Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Good luck to everyone that I don't know. Hello to everyone that I do know.Thanks so much for your advice. I do need time to grieve my relationship because everything came as such a shock to me. Long story. My BF that I just broke up with and I get along great and have such a strong connection. That is why I am so upset that I had to change the relationship status to one of friendship. I still love him but I need to take care of myself and I must stick to my guns with the breakup. He doesn't love me. (I believe that he does love me but is so afraid of commitment that he can't admit it or commit to me.) I am glad that my x-boyfriend and I reconnected. It was totally by chance and unexpected. I really need time for myself, but things happen the way they happen. I do not know whether my old x (before my new x) and I will get back together again or not. I broke up with him. I am hoping that we will get back together though. He is a great guy. He definitely makes me happy. The ball is in his court. I do know that I need time to grieve so that I will be in a good place when and if my x and I get back together. Things are happening way too fast for me.
I am hoping that my house withstands Hurricane Matthew without any damage or power outage.
I wish everyone luck who is in the cone.
Happy Birthday to my fellow Libra.
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614, If I were in your Manolo's, I would take a long break from dating. Socialize with girlfriends and examine your boundaries with men. Jumping into anything is a bad idea at this point. You don't need a man to survive, but for companionship. Have you ever thought you might be dating the wrong kind of guy for you? If you want a permanent relationship, find out where the marrying kind of guy goes to find a girl like you. I think redefining the type of man that can make you happy can change. Take time to mourn your losses and move on. Leave your ex boyfriends in the past and move on. You live in a gorgeous area and an area full of single people.
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614, hope you're safe tonight with Matthew bearing down. Did you evacuate? My brother decided to ride it out at home. He's just blocks from ocean about 7 miles north of Daytona so I'm praying the storm is not as harsh as they're predicting. Stay safe!
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Dizzy, glad you got some good news. Now you'll get your plan and move forwardd.
Michelle, glad you were able to get started. Fatigue hit me about 2 and week. Do they have you using a cream?
Praying for all in Matthew's path
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Have not started a cream yet. When did you start?
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Praying for those near Matthew's path. 🎂to those I missed. 614, I agree you need time to yourself to examine whio you really are and what you really want or need from a relationship. Hello everyone. Just popping in. DS having a rough time last couple days.
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Molly, I hope things get smoother for your DS. It's so hard. HUGS!!
Michelle, I started on Aquaphor about Day 17 when I was told I had punctation - the hair follicles on my breast were slightly pink. I was allergic to Tom's of Maine deodorant so didn't wear any during rads. I stuck with Aquaphor for the same reason - I wasn't allergic to it. Good luck sailing through your rads.
HUGS!
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Michelle, my RO had me start using some kind of nutrient cream that they gave me 3 times a day after my first tx. Then they have me hydrocortisone cream when it started itching.
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Dara, wishing your brother very good luck riding out the storm - home a while ago and watching CNN's coverage. 614, keeping you in my thoughts tonight as well. Please keep us posted!
Molly, I'm sorry your DS is having such a rough time right now ((Hugs))
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I got home from the Spokane adventure last night. It was absolutely wonderful to meet all of the ladies in person! We had a great time. Thank you to Peggy for setting it up and hosting the get-together, and to Sue (Katzpjays) for bringing so many fabulous snacks. It was so great to meet everyone!!
Judy, I'm happy to hear you have a new MO, but sorry you must do more waiting.
KD, I'm so sorry you are having problems with sodium levels. Do they give you a saline drip along with your chemo? If not, they should! I got one each time as a matter of course. Also, very scary about medical personnel ignoring your bracelet! I hope you can stay out of the ER next time.
Sherri, good luck with the new boyfriend and the hurricane too! Happy Birthday!!!
I am too tired to catch up with everything, but hello to the new people. Hugs to all!!
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Alice thank you! It WAS such great fun. And meeting you and everyone in person is so heartwarming. Glad you arrived home safely without murder / mayhem occurring
HUGS!
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You girls in Washington remind me of the good old days of Knotts Landing, when the neighbors were part of each other's lives. I miss Dallas, Dynasty, Heart to Heart, basically I miss the 80's. The good news is I watch reruns. When I was a kid, and lived in the woods, we had televisions from time to time. We watched McMillan and Wife, Quincy, McCloud - and I loved them all. We would snuggle with our mom, as our dad worked 3-11pm. Good memories.
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Michelle, at least 3 of us (actually 4) are here in Spokane but the others are scattered: Seattle and California. But yes, we really do know each other. Those are wonderful memories you have of times with your mother.
HUGS!
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Moondust, glad you got home safely.. It was a great time, felt more like a family reunion.. Michelle, we watched all those shows too, they were good then..
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Dizzy, thank you so much for your kind words. Chemo was rough, but I think I wanted to be able to predict my reactions after each infusion and it just didn't work that way. At least for me.
I was so worried about radiation, between how easily I sunburn and the fact that my LE, truncal and upper extremity, started just over a over a week after surgery. Now here I am, one day left, and totally surprised by how fast I got through it. The area that is not being treated by boosts is already starting to move towards tan instead of red. My RO told me that I would get pink, but no skin breaking, so I just decided to follow her instructions to the letter and hope for the best. She gave me three options for soap, two for lotion, added silvadene when the skin started to get close to breaking (from where the compression bra cuts in close at my armpit), cortisone cream for itching, and the best were these two pads she gave me. One just acts as a cover to prevent rubbing/chafing and the other removes the heat from the area.It's turned out better than I could expect. I even saw my LE doc last week and he was very impressed with how well I've maintained.
Thanks to all of you. I don't share much, but I stalk often, and I appreciate how much everyone shares!
BTW, PlanB, what breed is that tee-niney puppy? Can barely see all that cuteness. :-)
Stay safe to all those in the storm. Molly, sorry to hear things are rough with DS, hope things are better soon.
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Hi Michelle in cornland, I found the mass on a routine "in the mirror" breast exam in my home. I saw the
dimpling and then did the clockwise sequential fingertip "feeling". I am very sensitive to my body and know
every inch of it. When I found (what I found), I immediately phoned my primary care physician, who inadvertently
scheduled me for a mammogram, because it was time anyway, and I also had the ultrasound. Well, I need not tell
you that from the start I knew exactly what it was ! I am a nurse practitioner and I have a background in pathology(which helps).
But I let the radiologist and pathologist decide...and lo and behold...my thoughts confirmed. I have been to see the surgeon, have
had hormonal receptor assay tests done...and it's HER2 negative (I found out today), it's about 2 cm in general size and I am having
an MRI on Monday to be sure there are no unexpected surprises....I do not want my surgeon unknowingly facing a gunfight with
only a sling shot....if you get my point. But I am still scared.....I never thought I would get any cancer....is that naive???
I found the lump myself, had it biopsied and now I have an idea of what I am facing. I am trying to be strong for my two
sons who have watched their father battle pancreatic cancer....I do not want them to see my fear and I am glad that
I found this website !!!! I cannot stress enough...do self exams and GET REGULARLY SCHEDULED MAMMOGRAMS !
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On Day 1 I was given Aquaphor samples to use starting right away (applied as soon as I got back to the changing room); at bedtime I alternated it with calendula cream, as well as using 100% aloe vera gel (alcohol, dye, and fragrance-free). My RO offered me a scrip for a steroid cream but I said I’d take him up on it only when I needed it. Never did. (Though my derm later prescribed it when she wasn’t happy about seeing redness three months after rads). Never did get radiation fatigue—could have been because I had only 16 treatments.
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Hi 1 step, I read your most recent post....your diagnosis is nearly identical to mine except
mine is ILC and not IDC. Chemo has to be horrible....but be strong. I know it's easy for
me to say (as I am newly diagnosed) but I had a very dear friend when I lived in Vermont
that had breast cancer in 1984....back then it was a death sentence. It is not so today with
early detection....but she was very sick. I would never wish that on anyone. Life is to be
experienced and most of all enjoyed. I am here for you.
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tatatootsie, I’m confused—your profile says “stage IIA,” but the “A” means you are node-negative; and a 1 cm tumor would be Stage IA, not IIA. With a node-negative tumor that small, ER+/PR+/HER2- and only Grade 1, I’d be very surprised if you got chemo—if so, probably because your cancer is lobular & not ductal.
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Thanks Sandy for the radiation info. I met an 80 year old lady today while waiting for equipment to be repaired. In 2009 she had a complete mastectomy because she had inflammatory bc. Recently, she found a small area in her incision that did not feel right and she pushed her BS into removing it. Came back as cancer and she is having rads. She comes from a county that has a lot of cancer. It is a rural area and makes me wonder about pesticides and GMO's. I live in a city of 120,000
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tbalding, thank you for your reply. I did get good new today, my tumor is HER2 negative. I am learning
to take this one day and one moment at a time. Thanks for your support.
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Hi all: I can't possibly keep up with this thread but wanted to chime in to say that I LOVED the pics from the get together...sorry I couldn't make it this year, but if you all do it next year (down in California maybe?) I am in...sending hugs and love
Octogirl
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Not so much the GMOs per se as it is the pesticides & herbicides used on industrial-scale farming of corn & soybeans—and the specific modifications that have bred strains resistant to the herbicide (glyphosate) so that it kills the weeds but not the crops…although the crops can absorb the chemicals through the soil without being harmed it’s not clear that the residue is harmless to people who ingest it.
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Sandy, I think between drinking the water. absorbing micro particles through the skin, inhaling whatever is put on these crops, it just can't be good for any living creature. My aunt and uncle owned a large seed corn company and they planted clean crops and hybrids. No modifications other than combining seed corn types. Their crops were grown all over the US and even Hawaii.
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Tatatootsie, staging doesn't happen until after surgery. You don't know the actual size of your tumor or the status of your nodes until final pathology from surgery. With ILC it's even more difficult to know what is in there because it's flat unlike IDC. It's amazing you discovered it by feeling it, that is very fortunate.
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Morning all. 614, glad the worst of the storm has past you now. Still waiting for my brother since it is just hitting Daytona now. This is one slow moving storm!
Sandy and all, so glad you all are keeping up the conversation re rads. I'll be starting them sometime in November and still appreciate all the experiences of those of you already through with those. I'm still having some issues from the chemo, especially migraine and my eyes just watering and twitching like crazy. Can't stay on the computer nor read for very long periods of time. I've been told not to take Advil as it's hard on kidneys, but that is what really works best when I get headaches.
I'd also just caution against being too confident about saying no chemo based on size, node involvement, and Her2-. I know it's not the norm, but I think it's a bit harder to be so sure of the tx plan without all the info available. Everyone from my BS to MO were so sure I wouldn't need chemo until the final test came in. It's very likely that if I wasn't at a high profile research cancer center, we all would have gone with the initial prognosis. Just keep options open until a final decision is made. Whatever is decided is doable! The important thing is to get the very best tx.
Octogirl, I'm in re a get together in CA next year (or sooner!) It would be great to meet face to face several of those who have helped me so much.
Stay safe everyone!
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Octogirl, I'm sorry you couldn't come, too. Dara, you, too! Maybe next year I'll be able to swing a visit to my DS in San Diego and we can manage a SoCal BCO get together. That would be wonderful! We had such fun and I'm so humbled that everyone made the effort to come to the middle of nowhere to visit.
HUGS!
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Dara, you are correct about self diagnosing. There are many types of bc including duct, lobe, inflammatory, and an entire host of histology that has to happen before diagnosis. Add in genetics, and you have a scrambled group of information for the pathologists and RO and MO to sift through. While some of the cases may seem straightforward, and 70% of bc is hormone positive, you just never know. We can make assumptions based on data, which bc org is a data pool of its own, you won't have definitive answers until after the lumpectomy and pathology is performed.
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Michelle, right, but my warning is even when everything is optimal (as my dictated originally) never say never. I had hormone receptive, no genetic mutations, early detection, no node involvement, and clear margins in the pathology, yet still had chemo recommended. We just all have to wait until all official data is in and then make our best decision possible. Most will be able to go straight to rads, but I really felt blind sighted when my tx plan finally came through. I just respectfully suggest all keep open minds until the final word is determined.
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Dara, I thought just rads too and had my sim scheduled for yesterday, but got a new MO and have to see her before doing anything else... my onco score is 24, so right in the middle... and them finding pni bothers me a little, but whatever way it goes... I still believe it will be alright, and God is still in charge...
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