MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
Comments
-
drchi, welcome! Wow, sorry to hear you fell into the 2% or so that recur after Mx. A lot of good the odds did you, huh? You are wrapping up the chemo, so congrats! Lots of us here had radiation, and when it is time, you should also look in the radiation forum for those having it the same months you do, then you can compare notes.
Sherryc, That was me asking if the twins were fraternal.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Here's something I forgot to post a couple weeks ago. My husband got a 2012 calendar in January...the S.I. Swimsuit Calendar. He got it for his mancave. I said, "What were you thinking?" He said, "They were half-price." What a maroon!
We had to have a sit-down where I explained that with him having a wife who has an unsightly surgical scar on her boob, it iwas thoughtless and insensitive to get a calendar of 12 young ladies with perfect unblemished boobs. He never had calendars like that before, so now (even tho' he is in his man-o-pause) is not the time to start. His window of opportunity to have one of those hanging on the wall was back in his single days. Too late now. I gave him a calendar from St. Jude's Children's Hospital instead. Hahaha!
Thread now open for any man insensitivity you wish to share. Preferrably B/C related, otherwise we might get to page 700 by the weekend.
0 -
Elimar - My BS told me that they can only get 90-95% of breast tissue when they do a mastectomy (never heard that before). She likened it to trying to get all of the fat off a chicken breast, that it's really impossible to get every bit of breast tissue. Sooo, I asked her why don't they do mammograms on the MX side (which they did in Florida where I was first diagnosed) and she said it was due to "cost effectiveness" (insurance companies) and that it's so rare to get a recurrence on a MX side that they just do them...ergh...
0 -
Eli so sorry I got you too mixed up. Can't keep things straight sometimes. Good for you with the St. Jude's Children's Hospital Calendar. Sometimes our guys can be moroons and the are so innocent about it.
dechi-welcome to the group. Sorry you had to have a second round of this crap. Hope we can be of some comfort to you here.
0 -
I'd add to dechi's post--mammograms don't get the areas where breast tissue is left after a mast--up near the collar bone, around under the arm pit. Mammos just don't get those areas. Not a good idea to expose already traumatized tissue to radiation that isn't even going to look at the problem areas, after all. Statistically, mammos suck at finding bc after a mammo. A doctor's fingers are far better.
0 -
Welcome dechi - This is a fantastic group of ladies. So sorry you are having to deal with this crap a second time. Hope we hear from you often - you will find so much comfort and support here.
0 -
Native Mainer- you are so right about Maine being behind the rest of the country. Even Maine Med only had 2 ps that they deal with and one I didn't like and the other was cash only.
When I had my intitial mammo 2 spots showed up, one a white spot and the other calcifications. They tried to do markings for over 2 hours to biopsy the white area and couldn't so they sent me for an MRI. Thank GOD they did, because those 2 spots didn't show up on the MRI, a different are did that was deep. I had an mri guided biopsy and that is the one that is IDC. If they could have gotten to the intitial spot and it was b9 I would have thought I was fine. I am not excited that they found cancer, but glad they did. A Love-Hate relationship with that one. They are going to biopsy the calcifications next week. Not looking forward to that.
0 -
Has anyone had their surgery done by laser and not the tradtional knife? I came across this site and it just seems to good to be true. I can't find much information on it though.
0 -
I haven't heard much about laser surgery for bc, I have heard of it becoming more popular for other kinds of surgery, especially cosmetic or reconstruction. I think we'll be hearing more about laser surgery as time goes by.
0 -
We would have to get out of Maine of course for that as well.
I am in Southern Maine and it's 47 degree's out. Feels like a heat wave. We still don't get to take our flannel sheets off until the 4th of July though. 0 -
49.6 at my place, central Maine. Not taking the down comforter off the bed for a while yet! When laser surgery is the norm it might be available here in Maine about 10 years later. I had a PS consult in southern Maine, was not impressed with the dingy office building and old furniture in the waiting room. Not to mention how hard it was to find the place. I know we're not supposed to juge things by appearance, but sometimes clean makes a difference!
0 -
Did you go out of state for your surgery? I am really nervous about the choices I have to make. I have an appointment with a bs on Monday who is in York.
0 -
Welcome LisaMarie and all other newbies! Sorry if I forget your names so it is easier to just greet you andd and give you a HUGE welcome to the forum. As you struggle through the many different stages of cancer, you will find a lot of love, support, and great advice here.
I just came back from seeing my RO. So confusing. He is not convinced I have Truncal LE. Rather he suspects that the pain and redness are neuropathic in nature. He saiys I need to remain on the Trenatl for at least 3-4 months. Also he increased my Gabapentin from 300 mg. 3X a day to 600 3x a day. He did a very thorough breast exam and said all the swelling and tenderness are at both surgical sites. I told him I had an appointment for next week to begin LE therapy. He said to please cancel it. He said the pain from the deep massage would be far too painful to endure. So I am to continue wearing sports bras and take that additional Gabapentin. I go back to see him in one month. He said no PT before I come back.
Sherry, the babies are just beautiful!
I have been sick with a cold and have not been around much. I think of you always!
Hugs to everyone,
Janis
0 -
Hi everyone I figure I would share a picture of myself and my beautiful granddaughter Brianna .. the reason I want to continue living ... again u ladies are so wonderful , I am glad I decided to finally post here and found true friends ....xoxoxo0
-
I tried to upload a profile pic and pic of my granddaughter and I but I cant seem to figure it out .. wont let me
0 -
I tried today too and couldn't figure it out either.
0 -
Dianarose and lisamarie68 its real easy to do. After you type your text, hit the enter button, then go to the tree next to the smiley face and click on it. In the box that says Image URL put the code in there. When you see the code numbers, just hit insert and that should do it. Good Luck
0 -
DianaRose--I has recon done at Beth Isreal Deaconess by Dr. Adam Tobias. Had lumpectomy in Bangor. Had rads in Waterville. Had mastectomy in Bangor (becuase of rads complications). See a Med Onc in Lewiston (the local ones 'lost' my records after I refused chemo). I had PS consults with Dr. Tobias, 2 in Maine and one in New Orleans before I made my choices. DIEP was best for me, and the docs in Maine said I wasn't a candidate due to rads and obesity. Truth is that DIEP is better for post rad and obese women. Docs in Maine give limited info, and not all of it up todate. I know it's scary, but you do have time to research and make the best choices. Don't let the local docs rush you.
0 -
Lisa & Diana, You have to put your own personal photos onto a web hosting site like Photobucket or Flicker first. Then, use the "share" procedures from those sites.
0 -
NativeMainer-I called my insurance company tonight and they said that my primary doctor would have to do a referral saying that I couldn't get the proper treatment in Maine in order for them to pay. I think she would do that for me. My brother said he would take me into Boston if I wanted to go there. I can't think straight today. I want to get a copy of all my lab reports so that I can figure out how aggressive this cancer is to see if I have time. The insurance company said it could take up to 30 days for an approval. Gosh, you had to go everywhere. I feel bad for you. It's stressful trying to line up appointments and bring stuff with you each time.
0 -
Kay, kitty, and madp- hooray for good news!
sherry- such beautiful babies. Thanks for sharing.
Janis- so sorry that you've had a cold. Lots of folks at my work having colds. My fingers are crossed that it will pass me by. Hope that you feel better really soon.
Dianarose and lisamarie- welcome. This is a great place for inspiration and information. Feel free to post often with questions, concerns, or just to rant a little. Hugs.0 -
A quick question ladies- What would you consider to be a good WBC on a blood test?
0 -
During chemo my WBC ranged from 4.4 to 7.5 or so (not counting abnormally high counts caused by neulasta shots). My onc was always content with my blood counts.
0 -
Mine were good during chemo too, probably because of Nuelasta. Then I had surgery and radiation and they dropped. Was only about 2 all during rads and the MO never said anything about it. I finished rads Nov. 11, and last WBC two weeks ago was 3.5. First time the NP mentioned it, and she said it was coming up and wasn't quite normal, but was okay. She said sometimes they see low counts on Herceptin, but that number wasn't low enough to make me much more susceptible to infections. Ironically, last week, I got sick for the first time in over a year. Stayed healthy of germs at least all through chemo, radiation and surgery. Last week got a stomach virus. She told me my RBC was normal for the first time since starting chemo back in March though. I don't think that ever dropped below 10 though, so that never got too bad either. It does amaze me how these side effects linger on for months and months.
0 -
Janis ALERT!!! LE therapy does NOT include "deep tissue massage"!!! See, your doc does NOT know enough about LE!!!!! In fact, you use "kitten strokes" to work the lymph and deep tissue or ANY kind of massage is prohibitive!!! Personally, I'd keep my appointment and air your docs concerns. They may only measure you for your first appointment anyway. Also, even if you had a seroma building up, the gentle tecniques could help it break up and move on.
For pictures, you can also post VERY easily from Facebook!!
0 -
barbe .. how do u post from facebook ? I tried that as well . I guess i will never figure this out ..lol
0 -
ahhh here is my daughter and my granddaughter and myself ... lol I just figured it out .. sorry so big
0 -
Momine and Kay- Thanks for the info. Have a great weekend!
0 -
lisamarie, with FB pics you just copy and paste into the body of your post. GREAT picture!!!
0 -
I got my pathology report and dont understand .. of course it states LCIS,extensive,with pagetoid extension into the ducts, Atypical proliferative fibrocystic change with Atypical ductal Hyperplasia and flay epithelial atypia focal, extensive columnar cell hyperplasia and pappillary hyperplaysia, usual duct cell hyperplaysia focally florid ... ugh .. who knows
0 -
Lisamarie, someone will come along who can help soon. I can tell you that LCIS is lobular cancer in situ. That means it is not in the ducts and has no chance to spread any where. That is good. That would be considered stage 0. Beyond that, what the rest of it means, I don't know. Sorry. I think it's typical pathology language though. I'm just not sure if it means any of the cancer actually was invasive or not. Even if it was though, it sounds like it only just happened and was caught very early. Still all very good news. (((((hugs)))))
0
