Calling all TNs
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My mammogram was CLEAN! Yay! 2 years out. So grateful.
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Congratulations, Santabarbarian. It's such a huge relief, isn't it? I passed my three year mark (from surgery) back in April.
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so glad to hear Santabarbarian!
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Santabarbarian, hooray hooray!! That is such good news. And Trishyla, 3 years since surgery!!
I'm not sure everyone can understand the "birthdays" we experience. We get it here.
In mid-June I started time-restricted eating, aka intermittent fasting. For me that means that most days, I am fasting at least 13 and usually 15-16 hours. I'm generally done eating between 7:30-8pm every night (very rarely later) and have been skipping breakfast. Most days I wait until about 11:30 to eat some lunch. With summer it's easy to eat a lot more fruits and veg, so that's a bigger portion of my diet. And with generally eating less, especially at breakfast, I'm eating less of the simple carbs, or even whole grain carbs that I would normally have early in the day. Likely this is good for my triglycerides.
I have 3 goals for the time-restricted eating:
1) Lose a little weight. I am healthy BMI but had put on the 3 pounds that made me uncomfortable, and then there is the other 5 pounds that was always the "I wish I could lose 5 pounds." So far I've lost the first 3. If I could lose 3 more that would put me into pretty happy territory.
2) Manage my glucose/insulin levels. My glucose generally ranges just under 100, so again in healthy territory. But I have a lot of type 2 diabetes in my dad's side of the family, even for those not overweight, so need to make sure I take control of this. And elevated glucose and insulin are shown to be related to higher incidence of and mortality of cancers, including breast cancer. Which takes me to goal #3.
3) Reduce my risk of recurrence and new primaries. Obviously, it's easy to see changes in my weight with a decent scale, and it's not too hard to get my blood checked a couple of times a year to check my A1C. But I won't know if I'm successful with this goal until nothing bad happens.
I have a follow-up ultrasound scheduled in early August but no other appt until November, assuming the US is all okay. (That's another thing "patients" get: studying the calendar for scheduled appointments.) I plan to stick with the time-restricted eating at least until that November appt.
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santabarbian CONGRATS !!!!!
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Congrats trishyla!!!!! Always grateful to hear such positive news.
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Congratulations Santabarbarian and Trishyla!! Clear scans and anniversaries are always good news!!
MountainMia - Sounds like you've set good goals. I know some people have very good results with fasting diets. My father swears by the 5:2 fasting diet. Good luck on achieving your goals!
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Congratulations ladies, cancerversarys are great. You are so right Mia, other people don’t understand in the same way that we do. I announced my cancerversary at dinner to my family last time, thinking they would be happy, but it just reminded them about something they don’t think about any more, and don’t want to think about. They just didn’t get it at all.
I lost a fair bit of weight after treatment as a way of reducing recurrence risk. As I don’t smoke or drink much and already took plenty of exercise it was the only thing I could really do. It has been creeping back on over the last year and I’m trying hard to cut out carbs now, with some success
My mammogram has been cancelled as it is a non-essential procedure and the hospital is reducing these due to COVID infection risk. To me it sort of seems essential.
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Thanks everyone and high five, Trishyla!!
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Thanks, everyone. It's really nice to have the support of all you wonderful ladies (and men) on this site. You get it in ways our friends and families simply can't.
Just as a further reminder that you can beat triple negative, I belong to a support group in real life led by a woman who is more than 20 years out from her diagnosis. She's a wonderful person who gives me hope.
Be well and stay safe!
Trish
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Atta girl santabarbarian!!! Keep up the good work!!
Ja
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Hopping on to say Hello to all on this thread and to let you know that no matter how long since my last post, I still think of this thread as my lifeline when I was first diagnosed - it will always hold a very special place in my heart. It's 11 1/2 years for me last February. My prayers and thoughts are with each and every one of you. Stay strong and never ever lose hope. Hugs and serenity to all of you.
Linda
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Kathy, so happy for you! And you know what, remember I was so active on these boards back then ... well one thing I had seen over and over again is that the CMF cocktail is excellent, so much so that I started to research what is it that they felt the others were better primaries. Whenever I'm reading about a long-term survivor on here, or reading a particular hard journey, where the person has been healed, it is a lot of the time with this CMF. It's amazing, and I can tell it did it's job on you. Very happy for you! Maybe that's why it's not one of the initial 3 listed in the NCCN guidelines manual, because it's so powerful they moved it to a recurrence tier due to its effectiveness. Congratulations. Indeed excellent news for us all to hear about you!
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Hi Linda, I know your name! Congrats on your milestones, and similar to you, I've reached my 8.5 year victory in early July. I echo what Linda said. Much love and prayers to everyone on here.
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hey all,
I haven't been back in a couple years but I wanted to check in and give a little hope for those just starting their treatments. I looked to this group for hope and information when I was going through treatment.
I was just 30 years old with a 4 month old baby at home when I was diagnosed with stage 2 TN. I had no family history and was extremely healthy and active. I did 8 rounds of taxol that was stopped because they believed it wasn't working... moved on to 4 rounds of AC. Then a Bilateral Mastectomy. I was geared up for a clinical trial having chemo and radiation together because they were afraid my intial treatment had failed. I remember being terrified... feeling like I was going to die at 30 and my daughter would never even know me....Then things changed.... my results from my surgery were a PCR!! The best news a TN can get... I got to skip the rads and extra chemo.... I was so thankful but so scared. Thinking I needed to do more. I hated treatment but I was afraid to leave. To be honest finishing can be as hard as active treatment....
Fast forward to now... On July 23, 2020 I will celebrate 5 years since my last chemo treatment! On top of that I went on to have my second baby in December of 2017... I was told chemo had left me infertile but it didn't! Noah was 9 lbs and is a healthy 2.5 year old boy how!Cancer is scary and you hear so many sad stories but survivors are out there! They just don't come back as much. It's scary for me to check these sites. That fear never left for me but I'm still here and I feel healthy and strong. Hang in there 💛
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Beautiful Lillie!
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Thank you to all TNs that keep posting and sharing their life., this means a great to me to know there is hope.
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congrats ladies!!! So inspirational and empowering to hear such good stories!!! 🙏❤️
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Congratulations LillieRose!!
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Hi all. I hope people are doing okay, and your families and loved ones are healthy, too.
Short update on me, basically to say, I'm almost 1.5 years past diagnosis and more than a year since final chemo. I feel pretty well and could say that it's almost as good as pre-diagnosis. A year ago I couldn't walk down the block and my legs were buckling from chemo fatigue. Now I can walk as far as I want. A year ago I was bald, and now I fret about my hair being too long. (It's short! and my husband has been cutting it since mid-March. It looks okay, but a pro-haircut would be great!) I would love to go to the gym but even though it's open, I don't feel safe for that. I'm bored staying at home but grateful that my treatment was last year and not this year, and am glad I'm not going to the hospital much this year. Mixed bag, just like any normal human has.
I'm starting to not feel doomed, but also have a greater sense of peace about whatever my personal fate is. I might live 40 more years, I might live 40 more months. In truth, either one is okay.
Thanks to all those who come around to this thread to offer encouragement.
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What a great post, MountainMia. I'm a little further out than you are, but I remember feeling much the same way. That relief of getting back to normal. Of feeling like me again. Some things in my life are irrevocably changed. I am irrevocably changed. But even so, I'm still me. And that matters. A lot.
Best wishes for continued good health.
Trish
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MtnMia I love everything about your post. So beautifully put!!!! We are right with you and a few months behind you!! So very grateful to be where we are and not where we were a year ago. Blessings to you and yours!
Jay
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to say hello and wish everyone of you all the very best.
I have now passed 15 years since diagnosis and feel fine.
I recognised two names from the past, Linda and Debra (InspiredbyDolce). It was good to see you on the thread and to know that all is well with both of you.
Sending best wishes.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Mountainmia and Jrom,
I remember you from our May 2019 chemo group. Glad you are both doing well. I am feeling great. Will have follow ups with SO and MO soon. Had a clear mammo and MRI at the end of March. My hubby will be retiring at the end of this month, so will be entering into a new phase for us. Wishing to travel to visit friends and family when it is safe to do so. Keep in touch.💞🙏 Pat
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Hi Guys,
So MRIs huh?
My mammographer murmured something about squeaking a little if I wanted some oil or an MRI. I don't know. Is it a breast MRI and it's so much better than the mammo? So much better than the mammo
I'm back. And I'm out about my cancer, all the kids know etc. Did not die.
• Triple Negative (Metaplastic subtype) in the house!
I should update my pic. I decided to go back to school. So I'm at a well known respected University now in Astronomy.
I've got 17 months and counting on my 3 year tour of scan upon scan.
Oh - during COVID I have volunteered for road to .., whatever the drive people around guys for the ACS.
-Fracking out.
I hope my signature is still there when I post.
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Lovemyvizsla,
Thanks for posting news about Pembro. I have tried to get into the clinical trial, but my pathology sample did not have enough cancer cells to test for PD-L1. Hopefully, Pembro is approved for wider use
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So this is my first post in this forum. I've posted in my chemo group, but not here yet. I love reading the amazing posts from everyone sharing their experiences.
I'm 1 year (2 days ago) from my final treatment. I had surgery, chemo (AC+T finished 6/13/19) and radiation (finished 8/1/19). I am approaching my official 1 year cancer free (8/26/20) although I'm kind of afraid to say that out loud - bad karma and all. I have been feeling pretty good and been dieting, to get not only the 9 pounds of COVID weight, but the 20 pounds of treatment weight off. I've been exercising and generally feeling pretty good. Much of my inner me was left at the alter of treatment. I am now post-menopausal. My skin is not the same as when I had hormones coursing through my body. My eyebrows and eyelashes just aren't the same. I have hair growing placed I never thought I'd see. But for the most part I felt like I've weathered the storm. I'm HERE! I'm ALIVE!
I've been dealing with little to no hair followed by the crazy chemo curls. This is after a lifetime of thick, long, poker straight hair. Today I finally felt like my hair might be long enough to try to straighten it. To look a little more like the "old me". I have to say I think it was a mistake. It made me see that I've been fooling myself and my hair is a lot thinner than before treatment. I realize that this shouldn't matter because again...I'm HERE! I'm ALIVE! I feel weak. I should be focusing on the cancerversaries, but instead I'm mourning my hair and wondering if I just need more time for it to fill in. I'm going to ask my oncologist at the end of the month, even though I'm pretty sure of the answer already. I will acknowledge my sadness and move on, but I just wondered if any of the long time posters here had any hope for me that it will fully come back?
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FC2020, your profile and schedule and mine were very similar. And yes, I have a lot of I'm HERE! I'm ALIVE! feelings, too, as well as the ongoing (minor but not nothing) anxiety, all the what-ifs.
As to hair, I always had a lot of hair but it was fairly fine and very straight. (It did become thinner with menopause.) It was a little slow coming back in, and yes the eyebrows and lashes continue to cycle weirdly. I DON'T like the chemo curls. For me, fortunately, I think they're nearly done. Although my hair is so short (covid haircuts at home, with clippers, by my husband) that I really can't tell if there's any curl left. But I think it's as dense as before, so I'm not complaining about that.
I'm guessing yours is partly thinned by the menopause. Ask the doc but I'm guessing that's the answer.
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