Radiation recovery
Comments
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First of all, I doubt the study was politically motivated since it was a Canadian study, not American so it is not about the Affordable care act. Just sayin....
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Josie, I had that issue. The ultrasound found a large, temporary cyst, the perfectly normal, if overly large, result of an ovum maturing. A followup ultrasound a few months later found the very same issue--on the opposite side!
Kate, it's so wonderful that that ugly tumor is history, the catheter is out, and your bladder is behaving beautifully. But that swelling must be so very, very uncomfortable. Please let us know how your legs are doing. I know you said your surgeon said the swelling should go down over the next month. Did he indicate that the swelling is a normal-ish post surgical result and that it will gradually deflate over the next couple of weeks? And what ideas did the nurse have? I'm happy you'll be seeing your main man doctor today, and hoping he has great solutions for you.
RunFree, how is your arm? Did you tire it out making angels in the snow (certainly now shovelling!)yesterday?
SAB: Yummmm! And your daughter is gorgeous.
Joan, I couldn't open the picture you posted.
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Wyo, no need to read the article. It is such a surface piece that I'm surprised the NYT printed it. Normally they indicate that they've made the effort to delve below the surface; this one read very much like, "He said; she said." I read the letter to the editor and they pretty much covered the range of positions.
I am one whose tumor was found by mammogram (after I'd found and dismissed it), and am very happy the medical community had not confidently assured me that I could/should skip a year. Or two. Ughhhh!
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April I'm so glad you sourced that article. I was too lazy to go back and check..it is always a good idea to look at methodology and results but just as important to know who commissioned and where the money came from.
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Joan,
My initial diagnosis was IDC and was picked up by mammo just showing calcifications. There was no lump, but I had discharge back in 2007 that continued for short period of time. I had a mammogram every year for at least 10 years and sometimes I think the radiation had something to do with it. But you can never know what really happened. I recently connected the dots when I found an old calendar for 2007 where I had documented "breast discharge". I also had very dense breasts and the mammo showed white shadows in most of the breast. Luckily the calcification was in the area that did not have white shadows.
I just want to let everyone know that I read in one of Suzanne somers books where she interviewed a doctor and he suggested jumping on a trampoline to clear the lymphatic system. May be this will at least help to prevent lymphedema.
I recently did an Iodine urine test to see if I am deficient since they link iodine deficiency with breast cancer. My results showed that I have too much iodine. I remember switching to iodized salt after diagnosis and this could be the reason. I am glad I did the test since I will switch back to regular salt. too much iodine affects the thyroid function.
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Oy yoy!!! I just wrote a long one and it closed down and re opened. Ugh!!!
Kate - I really hope you get some relief. You have been through so much. I went through a time several years ago and had to be hospitalized. I woke up not being able to walk and my legs were swollen. They did every test in the book and found nothing. I had PT for 6 weeks and had to use a walker. It was awful.
wyo and Joan - I agree they need to work on how they treat DCIS. I toyed with the idea of just having surgery but after they scared me about it coming back I opted for the rads. There is no doubt that I would have healed better and had less problems without it. I am still trying to get back to normal.
new2bc - That is strange about you having the same thing. Might be a hint that the DCIS is starting to form. I had dense breasts also.
We have a warm up coming next week. I am getting everything off the basement floor to get ready for the flooding. As far as health goes my steroids are still all over the place as far as side affects. So I keep trying to stay with it. I am still stuck at 6mgs and want to go down some. We will see. My Dr from the new endo office did call me last week to see how I am doing. Can you believe it? That is the first one to ever call me back since I moved to Mi.
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SAB - You made me go downstairs and get a skinny cow ice creme cone to eat. That looks really good. I have been eating more bad stuff trying gain a little weight. So far I am still stuck at 132 but not going down any further. It is a struggle because if I eat healthy I drop pounds. If I add back in sugar and salt and fats I could puff up really fast. Because I missed sweets I am adding in something each day. Yesterday at Krogers I wanted to buy the two piece carrot cake they usually offer. Instead it was red velvet. I like red velvet but worry about the red dye so I begged the lady to make me a couple pieces of the carrot. She was nice but could not do it so I bought the whole darned cake. It was still frozen so I took it home and popped it into my freezer. Now when I want a piece I can just go down and cut it. Haha.
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Sab, man o man...I want to be one of the tasters for you next baking marathon. Oh, I can sing too, if that tips the scales in my direction...
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Am I reading this article about Tamoxifen correctly? It reduces risk of primary bc by .8 percent and increases the risk of serious side effects .8 percent. Is that really a good benefit?
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hi all
bunkie- it its not one thing its another- first snow and now floods- you are a pioneer woman!! even when you don't want to be.
Just for clarification I want the group to know I don't think its the study that would be politically/socially motivated ---its the press that is starting to condition us that we don't need mammogram annually because its not all that helpful. Its not just the times, several feeds have picked this up and after all the years of education on the importance of mammography, suddenly it feels like a 180 if you know what I mean. Since at least screening mammography is a covered benefit, doing less of them saves $$ for the insurer. In countries where there is single-payer govt healthcare anything that reduces the cost per citizen offsets the 20% of the population eating up 80% of the resources- fact. The same math holds true for private insurance, medicare/medicaid in the US.
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wyo, that can be an outcome of studies like this when reported by the press. I suppose that there have been many studies that have changed the way preventive health care is viewed. Pap smears are a good example of this. It was always a yearly screening and now they say if you get an all clear, you can move to 3 years between screenings. This was done long before universal health care came on the scene.
I am hoping the American Cancer Society's study will put this issue rest for mammograms as their combined study showed a much higher rate of lives saved my mammos than the Canadian and Swiss studies,but the ACS say they will take this study into consideration.
Who knows? Anything is possible, but I did not want anyone to think this study was motivated by the Affordable Care Act (the actual name of "Obamacare" )so wanted to clarify that it was commissioned by Canadians, not Americans. Despite all of the hollering and posturing, the ACA is not intending to take away preventative health care screenings, it is meant to make them available to everyone, including those who could not afford them before.
I realize that this (ACA) is a political hot potato, but I have read much of the act very carefully due to my line of work and there are many misunderstandings and outright false information floating around out there so I like to make sure information is clear and that the study was not commissioned by American doctors to eliminate this screening for the purpose of saving money. I like to think that doctors would never do that anyway and since the study was run by reputable doctors, I believe they think that mammos are performed too often and are not something that should be done yearly. Of course, they are dealing with statistics and they are not thinking about the 3 lives the study said it saved. If you are one of the 3, it is an important screening to you and your family, no?
Kate, hope you are doing better today!
Josie, you too!
Everyone else, stay warm. Bunkie, we have had a lot of the snow you are getting too. The two storms this week have left 20 inches on the ground and we may get another 3 today and another 2-4 tomorrow night and then another storm on Tues! Insane winter, especially with the constantly freezing temps!!
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If I remember correctly, the study (Five years ago? More? Less?) that recommended mammos starting at age 50 rather than 40, fewer pap smears, and fewer psa tests, was designed to examine ways in which rising health care costs could be addressed. Their mission was not how to better identify breast, cervical, and prostate cancer, but to identify tests and procedures which frequently produced normal results, or which often produced false positives. Much ado was made about the "unnecessary" studies resulting in false positives. In my own unofficial survey, I found zero people who would prefer an undiagnosed cancer to a false positive.
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"In my own unofficial survey, I found zero people who would prefer an undiagnosed cancer to a false positive."
Amen Brookside!
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I had a set back and I am back in the hospital. Please forgive that I can't respond to prior posts right now, but I will when I can.
On Thursday my right leg got so gigantic, I couldn't walk or lift it in bed etc. My ankle and ffot were getting all red like cellulitis. I called my surgeon and he told me to go to the E R, and they admitted me. Thurs. night I spent most of the night in ER until they had a bed. Starting yesterday they gave me IV antibiotics for the cellulitis, and a different combination of diuretics for the lymphedema. Also compression hose, elevating my foot etc. My surgeon is out of town, but he isn't really the one who is needed. MY internist is out of town, but there is a good one covering for him. In this case he is in charge of my case at the hospital. thank God he is friends with Doc( my MO) who is really in charge of my case. I had an appointment with doc yesterday, but of course canceled because I am in the hospital. Doc emailed yesterday and said he would either visit me here Sat. Sun. or Mon. Seeing him , and him making the decisions means everything to me He is always so comforting and reassuring.
I must tell you that I was very frightened when I went to ER. With my leg so gigantic I didn't know what to expect. The internist put me at ease saying that this will go down. I was terrified that the swelling would never go down.
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april, good point. I didnt think the arricle was politically motivated in origin but it could be cited down the road for changes.
Bunkie I am hungry for your carrot cake. Great for breakfast?
Well I ate out last night with no guilt- still trying to keep the weight loss going. But i remembered when DD#3 was on a strict diet she could eat anything and have wine for one meal a week. So I topped off my almond crusted flounder and margarita with a few chicolates and fro-yo with cream topping. I hope the cravings are not triggered. Will start with egg white omelette today.
More snow later. We canceled our 5.5 hour drive to DC today. Miss those grandkids.
Still lounging - long week end.
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Sew, my DS in SFO said it was rsining. Are you getting much needed rain?
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Thanks everybody for the supportive comments about my ovaries.I will be glad when I get it over with and get my results.
My opinion on the article is that it's one study and unfortunately that study is going to possibly influence these insurance companies to not cover our mammogram as often.
I don't agree that DCIS is being overtreated.I believe it can and most of the time does turn into invasive breast cancer .And I personally feel pretty lucky that I did not wait until it turned into invasive breast cancer.I ignored the lump far longer than I should have because of my history of fibroid tumors.I think it was God's way of saying "hey you ,go to the DR now". I have no regrets for any of my treatments.
I have actually talked to many people that know of people who had a mastectomy for their DCIS and when the final path came back it found other cancer like invasive or inflammatory that was not detected by mammogram.
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I hope my previous post did not offend anyone.I was commenting on my own personal situation and know everyone's circumstances are different.
SAB, those baked goodies looked delicious.
My hubby and I are celebrating Valentine's day tonight.We are going out for an early dinner.
Hope everyone had a great Valentine's day.
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So sorry to hear that, Kate. I'm so glad you went to the ER, and that they've admitted you. They'll take really good care of those Betty Grables. From what I've heard about cellulitis, I'm guessing you'll be there a few days? Do please keep the bulletins coming.
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Oh Kate, I'm so sorry that your back in the hospital with that leg.
I am so sorry I missed your post.I hope your feeling better and They can somehow deal with that swelling.
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Great and helpful info! I started experiencing diarrhea a few days after my radiation treatments started (I have 12 more to go...). My doc said BC radiation typically doesn't cause it, but I'm convinced it does. I've have changed by diet; in fact, I've been eating better than ever now. Sound like other have experienced the same thing.
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kate, so sorry to hear you're in the hospital, but it sounds like your receiving good treatment and your doctors are staying in touch and on top of everything.
Thanks for updating us, u know how we worry if I we don't hear from you.
Joan, no rain or snow yet, we're rushing to get our son back to his group home on the north fork before the snow comes.
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Kate, sorry for the set back, I hope it's a short one and that you'll be dancing soon.
I hear shades of our political positions in these posts about the study, but I don't really think this is about politics. I really believe that it is the responsibility of the ACS and the media to represent research more accurately. I am tired of having dumbed-down information picked up and presented to fill time. I think they insult the intelligence of the American people and mislead the discussions we should be having about our care.
I'm working today to "pay" for my Wednesday off with dd so this is a quick dip. Non-partisan hugs to all of you
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Kate - Darn it all....you are in the right place. They will fix it and you will be back to normal really soon. Keep us posted when you can. Hugs and prayers.
We have a big meltdown coming next week. Oh boy....hope it gets gone before it all freezes up again. My roof is full of ice blocks and cicles hanging down. That cape cod design with the dormers can be a bear in the winter. Also just found out the reason my gutters are so bad. Dad had some company come in before he died and put on Gutter Helmet. Well what that did was cover the gutters with all around flaps that were supposed to keep leaves out of the gutters. Guess what it does not work and covers the gutters so you get no run off in there. Ugh....can not remove them because they nailed them to the shingles on the roof. Who does this crap and gets away with it. People who target the elderly. So there is a possible issue with my basement flooding. Stupid .....Sorry to vent about house stuff but I just have to say how dumb stuff is at times.
RunFree - How are you feeling? I did some exercises yesterday and can not move my arm much today. Always does that. I will try to do some tomorrow.
Brookside - Agreed. Give me all the tests you want that can check for cancer or anything else that could cause me hardship.
Josie - I have had ovarian cysts also. I had a partial hystroctomy back when I was 45. They pop up a lot. I also get them on my kidneys but that is another story.
Joan - I love carrot cake and peach cobbler. I can make a good cobbler but I have been so lazy since I live alone. Too much work for just me but when my BT(boy toy) comes here this summer I am going to get back into it. I had a collection of 150 cookbooks at one time but have downsized to about 90. Still donating and giving them away. Cooking used to be the way I relaxed.
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BUNKIE, Your making me hungry for cobler now.
Too bad about those darned gutters.
Just counting down the hours till. My Valentine's date....Still have some chores to finish though first.
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Kate, so sorry you are having these issues. I agree, they will take care of this in the hospital. I have had leg swelling issues for few years now, not related to bc. It seems to be getting worse lately for me as well. Even the compression hose are difficult to leave on for long. Let us know what they do for you, rest, and do not worry. What you have is very treatable.
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Kate, our posts crossed in the mail by minutes - so I am just reading about your hospitalization. I hope you will be more comfortable there. I know hospitals are not an ideal place at times, but when you are not getting relief, it is definitely the better choice. It may be a slow process. I hope the symptoms will be relieved soon. Sending positive thoughts, hugs and prayers your way.
SAB, I know what you mean about disseminating info, but the media spins and the country reacts. I did not sense any partisan comments; maybe we should be including the insurance companies when it comes to covering/not covering. In any event, I agree that these findings must be put into perspective. It is a positive thought to think that we are the research...as we contribute to the body of knowledge of various stages and treatments. I believe time will change the approaches but slowly.
Josie, I do not believe we are to take offense on the threads (unless of course someone makes a personal attack on someone else's decisions). You are right to give your side of it...none of us knows all that others have gone through. BC is darned scary and everybody wants abnormal cells out.
I think it's a good discussion.
How was your dinner out? I hope it was a wonderful break for you. You deserve it.Bunkie, you are describing some of my favorite desserts. I have stacked my cookbooks on my dining room table and am trying to choose. I will never read or use them all. Some are from my mom's and I used them for my very first baking attempts as a kid. I loved baking from scratch. I don't want to throw them...guess my kids will have to. So sorry about your gutter issues. I never trusted gutter guards...why make it harder for the water to drain off properly? Ice dams cause a lot of problems...I hope you don't have any leaks.
Just curious, Bunkie, as the big meltdown comes, where will the water go? into the lakes, or into a river system? When all the melt starts pouring into the northern rivers, the more southern rivers get the floods downstream. Nature has its way...and foolish human tricks cannot stop it.Snow on snow on snow here....Susannah, hope your travels are safe.
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Kate so sorry to hear about your setback. It sounds like you are getting great care, and that is most important. Try to relax and accept the healing care. Things will get better soon. Sending healing energy your way.
April what line of work are you in? I don't see doctors trying to do away with mammograms, and doing so would not save them money in any way. Mammos are usually done and interpreted in a completely different department. I am married to a doctor and I don't see him advocating doing away with an important tool such as a mammogram. This was a Canadian study.
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Bunkie have someone cut the rubber off that way you preserve the shingles. just a thought.
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Hi all
sorry to hear you are re-admitted Kate. I am sure you will be back to update us when you can. Speedy healing from this setback!!
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