Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Wow! I’ve been taking low-dose enteric-coated aspirin (same 81mg as baby aspirin) for a couple of years as heart/stroke prophy—only now I’ll add an extra glass of water with my morning pills! Bob recently switched himself from the enteric-coated to chewable baby aspirin on the ground that it is more bioavailable (and being a cardiologist, he should know). But he said I should stick with the coated version because of my GERD.
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Poodles ...hugs and prayers 💕
Sloan...thanks for sharing ... There is a light at the end of all this.
Taco....I am not the tech person but I'm sure someone can help
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Congrats on ringing the bell Sharon! I hope I have that after radiation. I asked at chemo if they had one and they said they talked about it but then felt it would be sad for those patients who are on chemo for life and never get ring the bell. Makes sense...but still wish they had something for those who celebrate the end of chemo.
Sandy:stupid question, but you meant drink the water after swallowing pills...or dissolve the tablets in it & drink? I can't take NSAIDS due to my lymphotic colitis, but I wonder if aspirin is ok.
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Congrats on completing radiation ElizabethAM!! I completed mine yesterday and got to ring the bell!! What added a significant meaning to my entire BC experience is that my mom died of BC at 51, I was diagnosed at 51, my mom died on Jan 26, the same day that I completed my radiation treatments (40 years later)! Wonder if she has been with me as I go through this:)
Celand
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Katzpjays,
Thank you for sharing your experience on AI's, I go to see my MO next week, so I will find out which one that he will start me on. Hope that the side effects won't be too severe for me. If so, then I guess that he can always prescribe another.
Upon my discharge from radiation yesterday, I was reading over the paper that the nurse gave to me as I was leaving and one of the boxes checked said that I needed to consume a high calorie high protein diet for the next two weeks - I wonder what was meant by high calorie? I don't want to gain an enormous amount of weight as I am already overweight! I had gained 3 pounds at my weigh in last week - but since I began rads I had not been exercising like I used to pre-diagnosis. I didn't ask the nurse because I was in my car and was leaving (of course I always think of ???'s to ask AFTER I see the doctor)!
Celand
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Celand-I haven't started rads yet, so not much help. But will say it seems an odd recommendation. Especially as I've just started reading The China Study, and one of the beliefs is that protein feeds/increases some BC. While I'm still learning/reading, my first guess is it might be more tied to the Her2 protein enzyme (which I have)-but who knows.
Unrelated - I stumbled upon this article in my Pinterest feed today. It's from last Fall, so some of you may have already seen. Might be a good read for any newbies to the group still figuring out your path?
http://amp.timeinc.net/time/4057310/breast-cancer-...
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Congrats Celand.
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Moon dust,
I'm. Im not understanding why you needed chemotherapy with such a good prognosis? Am I missing something from your diagnosis?0 -
Congratulations, Celand! Taco, go to your profile and put all of your information in and then change each one to public.
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Congrats, Elizabeth! Now, onward with the rest of your life.
Sloan, that is wonderful news about your bloodwork!
Poodles, I am saying a prayer for your family and your mother.
Celand, I would take that "high calorie diet" recommendation with a grain of salt. I think they want you to eat enough calories to heal, so don't put yourself on a low calorie diet for a couple of weeks. Protein aids healing.
Kdtheatre, the China Study has been debunked numerous times. Please read this and this.
Roche, the quick answer to why I had chemo is that my onco score was 26. Most MOs will recommend chemo for that score. I had to fight my MO to get the chemo because she only wanted to look at the pathology. But pathology is NOT the entire story about tumors. The genetic information is becoming more important every day!! I got through the chemo with no major problems, my hair is growing back. (Note to self - need to get a new photo!) Just a note - as I've related before, my MO would not give me Neulasta. In the long run I'm happy I avoided the side effects of it, because I never got sick.
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Alice, I just read a couple of journal articles that concluded when there is a discrepancy between clinical low-risk (pathology) and genomic intermediate-to-high risk (OncotypeDX, Mammaprint, Prosigna), the genomic result is more relevant to the question of chemo vs. no chemo. Fortunately, I was low-risk by both metrics, and my MO said chemo was of very low benefit and not worth the risks for me.
Celand, extra protein is recommended after any injury, surgery or tissue damage—and radiation is definitely the latter. Perhaps the “higher-calorie” is to ameliorate fatigue, or to discourage short-term weight-loss dieting before hormone therapy (which some women attempt in order to “leave room” for the expected weight gain from AIs). As to gaining weight from the extra protein, remember it can be lean protein, not necessarily red meat, beans, etc. Even if you eat fatty protein, if for the duration of the healing diet you refrain from eating sugar and limit your carbs to non-starchy vegetables, not-too-sweet fruits, whole (organic) dairy and the very highest-fiber grains (if you must eat grains), your weight should remain steady and may even perhaps drop. Think South Beach or paleo. And remember, it’s just for the post-rads healing period. So steam up a mess of crawfish (are they in season yet?) or have some oysters (but not a po’boy—too carby). Grill a steak (occasional), pan-sear some fish (especially salmon). Get a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. Greek yogurt with berries & nuts. And go to town with eggs. (A Benedict over tomato slices instead of English muffin)?
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ChiSandy,
Well, I didn't think that a lot of sweets were included in "high calorie" diet - although a King Cake was brought to office today to celebrate the end of my radiation regime, so I did eat a couple of slices of that - just couldn't pass up especially since it was brought in my honor! It is definitely Mardi Gras season here and crawfish will be here soon - definitely for my February birthday - although usually small for early in the season but when small tend to be very tasty. Now by the time April arrives they will be much bigger - my daughters birthday is in April and that is what she usually wants for her birthday dinner.
Thank you for your meal suggestions that will fit a high calorie diet - definitely have lots of good choices.
Celand
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Yay Elizabeth! I am counting down the days....15 more.
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oooh…King cake! Unfortunately (or fortunately for my weight) the only place in town that sells them only does so on Mardi Gras (along with pački).
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Hi all! I am just about at the end of my COBRA insurance coverage and am having to shop for insurance. I am looking for an insurance plan that has Prolia on their formulary. My insurance broker who sent me a link to a Prolia program that I suspect many people are not aware of :
https://www.prolia.com/treatment/payment-program/
Bottom line, if you meet the requirements (You are covered by commercial insurance, not government subsidized like Medicare and Medicaid or an ACA subsidy) you can receive a co-pay coupon that covers the cost of Prolia over $25 up to $1000 per 12 month period. There is no income requirement Pretty good benefit if you are too young for Medicare and retired funding your own insurance. Definitely worth checking out! I'll be happy to save $1000/year on treatment....
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Sloan - great to hear the good news!!
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Well, the team-family meeting went fairly well. Mother behaved. I was disappointed that the Dr didn't show. The therapists sort of blew unicorns and cupcakes up her butt. "Oh, you're doing so great! Blah blah blah" Um, no she's not. Her legs are enormously swollen, her lungs are wet, and she's on oxygen. Just getting dressed makes her huff and puff. But she insists she's going to drive. Yikes! She has no memory of being hospitalized and no memory of going to the rehab.
They're going to discharge her on Mon. She did agree to home health. Hospice did not come up, but home health will be instrumental in opening that conversation layer.
As much as she thinks she is able, she's really not. She basically sits in the recliner all day with a fleece blanket because she's suddenly cold all the time. She's only peeing small amounts a couple times a day. It's all in her legs and abdomen. My sister and I went to Wal-Mart today and found some stretchy capris for her to wear because she can barely get her pants on. She has gained 31-lbs in 3 weeks!
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YAY Celand, you made it! Congrats!
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Poodles, how discouraging that meeting was. I can't believe that hospice wasn't there. And that staff is stupid to tell your mother how good she is. It is so wrong. You must have been spitting nails when you got done. I can't imagine how she is going to cope going home alone or is she going to one of your sister's? her being alone is a damned scary thought. Make sure her keys are GONE!! Good luck. You definitely need it.
HUGS!!
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Katzpjays, Good for you for finding that Prolia coupon. That will help tremendously. My drug plan apparently does not cover Prolia - I looked when you and Sandy were having trouble getting it covered. Maybe it is covered through Medicare itself rather than the drug plan. Good luck finding the right insurance at the right price for you. Can you keep the COBRA plan and pay for it yourself?
HUGS!
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Peggy - I am paying for COBRA now, but max is 18 months fro last official date of employmen. I have to have a new plan effective 5/1. My next Prolia injection is the end of May, so nice to know I have the coupon. No way will I be at the new deductible by the end of the first month!
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Celand... Congrats ..woohoo! Glad you done!
Poodles ....sorry it didn't go like you hoped.
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Sue, hurry and turn 65! I'm glad you have the coupons for Prolia. Most of us couldn't afford the pay for it ourselves.
HUGS!
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Hi!
I'm new here and have been scrolling thru a lot of pages on this thread. There don't seem to be many people who had lumpectomies and are/were node positive. Anyone??I had a lumpectomy and SNB at the same time August 29, 2016. I was lead to believe that the nodes would be fine but much to my horror, 1/5 was the result. I was devastated! The location of my tumor was quite high mid way between my nipple and my collar bone right at 12 o'clock. the surgeon strongly recommended lumpectomy rather than mastectomy. Looking back, I wonder if I should have gone for the mastectomy. If I'd known that I'd have cancer in 1 node, I probably would have.
Gail
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Peggy, my mother will be returning to her home. I'm not sure how many days home health will be out, but I know they don't come and stay all day. My sisters and I are just taking turns being down here. I have one sister who's planning to stay for the next one to two weeks, after which I will probably come back down for a week. My sister from Seattle has been down here three weeks and she just left this morning to go home for a while.
Like I told my sisters yesterday, this isn't a sprint. It's a marathon and we're in it for the long haul.
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Poodles, It's hard to understand the logic behind sending your mother to her home. I'm sure you're more than baffled, too. How can it not be obvious that she can't care for herself and that her kidneys have failed? I'm glad that you all are able to be with her since it is so unsafe for her to be alone. Keeping you in my prayers and sending positive vibes and support that it goes smoothly and your mother finds peace with you all.
HUGS!
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Bravepoint, welcome! I was node negative so can't answer your questions. However, I do know that most women here who went on to eventually have mastectomies don't regret having a lumpectomy first. Once your breast is gone, it is really gone. Generally there are fewer side effects with a lumpy. Were your margins clear? Are you to have chemo? What was your Oncotype score? Will you have radiation? That information is very necessary to decide what to do next. It would seem that since you are 5 months post-surgery that you have likely completed most of your treatment path. If you have, please post treatments (including your surgery ) on your profile and make each one public. All that information is extremely helpful when we try to answer your questions.
HUGS!
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Thanks, Peggy. I couldn't figure out how to post treatment etc. I'll take another look. The margins were clear. I started chemo October 7th, 4 cycles of AC over 12 weeks and now weekly Paclitaxel for 12 weeks. I have 7 more to go. I'll get about a month to recover then 25-30 daily radiation treatments. Not sure if we do Oncotype scoring in Canada? I'd never heard of the term til I started reading here.
Gail
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Welcome Gail, I was node positive. If it weren't for the lvi and if my surgeon could have gotten clean margins I would have just gone on to radiation instead of mastectomy. Don't worry. You can always get a mastectomy later if you find that mammograms give you anxiety, however I would give it time. The main thing is your tumor is gone.
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Gail, also wanted to point out since you are pr negative it's very likely your ki67 is high and your oncotype Dx was likely high as well. I think chemo is a good decision.
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