Illinois ladies facing bc
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Just popping in to say goodnight. Hope you all sleep well. Thought I'd share this precious little guy:
See you girls in the morning...
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Joan - Glad to hear your exchange went so well (and easily!).
BJ - Sorry to hear that your MIL's surgery had to be delayed. If you need help with anything, you know my number.
Laura - That picture is SO adorable!
I've been headachy (like, every day), tired and a bit cranky lately. I think it's sinuses and not getting enough sleep. One day, I'll grow up and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
Getting fill #2 tomorrow. woot!
ETA: I've been trying to change my avatar for almost a week now with no success. I sent a message to the mods, but it still isn't working. Anyone else having this issue?
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"You don't ask, you don't get. So ask. Sometimes the answer will be yes, sometimes it will be no. If you don't ask, the answer is always no." Regina Brett, God Never Blinks 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours0
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Good morning on what will be a cool but sunny day....at last. The inevitable continues marching toward bare trees and the winter-time. Hope that sun will help me be a little more ok with it all.
Rene'....I tried changing my avatar and it didn't work for me for me either....told me my ??postal code was too long.
Bj -- how are you????
Hope you are all well, and Laura....that was such a cute picture.
I'm having to go back to the oral surgeon this coming Wednesday.....not enough time to take care of things this just past Wednesday. Rats....oh well, not long now. Hopefully it won't be raining this coming Wednesday.
Hope you are all going to have a good day.
Hugs, Jackie
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Hi all:
Bone density test today. Not too optimistic as it was borderline last year and my mother had osteoporosis and she wasn't on arimidex. We'll see.
BJ, I can help too if you need anything. We have our brunch for ten on Sunday, but then I am a free duck.
Jackie, I love that image..."The inevitable continues marching toward bare trees..."
You are a poet, my dear.
My cat is getting so old that she struggles to jump up to the couch to be with me. It makes me sad.
Lago, your schedule sounds grueling. I hope it all turns out well for you with the work combined with the medical appointments.
Well, I have my work cut out for me. Get some sleep Rene and take care every one else.
Susan
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I had the same problem with changes. Just put your zip code in and it will let you update. Go figure!
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Zap, our cat that we lost in March got very arthritic in his last two years. We gave him a joint supplement, prescribed but our vet but available over the Internet without a prescription, called Dasuquin for cats. It's similar to glucosomine for humans. I still have some left and would send them to you if you'd like to try them with your kitty. They made a BIG difference for Ashie and his last two years wouldn't have been nearly as active without them.
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Susan sorry to hear about your cat. You might have to get one of those pet steps.
I had my bone density in September. In the past year I had chemo and 6 months of Anastrozole by the time I took the test. My mom had osteoperosis and I was osteopenic the last time I took the test a year ago and look at me. I'm white, small boned, former smoker and soda drinker. Guess what. I think it changed by .1% Yes there is a decimal point before that 1. Granted I now do the D3, Calcium and walking, quit soda when I started chemo (quite smoking over 6 years ago). You might be OK.
Well the temp to perm place wants to interview me next week for possible start the following week. The issue is I am working at my current place next week. This other place is interviewing more than one candidate. Not sure how I'm going to swing this. Maybe go in early one morning with my husband and interview before work then take the blue line into the current job. Crazy. I might miss out on this one. They've only had my stuff for 6 week… and also was submitted back in August too.
Looks like a nice weekend. Enjoy the nice weather!
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Thank you Rita. I would like to try the meds for my cat. Do you think I should ask the vet first? Well, actually, the vet would tell me to put the cat on diet as she is obese. I just love this cat. She was "older" when we adopted her, so she must be very old now
Well, I had my bone density test and this time the technician said not a word. I did not press as frankly I was not in the mood to know. I know there are worse things and I am lucky to have the means (insurance) to keep an eye on these things. I just hate all the meds I am taking. I know many of you get that and yet these meds may be keeping us alive! I am grateful for the healthcare I have.
BJ.....what a darling you are to your mil. You must love her so much and she has much to love in you. To have such a devoted dil is a such a blessing for her and your dh.
Take care my dear friends!
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I'm an illinois girl too. On CMF. I'm being treated in NY because I have not found an onco who will do CMF here. Anyone know of one?
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How was your experience with CMF?
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Wow Timbuktu sorry you have to go all the way to NY but Sloan is one of the best in the US. I read on another thread your concern about onco testing. From what I read onco testing isn't perfect but they use it for people who don't have it in their nodes and aren't HER2+ to decide if you get chemo or not. I'm not sure why you had an onco test if you had it in your nodes.
As far as chemo working. They really don't know for sure but the stats tell them that it works for many of us. Chemo seems to work well of faster growing cells. The higher the grade the better from what I read but again just because you have a grade 3 with high proliferation rate doesn't mean the chemo will work… or even if you need chemo… just statistically you do/does.
So I assume your hair isn't falling out.
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HI ladies,
Hopefully it's a quiet day for me. DH is busy in the fields harvesting corn. I've really started some mild neuropathy in my feet. I see my MO on 10/24 and will let him know. My #5 Taxol is also scheduled for that day.
Did anyone else see the movie 50/50? It's a show about a 27 year old that has a type of spinal cancer. I liked it; but I did have tears that needed wiping away. But this bc journey has left me more teary lately.
Lago...I hope you can get the employment situation worked out.
Timbuktu...Welcome! I'm not on CMF so I don't know. You travel to NY for treatment?
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Honor, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Choice,
Vision, Action, Celebration, Unity -
The Values of an Inspired Life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Good Morning Ladies and a happy weekend to all.
Lago, keeping my fingers crossed that the job you want works out for you.
MaryjRN, I have still have neuropathy in my feet after finishing chemotherapy over a year ago. See if there is anything you can do to stop it from getting worse.0 -
Good morning everyone on this beautiful Fall Saturday. I think it may be almost perfect if we get the temps they are predicting....like 70. Sure hope so. I'm ready for some heavy duty warmth and sun.
Welcome Timbuktu....wow....all the way to New York to get tx. You are very committed. I had no idea that CMF was not fairly routine for all Oncologists if needed. Sometimes you never stop learning, huh !!!
Mary....glad it is nearly time to ask those questions. Surely there is something that can make a difference for you. I still have a little neuropathy hanging around but my feet were not the greatest beforehand....so I think that is why. It is not enough to slow me down and most of the time I don't even notice it much -- I have this thing about non-acceptance -- first I recognize it, then accept it, and then decide to go on --- without it, of course, and it works almost all the time.
Bj, hope things are going ok. I'm waving hi to WendyTY.
See you all later.
Hugs, Jackie
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Welcome Timbukto. I am not familiar with the chemo you mention. I know my doctor did the oncotyping thing but said it was simply another tool to get closer to providing the best regime but no guarantees. In my case, it was not in my nodes but I did have vascular involvement. I had the lumpectomy with radiation and he had more confidence in the radiation than the chemo. But that was me and we are all different. And he, God love him, could have been wrong! It all is very confusing....but probably for the reason that there is no 100% answer on what works. Good luck to you.
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MaryjRN I got nueropathy in my left heel and I was starting to get pins & needles in my hands. I took acetyl-L-carnitine. I only got it in my left foot. Chemo ended Jan 18th of this year. My left heel started to get better last month. I still take it because it's a memory booster too. Just be sure it's Acetyl-L not just Carnitine or L-Carnitine.
linky (read the "Clinical Research Ahead" paragraph at the end).
Not sure about the temp -to-perm job. They want to interview next week and start someone on Monday. I'm booked all this week at the other job. If they are willing to interview me at 6-6:30pm then I can hop on the blue line after work. If not I would say they are really not that interested. The recr uiter is being pushy. I warned him I probably would be booked next week.
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Hi Girls....just popping in for a quick hi to all and to ask you all to keep my mil in your thoughts and prayers. She had her heart surgery which went well but now it is a very long road for her. She has had a few majors setbacks but is stable for now. I have been staying at the hospital in the wee hrs of the morning then off to work and then back again. Today I took my first run in a long time and I felt so good. Adey I see you are back on track with running . Good for you. Keep it up.
Just want to let you know that the holiday party is booked and please make sure Laura has your email info as I will be sending info out next week. I hope you all can come and enjoy the festivities.
Well I gotta run. I hope everyone has a wonderful fun filled weekend. Enjoy this lovely fall weather.
Hugs to all,
BJ
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BJ - Prayers will be said for your MIL
Timbukto - Best wishes to you...I don't know anything about CMF
Lago - I have one of those staircases for my dog, so he can get on our bed! lol
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My niece's Sweet 16 party is today...COSTUME party...Ughhhhhhhh! lol
Hope you all have a nice day!
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BJ - Wishing the best for your MIL.
Adey - Thanks for help with the avatar pic. Weird.
Lago - Good luck with the job issues. It's good to have options, I guess.
Timbuktu - I don't know anything about CMF, but I would think you could call the cancer centers at Northwestern, Rush, and U of Chicago and see if they can refer you to an onc who deals with it. Good luck.
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Timbuktu....I did CMF in Normal,/Bloomington, IL. I'm not sure where you are located in Illinois but this might be handier for you. I did 6 treatments, 3 weeks apart. I can PM you info about my oncologist if you are interested. There is a CMF thread on here, too. It's located unter Help Me Make it Through Treatment and is titled CMF Question.
Susan, look up Dasuquin for Cats on Google. I'm sure you'll find plenty of info on it. It's a supplement and is not something that will hurt your cat. I'll send the remaining capsules this next week and you can give it a try. You just open up the capsule and sprinkle it on kitty's wet food. Then if you notice a difference, you can just order it online. I have those little steps but my cat would never even try them. I even went so far as to put treats on each step to get him to climb up.
We worked in the yard all day and now I need to get cleaned up. We're having good friends over for dinner and cards tonight and I still have to peel potatoes to cook on the grill with the steak.
Rita
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Yes, Jackie, we are all learning, or in this case relearning. I now recall that Rita had a chemo that did not cause her to lose her hair. Timbuktu, Rita is a five year survivor (right Rita?) so there you go. You may consider staying in Illinois.
Also, Rita, thank you for sending the cat supplement. I have googled it, and I see it is safe. The cat has become so "clingy" and wants to be near me all the time. Maybe that just means she is old. This cat has been through so much with me and I once was so clingy with her when I was sick, that I want to make sure she has a good life. I guess you have to love animals to get it.
Brunch for ten tomorrow. I think DH and I have it down. I was thinking that I could offer mimosas but then DH said that people do not drink anything with alcohol at 11:00 in the morning. What do you all think? He could be out of it! Mimosas would be champagne and orange juice and hey, I have the ingredients.
Have a good Sunday. Should be great as the weather is just awesome.
Susan
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Morning! Great sleeping weather ....
BJ....glad the surgery is over for MIL but please take care of you, too!
Zap....I guess your DH needs to go to more Sunday brunches! Actually I don't think I've ever been to one where bloody Mary's or mimosas weren't offered! :-). Truthfully I love bloodies...but only on Sundays with brunch. Although mimosas are sounding good too and it's only 7:10am!! Hope your party is fantastic!
Timbuktu.....maybe CMF contains chemo drugs that are in short supply these days like taxol? I think Juliechicago did CMF as well...you could PM her and ask. Or maybe it wasn't the right combo of drugs for you and that's why you couldn't get it??? Seems very strange that you had to go all the way to NY for these drugs...
Off to do the new phone thing for DH... I hate setting these new iPhones up!0 -
Thanks! You explained some things. So, since I have grade 2 and a low risk of recurrence, my tumor must not be growing very quickly and that's why chemo is not that effective? Makes sense.
They thought my nodes were clean but at Sloan they found 100 cells in one node. That's why she suggested chemo. When you get a second opinion they take another slice out of the node. The first slice was clean but the second was not. She also found the invasion, which U of C missed. I read somewhere that pathology reports are only 75% accurate! I've discovered this unfortunately. They tell me that 100 cells does not a dirty node make. But the sloan onco says that although she knows that technically she should ignore those cells, that they don't effect prognosis, she can't. She thinks differently than the drs I've seen here. She also took the time to really study the slides herself. Her nurse told me that she was there when she discovered the cells and she kept looking and looking and saying "I can't believe what I am seeing". Those cells have been tormenting me ever since. How many are there really? They only took 5 nodes out.
I'm really feeling down lately. IT's as though I'm going through stages. Sometimes I can almost ignore this is happening and then other times it's just doom and gloom. And I really don't want to go all the way to New York for treatment. It's a six month treatment. I don't want treatment! lol
My hair has been thinning as I've gotten older (I'm 62) and I think it got a little worse during the time I was on arrimidex. Now, it seems a bit thinner still but I'm not in need of a wig just yet.
The onco told me not to shave my head.
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I did see 50/50 and thought it was very well done. It captured a lot of what we go through in a truthful way. And it wasn't maudlin.
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a friend just sent me an article for the nyt about how effective radiation is. Very! my onco here said he would ask the radiologist about my needing some to zap"escaped cells" in my chest. Ugh!
I had a mastectomy so there is no breast to irradiate. When I asked the sloan dr about it she recoiled and said "no way!" Wouldn't it be nice if all drs knew the "truth" and we could just do as they say? Why do they all differ?
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Ritajean, thanks. It's nice to know someone else had CMF and that it worked, thank God!
I live in Skokie and I'm thinking of calling around to hospitals for someone to do CMF. I don't understand why this is something they don't do here. Did you find it rather easy to handle? My NY onco said that TC is "a bit more effective but my case doesn't warrant the side effects". She's chasing the 3% chemo might benefit me. It's very hard to understand all of this, no? Her nurse told me that 80% of their patients are on the dose dense protocol but that requires shots to keep white blood cells high.
So good to see everyone doing well.
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I should clarify. I am originally from ny and have had family treated and saved by Sloan. I originally went there just to have the diagnosis and treatment plan from U of C confirmed. It was a shock to get a different report. I have seen oncos at U of C, Northwestern, Evanston. They all agreed that I should not have chemo at all. They went by the onco score and never checked the slides themselves. Only Sloan studied the slides and found what they found and recommended chemo because of what they saw. This is what makes me trust them. The onco at U of c, after getting the report from sloan and having a long discussion with their onco, finally and grudingly agreed to do TC with me but gave me a lot of warnings about how damaging it will be and how I may not need it at all. He thought it was an emotional issue! That I wanted to do everything i could to avoid a recurrence out of guilt! But it was the sloan dr who suggested it,not me. And I don't feel right twisting someone's arm to get treatment. He refused to do CMF saying he liked a 3 month treatment more than a 6 month. But it's very hard to travel.
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Wendy, that is interesting what you said about the short supply. A friend suggested that perhaps sloan doesn't use TC because of the shortage. It's so hard to know who to trust!
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