Starting Chemo in Nov. 2011...anyone else?
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Thanks everyone, and I'm still smiling.
Right now it's 14 degrees, it's suppose to get down to 9 tonight, we got 4 more inches of snow last night on top of 9 that hasn't melted yet, wind chill 0. Yes, I feel cold when I go out. I'm thinking of moving to Alaska to warm up. lol We're suppose to be up into the 50's by Friday. I hope so. I still like the cooler weather, but just not this bitter cold. Now the tiredness Quaatsi was talking about, I can relate. Not only tired, but sleepy. I just can't seem to get enough sleep.
Nel, what kind of doctor was that? I know what you mean UUUGGGHHH! This winter is relentless and we haven't had it as bad as you have.
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My take on the doc - some sort of quackadoodle! Crazy relative, crazy doc
Be well
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that is NOT a doctor!! People can get fake credentials and pose as doctors making the rest of us look bad. I resent stuff like that. I worked long and hard to get my legitimate degrees.
That stuff preys on fear...
Q
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Quaatsi and GrandmaV--Congrats on the good no GREAT news! Smiles as bright as the sun! We have snow today and it is supposed to be a lot of snow for NC. I didn't move here for this. I thought it was warmer here.
We had freezing and below zero temps in Indiana so this is warmer to us. However, my body does not do well in cold temps either. I actually hurt when I am in the cold. I have to tell myself to relax or I will tense up and my muscles start to ache. I have mild neuropathy in some of my fingers which I think makes them more sensitive to the cold. If I go out, I dress in so many layers that I do look like the Michelin Man!
I have come out my depression. I am dealing with this new body image. A lopsided chest but I am still here to live and breathe and enjoy life! I doubled up on my Vitamin B12 and it helps me. I can notice a difference when I don't take it. I am on the Daniel Plan and eating healthy foods. I feel so much better.
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I know there are those who feel colder. My problem is hot flashes. It is so obvious when I am having one that people who know me will ask if I am having a hot flash since my face turns very red when they are going on. Does anyone else have this problem? It's actually kind of embarrasing at times. I guess we all have to live with our "new normal," and I try not to complain because I am STILL HERE to experience all of this crap, Breast cancer...the unwanted gift that keeps on giving!
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My face turns red with the hot flashes, too. Especially my cheeks. It is a little embarrassing. Thankfully I don't have them as often any more, but I am just generally too warm most of the time and fanning myself, when everyone else is cold. I wear shorts and sleeveless tops at home during the winter, and my husband is cold so he's putting on sweaters and socks and slippers in the house.
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Quatsi - You are right , just a quackadoodle taking advantage of a crazy person
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Just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Hope you are all feeling well and happy. Let me just say this...you haven't lived until you work in an elementary school on this kind of a holiday. Everyone is on a sugar high...including me! Hugs to all...Linda
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Had my 3 month appointment with onco yesterday. All's well. There has been some discussion on the femara thread that some oncs are recommending 10 years over 5. My onc is strictly by the book and he said there has been no change in the standard treatment. So I'm still on the 5 year schedule. Thank goodness. I will be coming up on my 2 year mark come April 1, and then 3 more years. Time has really gone fast. The weather here yesterday and today has been just gorgeous. The snow is mostly all gone. It got up to 62. I spent a good portion of the day outside. It was wonderful. Last weekend it was sub zero and snow on the way.
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grandmaV ... hi!!! i've read back on this thread, but at the moment, i can't remember what i read. just stopping in to check on everyone and see how all are doing. i've been on arimidex for a year now and i detest it. i feel like an old lady. i get so tired and have a hard time getting motivated to do things i used to do without thinking about it. i'm cancer free, though, so i can't really complain! hope you're doing well ... all of you.
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Beth-so glad you are feeling better these days. It is easy to be depressed when you think about all we have been through and the uncertainty our future holds. I am convinced, though, that we deserve to feel as well, as happy, and as loved as we can, while we can. And I also think that if we do work at enjoying our new lives, we will not have anything to regret later on.
Yaya-good to hear from you. I am glad that you are cancer-free. I take arimidex also and find that the biggest side effect for me is bone pain. Grandma-you mentioned the talk about 10 years of femara and that your onc still is planning for you to take it for 5 years. I have mixed feelings about that. My onc's plan for me is still 5 years, and I wish I knew whether or not there were any microscopic cancer wannabe cells floating around inside me. That would definitely help in deciding if that decision were to ever be up to me. Part of me feels like I want to take arimidex forever to ensure no more cancer, while another part of me worries that I already may have subjected my body to too many harmful effects, especially my heart and bones.
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This is an interesting topic that I have essentially avoided adding to-- but time's up! LOL
I had decided some time ago that I wanted to fully "live all the days of my life" and not just be free of cancer and feel rotten. I would rather live a shorter time and be happy.
About six months ago, I stopped taking Tamoxifen because I felt soooo awful. but unfortunately, the trend had already begun and I went down from there-- I first got (chemically or physiologically) depressed and couldn't do things…mental things I like to do as well as just doing physical things that were harder or more painful. I then got even more depressed-- emotionally. I went to my Onc with all this and her comment was that she didn't want me to just live and be miserable--- which of course, is not my desire either so she offered a trial of hormones-- estrogen to be exact. I sat on them for a little while and then went to a hormone specialist-- and got progesterone and estrogen bioID.
It's been about 7-8 weeks now and I am finally beginning to feel like myself. Happy and positive and well, pretty much like a normal person who is recovering from an illness. I do have more energy etc. My brain is better but not like it was…yet…
My Onc is hoping that the PetScan I did is an indicator of no cancer cells but if/should that come up again, I will cross that bridge--like I have crossed them before.
….just my thoughts on this subject….Q
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Quaatsi and bahamamom, Both are valid points of view. Again it goes back to our personal preferences and I can understand both. No one knows for sure what the best course of action is. Doctors don't even agree with each other. So we individually have to do what is right for us personally. If you asked me about this about 14 months ago when my knee pain was so bad I was walking with a cane I would have a different answer than I have today. So I don't always agree with myself even. We've all done our research and have heard all the arguments so we can make these decisions. The bioidenticals makes sense, the 10 years vs 5 yrs on the drugs makes sense, 5 yrs makes sense, too. Who knows I may change my mind again. I don't think any of these are wrong. I do miss my estrogen, though. Lacking it, is making an old woman out of me. That's why I'm looking forward to getting off these drugs after 5 years. I say to both of you. More power to ya! Our bodies react differently to the drugs and some feel worse than others. I'm also excited about the research being done on our own ecosystems. The bacteria in and on our bodies that are good for us. Researchers are beginning to understand how our bodies depend on this symbiotic relationship. Even whether we're fat or not. Of course this is something Natural docs have been saying all along. So, for me, right now, I'm walking down the middle of the road, so to speak. Taking supplements, probiotics, eating more prebiotic foods and doing the conventional treatment. But I'm not ruling anything out.
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yaya, thanks for checking in. So glad to hear you are still cancer free.
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Q - I made that decision with Tamoxifen the first time. I opted to not take it. My family & friends didn't like my decision but it was my choice. I took Arimidex the second time for a few months. I hurt so bad. I told my onc about the pain and she said it wasn't used to treat my 2nd BC anyway. I think GrandmaV commented about that. I have the script filled for Femara. I will start taking it when I get back to NC. My onc really wants me to try it. She says to take it every other day. If I start to hurt, I will have another talk with her about it. Why hasn't the treatments we took been enough? I want to enjoy each day also. I am eating healthy and exercising as much as I can. I am also taking my vitamins. The really good news is that I feel better. Thanks to each of you for helping me on this journey. I remember when I first joined thus group how scared I was. You helped me so much!
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Hi All, Just popping in to say hi. Q
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Hi everyone. Stuck in the house again. Winter storm just getting started. Freezing drizzle here now. Sub zero temps more ice, sleet, and snow expected tonight. At least we had spring like temps for a while. I was hoping winter was over. Hope everyone is well and happy.
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I was just wondering if anyone has heard about an increased risk of colon cancer in breast cancer patients or survivors. I know that both my MO and the PCP have asked me about when I have had a colonoscopy, but I told both of them that I wasn't due for 3 more years, that I had, had one. However. I was not aware that I may need one done more frequently than the norm. I got curious sbout it and did a little research online and I did see several articles that said that having had breast cancer puts us at a higher risk of having colon cancer as well. I will be seeing MO in a couple if weeks, so I will ask her if I need to get the screening procedure before the usual 10 years are up.
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Just wanted to drop in and say hello. I was sick for awhile (gastro thing...yuck) and then went to visit our friends in Arizona. Interesting topic that is being discussed. Along with everything else that is nasty from the drugs, is anyone constantly tired? I am just wondering if this is common.
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linnyhopp,
Not constantly tired, but when I do get tired I feel sick - I get so tired. When I hit the wall, which I used to be able to push thru, I can no longer keep going. Just need to remind myself that my pace needs to be different than before BC.
Be well
Nel
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I think it is hard to be sure if I get tired more easily now because of the BC or drugs because of so many other things that have come into play now. For example, I am 59 years old, so I expect to get tired more easily just because of that. Also, I retired a few months ago, so I do not do as much as I had been doing. I will say that the "tired to the bone" feeling that I had during and for several months after chemo is gone now. Nothing I have experienced in a good while now could hold a candle to that feeling.
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My blood work showed I was anemic. My oncologist asked when I had my last colonoscopy.i also am good for ten years. My concern is this, my Dad was anemic also. He was told they knew he was bleeding somewhere. The just didn't know where because his colonoscopy and endoscopy was fine. He had a tumor that was wrapped around the outside of his colon. He also had stage 4 colon cancer as his 2nd diagnosis. I try not to keep this in my head but it keeps popping up. I do feel tired and some days it is hard to breathe because I am so tired. I keep moving as much as possible, eating as healthy as possible and keeping "possible" as my go to word this week.
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Beth, I am sorry to hear that you are feeling bad. I know it is hard to feel like you don't have all the answers. sometimes the "what ifs" weigh heavily on me, at least until I get a few answers. Grandma wrote that her oncologist said it is our jobs now to complain when something is bothering us, and I assume that then, based on those complaints, they will test us for whatever things may be causing the problems. I know that all I did was mention that my back was sore in a couple of places, and my oncologist immediately ordered a bone scan. Now, I am wondering if you would be more comfortable if you had an MRI. I think that is the test to check internal organs. Of course, I know a lot of people are anemic at times, but I hope that your doctor is at least retesting that level again in a few weeks.
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Beth, I'm with bahamamom. Tell your onc your concerns and ask if it warrants further testing. I have to keep reminding myself to speak up, because I am afraid of further testing, but its the only way to know.
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I know that I try to "wait things out" to see if the issue resolves itself since I dread the thought of more tests. I told my MO that my shoulder (on the BC side) was hurting and he immediately asked me if I wanted to have x-rays. I told him that I would wait and see since I had a feeling the pain was from something that I had done. Thankfully, that shoulder pain comes and goes with the activity that I perform.
Beth ~ I think we all understand how your mind goes to places it shouldn't with any symptoms we have. I have had a sinus thing going for over a week and have a very nasty cough. I am going to wait a few more days since it has been getting better. I don't want to go to the doctor unless I have to. This looking over our shoulders all the time is not a pleasant reality. However, I think we are all doing the best we can with the hands we have been dealt. It truly is now a one day at a time reality for us. I try to be grateful for each day, but it's not always easy. However, I definitely feel every day and experience is a gift and that does help a little when I get negative.
Hoping you are all well and happy today and every day!
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I had an MRI and a CT scan with my last diagnosis. Nothing was found anywhere else. I have been in Indiana for the last couple of weeks. I found a new spot on my chest a couple of days ago. I will be calling my oncologist for an appointment as soon as I get home. It looks and feels like the last spot I had. I am scared to go and scared not to go.
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bethu,
I think we all get this. Fearful of moving forward and telling our doc about any symptoms and fearful of not telling. It is so easy to go to worst case scenario. Follow up when you get home. In the meantime breathe, sometimes I think I forget to do this when anxious! and do what you need to take care of yourself. We are here for you, keep us posted.
Nel
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Beth, I agree with Nel, that it is hard to know and not to know. But I have to say that, for me, the not knowing is worse. I think because if I don't know what is causing a symptom, my mind automatically goes to the worst case situation anyway and that means I may be causing myself a lot of unnecessary stress and anguish. Besides that, I would be so angry at myself if I chose not to get something checked and wasted valuable time that may make the difference between a good resolution and a not-so-good one. Your feelings are very understandable, and I will be thinking of you and wishing you calmness and peace as you wait to find out about the spot. Please keep us posted.
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Beth ~ I agree with Nel & Bahamamom even though I know how hard it is to see our doctors more than we ever imagined. It is unfortunate that we have to have every symptom checked out as soon as possible, but it's our reality now. My sister-in-law has a saying that is so very true..."Try not to live it before it happens." I will be thinking only positive thoughts for you. Linda
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I have an appointment today with my surgeon. I will keep everyone posted.
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