Calling all TNs
Comments
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Minxie, Dolcie is so right
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Great news about Pink
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5thsib...I had a port and it was great...I too was very nervous that it would hurt. The doctor gave me a cream to put on top of the skin over the port that numbs the surface. Hopefully they will do this for you. Make sure that you stay ahead of the nausea--if you even get any- by taking the meds every 4 hours or as directed. you are going to do great! As far as shirt...I wore button down blouse but also once wore a tank top..I say do what you feel comfortable most in.
Yeah that pink is doing well...another step behind you PINK!
Have a wonderful day
Maggie
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I finished treatments last month. Dose dense AC-T + Radiation for 5 weeks.
Well I'm ready for a vacation! If I could just get my body to co-operate. My body (hip joints mostly) just aches still and I have trouble walking if I've been sitting for a bit. At 45 I feel 80. One of my favourite hobbies is hiking so this is really hard for me.
I feel like a rollercoaster of energy up and down and hoping I level out soon. It anywhere from embarassing to damaging my work when I cry sometimes several times a day. Right out of the blue too, partially from exhaustion I'm sure. Anyone else experiencing this?
I think I am still in shock from the whirlwind of diagnosis to treatment phase, to next treatment phase to next treatment phase... it was a lot to take in.
I'm normally a very positive person so I'm sorry this isn't the best day to introduce myself I suppose as I'm not feeling very positive today.
But I'm glad I found this group that are triple neg too.
Kim
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Kim: yah your feelings are pretty normal.I'm still going through treatment but I have my high and low energy it just seems to be more low than high this time, I was told the feelings are accumutive(sp) and it can take months to recover after treatment, so don't beat yourself up.I think the worst thing about this bc is the triple negative part, and never really knowing if the treatment was effective or not.I myself am going through this now, I hate feeling sick, looking aweful etc and not even nowing if the chemo worked.My oncol just explained to me on Thursday, that the first 2 years are the worst with tn, and the recurrence rate is what she said EXTREMELY high within 6 months to 2 years, but after that it goes down to a better prognosis than someone with hormone positive, but I am scared out of my mind over it..
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Had a lumpectomy and was DX with TN breast cancer. Currently going through 4 rounds of T&C. Told I did not qualify for BRCA testing due to age (51) and adopted. My Onc is now supporting BRCA testing due to the TN diagnosis. Need results back before start rads. If BRCA positive, what type of preventative double masectomy do you go through? Have others done this or taken the path of vigilance instead?
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5thsib: I have a port and I don't even feel the needle going in. I wear a tank top with a button up jacket. Drink lots of water! I also bring a blanket. You will do just fine.
Kim: I'm in the middle of my treatments, then surgery. I have so many days that I just cry and cry. Yesterday was one of those days. I'm so scared of reoccurrence and I can't get it out of my mind. I'm on the roller coaster ride too. I think I'm feeling great, then before I know it, I'm back on the couch. I guess we have to tell ourselves, it's temporary and one day soon, we will be feeling like ourselves again. We can do this!!
Loafer: I am BRCA positive and even though my surgeon says I could just have a lumpectomy, I am choosing to have a bi lateral masectomy. Studies have shown that having the full masectomy doesn't change the reoccurrence rate but I don't care. It will make me feel better that it can't come back in the other breast.
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Erin0 -
Hi ladies! Just wanted to give everyone a little holiday cheer with a pic of my house all decorated for Christmas! I really needed some holiday spirit this year and thought I'd pass it along to all of you who helped me get thru the hardest year of my life. Happy holidays to some very special women :-)
Melissa
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Hey Ladies! Been reading through pages and pages, can't remember 1/10th of what I read. Well hello to all the new ladies, glad everyone is doing well. Thanksgiving was a very quiet one, just DH and I. I cooked a turkey and all the trimmings m inus the desserts. Things are going good with me, still have shooting pains and lyphemdema on my BC side. I was told this is the healing process. I have been having weird sharp pains in my left lower leg right along my shin. This has been going on for better part of a month or 2. Guess is't something I need to report.
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Lory, I love that saying, Don't look back, your not going that way!
I've got to make that in a sign somehow!
Melissa: your house is beautiful. My DH put up lights today as well. Love it. Makes me in a happier mood having everything so festive!0 -
Hi Loafer. first time i had bc I was hormone positive. Second time I was triple negative. 6 years ago (almost 4 years after my first bc)I was tested for the brca gene and I am brca1positive. Then all my family members were tested all but 2 are brca1.I had 2 other sisters with bc also. I had a lumpectomy with rads with my hormone positive in 1999.But althought going regularly to the cancer clinic it was not suggested to me to have a double mast. but to have my ovaries removed, which I did. After being dx with triple neg this time I was told to have a double mast, to note also for almost 14 years of MRI's every 6 months then mammos every 6 months then ultra sounds and biopsies following the mri's on my other breast(right side) because of so many cysts, I actually got the breast cancer in 2 of the 3 spots they deemed to be cysts in Feb they had been very very early bc come July. When you are a know brca carrier you are so watched at the cancer clinic because of this, and the brca1 is the most comon culprit of the triple neg. although I had both. I think having the genetic test for you brca is important because if they find you have it they do watch closer because there is more that can happen to us that have the gene
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5thsib - I know the anxiety of first time chemo - I had my first last Tuesday - although I didn't have a port. You will be just fine and afterwards I didn't feel any different. I guess it will hit when the hair starts falling out.
So grateful for all the wonderful support from women on this forum - I learn so much every time I come on line.
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I've been reading all the responses to 5thsib queries re the port & finding it all very interesting....
I'm having mine put in on Wednesday.....an infusion port!!??
I'm a little nervous but more nervous about when we go to use it!!
Sooky I know, but is it less painfull than having the IV put in a vein?
Is it only the initial needle going in that I will feel??
I've had chemo before but didn't have a port.......
Melissa....your house looks beautiful
Aussies don't tend to get into the decorating as much as in the US or other countries but it sure does look stunning.....:)
Karen x0 -
adagio:do you go to the vancouver cancer clinic on 10th ave? who are your doctors ? this is where i go and have been for almost 14 years now
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Last Taxotere done and beginning to feel like a human-being again. Having an imaginary Julie Andrews "the hills are alive" moment! I did it! In. Your. Face. Cancer!
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EnglishRose -- congrats and way to go!
ALL -- thanks for the encouragement. Off to chemo I go.0 -
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englishrose..horray!!
5thsib...best wishes for today
Maggie
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anamerty - yes, I go to the BC cancer agency - my oncologist is Christine Simmons - she is relatively new to Vancouver from Toronto. Dr Kuusk was my breast surgeon. Who are your docs?
How far along are you in your chemotherapy? I have had only one so far - 7 more to go. Do you have a port in place? I don't and I feel like the odd one out on this forum.
That's quite a drive for you from Richmond to come to Vancouver for all your visits and treatments.
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English Rose - woo hoo! Enjoy feeling well.
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Hi ladies.
To all of you having a port I have one and have had no problems whatsoever. I love my port. They could never get blood out of my veins and all I was left with was huge great bruises. I put an Emla patch on before an infusion and I didn't feel any pain. I have never felt the needle going in. Now chemo is over I have it flushed once a month and again no pain whatsoever. Only take five mins to flush it. My surgeon said I can have it out now but I don't feel in any hurry to get it out. So don't worry if you have to have one its no big deal. When it is first inserted I had a little bit of soreness for a day or two but then nothing.
EnglishRose doing the happy dance for you. Yay.
Have a good day ladies. Annie
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My port was a non event also - I put numbing cream on 30 mins prior to chemo and didn't even feel the needle. I am ready to get mine out though and will next Friday! WOOHOO!
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Today went well. Port was great. They took all my blood samples and gave all my meds with it. I've had some SEs but they have been tolerable. Main things are headaches, eyes hurting, slight nausea and stomachache, and some leg pain and tingling. I've just stayed in bed and slept a lot.
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Shirley - glad it went well today - drink lots of water to flush your system!
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Shirley - glad you are doing OK. I got a really bad headache after my 1st (and only, so far) chemo - I think it was the tension. The headache left as soon as I vomited.
What drugs are you getting? And how often?
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Why a breakfast of grapefruit and marmalade on toast could be lethal for people taking medication
- Both grapefruit and Seville oranges contain chemicals that can interact with certain drugs such as statins and antidepressants
- Adverse effects can include acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, internal bleeding and sudden death
By JENNY HOPE
Grapefruit contains chemicals that can interact with certain drugs, making them more potent
Doctors are warning about serious health problems caused by mixing medicines and grapefruit.
Although it was already known that some drugs are affected by grapefruit, the number has doubled in the last four years.
There are now some 85 such drugs, including statins, antibiotics, antidepressants, drugs to treat cancer and heart disease, plus others used by patients who have had organ transplants.
Grapefruit can either increase the potency of drugs, potentially leading to an overdose, or render them less effective which puts patients at risk of receiving too little medication.
This has led to sudden death, acute kidney failure, respiratory failure and gastrointestinal bleeding, Canadian experts say.
Dr David Bailey, of the Lawson Health Research Institute, in London, Ontario, said there had been a ‘marked increase’ in prescription drugs that interact with grapefruit. But many doctors and patients remain unaware of the problem.
The list of danger medicines includes treatments for anxiety, depression, allergy, HIV infection, seizures, heart rhythm abnormalities and high cholesterol
He added: ‘Many of the drugs that interact with grapefruit are highly prescribed and are essential for the treatment of common medical conditions.
‘Recently, however, a disturbing trend has been seen. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of medications with the potential to interact with grapefruit and cause serious adverse effects has increased from 17 to 43 – an average rate of increase exceeding six drugs per year.
‘This increase is a result of the introduction of new chemical entities and formulations.’
Of more than 85 drugs that may interact with grapefruit, 43 can have serious side-effects, says a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Grapefruit contains a compound, furanocoumarin, that prevents the enzymes in the intestine, responsible for keeping foreign substances out of the body, from working properly.
This leads to more medication being absorbed, effectively doubling or even tripling the dose in some cases.
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Hello Adagio,
I was glad to know that you have started chemoptherapy and are alright.Keep up the good work.
Best wishes,
Sylvia.
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I am new to this forum so here is a little background. I am 51 healthy , have a wonderful husband, 4 wonderful children and a beautiful little grand-daughter that will be 3 in December. I go every year for my mammograms! This October 3 weeks prior to my appt. I found a lump. I didn't wait I went right in to my Dr and sure enough it was cancer. I have been posting on the newly diagnosed, but yesterday after meeting with the oncologist I found out I am TN. At the time I met with my BS he only had back the preliminary report. It was IDC grade 2. I had already decided on a bi-lateral Mastectomy. He did tell me it looks like I am T1 but I know that can change when they do surgery. The tumor is 1.7 to 2 cm that is from the core needle biopsy and 2 ultra sounds. It looks contained and no swelling in the nodes but I know that can change as well.
He said I had a choice of going every two weeks for 4 months as opposed to every 21 days for Chemo, has anyone heard of that? I have never been anything but positive the entire time until yesterday, I fell apart when we came home. I was still in shock over the whole BC and then this. My surgery is Dec 4th a week from today. I was going to have reconstruction at the time of surgery, but now I am having second thoughts I read that with reconstruction the chance of it re-occurring is higher.
Please any input would be so appreciated!
Thank you all,
Carla
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Carla - I am so sorry you find yourself here. I hope someone comes along to help soon.
I was not allowed to have recon at the time of surgery (MO did not want to risk infections, that could delay chemo). Some women have chemo before surgery. I had chemo every 21 days, I was never given a choice. Do you know the drugs you will be having?
Take good care ...0 -
I had my LAST chemo session today! Yep, this is definitely something to be very happy about, but somehow I reacted by crying. I got out of the chemo chair, please God let me never sit in one of those chairs again, and I started to cry. I got home and when I walked into my house and looked at my children I started to weep again. Later I called my mother, and can you guess what I did on the phone when I heard her voice? I'm a great big crybaby today ffs!
Now it is on to rads. I will have 35, with 7 boosts. I know it will be a breeze compared to chemo. I am a bit worried about the tattoos for rads, specifically the one on my surgery side since I was told never to stick a needle there or it risks triggering lymphodemia. This just occurred to me and I haven't asked the doctor about it yet. Any advice on this?
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