June 2017 Surgery Group
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I’m doing great, only a little tenderness in my arm pit area when I lie on it at night. Tamoxifen usage is great too, no real side effects after 3 1/2 months.
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Hi everyone! It's been awhile, but I continued to teach full time through out chemo. Taxol was no problem but the AC did not like me. Got strep during that, too. Finished my first week of radiation. Ready for this to be over and to somewhat get back to my life.
"Let do more workout, eat healthy and kick Cancer out of our life!" I agree. Already doing the first two - if I reoccurs, I want to be as healthy as possible. If it doesn't come back, i still want to get back to pre-cancer life if possible.
illimae, you are so strong & amazing! Definitely an inspiration for all of us!
This has been a very tedious, difficult journey the past 7 months. This time last year, most of us had no clue what was in store, but we have survived!!
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I agreed this is a tough past 7 months, physically and mentally. Steroid or chemo drugs sent me to some dark place, there were time I thought of not make it. Glad this is over, I finished radiation and I told the girls here I love them but I don’t want to go back to that table anymore.
I still go back to my MO office and visit all the chemo nurses and I love them also. Life have changed but I want my normal life back.
Ouray, you are strong you worked during your chemo, I couldn’t do it. I have to give credit to those who have small children, that’s such a tough time.
I still have many appointments to go for now, am looking into joining some yoga or tai chi class. Meanwhile I go out and do my 30-40 minuets daily walk, as soon as I build up my energy, will like to go back hiking. Radiation gave me a lot of fatigue even worse then taxol. It will take a week or two to get back normal.
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Checking in on everyone. 13 days of radiation left, then bone density & start arimidex.
Couple of questions: Is anyone going to be on aimidex 10 years? Also, what is the normal protocal for followup?
Do you have a pet scan or just wait for something to show up?
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Yay!! Almost done!!
I'm on something for 10 years. Tamoxifen now but will switch to an AI at some point. I think 10 years is the new recommendation. As long as it works it's Ok by me
I'm not getting PET scans. Just waiting for symptoms. It seems assbackwards tome though. I'd rather know early
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Lego, I'm also good with 10 years, but seems crazy that we go through chemo, radiation & a 10-yr. drug, but no scanning. I want to get on with life, but after this past year, I'd like more of a "guarantee" if that's possible that I am NED, not wait until it shows up. Does seem assbackwards!
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10 years of something here too ... it'll be an AI, but I don't know which until I finish rads later this month. I had ILC, which responds best to an AI. I'm pre-menopausal, so right now doing Lupron injections to make chemopause turn into menopause. I'll have my ovaries and tubes out in April because of the PALB2 mutation (increased risk of ovarian cancer from <2% for "normal" women to 10% for me).
And no scans for me, unless there are concerns. My MO says they're not clinically indicated for breast cancer survivors -- clinical studies have shown no difference in mortality rates, and the scans can cause more stress and unnecessary medical interventions (i.e., biopsies). So ... my question for the MO is, "when does something warrant me telling you?"
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I start rads next week. It's been a long rough road for me. JenRuns I think rule of thumb is .. if you get a pain that lasts more than two weeks let your MO know. Did anyone else have like 14 plus hot flashes a day during chemopause? My QOL sucks right now.. currently battling a C-Diff infection I got during my implant surgery FEB 8.
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Mucki, I'm so sorry to hear all that. That's so discouraging. It's like the road that never ends. I will keep you in prayers. C-diff is nasty, nasty stuff. I can imagine that each day is an endurance event. Prayers for healing to come sooner, for strength and health to be in the near future for you. xoxoxo
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Ugh, Mucki, sorry to hear about the C-diff!
Just finishing rads this week ... grateful to be chugging right along ...
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Uggghh, sorry Mucki. C-diff is awful. My son missed 3weeks of high school last year after he got it after taking antibiotics for an ear infection. Nasty, painful stuff. Hope that goes away quickly and the implants work out well
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Hi All,
Got curious, found this thread, and can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted. Chemo just kind of took over my life, as it tends to do, so I was just on that thread for a long time, but this was my first life-saving support thread!
Good to see those of you that I haven’t seen in a while.
Best,
Leatherette
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I just wanted to see how everyone is doing in recovery. Isn't there a facebook group that was started with everyone?
I'm still dealing with neuropathy and it has actually gotten a little worse in the last few weeks. My energy levels are still down a bit but I am feeling much better than I was. I was also termed from job for being on long term disability insurance not that that is necessarily a bad thing. There is something to be said for new beginnings although physically I'm not ready to go back to work but mentally I'm totally bored!!!.
Hope everyone is doing well
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Hey Mucki ... all's going well here. Yes, Paulette set up a Facebook group ... I'll send you my real info in a PM ... send me a friend request and I'll add you to the group.
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Hi everyone! Checking in to see how everyone is doing. I retired from teaching last Friday. Decided to focus on things I want to do & health & fitness. Don't know if I'll have a reoccurrance, but I'm going to enjoy life between now and the if then. Also, figure preparing physically will help me enjoy life more. Any of you running?
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Hi Ouray and all, I don’t run but I do enjoyed walking 5k’s when Texas weather permits. You may know that I was stage 4 from the get go in my iliac (hip) bone but I’ve also had Mets to the brain in October and April, treated with Gamma knife rads each time, currently stable in brain and body. I feel pretty good but will be leaving work due to stress at the end of this month. I have some trips and concerts coming up, then the hubs and I will downsize, sell our house and move to our mountain cabin to enjoy whatever the future holds. This is my BFF and I parasailing in Destin, FL last month, had lots of fun!
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I'm so glad your stable and making the most of your life. The pics are awesome!!!!!! Please keep us updated on your adventures
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Nice pics Illimae. Congrats on retiring to both of you. I’m hoping to retire in 3 years when I reach 55. I’m an accountant- obviously not a physically demanding job, but it does get stressful. My boss and coworkers are great though. I’ve been walking and doing a little yoga and stretching but would love to do more. I still struggle with low blood counts but feel fine. Just frustrating. Hope everyone else is doing well.0
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Hey all - so good to see the updates. What is the FB group? Would love to join. So I lost my job a few days before my second mastectomy last October (had left done, then right). I spent all of my recovery time job hunting - it was a pretty exhausting recovery. I accepted a job in another city at the end of December. It was honestly fairly grueling going through the interview process still tender and unable to wear fake boobs. There was one day where I had 3 interviews (all in different parts of town) in one day. I started my new job in February, flying back and forth between cities while packing and moving my whole life and all the paperwork and logistics that go with it and with a child switching schools. When we finally bought a house, it needed lead remediation and a lot of other work. So we are finally in the house, but it's not fully remediated yet. I'm maybe half unpacked and work is insane. I feel like I never recovered at all. I'm just so drained, so tired and not myself. Not yet in a routine of working out or eating healthy or basic self care. I had same-city offers and if I could back in time - I'd tell myself to stay put - take the local job - get through a year of post-op follow ups, then move. Silver lining - once I get fully unpacked I think I'll be able to rest more and the new house has a workout room and I'm ready to get back at it. I tried a few pushups the other day - I used to be able to knock a few sets of 15. I did 2 and my chest was like "nope". So I switched to the push ups where you are on your knees instead of toes. That was MUCH better. Any tips you have for getting the upper body strength back to normal would be great.
For all of you talking about job stress - yes. I get it. I'm so grateful some of you are able to step back or plan on stepping back.
Illimae - LOVE the pics. What fun! And I like how you threw the bird pic in too!
Legomaster - sorry to hear about the blood counts, but glad you are feeling fine.
Ouray - are you running? glad you are getting into fitness - it's a process.
Mucki - I'm so sorry to hear about the job and the neuropathy. Totally sucks. If you are bored - my new job is literally running a site for when people are bored - see gocomics.com.
Glad to see all the updates.
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i just did cute site. Sorry your going through a stressful time interviewing, moving and starting a new job while trying to recover sounds awful. I'm kinda stressing about the job thing but only a little I have plan A-C laid out in my mind.
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Oh and JenRuns connected me with the FB group maybe send her a PM
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illimae - you truly are a warrior! Love your attitude & that you are moving to the mountains! Where are your mountains? Mountains beat Houston every time!
mucki - sorry about the neuropathy & the job. Good luck with your plans!
legomaster - are your counts still low due to the chemo? Great that you're walking & doing yoga.
SBKH - You've definitely had a lot of change this past year. Understand about the exercise. Not sure why, but i'm great for a few days, then the same workout will wear me out. Not the same as we were before but least we are all coping & moving on!
I'm going to pm Jenruns about the fb site.
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hey gals! I don’t get on BCO much these days... probably a natural progression of dealing with this diagnosis. The FB group is a great thing to have though, so yes, please PM me if you want to get connected.
Life’s moving on... looking for a new job and trying to decide whether to scrub my social pages of my cancer. Despite some recommendations to do it, I think it’s such a part of who I am that I’ll leave it for now.
Hope everything is going well (or well enough) for everyone. So hard to believe I just passed my one-year anniversary for surgery. Time flies when we are having fun, I guess?!
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jenruns
I was thinking the same thing about removing all traces of cancer from! FB..I'm not quite ready to look for a new job yet but when the time comes I will. I know that most employers consider us a liability.
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l never thought about employers searching Facebook and seeing cancer stuff and not anting to hire someone based on that.
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Hello everyone!
Wow can't believe June is almost over and that this past Wednesday the 27th marked one year since my mastectomy. I have read through the most recent posts and want to congratulate those of you who are doing well a year later, and my heart goes out to everyone that has been going through difficult times. I have realized that the emotional road to healing is the longest and sometimes most challenging one to take. Physically things have improved a lot over this past year, however, I have noticed that my nerves are still waking up as I have little pains every now and then. Emotionally I still have some hot mess crying moments, but I think it is good to let the tears out whenever they want to come out. I remember last month in May I had a good cry two weeks before my first mammogram since being diagnosed, and then more tears came after I had the mammogram itself. To make matters more stressful I got a call two days later to come back for a diagnostic mammogram I though oh shit really not again(Freak out time!) Thankfully the good news was they found a cyst not a tumor. I was so happy that I went out to buy myself a box of chocolate chip cookies to celebrate.
I think working has helped me the most when it comes to not thinking about BC. I teach preschool children and today the best distraction from my nerve pain was a child coming up to me to say that someone had called her pooh pooh head and that she felt sad about it. I like how little kid problems can help put adult issues into perspective.
Wishing you all well.
Hugs,
Sara
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I just had my first annual mammogram and they thought they had discovered cancer in my healthy breast. Major freak out time for the weekend. I got the diagnostic mammogram on Monday and they determined it was benign skin calcifications! Such a relief, still recovering from that that one.
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Hi all,
So, I’m wondering, all this time after surgery, if anyone else is having pain. It’s been a couple of days and is located in the back, left arm area, the part that is still somewhat numb from the Axillary node removal. It’s not constant, it’s a sharp/squeezing pain when I sneeze or breath deeply. I’ve messaged my MO but wonder if any of you have experienced something similar.
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illemae:
I have had constant pain when I lay in bed at night or stretch out my arm at the sentinel node biopsy site and along my ribcage. I noticed this during radiation. It has never gone away. The pain is not bad, feels like a bruise along my rib cage and a pulled muscle when I stretch my arm. I get sharp shooting pains in my breast at the incision site but I figure that those are nerve pains and they happen randomly.
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I have random aching and discomfort on my rib cage and abdomen. Not everyday and it is more discomfort than pain. CT and ultrasounds showed nothing on my liver, ribs or anything else in that area. That is good but still doesn’t explain my discomfort. Maybe surgery and radiation related??? Maybe it is muscle or even nerve regeneration related Illimae? Hopefully your MO can figure it out. Until You see him I think it is a good reason to request extra backrubs:-)
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