Radiation recovery
Comments
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MostlySew-Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Janis-ARGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
Mostly Sew Congrats on being done!!!! I too cried on my way to my last treatment, felt very bizarre.
Thanks for the kind words about my accident, I am so looking forward to the day good luck starts striking, at least I am cancer free now!! Seeing MO about Tamoxifen tomorrow now, so hope that stage goes well for me!
Janis I am praying for you to get healthy soon, hope you get in a few healthy days before the next surgery!
I just so appreciate having all you wonderful "divas" to share this experience with, unless you have been here you just dont get it!
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Ok, just need to vent a bit. My hair is growing in but it looks a bit like a poodles butt! Out of control waivey and standing up all over. Even the thickest oil I have wont weight it down and the curls have the strength of steel springs, e-gads please tell me this is not my pemanant new hair.
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Merilee just admit that you love the new look. How many month have you not had hair???
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Love having hair yes, but I will also like it better when I can unbend it LOL
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Oh Merilee....so sorry! I was spared chemo and can only imagine how it must feel. Hoping for tamer hair in your future!
Feeling a little better today. Think I will hide out until my next surgery scheduled date and maybe it will happen. No more germs for me!
Tam...glad to hear you are feeling better!!
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I finished RADS yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cried too, I cried the first day I went and I cried yesterday driving home. When I came home to my husband I cried again, sobbed is more like it. I could see his eyes filling up as he was consoling me, he is the only one (besides all of you) that knows what this road has been like, and I am thankful to have him. I think the tears were that of relief and it being behind me now. I can still cry today, very emotional. skin is looking great, the boost area is red still. I do get pains in my shoulder and arm pit like a tightening pain, guess its normal.
I will be starting on Anastrozole which is the generic for Arimidex, anyone else???
My hat's off to all of us
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Oh yeah, my hair is WHITE!!! with black patches and starting to get wavy too, it looks like finger waves
but as my husband said, you look like your baby pictures, and at least you have hair again LOL.. 0 -
MostlySew, HUGE congrats on finishing up! Woohoo!
Janis, oh honey! So sorry you are postponed again. Hope you continue to feel better! I would bring you some yummy chicken soup if I were nearby.
Merilee, I don't have poodle curls, but I do have really curly hair. The more length you get, the better it will be because the weight of the hair pulls the curl out. And for curly hair, good products really make a difference. I use Paul Mitchell, the ones with the red top. You can PM me if you want more details!
Ginger!!! Congrats on being through! I didn't get emotional at the end, but I cried every day for the first three weeks, so I think I got it all out, haha!
My root canal turned into an extraction at the oral surgeon yesterday, but it wasn't as big a deal as I was afraid it would be. It's not hurting that bad and to tell you the truth, I kind of liked being out while they did my dental work.
Hope everyone has a great day!
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Janis - so sorry your surgery was delayed. Hopefully, third time is a charm.
Merilee - how long is your hair? Mine is about 1/4 inch long, and coming in stick straight, except for my cow lick. It was wavy before chemo. It is my understanding that our "new" hair may not represent our permanent texture, much like baby hair. I had colored my hair for so long I had not realized how gray I had gotten, but the new hair coming in sure has a lot of gray in it. I am contemplating what color I want to be when I ditch the wig. Decisions, decisions.
Speaking of wigs, can I get a reality check from all of you? I only wear my wig at work, because I work in retail at a high volume store and didn't want to deal with the questions that inevitably come from customers. My co workers all know I lost my hair, and I found a wig so close to my previous style and color that my regular customers didn't even notice the change. A couple of days ago I was helping a woman and her husband at our service desk. There were several co-workers and customers in the area. The woman asked me, in front of everyone, if I was on chemo. She said, "mine grew back" and tugged on her hair. I politely said no, that I had finished my chemo. I then excused myself and left. Although I treated her politely, I was very upset (ok, angry) that a "sister" would do that in such a public place with so many people looking on. I was alone with her several times as I was helping her, and she could have used any of those opportunities to ask me the same question. She is the very reason I wear the wig - to not be questioned by total strangers about my health. I would think a "pink sister" would understand that better than anyone. Am I overreacting?
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neecee, No, you are not overreacting. No one likes to be put in a spot like that in public. I do not hide my BC, but I like to be the one who decides when and where to mention it.
Janis, I cannot even imagine what you are going through. For now, please just be gentle with yourself and get well soon.
Merilee, My hair is starting to get wild and crazy, too. Every morning, I have a new hair adventure when I look in the mirror.
ginger mea, I started on anastrozole 34 days ago. So far, so good. The only SE I notice is a bit of stiffness in my dominant hand when I awaken.
I just learned that DH and I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family this year. I am excited about it--another post BC milestone.
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Elizabeth18, very happy to hear that about the anastrozole! thank you
Neecee, we all have our own feelings, and I think people, especially those that have gone through it sould be more sensitive to others.
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Congratulations Mostlysew and Ginger.... Happy to hear you are doing so well. Neecee that was uncalled for. I can't believe some people. Steph glad you had an easier time at the dentist then expected. Hope your feeling better soon.
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Neecee, to bad you didn't respond with " Oh!... I hope mine looks better than that!" LOL
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neecee....The woman should have asked you in private. She should not have put you on the spot like that. Sometimes people just behave poorly I think.
Ginger big hugs to you for finishing rads! I hope everything goes well for you now.
I don't think I am very normal. I have never cried about the cancer...not from the initial diagnosis, nor since. Never in rads or on the last day. I am not usually so unemotional and cannot figure out where this sudden stoicism is coming from. I haven't shed one tear and that just seems strange to me, but can't make the tears flow. Maybe one day it will just hit me? Emotional is normal!
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Ginger-I am so happy for you. It's a great relief to be finished. Hooray!!!!
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Janis, everyone handles stress, shock, and grief differently. I don't think there is such a thing as a "normal" response to this crazy journey we are all on. I sure haven't felt normal in months!
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Thanks everyone....I do feel part of the recovery. My first day's been great....much better than any Saturday with Monday looming around the corner.
On the tears, I've always been emotional over sad stories or a sad movie or even a great, touching present. I believe I broke up on the rad table my last day because I no longer had to be really tough and get thru this thing without moving. Who knows, I'm still teary today but Janice, as Neecee says, we all handle stress differently. I wish I was a bit less emotional, but am not, so that's that!
Merilee.....Poodle butt? I love the description, even though I understand your horror. Go ahead and vent, we can handle it......
Neecee, that gal was out of line. I think she was probably trying to be supportive, but sure did go about it wrong! I suppose if it ever happens again, you could reply "no, it's an inherited venereal disease" or, "nope, just haven't washed my hair in a week" or something fun LOL
Ginger....congrats to you! Doesn't this just feel wonderful? I'm also starting back on Arimidex. I took it for a month between surgery and rads with no problems.....well, 1 minor hot flash at about 8:15 each evening. I took the pill at 6pm with dinner. It got to be funny to me and a sort of time clock. Just the one flash though and I'll probably love it now that it's winter!
Janice, holing up to get well till your thyroid surgery is a great idea. Problem is, when you do that, you do things like shampoo the carpets while moving all the furniture out of the room. Or canning tons of tomatoes. The thing is......you need to just relax! Nap, take walks (not hikes), read books, become a woman of leisure, Dr. Sew says so! We're going to get you thru this thing for sure this time!
Hugs everyone. I'm just loving this no more appointments thing (follow ups don't count).0 -
Congrats Ginger!
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. It helps me to have a reality check from people who are walking in my shoes.
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neecee fundamentally I think people mean well. She probably didn't mean to upset you. I know it was a bad situation but just chalk it up to ignorance..nothing intentional.
Funny I have always considered myself overly sensitive and I used to cry so easily. I am perplexed why this new bravado? So strange!
My friend Bev sent me this huge care package yesterday, talk about cheer! She and I go back over 30 years. She is now in Nebraska and I am in Idaho, but miles cannot divide us. She said she would be here doing my cooking and cleaning if she could, instead sent this big fun box. A huge bag of Hershey's Miniatures (I'll share), a bottle of wine, 3 boxes of Keurig coffee pods (actually one hot apple cider, so good). A loaf of homemade pumpkin bread, she knows that is my favorite. A new set of red kitchen towels and potholders, my favorite accent color. Also four Thanksgiving towels, more candy, a box of hair color (always practical) big bag of Werther's Caramels. Probably more I am forgetting. What a wonderful and fun package!
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thanks all
feel great! 0 -
Janis, not to be a buzz kill but before you eat that candy you may want to look at the research regarding sugar and cancer.
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Uh oh, Merilee, tell me there's not a link between sugar and cancer! Please, please, please
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MostlySew - now that's what I call a friend!
Total buzz kill - sugar and alcohol have both been linked to cancer.
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I think so many of these studies are flawed...but that is me. I am so tired of all the "tests" and links to cancer. You know what? I plan to live, eat, enjoy what time is given to me. Not going to do anything to rush to process, but not going to live in fear and deny myself things I enjoy. I don't smoke, don't drink much, enjoy sweets! If sugar is to be my downfall......well, so be it. I can't afford to live into old age anyway! Okay just kidding, but really. My two favorite women on earth were my grandmother and her sister, My Aunt Belle. I cherished these amazing independent and strong women. Aunt Belle was younger by 8 years. She embraced a pretty healthy lifestyle and exercised and ate very well. Grandma was a resistered nurse, and after retirement she loved to travel. These great ladies had a VW camper bus and in their 70's traveled all over the US and Canada. When not in that van, they did volunteer work, played cards, gardened...very active. Both were widowed. Wherever I lived, they visited. I was one of their favorites and my husband and I moved a lot due to his work. They came all the time. Grandma had a poor diet and Aunt Belle would fret so much. If Grandma didn't eat dinner, she always ate a bowl of coffee ice cream, her favorite. Poor Aunt Belle....it drove her nuts. They lived next door to one another for 20 years I think and Aunt Belle, being the younger one, was the caretaker.
Long story short, Aunt Belle developed pneumonia and had complications. After her first hospital visit, she was done with that. I traveled from Houston to California to be with them both. Aunt Belle died quietly, with me holding her hand.....gently into that night at age 82.
Grandma was devastated at the loss but lived a few more years. She too died softly, but at age 92.
There is no motto really. Just reflection you know? My mother died suddenly of cancer at age 65. Lung cancer, a former smoker. She died less than 2 weeks after diagnosis and refused treatment.
I won't go on and on and PLEASE don't anyone think I am trying to deny a healthy lifestyle choice! Not one bit, and i don't want to be misunderstood. I guess my view of the big picture is something I have spent a long time completating. I am okay with the choices I make. We all have to be!
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Janice,
I think your choices are good for you and have/are being made knowingly,....and that, alone , is one of the most healthy things we can do for ourselves.0 -
Amen Janis! BTW, in a newletter that I got from the Mayo clinic, there was an article about myths of breast cancer, and the sugar topic was in the article. Here is where to find it...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-causes/CA000850 -
From the article that I mentioned above...
Myth: People with cancer shouldn't eat sugar, since it can cause cancer to grow faster.
Fact: Sugar doesn't make cancer grow faster. All cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn't speed their growth. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn't slow their growth.
This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which use a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer, but tissues that are using more energy — including cancer cells — absorb greater amounts. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn't true.0 -
My DH thinks I've got imaginary friends because I start talking to him about sherry and janis, etc. and he goes, who are you talking about! I tell him it's the BC group and even tho' we've never met, we share some of the most personal and honest things. Even things we cannot share with family, coworkers, and friends. The inspiration and information is so helpful. So...thanks ladies, for being my 'imaginary' friends.
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