Single life after a mastectomy
Comments
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E- yay for getting to the lake. How did it feel to get outside for some exercise and fresh air?
I am doing things around the house and garden today and also talked to my cousin about the wedding weekend so feeling more organized there. I am heading out to the gym soon. I need some exercise too!
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E - It looks beautiful there.
Jazzy - Congrats on the new projects. I'll watch for your PM.
Melp - How are you? Check in, if you can.
Simplicity - Radiation does tend to cause problems. My surgeons said, no matter what type of reconstruction I chose, I needed to have the expander in place during radiation to keep the skin nice. After the radiation, the skin looked nice, but of course the tissue itself was tight, so they recommended having a flap or some other procedure, instead of just the implant. I insisted on only the implant, but most people are happier, from what I've heard, with those other types of reconstruction, like the kind you've chosen.
June, BB, everyone - Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!
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Today's catch of the day from the farmers market. Beautiful cosmos flowers and all the fresh veggies. Plan to do some cooking and food prep today.
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BB- I am sorry about your mom's fall. Have you talked to her about getting a walker? Or does she already have one? I hope she is feeling soon. My mom had a lot of falls when things began changing for her and it is hard to watch. I am just glad nothing is broken.
I hope you can get past the Wellbutrin SES and that it can help you.
Wishing you better days sister. Hugs.
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BB- do you think your mom can get some more in home help? There is a company called Visiting Angels that you can hire to help with chores the like. Better than having them go to assisted living. My mom did the later, but there was no choice after her stroke and hip fracture.
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Sorry to hear that your mom is in such pain, BB. I hope you're feeling better soon, too.
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E-love the pictures. Looks like it was a beautiful day!
Jazz-beautiful bouquet. Love the vase!
Bb-sorry to hear that. Hope she feels better soon & you too. My mom had 3 strokes in March 2013, and has been so different, euphoric, since. She is sad a lot more too. Lots of regrets for her. She's never been very independent & thats scaring her more these days.
My drain hole looks a lot better but still looks infected, so does that side. A very faint red over the whole breast area, but incision looks good. Other side is coming along.
O'BB, Im going to try putting the patch on tomorrow. So we can vent together. I keep saying I need to quit, but need to actually try.
I've taken up coloring as a stress relief & boredom control lol It helps quiet the mind if even for a bit.
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hi I went to a place today just to sit by a river and think about what I wish to acomplish these coming year. It was a nice 18 today so with the sun it was beautiful
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I missed the previous post.
Bb I am so sorry about you mom falls .I wish things get better it must feel so hard to lose her independence I often think about that.
It is something that scares me
Life it hard to believe all that process is over now .time will help your kids and you to overcome the lost.
Simplicity one of the hardest task is quitting smoking but you can do it keep smoking less till you will be able to have 2 smoke one morning one evening a friend of my was able to do it like a gradual brain training.
When I quit I did it in one day I took my smokes and put then in the garbage then I regressed hahahaha but did no buy again.
It is no easy
Hope you ask your bs why he did not place the expander to have wile radiotion does its thing. Anyway he must have a good reason.
Ll see oncology Dr today.I ll work till noon
I ll post later after I see him
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Enerva- what a beautiful place to think while you enjoy nature. I always do better when I am outside, even when I am sitting on my back patio. Glad you got out to enjoy some things this weekend.
I think you have your MO apt today with your new doctor and wish you luck there. Let us know what he/she says about any concerns about the blood work.
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jazz yes my appointment is at 2:50pm I ll post from there I am in the office now waiting for people in a conference meeting. Yesterday u decided to pickup my books again and study hard so I can take the exams I failed. Also work hard towards moving north next year. These was what I wanted a few years back before hell came lose so I ll try to do it next year if I am not sick that is. Honestly I have no motivation now. But I will try
Ll post soon
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BB- I am worried for your mom based on what you are sharing. Will PM you.
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omg bb my heart breaks just thinking about her.
I am on the train now just had my appointment and let's say it was so wierd. Basically i was told there is nothing wrong with my blood results. And there is no scans or mri for me. I asked " if there is no more test what should I be looking for now? In order catch c early? In case c comes back?" I was told to focus on living ,and if I get some pain which does no go away then come and tell them. I was speechless .
Basically the assistant of the oncology Dr told me that the scans are no good since they have rad and also that even if the scan finds c thereally is no guarantees they ll be able to cure it at that point .What? What? Yes right there in my face they told me the reason why we don't scan patients who are done with treatment is cuz we do not want the exposure to radiation from the cans and also cuz if c comes back we may not have a cure so no point? I looked at her and I said .wow it is nice to know there is no much the medical system can do after they finish giving us chemo and radiation. In that case I guess I will stop worry and stop coming here for follow ups. Then I said oh wait I do want a referral to see my ps regarding my radiation internal scars which bother me. Then they had a look and told me they will setup a referral for me and that was it . WELCOME TO CANADA
I even said how come in the states their Dr are so pro active ?they say oh its cuz the Dr there are exposed to been taken to court for the smallest complaint so they send patients all kind of annesesary test.
I was speechless again I apologize for telling you guys but these Dr are like saying your Dr are just scared of the lawyer that u could send after them if they don't follow up and do lost if test .
Anyway he also told me I should take tamoxifen for 5 years and the hormone for another 5 hahahhahaha ha I smiled and said I guess u are mistaken .I am not on tamoxifen. You see the same way you want me to avoid more rad I want to avoid poison hahahhahaha I said it with a serious face too and he got I was annoyed.
Then he said ok we ll give your referral for Dr xxxxxz it should be him to decide regarding your concerns.
There I walk out
Unreal
So no appointment till another year .what do u guys think?
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C- so here in the US, I don't know too many women who have lots of scans as part of their follow ups either. Insurance won't usually pay for them. I had the double lumpectomy and go for mammo's every 6 months, along with ultrasounds. The imaging center always suggests MRIs, but my BS said your insurance won't pay for them. That means every year I would have to pay the deductible for those plus what I pay out of pocket for insurance with my business. So I ask her, do you think I NEED an MRI? She has never had a strong opinion about it so we have not done one in the six follow ups I have had so far. I see my MO every six months for bloodwork and check ups around the AIs, and now a Prolia shot for the bones.
My sister had a mastectomy and goes in to see her MO every three months and has a mammo 1 a year on the remaining boob, as well as a EKG to check the heart due to chemo concerns. She does not take AIs.
Seems like everyone's follow up process is just a bit different here in the US?
If you are not doing the AIs, many times the MO's don't want to see you. Several of the women here I have talked to have opted to not take and of the anti-hormone meds, so they have no follow up apts with their MOs. Many just see their PCP and if there is something they need help with and will go see an MO if something comes up. Seems to work for many. I personally like the fact I have two sets of eyes on me every six months around my follow up.
If I understood your note right, did this doctor do a referral to someone else because you won't take Tamoxifen?
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hi ladies
Jazz no no referral but he is young and he didn't even check my neck I just observed all my last mo she at least did a check up around my neck to feel my lymph lol anyway I am OK with no scans it's just wierd that 2 years pass and I don't have a proper check just the usual how are you feeling questions then ok see ya in 12 months .
I am OK I honestly don't trust them at all if I feel sick I am my own alarm I ll keep requesting blood work every 6 months to my family Dr. And I will be my own Dr for now. In 12 months hopefully he will be gone too and I ll be dump on another newbie lol
No much to do there.
Bb let us know how is your mom .I hate to say this but my mom had a few falls which did not turned out well .hope you get her to see a doctor just to check things up.
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Enerva- when I got to see my cancer docs, I never come away feeling particularly great. My BS usually just lectures me about loosing weight (trust me, I exercise alot and eat very little) but the AIs they have me on make loosing weight nearly impossible. I have changed my diet again and now loose about 1 pound a week. MO visit goes better but am not happy about what the AIs are doing to my bones and now having to do take MORE drugs for that. It is a vicious cycle.
My BS and MO do check my lymph nodes around my neck and under my arms though. I am very surprised the young MO did not do that. Sounds like he is very green. Hmm......
I will be honest that I try to stay out of the doctor's office unless I HAVE to go. Just keep an eye on things, get lingering pains checked out, watch the blood work numbers, and just try to take very good care of yourself. That is about all any of us can do, right?
I think the comment "go live your life" is a bit trite. We are all doing that, but we are also very aware of where we have been and none of us go forward not worrying about the "what if." Until someone comes along to say "you never have to think about this again", we most certainly will.
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Lol yes ha ha ha I honestly didn't expect much like I told you I dislike them all lol they let me down before so I never really look for anything more than here charge my benefit card for seen me 5 minutes lol I wait so long and they see me 5 minutes. They are so high up in a throne as if we are just expired but who cares one day they ll realize what it's we are feeling or maybe they will all be happy ever after .
Like bb says what ever lol
I am glad I don't have to see his face for another year now .
Tmw I ll go for my walk I have been walking 3k every second day.
) feel much better0 -
Good job on the walking. I would walk tonight but it is going to rain.
This one is for you Enerva!
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love it jazz. Lol I agree I love nature so much
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BB- I hope you can get your mom some help from the doctor. If she has heart problems, they may admit her to work her up and make sure nothing more is going on. Being in bed will cause a lot of other problems. Let us know how things go? I hope your sister can/will step in to help as dealing with an aging parent is too hard to do alone.
I think my situation is relative unique because of the double lump involving both sides. The same technology that finds your cancer can also give it to you. I have always had issues with mammo's as a whole, but it is what also found my very early bc. It is just not a perfect world......
I am pushing to get some things done with the two companies I have working opps with. Waiting to execute the first part of a contract with one, and evaluating another opp with a second firm I won an RFP with this summer. The first one I am excited about and really want to do, great company to work with a client I want to work for and things moving well on that one. The second opp came up late last week is less ideal, and I am not having a good first experience with the prime on the work. I am not sure I want the project they are looking for some help on, and may end up passing on it. I have a better once I am talking to someone about in October I also want to do. I am also busy getting ready to head out of town next week on my family wedding trip. I leave a week from tomorrow.
Happy first day of autumn everyone. Hope Life, Milky, Lilly, Melp and everyone else here is doing okay.
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hi .
Bb I am happy not to do the tests. But having had c in both my breast having a sister and a brother die a year apart after I finish radiation it's just not easy to hear a dumb a s s Dr tell me oh there is nothing we can do to catch it early if it comes back. Lol I hear him say since I was stage 3 now if it comes back it Mets and no much to do about it. It's the non humanity that bothers me the most but I get it .it's ok I do not want the soft talk either .it's so hard for us to be normal in our heads it sucks .my mind wonders every day
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you guys won't believe it but I am back at the walking clinic. I think my blotter infection is back
I work till 6:45 pm and had to hold my pee all afternoon and then when I went to pee I felt again the symptoms so I got home almost at 8pm showered and decided to come and check again I am so sick of been weak like I am always sick Anyway I ll let u know if it is in fact an infection
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Enerva- I am sorry to hear this. Why aren't you able to use a bathroom at work?
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Lol Jazz it's me I am an idiot lol the bathroom is not close by my cubicle so I often hold on and also cuz I am so busy some times I don't even take lunch but I promise I will stand up now and go I am so tired and sick . So yes another infection in less than a month
. Tmw morning is my appointment with my psychology Dr. I will tell her how I have been feeling this past weeks .I don't know what is up with my system lately .
I am glad I went to the walking clinic cuz when I got there and had to pee I felt even worse so it means over night it was going to get bad.
Anyway I will feel better tmw
Don't worry I need to smart up lol
Good night
Hope bb s mom is getting better
Melb you too and simplicity, June life bdavis milky.
Sending u all hugs
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omg bb I am so sorry
I know how it is I wish you got in now
It's horrible the emergency waiting it's the worse.
I in your pocket
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BB- I am so sorry to hear what is going on. I pray the trauma hospital can help her stabilize things and manage her pain. Hugs sister, it is going to be a tough week. Reach out to your community for support, including your boys.
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omg, I am so glad she is in good hands bb try to also care for yourself I went through months of sleeping in the hospital besides mom bed and it took a lot of me ; (
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on my way to catch a train ll be here later
Train is gone need to wait 30 minutes
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Enerva- come on now, smile! I love trains. I used to love riding on them from CT to NY when I lived back east and also will ride the train here from ABQ to Santa Fe.
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Lol jazz I was piss cuz I missed it
Bb .hope you and your mom get some rest tonight .hand in there it ll all be better soon.
Melb , hope you are ok
Simplicity hope you are healing .I will get an appointment with the ps ti chat about the rad internal scar which is causing things to shift and also which is so thick it appears to be something else.
June , life milky Tessa hope all is better
G night
Does any of you uses whatsapp?
Milky and I do.
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