Any October 2011 Surgeries out there want to wait together?
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GrandmaV~ I'll be rooting you on today! Let's hope that the lumpectomy is a GO! Post as soon as you're able!
matahead7~ Go get 'em, Girl! Hope to get an update asap
Off to work...be back later!
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Yeah, I was also told that pain was a 'good sign'. WTH? Really. I'm kind of p!ssed off at my doctors, I gotta say. I had a bad mammo in Dec and found out it was bad BY ACCIDENT in late March. If I hadn't mentioned to my PCP about it (and my breast had been KILLING me), i still wouldn't know it was bad. I was seriously ill last year and no one took my claims seriously. Feeling kinda pissy today... I need a walk or a drink! And it's only 8 am!
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I am going in today to get "marked" for my BMX surgery scheduled for Oct 13th. It just all seems not real. I think I am still thinking it will all be a big mistake. I will get there and they will say, 'OH we were mistaken, you don't have breast cancer...you can go on home...' denial must be my coping method.
Last night my right boob (cancer sack) was actually hurting!? I think it was near the site that they did the needle core biopsy back in AUGUST. wth??
another thing weird, the PS asked me if one of my boobs was always smaller than the other one...uh...NO. But I guess one is bigger now. huh?
I just want all this done and behind me.
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Hang in there, iLUV2knit...
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GrandmaV and matahead7 - warm and positive wishes heading your way!
I'm going in for my pre-op visit tomorrow at the hospital. Not quite sure what to expect. But I also made an appointment with the PT to go over pre-and post-op plans. That will be good for me to get my head around. In between, BF and I will spend some time in Philly - a DAY OFF! My afternoon PT appointment sort of shortens the day, but it will be nice just to relax. Then I have to decide if I blow off my support group meeting, which would mean rushing back by 5:30. Since I have to miss the last 2 or 3 because I'll be recovering, not sure it's worth it. Maybe I'll just pick up with another group after surgery.
Wishing everyone a good day.
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Maria_Malta and ah2bthin...Good luck tomorrow...I hope it goes well...
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I got a surprise today. I had to call the bs for a question on my drains and while I was on the phone with his nurse, I learned that I could get the bandages off today. There was a miscommunication with the nurses at the hospital, I guess. So the bandages are off. I have looked in the mirror. My husband with me. I am still standing. In fact, I think I am okay. Maybe it is denial, or maybe I prepared for the worst after all. Maybe I am just crazy. But, for right now, I feel okay with it.
I am almost embarrassed to say so... But, you all have been such good supports and I said I would share what I could...so...I guess I will hit "submit." I hope you all don't think I am nuts... But really, I am just relieved that it looks okay. I am assuming there will be more tears...just not now.
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CLC -- it is great that you are ok with your image in the mirror. I have gotten more and more comfort with mine too
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I am Shannon Garcias's husband, Jerry. Yesterday she completed her surgery and is in recovery. The first surgeon reported she did well and found everything to be intact as predicted. She had the sentinel node process done, however was not successful so we are yet again in a waiting process on the pathology report after they have removed lymph nodes from her left arm. We are praying for a positive result and will continue to focus on that type of outcome. She will likely be here for at least 3 - 4 days according to the doctors. The plastic surgeon was pleased with the outcome from his side and said she should have a speedy recovery. He stated she should regain mobility in 2 weeks and be fully recovered in 6 - 8 weeks. I want to thank each of you personally for all the support you have given our family during this turbulent time. It has been a blessing!
Thank you all!
Jerry G0 -
Jerry and Shannon --- I hope all goes well with the pathology.
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So good to hear from your Mr. Garcia, concerning Shannon. Good to hear that she is doing well, Tell her we are still here thinking and praying for her and your entire family.
Speedy recover to all who have had surgery today and positive energy and peace to those going tom. Always praying for you guys.
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Did we just hear from Jerry Garcia???!!! That's awesome I love the Dead. Shake it, shake it, Sugaree!
Glad to hear that ya'll are progressing and hanging in there. I haven't posted in a while because "no news" has been "good news" for Mrs. Clams. She's almost 2 weeks from bmx/recon and she's doing great. Her range of motion is still limited (ex: can't reach for things on the top shelf of the fridge) but all things considered she's doing well. Her main problem is that she feels good and does too much early in the day and during the afternoon, and is then wiped out and in pain by the time the kids come home from school. She needs to take it easy. She also needs to take her pain meds BEFORE she's in pain, but she's intent on weaning herself off the percocets and just taking them as needed. Best thing is, she's got her head in the right place - her boobs and the threat of BC have been a danger for so many years that she's glad to see them go. She's not entirely thrilled with her new scars, slightly smaller boobs, lack of nipples, etc, but it's still a work in progress, right? Plus she's still got her sense of humor and I love her. Good luck to all of you (I admit I'm having a hard time keeping all of you and your various operations straight!). Later...
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YaY for CLC and the mirror!!!! Your hubby sounds like a wonderful man...count your blessings there, girl!!
I am happy for Mrs. Garcia and that she is on the road to recovery.
How are YOU doing Survivor11??
It is soooo cool that the hubby's update the list friends'. My hubby wouldn't even know how to turn on the computer...LOL...but he is great in a million other ways.
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iLUV2knit-hanging in there, trying to take it one day at a time. Drains, stables and stitches all out. Saw GYN today, was good to talk to her, she is increasing my Effexor to help with depression and 3 and hour hot flashes I'm having since ooph. Told me that it was a good decision to have ovaries out because one had cyst in it, the other had a tumor in it which was benign but showing cellular changes. Thanks for asking, it really helps having you guys to talk to.
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Survivor11...ah, honey, am sorry about your ovaries. That is grrrreat news about your drains, staples and stitches though!!
I had mine out 3 years ago after having two surgeries within months of each other. Doc said the left one was five times the normal size and full of cysts, the right one was stuck to the abdomen wall-- as well as my appendix. I have been painfree for 3 years since.
I was on the vivelle patch but they have now taken me off since my cancer is ER+PR +. All I can say is hot flashes are a bitch!!! I haven't slept in probably a month. I guess hot flashes are better than cancer, but when I wake up like 4-5 times a night sweating, I want to go run into the bathroom in a frenzy and slap vivelle patches all over my body.
Some people SWEAR by drinking wheat grass juice to help??? I am reading some nutrition books about foods that have weak phytoestrogens and will ask further about eating some of these to help with the hot flashes since I know that this can be a controversial subject. I am reading Dr. Bob Arnot's book "THE BREAST CANCER PREVENTION DIET" and am finding it to be an interesting read. I started taking vitamin B12 also as my doc said that 'can' help with the hot flashes. So far...NOT>
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I want to thank all of you for your concerns. She is very happy to hear about what each of you have wrote on her behalf. She is still in pain but doing better. She has a caringbridge site that you can go to if you would like that we set up for her. I will continue to post for her until she gets to the point where she can do this on her own once again. For me, I just don't want to see her like this. And men, get your prostates checked. 1 in 6 men have prostate cancer....the odds are against us...I am only 39 and I am not going to be a statistic. Thank you!
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Hang in there Jerry Garcia. I was in your exact shoes 2 weeks ago. It will be hard to juggle caring for your wife, the kids, the house, your job, etc for the next few days but bear down, rely on friends and family, and do youir best to get it all done. The first couple days were hardest for Mrs Clams. By day 3 or 4 there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and once you are all back home things will be much easier. Good luck, man.
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Thanks CLC for the thoughts!
Maria_Malta-good luck to you! My prayers are with you! I hope you got to relax some today!0 -
Good Evening Ladies!
First, I want to wish our next ladies up the very best tomorrow! Maria_Malta and ah2bthin --- you're in my thoughts and prayers! Maria, did you decide to go with the Goldilocks surgery?
CLC~ I am so relieved to read your post. I'm so glad you shared this with us. Hugs my Friend.
Mr. Garcia!~ Thanks so much for posting for Shannon. I hope her pain is lessening.
survivor~ I'll be hoping the Effexor helps significantly. I've heard great things re: helping with hot hot flashes. I've actually tried that med before for anxiety but it unfortunately jacked my blood pressure and caused some horrible headaches
GrandmaV~ I've been thinking of you all day! Can't wait for an update when you're up to it...
Clams~ Great to "see" you! So glad that the Mrs. is recovering so well.
Wish I had more time for personals but I have a boy in need of some homework help here. Thinking of you ALL as always!
Night!
AJ
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Maria_Malta and ah2bthin - Good luck tomorrow, hope everything goes smoothly and I hope you're able to get a good night's sleep.
iLUV2knit - I laughed out loud reading your post about slapping hormone patches all over you.
Survivor11 - I bet you were relieved that you went ahead and did the ovary removal. I still have one and am wondering if I should go ahead and have it out. That's one of the worst things about breast cancer, it makes me feel vulnerable everywhere else. Every time I get a pain anywhere I get a slight panicked feeling.
Have appt. with BS tomorrow and should get full pathology report. A little nervous even though initial SNB showed no cancer cells. They only did the biopsy on one and they took two. Hoping the other one was negative also. Otherwise I am a week post-op and feeling great other than these awful drains. Drains coming out Thursday, can't wait. Able to look in the mirror with a sort of clinical detachment. Jokingly call them my Frankenboobs. (seriously, that is what they look like)
Mr. Garcia and Clams - thanks for the update on your wives. Hope they both heal quickly and I hope Mrs. Garcia's node biopsy comes back clear.
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GrandmaV and matahead - Hoping everything went well.
Mr.Garcia - Thanks for the update, and for taking on the role of her messenger. I'm trying to decide who to 'deputize' for that role - my sister or my boyfriend. Please give Shannon our best.
Mr. Clams - Glad your wife is still doing well.
CLC - I'm glad to hear that you're okay with yourself. Not that I know (yet), but I'd think the first look is the most difficult, so you've made it through that.
Good luck to Maria_malta and ah2bthin for tomorrow.
I heard today that I don't have any other meetings with my BS before surgery - which means the only time I'll have seen him face to face is when I went for my 2nd opinion... Does that make sense? I thought the PS said we'd have a three-way meeting to discuss logistics (incisions, etc). Did I miss something? Sigh. I felt like I tried to do the right things, but I still feel like I've been so out of the loop in terms of knowing what I should be doing in the planning stage, with little or no guidance from the doctors' offices. Still waiting on my MRI results. Sorry - otherwise it's been an 'up' day.
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Thank you Margie, iLUV2knit, rachelvk and Dukes Up...for your supportive words...:) I am grateful I have this thread and all of you to come to and get help sorting out all of this.
Good luck, Jerry and Shannon...I hope the path report comes quickly and with good news...
Clams, I've said it before...you are awesome! I am glad Mrs. Clams is doing well. I understand the morning to evening pattern...I think I am setting up the same thing. I have to slow down more.
rachelvk...I have shared that same frustration where you feel like you are trying to do it all "right" and it doesn't seem to work that way...I am sorry for the difficulties...
Good night, all...
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I just want to thank you all for your support again especially CLC & Maria_Malta, I'm thinking of all and praying for all... what a wonderful group we have,
I wish I was alittle less of a mush brain and could post specific to each of you... maybe after the surgery my mind will function better. I'm still having terrible arm pain on the lump and SNB side it's been 6 weeks and not a doc yet is able to tell me what exactly is going on... I can't thank all of you ladies enough for the support, laughs and even for the good cries I've had reading your posts and knowing I'm not alone and will not be alone. To the DH's posting for your wives you are wonderful it's awesome to get the updates (I wish my DH knew how to use a computer)
May I ask why some have had overies removed and some not and if you do have them removed do you still need hormone therapy? like the tamoxifin? (I hope I don't sound too stupid for asking)
Lisa
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Nouthing is stupid to ask Lisa. I made the choice to have my ovaries removed. Had a partial hysterectomy 2 years ago so had already come to terms with infertility long ago. I do have 3 small children and since my BC dx I decided that I was going to do whatever I had to to eliminate as many risk factors as I could at having a reaccurance or a new primary site. I was told that I could go off the Tamoxifen because of my ovary removal, but again I've chosen to stay on it since I'm lucky and I don't really have any side effects from it.
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Thank you so much for that I think I may speak to my doc about it as I have had 7 tumors removed over the last 15 years all b9 but I worry greatly about that taking a turn and my possibly missing the signs... and I have 3 beautiful daughters so am quite comfortable with not having anymore children as I am 43yrs of age anyway, not to mention I`m afraid of tamoxifin, I have a fatty liver (Iwas told that years ago) and I hear it`s not good to take if you have that have you heard anything of the sort
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I haven't Lisa but it's interesting to know. I have had a liver hemangioma (b9 tumor) on my liver for a few years so will ask my Onc about it.
I really would look into the ovary thing, because BC is hard enough but ovarian is a whole different beast with not as good mortality rates, but it's symptoms are hard to pick up.
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definetly check into the liver issues I think I even read somewhere here on one of the forums about the possible liver issues associated with tamoxifin, and I thank you so much for the information you have shared with me. I will be talking to the dr``s about removing the ovaries it seems to only make sense the more I think about it and thanks to your gentle nudge I have been researching more and I believe this is an alterative I should be talking about and acting on soon.
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CLC-in my haste yesterday I missed where you took the bandages off! I am so relieved to hear you are doing ok with it! I decided this morning as I await the witching hour that I am, and have to be, ok with going into surgery. You are brave and you post is what I needed this morning. Thank you!
Thank you to all for the well wishes for today! This board has been great support and has mentally helped me get "my game face on". I hope those following this week get to where I am this morning. Good luck to you!
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ah2bthin...Go get em!! You will be in recovery before you know it!
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LisaWade- I have to have my ovaries out due to being BRCA2+ and having ER+ BC. due to the genetic mutation I have a higher risk of ovarian cancer and no gene available to block it.
Good luck to the surgery ladies for today and hope everyone who is recovering is doing well this morning.
Nice to see such loving husbands keeping us up to date and also supporting one another!
Off to work on about 3 hours of sleep...should be an interesting day in preschool!
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Hello girls ..... I am alive and trying to fight my way back into life! I don't think DH actually finished updating y'all on me -we were delayed 3 hours (ugh!) and that did wonders for my emotional state, let me tell you!
Surgery went well - don't think it could have gone better unless it had all been a huge mistake but alas - that is not the case. The snb injection was not as bad as I thought it would have been - 6 injections - bs removed three nodes - all negative on immediate examination (i realize that could change but sure hope it doesn't). They took left breast and immediate examination showed nothing invasive and size of cancer was not overtly obvious ...... Again, final pathology rules so I try to patiently wait on confirmation and then breathe a sigh of relief .....
Couple of surprises - boy have I been surprised at the pain! I think for mr it is because of my TE..... My strategy in doing a TE is to save skin.... And so the filled it immediately to like 480 cc's ---ouch! I did / do have a lot of Skin so they are jumping in /on that immediately..., boy the nausea was rough - phenergan is my new BFF (put me out though) as it did it's job, I am on day 2 post op, learning how to get out of bed, walk, and breathe again ......
I was shocked that I had no bra / cami / compression bandage on post op ..... I kept thinking of you, clc and how you didn't want to look ..... kept thinking, "I am not ready to see!". But I did .... Not horrid ..... Haven't had a "long look" yet ...... But it is my new reality ..... So I think a little mourning will hit me .....0
