Uplifting and Lively Messages. No holds barred..
Comments
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TaRenee, how long did it take you from start to finish, from diagnosis to making the decision for remove and replace? I want nice boobs, that match, that don't scare the hell out of me every time I go for a mammogram. For me, it is not what is seen on the mammogram, it is what is not seen that I worry about.
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Hi Michelle...just want to make sure you know that MRIs are the best screening tool for dense breasts. Unfortunately mammograms are just not enough. Good luck to all
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Dtad- I will be getting the contrast dye mammogram next time. I do think it' due to the truncal LE in addition to the dense breast tissue.
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dtad, how do you like having a mastectomy? Anyone else chime in too....looking for opinions.
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Hi Michelle, One thing I don't see in this discussion is that the Tamoxifen you are taking is protective against a new breast cancer in addition to preventing cells that might have escaped to more remote sections of the body from forming tumors. I am off the "less is more" school, but that is me. I feel extremely lucky to have full strength in both arms as well as full range of motion. Not to mention being sculpted and buff. The only downside is that I still get invited to moving parties.
Some of these things are much more difficult to do if you have had a mastectomy and reconstruction.
On the health front, I had an extremely uneventful checkup with my internist yesterday. He complimented me on staying so fit and healthy. The best news is that I don't need to mend any of my evil ways!
Trying to screw up the energy to do about 25 miles of cycling, but still have a bit of jet lag. Think I will take a nap first. Lots of veggies from the farmers market plus the most divine sweet peas on my table. Life is good. - Claire
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Sometimes, more is just too much to see through and can hide on both MRI and Mammogram. I too believe that less is more, but in this case I am conducting my due diligence. After every mammogram, I receive a warning, basically a caveat emptor, that I am responsible solely for the health of my breasts. There is no guarantee warranted, expressed or implied with a mammogram. While the Tamoxifen does prevent the attachment of estrogen to breast cells, it does not do anything for finding a needle in a haystack. I have been thinking about this for two years, have 19 clips encapsulated on one side of my breast from where they took tissue samples and 4 lymph node. Self breast exams are to no avail because everything is lumpy and bumpy. I have great insurance that would pay 100% of the cost this year. If the pre existing condition clause is messed with by politicians, I am so done.
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I think you have answered your own question, Michelle. In which case, sooner is better than later, not to mention that it's a good idea to do these things when fully covered by insurance. This way, you can get it behind you and move forward with the rest of your life.
Enjoyed yesterday's ride which was in the later afternoon with different scents and just lovely. Stopped to smell the honeysuckle, but somehow didn't stop at the beer fest. I really need to find a lightweight bike lock for these occasions (one of the things taken with my skis last February). Off to do 35 miles in a few, as well as look at the farmland. Just love that particular route which always refreshes the spirit.
Still glowing from my New England trip. Must figure out how to do more of these. So much fun, and this one stoked my adventurous spirit. More to come. Next up is my annual pilgrimage to Portland. - Claire
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Thanks for your support, Claire. The big factor is, that I am a chicken. I think I should have it done this summer, while my sister, a nurse and teacher, is out of school. I so want it behind me, as it weighs on my mind.
Looking forward to pictures soon!!!
Hugs,
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Here goes with the pictures.... - Claire
At the Worcester Art Museum, post red eye.
Room in the Red Loin Inn, built 1773.
Grilled lobster....YUM!!!
Cycling along Lake Champlain with Mount Mansfield in the distance.
View across Lake Champlain with Whiteface Mountain (NY) in the distance.
Colchester Causeway looking north to South Hero, island where my grandmother was born.
Main Street, Stowe VT at dusk. Many, many personal stories here.
Interior of the Green Mountain Inn where I stayed. The Inn dates from 1833.
At Moss Glen Falls, less than a mile from where I grew up. The water is as bracing as I remember it.
I spent many hours on the tractor in this field. House I grew up in is in the thicket (planted by my mother) on the right.
View of Mount Mansfield from an upland field. Spent many hours on those ski trails.
House that my great-great-great grandfather built, dating from about 1820.
Cemetery showing the earlier generations of my family going back to my 4G grandparents on the left.
Onto Portsmouth NH, just 5 years away from celebrating 400 years!!
This house is more than 350 years old, but furnishings are 18th, not 17th Century.
Looking across to the Naval Yard.
Clams...yum!!! Plus a harbor view. It doesn't get any better.
Not just any repurposed dairy barn. Look at what's in the "feed" hopper!
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O'Claire!!!! How gorgeous is that view and lovely are the buildings with furnishings. Would you say that the buildings and decor are from the Federalist period? Love, love, love all the decor and clean, clear blue sky.
I don't eat lobster, but wonder if the fish on the east coast tastes fresher than here in the mid west?
I think this would be a great back drop for a mystery novel or series of mystery novels.
By the way, you look HAUTE!!!
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First of all, the lobster and clams are super fresh because the boats come right into Portsmouth. Even the grilled lobster my friend made in Agawam would have been only 2 hours away. No comparison. Flash frozen is really best for fish, but not shellfish, in other parts of the country.
My great-great-great grandfather's house would be from the Federalist period. The Community Church and Memorial building in Stowe are a bit later. The Green Mountain Inn would have been from a bit later, but was decorated by Dottie Perry in the 1960s and looks much the same as it did then, though updated. The Red Lion Inn and Warner House in Portsmouth are earlier. I would classify the Red Lion Inn as "Colonial" and Warner House as Restoration, as really much more like similar buildings in England than other Colonial architecture. (The Warners were presented at Court, if that gives you an idea.)
Thanks for the "looking haute" comment. I certainly felt that way, even sliding down Moss Glen Falls on my butt as those rocks are super slippery.
Just snagged a linen Max Mara loose summer shirt in a pale blue on eBay for $30. Am really enjoying my Jil Sander summer cotton cropped trousers. I now have 2 pairs which I got for a similar princely sum. Feel amazing in them. I wore my espadrilles for much of my adventure. Again, they looked fab, certainly outclassing the various Teva models everyone else sported.
I am making fresh pasta from the market with prawn pasta sauce and snow peas for dinner. Cycled by strawberry fields today and the scent was incredible. Fortunately, have a stash from the market yesterday, and fresh apricots when those are safely in the tummy.
Really funny is that the only thing I bought in Vermont was cycling socks. I needed these, and Smartwool just aren't as great as they once were. But those made in Vermont are great.
Fabulousness rules!!!! - Claire
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The pictures I showed are from the part of my family that lived in Lamoille County VT. I have distant cousins who live on the other side of the mountain, one of whom has the same name as my father did. The French Canadian side of my family lived in Grand Isle County, which consists of a series of islands in Lake Champlain. Or they did until my great-grandfather had a fight with the priest and moved everyone to Lamoille County (and made everyone speak English and changed religion from Catholic to Congregationalist).
This side of the family came over from France with Champlain, so in North America for 400 years. I used to use that a zinger when people would boast about their Mayflower ancestors (these things were once important in New England).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_La_Motte
My great-grandmother's name was Laura La Motte, and she was born in the 1860s. Her father was Napoleon La Motte. The one thing I know about her is that she was quite the teetotaler whereas my great-grandfather certainly wasn't. Somewhere back there, I am part Abnaki. One thing I do know is that I got the French complexion. Almost always, the cosmetics that suit me best are those made in France.
No grand buildings from that side of my family as they lived quite hard lives, though my great-great grandfather on that side of the family was a Civil War profiteer, going once on his own behalf, receiving $1000 for taking the place of one man and then a farm for taking the place of someone else.
I am sure that I have distant cousins there, and perhaps will investigate one day. I did visit some cousins when a young girl, but that was eons ago. Would be interesting to learn how that side of my family has fared (and whether anyone still speaks French). - Claire
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How very exciting, Claire!!! My ancestry is traced to both Germany, near Bavaria/Stuttgart, and County Cork Ireland. I have a love of Bavarian china and Waterford goblets and glasses.
I love hearing the Mayflower descendants speak of "their" heritage. I keep thinking, "the Indians were here first."
I still think that this area is ripe for a series of mystery novels. Quaint isle of very few people, that swells with vacationers in the summer...
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Michelle - I wanted to address your thoughts on mastectomy. It is important to properly and accurately address your risks for this surgery, combined with your aesthetic wishes. You stated you wanted nice looking breasts, but you may not end up with that and there are zero guarantees involved with this process. Any plastic surgeon worth their salt will caution that you may not have a natural looking breast(s) after reconstruction, and managing the expectation of the patient is an important part of their job. I would spend some time looking at implant recon photos on realself and certainly take into consideration that most photos a plastic surgeon shows in their office are only their most attractive results, not their average. The removal of all tissue means that your skin is laid down either directly over the implant and supported with allograft material if you do pre-pectoral, or if your do sub-pectoral placement the skin is laid down over the muscle with allograft support. Either way you have a foreign body under your skin that is not in the shape of a natural breast - with an aesthetic that is not the same as an augmented breast, with likely all, or nearly all, loss of feeling. Whether you will experience skin death from poor blood supply formation, develop infection, or have problems with your skin due to having previously radiated the lumpectomy area can't be determined beforehand, and doing subsequent mastectomy with implant reconstruction on previously irradiated skin has a relatively high failure rate that is important to note. This is why many plastic surgeons recommend natural tissue reconstruction on patients who have had radiation. Autologous reconstruction involves larger surgery, potentially longer recuperation, and scars on other parts of the body, so that is important to note and factor into your decision making. Many who have done autologous recon really like their results and you should take a look at those threads to get a sense of what is involved if that is something you are thinking about. If you had implant based reconstruction surgery this summer, you would have the initial mastectomy and expander placement surgery - which is probably a six week recovery, need to go through the expansion process, which I would recommend doing slowly to so as not to stress your irradiated side (in fact would recommend fat grafting to aid skin integrity), and then most plastic surgeons recommend leaving fully expanded skin/muscle for six months before subsequent exchange surgery for those with prior rads. This means that you would be about one year for the total process. I am not trying to dissuade you - just want you to be fully aware of the process and the risks. It is important to consider possible complications, loss of tissue expander, loss of implant and the associated stress, cost, and time against continuing with your current monitoring. If you stay the course with imaging, as someone whose palpable 2.6cm tumor was not seen on mammography due to extreme density, I would definitely add alternating MRI with mammo to your imaging schedule. If you have any questions about mastectomy surgery, expanders, or implants, I would be happy to answer them.
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Thank you, Special K for that very important information. I will be writing to you with questions. It sounds like you have been through the ringer with the surgeries and I would like to know more about that. Your point is well taken on the additional MRI, and I will be bringing that to my doctor's attention. I don't want my situation to get out of control and be forced to reconcile with a mastectomy under great fear. I want to make the choice with all the information available. Controlling the situation and controlling my anxiety is very important to me. My current breasts don't match and I will need reconstruction anyway. I had planned to downsize what I have and add in a breast lift. I guess if my surgeon saw anything suspicious, I could give the go ahead for further surgery. I have no desire to be more than a full B cup, just want the density gone. The 19 clips of titanium can ache at times. I know that there is micro surgery going on down by MD Anderson, to restore the feeling of breasts that have undergone mastectomy.
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michelle - the surgery at PRMA to restore feeling is done for those undergoing autologous surgery only - not implant surgery. Because they are transferring a flap of tissue with nerves and a blood supply they can do the microsurgery necessary to potentially restore feeling. Please feel free to PM me with any questions you have - I am here to help.
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To shift gears, I am enjoying "midsummer's eve" following a day of work and then a 27 mile bicycle ride bringing me to a total of 90 miles for the past 3 days, a bit short of 100 miles, but enough to feel that my training is on target. Next time, I need to shorten the distance and fit in a swim.
Dinner tonight is roasted asparagus from the market and the prawn and pasta dish I made last night. So nice to come home to tasty leftovers. I put local saffron into the pasta sauce. Note to self to buy one and send to my wonderful friend in MA who pulled out the red carpet to be a great host.
I have a friend who had a nightmarish experience with reconstruction from a single mastectomy. All is fine in the end, but you don't want to know the other details. One of which was not questioning her post surgery care routine.
One dark detail from my High School class. We had a "troubled youth" in our midst, who was certainly twisted, and was overly-fond of police dogs and guns. One day, he brought a gun to school, and fortunately shot himself in the leg. No idea what he had planned, but we had a lucky escape. (Think the guy is permanently in the slammer, not sure for exactly what.)
If you want to write about this area of the world, I would recommend Deane C. Davis "Justice in the Mountains" and "Nothin' but the Truth." Plus knowing that my father suffered because French Canadians were persecuted by the KKK in the 1920s. Dad never totally recovered from this.
I have a photo of myself with Annick Desjardins, the oncologist from Duke University who injected polio virus into a terminal brain cancer patient (who is now cancer-free and thriving). We could be long lost cousins. She agrees.
Miss the dairy herd of Dutch Belted cattle in Alburg VT. They were beyond special. Make sure you read about Fort Blunder. I so used to enjoy it when crossing from VT into NY.
Also read up on Walton Blodgett. His paintings are on prominent display at the Green Mountain Inn. I remember when he died from a heart attack. His daughter, also Claire, died a few years ago of breast cancer. Still don't know why I was the one who survived.
Will post a picture of one of the "older houses" in Stowe soon. Dinner awaits. - Claire
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claire, those are great pictures! And great stories! So much history. The story about the brain tumor and polio virus, wow.
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Factoid: Early in my career, I was supposed to be working at Solomon Brothers, aka the recession in 1983. Instead, I became a paralegal for a well known trial attorney, which helped launch my career as Director of Marketing and Due Diligence, etc. One night, while working on an Illinois Supreme Court case, the phone rang in my office and I was the only one there. The voice on the other end said, "tell, _________ that Jonas called." The next day, the attorney asked me if I knew who Jonas was, and I said "no." He proceeded to tell me the life story of Jonas Salk, who discovered the polio vaccine. "Jonas" was always very nice when he called, and I had no idea at the time he was a brilliant scientist.
I love history, Claire. So keep the stories coming.....
Terrible about the KKK and French Canadians. I had no idea.0 -
I really don't understand something....I'm an old chick. 68. My ovaries are probably petrified by now. So why are they suggesting I take these hormone blockers?? God put hormones in our body for a reason and we get older the part that produces them wears out naturally. I had a hysterectomy at age of 38ish because of terrible menses. The biopsy revealed 100% positive for est and 100% for pst. But even with that test showing that, I still am confused why an old chick like me would have to take these meds. Frankly, I'm scared. I don't need any more hair loss or loss of sleep or diarrhea ( I currently have colitis flares). So I guess that's my question....why at my age do I have to take this?
Thank you
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Schweety, the rationale is that there is estrogen remaining in the body even after menopause, and the hormone inhibitors block its activity, which in the case of hormone-positive cancers, includes promoting cancer.
I was petrified of taking the AI because of what I'd read, but so far I haven't experienced any major side effects.
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schweety - after menopause your adrenal glands produce androgens, that when acted upon by the enzyme aromatase, convert into estrogen. This is an independent process from ovarian produced estrogen. The percentages from your biopsy are the number of receptors on the breast cells, not an estrogen level - and any estrogen produced in your body is fuel for those receptors. Tamoxifen blocks the receptor from receiving estrogen, and the class of aromatase inhibitor drugs (Arimidex, Femara and Aromasin and their generics) which are prescribed for post-menopausal people, or those using ovarian suppression, interfere with the aromatization process and keep the androgens from converting to estrogen.
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I am home tonight watching the sun slowly set on a hot late-spring day sipping champagne in celebration of a major life event. Today was the day that I told the head of the nonprofit where I have been heavily involved for a number of years that I need to disengage, giving a target date of about one month hence with the goal of finishing up a number of projects I am currently working on, and then doing a smooth handoff. It went far better than I had anticipated, but she did ask me to stay on and do one other major task. This is fine as it means more income for me.
My other business interests are heating up, and I am at the point that I can no longer do both. Plus, I want more free time to pursue my adventures, something extremely difficult to do when you are half dead much of the time. (Taking another sip of champagne.)
A major step which will bring me closer to my goal of a better life balance with time to build on my other consulting interests which play to my strengths. Plus give me time to hang out in my "Seattle office" better known as the wine bar. A number of independent consultants (or escapees from the office routine) hang out there Mondays "working" and discussing their various ventures.
I am making myself a steak dinner in celebration with fresh veggies from the farmers market. It's a trifle sultry out, but I don't care. I may sneak in a swim tomorrow though.
Think I will make some squash which I still have in the freezer along with the fresh peas. Saw the signs that they are putting in the pumpkin patch where I cycle which I assume also means Blue Hubbard squash. The ones I roasted up 2 years were fab. I am so stoked.
So much to update myself on for my new business ventures, but fortunately nimble and a quick study. Wish me luck! - Claire
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Congratulations, Claire!!! I think that is wonderful and you are going to have many new adventures. I am proud of you, girlie.
Hugs,
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The air quality is not good here in Illinois. It is hot/humid and high ragweed/mold/grass. Got a cough that I am going to take care of tomorrow with a shot. Always happens in mid June. Would have gone to the dr today, but we lost power last night and I did not rest very well. I am getting my act together tonight and will be in better shape tomorrow.
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good luck Michelle!
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It's hot here, and I have been helping the nonprofit move all day. Feeling it, and think I will forego the weights this evening. Off for a walk and a swim which I think is just thing on a sultry evening. I will park and walk in. Was thinking of a run, but downgrading to a walk. - Claire
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Thanks, girls. Welllllllllllllll, last night, a tree fell down and took our power out for at least 3 hours. It was hot, it was stuffy, but at least I had a string of lights on a battery pack, my phone, and a laptop screen light. Today, I am going looking for a battery operated fan, that also can plug in. My dog and I were hot and dd/dh went to the grocery store. I had to stay with my pooch.
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It must be the windy with pop up storms everywhere. There were over a thousand people without power in our area due to the random storms. We have had some hard rain and a little wind but not bad. We have a generator and I can't remember ever using it! DH checks it often.
Have a lovely day ladies!
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Today, girls, we had pop up funnel clouds. Only in 'Merica do we have pop up funnel clouds. Got on an antibiotic for my cough and congestion, hopefully the weather will cooperate and I will feel better soon. I also received a steroid shot which kept me awake all last night. Feeling better today. Hugs to all my girls.....
Varga, how are you feeling?
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