Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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CC, sure you can. It’s later than they’d like, but it’s not too late. My side effects were enlargement of the mammary seroma (the cavity where the tumor had been filled up with fluid—as in many surgeries where something is removed, because nature abhors a vacuum), an area of pinkness to slight reddening in the radiation field, some hardness over the seroma (which did soften) and a tan over my incision. I didn’t get any irritation, pain, skin breakdown or fatigue.
The treatments were absolutely painless. You get undressed, lie on your back, put your arms over your head (they gave me handles to grip), and the radiation machine moves into position and delivers a beam for about 5-10 seconds or so—in my case, from three different angles. The whole thing lasts less than 5 minutes—it takes longer to get undressed & dressed. You don’t feel anything—just hear a hum & a click. Had mine at Evanston Hospital/Kellogg Cancer Center.
Where in Chicago are you? Where are you getting treated?
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KLNiss...woohoo for finishing chemo 🎉
Poodles ... Congrats on DIEP I sure could us some declutter tips. I have so much picture clutter.
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Hey Sandy, I just re-read your first message to me on Feb. 21. I'm not sure I ever read all the words. Haven't quite mastered the special chronology of posts here, and I was in quite a blur way back then. Please do let me know if you make it out this way. Sounds exciting. And I really appreciate all your support & input - since before I fully realized you were offering!
Same to everyone. There are a lot of us. That means more than I realized it would.
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Hi, I'd asked a few days ago, but it may have gotten buried... anyone have adverse side effects with generic Femara? Thanks for any help. I was on generic Arimidex but due to SEs of joint and bone pain switched to generic Aromasin (Extremestan) but my copay is exorbitant. 3rd times a charm???
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DaraB, ChiSandy is on Femara. My MO, back when I started anastrozole, said he usually tried the AIs in this order: Anastrozole, Femara and, finally, Aromasin - in order of how expensive each is. That's terrible how much you are having to pay. Give it a whirl. If Femara is not good, you can go back to Aromasin. Good luck - hope it works!!
HUGS!
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My only bothersome SEs of generic letrozole (Roxane & Teva) thus far are mild nocturnal warm spells & sweats (mostly scalp & neck), mild and very fleeting morning and “startup" stiffness, and a slower metabolism coupled with carb cravings. I had trigger thumb, but I had it before breast cancer. And my hair's been gradually thinning over the past five years, and hasn't accelerated on letrozole. The only worrisome effects might be exacerbation of my pre-existing osteopenia and higher LDL-C (both of which can be addressed by medications & lifestyle changes).
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DaraB....I've not had any major SE's with Letrozole (Teva brand). At the beginning I was a bit stiff but I think my body has adjusted. I try to work out several days a week and I get monthly massages as well as taking Fish Oil, VIt D, and magnesium. I think all of this has helped.
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Thanks all. I really appreciate the input.
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Dara, I've been on letrozole for 1 year. I have a lot of pain in my knees and stiffness in my hands and knees. However, I have severe osteoarthritis in my knees and psoriatic arthritis in my hands. Those are progressive conditions, so it's hard to know whether the pain is exacerbated by the letrozole. I haven't had any other SEs, no hot flashes or mood changes.
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Just got the word from my MO's nurse: BCBS Medicare Plan F will cover Prolia for breast cancer patients on AIs already diagnosed with osteopenia. So I go for my shot this coming Tuesday!
Made all the arrangements for my London trip next month: course, hotel, air. (Decided I didn't sleep well on those skinny hard “lie-flat bed" business class seats on British & AA, so I saved some coin and am flying Premium Economy “World Traveller Plus” instead). From the description, a tad less luxe than its predecessor Economy Comfort, but enough legroom and wider two-across seats along the sides. In order to avoid being assigned a 4-abreast center-section middle seat, I had to cough up extra to choose a good seat now while it's available. I looked at my receipt and noticed “fees" comprise >1/4 of my total fare. Airlines are now up there on my “fecal scroll" just below health insurance companies and just above cable providers' repair schedulers.
And because Bob can't come along, he decided that his "London trip" will be main floor seats at the Lyric tomorrow night for “Carmen." (Twice the cost of our upcoming “Hamilton" tix). We also have a res. at the Opera House's restaurant, but the 4:45 seating was the only one available. So it looks like I'm gonna postpone my “personal training evaluation" again. Y'know, I know what exercises I can & can't do, which machines I can & shouldn't use and what my discomfort tolerance is—so why do I need some young skinny drill sergeant? I'm gonna call up the gym, demand my membership card, and take some water aerobics classes at the other L.A. Fitness branch that has the pool.
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Sandy, that's awesome that Prolia is covered under the F Plan!! Finally some good news for you. Airlines and their crap fees make my blood boil. It's criminal how much those ridiculous fees added to your ticket. Have fun tonight!
HUGS!
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Hi All,
DIET
I have been listening to Chris beat cancer.org.
He is putting his modules online for free this weekend.
I did buy a juicer, I bought L'eguip for 99.00 with 10 year warranty. It works fine mainly juicing carrots, ginger, celery, turmeric root. It is easy to drink.
I am hoping to work up to 64 0z a day. Right now it is 24 oz
I am just trying to get thru radiation. 6 boosts left. I did break out in a rash.
Exercise and diet are important, I pray I will get extremely disciplined after radiation.
We have several of my husband's nephews from back east visiting in April and May ( we have not shared my DX ) so I am somewhat anxious that they have expectations being treated like their Italian grandmother takes care of them. Remember my DH does nothing domestically and I mean nothing. Maybe emptied garbage twice on 30 years.
And then I travel in May back east to my grandsons graduation.
I was off this chat while doing rads as I was not wanting to get depressed
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Linda, nothing wrong with juicing (though you will get more nutrients & fiber by actually eating those veggies whole). I don't have a juicer—I do have a Vitamix which I love (so much more than just a blender); and Whole Foods around the corner has an on-site juice bar. But as to “Chris Beat Cancer," you should know that he had a very different kind of cancer—colon, IIRC, which has a different biology from Luminal A or B breast cancer. He is also young—and sad to say for us golden-agers—youth conveys huge advantages in terms of stamina and immune system effectiveness when it comes to optimal health in general. And we don't know just how honest he's being. (I don't trust any—any—of those alternative-cancer-treatment sites or publications; and when I see anything titled “The Truth About…" whether about medicine or politics, I run the other way).
Nevertheless, eating healthily is a good idea for anyone, not just breast cancer patients. I envy your discipline. I am so confused about diet for breast cancer—my PCP says to go back to low-carb and not worry about red meat or fat; my MO says “don't eat white stuff except cauliflower, fish and a little organic dairy;" and the Cancer Wellness Center nutritionists & medical director says to eat a plant-based diet with grains, no red meat, and—except for the medical director, who has a glass of whole grass-fed milk a day—no dairy. (Then who knows what they'll tell me at the gym—vegan? Protein smoothies? Cleanses)?
Being married to an Italian guy must be a challenge in terms of cooking—one meal with pasta & wine for him, another for you. I gave up Jenny Craig & Seattle Sutton because I was tired of eating one meal while having to cook a different one. With Weight Watchers & then low-carb, I cooked the same thing for everyone. If they wanted starch, they knew where the bread and “ready rice" were and could always eat whatever they wanted to grab for dessert. But after awhile, I found them eating all my berries and low-carb breadstuffs before I could get to them. And when I cook now and ask them what starch they want, they just say they'll eat what I eat. (Even my 32-yr-old son is getting conscious of pre-middle-age spread—he gave up his beloved IPAs for Coke Zero or diet Canada Dry).
But my extended pity party over the laryngitis & backache, then the prednisone for those followed by dream Christmas vacay in NYC & DC, and the stress of dealing with both my kitchen ceiling adventure and 6 weeks of bronchitis and more laryngitis, has shredded my discipline. At least Mardi Gras is over, so no more pački; and when I will be in London it'll be during Passover—which, as long as one spurns potatoes, traditional desserts & more than a daily “olive-sized" (Niçoise or Castelvetrano?—big size diff. bet. those olives) fragment of matzo, is pretty much an enforced low-carb holiday after the Seder is over. (Must be strong at those sumptuous hotel breakfast buffets, though).
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I am with you ChiSandy - I am confused by all the mixed messages on food/nutrition! I actually met with a nutritionist at my new onc/cancer center today (got Herceptin and #3 rads) - and she said I need to increase my protein to 65g a day! That is a LOT for me! But then I read that there are so many things that promote estrogen production in your body - and that scares me. Not just the dairy, but now I read that honey, legumes, tea tree oil, cauliflower, and other healthy things too! Ugh. We will drive ourselves nuts with all the different and conflicting dos/donts. So I am just starting with no red meat and no dairy for now, along with increasing fruits and veggies...and protein too now.
Nash - I do have the Jack LaLane juicer...and about 5-6 years ago (prior to cancer) I was a major juicer. But then we moved, and the juicer stayed in its new cabinet since then! lol. Plus, I was told to get one of those ninja/bullet things to blend the full fruit, rather than using the juicer (although I liked the juicer better). If I could just get back in the habit of doing either a blended fruit/veggie OR a juiced drink, I would be happy!
Found out today I will be starting Tamoxifen after I finish radiation. Was kinda hoping to start sooner - but my new MO wants me to finish rads first. Worried about SEs of Tamoxifen, especially the uterine ones...but she promises we will keep a close eye on it.
Has anyone ever heard of Dr. Sebi or Ty's conscious kitchen? Someone recommended that new way of eating...but after doing more research on it - I don't think I can do the full thing.
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I don’t trust nutritionists by and large, because most of them are still following the USDA recommendations that were pretty much engineered by the agribusiness and processed food lobbies. When it comes to breast-cancer-specific diets, it’s still terra incognito—they’re all flailing around and theorizing, with no solid science to back it up, relying on various retrospective epidemiological data that can be “massaged” to fit the authors’ conclusions. The only things we now know for sure are that most of one’s diet should be plant-based; the low-fat diet craze of the ‘80s and ‘90s led to more obesity; dairy is unnecessary (though not necessarily harmful) for humans after age 2 or 3; not all fats are created equal, not all saturated fats are harmful, and some vegetable oils we thought “healthy” (seed oils) can be downright inflammatory when heated (during processing or cooking); and that refined carbohydrates very quickly break down into sugar which can lead to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes. And even those who agree that sugar is the main culprit in obesity & metabolic syndrome have different opinions as to which naturally-sweet foods are completely harmful and which are okay if eaten sparingly. And don’t even get me started on the role & impact of alcohol, never mind amounts and types.
And overwhelmingly, that dieting is not one-size-fits-all.
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Sandy, I'm with you. I'll eat and drink moderately and go my happy way
HUGS!
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Hi All: just got back from appt with surgeon. 30 day post rads. Got the all clear for post surgery mammo. Ooo i hope i can handle it. I will be post surgery 6 months. I am still hurting from rad burning and i hope it won't be too bad
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Miko, I hope it is not too bad either. I was 4 mos post rads when I got mine, so didn't have any problems.
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Poodles, I have arthritis, and now osteoporosis... but severe in my hands, so like you, hard to know if it's from se's or just the regular pain... I had my 3 month follow up and good for another 3 months and don't have my mammo till June.. my bs wanted me to have it right away, but she's going from first dx and i'm still too sore for it, and they moved and can't reach them anyway.. so changed everything to Cancer Care so everyone will be together on anything in the future
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Fat cells make estrogen....so my goal is to stay lean. That said, I've never had a weight problem (except that pesky middle pudgy stuff that started showing up in my late 50's)
I shop the perimeter of the grocery store...staying away from all the processed food. I agree with Peggy...all things in moderation. I still eat pasta ( just not every week) and my weak spot is chocolate (so I treat myself to a small piece with my afternoon tea).
I am loving the juicer....we just don't eat enough veggies so juicing has been wonderful. I usually do kale, carrots, lemon, ginger ,cerlery, apple every day. Not too much fruit but concentrating on the veggies. You can also juice cucumber, zucchini, beets and sweet potatoes. We love the fresh taste and feel like we are doing something good for ourselves. I shake my juice in a martini shaker to chill.
For dinner I do a meat and veggie and occasionally a starch. Lunch is typically a salad. Breakfast (if I eat it) is avocado toast and egg (Ezekiel Bread). And then some days I just blow it....like yesterday I ate a whole peppermint bark bar. I tell myself I'm getting it out of the house LOL.
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Poodles - SO GLAD you have your appointment! We know how much it means to you. Love that you are taking some time to enjoy the city in advance!!
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I just got a call from the cancer center. My oncotype score is 14. That's a high low. Anyone have that score? If so just curious what your TC plan was/is. I do not see the oncologistuntil the 14th.
Thanks! I'm one concerned gir! I haven't told my family about the BC and if I need chemo I will have to tell!
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with your early stage, hormone status, and 14 Oncotype (which is low) I would be extremely surprised if you need chemo.
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ty T: thank you for sharing your experience. Forward and onward 👍
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Vargadoll, I agree with Poodles—unless you are very, very, very young; but still, an ODX score of 14 does not indicate aggressiveness. Chemo would kill mostly your healthy fast-growing cells, not the slow-growing cells that make up a grade 1 stage IA luminal A tumor. First, do no harm.
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ChiSandy & Poodles- thanks! Love the first do no harm!
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Peggy ...I'm with you everything in moderation ...my MO suggested that ... Some days I'm not so good onmoderation either.
Being triple negative I'm not on any treatment since radiation but I'm one stiff mama. Sometimes my neck feels like I'm so tight I can't relax it. I fractured my neck when I was 17 so I'm not sure if that's causing it?
Sandy...sounds like a lovely trip..when we went to see our new grandson in Germany last May I think we were one step up from cargo...with a screaming baby the Whole way!!
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Update -- my mother is having some kind of event. I'm on my way to south AL. Her BP is sky high and she is drowsy and at times incoherent. My sister's are with her and they are frightened.
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Poodles, I'm definitely in your pocket, sending love and hugs and positive thoughts to get you through this new challenge.
HUGS!!
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Prayers for safe travels! Lifting your mother in prayers to Poodles
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