Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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CaliGirl, I'm sorry to say that he died New Year's Eve. He was a great "father" to my son. I always enjoyed being with him. He'll be missed. Thank you for asking.
HUGS!
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my condolences on hearing of the passing of your DIL's father, my thoughts are with you and your family
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Peggy, so very sorry for your and DIL's loss.
Still laying a bit low after finishing rads. The skin is still very painful from the boosts, but each day it gets a bit better. Fatigue still hits in afternoons. It's been raining quite a bit here so nice to just stay inside. So, do those of you in California, think the weather people were just off by a year with El Nino? We expected this last year and it stayed north, but we sure seem to be getting more this year! I know we need it here so am not complaining!
For all going through rads, know that everyone really reacts differently to the treatments and there really is no way to predict who may have skin issues. I made it through #20 of 28 regular tx with no reaction except a little itching. Then my techs told me that most don't react to the boosts the way I did. So many people make it all the way through with no or few reactions. Just keep telling yourself that this is all temporary and will definitely get better!
Ani, welcome! What area do you hail from? We love to know where people are.
Cali, enjoy your last few days before school starts again. I'll think good thoughts for lots of energy.
Stay dry and warm everyone.
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Dara, thank you. BTW, fatigue is a definite SE of BC so it will likely hang around for several more months. Thrilling, huh? But it does get better! Glad your poor breast is improving even though it seems to be taking forever.
HUGS!
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Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.
Anikinz, so glad you got treated quickly. I had my irregular mammogram in October 2016 but my BC doctor was taking forever and made many mistakes with my scripts for biopsies that I had to change doctors, now my surgery date is expected to be January 18, 2016, worried that its been so long, hoping it will be ok.
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Hi Ladies!
Just wanted to put a quick note to say that myself and several other ladies on the January 2017 surgery thread are going in tomorrow. We have had 2 days of surgeries of brave women already those who've checked back in are doing fine. I know this is lumpectomy lounge which I am having tomorrow but I thought it'd be nice if you all could send us some extra good vibes for tomorrow! Many of you have already been where we are going and you all are an inspiration to all of us on that thread just getting started. We are scattered all over the world yet bonded so I didn't think you'd mind me asking for that. I hope you are all well today and any thoughts/prayers sent out tomorrow would be so appreciated! Much love!
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FightinGirl, sending positive thoughts for a smooth surgery and clean margins. Plus an uneventful recovery!
HUGS!
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In your pocket, Fightingirl! You've got this!
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Everyone in north Georgia is losing their minds. We have our milk, bread, TP, and wine.
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Poodles, how's your mother doing? Definitely stay in - let Darwin rule the roads
HUGS!
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Yeah, working from home tomorrow. My mom is doing better. Less disoriented now. Her doctors have agreed to have "the Talk" about driving. I just hope they'll hold the line. They have said they plan to call in a neurologist too. To see if this might be early dementia and not just kidney failure.
Mother is talking about rehoming her big dog and cat. I don't know what's going to happen with that. I don't know if ANY of us can take them.
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Poodles, thank heavens for the driving talk. That's a hard one. I hope she can find good homes for her furbabies. A neurologist is definitely a good idea. At least things are better than they were. Stay safe!
HUGS!
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Fighting- you got this! Had my lx in July and was by far the easiest part so far...once your own nerves settle down, that is! Breathe. Just breathe.
Poodles- just moved from your area this summer. Hubs and I were talking today about how it must be up there and how we moved the right year, even if the kids wish they could see the snow.Here the cold snap will be in the 60s on Sunday...folks are pulling out their big coats!
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LOL, CC. I remember when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale. When the temp went down to 65 everyone thought they were freezing and we were still playing in the pool.
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Fightingirl, prayers for a successful surgery with clean margins to you and all the others have surgery. Keep us posted.
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Fightingirl, sending tons of good thoughts and wishes for all of you having surgery tomorrow. It'll be ok, and as Trish said, once the nerves settle, you've got this! We'll be here waiting to support you on the other side! Hugs tonight.
Poodles, and all in the path of the next storm, stay safe.
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Ye gods. My DH bought me a small "laptop" today. This thing is a toy. I have zoomed the screen size to 150% and still struggle with it. the keyboard is tiny. The cursor is jumpling all over the place. I have started this post 3 times and finally gave up & went back to my phone.
I know DH thought he was being nice, but he knows that I don't like tablets. But HE has a tablet and loves it, so he just can't believe that I wouldn't like one too. Nope. I like a full-size keyboard and a full-size screen. This is not news; he knows this. Oh, I'll fiddle with it a few days, but this thing is going back from whence it came.
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Poodles, my idea of a small laptop is a 15.6" one! I suspect what DH got you is much smaller. I don't like typing on my phone or tablet, though the tablet is a bit better. I have a wireless keyboard when I get ticked at the laptop keyboard but it is a pain to use. A desktop just isn't my style anymore - I like being portable. Just take the "toy" back to its old home. That WAS nice of DH even if he was kind of tone deaf on this issue.
HUGS!
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Brrrr from here in Chiberia! Poodles, amazing that you’ll likely have more snow than we will (we’re expecting a little on Mon., followed by rain on Tues. and a slight warmup by Wed.). Double-digit sub-zero chill factors again tonight (bundled up in fleece & shearling booties when in my front room, letting the faucets drip to keep pipes from freezing). We’ll stay below 20 through Sunday.
Fightin’, sounds like what you’re getting is either brachytherapy (internal seeds implanted temporarily 2x/day for 5 days) or the extremely short version of the Canadian protocol of external radiation—10 tx either way. I had the short Canadian protocol of 16 tx of only “boosts:” in older women with unifocal Stage IA, they’ve found results are comparable to the usual 33 (28 + 5 boost) protocol. This way, if I get a new primary elsewhere in that breast, I can get that removed by lx and follow with rads as well. With whole-breast rads, any subsequent tumor in that breast means mx.
Ani, being a caregiver on top of one’s own medical problems is so stressful it can harm your own health, not just BC. A case in point is my ex-boss had a massive stroke in 2012, and his wife (who suffered from recurrent kidney stones to begin with) was not just his caregiver but also continued to be the office manager. We share both the same PCP and MO. Saw her last year as she was leaving the MO, which was when she told me about her BC—she had a lx but neither chemo nor rads, as she was in her 70s. “All I take is a pill,” she said, and it was probably an AI. Seven months later she died suddenly. No autopsy—we Jews don’t do them except in cases of suspected foul play. But she had no heart problems, diabetes or high cholesterol. My PCP said she was under tremendous stress caring for her husband, working full-time, having periodic trips to the hospital for her kidney stone pain, and then learning she had BC. She was only 74. I concur with Peggy that it’s a good idea to either put your mom in adult daycare or temporary respite care or hire a caregiver while you get yourself through your own treatment.
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Peggy ....so sorry for your DIL and family for their loss.
Fightin... Thoughts and prayers for tomorrow. We are all here for you. I will praying for all having surgery!
Poodles...be safe in that weather. We are getting all kinds of rain here in CenCal. Yay
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greetings from post op! I had 3 lumpectomies and bilateral reduction this afternoon. I didn't faint, so yay me!!! Feeling very proud. The surgery was about 4 hours. All the nurses have been amazing. Throat a bit sore from intubation, but ice chips helped. And I brought some chapstick which I recommend you do too!
The pain is manageable. I took codeie 5 hrs ago, and I'll hold out another hr for more. A bit of a headache right now. Ive been able to get and use toilet. Will spend night and go home tomorrow.
All my best wishes for the ladies going in tomorrow. The island visualization was useful and I'm saving your seats at the bar for fruity drinks when you are done! Cheers m'dears!!
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Fighting and all those having surgery, I was the worst before my surgery but these ladies helped me through it.
I took my Ipad so I could go on the community blog. It helped me with the waiting. I had a long wait and I finally asked for half of a Valium. Someone had mentioned that it would helped take off the edge. I am such a control freak and I have never taken any pills so I was brave to ask for it and the nurse couldn't believe I only wanted half.
To my surprise, my hospital was so nice and all wonderful staff. I have been to Cedars before for other people and once for me in the emergency room and it is a zoo. I had a Norse who had BC and a lumpectomy and she was great. So I felt she was my angel.
After surgey, I had very little pain and I did not take any of the pain pills. I did take an iibuprofen just in case.
I did eat a big order of Nahos at a restaurant after surgery.
So many of the women told me to trust the medical staff and just let go...I don't know but I made it. I will say it was weird to take off everything, nail polish, bath in that antiseptic wash, etc. Sometimes it is the little things that set you off.
Everyone told me they would be in my pocket on my day of surgery and so I will be in your pocket. I have felt that many of these women go with me everywhere.
We are all with you and let us know how you are.
Positiv
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sending best wishes to you fightin girl and any others who have ops today be over before you know it praying for nice clear margins plenty of rest tonight.
We've no snow here I'd love you to send some over, we've had torrential rain all night typical Irish weather lol
My dad bought an iPad he's late 7o's he uses a pen thing can't think of its name he loves it he's semi retired (farmer) spends his days looking up things
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No snow yet, but they predict 3-5" ,plus heavy ice in my area. That's a lot of snow and ice for us.You can't buy snow tires or chains here. My county has a total of 12 salt trucks and NO plows. And some surrounding counties have no snow equipment whatsoever. It's more cost effective for us to stay home than to invest in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of trucks and plows,et al.
Glad I can work from home today and make oatmeal cookies before Snowmaggedon is upon us.
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Sandy, did your pipes stay unfrozen? It's been bitterly cold here and we still have over a foot of snow on the ground and lots more coming. Whee. My water pipes are under my slab. So far no problems and we've been well lower than zero quite a few times.
Boobie, Glad everything went well for you! Now you can breathe since you've gotten through your first hurdle. And I think it's the hardest. Aside from waiting, of course!
Poodles, staying home is definitely your best option. Few people can manage driving on ice and only with studded tires or chains. Snow not that much of a problem here but we have the equipment since it isn't a novelty (too bad). Hopefully Mother Nature will melt everything quickly (and with a nice breeze to dry things as they melt). Bake away!
Everyone in the path of the next couple storms, stay safe!
All having surgery today - I'm in your pocket!
HUGS!
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Thanks, Peggy. We here in the South take a lot of ribbing, and some downright abuse, from people up north who don't have a clue. it's one thing to live in Minnesota or New York or North Dakota or Washington where you have all the equipment you could possibly need. And you have a different kind of snow, much drier. Ours is wet and turns to ice as soon as the temp tops 32 degrees. Then it refreezes. In 2014, over a million people got trapped away from home. Thousands were on the interstates. Little kids got trapped on the bus going home from school. Other kids got trapped at school. One of my DDs friends got stuck on the interstate for over 16 hours--no food, no water, no warm clothing. She had to get out of her car and pee on the side of the road. Another had to walk 5 miles in the dark to get home--no boot, no warm jacket.
At this point, the governor has pretty much shut everything down. The Atlanta airport has cancelled 350 flights and is shutting down now. My sister flew from Washington to Mobile, AL, yesterday, by way of Atlanta. She was very fortunate that she chose Thurs to fly, rather than today.
So, tonight I will be making Chicken Tortellini soup and corn pone. They're projecting about 5" snow for us. I say bring it on! We have enough food for the duration of the storm.
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Poodles, Snow in Michigan and Washington isn't always drier. Depends on the temperature. We'll be in the 20s and maybe even 30 this weekend and that means our snow will be wet and heavy. And it will make loads of ice when it gets colder overnight. I totally understand how difficult it is when you get weather that is abnormal like this snow. It makes no sense to have snow equipment when you rarely get it. Your governor has the right idea. Close everything down and tell the people to stay home. I can't imagine being trapped on the freeway for hours on end like your DD's friend. That is scary. Not sure I could walk 5 miles in the snow anymore. I'm glad your sister got through Atlanta before things shut down. Cook happily away!
HUGS!
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fightinggirl, thinking of you today. Hoping your recovery is quick. Best
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Fighting... prayers for an uneventful surgery for you and all the other bc 'sisters'.. and good recovery.. waiting is awful, but come here for great support and understanding..
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Ok ladies! I'm in for a lumpectomy in February. I have a few questions for anyone who has time. Should I expect drain tubes? What is the down time? How long before I can lift my arms? What about reconstructive surgery? How long before I can lift over 100 lbs??? Here's a little bit about my BC... IDC, very small about the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil, pretty close to my chest wall, its grade 1. The surgeon will take the sentinel lymph node but I will only need one incision because the "rotten spot" and lymph nodes are in line. I'm 51, very active and have no other health issues. I average 6+ miles a day plus Zumba 1 or more times a week.
Thanks in advance. Personal messages are welcome to!
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