Moving On......After the Flap
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Marty, happy to see you are up and 'running' again. Thanks for the Wilbur moments - they made me smile!! The square meat still does - lol.
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I am finally home and back to bed. We had to go to 4 pharmacies to get what was needed. 2 wouldn't take military insurance - boycott Walgreens. When the aide came this morning to get my lunch order, she told me they wer having pot roast. I had to ask if the meet would be perfect 1x1x1 cubes again. Received with a blank look.
One of my nipples is bleeding. Kind of odd since it right where a milk breakthrough would show. Doctor said to watch it. And keep a gauze pad over the tip of the silicone cone. I see her again on Monday. Thank heaven. Bed rest is on my agenda for the next few days.
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Oh, Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur, marty has always been the voice of wisdom and reason on the 2013 thread. What have you done to her?
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marty.....hoping everything has settled down with the bleeding, and you are resting and healing. I am speechless to read that a pharmacy in the states would deny "military insurance"!!!! How is that even possible!!!!
bailey....you've been reaaaaally quite lately. Hope all is well and you're just busy getting Thing 1 off to university.
summer seems to have abandoned my part of the world. On Monday, it was 32C.....today, it's currently 9C, with another day of rain. AND......the weather has used the "s" word in the mountain reports.....yikes!!!!!
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Nihahi - we are still in heavy duty summer with 100s. It always seems to be baking when school starts. I'm so glad I don't have to go out to a hot car after a long day at school anymore. In honor of my friends who are still teaching I de stressed yesterday with a mani/pedi!
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It's hot here, too, Teacher. I hide in my air-conditioned car and air-conditioned office, and if we ride bikes, we wait until dusk and bring lights. I love riding familiar trails in the dark--it's cool and just a little spooky! We did a night ride on Monday evening and saw five long-horn cattle, a whole bunch of "squatty birds" (common poorwills), and an attle-ray ake-snay. The cattle looked at us with interest, but Jerry hooted at them like a demented cowboy, and they trotted off.
Went for pre-op labs and EKG yesterday to be ready for 9/4 surgery, and then had appointment with infectious-disease physician who managed the three cellulitis wrestling matches. He wants to blast two high-powered IV antibiotics pre-op, then stay on a low dose of oral antibiotic for a month after surgery. Hopefully this, in conjunction with the hyperbaric treatments, will hang out a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign for any interested bacteria!
Aubrey meeting a brown baby chick in the farm and feed store. It's like discovering the world again, through her eyes.
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It is awesome to see how excited children are when they are introduced to something new.
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Sbe, I can see the resemblance between you and Aubrey in that little face - sooo cute.
Nihahi, are you coming my way?
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Liefie, Tom and I are coming your way, or at least to the same island! We're celebrating our 40th anniversary in Victoria this weekend.
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Congrats on 40 Jeannie. Have a wonderful time. We will be on Orcas Island for 2 days and didn't realize how close to Victoria it was. Also, going to wine country the first weekend we get there.
MartyJ- Thanks for the entertainment. Please say hi to our doc from me.
SBL- your grand baby does resemble you. She is soooo cute.
My daughter and hubby bought a home in Williamsburg and close in two weeks. She is so excited!!! I won't get there until late October.
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liefie....not that far, I'm afraid. We're just going to Golden for a couple days, hoping to get some hikes in some various places around there.
jeannie....happy anniversary!!!! Victoria is a lovely place...lots to do and enjoy.
sbe....I love ya, so I'm just going to ignore the content of that first paragraph......
......and focus on cute little Aubrey. I'm very glad to hear that your docs are going with the "heavy artillery" this time.....you've had enough potholes so quit mucking around with that stupid cellulitis stuff!cherrie...that's exciting news! First house for them??
teach, such a wonderful gesture to honour your fellow teachers! What toe colour goes with retirement???
movie...I keep forgetting to ask...how is your sick little doggie doing?
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Jeannie, congrats on that 40th anniversary. It is a remarkable achievement! Enjoy Victoria, and spoil yourselves a little - you so deserve it!
Nihahi, sounds like a lovely getaway for you guys too. That area is so beautiful.
Cherrie, congrats on DD's house. Exciting when your kids reach that stage. Mine moved into their townhouse in Calgary at the end of June, and I can't wait to see it.
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Teacher and Nihahi, you both make me love the weather in Indiana. It's not so cold and not so hot. Congratulations, Jeannie! Sbe, Aubrey is so cute. I hope everyone has a nice weekend, especially those of you with getaways. Love you ladies! ...Julie
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Marty - So THAT'S what happens when cool, calm, and collected takes Diudad! Hope you're comfortably at home eating normal shaped meat, and resting.
Jeannie - I hope you and Tom have a wonderful celebration
And, in alphabetical order, Lahela - YAHOO, and Lifie, YIPPEE. I am so thrilled for your 'unremarkable' results, and sharing your happiness.
And to everyone else, a lovely summer weekend.
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Hi, I'm joining you all on this thread because I love your photos and you're all really cracking me up!! I can't wait to "move on"! I had a MX (left) with tram flap reconstruction on the 23, 24 of July. I still have one drain left (ugh) but am so happy that the other one came out on Tuesday. I had lymphedema and recurring cellulitis in my breast after a lumpectomy plus radiation and after this last bout of cellulitis decided to do the mastectomy. I am so glad that boob is no longer attached to my body and am hoping that after the revisions, right side reduction and nipple tattoo that life as I know it will no longer revolve around my boob!!
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SwgeeWi, welcome here, and good to see you again! Happy for you that the surgery is behind you and yes, drains are a necessary evil - I've never met anybody who liked them. Lol. Hopefully everything will settle down now that the 'offending' boob is gone.
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Swgeewi (auto correct thinks you are Sergei!!!) Welcome.....these are the best women in the wide, wide web
hope your healing goes well. Yes Nihahi, just busy getting Thing 1 off to school last week. It went really well. He is so ready for this part of his life. I did fine.....until about twenty minutes after we left....then I leaked a bit. He participated in a leadership camp from Saturday to Wednesday. Now its "welcome week" from Thursday through tomorrow with lots of orientations, etc. He has Boy Scout stuff going on in between, so he is very busy. When school starts next week it's going to be like a vacation!
Thing 2 is adjusting .....we are trying to keep him busy.....he and DH are on a 50 mile bike ride today to finish up a merit badge requirement.
Ok, so I feel like maybe my life is a little bit my own again.....maybe I can spend some time worrying and working on ME again.....first goals are weight loss and strength building! I have really let it GO!!!! And only three weeks to mount hood....I won't be at my best physically....but better!
I am so glad to hear of good test results here. I have a six month check up in October.
Oh in other news....I have been on Femara for two years or so. It's always been a struggle for me (it's not that way for everyone, and it's necessary, so I'm not knocking it). I have had significant , arthritis type pain in my hands, knees and feet. I was at the end of my rope last week so I emailed my onco and said, "uncle". She switched me to Arimidex saying sometimes switching helps. So far so good....pain is decreasing. That's good news for someone who wants and needs to get back to physical activity!!!
Your babies and dogs are adorable!!!
Love to all! Happy Saturday!
Meat squares for dinner tonight WOOT WOOT WILBUR!
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Hi bailey!!!!
I believe that when kids are more than ready to take that "next step"....parents should recognize it is a sign of a job well done! Of course, who hasn't also "leaked" when that moment comes. Now it's Thing 2's time to be an "only child" at home.
I don't have personal experience with the hormonals anymore, but at the Calgary get together last week, the topic came up, and the consensus was that sometimes it's the "fillers" used that contribute more to the side effects, and the generic versions should be avoided if possible. Don't know how that may apply to your case, but really, I'm just happy to hear things are improving.
Swgeewi....welcome! Sounds like you know a few ladies already. This IS a great bunch....Life is more than tears and procedures...and these ladies have made it a point to remember that.
This is for all you still-working gals.....
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Nihahi - I seized the day for about 30 minutes of work outside before I decided to seize the cool AC!
I go back Monday for another ultrasound on my bulge. I've been told it's scar tissue. Anyone else have this? I'm still massaging 3x daily and now its sore when I do that. Everything else is looking okay. The bruising is gone on the left and almost gone on the right. Now, that I'm nearly through all the shades of the rainbow, maybe the other issue will resolve, dissolve, or just go away because I'm going to wear my sundresses to threads.
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I seized the day by driving 3 hours, each way, to San Diego for my last visit of the clinical trial I was in. This was a study involving post-menopausal women who'd had breast cancer, and metformin, to see if the drug altered certain factors in the blood. I'm certain I was in the arm that had the real drug--first thing I did was pull apart one of those huge green capsules to see what was in it--and I talked my MO into continuing it for me. It's a cheap, safe drug, and there's a bit of research that supports its anti-cancer benefits, so I added it to my list.
Bailey, I hope the change in aromatase inhibitors does the trick for you. I, too, have arthritis-like symptoms in my hands and back and knees, and when I get up from being immobile for a while I feel like I'm about ninety. With the latest research coming out it wouldn't surprise me if my MO wants to keep me on letrozole for ten years, and I'm willing, but I don't like the idea of a decade of my life being stiffer and sorer than I would have been. Cancer...the gift that keeps on giving.
SwGee, welcome! I hope your surgery solves the issues of your cellulitis, although I don't know what it does for lymphedema. It's just such a mystery to me who develops LE and who does not. Glad the drains are on their way out the door.
Nihahi, sorry for the description of the wildlife on the bike ride. Seriously...any such animals, hearing YOU approach, head for the high hills and won't dare to show so much as a button.
Movie night! Popcorn and Netflix, with a dog on every lap!
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SweegWi - Welcome! It's fun over here. Sounds like you're well on your way to moving on, at least mentally. When that last drain comes out it will be another big step to freedom, and then revisions and nipples will be something else to celebrate.
I've postponed my nipples and dog ear again - now it's pushed till October. The downside is that my waist still looks like a box of kleenex, but the upside is that I can swim and play and enjoy a bandage free summer. And then in the fall I can have my procedure, and I'm already excited about seeing my handsome surgeon and spending the afternoon together. The nipples themselves don't excite me - but I have faith in the ladies who have gone before me, who say they rocked their world.
I can really relate about going from immobile to ninety years old. I have a morning shuffle that I do nowadays, and I have to leave my slip on shoes beside my bed because my feet need immediate cushioning. I swear by Sketchers Airwalks - they've changed the way I start the day.
Has anybody experienced tingling or numbness in their fingers or toes? My baby toe get pins and needles, and the one beside it feels almost numb. Sometimes in my fingers too. I've seen two doctors and had some tests, but so far its a mystery.
Oh yeah - I've also got a UTI, but it is well under control. Wasn't so last week when it came on like a steam engine and I had to stop to pee every ten minutes. Literally. Unfortunately I was driving a lot that day so I stopped at every friggin' coffee shop/supermarket/gas station. Once I didn't quite make it, so I sort of peed in my jeans. So I spent the day with tingling toes, pee pants, and no nipples.
Ah well - just another day at the 'rodeo'. Think I'll go for a pedicure today - If I'm going to fall apart at least I want my toes to look good.
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Janet I keep postponing my last bits, too, for the same reasons. I'll get there, eventually!
Happy Sunday, friends. I'm going out for a hike later, despite the humidity!
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Quick note....going off the grid for a couple days....everyone BEHAVE while I'm gone!!!!
Hugs to all.
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Janet, your posts always crack me up. Just love your wry sense of humour. Is that surgeon the one who did your DIEP after the other one took off to Germany? Yes, some toes on both my feet tingle at times and two or three of them have no feeling whatsoever after chemo (Taxotere). Onco assured me 2 years ago that it would go away, but I beg to differ. If it's still here after all this time, it ain't going nowhere. I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 years now, and in the last few weeks I'm noticing that my feet are a little painful when I get up in the morning, especially my heels. Apart from hot flushes I've had no other side-effects from it, but it seems as time goes on it does have more of an effect.
Bailey, Teacher, Sbe and everyone else have a lovely Sunday! Weather still fine here, so I'm going to find myself a comfy spot outside and read my book.
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Janet, I also have some slight numbness in my feet and toes from Taxol. My MO said if it wasn't gone by 6 months, that's probably where it would stay.
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I'm numb in fingers and toes and heels and have a twitchy eye......Taxotere......I am three years out. I think it's a keeper, unfortunately.
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Some numbness in my toes from the whopperage of chemo. The numbness did get better after a while, but I think this small degree of numbness and burning is probably permanent. Nothing in my fingers, though.
Bailey, any news on the aromatase inhibitor swap? How long does it take to feel better?
Liefie, how come you're on Tamoxifen and not one of the aromatase inhibitors?
Who knew we'd all get an education in molecular biology along with our diagnoses?
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Zen, Bailey, Lifie, Sbelizabeth - Thanks for the feedback. I had no idea that that numbness/tingling could be chemo related. My chemo was almost three years ago and this just developed early this year.Does that make any sense?
I thought maybe it was nerve related. To be honest - at three in the morning I'm convinced it's diabetes or a tumour.
Liefie - The surgeon I love is my PS. It was by BS (how appropriate) who went AWOL to Germany during my surgery. You have a great memory, by the way!
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Janet, if you had no numbness throughout your chemo and now--bam!--it shows up, I doubt it has anything to do with chemo. It doesn't sound like tumor symptoms, if it's in both your fingers and toes. It does sound like a nerve thing, though. If it were just in your feet I'd guess a pinched nerve in your back, but feet AND hands? You've been tested for diabetes and neuro diseases, I'm guessing. I'm stumped.
And a UTI too! Urgh. I've had two UTIs in my life and both were so miserable I could have cried. Fortunately my onc believed me when I told her I had one and didn't insist I take the time to come in and pee in a cup--she called a prescription in right away.
I was at a party last night and got a little blindsided by a conversation about a friend's husband's late wife. The friend was telling me that she'd died of cancer...breast cancer (OF COURSE...!). "They found it and told her she needed surgery right away, but she put it off for three months, and by the time they operated it was in her lymph nodes and everything," she said, while she flapped her hand around the entire quadrant of her own upper right side. I wanted to say, with just a little sarcasm, "Gosh, as bad as that!" but I'm a good person and just nodded in sympathy. I think what I reacted to so viscerally was the assumption that "it was in the nodes" was a foregone death sentence.
Ah, well, on to more cheerful things. Happy Monday, everyone! Stay cool on this hot August day!
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sbelizabeth - I've had my blood tests but haven't got the results. And I'm seeing a neurologist in November - though I'm doing my best to get the appointment pulled up. I miss my healthy self.
And good for you for taking the high road last night! Just another reminder of how much knowledge we have inside our world.
When I was first diagnosed, the hospital recommended a book called 'Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence'. Love that title. It should be required reading for everyone.
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