CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS
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Maybe you dont want to hear anything AND that too is OK....really it is....If you think its gonna make you go into a dark place then maybe you should just play the waiting game.I sure dont want to push you into something thats gonna do that. We all worry and if anyone tells you differently its not the truth.Im sorry i was hard on you its just most people cannot handle the wait. If you can i wish you all good results.Hang in there honey...0
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Thanks, Granny...NO, you are right, I am mad. No one should have to wait this long...I waited a month when I was diagnosed, and since I am waiting a long time, I am thinking that maybe it is being looked at by more ROs...thinking something is wrong. I will email my MO again tomorrow. I am going to change MOs if he does not push to get the results soon.
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see how the mind travels to those places.....i hope you are all wrong and they just forgot or misplaced or overlooked it.most white coats really dont give a damn.dont get me wrong i love my drs but they dont know 1/2 of what the sistas know here.And all MOs are not created equal.good luck and please keep us posted.0
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Sheila and everyone else....if there is one time in our lives to be impatient- test results ARE IT. It is a bit different than say waiting to come out of a dryer and seeing what our hair looks like for heaven's sake. If others do not like it or think we are somehow pushy- SCREW em...YIKES! I said it and I mean it. I had a great day that started off magnificent got horrible very quick and then ended up wonderful. The magnificent part was waking up full of excitement over getting my nipple tattoos....totally reved and ready- first I had to stop and get all my blood work done- figured smart to combine both doc's orders (onc and regular doc) and do it - fine..tech commented on how much blood she was taking and after chatting and discussing BC she put a bandaid on me and said " Yeah, well my husband's aunt had early BC and she died two years later." WHAT IN THE HELL? I could not believe it. I was so freaked I left. Then I marched right back in and gave her a clue. In as nice a way as possible. I explained she needed to perhaps not mention such things to people who were in getting their blood checked for evidence of disease. bla blah blah...I was so ticked I was shaking (and don't ya know those words chilled me in that part of us we all have now) when I got to my breast surgeon's office my cell rang and it was her- she looked my number up on the chart.She apologized and said she was just trying to relate...AACK I knew she truly was clueless and meant no harm and told her she might want to reconsider discussing death with ANY patient. and then I said I accepted her apology bye and hung up.
Anyhooo....the tats are INCREDIBLE and I am happy...it hurt like the disckens which made me even happier as so much feeling has returned in both of the boobs they had to load me full of lidocaine. I am so lucky to have such a great crew....the breast surgeon- the tattoo artist and the plastic surgeon were all in on this today (Plastic surgeon via Iphone)- it is amazing they all care so much to make the results so nice....i will be achy and gross looking for a bit but I freaked when I looked in the mirror...in a good way....I was firm in my decision before I ever had the diagnosis that a bilateral mastectomy (although I didn't know that it was called that- I called it a full radical mastectomy like from the 1950's and continued to do so long after my surgery until my PS gently corrected me- although, it sure LOOKED like one in my eyes) would be what I would get if I ever was told I had breast cancer. So that was what I chose, even during the one day between biopsy and the lovely visit to the Breast Surgeon's office...but no matter what they told me what could be, in my heart I never really believed I would ever have something resembling real breasts....and now I do. Amazing. Are they perfect? Nah, but what or who ever is? Whatever your choices are, that is what I want for everyone, to be happy and satisified with their choice. I love you all....and welcome to all the new folks...sorry you had to find us but glad you did. It was a year today that I was diagnosed and next month will be a year since my surgery- that is the d-day for me. So much has changed in a year...some good some bad but the theme is being alive...and not only surviving but attempting to thrive. A good goal for all.
BIG HUGS:)
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Oh, Annette, what a day you had my dear sista! I am so glad it ended on a good note - I am so happy you are satisfied with the tats. I have only had a lumpectomy & I just can't imagine going through what you & so many of the other sistas on this board have gone through. I guess we just get through it...anyway we can. One year already, you have come so far. Congrats gal! As for the gal's comments while she was drawing blood & her subsequent apology & that she was just trying to relate, she must know that she will never be able to relate unless she is put in our shoes and walks the walk, then she can talk the talk. Hugs to you!
Sheila, I am so happy for your good TM results & exam in general. ♥ Huggggssss
To all who don't have to wait for your mamm results for days & days or weeks & weeks, you are very lucky. Very.
stage1 ~ I hope as I write this that you have heard something by now. One time I waited two weeks for mamm results & this was after my Dx/Lumpectomy. And THEN I get a letter in the mail!!!!! I was going crazy! They just simply do NOT understand the anxiety we go through while waiting. Now I just call the MO's office & then usually I have to wait for a return call. But, they DO call me back because they understand; I just plain a*s tell them I want the results. I give them time to review them, I understand they have other mamms, etc to read. Sending special hugs!
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Thanks, Vajean, I am still waiting...meanwhile (((hugs)))...thanks for all your good wishes I will keep you posted.
Annette< I am so glad you are happy with the tats. I cannot imagine going thru what you have been thru...Hope all is uphill from here for you
Sorry that tech stressed you out with her death story. That is so unprofessional. I cannot stand unprofessional people and I seem to run into them too often. No common sense!!!Night all< maybe I can sleep now...thanks for all the support.
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I am new to this thread and I can tell you are some sassy ladies! Looks like a great place for support.
I got dx in April 2011, had lumpectomy a week later. clear margins and lymphs. plan was for radiation and tamoxifen.My mom had been diagnosed 3 weeks prior to me at age 82 so dr wanted BRCA testing. Mom's test was held up so they tested me instead. Then mom was tested. She came back negative and I came back positive. Apparently the gene is from my dad who passed away from prostate cancer 2 years ago. Change in treatment plan and I had NSBMX on June 22nd.I was supposed to have immediate reconstruction but skin was looking too stressed so I have expanders instead. I got fills all summer with not much problem till the last one in late August which set off a series of muscle spasms that are slowly travelling down my body taking one muscle at a time with them. I have exchange surgery in one week and cannot wait!
I am just thankful that I got the test first and have the knowledge to save myself or they may not have done the test with my mom being negative.
Annette- It is good that you went back in and talked to her "as politely as possible". You have educated her and saved someone else from that horrible experience.
I have been so lucky with getting results quickly. My primary dr is a close friend and she walked my tests through so quickly that I swear she was looking over the pathologists shoulder as he was reading it. I had dx a day after my biopsy (she came to my house to tell me) I had an appt with the surgeon 3 days later and lumpectomy a week after dx. I cannot imagine waiting with this worry hanging over my head and am so sorry some of you have to. You should never feel bad about calling and "nagging". It takes only a minute of the office staff's time and makes such a difference for your emotional health.
I am glad that i found this thread. There are so many threads here on BCO and it is hard to know where you fit in best. So far I have been mostly on the surgical and expander related threads but it is good to meet some stage 1 sisters.
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Annette,
I'm so proud of you for speaking up - if good people fail to act in the face of ignorant and dangerous behavior it just keeps on keepin' on - doing so much damage. Thanks for calling this insensitive person to account - hopefully you broadened her horizons in a good and permanent way, sparing others from future pain. Stay strong.
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Welcome Ginger! What a blessing to have your friend be your doctor and hurry things along for you!0
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I love all of you newbies and the rest of the gang:))))
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I've been away for a couple of days and.... Annette, congrads on the tats did you get the color you wanted? You were right in going in and speaking to the tech, gosh, can't believe how she could think she was helping!
I was lucky also to get my results right away. They saw something and had me come in for an ultrasound within a week. When I had the lump, the surgeon called me the next day. I didn't have a needle biopsy - and after the second sentinel and lump redo.. they had results right away. The hospital that I go to does frozen sections and sometimes holds the surgery up until the path report is completed that way they know if they need to do anything more.
Can't imagine waiting as long as you have stage1
Welcome to the newbie's - glad you found this website... it's been a lifesaver for many.
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Good for you Annette. Some people they dont know what to say and the first thing comes in their mind they throw it to your face.
I had some kind of experience with one of my neighbors. I was walking out and feeling very tired that day. This person asked me how I was I said very tired. The next thing comes out from his mouth........Knowing the situation thatt's not a good sign. you should call the oncologist............
I got so upset started to cry. I dont want sugar coated conversations but also I dont need to here someone validating my fear that i live every single day with.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
((((HUGS TO YOU ALL))))
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I got most everything from the first mammogram to the last radiation treatment in no time at all......................very fast...............I was diagnosed on Feb. 15th, and by March 14th I was done surgery, healed by April 24th, and was done Rads by June 15th................
I learned a lot when my husband had Pancreatic cancer 20 years ago........back when all Dr.'s thought their shit didn't smell...................well I set his straight from day 1, and it continued until the day they closed the coffin lid.................no one messes with someone I love.......I got answers to questions, test, surgeries, and the dreaded "how long" when I asked............they knew I would settle for nothing less.
When I got cancer, my son said to the BS.........................Cancer has no idea who it has picked to mess with..................she will win, guaranteed.......................the Dr. answered..........I believe your right...........I've just spoke with her and she asked questions no one has ever asked before....................my son answered........................you have no idea what or who you are dealing with.........................the Dr. answered..............I love a fighter..............
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Welcome Ginger48 ~ I am glad you have found us, though sorry you have to be here. First off, how is you Mother doing? I certainly think there was something sent from somewhere that had a hand in the delay of your Mother's BRCA test so you received your results first. Please let us know how you are doing when the time nears for your exchange.
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Thank you Ladies for your support! I just got my results from my 6-month after surgery mamo, It is benign
Yeah!!! The report was emailed to me, after my complaining of waiting more than two weeks. The report said that the surgery site is dense not able to tell if it is hiding any calcification or mass, but the rest of it was clear with no calcifications or mass. My question now is, I think I heard some of you have MRI every other 6-month check, instead of mamogram. Is this correct? Should I be asking for MRI, since the surgical site is dense??? 0 -
Thanks Valjean, I totally believe that my dad is still taking care of us from above! My mom is doing great. She had a tiny tumor and it was removed with clear nodes and margins. She does not need to do radiation or chemo. She is on an aromatase inhibitor. It was like she got the smallest cancer experience one could get in order to make the rest of my family aware of what we needed to know. It changed the whole direction of my treatment plan and may have saved my life. One sister has subsequently tested positve and is having oopharectomy soon with sureveillance of breasts. One brother tested negative. I have one more sister and one more brother still waiting to test so we are praying for negative results for them.0
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Sheila, so glad you are good to go!! Ginger, welcome. Annette, you go girl! Granny good to 'see' you. Hate to hit and run but have to head to work. UGH! TGIF!! Wish me luck on my bad boob 1-1/2 year mammo next Thursday! Followed by a crusie on Sunday!! Woo hoo! Hope I will really ne celebrating. My center gives me results right away.
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Ducky - you are my kind of chick! My best friend described me as indestructible - damn straight - least ways cancer won't be what destroys me - it'lll make me stronger!
Hugs to all!
Lucky
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Oh, gosh, I've been away for a few days and it's been BUSY here! My heart goes out to all playing the waiting game...hang in there!!! And YAY for all the good test results some got this week!
I just had my ultrasound yesterday for the mass that I found after swelling went down from my exchange. Got the results right away (YAY!), but they're rather inconclusive. Does not appear to be recurrence of cancer so that's the best news. But, now waiting for authorization for the MRI that was recommended. Hopefully, it will go faster than last year when I fought for 6 months to get the MRI that actually diagnosed my two cancers (mammos "normal").
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Hi Lucky.................just wanted to tell you this "chick"....................is 76......................wish I was a "chick" again..........................This old girl has 6 children, 18 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandaughters 7 months old.....identical twins..........and their mother is an identical twin.........................you hang in there girlfriend.................we will whip cancer's ass........me, you, and all the other brave "sisters" on this site..............hugs.
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Sheila -- I'm sorry about your encounter with your idiot neighbor. I don't know what it is with ignorant people who feel that they must say something "knowledgeable" about something they clearly know nothing about. I had an experience with my neighbor too, who is really a very nice person usually, but when she found out about my dx (I didn't tell her, but I live in a small town) she called me to tell me not to worry because she's had "that" too, 3 times. When I said "huh?", she said yes, she's had three of those "things" removed but they got it all, so that's all the treatment she needed, so she knows I'm going to be just fine. When I recovered enough to say "YOU'VE HAD BREAST CANCER THREE TIMES???!!!!", she says, well no, they were pre-cancerous "things". I didn't even know what to say after that, except "bye bye"! I've tried to be tolerant, understanding that people mean well and often don't know what to say, but really, who needs that crap. How 'bout just sayin' "I'm thinking about you and hope you're doing well". Ranting right along with you Sheila . . .0
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Thanks for venting with me auntie...I have another one they are genuinely good people but almost every time they see me they call me POOR SHEILA.
HUGS to you auntie from NY♥
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Thanks for ranting with me auntie...I have another one they are genuinely good people but almost every time they see me they call me POOR SHEILA.
HUGS to you auntie from NY♥
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BCO is very slow tonight. It repeated my post.
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Went for my 6 month mammo & US screening today and not so good news. Mammo went fine and then I had the US and when the tech came back and the radiologist was following her I knew I was in trouble. I have a 7mm mass in my rt (good) breast. We talked and then he went back and pulled my MRI from last year to double check it and he said it was not there last year. He says it is solid like a cancer tumor but not shaped like one. So he tends to lean on the side of it being B9 but he said it has to come out cancer or not. He said it is very close to my chest wall. He was going to call my MO and then I have to get with him next week to see if he wants to go straight for a biopsy or get a MRI or what we are going to do about it. I wish I had enough tummy fat to go ahead with my BMX right now but I don't so not sure what is going to happen. Would really like to have only one surgery but I may end up with an additional one. I am actually not freaked out like I was last year but I am pretty angry about having to even deal with anything at all. I really want off this rollercoaster ride!
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I am celebrating 9 yrs. today. (Stage 1...IDC... Grade1...0/1 SNB...er/pr+) Just had lumpectomy in other breast...ADH....Being asked to consider a BMX which I know nothing about......consultation with PS on Dec. 9.....With ADH my risk went up 5 fold....Those odd are big and I don't like it......I thought this nightmare was over. I actually went days without thinking about BC and now I am again consumed by it. This wasn't a BC diagnosis, but at a high risk for recurrance. Just scared and confused. I am glad there is a thread for our stage of cancer.
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sherry....I hope it turns out to be B9. They shouldn't say things like that when they are not sure of anything.
If they will do a lumpectomy insist that you want it to be done ASAP. Waiting is the worse part I'm talking like you dont know......
Will be thinking of you and waiting for updates.
We all love you sister.♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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Good Night All !
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Oh, Sherry, I am so sorry you are having to go through this. I am saying tons of prayers that it is B9. I am here for you, sister. Lots of hugs ♥
TinaT ~ Hope the authorization for the MRI comes sooner rather than later - you do not need the stress of the wait. Please keep us posted.
Ginger ~ That is wonderful news about your Mother, that she is doing great. I'm sorry this has affected your entire family, and I continue to keep good thoughts for the rest of your family Dx.
Cherrie ~ Welcome! Nine years and now this ...... I'm glad you have found us. Please continue to keep us posted. I'm over here in Owosso & have family & friends in Portland.
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