MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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To Our founder Elimar and To All My Sisters.
Sheila
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jrlegal - I originally consulted with a general surgeon (very young) with a "special interest" in women's health and breast surgery. I ended up going with an all-breasts, all-the-time surgeon because my cancer was in a weird place and I thought she might do a better job of getting it out without messing my body up too much (waaaaay up high on the left side in an area you wouldn't even think was breast tissue). So I'll throw in that it doesn't hurt to consult with more than one surgeon. Mine actually had the same recommendation: we could start with lumpectomy, or we could do mastectomy, or we could even do bilateral. Whatever I wanted to do. Apparently the diagnosis was supposed to come with an instruction manual and home medical degree...
Happy Holidays everyone!
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Oh Kleenex! If only us control freaks could do our own surgeries, I'd be the first one scrubbing in. Look how good I am with virtual scissors (above.)0
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Good evening ladies, haven't posted for several days and had lots of reading to do. You gals give the best advise. I am so glad that we have all found this thread.
Yesterday was Adoption Day, and we went to Austin for my grandbaby's final appearance in court. It was a red letter day. She is now 8 months old and she was queen for the day and she knew it. We went from courthouse, to restaurant, to a party that lasted until I don't know when, because we had to leave at 7:30 to drive home, which was about 2 1/2 hours. I never heard her cry of fuss or anything, she is just a party animal. This is the best Christmas present we could ever receive.
Go for TX #4 tomorrow and it is the end of them, woo hooo, another good Christmas present.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and rest through the holidays.
Juannelle
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Congratulations, Juanelle, on completing Chemo. What a great Christmas gift!
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Meece, thank you, I am so ready to get this part over and move on to rads.
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I think why it seems to go so fast is that you have these landmarks, aka chemo dates, that you dread, and they seem to come far quicker than we want. Even though we want it to be over, I know that I never looked forward to having another i.v. started or sitting there for hours getting the treatment. So, it is great that you are already at this point. Just a few more weeks and you are finished with this chapter. You are going to have a great 2010.
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pretty snowflake!
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helena67: I agree, I'd fit right in with "Silly enough to have kids late, and get punished". I'm 40 and have a 4 year old (I'm a single mom) Hang in there, feel free to write anytime.
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I wanted to make a snowflake but I run Linux.
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Hi. Thanks for your response. I got a copy of my pathology report. Not too sure what it all means. It does say IDC, grade 2, no evidence of lymphovascular invasion by tumor, tumor involves 25% of biopsy, pancytokeratin is positive in neoplastic cells, P63 is negative in critical area, ER is position, PR is positive, HER-2 is 3+ over expressed, confirmation by fish assay is pending, so supplemental report to follow. HELP???
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Wishing you all a Merry and Blessed Christmas and New Year. May we see miracles and cures for all of us. Luv Mazy
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Faith, now that I am checking this thread from home I can the picture of your angel ornament. Is that on your tree? It is breathless in it's beauty. Thank you for sharing.
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jrlegal--- let me see if I can help. IDC is invasive ductal carcinoma The cancer started in a duct and has grown through the wall of the duct. Grade is a very subjective description of how agressive the cancer cells maybe based on what the cells look like compared to normal cells, how fast or slow they seem to be multiplying and some other characteristics. Grade 1 is least aggressive, Grade 3 is most aggressive. Most bc's are Grade 2. Inolving 25% of the biopsy means that 1/4 of the tissue taken was tumor, 3/4 was normal breast tissue. A more important bit of info is the margin, or how close or far the tumor was from the edges of the tissue removed--clear margins means no cancer cells withing a certain measurement of the edge, "dirty" margins mean cancer cells were seen at or very close to the edges. No eveidence of lymphovascular invasion means that no cancer cells are seen in the blood vessels or lymph vessels in the tissue removed. This is good news, less chance any of the cells have broken off to float around the rest of the body. Pancytokeratin and P63 are not familiar to me, someone no doubt will come along soon who knows about these. ER+/PR+ means the tumor had estrogen and progesterone receptors, so when it's exposed to one of those hormones the tumor cells are triggered to multiply.This means the bc cells will be shut down by anti-estrogen drugs like tamoxifen, one of the AIs (arimidex, can't think of the others off the top of my head). Her2 refers to a protein that is present in about 1/3 of breast cancers. There is a drug called Herceptin that blocks the action of this protien and stops bc cell multiplication. FISH assay is a more accurate test for HER2, and is routinely done when the first test indicates Her2 over-expression. The FISH assay takes longer to run, so a separate (supplemental) report with those results will be coming.
As far as the general surgeon or breast surgeon question, that depends a lot on where you are and who is available in your area. My BS is a general surgeon with and interest in breast surgery. To get a real BS specialist I have to go out of state. As has been said before on the thread, what is probably more important is that you feel comfortable with the surgeon, can communicate with him/her, and the surgeon has some experience with the procedure.
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I didn't go to a breast surgeon as I wasn't having reconstruction. I went to a general surgeon and my DH and I loved him right away for three great reasons.
He understood my warped sense of humour.
He had his gradutation picture on the wall and one of the small little heads was a female doctor I had for years about 20 years ago!
He had a sign on the wall that said "God does all the work and I get all the credit".
He was wonderful.
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Great pic! AND I can see it at work....
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You are working today? What day is Boxing Day?
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Boxing Day is Saturday and I have to be at work at 5:30 AM!!!!!!
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Yuck!
I actually got today off, my employers are not known for giving us Christmas Eve off. DH is a county employee so he got yesterday off as well. I still need to head into town and pick up a few last minute things. Not looking forward to the lines.
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Thank you for your reply giving me more information about the results of the pathology report. I've been feeling nauseous(not sure spelled right) and it is probably from nerves. I wish all the ladies a wonderful holiday season and may we all get through this SH.. and gone on to have very happy, healthy lives with our family.
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***Oh. Barbe. Yes. The Christmas ornament pictured above is hanging delicately on our very own Christmas tree..... strange thing is: I seriously can't remember who gave it to me, or where I got it?? I think that it's possible that it was in a big 'survivors gift bag' at "Volley for the Cure."
It always amazed me what I remember & what I forget. LOL.
If one of you gave it to me, I've treasured it always. LOL.
It is very nice, where ever it came from.
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Just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope it is a wonderful day for everyone. It is snowing in Texas, can you believe it? The wind is blowing about 40 miles an hour, but the ground is too warm for it to stick, it was 76 yesterday. Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny and 40, so it should bed nice.
Had my last TX today, so I am hoping that I will enjoy the day tomorrow. I don't have to do much, someone else is preparing the meal.
Again Merry Christmas to all you wonderful ladies and may we have a blessed and healthy 2010.
Juannelle
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Congrats, one-L! Glad you're done with the chemo. Is the Lasix doing it's job?
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Wow! This tree looks better than mine (but it looks like they could not find the Cheetos
Snowballs and had to go with the regular color Giant ones. I see six or seven on there.)
Merry Christmas to All and To All a Good Night!
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elimar, I only took it for 3 days, because she didn't want to dehydrate me before my tx, but yes I am doing better. I still can't get in a big hurry and wouldn't want to run a race, but I think I will make it. She gave me enough pills to take if I am still retaining fluid after this tx, I am not sure why I am retaining, I haven't heard that anyone else is. But I do wonder when someone says they are having trouble breathing.
I had to have another shot to raise my RBC today, it was just a little below, but they wanted to make sure it would not drop any more. She also gave me a subscription for a sleep aid, that I will start on Saturday, so maybe that will help with my sleeping problem. I think that is one reason I am so fatigued, I wake up 5 or 6 times a night and sometime I lay awake for an hour or get up and watch TV. Not a good thing to do when trying to work, and I already get up at 4:30 to go to work. I have my Neulasta shot for tomorrow and then I have 4 Neupogen shots that I will start on the 30 to keep my WBC up. So I think I am good to go for this TX, have everything I need, unless my RBC falls, but I have to go on the 31st to have another blood test, so if it is low, they will just give me another shot. Life on chemicals, I just love it.
Juannelle
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Juannelle, Congrats on your last chemo! I hope the next few days are restful and peaceful.
I spent 6 hours yesterday wrapping gifts for one of our local childrens charities. If you purchased a gift from a merchant on the street the wrapping was free. If you shopped elsewhere there was a suggested donation amount. One woman came in with 14 gifts to wrap and I was alone! Two women from next door came over to help. When the woman came back to pick up her gifts she gave us $120.00! WOO HOO! We were thrilled.
Before I left the house I had put an angel coin in my pocket. I have no idea why, but I did. As we were busy wrapping gifts, one of the women wrapping with me mentioned cancer and my ears perked up. When we had a quiet moment I asked her what type of cancer she had. I've never heard of it, but bottom line was she now has a plate in her chest where her surgeon had to remove some of her ribs and rebuild her chest.
I took the coin out of my pocket and told her I now knew why I had put the angel coin in my pocket, as I handed it to her. She was thrilled and I feel so blessed to have met her and her positive spirit.
May we all keep finding these angels on Earth as we continue our journeys. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas...
Linda
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Linda, what a beautiful story. You never know who you will meet these days with a story to tell. I was talking to a woman at work and when her daughter was young about 6 and she had cancer and they treated it and then it came back, she was bald for 6 years. I don't remember what kind of cancer it was, but only 50% of the children that get it survive. She is now in her twenties and is getting married next year. She has beat the odds.
There are many stories of survival and we are all blessed when we can say we are survivors. Maybe someday they will have a cure for all cancers, wouldn't that be great?
We do need to keep finding these angles on Earth. Merry Christmas to you.
Juannelle
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