MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Lynniea . . . Have you asked your doctor about the length of timevthat the numbness will last? 3 fingers on my left hand are pretty worthless! I also had taxol!
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Janis . . . I am sooo sorry that youvare having such problems with rads . . . Youbwere doing so well for so long! I think that you and I started aboutvthe same time! My RO is so surprised at how well I am doing! 2tiny itchy spots . . . No redness or blistering! I wish that there was something that I could do for you!
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Welcome CareBear (one of my fav all time characters...my kids fav growing up!!) Your protocol for chemo and rads is pretty much the norm (8 rounds of chemo and 6 weeks of rads). I self-injected Neulasta during my chemo too. Not necessarily what I would have volunteered for, but once I got started, it really wasn't too bad. The alternative was paying $3,200 each time, versus $16 if I got at pharmacy and did it myself. No brainer! Glad you found this thread ... we offer lots of info and have lots of fun too. Sorry you didn't get clear margins ... that's something we all dread. Best of luck to you during treatment hon. Since it's a weekend, I'll offer you a little wine to take the edge off. Not sure whether you prefer red or white, so here's one of each
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Welcome to all the newcomers but sorry you are here because of BC.
Treeskier I had mammosite rads in late August. When I saw the RO in Sept she said to massage the area and showed me how. It's just a smooth pressing down and pushing along the outside shape of the breast from the top to the bottom and them bottom to top in a C shape type of motion and crossed the incision site. I do this while I apply my creamy aloe lotion every day. I have not had any problems with any residual redness. My incision is really smoothing out and I can feely the knot under the skin getting a little softer now. She said this will help to break up the scar tissue and better distribute the fluid built up. I think she's right because it does feel better. It will take time for this to heal and she said then I will also know what's "normal" bumps for me and be able to tell if something new shows up. Are you now on hormone therapy? You can PM me if you want any additional info.
Sorry I have not been able to keep up lately. I've been working lots of hours now and don't get much time off. Got to pay those darn co-pays! Yes Claire, I agree that the insurance companies have no souls! Just greedy SOB's who don't care about anybody but their own pockets. I already through them into the bonfire and maybe you and I could go over and give them a toss again! Kitty
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wow- easy to miss so much...nothing but good wishes and strength to everyone going through a tough time and welcome to those of you who have joined us...although I wish there was never a new woman who had to seek us out. After having the pleasure of meeting up with some yesterday as Chrissy came through San Antonio it made me that much more grateful for how wonderful all of you are. Guess what? If you are wondering if people can be as amazing as they "sound" on here....YES YES YES....Jo, Sherry, Gina, Jan and Timothea...how wonderful to hug in person:)
Only problem now is I wanna meet EVERYONE:) Here is to a good Sunday to all
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shayes....I am really doing well with radiation itself. Three more boosts left and done. The burn is pretty painful but it will heal. The thyroid thing is kind of an off shoot, they found the nodes incidentally looking for something else. I'll be fine!
annette, that is awesome you got to meet some of the ladies here. These are friends who will stay with you always. What a joy for all of you!
carebear, I am sorry you had to join under the circumstances but glad you found us. You won't ever meet a more amazing group of caring, supportive, strong women anywhere. Plus this is a fun group! Always important when going through something as serios as this. Enjoy the gifts these great friends have to offer!
I slept a little better last night which was really nice. The burned areas are not as large. Once the underarm one heals it will be smooth sailing!
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mystery pic--cellophane halloween treat bag?
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Morning Claire. You are up ealry like me (although two hours earlier here). What is for breakfast this morning? I can start with the obvious......
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Thanks for the coffee. That face is eerily similiar to the one I saw in the mirror this morning. . . . Pancakes are a Sunday morning tradition in our house. Course my boys are so picky, I have to make 3 kinds, plain, chocolate chip and blueberry.
So the one's with nuts are ours, they won't let me put nuts on theirs!!
Janis why so early on a Sunday? You should be sleeping in!! I have to work this am thats my excuse!!
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Janis...here is to full sails as you glide over the waves:)
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Claire.....can I move in with you? Blueberry for me please, with real butter only. No syrup! I am weird. Just lots of melting butter. I can feel my cholesterol go up already! I am an early riser. I have a lot on my mind right now so that doesn't help either. Brain clutter.
Thanks Annette! I am doing well through this last part. Once the burns are done peeling and my skin recovers I know it will be easy. Just some bumpy times now as it hurts quite a bit. I am good though!
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mmmm I do declare...gobs of melted butter on most things is a very good thing
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Ok heres a hit on the mystery pic. Its not a tatoo on Annettes Arse, lol. Just teasing ya. Its good to see ya Annette! You all are so very good at guessing so at tonites unvieling there will be a winner!
Claire I will take blueberry on mine please, yummy!!!
Have a fun filled day all. I was hoping for a date with the hubs for a steak dinner but he has to pull a 12 hr shift today, dangit! It was gonna be our only chance for the next 3 weeks because he will be working straight thru for the next 3 weeks and wont have a day off. Looks like I will be going to an auction today instead. It will be fun but not as much fun as a date and a steak dinner!
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pumpkin somethings pumpkin material.....checking butt...nope, no pumpkins there, although the lumps could be construed as looking a bit pumpkiny)
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Shayes37 I spoke with my DR she said everyone is different I spoke with some there's came back in 3 months. Some much longer I hope on the shorter side.0
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CareBear-Sorry to hear of your problems. Your story with the low blood counts reminds me of mine. Do gaurd against infections. Are you still working? I worked through mine but I let everyone else deal with the public. I really missed the fresh veggies and celebrated by eating everfy kind of salad I could get my hands on once I was through. My AC went really slow as I did get an inflamation in my BC breast and they had to do an I&D to clean it out. The taxol wasn't as hard on my WBC and was much easier for me. What you want to watch out for on that is the neuropathy. Some people recommend keeping your fingertips cool during chemo. I didn't do this so I don't know if it would have helped.
Lyniea and Shayes- Did your MO give you anything to help with the neuropathy? I finished my Taxol June 23rd and still have some. My RO said to take 50mg of Vit B6 and I have been doing this for 2mos naw and my fingers are imptoved but I still have alot of numbness in my fingers and toes. We tralked about it and the Chemobrain at my visit last Thus and he thinks I should see improvement for the next 6 mos but he says anything remaining after this time could be permanant. From what I have been reading about 1 to 2 years is about the time it takes for the Chemo Fog to lift.
Paula-Rail against the insurance companies all you can. My favorite game my BC plays is saying I have a patient co-insurance on something I know they are supposed to cover in full. It is usually not that large of an amount so I'm sure alot of people go ahaed and pay it and the Inurance has saived themselves quite a bit over time. I know my benefits and call and have them repay the claim correctly but how many people don't?
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This is a great group and I am happy I found you!
Thanks so much for the info on PT and massage, Elimar and Kittygirl. I was putting on lotion (vit E one recommended by RO) but stopped because I was afraid it was causing the redness. I will call MO (or BS?) and ask for PT referral because I really want to learn to do that and decrease scar tissue and fluid. Other than that, I will try to cultivate patience!
The funny thing is that while the healing part of the incision gets redder, the healed-up line keeps getting longer and that part has no redness at all. It's now about half of the incision. Patience! Stop obsessing over 2 square inches of my body! Boy, bc has made me more of a worrier. Does that SE gradually go away?
Today is Day 1 of Femara. (I'm on a special schedule: got diagnosis Aug. 2, finished rads Sept. 2, started AI Oct. 2. Pure coincidence but I like numbers to have patterns.) Tempted to start a log sheet for SE notes, but don't want to get paranoid and start imaging SEs that are just my normal middle-aged occasional aches and pains. Anyone else do that?
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"...don't want to get paranoid and start imaging SEs that are just my normal middle-aged occasional aches and pains. Anyone else do that?"
treeskier, Only every woman this thread! A great many things get back to the way they were, but that paranoia about something small signaling a recurrence, or further spread, is just one of the many ways B/C is a gift that keeps on giving.
The ladies here really seem to like either Fruit of The Earth 100% aloe lotion or Emu oil for use during and after rads to keep skin supple and help healing. (Note: Anyone that has open weepy blisters, use the prescription ointment from your doc.)
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Been a vusy weekend and I'll try to go back and read and catch up but wanted to share some pics of this weekend.
Jo, Gina, Annette, Chrissy, Timothea, Jana, Sherry and Timothea's kids
Chrissy signing the traveling pants. The emotions I felt were so powerful and I just feel blessed to have spent time with everyone this weekend. I love my BCO sistas
Sherry--lump left breast 9/30/10. No chemo, oncotype score 23 with 14% recurrence rate. 34 rads. No family history, BRCA neg
Diagnosis: 9/27/2010, IDC, 1cm, Stage Ia, Grade 1, 0/3 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-0 -
I am soooooo far behind...18 pages...good grief....can't catch up with it all so will simply start again:) new day....
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Eli I am at the weepy open blister stage. Not bleeding thank goodness and hope I can avoid it. I am using prescription lidocaine mixed with Aquaphor for my burn. It is soothing but really greasy.
treeskier, happy to see you found a new home with this group. Such a great bunch of fun and helpful women here. I do expect you will have that "worry wart" side effect for some time! It kind of goes with the territory unfortunately. The good news is, you worry less about other things!
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janis, I realize the weekend is almost over, but spend the rest of it with your top off if you can. The air and no garment up against you will help.
BTW, all you ladies finishing up your rads...Your treatment side will have dryer skin for a long, long time. I don't mean flakey dry, but the skin's natural glands that moisturize and keep it supple have been zapped into oblivion, or at least put into a coma for many months to come. Just like the ladies who can't grow hair in their treatment armpit, things will be out-of-order on that side for some time. I still use the lotions on my treatment side, now two years later.
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Eli.....thanks hon! I am not real comfortable with the topless thing, but I am wearing a very loose all cotton tank top. Plenty of circulation around my breast. Not a lot of drying out will happen though. I have slathered the whole breast and underarm with the lidocaine/Aquaphor. The constant peeling keeps my skin pretty raw and that helps.
I had a total hysterectomy 15 years ago and did not ever take HRT. Funny how the hair on my legs and pits thinned so much. I used to have thick dark hair in my underarm. Gradualy it became so thin I rarely had to shave. Then I would just find a few odd long stray hairs. Same with my legs. I rarely have to shave them either. Guessing now the right armpit will be bald for some time to come!
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Sherry I am just now seeing the pictures! Thank you so much for sharing. I am so happy to see the faces of the women I have come to admire and love!
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Yes, thanks Sherryc for the pic of your San Antonio group. Looks like a happy bunch!0
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Wonderful pics! Thanks for sharing.
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Oh, and Hauntie, I would love another meeting some time.
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sherryc, the pics are fabulous! so glad to see the faces of some of the women on this forum.0
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Hi kay! Nice to see you here. I love your Eleanor Roosevelt quote! You met Hauntie? How great anyone here can meet....anyone! I have not seen her post recently, hope she is okay!
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Good grief! I am 4 pages behind and will never catch up. The trip to San Antonio was absolutely fabulous - some very emotional moments. I will try and get my pictures off my camera in the next day or two. i will post all of them on FB so watch for them.
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