Thin Slices of Joy
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Hi JackyR, no I haven't had that. We don't do PET scans here, not even before unless they already really suspect metastatic spread and not after - again, not unless there is some reason to.
Do you know about the ASCO survivorship guidelines?
"Recommendation 1.3.It is recommended that primary care clinicians should not offer routine laboratory tests or imaging, except mammography if indicated, for the detection of disease recurrence in the absence of symptoms (LOE = 2A).
Clinical interpretation.Consistent with ASCO Guidelines and NCCN Guidelines®, routine testing with breast cancer tumor markers or imaging studies (eg, bone scan, chest x-ray, positron emission tomography-computed tomography [CT] scans, MRI scans, biomarkers) should not be performed for screening purposes, because they have not been shown to improve survival outcomes or QoL in asymptomatic patients.9,11 Chest x-rays and advanced body imaging (eg, CT, MRI, positron emission tomography-CT, bone scan) should be ordered only if disease recurrence is suspected.39 Randomized trials in the 1980s that compared clinical follow-up with periodic advanced imaging did not demonstrate a survival advantage with advanced imaging and did show a significant rate of false-positive findings with additional testing.40-42
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I had a good week. I was busy rushing around at work and I also delivered three talks on various different subjects, one of which was to over a hundred people. It took me out of my comfort zone but gave me a real sense of achievement too.
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I had my annualmammogram a few weeks ago and called to get the result yesterday. All clear! Hurrah. X
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Hi ScotBird - Thanks for your message. I'm thrilled that you're doing so well.
This past year has been stressful. After always being normal, my CA 15-3 has skyrocketed (over 900) while all scans are clear. MO said he would expect I'd have pain past 50. With so many scans/blood draws/appointments, my first bout of cellulitis, and stressful work, I've burned through most of my paid leave time. My need for sleep had doubled, and I had no desire or energy to work. Don't know if it was due to cancer, change in meds, or depression, but something had to give. So, I'm on a leave of absence to rest.Slices of joy:
- My younger daughter got her black belt in jiu jitsu and will start university this fall
- All scans are clear.
- Avengers Endgame and John Wick 3 were great (GoT8 was ok)
- I went to Paris for the first time earlier this month!
- My pup forgave me for being away
- My sleep has improved this past week
- Last Friday I went to get my blood drawn at my local hospital instead of the cancer center. There was hardly a wait, and it was refreshing to see people new to blood draws. I remember being that squeamish and not worried about the results.
- At last TM check, my CA 15-3 looks to have plateaued. MO thinks it's due to changing from Tamoxifen to Aromasin. My next TM check is in 2 weeks. Hope it drops.
- My family and I binged Good Omens this weekend.
- Thoroughly enjoying not working. It was getting too stressful even before.
I saw my RO last week for the annual check. After reviewing all my scans/tests, she ordered a thyroid test. Next week I have my annual mammogram and see my BS. The week after I see the MO again. So, it's exhausting, but I don't know what else they could do.
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My husband made this for me today.
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Sorry to hear about the stressful times. Keep looking for the joys. Mine today were wearing a new dress for the first time which I love, a Pilates class which was difficult, but felt good afterwards and also that some decorators have arrived to paint my daughter’s room, which I’m really excited about.
Serenity I’m sending you calm and positive thoughts. Hope you find a way out of the worry soon. XX
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Thank you, ScotBird!
Had BS appointment today. Mammogram and ultrasound were ok. Previously found masses have not changed from last year.
Also had kinesiology visit. I lost the Paris weight gain, and my arm measurements went down! Guess weight just drops when you stop eating pastries, charcuterie, and foie gras.
Went home and took a nap with the pup.
I'll see MO next week for another blood draw. That's the scary one.
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My joy today was clearing my inbox for the first time in weeks. Email is such an energy drain for me. Whenever I look at it there are 10 more emails. I think I need to delegate more! I’m relaxing now and not going to do any more work today.
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Definitely delegate to work efficiently!
I like being on leave except I'm still getting a few work emails. I think my last reply was curt enough without saying, "I'm on leave, so leave me alone!"
After some med changes, my brain seems ready to wade into real thinking, but I want to work on something fun. That means not going back to work yet. They've sucked all the fun out of it, and I can't work full time right now.
Guess I'm back to working on me again. I beat sciatica. I'll beat my inner demons.
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Great joy today as I’ve just booked tickets for 2 things. A Midsummer Nights Dream and Sweat, both of them have had really good reviews. I’m so excited!
Serenity you will be OK, have you tried meditation. I find it helps a lot when I’m stressed out. 10 mins morning and evening if possible. Hope you are feeling more joyful soon. X
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I need to learn to meditate. That's a great suggestion! I am feeling better now that I don't feel the need to sleep all the time.
After overnight rain, the temperature has dropped, and it's a gorgeous day. Looking forward to grilled peaches tonight.
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SerenitySTAT, if you're looking for an easy way to get into meditaition, Tara Brach has free guided meditations. You can listen on your computer or subscribe to her podcast on a smartphone. New ones come out all the time but you can also just pick a couple favourite ones. They vary in length so you can squeeze in one even in short amounts of time. It's easy to start - just sit any which way and listen to her talk. She also does longer lecture type recordings. There are lots of others online too of course but I find I like Tara's voice and her gentle teachings https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/
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Hi Moth I just tried Tara Brach - she is great thank you so much. I usually prefer to meditate silently and focus on just breathing for 10 minutes and noticing my thoughts then letting them go, listening to Tara made a lovely change for me.
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moth, ScotBird - Thanks for the meditation info! It's just what I need. I like guided meditations.
Had my blood draw today. My CA 15-3 rose significantly from 3 weeks ago (over 900 to 1385). No new symptoms. I still have a little joint pain from the Exemestane. My MO said it's bizarre. Not the news I wanted to hear, but I seem to be taking it better than before. I'll have another CT scan in 6 weeks.
In the meantime, I'll work on meditating, losing more weight, longer fasts, and exercise. Hopefully, the desire to work will surface.
We took the metro to the bus to get home. Inside the metro, the air is at best stale. Once we exited the station, we both noticed the fresh scent of flowers.
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you're welcome amigas! Serenity, these blood tests must be so stressful; i'm sorry the news is not reassuring so far. Fingers crossed for the CT. Keep finding those moments of joy in the next 6 weeks.
The lot near us is empty (victim to some speculator madness in Vancouver; the buyers demolished the house but have kept the lot empty for over 2 years now) and previous owners were gardners. The whole thing will be dug up at some point and in the meantime we have "rescued" several plants from the lot including one a couple days ago. I think it's some variety of prairie mallow but I'm not sure. It sure is pretty. I hope it survives transplanting into my garden.0 -
moth - Hope your transplants thrive!
My husband makes dark chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary. This is the last of it. Yum!
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I just ate some strawberries, they are fantastic at this time of year. X
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ScotBird - Have you had Rainier cherries? They're in season now and are so delicious.
I've been trying to find a place to take my younger daughter because I've had such a great time traveling with my older daughter. But my younger daughter doesn't want to go anywhere. So yesterday she said she'd like to make pork buns and asked if I wanted to help. We've never made pork buns before. I realized this could be what we do together. I've taught her to bake bread and desserts so she can make them by herself, but I never thought of purposely spending time with her in the kitchen. This will be fun. It will have to wait until she can eat regular food. She had her wisdom teeth removed recently. At 20 she is on her very first round of antibiotics. I'm lucky both my kids have been so healthy. When I was young, my mother, a doctor, over prescribed antibiotics to me. We know better now.
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I’ve never heard of Rainer cherries. In fact I have not had a single cherry this year so far. I will have some tomorrow if I can find them. My joy today was going to see a truly great production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in London. The whole cast and production werebrilliant. X
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Joys today included eating cherries and listening to a lovely Tara Brach meditation this evening, and enjoying beautiful sunshine as I walked across Tower Bridge this afternoon. X
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During dinner my older daughter told us about a male friend's response when he found out that her sister was close to getting her black belt. Well, 6'4" friend claimed he'd still be able to take her given she's 5'5" and maybe 110 lbs.
![:\](https://community.breastcancer.org/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
Some months later he met my little judo girl. He thought he could hold her back by straight arming her. So, she immediately put him in an arm lock and brought him to his knees. I couldn't be more proud. 0 -
Hahaha that is great! X
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Hot day today. My husband and I went to a local ice cream stand and walked along the lakeshore.
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A new Tiny Desk Concert with Sting!
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This past week we've made changes. I had been gaining weight from all the stress eating, so a week ago we started another Whole30 to break some bad habits. We also did 2 36-hour fasts. Not hard to do on Whole30.
I'm combining exercise and meditation by doing Qigong. I found several YouTube videos I like. Trying to do a few a day. The morning and evening ones are pretty gentle, and the midday one is more active. It's helping me to keep calm. Trying not to overdo to prevent injury. The more rigorous video helps with the tension in my upper back.
Joys:
- Fasting felt good.
- I have more energy after doing qigong.
- Listened to music and danced by myself.
- My older daughter fixed her noisy, slow laptop all by herself! Minor regret that she won't make me a pie since I didn't help her. Perhaps I should choose a different payment.
- And 3 lbs down in a week!
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blueberries are here!
I love blueberries and "my" supplier of organic berries dropped off 100lbs for me yesterday. I saved 15 for eating fresh now, the rest are nestled in the freezer. (daily blueberries are part of my recurrence prevention plan)
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Hi Moth,
I eat daily blueberries too for the same reason, but 100 lbs, wow! How do you freeze them? On a sheet pan and then put portions into a baggie? Wash them first, I assume?
I must admit that despite eating them as part of my breakfast every day, I haven't enjoyed them that much this season. I think there has been too much rain. Most are quite soft, and not that tasty. I keep hoping that the next box will be better, but I'm still waiting.... Hope yours are tastier!
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Love blueberries! I eat prunes and walnuts for prevention, but I haven't been consistent.
Just did qigong and ate a bowl of fresh cherries.
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Yes, I freeze but I don't wash them. The farm mine come from doesn't spray with anything and I just take my chances with them (when I was neutropenic on chemo, I washed them when I took them out of the freezer). You can freeze them in the boxes they come in & just scoop out of the freezer though I think after about 6 months they start drying a bit. The flats don't fit/stack well in my freezer so I bag them instead. No need to prefreeze on cookie sheets. Unlike raspberries and strawberries which stick together, I find blueberries can just be bagged and frozen. But I don't stack the bags on top of each other until they're frozen solid.
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Wow! After a week of qigong, I can do a forward bend and touch the floor (legs straight)! Not bad considering I couldn't touch below my knees when I started this thread.
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