CALLING ALL STAGE I SISTERS
Comments
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justegan ~ I hope each day get better. I agree with TinaT, you are beautiful!
Mini1 ~ Nice to meet you, too! Such wonderful words of wisdom ~ "not to dwell on what isn't at this moment and what is instead." Also for myself as well, I am better at it some days more than others. Even at close to four years out.
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Wow - I had a lot to catch up on. I think of you all often. Grannydukes, Joan, Sheila, Ducky, Valjean, Mimi, Annette - praying for continued NED for all of us. Welcome to the new girls - so so sorry that you all had to be here. Praying that chemo goes easy for you ladies. My first annual mammogram is in about 6 weeks. I'm already dreading it. For those of you just starting tamox, I had some bleeding issues for months 2-5 but now my body seems to have adjusted and my side effects are very small. Good luck. Hugs to you all.
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Hawk....always nice to see you too.
Welcome back.
Hope all you sistas stay with us..We need all of you.
Sending prayer for each and every one of us....
I hate focktober!!!!
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gannydukes - I totally agree with you. The October breast cancer awareness commercials are making me totally totally crazy. It is hard enough to try to get back into a normal life and try to not dwell on this diagnosis and try not to be scared all the time, and yes with time, it does get better but to have to watch all these commrcials and pink everywhere is makind me crazy!
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pinkwashing...grrrrrrrrrrrr.i go crazy with this pink stuff.
Today i wore a shirt that said Focktober....just ask me.
Everyday I post something on fb about all this stuff.
there are a few threads on the pink revolution...you might wanna check it out!!!
huggggggggs everyone K
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Hi ladies (note I posted this in August 2012 girls thread as well....no time = duplicate postings),
Since being in school plus starting chemo on the 28th I've been sort of MIA on the boards. I wish I had more time to post though! I hope you all are doing well
I am doing surprisingly well despite being on AC which is definitely one of the tougher regiments out there. I am doing DD AC for 4 cycles every 2 weeks then Taxol weekly for 12 weeks. Instead of complaining about all my SEs (which I know are a lot less worse than others), I will speak to how I'm doing otherwise.
School is going alright, just really busy. Today I have to teach three classes in a row (50 minutes each) so I will definitely be exhausted after that. Tomorrow I go to see my oncologist to check my WBC and meet with a nutritionist to discuss my diet. Grad school + chemo = me stressed and not wanting to eat even more so because of the chemo. I am forcing myself to eat, not to the point I'm sick but to eat. It is difficult because I could seriously go a whole day without eating I'm sure.
The worst part about not having my hair is the stares. I tried on wigs, I hated them all and so now I wear funky scarves and head wraps. I didn't feel like myself wearing wigs, I felt like I looked even more like a cancer patient.
Well, either way I hope all of you ladies are healing well. My foobies look as good as they can considering they are only the tissue expanders. I can't wait to have the exchange surgery but alas that will have to wait until treatment is over.0 -
Juste----you are beautiful!!!!!
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Juste....Grannydukes is right, you are georgeous!!!!!
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Grannydukes & Scottiee,
Thank you so much
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Now you keep that beautiful smile on your face...put you big girl bloomers on and kick that monsters ass!!!!
We are here for you....know it.
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Grannydukes, I will try to keep the smile on my face. I have been lucky with minimal SEs, we can only hope it continues this way!! *crosses finger* *knocks on wood*
-Justine0 -
From your mouth straight to GODs ears!!!!!
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Yay! Stage 1 sisters! Hello my people, it's great to have our own forum. I spend time perusing the other sites for information because they sure know their stuff. It's so hard when they lose someone.....our stageIV sisters are truly inspirational.
Having said all that......Since June 2011.... stage 1, grade 2, er+,pr-' HER 2 positive. Bi-lat MA, port, expanders, 6 chemo, Nuelasta and 52 weeks of Herceptin, exchange surgery and now having a reconstruction "do over" at the end of this month.
I'm on Arimidex and suffer from painful joints and bones...weight gain (muffin top) +17lbs. Walking everyday and swimming as often as possible.
What would you all like to talk about?0 -
Hi firework, welcome to this wonderful group of ladies. We are so blessed to be Stage 1 but as I am reminded recently, the physical and emotional effects of BC are touching us all. We talk about everything...from drug SEs to joys of grandkids....you name it....and as you mentioned, we have lost way too many sisters this year...
(((Hawk))) (((Val))) (((Granny))) good to see y'all here. GrannyK, love your pic - couldn't read your shirt so glad you straightened me out on that....Was in WalMart today and saw pink ribbon stuff for little kids to wear. ??? uggggggghhhh
Heather, looks like you are coming up on a year since dx....always emotional. here's to everyone's good reports. Val, forgive me if you posted, but I've been kind of off and on here.....did you get all your appointment results? I hope and pray the bottom line is "nothing at all"!Scottiee, so good to see you here too.
Well, I guess the time has come for me to find Sheila somewhere....miss her here!
Justine, wow, you are so recently past surgery and you are doing so much. I went back to work within the week after lumpectomy, but you had BMX and now chemo...whew! I know how good it feels though to do normal things.
I work at a college and remember having a young man in my class who was on chemo...he rarely missed a class, but i was so worried about him being exposed to all the stuff going around....he did so well and it really impressed me. Good luck with your studies and take time when you need it.
It's the week end....I'm so glad.
Hugs to all,
Joan0 -
Hi firework, welcome to this wonderful group of ladies. We are so blessed to be Stage 1 but as I am reminded recently, the physical and emotional effects of BC are touching us all. We talk about everything...from drug SEs to joys of grandkids....you name it....and as you mentioned, we have lost way too many sisters this year...
(((Hawk))) (((Val))) (((Granny))) good to see y'all here. GrannyK, love your pic - couldn't read your shirt so glad you straightened me out on that....Was in WalMart today and saw pink ribbon stuff for little kids to wear. ??? uggggggghhhh
Heather, looks like you are coming up on a year since dx....always emotional. here's to everyone's good reports. Val, forgive me if you posted, but I've been kind of off and on here.....did you get all your appointment results? I hope and pray the bottom line is "nothing at all"!Scottiee, so good to see you here too.
Well, I guess the time has come for me to find Sheila somewhere....miss her here!
Justine, wow, you are so recently past surgery and you are doing so much. I went back to work within the week after lumpectomy, but you had BMX and now chemo...whew! I know how good it feels though to do normal things.
I work at a college and remember having a young man in my class who was on chemo...he rarely missed a class, but i was so worried about him being exposed to all the stuff going around....he did so well and it really impressed me. Good luck with your studies and take time when you need it.
It's the week end....I'm so glad.
Hugs to all,
Joan0 -
Joan811,
That is the unfortunate thing about being so young with breast cancer. My doctors look at me like I'm a ticking time bomb since my cancer is so aggressive so everything had to happen really quickly.
Thank you, I can only hope I don't have to miss any classes! And that is my fear as well is being exposed to all the sick students and stuff. I just need to be careful lol.0 -
Joan, reading your post reminded me that, yes, we are blessed, but this summer I went through hell emotionally....now on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, which I'm sure others are here also. So, I get so pissed off when people tell me I'm "so lucky"
To be stage 1.....ha.... To be honest, I don't even think about what stage I am....Injust think......Cancer.....and on bad days....I think will I be here to see my children married,
Will I see grandchildren.....so, although we cannot compare ourselves to the wonderful, corageous stage 1V women.....we do still go through a lot of CRAP....
For all Canadians....Have a great Thanksgiving....and everyone else, just have a wonderful emotional free weekend.0 -
Joan811 On reading your post i felt i had to say how i feel. We stage one ladies have been through an emotional rollercoaster!!! just because we are stage one does not make us fortunate in anyway, we are not blessed or lucky, we have had cancer we do not know what the future holds regarding our health. It makes me so angry when our stage is said to be lucky how can we possibly be lucky. many of us suffer greatly emotionally coming to terms with our dx . Sorry to be blunt it just makes me so angry. hugs to all xxxxxxx
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We need a breast cancer shirt with the Clint Eastwood saying on it -Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya?
Would I rather be stage one than stage four? Duh. But do I feel lucky? Hardly. I know people are trying to be encouraging, and I try to remind myself of that, but lucky is not the way anyone feels, with any cancer I'm sure. It's like saying well gee, you're lucky they only had to take out one lung, or you're lucky it was just a triple bypass. I knew a guy that had to have a quadruple bypass. Yes, I feel so lucky that I get to wonder for the rest of my life if I will have recurrence at a more advanced stage. Oh and that I might get lukemia five years down the road from the rads, or a blood clot or another cancer from the meds. Maybe I'll by a lottery ticket. That's at least is something I could feel lucky about.
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I'm Stage 1, and I'm having a hard time moving on past my treatment. I hate this month. I have people saying to me, "You kicked cancer's ass!" "You are so lucky that they caught it early." I don't feel lucky, especially getting this disease at 30. I feel the opposite of lucky.
I want to move on from this, but with every ache and mysterious pain, I feel like there is a time bomb waiting to go off again.
I never got psychological help when I was first diagnosed. I think it's time for me to seek help because I just feel so stuck, and all of my friends, who are married and having kids, just can't relate to me.
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Boomersmom, please get some help....you don't have to be stuck like this, I got help
and I am now able to cope quite well, even on bad days. Got some therapy, but to be honest, it was this anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds that did it for me. I am eating well again after two months of hell, starting to gain some weight. ...I am 65. And got help,
you 30......you have more years than me to enjoy...you deserve this ....please talk to your GP about some meds....you won't regret it.0 -
PS...mini1.....love the t-shirt idea.
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Does anyone else have to have chest xrays with their MO visits? I didn't last quarter but my reminder card for this months appt. has x-ray and labs. Maybe because it's the six month mark??? I don't like the idea of more radiation and then another mammogram besides. :-(
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Joan,
I do feel blessed but not necessarily lucky. I understood what you meant but can relate to both... Hugs...
I had a chest xray after my first onc appointment but am only one year out so not sure what protocol will be.
Wishing everyone a great weekend.
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I do not feel blessed to have had breast cancer, i am stlll coping with side effects from surgery and medication, blessed to have had a life changing experience i do not think so!!!! i had a dear friend who was dx with stage one breast cancer who progressed to stage 4 within 2 years and sadly passed away. Blessed to have breast cancer yeah!!!!!!
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Mini,
I love that shirt idea lol. Because it is so true. We are "lucky" but not...no one wants to have cancer so being stage 1 still sucks.0 -
Blessed ?
Lucky ?
No, I dont feel either when it comes to BC. NOT AT ALL.
Oh, and I am not on a freaking *journey* either ! I am so damn sick and tired of people and their beautiful cancer journey. This feels much more like a roller coaster ride.
I had 2 GD nodes out, NO RADIATION and now have lymphedema, which IMHO is FAR worse than the lousy early stage BC. I dont have to sit and worry if this or that may or may not come back....it is HERE. - ALL the time! Oh and I can DIE from the complications very quickly and nobody has an awareness campaign or seems to give a crap about it.
Do I wish I never had BC ? You betcha ! But if I could be granted just 1 with ABOUT cancer and NOT that one...I wish to God I had ignored this "lucky stage" crap so I wouldnt be dealing with the chronic LE that will end when I am 6 feet under.
NOBODY should presume what another person is dealing with .And, we are ALL at risk for LE - forever . If I can get it, anybody can....lowest risk imaginable.
That in and of itself makes us all unlucky in my book.
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Purple32.....I agree with everything you are saying.....I'm sorry you have to deal with LE
because, as you say, it's for life. I hope you will end up with more good days than bad.
I have a close colleague who has LE and she says you really have to pay a lot of attention now to your body, and if things get really bad, get to the ER....that's how she copes with it.
PS....a journey for me is a pleasant thought or experience where you come back with lots of good memories and feeling refreshed and revived....same as a holiday, I guess.
This BC journey, as they want to call it, has none of these features, on the contrary.0 -
Thanks for your understanding, Scottie!
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Yeah, a journey is what I go on when I take the dog for a hike. I consider this an ordeal or hell, an illness!
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