Any 40-ish survivors?
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Meegan - I asked my onco for the annual MRI and she agreed without hesitation. This was during my first f/u appointment when we were discussing my care going forward. I don't think she would have ordered them without me suggesting it, but she did not argue at all about it. My justification for it was that the MRI at diagnosis picked up an area of DCIS that was not seen on the mammo. The bigger tumor was plainly visible on the mammo, as well as by just looking at my boob. . . LOL. If you have dense breasts, I have read that is a good excuse for the MRI. I am not sure about radiation exposure on the MRI - for some reason I thought MRI's were not radiation based. I could be wrong.
Kymm - glad to hear you are doing well in rads and your hair is coming in. The light layer on your head sounds about right. I think mine came in about 1 mo PFC, and by 2 months it was all over. I am now 9 mos PFC and I have roughly 4 inches of hair (about right considering 1/2 in average hair growth per month for humans). Sadly, 4 inches is not nearly as long as I thought it would be back in January, but at least it is something! I did not have the face fuzz but I have read about it here. Like mamachick, all the comments seem to be that it never grows back if shaved. I do have some wild chin hairs that I think are either due to all the hair growth supplements or wonky hormones due to chemo pause and/or coming out of chemopause.
Re your period, I got mine back last month - so 8 mos PFC. There were two of what I call mini-periods before that. . . extremely light. Not having a tampon handy was no issue with the mini ones because they were so light. For the first full blown one, a surprise attack would have been embarrassing . . . unreal heavy. But it was no surprise because cramps started a couple of days before (I never got cramps before . . .hope they do not continue). I just turned 41. They say the younger you are, the more likely it is that your period will return.
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Hi Kymn, I'm 41 as well and went 10 months no period. I didn't have light ones first like Lisa, mine was full blown, painful, and so heavy I had to leave work the afternoon it started and missed work the next day. I've never had missed work for this before.....This month it seemed more normal, no pain....but I started taking Krill Oil, I didn't know one of it's claims is helping during heavy periods.
I got the peach fuzz face too, I trimmed as close to my skin as I could. It seems to be leveling off with the return of the normal hormones. My hair is about 2 inches or so on top - slower to come in and prob 3 or 4 in back, but extremely curly (like I had it before). Getting my period back made me feel like a girl again! Never thought I'd like that back!!! lol.
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I also suggested the MRI to my Onc, and he agreed with no problem. I don't think he would have suggested it if I hadn't first, I know my PS also wants them done, but I'm not sure how often.
I never got my periods back after chemo supposedly because I went straight to Tamoxifen-I was expecting it since I was only 40. But I'm definitely not bummed I didn't!
Lisa! Please tell me what hair growth supplements you're taking. I will do anything at this point.
I got the peach fuzz as soon as all my other hair started growing back in-mine looks like a blonde beard as well. I had it waxed once and ended up with a beard of zits. It was horrible! And it grew back in, so I haven't had it done again. I haven't thought about just trimming it.
PT has helped the pain in my arm, but not the stiffness of my shoulder. So he may send me back to my Onc and suggest an Xray. I swear, I have had so much radiation passed through my body I should glow!
Kymn-good to hear from you! Glad you're doing well with the rads.
Where is the other Kim? It's unusual she hasn't posted.
I hope everyone has a terrific day :-)
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Hi ladies - all this talk re MRIs - want to let you know I pushed, 8 years or so ago, to get them annually, alternating w/my mammo. So either a MRI or a mammo every 6 mos. Hated all the screening and it was just getting to the point of ridiculousness when this new DCIS was spotted. Unless something really sinister's lurking in there, this is a teeny tiny bit of DCIS that did not show up on the mammo . . . so in other words, although every one of us dreads a second diagnosis, better a very early stage one, right? Fight for those MRI's, girls!
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Sarah - that is exactly why I want the MRI. From my personal experience as well as info from others, they are much better at picking up problems at the dcis stage.
To whoever commented about radiation, I confirmed today that MRIs do not use radiation.
So I got thru it fine. It hurt just like last time but I was able to breathe. I really think the problem two weeks ago was the full stomach.
Burly - I am taking biotin and folic acid supplements, plus 2 multivitamins and a b complex. I take some other stuff too but these are the ones that I think my affect hair growth. I have not taken them religiously so they may actuallly have little to do with it. I have always had a ton of hair that grows fast, so it may just be my hair. I have been looking into an aeruvdic (sp?) treatment. It is probably a scam but it promises more rapid growth. I dont remember the name but will try to post later. I ave been meaning to get a gift card at the grocery store to try t. I don't trust giving my real credit card info to stuff like that.
I can say for sure that the biotin has helped my nails.0 -
Mira hair oil - that is the too good to be true product I read about but may try just in case it does work.
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Lisa - so glad you could do the MRI today - your giant breakfast smoothie sounds awesome, though. : ) Forgot to add that MRI doesn't involve radiation (you said this), but of course, there are concerns w/regard to the contrast dye and kidney issues . . . I haven't looked into it extensively b/c really, in my mind there was no alternative!
And FWIW, all, I just think the hair grows as fast as it wants to grow. I have very fast-growing hair and it took me what seemed like AGES to get a full head after chemo. Hubs never wants my hair to be short again (we'll see about that).
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Ok, thanks I will push for MRI's when I see my MO in Sept. I have not gotten my period back yet and it's 10months since it stopped, 7 months PFC. I'm 44.
I also had the blonde hair on my face everyone. I shaved it for my sisters wedding (electric razor) as couldn't stand the thought of it being in any of the pictures. That was early July. It is starting to come back in, but not thicker or darker. I've heard others say they shaved a few times and then it stopped on its own.
My hair growth seems to be normal, but my armpit and leg growth is much slower than before (which is fine with me!).
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For my face i trimmed it and it seemed to really help... I have trimmed it a second time, but not sure i needed to... Did not shave or wax, just used scissors against my skin, and plucked the courser hairs.
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Hi everyone. Very quiet here!
I hope that means everyone is happy and too busy with their lives.
I'm getting to the end of chemo. Only 5 treatments/weeks to go. I can't believe how the 6 months have flown by.
By the end of November I hope to have finished rads and be getting on with my life. My hair is still growing, making me really happy. I'd love to have hair for Christmas. I've been reading the Hair Hair Hair thread. Christmas doesn't look realistic at this stage ... but you never know. It could happen.
Anyway, I hope everyone is well. Where are you all??0 -
Hi KiwiMum...I have not been on in a long time,but read your post this morning and wanted to say so very happy for you....you are almost done. I hope this round has been easier and to me rads were no big deal at all. You will be enjoying that pool in no time.
I am set for what I hope will be my final surgery with all this breast cancer stuff....gee what a time this has been....I am ready to move on. I will be joining a group of breast cancer survivors soon. This group is called SOS ( sharing our stories ) not sure where this will lead,but my only means of chatting about cancer has been here,hopefully this will be a good group of ladies.
Other than all that....school is in full force,my son just got braces,and life is really good. I love to be able to see fall come and just enjoy my family.
I hope all of you who have just had surgery are doing well,those still in active treatment too. Thinking of all you girls. It really does get better and you will be done soon too.
My thoughts are with you all and hope the weather will not be a threat to any of you as the weekend approaches.
Have a great day,
Kim
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I'm new here, can I play? I was diagnosed in April at 45 and have a 6 year old little boy. I've been married 13 years. My husband is sleeping in the guest room since I had my BMX with recon 3 weeks ago, and my baby does not like it! Last night he told me, "Eema, (Eema is mom in Hebrew, btw) Abba (dad in Hebrew) can sleep next to you. I watched him sleep and he lays very still." Poor thing thinks we are fighting when the truth is he is afraid of wacking me in his sleep!
As for alcohol, before BC I had a couple of shots of Aquavit or Ouzo (I like the hard stuff!) every Saturday at synagogue, but I haven't been in a couple weeks since my surgery. I'm observant Jewish, so I don't drive on Saturday, and I miss my drinking buddies! Can't do shots when youre on Oxy and flexeril for this damn lingering pain.
Funny, I had my child late in life, so many of my friends are in their 30s. Babies, I tell you! I'm glad to connect with some women who remember the big hair days of the 80s-- who's with me?0 -
Hope all our friends in VA (and CO) are okay after the Earthquake yesterday. Have to say it was very unsettling for me personally in NY. On 32nd floor, felt like I was riding on a wave for maybe 5 sec or so. Guy I was with used to live in Japan and he instantly said it was an Earthquake, but so close to 9/11 anniversary, it was a few anxious minutes. Thank Goodness the news wires are so fast and reported an earthquake in VA (although who knew it could travel so far?!) as our security sytem was, once again, very slow to announce anything. A lot of people fled, but I stayed.
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Hi Kmur (Kim). Nice to see you post. You used to post often and I hadn't seen you in a while so was hoping all was OK. Glad to hear you will have your final surgery done soon and will be able to move on with your life. Hopefully your SOS group can provide the support you need and be a fun group of ladies you can make friends with.
Our pool is dug and concreted. The landscape gardeners and doing their thing and every day it starts to look better and better. They are hoping to be done in 3 weeks - yay! I won't be warm enough to swim in 3 weeks ... but maybe 8 weeks from now we can jump in.
Welcome Eema. I too used to enjoy a few drinks a week. In particular I like to drink wine. Since starting chemo I've had one or two glasses but a) don't really feel like it and b) my onc says it hard on your liver which is already coping with the chemo. I will certainly be celebrating with a glass or two in 5 weeks!!
I can certainly remember big hair and the 80s. My 9 year old daughter went to an 80's party the other week - I found it weird seeing her all dressed up in an era which means nothing to her. But then again - what's not to like about the music!!
ReadingMama - glad you are OK after the earthquake. It must have been scary. New Zealand get quite a few earthquakes so we are well used to them.
Better get off the computer. I'm about to go on a school day trip with a group of 6 year olds. I hope I survive the noise levels.
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Eema-
You made me laugh just thinking about how big my hair was in the 80's. The memories ..... I also enjoy having a drink now and then. I enjoy just about anything from a really really cold beer to whiskey and lemon aid!! These days though I do guilt myself after so I try ( most of the time)
to limit my intake.... I hope you will continue to heal following surgery. Look forward to your posts.Meegan- Glad to hear you are ok as well. Crazy stuff with the earthquakes and now this storm brewing in the Atlantic. Hope everyone is ok and maybe it will miss the US ( fingers crossed)
Oh KiwiMum ...I forgot to say I hope your trip with all those girls went well....glass of wine after???? Lol Hope it was great though. Now that my son is a big time 8th grader, Us moms don't get to be involved as much....really miss that.
Hope everyone else is doing well ....where is everyone, I bet there are more big hair memories out there with this group...so funny I forgot those days.
See Ya,
Kim
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Here is something cute I'll share from life in MY house... Yesterday my 6 year old son said to me, "Eema, I'm sad that your new boobies are so teeny tiny." I thought this was a little odd for a child to say to a parent, my husband hasn't expressed disappointment in me going from saggy DDs to perky Cs, so I asked him why. His response? "because before they took off your old boobies, I was almost as tall them. Now I have a long way to grow!".
That is a typical conversation in my house. And since he's 6, everything is about boobies and penises and tushies. He stayed home from camp yesterday because he was sick, and since I can't even lift a jug of milk yet, had to get creative. We were watching "Princess Bride", and he noticed the rating system for the first time. He asked what PG meant, and I told him it could mean there was rude language. He shared, "Eema, I know the S word is 'shut up', but what is the A word? Angry?". I told him he would learn the word some time soon, but it wasn't going to be from me!
So that is a little taste of Casa Eema. Glad I could be here to share, but not really happy about being part of the BC club!0 -
Eema - me again (just wrote you a note on another thread) - this is LOL funny! My almost 8-year-old has asked if my new breasts will be bigger, smaller or the same (only a B but they've worked for me these 42 years!), and I said, "hopefully the same," and then she said, "well, but hopefully not so saggy!" Uh, right!
I was just out w/a friend from the '80's. We were remembering pictures from college where we both had huge, long permed hair, Flashdance-esque sweaters and jeans w/holes at the knees - toasting with Miller Lights. Those WERE the days, my friend.
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Eema,
Oh My Gosh!! Once again I had to laugh. Love that story....they are too honest sometimes . You should get a little book and write things like that down and have them forever. Thanks for making me smile!! I miss the little guy days with my son...so I will enjoy any story you share I'm sure!!
Thanks Girls,
Kim
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Hey, you know what? I DO have a little book of his sayings, but haven't been keeping up with it lately...I forgot about it since I have been kinda busy getting rid of my cancer;)! Thanks soooo much for reminding me, that one is definitely a winner! Now to find the book:)
Here is another one: He is VERY upset that his parents are sleeping in separate rooms for the time being (my husband is afraid of wacking me in the boobs in his sleep). He asked me why Abba couldn't sleep in 'my' bed... I told him I was afraid Abba might move around and hit me accidently (put the blame on me, don't need DS mad at DH at 6!). He responded, "I've watched Abba sleep, and he lays very still. I think you'd be OK!" And my husband hadn't paid him off to say that!
Thanks for letting me share!
and who remembers Boone's Farm? Or was I the only one with big hair and gummy bracelets drinking Tickle Pink?
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OH Boy....think my "flavor" of choice was Strawberry or maybe peach ....sounds really awful now hu? Later when we grew up...we were drinking Riunite Lambrusco...not good. Lol
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Oh I would NEVER drink that $!?@ now! Tickle Pink and Strawberry Fields. Boy, was that fun! Since I was a little underage I could only get some when I could find a 'buyer', but that was usually not a problem with a tight shirt and sweet talk. I wonder if my new boobies could get someone to buy for me:)
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Eema - how funny! I'm sure your new boobies could sweet talk someone.
One day my daughters are going to be using their boobies and gawd knows what else to sweet talk boys. I hope that day is a long way off.
I survived the school trip. It was really sweet. My little girl is getting so independent and growing up every day. I need to make the most of this time when she wants Mum around. One day soon she'll be dumping me for her friends.
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So great you could go with her, kiwi mum! One day, like you say, she will be embarrassed to be seen with you. I'm happy my little guy is still a mama's boy!
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Getting ready for the hurricane in VA. I live near Virginia Beach. Stay safe all my fellow east coasters!!!
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Mom2one, first an earthquake, now a hurricane! Locust are next... Stay safe!
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Can I join you? New to these boards, but dx'ed in Dec '07 at 41. Now 45. My son is 15. Nice to find you all!
Stay safe, everyone in Irene's path.
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To all our Eastcoasters-
Thinking and praying for a quick turn out to sea. Be safe all.
kiwiMum, So glad your school trip was fun. Do hang on they grow up so fast. Seems like yesterday mine was 6 now he is almost 14. He has remained a really good kid likes to hang out with us. I really enjoy his company...not like what you hear about teenagers!!
Hi jenxreboot, Look forward to your posts too.
Thinking of you all,
Kim
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Hi everyone,
40 yr old survivor here (well, okay...41 in two weeks!) Checking in,it's so good to have a crew going through the same things I am. Some tips, and updates:
Regarding the nails--while I was in treatment, I painted them black per some posts here. It worked great. They are thinner, but the Taxotere didn't make them fall out or turn nasty colors.
My hair 11.5 months pfc is 4 inches or so, and I've had trims. I concur with a poster here: it does what it wants to do, I'm pretty sure fish oil and biotin don't make a slow girl like myself faster. I go up and down with my vitamins, to be honest.
I still have some weird receding issues in the front that seem to be filling in ever-so-slowly. It was alarming when I noticed, but I've let go a bit. My hair on the top, while full coverage, is definitely finer/thinner than the sides and back. Which, is weird. And alarming. My eyebrows, one of my favorite things about my face, are still trashed. Thin, patchy. Eyelashes are short and weird. They say those often never come back.
No period, very upset about that. I will know soon what the FSH story is, and my concern is that my doc wants to switch me to an AI. I'm going to fight on that, the studies are so mixed and for someone in our age bracket...I'm super-dubious.
Other than that, the vitamin D has completely transformed my energy level--I have more good, even-keel days than before treatment. It is so clear to me my body was on a path to destruction, I'm lucky I got out of this Stage 1, ER+ (rare in our camp).
Keep pushing for those MRIs. I'm a classic: found my own lump. Which was showing up as "probably benign" on an ultrasound/mammo for years. I had to fight: not only do the insurance companies not want to pay, but also the hospitals don't want to spend the uncompensated time reading them. Reading an MRI can take up to two hours. Mammo: 10 minutes.
But more important: I haven't been here because I was out of the country and loving life. I've been out of the country for upwards of a month each go four times since January. Take that, cancer!
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Ltothek, I also had an area for years that I knew was an issue. All the docs, even the famous ones, told me it was probably nothing. Thank g-d it was JUST DCIS. My mammo came back bad last Dec, and my doctor forgot to call me to let me know I had to follow up. I just happened to at her office in the middle of March and remembered to ask about the mammo, I was there for a sore throat, but my boob was killing me! She went through my file and said, "I signed off on this--no one called you? You have to follow up right away!" I followed up the next week and was having a biopsy the next week. She never called to let me know that one was bad. I ended up at the cancer clinic I am because a friend of mine is doing her residency there. So keep pushing and be sure you know the results of all tests!
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Bracing for Irene here. Good Luck to us all on the East Coast - it does not look pretty. I am on vacation next week, which is good that I don't have to travel into NYC, bad that I will probably be stuck at home with no electricity, at least for a few days... But preparing for the worst and hoping for the best!
6 month follow up with BS yesterday was quick (well, except for the waiting). She agreed to sign off on yearly MRI's, so they are getting that precert now so I can go soon for 1st one. Happy about that. She always waivers between if I'm a IIb or IIIa due to the neo chemo, wondering if I should change sig. to IIb as original size was smaller, but MRI size was bigger. I'm calling her clinical trials people b/c I'm in one and she had to stage me for that, so I'll find out what that stage was.
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