Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Thanks! Interesting--some IIAs & IBs under the old system would now be IA--previously, any positive nodes would have meant a B stage.
Based on my stats (T1cN0M0, 1.3 cm, Grade 2, ER+/PR+/ER2-), were I to have been dxed today I'd still be a IA.
I wonder if this is a harbinger of the next phase of the TAILORx study to be released (the cohort of women scoring 11-17 or even up to 20 on OncotypeDX) suggesting chemo not conferring enough value to merit its risks for that cohort.
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TAILORx - I'm hoping that's exactly what it says. Keeping my eyes peeled for those published results.
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I was having similar issues. My surgery was April 9tn. I am now seeing a lymphedema physical therapist and undergoing treatment. My entire left arm was swollen and I barely noticed it but the pain in my breast and the swelling of it is what sent me back to the Dr. I am now wearing a lymphedema sleeve for a while and doing some exercises as well as Icing my breast again.
Good luck!
Teresa
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There is a new staging for breast cancer that came out n the beginning of 2018. Wow! I am excited! My current staging was Stage IIA but under this new one it's Stage IA. How can that be? There is quite a bit of difference in survival rates between Stage I and Stage II. The survival rate is 100% vs 93%. I am stoked even though nothing has technically changed for me. It seems like a fantasy. I don't know why but this makes me feel so much more hopeful. I guess improvements keep happening during their research periods that show increasing survival rates that they changed the staging system to reflect it.
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in my two week post surgical check up the surgeon said that I had a seroma. My lumpectomy was for ILC and went pretty deep. I cannot feel the seroma, only a tender breast and a warm red area. But today, four weeks after surgery, my boob itches! Can I assume that the seroma is reabsorbing and healing? I sure hope this itching isn't permanent because I'm certain that I will unconsciously be scratching and hope I don't do that in public!! I went for a bike ride a week after surgery and as a hit bumps I found myself supporting my afflicted boob. As my friend said, that was a rather odd sight - old woman riding along clutching her boob...0 -
On furlough from CrazyTown Inn:
If I thought my wrist pain was bad enough, I just returned from my wrist MRI--which was the longest half-hour of my life. (Yes, worse than active back labor). 30 minutes of my life I can never get back...nor would I want to. I had thought, "pfft, it's just my wrist, seat me on a chair and stick my arm in the MRI tube, and I can sit still for half an hour." Hahaha...first uh-oh was that I had to lie on my stomach (which I haven't done since I was pregnant 34 years ago). They propped me up with pillows, but my boobs got squashed and my face smushed into the pillow anyway. Then they extended my L arm all the way 180 degrees from my shoulder, propped my hand palm down in the "cradle" and taped it in place so I wouldn't twitch or tremble.
I didn't mind the noise--been there, done that, since I've had five prior MRIs and one each nuclear heart and full-body bone scan. (No, not the DEXA). They gave me headphones and I chose "classic rock," thinking I would get the usual mixtape I had for other MRIs. Nope--they had to use YouTube (!) because the hospital would have had to pay ASCAP & BMI to play a freakin' tape or CD even if they owned it outright (and a streaming service or satellite radio--both of which have the royalties built-in--would have cost them a subscription fee). That meant $%^&*() commercials (one in Spanish, for pity's sake) in between songs...six songs I will never ever again be able to listen to without breaking out into tremors and cold sweat.
You see--after one minute, my L shoulder began to hurt... then hurt worse & worse, like I was being suspended from the ceiling by my arm, which was being pulled out of its socket. "So this is what 'enhanced interrogation' feels like," I thought. The only things that got me through the experience without screaming or moving was singing along in my mind's ear with the lyrics of the songs I recognized...and thoughts of rewarding myself afterward with the most delicious and worst-for-me treat I could possibly find (hopefully, reaallly gooood chocolate cream pie).
When it was over, I could not turn over and get up by myself. They sat me up. I wasn't dizzy but I couldn't move my arm at all! The techs had to walk me back to the locker room...where the combination I'd picked didn't work (thank heaven they had an emergency unlock code). I picked up my bra, expecting my L wrist to hurt--as always--when fastening it. But I had so little strength and ROM in that arm that I had to call for the nurse to scoop "Thelma & Louise" into their respective cups and fasten the bra (on the loosest hooks). Only half an hour with an ice pack and then slow "wall-walking" with my fingers enabled me to finish dressing and get to the coffee shop--where there was no pie but there was a big handcrafted yeast-raised Oreo-crumb-glazed donut with my name on it.
My doc will get the report tomorrow or Monday, and he will let me know what's up (my guess is just soft tissue inflammation & OA) and what's next. I will make my PT/OT appointments right away--same PTs who took care of my LE--because that might give me enough grip strength to play without messing up too badly. And if something is so really, really wrong that therapy &/or playing might further injure my wrist until after surgery, we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it.
Y'know, if I weren't a guitarist, if I hadn't signed contracts for these gigs and I didn't have a singing partner depending on the fees...I could live with the slooooow healing.
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ChiSandy look at you, i thought i was in a different world reading your very entertaining piece. You literally took me away. So sorry you had such an ordeal, what happened to your wrist? What did I miss?
Prairedog you could not pay me to get on a bike a week later. Wow.
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ChiSandy--Ouch and yuck!!! Hope the results are in your favor after all of that.
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My bad--that post was supposed to be for the CrazyTown thread, and I deleted it (clicked Edit at the bottom of the post, then brought down my computer's Edit menu and first clicked Select All (which highlighted it all) and then Cut. The post disappeared from the Edit window, and I hit "Submit," so I assumed it had the same effect as clicking Delete. Guess not. One more instance of the idosyncrasies in the BCO forum software--inexplicably disappearing posts, intermittent inability to add or italics or bolds, and occasionally excruciatingly slow and delayed typing and deletion of typed letters if I'm in the rich text editor, especially on a mobile device. And sometimes the option to switch text editors disappears.
Momallthetime, back in Feb. I took a spill in my house (I fell up the top few stairs and landed on the hardwood second floor, skidding on my R elbow and coming to rest breaking the fall with my L hand). The stiffness, clicking and soreness on the outside of my wrist came on belatedly and slowly (for a time, I even attributed it to wearing an Apple Watch); and by the time I went to my health systems walk-in ortho/sports medicine clinic it was two weeks later.
The sports ortho who saw me X-rayed it and said it was a "TFCC" (triangular fibro-cartilagenous complex) strain, aggravated by an "ulnar variance" (my ulna bone is too long relative to my radius, either congenitally or by virtue of bone spur buildup) and that it was "too late" to try and immobilize it. He prescribed Voltaren gel and assured me the watch & band are not to blame; and had me make a 6-week followup appt. with my hand surgeon (who had treated my trigger thumb). The clicking & soreness were when I tried to "supinate" (roll my hand outward) and made it impossible to play guitar, but got better and better and by Apr. 2 didn't hurt at all and I could start playing again. That night, I propped myself up in bed with my L hand to turn over. By morning it was stiff & swollen again--only this time when I tried insted to "pronate" (roll my hand inward). I also had occasional burning in my hand knuckles when typing.
My hand surgeon appt. was the next day. The surgeon did some manual tests. He looked at my X-ray and said that even though it wasn't broken or dislocated, there were "degenerative changes" in my wrist and the base of some finger joints, ultrasounded me and said I had a "tendinopathy" (the next step after "tendinitis"). He injected cortisone and gave me a splint-brace, ordering me to wear it until our next appointment (by then May 16). Could not make certain chords on guitar--too hard to rotate my wrist and didn't have the strength to make "barre" chords. I flew to Rome and could not find a way to get comfy in the brace--and it was difficult to cut my food with it on. I messaged him but could reach only his P.A., who told me to at least wear it to bed so I didn't injure myself in my sleep. For my next gig, she had me take a Medrol Dosepak (all 6 Day One pills the morning of the gig) and ice & elevate as soon as I got off stage. And she reiterated I was not to practice guitar till I saw the surgeon.
Two days before my appt., she called to tell me the appt. had to be postponed because my surgeon's wife had just delivered their third son. So I didn't see him till yesterday. He said my range of motion was a bit improved, but that the tender-to-the-touch point had moved further back from the hand to just behind the wrist bone. He said another cortisone shot might or might not work, but I'd still be sore & swollen as a side effect by the time I have to play a festival next weekend. He said an MRI was in order, but only if I were willing to undergo surgery if the results indicated it--and it'd take 6-8 weeks in a soft cast before I could play again. I told him I couldn't do surgery in June because I had gigs every weekend--but my next one after that wasn't till July 22 (it's a very low-paying one at that--and I could probablyeven just sing). I have to fly to NYC with my DH July 16-21, but I should be safe to fly so long as I don't use my L hand to carry anything. All of Aug. & Sep. are wide open.
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Sandy, you lead an enviably busy & full life but you sure pay a physical price for it. Hope you're healed & comfortably back to your music soon!
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Thank you m'lady Sandy. That was quite a mouthful. Love your translation to OUR language. Unbeliavable, you are going about your day and then bam, life changes. At least you have a better range, so that gives hope. Can I watch you on Youtube? I didn't know we were in the presence of a celebrity. How nice that you have these gigs.
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You can look up Sandy Andina or Andina & Rich on YouTube (warning--that was a much thinner "me" but I sound the same). My singing partner Stephen Lee Rich may have some of our duo videos under the name OldYodeler.
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Ingerp, you are so sweet! That gives me an idea...I'm really surprised they don't have a 'clothes swap' thread here.
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ChiSandy, I youtubed you. And it was ... other worldy seeing you there, singing. Suddenly I could picture you very clearly, generously, giving to us with everything you write. I have a picture now to go with the expansive soul. It was wonderful.
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.....awww...(blushing)....thanks, runor!
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I also youtubed you, Sandy. Could not get enough of, "Season of Hope." I kept scrolling back to the beginning. Don't understand why that song isn't on all our radios day and night throughout December. And this might not be the way you think of it, but I think, "Muck" should be right up there with, "The Wheels on the Bus."
You've had such a long and miserable slog with that wrist. I sincerely hope you'll see significant improvement, with or without surgery.
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ChiSandy- not one to be left out, I also you tubed you. Absolutely enjoyed your performances. It was so nice to make the connection between what you have written in your posts with actually listening to your music. You share so much wisdom/knowledge on these boards, so thank you for that as well as your music.
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Sandy, I am in your fan club too. I watched My Dad's Harmonica, so poignant and you have such a lovely sweet voice. Thank you for sharing your creativity and insights with us and please keep on singing and writing!
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I am so humbled and grateful, ladies!
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Ditto to Capecodgirl: you are multi-talented! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
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TAILORx results are out!
Overly happy... I have to fully read it.
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I looked at the link and discovered that it recommends that women under 50 with a Oncotype DX score of 16 would benefit from chemo. I did not have chemo and am second guessing that decision made by my oncologist.
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Shockedat48- For me, 58 yrs old & scoring 19, the TAILORx news was great.
For you to second guess is natural. Talk with your MO for more details directly related to your dx. I'm hoping your MO will alleviate some of the second guessing.
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Shocked definitely a new convo would at least give you something to think about. Also, how about another opinion? And how is that compared to just b4 Jan. 18, i saw that they just changed all the staging since then.
ChiSandy you are a lot of fun. Look at how you got e/o thinking of s/t else, more fun instead of...Oh how nice to know and hear GOOD soulful music being enjoyed. Definitely you need to get that wrist going. Thank you for sharing this little bit of you with us. I can't even get a tune going.
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Momallyhetime:
I felt great when I looked at the new staging, I went from a Stage IIA to a IA. Until I saw the oncotype score chemotherapy recommendations for those under 50 based on the TailorXstudy.
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Shocked, 48 is barely under-50. What was your OncotypeDX score? Are you still pre-or-perimenopausal? If post, you are at lower risk. You are already on Tamoxifen, so maybe further ovarian suppression (or removal) might give you a slight edge. Talk to your MO--she can tell you whether to drop the Tamox. for now and do chemo, and then if it takes you into "chemopause," switch to an AI afterward. I think the time window between dx and radiation is narrower than between dx and chemo.
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ChiSandy:
I am still premenopausal. I emailed my doctor tonight to see what she thinks. I am at the very beginning of the recommendation with a score of 16. The same score as you. I was diagnosed on June 8, 2017, about a year ago.
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I am in a similar boat, I am 43, oncotype 15...makes me wonder , I will ask my MO about it at my next appt in Sept.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health...
This makes me very mad. I don't trust them. Very similar to the idea when they were trying to tell women not to get mamograms so often, and the age should be over 50. In the same article, there is another video re: prostate cancer, how they told men that there is no real need to have early or often PSA tests, and DER and bam now they are saying that most cancers are being seen in advance stage. I'm so sick from this game. Saying that women will be spared chemo, and oh it's terrible side effects, it makes me sick. Yes, but they will prefer to be alive many years later. The same idea as before, saying how horrible for all those women that had to wait for results of mammos and biopsies, of false positives, oh give me a break, i go through that, i had biopsies etc.. we all know there is much worse things than that anxiety. Now they messing with all these women, maybe the ones with the low Oncotype maybe but for the ones in the middle, they gonna play roulette and then we'll hear about it in a few years, how they thought they could do away with chemo but NOT.I am of course not advocating one way or another, i don't know, but reading these things all the time and the way they make if look as if it's God's word and it's not, that's the thing that bothers me. They say something but then if you read at the bottom Dr. Burstein's comment is so guarded...
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