CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS
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Anette- here too!!! Boots yesterday and I could wear sandals today...but need a pair of shoes for school as inthe fall, when I moved and was post BC surgery, I threw out ALL things that hurt me...including all my shoes with heels....so....no shoes now.
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c'mon down sandee- I am a shoe freak...you name it I got it...not sure why either hahaha...i have big old boats as well..only 5' and half an inch tall 130 lbs and I wear a size 9 9.5! HAHAHAHA When I ever go in a place where they actually bring you the shoes (most of the time I buy them at MArshalls or Ross or TJ MAxx- help yourself) the salesguy always looks at me and says are you sure? And then they look at my feet hahahaha. I am addicted to heels..have worn them since I was 14- trying to bring it down a bit gradually as my tendons are actually screwed up from wearing heels so much...
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yep....my calves were killing me ...really loved the heeled sandals but my foot guy sad it was causing my tendon to shrink so I was getting relief when I wore them an dthen my legs would be aching afterwards...better just for me to go flat....I am also short (4feet ten and a half inches) but only a 6.5 shoe
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I was always a stage 1 but had vascular involvement so had chemo. I am three years out from.it and can tell.you I have the thickest most gorgeous hair and lashes...that's the positive. The suck part is it will kick your ass but you WILL get through it. Don't be scared...you will be fine. Losing my hair made me cry butyou would ot believe how many beautiful peopleout there
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Hang in there you will survive.
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Hi Determined---I think i sent you here....we give lots of support,love,huggggs and answer questions..I was originally stage 1 but now stage 2.the sistas told me to stay and i never regretted it.they are wonderful.please stay with us and ask away.
I did not have to do chemo but i did the rads.someone will pop on and help you out here.im sure of that.unfortunately most of these sistas have been around for a while.im sending you a big hugggggggggggg.come visit often.
MEECE---hugggggggggggggs too.been prayin for you.xoxoGod bless all of us fighting this monster.We are gonna win this battle.K
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determined, I had chemo becuz my onco score was so high. PM with any questions you have.
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Hi determined welcome to our group.
I didn't have node involvements but i had chemo.
I'm glad you found our thread.
Any specific questions in your mind about chemo?
Please ask
Hugs♥
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Meece please know I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal you have been going through. I wish I had been on here sooner. You and all of the ladies here at BCO are always in my prayers and thoughts though I may not be on here everyday or week. Take care of yourself.
I have my appt. coming up soon with my med onco on 4/15/11 though he doesn't order any of the lab work other than the typical CBC and thyroid test. My rad onco orders those and I want to ask him when I can stop going. I am now seeing 6 doctors at least 1-2 times a year and that's a bit much. Though I love them all I really am ready for some down time. My Med Onco writes my scripts so I think him and the breast surgeon are the only ones I need to see. The breast surgeon orders my mammograms.
O.k. ladies I'm headed to bed so have a great night.
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Welcome to our new Sisters♥
good night Renee.
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Some wonderful news, Meecie, & some "stays-in-the-back-of-your-mind-news" as well. We're not going anywhere, we will be here for you in July as well, dear sister/friend. ((hug))
Welcome joane, my Oncotype Score was 14. My lump was a bit less than 1.5 cm with no node involvement; I had Rads, no chemo. Did you have any questions?
determined & Franchesca ~ Welcome!
Hi Renee, great to see you! My OBGyn orders my Mamm, always has, so I continue to have him do that. My MO orders BW: CBC, Metabolic Panel & CA 27.29, keeps track of Aromasin & Fosamax & supplements. I'm scheduled to see my RO in Nov, but am seriously considering canceling that appt -don't know why I would have to see him 3 yrs out. I see no need for it, just another dr to pay for. Since I had a lumpectomy, I only saw my BS maybe 3-4 times for surgery & follow-ups, so haven't seen him in almost a year now. My next Dr. appt isn't until Oct for my 6-month Onc ck-up & obgyn in Nov. I'm free for six months!!! YAY!!!
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welcome determined and Franchesca!!! 3jays 0 -
congrats on the cancerversarry, seyla...3jays 0 -
Thanks 3jay 0
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Good Morning All
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Going to the RO on Tuesday........My M/O said in so many words she did not think I truely needed to do Rads.........Just hormone.....Femara........Another decision to make, and of course which one shall it be....I don't want Femara, cause I don't want the SE. At 76, I have enough aches and pains already, and ostepenia too........Do I take the chance, and do nothing with Rads, or do I bite the bullet and torture myself for 33 treatments...........This is sucy bullsh-t. Making a decision like this is Russian Roulette.........Ok, put the bullet in the gun......if your lucky and you pull the trigger and there is no bullet in the chamber, you live......your unlucky and you pull the trigger, and the bullet blows your head off if its the 1st chamber has a bullet in it....................
I feel the same way about radiation, and Femara..........Take it, you could be fried, wiped out with exhaution, beat to hell for many weeks after it is over,.............or you could sail though without problems....................................Femara..........pain, bone loss, thinning hair, and again feeling like shit most of the time, but "what the hell, your alive"..................................or do nothing at all, and "what the hell, your dead in a few years"............Fed up to my ears wit decisions, and play the "what if gamed".......................
Everyone says "ask the R/O, well what the hell do you think she is going to say. She will give me the stats, and then say "its up to you", which it is, but if I was "God", I would know the future, but so far I haven't been able to "walk on water", so I would assume I'm not "God", and yet I am about to play the role...........................Disgusted, disgusted, disgusted, and not a friggin clue what I should do..........Fry.....or Die
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Happy Sunday duckyb1 - I was thinking about how we have to make these decisions without the benefit of the same knowledge that our Oncs have. Yet, I went to the orthopedic surgeon about my disc and nerve problem and he wanted me to take neurontin. I asked if it was possible it could be put on something that doesn't cause weight gain and the answer was no. No explanation, no discussion. That was on the phone, so when I see him in person this week, I will open the conversation. Anyway, I had to make a decision regarding chemo for me and never felt I really had enough feedback about what to do. So I started it, read more, and decided to stop halfway through because the guidelines don't firmly recommend it for me. I did rads and honestly, it wasn't bad at all. It didn't stop me from doing anything and I recoverd rather quickly. I started on Arimidex six weeks ago and so far, so good. That said, if I were 76, I would probably look at all of this quite differently. My RO was actually the most helpful and informative for me and very willing to chat outside the radiation piece.0
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duckyb1: I had to reply to your post. I have been gone for a week on a cruise, a little celebration for finishing rads on March 16th, and just got back and was catching up on the board.
I skipped the chemo part as I'm 68 and consider myself a senior now and I had oncotype of 20 with 13% chance of re-recurrence but I already have an incurable very rare blood leukemia (for 6 years) and have had 5 different types of cancer, including 3 malignant melanoma surgeries in the last 9 years. I thought hard and long about treatment and even DH and I would wake up and talk at 4:00 a.m. and make lists of pros and cons about what treatment I should have. I went with rads because I felt I had to do something. I will also be starting Arimidex next week and I too have aches and pains and osteoporosis and am tired alot due to the leukemia meds I take so I am walking in trepidation but I will try it. As for the radiation, it was very do-able. I never got any more tired than I already was and the only SE I had was 2nd and 3rd degree bleeding, pus filled burns which did not hurt and were just sore. I used Silverdean (I think) and it rapidly healed my burns and today, I can hardly tell where the redness was and I am only three weeks post therapy. I surprised myself how active I was on the ship and snorkeling over the reefs and apart from a very heavy cold I picked up (thank you DH) I had a wonderful week without thinking much about BC.
Step back and try not think of rads as torture (I know it's easy to say that) but as a positive step towards a healthier new beginning. Take one step at a time with as much positive thoughts as possible and if you do decide to go with the rads you may fly through it.
I have been very positive about everything and I honestly believe this has helped me a lot. Good luck duckyb1, we are here for you!
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ducky - Most people sail through rads with just some redness and tiredness. Your RO will make all the difference. If you have one that gives you all the details up from and allows you to start using creams even before you get started that is most of the battle. Proper skin care is the key to getting through. The fatigue may not hit you until about halfway through and that is really also doeable. You just have to take naps and pace yourself more than you do now. I see you have ostepenia - instead of Femara have you considered Aromasin? That is supposed to be the best of the 3 AIs for that. I personally could not take the AIs - too sick - and ended up on Tamoxifen. I have had very few side effects and those I do have are manageable.
At the end of the day, it is your decision to make. You know your body and what you are most comfortable with. We are giving tough choices and have to make even tougher decisions. Please let us know what you decide to do. Best of luck to you.
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Hello .. Miss Duckyb1 ..
So sorry to hear about the Rad's .. You are a strong WARRIOR, capable of many things.
Myself, I opted for 'dense' chemo (crawled, yes, crawled to the finish line), so many adverse side efforts. Radiation comes with it's own set of issues.. but, not as many as chemo. If insurance permits, can you go for a 2nd opinion, get an Onco type score ..?
Never give in, and NEVER give up.
Strength and Courage,
Vicki Sam
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Joane and determined welcome to the group this is a great place for support. Joane I had a oncotype score of 23 and choose not chemo and feel good about that decision. Determined since I did not have chemo I can help you but maybe someone else here can.
Meece-Not great news but better than you thought. Waiting and watching is no fun but we will all be here with you and climb in your pockets again if we need too.
Annette our Texas weather has been beautiful
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WOW---lots of action goin on..i didnt want to do rads.i waitied sooooo long that there were no statistics but in the end i did them..33 tx.i finished first week in Feb.dont want to remember the date.Im not sorry.Im not gonna take any of the meds tho.QOL is very important at age 70.Holistic all the way.BUT I did give them a try...
Hi Val---6 mos no Drs.its like you just passed go and now collect the $200.00.
Leswin--Hi.Welcome back.come visit us on the after rads thread.
anythin i forgot im sorry.i pray for my sistas every day.God bless huggggggggs K
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Ducky- I am a fair bit younger but did not have ANY fatigue on the rads...I only did 16 (I am in Canada)...so I guess I would be askin gthe radiologist why you hav eto do 33 and is there any way they could do it the Canadian Protocol way instead so you do not have as many sessions. You are clearly a tough cookie ....just so hard to make decisions when you are relying on the information from others.....even if they are 'experts'...hard to trust. Good luck..we are here if you need us!
Sandee
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Lord I love you gals..................I don't know what I would do without you all to vent to.........Your suggestions, and your experiences are so helpful. I will ask all the questions that have been suggested, and will not leave that office till I know all the facts............What is it Joe Friday use to say ....."The Facts Mam, Just The Facts"........When I called for the appt. with the R/O, the recepitonist said "it will be about 1 1/2 hours........the first 1/2 hour is the consultation, and the 1 hour after will be for "mapping'.............I said "hold on there little Missy"..........We will do the consult...............and then I will discuss this with my kids all 6 of them, and then I will let you know when we are going to do mapping..............I'm the Boss of this here decision making, and don't forget it......................never forget it............."My body, my life, my decision..........................She said "fine", see you Tuesday".............My son said to me "Mom I don't think your gonna need treatment", "as bitchy as you are, you probably scared the friggin cancer right out of your body".................I told him "its called taking charge of your life".......................I leared that when my husband got Pancreatic cancer...........I didn't care what kind of degree the Dr.s' had, they still put their pants on one leg at a time, like the rest of us did..............and I was his advocate when he could no longer be it..........and I'm not sorry, cause I found I was respected more by the Dr's for not allowing them to push me around, when it came to my husband...........he died, of course it was deadly, but I did not let him go down without fighting for him each step of the way....................I will do this for myself too...............again ladies thanks, and I will let you know how I make out.............you guys are great.
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good night all...had a wonderful lazy day with my mom...doing absolutely nothing but hanging out ...God, I love that woman...i feel like the luckiest woman in the world....sweet dreams
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dont forget to bring the tape recorder.the sistas told me at the beg.of diag.and it was the best advice that i got.you cannot and wilnot remember everything.You are one tough cookie.Good luck and God bless.hugggggggggggs K0
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Good for you ducky. I too, have now taken control and refused to see the RO two weeks after treatment ended and told them no, I will do the 3 month follow ups (I already see the MO every 3 months for the leukemia anyway). I told DH, it's my life and I make the decisions with discussion of course.
When I see my primary doctor I will let him know too how pissed off I am that I allowed him to suggest a surgeon he recommended because "I can talk to him". Yes, but I could not, and too late I find out he is not a breast surgeon (yes, I did call the primary doctors office and question it but was told he's done lots of breast surgeries) stupid me.............. and he took 21 of my clean nodes knowing I only had use of that one arm. Even my MO was surprised that he did not take just the sentinel node. I know its hindsight but ladies take your time with decisions and try and learn from others mistakes. I just finished "Breast Cancer Husband" and boy, did it open my eyes!
Grannydukes....good advice. My DH suggested it to me and we did just that.
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Lestwin...........I had a fantastic surgeon. After the ultrasound the day of the repeat mammogram I saw a "nurse navigator"..at that time she told me I would need a surgeon, and that I could use either a BS or a GS.......I said to her "who would you recommend".....she said "well I can't really tell you that".........At that point I was not happy about what I had just heard anyway, so she got the best of my "bitchy mood"........I said "don't give me that crap, I'm asking you a question, and don't tell me you can't answer it.................WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND, and I was shouthing.............She said "well Dr. ? is very good and he is head of the Breast Surgical Center"........I said "thanks, now was that so difficult".......That is who I went to and he was wonderful..............he took care of everything, was compassionate, informative, even was the one who did my "biopsy", when so many women say theirs was done by a radiologist.....
They even made all my appts for me with the necessary people.........got all my referrels for me, and even talked personally to my primary care Dr. and my Cardiologist............He was a God send.
The dye did not take well when they did the SNB, so since he could not identify the SN, he said he took more nodes then he needed, but only 7 + the SN, and they were all negative. I was pissed he took any, but when I read the pathology report it said the dye did not identify the SN, so then I understood why he took 7 more including what ended up being a SN.
I will continue to be my usual "nice self".......haha...............but just don't cross me or try to pull the wool over my eyes..........I will snag you everytime............I don't care what initials are behind your name...........if I don't like you, or how I'm being treated I will drop you like a bad habit..................Remember.....I'm not just a "patient", I'm a "person" first.
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duckyb1 - I hope I am just like you at 76! Between the damn cancer and being 57, I sometimes wonder what my new normal is or will be. Yay for you!
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raincitygirl - I also wonder what my new normal really is at 55 - soon to be 56 in 10 days. I hope I am like duckyb at 76. Heck, I hope I make it to 76.
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