Any October 2011 Surgeries out there want to wait together?
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Up too early and can't sleep . . . must have something to do with an aching arm that is exhibiting just enough swelling to make me worry but not anyone in the medical field. . . . ugh. Been trying to elevate but not really seeing much "success" . . . it's right on inside of elbow where it swells not like the overall arm - any suggestions? (and I've been soooo good about not carrying anything, etc. - ugh!)
Quick one to warrior princess: Hang in there. I can't imagine going through this remotely. . . keep focusing on little steps and you will find your place. Remember to fight the mental fight too! You can! Sending you some early morning hugs . .
Eeema! So nice to see your humor. Typing bothers me too even this far out. . .enjoy the movies and glad you are kickin'!
Off to the recliner . . .wish me luck on more sleep. . . .
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Eema- I am glad to hear that; hope it is true. I am so ready to be done with all this surgery!
Kelley- I have given up on my bed; the only way I can get any sleep is in the recliner.
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I'm in the "trouble sleeping" club now too, almost 7 weeks post-BMX and not taking any meds at bedtime. I'm in the bed with the wedge pillow, then in living room in a recliner with TV on something boring, then back to bed, then back to recliner, all last night, with maybe an hour's sleep. And then we were off to Downtown Disney with family anyway for half theday. Maybe tonight will be better.
TE trouble still -- is it infected? I'm a week into second 10-day round of antibiotics (Bactrim DS, Doxycycline), and the affected breast skin is still red (had cleared, then started again after fill). I see my PS tomorrow and I'm worried whether I get to keep the TE. I'm on a countdown to start rads, although a date hasn't been decided, but PS needs to get my issues wrapped up before that, and soon. I'll report back what he says tomorrow.
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OK, I've got a question. I've seen a number of ladies who've had MX and still need rads. Were the margins not clear enough on the MX or is there some other reason you need rads? I've had unclear margins on 3 lumpectomies, hence my upcoming MX and know that rads are a possibility but not likely, and am wondering if there were other things after MX besides "dirty" margins that would lead to rads post MX.
Thanks for any info you can share.
-Judy
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Judy- Not sure of your answer but I was supposed to get rads after my lumpectomy and I had clear margins but when we did BMX for BRCA2+ I no longer needed rads. They did find atypical precancerous tissue in both breasts (outside of my lumpectomy area) so I am glad I did the surgery.
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CookieMonster- I think that you may get different treatment plans from different medical oncologists. In my case, before surgery there was no indication of lymph node involvement. I was told that I most likely would have my surgery & then go home with an aromitase inhibitor for 5 years--- no rads or chemo expected. I had my BMX & the pathology came back with 6/10 positive lymph nodes. All docs were surprised
since my IDC was only a grade 2 & low mitotic rate. Nontheless, I was scheduled for both chemo & rads because of the lymph node involvement. Just one warrior's experience- for what its worth. Hope the info is helpful. It is most likely best to discuss your situation with your onco, since each braest cancer is unique.Love, hope & prayers
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Thanks Rose! That makes sense. I was more curious than anything, as I know what my treatment plan is. Are you having rads on the breast area or somewhere else? If I'm asking too personal of questions, let me know. Or if you'd prefer to do this over PM, that's OK with me too.
Ginger - I was also supposed to have rads after lumpectomy, but now with UMX they seem unlikely (or so the surgeon tells me), but not absolutely out of the question.
-Judy
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Judy- The rads will be in the breast area only; specifically the lymph nodes along the breast bone, above the collar bone & underarm. For early stage breast cancer rads is given in the breast area (which includes the lymph nodes) to lower the chances of a recurrence.
Wishing all my fellow warriors a wonderful Thanksgiving day tomorrow! This is the first year in my entire adult life that I am not the cook. Wow!!
Love {{{Hugs}}} & Prayers
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Hello dear friends,
Haven't the time to catch up on all the posts, but will do so later as I really feel cut off from all the things that have been happening to you.. I haven't posted on the boards in almost a fortnight I think, as I felt I needed to stand back and try concentrating on things other than BC...I was also not feeling as well as I'd hoped I would and feeling quite down...just wanted to bury my head in the sand and not think about anything.
Anyway, I'm glad to say I'm feeling very well (6 weeks post op today)..my hematoma on left side has now cleared up, and the movement in my right arm is pretty good. I haven't yet started rads because my new areola/nipple isn't 100% healed so I'll probably be starting next week.I should join the December rads thread..The best news is that I can sleep on my side, oh how wonderful!!!!
So bye for now lovely ladies...AnnAlive, I hope your PS can sort out the trouble..am sending positive vibes and healing thoughts to those of you who might be starting chemo...I had 8 cycles of it pre-op and would be happy to share my experience... take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving... do you make Pumpkin Pie for dessert??? Only ate it once, but totally delicious...
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Thankful for all of you ladies. Happy Thanksgiving! Sending love and hugs to you all!
Shannon
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Happy Thanksgiving all!
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Hi ladies! So glad to report, I'm home and that last lump? NEGITIVE! I'm not sure who was more happier to hear, me, my dr., my hubby or my sisters!
Had Hercepin on Monday, start Rads next Monday and another Herceptin 12/9. Thanks for all the hugs, I NEEDED them!Margie, Yes, no "C" for Thanksgiving!
iLuv: We'll beat the scale together! I had great results with low carb as well (several years ago)
Rachel: Congrats on your first fill, one step closer! How'd the benedryl work?
Sigarcia: Sorry to hear about your port, hope it feels better soon!
Kelley: Thanks for the hugs, right back at ya and hoping better sleep for you!
Ginger: Yay! I like you're thinking about surgery free in 2012!
Eema: Congrats on drains out! I so admire your strength and wit! Prayers for you and your baby!
Ann: Sorry to hear about sleep issues, and the TE issues. Sending some prayers for you!
Cookie: I had a mx to avoid rads, but alas, still have to do them, the way it goes I guess (1 lymph node)
TexasRose: I admire your strength and appreciate your story! My first year not cooking too and it feels weird (in a good way)
Maria!: Yay for the hematoma clearing up and here's to feeling better!
Happy Thanksgiving to all and tons of love! (I'm thankful for ALL of you!)
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Athabanscan - so glad to hear you're home and getting negative news. One time negative news is a good thing huh? My nodes were clear, but if my margins are not I'll get rads. I'm hoping for widely clear margins as I'm yet to have a surgery with that result. I really hope it's this one!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I too am thankful for the friendship, openness and support you all have shown me and each other. Onward to December, let's get moving forward and get this PITA BC behind us all!! (or should that be PITB?)
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Happy Thanksgiving all of my surgery sisters!
Right now my latest surgery, my exchange , is acting funny. Lefty is significantly larger than right, and draining. I don't want to call the PS on duty on TDay, so I'm going to see if I can wait till tomorrow. I might have to call if it gets much worse-- and I already threw up on a day that I need to eat. Blah!
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Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!
I hope that you each have a wonderful day.
Claire
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Happy Thanksgiving Ladies- You are all at the top of my "things to be thankful for" list today. Having all of you with me on this journey has been immeasurably helpful. It is so great to have a place to come at any hour of the day or night where there is someone to offer support and celebrate success.
Maria_Malta- WOOHOO to side sleeping!
Athabanscan- Congrats on the negative test result.
Eema- I hope everything "stays down" for the rest of the day!
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Happy Thanksgiving all of my surgery sisters!
Right now my latest surgery, my exchange , is acting funny. Lefty is significantly larger than right, and draining. I don't want to call the PS on duty on TDay, so I'm going to see if I can wait till tomorrow. I might have to call if it gets much worse-- and I already threw up on a day that I need to eat. Blah!
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I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I had a good visit with my second cousins and their familes. The wife of one of them lost her mother at a young age to breast cancer, so she's been very careful about exams and mammos/us, and I think it was good for her to have a chance to talk to me about my experience, what's changed in the past 30+ years since her mother died, and whether she should consider having the brca test (she has two daughters). I'm hoping that at least my experience has helped educate some of the women in my life and given them a different way to think about cancer.
I've got a bunch of scans next week and my port placement on Wed, then chemo starts on Dec 13. On to the next chapter...
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Black Friday today and I meant to post yesterday . . . . quick shout out / Thank you to all of you for your help, support, laughter, anecdotes, experience along my journey . . . . I can honestly say that I have met the most amazing women with the most admirable strength, fortitude and outlooks. YOU are all part of that . . . .Thank you. . . hoping your Thanksgivings were lovely and all of you are out shopping today!
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Oh happy Black Friday to all those shoppers out there---I was sleeping, thank you very much. LOL....crowds...no thanks!!
I got my drain out on Wednesday...YAYAY, just in time for Thanksgiving. Taking a shower was heavenly without worrying about tying up tubing, etc. Now I have developed a low grade fever and an orange sized pink area with a white center on the foob that had the last drain. ANNALIVE--does this sound like your cellulitis?? I am so worried now. I am still taking Kefex (since last Saturday) since I had it on hand, and I thought it may help ward off any pending infection. Now I am thinking I am in TE trouble. Everything was going so well, except for having that stupid, smelly drain.
RACH--that is a verrrry good idea to plan a get together sometime in the future. It would be definately fun. If you ever go through Michigan or think you will be near, give me a bump. I would drive to meet you and anyone else that wanted to from the October group. I think we have a nice little group of sisters here.
SHANNON-- hang in there girl. Therapy never hurt anyone. Open up and let it out!!
EEMA- I forgot what I was going to say< so HI!!
I think recliner chairs are so much better to sleep in versus the bed. I ache so much when I get up after rolling around in my big girl bed!! Hallmark Channel has all kinds of stupid Christmas movies right now, so if you can't sleep, they should work!!
Will keep ya'll posted on my pink looking foob.
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Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was great and I got to visit with my Sister-in-law who is about to reach her 5 year mark after BC diagnosis and she's doing great. I had Thanksgiving at our house since I won't be up for Christmas; 1st chemo tx Dec. 21st. I am feeling so good and my foobs are looking pretty good too so I am really dreading chemo and all its "wonderful" SE's. I still usually end up in the recliner every night because I get shoulder blade cramps. Anyone else have a problem with that?
Athabanscan- Yay!! So glad the lump was negative. I think the worse part about BC diagnosis is wondering if every lump and pain is the cancer showing up again.
I'm off to delegate Christmas decorating to my DH and kids. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
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Hi there - what a Thanksgiving I had - surprise surgery the night before, and discharged from the hospital this afternoon. I said in my previous post 3 days ago that I'd report back what my PS said about my TE infection -- well, I ended up in the hospital right after my PS appointment, with an abscess under my incision. Obviously, the antibiotics weren't working! My PS did surgery to remove the TE, thoroughly clean out the area, and put in a new TE. I'm on two IV antibiotics -- started at the hospital, and now that I just got home, I'll have home care teach me (I'm an ex-nurse) how to give them myself in the port. They are coming tonight for the next dose! My PS is also consulting with an infectious disease specialist to handle to antibiotic choices. Lots of blood work results (like cultures) pending to be sure I'm on the right stuff.
The brand new TE is bending, filled only to 200 cc, half what I had in the one PS removed. This is causing some pain, and when he saw it on rounds this morning, said he may have to do an early fill to relieve this. It's upsetting to start out with this complication when this is supposed to be part of the repair. But more important is to get rid of this infection! I wrote some more about this on the TE Trouble thread in the Breast Reconstruction forum.
iLUV2knit - my pink skin was irregular on a couple of areas over the TE. Nothing with a white center, but a puffiness in some areas, and then I developed thinning over the incision -- it could have opened up soon, and it had been fairly well healed (I'm at 7 weeks post-BMX). I had a low-grade fever, but I have that anyway sometimes while taking Herceptin. I think for sure that you need to see your doctor because the pink area and fever are worrisome! You want to try to save that TE! I hope my replaced one gets to stay. I had a 10-day course of oral antibiotics to clear the first pink skin episode, then a fill, and then 2 days later the pink skin returned and I started another 10-day course of the same antibiotics. I only got to day 7 when I happened to have an appointment with the PS, and was sent to the hospital. I'm thinking he should have changed antibiotics or done surgery a week earlier to see what was going on -- to get cultures, etc. I encourage you to get attention on this -- darn, it's the weekend now! Call anyway!
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AnnAlive- glad you are home from the hospital; hope that infection stays away!
ILUV2knit and Judy67- I am still sleeping in the recliner chair. I had my NSBMX in June. Slept in the recliner till September. Then tried to sleep in bed and it was awful! muscle spasms and cramps from my shoulders to my hips. Had my exchange in late October and the spasms left but I still cannot sleep in my bed. Being horizontal is soooo uncomfortable.My back muscles and shoulders are so bad! PS gave me the all clear to see a PT so I am going for an eval this Thursday and my #1 priority goal is to sleep in a bed. I am so tired and just want to lay down. Hope we are all back in our beds soon.
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ANNALIVE- thank you SO much for all the information. My daughter who is 29 yrs old came over tonight, took one look at my pink foob and said, "call the doctor immediately or I am taking you to the hospital". She just got done with cellulitis on her leg and she thought it looked just like cellulitis so I called the emergency number for my PS.
My PS (LOVE her!!!) answered her cell phone right away, listened to everything regarding my symptoms, and said she was going to call me in Cipro and Doxycycline ASAP. She said if I am not better within 24 hours I will be hospitalized on IV antibiotics. This is exactly what I was afraid of happening when they removed the drain on Wednesday, but the nurse reassured me that since I was at the 6 week mark, they would need to pull it anyway AND it wasn't producing as much. Well, perhaps a few more days would have been better or perhaps this would have happened anyway....I dunno...all I know is that I will not complain about being in the hospital if it keeps my TE in place!! arrrrgh!
I am hoping our TE's start cooperating, ANNALIVE!! My left one (the pink one) is filled to 400 cc's and the right (spasmy one) is filled to 350cc. They are starting to look like real boobies so I would hate to go backward now. sigh.
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Hi girls...hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving (apart from all the nasty post surgery complications that is!)... Doubt that any of us knew quite what we were in for when bc struck...except of course we had no choice and treatment has its own momentum... keep positive, things WILL get better. Thinking especially of AnnAlive and iLuv2knit; hope your problems are being resolved, Eema. Athabanscan, really pleased to hear of your result... and Ginger, I promise, you will manage to sleep on your side again, and I can assure you and the other 'recliner' ladies that your quality of life will improve a hundred-fold! I wish you all a peaceful, painfree and restful weekend.
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Hey everyone. Hope you all had a good weekend. You were all in my thoughts yesterday when I went to synagogue to say a prayer of thanksgiving for having made it through this part of my journey. I'll be looking forward to saying it again after chemo is done.
AnnAlive - I hope you're on the mend. It must be frustrating to have had to get a new TE in, but at least they were able to place a new one in. I hope they get you balanced soon! You had asked about PT and radiation a while back - I can't speak from the rads side, but the exercises they've given me are pretty low-level (stretching my arm using a large rubber band-like contraption), so I don't see it causing discomfort, except maybe just magnifying any discomfort you are already having from rads. I hope they're able to give you a good exercise plan.
AthabascanWarrior - I'm so glad that turned out to be benign. Good luck going into rads this week.
Kelleyod - I hope you get back to your home soon, and that you get some relief from the swelling. I'm not sure if I'm actually swelling on my right side, just slightly, or whether it's just feeling weird because of the numbmess. I did ask my PT and he said it was normal and I need to get used to it for a while... but it's not really so bad that it's getting in my way.
Ginger - Wishing you an easy recovery from surgery next month. Glad that will wind it up for surgeries for you.
Eema - I hope your problems have cleared up. Are you able to move around a little more? It was so hard to imagine such a dynamic personality being told not to move a lot!
Rose - I hope you were able to enjoy Thanksgiving as a 'guest.' You can always look forward to doing all the cooking next year!
Maria_malta - Good to hear the hematoma has cleared up and that you're back to side-sleeping. And thanks for all your encouragement.
iluv2knit - Still praying your infection is clearning up and that you've seen the last of those problems. Hang onto that TE for dear life!
And how great is that about your PS answering her phone!!! That was the one thing I did really like about the first BS I saw - she gave me her cell phone number, and her nurse navigator was great at staying in touch. I wound up going with another BS whose communication skills were, well, not nearly that, and the office staff was hard to get through. I hope everything is onward and upward from here.I was down for a few days late last week. In part, spending too much time in 'cancerland,' I suppose. But I also found out that my latest pap smear was abnormal - again. I had a string of abnormals last year, and it finally had seemed to clear up at my last one in July - one week before I found my lump. Now I have suspicious cells again and have to endure a colposcopy on Tuesday (I would rather recover from my bmx all over again rather than deal with the pain I had last time I had a coloposcopy). I think I've let my time frame close for dealing with the eggs, but I'm thinking maybe an ooph/hysterectomy will be my best route anyway to deal with all this (brca+ and threat of ovarian and cervical cancer). I'm feeling better now, though. I had a good visit with friends last night, and my BF continues to be a great support. Had a few nights of almost decent sleep (2 hours straight at first, and then wake-up periods were shorter, though frequent). Last night was lousy again. Benadryl is usually so great to help me sleep, but it doesn't seem to be doing much in this situation. Spicy Indian food for dinner didn't help, either! But it was good to get out with friends.
I've got another fill tomorrow, and then a slew of scans in prep for chemo (3 CTs and a muga) throughout the week. But hopefully I also get to go back to work!
Here's to a great Sunday, and a better week for all of us!
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...Not sure where those weird font changes came from.... They weren't intended. I think I hit a function key at some point!
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rachelvk - so sorry about the abnormal pap....you certaininly dont need another thing to worry about. I will be praying all goes well for you in that dept. as well as all your upcoming scans.
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iLUV2knit - Is it going better for you now -- any change to the pink area? Probably will take longer, and I hope the antibiotics work very well to clear it.
rachelvk - Well, now my PT start won't collide with my rads start, but rads are put off 6 weeks due to the new TE surgery. But of course, I'll have to tell the PT people to take it as easy as necessary because I'm post-op again! I did ask my PS if it is still OK to start the PT to prevent lymphedema this Wed, and he said it's fine.
I hope to see my PS tomorrow to find out if he can give me a fill to help the bending problem the new TE has. It only hurts if I touch the dented area at the medial part (inner edge of the TE) but I might get relief and avoid other problems if he can get the bend out of the middle. It crosses under the horizontal incision like a valley.
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Is anyone familiar with Carbo and Gemzar? This has been recommended as a follow up treatment. Following surgery, the ONC said that the cancer was removed with clean margins and no signs of cancer on the PET scan. But... the cancer removed was 1.8cm and still active. Therefore, he thinks it would be a precaution to go ahead and the the C&G. He said a good insurance policy agaisnt a recurrence. I'm all for that, but I haven't heard much about it just curious.
Also, does everyone have trouble sleeping? I'm 4 weeks post surgery and I have the hardest time getting a good night's sleep.
Thanks, Denise
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