February 2012 Chemo
Comments
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Christina. I love it.
Did you hear about the ultrasound?
I'm sitting here watching Celebrity Wife Swap. Andy Dick is one of the spouses. Andy Dick straight? Girl, please.0 -
Oh, Christina, I am so sorry. That is horrible.
I'll be praying for you about all your results. I so wish I could have had DIEP. Let us know as soon as you hear.0 -
Christine
I'm so sorry for your loss. How devasting for your friends, unreal.
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Christine, you and your friends are in my prayers. How horrible. Dear lord, no one should have to go through that.
I hope your results are good. And congrats on your license! Pat,pat,pat! (Those are the pats on the back you deserve!)
Much love to all.0 -
christine- gosh...words can't express what i am thinking--
the loss that your friends are suffering and the "stuff" you are going thru.
makes me feel whiny when i say what i'm gonna say- my tx arm IS swelling a lil bit andhurts -like frominside...i'm sure it's LE cuz ya know BC is the gift that keeps giving--
so my question is-WHO so i see about this?i don't see my MO for 6 weeks...i just saw my PCP...should i see my surgeon?? or????? i know that i need to refresh my reading -
is there soemthing that i can do meantime?dang it all...
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Lumps, call your MO office, and ask. also measure your ARM at the wrist, two fingers above the wrist, two fingers below the elbow, and two fingers width above the elbow, and across the hand. Keep a list and compare. You then have a good record. Good luck.
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thx moon!
so glad not to be alone tho wishing none of us were going thru any of this- hope that came out right!
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Margo, yes definitely call your MO or surgeon's office, tell one or the other what is going on. Not good!
Finally got my ultrasound results back - totally normal! What a relief. My onc's nurse practioner suggested I come back in to redo the bloodwork to ensure my liver enzymes have gone back down. I told her I would come in Wednesday but I think I have changed my mind. My next onc appointment is mid-August and I think I will wait until then. My DH thinks that is crazy but if the ultrasound came back okay, is there really any reason for me to care if my liver enzymes were high?
Thanks for all the kind words over the loss of my friend's son. I just feel so awful and helpless. I was going to make them dinner for Wednesday night but they have been blessed with more food than they can even store right now. So I am going to wait a week or two, and then see if they would like me to bring a meal over.
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Oh I can't believe I forgot to mention this. My little sister (she is 30) is going to have her first mammogram in the near future. No problems or lumps, but based on family history they want her to get one done now and then every 5 years. The thought of her having a mammogram is terrifying to me. I'm glad she is doing it but I am so scared it will find something. I have frequently hoped and prayed that my getting breast cancer might mean that she might be spared of it, although logically I know it does not work that way.
Do any of you worry about your sisters, or daughters? A part of me is very sad for not having biological children, but another part of me is glad, because I would worry so much about a daughter (or son even) getting breast cancer too.
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Lumpy. Ask other BC people in your area for recommendations on a good pt who works on lymphedema. And call the breast surgeon too.
Christina. Wonderful news. I have one sisrer left and not fond of her so she's on her own. :-). Maybe wait a Coue weeks for blood work and stop the advil and any green tea. :-)0 -
Christine
That's good news. I would wait for the additional bloodwork until you see your mo.
Grit
I thought Green Tea was supposed to me an antoxidant for the liver?
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Green tea is good for you, but if you drink enough of it, it can throw off your liver enzymes. That's why I never touch the stuff. I don't want any false positives.
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Gritgirl
I had no idea. I only drink it once it a while but I remember during chemo I was told not to drink it due to it being an antioxidant and it may cause overoxidiation (is that a word?) and make TX less effective.
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Okay, here is the Hildy LE Primer based on my charming experiences over the past year.
my MO and Surgeon were not at all helpful. The RO was, however, since radiation often triggers it. This is all very individual, and it takes a while and some trial and error to find what works for you. It's very frustrating.
Get a good PT. SUSO (Step up Speak Out), a website of LE advocacy, has a PT locator. You want one that has been specifically trained to deal with LE, and there are several different schools/methodologies. THere is also the LANA certification, which is relatively new, but there are excellent PTs who are not LANA-certified, so it's not a slam dunk to go for that.
BCO's LE Forum is here: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/64
It's not a matter of just throwing on a sleeve, unfortunately. First of all, fitting is a pain in the butt, so you also need to find a good fitter, which is not the same thing as the PT. If you wear a sleeve, wear a gauntlet or glove. I have primarily hand swelling; I don't have to wear a sleeve but I do wear a glove, because the gauntlet actually caused the hand swelling.
Learn how to do manual lymph drainage, and look into the Lebed (? I think) exercise program.
Swimming is also very helpful.
This is the worst time of year for swelling--hot and humid. If you look, even the non TX hand/arm is bigger than usual. So it may be that you just need some help in the summer, not all the time.
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Because I'm stage IV they didn't take any nodes out for me (what would be the point?), so no LE.
But saw this posted on the Facebook page What the F-@# is Cancer the other day. A very fashionable gauntlet and glove.
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My sleeve is Lymphedivas! I love them. (I do have a sleeve, and I wear it for flying, etc. I just don't wear it every day.) They are currently developing gloves, and I can't wait.
This is my pattern: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/64
Christina, hope all goes well with the recon apptment, congrats on the exam. There are no words for the loss of your friends' child. As a parent, it is my worst nightmare.
I think it's very thoughtful to bring a meal over later--people get swamped with casseroles at first, and then everybody goes back to their normal lives, so it's nice to let them know you are still there.
I worry about my daughter and mammograms and so on. I am willing to bet she's going to be like me and have dense breast tissue, so I'll be all over her on this particular front.
Had a bone density scan last week, went and saw my RO yesterday. She and I agree that my recon is about as good as I can expect for having an implant on radiated tissue. It's higher and smaller and tighter than the one on the right, but that's the way it goes. I allegedly don't have enough surplus for a DIEP (according to the doctor, but believe me I think I could stock a couple DDs with my stomach surplus.) I figure I'll wait five or ten years and then see what's going on with the BRAVA system.
Heat is stifling this week. Like going out wrapped in a hot, wet, wool blanket. Can't stand it!
MLB, the fact that this dude texted you at 2 in the morning makes me wonder if he's one for the late nights and so on. Who needs that?
So I can't believe I'm going, but I am--to a Grateful Dead concert! Or rather, the Remains of the Dead. I used to see the Dead way back in the day in college, and my friends are dragging me to this one. I can smell the patchouli oil already!
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thanks everyone for the LE info
i haven't had the time nor energy to research much yet.
funny-today there is absolutely NO discomfort etc so i dunno- may be JUST summer! or the fact thta i tried to sleep on that sid ethe other day- i know better but dang it!
weather stifling here as well
hildy i am a rocker but never really a dead head...have fun!!!
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Hildy
I'm smelling something else of an herbal variety altogether! Have fun!
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Christina, sensing you a hug.
I'm still waiting for my apt for Lymphedema clinic.0 -
Tomorrow is my ob/gyn appointment. I'm geared up to fight for my uterus and ovaries! Surely there is some treatment option for fibroids other than a hysterectomy. I wonder if I will still be able to take the tamoxifen. I have tried to do internet research on what happens when tamoxifen causes fibroids but did not really find a whole lot of information. Hmmm...
For Hildy...
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Had my ob/gyn appointment today. My doctor is so nice. She said I have something the size of a cantaloupe
on the side of my uterus. She said it is very likely a fibroid, but first we need to do some testing: bloodwork to test for an ovarian cancer marker, bloodwork to see if I am actually menopausal or not, a biopsy of my uterine lining *ouch*, and a CT scan of the pelvic area. Once she has all that, she will know more about what we are dealing with for sure. She said if it is a fibroid, she does not feel like I need to postpone my reconstructive surgery on 7/30, but after that, this thing will need to be removed. She said sometimes fibroids are like mushrooms, where there is just a thin stem attaching it to the uterus, and if that is the case, it should be removable without bothering much with my uterus. But if it is covering a large portion of the uterus, the uterus will need to be removed. So I am just waiting for test results. She is supposed to call me next week and let me know what all the results are. I actually feel pretty positive about it; I'm so glad it probably won't mess up recon surgery.
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Christina. Good news, bad news, huh. Oh well. Enjoy the recon. Surgery. Then I hope the minimum surgery will be all. Cantalope, wow, that's like a pregnancy size! No wonder you are , um, uncomfortable!.
Ali, hope your visit goes better.
To all Much love.0 -
Christina: Hope all goes well with the tests.
I'm gonna have to ask my doc about blood tests for ovarian cancer. I live in fear of the next organ going down.
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christina....take it out...you don't need it....
just my humble opinion.....
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Christine
Wow thats big. I know someone that had a huge fibroid removed and the doc told her it was the size of a grapefruit. Amazing they can grow that large. Great that you don't have to postpone recon surgery. I haven't done anything about recon yet. Planning on getting on it in September if all goes well with my upcoming mammo, rest of my physical test etc. Gawd, does it ever end?
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(((((Grit))))). MLB, I'm getting reckon in August. Third times the charm.... Right? Christine, hang in there.
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christine-it is your body- i have very strong feelings about fibroids tho-my own was almost golfball size when first validated by a dr- within one month it had grown to softball size- that's fast and huge-
when i was a kid- my best friend's mom had one that got big like yours and -she died-it hit me hard then- and i know that things are so advanced medically since then but-
well- like i said it's your body....
anyhow- folks- still in the mid 90's here and the heat advisory has spread over almost all of ohio.
i'm not sleeping well-so work today seems very ADD-ish!
hugs and prayers to all.....
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HEE! You guys crack me up. No doubt there will be plenty of herbal remedies around, but those years are far, far, FAR behind me, thank goodness. I am going to wear a tie-dyed sun dress however.
Grit, I'm with you, I am also to ask about those ovarian cancer markers. I've had a couple ultrasounds done on those suckers in the past due to cysts, so I'd just as soon remove one more worry. I also have a prolapsed uterus, which I think also needs to be addressed. I strongly suspect that the saggy lady parts are the cause of my lower back pain. But you never know.
Christina, I've had a uterine wall biopsy done as part of my annual ob/gyn exam--ironically, the same day that the doctor discovered the lumps that turned out to be breast cancer. Biopsied the wrong thing that day.
At any rate, she said that it could be a little uncomfortable, but I didn't find it bothersome at all, for what it's worth. The boobular biopsy was much worse.
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Hildy, i love the comment about biopsied the wrong thing.
Years ago I had a nurse practitioner tell me I had a prolapsed uterus. I was like, "Wait, I never used the sucker. How could that be."
Turns out another medical person told me I have a tilted uterus, which apparently puts the cervix in an odd position, and could be seen as prolapsed. I still have the attitude of I never used the thing. But even though I've never used the goods for a baby, I still get that special extra gift when I sneeze or cough hard. Annoying.
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MLB - I don't think it ever ends! The treatments that save our lives do crazy stuff to our bodies and then we have to deal with that! Dealing with that has other effects! Can't help it - I like to live so I guess I'll have to keep dealing with it all!
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