Radiation recovery
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OMG April. In his case it really was the coward's way out. I hope and pray she finds peace now too.
Diane
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I'm speechless!
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Hi! My name is Fran. lol
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Haha sorry about that Fran. What the heck is happening to us with these mixups in names. Sorry. I'm blaming mine on drugs.
Diane
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Wow. POS offed himself. It's like a Lifetime movie. It's almost the best thing . . . stop the divorce, if there's no will and no stepchildren (as to her), it would all go to her. Then declare bankruptcy to get rid of credit card debt. I wonder what all was going on in his head. Just wow. Hopefully now this does work out as some kind of positive for her. Triple prayers.
Well, my consultation with RO and simulation had to be rescheduled. Wednesday I had blood work for another appointment on Thursday - I had them stacked from 8-4 basically - and woke up in the middle of the night with that something's not right feeling. In the morning I had a fever. Fought with DBF about making the 4 hour drive to Houston, then drove to Houston. Got port accessed, blood tests done. Called triage to check to see if I should go to ER or not. I got admitted to ICU that evening with sepsis and cellulitis in my LE arm. BP dropped to 70s. At 5am I break out in my infamous all over body rash in response to some antibiotic I'd been given. They still haven't figured out what virus, bacteria, germ, whatever has caused this. Lol, they're doing shift change. Here's what they said about me: "Breast patient. She's cool. She talks." I hear that a lot. "You talk!"
More fun on the cancer farm. I was so pissed. I should have waited till Thursday, done my appointments and then gone to the ER. I have no clue how long it's going to take me to get that little miracle recreated again. When I was complaining about it, they were telling me that I would have the test done over the weekend. No, I haven't. Also, that people would come to me for some of the appointments. No. It's very frustrating to be appeased like that. Yes, in all likelihood it is true, but it didn't happen with me and I was in tears over this. I know, perhaps it had something to do with the excitement and my fever, but if I hadn't been hooked up to a machine that would tell on me, I would have just taken my little portable IV and said see ya, be back when my appointments are done. Maybe this will help me get to the front of the line faster.
Sick of being in the hospital. I can't sleep, this is day 2. I'm such a bad sleeper and the getting woken if if I do fall asleep to do all the crap in the middle of the night just wrecks me.
Need moar baby pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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For Frill! My grandbabies!0 -
OMG you have through hell and back Frill. So sorry. I can't imagine going through all that.
Love the pics April. It is April right? Haha. They are just precious. No one has to encourage us to post baby pics. Mine are all over FB too!
My best friend bought the girls clothes from Gymboree and Justice. Cutest outfits. She has such a big heart. I bought the oldest one, Ava, some skirts for school from the Gap. Everything on sale thankfully!
DH and I are babysitting the 4 kids tonight so DS and GFF can go out without the crumb snatchers. Monday I'm babysitting for 4 hours while GFF goes to her catering service job. My Oncology appointment is Monday morning. My 5 year one! Not worried but always anxious.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Diane
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DH babysat for the 4 kids last night. Wow such a challenge for us but we are getting the hang of it. The babies are all over the place and the 6 year old and 3 year old girls demand constant attention too! My friend bought the girls new clothes from Gymboree and Justice and to say they were excited is an understatement! Wish I had recorded all that screaming(k just for a minute) when they modeled them. Nice to see kids appreciate things for a change instead of expecting them. Pic of DH with all 4 says it all!
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Last Oncology visit today! Yea! All clear. God is good. So blessed. 5 years. Hate to believe
Diane
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I mean hard to believe. My typing is atrocious
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Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Congratulations Diane! Whooohooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! High five!
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Yipeeeee!
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Last weekend, EWTN was filming a made-for-TV movie up here. I was invited to be an EXTRA! I'm attempting to attach a photo of me in full costume--Mother Superior (not my normal role, in case anyone can't tell!). My scene was at least a minute long, with about eight or ten tasks to complete with another nun (also a volunteer). Surprisingly difficult to remember what goes where and when. Luckily, there was no dialogue, so the director could give us step-by-step direction. I have no clue when the film might air, but in case anyone follows EWTN, the program is on the life of Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey.
OMG--such fun! And so blinking HOT in that getup! The men were also dressed in heavy layers, with long beards glued on. Thankfully, I didn't need that bit of costuming.
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Brookside How FUN was that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks guys! So happy! My ONC said once I am weaned from Tamoxifen I won't believe how much better I will feel. Looking forward to that.
Brookside - how cool is that! Bet that was hot. I went to Catholic schools and had nuns for teachers and they wore habits. They were always fanning themselves. Hot as all get out in Louisiana and no a/c of course in the classrooms. How they survived that I'll never know. Must be why they were so mean to us!
You look so angelic. Another Mother Teresa?
Diane
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LOL, Brookside, that photo will become a classic for your family! How cool!! (or hot...lol) Looks like you had fun for sure!
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Brookside, what a cute picture. You look so Angelic. What a great opportunity.
Had a great Birthday today. My DH and family took me out for dinner at O Charlies
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Josie happy b-day!
Forgot to tell u guys my sister( 10 yrs younger) has a large mass in her pelvic region, looks pregnant it is so big. She will have a complete hysterectomy at that time as well. They won't know til they get in there if it is on the uterus or ovary. Waiting on a ct & surgery date. They say when a mass is this large it is usually b-9.
The kitty I rescued at the end of June turned out to be pregnant. She's having them as we speak, 4 so far. I'm glad I sent her to a rescue when I did. Take care Fran
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Thanks Fran,
So sorry to hear about your SIL your right when they are that large they are most likely benign
Good thing kitty didn't have all those kitties on your watch.Im surprised the rescue group didn't spay her right after rescuing her
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Happy Birthday Josie!
Fran, hoping your sister feels better and Josie is right - large usually equals benign!
Hugs to all - off to the shower for work! xo
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Happy Birthday, Josie. Looks like you had a fun/yummy/loving night!
Prayers for your sister, Fran. I'm a big fan of, "benign."
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Happy birthday Josie! I'm a big fan of eating out anytime! My DS used to work at O'Charley's.
Prayers for your sister Fran. Keep us posted.
DH is having cataract surgery this morning. So needs it. Pricey like $2500. We have BC/BS but this is on us because we have a large deductible. If he has the other eye done by Dec 31 BC/BS foots the bill.
Busy babysitting and peddling ND Stanford football tickets as the go to person. No one else on our board stepped up which is becoming all too typical lately. Sold 34 out of 50 so far. Game is October 15. Tickets are $150 each. Steep but the going rate. Throw in hotel costs and transportation and you could spend $1k. Should be a good game though.
Really worried about DS and GFF situation. Tense is an understatement. The latest is she wants to have a gastric bypass. She is very overweight with a high BMI. Her joints and legs hurt constantly. I'm sure they do. I know she was going to the gym and running but the weight didn't come off like she hoped it would. She was very heavy when she had the twins. Lost a bit of that. She does overeat sometimes obviously. My son thinks she's just being lazy which I think is bit unfair. However, the surgery is dangerous. She hasn't talked to her doctor yet. Insurance will pay for it.
I know several women who have had it done. They look and feel better but it comes with a price too of how you eat from now on. Idk what will happen with this but suffice to say it adds to the battleground that is their home.
My son isn't happy and I'm sure she isn't either. They love the children but I don't think that is enough sadly and this isn't a good situation for them either. Praying for them daily.
Diane0 -
Ahhh Diane, that situation seems dicey and has been from the get go - their relationship appears to be for the babies right now and nothing else...sigh. Hope they come to some understanding for the children's sake. Life is never easy, is it. But I guess that we could not appreciate the good times without the bad. FWIW, I hope she gets the surgery. I know several who have and it has been life changing.
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Thanks April. Frankly I hope she does too.
Diane
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Hi Everyone,
My name is Jacki and I finished Radiation a week ago yesterday, Friday, August 26. I was diagnosed in February, 2016 with a tumor in my left breast. I had a biopsy and two surgeries (one a Lumpectomy, the next to take the Sentinel Lymph node and 7 surrounding it because the first surgeon [I got a new one] forgot to take the lymph nodes during the Lumpectomy.) I had the shorter form of radiation - the Canadian style, but my Radiologist, too my dismay, added 5 boosters. I lived quite a distance from the treatment center, so I stayed in the American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge, for the month. The stay was free. The lodge was great and there is one in every state.
On the last day of treatment, I was so happy to be finished with Radiation and then the nurse said, "Brace yourself. Radiation is cumulative and the worse is yet to come." I told her she was the voice of gloom. She said she was the voice of truth. Well, for me she was prophetic. I have been sicker than I have ever been this past week. I have issues with my stomach anyway and I have a scope and an ultrasound scheduled for Gall Bladder disease. I thought I was having a Gall Bladder attack due to the extreme nausea I have experienced this past week. I spoke to my Gastro Doctor yesterday and he said he could not help me until after the investigative procedures. He said he thought maybe it was from the radiation. So, this morning those concerns were confirmed by a member of these boards that said her Radiologist said that, "Yes, nausea can occur from radiation to the left breast". Hurray! At least I know what may be going on with me. (I'd like to thank the person who posted that, but am new to this board (or any board for that matter) and while I have her name; I do not know how to find that particular post.
I had a terribly itchy rash throughout radiation, but that has resolved itself. I have a slight burn that I am applying fresh aloe and coconut oil too.
I also have a big problem! To make this long post grow ever longer.....Every time I sit to do my homework my legs and feet swell up until they are huge! This has never happened before. The research that I have done suggests that radiation on the left breast can lead to some damage to the heart. Leg and foot swelling can be a sign of this. I knew in advance that about 1 cm, of my heart would be singed along with a tiny part of my lung. It just seems to me that this is larger reaction than normal for a small singe. I'd like to get well enough (I do not feel as if I can drive) and call the radiologist. Do I just say, "Hey, I think you damaged my heart?" That probably will not go over well.
Lastly, I was to hold my breath during every treatment to form an air pocket that would guard my heart. During one treatment the tech told me to breathe to soon. I let out my air and listened to the machine as it continued to zap me. I'm concerned that is the time I got hurt.
Anyway, enough. Sorry, for the lengthy post. I have few people to talk too, obvoisly.
Congratulations to all of you that have completed the radiation portion of this journey. May the roads you travel be healthy ones: Cancer Free!
-jacki
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Hi, Jacki!
I didn't have enough people to talk to either, because I didn't tell anyone except my children and my best friend, so this board was an amazing support/education system.
Nausea, with our without gastric reflux, is common during times of stress. This is particularly true during/after rads when the unnatural position of arms stretched over head while we lie flat puts pressure on the nice little valve that keeps our stomach contents where they belong, not wandering back up the esophagus. Your endoscopy will indicate whether, anatomically, your nausea is likely to be positional.
Yes, edema in the legs can be from cardiac insufficiency, but also from other issues. I recently panicked when one foot/leg swelled. Well, mostly one. The other kinda joined in. A doppler (ultrasound) showed the problem to be lousy veins. I'm supposed to wear support hose now. Yeah. It's been in the 90's and humid and I'm wearing shorts and flipflops--those things will have to wait until fall. I've been interspersing my computer (sitting) time with lounging on the couch with my legs up on as many couch cushions as I can pile, and also flexing my legs and feet whenever I think of it. Getting up to rummage in the fridge helps get those veins working too (finally, an excuse to snack!).
It would be appropriate for either your MO or your PCP to send you for a full cardiac workup to determine whether your heart is the reason for your edema. I hope that's already scheduled, and that it proves negative. I would add that it seems highly unlikely that one lapse in your breathing regimen would/could cause enough damage to trigger your symptoms. I am not sure, but I seem to have heard that the computers that run the machines are designed to stop the zapping if your heart slides into the rads field--your RO can confirm (or not) that bit of trivia.
If you go to the blue "Settings" box on the left of this page, you will be able to post your diagnosis details.
Welcome, by the way!
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Diane, I hope she does not view the gastric bypass as an easy fix. That it ain't! She'll need lots of support both before and after surgery to help her stick with her new program. As April indicated, it can be absolutely life-changing.
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Welcome Jacki! You have come to the right place for support. Brookside gave you great advice.
You are right Brookside. My neighbor had it done years ago but she relapsed big time during and after her divorce so she's pretty much back to Square 1. Ugh. She said she would do it again.
It is a bone of contention between my DS and her. Her self esteem is really low. DH and I don't get involved in their squabbles unless we are asked to and even then we straddle the fence. I don't think my son understands sometimes you need help and it's not always a matter of eating less and exercising.
Busy day ahead. DH is doing well after eye surgery. I have a zillion errands to run and in between help pack up friend's house to move.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Diane
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Joan, for sure we will meet! Once traffic dies down a bit we should pick a date.
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