Ottawa ladies?
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Chili, I know how scary waiting can be. It sounds like the abdominal pain is manageable? I hope not to bad. It's funny that your ONC told you to see your GP. Did you get your treatments in Hull or in Ottawa? Good luck tomorrow.
Carol, I think that the pathology reports are what give the best info. Then you will get a plan. It helps to get a plan, you will feel more in control.
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Chili how about an abdominal ultrasound? They should be able to get u in sooner. That's what I had done 3 times. It's a good screening tool.
I'm in Ottawa too... Can't remember if I've posted here before?
Everyone take care and happy Halloween!0 -
I have written to 2 posts and they have disappeared.(Don't like my blackberry). I contine to read staying connected to all of you. You're in my thoughts as we travel this road.
'll try writing short posts. My last 2 were long.
Wishing you well. Take care of you.0 -
Carolyne, I think I've come to the realization that stress, anxiety and insomnia are part of the BC package. Which is just added on to our everyday encounters. I hope soon, this lessen for you.
As for me, I feel I aged 10 years this weekend. My energy level was depleted. I had pneumonia in Sept. And I still have a dull pain in my chest and occassional trouble breathing. I just touch my ribcage in that area and OOAUCH! My neck and knees crack and ache constantly (arthritis). I banged my front calf slighlty and it was tough to walk (held back tears). I hit near my wrist and I couldm"kt lift my arm. Plus headaches and several dizzy spells. I"m a wreck. Don''t know whatI'll do if treatment starts.
Maybe some of this is sinking in. I had quite a few elephant tear sessions.
I made a big decision and have changed to a female doctor. It adds 9 more days, but I've been on this road sInce Aug. 150 -
Micheleboots - I was able to get my pathology report from GP. I never knew we could access our medical files. Now I'm more informed and confused. It was good to see things written in black and white
Thank you.
I can see why reports and stuff are so important0 -
Dragonfly, it is good to sit and read through it. Then take any questions you have to your doc. It is good to go in there informed and I think the Docs like it when we show them that we are not idiots. We can read and do research. Going in informed is a good thing, it gives back the power to us..not Cancer, not our docs, but us.
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Dragonfly, Sorry to hear about your week end
, Do you have supportive people to help go through this? Who's the Doc you switch to? I think having a female Dr would really make this a little easyier... but I am not willing to wait any longer. Still curious to hear about yours tho!Micheleboots, I like your posts, you seem like a calm and strong person and in this time of stress I really appreciate it!
Carolyne
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Hi all
Nice to see so much activity on this thread.
Caro - I think your biopsy report said IDC? If so, then you can't be Stage 0, it would be Stage 1 at least (I think stage 0 refers to DCIS only). You won't know your staging until after the lump is removed. The only test I had prior to surgery was a breast MRI. The pathology report after surgery will provide the information that the Dr needs to stage you, ie size of tumour, grade and whether lymph nodes are involved. If lymph nodes are involved, then you'd likely have to go for more testing. Your biopsy result of grade 1 is good, in that it means the cancer is less aggressive. If you have questions, feel free to ask…I"m sure someone will be able to answer them.
Dragonfly - sorry to hear about your crappy weekend. I hope you're feeling better
NannaBaby - yes I think you did post early on. Hope you're doing well.
Chill - oh poor you….I"m sure it's scary getting a call back for mammo and ultrasound after you've been through this all before. Hopefully the tech will tell you something. 3 weeks is a long time to wait. When I had my ultrasound when initially diagnosed, the tech went out and consulted with the radiologist, who then came into the room, held my hand, and teared up a bit. She couldn't confirm anything without a biopsy, but I knew that she was pretty certain it was cancer by the way she tried to comfort me. Good luck tomorrow!! Also hope that the other tests to look into your right side pain are uneventful.
I initially just had the one breast removed. A year later I had the other removed (prophylactic) and have to say that knowing I'll never have another mammo and the worry that goes along with it, is kind of nice. I'm certainly not suggesting that mastectomies are the way to go for folks (it has its own challenges), but for me, it was the right decision.
take care all.
p.s. good news….I wasn't egg'd last night
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Caro46, gee I like you....Calm and strong, I don't know..it depends on the day. Some days it only shit that flows from my mouth/typing fingers.
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haha Michele…..there's no shit flowing from your mouth…it's all good and supportive of our sisters.
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Micheleboots, I think it would be kinda freeing to be able to swear and curse once in a while! even better when someone ears (or reads )you!
Don`t know if any of you ladies looked at the new Cancer Survivorship-Maplesoft Center? I looked it up after someone posted a Citizen article on this blog. Not sure exactly when it opens but it says Fall 2011... so that should be right about now! Here is the link: http://www.ottawacancer.ca/en/cancer-survivorship-centre/survivorship-care.aspx There is a lot of services offered! From cooking to fitness to workshops etc... Sounds like something very usefull. I already registered for a financial outreach workshop and Cancer coach. There are some support groups also for families, children and partners which interests me.
Has anyone heard about the official opening?
Something else happened this evening that blew me away! My Daughter had an apt with our family Dr (since 14yrs), I tried to get in at the same time to see about getting something to help me sleep but she was all booked so my ex took our daughter her apt (very rare!). So about 30 min after my daughter`s apt I get a call from my Dr`s office, it`s my family Dr! she was waiting to see me with my daughter to see how I was doing and to offer some help with exactly what I needed and also some explanations as to what my results mean and what I was to expect. So she decided to call me. Might sound silly but it made me feel very special and important, also made me feel soooo good to have someone who knows me so well and is a dr to talk about this!
G`night all, thanks for the support. I`ll try and catch up on some sleep if I can
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Hi Caro - glad to hear you got a call from your GP. Can totally understand how good that must have felt.
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That Doc is a keeper, for sure.
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Hi ladies Ottawa as well I was diagnosed last oct, stage IIIa, triple positive, did 4 ac and 4 taxotere , chemo first,double mastectomy, rads, ovaries removed and now just started with herceptin, 5 yrs ....as hard as the chemo is I promise it does go fast all of goes pretty fast, keep ur focus on beating it....during chemo take ur pill, I chewed on ice while infusion it helped with thrush....feel free to pm
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Hi ladies.. well looks like i won't be getting a mastectomy for christmas after all, whew. Turns out when you get your mammo and ultrasound at the Gatineau hosp, after the ultrasound tech does their thing, the radiologist doc comes in and has a look-see and will tell you your results. So, the good news is , he had a quick look at the mammogram, ( to be followed by a closer look later, of course) and went all over the area where i felt the lump with the ultrasound, and did not see anything unusual or troubling.. so perhaps it's just a swollen gland or something. So that's a big relief, although after a month of worrying, it's taking a bit to sink in.
I hear ya dragonfly... someday's i feel like the old body is totally falling apart. ( but i'm only 48!) . Oct pretty much sucked, between being worried about the lump and some weird leg pain, that i had totally convinced myself was bone pain and that i had mets, and the abdominal/back pain (pretty much the whole right side) ... however, 3 tests down, one to go... had a pelvic ultrasound last week , booked the ct scan for dec 6th.. I'll be happy to know what the heck is going on there... pain is up and down, sometimes not so bad.. sometimes pretty intense for a day or so.. i feel better now that i have an appt.. .. kinda torn, cause i want the pain to be gone, but i want what ever's going on , to still be going on when i get the scan .. know what i mean?
I've had all my treatments at the cancer center in the Gatineau hosp, which i've been pretty happy with, overall. The part that i find confusing is knowing which doc to see about what . I alternate between my surgeon and oncologist and see one of them every 3 to 4 months, and my gp when ever... i asked the onc about it, she said you see me for follow up on your breast cancer and see your gp for everything else.. .. so when i found the lump and was having the weird leg pain, i went back to see the surgeon, he was happy to check out the lump, but said i should probably see my gp re the leg pain.. .. i got a little flustered at that and forgot to bring up the abdominal pain..( se went to see the gp the following week) however, to his credit, when i said i was worried about mets, he did order the bone scan for me, even though he said the odds were pretty much zero being i had a small tumor and no node involvement... (those results i'll get end of nov), but the legs are feeling better now, so i'm not as worried about that anymore... but if the odds are pretty much zero, how come the onc was asking me if i had any bone pain? can't be totally zero.....
anywho, thanks for letting me get this all out.. it's been a month of worry, but at least november started out on the right foot... so hopefully it'll be much better... i guess that worrying about every ache and pain is par for the course these days.... i'm hoping that will get less and less as time goes on.... in the mean time.. still a little waiting to be done.
oh ya... very interested to check out the new center when it's open.. thanks for the link.. and i wish i would have tried the chewing on ice thing during chemo.. I got horrible thrush after each treatment...yucky...
hope everyone is doing well... deep breathing really does help sometimes....
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HI Coni - sounds like you've been through just about everything! Hope all is well with you now.
Chili - great that all went well with your test!! One less thing to worry about. And yes I hear ya about the body falling apart…and the mind. I'm only 46 and can hardly remember yesterday.
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Well, it's 1:50 am and I am doing laundry. The one good thing about insomnia is you can save $ on hydro.
Caro, thanks for the link to Maplesoft Centre. They offer some pretty beneficial workshop, etc. I haven't signed up for anything, but the Centre looks like it's worth the visit. I believe it opens sometime this month. My BS is Dr. Arnaout. I see her Nov. 24th at 10.
Mich, glad you didn't get egg'd Halloween
Coni, I am just starting this journey. You have been though a lot of treatment. How are you doing? I appreciate younmentioning that we can PM you if we need to.
Wishing you good health.0 -
Maplesoft opened yesterday. Thurs. Nov. 3rd.
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Good morning, there must have been some magic in typing the word insomnia. I had to end my earlier post abruptly as my eyes were closing. I woke up at 6:30. Good sleep ready to go. Better than 2 days ago, I just wanted to be an ostrich and bury my head in the sand... I could have created an oasis with my 2 buckets of tears. (more from confusion and waiting than anything else. Maybe a bit of a self pity party. Better now.)
Chili, so glad you're not getting a masectomy for Christmas. I wish some of your pain would go away. I find this type of weather tends to make pain worse. I think humidity intensifies pain. I hope it getsbetter. Good that you went for the bone scan and are going for CT scan. Let us know how you're doing.
Well,its a clear blue sky out here in the Valley. The sun is calling me to go out and get some vitamin D.
Take care Ottawa ladies. Wishing you good health.0 -
Dragonfly - hope you got out and enjoyed the sun today. Reading your post about insomnia and buckets of tears brings me back to how I felt 2 years ago…I don't think I'll ever forget how awful I felt. Trust me, it will get better. The waiting throughout the period of seeing a BS, going for surgery and pathology results will still be hard for you, but once you eventually get the path report and figure out what, if any next steps there are, you'll feel more in control of your life. These first couple of months are indeed the hardest. Hang in there.
Caro - how are you doing? Hope you're doing ok. Keep in touch.
Have a great weekend all.
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Thanks Mich The sun was grand and so was the fresh brisk air. Today it's like that again. Last night, I went out to a dance and the band played jazz, like in New Orleans (there, las Mardi Gras). Didn't know how to dance to it, but we all had a lot of fun trying. my beverage of choice (tap water). I find i'm a freeer and more relaxed when I am doing something I enjoy. (i am not as self-consciuos about some things.) Boy that dancing is a real workout. I can't dance as long without a break. Had a real good time.
That was good for the soul. Between crying and dancing, I'm calm. Going to enjoy this weekend. Do what I want. It's been awhile.
Enjoy your weekend and remember to put your clocks back.
Take care of you. Wishing you good health.
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Hey ladies - Ive been on vacation and then I just forgot about this site lol. Anyways, I'm from ottawa. Was diagnosed 2010 may. Had surgery, chemo and rads. I'm getting construction on jan 9th.
Michele- ur going with dr guay???
Howdy Coni and Nanna (my friends)
Ok watching coronation street lol0 -
Yes, Dr.Guay. He seems quite nice. It scares me and yet I can't wait...I was thinking of getting some new bras, since my insurance pays for 80%. But then thought why.
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Michele - me too I'm so excited having my boob back and I'm not going to say that im not excited at the idea of a free tummy tuck. I've planned for 6 weeks off but a lot of ladies are saying they have recovered in 3 . Come and visit me in hospital so you can see for your self what the days after are all about. Lol
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Dragonfly,
I'm really sorry your going through this. I've been on that path and life does get better once you have a plan and direction in your treatment plan. The crying, let it out, because you need to be strong to fight this. You will beat it. If you need to chat or get any advice just pm me. I'll be more than happy to help you.0 -
Hey Ladies!
Howdy NIN! I'll visit you in the hospital!
If anyone knows of young women (18- early 40ish) with BC, in need of support in the Ottawa area, please tell them about Rethink Breast Cancer. It's an organization especially for young women with breast cancer. We are launching the Live Laugh Learn support group in Ottawa in early December.
I'll keep you all posted on the details
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Nannababy- u better :P
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Hi redninrah - I hope had a good vacation and welcome back. Big event for you in January. Do you have to do any preparation for it? I have noticed that in Canada it takes about a year before you get breast replacement. Why is that? I appreciate your offer to answer questions I may have. I may take you up on it. My sister is a Coronation Street fan too
Wishing you good health.0 -
Nanna
How are you doing. I have read your threads which has helped me to know a bit about you. It is good to see that you are starting a support group for younger women with breast cancer. Support is so important and it is better when it's with people who are dealing with many of the same issies as you.
Take care of yourself.
Wishing you good health.0 -
Caro
Thinking about you and hoping things are well. Have you been to Maplesoft yetl? When do your activities start?
Ladies- just a thought - get together for holiday lunch somewhere?
Any other thoughts?0
