CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS
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Sheila ~ Yes, the black spots are the floaters & my eye Dr. told me the white flashing has to do with the retina pulling away. He told me that happens as we get older.
Just loverly !!!! Gotta love that!
Sheila ~ I know the worry, can't seem to get away from that........ ♥
Glad to see you, grannyD. ♥
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Sheila - I'm there in the worry pit with you. Two years out end of Jan and I still have those same thoughts whenever something 'new' shows up. And I find I am expecting the worst with other peoples health too. My 20 y/o DD texted the other day that she had 'found a weird lump in her breast and it was sore if she squeezed it and did I think it was bad?' Well, you can imagine where my brain went with that one can't you? Absolute terror and panic - no! not my girl. Took some deep breaths and tried to be calm and said 'at your age it is unlikely to be anything sinister but we will check it out with the doctor when you get home' which is next Monday. We think it is an injury (she works in a Pizza hut and says she bumps into things from time to time) as it is getting less sore as the days go by but there is no obvious bruising - I keep trying to convince myself it is nothing but I am hypersensitive to breasts and lumps now and I am freaking out.... Am in a sweat just writing about it
I love your Christmas tree avatar - so cheerful! My girls will be putting up the Christmas decorations soon - I delegated that job to them a few years ago and they love to do it now.
I have the black bugs (extremely ANNOYING) and there seem to be more of them growing every year. I wonder if they can be blasted to smitherines by lazer? - they seem to be able to blast everything else in people's eyes to fix them.
jo1955 - only three more days of rads. Well done - hope your body recovers well and quickly.
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Sheila - I'm sure the flashes are nothing to worry about, but of course we only do worry until we get it checked out (and even after that!). Seeing your eye doctor is the best thing - I'm sure it is nothing but part of our aging process. I am 48 and beginning to see the black floaters - how annoying. Also, I must tell you that you are a source of strength - at least to THIS newbie - and it would seem strange if you had not shared your worries along this road - then you might seem unrealistic. You are a wonderful person and inspiration - thank you for sharing.
jo - I am just waiting for my instructions from my oncologist about radiation - hopefully I will know more on Monday. I completely feel your emotion, this has been such a roller coaster ride and continues to be. You will be back to your sewing and quilts soon enough, and I'm assuming your radiation is over now - great news. I'm so nervous to begin that.
Hello everyone -
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raeinnz - Hope the week continues to sail by. I am sooo looking forward my celebration dinner with DH and friends. The areas that are not getting zapped are starting to heal.
oakley - I used to like riding rollercosters but will rethink that one in the future. I have started gathering some patterns, pictures and ideas for some upcoming quilts. With the holidays fas approaching, my just do some planning for right now.
The first few days of rads can be overwhelming but you will find that it settles into a routine and becomes easy. A word of advice, use lots of creams and take real good care of the skin. Try not to scrub the areas that are getting zapped. You should have no problems and will said through.
How many rads are you getting?
Let us know how Monday goes. I will be thinking of you.
Jo
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Unfortunately, there's nothing to be done with the little black floaters! Too dangerous to try to get inside your eyeball. Do more harm than good! I wish they could be gotten rid of, very annoying!! They're caused as we get older (hrumph!) as our vitreous gel becomes more fluidy. Dang, if it's not cancer, than it's old age! lol
Sheila, you need to get it checked out and make sure your retina is ok. Don't put it off. So sorry about all the aches and pains. We've become conditioned to have the first thought in our minds of the big C.
rainnez, hoping your daughter is ok. Was she due for her period? Sometimes a bruised boob is alot more tender.
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Sheila - that is true, you should make sure there is no retinal detachment. They don't do anything to help with floaters, they are yours to enjoy forever
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Hi,
Raeinnz, it is a great idea to plan a celebration dinner and you so deserve it!
I just confirmed back with the onc that I can start treatment at the end of this week. We have had a couple appointments and the onc is recommending Taxol and Herceptin. I am very nervous about beginning treatment and with the surgery part of things taking longer than we thought I quite frankly think I am in shock that this next step is beginning... and so soon. I am scared and am praying for peace, trust and strength. Any advice is very appreciated and respected. I am wondering if I should try to pack a bag with some things in it for the visit. Any suggestions on what to pack?
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Onestep - I remember this feeling and anxiety so well. I brought bottled water and popsicles and some saltines. I don;t know if your chemo causes mouth sores, but that is why I had popsicles. My DH and I played cards during the process, anything to distract
I did take the offered ativan and have every time since as well. I skipped the steroids after the first time because it kept me up for so long.....Hang in there, it will be ok
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(((oakley))) - Anxiety 101 would be a great course for us when we get this dx but unfortunately we just have to wing it and tough it out
I didn't do chemo but was more anxious about having chemo than I was surgery so I know how you must feel. The sooner you start chemo following surgery the better my surgeon said - I saw the onc a month after bmx with recon surgery and was booked in to start chemo the next day if I needed it It is good that your medical team is getting you into treatment quickly. I have heard other women talk about popsicles to help prevent mouth ulcers and that drinking heaps help your kidneys quit the drugs easily and well. Hope all goes well for you. Oh joy - floaters for life! Thanks ladies, I will just have to try to learn to ignore them then. One in particular is very annoying when I am playing tennis as I think it is a bird or a bug coming at me from the side and it distracts me from shots sometimes - arghhhhh.
Thanks Happymom, I'm hoping she is ok too. DD is on the pill and an antibiotic continuously to help control her bad skin so don't think her period would be the problem. She said it came up fast but hasn't got any bigger, that it is hard and was sore but is less sore now. Jeez, you can't help but worry about your kids can you? I find it worse than worrying about myself somehow.
Off to work - that will keep my mind busy for a few hours.
Enjoy your days ladies whatever you are doing.
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Seyla,
Here is a little picture I took just for you. One of the Ornaments on my tree, and although it was meant to remind me of our most recent trip to HA, it reminds me of you!
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Nice to see you granny and Deb.
joe1955...You posted a beautiful picture. So very happy you are this close for the end of treatment. And its okay to whine or whatever you need to do.
Val...I have been enjoying the floaters but they stopped, now I'm flashing. Of course my mind was all over the place that something was growing behind my eyes...
rae...I can relate to you. Every time my DD has a symptom the first thing comes in my mind is OMG. And I have to keep it to myself of course. Monday can not come soon enough.
oakley....I'm very touched by your loving words. Thank You.
happymom....I have an appointment next Tuesday. I got nervous when the bugs turned to flashes. Aches and pains are better today. But of course the last 10 days or so I was living in a fear that was the beginning of bone mets.
I have to stop this. I have to teach my brain that not everything is related to BC *%&*
raincitygirl.....thanks for making me laugh.
onestep...are you having your treatments in the DR's Office?
With Taxol i did not experience any major SE.
Herceptin was really nothing (I know we are all different) A/C was bad.
By the time i was on Taxol/Herceptin SE were minimal. I got dense dose 4X Taxol.
And 52 weeks Herceptin.
The first time is always more difficult emotionally. I'll be thinking of you.
Meece....Thanks for sharing your Hawaii ornament with me.
Sisters Thank you all for being there for me while i was going through my nonsense fears. But they are real.
Thank You for supporting each other and making this thread a comfortable place to discuss your issues and everything else.
HUGS TO YOU ALL
♥♥♥♥
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(((SHEILA)))) I am cyber hugging you and am right at your side!
OK Gals, the BCO December OBX reunion is looming. I leave for Raleigh tomorrow, meeting Thursday then I pick up AmyJo after her rads tx then on to the airport for Marybe. GrannyDukes has too much stuff going on plus she got sick from being snowed in PA with no heat!! HUGS for GD. Then off we gal pals are going to the beach to visit with StillVerticle (Melissa)! Pix will be posted. I will probably upload them to my website and post the link and y'all can go look and laugh at us.
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Barbara.....I feel you. you go and have a good time.
i cant wait to see the pictures
HUGS
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*sigh*
I want to get together with some of you sisters!
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Hi again, Onestep.
I have been thinking about other things for your "chemo" bag. Here are my thoughts...crossword puzzles & word games book, a mindless paperback story (nothing requiring concentration), and ice to add to your bottled water to make it really cold. Your treatment clinic will usually have blankets and pillows, but if you have a favorite 'snuggly' shirt, it might be nice to wear it. Also...maybe an IPOD and some of your favorite music.
Best of luck...let us know how you're doing, and hang in there :-)
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Onestep, if you have a laptop it can certainly make the time pass watching movies or surfing the net. I brought quilting, embrodery, crosswords and such. If you already have a port, that will make doing those things easier. I didn't have one, and depending on where they put the i.v. I was limited as to how much hand work I could do. I loved it when they gave me too much benedryl because I slept through most of the tx. I found they kept the tx room cool, so a snuggly shirt like catbill mentioned would be a great idea.
If you have favorite foods, I would stay clear of them near tx time, because you could begin to associate that food with the way you feel during or after tx.
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Hi ALL! December will be my two year follow up with my onocologist.Being stage one, triple negative and with a BRCA gene1, I went for a bil mx and just this month did i complete with a nipple recon. Are we ever safe from cancer.. i just did the most i could and feel very good about that. I had 4 T/C as a preventative as my lymph nodes were clear!
To all, stage one is still a significant stage and whatever you do to manage this disease..do it and feel good about it!!!I it is your life and we are fighters!!!
Donna
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Just a note about WORRYING - worrying every little ache, pain, etc. is something big...as a newbie to all of this, my first appointment with the BS one week after my surgery - she said to me: "and I know that you're going to worry that every little thing is another cancer. For example when you tell your husband that your knee is aching and you're really worried it's about cancer, but you forgot the day before you banged it against the table." Her words are SO true. I feel that and I've read that everywhere also. I don't know how long that feeling lasts, but can only imagine it lasts a long time.
A question: did anyone start off with less than 1 cm tumor, grade 2, ER+ PR+ HER2-, which to me would lead to all indications of radiation/medication, and then end up having a high oncotype score? I feel like I will be shocked if that number comes back high. Thanks for any info.
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I'm a TN (or should I say I was a TN), so I can't help you, but I know that somewhere in the back of your mind you will always think the big C whenever there is an unexplained change in how or what you feel. Al least it has been there fo rme for4 the last 7 years. We just have to learn how to become rational before the worry consumes us.
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Oakley - I guess a high oncotype depends on who you speak to. I had a 23, 14% recurrence. Just like grade 2, another intermediate area with no definite answer. I did not expect to be doing chemo.
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Both my tumors were under a cm, IDC 6mm DCIS 7mm, so I was told that I did not need chemo, so I had the rads and boosts and will be finished with Arimidex July 26, 2012. Meanwhile I see my onc every 4 to 6 months and mam once a year with a F/U with my BS. Just had 3 types of TM tests, one was abnormal but she says not to worry, easy for her to say. It could be other things that are causing it. Never had the oncotype test. 0
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Oakley - My dx is the same as yours - I had fewer nodes . I met with my onc before surgery and after he reviewed my biopsy path report, he told me I would not need chemo and did not feel the need to do an oncotype test. I went straight to surgery, and rads. I am close to the finish line with rads and will be looking at 5 years of meds. In fact, the once said he would have been shocked if my nodes were involved. With the size of the tumor, he was surprised it was found at all. It was located at the 3 o"clock position close to my chest wall.
I don't think you have anything to worry about. Think positive. Let me know what you find out.
(((HUGS)))
Jo
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Well ladies I hope all of you had a very wonderful Thanksgiving. I can honestly say I did and ate far too much. LOL! I also went and did the Black Friday shopping thing, got some really good deals and all 5 of my grandkids have their Christmas bought, which makes me very happy. Now I have to buy for my son and daughter and hubby.
Michelle I am glad you got sprung before Thanksgiving and your final tests were clear. Whoopee!!
Meece, how I would love to meet up with you and some of the other ladies... what a great time we would all have!!!
Sheila, sometimes the white floaters out of the corner of one eye are precipitous of a migraine headache or stress headaches. Have you been getting any Headaches at all? That or a strobe light like effect is what I get sometimes. As for your aching bones, it may be because of age combined with the changing weather?? I know that I'm 46 and in the mornings and late evenings I have back pain and a crunching sound in my upper hip. I have knocked something out of allignment and need to go to the chiropractor. May be the same for you too...
Val jean I hope all is well with you sister. I miss you all so much when I don't get on here for several days. I just spent and hr reading 6 pages to catch up. Whew!!!
I went to see the plastic surgeon yesterday and got the go ahead to have my reconstruction/reduction with a lift to the good breast to make it the same size as my now smaller breast cancer breast post rads. It is set for Dec. 20th at 7 a.m. I have to go get marked up for it on the 16th of Dec. I am really excited about getting this done it will bring some closure to a long year.
The only bad thing is I will be in some pain during Christmas. LOL!!! But I don't want to pay the deductible again and if I have it before Dec. 31 then I won't have to. jp3 and any other newbies I have missed Welcome.
Renee
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Oakley I was 1.6cm, grade 1, ER+,PR+, HER2- Age 48 and my onco score was 23. Even with that being middle of the road of intermediate my onco did not recommend chemo for me. I was very anxious about all that. I think I was more nervous of the possiblity of chemo than I have been for anything else. How old are you. I think the younger you are has something to do with the score also. Not sure about that. But my age seemed to be a big factor with everyone. Was considered young for breast cancer.
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Thanks Jo - your situation sounds very encouraging to me. I will be very very surprised if I am told chemo, but of course I will want to do what's best for my situation. Again I am jumping ahead without knowing all of the facts yet - something that is so hard for me to control!
Sherryc - I am 48 as well.
Meece, raincitygirl and deborye - thanks for your responses.
You all have been incredibly helpful (as usual).
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oakley - I am 55 and was also told I was young to have BC. Will keep my fingers crossed that you do not have to have chemo. I hate the waiting game and that is what it seems like we do - alot of waiting.
Jo
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oakley, mine was similar to yours, except that I had ILC, rather than IDC. My oncotype score came back 22, which is in that "gray middle area." The doctor left it up to me whether or not to do chemo, regardless of what the score was. I had decided ahead of time that I would only consider chemo if my score was in the high area where they knew chemo would help the odds. If they don't even know for sure that it will help, I couldn't see a point in going through all that.
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Rae ~ I can only imagine how anxious you must be about your DD. I will be thinking of you both & keeping postitive thoughts ~ I know Monday can't come soon enough as one of the other sisters has said. ♥
onestep~ I didn't have chemo, just rads, so I don't know the anxiety you are going through before you even start that tx. But, "you are woman, I hear you roar!" You will get to the other side, I know you will. ♥
Barbara ~ Oh, you are so lucky to get to spend time with some of our beautiful sisters! I have done that twice & it was wonderful to meet face-to-face. I love 'making memories' & I can't wait to do it again!
Sheila ~ Your fears are NOT nonsense, NEVER! ♥ Yes, they are real fears. We would not be human if we did not get them after all we have been through. (that is me thinking rationally) I stupidly thought a while back that the longer I was "out" from my dx, the more secure I would be & I would not have as much fear about the future. But, sorry to say, that is not the case for me..... Sometime I will write more about some small changes I had in my body that I am afraid will happen again...... I even look for them.... then I will be scared to death that 'it' is back.....
Welcome Donna!
Stay strong, oakley. You can do it. ♥
Renee ~ You are such a busy gal, I see your posts on FB ~ how do you have time for yourself?? You inspire me! I bought much of my grandkids presents throughout the year, the bulk this past summer/fall. Glad I did, don't have any $$$ now!!
{{hugs to all}}
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Sheila, love the tree up top!
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So the beat goes on. Just saw my surgeon today for results of second surgery to clear margins. I walked in there with total confidence. Never occurred to me that I would hear that DCIS in the margins. Apparently DCIS can be diffuse and it's impossible to see. So now I have another decision. Mastectomy or more surgery in persuit of clear margins. What to do, what to do?
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