Exchange City

Here's to painfree surgeries and speedy recoveries to those scheduled for surgery this week! (I don't think everyone is on the list so I can't name all individually)

TCK

 coolbreeze I think you have the right to be mad. I hate when people say stupid comments too.

I have a lady who works for me and at the time knew nothing about my cancer DX but we were eating lunch one day and the topic came up about medications that she takes and she said she takes estrogen and then she quickly commented "I know they say it can cause Breast Cancer but really who do you know who gets breast cancer?" I could have fallen off my chair. I am not one to share my info but I had to tell her who she was talking to.

I mean really how many 22 year old women do you know who have been diagnosed. I think sometimes people should just not say certain things they think.

Ok sorry for going on and on.

Rebecca

Exchange scheduled for in the morning!!!

Coolbreeze!

That is HORRIFIC!  Have you ever heard of a heart patients valve not arriving on time???? or a artificial knee prosthetic not arriving on time????? 

That makes me angry alongside with you..... and I'm sorry, but I have to ask, if our Plastic Surgeons are so diligent about choosing the implant, and taking ownership over what implant they will use, then I believe THEIR office/secretaries/ etc are the ones who order from the suppliers? Or, at the very least, they instruct the hopsital to order with LOTS of lead time.

  I believe your PS owes you a huge apology..... and a trip to the O.R. after hours!!!!.... (which never 'close' - think of ER surgeries.   An exception should be made.... and I believe your PS is the one who needs to go to bat for you..... or find another if you have to wait til August.  I would be outraged and crying and mistrusting until someone proved their integrity and came up with a RESOLUTION!  Lets hope THATS why they never returned your call..... cause they were putting something special in place for you next week and finalizing details!!!!!

Strength and Prayers that this changes around VERY QUICKLY  for you!xoxo

p.s. I'm SO sorry this happened to you !!!!!!!!!!!!!   We all can relate to how we count the days until we can rid ourselves of TE, prepare every detail around Major surgery, and Emotionally have enough anxiety that they give us sedatives prior to surgery to control our pressure, and heart..... I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY/THINK.....   This is guna take a few days to sink in for you, I think.....

xo

Hi all! I haven't posted much due to my 5 post per day limit, but I have been reading.

It gives me great comfort to read that everyone has the same thoughts and concerns. I met with my PS on Tuesday and finally scheduled my reconstrution surgery which was postponed due to last minute decision to do Chemo. Exchange is 9/15/10 and I can not wait!! I feel in limbo and a little odd to not have anywhere to be or anything to do relating to cancer treatments until August.  For whatever reason I also feel a little sad (or a lot sad) I've cried for the past two days straight. I can't explain it. I hate the way I look and just can not wait to feel myself again. I asked my PS about Latisse and thought if i could regain my luscious lashes I would feel a wee bit better about my appearance. He didnt think it was a good idea saying it doesn't grow new lashes just makes lashes that are there fuller. I was so disappointed I really thought it would regrow lashes faster. Everyone here has such a great attitude! I am hoping it rubs off on me the more I read. I hate feeling like a sad sac, its just not me.  

 Kate33...you made me LOL, thanks first time in days.

Thanks to everyone else for staying so upbeat, it really is encouraging.

Didel:  If you are done with chemo your lashes should start growing back.  Please be patient.  I finished chemo on Feb. 8, lost all my lashes a month after, then grew all of them back in April.  I am also in the eyelash study.  I started in May, and I'm getting Latisse for free through the study.  I was told that it helps regrow lashes besides making them thicker and darker.

Coolbreeze:  Sorry that you are going through more waiting, especially after already going through all the prep work.  That's almost like purging yourself for a colonoscopy and finding out the next day that your surgery was cancelled. I would get SO upset!  I agree that your PS owes you something...

Boronmom:  I was touched by your airline security experience.  I will ask my PS for a letter as I am expecting to fly before my exchange. 

Good morning everyone. My name is listed for a July ? date for nips and grafting. Not ready yet for July date. - Exchange was 3-25-10.

Anyway, my new girl still stills heavy while augmented one feels ok, but incision under augmented breast is still giving me a hard time.I have been on antibiotics, I have put Vitamin E there, bacatracin, and now pharamacist recommends neosporin. I also put gauze there so nothing rubs.  Any bra I buy drives me crazy. I have gone to a bra boutique and have worn their bras (all w/out wires), now go to (If anyone lives near East Hanover, NJ area, JUST FOR YOU, specializing in mastectomy products, wigsand spa - they have helped me). Has anyone else had the incision sore problems? Also my reconstructed side underarm feels "sticky" when I raise it. Has anyone had the "sticky" problem.

Is new breast supposed to feel heavy almost almost 3 months later?

As to the idiotic comments regarding bc, just grin and bear it. We are winners and survivors.Screw them.

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy day.

Lilah, you're response to Ann was so true, I had to read it a couple of times, makes so much sense.  But Kate, yours is exactly what I was thinking!  LOL!  Ann, we're all thinking of you and supporting you in this nightmare!

I think the airline problem is only with the full body screeners which aren't in place everywhere.  After I had the experience I read that breast implants show up in them!  Would love to know who is behind the "wall" checking these pix out!  I know it's necessary but is going to take time getting used to the invasion of privacy.

2New1s hope you change to 2perfect1s!!  Best to Sandy, Debbie and BcinCO!!

Val, but I do want you to tell me what to do!! Please LOL! I didn't cancel yet, decided to call and ask for some anxiety meds!  Laura2, funny coincidence - I said to my ps back in 91 after seeing nip, omg I feel like Madonna (she was definitely into the conal look back then).  He seemed confused, thinking back he was probably proud of his work and surprised at my reaction!! He should be proud, it's held up well all this time!  Now to get the other to match!

Didel...not my business...but...there have been warnings over on Natural Girls thread to NOT take anything that "grows" things unnaturally in your body.  For instance, one of my docs PAs suggested I take Red Yeast Rice Extract to lower my cholesterol, but when I researched it...Google sites said not to take it if you have breast cancer...maybe because of the yeast...don'tremember explanation as to why not.  So, I take Polycosanol instead.

I haven't researched Latisse myself, but you might want to spend some time researching it before you consider it.  All I know about it I learned from Dr. Oz....on his show the only down sides they discussed was that if it is not applied exactly right and you get some on your skin....they showed these ugly discolored patches of skin.  Maybe they have something about it on his site.

Also, my daughters say that they heard somewhere that it can permanently turn blue eyes brown...that if it gets in the eyes it alters the color of the iris.

Di -- the eyelashes will be back before you know it!  Same with the eyebrows.  I had the same thing happen to me ... didn't lose either lashes or brows til after I was down with chemo and it IS depressing.  I felt it was the only time I really LOOKED like a cancer patient (given that I was able to wear a wig to cover the hair loss).  It really was only about a month (maybe 5 weeks) from eyebrow/lash loss to start of regrowth.  Hang in there

About Latisse:  I have been using it.  In fact, my PS offices got me some free from their sales rep.  (They don't do everything wrong..)  There is a trick to it - don't use the brushes it comes with.  They are WAY too thick for the product.  You want to get a very tiny brush, almost a lipliner size and use that. 

It won't grow your lashes faster but it does grow them longer, and it also prevents them from falling out when they do grow in.  Eyelashes have a staggared growth cycle, and sometimes when they fall out and grow in at the same time, they all fall out again at the same time.  It can take a few months/year for this to stabalize this.  This is disturbing because people don't expect it.  Latisse can keep your lashes from falling out and help prevent that.  My lashes are mostly back now except for one place in the corner, where I still have a really short curly stubble.  But, it'll grow. Pretty soon, they'll be long and lush.

I used the product when it was in Revitalash.  Yes, the old formulation of Revitalash had bimataprost in it, which is the same drug in Latissee.  Allergan filed a patent suit against Revitalash and won, and so Revitalash had to take bimataprost out of their product.  (It no longer works).  It's a very safe product and none of the clinical trials showed any eye color changes - it's a glaucoma drug and so eye color changes happen when people put it in their eye as drops. It's not happened when used as an eyelash enhancer.

However, there are lots of anecdotal reports of eyelid irritation and I think it's because the brushes they give you are way too thick. There is no way you can prevent getting it on your lids.  (I think they want you to use the thick brush because the drug gets used up faster.)  I have a nice, tiny eyeliner brush and I pain it right on the lashine with no spillage and it's working beautifully.

The Latisse rep suggested that I not take it during chemo.  No studies have been done about use during chemo but she said taking anything that causes cell growth during a time when you are trying to kill cells may not be a good idea.  So I waited two weeks after my last chemo to start.  

Hope this helps somebody.  

And, if they don't call me back by noon today, I'm calling again.  And again.  If I don't hear by Monday, I'm calling the doctor himself and not his staff.

Judy:  Just catching up on here--Congratulations on your good news.

M-Star:  You should have your own comedy hour on television.  You are too funny.  Thank you for the laugh so  early in the morning;

Adnerb, Didel, Latisse:  I am  also in the Latisse Study for women who just finished chemo.  It's a double blind study but I see more growth on top where I am applying it then on my bottom lashes.  It can darken the pigment along the lash line and if it gets into the eyes it can change the color of light eyes.  I was also told if it gets on your face it could grow hair there!  My eyebrows grew right back in but the eyelashes are taking their time!  I compensate by using waterproof eyeliner.  It hides the fact that I don't have eylashes and makes me feel a bit better.  I use Clinique's powder compact for eyebrows.  It comes with a great brush and I just draw my eyebrows on and everyone complements me on them and are surprised when I tell them I've drawn them on.  It lasts for hours even though I have really oily skin.  It has been eight weeks and my hair is growning in thick and grey and very kinky.  Before chemo I had lots of fine, brown, wavy hair with a bit of grey so it's an adjustment.  Thank goodness for hair products and hair dye.

For all of you who are having surgeries or exchanges:  Best of luck to you! 

Thanks M-star for posting the "WOW, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS" thread.

Hope everyone gets to watch this video!!!

Awesome insight into relationships and communication between us and our PS's. !!!!

Thanks!

I Never EVER go out without eyeliner on and during chemo was NO exception.  Even my very best friend didn't know I had lost my eyelashes because I always wore my eyeliner.  I would do my eyebrows as well but on off days I would go without them, I had actually considered using a sharpy so I wouldn't have to worry about it.  ha I think my favorite part of the hair growing back was the fact that I got back a healthy set of eyelashes!  I just LOVE THEM!!  The eyebrows didn't come in as nice...but oh well.  My hair came back waaaay silver...and I could hardly wait to get it colored!!  My girlfriend is a hairdresser and she told me I had to wait until we couldn't see my scalp...so as soon as that day came I was sitting in her chair!!!  YIPPEE!!!