Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Molly, I hope your sister's surgery went well - sending warm thoughts.
Poodles, glad to hear your husband is feeling some relief now. I hope he is able to convalesce in the mountains - sounds very peaceful.
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They have a decent hospital up there, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. If need be, we can always go back home (2 hours drive.)
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((((Poodles))) goodness, I am exhausted just reading all of what you and DH have done through! The mountains sounds lovely. My sister is out of surgery and while nauseated, is doing well.
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Molly, glad your sister is through surgery and doing well.
Poodles, what a difference a day makes for DH! Wow! They certainly seemed to have fixed him up good. Going to the RV might be just the thing. Hopefully it will be cooler if nothing else. Don't worry about the agent. I'm sure they've seen worse. (BTW, there are nights when I'd gladly supply the animal carcasses - love the pissing contest on the bed at 3AM). Before you kick DS out, make him help you declutter! After all, I'll bet a lot of that sh*t is his or related to him. And he can do the heavy lifting of which there will be plenty. Bags of clothing weigh a lot - voice of experience. When you decide to declutter, remember, pick small jobs to do. Looking at the big picture is depressing. But clearing out 2 feet of closet is doable and rewarding! Or one shelf of a bookcase. Pretty soon it is actually done. Keep us posted!
HUGS!
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Peggy, DS has taken over 2 bedrooms with this stuff. He sleeps in one room and has his computer in the other. Both rooms are filled with his stuff. His computer room also has some of DDs stuff in it. She will be moving into a house with a good storage area in about 2 weeks and I plan for her to come get ALL of her stuff. DS is set to graduate from his welding program in early August and I think we are just going to have to give him a date by which he needs to have a good job and a place to go. I don't mind helping him with deposits, but he's GOT to go! There is NO WAY we could even consider trying to sell with all his crap in those 2 rooms.
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Poodles, sounds like a great plan. Make sure the kids help a lot. It's hard work decluttering. No reason they can't do the heavy lifting. That's why we have kids
HUGS!
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Molly, thinking good thoughts for your sister.
Poodles, glad you got to the bottom of things with your DH. You both have really been through the wringer! Take care.
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Molly, so glad sisters surgery went well!
Poodles, glad Dh is better!!!! Constipation after surgery is horrible!!!! I had that multiple times the past few weeks and was constantly nauseated and not able to eat. I have lost 11 pounds and was having to take 9 stool softeners PLUS Epsom salts in water to finally go! Please enjoy the getaway! I so long to only have a 2 hour drive to the mountains!!!
Dara, Grazy, yal make me laugh with your stories!!!!!!!!! Dara, hang in there and continue to keep you all in my prayers!!!!
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Molly, glad you're sister came out of surgery ok and continues to get better.
Poodles, goodness you & DH have been through a lot. Hope things continue to improve!
Hugs!
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Molly- glad your sister is doing well. So hard to worry from afar!
Poodles- hope you and DH enjoy the cooler weather and slow pace of the mtns!
Sandy- thinking of you as you prepare for your trip- hoping the thumb is feeling better and that you and Bob have a fabulous time! I love the idea of a driver- been there done that and it is just so much easier!
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Just got home from San Diego and I DID wave at your son, Peggy!
I thought about taking my car to the car wash, but after reading these stories, I thought I'd better rest up before tackling that job. Haha
Dara - My oncotest took a loooog time. I actually finished 3 rounds of chemo and then quit when my score turned out to be a 12. Get all the info before making your decision.
Moonbay (I think that was your screen name) - Thanks for the heads up on getting a shingles shot! I'm going to my PCP in a coupke weeks, and I'll ask for that. I also wanted too ask why you had so many lymph nodes removed. You said one tested positive. Did they remove all of them at the s same time?
Sandy - Yes! The cuban restaurant was 90 Miles! The skirt steak was terrific. Hey, have a great trip. I hope your thumb sertles down so you can enjoy the trip.
Poodles - Geez, I've been reading the last 8 pages of posts, and it was like a suspensful novel hearing about your DH! And now he wants to take the RV out this weekend? Yeah! That's the way those scary times need to finish up! I hope your DH is feeling better and can leave town for a few days.
Molly - I'm glad your sister is feeling better. I'll be thinking of you and her.
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Thanks! I messaged my hand orthopedist yesterday and told him I was seeing no improvement, and perhaps we should just cut to the chase and schedule the surgery. His PA wrote me back and says we can’t do that until he’s seen me at the 6-week followup, so he can give me the pre-op info first. She said that it takes a week for the cortisone to be absorbed into the body. Well, it’s 5 days now and it’s worse than before the shot. Both shots I had in my L hand worked in less than 48 hours. And I don’t understand--if it’s “absorbed into the body” isn’t that systemic? If not, does it take a whole week for a blob of cortisone to osmose into tissue? Something’s not adding up.
But I did speak with my MO’s NP today. She says my MO is fine with delaying the start of my bone treatments, and concurs that I should expect to still feel like crap two days after a Zometa infusion--certainly not in any shape to drive up to Milwaukee first thing in the morning and play for 2-3 hrs. outdoors. I mentioned the fact that as far as infusions go, I have only one arm to work with and darn few decent veins left in it. She said, “OK, we’ll have to start the prior-authorization process and order the Prolia.” So I’ll probably get it covered one way or the other.
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Dear Molly: I hope that your sister feels better quickly.
Dear Poodles: I hope that your husband feels better and that you can get some sleep.
Dear Sandy: I hope that your thumb feels better quickly. Have fun on your vacation. It is horrible that you have so many surgeries coming up. Good luck and feel well.
Dear Amie: I went to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center too. It is wonderful there. I hope that you feel well. Good luck with your continued treatment.
Hello to everyone else.
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Any recommendations for a good electric shaver for my numb armpits? I've never used one and would appreciate a recommendation!
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Traci, I never used an electric razor even when my armpit was numb. I shaved VERY CAREFULLY!! Didn't have a problem but I realize that I was lucky. No clue on an electric razor since I last used one 30 or 40 years ago
HUGS!
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Just wanted to say how relieved I am to hear the good news about your DH, Poodles. I hope both of you can get a much-needed rest in the next few days.
Molly, I'm glad your sister is out of surgery and doing okay!
Sloan, glad you are home! Just saw your text and I'll reply tomorrow.
Everyone else, I'll get back here tomorrow. I can't figure out what is making the days so short lately!
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I bought a cheap battery-powered waterproof shaver at CVS, for about $15. Nice thing is that you can wash it and there’s no shock hazard. It’s not a major brand.
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I haven't been here in quite some time. Hi to everyone and welcome to all newbies.
tsoebbin, I picked up a Lady Remington for about $16 at the Walmart. You can use it wet or dry. In addition to the regular shaving head it also has a clipper that is intended for the bikini line. That being said, My RO didn't want me shaving for almost 4 wk before rads even started. By the time I was done, I had quite the forest in my pits and the clipper part cleaned it up nicely with the shaving head fine tuning the area. I went with the Remington because of the safety features on the clipper. The ends of the individual spikes have a little ball on them and the clipper also has a safety shield so it can never catch the skin surface and draw blood. A lot of the women's shavers have clippers and many said in Amazon reviews that the clippers on some models drew blood but the Remington didn't.
I've been real happy with it but you can read reviews on the various brands out there on amazon.
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Peggy, belated Happy Birthday. Hope you had an awesome day.
Poodles, sorry your husband has been having a rough time after surgery but glad things have finally settled done and he's on the mend. A trip to the mountains to recover sounds lovely.
Molly glad your sister's surgery went well and hope her recovery is uneventful and speedy. Also, thank you very much for the links to articles that you provide.
Sandy, so sorry your thumb isn't responding to the cortisone. Hope you have a great vacation.
Moondust, it sounds like you are surviving your chemo. Glad you were able to get it. Hope you will find a MO more to your liking once you finish your current Txs. I'd love to slap your current MO for you - she gives new meaning to 'jackass'.
LG, it sounds like your recovery from your hysterectomy is moving along. I had a similar size incision in the same area for a C-section and it took me a good 6-7 wks to fully recover.
LTF, hope your skin is healing after rads. My skin broke down 10 days out after finishing rads - I felt for you but it gets better. If it's not already a memory, hopefully it will be soon and you can move on.
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Froggie, thank you for the birthday wishes. I *did* have a wonderful day. So strange to celebrate with my DS and DIL but I loved it.
Hope you are doing fantastic!
HUGS!
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Hi, I'm new... Had my lumpectomy on June 19... then crashed in the recovery room because of a reaction to one of the narcotics. I had no pain from the surgery but my chest took until now to finally get over the CPR. I am still waiting to see what is going to happen next... I know I will be taking hormone therapy and radiation, but we are still waiting on the result of a test sent to California, to see if I need Chemo or HER2 medication too.
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It's been one thing after another for me.
My skin stayed pink through most of rads and didn't turn red until the last 3 days. They were looking quite good and then 10 days out a small area of skin broke down on the left side and the skin on the whole underside of the right breast fell off - about 2-3 layers thick. Oozy mess - that healed with about 10 days of wearing a xeroform dressing. The stuff worked well but it's petroleum based, so greasy and I smelled like a gas station.
the right SNB was a mess. Right after surgery I was numb down to my elbow. I have gained back about 4 inches of feeling on that arm but I have no muscle tone what so ever in the right tricep. I started PT for that last wk and so far so good. That arm actually feels stronger already and I can do the whole series of exercises in about 15 min so that is doable.
I had no muscle or bone aches or hot flashes with anastrozole. I did, however, have extreme ankle, foot and leg swelling with it. The swelling started out very slowly so I ignored it thinking that wasn't such a bad SE but by day 26 I had enough. I thought it might be the fillers but the MO said no it was the drug. I am 13 days out and while the swelling is markedly reduced, it is still not totally gone. At this point, I think I will be able to start the letrazole tomorrow or Thursday and be able to tell if it also causes swelling. Geek that I am, I actually made a chart with 26 days of dosing and followed all of the half lives of the drug out for 17 days. Based on that, it looks like at day 26 when I stopped I had an effective blood level of approximately 6 mgs of anastrozole so it should totally clear by Thursday. Liver, kidneys and heart are all fine via PCP and this wasn't a problem prior to starting anastrozole. Not amused and getting tired of all the darn wrinkles that appear with BC.
Genetic counseling went well but the testing was a fiasco. I won't even describe the conditions of the small satellite lab that they sent me to for the blood draw but I wrote a very nasty letter to clinical services at the medical center there detailing it. The phlebotomist was inept and after he started I could tell from his body language that he went in cold without feeling the vein. Once he started digging around with the needle I made him stop and refused to let him try again. I went back to the geneticist office and after waiting almost an 1.5 hr for further instructions just left. After a phone conversation, we agreed that I would have the blood draw at my home institution and bring it to the RO appoint in Sept and they will get it from there. Oh, and I agreed to only be tested for 4 of the mutations. About the only thing I will do if any come back positive is have my ovaries out so waiting until Sept isn't going to affect TX.
Hope everyone has a great day.
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Welcome ElizabethAM. So sorry you had to join this group but glad you found it. The ladies here are awesome and have lots of knowledge to share.
So sorry to hear about your reaction to the narcotic but glad you are finally recovering from the sore ribs and chest wall from the CPR.
Sounds like you were ER/PR positive. Do have any other info from the pathology report such as whether it was IDC or ILC and the grade?
Waiting for the OncotypeDX results is stressful. Hoping yours will be low and you won't have to do chemo.
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ElizabethAM, Welcome. You've come to the right place though we're sorry you have to be here. We are warm, comforting, welcoming, informative, funny and sometimes zany. The test you had sent to California is the Oncotype test. And it is hard waiting for the results. You certainly had an awful experience and hopefully your chest will heal soon. But glad the BC surgery sites are good.
Please help us help you by filling out your profile and making it public! We have a hard time remember each member's particulars and we need them so we can answer your questions (and have others with similar diagnoses speak up). You might also want to include your age in your signature as that makes a difference, too. Also you might consider making your location a bit more precise. We have a number of gals in Ontario and one might be near you. There's nothing better than getting together with a fellow BCO'er! There's an instant connection that's hard to describe.
HUGS!
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Froggie, well things have been really hard for you! I'm amazed at how far down your arm you experience numbness. Scary. I'm glad you're getting PT. While I'm right-handed, my left arm was the stronger one. Now I find it isn't and lifting anything heavy, definitely has to be with the right arm. My left just doesn't like heavy weights anymore. Can't figure that out - oh well. For me a minor inconvenience but I can tell yours is more than that.
And that genetic testing fiasco was terrible. You expect people drawing your blood to know what the heck they are doing. Guess not! Hope the tests come back fine.
Very glad your SEs from anastrozole are subsiding. Hope that letrozole is SE-free.
HUGS!
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Molly, so glad surgery is now behind your sister and hopeful the nausea can subside today.
DH hope both you and DH continue to improve and get some much needed rest for healing!
Sandy, I can empathize with your thumb. While the surgery took care of my trigger thumb, I now have a ganglion cyst from the joint rubbing and the thumb joint is still sore with arthritis. It's always something isn't it??? Good luck with your concert!
Yesterday was my first MO appt. I met him and his NP, and was very happy with him (although he looks like he's about 16!) He's very experienced, got his degree from Cornell, did fellowship at Sloan-Kettering, and a couple of other cancer institutes and is very knowledgeable. They started from the very beginning which I expected, but I didn't learn one single new thing since I research and read everything possible. I just let them go on though since DH, DS, and DIL came with me and I know they needed to hear it all. Felt very comfortable with him; the only thing is that next appointment to get onco score isn't for 2 weeks. He said he promised to call if the results come in sooner. He doesn't want me starting anything until we know if I need chemo, maybe to avoid what you went through Sloan. The good thing is that he said all the additional DCIS (grade 3) does not change my overall grade score for my bc, it will remain a grade 2.
I am curious about one thing. I remember my sister going crazy every month over tumor markers, stressing if they went up a bit, relieved if they went down even a point or two. My MO was adamant and say's he won't track markers as that is not the current standard of care, and they fluctuate too much and affect quality of life etc. I understand that, but wondered how many of you get tumor markers with blood work?
Welcome Elizabeth, although we all wish you didn't have to be part of this wonderful support group. Your ordeal post-surgery sounds so painful. I know ribs are often fractured with CPR so imagine the pain was terrible. Good luck and keep us posted as you learn more from pathology.
To all else... Happy Tuesday! Dara
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And Froggie, your genetics draw experience sounds just awful! Here in CA if they try twice and can't get the draw, it's the law that they must get a doctor. Yesterday was my first blood draw post surgery, and since I was 16, I've had the most perfect vein in inside of my left elbow. Of course switching now to my right is a whole other story. The tech had to go to the forearm (elbow vein rolled) and first prick caused immediate bruising as the blood leaked. She got a smaller needle and the second prick did the same thing! She kept going, but my arm is not pretty! I guess it's always something. Hope your muscle tone improves quickly!
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Dear Elizabreth: Welcome. I hope that your ribs and chest feel better soon. What an awful experience. I hope that your oncotype test results come back low so that you won't have to have chemo. (As Peggy said, that is the test that was sent to California.) The waiting is awful. I wish you the best of luck and I am sending you hugs.
Dear Froggie: Welcome back. I am sorry that you had such problems with your skin post rads. The phlebotomist that you went to was awful. I had a similar experience once when I had an excisional double biopsy in my breast. The person moved the needle around in both of my arms near the elbow and again on the top of my hands. I had one giant black and blue mark from my hands to my elbows on both arms. When I went back to work the next day, I got some serious looks from colleagues and students. I did wear long sleeves but I couldn't cover up my hands. It was awful. My surgery was in the afternoon. I found out that since I had not had anything to eat or drink since midnight the previous night due to the upcoming surgery, that I became dehydrated. Therefore, my veins were not accessable. Lesson learned: when the person starts moving the needle around to find a vein it is time for me to call a supervisor and tell the person that they need to stop looking for a vein. (I was in my 20's then, very naive, and way too nice.) Also, I will always schedule surgery first thing in the morning.
Dear Dara: I am sending you hugs and a vicarious glass of wine. You have been through way too much.
Dear Moondust: The days fly by for me too. It is really amazing. At least your chemo will be finished soon since the weeks are passing quickly.
Dear Poodles: I am sending more hugs to you and your DH. Prayers too.
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Tsoebbin, I use the Remington like Froggie. I have used it since my alnd last year.
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Tsoebbin, I use a Lady Remington also. Does a pretty good job.
Elizabeth, welcome. Everyone here is very caring and willing to share. Glad you are recovering from surgery and hope you get good news on your test results.
Dara, glad you're happy with your MO.
I have skinny veins and have trouble donating blood. Been lucky to have only encountered one "fisherman" over the years that went fishing for the vein. At that time, I gave the tech the stink eye & she went and got someone with more experience. The tech last week at my RO visit didn't get the vein 1st try & immediately switched to a different place which she got 1st try. Said she didn't believe in fishing for the vein. It was much appreciated.
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