Stage 2 Sisters Club
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I also find it hard to say no, but am getting better.....
Enjoy Florida, Ruth! and congrats on the ten year mark!
My monthly update, just a bit early too....birthday week for me this week, and hubby and I are sneaking off to Yosemite tomorrow for a little overnight getaway....There will be snow, and it will be a bit cold (not too cold by ND standards, however :-)), but we will be warm and cozy by the fireplace at the hotel-formerly-known-as-the-Ahwahnee....Checking staying there off my bucket list: since I live 80 miles away I've been there many times, but never overnight. Winter is a good time to get rates there that aren't totally in the stratosphere, plus Yosemite Valley is lovely with a dusting or more of snow. Next week I have three very busy days at work and then a long weekend in Vegas to celebrate my birthday with my sister (hey, birthdays are worth more than one celebration, right?)...Lots of travel this Spring...I just wish the letrozole wasn't making my knees so stiff! Other than that, doing well. Thanks to all of you for the support on these boards, and sending greetings and love to all....
Octogirl
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When is your birthday, Octo? Mine is March 3rd. Have fun on your celebrations!
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Oh mine is also March.3rd! I am turning 30!
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Big party on March 3rd!!!! 0 -
Checking in for Feb. - everything's fine here. I had my checkup with the BS a couple of weeks ago. She alternates with my MO so that I see one or the other every 4 months for the next few years. I'm feeling great, keeping the weight off that I lost after surgery last year, trying to exercise daily and eating mostly twigs and berries, lol. I'm coming up on 1 year with Letrozole on Mar. 12. Can't say I have any serious side effects. My memory isn't great, but I'm not sure if I can attribute that to the meds or just getting older.
Octogirl, I love the Ahwanee at Yosemite! I have never stayed but we did have breakfast there last time we went. Such a beautiful place.
Happy birthday to Ruth and Steph!0 -
Birthday today! :-) Off to Yosemite....
Octogirl
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Happy birthday Octogirl!! Another March birthday here. I am on the 29th. My exchange surgery is on the 21st so new boobs for my birthday. Steph, 30!!! You are just a baby. Ruth, congratulations on 10 years. I have a busy month leading up to surgery. Good to do this check in!
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Happy Birthday Octogirl, Ruth & Steph!! Congrats Ruth on 10 years 👏🏻👏🏻
Monthly check in... been crazy busy with wedding stuff!! Survived my bachelorette party last night (barely) it was tons of fun but pooped today! 1 month until the I do's after 12 years together - finally!!!
My counts went down with this years blood work YAY!! The nerve prick from the blood draw is better but still not 100%...
Just got back from our family cruise - it was a blast and got beautiful color for my dress!!! We are not going on our honeymoon until late May - taking a cruise out if Boston to Bermuda - so excited!! The ship stays 3 nights in Bermuda so we really get a chance to explore!!
Just trying to live life in the moment, traveling as much as possible and being with the people I love and want to spend time with! Now if I could just win the lottery I would be set!!!
Wishing you all good health and sending hugs!
Mary Jane
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Happy Birthday to all of you celebrating at some point this week (and later in March, too). Octo, I hope you're having a wonderful time at Yosemite. Mary Jane, your cruise sounds like fun - and the wedding plans, too, even though that can snowball into a LOT of work! At least it's happy work, right?
I had my quarterly meeting with my MO yesterday and everything looks good, except for the increasing issues stemming from endocrine therapy. I'm switching again (from exemestane back to Femara). I have to say that I never expected to feel this rotten so long after finishing active treatment nor to have to struggle this way to get through the five years (or more) of AIs. I'd never encourage a woman to refuse endocrine therapy but I sure wish there were a better option.
On the other hand, the days are getting longer, I have a few early bulbs peeping out and the prospect of puttering in the garden on the horizon, and that's enough to keep me going at this point.
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The ladies at the Lumpectomy Lounge suggested I might find help here too. I had my lumpectomy last Thursday, which went really well. Then the phone call yesterday from my surgeon saying one out of three sentinel nodes had cancer. Also, the size of the two tumors was bigger than we thought pre-op, at 1.5 cm. and .6 cm. The two masses were close to each other so he was able to get them out in one incision, along with the 3 nodes. So my stage is now IIa (previously I) and grade is 2 (previously 1). Needless to say, I am really disappointed. I have an appointment with the RO tomorrow (after their noon conference where they discuss cases) and MO appointment is next Friday, the 10th. I am really a basket case right now. Feeling afraid and lonely and very discouraged. I made the mistake of searching on this site for "stage IIa lobular" and somehow ended up on a page for stage IV's. Pretty scary stuff. I really don't like being so doom and gloom. I haven't seen my pathology report yet. I don't understand why the grade would be different on the surgery pathology, but maybe it's a bigger piece to look at?
Will I be having an Oncotype test, and is it reliable for lobular CA? So many scary thoughts are swirling around my head.0 -
Hang in there, Siciliana. You are at the worst part right now. Once you have a plan in place, then you just do it and get it over with. Hugs!
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Siciliana, I know how hard it is to get such disappointing news and I'm sorry you're going through this. There is a forum for lobular cancer where you might be able to get an answer to your question about the Oncotype, as well as a bit more specific insight into what you're dealing with, although I'm sure there are Stage II members on this thread with lobular cancer, too.
We're here for any support you need. We're good at listening, too, if you need to download those scary thoughts and what-ifs. Sending you hugs, too.
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Siciliana - I hope your visit with RO helped a little and that you found a profesional answer to your question. It is always disappointing to hear your illness is more complex than anticipated, and a great relief when the other way around. While surgery is the final answer, from a treatment perspective you probably won't get anything different now than you would have at stage one. I hope you like and trust your oncologist and follow every recommendation so that once a plan is moving forward, you will be able to start relaxing just a bit at a time. We are here for you.
Hugs, Nisa0 -
Monthly update and a bit late to,the party but celebrating birthdays with everyone, and can't wait to see a wedding photo from you dear surgery-sister Mary Jane.
I have received some bad news: I have a small new primary cancer in my kidney. UCSD urology/oncology surgeon blew up the images to show me how small it is (about 1cm). Higly unlikely that it is a BC metastasis (he has seen only 3 cases in 1600 surgeries). The good news is that apparently this type of tumor growth rate is very slow. And given its difficult to reach location and small size, doing a biopsy is too risky at this point as it will likely mean major bleeding and losing a kidney. So we are going to monitor for growth and run the whole MRI etc production again in 6 months. And only do something when it reaches 3cm. So for now I am pretending to live life as usual, only my husband, SIL and best friend know (and now thousands of you, lol) as I don't want an avalanche of attention and back to cancer-talk day in and out. Although I could use another meal train, haha. I'm really doing ok. Life is good. Wishing everyone on this list the same.
Hugs, Nisa 💐0 -
Thanks Ruth, Nisa and Hopeful! My RO spent a long time explaining things. He said likely the difference in grade is because of a larger specimen to analyze. He ordered the Oncodx test and it may possibly be back by the time I meet with my MO next Friday. I am praying it comes back with a low score so I won't have to do chemo. The RO went ahead and scheduled my simulation on March 22nd, as he felt fairly confident the Oncodx score would come in low and he wanted to get me scheduled. Due to the positive sentinel node, he will include the axillary area.
I tend to catastrophize a lot, worrying about whether there are some cancer cells settling in my brain or somewhere. The positive node looms large in my head! I did get my path report and there was no lymph-vascular invasion, No extranodal extension. A Nottingham grade 2, and clean margins. But the one positive lymph node had macrometastasis >2 mm. Size of largest metastatic deposit: 8 mm.
My core biopsy from December showed ER+ (99%), PR+ (10%), HER2 neg. KI-67 was 5%.
Thanks for being there.0 -
Nisa, what a shock. I'm SO sorry you're dealing with this on top of everything else. I'm praying that it stays tiny and indolent, or even comatose
. Lots of hugs and a virtual meal delivery.
Sicilian a (stupid autocorrect) I'm glad you are getting more info and feeling more on top of things. It is normal to feel doomed by that positive node. I won't tell you not to worry about it but do try to include some fun in your life when you can to take your mind off of it for a little while. Take care.
All you birthday girls, hope you're having fun.0 -
Oh crap, Nisa. I am so sorry to hear about your stupid kidney. It's good that it's slow and that your doctor is going to stay on top of it. Indolent and comatose sound good to me!
Siciliana, if you end up needing to do chemo; remember that chemo is not the enemy, it is working FOR you. It is a very, very scary thing to contemplate, but with the good anti-nausea drugs and specific dosing nowadays, it is pretty manageable for most of us.
Speaking of doctor things, I have an appointment with mine on Thursday, I will spare you the gory details but I think I may have a prolapsed uterus. Gross!
Here is a happy way to end the post. Here's how I spent this last week:
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((((Nisa)))) I am sorry for your news. Was it just a scan that caught it or do you have symptoms? Ruth, I know quite a lot about prolapses unfortunately. Get a good urogynecologist. If you end up with surgery, hysterectomy isn't too bad. You can also repair the prolapse instead.
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I will report back after my appointment Thursday. I imagine that if I need surgery, I might as well have a hysterectomy and get it over with. I don't have much use for an errant uterus at this point!
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nisa - sorry for your news, but it sounds like you are satisfied with the current approach. Will cross all of my appendages that this kidney tumor is indolent and lazy and grows no larger. If I lived closer I would be a one-person meal train for you, because if I remember correctly we adopted each other, so we are family, lol!
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Hopeful - Thanks for hugs and virtual lasagna
What's up with endocrine therapy? Bone pain? Hoping it won't get in the way of gardening, Spring almost here! Ruth - Nice photo. My kidney and your uterus will not keep us from another BCO adventure this year. Any thoughts on where the netting will be? Today you had an appt... how did it go? Molly - Yes, abdominal pain. Thought was goldbladder. How are you doing? When are you coming down to SD? Special K - Yes, we have adopted each other and we will have to decide what to do about last names. Should we even have the same last name? LOL. Siciliana - How are you doing? You are in the freaking-out stage but maybe by now your Oncotype brought a bit of relief? Be well. Gorgeous day in SD, can't wait to get home to go on my long walk.
Mary Jane - our surgery day celebration is in the near future. How are we celebrating this year?
Hugs, Nisa. 💐0 -
nisa - maybe a last name of our choosing, that is equal parts meaningful and hilarious. This will take some thought...
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Nisa - yes, intense bone pain and fatigue, which is not a good combination. The weight gain is a bonus issue.
I'm so disappointed, since I did so well the first 1.5 years on Femara then started developing problems. However, a week back on Femara and I think maybe I'm seeing a smidgen of improvement and am crossing my fingers that it's not just wishful thinking. You're right - gardening season will eventually arrive and I am more than ready to plunge in; it will make a change from shoveling snow In the meantime, I've got pots of miniature bulbs and primroses blooming all over the house. Nisa, I forgot to ask - vegetarian lasagna or other? Gluten free? We want to get this right! In the meantime, I hope you've got your pain under control? Are you doing anything different along with observing?
Ruth, hope you got some encouraging news today. Let us know.
SK - are you enjoying some of your warmth and sunshine on our behalf? You'd better be!
Take care of yourselves, all. I have to head to a dinner meeting and am not at all eager to head out into the wind and rain. An evening the treadmill sounds much more appealing!
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Yes, as I figured it is a mild prolapse. My GP is sending me to a gynecologist, whom I can't get into until the end of the month. GP said there was no pressing hurry, the rectum & bladder don't seem to be compromised or anything. I will do some more research before going so I can have an intelligent conversation. I imagine that I would want to do surgery sooner than later so that I don't mess up my summer...... yuck, I hate body stuff!!!!
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So sorry to hear your news Nisa, but glad it won't stop your adventures. and Ruth, I hate body stuff too! I am also having bone pain, especially knees and now ankles, from the letrozole.
Sending hugs!
Octogirl
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Ruth, take your time. If you are able to function then do surgery at a convenient time for you. Hysterectomy isn't too bad, you have already been through breast cancer. Check out Hystersisters.com. Best place for hysterectomy support and knowledge.
Nisa, I hope your pain is under control. How I would love to go to SD. Someday maybe I can meet up with you.
Hugs everyone.
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Nisa, thanks for asking about me. I am doing Ok but having some anxiety creeping up on me the closer I get to my MO appointment on Friday. The Oncodx may not be in by that time, but it's possible. I feel like a helpless little girl again. I am so looking forward to that day when I almost forget that I have BC. I miss the old (somewhat) carefree me. I keep wondering if there could be some huge occult lobular mass that was somehow missed by MRI and other tests, causing that metastasis to the node. Crazy making thoughts, I realize. I hope the MO can reassure me. I hope everyone is doing well.
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Siciliana, I'm crossing my fingers & toes that your results are in by the time of your appointment. I'll be thinking of you on Friday.
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I am mad at myself. I wrote back and then lost my post. Will write again later. Hugs, everyone.
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Hugs to you, too, Nisa. Have a good weekend, in spite of it all.
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