Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Thanks, Peggy, I'm so thankful I had no lymph nodes removed, so that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I can at least listen to some books on tape or some such while spending all that time in the car. And maybe, depending on scheduling, instead of going straight from rads to the gym, I'll go straight from rads to my horse! Somehow I will also have to find a way to finish revising a book, which could be more of a challenge. I will manage to ride and forget about any fatigue, but once I get home, will I collapse and nap, or work? Hmmmm. I have a lot of incentive to get a lot of work done between now & March 1, so I might feel a little less pressure during rads treatment. Mine is only 4 weeks, 19 total treatments, at least.
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How long after rads ends does it usually take for the fatigue to go away?
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CarrieK....so glad all went well. You'll be getting weird sensations for a while. If you don't live far from your treatment area your rads should be fairly easy. I had internal so had to go twice a day for 5 days....a little over an hour round trip. But I would come home and walk in between treatments.
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KayFry, I really don't know how long it takes for the fatigue to go away. I was so exhausted from caring for DH when I went into all my BC treatments that it was hard to sort out what was radiation fatigue and what was everything else. Check with the Fall 2014 Rads group. Some of those ladies will have answers to that one.
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kayfry....I think if you can exercise during rads (like walking) it helps with the fatigue. I would think a lot of the fatigue comes from dealing with rads on a daily basis for so long! I was lucky that I only had to go 1 week twice a day for internal rads. By the end of the week I was tired of going for treatment!
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For me the fatigue would come and go for a few months after rads. I might be feeling great and all of sudden I felt like I needed to take a nap RIGHT NOW. Unfortunately with working I couldn't always do that! I agree that if you continue to exercise during (and after) rads it does help. I had 30 treatments for my first and 20 treatments for my second.
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Hi Everyone, My appt. with the BS went well this morning, no surprises, save for one--which could be big or little depending on who I talk to. Tumor was 2.8cc, and the node had "extranodal extension". BS didn't see anything of concern at the time of the surgery, and was surprised to read this. But he told me this will go before the tumor board, and I will no doubt have a discussion with my BO about it. It could lead to a ANLD, or it may be the chemo and RADS will take care of it. For now, I've been instructed to not think about cancer for the next couple of weeks, I promised I would try, and just focus on getting healthy, and preparing for the next step. I expect to start chemo the beginning of March, which means----drumroll please---I'll have hair for my 55th birthday
---at least I hope so. Though I do think I'll get it cut, short, and maybe a wild color, that would be fun to have for the next 6-8 weeks. Any suggestions about a color?0 -
Lisa and Carrie, so glad all went well and that you are both feeling good. It's nice isn't it, I feel like shaking my fist and saying..take that cancer, we can kick you ass.
And, Peggy how could you not remember that little ditty...Riunite on ice, yes that's nice! Of course I was a youngster then , sort of
Sorry your yoga class was a bad experience, but keep at it, it really has wonderful qualities about it that are good for whatever you need.Shaz, so glad to hear you are on the road to recovery, and feeling good.
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congrats carriek! Another big step taken, and behind you. Hope you don't have too much pain and heal week and quickly.
Kayfry. Silly nurse, I just had a c section and was giving NSAIDs (600 mg of Motrin) to alternate with my pain meds. Every six hours! I think she may mean aspirin due to bleeding. If you are hurting from the arthritis, just call and leave a message for your MD to be sure.
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BikerBabe - I am SO glad I'm not the only one with that Riunite ditty burned into my brain! Thank you for chiming in
And I'm glad you'll still have your hair on your birthday. Things like that mean a lot, don't they?
IF you do have to have more nodes removed, please talk with your surgeon about Axillary Reverse Mapping (ARM). It leaves most/all of the nodes that drain the arm intact, greatly reducing the risk of lymphedema. The combination of radiation and ALND is particularly likely to trigger lymphedema. Your surgeon will probably down play the possibility (they almost all do) but it's nothing to sneeze at.
Enough about cancer. Go play with hair colors and enjoy the day!
Carrie - I'm glad the surgery went so well for you. Just be careful that you don't over do it these next few days because you feel so good! I'm crossing my fingers for a good (and fast) report on your pathology.
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Kayfry--What they say about exercising during rads to avoid fatigue is counter-intuitive, but it really is true--even more so for those of us lucky enough to dodge the chemo bullet. I resumed working out 2 days after surgery (just did no arm work until the surgeon gave his ok for that) and continued right into and thru rads. My RO said she wished more of her patients of all ages would do the same, at whatever level of exertion they can.
Carrie--I heard the same thing that Kayfry did about NSAIDs. Since they can sometimes cause bleeding--not something to have to deal with after surgery--Tylenol was the recommended analgesic if I needed one.
Hopeful--our snow this week wasn't bad, and people here in Chester County PA, which was ground zero for last year's ice storms, are thrilled to be escaping the brunt of this year's weather. Being without power, heat, etc. for several weeks just isn't fun! Trudi
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Thanks for the well wishes. I was told it is ok to take the motrin. So far so good. I'm just so shocked by how good I feel. Trying not to over do it though. I want to go away this weekend with my family for a soccer tournament. So taking it easy until then. ;-)
Rads tx drive will be 25 minutes each way. Just another blip. No big deal. I'll do it and move on. I feel strongly that the Path report is going to come back with excellent news. I just feel it in my "boobs". Hahhahaa
I do want to shower and take the outer bandages off though. Tonight.
Happy Thursday ladies.
**I meant to write Ibuprofin**
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Well, Carrie, I hope your fortune-telling "boobs" are right! Rest up and psych yourself up for that soccer weekend!
That's a long drive for your radiation treatment. I hope you can avoid peak traffic times. Maybe find some audio books or something to look forward to during the commute? That's what I did when I went back to school and chose a campus 25 miles away. It was a really nice way to start and end the day.
Trudi - I remember how awful it was last year back there and am glad you're not having an encore. Being without power is miserable at any time; in the winter it's truly dreadful, especially when it drags on and on.
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Carrie, Glad you are feeling well after your surgery. I had the "let down" sensation after my original diagnosis. I was told it was due to nerve damage from the horrible squishing my boobs went through with the mammo machine and the stereotactic biopsy.
I have 3 more radiation treatments to go. My drive is about 40 minutes one way and it's nice just to be alone for a while. (I have 3 boys.) I went through chemoland before rads, so I am feeling fatigue. Nothing that a 20 minute nap doesn't handle. My breast started to turn red after about 12 treatments. By 18, I was getting black under my arm and in the crease on the underside of my breast. It's sore, so that limits my activity.
Bikerbabe, I got a short haircut prior to chemo. I was going to put in purple streaks, but never got around to it. So I recommend indigo for you!
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BikerBabe, I think florescent pink would be neat! Or purple. Something way out there. A good idea. My DIL had her nephews shave her head once her hair started going. They made it a party and a very happy occasion. Her attitude was amazing (she had colon cancer). If you have teens around they might get a charge out of doing your head if and when the time comes. I know that's what I'd do. HUGS!!
Poppy, hang in there. I'm so sorry you're having rotten side effects. HUGS!
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BikerBabe, I probably don't remember the Riunite ditty because wine wasn't on my horizon then. I really didn't drink. Now I do
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But Peggy - it was on television constantly! I raretly watch t.v. and didn't back then but there was a time when it seemed as though one couldn't turn on the set without hearing that! OK - now you have to google it and see if you can find it on You Tube. Otherwise, we'll have to embed a recording of it for your edification.
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Ocean girl my onco was an 18 I was told I didn't need chemo either.
Yes I finally just heard today about the results of my CT. I have huge ovarian cysts. one is 7 cm by 5 cm by 5 cm- so I have an ultra sound on Monday to get another pic I guess of them. Plus be able to see if they look suspicious.
Ever since I was put on Tamoxifen I have been complaining about my ovaries hurting each month. My one MO told me he felt I was thinking about them too much that is why they hurt- good grief!! Good thing he is back in Columbia or I would like to tell him what I think!!!
The nurse told me most likely I will have to have them removed because of their size and then biopsied for cancer. So ufff- more surgery!! YUCK...
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Ndgrrl, I hate it when docs just dismiss our concerns. What a butthead! You knew something was up and he trivialized it. So wrong. Sorry about your scan results and need for more surgery. Hopefully the biopsy results with be negative.
One more thought regarding rads. I was told that the more breast tissue you have, the higher the dose of radiation you will be given. This might explain why I have SE.
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Gatomal, thanks, I thought that too. Since I'm married to a doctor, and he thought it was strange, too, I did take my NSAIDs after maybe a week or so, and felt ever so much better! I have meloxicam an orthopedic doc prescribed for one of my bum knees, and it pretty much helped everything My husband said that about aspirin, too, also said of all the other NSAIDS, probably ibuprofen has the least effect on bleeding. Good to know, I guess.
I just edited this because I noticed the autocorrect had turned "orthopod" into "arthropod." Still laughing.
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Hopeful, I don't recall those commercials at all. I looked at 3 of them. Strange.
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NdGrrl. I think I'd be REALLY PISSED with my MO. To trivialize what you've felt. Lordy, you know your body by now. Praying that all will be good even if you have to have surgery (yuck). HUGS!!!!!!
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That's funny, Peggy, that you missed them entirely. Maybe it was a regional thing? Perhaps you were at a very busy point in your life and just didn't encounter them. At least now you know what we're talking about
Ndgrrl - That's totally unacceptable. What a paternalistic jerk. Those cysts of yours really are large, aren't they? It's no wonder you're in pain. I hope everything works out o.k. Keep us posted. A heating pad may help in the meantime.
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Hopeful, I was busy raising kids and being a 50s mom during that time. Could be regional. Then in 83 I went to work in the family business after my dad died. The kids probably remember the ads. It is funny though.
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Good grief, ndgrrl! I would be really pissed off at that MO, too. I'm so sorry you've gotten to another bump in the road, hope it turns out to be a small one.
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PoppyK, I've been told that, too, about breast size and radiation dose. At last, an advantage to having small boobs! Of course, I had my own "insensitive doctor" moment on Monday at my post-op, when the very efficient RO was examining my breasts and informed me in a business-like way that my lumpy breast, which I was feeling not too bad about now, is probably still swollen so will get smaller, and thus I'll "lose the good symmetry you have now." Thanks, doc.
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Don't you love docs that, while being truthful, aren't being very tactful? Like we really want smaller boobs! I was swollen for sometime after my lumpy.
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Sigh. How can I maintain the swelling?? Keep punching myself in the left breast, maybe? Hahahaha
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Let me know if that works, Kay. Although mine seem to APPEAR to be the same size. I think there's fluid or something that rushed in to occupy that empty space. As long as it's behaving I don't care.. I would save the punching for later - in a couple months - then give it a whirl if needed
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I've been told the same thing about the radiation dose and side effects. I'm glad to have others confirm that and certainly hope it holds true in my case.
Kay, that's a classic. There must be a special course in med school - 'Tactlessness 101.'
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