Illinois ladies facing bc
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Yep, We get it all too well. And next July you will have this year behind you and will be growing hair and feeling stronger.
Navy
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Morning! 71 on the deck with a gentle rain...no plans so I am happy...good book day!
Mary...I used to go to a ladies only gym that closed 1.5yrs ago where I think I yakked more than worked out. When I joined a real gym I started doing 2, 2.5 miles on the treadmill, at a 3.6 pace, level 3 or 6 miles on a bike, level 2-3. Both take me about 30-40 min. I do that 5 days...I alternate arms/legs on the machines, takes another 30 min. Weekends DH and I take looooong walks, weather permitting. Thats it....I do get my heart rate up nicely tho...maybe around 120.
Zap...picture needed of your sparkle shoes!
Jackie...would love to finally meet you! Surely you can sneak away for one day....please?
BJ....hohoho! Wonder why Pompei closed? They were always busy! Laughing about FB...I posted that last update for a reason...which of course will never dawn on my "family"! I've learned a lot from FB.....that's why I love it! LOL
I did think about what else I changed that may have increased my bone density over the last 2 years. I did within that time start taking omega 3-6-9 fish oil and I changed my calcium to Caltrate chewables Plus Minerals( has boron, magnesium, manganese, d3 etc) so maybe this change plus the increased exercise did it? Who knows...but I will keep this all up.
Also...Susan...ur research was right on...leukemia/lymphoma pts and some prostate/lung/liver cancer pts cannot take the shingles vaccine either per my onc from yesterday's discussion. I have lots if time to decide. I do look young in that photo! Why do u think I picked it!!!! DH takes blurry photos...poof...no wrinkles! And of course there is always Photoshop... ;-)
Hope everyone is doing well this am and that you all got some good sleep last night. Uh-oh...just announced on the news that this country's rating dropped from AAA to AA+. This is so not good. Personally...I would like to fire everybody in Washington and start from scratch. Yes...everybody!0 -
thanks navy,,,,,,, really. next july will be different and better! take care and have a good day!
hi everyone!
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Stop! Breathe deeply.
Begin bringing peace to the outer world by regaining your own inner peace.
Choose love, choose gratitude, choose forgiveness, choose peace.
Begin with your own inner peace.
Then use that inner peace as a platform from which
to approach the outer world with perspective, understanding, and patience.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Navymom will you keep us updated on how you like your tatoos? I postponed my nipple surgery this summer because I wanted to be able to swim and forget all this breast cancer and surgery stuff. Really I'm undecided if I want them at all now.
Determined, you letter reminded me of the form letter I got from my ob/gyn congratulating me on my normal pap smear and I didn't need to return until next year., Unfortunately that was sent several days after my BC diagnosis and when I was still going through ultrasounds, MRIs and biopsies on a second lump. Gee... thanks for the good news. .
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I have heard stories of women getting letters saying they were overdue for their yearly mammogram… women that had BMX! So far I haven't received one from the place I used to go to but I'd only be 3 months overdue.
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Hey -- good morning on the deck. Raining a bit here too. I slept very well though I must have drank a little more water than usual. I was up three times.....each time hearing the boom booms, after seeing light and vaguely recall wondering if I could go back to sleep. I thought that quite briefly all three times.
It is nice to not feel the humidity. We will have off and on rain for the next few days so I think will be mainly pleasant. Count down going to Balloon Fest. I like to go the first night as they have such good fireworks --- only on the first night.
I'm not too political ( no future in it ) but I do think and have for some time that Wendy is right. We need to have everyone in the government go home and start over.....with a lot of things, not only the people currently there.
Hope you all have a fantastic day.
Hugs, Jackie
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Good morning IL girls....happy Saturday.
Determined...I feel the same way about how my life is upside down from last year....
All the ladies before me tell me how quick all this goes and a year from now I'll be reflecting on all this craziness...oh I hope it's true... How many weeks are you in treatment for? Mine will be 18 total, if all goes as planned I'll be done by Christmas.
So bring on the Xmas party planning already....it gives me hope!!!
Wendyk...did your onc help guide you with different supplements and vitamins after you were done with treatment or just something you researched and chose yourself? I'm hoping mine will kind of guide me when the time comes, based on my needs? I'm being told right now (with chemo looming) to take nothing new....
I probably will never get an "overdue for your mammogram" letter....since I shouldn't have even had my first one yet. My sister in law (who's 30 with 2 cases of BC in her immediate family) told me she doesn't need to start mammos for 5 more years....I was surprised at that!!! I was told my daughter will be eligible for baseline screening at age 21 now that I'm diagnosed. And my SIL's mom is one of the cases....
Jackie...balloon fest sounds fun! I feel like I've missed all fests and fun this summer.... Ok, I guess I have? Lol.... Small hiatus on life I suppose....0 -
I just realized I'm taking my daughter to see Taylor Swift this Tuesday.... I bought the tickets before BC took over my life, I hope I'll feel ok to go!!!! I really want to....but it'll be just me and her so I'm the only one that can drive us there and back.... Ugh. I can do this!!!!
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MadMom I have never been advised of anything. Granted I never asked. One thing I read is not to eat grapefruit on Herceptin. I don't know how true that is. Maybe you can ask our onc the next time you see her. I don't think I'll be seeing her till april 2013. I see our NP next time in april 2012.
I love walking through the park/zoo after it rains. It's so pretty. Pretty humid out but not as bad when the sun isn't shinning down on you.
Have a great weekend everyone.
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Get a limo, Madismom, and enjoy!
I'm already thinking about changing my obgyn. If I get a letter reminding me to schedule my mammogram I think the decision will be made!
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Speaking of these letters..... my job, that I just started a month before diagnosis, is in the health care industry, implementing medical management software. Not to bore everyone too much, but this is all a new industry for me....
These letters can get automatically generated by the software at the insurance carrier, especially when there is insufficient history kept in the database. For example, if someone had a BMX, it would need to be noted as an "exclusion" to the mammogram rule, especially if the BMX occurred under a different carrier. These letters reminding us to get our upcoming or overdue mammogram get generated automatically to support the providers, as they are often incented to provide quality of care. So this is all very interesting, but my special version of hell, in addition to these letters, is that I get to discuss this ad nauseum at work, and the BMX/mammogram problem is the favorite example. I try to keep a sense of humor and my emotional distance, but wow, the weeks I was looking forward to my BMX and then recovering I really wanted to politely ask if we could FIND A DIFFERENT EXAMPLE PLEASE.
Madismommy -- you'll be fine for the concert. You are a nice mom -- I sat through Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana a few years ago. Just save your energy for the concert, let everyone else do the housework, or just let it go for a day or two (you can tell what my house looks like, now can't you?)
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TwoHobbies: I wasn't sure I even wanted the tattoos until about a month or two ago. My exchange was back in March of 2010 and I just wasn't ready to do anything else to my body. And then one day I looked in the mirror and knew it was "time" So come September I will do something I said I never would.....get a tattoo! But I also said I would never have plastic surgery....Never say never....
Have a great weekend everyone.
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Lago, I go Wednesday for the Muga and to meet with Teri....oh and guess what, there was confusion regarding my two appointments being scheduled correctly....not by me, by them....i was being told one thing by Teri and than michelle l. left me a message saying a totally different thing. Originally Michelle scheduled me Thursday, Muga downtown than an hour later at oak park for training, WHA? Teri said Wednesday....all downtown??? It's resolved....I just thought of what you had said about the support staff, LOL
Navy...I'll be following your nipples experience close because I'm leaning towards never getting them or the tattoo in the future, BUT don't wanna rule it out. I don't really miss mine at all, I really thought I would badly?? Maybe that'll change down the road....0 -
Oh, and my DH used to joke for years that he wanted to buy me boobs for my birthday (I never had much) and I used to say "I'd never do that". Lol.... My DH feels horrible about saying that now, even though I told him it's not his fault... He says "this isn't what I meant...I wish I never joked about that....it's all my fault". Hopefully he knows it really isn't his fault!!!! :0)
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My husband never complained about my small boobs but I think he's liking how these new larger boobie prizes look on me.My pre-op exchange he insisted on going with me. I think he was worried I was going to go too small.
I'm still leaning towards getting nipples. Just not so sure I want my PS to do the tattoos though. They seem to big and flat when the PS does them. Some of these tattoo artists do wonderful work. I have time to think about it.
But something about getting my first tats when I'm 50 (or in my early 50's depending how long I wait) seems like a fun thing to say to someone who doesn't know you. "I have 2 tatts. No you can't see them."
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Lago, I am curious about the tatoos as well at the PS. I recently found out that at my PS office, the PA does the tatoos. That makes me slightly uncomfortable.
I am curious to see if any other IL BC surviors here have used a tatoo artist, and preferably one that they would recommend, in the Chicago-area. I am also thinking about the 3-D tatoos, but leaning more toward tradional/classic nipple reconstruction with tatoo coloring.
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Lago, speaking of the North-Pond....I read that they found this Cinnamon Teal Duck there and that mate is out of his natural habitat there. The Cinnamon Teal lives in the western states, but certainly not in Lincoln Park. They think he may have been a duck in captivity that found his freedom,or was placed here by some birder ( should not have done that) or just an adventuresome duck that traveled miles from home. He was very pretty, very friendly and caught the eye of many birders. I am not sure if he is still there. Google him in North Pond and see if you recognize it. If you ever spot him, take a picture!
I am off to the wedding but my stomach hurts...not sure if it is the IBS or cancer that has spread (I know many of you will follow that wacky thought). I am attempting tpo put some of Jackie's inspirational messages wo work here along with what I have learned from Train your Brain....but you know how that goes. I do just great until another pain comes.
Wendy, I have seen you plenty of times in person. It is not just a great picture....you are very attractive.
The news that the restaurant closed is so upsetting. In our travels about I see SO many empty storefronts and restaurants that are history! This is getting more alarming..
I will post my sparkly shoes when I figure how how to do that. They are so unamazing....just flat shoes that have sparkly stuff all over. I may leave a trail of glitter behind me.
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Lago, don't forget to tell them non-chalantly that you have two tats on your breasts. I'd like to see that reaction! To think I was thinking I'd do a belly button piercing and tatoo a sun around it and now I have to think about nipple tats. Stinks. Maybe I'll do the suns where I should have nipples.
What, the experts think a duck can't get there on his own? It's probably too darn hot where he came from so he thought he'd try Lincoln Park. Remember the cougar sightings and they told us it wasn't a cougar, and then they said well if its a cougar someone put him there, but its probably not a cougar and low and behold, Cougar showed up in Chicago and got shot. I think he was from North Dakota.
Well off to shop for back-to-school clothes. It's getting to be that time again.
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Navy - Thanks for the tatt info. I'll definitely check it out.
Susan - Sorry to hear about your achy belly, and I sympathize. I haven't had serious issues with IBS since my 20s, but the past few weeks it's been flaring up like crazy. Of course, the first thing I think is what kind of mets is this! I actually decided to start a gluten-free diet last week. Not that I think I'm celiac, but I wonder if I've become gluten-sensitive. So far so good, except for this terrible heartburn that I've had for a while now. In fact, I just had what I think is a spasm of my esophagus, or something, just in the past hour. I thought I was having a heart attack and actually laid down to ride it out. My poor DH was wondering if was going to have to call 911, and I was too. It's subsided now, but that was NOT fun. Back to taking my Rx strength antacid pill.
Stress.... I really think it's all stress triggering things, for me at least.
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Zap & Rene I too have the IBS and at times heartburn issues. I control my IBS by diet. I know what my trigger foods are. Usually animal fat especially red meat and skin from chicken. Oddly enough Chinese egg roll doesn't bother me. I usually get bloat and the big C. I can still eat those things (except for hamburger or more than 5 crumbs of bacon) but only once a week or I can have issue. Also take 1 tsp on Nutra Flora Fos Powder daily in my yogurt helps.
My heartburn is usually not a problem anymore unless I get chemo or general anesthesia. This last time it took 5 weeks to get rid of it after the exchange surgery. Had to take Carafate 4x a day.
Both IBS and heartburn issue are not unusual for us at our age. These issue are very common starting in middle age (and some people even sooner).
Breast cancer typically spreads to the bones, lungs, liver (& brain).
"Metastatic cancer typically develops (if at all) within 3 years of the initial cancer treatment, often invading lymph nodes near the breast -- located in the armpit and chest wall -- before traveling to farther sites. But again, much depends on the grade and aggressiveness of each individual tumor, with some carrying much higher recurrence rates. About a quarter of all metastases first appear in the bones. The lungs (at about 20%), liver and brain (the latter two accounting for about 15% each) are next most common sites for cancer spread. " source linky and linky
Also this study:
"Breast cancer metastases to the stomach are infrequent, with an estimated incidence rate of approximately 0.3%. Gastric metastases usually are derived from lobular rather than from ductal breast cancer." source linky
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I know the usual spots for mets, but it's hard to stop the brain from always going there first whenever some new physical issue crops up. I think we've all been there with that kind of thinking. I realize that my stomach and IBS problems are not uncommon, they're just a huge PAIN! The spasm thingy I had this morning (after coffee... which worries me since I can't imagine giving up coffee), did scare me though. It felt esophageal? Maybe? But anything in the chest area makes that wee voice in my head wonder if there's chest mets - lung or mediastinal. It's really not my top concern though, I know this familar burning and it basically means I need to get back to taking my medication every morning, as well as my probiotic tabs.
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Rene, you make me feel normal. I get the esophageal spasm when my IBS flairs. I drink warm water and that calms it down. I never go anywhere without a room temperature bottle of water. The alleged IBS (doc said it could be celiac or crohns but wanted to treat it as IBS first as I had IBS in my twenties as well). It just didn;t hurt this much! He put me on lexparo and the meds made me so lethargic but the IBS became history. I played pharmacist with the pills and tried to get a dose that I could tolerate by cutting up pills. I may have to go back to the pills, unless I can find a good diet. Thanks, Lago, for the suggestions. The wedding was such a great distraction and I was okay, but of course scared to eat or drink anything. The scare of mets is one I will personally experience, perhaps for the rest of my life. Hopefully it will lessen with time. Thanks for your help.
Susan
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Morning! Still humid out but no rain here...looks like it went south of me...70 right now, going up to 89 so I guess the AC stays on. Wednesday is supposed to be sunny with a high of 78...if there's anything you guys just haven't had a chance to do yet that might be the day. For those of you who would be stuck at work...start coughing!!!
Rene...that sounds very painful! The only issue I have ever had even close to any of your symptoms was many years ago when I had extreme heartburn after too much garlic, too late at night. Your symptoms are such that I guess you just had to wait it out..scary. Glad it passed...maybe try Susans tip about warm water??? Couldn't hurt to try if it happens again. Saw ur kids' pic on FB..so cute!
Mets....yes, we will always go to the dark side. It's now part of our new normal but we do need to be vigilant while not driving ourselves crazy in the process. For me the fear of mets has decreased but the fear of another lump has started to increase...I am already dreading the next mamm which isn't until late Sept. Just thinking about starting over...well, I now know I can do it but...well...you know how I feel. Once again...our New Normal! There are more than a few days that I wish I had elected for bmx0 -
Sorry...hit the wrong phone button!
...but I didnt, only did the lumpectomy/rads so no second-guessing at this point.
Off-topic but anyone here on flecainde for afib, or know anything about it? DH is on it for last 3 yrs but has developed tremors which is a side effect. His dose was cut in half months ago with still perfect control of the afib, but now tremors are returning. He is calling his EP tomorrow...and our fear is a change in meds. He did have an ablation about 7 yrs ago which made him worse but they've come a long way and I think if they can't play with his dosing we are gonna try another ablation. Oh boy...always something..but then watching him struggle with all these very dangerous meds for the last 18 years I think another try for a cure is a good choice.
Getting dark out...maybe a bit of rain after all? Have a great Sunday everyone!
Waving at you, WendyTY!!!! Keep the faith....0 -
Wendyk...I guess mets (possibilities) and new tumors are everyone's 'new' norm? The way you worded it helped with some anxiety that I have already been dealing with this morning. Thanks.
No major plans today. I am dropping dd21 off at the train station. She is joining my other dd at Lallapalooza in Grant Park. Kids these days!
This daughter heard me talking about my new Illinois breast friends and said, and I quote, "It's like you started a new school and you already have lots of new friends." I hugged her and told her, "that's exactly what it is!"
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Good Morning to everyone !!!! I was up early this morning and decided to try and catch up on everyone here, which I found is impossible to do . I see there are so many new ladies who have found the warm loving home here that we all found and that is such a good feeling , I am still actively working with ladies learning they have Breast Cancer or those doing reconstruction and teaching and helping them every day as much as I possibly can.
I have always loved your attitude Wendy , and your words caught my eyes today. The one thing I wanted to tell you is I take Flecanide and have been on it for at least 6 years , I am wondering what dose your DH is on, I think you still have my email or I will check back here and would be oh so happy to talk to you or write back and forth if you would like to. Funny but I was just thinking not too long ago , I wonder how Wendys DH is doing cause I remembered that we both have PAF.
I obviously still think of all of you here and pray for nothing but the best , still pop in when I can to see whats going on with all of you, and look forward to seeing everyone at the Christmas Party.
Love to all
jan
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Just to let you guys know I too have my little scares. I broke out with this rash on my legs. It's not bad, hasn't spread, isn't raised and doesn't itch. I've had it for over a week but not getting worse or better. I did my Internet search on rashes. Couldn't find anything but one thing I'm sure of, it's not chemo induced acute myeloid leukemia. (Different kind of rash). I seem to get those more "rare" SE from drugs but of course I know this is highly unlikely.
Any of you lymphodames having swelling issues this weekend. My arm is not happy about yesterday's humidity. I'm not sure what I should do though. You really can't tell by looking at it but it is a little firmer then the other arm and does have some discomfort. I really don't want to go back to PT again. It's so hard to tell if I'm really having an issue because I have such skinny arms.
Zap I hope those meds work for you. They tried with me but they did nothing. For me it was diet control and keeping my stress level down that worked the best. I haven't had a hamburger since 2007.
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Mary - Awwwwwwww...how sweet! And yes, that IS a great way to describe "us"! She is a sharp girl!
Irene & zap - I pm'd both of you with some info. Hope it helps.
In addition...ever since chemo - I occasionally have a flare up of Chostochondritis. It's not a serious condition, but the symptoms do raise fear, curiosity and concern.
Irene & zap - if you don't know of it, here's a link with some info:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm
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dh and I have had free run of my friend's pool this weekend (she and family are out of town). So we took Paulie with us yesterday and soaked up some VitD and swam. It was great. Paulie loved it! Her pool is salt water (no chlorine). The salt has NO odor, taste, etc. and it does wonders on the ol' skin. It's really nice (imagine being able to spend $180,000. on a pool-landscaping included-geesh!). We are hoping the weather clears up so we can head back over there again today. It's just across the road...how convenient!
OKAY...AMAZING...we took the GOAT out last night! It was great. We cruised Rand Rd through McHenry to a race car show at the local Dog 'N Suds. It got my engine rollin'...LOL Weather permitting...we will be going to the drag strip this week - not sure which day, but will post it.
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Have a nice day! I hope you're all feeling pretty good.
WendyTY - Hi, hugs and hoping you're feeling well enough to get in some golfing. Check in with us if you can.
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We were all posting at the same time!
Jan - Glad you checked in...
Lago - How weird! You and I are similar...I seem to get all these crazy "things" as well. Currently - I have trigger finger. What a PITA! Have you tried Cortisone cream for the rash? Also...my LE is slightly worse - but tolerable...
Wendy - I hope dh gets some answers soon. Scary indeed!
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