February 2012 Chemo
Comments
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Buzzed hair: After my hair was getting thin and had decided to buzz it, we went with a 1. I was quite pleased with it, it was not shaved to the skin. I wasn't about to try that myself or even allow dh to do that to my scalp. Since the rest of my skin is sensitive to shaving close, I thought it would be best to wait and see and when I'm ready to go to nothing ... go to a real barber. My hair feels super soft ... but kinda like someone else described -- feels one way going with the nap and different going the other way.
Night Sweats/ Hot Flashes: I have these from time to time but have been having them off and on for years -- just not always consistantly. Told my oncologist that I was having PMS and also craving certain sweet and salty foods as well as carbohyfraes. So ... excpected thaat I would get my period soon . I knew all about the early menopausal symptoms but wondered aloud since my body seemed to be preparing for the period. She said I may or may not get my period this time even with the PMS smptom
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For hot flashes- use a remote control fan placed near your bed. Turn it on when you need it, off when you are comfortable. I used to carry around one of those battery powered ones to work, I had regular hot flashes, before dx, not chemo ones, but My head would look like I dipped it in a bowl of water, and actually drip. I also had to use deodorant around my hairline to keep the sweat from dripping. Gross- But it does get better. ((((hugs))))
As for TEs, I have only one left, the other was removed for infection, but DIEP or TRAMs have their issues too. Recovery and surgery is much longer. So everyone has to just decide on what works for them. I did not want to face a long surgery, my BMX and TE placement was almost 6 hours as it was, DIEP or Tram would have been 14 or so. I am overweight, diabetic, postmenopausal, and use a pacemaker- I chose the quicker way. I am dissappointed I lost the one, but the other one is just waiting till I am done withe the big chemo- then I get a new one and start plumping them! LOL..I don't have any issues with the one that is left in, even though I have not had a fill for 3 months. Just FYI, PS says not prob letting it hang out till I get the left one put back. Whatever works.
I am also feeling better today- seem to be making strides in the diarrhea department, and when I went for my Herceptin tx today, all my numbers were good- No hospital vistit for me today! LOL Much love and Small SEs
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Moonflower good for you. glad you're feeling better.
in my situation infection is a real concern so in spite of longer surgery I'll see if i can do diep for reconstruction to cut down on surgeries. we'll see. the best laid plans.0 -
Oh, I will hope for a great outcome for you. If I were ten years younger, I might have gone for it too. And actually, 10 years ago, I wouldnt have been diabetic, or had a pacemaker! probably would have been overweigth thought LOL. Take care gritgirl.
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And indeed i am overweight. good peasant stock
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Born of a line of WINTER SURVIVORS~ me too. (someone had to have enough fat to bring the little ones into lean springs! LOL)
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DIEP - was my choice and I am very happy with the results. Unlike gritgirl, my mastectomy and DIEP construction all preceded chemotherapy. From what I've read you can definitely have this done either way. Some women have a mastectomy and TEs (tissue expanders) placed to hold the spot and keep the skin stretched while they are awaiting the DIEP.
I did not find the recovery excruciating nor excessively long. Mine was a left mastectomy and DIEP reconstruction (and I also had a sentinel node biopsy followed by an axillary excision of more nodes - 17 total). The operation was around 9 hours with my reconstruction surgeon working in tandem with another surgeon from his office and a physician's assistant and my breast surgeon completing the biopsies and mastectomy portion. She also sent a slice of tissue near my nipple and areola to the lab - which came back clear, so they were able to save my nipple/areola.
I will have radiation 4 weeks out from the end of my chemotherapy. My last date for all the chemotherapy is July 11th ... so it will be some time in September before my radiation is complete. And then, after my body has a chance to rest ... my reconstruction surgeon will take a look and see if there needs to be any 'tweaking' (my word) with my left breast (in case there has been any contraction of the tissue or necrosis - oh please none of that) . If there has been,however, he has had excellent success with fat injections into the breast. Also as the time, he will address any symmetry issues with my right breast.
If you are going for a DIEP I highly recommend that you study up on surgeons who are well versed in mircrosurgical techniques. You want someone who knows the cutting edge technology and spends a great deal of his/her practice completing microsurgery. And the tandem approach with two surgeons is really a must - to minimize the number of hours that you are under anaesthesia.
Blessings,
Diana
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Moonflwr, Love that "winter survivor"! You gave me a smile at 6:30 am! Thanks!
Judy
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mlb- In coming to the decision not to have RT you have to consider several things. In my case, I think it could have been argued either way. The things that I considered were that I had two surgeries which included a mastectomy (not lumpectomy) and lymph node disection. My margins were clear in all directions. I did have a micro met in one lymph node which argues for RT, but had 8 other nodes which were negative. I think RT might slightly decrease my chance of a local recurrence, but would not make much difference on the chance of a distant recurrence. I'm not having any kind of reconstruction, and Im pretty much skin and bones in the area that I might have a local recurrance. I think I can watch that area and if something were changing, I think I can catch it pretty early. Plus my oncotype was 5. My son (who is a RO at the Mayo clinic) was a huge help, and he was all over this as well. He didn't feel that I should do RT. I put a lot of trust in his recommendation. If he had felt I should do it I would. I think each persons situation needs to be evaluated looking at several factors, and the decision has to be individualized.
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firstcall
Thank you for sharing. I'm kind of in the same boat. I have yet to do any reconstruction after my MX although I am looking at options down the road. While my surgeon only took 4 nodes, they were clear along with really good margins (17 mm from the tumor site and 11.2 from any DCIS). My MO said my grade and HER+ status trumps any Oncotype so that test was not done. Wonder if I still should push for that though. My thought is if the chemo is to take out any rogue cells systemically, I'm committed to a years worth of Herceptin and whatever AI they want me to take for the 5 year plan I have covered every base with the exception of the orignal site which has been removed.
I will have another meeting with the RO I would imagine in the next 30 days or so to discuss things further. My risk of reoccurance is 5% with RT and 10% without. For me the benefit has to outweigh the risk to the SE's of RT. It's my MO's thought that if a reocurance were to happen it would be at the original site. My argument is that it was removed AND the tumor was centrally located, not near the skin. Decision, decisions.
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I woke up first three nights after tx with hot flases. Onc said its from the steroids. today is 10 days out from 2nd tx and got 2 hot flashes yesterday during day. Now I think it may be menapause. I heard that chemo can put you into menapause.
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No rads decreases reaccurrence?
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dipad
No increases. So if you flip the numbers I have a 90% chance of it never coming back without RADS and that increases to 95% if I do have rads.
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Hi first call,
In what way could you catch early changes?
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dipad
I deleted my last post as it sounded weird.
Yes my odds of a reoccurance would decrease. If I have RADS there is a 95% of it never coming back. Without RADs that drops to 90%.
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dipad - In addition to whatever screening my MO does, I will watch closely for local recurrences. I feel confident in my ability to check for lumps, it is something I do professionally, and have done for years. Since I won't have any reconstruction, I think a recurrence would be fairly easy to detect. Additionally, I have an ultrasound machine, and training to use it to search for lumps. Its an easy thing for me to make an ultrasound scan a part of my self examination. These things are not to replace whatever my MO wants to do, but in addition. The thing I cant watch for myself as easily would be a distant metatasis. Of course, I'm hoping the chemo helps decrease the likelyhood of that happening. None of these things are guarantees. I will be diligent about watching, but I won't loose sleep over it.
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Has everyone had pet scans and bone scans? I have not had any yet. Should I be inquiring about with my ONC?
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Yes, you should ask your oncologist about scans. I had a bone and ct scan
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I had a PET scan. I would defintely ask about them. Some drs believe in them and some dont but it just gave me more peace of mind to know at least what we could.
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In my report it said I had 37% chance of dying from breast cancer in the next ten years.
Well let's hope I live to be old and grey.0 -
Ali, how horrible. lots of doctors won't talk stats with their patients . every patient responds differently to differentbtreatments. no one is a statistic. i have talked to so many patients who have more than beaten the odds. one woman was told she would only live 18 months and that was 18 years ago. there are groups in the US that hook you up with survivors with similar diagnosis. one is Y-Me breast ance support. the other is Immerman Angels. Maybe they can hook you uo with a similar group in the UK or hook you up with a pen pal. It's made a huge difference for me to.find survivors with my diagnosis. Stick with the winners and survivor with them. You've been through so much and you armuch and you are fighting for your life. keep fighting. Fight to live, fight for good medical, and fight to be treated like you'll live. The 18 year survivor told me she fired her doctor and found another one because he and his staff treated her like she was dying. You are worth every bit of fight you have.
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Remember that Cancer Treatment Center of America AD? the one where the lady says her new onc said "I don't see an expiration date stamped on you anywhere? I love that quote. So THERE! No Expiration DATE!!!!
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Wow, you gals (and at least one guy?) have been quiet today!
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I only had a ct scan of my lung because there was an abnormality which turned out to be nothing. I wanted a pet scan but was told that if the cancer wasn't more than 1 cm it wouldn't show up and I didn't have any other symptoms. I always thought the docs would check other places in case it was somewhere else but I guess not.
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Jag, isn't that nervewracking? The CT of my abdomen came up with weird stuff but my onc said none of it was cancer so don't worry about it. ??? Well, okay...
Felt very depressed last night, my period is a week late, I'm having these hot flashes, I have no hair, I have a scar under my breast and to the side of it (lymph node biopsy), and I'm having bedroom issues with DH... I feel like cancer is stealing all that makes me woman. I am going to go read about hormone treatment because both oncs I have seen have said I'll need...tamoxifen? or something similar to that for five years after all this is done, and I'm not sure I want to do that. I don't want menopause side effects for five years. I'm only 32.
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Ali
I'm sorry about your report but gritgirl and mooflwer are right. You also have a 63% chance you will die old in your bed or of something else. Its just a statistic. I think of two ladies I know in particular that had BC in their 50's that are now in their late 70's and 80's. Both's only chance they had was a mastectomy and basically hope for the best. These women have no idea if what even ER/PR/H status they were yet they are still here to tell about it. Beleive me I asked.
Jag and Christina
I just thought about the same earlier today. Every ache and pain is going to take on a new meaning forever more. Sucks.
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Ali. I could not say it any better than Susan aka Gritgirl did!! Surround yourself with docs and nurses that offer HOPE not statistics! Hugs and prayers dear one.
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Dear Christina. I so feel for you going through all of this at such a young age. I really can only imagine what that would be like since my boys are in college now and the youngest about to graduate from high school in May.
It is difficult to see all the visible repercussions and battle scars that we are carrying. Some days this hits more than others and again can only imagine how you feel at 32. Most days I swing right through it but there are times when I walk into a bathroom or catch sight of myself in a mirror and have to catch myself because I don't recognize myself at first sans hair. ( and I am going 24/7 without scarves, hats, or wigs right now and still gave this response sometimes)
Not certain of your full diagnoses regarding Estrogen and Progesterin, but if you are positive you will not want to be taking a hormone therapy that replaces those. It sounds like you may be Er+ Pr+ due to the likelihood of Tamoxifen. I'm certain early menopause at your age us a huge concern whereas I am almost welcoming it. You have some time yet to research and digest that more I think. There are threads in the Community where women discuss their decisions and choices. For me, being 48, I am going to welcome anything that means that the estrogen and Progesterin in my body will be significantly reduced in their power to have cancer cells and tumors grow faster. I am probably very close to menopause anyway at 48.
There are medications and such that enable you to deal with hot flashes, night sweats, and the like. And there are some antidepressants that help you navigate this turbulent time. Since I was already on meds for depression, that just continued. That's a path that I've walked for almost 15 years now. Maintenance meds are truly a must for me and a Godsend. But there are women and men that sometimes just need medication for a short term to help balance things out. A psychiatrist would be so much more helpful in aiding that decision -- someone your oncologist or breast or reconstruction surgeon might recommend or a trusted friend who has walked the psych road before you. I'm not saying everyone needs antidepressants or even you specifically Christina. It's just good to explore your options.
Hugs to you sweet one !!
Diana0 -
I was told I need to be on Tamoxifan for 5 years. I'm 52 and premenapausal. I had a hyterectomy last august and wish I had my ovaries removed at the time. Does anyone know if removal of the ovaries is benificial when having bc?
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Diana, thanks for your response. I'm just in a grumpy mood this week. I think at least 50% of it is just being nervous about treatment #3, so I am getting upset about everything else in life. This morning I am less upset about treatments and more upset with my DH about things that would not normally upset me so much.
dipad here is some information about ovary removal, I was just reading about this last night:
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/ovary_removal.jsp
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