MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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My 5 years is coming up later this year. It's the surgery date I'll celebrate, July 9th. Save the date.
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Eph, now that's something to celebrate! 5 years behind you
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I'd rather celebrate 5 years in FRONT of me!!!!
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Big Congratulations, Eph, on your 5 years!!
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Hooray for 5 years, no matter how we get there!
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5 years!! Woo hoo! Right now I'm celebrating 2 weeks and 3 days since surgery!!!! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!
No mets to bones or organs!!! Yahoo!!
Only 2 of 21 lymph nodes with cancer!! Yippee!!
PLUS - 5 years for my new friends!!
PARTY TIME!!!!
:-)
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Football, I like the way you think
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Footballnut and Eph- Celebrating your news! One of you starting the journey that is treatment, and one of you finishing up (with low odds of recurrence)... I'm a middie in more ways than one, having started my treatment just two years ago. Looks like I may be menopausal finally (still waiting for blood test confirmation) so the next step is likely Arimidex for me.
Please send positive thoughts for my daughter. When I was 7 months pregnant with her I was told her kidneys were not well developed and that she might need emergency surgery when born. But she immediately pee'd on the table after birth, so the docs thought that they continued to develop. Flash forward 20 years and she's been having bouts of kidney infections and yesterday we met with a surgeon. Her right kidney is not normal, but seems to be doing its job. Lefty (boy is this sounding like I'm talking BC) is under-developed and not draining. She is scheduled to have a stent put in 4/25 (if a cancellation doesn't come up sooner), and then follow-up surgery about a month later to create a usable tube. If the procedure does not result in a somewhat functioning kidney, it will have to be removed. I hate that my daughter has to face a surgery! We are hopeful, but damn! Didn't see this coming...
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staynsane
For you and your daughter. Thinking of you both!!
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staynsane, Will hope for a safe and successful surgery that fixes her up, and that your nerves don't get too frazzled in the process. If the situation gets tense for either of you, seek out two of the nearest lava cakes.
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I had the big blood work appointment appt. this past Monday. Wanna know the results? Too bad, I'm telling you anyway.
CBC = All NORMAL range. (Finally, after seeing numbers in the red for over a year.)
CMP = All NORMAL range. (Liver finally recovered from chemo damage. Yay!)
CEA = <0.5 NORMAL range. (This checks for CRC mets, but sometimes BC mets will jack up this antigen too. I never had an elevation, so it is questionable whether this can even be a monitoring tool for me going forward. About 30% don't make the antigen, even with raging cancer.)
Vit. D = 43 NORMAL range. (Definitely not low, although some charts now consider 50-70 to be "optimal." I was only supplementing sporadically lately and it is not a bad number to have after a long winter. Going to be better about taking 2,000 IU on top of my Citracal and multi-vit. til I start getting outdoors more. I'd like to be up around 60. Those into Vit. D, you might like this chart: Vit. D Supplement Chart.)
I'm a good healer. I can just tell my body really WANTS to be normal again. If I can SLEEP, I can stay healthy.
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Good news all around elimar, and YES, we DO want to know!!
SnS, I think the fact she's been okay for 20 years shows the strength of her existing kidney and bodes well, though a stent on the "bad" kidney could only do well, wouldn't it? I'm presently going through kidney issues as well so I feel her angst. My daughter had a breast reduction in her early 20's and it's SO HARD to say "goodbye" as they head into surgery. I was numb for the whole time and wouldn't let my mind think of anything. Keep us posted!
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That is pretty amazing, Eli. Good for you. My doc also runs the CEA on me.
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me too! all you ladies rock! i have just completed 1/2 my rads! woo hoo! my onc told me he wanted to start me on the hormonal pill in 6 wks...i said oh, no i have HEARD about that! he said i was his most difficult patient (with a laugh) WHAT!! me???? just cuz i was brought up not to do things just cuz everybody else does ha!! I will always question...
but as my daughter constantly tells me - this is what they have to offer right now - better than years ago - and it is your best line of defense against a terrible disease. so chemo we must, F-Nut, rough it is but doable. Why i am talking like Yoda I know not.
ps - i think it was Andrew McCarthy in Manniquin
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Hahaha, NBI! Tamoxifen is not better than years ago, it is the exact same as years ago because they have been using it for about thirty years now. On one hand, better would be nice; on the other hand, Tamox. does have a proven track record. If you want new hormonals, you'll just have to wait for menopause to strike and then they might offer you something more recent although just a smidgeon more effective.
Congrats on being half way thru' rads. May the force be with you the rest of the way.
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what are side effects of tamoxifen?
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Good for you Elimar!!!
Congrats on being halfway NBI....I just finished about two weeks ago. I picked up my prescription for Tami tonight after work and will start on Sat. I sure hope it doesn't bring may periods back it has been since Jan 2013!
Hello to everyone....sleep well.
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F-nut, Read thru' BCO's primer about Tamoxifen (SEs listed near the end.) Very few escape the hot flashes.
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/serms/tamoxifen
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And best of all-page 902!!
NBI-IMDb says Spader player "Richards" in Mannequin, but Andrew was the main dude. It's been so long since I've seen it (says it was released in'87 which is probably when I saw it) I couldn't have told you about either one being in it without a little help from the www.
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FNut, Eli, Barbe- thanks for your thoughts/wishes for my daughter. My mind has been going into battle mode, (kind of like it did with my BC diagnosis- thinking worst case scenario) but we're praying that the surgery works and that her kidneys, however imperfect, will function enough to provide for a long life (without transplant or dialysis). I need to take one step at a time.
LOVE good test results! I too had blood testing this week, and my ALT and AST are back in the normal range (wondering if my lab work in December through my company was somehow faulty). Estradiol level checked (234), but I don't know what that means, and have asked my onc. I think it will show that I'm slipping into menopause, but not sure.
Celebrating positive results for all going into the weekend!
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Elimar, i am 2 years into meno already so the hot flashes don't worry me - I am worried about the joint pain since i already have arthritis just about everywhere...lovewins - bring the periods back?? let's hope not! geez!
thanks for the congrats on the 1/2 way point in Rads - i seriously felt like I should have gotten a balloon or something!! so far just a little redness & a bunch of freckles!
Eph, have 3 girls & that was one of their fav movies - that's right, he played the "bad" guy...at least i wasn't completely off ha!
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hi all! Got my appt with the MO for next tues at 2:30. This will be the consultation. I'm really want to get this going but hope to also be able to schedule a small getaway the week after just to have a break before the next step
Also going wig shopping next tues. Woo hoo!
So many of you and others have told me that the waiting is the hardest part. So true. Once I got my test results I started to relax. I am also relaxed about my appt next tues.
Someone so mentioned to me that I would eventually cry when looking at my boobless chest. Nope. Not me. Again maybe it's because of how I was born with 1 boob.
I don't miss what I've lost and don't see it as such a terrible thing. It doesn't impacts ability to walk or run or eat or breathe.
As for the cancer. I don't see it as a negative. I see it as a positive. Cancer has forced me to reflect upon life to think about what I want to do in the future. Cancer has led me to new acquaintances and friends. Cancer has made me more aware of others and what they might be going through
If a child can deal with cancer I guess that I can too
I value and appreciate your friendship and will continue to keep you posted. Strength to all!!
Have a great weekend!! I'm gonna party for the first time since this started!!
Ang
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FBN...You have a great attitude! The biggest surprise to me was all the positives I found when dx with BC. I am glad you are feeling releived and have a get a way planned.
NBI....My MO said it is possible it could cause me period to come back...I so pray NOT!
Blessings to everyone...M
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SnS, Glad you got good results too. Your liver (ALT & AST) is very well-behaved these days. Guess what? Your ovaries are too. That number is too high for a menopausal woman. Menopause is when it is under 50 or 60, if I remember correctly; but even if I don't remember perfectly, I know menopause is not in the triple digits. You're going to have to keep buying the maxi pads for a while.
NBI, Let me ask why Tamoxifen has been chosen for you, then? Most menopausal women seem to get an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) to keep the estrogen in check. Both can give you joint pain, but I don't know if you are more likely to get joint pain because of pre-existing arthritis. Maybe not. If you do get it, I don't think it will be very pleasant on top of having arthritis. But let's not put the worry cart before the reality horse on that. You have a whole weekend to do or get something nice for yourself as a reward for coming this far thru' rads. Don't be such a woman and neglect yourself. If you were a guy, you'd already have your shoes up on the couch ordering PPV and a pizza and unwrapping the miter saw that UPS delivered this afternoon.
F-nut, I'm using acronyms in everyone's replies today, so I will say it is good to see that you are TCB. (That's not in the BCO abbreviations for newbies, I'm going straight to Elvis for that one.) You have a practical nature and you are stepping up to take care of business. Whatever it takes. Not everyone deals in the same way and the day may come when you hit a brick wall (because cancer does, indeed, suck) but we don't think any less of those that need to get their whine on now and then. Just file that away for future reference. I had a similar reaction, but instead of child, I thought, "Look at all the women who have had to go through this!!! If they could do it, so can I." Remember, it's not superwomen doing this, it's average women. Lots of them. Now one more. (A getaway sounds great. You and I really do think along the same lines. I made sure to take a little vacay before my surgery last March. That wasn't for BC, but same difference.)
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Want to hear something funny? I momentarily forgot the word acronym and the word anagram came into my head. Well, when you Google "anagram" it says:
"Did you mean nag a ram?"
I kid you not. Try it.
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FBN - When I went for my follow-up mammo which turned into an ultrasound which turned into a biopsy in one felled swoop, the doctor said good luck. Then the nurse who stayed with me to make sure I was OK asked me how I was doing. I replied…….I feel lucky. She was very surprised by my answer until I explained why. First off, it was me and not one of my 3 sisters whom I love sooooo much. Secondly, I knew I would be alright. I just needed to get the show on the road so I could get better. I guess you would call both of us results oriented.
The results haven't always been what I had prayed and wished for but once I had the facts it was game on. Do I cry once in a while? You bet I do but, I never ask why me. That would be giving in.
You are in great company on this site.
Keep your chin up girlfriend,
Cakes
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elimar u r do right! So many women! Too many women! Believe me I have had my down times. I was on an emotional roller coaster waiting to see my dr waiting for the mammo and u/s waiting for results etc etc. I cried I feared instant death my hubby held me and I cried some more
Then I was told
Then I thought of a his friend of mine and fellow musician tom who died of cancer last year. And the 3 women that I know who have survived bc. And that led me to the children.
I hate needles. I cry at the thought of them. I cried when they put an IV into my arm for a CT scan. I whimpered when they injected dye into my vein for my bone scan
And then I thought of the children again
My friends son was 2 years old when he was diagnosed with leukaemia and had a port placed in his chest for chemo. Thankfully he's 10 now. She told me if he can do it so can I
I find strength in all of you and especially children who should never have to go through any of this. None of us should no doubt
So all of you and all of the children are my inspiration.
And I love the reference to Elvis. He was my burning love for years. I remember watching aloha from Hawaii with my sister. My band covered jailhouse rock!
Time flies! I felt the lump in my boob in June 2013 and the lump in my armpit jan 27. Now it's April 4 2014. This will end and be over soon for all of us in a good way!
Time to rock n roll!!!!!!!
:-)
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Right on, cakes!
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FBN, thank you for the beautiful words!
Remember the children and ask for a J-pen before IV's (works wonders! The pop is loud, but no feeling. With my fear of IV's, it takes away the fear and feeling. Instantly)
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What's a j-pen? Can't find anything on Google but did catch nag a ram!
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It's called jet injection, but my nurses always called it a J-pen (my niece, a pediatric nurse also refers to them to as J-pens). NO needles. Loud noise, no pain.
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Good for you Elimar!!!