MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
Comments
-
kath, if you haven't had MRI yet, will be in your pocket. Prayers that results come out squeaky clean
0 -
Kath....we are here for you....praying you get the all clear.0 -
Anyone relate?
0 -
love the response, elimar! actually coming off a major visit to what i like to call "anger-ville" after a visit to my reconstruction surgeon & my radiation doc (oh,no wait he was out of the office so I got the other guy) lots of frustration here don't worry! tired of being sold the fairy tale & ending up with something closer to a nightmare - and also knowing, from reading sites like this, that I am coming off a lot better than a lot of you ladies.Beginning to realize the "surviving" is not from cancer but from the "cure".
diagnosed June 28 - lobular carcinoma triple positive - failed lumpectomy July 8 (margins sooo close but who wants to gamble Part1) sentinel nodes negative - mastectomy July 16 - 13 more nodes taken 8 positive! 6 rounds of chemo + herceptin ending in January (who thought about how the holidays would suck?) herceptin continues every 3 wks til September. Reconstruction/reduction February 10 -MAJOR reduction may i say - forcing me to try & reduce my stomach in plain sight now that my boob camoflage is gone
- 2 weeks into radiation(remember those positive nodes?) feeling like someone is tightening the screws in my chest & armpit & the frying hasn't even begun (but hey i am the one who decided to do the reconstruction first,right?) chemo has left me with nueropathy in my feet - the 1000 bees stinging is accurate...how's that for venting?
but i DO have to believe that i WILL get my life back, because why else do we go through it? 0 -
love it, 2TA
how scary is that notbuyingit, sentinel clean and then others positive, Vent away! We can take it. Can you ask your RO for some PT during rads to help with the tightness? It really helped me. Keep believing, it will get better!
0 -
NBI (that's you Notbuying it), Looking back, it was actually a good thing that your lumpectomy failed. Otherwise, you might have been stuck with those eight nasty nodes. You certainly have been thru' lot already. Keep us posted on how you are doing throughout the rads. Two words: Gentle stretching. You have to do it to offset the tightness. After four years, I still stretch frequently. My treatment side is very flexible, but I can still tell it is a bit tighter than the untreated side and probably always will be.
0 -
So I tried to tell my DS about the memory joke today but I couldn't remember it!! Got it all wrong!
0 -
mac, I had to scroll up to see WHAT memory joke you were talking about! ehheheehheheheeeee Good thing I told my DH while I was still sitting here!
0 -
yes that is what my surgeon said about the nodes & YES it is scary about the sentinel nodes since that is what so may doctors go by these days - it was definitely a long shot to try the lumpectomy - had to search for a doc that would even try - i had 3 large areas of lobular - two biopsies to make sure it was all cancerous - i just was NOT happy about getting the M - had a major meltdown in the hotel room the night before. I have never before in my life done so many things that felt so wrong! anybody ever feel that way?
i am continuing the stretching exercises - I have great mobility & want to keep it that way. I think some of the pain above the new "breast" is still from the expander - it was in there pretty high & was painful, the Rads are probably just aggravating the situation. I try not to be impatient - it's funny that the closer I get to being done with treatment the more impatient I am. I think maybe because I am feeling stronger & no longer in a chemo/medication stupor!
thanks for your support!
0 -
Th memory joke was great, but E your response to - was it lovewins-(there's that memory thing) had me baying out loud. The #1 about scarred for life re: fluffy cupcakes was PRICELESS, I say.
By the way------------------------------PAGE 900!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0 -
woo-hoo, page 900:
And Eph3_12, I had to look back about the cupcakes
0 -
NBI, TEs bring lots of pain, I refer to them as devices of torture, so much of the pain disappears after exchange. I couldn't get a restful nights sleep or only in small amounts. Being constantly exhausted didn't help the healing process either. PT and MFR (myofascial release) changed so much for me, I'd check into that if you can.
0 -
Sorry about the TE troubles. In hindsight, I am so glad I was not a candidate for immediate TE placement. The docs were presenting the whole recon thing as a piece of cake, but I know now that the process would have driven me completely batshit.
0 -
Hello ladies...I just want to say happy Sunday to all.
NBI (I hope it is ok to refer to you by nick name) I too am glad they found the nodes but sorry to had to go through more pain. I felt the same way that I couldn't handle an MX....I had a lumpectomy. I guess I should not take comfort in my nodes being clear....that was quite a surprise to read that but I have to admit deep down I always wondered if the Sentinel node could be clear and other not.
I bought The Hungry Girl Diet this week and am gearing up to go on it. So far I am like 50/50. I know it is not the healthiest diet but I have come to the conclusion since I am er + it is best to get weight off as best I can. Besides my joints hurt now after chemo and that is driving me nuts.
Have a wonder day all....M
0 -
Nine hundred already? Why it seems like just yesterday it was only 650. I wonder if we'll get to page 1,000 by the big 5-year anniversary of the thread? Y'all better get posting!
<<<<-------That's me as a young lass. Some things never change.0 -
TE's definitely torture devices - obviously invented by some man
like i've said about the whole experience - there has GOT to be a better way. Can't even imagine you ladies handling two! I went up to 850 cc in a 450 TE & it was barely out there - resulting in my new barely A's >sigh<but it is definitely amazing that I am able to feel like I have ta-ta's again! I know it will never be the same & probably always there will be some pain/discomfort but it's a step closer to feeling human again.
now if this hair would just grow!! comin in grayer than gray - lite with a streak of dark on the left side like a skunk!! wonderful ha! just can't WAIT to ditch the wig completely!!
0 -
143 days (give or take) to rack up 100 pages; let's do it Middies!
0 -
Lovewins, good luck with the diet! I need to find something to lose my tonnage.
NBI, it does come back but different. All it requires is (wait for it): patience. It will happen for you too.
Tall order for posts! That's like 3000 posts? Wow, that seems like a lot.
0 -
me three on the diet! i've lost my boob camouflage
there's a whole nother ring I never knew about!!lolwent into town for the first time without wig or hat (just to the gas station) man, did it feel good to feel the breeze in my stubble! it's been a long winter!! in SO many ways
0 -
Thank 2TA I am rather excited about it and I am embracing a change for a change. I am easing my way into it learning a new way to cook and keeping my calories intake around 1500 calories.
I hope you find something that works for you, I figure if I can do chemo and radiation, I can find a way to lose weight!
I think this is a cool idea!
0 -
0 -
Mac.... Neither is 112 (graduated HS) or 121 (graduated college). Back then my metabolism was so high I could eat anything and not have a problem. It soon caught up with me, though
0 -
someone once told me - we were designed to put on a little more body weight when we reach middle age - to fight off all the diseases that strike at that time...guess she wasn't far off
0 -
NBI, Hey, thanks for sharing your (avatar) picture. Dat you rockin' at Coachella last year?
I went on the chemo and radiation diet and lost 20 pounds. Don't recommend that one.
Back in the day, I had some success with the "fruit and reggae diet." I ate a lot of fruit and went out dancing to a friend's reggae band 2-3 nights a week. I used to dance a lot more. Really need to revisit that form of exercise because it is FUN and not boring.
Of course that fits right in with the best diet advice ever (courtesy of MadTV): Eat Less, Move More.
0 -
I own somewhere a pair of size 4 or 6 jeans I wore when met DH in 1975. I keep them for laughs. I never seen them as they are stored in a gigantic suitcase that I got as HS grad. gift that is too big for anything but storage - well moving into college campus by car worked OK at the time.
How about the sit on your a$$ less and move more - directed at me and not at anyone else. Pry my fingers off this keyboard. I'm addicted to eagle cam watch. But I did dig in flowerbed some and had great stress therapy breaking off loads of dead redbud tree branches. It's just barely within watering range and has not had any supplement in 2 years.
0 -
Lots of good suggestions...I need to keep it moving.Only in an effort to create more posts I am going to psoe a question I am curious about.
They have this plastic surgeon commercial on the radio I listen to every morning and they talk about man boobs and how they are on the rise...and this got me to thinking about the hormones they put in food now especially meat and dairy. They also said they prescibe pills to cause their bodies to not produce estrogen so they will not come back. This caused me to wonder if this is caused by those hormones and if breast cancer is on the rise for men...
I know this is a very complex issue...but just thinking out loud.
0 -
We can only wonder what has been perpetrated on our bodies from the hormones given to animals (and the additives in our processed foods.) WE are are the guinea pigs for many of these chemicals that were introduced into our foods from the 1950's forward.
I wouldn't doubt that men's hormones get disturbed to the point of developing man boobs but, with Americans heading further into obesity, it could just be due to the extra body fat.
0 -
I tend to think all the extra hormones in our food supply has made a huge difference. I works as an instructional assistant for years. It was amazing the amount of girls with big/huge chests in elementary and intermediate/junior high schools. Nothing like when I went to school. Not big busted on my side of the family or DH's but my daughter is slim (size 0 or 1 pants) and quite endowed. Has always make me wonder what negative impact it's had on our bodies. God says to quit messing with Nature.
0 -
Male breast cancer facts
- Male breast cancer is rare and accounts for only about 1% of all breast cancers.
- Breast cancer risk in men is increased by elevated levels of estrogen, previous radiation exposure, and a family history of breast cancer.
- Infiltrating ductal carcinoma is the most common type of male breast cancer.
- A lump beneath the nipple is the most common symptom of male breast cancer.
- Male breast cancer is staged (reflecting the extent of tumor spread) identically to breast cancer in women.
- Surgery is the most common initial treatment for male breast cancer;chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy are also administered.
- The prognosis of male breast cancer, like breast cancer in women, is predominantly influenced by tumor stage.
This was on MedicineNet today
0 -
there are so many thing that they are attributing cancer to that have been developed within our lifetime - frozen entrees, water bottles, ultra-protection deoderants, diet pop, even pumping gas (yes, someone attributed there BC to that) not to mention all the new prescription meds.
I do worry about the next generation also - they seem to be "partying" til a much older age than us - and the energy drinks are frightening to me - have you seen the commercial for 5hr Energy where it's the young mom with the young children? And then there's the constant electronic usage....who knows?
let's get back to dancing & dieting
0
