August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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sptmm - What great pictures! Everybody looks so happy.0
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Spttmom beautiful kids and your looking good too!
Taxas, WOO HOO!!!!!!!!
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Hi Ginger - I remember you live in Seattle, my daughter and I will be up there in October to visit my mom who lives downtown. Would you like to get together for coffee or something?0
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Debbi Great pictures! Your kids are all so cute and you are looking good too! I also love Taylor's prom dress, she looks gorgeous. It looks like you are feeling good and enjoying these times with your family.
I don't know if all of you remember but a few weeks ago I was having some trouble with cording in my affected arm. Well it is all completely gone now! I did gentle stretches and it has all gone away so I am happy about that. I hope everyone is having a good day today!
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jsw - Glad to hear that the cording went away!0
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Good day, warriors-
Well, today was sonogram day. The woman who did it was the one who found my bc. She kept going over and over this one area and did my entire abdomen. I am so hopeful she did not find anything. At the end I was asking her and she said well (your Dr.) might still send you for a ct scan to just rule everything out. All I could think was "oh no" but she was very circumspect and reminded me, in a very nice way, it is not her job to tell me if she finds anything. She is a really nice woman and I don't want that to come out wrong. I am just now playing our favorite, the waiting game, for the results to come in and for me to find out more. I hope there is NOTHING to find out!!!!!!
JSW: that is very good news! I am happy for you. During yoga we do some stretches that really work out the tightness in that area and, as I told everyone, I still love doing the morning star stretch which really stretches that area out.
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Ack Lizzy, more waiting!!0
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Lizzy---sorry to hear more waiting. I know that here, the Techs don't tell you anything--has to come from Doc.
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Sure Omaz, check back closer to the date okay? It would be fun to meet up.
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Hello everyone!
Hope everyone has been doing well. I do not get much of a chance to sit for long periods of time on the boards lately, do try to check in to make sure there aren't any messages. I have read some of the board here but need to catch up on a lot! Going in today for my 1st mammo post BC and I am terrified. I don't know what happened, all of a sudden in the shower this morning I just started crying. I felt like I was dealing with it alright but it just came over me. I hate BC and I sometimes wish this didn't need to be a worry. Strike that - I always wish this didn't need to be a worry. I pray for you all everyday. You have been such a great support through this whole thing.
Hugs to everyone,
Michelle
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((((Hugs Michelle!)))))) Nice to hear from you! At least now they seem to be giving us our results from mammo right away, I just waited and they came out and said alright. Good luck.0
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Lizzy: Sorry you have to be a player in that waiting game again. Sending positive vibes your way that there is only good news!!!
Mommi: Good Luck Today!! Nice to hear from you.
JSW: Great news that the stretches worked...one less thing to worry about in a very busy time for you!
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Good day warriors!
Here we all are, in the trenches, hoping to avoid land mines! I am not worried about the results of this sonogram. I am starting to embrace the waiting as a time when I can enjoy not having results of these tests!
Mommichelle: good to hear from you. Yes, it is very upsetting to be back in that place where it sends you right back to scaryville. I am sure everything will be fine for you today. Best of luck.
I hope everyone has a nice day. It is 76 degrees and very dry in CT today so I am getting out to enjoy this weather!
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I just found out about a trial here at the University that supplements tamoxifen with DIM for 18 months. It includes 3 MRIs and 6 blood draws. Either you get the DIM or a placebo. According to the contact I qualify! I am really thinking of doing it but I have to ask my onc. It would be 300mg DIM/day. Anyone know anything about DIM? I know it is an extract from cruciferous vegies like broccoli and kale but that's about all I know.0
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Yup - nothing at all dangerous in DIM - it's the isolated component of cruciferous veggies that has been shown to halt BC cells and shut them down. FINALLY so glad to hear SOMEBODY is doing trials of this!
I'd definitely be involved! Discussed it with my nutritionist when I first read about it -- but he decided that I don' t need DIM by itself since I'm aleady on a double cruciferous sprout shake plus daily juicing organic kale
But it's def nothing that will carry side effects!~ So glad they are paying attention to complimentary medicine! 0 -
<-------------- I always wanted to play on one of these things whenever we see them sitting in fields. Got to my brother's tonight to feed his dogs while he's away and the farmer across the street had cut and baled the hay in my bro's field - so I finally got to climb on one of these giant marshmallows! I stood up, but with the floral leggings, those pix came out too fat!
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Omaz: the only 2 things I know for sure about cruciferous vegetables are:
Cruciferous vegetables also cantain indole-3-carbidol (I3C). This element changes the way estrogen is metabolized and may prevent estrogen driven cancers.
Cruciferous vegetables also contain a kind of phytochemical known as isothiocyanates, which stimulate our bodies to break down potential carcinogens (cancer causing agents).
I would definitely join the study. I can't see why you should not. I think it would be great to be part of that study.
Sadly, and because I have such an awful thyroid condition, something else I know about cruciferous vegetables is raw cruciferous vegetables contain thyroid inhibitors known as goitrogens.
Goitrogens like circumstances that cause goiter, cause difficulty for the thyroid in making its hormone. Isothiocyanates appear to reduce thyroid function by blocking thyroid peroxidase, and also by disrupting messages that are sent across the membranes of thyroid cells.
People who have hypothyroid function should consider limiting and steaming cruciferous vegetables.
I only grill or steam vegetables but, and for the reasons noted above, I do limit them.
Calamtykel: nice pic! Isn't summer fun? Just the things you do when it is warm and the sun is out...it is good for the soul. I am only pretty sure I am FL bound w/in 5 years. This past winter did it and I love this summer weather.
Are you liking the taste of the kale smoothies any more? Have you found any tricks for flavoring?
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I have been juicing with an expeller juicer - mostly carrot/apple/beet and greens concoction. I find that adding lemon masks some of the, how shall we say, stronger favors!
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Lizzy - I love my kale shakes! I don't think they ever taste bad - I am growing my own russian kale in the garden plus I have the regular green kale growing (Russian is sort of purple and green). Sometimes I pick some dandelion greens from the grass and toss those in too. They're really bitter so you have to be careful, but they're like a super food, and for free!
Omaz - used to love my juicer. But I got lazy about cleaning it. So I just throw it all in the oster blender, and drink as much of the pulp as I can.
Just read a SUPER interesting and very disturbing article on the synthetic hormones they give cows to produce more milk. Will try to copy and paste it here - I think there was also a list attached that gave some of the companies who utilize "safe" milk - Dannon, Yoplait and surprisingly the Walmart brand.
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Here is the article. It's hard not to be completely OUTRAGED as an American that they have blindly exposed the population to things that TONS Of other countries have rejected as unsafe! THIS is where the "walk for the cure" and "pink ribbon" awareness money should be going!
To engineer a completely new and foreign protein and expect the human body to be biologically compatible with it without doing ANY HUMAN testing, and minimal animal testing is inexcusable!
Is There Something "Foreign" in Our Food Today that Wasn't There Before?
Absolutely!
Processed foods in general can contribute to allergies for a number of different reasons. Most processed foods contain a variety of food colorings, flavors, preservatives, and other additives can have a major impact. But there's another, even more insidious hazard lurking in American food stores...
In the mid-1990's, new food proteins were engineered and introduced into our food supply, yet many people are still, to this day, clueless about this. As O'Brien states, it was clearly done to maximize profitability for the food industry, yet NO human trials were ever conducted to see if these genetically engineered proteins were actually safe for animal- and human consumption.
One of the first foods to undergo this change was milk, which incidentally is also the number one food allergen in the US.
In 1994, the dairy industry started using a genetically engineered growth hormone, rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) on cows in order to increase milk production. However, it resulted in higher rates of disease in the treated livestock. To counteract the ill effects, dairies also had to start using more antibiotics, which we now know is one of the driving factors behind the rise in antibiotic-resistant superbugs in humans.
While Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and 27 countries in Europe refused to use rBGH due to the fact that it had not been proven safe, the United States took the opposite stance, and basically decided that since it hadn't been proven dangerous, it would be allowed...
As inconceivable as it may seem, prior to rBGH being introduced into the milk - and every other conceivable dairy product - that millions of Americans consume every day, it had only been tested on 30 rats for 90 days!
Why You Should be Concerned About rBGH in Your Milk
Samuel Epstein, MD, a scientist at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, is one of the top experts on cancer prevention. He is frequently called upon to advise Congress about things in our environment that may cause cancer, and he has written eight books, including two books on this particular topic What's in Your Milk?, and Got (Genetically Engineered) Milk?
In his books, Dr. Epstein explains that rBGH milk is "qualitatively and quantitatively different from natural milk," and is "supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), excess levels of which have been incriminated as major causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers."
In addition to increased IGF-1 levels, other differences between rBGH milk and natural milk include:
Contamination of milk by the genetically modified hormone rBGH
Contamination by pus and antibiotics resulting from the high incidence of mastitis in rBGH-injected cows
Contamination with illegal antibiotics and drugs used to treat mastitis and other rBGH-induced disease
Increased concentration of the thyroid hormone enzyme thyroxin-5'-monodeiodinase
Increased concentration of long-chain and decreased concentration of short-chain fatty acids
A reduction in levels of the milk protein casein
Armed with these facts, O'Brien began researching cancer rates, and lo and behold, the United States has the highest rates of cancer of any country on the planet. According to the statistics she compiled, one in two men, and one in three women are expected to get cancer in their lifetime. One in eight American women has breast cancer, and only one out of every 10 breast cancer cases is attributed to genetics.
Ninety percent are triggered by environmental factors.
What's Wrong with Our Soy and Corn?
Another common ingredient in processed food is soy, which is also one of the top eight food allergens. And again, we see the presence of something "foreign" as the vast majority of soy now grown in the US is genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of weed killer.
Ditto for corn.
Corn allergies are on the rise, and while some genetically modified corn is engineered to withstand Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, other varieties are engineered to create their own internal pesticide (Bt toxin). The biotech industry claimed there were no health risks to worry about from these altered foods. In the case of Bt corn, the concern that your gut might turn into a pesticide factory was shrugged off with lame assurances that the Bt toxin wouldn't survive once ingested.
However, just last month, a study revealed that Bt toxin was detected in:
93 percent of maternal blood samples
80 percent of fetal blood samples
69 percent of non-pregnant women blood samplesTurns out you cannot replace actual safety studies with lip service after all. Another recent review of 19 animal studies on genetically modified organisms (GMO) revealed that nearly 10 percent of blood, urine, organ and other parameters tested were significantly influenced by GMOs, with the liver and kidneys faring the worst. Additionally, Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and author of two books on the topic, has previously documented more than 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds.
Among them:
Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce
Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells
The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning
Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties.You can download the Non GMO shopping guide at this link: http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/
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And YES, we CAN turn the tide!!
Yoplait used to claim there was no way for them to know if their milk contained rbgh - but due to numerous consumer complaints, this was the result:General Mills to stop use of rBGH milk in Yoplait
Article by: MATT McKINNEY , Star Tribune
Updated: February 9, 2009 - 10:18 PMSaying consumers want the change, General Mills on Monday announced it would suspend by August the use of milk produced from cows injected with a synthetic hormone in all Yoplait yogurt.
The hormone, known as rBST or rBGH, helps a cow produce more milk but has come under increasing scrutiny from consumers.
"While the safety of milk from cows treated with rBST is not at issue, our consumers were expressing a preference for milk from cows not treated with rBST, and we responded," Becky O'Grady, General Mills' vice president of marketing for the Yoplait brand, wrote in a statement.
The hormone, sold under the brand name Posilac, was first marketed by Monsanto in 1994. The drug was purchased by a division of Ely Lilly last year.
Farmers use the hormone in their herds because it increases milk production by about one gallon per day per cow. It's approved for use in cows by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which says studies show it is safe for human consumption.
It has been banned in Canada, Australia, Japan and elsewhere. Studies showed its use has ill effects on cows, including increased incidence of mastitis, sometimes known as "turbo-udder," a condition in which the cow's mammary glands swell.
(YES--WONDER WHY THEY SWELL?? Because the hormone affects MAMMARY TISSUE! We consume that milk - why would it also not affect ours, even minutely, over the course of YEARS!)
In 2007, supermarket chains including Kroger and Publix began dropping milk made with rBGH from their shelves. Starbucks no longer sells dairy products made from rBGH.
General Mills, based in Golden Valley, had net sales of $14.9 billion in its most recent fiscal year.
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Debbi Your family is beautiful, and they all look like you around the eyes! Your youngest son really looks like you, and I love his hair. I gained 65 lbs when I was pregnant with Aidan, and after 13 hrs of labor and an emergency section they handed me a little clone of Colum. I mean, obviously I think dh is cute, but after all that work I thought I could've had a little more input;-)
We got Aidan's biopsy results. The neurologist said he doesn't have the congential muscle fiber disorder that he was thinking, but he does have some abnormalties consistent with low muscle tone. The details were a little hard for me to wrap my chemo brain around, but basically he said it's good in that he doesn't have a hereditary muscular disorder but there is an abnormality which we can use if needed to push for services with the school district. I didn't think at the time to ask how my daughter could have the same issues if it's not hereditary, but for now I'm just relieved it's relatively good news and we'll take it:-) He's really gotten into basketball lately and plays in our driveway all the time. He's getting pretty good and asks the neighbors if they'd like to see him play:-) When he was 4 I remember being worried because they scored him at 18 mos, or the 9th percentile in eye hand coordination. Seeing him play is a reminder to me how little percentages mean when you beat them!
Carolyn
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Good news Carolyn!0
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Good evening, warriors-
I feel like I am reporting live from Kabul...or Kabul circa 2008! Yes, my neighborhood is celebrating! The fireworks are so pretty at night. If I was up to it I wanted to go to NYC this weekend but I am just not feeling it just yet. Hopefully next year?!?? I almost get nervous putting things off...!
Calamtykel: That Bt corn story I know all about it. Do you know what grotesque fast food chain got a hold of some of the Bt corn in the open market and started using it to make their garbage food? Taco Bell. Some govt entity was going after Taco Bell to find out how they got it and how much they used. It is so awful.
As for milk, a friend has a dairy farm background and he has always warned me about milk. I also talked to him about the way milk is transported, in those steel tankers, and how there is no lining in the tanker, it is just milk against steel. I think we all should go back to the days, and when I was a child this is how we got our milk, with the local dairy farm delivering bottles of milk to the steel box on the front porch. They would come and pick up the empties and replace it with full bottles.
That is scary about the mammary glands. Very scary indeed. As I have said time and time again, our food sources are poisoned. Totally poisoned. Consequently, I am no horticulturalist but have decided next year to plant a garden.
I thought of you also because I just saw "Winter's Bone" last night and the kids are playing on those hay rolls that you and your daughter are sitting on in your new avatar!
Ckptry: I am so very happy that Aidan is out, happy and playing basketball! That is such good news! All those percentages are hog wash. You just keep supporting to fight all these labels and stats and surely he will become the best he can be. I am just so happy the results of his tests showed no hereditary problems and that he does not have the congenital muscle fiber disorder they were looking for. The results seem to tilt in your favor in that the results showed some abnormalities that will help you secure more services. I guess in a lot of ways the outcome of the tests both helped to allay your fears and help you with the schools. Good stuff.
On the hand to eye coordination one of my nephews had an "eye muscle" situation. Well, after years of those video games, he is f-i-n-e! I am sure, as a nurse, you are aware of this. I guess Xbox and all those other games are good for something!
Well, in closing I must tell you all I have grown tired of chasing down nursing programs, trying to figure out pre-requisites and being disgruntled about how even after finishing the pre-reqs, I could still not get in or be wait listed for a nursing program. I have decided off to law school I go!!! That is what I always wanted to do/was supposed to do. I think it is better I am doing in later in life because in my 20's, with my mouth, I would have been in trouble a lot for contempt! In the end it will take me as long to finish law school as it would to get into and through a nursing program and studying law makes me very happy! I am so excited! Very excited! I think I got caught up in the whole medical job thing because of going through this experience the past year but in the end you have to be true to yourself and roll with your talents! My father always told me my biggest problem was below my nose and above my chin! I guess now I am going to put that to work for me!!!!!!! His wife was too cheap to bury him so wherever his remains are, he will be spinning in his urn!!!!
I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. Enjoy yourselves and remember, every minute is a gift so make the most of each.
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lizzy - I am happy for you - you will be a fantastic lawyer - I can't wait to see what area of law you get into. Congrats!!!0
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Hi Everyone!! Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. The weather here is gorgeous, so I am definitely enjoying the outdoors!
Carolyn: So glad to hear that the biopsy news was positive. However, it must be very frustrating for you not knowing what is causing the problems. You are a very strong woman, I give you tons of credit!! Its great that Aidan has progressed so far against the odds. It must make you feel good. What a start, already beating the odds! Basketball is great for hand/eye coordination and they can play all by themselves at home. BTW, I saw some of your pics on FB, your children are adorable!
Lizzy: A LAWYER!! That is great. I think you will make a fantastic lawyer. Personally, my impression is that it will fit your personality better than nursing. Did you get the results of that sonogram before the holiday weekend?
Cal: I can't give up my milk, I grew up with the notion that it is good for you and personally I love my glass of milk in the a.m. But I did switch to Tuscan brand because it is hormone free.... Does that cover the hormones talked about in your article too?
Tex: Hope you got to go camping and are enjoying your good news celebration!
I am going on a retreat for breast cancer survivors next weekend....fly fishing! It's called Casting for Recovery..I will report back after the weekend if it is good. They have them all over the country, so everyone could find one near them if it is good. I have to go buy my first bathing suit in about 15 years!! Didn't have the guts to put one on before, but I am ready to try now. I think I will try that Lands End link from Cal, as even though I didn't have MX, they removed half of my breast with the lumpectomy and I am definitely lop-sided!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Enjoy the fireworks!!
Debbi
Debbi
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Sptmm: I hope you have a lovely time fly fishing! That should be so much fun! Even if you have never done it being away on a retreat with other bc survivors should be comforting and a nice getaway. I am happy for you.
Unfortunately, as for my sonogram, there is a spot in my liver. Even more unfortunately, as per this article right here on this site, http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/recur_metast/where_recur/ , bc likes to spread to the liver. I remember my APRN at Yale telling me bc likes to spread to lungs, liver and brain. My GP feels the radiologist might be overreading the sonogram and being extra cautious because of my bc dx. Needless to say, off to the CT scan I go probably next week. I will keep you all posted. What are you gonna do? This is the nature of cancer and this is what it does! I can live without breasts but not without my liver so we shall see where this road takes me!!!! Gadzooks...it is always something with this bc business!
Have a great weekend, Deb.
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Debbi - I won't give up my milk either.
I get it from a family owned dairy in PA, about 45 minutes from here. It's unpasteurized and unhomogenized so you have to shake it up every time you use it. But there' s nothing like raw milk - They don't use any hormones or crap either. I guess the best thing if you're buying from the store is to look for "no hormones no antibiotics". The more consumers demand it, the more they'll make changes! We still buy regular butter, cheese etc., but at least I figure we're reducing the overall "load" of crap..... I'm wondering now if walmart brand cheeses are ALSO hormone free? May make a phone call about that one!
It is illegal to sell raw milk in NJ _ it's illegal to even bring it over the state lines. But not in PA, so I break the law (or my friend does -we swap milk runs)! every couple of weeks and haul over a ton of it. I freeze it - it's definitely not as good after it's been frozen but at least I know where it came from.
The only other way to get it here in Jersey is under the table - a couple of local farms do it, cash only, and don't advertise it. Really wish I had a cow...............NO really, Can someone explain to me why they can add synthetic hormones to our milk UNTESTED on humans, pesticides to our food supply, genetically modified GARBAGE that they pass as wholesome food, but it's "illegal" to sell raw milk, which humankind has LIVED ON SUCCESSFULLY FOR CENTURIES? UGH!
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Lizzy: So sorry to hear this!! I certainly hope your GP is right and it turns out to be nothing. I understand where you are coming from as I too had that "spot in my hip episode"....got to do three separate MRIs for that one....FUN, FUN, FUN. But you are right and it is funny I was trying to explain to my Mom the other day how the nature of BC is such that you are in a constant state of uncertainty. I guess as we get further away from treatment we will have more faith that it really is all gone, but right now it just seems like we are waiting for the other shoe to drop! Please keep us updated on the CT findings. I get to have my third breast MRI Thursday....YIPPEE! So much fun!! Seriously, the most terrifying thing I have ever done, but we do what we are told, right. I made it through the test twice so I will make it through the third time too. Good luck with the CT and hopefully you can push the worry out of your mind and enjoy this weekend.
Debbi
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Cal: That is one of the quagmires of legislation. They make all these laws seemingly to protect us....from what? How is it okay to poison the milk with hormones, etc but God's own milk is Illegal!! Makes no sense.
Debbi
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