MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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so here is my interim plan...as long as I hold up I walk to and from the hospital for rads...that's about 50 minutes of walking...which will keep me out of the "women dying from too much exercise zone" he he he
and I get a salad afterward in the cafeteria....it's one salad I don't have to make and I figure Sloan's broccoli is extra cancer fighting
At least that gets me through the next 6 weeks.
Eating was easy today, had cream of wheat and oj for breakfast, bowl of veggie soup for lunch one, beans and greens at smk.
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I am starting small. I always pull up to my mailbox on my way home from work. I hop out of the car, grab the mail, and then drive home. I am going to drive straight home and walk to the mailbox. It is not a big walk, but it is something.
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Every step counts. Get a pedometer and set goals for the day. See how far you walk on an average day then keep upping the amount of steps every day. It's amazing how far you can walk in a day without even knowing it.
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I went to the gym and walked the track with a best galpal. We walked 1hour and 5 minutes! We kept our pace fast and felt really good when we were done. Made plans to go again on Thursday.
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I found out what my abnormal PAP was all about: Atypical Squamous Cells of Unspecified Significance (ASCUS.) It an actual designation, the most favorable (68% of women return to normal on their own.) Yes, Tamox. can be a factor. Doctor thinks that, along with my being on the menopause bubble, has caused "irritation associated with atrophic changes of the low estrogen menopausal state." Yep, that would be about right.
[Edit: I woke up with a clearer head. I don't itthere's a Tamox. connection, although the nurse did mention that. Tamox. does not remove the estrogen from my body, but my menopausal state certainly does.]
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Elimar: I'm glad that you were able to get more info about your PAP. Did you say that they are just going to monitor and recheck in 6 months?
TCK
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About dieting, I hate it. But after rads are over, then I will get on track and see if I can get back to exercise and watching what I eat. I just don't know if I can do it all and work. That is my downfall. We have so much food at work all the time, chips, dip, cheese, snacks, candy, cookies, more chips more cookies, it never stops. I will have to ban myself from the lunch area.
What is a girl to do?
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Yes, they just check again in six months. That gives me time to self-correct. The description above that I put in quotes was from a medical website that I was reading, but the nurse that called me said just about the same thing. Maybe I freaked out on this one way too early, only to find out it's probably no biggie.
"Elimar...freaking out, so you don't have to."
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Elimar, thanks for freaking out for all of us. I know I appreciate it. I don't want a bad report of any kind from anyone. Glad for you that it is something that will probably correct itself. Have another Cheeto, that will fix it.
Juannelle
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Elimar: I think your reaction was how most of us here would have reacted. It's good to know that it is something that will probably go away on without any treatment.
TCK
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Elimar. I'm so glad that your insight has you over the freaking out stage.
I interrupt this health-conscious forum for my update.
I've been on the phone since I posted several hours ago.
My surgeon called. The path is in. It is indeed DCIS. He calls that cancer. 3 cm.
I just deplore the having-to-tell-everyone portion of this journey.
I have spoken to everyone in my biological family.
To their credit, my DH, each of my daughters & my parents have said the right things & avoided saying the 'wrong' things. LOL.
I've trained them well.
I am scheduled for a bilat mastectomy (I guess it's time to learn how to spell that word) with no recon. Friday Jan15th..... yes. In a little over 10 days. First surgery of the day, as of this moment 7:30 a.m. That is my daddy's birthday and I take that as a good omen.
In speaking with him/them tonight, he said that he'd be happy to share the goodness of that day with me and my med team and Martin Luther King, Jr. (well actually I'm adding that part.... but it is a good day in all of my experience.)
So please don't say: "I'm soooo sorry." Enough non-BC people will be saying that for the next several months, I really don't want any of you to say it.
Yes. We're all sorry, we're sorry to be in this boat.
Thank goodness there is a boat for us, though. A boat together.
This time around I do have enough sense to grasp that stage 0 is stage 0.
My surgeon wants to impress upon me that I am opting for an emotional removal of healthy boob-ness & that it is not medically indicated.
I get that.
I've made the decision to proactively remove every zip and squat of everything, breastage. End of discussion. I'm a fairly emotional person. I have grandchildren...... I want to do EVERYthing in my power to be here for them.
Enough about me, how was your day??
I will go next and post something on FB.
Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming: calm & acceptance.
xx00xx00xx00xx
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Faithandfifty I won't say "I"m sorry" but that sucks and you are cool!!!
Love to you, Valerie
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Yup. That sucks, feels so much more appropriate than "I'm sorry."
You are welcome to say, that sucks.
LOL.
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Well 1st of all Faith, I agree with valeriekd, it does suck, you ARE cool and sending much calm & acceptance to you, as much as I can.
2ndly, Kleenex, the Miss America party, cheeto balls "pearl" necklace brought such an image I laughed out loud, alarming everyone in the household-teenager, dog & 2 cats. I want pictures of that party posted immediately following!
Joni
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Hello ladies. I had my appointment today.I know a little more about my cancer but not much more. Pathological report reads, Invasive,poorly differentiated ductal carcinoma, modified.... Bloom-Richardson score 8/9.....No lymphvascular or perineural invasions....Associated high grade ductal carcinoma in-situ.....Estrogen and Progesterone receptors by immunohistochemistry both negative...HER-2/neu by immunohistochemistry-negative.....Adenocarcinoma.. SOOOO.. If anyone can help out with any of this let me know please. I am scheduled for lumpectomy and something to check lymphnodes [not sure what its called] on Monday.then im told will start chemo and radiation soon after. I tried syphering this on the patholgy report link but couldnt make head or tails of it. Good luck with the diets i think i will put mine off for now. Feel like eating bunches of cheetoos and sucking the cheese off my fingers too . 0
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Faithandfifty: As you said earlier-it sucks-bigtime! I will be praying for you and your family. I don't question your decision to have bilateral mastectomy. You have to do what feels right for you. Take care.
TCK
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Ah Faith, you done good!
I'm proud of you sister. Enough is enough, off with their heads!! Nice to have another DCIS diagnosis to get 'er done before you get an angrier cancer. Is it considered a recurrence or new local? Does that change your stage? I got my double mast six days after diagnosis.There is one main thing I cannot stress enough. IT DOES NOT HURT ANYTHING LIKE YOU THINK IT WILL!!! I have Fibromyalgia and can't tolerate pain. I had Tylenol in the hospital and left without a prescription! Those doing recon have a much harder row to hoe as they have parts moved around and adjusted and stitched into new locales. This will seem very easy in comparison. I was proud of myself for handling it so well, so I know you can do it too.
Keep us posted on the head games you are playing with yourself. Is DH coming back for the surgery or are you going to head down when you're done? What a great place to heal and comfort yourself....
Edited to add: My DD phoned me tonight at work to say she got a blood test today because a home-test said she's pregnant! Ah, the circle of life keeps turning.....hopefully we'll find out tomorrow if the rabbit died. ehehhehehee
Edited again to add: You're going to be surprised on having to learn how to hold your guitar again. I have been holding my Rock Band guitar almost under my chin like my violin. There's no boobs to hold it in my lap. Don't say I didn't warn you!
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New thought, new post. Elimar that picture at the top is freaky. I keep thinking it's a lit pumpkin in the woods...... 0
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Barbe.....Hope the test is right and let me be one of the first to offer congratulations if it is............... being a grandparent is the best fun! Totally love it......we have two and it is wonderful.
Pat
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It's the last thing on my Bucket List! When I'm done, am I allowed to kick the bucket?
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Joni - Just for you, I will make the necklace and get photos. I'm thinking I might have to wear my hair up, to minimize the infusion of white cheddar into my 'do. Or perhaps I can just have the "pearls" at the front. I'll be wearing PJ's, as that is the "dress code" for the party (unless someone wants to wear an evening gown, which has happened), so I'm not too worried about messing those up...
Faithandfifty - What a pain in the boob(s)! I don't know your prior history - perhaps I'll check out your blog? - but is this a sort of recurrence in the same side, and so the doctor thinks the removal of an unaffected breast is "not medically indicated"? I'm a less-is-more girl surgically, but I also know that I'd likely do the same thing if my breasts indicated for a SECOND time that they were plotting evil. The important thing is for YOU to do what feels right to YOU. It's your body, your peace of mind. Sorry if you've clearly laid out your history and my little Tamoxified brain has failed to grasp it - it's just that I get so excited by those Cheeto pictures and my short-term memory dumps before it can convert key information into long term memory... (making a big "L" on my forehead).
Kittygriffin - sounds like IDC with a touch of DCIS, triple-negative, high grade. Because it's not hormone receptor positive, you can't take Tamoxifen or an AI - the anti-hormonals, and that is also why your doctor appears to have you scheduled for chemo. You will get a final pathology after the lumpectomy - sometimes this can differ from the biopsy pathology. I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, so if you have questions about the surgery, I could probably answer them. Was there specific information you were trying to find out? I think we have a little bit of everything here. Definitely don't torture yourself foodwise at the moment, unless big piles of leafy greens fill you with happy endorphins. Otherwise, 100 calorie bags of Cheetos and some good dark chocolate usually work for me as a pick-me-up without causing a 50 lb weight gain, which is not helpful. You will feel calmer after the surgery, when more is known and a plan is laid out...
You know, poor short term memory and a touch of ADD often work wonders for me as far as exercise. I go upstairs, forget why I was there, go back down, remember, head back up, forget again, and by the time I remember to pick up the towels or whatever, I might've logged as much as 1000 steps and my heart rate is up!
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Faith....a BIG THAT SUCKS to you. I've ridden this cancer-go-round twice and all I can say is....IT SUCKS!!! BIG hug to you...
Kittygriffin...."Estrogen and Progesterone receptors by immunohistochemistry both negative...HER-2/neu by immunohistochemistry-negative" means the tumor is negative for estrogen, progesterone and herceptin. Get ALL your facts from your doctor and try not to freak out. This is a triple negative BC and there's a whole thread on it. Chemo and radiation are what's given after a lumpectomy.
Barbe...early CONGRATS...just in case!
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Barbe-
NOOOOOOOOOOOO........it means quite the opposite........ you are not ALLOWED to kick the bucket as the grandchildren need a wonderful place to visit and someone to spoil them
Pat
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kittygriffin, well I'm not much for decoding but I can tell you that the report shows you are triple negative (I think) which I am not, so I'm not sure what all that will mean down the road for you. The lymph node thing is probably a sentinel node biopsy; during the lumpectomy, the doctor will remove a couple to several lymph nodes to test to see whether or not there are markers contained in them showing that the cancer has gotten that far away from the original site. Depending on the result, that plays a part in follow-up treatment. My nodes were negative, but because they were, I was eligible for oncotype testing, which showed my cancer had a high risk of returning in 5 years unless I did chemo to cut that risk factor. Keep asking questions. Believe it or not but cheetos are good medicine!
Kleenex-you are cracking me up today! Thank you, thank you. I love to laugh!
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Faith: You are where I was two years ago--finally making the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy after several attempts to preserve my breast using lumpectomy. I feel it was the best decision I made. I did reconstruction at the same time and feel that was also the right decision for me. There are days I miss having "natural boobs," but I'd rather be alive and kicking than having to worry about the big "BC!"
Hang in there!
Catbert
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Elimar: Thank you heaps for starting this thread! It is really great to be able to chat with other women my age! I agree with so many on this board--my body may feel like it is 70, but my mind and heart say I'm still 25 and a wild woman!!!!
Catbert
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I fell asleep on the couch...
Faithandfifty, We just can't seem to slam the door hard enough to keep the suckiness of cancer from blowing back in! I know that you know what to do. The first time around, we are taught well. I know you will figure out what to feel, and it takes time to work thru' that. The feelings come when they come. We are here.
kittygriffin, Others have given you some details already. Your Bloom-Richardson score would make your tumor "Grade 3" which is the most aggressive. And the ER/PR and Her-2 status make you a "Triple Negative." There is a whole forum for that category with many thread topics (just check out the pull-down menu at the top.) But don't think we are trying to get rid of you, I can tell by your Cheetos ettiquette that you fit right in here!
Barbe1958, oh, the suspense! Let us know if Congrats are in order.
My brain is conking out again...
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Make sure that 2 pathologists reviewed your results, and get actual numbers for the estrogen & progesterone levels. They first said I was triple negative; and with my age and background that just didn't make sense to me, so I had them rerun the test and I turned out to be estrogen positive, which changed my whole treatment plan. YIKES~~~
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
please tell me that we have a new baby on the way, please, please, pretty please?
wouldn't that be THE most fun!!!
i suppose it's time to pretend to sleep.
thanks to each and all.
hugs around the room.
edited cuz i started a new page & i have this wack-doodle thing about needing a pic at the top:
this is actually a quilt, from the touring Quilt National Exhibit
for some reason tonight it speaks to me of the many people effected by BC and the very many 'levels' of pain & suffering, indignation & horror, support & camraderie etc etc
xx00xx00xx00xx
kittydearie...... big hugs as you come to learn what the terms mean
and then bigger hugs as you come to terms with what they mean to you
unfortunately we have the knowledge of encyclopedias AND experience.
i just send a lot of hugs & prayers -- rely on the others for the facts, figures and finesse
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No Barbe, crossing the last item off your list doesn't mean you're done, that just means it's time to start a new list of things that you want to do with the grandchild(ren).
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