making a reservation.
Boy, I'm tired - the yard man said he would be here 2 1/2 hours ago, so I got up 3 hours ago with not much sleep, and I'm still waiting......sigh.....back from a few days of peace and quiet to extreme chaos (I haven't even mentioned half of it!). I want to go back to the water - got to be the Gulf/ocean. I don't like lakes - too many bugs and snakes and the bottom feels yucky!
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I don't like lake swimming either. I'm afraid a fish will actually touch me!!!!!!!!!
Yet I've scuba dived. Go figure. Scuba diving up north is just breathing under the water. You've got to have something to look at for it to be real. The Gulf of Mexico has pretty water!!! 0 -
HnS welcome back! Glad you had a good time. Love the panhandle beaches.
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I love those beaches, too, Barbara, but I've got to check out your part of the coast. It's been a while since I've ventured down there. LOL - you should go to work for the Tourism Department in your area! I may just skip the whole eastern side of Florida - time is always of the essence and duplicating that trip my father took us on would take a long time. I doubt if my mother - having 3 kids - had as much fun as we did.
Barb - I've never been scuba diving, but I like snorkeling in the Gulf. Oh yeah, in a lake, if something bumps up against me, it freaks me out! I think my mind always goes to a snake, but I'm sure it's just a curious little fish. Most of the time, the water is too muddy to know for sure, though!
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Wow! I missed16 pages please update me by PM if I missed something I should know...Will try and read this weekend as DH and DS are camping.
I am 3/4's done with Chemo, had my second Taxol today 2 more to go. Finding taxol much easier on me that EC no nausea of headaches, I'l take the muscle and joint pain - I was dealing with that before BC so nothing new
Work is getting so busy I am involved with so many projects and even when I have given the lead to someone else I need to be in the meetings, working late to keep even with missing 2 days every 2 weeks. DH keeps reminding me to take it easy but I think since I am feeling better it is harder and it is definitely a distraction.
Went to Chicago last weekend to see DS in a club fencing tournament. It was my first time to see him fence live - he only started last year.It was fun and I think I am starting to understand it a bit. he does Sabre. It was 86 there on Sunday, it was way too hot for the wig, really hoping to have enough hair to go without by the time it does that consistently this Summer, although it is convenient to be able to have someone else drop hair at salon for wash and style! I just had to pick up and try on for final adjustments.
Getting through security was fun, I travel a lot for work and never have problems going through security, but after trying to get through the screening several times I had to get patted down. luckily my sister was with me and could watch my stuff but they lost my watch for about 20 minutes. They were helpful and did find it but it was frustrating. I was ready to pull the cancer card but kept my wig on and held it together....In the end I figured that my pants had zippers on the pockets - last time I wear them flying. The old way of using the hand wand if you failed the detector would have picked that up instantly. I also realized I need to work on upper body strength between surgery and chemo I could not lift my carry on to the overhead rack- embarrassing.
My Vitamin D levels are increasing ONC said I can move from my weekly 50,000 unit dose to 2,000 daily.
Hope everyone is doing OK. Hugs to all, I will post when I do some back reading to see what everyone has been up to.
I was telling my sister as she was my chemo date today, how much I love this group since we talk about everything not just BC and you are all so supportive, thanks for always being there, even when I cannot be on the boards.
HUGS
Jean.
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Elim...I understand what your saying. I know it is more common to have a 1 to 2 cm lmp found and I would like that very much, however I am sure the doc said 2 inches and my dh was with me. I understand now that, that means a lump of about 5 cm.
Tomorrow, I again will be with dh and have every intention of asking for a copy of the report.
Robin
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Hi ladies When I received my report my cancer measured 8x8 cm They started me on chemo and it has shrunk to 3.25x3 cm. I will have surgery after this. and than properly radiation. Also I joined a cancer support group at the hospital it helped to have women going through the same thing I was. It is nice to see people face to face. This Place is wonderful it was the first place I came and it got me on the right track. I also believe in prayer number one. God Bless
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BirdyR, best of luck today at your consultation. Hope the doc makes everything clear and that you come away with a game plan to kick some B/C-butt. Let us know.0
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Hi to all
Very well put, I read this with interest and agree (Bermunda 77).
After discovering that I had early stage BC, I had surgery, 15 days radio, and started Tamo which is not agreeing with me. I went to see my doctor yet again as I had developed a very bad viral infection (ear, eyes and bad chill), on my last week of radio. I knew that my immune system was depleted, and after completing radio ended up bed ridden for nearly 2 weeks afterwards. I couldnt stand it any longer and went to see my doctor who announced that "Had I accepted the fact that I had cancer, and that someimes our minds think we are sick". I reassured him that i was very ill, and yes coping with 2 teenagers on my own, with little or no help at all, and driving hundreds of miles each day to complete radio had not made me paranoid - and that in fact I had collapsed.
WHAT IN GODS NAME DO THESE DOCTORS THINK THEY PRACTICE - CAR MECHANICS.
I was told to go home and just rest. Needless to say because they did not prescribe any anti biotics, 3-4 weeks later I developed a very bad Strep B infection which I have had to take large doses of penicillen. Now who looks stupid.
Pinkie
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pinkcandy00, welcome to the Mid-Age thread. I'm not sure which post you are agreeing with, unless it was back quite a few pages where you might have stopped reading last. Anyway, I hope you will stick around because I do like my morning tea and a little doctor bashing to go with it on occasion. Our Dx are very similar, and although I hope to stay on the Tamox. for five years, those hot flashes are annoying.0
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went to the doctors and she took out 2 of the tubes, hopefully when i go back on the 25th. the other 2 come out. It looks horrible to me, but i guess i have to be patient and let it heal more. Have to see onc. in three weeks also to discuss were we go from here.
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