2017 Diagnosed-- A Place To Share "Whats Next"
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Dodgersgirl and Georgia yay!!? Great news! Congratulations!
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PeachyJeanne—. Woot woot on the benign results of the seroma under your arm. One more chemo... another woot woot!!
Check with your gynecologist ref Tamoxifen. In a SMALL percentage of users, there is uterine cancer troubles. I think they will keep an eye on thickness. Sorry I don’t have better details. I went straight to aromatase inhibitor med.
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PeachyJeann. Tamoxifen can cause uterine wall thickening in some people. I had a transvaginal ultrasound for a baseline but it was slightly thickened. I had been in tamoxifen for about a month. Gyn said it could have been that my cycle was cut off when I started chemo. The D&C was out if precaution. She said she had never seen a a case of uterine cancer from tamoxifen but still wanted to test.
I just got quarterly blood work done. Still low on WBC and RBC but neutrophils finally broke the low end of normal. Seems up be taking a long time to get back to where I was pre chemo.Anyone else??
Also does anyone else's MO test ESR rate? I think it tests for inflammation- mine was normal. Not really sure what that tells us though. I don't get any other tumor marker tests.
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DodgersGirl, what great news. I am so happy for you and I hope you get nothing but the best if news from here on
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53nancy— thanks! I sure hope we all get nothing but good news on this journey no one asked to be on.
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Hi Ladies - I haven't posted in a long time but do check in and read all the wonderful comments. I have a question. I had gone for blood-work (requested by my MO) and the person drawing the blood asked what side I had my BC and RAD and I told her the left side. She said "OK, we can't draw blood from that side". I had never heard that before. Have you? I of course forgot to ask my MO when I went for my appt. I'm just wondering if it's true and if that's something that will be forever now and something I should be more informed about. I had a lumpectomy and radiation. Thanks so much.
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Ellyn27–. I thought not using the BC side for blood draws, sticks, and blood pressure reading was for those with mastectomy and node removal as lymphodema is a possibility when nodes were removed.
Will be watching for info from others
Great question
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Hi. I was told not to do blood draws,blood pressure or iv sticks on bc side because of lymph nodes removed. I had only one removed on the nonbc side so it is the better option. When I had my port removed they put a band on my left wrist stating no sticks and blood pressure.0
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Same here. No blood draws or blood pressure on the side with lymph node removal. I wonder if the fact that they do more sentinel node (1-4 nodes) makes a difference. I’m sure in the past, or in the case of full node dissection the lymphedema issues were increased. My left arm is going to get really tough in the next 30 years that I plan to live 😊. That’s a lot of blood draws
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Just ditto'ing that it's to do with the lymphedema prevention.
BUT when I met with my PT lymphedema specialist she said the current research doesn't actually support that blood draws or blood pressure are implicated in lymphedema. Rather she said the indications are that it's infection or serious injury. She advised wearing protective clothing etc and quickly treating any scratches or injuries and being very diligent about avoiding infection and just monitoring the arm for early signs of lymphedema and treating it right away.
When I was in hospital for febrile neutropenia I actually had some IV antibiotics on my affected side. I've also done a few blood draws on that side as I I was doing tests daily for over 2 weeks and my other side was just turning into a massive bruise...0 -
Just agreeing with Moth. If you have several lympth nodes removed it makes it harder for your body to fight infections (even from minor scrapes/cuts) on that hand and arm, so they recommend blood draws on the opposite side. I got a bit paranoid hearing that I must admit and bought some cut-resistant gloves to use while cutting vegetables and gardening. They work great.
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Thanks for all the responses about the blood draw. I did not have lymph nodes removed. Again, I had a lumpectomy and radiation so not sure why they told me this.
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I agree with blood draws, blood pressure, etc., being done on the opposite arm. This is what my radiation therapist told me, so it is what I insist on now, though some of the lab technicians have not agreed. Georgia, that is interesting about the cut resistant gloves. I think I will go looking for some. Wishing all the best to all of you.
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Hi Everyone,
I am so glad to hear all the good news with the test results coming back negative and no BC. I hope everyone continues to get good report cards from now on.
Dodgergirl wishing you all the best and keep on getting good test results!
TaRenee I wanted to wish you good luck with your exchange surgery this coming week. Sending you lots of good healing thoughts.
I wanted to share something with you all. The other day I had a bonfire with one of my friends from my in person BC support groups. We burned everything related to BC and a letter we wrote to our tumors. It was great fun then we ate donuts!
Sending Love and Hugs to all
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SM67, I love that! I had my first OB/GYN appointment post-diagnosis today and going through the huge pile of paper I had amassed looking for the records she wanted truly did make me want to burn it all! And yay to the doughnuts!
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Georgia1,
Maybe you could make copies of some of the reports to burn. I did that with my pathology report. What is your favorite junk food? How did your OB/GYN appointment go did you get a good report card for health?
Wishing you well.
Hugs,
Sara
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Sara, thanks for asking. It was a rather depressing chat with the OB/GYN actually although I like her a lot and she is very knowledgeable about breast cancer, Tamoxifen and menopause. I have vaginal atrophy, which has to be one of the worst medical terms in the world. So while all is well in the breast cancer department I now need to figure out if I want to add a bunch more doctors appointments and treatments to make sex less painful. Getting old stinks sometimes but it beats the alternative, right?
And any excuse to make some brownies!
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Georgia1— hope you find a solution to the atrophy issue. Getting older is not for the faint of heart.
Did you say brownies? Think I have to make some tomorrow! Yum.
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Annbee—. How was vacation? Hoping is was just what you you wanted it to be.
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Love the bonfire idea and love the donuts afterward even more!!! I want to have a celebration day for myself and not sure if I should have an annual celebration from the day I was first diagnosed, had the surgery or finished RADs. Maybe I should just do all 3
QUESTION - When would you consider yourself "cancer free"?
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Hello everyone! I don't think I've ever posted to this thread before. I was actively posting in the Oct chemo thread but activity has slowed way down. I don't belong to any support groups locally, so I'm glad to see this active thread for those of us diagnosed in 2017. Five days ago was the anniversary of my diagnosis and I thought about what I should do to mark the day. I wanted to get my first post-chemo haircut, but I didn't. All I did was reminisce that day with my husband.
Ellyn27, my MO told me that I was cancer-free after my surgery, and that the chemo and rads were to eradicate any stray cells. So I will mark that day for sure!
Life is passing by, and I am slowly finding my new normal. I also have lymphedema on my left arm and hand so a compression sleeve and glove are part of my life now. As spring approaches, and sleeves get shorter I hope I don't get too miserable wearing these.
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sunnyjay—welcome... glad you found us.
I was dx’d on 3/10. Wondered what I would do on that day but other than mentioning it to my family, it just passed. Guess that is part of moving from active treatments to whatever one calls the next phase... life?
Funny you mentioned a post-chemo haircut... my hair is long enough to cut now but I haven’t decided how I want to wear it yet. Before chemo, my hair was down to my waist, never wanted short hair but after learning how quickly one can wash and dry short hair, I may keep my short hair
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Ellyn27– my breast surgeon said I was cancer free after surgery. Like Sunnyjay wrote, the rads were to clean up any loose cancer cells.
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Thank you, Dodgers Girl! Next up for me in the land of perpetual doctors' visits is my six-month surgical check-up, which is on Monday. I do like the idea of marking my "cancer free day" as the surgery date, and I bet my surgeon will too.
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My bone scan was clear! At least now I know my aches and pains are not cancer.
I am ready for my second hair cut but debating. I have kept it short. Haven’t colored it yet. Everyone loves the color but I feel a bit older than my 51 years.
My surgeon said I was cancer free after my surgery.0 -
Elllyn27, I haven't yet decided what the significant milestone date for me will be. I suppose there might be several. As spring begins happening around here, I find myself feeling twinges of angst as I remember what last spring brought into my life. And I truly wanted a date on which I could feel "done", but don't honestly know when that is!
Short hair is easier to care for, and I am kind of liking that. I am rocking the new look, even though I have never had short hair in my life. What do you do when everyone tells you how cute it is, and you should keep it like this, when you just want to be yourself again?
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Rhyfelwr— I had no idea I could be ok with short hair. Since my hair was long and wavy, I always figured it would just “hang” and look sad when short... but nope, it stands up, if I want it to and have had fun with that. My DH calls it my Ann Burrell hair. For the first time ever, I have a blow dryer with a round brush to get a different look. Maybe this new shirt hair is a good consequence of BC??
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Annbee—. Woot Woot on clear bone scan!!!!
I had my 3 month MO visit today. Signed the papers for the SWOG clinical trial. Should know in a week or less if I am accepted. What a double edge sword... could be on a pill chemo for 54 weeks which could help prevent recurrence or mets while enduring SEs (mouth sores) for 54 weeks or could be on a placebo. I figure I will know which arm I am on by SE I get or don’t get.
Hope you dad a nice vacation and that the rest of the school year is smooth sailing.
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I have what others call "chemo curl", so I'm dying to get them cut! I feel like it's growing in more coarse, and more gray than I'm used to. Dodgersgirl, when people ask me what it looks like I tell them like Ann Burrell's too!
Before dx, my hair was dark, straight, and down to the middle of my back. After dx, I cut it to a bob, so I had it short for a few months before it all fell out. Since August, I've been sporting wigs and only close friends and family really knew what I went through last year, so to go without the wig would be a surprise to those that don't know. DH likes the shorter hair and thinks I should "come out". LOL I'm slowly getting the courage to do so, and think a stylish pixie cut will help!
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Sunnyjay—. Chemo curl !! I have that, too.
I went out in public a couple of weeks ago without a hat or wig or anything.... just me and my hair. Feels so freeing to have the wind pass thru my chemo curls
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