MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Luvmygoats....sorry...I had to stick my finger in the frosting the cake looked so good! Gotta get all my munchies down before 4:30.
Eli, I second what Dianarose said- if your doc's paid you for all of the their work you do you could go on another cruise.
I guess it's too much to expect our MO's are as invested in our futures as we are!
At least you got the tech to give you her perspective of no changes! It's always the waiting for the results that are stressful, not the procedure!0 -
Just got an email from the MO and he hasn't recieved the path report yet, but did get the results of the fish test and it is Her2- not Her2+ as was stated in the first path report. Big screw up as far as I am concerned.
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Elimar - glad you had such a "quick" experience with your thyroid US. Nice of the technician to give you her opinion. I can never get them to talk - I must need to work on my technique.
Welcome Andrea! Sounds like you've been through hell and back - so glad you found us and hope we can help answer any questions and have a little fun while you are enduring treatment. We've been discussing rads here recently. I felt it was pretty clear that I would need radiation because my tumor almost went to the chest wall so I had small margins. I just felt like whatever wasn't removed needed to be zapped.
Chachamom - hope I'm not too late for the PP! I found this nice gentleman waiting outside to make sure you are okay:
And since it's so hot I thought margueritas would be just the thing:
Ladies, I also brought some hot wings! I know we're going to make a mess of Chahcha's pockets (a preemptive sorry about that!)
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Diana - Oooooooo - BIG, BIG mistake on the path report.......wow.....
Andrea - I am almost 53 (in a few weeks) and quite new to this thread as well. I love the women on here already.
Chacha - I consider one of my greatest gifts to be the gift of levity. Glad you liked the pineapple on the head visual. That is something I cannot really post on Facebook as it will embarrass my 16-year old daughter. Then again, sometimes, I post stuff like that just TO embarrass her - it is good for her!
Still looking forward to getting my drain out tomorrow. I meet my oncologist for the first time next Monday - it feels like forever since I was first diagnosed, but I guess it hasn't been that long...
Beautiful evening in the North Woods and I am enjoying a glass of wine with all of you!!
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I am jumping back in after a coupla months away from the forum... heartnsoul, those images were SOO evocative!!! Each one just landed in 3D, front and center!
I am two months out from radiation, and have been back at work full time since April. I left the whole tx thing behind until I had an onc appointment last week. Worst week of my recent life, all vulnerable and wobbly. All my questions about having had bc twice came back. I have been prescibed Arimidex, but cannot, for the life of me, make myself take it. I am 62 and am noticing a big change in skin, weight distribution and joint achiness recently. I can FEEL the estogen draining away and it's quite sobering. I can't quite buy into the need to take an AI on top of the age related changes for a 50% reduction in the 16% risk I have for recurrance. Am I being a total ignoramus?
Meanwhile, I am catching up on everyone's situations, wishing you all the best in your challenges with these crappy diseases. Dianarose, I am so impressed with the bake shop you are creating. Going straight ahead does not have to mean going full tilt.
All best, Mame0 -
Diana, same thing happened to me. I think the problem is that it simply is not that easy to tell. After my hyster, they also checked 3 times to make sure there were no cancerous cells.
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Hi again - you guys are great. His explanation was that protons can be made to go in far enough but then stop dead without continuing on to tissues behind. Usual rads travel all the way through your body, although they are losing energy as they go. He said when your tumors are in front of your heart and lungs, it's very hard with usual rads (photons and electrons) not to hit and affect what you don't want to hit. That's why the photons are a big deal for cancers where you need to radiate in front of some other vital organ. He also "has" one of the 11 photon centers and obviously is excited to use it. He was clear that there are still risks and downsides. Like everything!
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Heartnsoul, thanks for the goodies!.....I'm afraid I made a mess of his beautiful white suit though....that's what happens when you mix margaritas and BBQ sauce!.......oooohhhh but we had a good time :-)
Now it's just the wait....7-10 days. I'm not going to think about it (that's my story and I'm stickin to it) until my appt w/ MO on July 10 -
Momine- this guy didn't even use the proper test and yet went ahead and said it was positive. Wouldn't it be nice if he was a real idiot and got the cancer part wrong as well. I know I couldn't get that lucky.
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Chacha - you do throw a great PP - I sneaked in a bit late as I was away for my onc appt yesterday also. But I did manage to catch a peek of the man in white leaving the building. I think he is going to have to toss that suit out you little vixen you! Keep us posted on the result of your MRI.
Welcome Andrea - hope that you hang out with us and enjoy the comraderie, support and encouragement of everyone here.
Eli - glad to hear of your uneventful thyroid scan
Dianarose - I like your "idiot" theory and that he got everything totally wrong! Sending you ((hugs)) and smiles.
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Diana, ok, that sounds annoying. I know that in my case, there was some genuine ambivalence that they had to sort out.
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Barsco- as my chemo hair gets longer the curls are getting tighter and frizzy. Any suggestions???
Momine- The excuse the surgeon had for the idiot was that he was new. No excuse. He had a superior sign off on it as well. I guess they just sign without reading anything.
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Dianarose - praying the 2nd opinion is better in your favor. No excuses for "being new". Glad your MO is on top of things.
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I have been trying to figure out if mets or a new ovarian cancer is better. I really don't want either. All sucks. It has been a week today that he had the ovaries and fallopian tubes sent to Boston. He said it could be 2-3 weeks. It's always a waiting game for more bad news. I don't even want to go for results anymore. I told the BF he could go and then come home and lie to me. Works for me.
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If you are expecting that, in the field of Healthcare, the percentage of quality workers and caring service providers is higher than, say, the ratio you could find in your average Taco Bell franchise workers, well, the joke will be on you.
In my experience (and this is where I draw my subhective commentary from) most fields of employment have the 1/5-3/5-1/5 breakdown. That is one fifth of workers excelling at their jobs, going above and beyond in what they deliver; then 3/5 who are of average competance, more or less getting the job done with no frills and standard involvement; and finally, that bottom one fifth that are turning out substandard work on a regular basis, yet for reasons unknown have not been given the boot.
Just seems a lot more wrong, when reviewing your healthcare, that you find you are "one Taco short" in your "Grande Meal" of treatment.
Dianarose, What a shame you are getting this crappy, inept level of service.
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AndreaLodah, I saw the new Star Trek Monday night. You might have been in it with your proton treatment. I know you were one of the nurses in the sick bay with Bones, weren't you?
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E-what are we doing in the topper photo? I can't remember. It looks like I wore white flipflops & I'm about ready to be angry cause the stack of work in front of me looks bigger than everyone elses. Plus I wore green. Why would I do that on picture day? I so prefer the purply PJs.
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Oh, we're at work... I thought we were awaiting trial or something. I chose one of the purply ones and am trying to hide my Birkenstocks because I usually match my footwear much more arefully.
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Haha MamaMe! That's what I thought when I opened up this thread - those vivid images look good enough to eat (and drink)! Fortunately, we're having wings tomorrow night so I don't have to yearn for them much longer. Have you considered trying Tamoxifen? I'm post-menopausal but told the MO I preferred Tamoxifen and she had no problem with that. I was worried about my bones, liver and heart on the AIs and Tamoxifen works in a different way - it doesn't block ALL the estrogen, just the estrogen with cancer receptors. Maybe someone can explain it better than I just did but for me Tamoxifen is very tolerable with about the same effectiveness. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 77 (ten years ago). She took Tamoxifen for 5 years (AIs weren't available yet so that was all they had for older women anyway) and she is still cancer-free.
Elimar - the competence breakdown sounds about right. Healthcare should NOT be a field that employs the least competent, though. But they do... so we basically have to play doctor to make sure the real doctor, the nurses, the blood-takers and the office staff don't overlook something. And since medical training is not in my background it's a little worrisome, n'est pas?
Diana - my hair came back curly, too. I hated it. When it was short it looked like Shirley Temple - I even pulled the "bangs" back with a barrette. It's been 2 1/2 years since I finished chemo. Now my hair is long and wavy. The length helps straighten out the curl. I did get it trimmed several times, the last time was to try to make the layers look intentional because not only does it grow out with chemo curls it will grow out with chemo layers, too.
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Got an email from my MO that said he recieved a notice from Beth Israel/Deaconess pathology for billing aurthorization before they would go any further. I guess my insurance won't pay for a 2nd opinion out of state. The social worker from the cancer center called and said they took care of it and the hospial where I had my surgeries is going to pay for the 2nd opinion. They have been so good to me. They really care about their patients. Not sure how long the wait is now for the results.
Heartnsoul- looking forward to my hair being longer to weigh down the curls. Too kinky.
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Dianarose - not sure if chemo curls are the same (no chemo for me), but I tame my curly hair with mousse. Some days it takes a bit more than others.
That is awesome that the hospital will pay for the second opinion. Do you think it's because they feel responsible for the idiot's report?
I am reeeaaaaalllllly looking forward to the weekend. Just in a bit of a funk these days. Took yesterday off work and really didn't want to be there today. I think all of my big girl panties are in the clothes hamper and I just don't feel like doing any laundry! lol
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Barsco- the hospital out sources to a lab. They don't do it in house. The hospital really cares about the patients. They are setting up a program for genetic testing for those who can't afford it or whose insurance won't cover it. They know it won't really help me at this point, but said if I had it done it would help my kids. When you have breast cancer a nurse is assigned to you and she stays with you with follow up phone calls, letters, and sometimes gift cards. Your nurse stays with you as long as you are still one of their patients. My nurse is great. When I was leaving the hospital from surgery she came and saw me and gave me a card. When I got home and opened it there was a 50.00 gas card and a movie card inside. They know it is tuff going through this finacially as well as mentally.
I am with you. Sick of wearing the big girl panties all the time. lets have a thong weekend, lol
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Dianarose - what a thoughtful gesture from your nurse. It sounds like the hospital really does care. Wish I had even a piece of that. Sure my onc and nurse are caring enough but they sure don't go that extra mile.
Not crazy about thongs either ....... I think I might just go commando instead. lol
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TMI girls! these kinda thongs ? 
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hmmmm, the thongs disappeared.
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That's the only kind I will wear Joni.😆
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Like Barsco, I just had a terrible day yesterday, due to feeling so weak. I could barely get off the couch all day. I was still on the couch at night, so decided to watch the final NBA game, promptly fell asleep; woke up for the final two minutes, then wished I hadn't.
The chemo is really getting to me. My blood counts are holding up, so my doctor always says I'm doing good, but I can't get enough nutrition in (now 18 lbs. lost, and I would like at least 10 back) soI am truly wasting away.
Dianarose, Sounds like you have a few on your healthcare team that are in the upper-fifth, who go above and beyond for you. Nice.
Eph, Just when I was recoiling at the thought of actually wearing a thong, you gave me an option I could handle. And a good laugh!!!
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I drive my daughter crazy when I refer to my flipflops as thongs. She, of course, wears the new thongs----there is not enough material there to cover my big toe!
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And what IS the attraction to wearing dental floss in the crack of your butt!!!??? Remember when the "flipflops" of today were Zories? :-)
Sorry you're having some bad days, Eli and Barsco. You both are beautiful souls! I'm lifting up prayers for your strength and health....if I could give you some of the weight I've put on since Tamoxifen, I would!
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Some fun news...(hence the change in my avatar)
I'm leaving today for a trip with my DH and DM to Colorado to visit DB and his wife. We're taking the "Rails and Ales" train tomorrow! Should be fun! Beer, music, crafts, beer......
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