AC back on  yesterday. LE is getting better. ATeamNana sounds like I have the same issue as you… some slight pain/numbness and heaviness. Mine is also mild but it can be annoying especially when I want to go to sleep. I was always under the impression you shouldn't wear your sleeves to sleep. There are special sleeves for sleeping? In general I find wearing the sleeve all day really helps. I always wear them when I exercise.

Laura I hate that you get so much discomfort from LE. The massage never did much for me. When I get this fluid build up it's pretty solid. The sleeve tends to soften it up.

Mama can't they give you something for the anxiety? Good luck today.

If someone doesn't post some prom photos soon I'm going to post my senior prom photos.

Can't wait for lunch! Onward with no wig!… I'm going to miss that.

I thought they told me it was ok to wear sleeve and the two gloves I have at night....

Maybe I should find out...but the sleeve helps me to keep it straight and I had less pain...numbness...the next morning..??? Maybe the humidity was less the next day and it had nothing to do with sleeping in the sleeve...that is what is so frustrating...who knows which thing is helping/not helping...I just deal with it.....what choice do we have:)

Wow Jackie....I wish I were that far along in the cleaning....the yard is done (I can't take credit for it my husband does that)  I did get a little done in the house yesterday afternoon ...but much more needs done......

RitaJean that would be great to meet for lunch with Jackie sometime...I think she is approx 45 min from me...(I do know how to get to her neck of the woods... Not sure what direction you are in)

Have a good day everyone and I hope we don't get too terrible storms!

Nana.....I haven't looked at a map lately, but if I had to guess I'd say that Rita is probably southwest of you.....but then I'm not too trustworthy on directions.  Rita and a very special friend of hers...Mary Jane made a trip all the way to Marion, Illinois when I was having my radiation txs there.  Quite a distance......and Mary Jane lives quite a lot farther north of Rita.  She ( MJ ) got up at 4 a.m. to get to Rita's for the trip.

Girls, I have never said this --- because I'm first not a good complainer anyway, and second there are some things you have to live through......but Rita and Mary Jane  ( I, just for some reason for the first time this morning, told my husband Denny ) I bet never knew what a breath of fresh air they were to me at that time.  The motel was not much at all, and there was little to do, and I bordered on depression most of the time.  I could not believe anyone could be so kind and go so far out of their way to bring sunshine into someone else's life.  I did 7 weeks there and was proud of myself when it was over.....but I don't kid myself....two special friends gave me a giant boost to bolster my determination to make that happen.  I'm still not sure I ever want to see the inside of a cheap motel again --- .  I know they ( Rita and Mary Jane ) took it as a small gesture, but I took it as so much more

Nana.....let me be the first to admit....we have two acres and Dh just needs help with it.  He is not a self-starter, go getter.....so sometimes I get the yard started.....then sometimes he just asks for help.  As far as the house.....it was a work in progress ( though not much had been made ) before diagnosis ( late 2007 with lumpectomy, chemo and rads taking up most of 2008 ) and I am only now feeling like the worst of getting it back to some semblance of actual order and cleanliness is done. We can relax about this now.  And I do relax a lot more and no longer feel that I must be spotless. 

Anyway, all the ladies here are fantastic and everyone here as been extraordinarily kind and considerate --  all shapes, sizes, directions, but stunning in the ability to care.  Your going to love meeting these ladies.  .

Hugs, Jackie

Adey.....you were posting with me.  Glad about your good news.  Checking is good....even if you suspect that it is nothing to be too concerned about, a little nagging feeling will hang around until you find a way to know for certain.  Glad you got your thumbs up. 

Jackie

Me freakin' too Lago!  Thanks. 

Thanks for the LE info.  I still haven't used my scrip for an LE consult.  Me; but I don't have any problems with it.  Onc; we want to keep it that way.  I will eventually.

Adey if you do purchase sleeves do NOT got to the place at rush. They are clueless. My sleeves were too short (gloves too but that was OK since I really don't need the glove). The also sold me the ones with silicone which I found out later I do not need and were irritating. When I went back for the exchange they still were pushing for the silicone… because that's what they had in stock. The even told me to wear the old ones with it folded down so the silicone wouldn't bother me. So that would have made the sleeve even shorter and more compression in the area where it was doubled over. Totally clueless. My 2nd set came from a different company entirely.

Blackjack my LE MD didn't give me the impression the massage would do much for me, mostly a temporary fix. He sent me to PT more to get my range back. Wearing the sleeves really does help a lot but if its humid I now know I will flair up. I'm sure I would have been fine it the AC wasn't off till yesterday.

Lago...I had chest lymphodema and massage therapy really can make a difference in the movement of fluid. Granted it is a slow process and I went to PT for 8 weeks and yes my fluid was gone. It is a daily thing...like tuning up a car...massaging and moving that fluid. There is a medical supply house in Mt. Prospect who has a breast specialist who will fit you with the proper sleeve. There are many companies out there but I find that Jobst sleeve is the best fit for me.

Zap.. I also had a bad reaction to rads...I would not recommend the excelled tx. Way to much for me. I am still dealing with post side affects.

Just got home from Taxol #7 - 5 to go!  After starting A/C on Jan 26th, I am finally able to count on one hand the chemo treatments I have left!  The light at the end of the chemo tunnel has started to flicker

Zap - I will learn from your experience for sure!  I am Italian so have olive skin so RO thinks I should be ok - but will NOT forget the lotions regimen!  Probably won't start until August anyway so I should just focus on getting through chemo first!

Adey - awesome news!

Blackjack - a bit about me ... turned 40 last year - had first mammo that showed nothing.  Found a lump a few weeks later (that only showed up on ultrasound) and the rest is history.  I have an awesome DH and 2 children - 15 (boy) and 12 (girl).  I work full time in Human Resources and am doing the best I can to juggle treatments, work, marriage and motherhood!  I had the typical hellish reaction to A/C and have had a much better time with weekly Taxol.  5 to go! 

Thanks all for the welcome and information.  You seem like a great group!

Belated welcome to MamaV.  This is a super group of ladies who can get anybody through anything.  This journey is no fun for sure, but the suppport you find here will make it easier.... and so much to learn from everyone else sharing.  I found rads to be a piece of cake compared to chemo, but I didn't realize how fatigued I was getting until near the end and really did not recover from it completely for a couple months.  During rads, it just became such a chore to keep running everyday, watching the clock, etc and loading on the Aquaphor all the time.

Adey... so glad it was B9.  Whew!  Makmak... your kids are really keeping you busy.  Congrats to your son on his awards and giving his speech.  I could not have done that in 8th grade... my knees would have been knocking.  He's brave.

Well, we are off to visit our farm land in South Dakota this weekend.  It is along the Missouri River in very southeastern part of state and is being flooded by the record breaking release of water from the dams upstream.  Sort of a mess.  Nothing we can do about it, but watch.  Feel so bad for the many people who are having to evacaute from homes.

Not sure yet if I will make the lunch on June 14th.  Going to try. 

"A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping stone to the optimist."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Yeah  it is nice here also Jackie....I'm hopoing the rain stays away for awhile...I'll take the Heat!

Have a good day everyone!

Hard times don't create heroes.
It is during the hard times when the "hero" within us is revealed.
- Bob Riley

What a weekend.  We have three graduation parties and I have a wedding shower.  These youngn's are growing up fast.

 Just a quick question for the working women who are going to try and squeeze in lunch at Webers. Would 12 noon, 12:30  or a 1 PM luncheon time  reservation make any difference for you?  Let me know.

Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day.
- Francis Gray

LauraGTO ...I am so sorry you are having such issues with your arm...all I can do is say a prayer....

Laura that sucks. My pain is manageable & the recovery is very slow but I think it's getting better. The humidity is hell on us. If you are that swollen and have that much pain it does sound like some therapy might do the trick.