August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Lady: It is officially March 30th or, as I like to think of it, the day Ladyinbama had her final surgery to rid her body of cancer once and for all
I will be thinking of you. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best of luck, Lady-
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Hi All...
I am so tired of cancer...uuuggghhh...
I have not started tamoxifen yet and the vaginal dryness is killing me...My GYN prescibed Estrace, but I am estrogen positive... My onc says it is ok... I am frustrated... Uuuggghhh...
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Interesting Lizzy - I disagree with her statement though "most of the people I knew who died of cancer died from the treatment itself". That simply isn't true. Yes, the effectiveness of chemo can be debated (in all of our cases I pray it did its job!) but to say that most people die from chemo is false IMO.
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Calamtykel: naturally, as someone who fully embraced chemo, I totally agree with you. I am not sure where those that claim chemo kills get their information. I don't know how that is even established. In any event, what I did find interesting was her soup-to-nuts, completely naturopathic approach to dealing with her cancer. That is what I took away from it. She must have nerves of steel.0
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Hi all! I was at the oncologist yesterday for my Herceptin, and showed him my big toe nail. He said it is infected and put me on antibiotics, so hopefully it will clear up before I get to HAWAII next week! :-)
We had also talked at one time about the effectiveness of Tamox on Her2 + patients, and he thought I might need to have an OOPH and take Arimidex. BUT, I'm tolerating the Tamox well, and he said that after consultation with several colleagues around the country, he thinks that since my lymph nodes were clear, he feels comfortable keeping me on Tamox. I'm actually relieved, because I wanted to keep my ovaries if at all possible. So Tamox it is for me - 2 months down, 58 to go.
Sending love and healing to LadyinBama today. I hope the reconstruction goes as planned and that nothing is found in the omentum!!!
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Lisa - Trip to HAWAII next week!! Where are you going? We are going in June and I can't wait. Which island? Have you been before? I LOVE hawaii, especially snorkeling.
Thanks for the info about tam and HER2. I decided to start friday 4/1. Seems like a good day for that.
Thinking of you Lady.
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Omaz - We are going to the Big Island. During chemo, I told my husband that when it was all over I wanted to spend a week on a beach. And next week is it. It will be my 2nd trip to Hawaii, my first to the Big Island. I want to see volcanoes. :-) Since DH travels so much, he has lots of frequent flier miles and lots of frequent sleeper points, so we are flying for free and staying at a Hilton resort for free. Awesome!
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Lisa cool, Hawaii! Have a great time.
Lady Bama, yes Rhododendrons! You figured it out, thank you. You are in m prayers for your surgery today and healing.
TLC thank you, I too was getting the http mixed up with the html, and also mixing up Facebook and Flicker. I am still so chemo brain. Talking to me is like playing a "fill in the blanks" game.
Went out with no head covering to a restaurant yesterday. Hair is bright white and about 1/2 inch long now. It felt sort of weird but I didnt notice so many people staring at me or smiling funny at me.
I hope you all are having wonderful spring flowers popping up. Here the rain, which is sort of constant this time of year is more like a mist, prefog if you will. These Rhododendrons seem to love it. Since my hair is coming in curly, which is normal for me, my hair will love it too. I dreamed I had inch long hair. Hah!
Hugs Ginger
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Lisa - The big island is where we go. If you have any questions about snorkeling PM me, that's mostly what we do when we are there.0
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Lisa: all I can spell out is J-E-A-L-O-U-S!!!!!!! I hope you have a lovely, lovely time on the beach....that sounds so wonderful. I wish it was not a 13 hour flight! Here's to hoping that nail is cleared up and, if not, I am sure it will have plenty of time to clear up when you get back! Have a blast, woman! What a way to celebrated the end of this bc journey. Nice job!
Ladyinbama: thinking of you and hope you are doing very well. Come back and tell us what is going on ASAP!
I am offering you all the Irish Blessing this evening:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand
May God be with you and bless you
May you seee your children's children
May you be poor in misfortune
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near
May green be the grass you walk on
may blue be the skies above you
May pure be the joys that surround you
May true be the hearts that love you
And for those of us poor, poor souls in the Northeast, may we, in true Irish spirit, celebrate our PRE-SNOW day tomorrow with a pint or 2!!!!!!!! Gadzooks....here we go again...another N'oreaster...ugh!
Good night, all-
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Lizzy- i downloaded Uninvited because its an AWESOME track! Her voice is something else!!! Check out fiona apple's i want you (elvis castello too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOmhOumh-w i dont have full feeling yet in my chest/underarm area 
sorry to hear you do and are feelin everything thats going on... Whoop whoop on finding scholarships, fingers crossed that you get it!!!!mommiemichelle- LMBO about the will ferrle/janet reno comment!
sptmm62- hair looks great! ws it that dark to begin with?
hair- anyone notice color or texture chnges since chemo
lisa- do you like the latisse? i thought about asking for that but i heard it may darken the iris and i LOVE my eye color lol Yes the toenail i lost hasnt grown back in, my fingernails are growing though, like lizzy i am jealous too LOL
ginger- HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you talkin about rhodedendrons???? N/M i see someone else got it LOL - thats the state flower, when pick you pick them, they are super sticky, growing up we would make "potions" with them (basically smash them up to a pulpy mess lol)
calamity- regardless if we use drugs or go natural it can come back with ANY of us really so dont stress it
My cancerversary is in July but i was also thinking of it this past week as i plan our summer vacation just because being dx at the start of summer last year really put a damper on it! TAXES- its only 19 cents a mile OR actual gas cost if you saved recipts- i didnt this last yr (same thing cuz of everything going on i lost track of all those things) but am for this year!jsw- awesome pic
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Hi Everyone!
Lizzy: I love the Irish Blessing!! It is my favorite, seems to really focus your attention on the simple things that are the most important. And in true Irish spirit, we will weather this Noreaster just as we have the rest of this rotten winter. I can't believe it is almost April and they are actually talking snow!! On the island here we are not really in the "snow track" but I am supposed to drive to Massachussetts on Saturday, my son has two soccer games up there. I am kind of hoping they get snow so we don't have to go. Hopefully you will not get a snow requiring shoveling or plowing...just a little pretty white stuff that melts the next day!! I too have been thinking about getting a kindle....really seriously considering it. I wanted to ask you too, being into the working out and stuff. My daughter has been wanting to start drinking some protein shakes to build a little more muscle, do you have any good recipes that make it taste good? Funny, she was asking my son the other day and he kept telling her to just drink it. I told her I would ask my friend Lizzy....she would have something I am sure! BTW.. Congrats on the scholarships. Persistence pays off!! My daughter applied for two of the scholarships you sent me the links to for children of breast cancer survivors, hopefully she gets one.
Calam: Thanks for the bread recipe. I made it on Sunday to go with my homemade minestrone...It was fantastic!!! And really easy. I had never made bread before. On the "cancerversary". Yes I do find my self thinking about it lately. I found my lump in March but was not actually diagnosed until mid April with LCIS and May with ILC, so I have been remembering a lot lately. Funny, the strongest memory I had was surrounding the circus, which we attended two weeks ago. Last year, for the first time in like forever, I didn't buy tickets to the circus because I couldn't afford it. When I found the lump and started to consider that it might be cancer, I just remember crying on my way to work, thinking I could die before the kids and I got to go to the circus the following year. Somehow I think the circus will always be tied to BC for that reason. But I have to tell you, I made a point to get the tickets the minute they went on sale this year, LOL! I think I will make every year at the circus a celebration of one more year that I won and cancer didn't!
JSW: You look great, got some good even coverage there. You will be amazed and how quickly it fills in once it starts growing!
Texas: Yes, my hair is pretty much the same color now as it was before. Except for the patch of gray on the left side (you really can't see it in the photo)...that is new! And my hair is now starting to curl, yuck!! I guess I should have expected that though, it was wavy when it was long, so I guess it will be curly when short. Oh well, it is hair and I am thankful for that!
Lisa: I am SOOOOO jealous. A week on a beach would be wonderful right now!! And free too!!!Have a great time! I finally lost the toenail on my right foot about two weeks ago. It had turned all purple and black and didn't seem to be growing out like my fingernails and the toenail on the left. Finally one night it fell off. I have about 1/4 of a toenail growing back in, but I think I will have to skip the sandals this summer.
Ginger: Happy Anniversary!!! Hope you are enjoying the Spring. We really haven't had an opportunity to do that yet in the Northeast, still cold. But the sun has been out more, so I am enjoying that, albeit all bundled up in layers.
Omaz: Thank you for the technical support. I followed your instructions on the photobucket idea and that's how I was finally able to post my pic...that was the piece I was missing!
I have been super busy lately. Back to working 10 - 11 hours a day. Good for the finances, bad for the body. My main problem is sleep. I just can't survive the day unless I am in bed for at least eight hours, which then I think translates to about 6 hours sleep. I have still been managing to get to the gym 5 days a week, but that is one of my priorities. As bad as the money situation was getting, I liked having some free time. Oh well, I guess it is time to get back to reality, right!
I will have to be honest with everyone, I am kinda freaking out a little right now, trying to keep it under control. I have been having some hip pain, so they did an x-ray. Turned out there was a spot on the x-ray of my hip. Probably nothing the doc said, but because of the history and the pain, have to do further testing. So, I have had 3 MRIs in the past two weeks: lumbar spine, right hip, and pelvis. When I had the lumbar spine one, they called me with results two days later. It has now been almost a week since I had the right hip and they haven't called yet. I just keep thinking that they wouldn't call with bad news, they would wait for the doctor to tell me. So, since they haven't called, I am getting worried. Hopefully they call today, or I will have to wait until my appointment on Tuesday and I am not sure I can keep the bad thoughts at bay that long.
Oh well. I have to get back to work now. Everyone have a great day!!
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SPTMM- Just wanted to let you know I"m hoping the best for you, I'm sure it's nothing but still it's crappy to have to go through. For what it's worth, my doctor told me once, "if you don't hear from us, it's good news:" So maybe keep that in mind. Usually if there's something wrong they work pretty hard to keep you informed.0
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sptmm I'm sorry you've been going through this. Maybe try calling them, it could be just that they're behind or short staffed this week. I hope you get good news soon.
Carolyn
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sptmm - My docs have never hesitated to call with bad news....maybe you could call them.
Morbid thought of the day - I will only tell you guys - I was driving in to work and thought of the breast cancer board game. Everyone starts out healthy. Then you have to draw from the 'found my lump' pile. Then you go into the 'let's see if this is cancer' track. Then, 'how will my biopsy go'. Next, what is my pathology - then chemo/no chemo, then radiation, then side effects, then this, then that.....and on! DH assured me that game would not sell.
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Debbie--I am sure it is nothing. I would call your Doc and see if they will tell you anything over the phone. When I had my 2nd bone scan back in Jan due to some rib pain--I called the next day for the results...I think they could tell that I wasn't going to be able to wait till the next appointment!
Hair--My hair seems to be growing in a lighter brown colour and I have a little bit of grey. I met up with some friends from support group for lunch this past week and one of them had their hair coloured at the same place that does the wigs etc so I made an appointment and going to check it out tomorrow. They use some sort of hair dye that is non-toxic. I will get more info tomorrow. My hair growth seems to be SLOW..I can feel some prickly hairs on my head where it is starting to fill in....wish it was a little faster.
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Thanks guys for your reassurances. I didn't get any of my bad results (i.e. cancer diagnosis) over the phone, I got it at a follow up appointment with my doctor, so my mindset is a little different than yours. When my CT and bone scan were negative, they called me. Cancer, they waited until I came in for my appointment. But this is a different doctor.
I am sure, though, that everything is fine it is just hard to keep that dark little "what if" voice from creeping into my head. I called the doctor's office yesterday and the results were "not in the computer". I asked if that meant they didn't get them and the woman on the phone said that either they didn't get them or the doctor had them and didn't release them yet. I will try to call again on my lunch. Anyway, so far the positive voice inside my head is winning so I am holding most of the worry at bay, but that nasty little negative voice is there : (
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4 rads down, 30 to go!
Lisa Interesting info from your onc about Tamox and HER2+. Somehow I had it in my head that if Tamox wasn't as effective for us then the AIs wouldn't be either. I have no idea where I got that from. Anyway, my onc has not brought up the possibility of ooph and AI with me because I purposefully took Lupron to protect my ovaries during chemo with the hopes of still being able to have children one day. At this point I am just not willing to consider an ooph so Tamox it is, though I did have several positive nodes. And I am jealous of your trip to Hawaii, I hope you have a great time!
sptmm Definitely call again today about the results, hopefully they will have them today. My experience has been like you said that doctors don't like to give bad news over the phone but that they do get in touch with you as soon as they can and say "why don't you come in for an appt". Then you know it is bad news. The waiting is frustrating but hopefully it is nothing, I am afraid that our post-chemo bodies are going to be prone to aches and pains and then scans will probably end up showing the various benign lumps and bumps that are part of everyone's bodies. That is why they always say on doctor tv shows that they hate doing whole body scans because everyone has oddities in their body that are benign but once they see them on a scan they have to do all the tests to check it out. (And yes, the vast majority of my medical knowledge comes from doctor tv shows!) So the odds are that this is nothing to worry about.
Omaz I love your breast cancer game! I would buy it but I think your DH is right that probably most people wouldn't!
Hair regrowth I have noticed a very odd pattern in the regrowth of my eyebrows. They started coming in at the inside corners and are now slowly working their way across my face. Right now they go from the inside corners out to about half of their normal length, basically to the top of where the arch would be. So I am still having to draw in eyebrows otherwise I look kind of angry, sort of like this: >:|
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sptmm - Sending prayers of peace to you. Breathe. Hoping for the best.
omaz - Love the board game idea. Yeah - probably wouldn't sell, but maybe there is another way to make that analogy into something big?
I just got word I'm going to be debuting my new solo performance piece - a one-woman show I'm writing - in May! I have a slot on a monthly series featuring up-and-coming solo artists. It will be a 15 minute exerpt of the piece I'm writing called "Nice Rack: A Mammory Play", and the exerpt is about my cancer diagnosis. I'm REALLY excited about it - it is actually funny and poignant at the same time. I hope to be kind of like Terms of Endearment, where you are laughing so hard you're crying at one point and then actually crying the next. :-)
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Congratulations Lisa on your performance coming up - can you record it, I would love to see it! Maybe we all need to take a field trip to San Fran!0
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Omaz: Love the game!! But you are right a little morbid to be a marketing hit. I think the same concept might work for the post breast cancer life. You now the overanalyzing every ache and pain, multitude of tests to rule out mets, etc.
Lisa: What an amazing opportunity. I too, would love to see your show. Gee, I am really jealous now. Hawaii and your own show!! Things are certainly looking food for you these days. Congrats!!
JSW: My eyebrows grew in the same way. They are really full on the inside by the nose, and the sparse towards the outside. In fact the area right about the arch has the least hair, kind of like a black hole of eyebrow in the middle. Makes for a very interesting look. I am sure there are people out there that think I overtweezed and need someone to teach me how to properly shape my eyebrows, LOL.
Debbi
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Hello all-
I am going to go out and get my snowblower going again!
Sptmm: in CT we are in the snow track! Unbelievable! I think I am going to get a kindle but I do have a library of books and I want to keep on building on that. I am not sure if I am going to love "not" buying/receiving books anymore or having to buy 2 versions, electronic and antiquated (!), of each book...time will tell! On the protein shakes, if your daughter is not doing it for weight loss but just looking to derive additional amino acids as a catalyst to build muscles I would suggest a GNC chocolate (or vanilla) protein powder and to sweeten it: baby food (Gerber) bananas; an actual banana; Hershey syrup (personal fav!) and in the summer a fudgcicle! If she likes bananas, those Gerber bananas add just the right amount of "sweet" kick to a protein shake! Funny the difference between young and old: at my age the "chocolate" protein drink itself is a treat!!! Also, if when you get out of the gym from lifting and you want something sweet, grab yourself some Gerber bananas as well...yum!
I don't know if I will actually get any scholarships but I am applying just the same. I will see. It would help after all as I am going on being out of work almost a year now. As for scholarships, I really hope your daughter gets one. That would be so great.
I hope your test results are fine. It is natural to worry. As for finding more cancer, I personally (imo) think that a IIb bc (in my case) is sort of like waiting to find it somewhere else. I will totally not be surprised at all by mets. I don't welcome it but I won't be devastated either. In fact, I have been getting a pain under my right rib: GP says might be cartilage; onc people say it might be stomach; I think it is liver mets! Even with mets, cancer is treatable and you can still live for several more years. Like I said before, cancer is a lifelong disease.
10-11 hours per day....reminds me of my Wall St days....no less than 12 hours per day but I loved it! Those were good times!
Texas: Fiona Apple is another one of my favorites! She has got some pipes. That first album I think she locked herself in a hotel room in NYC for 2 weeks and wrote it...amazing! "Uninvited" is a great song. It is basically about 2 people who have met their match.
Omaz: that game would be a huge seller..... with us!
JSW: hot on the eyebrows!!!! Nice look! Congrats on knocking back some of those rads!
Lisa: congrats on the show! That is so great. I will never forget what a trooper you were when you were trying so desperately to maintain your commitment to your work and going through chemo. Now you are definitely back!
The VNA complimented me on my lush fur this morning! She remarked how it is coming in and coming thick also...glad for that. In the few years leading up to my cancer dx, my hair seemed to be thinning. I even remember losing more in the shower than ever and mentioning it to my hairdresser. I don't know if the bc was making my hair fall out but it was definitely thinning. It is nice to get a fresh start with some nice regrowth.
My nephew had shaved his head to show solidarity and our hair is now growing back together! Of course, he looks much cuter with no hair and is a really good baseball pitcher at the young age of 12 so the whole look works for him a bit more!
Happy trails, all-
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Thanks Lizzy, going to go get the GNC brand tomorrow,see if she likes them (she is notoriously picky!). How nice of your nephew to shave his head, very sweet. But I see your point, it is most definitely a better look for him than you, LOL.
So, I called the doctor's office again today. Still no results in the "computer". Transferred me to the girl in charge of test results who confirmed that the doctor had them because they were logged in as having been received. Said "someone" would get back to me. That was around 11:30. Here it is 7:00 p.m. and no call. Oh well, it is what it is, no amount of worry will change the results. So, I am just hoping the doctor was off today!!
Debbi
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Sptmm: I would think that they are not harboring any bad news for you. I think they would have got right on it. Before all the bc drama and it really engulfed us, perhaps our docs would wait to see us to discuss anything "bad" but now, with our collective situation so much different, I think all of our docs will get right on any anomalies and call us immediately. So, my arm chair analysis says you are fine!
On the GNC powder, don't be surprised that it is kind of expensive. It is a powder and a big jug of it is like $60. I don't know if they have any single serving sizes. I think you should get as small a container of powder as possible and have her blend it with milk and a banana. She might like that. If she likes sweet stuff, maybe she can just add a little sugar!
Let us know when you find out-
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The glutamine powder I am using has no flavor at all so it takes on the taste of whatever I blend it into. Genrally that is gatorade. It is slightly gritty but one or two swallows of gatorade or anything with no powder in it and the gritiness is washed away.
Laters Ginger
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Hi all --
I had a very interesting visit yesterday with an interesting doctor. He is an osteopath (a MD, works within AMA guidelines, but also does totally alternative stuff.) I felt as if I was in a strange alternate reality or something - listening to a "real" doctor in a real medical office who knew exactly what I was talking about on the alternative end.
First, he recommended doing full hormone testing on me. Apparently he does a lot with menopausal support and hormones (it was listed as one of his specialites.) Progesterone protects breast cells from estridol (the culprit in most of our breast cancers that causes abnormal cell proliferation when it binds to a certain gene.) He strongly recommended progesterone cream, which I'm already on. (He specified a natural, really good brand, not a synthetic.) Progesterone, even in (actually in the article I read online, especially in the case of progesterone positive women,) has been shown to shut down the proliferation of cells when estrogen is involved. He said that most like they chemo has put me into menopause if I'm having the symptoms I'm having and no period.
That being said, he uses some kind of machine to test the body's response to various things. This is similar to the muscle response testing my naturopath does, but the machine is more accurate. It can pick up pathogens in the body (viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc) same as the muscle testing, but within tissues, which I guess muscle testing can't do. Not sure what those tess will run (not covered under insurance, even though he is within our plan.) My friend had one of them done and she said it was well worth the $100 it cost her - he is treating her for a couple of things and she's feeling much better already.
Anyway, we discussed chemo and various conventional treatment and he strongly advocated those, but said that nutrition is extremely important. Along with the bloodwork, he wants me to have my PH tested ( I think that's pretty easy - it can be done with strips from the drug store) because you want the body to be an alkaline state -- any acidic state is ripe for disease, cancer and other kinds. So I guess I will be looking into that.
All in all, it was a good visit. We will meet again in 2 weeks once the bloodwork comes back and he can make recommendations. I was surprised that along with prescription medications, he also uses the same Monestary of Herbs concoctions that my nutritionist uses to treat lyme and other such diseases. It was great to find a lyme "literate" medical doctor. He said "The bloodwork for lyme is ridiculous - lyme is four different species and the blood tests only test for one..."
The whole thing was extremely interesting. At this point, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to reduce my chances of it coming back. He said that he hadn't seen women with my sort of reaction to tamoxifen ---and was advocating the medication, but also, that if I had that kind of reaction, that it was clearly toxic to my particular system. He suggested we might be able to play with the dosage to find a less toxic dose, but I'm not sure that would be worth doing as a lesser dose might not be effective.
Anyway, it was an educational experience for me!
So we didn't get the pounding snow and I'm super happy about that! Right now it's a really wet rainy snow coming down. I'm so ready for spring!
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Cal - that is very interesting about the progesterone. My onc recommended low dose megace for the hot flashes, which is progesterone I think even though my tumor was progesterone positive (though only 20%). I haven't done that yet. It's all so confusing! Anyway I am to start tamoxifen today. Wish me luck. I hope it doesn't make my hot flashes any worse, I have them hourly, 24 hours a day pretty much as it is. I think I only get about 2 hours sleep in a row most of the time before I have a hot flash that wakes me up. That can't be good for my health. Sigh.0
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Progesterone positive means something different though- I would like to understand more about it. The first oncologlist I saw said that PR positive was meaningless - that he didn't even know why they really measured that. As the head of oncology for a major hospital I assume he knew what he was talking about - but I didn't ask him to clarify. I did find this on line, which is VERY interesting. Progesterone positive cells actually had progesterone "TURN OFF" the estradoil ;as BC survivors we should therefore NEVER be given an estridol as a hormone replacement therapy (something my osteopath said to me yesterday...)
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Molecular biologist, Dr. Ben Formby of Copenhagen, Denmark and Dr. T.S. Wiley at the University of California in Santa Barbara have researched two genes, BCL2 and P53, and their effect on female-specific cancers and prostate cancer.
Cells of breast, endometrium, ovary and prostate, were grown in the laboratory. Estrogen (estradiol) was added to the cells. This hormone turned on the BCL2 gene, causing the cells to grow rapidly and not die. Then, progesterone was added to the cell cultures. Cell reproduction stopped and the cells died on time (apoptosis).
This methodology was applied to all the above types of cancer. The BCL2 gene, therefore, stimulates the growth of these cells and the risk of cancer. On the other hand, the P53 gene promotes apoptosis or programmed cell death and thereby, reduces the risk of cancer. Estradiol upregulates or stimulates the production of the BCL2 gene, while progesterone upregulates or stimulates the production of the P53 gene.
Transdermal estradiol increased the cell proliferation rate by 230%, while transdermal progesterone decreased the cell proliferation rate by >400%. A combination estradiol/progesterone cream maintained the normal proliferation rate. This is direct evidence that estradiol (a potent estrogen) stimulates hyper-proliferation of breast tissue cells and progesterone mediates hyper-proliferation.
A second study by noted researcher Bent Formby, Ph.D. was just published with more insightful results. To determine the biologic mechanism of why progesterone inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells, a variety of cancer cell lines with different receptors and different expression of genes were exposed to progesterone. Exposure to progesterone induced a maximal 90% inhibition of cell proliferation in T47-D breast cancer cells and no measurable response to MDA-231 progesterone-receptor negative breast cancer cells. An impressive 43% of the T47-D cancer cells had undergone apoptosis (programmed cell death) within 24 hours after exposure to progesterone. Further analysis showed that the genetic expression by T47-D cancer cells of the bcl-2 gene was down regulated, and that of the p53 gene (tumor suppressor gene) was up regulated. Since the p53 gene expression induces cell apoptosis and the bcl-2 gene when expressed inhibits apoptosis, if one's cancer cells are progesterone-receptor positive, then progesterone as part of one's therapy appears to be very important. However, 50% of breast cancer cell lines have mutant or no p53 oncogene expression, so in this instance, genistein therapy might be helpful.
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Hi all, I'm home. Just wanted to let you know all went well. The doctor couldn't believe I was up walking so soon after surgeries. But they said if I could get up and if I could eat without problems, I could go home, so I was motivated! I came home last night about 9 p.m. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes. They work!! We are a tough bunch, we won't let this get us down for long. Love you guys and will check in later when I feel clear headed enough to read and catch up.
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Great to hear from you Lady!!! Glad you are feeling good!
Debbi
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