Stage II w/Lymph Node Involvement
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lee... i am totally confident that having chemo (in our situation) is the right thing... Good luck tomorrow!!! It will be fine. are you on Decadron today?
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OK-all you ladies who have went thru this before me-talk me off the ledge. I see my onc for the first time on Mons 2/21. I am soooo nervous about the scans that she will order. I am so paranoid that because of my 1 node being involved that I have mets everywhere. I am actually more anxious about this than the actual chemo!!! It just seems like my luck is already so awful-dx at 36 and then a triple positive-that this is my destiny. Please share some advice here. and thanks again for all the wonderful support regarding my trip before starting chemo-as long as the onc oks it, we are going:}
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lee7---you are going to do well with chemo...I just feel it...I'm just over 5 weeks out from 6 treatments of T/C that started back in September. I"m feeling stronger and stronger each day and starting my rads...try to join the thread for February chemo folks and you will be able to keep up with others and get tips and advice...and always know you can ask any of us that have been there already...Good luck and God bless!
bdavis--Hope your treatments are going well too! Hugs to you too!
kriskat-Just breathe....you are going to do great. My best advice is to go prepared with your own questions that you have...I truly believe that doctors like the fact that you have done some research on your own have questions and concerns. It really does get easier once you have a plan in place....come here, ask questions and join threads that pertain to your treatment regime. Those ladies will be your stronghold when you need it the most! xoxo
peace and prayers,
Tori
DE COLORES!
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Kriskat... I too have a node that is positive and my tumor was slightly larger than yours... and my onc didn't order scans because he said they typically don;t for stage 1 or 2... your doc is being cautious and thourough... I do not have triple positive and so maybe thats why they are ordering them for you, but be confident that you will be fine.
Thanks Tori... doing ok... just tired.
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Kriskat, been there this past summer. Looked at my skeleton image emerging as I lay in the machine for the bone scan. I'm a +++ and scans were fine. Like you I was so scared. Had chemo first, lumpy in Jan and moving into rads next week. When the scans are done, you can breathe and move on to the next step in your plan. libraylil0
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My Onc had me take every test possible! I told him I had been coughing for the last month and he ordered a test of my lungs, he said he was worry about it.
Then he saw that my gland had a suspicious form and he wanted me to have a test for that too. Of course I freaked out and couldn't sleep before all the tests came back.
It was nothing wrong with my test results, and now I'm glad he decided that I should take them.
Hang in there - this is the must difficult time, but it will be better once you know everything about your BC and have made a treatment plan.
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Kriskat,
My onc did the scans, a bone scan and a CT up front before tx. She said they use it as a baseline so every patient gets them. I found out I have some scarring in my lungs, which might be from an old infection at some point. A few other little things but nothing that looked like cancer so that made me feel better. It also helped decide TCx4 would be an OK choice for me.
bdavis...YES. I'm on the steroid today and have to take the next one soon along with a Zofran. The nurse said try to take it early so I can sleep. HAH. Not sure why we need the Zofran tonight but maybe it builds up a little protection against the nausea by starting it now. Did you ever ask your onc about doing 4 instead of 6 tx's? I'm curious why different places go with different regimens. well, and have different ideas about testing etc.
Tori-I did find the Feb Chemo group. Two actually. I also look at the Jan one too since I was supposed to start in Jan originally. Its been a big help. Especially in getting ready for this next step.
...Going to feed my cats now and take that steroid.
Lee
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Hi Lee... I did ask my onc why I am getting 6 and others get 4 tx and he said its because of my node involvement... had I not had node involvement then I would have gotten 4... which is sort of interesting because I thought if I didn't have node involvement I could have skipped chemo altogether... but its fine, better safe than sorry. And also, I only took Decadron before chemo, no Zofran... I have zofran in case I get nauseous, but haven't taken it yet... I also get anti-nausea in my pre-meds along with benedryl and decadron ... so... decadron morning and night day before, day of and day after and that's it for home medicating.
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Kriskat: Someone on the boards, who was node positive, said that made them feel better: she had a positive node because the node did its job, it caught the cancer before it could spread. I just kept that in mind while going through my tests. I've had ct scans, chest xrays and a pet scan, all of which came back fine. I'll say a prayer that your scans are clear too.
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Bdavis- I'm wondering why and if I should take the Zofran tonight . I know I'm getting it tomorrow in the IV. I hate to over medicate if I really don't have to. Sounds good that you didn't have to even take the Zofran after!
Lady inBama-I read that too and it made me feel better about my positive node. I really fell apart when I got the news 10 days after my SNB that it was a 3mm one. I thought they would have seen that during the SNB surgery. It would have saved me the 2nd op to go get more and have the complications. I too am hoping my nodes kept it from going anywhere else.
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Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement! I feel like this is such as bad dream-so days are so much better than others!!!
Bdavis-so glad to her that chemo isn't too bad for you ;
Lady in Bama: Read that and thought about it as I was rolled ino surgery. You know, I thought I had done all the right things, sbe every 4 to 6 weeks, found lump, went to doc next day and biopsy 2 days later, etc. I was so hoping that I had caught it in time before it got to nodes; although position of mass at 3 o'clock l breast-probably didn't help. Anyway, was pretty disappointed that it made it to sn.
lee-I hope things go well tomorrow-will be thinking about you!
librarylil-so interesting how things are done diff; you had chemo first, then surgery
In two places- i think that is what worries me most, just the thought of the worry that comes with every cough, ache and pain
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Hey girls - as someone who is officially over a year out from diagnosis - I just want to reassure you that the anxiety DOES get easier. I went through a phase of freaking out about every ache and pain. I hope you believe me that there will come a time when you really don't worry and think about cancer all the time.
My onc does not order scans for early stage - like many - and I was kind of angry about it for awhile - like doesn't she want to make sure everything is okay??? And while I do still have days like that, I have come to realize that I mostly just want to live my life. If I feel sick or have a pain for more than 2 weeks, I am to tell her and she will investigate. She also looks at my bloodwork every 3 weeks (having Herceptin til June) and one time she didn't like my bilirubin numbers and ordered a liver ultrasound and GI appointment. All was fine. I have decided to trust her. She says she considers me cured. (yep, she said cured)
You will all get through this part - it is the hardest. I always say, if I can do it, anyone can do it!
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lee7, best of luck, please let us know how it goes for you today.
My tendency is to take the General Sherman approach, burn it to the ground, leave nothing to chance, however you want to put it. I am most anxious to see what the results do say. If it is in question at all, I am likely to choose chemo. I was diagnosed with BC 2 years (by one day) to the anniversary of my radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. I was very fortunate with the cervical in that it was very early and I didn't need radiation or chemo. However, I don't want to feel like I could have done anything more and had better chances of defeating the beast, so that's why I will choose chemo if it is grey area.
Due to cervical, I have been getting CT scans every 6 months anyway. Honestly, there is a lot of anxiety before the scan but I feel so reassured when they come back clean. I had a scan in December before I was even officially dx'd with BC, so it was nice to know that it looked clean. I'm also thankful that I have two years worth of base line to compare to at this point. The scan itself is fine, it's just drinking the contrast that is hard for me. That gets better once you know what to expect. I'm not sure if you will even need it but with chest, abdomen, and pelvis CT I always have to drink the contrast first. Chest xrays scared me initially but they saw some stuff that was no big deal and we have a base line on that too. Hang in there, you can get through it.
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Kriskat... my tumor was at 11:00 and I had a node.. not sure if tumor position plays a role... but of course I said to my bs and onc that there were like 6 inches between the tumor and node and it scared me with such distance... leaving lots of room for escaping cells.
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bdavis: How is chemo going for you? Hopefully not too many side effects! Btw, I had a lady on the cold caps page email me a couple of things and one was a list of potential chemo side effects and how to treat. PM with your email if interested. I sent it to a friend who went thru this and she just wished she would have had a guide like that when she was dx. Lots of great info from gals who have been thru it!
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Hi Ladies,
I belong in this group, just discovered it a minute ago! I have my 1st TX tomorrow. I am nervous but anxious to start so I can be that much closer to being done. This is first of 6 TCH, then continuing H out to one year.
My SNB was initially neg during BMX, post-op path found micromet. My BS and onc both felt that a complete node dissection was needed so had that a month later. I had one additional node with a larger area than the sentinel. Complications with necrotic skin caused 3 more surgeries with PS resulting in removal of left TE (the non-cancerous side!) After chemo is done TE will go back in and then, finally, implants.
Off to pack my bag...
Kathie
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SpecialK thanks for joining all of us that are +++. Following our response to Herceptin will be great. Don't you hate glitches like this in treatment flow? It depresses me and people come to my office to see if I am "ok". I told the nurse yesterday I was tired of being the "happy cancer girl". You will do fine with your chemo. I had SE's but continued to work. Post and let us know how you made it today.
Bdavis sounds like your TX went smoothly. Either on this board or another we mentioned (and wondered) if the location of the tumor might have some bearing on lymphie involvement or if was just the aggressiveness of the Her2. I had 3 positive and my areas were at 12 and 3.
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Hi I did not have scans, 1.5cm 1 axilary node grade IIa just finishded treatment with taxol on Jan 24th. Now on Tamoxifen Doc said scans can be false negative especially the PET scan. And I know several who had to have like 5 biopsies to rule out what ever showed on the PET scan and they were all negative. But can you imagine ..... she had a live, lung and kidney biopsie terrible stress and pain.... So for me its really ok for him not too do them, but still in the back of my mind I wonder if I should.... Its all a part of the journey
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SpecialK... Now I am wondering about the nodes... My bs said with a micromet, the chance of other nodes being affected were like nil... and then here you are with a positive node larger than your SN... There was even the article last week about what to do with node dissection after a positive SN was found and they erred on the side of NOT doing a dissection... Might I ask how big your micromet was??? Mine was .38mm with a piggybacked node that was clean.
Kriskat... Chemo is going fine... thank.
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Hi - I belong to this group. But, "might" be Stage III - accoriding to my onc. I think she said that due to the multifocal factor. I had 3 tumors in my left breast. One wass 2.5 cm, another 1.5cm and the last one was .7cm. I had 2 nodes involved....largest .4cm in the nodes. I am ER+/PR+ and HER2-. Wondering if any other ladies had a multifocal factor and if they were told it might be worse than a single tumor?
Have a MUGA test today, port in tomorrow and chemo TAC X6 starting Tues. the 22nd.0 -
mahometmom62 -- I had the same experience you have had. My doc does not order scans for stage 2, she would only order if symptomatic. At the time I was relieved since I didn't think I could handle one more test.
She also warned me about false positives requiring lots of further testing and followup.
I'm comfortable with the lack of scanning for now; if I change my mind, my onc said she would order the scans if I want them.
I'm new to posting here.... in the midst of chemo.... I just finished A/C and start Taxol in one week.
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Hello everyone,
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal and microcapilliary cancer and had a lumpectomy in November of 2010. There were two invasive occurances within the DCIS of 1.8 cm and .7 cm. Both of these were Stage 2, Grade1. From that time until now, things are going so slowly. I have my onco test back now and I fall in the intermediate 'grey' area with a score of 21 (low end). I do have lymphvascular vessel involvement and they are not sure what is going on with these cells and can't tell me anything either. They don't even know if they were able to get them with the surgery. For this reason, chemo has been suggested TCx4. My dilemma is that chemo only works on actively dividing cells at time of infusion. If they are not dividing, chemo is for nothing. I am leaning more toward just having radiation and tamoxifen, but feel that I'm damned if I do and damed if I don't. I am so confused...having a hard time making up my mind. Anyone else going through this, or anyone have a similar situation and chose radiation over chemo? Any regrets?
Thanks ladies - good luck and God bless to all!
PS - probably in the wrong forum because I do not have lymph node involvement - just cells in the lymph vessels...
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Lisa, I think I am similar dx and tx plan. any positive nodes? I start dd AC next tuesday, followed by T. Did you do every two weeks? Is there any longer break before starting T? Please tell me all the nausea pills do work. At one point did your hair fall out? I am thinking that might just be 2-3 weeks away. I read and read and with anxiety, nothing sticks in my head lately. Thanks,
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CH.......the reason for the "times 4" is to get at the rapidly-dividing cells. They are on different cycles, so you need to repeat the chemo a number of times to maximize its effectiveness.
Then hormonal therapy to create an environment unfavorable for any further growth in case they missed any. With vascular invasion, you need to assume that something could have escaped.
Good luck. Chemo is no fun, but most of us are just fine.
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Joyce,
My hair came out at the 3-4 week point, but never lost quite all of it until the very end. I got it buzzed at about Day 18 which really helped. Make sure you have some fun wigs. I got cheapies at Vain.
The standard protocol is to begin Taxol 2 weeks following AC if on dose dense. You will want to be done sooner rather than later.
I did not have a whole lot of nausea. Odd tastes, and drinking a ton of water took care of most queasiness. So only 2 days of steroids on top of whatever they gave me at infusion time with AC. Nothing on top of the infusion meds with Taxol. And yes, I did do the Neulasta shot on Day 2 which I gave myself.
I took a probiotic to keep all my GI stuff working just fine.
Don't be surprised if you need Vitamin D. I still take a ton of it. Get checked if you haven't already done this.
Because I am in a study looking at different protocols, I got the group that did SIX AC every two weeks followed by SIX T every two weeks. I am just fine one year later.
One final thing. Get out and walk every day rain or shine. My friends remember all the cycling they did in the rain with me last winter. I couldn't do my usual amount, but I exercised every single day. I did not lose my muscle tone, and I had a much faster recovery. I slept better, and was able to eat relatively normally. I did not gain weight.
Looking back, chemo was no fun at all, but there have been other times in my life that I have felt far worse. I would describe it as feeling the way you feel coming out of the flu or a bad cold. So dragging, but I was able to function throughout. I did have to manage energy though. Larabars were a major friend because I would have energy crashes.
Good luck. We all do make it through. One year later, I need a bit more sleep than normal, but do things like ski 12 miles three out of four days. Life is good. - Claire
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Claire, Thanks for the tips. I am collecting them. getting ready, so to speak. gives some small sense of control to do that. appreciate your can do, did it, life is good attitutude.
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Claire. Thank you for your response. I was leaning heavily toward just radiation and Tamoxifen, but am now resigning myself to the fact that chemo is likely what I need to do. One further question - are steroids always given?
Thanks again
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I second what Claire said. I am little more than half way through treatment and I am having a similar experience. It's not a picnic, but it is doable. Steroids are a given for most people, I believe. I haven't gained any weight - in fact, I have lost ten pounds since my diagnosis by really eating super cleanly and exercising. The doctors are thrilled with my progress - the tumor is shrinking like crazy and my lymph nodes feel "fine," according to my onc. (One was a palpable lump on diagnosis.) I make sure to exercise every day, even the day after treatment. Treadmill or yoga.
I also drank a ton of water DURING the actual infusion. It helped to move the chemo through my system and I didn't have as much nausea. Don't worry, it will still be in there long enough to do its job. On my third treatment, I didn't drink enough water during infusion and I felt MUCH sicker later.
I do a lot of guided imagery and visualization, too. That really helps.
Claire, what was your recovery from your lymph node surgery like? How long before you were exercising etc? Any tips for preventing lymphedema?
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Sweetbean....
Thanks for confirming the story that I'm sticking to!!!
Surgery was almost a non-event for me. I had a good chunk removed from my left breast, plus lymph nodes, plus a port placed. I was texting friends from the recovery room, and just fine later other than drinking too much water. They gave me Propophol, which is very fast-acting, so was out of my system by noon the next day. I had a late surgery.
I woke up the next day feeling just fine. So I told my friend who was staying with me if she wanted some coffee as I was dying for tea for myself.
I did not have any pain that two 600mg ibuprofen wouldn't take care of. Thus I avoided all the side effects of pain meds.
I never stopped exercising either. I walked 2 miles the day after surgery, and 4 days later, was so antsy, I did a power walk. I was cycling the following weekend. (After my surgeon said it was OK. She was doubful when I told her about the power walk, but was fine when she saw me.)
You may feel differently as had chemo prior to surgery. I will answer lymphedema/exercise question separately. - Claire
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why are steroids given?
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