MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Hi all newbies great your here but under the wrong ways. I have my surgeon appt today and hope he takes out the dr
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Welcome SAB - Like some of the others, I was so numb in the beginning I had no idea what questions to ask. I saw an onc before surgery and all I heard him say was that I did not need chemo and I was to see him after surgery. This website is full of such good information so ask lots of questions and someone will come along and answer them.0
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Welcome SAB - there are lots of questions I wish I had asked, but I don't even remember that time at all, so...
There are a lot of helpful hints if you look at the info contained on the site (on the very top menu bar - under Symptoms & Diagnosis, Treatments & Side Effects)
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Hello SAB, welcome! Your Dx is similar to mine and my surgery was in July two years ago. If your BS has not already ordered an Oncotype Dx test for you, you may want to ask the MO (medical oncologist) to do that. It is a 21 gene assay for early stage, node negative, hormone positive women and is a guideline as to how much chemotherapy would benefit you. Not all doctors feel it is 100% accurate. (You will probably want to Google for details and more info. on it.) Also, ask your MO to show you your "chart" from Adjuvant Online, which is another risk assessmant tool to find out treatment benefits.
You will probably talk about which hormonal drug he intends to use for your therapy too. This will be affected by whether you are pre- or post-menoapusal, and by history of other medical conditions. If you are 53 and have never had a bone density baseline test done, he can order one for you. This could be especcially important if you will be using an aromatase inhibitor, which has a tendency to cause bone loss. I got one even tho' I am on Tamox., which only cause very slight loss for some women, increase in others.
If you forget something, no big deal. You will be seeing your MO regularly (like every threee mos. at first) or you can always call. The most important thing is DO YOU LIKE YOUR MO? You absolutely must get one you will be comfortable with for the five long years.
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edit: elimar and i posted at exactly the same time! sorry, elimar!
SAB, i think it's important to know what your pathology reports say. you'll probably have one from surgery that will discuss the cancer, but most onco's send tissue off to national labs to test for hormone receptors and the gene her2 neu, among other things. these are very important test results because they will help determine your tx plan. do you have if these tests have been done? also, many of us have had the oncotype dx test done to further help us and our onco's make informed decisions about tx. in my opinion, this is some of the most important information we can have about our specific cancer. be sure you get copies of ALL your reports, including the pathology reports. this is just my personal opinion. the other women on here might have a different idea about all this. good luck at your onco appointment. let us know how it goes.
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SAB-I am assuming you had a lumpectomy so you will be receiving radiation. I can't remember things to ask but I do know that my BS did not tell me that I had options. She just said lump and rads. I found out 1/2 way through rads that I could have had a MX and no rads. Just make sure you know if there are other options so that you can make the decision and not your DR's. The oncotype DX is also good to have. It will help in treatment decision making. I also had the BRCA test done so I could decide if I wanted to take my ovaries out or not. It came back negative so no need to do that. Just read as much as you can and it will help you form your questions. Good Luck
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Lynniea-you are hoping the surgeon takes out your doctor????? That's pretty funny, but I know you meant drain & just didn't finish the word!
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Hey, El there's no pic at the top. Just a white box with an X in the upper left corner.
Hi all, been off for a while. Came back once or twice on other threads to drop a quick line. But it takes days to catch up on here so I saved the best for last.
Have had a really bad few weeks. My dad(step), for the last 30 years, passed away on the 20th of July. He was dx with Lung Cancer @ 3 months before I got my IBC dx. So we have been cancer buddies. He was starting to do a little better, then took a turn for the worse. His throat was closing up due to scar tissue and he wasn't able to eat ANYTHING. Hard for him to even get down liquids. He had a procedure done on Thursday the 14th of July to put a stint in his throat to open it up so he could eat. He finally was able to for a couple of days. Then on Tuesday the 19th, he started having trouble again. The scar tissue collapsed the stint. He started coughing up blood, was taken to the hospital, started doing a little better @ noon, was talking, then @ 3 went down hill really fast. Was gone by 4p.m. Was a bad day.
Had a memorial service for him on the 23rd, then my mom took him home. He was cremated. It was kinda funny. We went to the funeral home to pick him up. My mom said, "You know, I've never stopped and picked someone up to take to their own funeral before." Kinda weird.
But we all know life goes on no matter what happens. So on the 24th we had a birthday party for one of my grandsons. He turned 4. Got him & his brother a new inflatable pool & a swing set. Watched them on the 30th, so finished putting it together for them. Hopefully they've been able to play on it.
Then after all this time, @ a year & a half, I started on my dang PERIOD. Not fun & not really prepared for it. Damn thing anyway. Just another thing to bitch @ I guess. Okay, sorry. Made this long enough. needed to get some of that off my chest. Thanks for all you wonderful women.
Hello newbies, sorry you have to join us. This is the most supportive & best place to be. We have lots of good times. Bitch, moan laugh, cry, vent. Anything you need. Think I may be caught up now. Thanks all. Later, going to my moms this weekend (she lives in Kansas) to go through dads stuff & help her get ready to move. Oh, and we have also been house hunting for her. Finally found her one yesterday. She should be able to move in a couple of months. So gotta get everything ready. She's moving back home.
Now I gotta go get ready for work. Hopefully it doesn't take me days to catch up next time. Love ya all. Leisa
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leisaparis so sorry to hear about your Dad. I'm glad you are there for your mother and are able to give her support.
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leisaparis, My condolences to you, your mom and family. You had two years with him, which defied the odds. As you might know, I hate L/C even more than B/C. I would hate them the same, but L/C is so disgustingly symptom free in the early stages, that by the time people feel there is something wrong, many are Stage IV, so rarely do they have a fighting chance; plus it starts off in a vital organ to begin with. Hate it!
I had trouble with the pic showing up at the top too, but I can see it now. I don't know if anyone else can besides me. Hope so, it is a good one!
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Hi guys! wish you all a very good evening from India. I went to see my doctor on six month,s follow up check up. My mammogram report says NAD. My doctor noted NAD. It is six years and 3 months from the date of my operation, followed by radiotherapy (33 cycles) with booster and chemo ( six cycles). I took tamoxifan for 1 and 1/2 years follwed by Arimidex till Feb,2011. Instead of six months check up I have been advised to report in August,2012. I pray to God everyday to get rid of cancer from my body but how long.. no idea... still my mind got stuck with the same...life is still confused...
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Re: oncotype testing...REMEMBER it is ASSUMING you are going to take Tamoxifen when they give you the result. If you aren't going to take Tamoxifen there is NO point in getting the testing!! The number you get is based on having Tamoxifen in the mix. Do not get fooled by a low number.
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Yeah Barbe! that is exactly what I am confusing. I keep on wondering everytime why the doses given by my doctor is very different from your doctors. I am still not sure myself. Moreover, I am not that much expert to tackle with my doctor, I just listen to what the board says. Last time when I said I better complete the arimidex doses for five years but they combine five years duration taking into account of the period of tamoxifan. I should better change the doctor to get second opinion.
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raj, that is right though!! They would count the time of Tamoxifen AND the AI here up to five years as well. I think your doctors are doing the right thing. My comment was for a couple newbies that have joined our thread.
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If it is right then I feel better now Barbe. By the way I was concerning only on my part but dont have the courtesy to ask you about your health, but everytime you are in my mind as a very strong lady. I can feel how you manage with BC. thanx a lot for sharing with me. And thanx to all the members for sharing valuable ideas, knowledge through this thread.
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Barbe1958, Your information about Oncotype Dx is not correct. The TransATAC study on Arimidex (as representative of the AI's) showed the recurrent score is similar to Tamox. users and distant recurrence percentage is even better than Tamox. users. Also, I believe that now the docs can enter the Onco Dx into the Adjuvant Online equation, for a more personalized result on that as well.0
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elimar, I didn't mean JUST Tamoxifen, but ANY AI. Sorry for the confusion. Is that the part I had wrong? Only mentioning Tamox and not the AI????
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Well.....my Oncotype DX results are in, but I can't see the oncologist until Monday. I am not very patient when it comes to test results! Oh well, what can I do! Have a great day ladies!
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Yeah. I was responding to:
"If you aren't going to take Tamoxifen there is NO point in getting the testing!!"
I did think you meant if an AI would be used instead. But I think we were both commenting to SAB, who is ER+/PR+, so she's most likely going to be taking one or the other.
You are right in the event that IF a woman has no plan to have hormonal therapy at all, having the Onco Dx score would not amount to much, because it does assume some kind of hormonal will be taken.
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I see no picture(s) in the header E.
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I don't see a picture either.
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Neither do I.
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Crap, I will find another one to put up there and see if that works. As an experiment, let me know if you can see the picture in this post. It is the one no one can see but me. Maybe I am special.
NEVERMIND...it is not showing up here for me either. Getting a blank square in edit box now too.
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I see it on my cell phone but not on my computer at work. But I don't see a lot of pics at work.
E I think I fell off this week
Edited to add: but I caught the rope and am climbing back up
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reesie, you are seeing the replacement now at the top The other was in my post above for a minute, but then it disappeared on me.0
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Guess I checked my phone too late then.
But this one sure fits how I've felt for the past two weeks.
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Elimar now I see the pic at the top
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OK-I think we all have been engaging in the picture activity. I know I have!
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Elimar - I see the picture at the top now.
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Koalakid39 The waiting is always the hardest. For me it seemed like no matter what I did to get my mind off the waiting it never helpped. But in the end like you said, what can we do?
Leisa Im so sorry for your loss.
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