Radiation recovery
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Joan811...I realize your group is post-radiation. Who would know more to give me some pointers?
I guess I'll move on and maybe come back when I graduate. 😡
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Thanks SAB. I'm curious as to why the dr said that to you too. All clear sounds good to me. I think I would be calling and asking him.
I can't understand his X either. Playing fast and loose with innocent lives is irresponsible to say the least. I know down the road my son is going to try and get custody of the babies. Although he has no clue what an incredible responsibility he is taking on he is fearful of what their lives will be like with her. He can only do so much right now.
Diane
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Keys--- good luck---we will all bethinking of you on Monday---It will most likley take you longer to undress and get positioned on the table than it will for your ZAPS.....Be sure to make sure that area under the boobs is very dry every day when you get on the table. That area can get irritated first. I found it helpful to wear a men's wife beater soft cotton t-shirt with a bra that was a couple sized too big (band and cup) on top of the tee shirt. Get all cotton sport bra like at Walmart.. That way it was very soft on my skin and I took my crème to the treatment facility and put on as soon as I was done with my treatment. If it stained the t-shirt, who cares..... And do use your crème religiously from day one---don't wait for the skin to show signs of dryness......
I was a little red and warm every day when I was done, but it went away before the next day until my third from last treatment. Everyone else is right on the $ with their advice. Eat that protein and keep yourself well hydrated.
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Hi Sab,
Having had numerous lump follow-ups for the last 3 1/2 years, I can say that in my case initially it meant ultra sound 2 months after rads when first lumps showed up. Then mammo and ultra sound at 6 months, then another dr. Visit and ultra sound 3 months after that. Then Dr. Visits every 3 months etc. You get the picture. I think it will just mean they aren't going to let you go 1 year before your next mammo and they will probably schedule an ultra sound at the same time. I only just now graduated to the 1 year mammo schedule and while they generally no longer do the ultra sound also, they always schedule time for it. Better safe than sorry, and it does just become routine. oh, I also graduated to a 6 month interval between oncologist appt from every 3 months. They were just closely following.
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Keys--you are always welcome on this board. You might nose around al ittle I think someone was going to start a August rads or Summer Rads or Fall rads thread. That type of thread would all be women who are doing it at the same time. Perhaps the Moderators can help you find it.
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Welcome, Keys. There is probably a summer rads group, or maybe a spring one on these threads, so that is where to go to chat with people in hte midst of experiencing whatever issues arise for you. Because we on this thread have mostly finished rads, we've collectively asked and found solutions for probably (close to) zillions of questions, because we've experienced the issues and have overcome the challenges, so never hesitate to come here.
One quick caveat--unless you're wearing a wifebeater under your top, do try to wear dark clothing. The techs will circle your tats, and possibly make other marks on your skin with black, or red or green sharpies and,if you neglect to remove the marks, they will transfer right onto your favorite white blouse.
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Well, as for every-other-year screening, let me just point out that my mammo found my lump one year (not two!) after a clean mammo. At least they thought it was a clean mammo. Knowing where the lesion was, they were able to go back in time and locate it both one and two years ago. If I'd waiting for the reommended two years, that lump could only have gotten bigger and nastier and more dangerous.
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Keys-plez, I hope my post about our thread would be an encouragement to you and anyone starting treatment -- that eventually you get through and life begins to return to focusing on "normal" things...always against that backdrop of breast cancer. That is why we stay in touch - because we do have this common experience.
The ladies on this thread have a wealth of diverse experiences with radiation treatment.
Please keep in touch here and ask any questions.
Meanwhile, it is wise to join an active thread for ladies actually going through treatment at the same time as you. Here is one that just began for August 2015.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/70/topic/...Good luck as you begin, and please join us as well.
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Monday was my 4th year mammo day. It is clear and of course, I am grateful.
Then it was back to work...and I am still struggling with my "good intentions" to "let it go" and make a positive out of a very challenging situation.
I awoke at 3 am and could not get back to sleep. I have to get up in an hour and hope to get a cat nap....
speaking of which, I have a kitty on my bed right now...she heard me up. I am in the guest room so I do not awake DH....he is losing patience with me and this job situation.
The best part is I am not retiring. The challenge is returning to work to find my workspace rearranged, my "things" stuffed down to one corner of the room, and many things "tossed out".
On the positive side, someone has done some house cleaning that I do not have to do. I will talk to my department chair and see where his support lies (probably with his "golden boys"..)
I will find a way to make it work for me. Meanwhile, I awoke with such anxiety and this is not good.It is so much easier said than done to put a lid on my feelings and logic and my "rightful place". I have to find that balance of assertiveness and flexibility. And I have to emerge with self-respect. It will be a process. I am 66 and I am not retiring. I would if money were no object. However, I need 3 or 4 more years as long as my health holds out. Right now, my job is a paycheck for which I am grateful. Now, if I could only get my night course to run so I do not lose that overtime pay. I have the awkward situation of seniority and bumping a good friend if my course does not run. It will be hurtful either way to me or to her. UGH!
My last 2 weeks of my summer leave were spent being sick, followed by a very busy and tiring 5 days with my precious grandaughters. Therefore, I came back to work not truly rested.
With the AI drugs and other drugs I am supposed to take, focusing is very difficultSorry for being so self-absorbed right now!
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No kidding, Joan. They really just shoved your stuff out of the way? There's no way they could not have known those treasures all had one particular parent. Nasty! How unfair that you have to balance justice with the almighty dollar! Stress and more stress. As i said, nasty.
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First Joan, congrats on the all clear! Second, I agree with Brookside. Nasty stuff this office politics. Hope everything works out for you eventually because as you know, it usually does!
Sab, likelihood is they want to figure out what the lump is. They know it is benign (or at least that is what the mammo told them) so now they want to see if it will likely be one of those troublemaker lumps that grow like crazy in which case they will likely advise you to remove it.
Everyone, as usual, have to run as am at work. Wanted to check to make sure Joan's mammo was all clear and of course YAY, it is!
Hugs to all! xo
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Hang in there Joan...this office rearrangement and politics stuff is like BC.....scary and upsetting while going thru the active part, but eventually it becomes just background "noise" and is no longer a constant threat and worry and we obtain peace and harmony once again in our lives. At least you've decided your retirement issue, that's a start anyway.
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Joan - Happy on the all clear! I'm 4 years out too. Have an ONC appt next Monday. Ugh. BTW no worries with being self-absorbed. You have the right.
Sorry about your office situation. I had to take a lot of grief too at my workplace because we needed the extra income too. I finally mastered tuning them out. I also took early retirement after I was DX. We ran the numbers and I was blessed we were able to do that. Hopefully things will settle down for you. Hope you are feeling better.
Neighbor gave me some baby things yesterday. Carrier, car seat, bottles, etc. every little bit helps. There are lots of boys in DH's family so hopefully they will share.
Have a good week everyone!
Diane
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Question ladies, did any of you ever have pain in the rib that is right under your radiated boob? Kinda where the band on your bra fits, but not a part of the breast. Just close????
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Hi Redhead. I have had persistent pain/tenderness on the side of my breast--not on it, just near it around the rib cage. Nobody seems too concerned. Hope your pain goes away.
Boo hoo, have to go get an MRI--hate them! Then the BS. Is it true that surgeons always want to cut? (Carpenters want to hammer, etc.) Not so fast buddy!
Brookeside, I was saved by an annual mammogram too. I am shocked at the new guidelines.
Joan, Breathe deep and smile...don't let them get to you. Pena Chodron says we should accept each challenge as though we invited it, since we have to deal with it anyway. I'm paraphrasing. Maybe Shackleton is more to your liking? "Difficulties are just things to get through, after all. " Two of my favorite quotes, which unfortunately I have many chances to call upon. I'm so glad you got the all clear--that's the important stuff!!!
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Brookside, April, Diane, Sew, SAB, thanks for your helpful words. I do feel it coming into focus and that I will be able to manage the challenge and any changes that may come. I had a better day today, and am getting into the "busy" groove.
And thanks for the good words about my 4 year mammo. Speaking of those new guidelines, my BC was never felt by anyone. It was slow growing; but still, if I had to wait 2 years, it could have been different.
SAB, I do not think all surgeons want to cut! There are plenty of necessary surgeries out there.
Sorry about the MRI. So far, it is one of my least favorite experiences. Drugs, please!
Wishing you a quick procedure and "uneventful" results...Red, I have never had any pain around the breast. My area of tenderness is the scar tissue which still feels like a "black and blue" area inside. I hope your discomfort will go away on its own.
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Hi, SAB. Hurrah for the clean mammo and ultrasound, but double pooey on the icky MRI. I know you know this, but they want you to see the BS because he's the breast expert. and the (sort of) expert on evaluating all things breast. Here's hoping that between the MRI and the BS, you'll have a definitive, and decidely benign, explanation.
Joan, glad you're dealing with the situation, but don't forget to rant and rave where appropriate--home, car, here, etc. Zen on the outside and raging inferno on the inside is not a great combo.
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That's why these new regulations are scary Joan. I shudder to think where I would be too if they had waited another year. Mine is slow growing too. We all know reaching the 5 year all clear is a good sign but certainly no guarantee. Rolling the dice when you have BC is not and shouldn't be an option for us.
I'm going to talk to my ONC Monday when I have my appt. I'm interested in her take on all of this.
Diane
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Checking in....it's been quiet here this week.
I love these last weeks of August...we are having very warm summery weather and it is hard to stay at work! I think I'm heading to the beach at 4 pm but I never seem to make it. I stop home, see kitty who has been alone all day, and start to play with her...then I sit outside on the deck. Today I took indoor kitty outside for a walk (I hold her, then put her down and let her walk around). She does not run off...she is timid and naive, it seems. She loves being out and hearing the birds and insects.Work is coming along. I am clearing out all my accumulation of papers and books - too many to use, really. I have a few fun projects, but I am not sure I will get to them before classes start. No luck on my class enrollment yet I am hoping for 5 or 6 last minute enrollees. However, the cutoff date is Monday.
Redheaded, I said above that I did not have pain under the breast but that is not entirely the case. I had something called Mondor's disease. It is an inflammation of the veins beneath the breast and can affect the veins in the abdomen. The veins can be visible beneath the skin, and I felt little knots in some areas. It was very tender. Since the most common area is just beneath the surgical breast, I remember having pain just under the breast which would also be where the ribcage starts. It goes away on its own and sometimes comes back. Most doctors and NPs don't know anything about this condition. You could check to see if your veins are visible or if you can feel any tender spots. It is usually not harmful.
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I finished radiation two months ago and am very active. I also have a mild case of lymphadema. The last few weeks my shoulder, chest and side is really tight and sore, it is all were I had radiation. My question is, is this common? Could this be my lymphadema?
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Radiation can indeed tighten everything in its path and the remedy is gentle stretching--for weeks and weeks and weeks. A couple of times/day,for what seemed like months (actually, it was months), I continued those post-surgical stretches we all know about. Mostly, I would lie on the floor with my arm extended to the side, or above my head, or somewhere in between, and gently, patiently twist away. It worked.
Do you have a lymphadema therapist? I'd check in with her right away, even if you do not notice any swelling. She'll be able to identify exactly what is happening and why and recommend a remedy--or several.
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Joan - you are so lucky you have a beach to go to. Wish we had one close. Lawyer friend teaches at UofPhoenix here and is usually sweating enrollment too. She is teaching for now.
Me too- there is a lady in our support group at church who has lymphodema. It didn't develop until she was over a year out from treatment. I always thought it happened right away. Doesn't always. Anyway she is seeing a therapist as Brookside suggested and I def would do that. This lady attributed it to too much heavy lifting. She remodels houses and is extremely active. She had a lot of lymph node involvement which obviously increases your risk to get it.
Good luck! ONC appt Monday. Ugh.
Diane
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Sab, I do hope things have calmed down a bit for you. But in the mean time, when is your MRI? And in the midst of all those Dr. appts and mammos did you ever get to your job interview? Thinking of you.......
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Yes SAB when is that MRI? I finally got my Mammo report. It states the area that I was feeling was like a fat lobules. But the left breast that I felt that little marble size lump actually had several small cysts. I was glad they thought everything was normal but it's still kind of scarey to read the actual report describing the lumps and bumps.
Joan, I hope your enrollment goes up . I know if all of us could enroll in your class we would. Nice to have a beach so close. Lucky!!!! I wish I was that close to a beach.
I m sorry I haven't been on lately. Busy week with my kids starting school and felt so tired every night since I am just getting used to getting up at 6:30 am again. I got kind of spoiled this summer. You wouldn't think that extra 30 min would make such a difference.
The new MA started Monday. She seems nice and is catching on pretty quick. When she first started she had been working nights somewhere else and had maybe 2 hours sleep for the first 2 days on the job. Finally she quit the other job completely and had been sleeping more. I don't know how she was functioning much less learning a new job.She's more my age so that's nice.
Monday is my Birthday so we are celebrating this weekend. Maybe I'll post a Birthday pic.
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Happy early birthday Josie!
MRI is scheduled for 8-30. Follow up with BS is second week in Sept (I forget exact date right now.) I hope it's the same deal--fat lobules or some other natural occurrence.
Interview sucked. It just wasn't my best moment. I think I wanted it too much, and when she asked me at the beginning of the interview why I hadn't applied for another job that was open (same level) it threw me. Have not heard officially, but I don't expect a call back. Oh well. On the positive side I just got a great performance appraisal, so that eases the sting. I also put this quote up where I can see it every day:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." Samuel Beckett
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Well, it's my turn to be waiting for tests. I was visiting my cousin and, going down just a couple of stairs from the dining room, my leg just buckled--totally no muscle, nothing. A CT showed it was not a stroke or brain mets; x-rays showed lots of arthritis in my hips and back. Tuesday is an MRI. The assumption is that some nerve is being impinged and maybe a neuro workup is in my future. Meanwhile, I'm sidestepping down the stairs while whiteknuckling the banister. I'm totally ignoring my arimidex for the time being. As it happens, I have an onc appointment in mid-September and I've alerted him that he's going to have to convince me if he wants me to go back on the nasyt pill. He says, of course, that the arimidex is perfectly innocent and that this would be happening anyway.
So nice, Josie, that you're not the new kid on the block now! It will be interesting so see whether the group welcomes the newby, or if there will be a period of what I can only call hazing. Glad your mammo showed only cysts.
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Sab, thanks for the report. I'm loving the quote, for me the "fail better" is what I think I've been living with. Makes me feel good to think I can fail better (i'm envisioning gracefully failing)..... It's no wonder your mind was elsewhere during your interview. Perhaps you did better than you think. Or, then again, perhaps you failed better (see how well your quote works?). Are you sure your MRI is on a sunday? Sorry you have to wait for the results, but that's the name of this game as we all know.
Jose, glad you got the full report on your mammo. I don't get them and just believe the docs when they tell me all is OK. Kind of like the open lung biopsy I had which apparently shows some emphysema but they never told me that. I might have been happier with just the BOOP diagnosis although there are levels of emphysema and no one seems concerned about this one.
Brookside.....Yuck...a leg collapsing is kind of like your car quitting.....you can't be having that! The fact it's not a stroke or brain mets makes it seem a bit better. Hopefully the MRI will pinpoint the problem.
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Brookside-Sorry to hear you will be in the MRI line with me.
Sew-woops on the date, and I'm too lazy to pull my calendar out. Going car shopping with dd the elder. Just cleaned her car out. she had some pretty odd stuff in there.
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Joan, I don't see visable veins, but otherwise you have described what it feels like to a T.......
Lymphedema is nothing to mess with. Go get checked out and your arms measured BEFORE it gets big enough to see.....They did base line measurements for you after your surgery while doing rads, right? So there is something you can compare your arm too? I did therapy like described earlier. Rad Onc won't hesitate to send you if you tell them you are having swellin g or mobility issues, etc.
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Brookside - so sorry. I have arthritis too but mostly in my hands. Hope your MRI shows nothing serious.
Josie - I know you are relieved they are cysts. Hope your new employee works out. I remember what those back to school days were like.
Happy pre-birthday!
SAB - good luck with your MRI too. Bummer about the interview but at least you got a good review.
Reheaded - lymphodema is brutal. My friend is really suffering with it.
Saw the Southpaw last night. Not a boxing fan but DH is. Really good movie.
Rogue puppy still in destruction phase. Attacked our sofa cushion. It's repairable but...DH put him outside for hours. Gotta do something nothing else is working. Other one is much better.
DS is due back from Panama City today. Countdown to the births is 10 days or sooner.
Diane
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