Australian Sisters
Comments
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Jenn, so happy to hear that you are comfy. I also have my fingers crossed for b9 path results.
I still remember the very first drain being pulled out by a nurse who I think had no idea. She yanked so hard it felt like she was pulling me inside out. I was scared to get the last one pulled but my BS did it when he called me in to tell me he had to go back in again for a second op and he eased it out and I didnt feel a thing. Cant remember who pulled the next 2 out after the second op but they mustnt have hurt or I would remember.
We always remember the painful things dont we. I remember worrying for weeks when it was time for the port to come out. I couldnt understand (and didnt have anyone to ask) as to how they could close the artery/vein in my neck up after removing the port. I was envisaging teensie stitches around a vein. You can imagine my feelings when I finally got to ask just before the procedure and they said they just pinch it closed. Good thing they knocked me out shortly after haha.
Ive got today off and am taking my mum to lunch soon. I love doing that, its a nice meal out and I get to catch up with the little things that we forget to talk about on the phone with each other. I try to do it every week and usually succeed.
Anyone other than me watching Big Brother? Think we got it wrong last night in evicting Ava, Im not sure how much longer I can stand Angies temper tantrums. Feel like she should be put in a time out every time she loses the plot. Loving the dog they put in the house, sooo sweet. Sadly everytime they do the panorama of the house, I feel like booking a week in a top hotel at the gold coast, but cant afford the time or money to do so arggggh.
Hope everyone is having a great day - its beautiful weather up here too
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Hi Linda
It's intersting that you felt pain with your drains coming out - I never felt a thing with either - mainly because the area they were in were (and still are) completely numb! I was freaking out about the second one coming out. The BS told me to close my eyes and count to 5. When I got to 3 he told me to open my eyes - and he was holding it in front of me lol.
Enjoy your lunch with your mum - sounds like a nice way to spend a Wednesday :-) We don't watch Big Brother, we live in a black hole as far as tv reception goes, so don't get any commercial stations and have to pay for Foxtel to get any tv at all.
Trish
xoxo
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Hello all. Jenn glad you are doing fine.
Midnight I read somewhere that Maria Weiss one of the founding members of this site used that treatment or similar for her breast cancer treatment. Can't find the link to that but I do remember reading about it. I do remember she did not have total breast RX or chemo just the cyber knife to target her incision. Wonder if anyone knows more it would be interesting to find out.
Hope you all have a great day.
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i gurantee it would be an interesting thing to find out. now that i am aware of what it is. surgery to the brain would be a rather delicate procedure. if thatcyber knife worked i would prefer to have that if i had to go there. but thanks goodness i dont . tho last week i had that nasty head ache, that is still just sitting there between the ear and temple. nurofen seems to shake it up and it goes away, but not completely gone. anyways i started to think horrible things with that headache. you get abit paranoid after BC dx. but i think it could be alot of stress miagrains and tams s/e. anyway. i try not to think the worst, not easy at times.
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I really feel like I'm done with my mother. Relationship has always been all about her and no surprise with further proof today.
Tried our best (me, hubby and best friend) to contact her after my surgery but her answer phone was not working and she obviously wasn't checking emails so the best we could do was phone and leave a message with her BF, which I personally did while still all drugged up.
Got an email from her today cataloguing the lack of contact made to her (keep in mind my BFF has emailed her every 2nd day). Not a single word in the email asking how I am...
I emailed her back politely cataloguing how we had tried to contact her and pointed out that her self centredness had obviously prevented her from even asking about me - and I cc'd her BF so she can see how my mother emailed me.
Right now could not care if I ever hear from her again.
Jenn0 -
So sorry Jenn. You shouldnt have to be dealing with that sort of crap at any time, never mind when you are recovering from major surgery. Thank god you have a VERY loving Dh and kids to give you the support you need and deserve. Not to mention we all love you too
plus I know for a fact you have a stack of brilliant friends cause we were all keeping vigil on your fb together lol.I know it probably wont help, but if I was you Id concentrate/expend energy on yourself and those others in your life you know you can count on and put your mum out of your mind until you feel strong enough. If you absoutely have to, you can worry about her in a few weeks when you are up and about again.
Grab a pill off the nurses and get some sleep hun. Sending a heap of gentle hugs to you, along with some admiring glances at your new boobs lol.
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Jenn - she would get along really well with my mother. When I was diagnosed she said to my brother "How could she do this to me" - he had to point out to her that I was the one with breast cancer. She never asks how I am either. But as she is nearly 84, I have to put up with it.
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Oh Jenn - you don't need this at the moment.
My dad was the one that was never there for me. When I was dx my brother gave him his mobile phone and said call your daughter. He never did. His fourth wife (yes - he was married a lot lol) passed away from bc so he certainly knew how serious it could be. But he never called, never asked how I was and he passed away a few weeks after my mx.
We can't pick our family - but we all love and support each other here, so celebrate that instead.
Trish
xoxo
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oh Jenn, you don't need this right now, i understand, when it comes to family, they can be the ones to hurt you the most aye. i know, been there too. but now its you time, you are the one that needs the love and support and you need to put you first and heal. unfortuantely this is your mums problem, as hard as it is, you have enough to deal with, with out the stress of your mothers woe is me. my mum has done the same, but knows that hubby wont take any crap, so she has learnt to adjust, and get over it. i wish you did not have this right now. its hard to do. but you will have to try and put her in the back thoughts and concentrate on you and yours, that is most important. we all are here, i may be across the ditch, but with you in spirit, keep your chin up and rest and i will be thinking of you today with yr results . warm hugs xxx0
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Good morning everyone.
Jenn, remember your Mum is being extremely self-centred, you are the important one at the moment and as Linda said you have a wonderful familyand friends who are there for you. Good luck with your results today, I will be thinking of you.
I hope Kate is enjoying her new job. Trish I hope your job is still going well.
Well after thinking Tamox isn't affecting me much, my lower regions have decided to crack, shrink and annoy the heck out of me. I got something from the chemist but at nearly $40 for a months worth, I can't afford that on top of everything else, and it doesn't seem to be doing much. We don't have any compounding pharmacies so the scream cream others mention on this site is no good, and I seem to have tried every lube available. Any cheap, easy hints. TMI but it's not a case of use it or lose it, that only exaserbates the problem.
Hugs to all xx
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Hi all!
Jenn I swear your mum and mine must be twins or the older generation of women were born totally self centered. Forget the hurt she has caused you and concentrate on healing.
Kylie I got so bad with the dryness I ended up mentioning it to my specialist and he prescribed vagifem tab to be inserted no more than twice a week. I'm ER+ like you and I was a bit leary of using them but he assured me that the amount of crossover systemically is negligible so no harm. It's worth chatting to your doc about.
Well I don't know why but I have just stayed up all night watching the whole of the first series of Smash. I recorded it when it was broadcast on Fox earlier this year. Now I think I need to go get myself a few hours sleep.
Have a great day all!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Chrissy - we watched Smash on Foxtel! Loved it, can't wait for the new series to start.
Sleep well
Trish
xoxo
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Well I had me some sleep (mind you I could do with m
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Well I had me some sleep (mind you it could have been more) and I'm rearing to go........not. I don't know why I do that to myself coz I'm getting way too old for it!
Trish I can't wait for the next series either. I think that Katharine McPhee has a wonderful voice and so versatile.........beside I liked MM when she was alive and I think it was a nice tribute to her.
Jenn hope you are feeling a bit more on the up and up.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Another relaxing day trying to balance activity with inactivity to keep my drains from draining too much. I think one of them may be able to come out tomorrow but I would still need to stay here until Sunday as my local area health board can't send out a community nurse until Monday and my dr won't send me home with a drain on Friday if it can't be checked over the weekend.
So, I guess I'll probably be out Sunday with either no drains or with 1.
Jenn0 -
Hey Jenn I know the thought if a longer stay even though only a coule of days is not what you were looking forward to but realistically it is the absolute best place to be right now. The one thing that must be guarded against right now is the possibility of any infection and going home with drains in a no one to check on then just opens the door for those little microbes to set up a huge party.
Take it easy and revel in the fact that you get to put your feet up for a while.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Young man in the room next to me is having a psychotic episode... They are waiting for the psych consult. Having grown up in a household with the sounds of late night swearing and throwing of things just like is happening next door I am finding this evening a little stressful...
I feel so sad for him ... Mental illness is a terrible thing that affects so many young...
Jenn0 -
Hi Jenn, I agree with the other ladies about your mother. It is her problem, not yours. You have so many people who really care about you and are there for you.
Any news on the biopsy result?0 -
Racy!!!!!
BS has just been in....
While the enlarged node they took out during my surgery last week was reactive there was no cancer in it, or in any of my breast tissue from either breast :-)
So happy...
And they seem to have dealt with the young man, Matthew, next door.
Jenn0 -
Jenn as if you haven't got enough to contend with, seems like a really weird ward, how big is the hospital? I think Chrissys' advice is a good one, lots of rest and let others look after you. Once you get home it will be tempting to do more. Heck I have all this to look forward to and it is frightening the pants off me. Every time I get dressed or adjust my boobs I get reminded that I will not have them for long and I am so sad. Just tell me yours are better than the original. Barbie boobs are the way to go!
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Jenn, fantastic news all round. So happy for you. What a relief!
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Jenn - now that the man in the next room has been taken care of, relax and enjoy the rest. Good news on the node issue!!!!
Busy day - had a sickie as I couldn't sleep last night due to worrying about the pool salt cell. I paid over $400 for a new one yesterday and it didn't work. The pool had not been filtered since Saturday. Turned out the idiot who wired it up did it wrong. All fixed and working now. While I was home I took advantage and called the plumber - we had beeen getting really loud noises from this valve that connects to the solar hot water. All fixed already and shouldn't cost much over $100, so I can now relax. I was SO worried there was something wrong with the solar system. It was such a relief to find out it was only a valve. Any expense gets me really worried these days. Also took advantage of being home and installed the new version of our virus software on Steve's laptop - I can forget all about computer problems for now - I hope.
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Thats wonderful news about the b9 results Jenn, so very very happy for you and your family. Also glad its quietened down, poor boy.
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Famous last words about quiet... Mathew next door now has 2 guards posted at his door but that doesn't stop him from throwing things around his room. Not sure why they don't restrain him - but maybe then he would get verbally louder... I have told my nurse that I grew up in a verbally and physically abusive house and that this is stresssing me - so they know...
Lolalee - these breasts are pretty impressive. Actually a bit larger than I wanted but hubby doesn't seem to mind. I can see that once they are healed with new nipples they could be pretty impressive! Stretch marks seem to be all gone from my stomach too although it is still very swollen.
I am at RPA as a private patient which gave me this private room - just unfortunate that poor Mathew needs a private room for an entirely different reason. Very eclectic ward - breast patients, HIV, infectious diseases and drug and alcohol. Wondering if this young man's problem is a drug induced psychosis.
I am the only breast patient I have seen here all week...
Jenn0 -
Jenn great great news about the node clearance, makes this all worthwhile.
I was initially thinking of TE and implants but now wonder if I could tolerate a 12 hour procedure. Sure sounds like very impressive boobs, the surgeon must be very skillful to create such a masterpiece.
Drugs are soul destroying do feel for the young mans' family. Staff will probably knock him out for the night so everyone can get some sleep.
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Staff have tried to get him to take under tongue wafers - he has refused...
My darling hubby has been in and tucked me in for the night and reminded me that this young man is not my father and this is an entirely different situation even though the sounds are similar to those of my childhood.
Lolalee - I am 47yrs and currently in the (slightly) overweight category. I did up the exercise as much as I was able in the weeks leading up to the surgery to increase my stamina. I think that has helped.
I practiced getting out of bed without using my arms or stomach muscles as well and that has also helped.
On the whole the care here has been very good and the surgeons amonst the best in the country. Only one better than my PS according to one of the more experienced nurses - and the one who is "better" used to operate here, now only operates at a private hospital and is measurably more expensive and near impossible to get to do immediate recon which is what I needed.
Happy to give you my PS name by PM if you want.
Trying to go to sleep now...
Jenn0 -
Sleep well Jenn. Happy dancing for the news!!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
For those planning to come to Brisbane for our get together, I found a sale on flights and have posted the link in our fb page. Sale ends 8th Oct. Half thinking of buying flights for my mum to go visit her bro in Tassie -might make a lovely xmas pressie for her
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Hi all, been dropping in and reading how you are all tracking, glad you are on the mend Jenn, I did see on the BCNA page:)
Enjoy your trip to Brisbane girls and where was that flight special Linda?
X
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Hi to all my Aussie & Kiwi friends - I don't seem to manage to get here quite as often as I'd like - or even as often as I think of all of you. Writing my blog and massaging bodies seems to keep me out of trouble these days. But I do like to drop in once in awhile and see how you all are getting along.
It must be warming up there, because it's getting much colder here. Tree leaves have turned red and gold and autumn is definitely here. My hubbie is still threatening to go to Perth mid-November and work in the warmer climate, he hates it here when it gets cold!
Good news Jenn, wishing you much healing and a speedy recovery. Back in May I wrote an article about my top favorite things to promote surgery recovery - hope it helps! http://marnieclark.com/my-top-favorite-things-to-promote-surgery-recovery/ I wish I'd posted it for you before your surgery, ah well.
Kylie - I chuckled over your "dried up bits", I can definitely relate. I use organic coconut oil - probably not the most convenient thing but it has no nasty chemicals in it at least.
Sending hugs to everyone!
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