Radiation recovery
Comments
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oops...bunkie, I'm so confused....you're the one who just had the biopsy, not Brookside? wow, there are 2 of you out here messing with this, plus Janis from a year ago? Does sound like some sort of connection, doesn't it. Anyway, bunkie, do talk with this Dr. see if he'll just follow it for awhile. It may well settle down, which is what I hope. You've been thru enough and just need time to regroup...
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Bunkie-I also agree that you should have the doctor spend some time with you before allowing you to make an informed decision. Good for you.
Sew-It sounds like you are already a pretty studly walker, so I will probably be cheering you on from behind, trying to keep up
.There is a lot of info in the book, and it does run together, and that's why I keep it on my desk as a reference volume. Just as an aside Sew, I flipped the book open for some Schreiber-dipping and found that 3-5 hours of regular walking per week has a measurable effect on bc. Unfortunately, have not yet found the 27 fruit/veggie statement yet.
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BUNKIE,Your smart to discuss with the doc before jumping ahead.
April I will be thinking of you do you start Rads next week?
Well I saw the doc today after Rads.He listened really well to my lungs and said they sounded fine.He and I talked and he said it could be allergies or fatigue caused by Rads.I thought about it on the way home and maybe it is fatigue.I felt much better today at work.It seems like when my arms are above my head during Rads I have a little trouble breathing and I t old him that.He said to let him know if it continues.I have been bitten by the fatigue bug this evening it kind of hit me as I got home from work but between the kids and the dog everyone wants me to go for a walk so I will.0 -
Hi Bunkie,
Slow and steady is perfect. You sound like you have a good outlook now, and I am so glad.
Unfortunately the weather in Chicago was terrible today. It rained all day, and was cold, but that is Chicago for you.
Tonight two cousins came over to the hotel for happy hour. The Embassy has free happy hour from 5:30 to 7: 30 every night. Tonight free drinks, fruit, cheese and crackers etc. Then my daughter and I went out to a great restaurant in Deerfield, Il, I had such a good time. Tomorrow I might go to North Brook Court the local mall. Tomorrow Night my son is picking me up, and we will be going out to a restaurant with him, my daughter-in-law, my daughter and 4 of my 5 grandchildren. My 5th grandchild I will get to see Sunday. Its so much fun here and I am not thinking about illness at all. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Cindy,
I had a great flight without turbulence. The weather isn't good, but who cares. I am savoring every moment. Had a great time early this evening with two cousins. Than my gorgeous daughter , and I went out for a fabulous dinner. There is nothing, absolutely nothing better than being with family. Tomorrow afternoon I will probably go shopping. Tomorrow night out to dinner with my son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and 4 out of my 5 grandchildren. I will see my 5th grandchild on Sunday. My 5 grandchildren consists of 4 girls and 1 boy. So lots of girlie-girl stuff to talk about, and one grandson who loves cars. I can't wait to shower them with love tomorrow
xoxo,
Kate
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Kate, happy to read that you are having a great time with your family! Enjoy!
Sab, that book is a perfect book for reference. I am reading the whole thing first, but it can get a little overwhelming. Great stuff though!
Sew, walking is my thing. I began two years ago and I walk a minimum of 3 to 4 miles a day, most of them on my treadmill every morning the minute I open my eyes (so I can't change my mind) and it is the best and smartest thing I ever did for myself. I had gotten so lazy over the years and never did any exercise. I also was lifting free weights a few days a week for strength training for my core, but since my lumpectomies, that went out the window..ha!
So, at least I am somewhat ready for changing my lifestyle since I have been doing things toward that for the last couple of years. I lost all that weight on WW's and eat better than I used to too. But, it is going to be hard to give up sugar all together although I don't like the way I feel when I eat it. I know what you mean by feeling like a slug after having that donught!
Josie, I start my rads on Monday the 22nd and end them on Friday the 26th! Next week will be intense with twice a day, but I will be ok...or I will be a frothing at the mouth mess....lol. One or the other. At least I am getting it done fast and that is ok with me!
I just hope that I don't burn badly or anything else. The odds of that happening with the fast protocol are in the neighborhood of 15-20% which I seem to always fall in when calculating odds....like the birads 4 thing. Everyone kept reminding me that 80% are benign...not me of course, I fell in the 20%. Oh well, we shall see as there is no sense worrying about the unknown. I will be prepared and if there is something I don't know, I will come here!
Ok, heading to the shower for work. Have a busy day as I try to cram in lots of appointments since I won't be in my own office next week or tomorrow either since I took the whole day off for my set up and to go to my Dad's to stay with him to give my brother a break. My dad has dementia and a host of other problems and since my Mom passed, all of his care is on my brother and I . My brother doesn't work so he does the bulk of it and I go on the weekend although lately I have been weasling out of it with this BC thing. Instead I have been making my brother bring my Dad here but that is rough on my poor Dad as he gets confused when he is not in his own home.
Talk at you all later!
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Wow, April, you are a busy lady. What have you planned for the first week or two after your licketly split rads? Did they give you any recommendation as to whether you should plan to see clients right away, or expect to kind of lay low for a while? It's interesting that fatigue should be about what it is for the rest of us, but I wonder whether it hits you earlier or possibly after a delay. I'm absolutely with the group waiting with bated breath to hear all about your experience.
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Oh April you do have a lot on your plate!!I'm sorry about your dad.We will all be right there for you next .I'm sure you will do fine.If you do have side effects you will be prepared.
Have a good day everyone.Kate glad to see you having a good time.
We woke up to severe thunderstorms this am.Sure do wish I could find my umbrella.0 -
Hi April,
I am so sorry to hear about your dad. You have so much on your plate, but you'd never know it because of your great spirit. I don't think I mentioned that I had a shorter version of rads too, but not as short as your. I had only 20 tratments and 6 boosts. I sailed through rads. Only had a few problems with the boosts. I never felt one day of exhaustion. I pray that you will sail through it too, and with your spirit I think you might. Hugs, kate
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April you are so close to being done, that is wonderful. Just use lots and lots of lotion or gel, whatever you use. Don't worry if fatigue is an issue, that is very normal. You will feel better very soon. You know that we are here to support you all the way through. HUGS!
Bunkie I understand you not wanting to go through another biopsy. I remember how uncomfortable mine was, and then they could not get enough tissue so I had to have the surgery. I had my entire right thyroid removed. I had to stay overnight in the hospital, that is just for observation to make sure you don't bleed. It was a pretty painless recovery. Not bad at all. Keep us posted, okay? I keep checking to see if you have any more updates.
Josie I hope you are okay with all those storms. The weather here is so boring. I actually love thunderstorms and miss them. We never get them here. It snowed once, Christmas and the day after. We got about 5" total. It has been so dry here. They frequenltly predict rain and we get a few sprinkles. I love rain, but this is the wrong part of the country. I hope you can find your umbrella.
I had an appointment yesterday with my Nurse Practitioner, Kara. She is so good and very thorough. I have been having terrible issues with heartburn and reflux. We eat dinner earlier and earlier every day and it doesn't help. I don't drink and try hard to cut out all acidic foods. Right now she has me on Protonix and it isn't helping. She doubled my dosage and I have to provide a stool sample to test for a specific ulcer. She reviewed all my blood tests, cholesterol still high but I was not fasting when my orthopedic doctor did the blood work. So, I go in any morning and have blood done. She will see me in a month. Although I am diabetic she said my A1C was excellent, as good as soneone without diabetes. Yippee! The only other thing was the urinalysis revealed I have a UTI, so I have to take antibiotics for that. If the ulcer test is negative then she wants me to have a stomach scope. One step at a time. Feeling great!
Have a wonderful day everyone. Love and hugs!
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Hey Janis,
Not sure how you can feel great with all that going on, but I'm sure glad you do. And, what's with all the UTI's around here. Seems to me every time I turn around, some one else has a UTI. Do we get more of these after BC? Is it a SE of taking one of the AI's? Are there symptoms? I'm afraid to let anyone do a urine test just in case I have one.....I think I'll just stay away from all doctors.....lol. It's stange, just sayin!
April, I need to start some sort of weight training ... this upper arm flab is becoming embarrasing! It just always sounds so "pro" like to say I'm doing weight training. Do they have baby weights? Walked with my buddy this morning, and did 2.8 miles in a little over 45 minutes, so that was a good pace. Had a latte and non-fat scone to celebrate!
I've been a bit lax on doing my LE massage and stretching this past month, and now have just a touch of cording from my armpit to just about my elbow...serves me right, I'm afraid. the cording is a new SE for me, and I think brought on by my cat playing too rough one afternoon, and then promptly carrying some items which were too heavy for me. You'd think a gal would learn! so...now I'm being good, but I might have to schedule a "touch up" session with my PT therapist
Have a great evening everyone
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Actually I never found my umbrella but dodged the raindrops on the way out of Rads and in to work.We had some minor flooding in the basement but nothing compared to my parents who are having to put a claim in to the insurance for 2+ inches of water in their basement.It literally poured down rain all day.It has dropped 20° in the past 8 hrs.It was like 80° yesterday and by this evening it's in the 40's I think.Oh well you know what they say about St Louis If you dont like the weather just stick around it will change.Janis sorry to hear about the heartburn.
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April sorry about your dad. My mom went in for back surgery just fine and woke up with vascular dementia. It was awful. There is nothing you can do. Thank God you have help. I was alone. Prayers to you.
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Josie- my basement has a lot of water too. I normally have a couple spots that leak when we get a lot of rain in a short time. All my walls are seeping and the furnace room has really got a lot. Getting worried about my water heater. I am trying not to put in a claim because I also have a bathroom leak that went down to the floor underneath and caused a problem. I need to claim that first. Ugh...old houses.
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Sorry to hear that BUNKIE,I'm avoiding the basement right now.I guess we will deal with it sat.No standing water though just wet floors.
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April - oh my girl how do you do it all and take care of you. No wonder you want to do a 1 week protocol...your plate is may full. Hope you are able to catch your breath and focus on you this week...make yourself a priority. Rads is mental as well as physical...it does not hurt, but there is just something about the grind and laying on that table with rad techs running out and the machine in that big concrete bunkers...and laying still...lions tigers and bears oh my!
Sending calming relaxing thoughts your way (((hugs)))
Josie & Bunkie - flooding:( we need rain, but just a slow soaking rain!
Mostly sew - LE ugh;(. Hope you are able to get on top of it ...LE go away.
Kate - hope you are enjoying yourself:))) (((hug))) those GKs
Good Night and sweet dreams everyone!
Cindy0 -
Hi ...
RMcindy, you describe the rads grind perfectly. It really is a time of "overload" and the best defense is rest and fluids and focusing on getting it done.
Hi to Kate in Chicago....wave hi to my DS who lives in the corn cob buildings...I hope to go there soon myself.
I had a great trip with 2 DDs and their families to Caribbean for 5 days. I relaxed, exercised, ate well, and played with the kids. It gave me time to reflect on how grateful I am for all the blessings I have.
wishing everyone a good night and day tomorrow.
Joan0 -
Hi Joan,
I've been wondering where you were....but I envisioned you working long hard hours...not relaxing with family in the Caribbean! How fabulous! It sounds like it was just the perfect spring break.0 -
Sew if you figure out how to deal with the upper arm let me know. The only thing I have come up with is sleeves! Sounds like you had a great walk today. I love walking with friends...the time goes by so quickly!
Janis, have you ever tried prilosec? Its just otc, but it helped.
Stay dry girls!
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Hi Josie,
Sorry to hear about your flooding and your parents flooding. I am in Chicago, and it has rained non stop for 2 days. My kids homes did not get flooded, but I bet others here were not so lucky. Hugs, Kate
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Hi Rm Lululu ( Cindy),
I 100% agree with you that rads is mental besides being physical. In my case it was more mental than physical. I had a shorter version, but not as short as April's. I had only 20 regular treatment's and 6 boosts. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, everyone is different, and for me rads was a breeze. I live 6 blocks from the hospital, and I would walk back and forth for my rads treatments. One thing that did get to me was how very ill some patients waiting in the rads office were so very ill, but I would tune it out. I felt bad for them, but there was nothing I could do for them, so I would read magazines, and think about positive stuff. Laying on the rads table I would think about something positive, and that it would be over soon, and I could go out and party if I wanted. I never felt one day of pain or one day of exhaustion from rads. In fact I may have been hyper instead. I found the boosts to be a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. On the day after my last treatment I took a trip to Nashville, and never had one more complaint about rads. Josie I think you have the same mental capabilities that I have about illness, and that you won't give in to it. I have always been like that. When I had my babies other woman were complaining of this and that, and I felt great. I only gained 10 pounds for both of my pregnancies, and left the hospital in my regular size 4 clothes. When I have surgery I pop up in recovery and beg them to let me out of there after 10 minutes. My mental attitude about illness upsets some women. They are feeling ill, and having many side effects from rads, and they get upset with me because I thought it was a breeze. I was so grateful I was stage i grade i and didn't need chemo, and felt so blessed about it and that might have made it easier for me. April you have so much on your plate, and I so much feel for you. I think you are a strong lady too, and I have every confidence that you will sail through rads. Cindy thanks so much for your support, and telling me to have a good time in Chciago. I am having a blast. I only pray that I sail through chemo the same way I sailed through rads. Love, Kate
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Hi Joan,
I am so glad you are enjoying a trip to the caribbean. After how hard you work yo needed it .relax and enjoy hugs, Kate
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Hi bc sisiters,
I had another fabulous day in Chicago. I was tired because I only got two hours sleep the night before, getting to the airport early, that I woke up at 12:30 pm Thurday. It felt so good, and I felt so rested. The thermostat in my hotel room was broken, so I had to move rooms. It is only 40 something degrees in Chicago, but I need my room to be freezing cold when I sleep. They gave me a fan, but I needed to put the thermostat to 65, and it wouldn't work. So now my room is freezing at night, and I am also using a fan that blows right into my face. So moving rooms took up part of the day, so I didn't get much accomplished in the afternoon. My evening was so filled with Joy. My son picked me up at 5:30 to take me to the restaurant. My daughter in-law- and my sons three children were with her. my daughter and one of her daughters came in a seperate car. It was a blast to be with my son. daughter, daughter-in law, and 4 out of my 5 grandchildren. I will see my 5th grandchild Sunday. The children were too cute for words gving me kisses and telling me how much they love me. We only went to fuddruckers, because the kids like it there. Inexpensive food, but they have games for the kids to win prizes. Between me , my son, and my daughter we must of given them $75 dollars to win prizes. They won little teddy bears, and stuff you see at a carnival valued at $5 lol, but they had a blast, and so did I.
I have a busy day planned for Friday. At 1 three cousinsof mine are picking me up at the hotel , and taking me out to lunch. at 4 my cousin will drop me off at the mall. My daughter-in-law is dropping my 9 yearl old granddaughter off at the mall, so Emma and I can be alone together. It is a ritual everytime I come in we go to the mall. We either have snacks or lunch( tomorrow snacks because we are having dinner at 6:30) Then we play cards. Old maid, war, crazy eights etc, and I always lose. Then we go to Claires so I can by her a trinket. I so much adore going to the mall with her. Then at 6:15 my son will pick us up, and bring us back to his home for carry out dinner. I can't wait this day will be so much fun for me. I will have so many wonderful memories. So, if I feel ill or I feel down from chemo, I can replace those negative feelings with memories of my children and grandchildren, and the wonderful time I am having on this trip.
xoxo,
Kate
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Good Morning,
My daughter is on lock down and can't leave her home. I am scared to death but she is about 5 miles away from Watertown so that is at least something.
Leaving for my final set up appt for rads in a little bit and then won't have internet for about a day as my Dad does not have it. Have a great day ladies and say a prayer for the insanity and that it ends.
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My daughter is in Somerville. Look how close it is to Cambridge and Watertown! I feel like going there right now to get her out of there. I am really worried! She says she is fine and is locked up but sheesh...will be worried until he is caught!0 -
April I have been watching the news all morning and sure understand how you must feel. I have a dear friend in the Boston area, I can only imagine how stressful it is right now. With all the police attention in Watertown I am sure everyone is safe. Thinking of you.
Joan, how fun that you were able to get away and relax! Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed your trip. I miss talking to you my friend.
SAB, sadly I graduated from Prilosec a couple years ago when it stopped working. My doctor put me on Nexium, which worked for awhile and then stopped helping. Then he put me on Acifex, now I am on Protonix. I am still having a lot of heartburn. Even when I eat nothing but bland foods. My PCP just doubled the Protonix dose and i had wicked heartburn last night. I don't smoke, don't drink (a rare glass of wine is all and I haven't had any lately) I have cut out spicy and acidic foods, all to no avail. If my test for H-Pylori comes out negative then she is sending me to a gastro doc for a scope.
Josie and Bunkie, I hope the basement issues are minor. Cleaning up after even a little water can be very trying. I would help if I was there.
Wishing much luck to all of you still in rads. You are getting closer to the finish line! If you have problems with fatigue just listen to your body and get as much rest as you need. Nobody here needs to be Superwoman. Never doubt how strong and brave you are, but also know you are battling a serious disease. It is perfectly fine to be human and take whatever care is necessary to feel better. There is not a wimp among us! That is what I love about my BC friends here....no self pity and all of you are great at cheering on others who need it. You have such warm and generous hearts!
Take care everyone. Have a wonderful day. Wrapping you in warm hugs!
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Oh my gosh April when it rains it pours. So sorry that your daughter is on lockdown. I so hope that situation clears up asap.So terribly sorry about your dad, and I pray to God that you sail through rads without problems, Hugs, Kate
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April I pray he is caught ASAP.hugs, kate
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My heart goes out to those in Boston and those who have family in or around the area. This is madness.
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SAB I hope this ends soon. Watching this all unfold is nuts. I have a very close friend in that area. It is not a good time for sure. My heart goes out to Boston as well. I hope there is resolution very soon.
April thinking of you and your daughter. Thanks for the map, it helps put it in perspective. Sending lots of hugs your way. I know you won't relax until this is over. Hang in there and know how many people are thinking good thoughts for your daughter.
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