Brain Mets Sisters
Comments
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Kia, try to wait until you know; it's hard but will save you so much energy and fretting (good advice but I would probably be fretting too).
Barbara
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Ok. Countdown to 2 more sleeps!! I got a manicure pedicure yesterday. And the best was having my brows waxed and reshaped. I had no idea I even had eyebrows!! Good news, my hair is growing back. Bad news, I look like Dr Phil!! It is slower on top!!! Gonna pack tomorrow and probably won't sleep due to excitement!! Also having an eyelash weave tomorrow. Still look like the devil, but I am trying!!! Hope everyone is feeling groovy. Hugs Jodi
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So excited for you Jodi! Being a low-maintenance kind of gal, I have absolutely no idea what an eyelash weave is but it sound pretty glam!
Lx
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donnabee,
What about fruit smoothies? You can use either milk or yogurt, any fruits you like, but I think strawberries and bananas work well together. Add a few ice cubes and blend everything together...mmmmm, tastes pretty good!
Rose
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I have never been a low maintenance girl. My 5 sisters and I have never know life without a beauty parlor of some sort. Our girls and our nieces get mani pedis for every occasion. An eyelash weave is where they weave single lashes into your own. They last for about a month. I think they're ridiculously expensive to maintain, but I am trading, not paying.
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a beauty parlor?
i really miss cutting my own hair. It is something i have always done on an almost weekly basis.. every hair had to be perfect. I own about 6 pairs of professional scissors, a cape for my kids.. clippers and all the attachments for the boys. should have been a beautician.. I'm serious. I just love grooming.
I dream all the time about buying shampoo.
But
I have never had a professional manicure or pedicure. I dream about those too.
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I had a manicure once in the 1980's on a trip to New York when gel nails were just coming in. I had them put on these enormous talons and paint them red (I've always had crappy, splitting short nails). My OH and I went to Carnegie Hall to see Billy Connolly and I had to go to the loo. I had to get my husband to zip me down and up because I couldn't do anything with the nails on.
They came off a week later when I was sanding some windows. Guess that was my brush with maintenance!
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I wish I lived close to you Apple. I would let you play beauty parlor every day!! My poor dogs get groomed every other week. I just love everyone looking 'done'. My ship sailed a while ago, but I definitely had my turn. As far as fake nails go, they kind of make me queasy. They seem unsanitary to me. I won't eat any food touched by them. I do like manicured nails. And clean ears!! There is something wrong with me.
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Myangels, sweet of you to think of a way to help Donnabee. However, she passed away some time ago. Im sorry.
Yall, how do you feel about asking the mods to put an icon with our names if we are in the big internet in the sky? Perhaps a heart? I'll PM mods. It really would be kind and lovely since our screen ids stay here forever.
I actually liked looking up Donna's profile, her in that cute hat.
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That is a wonderful idea K-Lo.. a heart... or a symbol.. It might have to be a grammatical character so it could go next to the name (like *) .
I do take my grooming desires out on the poor doggie. He get so many burrs in him in the summer.. by the time August arrives he is pretty well shorn. His hair just gets shorter and shorter.
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K Lo, that is a very sweet idea. I hope I never see one.
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Is it just 1 sleep now?
I like to think of myself as low maintenance, but I think I'm probably high really :-)
I cut my nails really short and never wear false nails but I love mani/pedicures.
I also had eyelash weaves (they call them eyelash extensions in the uk). Haven't had them since my last chemo as I have heard they can damage the new lashes that are growing through. My hair may be short but I stil loved getting it cut and coloured - so high maintenance? Yes probably, but who cares !!
I'm having my MRI and pet scans this morning. Seeing the prof sometime this afternoon. Fingers crossed for good results please :-)
Mx0 -
Fingers and toes crossed.
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Hope it is all good Melissa!
Lx
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Hmm
Got all my results back for brain mets----
The biggest one in the cerebellum is growing again and there is quite a lot of swelling around it + I have 6 new small mets.
The prof recommends retreating the big one and at the same time zapping the six smaller ones, so I am booked in for more gamma knife the week after next.
The problem with retreating an area that already has swelling is that the swelling often gets worse so I will be monitored clisely for 3-6 months. If swelling gets bad then it's off for surgery (craniotomy?) to relieve the oedema and hopefully get rid if the last yucky dead bits of the big tumour. Prof thinks we might as well try gamma knife on it as he wants to zap the little ones anyway. I am all for avoiding brain surgery if I can :-}
Pet scan showed 'not much activity' in the area where there is oedema. 'What does that mean?' I said. I't shows you aren't using that part of your brain' - well I could have told him that!! I stopped using most of my brain as soon as I had my first baby about 25 years ago!!! :-) (not that I begrudge giving it up for them)
Mxx0 -
Tilly, This brain care is complicated but Im glad you are getting the attention of the smart specialists.
I'm eager for my follow-up MRI... Ill probably hear the similar discussion about retreating, etc.
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Never had a manicure or pedicure but was given a voucher for both by a friend who thought I needed a boost when I was feeling bad. But because I was feeling bad I caught a toe under the bathroom door and have had to wait months for the toenail to properly die and fall off and for the new one to look clean enough to go to use the voucher. I've been too embarrassed about the black layered nail to go to the salon. I'll wait now until after our holiday. I'm the sort of person who cleans before the cleaning lady comes, so I expect I'll give myself a pedicure before I go for a pedicure...
Tillycat: Glad they are dealing with your mets promptly - hope results are good.
Barbara
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During one of my chemo therapies, I lost my big toe nail. Traumatizing. I have fabulous feet, and to have them messed up, was devastating. There was no wound, just no nail. I get a pedicure every 2 weeks. They would just paint what little growth there was. I thought it was funny. Now all of my nails are normal again. Bfore this c@#p, I was barefoot from late spring until early fall. Now my draggy right foot has ruined everything. I am supposed to always wear shoes for safety. I cheat.
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Tillycat, good feelings, and good thoughts about your latest and greatest. Hugs.
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These eyelash extentions are amazing. I have a face!! They feel normal, not at all like false eyelashes. It took 2 hours of shutting my eyes, and listening to horrifying gossip, but they are done. We are leaving our house at 4:30 am to pick up my sister and her husband for the airport. Then it's finally here!!! Aloha and I will check in on the 28th when we get home. Hope everyone has a love and peacefilled week. Hugs Jodi
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Hi precious ones,
I just wrote this long message to you and I hit something and the whole thing disappeared. I guess it was too long winded.
So, here is the short version. I did have gamma knife and all went well. We thought we were going in to treat 4 tumors but, MRI used for planning the gamma knife showed 6 more little tumors. They decided to continue on and hit all 10 . It took 3.5 hours. All good, flew back to Juneau the next day.
Five days later insurance reverses their decision and denies my claim staring it was only approved for 4 tumors and was not medically necessary.
The dr. said they would help with but after giving them a week, I called yesterday, and the people who were supposed to be helping didn't know who I was. It was hard to keep the tears from falling at that point. Just because of frustration of thinking they were working on this for me.
Hugs,
Terry0 -
Jodi - have a wonderful, relaxing time. Can't wait to see some photos and/or hear about it when you get back
Terry - that's terrible. It's unbelievable that your insurance company say it was medically unnecessary. I don't know anything about medical insurance in the USA but I can't believe that they won't change their decision. It is so obviously wrong. Maybe you should ring your dr's secretary and explain about those people not knowing who you were. She must be used to dealing with these things.
Try to hand over the unimportant stuff (like insurance) to other people. The important thing is - you had the gamma knife, they treated all the mets. Now you need to rest and heal.
Hugs
Melissa0 -
Jodi - have a fabulous time - photos please so I can drool!
Terry - so sorry to hear about the mets and the damn insurance company. I wondered if you might try posting another thread detailing the issue. There are some really knowledgeable women on the forum who I've heard give advice about this kind of stuff before and man, some of those gals are scary! I wouldn't want to be the insurance guy on the end of the phone!
Melissa, loving the new pic. I'll pm you later. You must be feeling pretty wiped out today - hope you had a good sleep and can get your feet up.
Lx
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Barbara, I'm with you; I feel like only a podiatrist could give me a "pedicure". I just keep them as neat and clean as I can. Also, I applly anitbiotic ointment or cortisone onitment then socks and they look neater. Every night there are new shreds on the corners. I'm not having 3 layers of lacquer applied and then having to hack it off to treat the tender toes and nail beds properly. We are all differtn. I am past colring my hair, trying to get lashes to grow with some chemical application.... but 10 years ago, I would have done it all to look like my old self.
Dear Terry, I know its hard to fight when you feel sad, but I am certain they will cover this. I worked for several insurance companies and I will send you some key approaches in PM. Just feel better that the MRI in Neuro caught the other stuff.
This is EXACTLY what happened to me. The standard MRI machine found 4-5, the MRI at Neurosurgeons office, which takes many many more "cuts", as they explain it, found more. They probably could have warned you about this. Its just like using better binoculars, they see more.
And I had EXACTLY the same long day as they methodically pursued all of the tumors they could zap. I felt so grateful.
Even when I told the Neurosurgeon (NS) about some symptoms (sx), like headache or whatever, he said : "oh these are too small to cause that" In other words, because of the fine machinery, they are catching things early.
Guess I'm passionate about this. Gamma is worth it to save more healthy tissue from destruction. I would love to help you fight insurance. I'm revved up now!
Love,
Kathy
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Terry
They must know it happens, because now I come to think about it I had the same thing too.
7 mets on the first MRI then at the gamma knife hospital, 2 different dyes and lots more slices 24 mets. Mostly very tiny (1-2 mm) which is why they still decided to do gamma knife - total radiation dose still came in at less than if I'd had wbr.
It can't be just us three where that's happened
I say get kathy onto those insurance bods :-)
Melissax0 -
I know. It can't just happen to a few. Kathy's description is right on. The neurosurgeon's MRI is more advanced.
Because gamma knife is an out-patient procedure, the records from the hospital state that no pre-authorization is necessary. But, there are limitations to what they will cover so I am still trying to find out what happened.
Thank you all for your support.
Love,
Terry0 -
Can I please request positive thoughts,prayers, wishes for me? I have a brain MRI this Sat as I have been having headaches. My follow up MRI was supposed to be end of July to see if the radiation worked on the brain mets but I asked to have to moved because of the headaches. It has been a month with this headaches and I have been avoiding the MRI as I do not know if can handle more bad news. I do not to spoil the summer for the family and would rather live in denial. I had progression in my lungs, liver and bones this month and more brain mets might be the last straw.
Hugs.0 -
Has anyone taken Gemzar in combination with Carboplatin? I had another Dr. (not my Oncologist) tell me that I would probably get better results with the combination instead of just Gemzar alone. (I have brain and lung mets) I'd also like to know what the side effects are even though I understand that they can vary from person to person. Thanks.
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formygirls
Positive thoughts,good wishes and prayers being sent. I pray the MRI will show improvement.
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Formygirls- praying that your scan is good news. I'm also waiting for ct results from yesterday for headaches I was getting last week.
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