Calling all TNs
Comments
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Ally an excisional biopsy is where they take the whole lesion out and they should make sure they give you a wide margin so you don't have to have re excision otherwise histology will come back with insufficient margin and then you will have to have it done again. I would ask them to make sure they give you an excellent margin but they should do that anyway.
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Ally I echo what Meadow said above!! I'm praying for you dear! Hang in there!
Kathy,I'm so excited hearing about Zen!!! Love me some Doberman news!! Haha! What color is he? You must post a pic please!!!
My mom got a good report from her doctor. Turns out she has a bacterial gallbladder infection. All other tests were normal! Thank God!
As for me, I saw my GI today and he wants to do a CT scan and it's scheduled for Friday! I've never had one and I'm scared of drinking the contrast! I'm nervous it's gonna make me sick and/or give me diarrhea!
Shari, check on when you can. You too Arlene!
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LUV do you have to have the one where you have to have a special drink 1½ hrs before the test then an hour before etc. If so it never made me sick but it did go through me quite fast. Even so I still had time to drive 1½ hrs to get there before it worked and I only had to go to the toilet twice.
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Yes Cocker I have to drink something and they are going to inject dye. They just told me to be there an hour before. They said I would just drink one thing though.Ugh. I'm taking a bucket and plastic bag and TP and wipes in case I have to poop while the hubby is driving. I can't squat, so no pulling over on the side of the road! I just hope I don't have to poop while I'm in the machine!!Sorry for TMI but I know my IBS will be in high gear because I'm so nervous they will find something!
I forgot to ask about how long the actual scan takes? Like how long will I be in that tube?
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Hi everyone, I'm going to make this quick- I'm exhausted! I woke up feeling very positive and in a great mood. My day was very good! Had my class on diep and mastectomy. Saw my PS who says she feels quite confident of a good result- she is one of the best in Canada and sooo nice. I feel honoured to have her on my team. Then saw my BS who also felt confident of good results. She said because of where the recurrence is- there wasn't a lot of breast tissue left so it has invaded a bit of muscle. She will excise as much as possible to obtain clean margins. I will loose my nipple because of the amount of breast tissue it contains. If clean margins aren't obtained then I would have rads, but my BS feels that won't be necessary. I hope. I asked if I could get MRI checks and she said she would consider it. Recovery will be long but I can do it! Surgery is next week, maybe Tuesday!
SA8, I'm so sorry your dealing with infections, at least you can start healing now. Take it easy and be kind to yourself. I hope you can rest comfortably.
Cocker, thank you hon, feeling your support-as always!
Nat, I so agree with you about people telling you how to feel when they have never experienced anything like us.
Luv, I had a ct scan and found drinking the contrast was no problem. Didn't have a problem with any SE either. I'm happy you are having this done so quickly so you can relax! I'm also so happy about your Mom.
Ally, I hope your doing well. I don't know much about excisional biopsy and don't quite understand the difference between that and LX? I've only had core biopsies. I pray you get answers quickly, it's so unfair waiting this long, I'm thinking of you often and sending a gentle supportive hug.
Arlene I'm thinking of you and hope your resting comfortably.
Sorry if I've missed anyone, I soooo appreciate everyone's love and support. With my TN family I will prevail!
I'm off to bed zzzzzzzz!
Shari
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Shari, glad for the news! Ally, I have HUGE overalls on today: in my pocket you are! And others facing tests
Kath
Question for those who have had pet scan: mine is Thursday: said no sugar Wednesday: is that ALL carbs, like oatmeal too?
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Shari, I'm so relieved you had a good day and your surgeon's feel confident!!! This is good news! Sleep well! XO
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Toby, I haven't had a PET so I can't give any advice on that. BUT I will be in your pocket Thursday!! I'll say prayers too! I know it will all be good though!
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Shari, you have been a big help to me during the last couple of years. I didn't post, but I did lurk on the sidelines.
I'm sorry to hear that you need more surgery. I hope your doctors are correct in minimizing your risk. I'll be cheering for you!!!
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Toby a PET scan is a Positron Emission Tomography (what a name). You won't be able to wear any jewelry or anything with metal fasteners. Generally there is no food or liquids except water 4-6 hrs before scan and no exercise either. You will have an IV and will rest for 60 minutes. In NZ we have the IV and then you can go shopping for an hour or so. Funny what different countries do.
Then you have to pass urine and lie still for the scan which takes 15-35 minutes. A nurse will check your blood sugar before the scan hence no sugar. After that you can go home but you must drink plenty of water. Hope this helps.0 -
Toby=For my Pet scan in Nov. I could not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. They took my blood sugar before they started anything. Then I was injected with a solution in a vein in my arm., Maybe 30cc. After that I was placed in a pretty dark room for 1 hour and told to try and sleep. No reading a book. Just sit quiet. Then pet scan. Took about 1 hour moving in and out of a tube. Then all done. I asked my tech at the end how my test look. He told me "off the record everything looks clean" He then took me in th back and showed me my results. I was so glad I did not have to wait a week for my MO to give me the results. Good luck
Thinking of Shari,Luv,and Ally. Im with you.
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Thanks to all! Eileen, closed tube? AARRGGHH: ah, its nothing compared to the stuff us girls have seen!
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Toby I always bring a washcloth in my purse to scans, I put it over my eyes. If I open my eyes in the tube I still cannot see, and I can toleratethe tube this way. Sometimes there isnt a real washcloth in the area, and a paper towel works but not as well.
Does anyone know the name of the thread on here that has the names of members who have passed away? I have looked for it but cannot find it.
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Meadow I believe it's called the Angel Thread
Eileen what a difference in the way scans are carried out. I think yours may be more helpful to Toby in your country.
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thanks Cocker
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Shari - It sounds like you are in very good hands! I am so glad that your drs are so knowledgable and confident! (and I love the photo with the snowmobile! )
Luv, - Hope your Mom's infection clears up quickly! Now it's your turn to get answers to what's making your tummy hurt! Dont worry about the scan and the stuff to drink. Just go to the bathroom as soon as the test is done. You should be fine!
Ally, -If your bs and ps could work together it would be ideal, however, the main thing is to get the area in question out! Have the scans, tests, etc, - then you can breath a sigh of relief and get on with your life! I know it sounds oversimplified, but keep your chin up and believe that you WILL get through this!!
SA8PG, - Infections are no fun, but i'm glad that the antibiotics did the trick. I, too, have had an infection that put me back in the hosp for another surgery and antibiotics, and then (unrelated) had to go back to have implant removed another time.
Sometimes it feels like we keep getting knocked down just as we are getting ahead. Having all of you here makes getting back up a lot easier! I so appreciate your support when ever I have needed it.
I havent included everyone's name, but I do include everyone in my thoughts and BE WELL wishes.
Hugs from nyc
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I can't thank you all enough. Despite my sometimes frantic posts here, I really do stay positive and keep a smile on my face in my daily life. Putting on a brave face helps me get through, but being able to come here and voice my worries and have you all listen and be supportive means so very much to me. I have a MyLifeLine update page and haven't yet told my friends and family these latest developments. I just posted an entry titled "Time To Heal" a couple weeks ago. My husband recently got a promotion and our friends have offered to be our gestational surrogate. This is supposed to be our time. I just can't bring myself to deliver all this crappy news right now. I'm going to wait and hope there's no news to deliver. Deep down, I actually feel like this will come back benign. It's just waiting it out and feeling drawn back into the fight that's hard. I have the same gut feeling about the bone lesions being benign, but again, it's hard to get closure when the issue isn't going away. So again, thank you for being my support system through this.
I spoke with a nurse at my BS's office and she said she'll decide once she gets in there if she's going to take a larger biopsy or remove the whole thing. I'm going to tell her in pre-op to remove it and get clear margins. I've been having some pressure where this mass is, which is exactly where my original tumor was, so no messing around with this. I also asked about consulting my PS. She said if my BS thought he needed to be consulted, she would have contacted him. I wasn't thrilled with that answer (seemed like a blow off to me), but I trust my BS, so I don't plan on contacting my PS right now.
SA8PG - I'm so sorry you're dealing with an infection, but glad the antibiotics are working!
njpm - I thought about contacting my nurse navigator, but since I'm getting another opinion at a new hospital, she won't be able to coordinate much. Once I figure out exactly what's going on, and if I need further treatment, I'll definitely rely more on those services.
Curly - your BS sounds top notch! So they were able to tell during your procedure if there were cancer cells present, before you woke up?
KSteve - that is such a nice thing to say about remembering me, thank you. That initial thread really saved me those first few days while I found out the TN status and dealt with the lesions on my bones. Thank you for being so supportive.
Meadow - you are one of the sweetest women I know. Thank you so much for the prayer and kind words.
Toby - I've had a PET, but was never told the sugar thing. I would probably avoid carbs just to be on the safe side, since they break down into sugar. I'll be thinking of you Thursday. Keep us posted.
Luv - I'm so glad to hear your mom's results were good and also glad to hear your GI doc is trying to get to the bottom of things. I've drank the contrast a few times before. If you can, ask for the flavored. It's much more tolerable in my opinion. I never got sick or had tummy issues, so hopefully that will be the case for you too.
AnotherNYCGirl - I agree. I wish they could go in together, but right now I just want the mass out. My recon isn't perfect anyway, which I've come to accept. This sounds strange, but if this procedure does any more damage, it won't be the end of the world to me.
Shari - I am so happy to hear you had such a good and productive day! Having a plan in place makes a world of difference and it sounds like your team is really on top of things. Hope you're getting some good rest!
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Alicia, I'm glad you seem to be getting things sorted out on the biopsy.
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http://www.cancercare.org/connect_workshops/443-update_triple_negative_breast_cancer_2015-03-03
I listened. I think you can listen to a copy. It was good, dr Melinda telli from Stanford univ school of med, dr Steven Isakoff from MGH/Harvard and MSW from cancer are.org. Info on platinum drugs for chemo for advanced AND early stage, pdl1 antibody drugs (didn't understand it all, bc husband?), meds for nausea during chemo, neuropathy, clinical trials, pain, importance of support and support groups, exercise, diet
And my Insur won't auth PET scan as on,y stage 1 and not symptoms to support (or enough symptoms). Lumpy scar is considered only scar tissue (I certainly hope), cough from pneumonitis as shown on chest ct scan (I certainly hope) and generally feeling goid except for the frequent worry about "is this normal?" , what if...
Good luck to all others with tests, scans, surgeries, procedures coming up. Thinking of all of you frequently and read posts daily. And if you listen to webinar, tell me what you think or what you learned. Inspiredbydolce? You too
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Ladies, I post rarely and lurk often. I find this message board so hard to keep track of everyone and it' hard to comment on someone's post because it could be pages before I get to the end to add a comment. Has anyone ever considered starting a private facebook group? I know in my march 2014 Chemo group we ended up switching to facebook because if makes it so much easier to comment directly on the person's post. And it seemed that we got to know each other so much better that way. Any interest?
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Meg, I personally like the thread here on BCO, my Chemo 2013 left here and is on fb, it works but it feels completely different. If voting, my vote would be to stay here, but thats just me! I will go wherever my sisters go. Anyone else?......
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I prefer to stay here too. I'm not on Facebook.
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to say that I think breastcancer.org and the threads here are excellent. We have the advantage of being with a cancer charity and having moderators to keep an eye on the threads to make sure all is above board and to come on the threads with help, support and information. The moderators can get rid of trolls and those trying to use the threads for commercial gain.
I have been invited several times to join Facebook but would not consider it. A young friend invited me to join once, which I did, and very soon I found that my email address book had been hijacked. I closed my Facebook account.
We need those who have been through treatment, with all their experiences behind them, to remain in order to help and support those now going through treatment.
It will soon be ten years since my diagnosis but I discovered breastcancer.org in 2009 and have remained with it ever since. The threads need us all. We are the collective memory.
Best wishes to all of you going through treatment.
Sylvia
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Chiming in with my opinion. I prefer to communicate here as I am FB resistant:-).
Shari - that photo of you is SO lovely! You are a beautiful person inside and out.
Sending daily prayers to Shari, Ally, Arlene, Luv and others going through difficult times. (((((Hugs to all of you))))
Paula
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I'm not on Facebook either and like this forum. I participate on several topics here.
Good news, surgery is tues! Yahoooo!
Anyone hear from Arlene?
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Oh that's wonderful news Shari. I e-mailed Arlene offline to her personal e-mail but haven't received a reply back yet. That was on Saturday I think.
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Good news Shari!!!
Mommom, thanks for the prayers! I rescheduled my scan for tomorrow at 11:00 because the roads may be slick Friday. Please pray for me everyone! I'm really nervous! Thanks! XOXO!
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Luv, mine is at 11 am EST tomorrow also. I am trying not to worry: i depend on God . ( just my personal opinion, not shoving in on anyone)
I too would welcome prayers. Luv, I will literally be right there with you: I don't feel so alone now going into tomorrow. Man, I want a piece of fruit! Doing no carb day. At least we can drink water tomorrow.
I would do a FB group, but I am not public at all and would do so if it was closed only.
Ladies, you are all so special. I am so sorry we are in this group, but I honestly don't know where I would be if I did not have you
Hugs and love my TN warrior sisterrs
Kath
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Luv, Toby, and everyone else going for tests, scans, procedures, etc, - I, too, am sending BE WELL wishes and holding your hand!
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hi everyone, Hope this finds you all having a good day (now that I know what that really means with a little bit of perspective)! I'm new here, and wanted to introduce myself. I'm 42 yrs old going thru chemo now (my 2nd round next friday)...feeling pretty sluggish but much better than last week. Was wondering if anyone developed a seroma after mastectomy and if ever went away? Sorry we are all in this boat, but since we are, figured I'd introduce myself and not feel so alone in the journey.
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