Stage 2 Sisters Club
Comments
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When in doubt, wait. I think you guys would be really smart not to rush it. Reconstruction is a big commitment of time/hassle/further surgeries (usually more than one) etc.etc. So you want to be both physically and mentally ready.....and some ladies find that they are perfectly happy without reconstruction, so that might also be something to consider too.
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Joe, so great she has you. I considered waiting to get my mastectomy over with, but for me it is early and doing it together is best for my stress. Even if getting there is stressful. You have to do what's right for you.
I have the perfect storm of stress; moved last week, breast cancer and taxes. yikes! Thanks everyone for your supportive words.
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Here is our chuckle for the day:
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Hello everyone. Very quiet here. Hope everyone is doing well. Mary Alice decided to postpone her reconstruction till September. She just wasn't ready for more surgery and wants to enjoy this summer as last summer was lost with treatments. So Marco Island here we come! Looking forward to just vegging on the beach!
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ENJOY!!!
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jdb53 AWESOME....ENJOY!
I can't wait to take a vacation.
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JDB53: I can completely understand your wife's decision; the two if you deserve this. Very happy for you. Enjoy:)
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Hello Everyone - Happy Easter to those who observe this holiday!
Wondering if those of you who are on Armidex have experienced gradual/sudden increase in glucose levels? Mine was always around 95/100 and, much to my surprise, it has gone up to 129 in last 3 months. I do not have weight problems, never did, do not particularly enjoy sweets, and exercise 3-4 times a week since chemo. I have no history of diabetes in my family and never had this problem before.
If this happened to you, what was the solution?
Thanks for any input.
Nisa
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Hello Nisa,
Mary Alice is on Anesterol, or I think that's how its spelled. Same as Arimidex. No side effects at all thankfully. She is going for a bone density check so we can monitor that. Odd that you spiked. If it continues ask about Anesterol.
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nisa - my blood sugar went up during chemo, I assumed it was due to steroids, but it has stayed elevated. I have been on both Femara and Arimidex. I am just starting to investigate - we can share info.
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Get it checked again in a couple months to make sure it is a true reading. My overall cholesterol went up some on Arimidex, but not the glucose specifically.
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ruthbru - my glucose has been elevated now at every reading since chemo and that was in 2011 - not by enough to be really alarming but it has been consistent, I need to see my PCP, as the onc just does the CMP as part of his regular bi-annual workup, but will not treat it. I am due for labs next month with the MO and I am also going to ask for an A1C. If that is high I will pursue it with my PCP. It might actually be some ammunition for Metformin too, I just need the A1C piece of the puzzle. I have no other markers for diabetes - not overweight, eat zero sugar, but I also have no access to family history so I don't know what runs in my family. My cholesterol went up immediately after I had a hyst/ooph about 13 years ago - like way up. I took Lipitor for about five years but just came off about a year ago - my overall number is still a bit high, but it is because my HDL (good) number is a bit high. I weaned off Lipitor mainly because it can cause some muscle/joint pain and I already had enough of that from the AI, and have been successful at maintaining a decent number through diet and exercise and Niacin (you take that right?), but I am due for a lipid panel also.
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Yes, I have taken slo-niacin for years (family history), and upped my dose while on arimidex. I have never had glucose issues. DH has bad glucose numbers (also family history) and they never suggest any solutions to him other than changing his diet (which is terrible....when he does (temporarily) behave himself, the numbers do go down......drives me crazy!).
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ruthbru - I have not had a lipid panel or glucose done since I changed my diet in Jan (no gluten, sugar, peanuts, dairy, eggs, soy, corn) and lost 20 lbs. so I am curious about what my labs will show. My DH gets what I give him to eat so he went on the diet too! He lost 11 lbs. and has been lifting weights also - now I can't get him out of the gym! I usually make extra dinner and he takes that for lunch the next day. He has a greater propensity to be naughty, but he also has more temptations at work. I am at home so I only keep good stuff in the house, that way I can't misbehave, lol!
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I only keep good things at home too, UNLESS he sneaks out and goes to the store....then it is crackers, chips, ice cream bars, caramels, licorice......he works out ALOT, which is the only thing that saves him from himself!
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how do you do it? Soy is in just about everything even vitamins. Drives me nuts. I'm new to the no soy so I typically pick something up and forget to check it until I'm about to purchase. Even shopping at trader joes and whole foods, the products have soy. Question: why no gluten? Also, have either of you tried seitan? It's supposed to better than soy but is a gleten.
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Lonnie - gluten is linked to joint pain, digestive upset, and body inflammation, and I already have a lot of joint pain from Femara and two degenerative disks in my back. I am following a food sensitivity diet, although had already been avoiding soy, gluten and dairy for the most part. If you look carefully you can find soy-free vitamins, but I know soy is in a lot of stuff! When I started this diet I had to become a label reader big time - sugar is in everything too! Seitan is wheat gluten so I can't eat it either.
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Thanks dear everyone for responding! I can't help thinking that my hope about Arimidex being the only pill I will take for the next 10 years is not going to materialize. And there is so much to watch for in food. Like you all say, soy is everywhere. Now I also have to worry about what Arimidex might have done to my cholesterol. Will go to PCP in May.
I really need to research this because we just can't live like this reading every label. They have recommendations for minimum alcohol consumption, why can't there be some guidelines for soy? There are work groups for everything at the National Health Institute and I'm going to search and find a soy-cancer guru. I will later share whatever findings. In the meantime, your only intake must be broccoli and bananas, lol.
Do having these issues make us real old people?
Hugs, Nisa
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SpecialK - just wondering about corn and eggs. Is corn bad for breast cancer patients? I have drastically cut down on gluten. The only time I might have gluten is the occasional Indian bread roti I make at home. But I do eat corn and eggs. I had given up dairy but am having organic Greek yogurt as my protein was low during my last 4-5 weeks of taxol. I am now getting ready for my mastectomy surgery which is May 9. It is 4 wks after I finished chemo. The surgeon told me to eat lots of protein. So I eat eggs and have Greek yoghurt 3 times a week. I do plan on cutting out dairy all together when I am done with surgery. Do you have any suggestions for another protein source? I do eat fish once a week and shrimp once a week. Are you off fish and meat too?
Thanks!
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septmom - it has nothing specific to do with being a breast cancer patient, it is just that the majority of corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified, and GMOs are linked to food sensitivity and potential illness. The purpose of genetic modification is so that the crops can be doused with pesticide. I started this diet because I could not lose any weight the traditional way with diet and exercise - like 1200 cals a day and 5 miles of swift walking did not move the scale. I had gained from all the surgery, chemo steroids, and being on an AI - all without eating badly. I do not consume any dairy because I feel that, for me, it is too laden with hormones. I do eat grass fed beef/pork, pasture raised chicken, wild-caught fish. I do eat eggs from pasture raised chicken occasionally - maybe every other week. The purpose of this diet is to eliminate the foods most likely to cause inflammation and make weight loss problematic - also to eat healthier.
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Thanks SpecialK,I too feel dairy has too many hormones and want to eliminate it completely. Do eggs cause inflammation too? I know wheat/gluten does. I eat wild caught fish and on occasion grass fed beef and pasture raised chicken. I eat a lot of lentils and beans. I am trying to eat healthy. I was following a more stricter diet of avoiding these foods while I was doing AC chemo. After a few rounds of taxol my haemoglobin and protein was low. I started eating some organic greek yoghurt and also started having grass fed steak once a week. I finished taxol on April 11th. When I had my blood checked a week later, my wbc/neutrophils and protein was low. My PS and breast surgeon told me to increase my protein and iron. I go for bloodwork again this Thursday. I am hoping my levels are good. I can then start eliminating greek yoghurt. I eat eggs three times a week so I am very curious about your finding on eggs. Thanks for your help!
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septmom - eggs can cause issues if you are sensitive to them. The diet I am following has you eliminate the seven things for 21 days, then you add things back in one at a time to see if you experience any joint pain, GI upset, skin issues, or weight gain. During allergy testing for pollen related allergy problems when I was in high school I reacted to egg white in the form of albumin so I have never had a flu shot or any vaccine grown in albumin. I expected to have problems with eggs due to this but have been able to eat them without any reaction. I don't really consume anything processed that includes eggs, just occasionally have them scrambled using the eggs from pasture raised chickens.
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Make sure you get your calcium from someplace if you are eliminating dairy!!! You need calcium for your bone health.
I am kind of the opposite in my thoughts about food. I exercise like crazy; rarely drink alcohol (and then very sparingly), but I really do love food and, to me, dining is one of the real pleasures of life. Unless you have an intolerance to a certain category of food; my advice would be to eat what you want, enjoy everything IN MODERATION, and not worry about it.
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Amen to that Ruthbru. Our doctor says the same thing. Moderation. We do try to eat organic foods when possible. But like you we really enjoy dining out.
I have a unrelated question for the group about hair growth. Mary Alice's hair is growing in at different pace. Her back is long, her bangs are short as are her sides She has the mullet thing going on. For those of you who went through this, did you take any supplements for hair growth or when did you get your first haircut. Did the haircut help the growth??
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bc101, Thank you for this study. Very interesting! I am in a similar situation as you...with one micromet of .8 mm. I believe that in this study, we would be considered to be node negative, as it is only recently that micromets are considered node positive. Ask you doctor about that. I see my MO in June and I will ask the same thing. This report does not show value in radiation for node negative bc.
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Hi Runningfromcancer,
I see you are from Duluth. Hope it's finally warming up there! I also live in MN and it's been a long, cold winter. I can't wait til spring - wish it would hurry up!
Yes, you are correct about the micromets. That was one of the things pointed out to me when I sought a second opinion with an RO. I also asked my BS and she totally supported the 2 RO's opinion not to radiate again pointing to the study's data being done before the days of sentinel node biopsies. There are many things to take into consideration, of course. One thing everyone keeps pointing to is my low Oncotype Score of 10. Also the fact that I'm grade 1, she said is HUGE. My ki67 was 0.5%. Of course there are pros and cons, but I'm betting on the Oncotype coming through for me. They gave me the option, but I decided not to do it after 3 docs said no.
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I used Nioxin shampoo and conditioner, and that seemed to do the trick for me.
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Amen Ruth - moderation and the occassional cheat... this has changed our lives enough. We have to still live and enjoy the new life!!!
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I've been taking biotin. Nioxin is also great. They used to sell vitamins but stopped. The vitamins were awesome.
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Speaking of food, tomorrow I will be celebrating the one year anniversary of my BMX. I went back and forth about how to celebrate and couldn't make up my mind because my husband and I have no family/relatives in CA and it would be too hard to choose from supportive friends and colleagues if I wanted to have a manageable size crowd party. So instead I am going to Machu Picchu next week! Putting all that treadmill work to the test. And I promise I will cheat and enjoy every minute! LOL
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