2013 Survivors!!!
Comments
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lifie - thanks for the info; i'll ask my mo about it and take a look.
shari - good luck today; fingers crossed for ya!
scottie - boo... feel better and take good care of yourself. fingers crossed for your son.
juneau - ignore the twice as much advice, just keep on keepin sister! here's to hoping for no call today!!!
chrisrenee - picc line always just sounds like a scary thing to me, but i don't know enough about it; can't hurt to ask the docs/nurses about it, right?
I'm missing many i'm sure... go find your happy today everyone!!!
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Tazzy...Love Coronation Street too...been watching for years! Damn that Kirsty!
Scottiee...we are in the same boat with our kids...Wendy has all those tests too when she returns from her "sunnymoon".
Hope your DS's tests show nothing serious.
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Sharri - in your pockets today.
Schatzi - yay.. another Corrie fan. isn't she just the best actress... I actually believe her and how evil she is being.
Scottie: Fingers crossed for your son being OK and hope you are soon on the mend.
OK off to get ready for work.
Hello to everyone and will try and catch up later - hugs xxxx
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Chrisrenee, I had a pic line. It's actually no big deal other than you can't get it wet. I just wrapped it in Saran Wrap for showers and kept it elevated in the bath. It doesn't hurt at all going in or out. It makes blood draws easier and also the treatments too, no needles!!! You'll have a nurse come out every few days to flush it and to change the dressings. I wouldn't do without it. I was surprised that some people didn't have either that or a port!! All the needles we get jabbed with?! Definitely ask you dr about it
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TGIF all!
Purple hair - spent most of my teens and early 20s with it. Good choice! Think I will join you!
Weight loss - I try! O lawd do I try! I was always thin. Until I was diagnosed with hypothyroid then thyroid cancer. Then 2 kids. I have been trying to lose 50 lbs for a long time. Made it halfway. Then I got this lovely cancer! Haven't lost or gained but decided fuck it I'm just going to love me as me and my amazing DH does. He has seen me at 100lbs and 200lbs and every pound in between. Will I continue to try and lose? Hell yes! Will I try and cut the carbs (my nemesis that puts on weight)? Of course! Will I eat my birthday cake next week? DUH! Will i raise a martini next Friday for my one year anniversary? several. My point is - we have been through so much ladies and should not deprive. Just not overload. I know bread, rice and pasta packs on my pounds. So I will abstain the best I can. Now pull up that table!
Juneau - for you I will make my amazing virgin piña colada! I even squeeze the juice fresh! My kids love them!
Bad veins - at my second A/C infusion I had my dr write me a script for my port. My veins suck! I scare the lab techs! What cracks me up is when they finally get it in sometimes they don't get blood return! Just tell them I need to feed! So in addition to drinking a lot of water before I learned that hit packs on the vein or running arm under hot water help too. That's my trick.
Have a great weekend ladies and enjoy yourselves! 😜🙈🙉🙊0 -
Lostimo - yes! I was at Gem World for a l o n g time! I wish I would have known you were from there. Next time we will have to meet.
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Shari - I'm on your team too! In your pockets.
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Holy crap! Haven't been on since yesterday afternoon and there is a ton to catch up on. You girls are busy, but I just love all your posts and don't want to miss a thing.
Scottiee...I was thinking about your DS earlier today as this is DD's appointment day with the cardiologist. I should hear from here in about 2 hours. Anxiously waiting. Schatzi, thoughts for your DD's upcoming tests. What's with these younguns??
Tazzy, thanks on skipping the weigh-in. Scorchy, love your letter to Tamoxifen and your blog as well.
Mcook, Juneau, Ramois, and everyone else...you gave me some happy!!
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Scorchy ~ Thank you and love your letter. Going to the onc today to discuss having a 5 year relationship with good old Tami. Definitely not looking forward to it after re-bounding from my realtionship with BC and chemo, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...
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outdamnedspot...thanks and wish your DD good results...I dunno what's with these kids...we fed them well, right?
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Tazzy, also have to thank you for not having the weigh in. I'm going to enjoy myself thoroughly tonight at that dinner, and then will rock out to Buddy Holly's fifties rock and roll music - yeah baby! Will worry about the rest tomorrow like Scarlett o' Hara. Now you all know how old I am - lol.
Schatzi and Outdamnedspot, hope your DD's results are good. There's no worry like the worry over a child, no matter how old they are.
Scottiee, so sorry to hear you've been so ill. Hopefully after the weekend you will be better. Rest lots! Hope yout DS's health issues get resolved.
Shari, let us know how everything went today.
Everybody else, have a good weekend. Hope there is lots of Ramols' happy to be found!
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One year ago today at about this time, they were walking me back to the OR so I could become cancer free. They removed a tennis ball side wad of IDC and DCIS. Still cancer free and hoping to stay that way for the next 50 years or so.
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Cindyl, we are with you in your hope to stay free of the beast for the next 50 years. Here's to you!
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liefie... enjoy the concert tonight - what a blast you will have.
Cindy - yep, here's to the next 50 years.
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websister - where are you? hope rads are going ok. I now officially have only 7 txts left! That must mean you have about 9ish? hope all is well. missing you
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Well ladies...dramas all over.....i LOVE my hairdesser who has saved yet another one of my disasters!!!! Mcook....if u want a road trip to Ireland u are more than welcome...cant promise a spic and span house but the craic(not the sort u smoke!!!) will be good.
Cindyl hope we r all here in 50 years to celebrate.....that would be something!!
Shianne...my gal is a bit better, thanks for asking....why is it they are more cuddly when sick!!!!
Shari so happy for u...last chemo..yipee!!!
Scottie...fingers crossed for ur boy.
Heres to another weekend. Can I just add....love corri. x0 -
Only two more rads treatments to go! The fatigue has gotten a lot better now that I'm only doing the boosts. Plus, I had a break last Friday because the machine broke, so that was three consecutive days with no rads. Made a big difference, and my skin has been healing nicely.
I've been wondering about websister also. Maybe she's getting her beauty rest while in rads!
Speaking of beauty, Ireland20, nice hair, and cute kid!
Cindy, I was thinking along similar lines recently. I was thinking I need a 50-year plan, kind of like a 5-year plan on steroids. If I'm not going to die of breast cancer, then it's time to return to retirement planning!
Liefie, Oh Boy! It's So Easy to enjoy a nice dinner with friends on a Friday night!
Schatzi, outdamnedspot and scottiee, sending positive vibes for your children. Hope you all get good news from the docs.
Juneau, I'm really surprised your doc did not pat you on the back for losing 5 pounds in 2 1/2 months. I'm no medical expert, but those sound like good results!
Shianne, I've always wondered how Christmas cactuses got their name. It seems like they always bloom at Easter.
Shari, congratulations on finishing chemo! Let us know how your imaging results turned out.
To all I've missed, have a great weekend!
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Sounds like a lot of you are having some fun or planning to.
Scottiee, not so much fun; trachea too? and diarrhea~~I am just getting back to some normal after chemo and hope that Anastrazole does not mess me up again. Though I imagine surgery and pain meds should push me in the other direction next week Scottiee, also I do hope that your son's monitor give some concrete results.
Scorchy, I am still thinking about your recent resolution of lesions and your thoughts and questions you posted on your blog. So many thoughts for a "new normal" which as you say, "there is none of in a post-cancer crisis." Since I am stage IIIa at this point (may change with path after next week's surgery) I cannot even presume to know anything about how you feel with your stage IV "lull." I guess you will discover how it goes for you in coming days and weeks. I think of you often and so much appreciate what you write.
This is old news but not sure if all of you read Dr. Susan Love's interview with the LA Times. I got it via email from her foundation that many of you also likely follow. She also did an interview with the NY Times which my sister forwarded me but the LA one had more info I thought. She talks more about the cause and how scientists want to get the Nobel Prize and pharmaceuticals want to make more money from drugs. Now that she is a "survivor" and after decades of work, she is impatient with the status quo. I think it is a good read. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison-susan-love-cancer-20130213,0,4096419,full.column
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Stride; she did say good job. Then she said if I double my exercise I'll have better results.
Mcook; enjoy maroon 5... Love them.0 -
Heard from DD and she will have two more tests in the coming weeks. A Holter monitor for 24 hours and then an echocariogram. She said the doc didn't seem too concerned, as in it is probably nothing serious, but they want to get to the bottom of it. I feel a bit better, but will feel a whole lot better when all is done and concluded.
Thanks for the good vibes. (((HUGS)))
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Great read marian - thanks for sharing.
hugs xxx
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Outdamnedsp......good news.....just what they said to my son....it is frustrating however.
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Here is a letter that my mother wrote for everyone's an update for today's doctor appointments ;
Hi everyone,
Well today was the first milestone with Shari. She completed chemotherapy and we celebrated that. She also had all her imaging done - MRI, mammogram, and ultrasound. The results were very good. The tumor shrunk and is about half its size. Also the lymph nodes look better.
Overall, the degree of background intensity (cancer cellular its in tumor) is minimal which is a significant difference from the prior one. Before, it was moderate to severe.The chemo did its job. Yah!!!
Tuesday, we meet with another plastic surgeon up here. If all works out, Shari will have surgery at the end of March-- removal of the tumor, mastectomy, and dissection of the lymph nodes. Biopsy. Hopefully those will be good too.
So for now a weekend of celebration.
Again thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers. They are working and keep them coming.
Love,
Rita. (Mom)
Would have loved for bigger response but doc says that that's not always likely in er/pr positive her2 negative cancers... And she say I had good response....will know for definite at surgery...
What worries me a little also is that I have read(I know, bad )that MRI are not always as accurate for measurement of residual cancer withthissame tumor type in so some others. Say er negative and/or her 2 positive.... It's like when I get good news, I always let something push,e back down...
Anybody hear that about mri's?0 -
shari - congrats!!! Are you at mskcc in the city? If so - my plastic surgeon was evan matros and I loved him. don't go by his pic on the website, it must be very outdated, or he's gotten a makeover since then.
But seriously - he was very sweet, and I think good at what he does. My scars look way better than all the pics my hubby and I scared ourselves with on the internet before my surgery, and my final implants look as good as I imagine post mastectomy implants can look. Every doc/nurse that has seen me since surgery has commented on the nice work. Nice bedside manner too. Not sure if you were on here when I was posting after my exchange surgery, but I had some complications - which had nothing to do with his work. More likely just a freak thing or some anesthesia issues. I exhibited stroke signs on the left side of my body for a bit - although all tests show I had no stroke. A full battery of f/u tests showed i'm perfectly healthy. But he was constantly checking in on me while I had to stay at the hospital for a few days and was so sweet. 0 -
Shari, that is great news!
And regarding MRI accuracy, sure no imaging is perfect, but it is usually pretty good. If this helps, my tumor was smaller than it appeared in the final MRI.0 -
Hi Shari...congrats....now remember to celebrate this news...i think we all be a little afraid to over celebrate the good news cause we are afraid of tempting fate!!!! My tumor also came in a little smaller than imaging! As my counsellor told me....whether u worry or not the world is gonna keep turning so celebrate the good news and deal with the rest If and when u have to! Big hugs.x
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Believe-I had to laugh about Gem World, I spent hours in there a few weeks back. We are wintering here but will travel again when it warms up in April.
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Good morning!
Ramols - it has been a while since I checked in on this thread. I was used to reading here in the morning and now my rads is in the morning, my routine got all mixed up
You are right, I have nine rads left, last day will be March 15 as the 13th is a day off, they do machine maintenance. I am doing fine so far with the larger dose, less number of treatments; a little tenderness and redness but I'm doing as my 'sister' told me to do and lubing lots
. It takes far more time to get there and back than have the treatments, have been meeting some wonderful people in the waiting rooms.
Scorchy - great blog post on Tamoxifen
Marian - enjoyed the article on Dr. Love, I will be thinking of you with your surgery, glad you are beginning to recover from chemo
Shari - good news, don't dig to see if there is negative there, celebrate this now this weekend
McCook - I was dancing too
Juneau - glad you had a good report, forget about the doubling up on the exercise; you look great in your avatar and the birthday picture you posted
Tazzy - thanks for the break this week with weigh-ins, if my clothes are an indication I'm losing but they could just be stretching with all the changing going on with rads
Ireland - glad your hair dilemma has been fixed. I started going 'topless' last weekend. One of the younger ladies in the waiting room yesterday suggested I could 'rock' a bit of purple or pink or both added, apparently I have a 'nice head'
I know I have missed commenting on a ton, it takes a bit to catch up and then I start writing and go into brain fog
Take care everyone, hope you all have a good weekend0 -
ireland, that's a great haircut in the photo!
Juneau, I'm with stride, a loss of 5 pounds in 2.5 months is good and signifies a diet-lifestyle change. That's the way to do it.
outdamnedspot and scottie, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and positive vibes going you and your children's ways.0 -
Haha... I know I know I need to celebrate I try... Guess I wanted it to b gone!
Guess I am terrified about what actual surgery will say.. Final path...
Actually sonogram( ultrasound size) showed tumor to b half size and MRI showed size very similar to original size .. But the celluar activity ( enhancement) went from moderate to sever to minimal! So I will take that.. Tumor feels smaller so I guess MRI is not as accurate in sizing.. Was worried about activity level in tumor not being accurate.. I am exhaustif myself alway looking for negative.. US also reported not much chance in lymph node area, so hoping that means not much was going on in there in first place.. Would love to hear people who had positive nodes after chemo and r doing great!
Thanks everyone for ur words of encouragement I am going to try and take the good news and run with it0
