MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Reesie, here's to happy platelets!! Glad you got good news from RO. Thinking about you!!
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Ya Ya when the they took your blood did they have you turn your head to the right sometimes it is against the wall. They had to go in my vein and fix it. But once they work out the kinks it is your best friend. Thank you all for my blessings I have to wait 2 weks they lile you be out of surgery that long I have my simulation on 23 of Aug.
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lynniea, go in your vein and fix it??? how did they do that? it freaks me out thinking about doing anything else to this damned port.0
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They had to do a cauterization where they went up through the vein in my leg. My port also flips around and I have to flip it back anything that could go wrong with me did.
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Ya Ya I loved the port for chemo. I didnt like it to much for sleeping. I never found a comfy spot to sleep. I also found that with each fill of my TE it got more uncomfortable. I hope it gets better for you.
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Hello Middies - Just stopping in to let everyone know that DH and I are leaving in the morning for a 4 day convention in San Antonio. We will be down on the Riverwalk and planning on having a good time. This is a short break from the job and a chance for us to see how our new help will do without us around. We will still be close enough if anything major goes on.
Will talk to everyone either Monday night or Tues sometime.
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Hi everyone! I love reading and catching up on everyone's progress. I still don't know if I have to have chemo or not and I am so stressed about that. I am trying hard to be patient, but have to wait for approval for the Oncotype testing. Did anyone here have a long wait? I just want to get my treatment going, whatever it will be.
By the way, I thought I should introduce myself. I am 57 and have two grown sons who live in different states. I miss them a lot. We had to move to Idaho for my husband's health. He is 66 and has emphysema and COPD. We had lived in Wyoming for years but the high elevation made it very difficult for him to breathe. So, we wanted to stay in the west and have mountains nearby and had to find a place with affordable housing. We bought a foreclosure and made several improvements. We assumed we would find work quickly. Did not happen! The economy is so depressed here jobs are very hard to come by. So it has been difficult, we are now living on his SS.
So we are here and now dealing with my cancer. I am doing great...just impatient now to get my score and get going with treatment.
We are huge animal lovers. We have two rescue Golden Retrievers, Murphy and Sampson. We also have three rescue cats. Bella, Poppy and Pistol. They are our fur family!
Wishing everyone well, I am proud to go through this journey with such great and fun ladies! HUGS!
Janis
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Here's my port story. This goes back 17+ years. My BS actually put it in. Everyone in my support group thought I had the best looking port ever. When I would show it to newbies the others would say - "Don't get the idea that your's is ever going to look that good." Never had any trouble with it. It was so hard drawing blood from me without it and I was so superstitious that if I took it out I would need it again - I kept it for 5 years. I go in to have my MX scar revised (failed recon) and decide it's time to have the port out, too. Anesthesia can't start an IV. They look at my port and ask, "Does that still work?" They ended up using the port to put me to sleep. Once I was out, they poked and prodded to put an IV in my arm, so they could take out the port. Blood draws are better, but starting and keeping an IV is still a pain in the a$$. Every time I go in for surgery, I wish I still had it.
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justmejanis-welcome to the group even though I'm sorry you have to be here with us. Seems that everything with cancer requires waiting and that is the hardest part. I don't think I slept for the two weeks that I waited for my oncotype score. Even ambien CR did not work for me. Hopefully it will be a low score and you can opt out of chemo.
Jo-Have a great time in San Antonio you and DH deserve a wonderful weekend away. And hopefully your new help will do fine.
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Hey janis, nice to see you here!
Jo have a very, very, very good break!!! I look forward to hearing how it all went when you get back.
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Hi JustmeJanis - Welcome to the group but sorry you have to be here with us. Like Sherry said, the waiting is the hardest part and we all know what you are going through. I did not have the Oncotype test done nor did I have chemo so I can't imagine what you are feeling when it comes to that. We are all here to lean support whenever you need it.
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Thank you all for the warm welcome. I just love that I can come here and vent to a courageous group of women who totally understand! Right now is just the waiting. Sherry, I understand that insomnia thing. Who ordered you the Ambien? I was just wondering if I could get some, but like you, it might not help.
Jo so nice to hear from you and thanks for the encouragement!
Barbe...same to you. I hope to get to know all of you much better. This seems like a great group. Where ever we are in our treatment/recovery, we are all here together.
Jo enjoy that trip! I used to live in Houston but visited San Antonio. I loved the river walk. Enjoy!
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Hi justmejanis. The gals around here are a good bunch. I enjoy them so. They will do what they can to help you along the way. The waiting is always the worst part. Hang in there. I got my ambien from my Onc. I dont know when your next appt is. Maybe your primary could help you.
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Hi Janis - I am done with active treatment and not due to see my MO until Dec. All my testing is done until next year and just taking my Tamoxifen everyday. Getting on with life - it has been a tough year and I was able to get this far with the love and support of these lovely ladies. Just remember we are all here for you too.
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Hi Paula! Right now I am officially "on hold" until the Oncotype test is back. To the best of my knowledge, they have not approved it yet. So I wait. I talked to my Breast Cancer Navigator Tuesday and she assured me she will follow up on it. She said as soon as the score comes back, she will schedule my appointment with my MO. So for now, just a long wait.
Jo I am thrilled to hear treatment is behind you and now you just have to take the Tamoxifen. How are you doing on that? I believe I will be taking Arimidex. I have been reading about potential side effects but so far nothing terribly scary. I did have a bone density scan Tuesday. They also drew blood for Vitamin D level. Guess I will get all the answers when my Oncotype test results are finally in.
I can tell this is a great, loving group and I will enjoy my stay here! I do not feel alone at all!
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Janis - Been on Tamoxifen since Jan 5th and so far so good. I had tried Armidex and Femara - both did not work out for me. With Arimidex I was way too nauseated and with Femara - had stomach issues and it left me feeling like I was in a fog and was not able to function at my job.
I will keep my fingers crossed that Arimidex works for you.
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Jo have a fun filled trip. Take lots of pics for us!!!!
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Paula - Will do!
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Jo, enjoy your time away. We'll miss ya!
Janis ~ My OncoType DX took 3 weeks but it was sent the Monday of Thanksgiving week, so I lost a week really. In looking at my records, the test was sent Nov 24, rec'd Nov 25, Date Reported: Dec 3, but I didn't see my onc to get the results until Dec 17. Waiting sucks - I hope you receive yours soon so you can proceed with your course of tx.
I am so thankful for all of you.....you keep me grounded & away from the edge.......
♥
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Valjean, thank you for sharing that. It was a long three weeks for you, I know. I think my frustration stems from the fact I was told I would have it in two weeks. Then after two weeks to find out they have not even run it. That is is still awaiting approval. It felt like a sucker punch for some reason. I am doing everything I can to be patient. I bet you were on pin and needles. Thanks so much for the encouraging words. That is why I love coming here. I can vent away and everyone is so supportive.
Jo, have a fantasitic time and just enjoy!!!
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Valjean, if you're not on the edge, you're taking up too much space!!!
Hey, I'm just sayin'....you know?
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Good Morning Middies - DH and I are packed and ready to go. We leave in about an hour. Don't want to get there too early and not be able to check into our room. Gonna miss everyone.
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justmejanis my PCP gave me the ambien.
Jo have a great time
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I hope you have a great time Jo!0
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have fun, jo! relax and take care of yourself.0
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Hi Ladies I also know the worst part is the waiting. I also want to say welcome Janis. I spoke with my Oncologist and she ordered ambian for me. After you get started you feel like at least you are doing something. I will be praying for you. I hope jo that you have a lot of fun and take it easy.
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Boy I have been off the boards for over a week now, so have a lot of catching up to do.
Welcome to the newbies, looks like we have several. This is a great bunch of gals that I look to for support when the outside world doesn't understand. Hated my port but dealt with it as best I could. Felt myself unconsciously touching for some reason. After a while the sensation faded to where I could bearly tell it was there. Had mine taken out last December and I still unconsciously touch my scar.
Lynniea - good luck with the rads. Keep lthe lotion on as best as you can. My skin changed drastically from the 4th to the 5th week. So heads up on that.
My dad's memorial was great, the funeral home put together a video tribute from the pictures we had. The grave site was family only as he was cremated, mom was cremated to and dad could not part with the ashes, so we laid them to rest together. Had a great time with the sibs. Here is the link.
http://www.hassfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1220143&fh_id=13089
My DH told me after that he was sorry he did not get to know him really well and that he was a great guy. Dad had a stroke 30 years ago that left him unable to talk well, but could do work.
Finally got my CT scan results, all clear. So all clear for both bone and internal. Was bit by a bug though, a genealogy bug. Found some historical documentation in dad's things and that got me going. Have a cuz who has worked a lot on my dad's (Newton) side. So made contact with him again. Have been on the ancestry.com 14 day trial and have found loads of info. I have spent the past few days working on the tree and think I have both mom and dad's traced at least 7 generations. Once you know where to start it helps.
Sorry for the long post.
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Wow I am speechless today. I never ever thought that anything good would come from breast cancer, but it has. I was asked to be the ISO manager at our plant today. It was really nice that someone had the confidence in me to consider me. This came from the register himself, wow. I also have the backing from my new superviser, double wow. This week has been a rollar coaster and there have been many downs to it. Im so happy that it ended with a high. Im still on the fence about taking it because Im still learning my new job and I still have tons to learn there.
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Paula that is great news about the offer for a promotion. It is certainly a testament to your hard work and knowlege. That is wonderful.
I finally have a date for receiving my Oncotype test. My navigator called today and scheduled an appointment with my MO. Next Friday at 1:00. So I will finally get my score then and hopefully get a treatment plan outlined. I will get the results of my bone density scan at the same time. One week....at least now I have a date. I hope this next week goes quickly.
Hello to everyone, and have a wonderful evening one and all. As always, sending cyber hugs.
Janis
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We are on a roll of good news here.
mbjmiller, happy to hear you checked out all clear with your scans. I never joined any of the geneological sites, but found some info. online for my dad's side of the family. Not too indepth, but it traced back to Europe. You will have to let me know how you like your free trial period. It is something that will be interesting, and it's always good to get your mind onto other things besides all of the B/C info. stored in there. Glad it was a nice service for your dad. I think it is nice when everyone gathers for rememberance.
Paula66, That is so flattering, and nice to know your hard work has been noticed all along. Guess you have a big decision to make, but you will figure out which will be best for you. Congrats either way.
justmejanis, We will be waiting right along with you, and hoping you have a score low enough to bypass the chemo. Good to have gotten a bone scan. It just something to watch when doing the five years of the hormonal drugs.
Hope all will enjoy the weekend. Been busy here with a lot of non-cancer-y stuff, with two returning to school in another week. Helping to some supplies together and giving haircuts, etc. I was glad to get my B/C follow-ups out of the way last month. I don't think I have any B/C appts. now until Nov. Feels good!!!
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