Calling all TNs
Comments
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Hi ladies...just wanted to check in and say hello to everyone! My first chemo cycle really knocked me out so I didnt have much energy for posting, but I did try to keep up with my reading here...
Had the 2nd round yesterday but got new premeds so hoping things will be a bit easier this time.
Congrats to all who are celebrating anniversaries or other good news!
Luv ... So happy to hear your clinical trial is treating you gently.
Inmate ...how are you sweetie? Thinking of you and sending a big hug.
Well, it's a beautiful day here and my se's haven't kicked in yet....so I think I'll try to get out and enjoy the day while I can.
Love to you all!0 -
Hi ladies...just wanted to check in and say hello to everyone! My first chemo cycle really knocked me out so I didnt have much energy for posting, but I did try to keep up with my reading here...
Had the 2nd round yesterday but got new premeds so hoping things will be a bit easier this time.
Congrats to all who are celebrating anniversaries or other good news!
Luv ... So happy to hear your clinical trial is treating you gently.
Inmate ...how are you sweetie? Thinking of you and sending a big hug.
Well, it's a beautiful day here and my se's haven't kicked in yet....so I think I'll try to get out and enjoy the day while I can.
Love to you all!0 -
Hello ladies. I know it's been awhile but I needed a break and now am ready to come back to see how you all are doing. I have tried to catch up but a month and a half away is a lot of posts! So I will just say my thoughts are with all of you whether in treatment, done with treatment, starting treatment, just diagnosed and all if those in between :-)
Fall is in the air around here and I am loving the weather. Trying to enjoy every day. Really happy my kids are back in school! Lol. My house is quiet!! I am hanging in with treatment and can see the end finally! AC was thankfully pretty easy for me and taxol seems to be even easier. My 6th taxol is thursday and my last one will be nov 8th! For all just starting I truly feel the anxiety before chemo was far worse than actual treatment. My biggest hurdle is the IV every week as I don't have a port. But other than one treatment where I had to get stuck 5 times 3 nurses all has gone ok.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the beautiful fall air. Get out and enjoy life. I never thought I would be able to have a day where this did not consume me but I do and plan on having many many more as we all are!!! Hugs
Melissa0 -
Hello ladies. I know it's been awhile but I needed a break and now am ready to come back to see how you all are doing. I have tried to catch up but a month and a half away is a lot of posts! So I will just say my thoughts are with all of you whether in treatment, done with treatment, starting treatment, just diagnosed and all if those in between :-)
Fall is in the air around here and I am loving the weather. Trying to enjoy every day. Really happy my kids are back in school! Lol. My house is quiet!! I am hanging in with treatment and can see the end finally! AC was thankfully pretty easy for me and taxol seems to be even easier. My 6th taxol is thursday and my last one will be nov 8th! For all just starting I truly feel the anxiety before chemo was far worse than actual treatment. My biggest hurdle is the IV every week as I don't have a port. But other than one treatment where I had to get stuck 5 times 3 nurses all has gone ok.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the beautiful fall air. Get out and enjoy life. I never thought I would be able to have a day where this did not consume me but I do and plan on having many many more as we all are!!! Hugs
Melissa0 -
Hello ladies. I know it's been awhile but I needed a break and now am ready to come back to see how you all are doing. I have tried to catch up but a month and a half away is a lot of posts! So I will just say my thoughts are with all of you whether in treatment, done with treatment, starting treatment, just diagnosed and all if those in between :-)
Fall is in the air around here and I am loving the weather. Trying to enjoy every day. Really happy my kids are back in school! Lol. My house is quiet!! I am hanging in with treatment and can see the end finally! AC was thankfully pretty easy for me and taxol seems to be even easier. My 6th taxol is thursday and my last one will be nov 8th! For all just starting I truly feel the anxiety before chemo was far worse than actual treatment. My biggest hurdle is the IV every week as I don't have a port. But other than one treatment where I had to get stuck 5 times 3 nurses all has gone ok.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the beautiful fall air. Get out and enjoy life. I never thought I would be able to have a day where this did not consume me but I do and plan on having many many more as we all are!!! Hugs
Melissa0 -
My rads start October 4, so I am trying to get out and enjoy this good feeling I have before that date. Maybe they will be good to me - sure hope so. But whatever they bring I will deal with then.
Wishing you all minimal SE's, positive healing thoughts and a place to find your happy today.
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Tazzy....I had 35 rads and I just want to tell you that for me rads were a cake walk compared to chemo. My only SE was a rash that came on about 2 weeks into the 7 weeks of treatment. It was controlled with hydrocortisone cream and Aquafor cream 3-4 times a day. The fatigue kicked in at about the 3rd week but what not as intense as the chemo fatigue. I know this is just my experience but for me it was not a horror story.
That leads me into today that was a horror story. I went for my pet scan at 11am...starving. They finally get me back and I tell the tech that she must do the needles in my foot as I am Bilat LE. She asks super for permission who says you must call the doc who tells them to do it in my foot. The blood for glucose was bad enough but then it really turned into a torture session as she could not get the IV going after 3 tries I said forget it just do my hand. Hopefully I did not just make the LE worse in the arm. It was more emotionally draining than anything. Yes very painful but I laid there on the table while the tried to cram this thing into a vein and realised the this is just yet another thing that BC had taken from me. The ability to tolerate needles without any problem. Both my feet and now my hand are sore as even the hand was tempermental today probably because at that point my body was done. ERRRRRRRR! Now I need to talk to the surgeon who is doing my recon next month as she said they will do the IV in the foot....lets hope they know what they are doing!
Maggie
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Luv, you have explained it the best, thanks so very much. I tried very hard to put into words what my Oncologist said or I thought what he meant, but I couldn't really, as I never really understood him, or that like you said, they try very hard to not say it.
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I got my genetic testing back today and I DON'T have the gene!!!!
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woot woot for born!!!!!!! That is fantastic news
Maggie
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borntosurvive~ Very happy for you and your family!
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Born, that is fantastic news. I know I felt so relieved for my children when I got my news!
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Born, that is fantastic news. I know I felt so relieved for my children when I got my news!
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Minxie,
Most likely you won't find a "basal-like" description on your pathology report. It depends on the pathologist, and how detailed they are in their dictations, but I don't think that specific terminology is standard on any pathology reports. If there, you would find this in the "microscopic description" section of the report (following the "gross description").
I would ask your MO about the "basal-like cell type". That's the doc who would use this info, since it is related to chemotherapy regimens. Most likely, he/she would need to ask the pathologist to review your slides to get those results. Contacting the pathologist yourself may help, but could also prove to be more confusing - pathology lingo is unique! (I know...worked with it for 8 years!) Honestly, I think the "basal-like" description is only really used in research. Of course, with the new BC genome study, and the comparison of basal-like cell type BC and ovarian CA, this will be highlighted more, and will eventually be reflected in targeted therapy for these cancers. YES!!!
Here is a description of this type BC from BCO's "How Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Looks and Behaves" :
Usually is a cell type called "basal-like." "Basal-like" means that the cells resemble the basal cells that line the breast ducts. This is a new subtype of breast cancer that researchers have identified using gene analysis technology. Like other types of breast cancer, basal-like cancers can be linked to family history, or they can happen without any apparent family link. Basal-like cancers tend to be more aggressive, higher grade cancers - just like triple-negative breast cancers. It's believed that most triple-negative breast cancers are of the basal-like cell type.
And to make things even more complicated, other research shows that not ALL basal-like BCs are triple negative, and not ALL triple-negatives are basal-like. Clear as mud!
Hope this helps (???) ~ Shar (TNBC & BRCA1/2 negative...Hmmm, waiting for more research)
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Born to- WOO HOO!! Yipee!!! Thrilled for you!!!
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Tazzy - good luck on radiation! For me the worst part was going every day! Born - woohoo on the genetic testing!
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Born - Brilliant news.
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Good evening Ladies
LUV - I notice you mention Dana Farber a lot in your posts. Is this a cancer hospital where you live or a major hospital in your home town? I would have to travel an hour away to get a reasonable size hospital as Taupo is only a small one.
Titan - Very disappointed that I just cannot get those pics.
LSMattews - Congratulations on reaching a year. Wonderful news.
Sandlake - thanks for the info on oophorectomy. The problem I have is that I have a fear of nausea and vomiting. When I had my hysterectomy at age 32 the gas in my tummy made me vomit so I am scared to go for the oophorectomy because of the gas. What did it do for you.
BAK94 - hope your surgery goes well for you. I suppose I will have to make up my mind at some stage about having it done but I am dragging my feet quite a lot.
I too am finding it hard to concentrate on my job at the moment. I'm not sure if its the thought of a recurrence and having to take more time off that is making me depressed or what.
Mags - hope your PET scan goes well for you next week. Goodness knows how you put up with having the needles in your feet that would freak me out.
Born - that is terrible that all those people in your family have had cancer, so scary for them. But congratulations on you not having the gene. Way to go.
Luah - I totally agree.
Minx - with you there. I don't think I could handle the stress of waiting for results etc either so I just don't want to know.
Hope - so glad you posted and hoping this treatment is so much easier for you. Big warm fuzzie hugs to you.
Melissa - hi Melissa sending you a big warm hug too.
Tazzy - I can honestly say radiation was a breeze for me. No tiredness, no burning, no nothing, just a little bit of redness. The worst part was being away from my family for five weeks. You will do fine girl.
Spica - thanks for your explanation on basal-like. Medical terminology is so hard to understand when it relates to cancer.
Heather - glad to see you are back posting and you have your hubby with you now but sorry to hear you have anxiety. Its such a horrible thing to have but a symptom everyone on here understands. Thinking of you.
Have a great evening ladies. Thinking of you and wishing you all well.
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SO cute Bernie.....thanks!!!
Cocker: There is no history in my family, it's my husband's family where the history is.
The genetic counselor I saw yesterday said that if people were tested for the gene prior to 2004 they should be tested again. Apparently then it was only catching 80% of people with the gene. Now they catch 95%. Amazing how we've evolved in research.
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CS - Dana Farber Cancer Institute is one of the most prominent cancer hospitals in the country. It's located in Boston, MA, and is about an hour from where I live.
http://www.dana-farber.org/About-Us/History-and-Milestones.aspx
The link will explain its history a bit.
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CS - Dana Farber Cancer Institute is one of the most prominent cancer hospitals in the country. It's located in Boston, MA, and is about an hour from where I live.
http://www.dana-farber.org/About-Us/History-and-Milestones.aspx
The link will explain its history a bit.
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Cocker~ I tell my anesthesiologist I get very nauseous, they give me something before they put me under. They also put a patch behind my ear, it looks like the one I use when we sail to keep me from being sea sick. My stomach was very bloated but I didn't feel sick, I just passed a lot of gas!!
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minxie why you chose no chemo 2nd time? what did docs tell you?
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That patch behind the ear is called a scopolamine patch. I used it for surgery and for chemo, and it worked great. It does make you really thirsty, which is not a bad thing because you want to drink lots of fluids when undergoing treatment. And it works well for seasickness
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Netty - I consulted one of the top TNBC doctors in the country after my local recurrence, and she said there was no data to confirm that a second round of chemo after a local recurrence would help. She said there was a chance it might, but no one knew for sure. After my first experience with chemo (ACT) I knew I didn't want to do it again unless I had some guarantees it would make a difference. She also said the ACT was the strongest chemo out there, and if it didn't work on me, well... So I'm hoping the rads I did this summer kills it off this time around.
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Thanks for all the info Spica! Guess I'll see if my medical onc has any info next time I see him.
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Brother John entered the "Monastery of Silence" and the Abbott said,
"Brother, this is a silent monastery; you are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until I direct you to do so."
Brother John lived in the monastery for five years before the Abbott said to him, "Brother John, you have been here five years now; you may speak two words."
Brother John said, "Hard bed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the Abbot said. "We will get you a better bed."
After another five years, Brother John was called by the Abbott. "You may say another two words, Brother John."
"Cold food," said Brother John, and the Abbott assured him that the food would be better in the future.
On his 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Abbott again call Brother John into his office. "Two words you may say today."
"I quit," said Brother John.
"It is probably best, you've done nothing but complain since you got here."0 -
Bernie - that was a great joke. Thanks
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Bernie...so funny
Minxie...wow, so many things to learn. Glad you got a good consult.
Luv...you are right...you will be here.
Heather....damn anxiety
Got great news today...MRI normal and CA-15-3 and CEA in normal range....
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Hi Ladies!
I agree 100% with Luv. I don't know why certain tests are not standard protocols from office to office. It's confusing for patients to navigate their care, when we come to bc.og and see that like patients with like circumstances/diagnosis as ours having different sets of tests, different timeframes for follow-ups, etc. My logic is the same as Luv. Isn't it easier to treat and possibly put something into remission, while it is small before symptoms present themselves, instead of waiting until it's a larger issue with outright symptoms?
I think also, trust your gut on what you think is going on as well. Before I had confirmation of my BC, I cried in my bathroom every day for 2 weeks, just knowing it was BC, the female intuition thing. Even though mine was small, round edges and moveable - the classic signs of a benign tumor, I knew it wasn't. I only got relief the day I found out it was BC. The unknown was worst than the known. I still cried for a whole day when I got the news, but only until I met my Surgeon. Once he walked through the door, I knew I was going to be okay.
Trust your gut, and get in with an office that makes you feel 'comfortable, alive, healthy, and believes in you'.
Hugs to all!
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