Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Sandy, I agree that some things are harder to get rid of than others. I had a hard time deciding if I was going to keep certain outfits that DH really liked and I didn't particularly. That's where Marie Kondo's Tidying up book came in. If it didn't bring joy, out it went. And those outfits didn't. How many fountain pens do you have? BTW, I'm not part of the tiny house movement and I gather neither are you.
LG, isn't hindsight wonderful? DH & I lived in a 10 x 50 mobile home for our first year and then moved into the house I just sold. I would find it hard to go back to such a small space. My MIL when we were put her in assisted living had put food in the dishwasher, dangerous things in the oven. She was in an apartment and had downsized from her house. So it wasn't awful like your experience with your grandmother. I did NOT keep any of DH's shoes.
FighterGirl, do be sure to keep doing the stretching exercises - they are vital. I find that I need to remember to do them a few times a week or my underarm feels uncomfortable. Even though it makes more of a mess of your schedule, do get that PT. Good luck with your rads and remember that not everyone has skin issues with them. I didn't.
HUGS!
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In 2006, I took early retirement (my husband had retired a couple of years before,) cleaned out everything in the house, sold it, and moved into our 30 foot Airstream travel trailer. Having married in 1968, we had accumulated lots 'o stuff. We kept only a few keepsakes and parceled others to our grown children. It was very liberating to get rid of the stuff.
We traveled and lived in our RV for six years (we did bump up to a 40' motor home.) Four years ago, we sold our RV, bought a new house, and moved in with our meager belongings. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in four years! I think maybe we need to do the clean out again!
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Brithael, bet all that travel was fun! It doesn't take long to accumulate stuff, does it? I suspect you gave away all the hard stuff and now what you have isn't so sentimental for the most part.
HUGS!
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thank you for sharing the study Molly.
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Thanks Molly.
Here's what I wanted to know:
"...breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy was significantly associated with improved 10 year overall survival in the whole cohort overall compared with mastectomy (HR 0·51 [95% CI 0·49–0·53]; p<0·0001; adjusted HR 0·81 [0·78–0·85]; p<0·0001), and this improvement remained significant for all subgroups of different T and N stages of breast cancer. After adjustment for confounding variables, breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy did not significantly improve 10 year distant metastasis-free survival in the 2003 cohort overall compared with mastectomy (adjusted HR 0·88 [0·77–1·01]; p=0·07), but did in the T1N0 subgroup (adjusted 0·74 [0·58–0·94]; p=0·014). Breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy did significantly improve 10 year relative survival in the 2003 cohort overall (adjusted 0·76 [0·64–0·91]; p=0·003) and in the T1N0 subgroup (adjusted 0·60 [0·42–0·85]; p=0·004) compared with mastectomy." (Taken from study listed above)
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It's still a hard decision, but this is what the docs know for the T1N0 group:
"Adjusting for confounding variables, breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy showed improved 10 year overall and relative survival compared with mastectomy in early breast cancer, but 10 year distant metastasis-free survival was improved with breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy compared with mastectomy in the T1N0 subgroup only, indicating a possible role of confounding by severity. These results suggest that breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy is at least equivalent to mastectomy with respect to overall survival and may influence treatment decision making for patients with early breast cancer." (Taken from study mentioned above)
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Fightergirl, good luck with rads. be sure to join summer rads group and you can learn a lot from us that were in spring rads group. I didn't have cording until a week post rads. I had some pain and a little range of motion issues, but it amazingly mostly went away and got better about a week after my hysterectomy. I think it may be because of the routine pain meds and anti inflammatory meds I was taking. I can slightly feel it under the skin, but it isn't visible in the mirror like it was. I'm guessing the rads inflamed it because it didn't show up until about 2 1/2 months post nodes taken out. (I had 3 taken out)
Molly, thanks for the article! Makes me feel better!
I went to bed and amazingly didn't get woken up by fireworks, but my cat ran in the house like his butt was on fire the first time one went off lol!!!
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Thank you, Sloan for summarizing the article. I posted it in this group because I knew it would be helpful for the lumpies to know they made the right choice. As for those of us who still had to have a mx, Sloan was kind enough to point out to me that I need to choose to believe that the cancer is gone. I struggle every day with worry and it really doesn't help.
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Molly, we can't take away that worry but we do understand and are here to listen when it gets overwhelming. Perhaps with time the concern will lessen.
Many HUGS!
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Thank you, Peggy. Maybe once I am done with surgery it will be easier to put all of this behind me.
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Molly, when you are facing surgery like you are, it is very hard to not have BC be foremost in your mind. You wouldn't be having the surgery otherwise. I don't think there's anything anyone can say right now to ease your mind. Maybe in awhile. Just know we're here for you.
HUGS!
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Molly, you've been through so much already, it certainly is understandable that bc permeates every day. I know I'm new, but am here to support in any way possible. Since I am going in to City of Hope regularly and won't be too far from LA, please let me know anything I could possibly do to help you. Using the analogy used earlier in this thread, you're moving into a different compartment, but we're all on the train with you. Lots of hugs and positive thoughts!
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I want off the train!
Okay, so we ARE all on this train, but we can get off at EVERY STOP ALONG THE WAY AND LIVE LIFE! Then, when we have to climb back on the train, we can share our stories, fears, and adventures in this lounge.
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Hi All,
So, for no apparent reason, the LX breast has decided to break out with an itchy rash, breast is warm to the touch. Have none of this anywhere else. Ideas? UGH!
Hugs!
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HH- You have a fever in your breast. You need to call your MO tonight. I knew women who got a fever in the breast when they were breast feeding, and they needed antibiotics.
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Happy Hammer, my sister had this happen and after multiple tests, even a skin biopsy, it was determined that it was just some reaction to having been radiated, even though it occurred several months after she finished radiation. I'm sure you'll have it looked at, but hopefully it's something similar.
I just saw Sloan's post after I had written this. Her advise is best! Always best to contact dr. right away, and hopefully it can be addressed quickly.
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Sure, dermatitis is red and itchy, but you say it's warm, too. Red and warm are signs of infection. Better to be safe and call MO. If it's a rash or dermatitis, then you can go home and sleep. If you need antibiotics, it's better to catch an infection early. Dara and I are in your pocket on this tonight!
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Thanks, Sloan and Dara...while DH says he is happy to give me a complete exam :0)
thinking a real doc is in order. At least I have DH to keep me smiling, even though this all just gets to me. Am already seeing the surgeon Thursday for some issue on my bottom- think hemmrroid but of course, my mind went straight to cancer and won't stop til we know for sure. Of yeah- can't really know for sure. Thanks God for my DH, DS and y'all!
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Happy, I finished rads in middle may, my breast will get warm for no reason and turn red and it by. Hydrocortisone has helped me. Won't hurt to have it checked though!
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Sloan is right. I want off the crazy train. I will get through the next two surgeries while reminding myself that this upcoming surgery is prophylactic and as my BS said, cuts my risks way down.
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Dara, thank you. I would love to meet you sometime. Maybe we can work something out.
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Molly & HH, sending hugs & positive thoughts your way!
FighterGirl, at beginning of my rads, I had to make sure I did my stretches regularly or it would pull & be uncomfortable when I was getting my tx. It helped me that I was also attending an exercise class several times a week that helped me keep it stretched. I no longer feel the pulling in underarm, but am still going to exercise class.
Well, I only have 5 rads left, hooray! Finished 16/21 today, so done with whole breast, and have 5 boosts left. RO told me that boost area doesn't look as red as other areas, so hoping to finish with minimal issues. So far mainly fatigue & itchy patches.
Told my MO that I'd start tamoxifen when I finished rads. So planning to start July 16. Will see MO end of August to see how I'm tolerating it. I confess that I'm nervous about se. I know that everyone is different & I'll have to wait & see, then deal with whatever comes up. But I'm doing a lot talking to myself right now to make sure I've got my usual positive attitude in place by the time I start.
Hope everyone has a good week,
Trish
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Trish, congratulations on nearly finishing! I actually found the boosts to be easy compared to WBR.
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HH, I hope you feel better soon.
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HH, please do get that checked out. If it is an infection you'll have caught it early; if it's nothing then you can quit worrying!
Trish, glad you're on the home stretch. I didn't notice anything different in the boosts than the whole breast but I admit I wasn't paying attention to anything to do with my rads at that time. You'll do fine on Taxmoxifen, I'm sure.
HUGS!!!
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Mary, do get some medical attention pronto. You don’t want it to become cellulitis.
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Molly~the train is real, but like Sloan said- we have to get off and enjoy whenever and whatever! In your pocket. What is your surgery date?
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So... I got off the train last night for a while. I'm taking a photography class and last night was silhouettes and still life. Thought I'd share a couple of pics for fun. (I should have changed aperture one F stop on the silhouettes but missed it) Happy Wednesday! Hope all are well.
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Dara, love the pictures!!
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Love the idea of getting off the train albeit only for short stops. I will amend my original metaphor:
When we get on the BC train, we do not know the final destination. Sometimes the train is going very fast, and all we can do is hold on and hope we don't fall off. We progress to different cars during our treatments, and we hope that our journey is linear, but we know the sisters who have had to make the loop to the cars in the back again. We may eventually move into more comfortable compartments, and we can get off the train to enjoy certain stops and live our lives the way we used to for a time, but we are on this train for the rest of our lives. The general population does not know this. I did not know this before I got on the train. It's not a "battle," it's a journey.
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