Australian Sisters
Comments
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Nicholas Stephen 7lbs and the length seems a bit short 39cms - I think they might have made a mistake on that one. Still waiting for a photo - SIL is totally hopeless.
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Hello all
Good to hear everyone's news. Sue - congrats on the new arrival :-)
Sheila - I had to laugh too at your itching description, I usually get itches when I have to be still - but not that bad lol You sound like you have a lovely DH
Kate - good to hear about the echo - and yes - sounds like your hair is coming in. I think the fluffy white stuff will fall out, isn't it funny how quick you forget some things?! I seem to remember thinking what's all this fluffy stuff coming up - then the hair started.
I'm doing well - plate is not quite as uncomfortable, but it's defenitely not right, my bite doesn't "feel" right. But it's not too bad. Will wait till I see the dentist a week on Tuesday and see how it feels then. At least I can eat lol
Hope everyone is doing ok - Jenn and Kylie - hope your treatments aren't too savage on you xoxo
Trishxoxo
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49 cms not 39 - still a bit short. Still waiting for photos.
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Finally received the photos - he sent them last night and it took until now to receive them - dodgy ISP I guess.
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Sue - he's just gorgeous!
Trish
xoxo
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Looks very like her at a week old - time will tell. We looked at her baby album and here I was thinking he was short - she was exactly the same length just 6oz heavier and she was 3 weeks early.
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Gorgeous Bub!!! welcome to the world little one xx
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Thanks Kate - I think he's cute.
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Ooooo congrats Sue!!!! He is gorgeous! and I bet you can't wait to get yor hands on him!........lol. He certainly is a good size considering he is three weeks early!
Well my long weekend went off fantastically! I picked my SIL up on Friday and returned her home today. We always have a lot of fun together and I never know just what she is going to do or say but she always manages to have me in fits of laughter and this weekend was definitely no different. My face muscles have had a really good workout!
I have ditched the walking stick! I am feeling the knee is strong enough to support me and I have been walking up the stairs at the hospital like a normal person and also the stairs at home so I'm figuring I don't really need the stick so it is now officially retired.....lol. I go to see the doc who did the replacement op tomorrow for my follow up and I'm hoping that he is as please as I am with the progress.
Hoping everyone is having a good day!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Chrissy, sounds like you are doing exceptionally well and you deserve a gold star, well at least a good pat on the back from your Dr tomorrow.
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Thanks Kate! How's the hair growing?.......lol......love you description of the ' white fuzz'........lol
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Chrissy - he was 4 weeks early. Glad to hear you are walking without your stick. Has the swelling gone down yet?
How are we going with our plans for a get together in June?? Even if none of the other girls can make it, I am going to meet Chrissy at least - even if I have to come to the Clare Valley and find her!!!
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Sue I'll make sure I come down to Adelaide for the 23 rd June. I wouldn't miss meeting as many girls as possible as I'm really looking forward to it. Oh wow! Four weeks early! Sound like if he had gone full term he would have been a nine pounder for sure! Maybe it was a very good thing that he came early..........lol
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I've always said that about Annie - she was 7lb 6oz and 3 weeks early. Mark was 9lb 3oz and a week overdue. I was 9lb 5oz and my brother was 10lb 7oz, so I expect big babies in our family.
I can't wait to meet you and give you a hug!!!!
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Susie you are up early!!
This is the latest addition to our family, a little great neice who was born Friday, C section, fine now but had fluid on her lungs and low blood sugar. Still getting some oxygen. Her name is Ayla Beth.
Must get going its playgroup this morning.
Big hugs to all
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Wow - two gorgeous little ones in a week, Alyson I hope little Ayla gets off the oxygen soon.
Well done Chrissy - it sounds like you a re walking like a pro lol Good to hear you had a great weekend with your SIL
All going well here, nothing new to report really, just very cold and foggy.
Kylie and Jenn - how are you two going?
Trishxoxo
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Wow Alyson - they were born the same day - she's gorgeous.
I get up @ 5:30am every day - leave for work at 6:45
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Congrats for all the babies! We are a LONG way off any in our family with our oldest only being 20yrs and no-where near thinking about settling down (recently broke up with her boyfriend).
I'm sorry I've been so quiet. This cold I caught really hit me hard and I still have it hanging around. With the not sleeping since last December, combined with night coughs etc it's been a loooooong week and a half. I ended up taking half the week off work last week and came in yesterday and only lasted a 1/2 day before going home. Today I feel a bit better and think I may actually manage a whole day at work!
I've only got 4 weekly Taxol/Herceptin treatments left! I have an appt with the Radiation Oncologist on the 22nd of this month to choose my treatment plan (we met in January and she sent me off with 3 options).
I have since realised that no-one had ever asked me questions about any previous conditions that may have required multiple x-rays - it turns out this is quite important and if anyone had ever asked I would have had to say "yes". You see I spent the first 2 years of my life with my parents living in Africa and during that time I was innoculated against TB. In my early teens in New Zealand all teens in Year 7 were given a TB "test" and innoculated. Because I showed positive to the test and my parents couldn't prove that I'd been innoculated (no paperwork from Africa!) I was monitored for nearly 3 years in my teens with 3-4 monthly chest x-rays on a "better safe than sorry" basis I remember the doctor at the time saying. Turns out that it wasn't 'safe" and it is well documented in academic papers that those monitoring x-rays cause increased incidence of breast, thyroid and lung cancers. There are actually guidelines out there stating that women in my position should be monitored from early on for signs of any of those cancers. Geez - no-one told ME that and I have no records from those years.
So I am facing the reality that my BC was probably as a result of those "better safe than sorry" x-rays (now makes sense since I had no other risk factors) and that having radiotherapy is probably going to put me even more at risk of subsequent cancers than is usual from radiotherapy. I have an appointment with my surgeon next Monday and am seriously going to be asking if, with this new knowledge, she would recommend I go the full BMX at this point.
I have emailed the RO with this new information to give her a "heads up". Will be interesting to find out what she thinks. When I spoke about this with my MO last week she pretty much brushed it off as not important. I was NOT happy about that since it's catalogued quite extensively in academic papers... May not be that "important" to them but it's a huge issue for me...
Jenn
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Jenn thats really interesting. As a teenager I actually had polio: long story but there was a problem with the vaccine - active instead of inactive. As a result I had severe back problems for which I had so many xrays monitoring what was happeningto my spine and hips etc. The polio has left me with post polio syndrome and is probably contributing to the fibromyalgia. I also have RA which I developed as a teenager. However, I hadn't thought about the xrays and cancer.
Jennfound radiation OK but very tiring and with my really fair Scots-Irish skin I burnt. So keep the creams on the skin it does help.
I must go had have my cup of tea. It's pouring with rain today which is great for the garden.
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That is interesting Jenn. I think I've only had x-rays maybe 5 times in my life, so don't think that's the cause for me. But I'm apparently at higher risk because I've never had children.
I heard an interesting interview on ABC a little while ago. Some doctor or professor was being interviewed about why he was recommending to the Vatican that all nuns go on the pill. Apparently nuns have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. It is thought that women who do not have children should go on the pill for extended periods of time and only have a period or two per year. This mimics pregnancy and the thought is it may lower bc occurrences.
I guess none of us will really know why we got it.
But Jenn, you need to follow up with what you've learned. A bmx would be a pretty drastic move, but at least you would have less worry.
Trish
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Just wanted to post here after a shock at the new look on the forum.
I guess we'll all have to see how easy it is to get used to :-)
I'll be stuck in a training course for the next two days - we are learning to use Project 2010, which will help a lot with all the projects we are currently juggling.
Hope everyone is well.
Trish
xoxo
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Alyson, she's just gorgeous. Any more babies out there??
So what do we think of the new look here? I'm hoping it might be easier to post pics now. I've tried before but without any luck. The main thing is that basically we're all still here on the boards and easy to find.
Next weekend hubby and I are going up for a cancer couples workshop being held in Perth. I don't have all the details, but apparently it is for couples to re-connect and discuss how cancer has affected them. Paul and I have never really got into big feelings discussions re this, we've just been very business like addressing the more mundane day to day matters. I'm figuring it can't hurt to do this, but I have visions of like a love-fest....! Oh my not sure either one of us could handle that. There is a bus going up for couples who live here, but we will drive ourselves and they are putting us up for the night at the cancer centre accommodation which is used for regional people who have to stay in Perth for the duration of their treatment. I think it will be a positive weekend and should be a good forum for both of us to say how we feel. I'm sure they do them all around OZ (and NZ) so I'll let you know if I recommend it.
Round 2 Herceptin today and the results of my echo. I've noticed I have a crusty nose and little nose bleeds because things are so dry up there... but that's the only thing I've noticed. Oh my left boob is starting to look and feel a bit cooked and the skin is looking dry. I'm now in week 3 of radiation and that's when boobs start to show the wear and tear of daily radiation. So far it is very mild and not causing any problems.
My RO asked me when I was going to start on the 5 year hormone blocker. I told him I didn't know but that I am probably not going to take it unless there is a really big distinct advantage for me to do so. and 1 or 2% advantage is just not a big enough margin for me to cut it. The reason being is that hot flashes are a main SE and even just doing chemo bought them back to me big time (getting over them now). When I went through menapause I was most debilitated by having 20-30 a day and sleeping with them was a nightmare. I think I had them worse than most. Anyway that's why I went onto HRT - honestly I couldn't have given two figs about it being related to BC, I was in a desperately bad place with them. Within 4 days of commencing HRT I did not have a single one and I felt normal again. I cannot face 5 years of that. My life would be hell. I would honestly rather go through chemo again if I had too. So I will take my chances, keep closely moitored and I figure I've had the big guns aimed at me (surgery, chemo + radiation) so I've given it a good go, but I have to be realistic about how I want and need to feel to be able to function properly.
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Opening up the site this morning was a real shock! Not sure I like the 'new look'but I guess, like everything else, we will get used to it. For me, I think it's the color more than anything that is off putting.
I got to cuddle a three week old little boy yesterday and it was soooo good to have that little body in my arms! He is the first grandson of the girl I got friendly with while in hospital as she had her knee done the very same day as I did. Her DD and Sil are sharing her very large house while they are saving for their own home and Sue (yes another....lol) gets the benefit of seeing her grandbaby on a daily basis. She is very happy about that!
I saw the specialist yesterday for my followup and he is very pleased with my progress. The only thing he did was added another exercise so I get the knee stretched out so the bend will go further. He said that I may find because this one is now done I will be able to put the other one off for a while but if I still want it done just to keep in mind that he is booked out for about three months ahead.
Kate wether you take a hormonal or not, that decision is wholey yours and no one elses but just remember that if you need to go the chemo road again it will mean that you are more than likely stage IV and no-one in their right mind wants to go there if it can be prevented. Please think very hard about your decision, even if you try them to see if you have the reaction as a lot of people would never know they are taking anything.............you can always stop.
I have had many chest xrays over my lifetime as I have had pneumonia many times so if there is a link between xrays asnd BC, it would certainly explain a lot for me.
Hope your day is a good one!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Ah good point Chrissy about the Stage IV, no I wouldn't want that. I will be making a very well informed decision about it I promise not based on emotion but on fact and I'm really hoping that the % advantage is small and it will make it an easy decision for me.
I don't mind this new look. It was sure a shock opening it up this morning though - coffee in hand, not really wide awake, then bing! eyes wide open and brain having to kick into gear to 'think' about how to navigate the new site. Sure it has been the same for everyone else too.
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Ahhh, I hooked in at my normal 3am and they had obviously only just swapped over to the new look. It was sooooooo slow and now although it has improved since then it is still very slow. I don't have the luxury of sitting checking messages all day - I need it to be fast like it used to be :-(
The new look is great for someone using a mobile phone I gather but makes things much more difficult for those of using large screen devices like computers and iPads.
Work today - might actually last a whole day for the first time in ages. We had a guest speaker this morning - Canadian Breast Cancer researcher giving a presentation on anti-emetic trials. Sat through it knowing that some people were giving me the "pity" look. Sure enough on the way out of the meeting room I caught one - bleh!
Jenn
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Kate - how high were your hormone receptors? I never had bad hot flushes after meno but did take HRT - the hot flushes now are a lot worse, but I bless each one - they are saving my life.
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Kate, I agree that it's best to at least give the AI's a try in case they don't bother you, otherwise Tamoxifen might be milder in it's effects.
Sue, I too think of each hot flush as killing any stray cells and keeping me well. In fact I almost cheer them on, may as well look on the bright side! I've been having them for more than 10 years with menopause but they don't bother me much as long as I can get back to sleep after the night sweats. I realise others find them very uncomfortable or even unbearable.
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Kate, I think from memory my % on AI was a lot more than just a couple of points. As Chrissy said it is your decision, but can you just give it a try first? Please? I had terrible hot flushes when I started going through meno and started a herbal HRT which helped, but they didn't agree with me, so only took them for about 4 months. I put up with the hot flushes for years, and they were finally starting to ease off. Arimidex has not given me horrible hot flushes at all, they are similar (but a bit different) to how they were before. I know I'm having one, but it's not bad, just more like "oh I feel hot" and a couple of minutes later I've forgotten it.
My main issue with Arimidex is the arthritis it has caused. I'm looking to change to an alternative, but no way would I take nothing. I do not want this crappy bc to come back - and if it does, I won't have to play the "what if" game.
Trish
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Kate, you can try Efexor for hot flashes. Ask about it.
I have a lot of catch up reading to do on this site so will post here again later.0 -
Hello I'm Trish from Sydney, I'm doing the Relay for life this month May, My stall is We live in hope! It seem we have some thing in common lol
Hope you are doing well, How are you going with your treatment? Are you managing with the side affects? 0
