TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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Whew! Thanks Lago, Kayb, camillegal, and rozem. You ladies always bring it back into perspective. I got off track there for awhile and the amount of info out there is overwhelming. It is hard to know what to believe. And i know better than to believe peoples opinions or fears...but, it is easy to get caught up in it.
I need to stay focused on the facts.
Thanks for the links:)0 -
CUCHO----as I read u'r post I think I got more confused----U didn't mean u fasted and just drank on this diet right. A cleanse is always good but for that amount of time it's not a cleanse it'slike a coma type of condition without some real food. So somehow I missed what u ate on this and I'm curious as to how often and what u ate,
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Hi everyone
Just posting to say hello. I have been on holiday in London, soaking up the post Olympics atmosphere and havent been on here for a while.
Havent yet gone back and read all the posts, wow this is an active thread!
Trying now to concentrate on losing weight and keeping up my fitness levels each day. I am sure Tamoxifen is playing a role in the extra pounds.The kids go back to school on Sept 4th so I will have more freedom to basically do more. Im finding that my hour in the gym isnt enough. Thinking I will do early morn power walk, gym and swim....
Had major words with DH last night. The acronym stands for darling husband on here I think, well mine is something altogether more direct.....Ha! It was over my reduction surgery in Nov. Im nervous, he thinks he has the right to pressure/influence me. Its my decision. I am the one facing pain etc on the run up to Christmas; juggling my daughter's dance show, blah, blah. Argg not a happy bunny.
Hugs to you all.
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cucho - thanks for the feedback on the candida diet. I can be pretty disciplined but wow that diet is crazy. Right now, I just can't think of denying myself or causing myself any more discomfort than I have to. If the thrush continues after a few more months or starts causing me pain I may reconsider, especially since you say it worked for you. However, I've gots lots of vacations and fun coming up and the candida diet does not go along with those plans...not at all, LOL!
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Dance I was on the diet for months and it didn't do a thing for me. I was so stressed out at the end of the diet. The "special" doctor I was seeing yelled at me and I left his office in tears… never came back. That's when I went back to my onc. I'm sure it does work for some but I think the stress of the diet only added to the issue. Yeast and thrush can take time to treat. Our bodies have been through a lot. It takes time to repair.0
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I don't think extended deprivation is ever a good idea.
I will fast occasionally, but typically it is on a Sunday when I don't do any workout, and then only for 24 hours.
I haven't gained any weight on Tamoxifen. Jack if you are doing cardio for an hour a day...you are correct, that's not enough. It's PLENTY of cardio, but you're losing muscle mass in chemo/menopause....unless you do something to actively get those muscles BACK, eventually you could do 12 hours of cardio a day and still gain weight. (Most women average 2 1/2 pounds of muscle loss a YEAR after 35. And that's women who haven't taken BC tx.)
MUSCLE burns calories. No muscle, or low muscle, = low calorie burn. Period. If you only have an hour, spend it weight lifting, or doing body weight exercises. You'll see the fat start to shrink.
I don't want to be unrealistic. I can most def. tell a difference in my body now that I'm in menopause. My body wants to store fat FIRST in the belly area. Totally sucks. But, I'd rather be fat and ALIVE than thin and dead
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Tonlee found this link a while ago. Exercises seem good for beginners since it seems to use 3lb and 5lb weights (even I use higher than that!). What do you think? Most people can do these at home with very little equipment. Increase weights and repetitions as they get stronger. I thought it was a cute ap: linky0
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Cute link Lago.
As for 3-5 pound weights. As a general rule. No.
Why?
Most women carry purses heavier than 3-5 pounds. If carrying a purse around all day doesn't tone your arms and shoulders, how can one expect 30 minutes, 3 times a week to make a difference?
I see women all the time at the gym with 5-10 pound weights trying to work their arms. They'd be much better off building and toning muscle doing push-ups at home. Even the super girly ones (which I am doing right now because of my reconstruction recovery) are killer on the arms and shoulders.
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Well I disagree. First of all my purse does not weigh 5lbs. My PT would kill me if I was carrying a 5lb purse around with LE risk to the right arm. Straps cut off circulation.
When I restarted my workout I was using 3 & 5lbs weights. With LE you must start out slowly. My LE PT actually wanted me to use 2lb weights but I don't own any of those.
I'm up to using both 7 & 10lb weights. I have built muscle but you do have to flex and work that muscle. Even my LE MD measured my arms and said the got bigger. (I don't gain weight above the belly button).
and to be honest my left LE arm can't handle more than 10lbs right now. I have to do this gradually. With the other arm at risk I don't want to over work it.
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tonlee i would love to blame my mid section belly weight on tamox, so much easier! i am going to up my weight training for sure, i know this is important and my cardio ain't going to cut it.
my surgery has been moved to oct 15 -ugggghhhhh i was in tears when they called me today, i just feel like mentally i need to get this done to move on - is that silly?!
i was at the hospital getting H last week and i saw the most horrible case of LE i have ever seen. I mean her arm was about 3x the size as the other one. Should i be doing something now to prevent it? i don't have any symptoms, i had only 2 sentinals removed but did have rads to the axila. I never really thought about it until i saw that poor lady. Omg it looked so painful
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rozem - with LE quick action is important. I started getting mild LE and cording toward the end of rads and was sent for therapy right away. Now I keep an eye on it and do the massage if I need to and have a sleeve/gauntlet in case. So far so good. I sincerely hope the woman at your center is getting help. LE therapist have many techniques that can help. There are also several things to keep in mind about preventing LE. This is an excellent website for more info
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/riskreduction_for_lymphedema.htm
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Rozem check out this link and maybe the rest of the site: linky
I'm surprized, well maybe not but your rad onc should have given you information. I got some from my BS after surgery (didn't have rads). I do have minor LE in the left 10 node arm and none in the 4 node arm. I didn't do rads which will increase your risk.
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omaz thanks for that link, it was really helpful, i am going to print it out. I have to admit that LE has not been my biggest concern but after i saw that lady it snapped me back into reality. I have flown twice since my surgery with no sleeve. No swelling or symptoms but maybe i should be fitted for one anyway?
should i have a professional do the massage? is it necessary with no symptoms? my massage therapist does lymphatic massage - is this the same thing or should i find someone who specializes in BC?
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Hi ladies.
I just found out my HER 2 positive status yesterday and I'm terrified. It's combined with lobular invasive cancer. Had a lumpectomy. Now they have to do in and clear the margins more.
I'm kind of depressed. I lost my husband to a sudden heart attack a year ago and now this. I wish I were not HER 2 NU positive. If we get past our first five years, are we home free?
Just so scared.
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rozem - It is good that you don't have any problems so far. I learned the massage technique from a specialized lymphedema therapist. I think in women with no history of LE there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on flying and sleeves. Some say yes, some say no. There are some great LE threads here at BCO and you could get some more specific advice there.0
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Welcome KimbytheSea - Glad that you found our group. Since you are HER2+ you will probably get herceptin infusions for a year. Herceptin is a mono-clonal antibody that attaches to the HER2 protein on the surface of any cancer cells that might have escaped from the breast. Herceptin functions in more than one way to damage any escaped cancer cells and the introduction of herceptin treatment for early breast cancer has really improved our prognosis. If you are HER2+ and estrogen receptor + (ER+) and progesterone receptor + (PR+) - ie. triple positive - there are a lot of treatments available which is a good thing. (((hugs))) - Ask anything here or just hang out to talk.0
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Kimby, welcome. First a big breath. So sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It's rough, and please accept my sympathy on your husbands passing. It is hard to be alone.
They will go in to clear the margins to be sure to get everything they can. I presume you will have RADS. They do that to make double sure to get any cells they miss in the reexcision. And, although I hate to say it, we are never home free, but our chances are really good. And you can drive yourself crazy worring about it. I do what I can, and go on. This is a great place to get info - make sure you go into the main BCO website and start with the newly diagnosed area. Lots of info. Then come to the discossion boards for questions and support. Much love0 -
Another study linking obesity to breast cancer survival........
"Women who are obese or overweight at the time of diagnosis with the most common form of breast cancer face a higher rate of recurrence and a significantly higher risk of death from the disease.
Those are the key findings of a study published online Monday in the American Cancer Society journal, Cancer.
Led by Joseph Sparano of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Montefiore Medical Center in New York, the study also involved Nancy E. Davidson, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Center, among others.
The study compared health outcomes of obese and overweight patients with large groups of women who have stage I, II and III breast cancer. All had participated in three National Cancer Institute-sponsored treatment trials.
Women with hormone receptor-positive cancer who were obese or overweight but receiving optimal chemotherapy and hormone therapy had a 30 percent higher risk of recurrence and a 50 percent higher risk of death when compared with death rates for women of normal weight who had breast cancer. No elevated rates of recurrence or death based on weight occurred in women with two other types of breast cancer, HER2 receptor-positive or Triple Negative, both of which are aggressive forms.
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Kimby I remember when I was first diagnosed and found out about HER2. I was petrified. I kept reading "worse prognosis" on the web. BUT THAT'S OLD INFORMATION. Herceptin is a newer drug and has changed the prognosis for most of us HER2+ gals. BTW This Friday will be 2 years since my bilateral mastectomy (BMX). 2 years NED (no evidence of disease).
When I was first diagnosed I thought I was going to die, and die a painful death. I learned over time that most women who are early stage survive. At the beginning we are so focused on the bad stuff. Eventually you will meet with an oncologist who will tell you what those odds are. I know with all my treatment my chances being disease free 10 years from diagnosis is 86%… and my tumor was pretty big. After 10 years the risk continues to goes down but never goes away 100%. But remember in life you never know when something will happen, if it even does happen. Hang in there. The women on these boards will get you through all this.
Do you have your pathology report yet?
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soltantio,
I read alot about weight when first Dx'd and this article explained it best imho...
Women with breast cancer often complain of weight gain as an undesirable side effect to their treatment. Women treated with chemotherapy are 65% more likely to gain weight than those patients who undergo other forms of treatment. Premenopausal women undergoing chemotherapy are at the greatest risk for weight changes.
Many women who have chemotherapy for breast cancer have reported an average weight gain of about 5 to 8 pounds over a year. Some have reported gaining less while others have gained as much as 25 pounds.
Recommended Related to Breast Cancer
Soy and Breast Cancer: What's the Link?
To be safe, Jennifer Mukai all but eliminated soy from her diet after being told she had breast cancer in May 2009. Being of Japanese descent and also health conscious, the Seattle interior designer says she was eating a lot of soy in various forms before her diagnosis. “I drank about three-quarters of a cup of soy milk in my coffee twice a day and ate tofu and edamame [soy beans] pretty regularly,” the 44-year-old tells WebMD. “I was also probably getting quite a bit of soy in the meat-substitute...
Read the Soy and Breast Cancer: What's the Link? article > >
What causes weight gain with breast cancer?
Many things contribute to weight gain. One reason for weight gain could be premature menopause brought on by chemotherapy. Menopause makes it easy for you to gain weight. That's because it causes your metabolism to slow down. There is also a change in body composition. Your body gains more body fat and loses lean muscle
A second reason for weight gain during breast cancer is the use of corticosteroids to help with nausea that often occurs with chemotherapy. These types of drugs can cause an increase in your appetite. In addition, they can cause a redistribution of muscle mass from the extremities into the abdominal area as fat.
Normal weight gain involves a gain in both fatty and lean tissue. The weight gain brought on by chemotherapy, though, involves only fat. The loss of lean body mass and the gain of body fat are typical of the normal aging process. A woman having chemotherapy ages the equivalent of 10 years over the course of just one year.
Some research suggests that weight gain is also related to lack of exercise. The drop in the level of physical activity may be due to the fatigue, nausea, and pain that come with breast cancer treatment.
Weight gain may also be related to intense food cravings. Some women have cravings that typically involve sweets and carbohydrates during chemotherapy.....
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/breast-cancer-and-weight-changes
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Ashla most of my weight gain during chemo was fluid retention.0
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Lago,
I would concur . I still have a problem with it but I also noticed an immediate difference in my body that was evident even after my first treatment. It's like my muscles disappeared and all the space they took up was thrown at my middle in blubber! It was a shock to me but of course I was in a dazed and confused state so I didn't give it that much attention until I started feeling better.
Remember I'd already gone through menopause and gained about 10 lbs over the course of 12 years..I was thin before.... but I still had a normal figure with a waistline and everything!0 -
I'm on a very low dose of a diuretic still. My PCP feels its from the ESD. One of the SE listed for Anastrozole. If I don't take it I put on 3-4 lbs. I feel bloated and my legs get some too.
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Lago...
I'm going to ask my mo about a diuretic. I wake up in the morning...after peeing 5 times at night.... with a small paunch and as soon as I've had my coffee and juice it starts.0 -
Lago - that is awful that doctor yelled at you and put you to the point of tears. Grrrrrr!!!! I'm feeling more patient about waiting for the thrush to resolve since my doc told me it could potentially take a long time. I just had to mentally come to terms with that fact. Still bummed about it, and still complain about it, but not as bad as a few weeks ago.
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Hello everyone,
I just got my tomoxifen RX today. Me and my big mouth! I was at my MO office visit, as I do every six weeks during every other herceptin visit. Six weeks ago when I saw my MO he said I would begin tomoxifen next visit. Well, after the exam today he said "looks great, see ya in six weeks" and that's when it came out of my mouth...."but what about Tomoxifen?" I know it's part of my care plan, but I'm a bit afraid of this little pill.0 -
Lago,
Which is why I said "as a general rule"....since I can't, won't, try and speak to every single person's issues. This is general information about weight training based on experience, results, and AFAA guidelines. You don't have to agree. You know your body better than anyone else does. Doesn't make the science different tho.
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Nc, I just got my Arimidex script two weeks ago, I started then, and so far so good. But I was postmenopausal before tx, so afraid my experience won't help much, but I think we all have worries and questions about these and there you are not alone. Much love.
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Amen to that Kayb!0
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I told you all...I think of breast cancer as diabolical in so many ways. If ya wanna live you have to give up every vestige of all the friggin hormones that make us women and screw up all the rest so you would think we could at least build up a little manly muscle....instead we get more flab!
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