2017 Diagnosed-- A Place To Share "Whats Next"
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sm627--- glad you posted. This place is such a blessing in the sea of BC crap. I know I have gotten so much help and support from others fighting BC, too.
A roller coaster ride for sure.
Here's to hope no 2018 is a better year.
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Hello, everyone. I just want to wish you all better health and lots of happiness in 2018. I hope it will prove to be a year of positives for all of us. Happy New Year
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I second 53nancy's wishes for all of us in 2018.
Here is to the best health outcomes for all of us in 2018!!
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Happy to have found this place on my journey. I look forward to 2018 with a supportive group of warriors!
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Sara: Glad you've found support here. I have, too. More than I can say.
HAPPY New Year everyone! I'm SO ready to kick 2017 to the curb. May dig out an extra path report and do the burn tonight!!!
I appreciate you all and hope for a wonderful/peaceful/healthy 2018.
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Happy New Year ladies!
Please wish me luck as I am going back to work tomorrow. Last day I officially worked was 02/09/17. Unofficially it was 12/29/16 bc I was out of my elements after the explosive mammo on Dec 29th.
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Happy New Year everyone! I saw my MO on Friday and started on an anti-depressant that night. He said it may take up to 6 weeks to really know if it is working the way we want it to. I’m hoping for better sleep (as in a full night) and some more energy. I’ve never had to hold back and not do things as I have for the last 4 months. As for 2017, Good Riddance! May this new year be good to us all
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Happy Nee Year to everyone...... wish 2018 will be a better year to all of us.
Mimi ....prayers for you brand new year. Go tiger you can do it.
TaRenee, are you having sleep problems due to Hormonal therapy?
Tomorrow back to radiation again ... praying for the last 14 sessions,
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Paulette, we think so. The night sweats have been rough enough. But if I wake up during the night at all it takes hours to go back to sleep. I’ve never had problems sleeping before so all signs point to hormone therapy. My MO also said that if this doesn’t help there are other options but he wanted to try this first. If I could sleep I would have more energy. (No, really???)
As someone else said, Cancer Therapy, the gift that keeps giving!
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I haven’t started my hormonal therapy but I have night sweats due to chemo, not fun at all. From what I heard it might subside after few months. Wish the anti depressant would work for you so you don’t have to suffer much.
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Castigame-- best wishes tomorrow when you return to work. Take it easy, give your self the ok to take a nap, if needed, when you get home.
Just remember this is a big step towards returning to your life, while kicking BC's behind. Nothing you will face tomorrow can compare to what you have endured in the past year.
You have this. Go get'
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Hi ladies - I'm relatively new to this site and have been reading all of the advice and encouraging words that you've been providing. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in how I'm feeling. I'm a nurse and the first thing people ask is, " how did you not know....you're a nurse!" My answer is simple. I had no lumps, no family history, and ideal health. Why would I expect to be 1 of the 8 women diagnosed with breast cancer? Breast cancer was never on my radar' ;Ironically, it seems as though every commercial, billboard and tv show that I see or hear is talking about breast cancer.
Does anyone have any advice as to how to get and stay motivated? I struggle with finding the energy to get up and dressed each and every day. My MO has taken me out of work due to the high incidence of flu (as well as my job requires that I take care of sick patients), and I find that I use that as an excuse not to do anything. I don't go to my son's basketball practice because "I don't want to get sick." I use that excuse all the time.
Thanks for listening....
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Laxmom, it isn’t always as easy as it should be to get up and get dressed anymore. I hate not being able to do things and go places. My first real venture out into the real world after surgery was the mall. I was so paranoid about getting sick that I couldn’t enjoy it. But yeah, I’ve used that excuse a LOT this year. It’s so easy to fall back on. But lately I’ve kind of turned a corner mentally. I WANT to go to games. More than that, I don’t want to miss out on life because I don’t want to get sick. Guess what? That boat already sailed or we wouldn’t be here talking about this. I can’t imagine how hard it is not being able to go to work because my job puts me at too high a risk. I teach school. And my team of doctors has already told me that if we have a flu outbreak they will recommend I take time off while it passes. I won’t want to, but I’ll do what they say. As far as motivation goes, give yourself a break. You have been through a lot in a short amount of time. You were blindsided by a dx and you have to give yourself time to “grieve”. I have always been at a high risk, so I kind of prepared myself for what was coming before I ever got my dx. But I still had/have a hard time some days. I will say, this group of women has been great for me. I know I have support here and I’ve learned that it is ok to be not ok
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happy new year my friends
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Lax Mom, I retired after Dx of BC, but I do get up each morning, eat breakfast then I do my morning walk with my dog. I do that at least 5 days a week then I will take one day break to do my home facial, sometime I have appointment so I can’t walk all 7 days. Getting out to walk helps me to feel like a normal person again. You’re on taxol now, so walking is good for you. I don’t go to the crowds since I’m on the last few weeks of radiation, I turned down friends’ new year parties because I worried to catch flu also. Almost got sick from my brother in law during Christmas gathering, he was sick and came to the party. All the kids got sick and glad I stayed away from him.
I know taxol would give you fatigue especially after #5 infusion, but walking helps your fatigue. Try to do 20 minuets walks if you can.
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There is no easy answer to getting motivated after getting the dreaded DX. How could you not be focused on what’s ailing you? It’s tough to be sure.
For me I didn’t have chemo - just radiation and while I got a bit fatigued and burned a little it was no big deal.
I second the suggestion of walking. Clears your head, good exercise and provides a much needed distraction. I don’t walk nearly as much as I need to but I do stay busy despite taking early retirement. I rarely sit still.
Once you go through the process and are reduced to just taking meds you can begin to relax a bit.
It will just take time but we are all living proof you can do this.
Happy New Year!
Diane
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Hi everyone - new to the thread, just found it. Nice to read from the women who started it earlier in the year and see how much you've all progressed already. And hello to my fellow newbies!
2018 started for me with the first signs of a cold - ugh. Seriously?0 -
Moth, I have a cold too! Honestly, after finishing radiation and enjoying the holidays I was actually looking forward to going back to work today. But I'm stuck in bed with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. What gives?! I expect more of 2018, dang it.
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Moth and Georgia1-- sure hope your cold/flu is short lived. I think we have enough to deal with.
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Question for gals who have finished Taxol: for those who lost fingernails or toe nails, how long after Taxol did this happen? I am thinking that I am now in the clear and don't need to worry about that anymore. Clipped my nails this morning, and it got me wondering.
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Castigame, all the best as you return to work. I hope it goes smoothly.
Laxmom, I hope things will go a little easier for you now. And I sure hope, for all of us, that we never feel we need to shoulder any blame for our diagnoses; many of us, including me, had no idea what was coming. People unintentionall perhaps make careless remarks about how we could not know, but they are not in our shoes. I had no lump, but a six month early mammo found microcalcifications, and a needle biopsy said probably benign. At that point, in spite of yearly mammos, I had never really thought of the possibility of B.C. and it shocked me to the core. I didn't know what to do, and am thankful that the surgeon I was referred to decided to do an excisional biopsy just to be sure. That ended up being a lumpectomy. I kept asking myself, what did I do wrong to have this happen, and then just decided it wasn't me, it was LIFE. It has been hard the last couple of weeks to stay movtivated, but now I am ready to go full swing into the new year, using diet and excercise, and am NOT going to worry about recurrence until if and when it happens.
Have any of you seen Dr. Lisa Schwartz's posts on FB? She has an excellent set of videos which "bust the seven myths about breast cancer" and I have found them very helpful in explaining some things regarding nutrition that I have known for years but never really understood clearly. Nutrition is going to be my mantra in future and I am now up to two miles a day walking, and my goal by the end of this month is to be up to five, which will include use of the treadmill.
I will be thinking of everyone and hope your 2018 is better than your 2017. Hugs to all of you.
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Happy New Year everyone! I am travelling to Atlanta today to begin a training contract with a school district in the area. I had to drop all of my contracts after my 2017 diagnosis and I am grateful to be working again.
Castigame, hope your first day back went smoothly!
Laxmom, change your expectations of "motivated" during treatment. Your goals are to rest, hydrate, eat as well as you can, walk, and laugh. HUGE success if you can manage all of that. ((((Hugs))))
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Today seems to be an emotional day for me. I've been on the verge of tears all day for no reason at all. Sitting here in my house doing my favorite hobby and my eyes are dripping. I finished rads on 12/13 and have finally been starting to feel decent again. New Year's morning, I had a fainting spell and I cracked my hip and head on the bathroom floor where I fell. I had an episode similar to this more than 20 years ago - but nothing since then. The Dr. can't explain it.
Next week I'm supposed to start hormone therapy, but I don't know which med yet and am afraid of the side effects.
I know you ladies all understand - I just had to vent a little.
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Tlfrank:
We do understand. It's an emotional journey, this one, and I'm not sure anyone else gets it.
FYI, I'm on Tamoxifen and have not had major issues. I feel more secure taking it. So just try whatever they recommend and hopefully, your SEs will be minimal. A lot of folks seems to tolerate these well. And some don't. But just give yourself a chance first. May all be great.
Hugs and hoping for a happy 2018 for all of us.
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It's nice to hear from people taking tamoxifen with no major issues!
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I start Tamoxifen tonight. Fingers crossed.
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Wishing you all the best that are starting Tamoxifen. I have been on it for 3 months now and it is not to bad. It did take my body a bit to adjust to it, but now things are much better and the side effects are mild. I think we can live together for the next 5 years.
Good luck going back to work take it easy. I remember going back to work was great you start to feel some what normal again. I am a preschool teacher and last month at our end of the year, 3 hour long, staff meeting one of my nerves started to wake up and cause me a bit of pain! All of my co-workers thought I pulled a muscle. I told them no its my nerves waking up again. I don't think anyone understood what I was talking about they just said oh okay.
Hope everybody is having a good start to 2018! Sending you all positive thoughts.
Hugs and Love to all,
Sara
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53nancy- I like your mantra! I was always fairly active. Walking, yoga, etc.... Since my dx on 12/21, I have been paralyzed with fear. I don’t physically feel sick, but I have not exercised one bit. Anxiety is making it so I’m not hungry.
Hopefully after my lumpectomy and SNB on January 5th, I will have a treatment plan and start taking control of my life again. Meanwhile, I’m going to read your post about nutrition and excericise again. And again. Thank you.
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TaRenee - have you tried Melatonin to help you sleep? I never have a problem going to sleep, but then if I woke up in the middle of the night to go to bathroom - or just for no reason - I would then lay awake for hours. So my MO told me to try Melatonin 3 mg. It has definitely helped. Now if i wake up, I can almost always go right back to sleep.
Tlfrank - I have had a hard time with anxiety ever since my diagnosis and subsequent surgery in May, 2017. So my MO put me on Zoloft, and that has helped tremendously. It doesn't make me drowsy and I have absolutely no side effects at all. I've also been on Arimidex since July and only had a few hot flashes and night sweats for the first month or so. The worst side effects for me have been the weight gain and memory problems. But at the end of the day, I would rather have those side effects than
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T-Sue, what kind of training do you do?
Snickersmom, I had been trying the melatonin before I went to my MO. He even suggested that. But here I am, 11:00 pm and been laying here in bed trying to sleep since 8. Ugh
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