Calling all TNs
Comments
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LJ- #1 clearly shows the subject matter, but I like the feeling depicted in #4. Will the viewers know these were done by a cancer patient? It's a question of subtly, IMO, and how clearly you want to get the feeling across to the viewer.
#1 is obvious, #4 is subtle, yet dramatic--- made especially so by having experienced BC demons and agony personally.
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Irr, cc, MBJ, Suze, fighter -- all who advised:
Thanks so much to for those wonderful suggestions. Tomorrow morning is my first chemo, so I'm off to the store now for juices, low salt soups/broths, Colace, Claritin, ibuprofen, etc. I also *really* appreciate the encouragement. Yep, doable. Yep, I know...it's just this first time and then I think I'll chill out a bit.
Since I can be a control freak, it feels good to shop for the supplie. Like I'm doing something to, hopefully, make this easier - for me and my DH who will be with me Thursday and Friday. He's putting on that confident front for me, but we've been together a long time, and I know inside he's nervous too. But I'll take his bravery 'cuz mine wavers. LOL.
Of course, I take what all of you have said very seriously and know it will be ok. My DH and onc can tell me that and it means something, but it means so very much *more* coming from you - women who have DONE this. And some of you have weathered so much more. I gain my strength and confidence from you, and the fact that if I come here at 2am worried about a SE or my first hot flash or scanxiety, someone here knows and understands - for real, not in theory.
I just took my first two decadron. They seem like such tiny pills. The first pharmaceutical warriors to enter the battlefield of my body since all this started. Get to work little pills, I've been waiting for this.
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Michelle - wishing you the best with chemo! I HATED the Decadron, and by the end, only took a half dose with my chemo, that was it. My onc thinks steroids are overused, so as long as I didn't need it, she was okay.
Laurajane - I loved #2, it really touched me.
On a good note, my surgeon is moving my date up to Monday the 7th. Yayyyy! I know I have quite a bit of scar tissue in my breast, but there are some new areas that have come up in the past two weeks that concern me. Just want the darn thing off!
Question - did those of you who are married/attached have disagreements about reconstruction? I'm adamant about what I want - full BMX with delayed TRAM, but DH is pushing back that I should have considered skin sparing. We've had a few knockdowns over it, where I basically said my ultimate goal is to live, not have great looking tits, and it was my body my choice. We've hashed it out, with the therapists help, but just curious if I'm the only one who'se DH voiced an opinion. I hate to make him look like a jerk - he is actually really great... I guess everyone has their thing.0 -
Good luck Michelle! I am sure you will do fine. Hopefully you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was at how easy it is.
Those tiny decadron pills pack a punch. I hate those little things. They made me shaky, red-faced and hot (prednisone does the same thing to me). Do you have ativan? I had to take the ativan to be able to sleep while on the decadron.
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Michelle67- Good luck tomorrow. I remember how scared I was on my first day of chemo but you what, it went really well and every treatment after too. I'm sending you calm and relaxed vibes and will be thinking of you tomorrow. You can do this!
(((HUGS)))
Isabelle
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Becca - I wanted to add that my onc wants my port to stay in for now. She doesn't think I'll need more chemo after surgery, but she wants to be sure. I am not getting any pre-surgery scans, so we won't know what is up until afterwards. I plan on having it removed when I do my reconstruction. I was told they wouldn't have to put me out to remove it if I choose to do so before then.
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Michelle: Before my first chemo I was a mess--I was surprised just how easy it was. It wasn't enjoyable but I kept telling myself that the chemo was doing it's job to kill those cancer cells and that I would survive. Chemo is doable but unpleasant. We are all sending you many good thoughts your way. Hugs!!!
Suze: I fought a battle with my DH, too. I also knew what I wanted and fought to have that procedure done. Skin sparing is great, nipple sparing is even better, but not all of us have that option. From what I understand, if the cancer is in an isolated area the first two options are very doable. If the BC has completely invaded your breast and it's very close to the skin, then you have a much higher risk of having the cancer return. I had three very different opinions from three very good dr's and I am happy with my choice, and now my DH is too. The tram surgery is a more complicated one and wasn't really a necessary surgery for me but if it is for you, living a good long life is more important then anything else. Do you have access to the picture forum yet? This really helped me with my choices and I could also show my DH what the final results look like. He was quite relieved and was surprised by how little damage was done to my body. Hugs!
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MBJ - thank you for the perspective. I have/had multifocal disease, both tumors 4+ cm, along with positive nodes. I am just not comfortable leaving any extra breast tissue if I don't need to. As a personal choice, I wanted to avoid implants. I originally wanted a DIEP, but my PS thinks the risk of failure is too great for his comfort, so suggested the TRAM. I'll ask for access to the picture gallery, definitely. I've seen TRAMs and like the outcome, DH is just concerned that I won't down the road (so he says). As it stands, he has come to terms with my decision, I just hope he doesn't hold it against me down the road, sigh. Thankfully we have a good therapist...
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Suze: PM me and I will help get you to the picture forum.
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Good Morning this is my first time posting on this thread some of the other ladies suggested I come here for some advice. I was diagnosed Jan 10/11 with IDC had a lumpectomy with sentinal node biopsy and the margins werent clear,the path report said no lymph node involvment but lymphatic channel invasion strongly suspected. Had a second lumpectomy 2 weeks ago and they got it all...which is great but I found out that I am ER- and PR-. Even with that though my numbers are apprently really good. My onc said that right now with no further treatment (well rads of course) I am sitting at 84 percent of no reaccurance at the 10 year mark. He said those were great numbers.But if I choose to do chemo, and he is giving me the choice which is hard, then my percent goes up 5 to 7 more. I was just wondering if any of you were put into this position and if not what you would do if you were in my position being negative and all. Please be truthfull and blunt I am torn between my decision. Oh I am a 41 year old mother of two.
thank you
Kymn
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Kymn- I am 45 with 2 kids ages 5 and 8. I was given a choice between lump and mx, but was told chemo was necessary. Triple negative is aggressive and chemo works very well on it. I chose a mastectomy only because I had 2 different areas to remove, one IDC one DCIS. I decided to throw everything at it-my kids need me. Deciding whether to do chemo or not must be very difficult. Best wishes with whatever you decide!
Tiffany
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Kymn- with LVI and initially unclear margins I think I'd go with chemo...
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Michelle67: Good luck with your first chemo! As everyone else has said, the majority of us were really a nervous wreck prior to our first chemo, but the actual treatment is easy. The side effects may not be severe at all, you just never know because it works differently on each person. I hated the decadron too, and it can give you some vision changes, so if you think your vision is being affected, you're probably not imagining it. With my decadron, I took 4 mg the night before, then 4 mg late afternoon the day I got treatment. I was supposed to take 4 mg every 12 hours after treatment for 2 days, but I actually took 4 mg the first day out and then split the pill in half and took only half the second day.
Kymn: My onc pretty much told me the same thing you're hearing. I got two opinions. I had 3 mm triple neg IDC so I was indeed a gray area. I was 43 at dx with a 3 yr old. I decided to have chemo for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't think I could forgive myself if my cancer came back and I hadn't done the chemo. Second, my onc explained that while the odds were in my favor for no recurrence, there was no way of telling "who" would be in that small percentage that needed the chemo for it not to come back. I had 4 rounds of TC, finished 1/31. Even without being BRCA+, I would have done the chemo. We only have one real chance of kicking cancer's butt. If I had been older, my onc said she wouldn't have been nearly as much in favor of the chemo. But since I was 43 with a small child, she wanted to encourage me to do everything possible to avoid a recurrence. It was doable, but in no way a walk in the park. Everyone reacts different to chemo, but whatever our SE's may be, we determine to find ways to ease them and get through treatment. Being BRCA+, I chose bilat mx and just had oophorectomy/exchange surgery this past Monday. It's been one heck of a ride, but now I really feel I'm able to recover and move on. I would encourage you to really consider the chemo.
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Suze - I had an argument with my DH over the same issues. What kind of surgery, what kind of implants but the argument was more along the lines of me wanting to know is opinion and him saying whatevery you want, not my decision but we did both agree that the tram flap was an unnecessary surgery. I had skin sparking but no nipple sparing:( It is a hard decision to make but whatever your decision do what is best for you.
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Welcome Kymn! I just responded to your post on the Canadian thread.
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Hi Kymn, I am 40 I have a 9yr old daughter, I am TN with BRCA 2+ with a strong family history, I ended up having a double mastectomey and I did 8 rounds of aggressive chemo as a preventative. I will soon be having the oophorectomy. Chemo was tough but I am glad I did it. I felt like I had to much stacked up against me. I also never want to have to do this again. My mother and my aunts all had the 2nd breast cancer come back 10 yrs later and with other complications I don't want to mess with this if I don't have to and Chemo is hard and I certainly don't want to do it in my 50's or 60's. My One Aunt is BRCA 1+ no cancer ever 68yrs old and she had the ooph and this month is having her breasts removed..... she was here at x-mas and I ended up in the hospital with low blood count, horrible side effects and decided she never wants to go through what I have at her age. There is so much to think about but my BS and Gyno didn't give me a choice. I wish you well with your decision.
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Tracie..did you family have chemo??
Kymm.you said to be blunt..so I'm going to be..do the chemo...yes..doing chemo does suck..you lose your hair..you may be a little weird for awhile..you will need help at home with your kids while you are going through it...it is scary but..you can do it..(or least try it. I dunno..I think that the busier I was during chemo the better I was...
I don't know..my dx is about the same as yours (except I was grade 3)...I did the chemo..and I'm ok now..
My kids are 20 and 22..and even though they are not babies anymore..I still want to be with them....you ladies with with the really young ones..well..it breaks my heart to hear that you guys have to go through this with babies...
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Kyme:
While chemo wasn't even near the category of the fun things I have done in life, with triple negative and anything larger than 3 or 5 mm's - chemo is suggested. You only get this one shot at killing this agressive beast - and I would definitely do everything I could to fight it with the largest guns I could (which is what I did). Wishing you a gentle journey with whatever you decide to do.
Linda
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Kymm,
I echo everyone else's opinion. Chemo is not easy but it is the best shot you have at improving your chances. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Hi Ladies, thank you all so much for your words of wisdom and thoughtful responses to my question. I have decided that yes I will go through with the chemo. I am going to a chemo class tomorrow to learn all about it. I was just looking at my babies ( 8 and 14
) and I just new there was no way I could live with myself if it came back and i didnt do everything i could to fight off this beast.I know I will have all of you to walk me through this and one day I will be helping others. have a good evening and again thank youKymn
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Yup, we'll be here! And you'll get through it... and I honestly believe you're making the very best decision.
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I'm on taxol and just woke up with a fever of 102. Do I need to call the onc right now or wait a couple hours for the morning?
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Survivor- CALL YOUR DOC NOW!!!I I was told to call my doc if my fever reached 101 or higher. I hope it isn't anything and you feel better soon.
Kymn- Welcome and we are here for you. You can do it and we will help you on this journey. Celebrate with you when it is over and share jokes, smiles, laughter and tears with you along the way.
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Michelle- I hope your first chemo went ok and wasn't too rough. I had to take a xanax the first few times I went. I also chewed on peppermint Altoids to disguise the taste of the saline wash. It really helped. The taste of the saline would make me gag.
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Kymm, Give your kids information about what you are going through. Tell them concrete ways they can help you during the chemo. They will feel less helpless if they know something they can do to help you (help with cooking or other chores, or making sure you drink enough water etc.) We are here for you to lean on, and we are shoulders to cry on, so you don't need to overload the kids with the nitty gritty of your side effects and fears, but they can be a huge support for you. Sending good wishes your way.0
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Survivor - I echo what LJ said, call your dr ASAP. I too was told to call if my temp hit 100.5, after my first AC treatment my temp reached 99.9 - they started me on anitbiotics right away. You don't want to waste time with this.
Kymm - Welcome to the club that none of us wants to be a part of. Chemo is not fun, but doable and your children will suprise you. Please feel free to come here with questions, venting, rants or rambling on a good or bad day.
Michelle - thinking of you.......
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Kymn- You will be suprised how well your children will adjust to this new reality. I have a 5 years old son with me all day and he was a trooper all the way through my chemo. He just grew up faster and became much more responsable in the past 6 month. I was able to take care of him all the way through my treatments which was important to me and now that I'm 1 week back from my surgery, he is great. When I got back, he ask me : The doctor took away your breast? I said "Yes". Then he asked:" When is he going to put a new one back in?" Then last night before going to sleep, he asked me if he was taking good care of me...... He is so cute and I love him so much! He lights up my life everyday. We are soooo lucky to have our kids even if it breaks our mother's heart to put them through all of this.Let's enjoy every moments.0
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Michelle- Hope your first chemo went uneventfully. I'm sending good thoughts to you for minimal SEs.
Kymm- Good choice. Whenever I had a question or concern during chemo I came to this thread and always got helpful info. When you find out what your treatment will be and when it starts, join a thread for your particular tx and another for the month you start chemo. It's really nice to be able to talk to others going through exactly what you are at the same time.
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Babs37: Thanks for posting that. Your son sounds like an absolute gem. It's hard going through this with kids (and mine were 20 and 17 at the time), but they are such a wonderful gift at a time like this too.
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Hello TN Sisters,
I want you all to know that I finished my 8 rounds of chemo Jan 12 2011. I had two bouts with fevers, and I missed a week of chemo due to not paying attention to 100.5 rule. It happened to me twice. But on the day of my last round, for some reason I took my original path report to onc. My diagnosis said IDC but in a note it stated metaplastic. Please read the fine print. I will pray that your chemo goes as well as mine did (as far as tolerance of the drugs). On final chemo my onc also stated that I should consider 5 yrs of tamoxifen due to the metaplastic factor, I'm triple negative. I already have lumps in other breast and am scheduled for sono and bone scan within next five days. Please don't do what I did. Apparently being TN goes hand in hand with metaplastic bc. NOT ALWAYS! Love and prayers to all of you and for you girls just starting tx, I hope you all cope as well as I did.
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