2010 Sisters
Comments
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I was 5 years out in...was it May or June? I never in the wide world thought I'd forget that exact date, but I have!! My oncologist and I discussed quitting anastrozole or continuing, and she gave me pretty much the same info I've read here, and said it was my decision. So I'm stopping to see how I feel off it, but am so surprised to find I'm nervous about quitting! Took the last one today, and I'll see her again in October. Still on a twice a year schedule with her, but now mammos only once a year, which is nice. They always freak me out a bit. Always diagnostic mammos and usually followed by ultrasound. Such a relief to walk out of there free for another year!!
@BarbaraA, I am really sorry to read your news! Not fair, but it sounds as if the outlook is still good. Yay! Smack that thing down. Your spunk and positive attitude will go a long way!!
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BocaCiegaBabe Good to see you. My "official diagnosis" was July 13th but I knew before my biopsy. October 5th was my first chemo. Also my sister's birthday. August 31st was my BMX.
Now ask my the name of the gal I met today and I couldn't tell you. Ask me in about a year and I bet I can.
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Congrats on your 5 year mark lago, but my gosh yours was a rough journey! You put me to shame with your dates. Awesome=recalling those precise dates. Tough=that there are so many dates to remember. You did it and are on the other side, but isn't it great you didn't know the exact journey from the get go? Bit by bit is easier to take. I too knew before my biopsy. The look on the radiologist's face when he told me after that ultrasound not to delay getting it seen to left zero doubt in my mind what this was.
I'm having second thoughts about not taking my anastrozole in the morning. <Insert chicken emoticon>!!
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My oncologist is more than hinting that I should take it a full 10 years! She says I'm high risk due to size. My journey wasn't as rough as you think.
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Just joining in the "checking in". Over the 5 yr. hump BUT have to tack on another 5 yrs of Tamoxifen due the Grade 3 aggressiveness + high Onoctype DX breast score. It's all in God's hands.....He will not take anyone of us one minute sooner or later than what is in his plan.
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I just got a Facebook message from Amy Jo"s (Elissimo) daughterand she will be going into hospice tomorrow or the next day. I am heading up there as soon as she is moved. I will keep you all posted. I hate cancer.
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It is with great sorrow that I must tell you that Amy Jo (Elisimo) passed today at 11. My heart is broken.
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this is where it began
And this is where it ends
Sooo sorry for u Barb...she is with her pals Marybe and SV.
May she fly with the angels ..
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checking in on behalf of my wife, 5 years NED today.
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So sad to hear about Maryjo
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Yay imatthew!
Last Saturday I was in NYC to meet mumorange (from Australia) and survivorwoman (lives in NYC) to celebrate 5 years. I'll update this post in a few days with photos. We had an amazing time! We celebrated life.
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Have not been here in a while but am finally feeling good. My 5 years came and went and celebrated with the hubby. Took tamoxifen for 4 1/2 years and had to stop I could not take the SE's any longer. MO said he was proud of me sticking with it as long as I did but still wants 10 years out of me because I did not do chemo and my oncology type was higher than they expected it to be.So I am now on Aromasin and doing really good. I have had some sore joints but glucosamine has helped. Only other SE is I have started to have bad gas hope it goes away.
I am so sad to hear about Amy Jo she was always such a positive light
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Hi Sherryc from one Texan to another. Sorry about the se with Tamo. I am entering my sixth year while trying to ignore the minor se but have run into a huge one as of late. My hair is starting to fall out again. :-( Everytime I run the sweeper I have to clean the beater bar & get a small handful of MY hair. It is so depressing. At this rate, by the time I finish 10yrs. I will be bald again. The list is not as active as in the beginning but if anyone has any suggestion or input I would really appreciate hearing it. Wondering if Evening Primrose Oil (without estrogen) or Saw Palmetto would help. Biotin 5000mcg didn't seem to do a thing for me in the beginning after chemo.
Hope you are enjoying the grandkids and the nice MILD weather.
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Norma Jean they want you on it for 10 years too. I'm finishing up year 5 this month. I did 3 years of Anastrozole and now on Exemestane. I do use men's Minoxidil once a day. It has helped reduce the hair loss and I do have some regrowth too.
Love hearing from my 2010 cistas!
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Hey Lago!!!......glad to know you are still around & active on the boards. I have a couple that I have sent via email but rarely post. I like your short hair....it really looks good on you. Yes, 10yrs for me since mine was a grade 3. It's a real bummer. After Herceptin my hair grew back in but in different stages/kinds. Never did get what I had before and a whole lot less. I tried the Minoxidil but couldn't stand the way it made my hair feel.......yucky but then maybe I just didn't do it correctly.
How have you been doing?? My breast surgeon screwed up my second mastectomy so I never got recon. :-( Oh well, at my age it doesn't matter anymore. I am going to go to my PCP to have a full thyroid panel done to see if that is the cause of this excessive hair loss. So much has happened since we last touched base. Good to hear from you. Hope all is well.
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NormaJean I'm doing great. I forget how old you are but with age your hair does thin. Some of us more than others. It's the lack of estrogen. But yes you should have your thyroid checked because hair loss can be a sign of issues with thyroid.
Sucks your BS screwed up. Hell I think you have the right to have recon at any age. Why should older age make you less worthy. Hell my mom still colors her hair at age 78. She will informed me when she dies, her hair will still be red
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HI Norma Jean--I ended up having to stop the Aromosin. AFter about 3 months one night I got in the bath tub and could not get out. Had to get on my hands and knees an crawl out. I ended up having my ovaries removed and stopping all meds. I take a DIM supplement which I was taking one a day now a take two a day. GYNO said it was a good thing I had my ovaries removed. One was completely encapsulated in scar tissue and he really wondered why I had not already had problems with pain, the other one looked great. So now I am no longer on any meds. Kinda scary since they wanted 10 years out of me but my quality of life just meant more to me. In my heart of heats I really feel I will never have breast cancer again so I am really good with stopping meds
Lago I really like your short hair too. I went shorter a couple of years ago and love it.
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Thanks everyone. I never grew my hair back. This is the longest it's been since it fell out over 5.5 years ago
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Lago....yes I realize everything you said is correct but this wan't a gradual thing. Sharing your mother's point of view was hilarious, that must be where you got your sense of humor.
Sherry, I'm sorry you had to suffer with the Aromasin. Honestly, I feel my quality of life is in the toilet. BUT, with a positive ER and HERS2 along with a Grade 3 I'm not comfortable discontinuing just yet. What is DIM supplement & what is it's purpose? My bio doesn't reflect it but when I had the second mastectomy I also had a hysterectomy, of course as Lago eluded to, the same BS screwed up (I believe intentionally) and I came out with a simple mastectomy instead of another skin sparing like the effect breast was done. Now it's just water under the bridge. I guess that's why this hair thing is driving me nuts.........at least leave me something.
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My mom thinks I'm funnier than her. But we have the same dry humor.
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Norma Jean it is a supplement that is like taking lot's of crucifix vegetables. It is suppose to help convert bad estrogen into good estrogen. My gyno really believes in in, and I figure it can't hurt anything by taking it.
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Sherry, I found a list called just that DIM. I was curious about it & the posts I read dated back to 2009. What brand do you buy and what dosage do you use. You have a good GYN....not happy with mine currently....but I like doctors that have an open mind not just what the pharmaceutical companies hand out for samples.
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Norma Jean I order mine from Allstarhealth.com that is the cheapest I could find. I get the one made by Olympian Labs, Inc. DIM-150mg. I take one in the AM and one in the PM. My husband also takes them. He gets testosterone replacment and his doctor told him that a certain amount of testoterone will turn into estrogen and that in men the bad estrogen causes man boobs so this will help turn the estrogen into good estrogen. Same concept for us bad estrogen causes breast cancer good estrogen helps fight breast cancer. I was taking one a day when I was on tamoxifen and then on Aromosin but when I got off of those and had my ovaries removed my gyno wanted me to take two a day.
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Hey Sherry! Thanks for the info. I went to the website and wanted to let you know they are having a sale on the DIM.
Have a good weekend.
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Checking in after a long absence. I am a surviving 2010 Sister. My problem is living with the long term effects of chemo.
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Wow I can’t believe I haven’t been here in years. I guess I’ve been busy dealing with wffing cancer. I had three Mets to my lumbar spine which are sleeping. And the xgeva seems to be filling the holes back in. I had scans about a month ago and the verdict is no new results. I’ll take it.
So I’ve been living with Mets for 58 months, I feel pretty good most of the time. And considering that the average survival after dx is 23-34 months, I’ll take it. Hindsight is 20/20 but if I’d been smart, I would have blown off the DIM and just taken my letrozole. Just sayin.
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Barbara it is good to hear from you I have not been on here in years either but this message popped up in my email. I have thought about you often. Glad you are doing well fighting this cancer. Hugs to you. I did take my meds for 4 1/2 years but the side effects were just too bad they wanted me to take it for 10 years. So my onco and gyno decided 4 1/2 was long enough (I needed my quality of life back) and took my ovaries out. So far so good. Have had way less hot flashes than with the drugs.
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good for you Sherry! Glad you’re getting along. I was perusing the threads and I see the same means girls dominating. The dead rocker thread started by Blue was hijacked by Jackie and is now nothing but a poorly done #hatetrump fest. I guess people who aren’t dying yet, have too much time on their hands. Hoping everyone is well.
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I know what you mean. When I was going through my surgeries in 2013 and my last in 2015 I got on some of the surgical threads. I thought I could be of assistance with some of what I had been through. I had some real challenges with my reconstruction and wrote praises about my doctor. I was accused of working for my doctor because I was too far out from diagnoses. I told them how mean I thought they were and I that I would not return to the thread. I actually believed my surgeon was amazing because he was able to deal with some real challenges and make it come out good. You are right they have too much time on their hands. I have moved to a small town in west Texas to be closer to my son and family (grandkids) and I work 4 days a week at a oil well service company and am busy doing ministry work. I don't have time for hate. LOL
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How great that you moved closer to family. Yes, I used to stop by every couple months but the mean girls I cannot abide. So I’m gone again for some unknown amount of time. I have a great MBC support group on Facebook so I’ll just stay there. So glad you’re doing well!
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