August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Good day chemosabes and radicals:
Did anyone else get a PM from a "drjohnson" about a *cure* for cancer? I received it a few days ago. I did not even notice it. It is some long diatribe about doing this "program" and then reporting back my results....!
JSW: I am 41 and spent the bulk of my life doing exactly what I wanted and I have zero regrets. I am hardly convinced that I want to be a parent but if I loved him, and it happened, I certainly would not be against the idea at this age. It is also weird to think I would be in my mid to late 50's when the child would graduate HS but so be it! Again, the mom thing was really not for me but I also, like Deb, can attest to the huge numbers of women I know, have met and my extended family knows who are having kids in their 40's. Don't forget the fabulous Joan Lunden either!!!!! Wasn't she like 53?! You can do it. You are mid-30's...that is still perfectly young. It is around my age when the body starts to put up a little fight about such matters!!!!!
Iowasue: I was nervous, the most nervous, that morning going into surgery. For this reason, I did not have any family come with me and I actually had my friend who is a very funny guy and keeps me laughing come along! It was a good choice. He was very entertaining and there was no pre-surgery drama like there would have been if my sister and I went together! We would have been weeping and acting like sisters and that would have made me worse. I just hope you are too tired going in at 5:30AM (presumably!) to even think about it. In the end, I had nothing to worry about and, like you said, it was a really nice, long, albeit medically induced, sleep session...a much needed one at that! You will be fine.
Sptmm: good luck tomorrow! I hope everything is fine. Keep us posted.
Texas: how are you? I hope you are having a nice weekend.
On a different note, a few months ago I told you all about Chelsea Handler having had her nutritionist on the show. He just seemed so genuine and so perfectly well-versed in all matters nutrition, I was compelled to listen. In any case, I decided to order his book and told you all I would report my findings back to you. As it turns out, my workouts are fine and my eating is basically ok but I have to make a few changes, a few tweaks as it were, to what I am already doing. The bottom line, for those of you frustrated with the 10 or 20 since chemo/midlife etc... that you can't seem to get off, you should get his book. It is called "Body Confidence." I have been, for so many years, reading and checking into all things metabolic. This guy has got it all figured out. It is a good read. I told you all back when I said I was going to get the book that I would report back my findings. I read the book in 2 days. It is chock full of good information.
I have some things to do but because it is raining, I just want to be lazy! I want to go lay in bed and read for the day! Oh..and my poor Yankees....they are having such a rough time a rainout might do them good!
Good day, all-
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Lizzy - I ordered the book from the library, will report back.0
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Sue glad to hear that they left it up to you- its our bodies sio why the heck not!
Lizzy- took my kids to sea world so been busy, tried getting on when my phone when i was havin bco withdrawls but it wouldnt let me access this thread LOL i will look into the links
i will see if i can get my library to order it
All- has anyone used the flat belly diet???? i just bought the books and am gonna see if my belly bloat goes away- i am happy with my everything else, just not the belly...
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Texas: I used to personal train, taught aerobics and have been a gym rat for 20 years! I have been a member of Bally's since 1991. In any case, spot reduction is virtually impossible short of surgery. The biggest enemy when it comes to your abs is sugar and not just candy. It is all carbs from pasta to rice to bread and even vegetables like corn and peas are nutritionally considered carbs. If you cut out almost all sugar and work a medicine ball hard on a decline bench, you might be able to firm it up and get an 6 or 8 pack. Fat is burned in muscle so the more muscle you develop in a trouble area, the more your muscles will work to address that problem!
If your library gets that book, and this is coming from someone in the fitness and health world for several years, and read it, he will open your eyes to peramanently shutting down those sugar cravings. The only thing is, it is a very challenging situation for a person with bc and who is a vegan or vegetarian to make the changes in diet necessary to stabilize blood sugar as it requires eating meat! The vegan/vegetarian options are almost all soy based.
In any case, hope you enjoyed Sea World! Last time I was at Sea World was in CA...no, wait...I think once in FL since then...oh, I don't know! I forget...getting old!
I will try to post one of my old body building photos later-
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Debbi, Carolyn, and Lizzy thank you for the encouragement about being an "older" mom. It makes me feel better to hear about women having children in their later 30s or even 40s.
Well I am at the airport now heading off to Denver for my post-chemo post-rads vacation (and lacrosse tournament)! Both the ticket agent and the security guy commented on my haircut when they looked at my drivers license. In that picture my hair is shoulder length. But they were both nice and the ticket agent lady said my hair looked modern. I think that they actually thought I had my hair this short on purpose so I guess that is a good thing! Anyway I probably won't be online much this week so I hope everyone has a great week! Sue, I'm sending you good thoughts for your surgery tomorrow!0 -
jsw- I was reading in a US weekly that more and more women are having babies over the age of 45 which shocked me. Looks like i missed your orginal posting about it
Aint no thang but a chicken wing LOL If you're 16 or 60 we all go through the same parenting issuesLizzy- Yes it has been VERY hard. Honestly I havent maintained my vegetarian lifestyle due to the fact that i am ER+ and been told to stay away from estrogen containg foods and of course soy is, a large majority of meat substitutes contain soy...(a girl can only eat so many freakin beans!) Damned if i do damned if i dont type of situation, i eat only poultry and fish right now. I am seriously thinking of talking with a dietitian but i am not sure if they would have all the knowledge as to it pertating to estrogen... thats really not what they focus on... My dr just advised me to stay away from the food that contain estrogen but he didnt give me a list or anything i had to find that on my own...
Went to game stop to buy Zumba for the WII lol but i didnt have enough trade in credit- i am gonna bring more games in tomorrow to hopefully add up to the 39 bucks!
Yup pasta and rice are my staples!
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JSW: Enjoy your vacation!! And your Lax tournament! I love lax..my third favorite sport after soccer and hockey!!
Lizzy: Would love to see the bodybuilding pictures! Thanks for the tip on the book. I don't know if I am willing to go wholesale healthy, but I am going to read it and see how far I am willing to go. I especially am interested in the sugar part, def think I need to cut out a little sugar. Need to trim down the belly for that belly dancing..LOL!
Texas: I would definitely recommend seeing a nutritionist. They are very knowledgeable and tailor the diet plan to your specific food likes and dislikes, as well as your medical condition. And most insurance covers it now. We have one that works with our practice and she is great. The one thing that cuts across the board in all her counseling is.."white is bad". Potatoes, rice, pasta....NO GOOD..you want to switch to whole grain and "lots of color on your plate".
Hope everyone is having a good day! Kids had two many things to do today (games, pasta parties, practice) so I missed my 6:15 class, going to head out now to some some walking and the 8:15 class. Then off to bed!!
Debbi
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Oh almost forgot.. I met with the surgeon today who confirmed that the drainage is coming from a large seroma that has developed above the surgical site. That also explains the swelling. He can surgically remove it, but cannot guarantee that I am not going to have half a boob...with a very large dent..so I think I am going to wait. He said they can also try to aspirate it, but it is deep and large so it will probably need to be aspirated a couple of times. I told him I was just going to wait and see if it stops draining on its own. The pain has gotten much better, just sore again now. So, going to wait and go back in July after the breast MRI and see where its at. I am sooo tired of being a patient right now, going to take some time off.
Debbi
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Debbi glad to hear they know whats causing the pain and swelling- too bad its comes with its own hassles of taking care of it. Praying it goes away on its own..
Yeah white is bad- mostly i stick with brown rice and whole grains but when eating out or premade foods thats not always possible. I have NEVER eaten white bread til i met my husband. I was like what the heck is this LOL- i eat it at very rare occations (like when i am with his family and they are making the meal) My mom had us on wheat since forever- i actually dont care for white bread at all... But i KNOW i am getting sugars from soda- b4 cancer i NEVER drank soda ever but after cancer i sorta let my self placed diet restrictions fly out the window!
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Iowasue: Good luck tommorrow!! Sending positive vibes your way! Please update us as soon as you feel up to it.
Texas: Got you on the soda. I was a Dr. Pepper fiend. I haven't given it up totally, but down to an eight ounce glass every other day or so. I love wheat too, but adopted that one recently. It does taste so much better, I think, than white. But I was raised on white. When I first switched over to wheat bread and brown rice a little over a year ago, my daughter was devastated. As she put it, "my favorite food group is white!". I let her keep her mashed potatoes, which I make several times a week, so she agreed to go brown on everything else..LOL. I am interested to see what the book Lizzy recommended says about sugar, because I def need to cut back on that some (cookies and baked goods mostly).
Lizzy: I got that PM too from Dr. Johnson. I just deleted it. I saw an active post before and the moderators are aware that there are spam PMs out there. They are trying to keep up on them to ban the individual posters.
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Good evening chemosabes and radicals:
JSW: happy trails! I hope you enjoy your vacation!
Iowasue: best of luck tomorrow! I will be sending you good vibes all day!
Sptmm: I am sooo glad it is a draining seroma!!!!! whew! Glad to hear that! As for that book, he will teach you how to stabilize your blood sugar levels so you don't crave sugar soo much. The book is *not* for diabetics but rather it is written for everyone.
I thought of you this weekend as there was a lax tournament in Hartford between Hartford and Cornell. I think Hartford lost!
I am totally with you on that "tired of being a patient" business. I am going to a survivorship clinic and I got an automated phone call today telling me my appt w/Dr. whatever is blah blah blah! I called right away and I was nice but said please, not another doctor! They said no, the computer just leaves that message. What this clinic will do is giving me a total map of what scans I need, when, a timeline etc... of what I can expect this coming year. I am so happy and will report back my findings.
It is hard to cut out sugar. Don't be hard on yourself! Belly dancing will tighten up that area however!
Texas: when I was dxd I totally *gave up* Diet Coke! The phenylketoneurics are terrible, especially for people who already have cancer, so out that went. I also gave up coffee. Now all I drink is seltzer, water, tea or milk (usually in the morning with my vitamins). Giving up sugar as a vegetarian is virtually impossible. With us both being ER+ and soy being knocked out of the box, goodbye gardenburgers, garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes etc... Really, I have totally cleaned up my eating this past year but I still knew I was doing something wrong somewhere along the way. Well, Mr. McDonald set me straight! I am so glad I ordered that book. I don't ever order any books like that or get involved with fad crap programs but because I know I can count on Chelsea Handler NOT to lie, and she so ardently supported his wisdom, I had to find out more. The book is great. I read it once and am reading it again now. I feel that now that I have started taking his advice, reading the book again is going to help me absorb even more information and, of course, pick up on things I missed the first time around.
I hope you get Zumba! Oh, btw, I think it is Quebradita that I like?! In any case, when you get it, you will see them do it. It is fun!
Tex, on chicken and fish, if you are comfortable with it I would continue to get the protein. Even I had to give in on the meat thing. Reason being is bc is started when a cell either calls for a protein delivery and it is not sent OR it is sent, knocks on the door and the cell does not answer. It makes me nervous because we are carnivores but I did not really embrace that idea totally. I have said this before and that is what upsets me is they (the manufacturing jokers) have poisoned our food sources with their capitalism. I don't know what the answer is but I am no happier with the "meat" thing than you are!
Well, my new plan is to go to bed early so when the middle of the night hot flashes start, I already have a few hours in!
Good night, girls-
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Good plan lizzy- i am trying to go to bed earlier too but cant seem to shake my nigh owl ness LOL
I am going ot the library tomorrow and will ask about the book (i have some overdo books LOL)
Debbi- re:soda just totally weird, today at walmart they had mellow yellow which i NEVER see anywhere anymore except for chuck e cheese so i bought a 4 pack (cans) no joke i downed 2 in maybe 15 minutes, then one while making dinner and one after dinner LOL I NEED TO STOP!!!!
A tip i usd to follow in my better eating habit days was drink a full glass of water before a meal and you wont over-eat (lots of time our thirsty signal is confused for hunger)
NIGHT LADIES- GONNA CLEAN UP MY CRAFT CRAP AND THEN OFF TO BED HOPEFULLY! (btw listening to stephen king's "the dome" and its really good)
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Thanks for prayers and good vibe....ready set don't look back : ) i have a gal from another thread that will update this thread asap !! Thanks Ladies for being awesome chemo BC sistas, Love, Sue
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Good luck Sue!! I will be thinking of you tomorrow!!0
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I am saying a prayer for you right now Sue. Sleep well and awake refreshed with the pros having handled all the details.
Hugs Ginger
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Sptmm. I too had a seroma that the RO said had to be drained before my rads. I was very upset and worried about caving in. They drained enough of the fluid so I could get the full radiation dose. After rads I can tell this side is a little smaller and lifted somewhat. It is still rounded and there is fluid but not enough to be uncomfortable. I am still paranoid about it falling apart I examine it more than a teenage boy. My RO told me not to wear it out! I am only about a B and when the surgeon told me it was fluid equal to a coke can I almost went insane. I thought they were all crazy. Since my tumor was fairly decent sized like yours the surgeon took a hefty amount and returned to reexcise margins. Before the surgery he told me he was placing some material like cotton candy in the defect. Not sure what it is, but the RO told me it was a collagen like material. I m just hoping I don t. End up with a "monopoly top hat "on that side. Lib ray lil
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IowaSue: Praying for you today, all will be well!
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Another gift from bc! I have *never* had hair on my thighs and sure enough, it is there now! I cannot believe it! 41 years of never having to shave my thighs gone. Cruddy bc! I was laying in bed and I touched my thigh, as it felt weird against the sheet, only to find this little gift = I am mad!0
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Ah, Lizzy, I hate to tell you but some of that is just age. You'll start finding hair in all kinds of weird places as you get older. And hair will start falling away from other places. Not to say that BC doesn't add it's own crap to our bodies. It really pissed me off when I looked at my bald self in the mirror as I plucked hairs off my chin !!
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Hello Ladies, I just got a text from IowaSue's sister. She said the latest news is that Sue came out of surgery around 9:00 last night. She did great and was being transferred to ICU. When I get more news I will let you all know.
Susan
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Thanks for the update Sam!0
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Libraylil: LOL..My breast has a little muffin top where the swelling is! Can't wait to see what it looks like if I do have it drained or removed and it caves in!
Lizzy: I guess this is why psychologically they tell us we have to get used to our new "body image". Not for nothing, but my hair is getting curlier by the day..not that I am complaining, it is hair, I just wish it weren't so curly. Funny though, I have no hair anymore under my arm on the side where they did the axillary node dissection...isn't that weird. Anyway, sorry about the hairy thighs..
SAM: Thanks for the update!
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Lizzy- NO WAY! that just happened to me- i never go above the knee and my sister in law commented on my thigh hair, sure enough dark hair at that! Why cant the energy my body is using to grow that hair be used to grow more head hair!!!!
Sptmm- LOL @ the image of a breast muffin top- it made me bust up laughing! Yeah i guess that can be said again- getting used to our new bodies is an understatment, our new EVERYTHING body, mind and spirit!
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sptmm - Roughly about the first inch of my hair came out really fuzzy curly. But what came behind is pretty straight and softer like my hair used to be. There is about 1 inch or so of that regular hair. The color is still getting itself sorted out. I have decided to stay with the short hair for the summer and am going next week to have her cut off much of the curly parts. It'll make it pretty short again but I think it will look better. Perhaps I can move past the dandilion/Westie look!0
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Good evening chemosabes and radicals:
It is official...I look like Pee Wee Herman!!!!!!!!!! My hair is growing forward like when it gets a little fluffier, and I move past my Pee Wee look, I will start looking like that jackass Trump!!!! OMG....I am appalled!!!
I went to Survivorship Clinic today and it was fabulous! You meet with a social worker, a dietician (she gave me some great information), an APRN/onc team, and a PT. They were all wonderful and you spend like 20/25 minutes with each. What they do is talk about what you have been through, what you can expect, managing those awful emotions that come along with every ache/pain etc.. being recurrence etc.. It was the best 3 hours I have spent anywhere in a long time. They gave me a lot of information and I am still reading through some of the material. How it works now is I go another 3 times, once every 6 weeks. They track your progress, how things are going and how you feel overall about what you have been through. It is a top notch program and I am so glad they have it. Something else hit me today and that is how wonderful it is to be in the company of great thinkers, learned people and, of course, highly intelligent. Say what you want about Yale, they turn out some great minds. I am sure as the next few days unfold I will have my usual "ooh...I have to tell the girls about that" moments and I will post some more!
With the social worker, at the end we did a session where myself and 3 other women in the clinic today did a meditation session. It was great as I am not as good at meditating as I would like to be. She taught us that through breathing, when you start to get scared and nervous about you future and recurrence etc..., to concentrate on your breathing, and focus on oxygen moving in and out of your nose to stay focused. It was really great. She also gave us a dvd on relaxation through meditation. Finally, we did another breathing exercise where we alternate between our thumb and index finger, closing one nostril at a time and breathing in and out, then alternating. It was great because it helped me to focus more than the first exercise. It was all together a really great experience.
A great take-away I want to share with you now is on vegetables: I learned that every vegetable has a different array of phytonutrients(the cancer fighters best friend!) and eating a rainbow of fruits and veg is the only way you really get all of the possible phytonutrient combinations because they are in the skin/the color of the fruit or vegetable one consumes. I found that very interesting. The dietician explained to me all about it and I can't verbatim list it here but she was very helpful. She gave me this handout with a rainbow of fruits and vegetables on the cover! It is set up really clever.
Also, on LE, the PT explained what I pretty much knew/heard and that is the potential to develop LE can be set-off by changes in atmospheric pressure we experience when we fly. He suggested I do get fitted for a compression garment, as I am flying in September, and better safe than sorry. I flew once without one already but I did not tell anybody and just took my good ol chances! In any case, he made sense and I was glad I met him also. Plus we are about the same age and he too likes to workout to Motley Crue so it is all good!!!!!!
Sam: thanks for the update on Iowa=good news!
Tex: can you freakin' believe it?!!! Hair on my thighs?! Man, I am just annoyed now! We have to take a lot of crap in this cancer battle and this last little nugget just is leaving me pissed off!!!!!!! Fur on my thighs!
Tex, I think I am going to let it grow way out on my thighs and then make my own extensions!!!!! Speaking of extensions, crazy Liz over here went to local beauty school to find out if they will take my bag of my previous hair and make me extensions because I thought there had been a domestic development recently. In any case, no dice as it is still a process completed only off of our shores. OMG...did you hear about salons being broken into and their "human" hair being stolen?! Unbeweavable!!!!
Sptmm: Deb...are you trying to challenge me to the "BC Summer 2011 Race to Look like Gabe Kotter?!?!?!" It would seem so!!!! Like I said, I am clearly in Pee Wee territory and then when it grows a little more and I color it, I will be so Trump-esque!
In any case, I am so with you on the short hair for the summer. I could never tolerate long hair right now with these hot flashes! I am hoping that by next summer it is shoulder length...hoping! I was about 1/3 to ½ way down my back when this all started.
I hope everyone is doing well tonight and you all had a nice day! I am so glad I was invited to the survivorship clinic. It was great and it really made my day. It so cool also because all these little questions that I have can be answered in a few hours at that clinic, in one day, by 5 different professionals. Very good stuff, indeed!
Night, girls-
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I totally forget to tell you all the best part about the clinic: Most, if not all, are cancer survivors! That was really cool as it is nice to talk to someone who knows.0
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Lizzy that program sounds awesome - keep us posted on what you learn!0
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I am to start Chemo on 5/25. Not looking forward to it at all. On 5/20 I will have a biopsy on my uterus for a polph and was also told i have precancerous cells in the cervix. I have pleomorphic lobular breast cancer. Had one surgery on 3/7/11 and another on 4/9 just to make sure they got it all.My cancer was stage2/3 with one lymph node involved. Tubule formation
X Minimal less than 10% (score = 3)
Nuclear pleomorphism
X Score = 2
Mitotic count
For a 40X objective
X Score = 1
Total score
X Grade II: 5-7 points
Freaked out and wanting to run away if I could.0 -
Sherry: chemo is not going to be nearly as bad as you think. I totally thought it was going to be horrible. Mind you, it is certainly not easy but, as well say, it is doable. If I understand correctly you had a lumpectomy but the margins were not clear so you had another to clean the margins and now are starting chemo, correct? What was the size of the tumor? I am wondering why you are a Stage 2/3. There are so many treatments now and the medical community is really managing bc very well. I always say, sorry you qualify to join us but we are sure glad to have you!
There are going to be times over these next few months on chemo where you will have challenges but it all so worth it because chemo really does work. What kind of chemo are you having and how many cycles?
On this thread most, if not all, are done with chemo but you can certainly come here for support. I am glad you posted. Hang in there, it really all is going to be ok. You can PM me any time with questions. We are here for you
You might want to check as often times there are chemo threads started by the month you begin as I started this one for August/September starts last year. I will do some checking for you to see if there is a May 2011 thread.
Have a good night and keep smiling!
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Sherry: there is a May 2011 chemo thread, as follows:
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/768029?page=14#post_2403133
If you cut and paste that link, or you can also do a search for "may 2011 chemo" and you will find the thread. I know you are brand new so I thought I would help you!
In this way, by joining that thread, you will be among a bunch of other women going through exactly what you are at the same time.
Best of luck-
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