After Radiation
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Ducky there were thunderstorms 3 hours away from here, so move a couple of feet over and dance again! You almost got us!
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Sagina........................I'll do my line dance that I was taught, right before i was diagnosed with BC..............I was taking lessons when I went for my Mammo, and got called back............I continued going, because I loved "line dancing", and hated cancer........................cancer was not going to keep me down........................I missed 1 lesson the day of surgery, but went back the following week...............love it, and love country ...................I tell my kids "I was country when country wasn't cool"................here I go.
Gonna do my..................Waltz Across Texas line dance..................that will cover more territory...............hope it pours...........hugs Texas gals..
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my dr called with the results.she is the best.everything was fine except a tiny 1cc cyst on the left side.she assured me it was nothing but if i wanted a mri i could get one but she strongly suggested not to.she said wait 3 mos and do the us over.pap came back normal too.BUT she was very concerned with the drop of blood she found in the rectal.shit!!!that means colonoscopy time..grrrrrrrrrrrrr.NEXT CASE!!!!!
thanks for all the prayers.hugggggs to all my sistas.gotta run to play cards now.huggggggggK
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Gran.....some good news, some not too good news...................but it might just be something minor................the one test I don't mind is the colonoscopy.........I have to go every 3 years because my Mother died from colon cancer......................the worst is the damn prep..............my Dr. does a few Dulcolax, and then a bottle of Miralax mixed in some type of drink (I did weak tea), and it was nothing really ...............I don't do the gallon jug of whatever that shit is they want you to drink.................or those friggin horse pills they make you take............the Dulco, and Mira........do just as good, and its not bad at all....................
I'm not due for another year...................all my 6 kids have all had a colonoscopy done because of my history (found a tiny polyp (path ok), and my mother's history...............none of them were 50 when they did it.............my G.I. man got them approved............what peace of mind for all of us...................I think 50 is too long to wait................My grandson was 19, and had a few stomach problems................just for shits and giggles the GI guy did a colonoscopy on him..................didn't he find a tiny polyp which he said by the time he was 35 it would have been full blown colon cancer.....................so don't tell me that waiting till 50 is a good idea..
Hope all goes well................and when they come at you with the camera SMILE GRANNY
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ducky - I love to line dance. My DH does not dance and line dancing works for me. I know several dances - wish we could dance side by side.
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Jo..............it is a real hoot...................love it too, and maybe someday we will......................hugs.
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ducky - Good exercise too.
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OK ladies the rain dance has worked it just started pouring down rain here in Central Texas. Woohoo we needed it so bad. Jo I am sure you are jealous as I don't think south Texas is getting the rain. I'll pray it moves your direction. It is raining hard. I really want to go out and dance in the rain. I'm giddy. OK been way too long since we have had rain.
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Ducky---sista/friend...i had a million colonoscopys...i had a rare colitius many yrs ago and had to go every 6 mos for 5 yrs.that SHIT suks.yeah the prep is the worst part but a few times the prep made me bleed.....so bleeding is nothing new to me...i thought i was done with that as he cut,tied,burnt i think everything that could be done SO WHERE THE HELL IS THE BLEEDING COMIN FROM NOW??????????
I swear i think i would have handled stomach cancer easier then the bc as i always had stomach issues since i was 8 yrs old.I took the first chemo drug they put out for inflamation for 5 yrs over 10 yrs and was considered cured.....again cured or remission???
BUT the rest of me is doin just fine.huggs everyone.its past my bedtime.
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Eliza: dx stage 2 breast cancer in 2010. Lumpectomy 4/11; then chemo with; herceptin, carboplatin, and taxotere; 6 wks radiation 5x a wk (30 rads), which concluded Dec. 2010. By April 2011 breast started to swell, hot, red, hardening around scar tissue, skin roughening. Thought it was a seroma, which I had had before immediately after lumpectomy, but which had resolved quickly without incidence.
Sought help from BS. BS drained it twice, then I received two rounds of antibiotics Catflex (sp?). She thought radiation damage could be factor. Sent to get ultrasound. Heard radiologists discussing in background that rad tx could be cause. Was sent to Phy. therapy. Exercises in futility. Saw chemo doc. He asked if other doc suggested plastic surgery. (This would be ill-advised as skin is too damaged for more surgery).
Talked to the Rad onc. He said he saw this inflammation, hardening, swelling, retraction before many times (in about 5-10% of the cases). He NEVER mentioned it to me before, though I'd been suffering from this for months by then. He offered no treatment, no hope of resolution, no explanation of cause, though I asked him, "why did a certain percentage of women get this while others did not." I suggested there must be something different about these women, and if the difference was known - maybe such a devastating outcome could be avoided. He just shrugged, said no one knew. He was indifferent and incurious, which boggles the mind that anyone handling such a lethal material as radiation could be so unconcerned with the consequences and the toll this treatment is taking on women's lives. I never heard of RIF till I saw this blog with a thread on radiation induced fibrosis weeks later! It's really great how you've all kept your wit and sense of humor.
Later, after seeing him and my PCP I began to figure out for myself that it was radiation damage I was experiencing, and further, that there was some particular reason that 10%, or more likely 25%, women got this result. From the beginning, I suspected that the damage I was experiencing had something to do with the immune system, since I have an auto-immune disease.
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Welcome Eliz---sorry you had to come her for the answers your dr should/could have provided....BUT if you read this thread you know that they dont.WHY is the big question...i really think that they hope we dont get it and they dont want to scare you.before i did the rads which took me way past statistics i did all my homework and still was surprised with a lot of things....like i got edema...never read anything about that..Honey I THINK ITS THE LUCK OF THE DRAW!!!!!.I too have auto immune disease and was worried about lots of things.some i got and some i didnt.dont beat yourself up over this.its done.Perhaps you might seek out a 2nd opinion before you take this any further....and please keep us posted as all of us will be prayin for you...I wish you the best.huggggggggggs and God bless K0
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Eliza I too have radiation damage and scar tissue inside the breast that gets to be pretty painful even though I am on drugs for it. I did seek out a PS and I am going to have a BMX with DIEP reconstruction. The PS is also going to harvest a large blood vessel from my tummy area and will microsugically reattach it too my breast. He said radiation destroys our blood vessels in our breast and therefore the skin will not stretch and becomes leathery. With the new blood supply it will give the blood circulation back to my breast and he said the tissue will repair itself and become soft again. You might want a consult with a PS that does microsurgery. It may give you more options.
My pain is only in the breast not in the arm. My BS and my PS both feel that the MX will take care of my pain caused from radiation damage.
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Hi Ladies, I was wondering if anyone had an enlarged Thyroid as a result of radiation? I go for an US on the 5th. Kinda worried. Hoping someone can shed light on this for me.
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sorry had thyroid issues before the bc!
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I can't complain too much about rads since during treatment I was blessed enough to have very few SEs. Well...it did completely jack up my reconstruction but we fixed that with a revision surgery last week. Now my concern is that at 8 weeks out the skin on that side continues to feel noticeably warmer than the non-radiated side. Anyone else experiencing this? My LE therapist actually thought that I might be developing an infection because she could feel the difference in temperatures during her treatment, but a course of antibiotics doesn't seem to have helped.
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my rad side only stayed warmer for about 3 weeks after i finished,i'm 2 1/2 months out and there the same temp now
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sundermom, my skin was warm and red for 3 months after rads. Intensely itchy too. I finished rads in February and was still having this problem until sometime in May. Then it just got better suddenly. For me, it just seemed to be the normal healing process.0
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sundermom I stayed red, warm and itchy for a couple of months following rads
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It seems sooo long ago i forgot if i was itchy......all i remember is those damn bras!!!!!
I know i did a lot of complaining but im just fine now.Thank you GOD
AND.I spoke to the gastro Dr.no emergency.gonna put that thing off for a while as the blood is not unusual for me.probably popped something he already cut,tied and burned in the past.I was shocked but if he is not worried neither am I.You know I always say its all about the $$$$$$.well im using him for 15 yrs.and i dont think he is all about it.
Does anyone have any idea how much he gets paid to do a colonoscopy and endoscopy?????Big bucks.
huggggs to all my sistas that are still itchy...this too shall pass.K
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Tomorrow is my one year cancerversay and Jo is coming to spend the weekend with me and we are going to celebrate. Wish my BMX and reconstruction were over with as I am emotionally ready to get it done, but still have weight to gain. But this time next year will be a different story, I'll have pretty new boobs instead of this scarred up rads boob I have now. Actually it probably won't look much different but sure will feel better. I will be pain free then.
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Congradulations Sherry. Hoping you have many more....
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Congrats Sherry---give JO JO a big hugggg for me.I hope you girls enjoy yourselves.Take lots of pics.huggggggs K0
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Sherry=PLEASE give Jo a hug from me too!! Have fun!
Congrats on one year...Here's to many, many, many more happy, healthy years!
Cheers!
Tori
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Irw333, I was concerned about my thyroid, after listening to Dr. Oz. I asked for the thyroid guard, but the RO said we don't use that, no need. I was still concerned, but she said they don't use them, so I had rads without, I should have insisted, you never know, after I was almost done, she admitted a certain amount of radiation is spead internally throughout the body. I honestly think she came up with that after she looked it up. Some facilities offer the guards for mamograms and some don't. I think the patient should be the boss when there is request. After all they really don't know for sure. Such a simple request, anyway!0
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sherryc
congrats Sherry,have a wonderful time with JO
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Thyroid Guard? Never knew anything about it, Thanks for telling me. I tried to tell my RO something was wrong. I got the classic we did nothing. Not with Pinpoint radiation...I guess I will never know. I could not even eat when I finished.. Still having problems 2 weeks after.
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I will say congrats to Sherry on here but I am so excited to be able to help her celebrate her one year cancerversary. I am hitting the road pretty soon. Will take lots of pictures.
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I'll be a day late, but can't wait to see Jo and Sherry and Chrissyb, and Timothea, and Jana, and Annette!!!!!!!!! It's going to be a great October 1st! So glad Chrissyb decided to make San Antonio one her stops! If anyone one else ever heads this way let me know!
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gina looking forward to tomorrow
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Sherry congats on the one year mark. Hope everyone has a great time>
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