TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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Okay...now it's official. They just had a report on the Nightly News about chemo brain. They've scanned the brains of breast cancer patients before and after chemo. They can see the changes particularly in the decision making areas!
Not news to us though, is it?0 -
The sobering thing is that sometimes these cognitive changes can be permanent or linger for up to 10 years! Yikes!
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Here's the link to the news segment: video linky also article linky
TonLee I think she should get in the middle of us displace North Easterners… land of "We won't tell you, 'you suck' we will tell you why you suck in the fewest words possible"
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Wow so much here just got caught up.
Pbrain-- this will pass and you are the better person here hold your head high things just don't seem that important now days at least for me I kind of separated what is and is not important to me anymore I think us going through this crap makes us tuff inside and out...
LAGO-- Congrats
Tonlee--- I agree with ashla PINK ---
Ashla--- chemo brain thing I saw it to oh well we knew it anyway hey we can have excuses now
Sorry if for got anyone hope everyone's day when great ((( hugs..))))
OK on to me me me lol . I had my herceptin and doc treatment today wow what a day I had it started out taking off in my car and the door would not shut I drove it a couple miles holding the door had to turn around and get my older car out and take it. Well I get there and for the first time I thought I would take them up on there breakfast sandwiches & put it in the microwave never done this before well they took the microwave so no sandwich...Hungary
OK now i have a sore throat and starting to get a cold well I started to cough OMG I could not stop grabbed a cough drop and some water finally stopped coughing. Now I took my laptop with me and the battery was going dead so I got up from the chemo chair to plug my laptop in well I pulled out my IV and my herceptin was going everywhere I can't believe that happened I was so embarrassed..0 -
ashla - I copied the ED poem and hung it on my bulletin board! Love it, thanks for sharing.
Bren - I just finished my 3rd treatment and that means I am 1/2 way there for the 3 Chemo drugs. This is probably more info than you want, but here goes... after I had my first treatment and wow was I sick. Diarrhea and vomiting with an overwhelming feeling I wanted to curl up into a fetal position. (and I did for 2 weeks) Mind you I had my first treatment in NYC. We have a second home there and my family is in the City, so that is where I had my surgery as well. I was quite comfortable with that decision. This meant I would be flying back and forth every 3 weeks. Pretty ambitious, never even concidered I would be so sick. Once we arrived home in OK I said to my husband I just didn't think I could make that kind of turn around and need to stay here for the remainder of my treatment. Well, here I am and with the new oncologist we changed around some of the drugs that I took for the nausea etc. The second treatment was so so much better, not to say I didn't have the same symptoms, but not nearly as long or uncomfortable. I guess I will never know if it the new drugs or just that I knew what to expect.
Now to tell you what I am doing. I wear a patch for the nausea, Great! I take emend before treatment and 2 days after plus adivan and zofran. It all works well together. My one problem is that in trying to correct the diarrhea I then become constipated - I am working on this. It certainly is a journey, but a very managable one. Your attitude is key and once you find out how to control some of the side effects you will feel so much more in control. Runny noses, runny eyes so much of it goes with the territory. I figure it is a year out of my life, but my life will go on!
I hope this helps but what really helps are all the other people that write on this site. They will lift your spirits and certainly give you great advice.
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Ang,
I know it's not funny, but the mental picture of you holding the door closed while driving kinda cracks me up ... and the Herceptin...OUCH. That must have been painful.
Glad you're ok.
Lago,
lol. Yup.
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Bellanan,
I don't live as far away as you do but I thought long and hard about going into " the city" for treatments. Imho there is no need to do that these days for our stage and type of cancer. You can find great doctors and treatment centers just about everywhere these days with some research and trial and error.
In my case the only thing that got worse in the last 3 treatments was the general fatigue and achiness. Best wishes.0 -
Ashla, you are so right. My main reason going to NY was my brother who heads a lab there in cell biology. He actually teaches at the Medical School as well and low and behold he teaches about Herceptin! He was extremly helpful. Changing was not a big deal because the protocal is exactly the same and the new oncologist sends a report to the one in NY after each treatment, nice touch. I also receive a neulasta shot the day after Chemo - no problems with it - I do take a clariten for two days. supposedly it help with bone discomfort. Who knows.
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Some of you just make me smile and laugh. Good for the soul.
I put up some Christmas decorations tonight since I have no idea how I will feel after tx. I guess if I can't sleep due to the steroids tomorrow night I will do my Christmas cards.
Going to lunch tomorrow with a couple dear friends. I hope I don't embarrass myself eating everything in sight. I have heard the steroids can make you really hungry.
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And what a day u had geeze no sandwich???? Oh I guess u can see what's important to me. But u pulled the tube out hahaha
Ashla u right It'ss PINK a/k/a TonLee
Bsllanan u sound like u've got things figured out goo for u, but I can't ive u any advice on constipation, but I do know it's painful How about if u drink Metamucil everyday it's supposed to keep u balanced?????Actualky I did try it--well obviously it never worked for me but my sister uses it and it works a little. That's the best I can do.
Pbrain talk about things all u want--it's stressing u out so talk, it's better to do that then keep it in to be more stressful anyway we all care so keep us abrest (The things I used to have.) of everything.
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Thanks Cami, I agree, I am still burned up! Ang, you crack me up even if it was a heinous day. I kept worrying I was going to pull out my port injection the 5 days I was in the hospital with my stripper pole. It made me mental!
So I have to say, baby smooth chin tonight! Not an ounce of chin hair!! Ahhhh, I so wish it could stay this way. I feel like a young girl again
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Pbrain- chin hair yes I loved not having that back but it did come come back when I was done with chemo that sucks I wish I could afford the electrolysis because I would have done that long ago.. my sister did and it's been 4 years and she still has no chin hair. I am thinking about trying the NONO Have you heard of this product?
And yes I laugh about my day today I have been telling everyone just told my mom and we both just started to laugh it was just one of those days
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Wow, there's a lot to get caught up on this evening!
Ang, what a crazy day you've had. I'm glad you got some laughs out of it. Some days = comedies of errors!
PBrain, lol @ stripper pole.
Everybody, this chemobrain stuff scares the real poop and fake poop out of me
TonLee, "dragged through razor blades and run down a salt water slide" (ha ha, take THAT frenemies of PBrain!)
PBrain (again), Hammond, Indiana? When I was in college people from that area were called "Region Rats" . . . does she have a pointy nose and a long, scaly tail (with apologies to anyone who might be reading this from "The Region"
)Lago, congratulations on continuing on in real life what you do so phenomenally well online!
Jenn, sorry you're feeling hormonal (which is what it sounds like? I guess they don't call it hormonal therapy for nothin'?) and all ready to take out the southern hemisphere (or cry). I can remember the old days when I had hormones. If anything took the wind out of my sails it was losing those hormones so in that way, I kind of miss them. I could get p*ssed off and be in tears within seconds. And my breasts - well, they became huge flotation devices and that would irritate me even further. As an aside, you wouldn't believe how often I think of your words about having a cancer experience. Today, I was putting laundry in the dryer, and thinking of you saying you want to go out after having lunch and having fun with Mr. Jenn at age 90-something and then everyone can say "Jenn once had a cancer experience." I don't know why that stuck with me the way it did but I probably won't ever forget it (until I have chemobrain
). Bellanan, I just took a screenshot of your post about the nausea patch. And very interesting that your brother teaches classes about Herceptin!
Camillegal, for some reason your story about the big D reminds me of a story my dad once told me about his aunt (my great aunt) who was such a great person. His family was all from Central Illinois (so is my mom's for that matter). His aunt (quite elderly by this time) had taken a fall and things kind of went south for her after that. During one phone conversation he gave me an update on her new life at the nursing home and he relayed the news that she had apparently, well, you know, sh*t her pants (my dad was never one to mince words and that's probably why your story reminded me of his story). Anyway, he said "You know Rose Ruth...well, she would just sh*t if she knew she had sh*t her pants!" So, that's my story about pants sh*tting! And it all happened in Illinois. (bathroom stories were always a big deal with my dad because we had to make many a mad run to fast food places to accomodate his own unpredictable bowels).
Bren58, good idea getting your decorations up last night while you have the energy! We crossed a new threshold last night. We bought a small tree to put up this year. We have a large tree that we never feel like dragging out and putting up but this year we decided we wanted some holiday cheer so we bought a 4' tree for $22.99 along with two little packages of decorations to go with it. When I say "crossed a threshold" it's because I always thought "I'm never going to be one of those people who buy a small tree." Ha! Never say never. I don't know why I was like that about a small tree but for some reason it represented (to me) a sign of getting old - i.e. getting a small tree - but hey, the hub and I are so excited about this little tree you'd think we were 5 years old again! Simple pleasures I guess...
soltantio, amazing that so many have had this same pain! I'm glad you mentioned it and I'm relieved about it (for you and everyone else) yet, at the same time uneasy about it (as someone else mentioned earlier on the thread).
MsTori, just a shout out - hoping today is better.
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I'm editing this because the post I responded to is no more...
Dx 10/9/2012, IDC, 2cm, Stage IIb, Grade 3, 1/3 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2+Surgery 11/07/2012 Mastectomy (Left); Prophylactic Mastectomy (Right)Surgery 11/07/2012 Reconstruction: Tissue expander placement (Both)
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Lindakr, I was the same way on my pathology. Super high ER/PR and HER2+++. (First path was 95% ER/87%ER, 2nd path was 100% for both). Chemo was decided without an Oncotype.
Lago, LMAO at the dog poop office decorations. And good advice on not being neurotic that every little pain or symptom is because of more cancer.
Ashla, I saw the chemo brain video. I'm actually participating in a clinical research study of cognitive function before/during/after chemo. No brain scans in my study, we take computer tests. Not much required to participate on my end so I thought why the heck not?! I hope I don't have too many problems though, I've got one semester left of grad school in the spring and I really just want to finish without having to delay.
I've got chemo class tomorrow. Starting next Tues. I hope tomorrow answers a lot of questions for me and makes me feel more prepared. I have to get caught up ahead on a lot of school work, only 3 weeks left in the semester and I want to be ahead in case I get sick and can't study/research. Oh, and I got my first fill on my TEs today. Went way better than I thought, I didn't feel a darn thing which was a blessing! I can't wait until my boobs stick out farther than my belly again
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Ok, here goes...I can't keep up either.
On shots...my bf, the nurse practitioner made me get a flu shot, pneumonia and shingles vaccine. One of those wasnt covered by insurance. And, I promptly got shingles as a side effect, lol, but only had it for a couple days. Oncologist was fine with all of it.
Lago and pbrains...I once put very realistic looking rubber cockroaches I. A bowl of chez mix that we had in our break/copy room. Buried them in the dish. Then forgot about it after no one said anything. About an hour later, our CEO came into my office which was right by his and asked if I had seen the chex mix. Having moved on to a whole new project, I said yeah, I knew it was back, there. He said no...there are bugs in it, and do I think people have been eating it. I just looked at him., first, that he didn't have the shock value, and second, that he would think those one inch bugs were real. I started giggling, and then the two of us couldn't stop laughing. We left them there, and spent the rest of the afternoon laughing when we heard people screech.
Every month, I would give him a stack of renewal letters for membership to sign, people that he was close too. When I got o e stack back, I was going through making sure he said the right stuff, before passing it on to my assistant to mail, when suddenly, this bug falls in my lap. I screeched, nearly had a heart attack, and heard the CEO laughing. And it was my roach coming back to haunt me.
On steroids....well, I liked 'em, lol. I spent 24 hours getting all kinds of things accomplished. Ambien didn't touch it, so I just stayed awake doing projects, working on my blog, until about 7 a.m. The next morning, and then I would be start getting tired. I pretty much went to sleep early the second night and laid around day 3. This was on taxol. It was the only kind of chemo I had.
Right shoulder blade pain. I have that, who ever mentioned it. I notice it when exercising and when sleeping on my stomache and raising my arm. I have mentioned it to three docs and no one seems particularly worried.
Rib pain...also had that. Noticed it about six weeks after one surgery. Minor panic....finally went away. Then, after my last lipo/fat grafting I noticed it again. I stayed calm this time. Lol
Had my throat/thyroid ultrasound today. She took a LOT of pictures which makes me paranoid now. I should hear something in a couple days.0 -
Fluff - I had right shoulder blade pain when I was having problems with my gall bladder, it wasn't too bad in the daytime, but at night it was really painful.
Was this the forum that was talking about stress - I was under a ton of stress at the time of diagnosis, but my BS said that the tumor had actually been growing for about 7 years, so don't know how that works, he said the type I had doubles in size every 3 months, my husband worked it backwards and that would have been about right. However, we had a really stressful event going on with one of our daughters at that time, then it just continued on ...... until diagnosis.
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Wow, you have been through the wringer. My shoulder blade is weird. It is like it is under the blade. I don't really have any gall bladder symptoms that I know of.
I do think stress plays a role, but I think it is a lot of things that all meld together...environment, food, genetic predisposition, stress, immune system, etc. I am not sure we will ever completely be able to say that one thing causes cancer.0 -
I agree Fluff, I think it's a lot of factors working together!
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I laughed so hard at that cockroach story that I had to read it out loud to my husband - and he had a good laugh as well.
I used to love Chex Mix. I would love to make some the old-fashioned way but probably won't (too much effort, too much fat, too much butter).
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Also, in case anyone else is interested:
New Molecular Culprit Linked To Breast Cancer Progression
Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered a protein "partner" commonly used by breast cancer cells to unlock genes needed for spreading the disease around the body. A report on the discovery, published on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, details how some tumors get the tools they need to metastasize.
Link to full article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/253207.php
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LeeA, Eileen, that’s interesting about the caregiver thing. I wasn’t the caregiver to my father but he was quite ill in the year before he passed away, and it was definitely very stressful, along with a lot of other stressful stuff…
Bren, good luck with the chemo tomorrow. Remember, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Oh and ice your fingers and toes and suck on ice during the taxo. Like Lago, chemo wasn’t a picnic but it wasn’t that bad for me either and I was able to be fairly normal, if low energy, for most of it, and I didn’t have bad nausea. I recommend probiotics.
Pbrain, that is just un-f-ing believeable. You must work with a bunch of emotional morons.
Lago – the people who will get you as their mentor will be very lucky!
Linda, what kind of tumor did you have that doubles in size every 3 mos? I was told they grow really slowly, even the fast ones.
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I had a grade 2 triple positive tumor - my BS has been doing this a long time, and BC is all that he does. My husband didn't believe him either because he said it had taken about 7 years to grow to that size, so my husband, the math whiz, did some math, and said, it actually worked out pretty close to that. That's one thing I haven't researched though - maybe I will.
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My BS said he thought mine had been growing for about a year.
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Linda, so what is the zero point? I mean you keep dividing until you get one rogue cell?
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I have spent the evening catching up on several weeks of posts...a lot has been going on. I can relate to the things PBrain is going A supervisor suggested I go on full time medical leave. She was insensitive and rude during the conversation, telling me she understands my journey as she had once cared for someone dying of cancer. OK...that is stupid and insensitive! My co workers have been very supportive and have donated hundreds of paid hours to me so that I can continue to be off work.,,in that way I have been fortunate. I had my 6th and last TCH today. I will have two more weekly Herceptins and then every 21 days through August 2013. I will also begin 33 rads in late December.
PBrain....I think chemo is different for everyone...that said, I was very sick and experienced significant weight loss after my first TCH and the first Neulasta shot caused excruciating leg pain that the opiate pain killers could not touch. My second TCH was not as bad and I started Aleve for the Neulasta pain...that took care of that amazingly! By my third TCH I had learned what to expect and how to counteract. TCH on Tuesday, dont sleep all night on Tuesday night (thank you Dexamethasone) Sleep all day Wednesday and most of Thursday, eat small meals focusing on spicy foods and cold drinks...milk products are best for me. Weekends I feel week, food is not so appealing but I can keep it down when I use Lorazepam for nausea. Six days later my mouth gets waxy and has an orange peel texture, tongue gets sore. Food less appealing. lots of small, snacking type meals. I continue to have leg pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue. On Thursday day 16 my taste begins to return and I eat all the stuff I love for that weekend before the next TCH. It has been like that throughout TCH....I could count on what crappy thing was coming next and could find comfort in the knowing.
Now TCH is over, Herceptin continues, Rads begin....I am glad to have TCH behind me, but frightened to leave it at the same time. I have always felt the TCH was killing the cancer, seeking and destroying in the most barbaric of ways. I am afraid there is cancer left and without the TCH it will come back and get me!
So PBrain...I think the scariest part of moving through chemo is the not knowing what is coming next. I hope that your SE's get easier and easier. I do not know about the Taxol as I am on Taxotere...but the Herceptin is a breeze. I am allergic to it...and even then the worst is the sneezing and runny nose for the first 24 hours after the infusion.
(((hugs))) to you PBrain. and I do love Lagos fake dog poop suggestion. Your primary job is not to clean you home...it is to kill cancer and continue to live for your family! You have blessings THAT coworker is not one of them.
C
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I'm trying so hard to catvh up---now I'm so confused---
Lee Illinois must be the bigest pipe line ever for all the bowels problems here.
Ang my dgtr bought the NONO a couple of weeks ago--she uses it when she supposed to but so far nono sucks and not the hair but I think it takes longer her prob. is from her meds and it's awful so she's trying to use it properly so we'll see..
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Roze, thanks! I just noticed your post about the pic...lol.
Me and Hulk Hogan.
My shirt says " Women who behave RARELY make history."
So funny when I wear it out, women get rowdy around me. It's like a permission slip or something.
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Camillegal -
Sometimes I'm slow when it comes to absorbing everything...
Does you daughter have cancer as well? I know your parents did.
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LeeA- thanks! Day 5 post chemo#3. Coming out the other side. Thanks for checking on me. I can't even begin to keep up anymore on the boards. This experience completely different than prior tow txs.
TonLee- love the new pic!0
