After Radiation
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Beanie, I am 1 month post rads, went to onc, and told her once in awhile rad side/breast feels warm, and she said that was normal, could happen on and off for next few months. Guess its still the gift that keeps on giving! Pink can mean flluid build up, so let your onc know if it doesn't fade soon.
Nurse said we won't feel "like ourselves for at least a year". Great!
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Hey Beans! Haven't seen you here in awhile. Missed you - glad you are back.
msjag - BC is the gift that keeps on giving - I am still trying to find the return counter.
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jo - Is that med still helping with the nerve pain?0
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I had my first mammo on 19th May after completing rads in early Feb. It was not fun, but of course, very temporary. I cried, but it also brought back things for me. Tech tried her best to be gentle, but the whole process sucks! Good news, no malignancy! Today is a year since my surgery and I see the Rad Onc this afternoon. Having some real issues with insurance folks (what a bunch). Gonna just breathe. . .
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Omaz - Yes it is. Thanks so much for asking. I feel sooooo good these days. I should have done this a couple of months ago when my BS wanted to send me to the pain specialist. I was so tired of seeing doctors back then.
I did increase the dose last night to 50mg. No toe pains, no boob pains - just one or two small twinges during the day. Hopefully the increase in dose will take care of that.
Life is good - hope everyone is having a great day.
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Hello All! Glad to be finally joining you guys here. What a journey, but at last I am finished with rads and breast cancer treatment (I am triple negative so no hormone therapy for me)! Now a time for healing....,<a sigh of relief>
Susan
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Susan - Woo Hoo! Doesn't it feel good to be done with rads. What an experience that was. Just remember that the fatigue takes some time to get over - listen to your body and rest when it tells you to. Pace yourself and you will be back up to full speed before you know it.
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A big hello to all my sistas.....
been away for a few days and it looks like things are kinda ok here.thats a good thing.
JO JO thanks for keepin this thread goin...WHERE IS CHEVY?????she went AWAL and she is not with me.
Im havin my mammo after 6 mos of rads completion...Aug.not lookin forward to that.
went to my internist for my reg. yearly exam and she did not like my cardiogram.she wants me to do an ecco at the end of the month.yay.i swear its from all the stress that this thing changed.and she thinks my swollen stomach is the colitis that has been in remission for the past 10 yrs is flaring up now...of course i think this is all from nerves and so does she.she wants me to go on valiarian root.its a natural tranquilizer.getting it today.been on it before and i think that will work.i sure hope so......
and the beat goes on
jo---im glad your feeling more and more like yourself.
Teklya---that insurance crap is the stress you really dont need
just breathe everyone
God bless us all.huggggggggs K
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Grannydukes! I just drove through part of Jersey on 80 on my way out of NYC...I actually thought of you on my way through town! I'm sorry about your colitis...if hittingthe root doesn't help, maybe you should start hitting the Herb! I hope you feel better soon!
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Granny - Glad you are back - sorry about the colitis. Hope the root works. Like you have always said -BC, the gift that keeps on giving. BTW - I am still looking for the refund counter. LOL0
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Tekly isurance crap stinks.
Granny glad your back but hate the colitis thingy. Hopefully the root works.
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Gal Friday---why didnt you stop by to say hello???im 45 min from NY.would love to have a cuppa something with you.
JO---forget the refund.....we will never ever see that..ALL WE NEED IS OUR LIFE BACK.
today we are havin an eclipse...nothing goes right when that is goin on.
JUST BREATHE...hugggggggggggs K
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SusanHG,
Hi. I too am Triple Negative. Finished my rads April 15. How are you coping? My Onc tells me to not stress so much about the Trip. Neg. status but it's hard to sometimes stay focused on something other then sorrow and fear. I give it my all though.
My boob is still sore and tender and feels a bit swollen but RO said no Lymphedema so all is good I guess. I see my Onc tomorrow to get the latest tumor marker results. I'm nervous.
Teklya, I hear you about insurance. I've not had one seconds trouble with mine until now. They have denied a checkup charge and a port flush charge saying that my Dr.'s name was placed in the box for the practices name on the claim form and when I called my Dr.'s office, they said "we have been in this business long enough to file claim forms correctly and we do it the same way every time so your insurance company is lying to you!" My insurance approved all the chemo and have already paid some of the same charges, in full, that they now deny for "providers name" and Monday I'll get my Case Manager on it and see what she can do. We had talked about it before and she said that it was stupid. Like any of us need this insurance crap while we are dealing with recovery from this dreaded disease. My best wishes to you on this.
I have a family reunion to go to Sunday and think I am taking Confetti Corn Salad, Iowa Ham Balls and Ozark Mountain Berry Pie. It was a year ago I had to announce to my family at the reunion that I had breast cancer. I was diagnosed a year ago Saturday, June 4. It has been a surreal year to say the least. Perhaps the most exciting was the day I was clamped in the MRI machine getting an MRI Breast Biopsy with mammogram to follow and the fire alarm went off in the building and thank God, they had just taken me out of the MRI machine. I had to go outside in a cape and wait across the street and my husband refused to leave the building without me and had to be escorted out before I was!!. When he seen me come out of the building he ran across the street (city police and firemen yelling at him) and put his arms around me and got me. It was quite a day! Breast cancer wars! Huuu what is it good for? Not one damned thing!
Hugs everyone,
Juanita
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you girls are scaring me with all this insurance crap!!!!!!!im afraid they are gonna find something huge that they wont pay for like having a ecco cardiogram.my dr did not like the reg.one.and then the yearly pap. test that i just heard they only cover every other year...i think i just jinxed myself sayin how good it was being a senior.damn crap we have to put up with.
last yr.at this time i already had 2 messed up surgeries.thats when i came on here and the sistas saved my life.how can i ever thank them.step by step they walked with me till i got to this point.CHEVY DO YOU REMEMBER?????and where the hell are you????
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Granny - Would you stop stressed for god sakes! You worry about enough other things. If you are not sure what your insurance will pay for, have the doctor's office check first before you have anything done. That way you know you are covered.
jwatrlily - Insurance is the last thing we need to worry about. That is all a bunch of crap. You don't need the addes stress. The food sounds wonderful and I hope you have a great time at the reunion. Congrats early on your one year cancerversary. That is great news we all like to hear.
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Jo why do you think the colitis came back?????0
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Granny - I am sending you a PM0
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I saw the physical therapist today. When I went to check in, they handed me a form to fill out titled "Lymphedema Questionnaire". So I thought, this is a mistake but maybe they give it to all the breast cancer patients, so filled it out saying I don't have swelling and I don't have LE, but I have this pain and tightness, blah blah. Then the PT, who was very nice, said something very gently about "for women like you, who we call lymphedema stage 0"...I said, but I don't have LE -- I can't even get it, can I? I don't have swelling and I didn't have any nodes taken, not even a SNB. She said, "You don't have symptoms of lymphedema at this time, and because you didn't have any nodes taken you probably are less likely to develop it in the future. But you could get it two years, five years down the road....it isn't very common but it happens."
So she gave me two sets of exercises, one to stretch out the muscles under and around the arm, and one to increase lymph flow...things like slowly moving the head back and forth, slow breathing from the diaphragm, slowly moving the arms up and down. Slow pace is the key because that encourages lymph to move without aggravating anything. She also gave me a list of instructions for people at risk of developing LE -- I know many of you know them all too well, avoiding blood draws, BP checks etc, on that side, being vigilant about rose thorns and cat claws and hangnails and such. She said for those at risk but not symptomatic, they don't recommend sleeves for air travel, but to avoid caffeine and salty foods on the plane, keep arm slightly elevated when possible. (Another good reason to avoid flying altogether as far as I'm concerned...I hate it, but unfortunately lots of my dearest are not nearest.)
This was something of a shock, especially since no one else had mentioned lymphedema or exercises to stave it off in the six months since my surgery. The good news was that my range of motion is very good, and improved a little bit even in the PT's office after doing a few of the exercises. If anyone needs more info on the exercises I'm happy to summarize.
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Eloise---good for you and God bless your dr.who sent you for PT.most DRS.DO NOT pay too much attention to any of the things that have anything to do with lymphedema.If you go back to the beg.of this thread we knew nothing about lymphedema/edema.Only my RO agreed with me that i have edema.My BS,internist and onco all said it was very slight and never mentioned PT.my RO gave me the script.
If you have any other stretches/exercises or anything that will help the sistas please continue sharing it with the sistas.
Thanks for sharing.Good luck.I sure hope you NEVER EVER get either on.God bless you.huggggggggs K
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Saw Rad Onc today, man, was that stressful. So the horrid pain in my ribs are from a thing called hot spots (areas where the beam hit my rib cage for twice as long - double the dose). The shortness of breath is common and nothing to worry about (what???) The fatigue will subside, but may take some time, 'ya think? SE from Tamoxifen are common and fe feels they will subside as time passes. . . I felt like he could not wait to be rid of me! and he does not need to see me again, (YAY!)
just trying to breathe. . .
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I read all the posts regarding lymphedema & edema and I have to tell you, no one every talked to me about this issue or ever mentioned it. In fact, I didn't even know that you were not to have blood pressure or blood draws on the BC side. Sure glad for this website. Just another thing that I had to find out on my own.
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Teklya - I hope it eases up soon!!0
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Teklya---and what did we miss!!!!!!Hot spots.thats a new one...see girls we are still learning.im sooo sorry teklya.this bumpy road will eventually get back to normal....we gotta keep sayin it over and over again....
once again when i started this thread i thought we were going to compare notes on how we were going to move forward...dont see too many of us doin that...BUT we willllll.....We better...its gonna happen...
gosh i dont want to scare any of the new sistas on here but we have tons of info about after rads.surely not the info i was dreamin of but info that we really need.
if you have lymphedema or edema you should be wearing a bracelet that says no BP,blood tests,IV or injections.if you have nodes removed you too need to get the bracelet.on one of the lymphedema threads they give them away for free.i got one...its HOT PINK...and yes i do wear it until i find the real thing.
good nite all.i think the valarian root is makin me sleepy.huggggs K
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Juanita,
As far as being triple negative, my whole BC experience has been a nightmare roller coaster ride. My tumor was 3 mm. with a large area of DCIS (initilly thought it was just DCIS), so there was a question about chemo. I was told first that I needed it, but then sent for a second opinion at our large cancer institute. They then told me chemo should not have even been discussed and I should not have even seen an onco. Well, I went with them and am staying there. still feel like another ax could fall at any time, but trying to stay positive at this point. It is kind of unnerving not to be going to treatment and not to have my breast monitored, but I know that I need to get on with my life.
So here I am, after rads...nice to meet some of you and see you again to others...
Susan
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Morning Gals! Oh God Teklya! This is sooooo bizarre, because my Vet said Lacee has these "hot spots" also! I know they're different, but they have the same name! With her though, I have to turn her upside down, & treat those damn hot spots with a mixture of Peroxide & water, then this medicine, and I also ordered an antibiotic from Petmeds.com!
The Vet charges SOOOOO much to give me the same stuff, so I ordered it online, & a lot cheaper! So NOW I figure if I need an antibiotic, I can save lots of bucks, by just ordering antibiotics and Prednisone, and God only knows how much trouble I could get into, by doing this, Ha, ha! I don't even need a Doctor! Just call Petmeds!
And at my age, I should know what is wrong with me anyway! Don't go telling anybody.Who was having trouble with their Insurance? SOMEtimes it is how your Docs bill them! My Oncologist didn't cost me anymore than the co-pay, but when I went to the Radiologist instead, THEY charged me $380 for an office call!!!!!! The insurance only paid $144! So did I call the office? Oh yes, I did! I told them $216 was too much to pay for just a "visit"....And I told her I could maybe just start going to my PC to order Mammograms, and she said send the bill back, so she could look at it.... In November, it will be 2 years since DX, so I figure I'm about done with all this!
Maybe they will agree! I'll just call Petmeds! Now Princess Kantalope....I told you not to go scarin' the girls on here! I sent you an email, about your always stressing, so you can't persuade the rest of us to stress with you! You wear a "bracelet" I hope it is at least "pretty" with beads, & jewels & things....otherwise, everytime you see this, you will just stress more! Your "normal" life is out there waiting for you, little one! Just let a lot of the baggage from your BC go away! If I have to come out there, we will go for long walks, stop for Starbucks, and go sit in the park....Oh, and maybe go for a Gelato! Man, I can't do anything with you sometimes! Love you gals! xoxoxoxoxo
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Granny, What is this about a bracelet that tells health care providers to not do blood pressure and labs? I would like the information - where you got it and how much. I would like to check it out and see if I can get one.0
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This is all news to me. I really thought that I would eventually be "released" to have BP etc checked on my right arm. And LE! WTH! I had no idea that a lumpectomy and SNB put me at risk for the rest of my life for LE. GEEZ!
joycek: How'd you like those storms yesterday? How often have you seen a tornado warning in New England!
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Well this thread is moving right along.
Teklya I have had the problem with my ribs as well. They hurt for about a week, then went away for about a month and came back and hurt for two weeks and now have not hurt for about 1 month. The RO said this is normal imflamation because of where the rads is done. Said it would come and go for awhile. Mine did not hurt to breath but boy did it hurt if something brushed up against it.
Granny quit worrying, it is not good for you.
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Granny: Sorry I didn't stop by...my mother was ill and I was hauling arse to get to Pittsburgh.
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joycek - Thanks so much for the info. I will look into it. I don't have lymphedema but it would be nice for medical personnel know that I have had lymph nodes removed and that they can not do blood pressure or labs on my left side.
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